Introduction 緖说
Compiled from Recordings of Master Yuanyin | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 第一部分 绪说 |
Part One: Introduction |
| 今天，有无上胜缘，和诸上善人共同研究佛法。诸位切莫看轻自己，因为一切众生均具如来智慧德相，只要我们发心、修法，知道世间一切相都是假的，都不可得，不去追求，回心向善，自度度他，就是大菩萨。 |
Today, we have the supreme auspicious affinity to study the Buddha-Dharma together with so many excellent and virtuous people. You must not underestimate yourselves, for all sentient beings possess the Tathāgata’s wisdom and virtuous characteristics. As long as we arouse the resolve and practice the Dharma, recognize that all appearances in the world are false and unobtainable, cease pursuing them, turn our minds toward goodness, and liberate ourselves while liberating others, we are great bodhisattvas. |
| 我们平常说：“人身难得，佛法难闻。 |
We often say that human birth is hard to obtain and the Buddha-Dharma hard to hear. |
| ”是呀，试看六合之内、宇宙之中的芸芸众生，得人身者能有多少啊？！胎、卵、湿、化四生不知道有多少，就像大地的土那么多，得人身者只如一指甲里的土，真是少得可怜；可那些昆虫、蚂蚁遍地都是，还有我们平常喂鱼的鱼虫，用网一兜不知道有多少。 |
Indeed. Consider the countless sentient beings within the six directions and throughout the universe: how many obtain a human body? The beings born from wombs, eggs, moisture, and transformation are as numerous as the earth itself, while those who obtain a human body are as few as the soil beneath a fingernail—truly pitifully few. Yet insects and ants cover the ground everywhere, and the tiny creatures we commonly feed to fish are so numerous that one cannot know how many are caught in a single sweep of a net. |
| 所以说“人身难得”真是不错！而既得人身又能听到佛法的人有多少呢？那就更少了。 |
Thus, it is indeed true that human birth is hard to obtain. And how many of those who have obtained human birth are able to hear the Buddha-Dharma? Far fewer still. |
| 整个世界这么多人，没有多少人能听到佛法，即或能听到佛法，而能听到大乘了义的经文就更少了；听到大乘佛法而又能发心实修，证得本性的又更少了！大部分信佛者只是接触佛法的边缘，烧烧香，拜拜佛，求点福报，种点善根，只能作为将来修法成道的资粮。 |
Among all the people in the world, not many can hear the Buddha-Dharma. Even among those who can, still fewer hear sūtras of the definitive meaning of the Mahāyāna; and among those who hear the Mahāyāna Buddha-Dharma, fewer still arouse the resolve to practice diligently and realize their original nature. Most believers in Buddhism merely come into contact with its outer edges: they burn incense, bow before the Buddha, seek a little blessing, and plant a few wholesome roots. This can serve only as provisions for their future practice and realization of the Way. |
| 真正能了解佛法的真义，又能按之实修的，真是凤毛麟角了。今天我们讲的这部《中有教授听闻解脱密法》，是密教中的密中密，是不轻传的秘密法宝，是不需要经过修行就能成就的大法。 |
Those who can truly understand the real meaning of the Buddha-Dharma and practice accordingly are exceedingly rare. The Esoteric Teaching of Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State, which we will discuss today, is the most secret of the secret teachings within Esoteric Buddhism. It is a secret Dharma treasure not lightly transmitted, a great Dharma through which one can attain accomplishment without first undergoing practice. |
| 一般净土宗、禅宗、密宗，都要经过修禅观、打坐、入定才能把妄想歇下来，打开本来亲见佛性，而这部法，不需要这样修行，你只要懂得成佛了生死是怎么一回事，得到这个秘诀之后，到临终时就可以解脱了。所以这是密中密的无上大法。 |
In the Pure Land school, the Chan school, and Esoteric Buddhism generally, one must practice Chan contemplation, sit in meditation, and enter samādhi before deluded thoughts can be stilled, one’s original nature opened, and Buddha-nature directly seen. This Dharma does not require such practice. Once you understand what it means to attain Buddhahood and transcend birth and death, and receive this secret instruction, you can attain liberation at the time of death. Therefore, it is the unsurpassed great Dharma, the most secret of the secret teachings. |
| 我们今天能有幸听到这个法，真是多生历劫所种善根得的福报。在未讲此法之前，我们先看看“翻译缘起”和“卷头语”。了解一下这个法的流传经过和修习本法所必需具备的基本知识，我们明白之后，就会知道它的珍贵之处。 |
That we are fortunate enough to hear this Dharma today is truly a blessing gained through wholesome roots planted over many lives and kalpas. Before expounding this Dharma, let us first look at “Background to the Translation” and the “Preface.” Having understood the course by which this Dharma has been transmitted and the basic knowledge necessary for practicing it, we will know its preciousness. |
