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Essential Explanation of the Intermediate State
(I) Freedom from Suffering and Attainment of Happiness; The Three Kāyas and Four Wisdoms （一）离苦得乐、三身四智

Compiled from Recordings of Master Yuanyin | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation

我们大家活在这个世上，天天有人生，天天有人死。长寿者一百多岁，短寿者十几年，还有的生下来就死了。人的一生一世，虽有些长短不同，但都是一转眼就过去了。 We all live in this world: every day people are born, and every day people die. Some live for more than a hundred years; others live only a decade or so; still others die as soon as they are born. Though the length of a human life differs, it all passes in the blink of an eye.
那么，人生从什么地方来？死了又到什么地方去了呢？大家都不知道。所以生死是个大事！佛就为这个大事因缘出生于世，指点我们的迷津。让我们知道生从何来，死往何去，打破这个迷闷的疑团，打破这个哑谜。 Then where does human life come from, and where do we go after death? No one knows. Thus birth and death are a great matter. It was for this great matter of causes and conditions that the Buddha appeared in the world, to point out the way for us amid our confusion. He enables us to know where birth comes from and where death goes, to break through this baffling knot of doubt and solve this riddle.
没有智慧的人，他也不知生从何处来，死到何处去。他既不管，也不会去研究这个问题。他以为生到这个世上来，就是穿衣吃饭、娶妻生子的，就这样糊里糊涂的混过了一生。 Those without wisdom do not know where birth comes from or where death goes. They neither concern themselves with nor investigate this question. They think that being born into this world means merely dressing, eating, marrying, and having children, and so they muddle through an entire lifetime.
从前梁启超曾就这个问题问大家：“人生到这个世上来究竟是为什么？”是叫你来穿衣吃饭的吗？难道这个世上的饭太多衣太多，没人吃无人穿，叫你来吃来穿的吗？可见不是！是要你来娶妻生子繁衍后代吗？要是只为娶妻生子的话，那等于粪坑里的蛆一样，又有什么意义！显然不是那么一回事。 Long ago, Liang Qichao asked everyone this question: “What, after all, is the purpose of coming into this world?” Is it simply for you to dress and eat? Could it be that there is too much food and clothing in this world, with no one to eat or wear them, so you are called here to do so? Clearly not. Is it for you to marry, have children, and propagate future generations? If that were the sole purpose, one would be no different from maggots in a latrine—what meaning would there be in that? Clearly, that is not the case.
那究竟是为什么呢？但愚者无知，也不知研究。就这么从梦中来，到梦中去。糊里糊涂转眼几十岁、乃至一百岁，人生一世就这样昏昏沉沉地混过去了。 Then what is it for, after all? Yet the ignorant do not know and do not investigate. They simply come from a dream and return to a dream. Muddling through the decades in the blink of an eye—even to a hundred years—they pass an entire human life in a daze.
在我们人类，想研究人生宇宙真理，打破这生死迷团的人，确是少数。 Among human beings, those who seek to investigate the truth of human life and the universe and break through the delusion of birth and death are indeed few.
大部分人只知道升官发财、赚钞票、娶老婆，生活过得舒服一点，能享受，就满足了，从不知研究人生宇宙的真理和人生于世的价值所在！有智慧的人就不甘迷闷，要研究研究我们人究竟是从什么地方来的？死了又到什么地方去？这个宇宙又是怎样形成的？他要得出一个正确的答案，所以就产生了哲学。 Most people know only how to seek promotion and wealth, earn money, marry a wife, live a little more comfortably, and enjoy themselves; they are satisfied with this and never investigate the truth of human life and the universe or the value of human existence. Those with wisdom are unwilling to remain confused. They investigate: Where do we human beings ultimately come from? Where do we go after death? How did this universe come into being? Seeking a correct answer, they developed philosophy.
古今中外很多杰出之士纷纷研究这个世界、人生的由来，但是他们费尽心机、竭尽脑力，得不到一个真实正确的答案。有的说唯心，有的说唯物；有的说一元，有的说二元。但究竟是怎么一回事？得不到真实的结论。 Many outstanding people, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, have investigated the origins of this world and of human life. Yet despite exhausting their ingenuity and mental powers, they have not obtained a true and correct answer. Some say it is mind-only; some say it is matter-only. Some speak of monism; others of dualism. But what is really the case? No true conclusion has been reached.
只有佛陀能指点迷津，能打破这个哑谜，能正确地告诉我们人生宇宙之由来。今天我们能听到这大乘了义的佛教秘密经典，真是无上的福报。 Only the Buddha can point out the way amid confusion, solve this riddle, and correctly tell us the origins of human life and the universe. That today we can hear this ultimate and definitive secret scripture of Mahāyāna Buddhism is truly unsurpassed good fortune.
这个福报不是世间的洪福可比的，所谓洪福，就是地位高一些，收入多一些，生活得舒服一些。但是你生活得再好，也离不了生、老、病、死。到时还是赤裸裸地去了。钞票再多，一分钱也带不走。只有研究佛法之后，明白了这个真理，明白了人究竟是怎么一回事，从而脱出这生死的圈套，这才是了义的大福报。 This good fortune cannot compare with worldly prosperity. What is called worldly prosperity means somewhat higher status, somewhat greater income, and a somewhat more comfortable life. Yet no matter how well one lives, one cannot escape birth, old age, sickness, and death. When the time comes, one still goes naked and bare. No matter how much money one has, not a single cent can be taken along. Only after studying the Buddhadharma, understanding this truth, and understanding what human beings ultimately are, can one escape the trap of birth and death. This alone is the great good fortune of ultimate meaning.
很多聪明人在做学问上走不通，得不到答案时，就在宗教上来研究，看看是不是能得到一个真实的答案。“人究竟是从什么地方来的？”不同的宗教说法各别。基督教说：“是上帝创造的。”伊斯兰教说：“是真主创造的”。 When many intelligent people reach an impasse in their studies and cannot obtain an answer, they turn to religion to investigate whether they may find a true answer. “Where, after all, do human beings come from?” Different religions give different explanations. Christianity says, “They were created by God.” Islam says, “They were created by Allah.”
但是要真正再深究一下，上帝创造了我们大家，那么上帝又是谁创造的呢？就无法解答了。所以，只有佛法说的透彻，不是谁创造谁。佛法告诉我们：无始以来就有这个佛性（无始就是没有开头）。 But if one investigates further: if God created us all, then who created God? There is no answer. Thus, only the Buddhadharma explains this thoroughly: it is not that one being created another. The Buddhadharma tells us that Buddha-nature has existed since beginningless time—“beginningless” means having no beginning.
这个佛性是什么呢？就是我们见闻觉知的能量，就是我们见闻觉知的性能。我们以六根（眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意）对六尘（色、声、香、味、触、法），根尘相对，就起知觉。 What is this Buddha-nature? It is the capacity of our seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing; it is the functioning of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing. When our six sense faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—meet the six sense objects—forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and dharmas—conscious awareness arises.
所以眼见色、耳闻声、鼻嗅香臭、舌尝味道、身体就是对外边环境的触觉、第六意识大脑就起知觉和分别。所以说意属知、身属觉、眼属见、耳属闻、鼻属嗅、舌属尝，这些就是见闻觉知的性能。这就是我们的本性。 Thus, the eyes see forms; the ears hear sounds; the nose smells fragrances and odors; the tongue tastes flavors; the body senses contact with the external environment; and the sixth consciousness, the brain, gives rise to awareness and discrimination. Therefore, mind pertains to knowing, body to awareness, eyes to seeing, ears to hearing, nose to smelling, and tongue to tasting. These are the functions of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing. This is our intrinsic nature.
这个本性人看不见，就以为没有。其实这个性能就像电，我们把电线接好，电灯泡装好，开关一开，灯就亮了。但这个电看不见，我们的大脑神经就像电线一样，靠这个性能来起作用。 People cannot see this intrinsic nature, and so they think it does not exist. Yet this capacity is like electricity. When we connect the wires, install the light bulb, and turn on the switch, the lamp lights up. We cannot see the electricity, but the nerves of our brain are like electrical wires: they function by relying on this capacity.
假如我们一口气不来，就是气断了，大脑神经还在，但它却不能起作用了。所以禅宗人在修法的时候就参：“念佛是谁？”，这个佛究竟是谁念的呢？是你念的，把什么东西称作你呢？把身体称作你还是把思想称作你？ If we cease to breathe—if the breath is cut off—the brain and its nerves remain, but they can no longer function. Therefore, when Chan practitioners cultivate, they investigate: “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?” Who, after all, is reciting this Buddha’s name? It is you who recite it—but what do you call “you”? Do you call the body “you,” or do you call thought “you”?
这个身体不是你，因为身体只是你住的房子。佛性一走，离开身体以后，你的身体就不会念了。那么，思想也不是你，因为思想是外界客观环境在人脑中的反映。没有外界的客观环境，就没这个思想了。 This body is not you, because it is merely the house in which you dwell. Once Buddha-nature departs and leaves the body, your body can no longer recite. Nor is thought you, because thought is a reflection in the human brain of the objective external environment. Without an objective external environment, there would be no such thought.
身体不是，思想也不是，那么究竟是谁呢？把这个话头在心里思索，就起了疑情，就把你的妄念割断了。就在能所双亡的时候，回光自见，就看到这个无相的佛性。这个佛性虽然是无相，但是它有功能。 If the body is not you, and thought is not you, then who are you, after all? Contemplate this huatou in your mind. A sense of doubt will arise and cut off your deluded thoughts. Precisely when subject and object both vanish, turn the light inward and see for yourself; then you will see this formless Buddha-nature. Though this Buddha-nature is formless, it has function.
还是有啊！所以我们研究来研究去还是佛法讲的是真理。为什么呢？因为它必须经过实证，才得真实受用。 It still exists! Thus, after all our investigation, we find that what the Buddhadharma teaches is the truth. Why? Because it must be directly realized before one can truly benefit from it.
我们做功夫做到妄想断了，妄念绝了，即前念已断，后念未起的真空时，它一丝不挂，一尘不染，但是了了分明，非同木石，这个“了了分明”的是什么？这就是我们的知觉性，就是我们无所不能的性能！也就是大家时刻想明心 When we cultivate until deluded thinking and deluded thoughts have ceased—when the preceding thought has ended and the following thought has not yet arisen, in true emptiness—it is utterly bare, unstained by a single speck of dust, yet clear and distinct, unlike wood or stone. What is this “clear and distinct” awareness? It is our faculty of awareness, our capacity capable of all things. It is also the Buddha-nature that everyone constantly seeks to realize the mind and
见性的佛性呀！我们如果在这上面着眼，明悟了，体会了，再能在境上锻炼，顺境不喜，逆境不恼，对境无粘染、爱嗔、取舍之情，就叫“开悟”！因佛法有办法叫我们打开迷团，亲自见到这人生宇宙的本性，所以佛法是人生唯一正确的指南。 see one’s true nature. If we focus on this, awaken to it, and experience it, and can then temper ourselves amid circumstances—neither delighting in favorable circumstances nor becoming irritated by adverse ones, and having no attachment, love, anger, grasping, or rejecting in response to circumstances—this is called “awakening”! Because the Buddhadharma has methods that enable us to break open the knot of delusion and personally see the intrinsic nature of human life and the universe, it is the only correct guide for human life.
佛教是无神论者，和其它宗教讲的不同。佛教不讲上帝或神来创造、支配我们，而是自己支配自己，自己创造自己，所以叫“一切唯心造”。而其它宗教都有个至高无上的真神或真主来支配你。 Buddhism is non-theistic and differs from what other religions teach. Buddhism does not say that God or a deity creates and controls us; rather, we control ourselves and create ourselves. Therefore, it is said, “Everything is created by mind alone.” Other religions, however, posit a supreme true God or Lord who controls you.
有不明白的人说：“佛教不是说人死了之后有十殿阎罗吗？由阎罗王来判决你，那不就是由阎罗王来支配、发落你了吗？”不是！那是误会了。实际上是我们自己支配自己。造善业的有善报，到好的地方去。 Some who do not understand say: “Does Buddhism not say that after people die there are the Ten Courts of Yama? Yama Kings judge you; does that not mean that the Yama Kings control and dispose of you?” No. That is a misunderstanding. In fact, we control ourselves. Those who create wholesome karma receive wholesome results and go to good places.
造恶业的，就要受恶报，到坏苦的地方去。并不是阎罗王来支配你。阎罗王就等于我们的公安局。比如我们没做犯法的事情，公安局能来干预我们吗？假如你做了犯罪的事情，公安局就对你不客气，要来抓你判刑了。 Those who create unwholesome karma must undergo unwholesome retribution and go to bad and painful places. It is not the Yama Kings who control them. The Yama Kings are like our public-security bureau. For example, if we have done nothing unlawful, can the public-security bureau interfere with us? But if you commit a crime, it will not be lenient with you: it will arrest you, try you, and sentence you to prison.
所以一切都是自己支配自己，不是谁来支配你的。我们说造十善就生天，贪嗔痴具足造恶就下地狱。都是你自己造的。十法界就是一心。 Therefore, everything is controlled by oneself; no one else controls you. We say that by performing the ten wholesome acts one is reborn in heaven, while by being full of greed, anger, and ignorance and creating evil karma, one falls into hell. All this is created by oneself. The ten Dharma realms are but one mind.
十法界是指四圣六凡（四圣：即佛、菩萨、辟支佛、罗汉；六凡：即天人、人、修罗、地狱、饿鬼、畜牲）。这十法界都是我们一心创造的。 The ten Dharma realms refer to the four noble realms and the six ordinary realms. The four noble realms are Buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats; the six ordinary realms are devas, humans, asuras, hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals. These ten Dharma realms are all created by our one mind.
佛教讲的“因果轮回”就是告诉我们：要懂得“种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆”的因果律，要怕受果报，首先在因地上不要造业。凡夫是不怕造因，只怕受果。菩萨是只怕造因。他不造因，就不会受果。 What Buddhism calls “cause and effect and rebirth” tells us to understand the causal law that “plant melons and you reap melons; plant beans and you reap beans.” We should fear karmic retribution and, first of all, refrain from creating karma at the causal stage. Ordinary beings do not fear creating causes; they fear only receiving the results. Bodhisattvas fear only creating causes. If they do not create causes, they will not receive results.
比如我们现在做了犯法的事情，就造了恶因，那就一定要吃官司，受审判坐监牢。我们没有干坏事，就不会受这个恶果了。 For example, if we commit an unlawful act now, we create an unwholesome cause, and we will certainly face a lawsuit, trial, and imprisonment. If we have done no wrong, we will not undergo this unwholesome result.
凡夫不是这样，他只怕受果，不怕造因，为了达到他享受的目的，不择手段造恶业，所以社会上就有许多犯法的事情。于是就有了《刑法》、《民法》等等的法律制裁手段。 Ordinary beings are not like this. They fear only the results and do not fear creating causes. In order to achieve their aims of enjoyment, they create evil karma by any means, and so society has many unlawful acts. Consequently, there are legal means of punishment such as criminal law and civil law.
实际上人们就是因为执着这个色身为我，才要尽情享受，尤其现在这个世界，科学昌明，物质丰富，有很多的享受，而人的物欲高涨、欲壑难填，有了这样，还要那样，都是高消费。 In fact, it is precisely because people cling to this physical body as the self that they seek to indulge in enjoyment. Especially in today’s world, where science is advanced and material goods are abundant, there are many enjoyments. People’s material desires swell and are impossible to satisfy: having this, they still want that. Everything is high consumption.
自己没有这个收入，就免不了要做犯法的事情。因此社会上犯法的事件层出不穷，皆由于此。 When they do not have the necessary income, they cannot avoid doing unlawful things. Thus, unlawful incidents arise one after another in society, all for this reason.
由于我们错误地认这个色身为我，于是就产生了造业的因，生出了妄情，又因为这个虚妄的情见，就随情造业，随业受报，生死轮回，无有了期。可见佛教讲的“因果轮回”是颠扑不破的真理。与科学家研究出来的“因果律”一样，是真实可信颠扑不破的。 Because we mistakenly take this physical body to be the self, we create the causes of karma and give rise to deluded feelings. Then, because of these false feelings and views, we create karma in accordance with our feelings and undergo retribution in accordance with our karma, revolving endlessly through birth and death. This shows that the Buddhist teaching of “cause and effect and cyclic rebirth” is an incontrovertible truth. Like the “law of causality” discovered by scientists, it is real, trustworthy, and incontrovertible.
佛教讲的“无常迅速”，就是告诉我们，人生如朝露，短暂得很。活一百岁，看上去是长寿了，其实一眨眼就过去了。比如我们现在都几十岁了，回想当初，就好像刚发生一样，几十年一下就过去了。所以快的很。 When Buddhism speaks of the swift passage of impermanence, it tells us that human life is like morning dew—very brief indeed. Living to a hundred may seem like longevity, but in fact it passes in the blink of an eye. We are now already several decades old, yet when we look back, it seems as though those earlier events happened only yesterday. Several decades have passed in an instant. Thus, time passes very quickly.
佛看我们就好像朝生暮死一样。我们这里一百年，在天人看来，只是一会儿工夫。假如我们在兜率天，那里的一天，就是我们这里的三百多年。 The Buddha sees us as though we are born in the morning and die at night. A hundred years in our world is, to heavenly beings, only a brief moment. If we were in Tuṣita Heaven, one day there would equal more than three hundred years here.
我们这里一个人能活四百岁吗？假如有，也很少，不过在他们看来，也只有一天哪！人生苦短，很快就要走了，我们该怎么办呢？不好好用功修法，以期了生脱死，对得住自己来这个世上走一遭吗？！佛讲的种种警策的话，都是 Can a person here live for four hundred years? Even if such a person exists, it would be very rare; yet in their view, that would amount to only one day. Human life is brief, and we shall soon depart. What should we do? If we do not diligently apply ourselves to spiritual practice in the hope of transcending birth and death, can we say that we have done justice to this one passage through the world? The Buddha’s many admonitory words all serve this purpose.
给我们敲警钟，让我们赶快用功，不要错过这难得的人生！因此，不要再执着这个色身，这个色身不是我们自己，它只不过是我们住的房子，真人是我们的佛性。佛性就是我们刚才讲的见闻觉知的性能。 They sound an alarm for us, urging us to practice diligently without delay and not miss this precious human life. Therefore, do not cling any longer to this physical body. This physical body is not our true self; it is merely the house in which we dwell. The true person is our Buddha-nature. Buddha-nature is the capacity for seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing that we discussed just now.
要保护这个性能不被客尘烦恼所粘染。客尘烦恼，就是我们刚才讲的“色、声、香、味、触、法”。“客尘”就等于是灰尘，它不是主人，所以叫客。我们粘在上面，要享受，要达到满足欲望的目的而不择手段，那就坏了。 We must protect this capacity from being stained by adventitious defilements. These adventitious defilements are the “forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and dharmas” that we discussed just now. “Adventitious dust” is like dust: it is not the master and is therefore called a guest. If we become attached to these things, seeking enjoyment and resorting to any means to satisfy our desires, then we are in trouble.
所以佛教就是要我们明白“因果轮回”、“无常迅速”的道理，从而改造人生，做一个真实的人，做一个符合人格的人，更由此而超越人成佛。 Thus, Buddhism requires us to understand the principles of “cause and effect and cyclic rebirth” and “the swift passage of impermanence,” so that we may transform our lives, become genuine human beings, become persons of true character, and then transcend the human state to become Buddhas.
人生是不久长的，须赶快放下来，不要追逐物境，让我们回归原来的一丝不挂、赤裸裸、净洒洒的净境，以免枉受生死轮回之苦。我们现在都是颠倒妄想而不自觉。 Human life does not last long. We must quickly let go and not chase after external objects. Let us return to the original pure realm—utterly bare, naked, and spotless—so that we do not suffer the pains of birth-and-death and cyclic rebirth in vain. We are now all caught in inverted deluded thoughts without realizing it.
佛在腊月初八，夜睹明星悟道之后说：“奇哉！奇哉！一切众生都具如来智慧德相”。为什么不自见呢？都是因为妄想颠倒执着之故而迷盖了本来。我们现在都是在妄想、颠倒、执着之中。佛警策我们要一切放下，等于当头敲我们一棒，叫我们赶快梦醒。 After the Buddha awakened to the Way upon seeing the morning star on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he said: “How wondrous! How wondrous! All sentient beings possess the Tathāgata’s wisdom and virtuous characteristics.” Why, then, do they not see this for themselves? It is because deluded thoughts, inversion, and attachment obscure their original nature. We are now all amid deluded thoughts, inversion, and attachment. The Buddha exhorts us to let go of everything, as though striking us on the head with a stick and telling us to awaken quickly from our dream.
我们人一生的过程，就是连续不断的苦。所谓生、老、病、死、苦，生下来的苦大家可能忘记了。试看小孩生出来都是“哇”的一声哭叫着，没有哈哈笑的。 The course of a human life is one unbroken succession of suffering. As for the suffering of birth, aging, illness, and death, we may have forgotten the suffering of birth. But look at how infants are born: they all cry out “Waa!”; none comes into the world laughing.
为什么没有笑的呢？因为他在母胎的时候，都是暖烘烘的，皮肤很嫩，不接触外境。一出娘胎，冷空气一刺激他，像针戳一样的痛。 Why do they not laugh? While in the mother’s womb, they are warm, their skin is very tender, and they do not come into contact with external conditions. As soon as they emerge from the womb, the stimulation of cold air causes pain like being pricked by needles.
他在母胎里本来是头朝上的，要生出来的时候，头要先下来，翻一个颠倒，从母亲的骨盆里挤出来，像在两座大山的夹缝中挤出来一样，孩子很痛苦，所以都是哭着出来。小孩苦，大人也是苦。 In the womb, the child originally has its head upward. When it is about to be born, its head must first turn downward; it is turned upside down and squeezed out through the mother’s pelvis, as though being forced through a narrow cleft between two great mountains. The child suffers greatly and therefore emerges crying. Children suffer, and adults suffer as well.
在产房里母亲也都叫啊，痛得要死。老了也是苦，眼睛花了，看不见了；耳朵聋了，听不清了；牙齿落了，吃东西咬不动了。身体老化，精力衰颓，要依靠别人来服侍，就不自由，不自在了。一旦生了病，就更苦了。 In the delivery room, mothers also cry out in pain, as though they are dying. Old age is suffering too: the eyes grow dim and cannot see; the ears grow deaf and cannot hear clearly; the teeth fall out, and one cannot chew food. As the body ages and one’s strength declines, one must depend on others for care and loses freedom and ease. Once illness arises, the suffering is even greater.
大家都知道生个小小的牙病都疼得不得了。俗语说：“牙痛不是病，疼起来要性命！”何况是别的大病呢？要是生了癌症什么的，那就更痛得不得了了！我曾看到一个生癌症的人，最后痛的满床滚，所以病是人生最苦的事。 Everyone knows that even a minor toothache can be unbearably painful. As the saying goes, “A toothache is not an illness, but when it hurts, it can cost you your life!” How much more so with serious illnesses. If one develops cancer or the like, the pain is even more unbearable. I once saw someone with cancer who, in the end, rolled all over the bed in agony. Thus, illness is one of life’s greatest sufferings.
讲到死，那就更苦了。死的时候是四大分散，犹如生龟剥壳，苦不堪言。我们人的身体，是以地、水、火、风四大相聚而成的。死的时候，先是地大分散。 When we speak of death, the suffering is still greater. At death, the four great elements disperse; it is like stripping the shell from a living turtle, an agony beyond endurance. The human body is formed by the coming together of the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. At death, the earth element is the first to disperse.
地大分散时，像泰山压到身上一样，沉重气闷得透不出气来，因之家人搬他都搬不动；水大分散像整个人浸到水里面一样，潮湿得难受；火大分散时人浑身发烧，临死的人两个颧骨都烧得通红，这是火大分散的征兆；风大分散就 When the earth element disperses, it feels as though Mount Tai were pressing upon the body: one is so heavy and oppressed that one cannot catch one’s breath, and family members cannot move the person. When the water element disperses, it feels as though one’s whole body were immersed in water, damp and unbearably uncomfortable. When the fire element disperses, the whole body burns with fever; the two cheekbones of a dying person become flushed red, which is a sign of the dispersal of the fire element. The dispersal of the wind element is more painful still.
更苦了，犹如大风把地皮一层层吹掉了一样，病人的感觉就像用刀把皮肉一层层削掉一样的痛苦，到后来呼吸要断时，只有出气，没有进气，而且有一口海底痰闷在喉咙里，使呼吸不得，最后这口痰一落就断气了，痛苦的很。 It is like a great wind blowing away the surface of the earth layer by layer. The patient feels as though flesh and skin were being sliced away layer by layer with a knife. Later, when breathing is about to cease, there is only exhalation and no inhalation. A glob of phlegm from deep within is lodged in the throat, preventing breathing; when this phlegm finally drops, the breath ceases. The suffering is immense.
所以人的一生，生、老、病、死都很苦啊！当然，我们还有其它的苦，什么“求不得苦”、“爱别离苦”、“怨憎会苦”等等，就不去讲它了。 Thus, throughout a person’s life, birth, aging, illness, and death are all very painful. Of course, there are other sufferings as well, such as the suffering of not obtaining what one seeks, the suffering of separation from those one loves, and the suffering of meeting those one hates. We shall not discuss them here.
孙景风居士说：“有些人专为‘怖畏生死’而学佛的。又有一类发大心学佛的人，体会到六道众生，都是我过去的父母，沉沦苦海，头出头没，无有出期。 Lay practitioner Sun Jingfeng said: “Some people study Buddhism solely because they fear birth and death. There is another kind of person who arouses the great resolve to study Buddhism and realizes that sentient beings in the six realms were all our parents in past lives. They sink in the sea of suffering, their heads repeatedly rising above and falling below the water, with no prospect of escape.”
因而要依大乘教义，无我精神，由‘观无常’，了生死，进一步发四无量心，学六度万行，行菩萨道，愿众生都成佛”。这里就讲到我们发心学佛，是有种种不同的原因。 “Therefore, they rely on Mahāyāna teachings and the spirit of selflessness: through contemplating impermanence, they transcend birth and death; further, they give rise to the four immeasurables, cultivate the six perfections and myriad practices, follow the bodhisattva path, and vow that all sentient beings may become Buddhas.” This explains that there are many different reasons for arousing the resolve to study Buddhism.
有的是害怕生死来学佛的，现在活着将来死的时候要痛苦，死了以后要到什么地方去呢？也不知道，还是来学佛吧，找个归宿。比如现在修净土宗，将来可以往生到西方极乐世界。有的人是为了救度众生而发心的。 Some study Buddhism because they fear birth and death. They are alive now, but will suffer when they die; after death, where will they go? They do not know, so they come to study Buddhism in search of a destination. For example, those who now practice in the Pure Land school may be reborn in the Western Pure Land in the future. Others arouse the resolve in order to liberate sentient beings.
所以，佛教有五乘的区别：第一是凡夫乘，他只知道做好事，不做坏事，也不想了生死，也不知道怎样了生死。 Thus, Buddhism distinguishes five vehicles. The first is the vehicle of ordinary beings: they know only to do good and avoid evil, and neither seek to transcend birth and death nor know how to do so.
比如庙里面初一、十五烧香拜佛的人很多，他们没有真正了解佛法是怎么一回事，也不知道了生死，只沾了点佛法的边，这就叫凡夫乘，也叫人天乘。 For example, many people visit temples on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month to burn incense and pay homage to the Buddha. They do not truly understand what the Buddhadharma is, nor do they know how to transcend birth and death. They have merely touched the edge of the Buddhadharma. This is called the vehicle of ordinary beings, also called the human and deva vehicle.
第二就是罗汉乘，有的人是专为自己了生死而修行的，知道生死可怖，无常迅速，为赶快脱离六道轮回而发心修行，这就是罗汉乘。 The second is the arhat vehicle. Some cultivate solely in order to transcend birth and death for themselves. Knowing that birth and death are fearsome and that impermanence passes swiftly, they arouse the resolve to cultivate so as to escape the cycle of rebirth in the six realms as quickly as possible. This is the arhat vehicle.
第三是辟支佛乘（或缘觉乘），与罗汉一样，只顾自了，但比罗汉聪明，见微知著，从因悟果，所以他们修的法是十二因缘，不像罗汉修四谛法门由果究因。 The third is the pratyekabuddha vehicle, or vehicle of the solitary awakened ones. Like arhats, they are concerned only with their own liberation, but they are more perceptive than arhats: seeing a small sign, they understand what is significant; through causes, they awaken to results. Therefore, they practice the twelve links of dependent origination, unlike arhats, who investigate causes from results through the Dharma gate of the Four Noble Truths.
他们在无佛出世时，见花开花落即悟空苦无常而证道，所以较罗汉略胜一筹。 When no Buddha is in the world, they see flowers bloom and fall, awaken to emptiness, suffering, and impermanence, and realize the Way. Thus, they are slightly superior to arhats.
第四就是菩萨乘，是为救度众生而发心修行的，因看到世间大众都是生、老、病、死苦，为使大众都能解脱，先发心自己修行，自己先解脱出来，然后再救大众。 The fourth is the bodhisattva vehicle, whose practitioners arouse the resolve to cultivate in order to liberate sentient beings. Seeing that people throughout the world suffer birth, aging, illness, and death, they first resolve to cultivate and attain liberation themselves, so that they may then liberate others.
比如有人掉到黄浦江里，你想救他，可自己又不会游泳，怎么救？所以要先学会游泳，再学会救生术。光会游泳不会救生术还不行，你救他的时候，他会把你拼命抱住，你自己就游不动了。 For example, if someone falls into the Huangpu River and you want to save them but cannot swim yourself, how can you save them? You must first learn to swim and then learn lifesaving techniques. Simply knowing how to swim is not enough: when you try to rescue the person, they may cling to you desperately, and then you yourself will be unable to swim.
是故佛法有六度万行，就是讲怎样救度众生的，让人知道度人的方法。先自度再度他，这就是菩萨乘。第五是佛乘，明白一切众生都有这个无漏智性，和佛无二无别。同释迦牟尼佛、药师佛、阿弥陀佛等都一样没有分别。 Therefore, the Buddhadharma teaches the six perfections and myriad practices, explaining how to liberate sentient beings and enabling people to understand the methods of helping others across. First liberate oneself, then liberate others: this is the bodhisattva vehicle. The fifth is the Buddha vehicle. It recognizes that all sentient beings possess this undefiled wisdom-nature, no different from that of the Buddha. There is no difference between them and Śākyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Amitābha Buddha, and the like.
我们只因妄想执着，误认色身为我，不知道这个知觉性就是我们的法身。现在应赶快回头，一切放下，恢复自己本有的智慧德相，圆成佛果，这就是佛乘。所谓佛教有五乘区别，实则都是一心所造，就是由于大家发心程度不同，佛教才分为五乘。 It is only because of deluded thoughts and attachment that we mistakenly take this physical body to be the self and do not know that this capacity for awareness is our dharmakāya. We should now turn back without delay, let go of everything, restore our own inherent wisdom and virtuous characteristics, and perfect the fruition of Buddhahood. This is the Buddha vehicle. Although Buddhism is said to distinguish five vehicles, in truth they are all created by one mind; it is only because people differ in the degree of their aspiration that Buddhism is divided into five vehicles.
佛教育我们只有一真法界——佛性是真，其它一切都是虚假，都是无常的。我们住的这个地球也不例外，它在成、住、坏、空四个劫中轮回生灭。成、住、坏、空各是一个中劫，一个中劫合二十个小劫而成。 The Buddha teaches us that there is only the One True Dharma Realm: Buddha-nature is real, while everything else is false and impermanent. The earth on which we dwell is no exception. It cycles through arising, abiding, decay, and emptiness in four kalpas. Each of arising, abiding, decay, and emptiness is a middle kalpa, and each middle kalpa consists of twenty small kalpas.
四个中劫为一个大劫，一个大劫一过，地球就要坏了。科学家也说，将来地球要和别的行星相撞，发生大火被烧毁。佛经也讲到是大火烧坏地球。现在就不去讲它了。总而言之，一切无常，无可执取。 Four middle kalpas make one great kalpa. When a great kalpa has passed, the earth will be destroyed. Scientists also say that in the future the earth will collide with another planet and be consumed by a great fire. The Buddhist sūtras likewise say that a great fire will destroy the earth. We shall not discuss this now. In short, everything is impermanent, and nothing can be clung to.
所以学佛就是“观无常”，也就是叫我们一切放下，不要执着，根本没有长久的、真实的东西。 Therefore, to study Buddhism is to “contemplate impermanence.” That is, we are told to let go of everything and not cling, for there is fundamentally nothing lasting or real.
我们生在这个世界上，长寿者一百多岁，转眼就过去了，何况长寿并不多见，又何必斤斤计较于声、色、货、利，而不宽恕对人呢？！比如我们乘汽车，被别人碰一下就吵起来了。人家不是有意碰你的，不要这么斤斤计较。 We are born into this world, and even those who live past a hundred see their lives pass in the blink of an eye. Besides, long life is rare. Why then be so calculating over fame, sensual pleasures, wealth, and profit, instead of being forgiving toward others? For example, when we ride on a bus, we may quarrel as soon as someone bumps into us. They did not bump into you intentionally, so do not be so petty and calculating.
我见报上有一段记载，很发人深思：一位体育记者去国外采访，因为走路走的太急，不小心，一脚踩在一位外国老者的脚上。 I once read a newspaper account that gave much food for thought: a sports reporter was interviewing people abroad. Because he was walking too hurriedly and carelessly, he stepped on an elderly foreign man's foot.
这位外国老者反过来向他道歉：“对不起、对不起，是我走的慢，阻碍了你，假如我走快点，你就踩不着我的脚了”。这位记者只觉得脸红。因为是他踩了别人，人家反而向他道歉。看！人家有这么高的修养。 The elderly man instead apologized to him: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was walking too slowly and held you up. If I had walked faster, you would not have stepped on my foot.” The reporter could only blush. He had stepped on someone else’s foot, yet the other person apologized to him. Look at the refinement of that person’s character.
假如我们都有这样的精神，这个社会就安宁了，就不会发生争吵了，学佛就是教育我们做个符合人格的人，更向上，做个超人，大家都有高尚的情操，时时处处都能退己让人。这样社会安宁，国家富强，世界也不会发生战争了。 If we all possessed such a spirit, society would be peaceful and disputes would not arise. Learning Buddhism teaches us first to become persons of sound character and, further still, to become extraordinary persons. If everyone possessed noble sentiments and could yield themselves to others at all times and in all places, society would be peaceful, the nation prosperous and strong, and wars would not occur in the world.
所以佛教对整个世界都是有好处的。因此，时时刻刻要观我无常，我们都是到这个世界上来做客的。诗人李白说：“夫天地者，万物之逆旅；光阴者，百代之过客”。 Thus Buddhism benefits the whole world. Therefore, at every moment we should contemplate the impermanence of the self. We are all merely guests in this world. The poet Li Bai said: “Heaven and earth are the inn for the myriad things; time is the passing guest of a hundred generations.”
天地是个大旅馆，我们不过在里面住一下就要离去了，为什么不讲礼貌，执着不放，不宽待别人呢？！所以学佛要退己让人，把自己的一切执着、贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑消尽，才能成道。 Heaven and earth are a great inn. We merely stay in it for a while before departing. Why, then, should we fail to be courteous, cling stubbornly, and not treat others generously? Therefore, in learning Buddhism we must yield ourselves to others and eradicate all our attachments, greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. Only then can we realize the Way.
我们之所以有贪心，就是因为误认色身为我，要享受，想长寿。 The reason we have greed is that we mistakenly take this physical body to be the self. We seek enjoyment and wish for long life.
秦始皇当了皇帝之后，想长寿，永远享受做皇帝的乐趣，派人觅仙丹，正是贪心的幻现，现在社会不安宁，贪污、贿赂风盛，也是贪心在作祟，我们假如醒悟了一切皆幻，不可得，还贪什么？还是尽一己之力，为大众谋福利，积点德吧。 After Qin Shi Huang became emperor, he wished to live a long life and enjoy forever the pleasures of being emperor. He sent people to seek an elixir of immortality. This was precisely a manifestation of greed. Today society is unsettled, and corruption and bribery are rampant; greed is also at work behind them. If we awaken to the fact that all things are illusory and unobtainable, what is there left to covet? We should instead do our utmost to seek the welfare of the public and accumulate some virtue.
俗语说的好：“留万金于子，不如积德贻子一经”。这是告诫后人留金钱给子孙不好，不如教诫后人造福积德好。如我们知道一切虚幻无常就不贪取执着了，不执着就放下了，放下就心空了，心空本性就现前了，也就了生死了。 As a common saying goes: “Leaving ten thousand pieces of gold to one’s children is not as good as leaving them a single classic on accumulating virtue.” This warns later generations that it is not good merely to leave money to one’s descendants; it is better to teach them to create blessings and accumulate virtue. If we know that everything is illusory and impermanent, we will no longer grasp or cling. Without clinging, we let go; once we let go, the mind becomes empty; when the mind is empty, our intrinsic nature appears before us, and we are liberated from birth and death.
这是很简单的道理。懂得这个道理很容易，但做起来就不那么简单了。因为执着的习气太深了！让你放，你放不下来。所以我们时时刻刻要学习锻炼，与自己作斗争，才能慢慢地将这执着的旧习渐渐消尽。 This principle is very simple. It is easy to understand, but not so easy to put into practice, because our habitual tendency to cling is too deep. When you are told to let go, you cannot do so. Therefore, we must constantly study and train, struggle against ourselves, and only then can we gradually eliminate these old habits of attachment.
大乘佛教的四弘誓愿就是：法门无量誓愿学；烦恼无尽誓愿断；众生无边誓愿度；佛道无上誓愿成。要发这四弘誓愿，时时刻刻、兢兢业业的督促自己用功。不只是为自了。六度万行就是施、戒、忍、精、禅、慧。 The four great vows of Mahāyāna Buddhism are: “Dharma gates are boundless; I vow to learn them. Afflictions are inexhaustible; I vow to cut them off. Sentient beings are limitless; I vow to liberate them. The Buddha Way is unsurpassable; I vow to attain it.” We must arouse these four great vows and conscientiously urge ourselves at every moment to practice diligently. It is not merely for our own liberation. The six perfections and myriad practices are generosity, precepts, patience, diligence, dhyāna, and wisdom.
第一个就是布施。为什么要修布施呢？就是要断掉我们的吝啬心，执着心。我们都执着吝啬得很，不肯舍。肯舍那么心量就大了。 The first is generosity. Why cultivate generosity? It is to cut off our stinginess and attachment. We are all extremely attached and miserly, unwilling to give. Once we are willing to give, our mind-capacity becomes vast.
第二是持戒，是指戒心不动。如果你心常常在动，妄念丛生就不行。 The second is observing the precepts, which means keeping the mind from being stirred. If your mind is constantly agitated and deluded thoughts arise in profusion, that will not do.
第三是忍辱，并不是说我们要发火了，硬压制自己把这股火气捺下去。不是！那样肝火旺会生病的。那怎么办呢？要观空，一切都不可得，连“我”也没有。 The third is patience. This does not mean that, when we are about to lose our temper, we forcibly suppress our anger. No. If we did that, excessive liver-fire would make us ill. What should we do instead? Contemplate emptiness: nothing whatsoever can be obtained, and even the “self” does not exist.
既无我，哪有辱呢？没有我谁来受这个污辱？如此观察，即如《金刚经》所说：“无我相、无人相、无众生相、无寿者相”。无人、我，辱从何来？既无辱又何须忍呢？不忍之忍，是为大忍。 If there is no self, where can there be insult? Without a self, who is there to undergo the insult? Contemplate in this way and, as the Diamond Sūtra says, there is “no mark of self, no mark of person, no mark of sentient being, and no mark of life span.” Without person or self, whence could insult arise? If there is no insult, what need is there for patience? Patience without the notion of patience is great patience.
因为一切都没有，一切色相都是因缘合成。“因缘所生法，我说即是空”。因为一切事物本身没有，都是因缘相聚之后才有的。所以就不要再着相了，不着相，那么你心就空了，心空了辱也就没有了。 For nothing has any independent existence; all forms arise through the coming together of causes and conditions. “Dharmas arising from causes and conditions, I declare to be empty.” Things do not exist in themselves; they exist only after causes and conditions converge. Therefore, do not cling to appearances any longer. Without clinging to appearances, your mind becomes empty, and when the mind is empty, insult likewise disappears.
第四是要精进。修法、学佛就是要精进。如何精进呢？就是勤除自己的妄习。所以净土宗一天要念几万遍佛号，就是为扫除我们的妄想、妄念。因为我们妄想不停，妄念多端。一天到晚妄念在脑筋里转，没有停的时候。 The fourth is diligence. Practicing the Dharma and learning Buddhism require diligence. How should one be diligent? By diligently eliminating one’s deluded habits. That is why practitioners in the Pure Land school recite the Buddha’s name tens of thousands of times each day: to sweep away deluded imaginings and deluded thoughts. Our deluded imaginings never cease, and deluded thoughts arise in countless forms. From morning to night, they turn endlessly in our minds.
只有坐下来念佛的时候才看见妄念。这个念头起了，那个念头来了。当你忙忙碌碌的时候，看不见妄念，还以为没有妄念。实际是妄念不停，你没有看见。 Only when we sit down to recite the Buddha’s name do we see the deluded thoughts: this thought arises, then that thought comes. When you are busily occupied, you do not see your deluded thoughts and may even think that you have none. In fact, they never cease; you simply do not see them.
这就犹如一杯浑水，浑的时候，你看不见泥沙，待泥沙沉淀下去，上面水清了，才能看见泥沙。所以，当我们妄念、妄心清静下来，才能看见妄念在不停的动。我们打坐、念佛看见妄念是好事。因为心逐渐清静了。 This is like a cup of muddy water. While it is turbid, you cannot see the sand and silt. When the sand and silt settle and the water above becomes clear, only then can you see them. Likewise, only when our deluded thoughts and deluded mind become calm can we see that deluded thoughts are continuously moving. It is a good thing when we see deluded thoughts while meditating or reciting the Buddha’s name, for the mind is gradually becoming calm.
有人说他打坐时看见妄念不好，还是不打坐好。不打坐看不见妄念，看不见妄念他以为就没有。不是！妄念永远不会息，不会停。所以我们做功夫要精进不懈，朝于斯，夕于斯，流离于斯，颠沛于斯。 Some people say that seeing deluded thoughts during meditation is bad, and that it would be better not to meditate. When they do not meditate, they cannot see their deluded thoughts, and they imagine that there are none. But this is not so. Deluded thoughts never cease and never stop. Therefore, we must practice diligently and without slackening: in this at dawn, in this at dusk; in this when displaced, in this when distressed.
时时刻刻观照，念头一起就看见它，不跟它跑。我们果真能这样精进不懈地做功夫，不过三、五年，就能打开来，见到自己的本性。有人修行许多年也不行，这是什么缘故？就是时时刻刻还在动念头，没有看住它，没有精进。 At every moment, maintain contemplation. As soon as a thought arises, see it and do not follow it. If we truly practice in this diligent and unremitting way, within three to five years we can break through and see our own intrinsic nature. Some practice for many years without success. Why? Because thoughts still arise constantly; they have not watched over them, nor have they practiced diligently.
假如时时刻刻看住它，只要三、五年就一定会把念头歇下来，一定会把身、心、世界化空，再经不断地在事境中锻炼，勤除习气，最后定能打成一片。肯定的！所以我们说修心中心法的人，要时时刻刻打坐。 If you watch over it at every moment, in only three to five years you will certainly bring thoughts to rest. You will certainly dissolve body, mind, and world into emptiness. Then, through ceaseless training amid circumstances and diligently eliminating habitual tendencies, you will ultimately become continuous and undivided. This is certain. Thus, we say that those who practice the Heart-of-Heart Dharma must meditate at every moment.
并不是打坐两小时后，下坐就放野马，任妄念蠢动，而须绵密观照，看住妄念不跟它跑。“打坐”打什么？打是打妄念，要看见念头起处不跟它走，坐就是见本性。要时时刻刻见本性才行。这个性能如影随形，要离也离不开。 This does not mean meditating for two hours and then, once you leave the cushion, letting a wild horse run free and allowing deluded thoughts to stir. Rather, you must maintain continuous and seamless contemplation, watch over deluded thoughts, and not follow them. What does “meditation” subdue? It subdues deluded thoughts: see where a thought arises and do not follow it. Sitting means seeing one’s intrinsic nature. You must see your intrinsic nature at every moment. This nature is like your shadow: you cannot leave it even if you try.
傅大士说：“夜夜抱佛眠，朝朝还共起。”夜夜睡觉是抱着佛，早上也是抱着佛一起起来。说明自性离不开啊！只要我们真肯用功，精进不懈，三、五年保你们成就。 Lay Buddhist Fu said: “Each night I sleep embracing the Buddha; each morning I rise together with him.” At night, while sleeping, one embraces the Buddha; in the morning, one rises together with the Buddha. This explains that one cannot be separated from one’s intrinsic nature. If we truly apply ourselves and practice diligently without slackening, I guarantee that you will attain realization within three to five years.
假如不是这么精进，有修无修的，高兴的时候打一坐，不高兴的时候，就不坐了。 But if you are not so diligent, practicing or not practicing as you please—meditating once when you feel happy, and not meditating when you do not—then it will not do.
或者打坐时胡思乱想，一面念佛持咒，一面脑筋里妄念不停地转，那有何用？！我们打坐，必须死心塌地的放下一切，如大死人一样，只“心念耳闻”地绵密持咒，才有入处。心念，不是嘴巴念，而是大脑思想在念。 Or if, while meditating, you indulge in random thoughts—reciting the Buddha’s name or holding a mantra on the one hand while deluded thoughts turn endlessly in your mind on the other—what use is that? When we meditate, we must let go of everything wholeheartedly, like one utterly dead, and hold the mantra continuously with “mind reciting and ears hearing.” Only then is there a point of entry. Mind reciting does not mean reciting with the mouth; it means that the mind itself is reciting.
耳朵要听清楚你念咒念佛的声音。要盯住这个声音。憨山大师说：“我们念佛持咒时，要像推重车上山，极力追顶”。推重车上山，不是轻车下山！推轻车下山，你不用费力气，“呼——”就滚下去了。 Your ears must clearly hear the sound of your own mantra or Buddha-recitation. You must keep your attention fixed on that sound. Master Hanshan said: “When we recite the Buddha’s name or hold a mantra, it should be like pushing a heavily laden cart uphill, exerting all our strength to push it onward.” It is like pushing a heavy cart uphill, not a light cart downhill. When pushing a light cart downhill, you need not exert yourself; with a whoosh, it rolls down.
车子装上很重的东西要往山上推，你不用力气能推上去吗？推不上去呀！所以念佛持咒，要像推重车上山一样用力顶。光是两个小时打坐不算数，下坐要时时观照，念起不随，三、五年保你见性。如果你们这样用功不成就，你来骂我！这句话也不是我说的，是大祖师们讲的。是经过实践证明的。 If a cart is loaded with heavy things and must be pushed uphill, can you push it up without exertion? You cannot. Therefore, when reciting the Buddha’s name or holding a mantra, you must exert yourself as if pushing a heavily laden cart uphill. Merely meditating for two hours does not count. After leaving the cushion, you must constantly maintain contemplation: when a thought arises, do not follow it. Within three to five years, I guarantee that you will see your intrinsic nature. If you practice in this way and do not attain realization, come and scold me! But these are not my words; they were spoken by the great patriarchs. They have been proven through practice.
第五是禅定。因精进不懈之故而得禅定。禅定是指对一切境界不迷惑，心不动摇，看见好的不爱，不是看见好的，心就“呼呼”乱动，想得到它，据为己有。看见不好的，逆己的事情就烦恼。 The fifth is dhyāna. Through diligent and unremitting practice, one attains dhyāna. Dhyāna means not being deluded by any circumstance and not allowing the mind to waver. When you see something good, do not become attached to it; do not let your mind leap about, wishing to acquire it and make it your own. When you encounter something unpleasant or contrary to your wishes, do not become afflicted.
心真空了，就常摄在定，遇事不惑了。说到定并不是坐在那里死了不动，更不是不能担任大事，而须照常的讲话，照样的工作，照样的走路。只是虽做一切而心不动摇。等于镜子照东西一样。 When the mind is truly empty, it remains constantly gathered in samādhi and is not deluded when events arise. Samādhi does not mean sitting there motionless as though dead, much less being unable to undertake important responsibilities. You must still speak, work, and walk as usual. It simply means that, while doing everything, the mind does not waver. It is like a mirror reflecting things.
镜子里面显现各种影相，但镜子不动。镜子没有说这个好我要，那个不好我不要。镜子它不分别，只是照物，什么东西来了就照什么。 All kinds of images appear in a mirror, yet the mirror does not move. The mirror does not say, “This is good, I want it; that is bad, I do not want it.” It does not discriminate; it merely reflects objects. Whatever comes before it, it reflects.
东西是长的就现长相，是短的就现短相，是方的就现方相，是红的就现红色，是蓝的就现蓝色，它不取不舍，毫无分别，这就叫“现量境”。这个现量境，就是我们的本来面目！大家修行，都为了要见性，要见本来面目。 If something is long, it manifests a long appearance; if short, a short appearance; if square, a square appearance; if red, red; if blue, blue. It neither takes nor rejects and makes no distinctions whatsoever. This is called the “realm of direct perception.” This realm of direct perception is our Original Face. All practitioners cultivate in order to see their intrinsic nature, to see their Original Face.
这尊贵的性——本来面目究竟在什么地方呢？它不在别处，就在当人面前放光。我们只“啪”的一切放下，虽一念不生，却非如木石无知，而是了了分明。 Where, after all, is this noble nature—our Original Face? It is not elsewhere; it shines right before each person. When we simply let go of everything with a “snap,” not a single thought arises; yet we are not unaware like wood or stone, but clearly and distinctly aware.
这了了分明的灵知，就是大家的本来面目啊！！我们于明见此性后，须时时刻刻保护这个本来面目，在荣誉或毁谤面前不动心，不理睬它，保护这个现量心。等保护纯熟了、圆满了，就不要保了，任它随缘自在，就成就大道了。所以，佛法讲起来并不难，只要我们肯做，肯放下一切，不懈地与自己斗争下去，必定能成就。 This clear and distinct numinous knowing is everyone's Original Face! Once we clearly see this nature, we must safeguard this Original Face at every moment. Before honor or slander, do not let the mind be moved; pay them no heed, and safeguard this mind of direct awareness. When this safeguarding has become fully mature and complete, there is no need to safeguard it any longer. Let it function freely in accordance with conditions, and the great Way will be accomplished. Thus, the Buddhadharma is not difficult when explained. So long as we are willing to act, willing to let go of everything, and persistently struggle with ourselves, we will certainly attain accomplishment.
第六个就是慧。就是指由禅定而开的大智慧，明白一切事物的前因后果，明白一切众生生来死去的由来。讲到生死，我们本来不生不灭，没有生死，为什么现在生死偏偏不断地现前呢？这都是识心妄动的缘故。 The sixth is wisdom. This refers to the great wisdom opened through dhyāna, by which one understands the prior causes and subsequent results of all things, and understands why all sentient beings are born and die. Speaking of birth and death, we are originally neither arising nor ceasing; there is no birth and death. Why, then, do birth and death continually appear before us now? It is because the consciousness-mind stirs delusively.
假如我们能对境不生心动念，不趣境，就无生死，所以生死是虚幻的。现在许多修佛法的人，执着死时要有个去处，还要预知去处。 If we can encounter circumstances without giving rise to mental movement or thoughts, and do not pursue circumstances, there is no birth and death. Therefore, birth and death are illusory. Nowadays, many who practice the Buddhadharma cling to having somewhere to go at death, and even seek to know in advance where they will go.
其实我们真悟道了，是没有去处的，因为我们未曾死，只随遇而安，随缘度生，逍遥自在，游戏三昧，用何去处！有人说：“你假如开悟了，应该知道死后到什么地方去，叫预知去处。假如不知去处，那就是没有悟道”。 In truth, once we have genuinely realized the Way, there is nowhere to go, because we have never died. We simply settle peacefully wherever we encounter circumstances, liberate sentient beings in accordance with conditions, and roam freely in the samādhi of playfulness—what destination could there be? Someone may say, “If you have awakened, you should know where you will go after death; this is called knowing your destination in advance. If you do not know your destination, then you have not realized the Way.”
这句话听起来好像非常正确，其实还须好好商量。因为真正悟道了，佛性是遍虚空，周法界，不动不摇，无有来去，事事都是它的显现，处处都是它的幻化。要到什么地方去呢？没有地方可去啊！假如有个地方去，岂不是未曾悟道吗？ This statement sounds quite correct, but it still requires careful examination. For when one has truly realized the Way, Buddha-nature pervades empty space and the dharma realm. It neither moves nor wavers; there is no coming or going. Every thing is its manifestation, and every place is its transformation. Where could it go? There is nowhere to go. If there were a place to go, would that not mean that one had never realized the Way?
在本书的后面讲到有两种成就：一种是在死位中有放大光时，如能认识这个光和佛放的光，一体无二，没有两样，这就是我们的本性，那我们当下就解脱了，不需要到什么地方去。 Later in this book, two kinds of attainment are discussed. One is this: when the great light shines forth in the intermediate state at the time of death, if one can recognize that this light and the light emitted by the Buddha are one and not two, without any difference, then this is our own intrinsic nature. At that very moment, one is liberated and need not go anywhere.
另一种是我们心量小，不敢承当，不知道这就是佛性，这就是和诸佛一样的体性，那你可以往生东方或西方去修持，因未悟道还有地方可去。我们真正悟道成就了，是毋须到什么地方去的。 The other is this: if our mind-capacity is small, and we do not dare to accept responsibility, not recognizing that this is Buddha-nature and the same essence-nature as that of all Buddhas, then we may take rebirth in the East or West in order to cultivate. Because one has not realized the Way, there is still somewhere to go. When we have truly realized the Way and attained accomplishment, there is no need to go anywhere.
关于涅槃有四种不同的说法。第一种是自性涅槃，我们的佛性本来是不生不灭的，不是因身体生而生，因身体死而死。一切众生的自性，法尔如是，本不生灭，亘古长存，叫自性涅槃。 There are four different teachings concerning nirvāṇa. The first is nirvāṇa of intrinsic nature. Our Buddha-nature is originally neither arising nor ceasing; it does not arise because the body is born, nor cease because the body dies. The intrinsic nature of all sentient beings is naturally so: originally neither arising nor ceasing, abiding throughout all antiquity. This is called nirvāṇa of intrinsic nature.
第二种是小乘人所证的有余涅槃，就是他们只了分段生死（分段生死就是六道轮回的生死，变易生死就是思想的一生一灭），法见未除，还有尾巴未了。 The second is nirvāṇa with remainder, realized by practitioners of the Lesser Vehicle. They have only resolved segmented birth and death (segmented birth and death is the birth and death of rebirth in the six realms; transformational birth and death is the arising and ceasing of thoughts). Their attachment to dharmas has not been removed; there is still a remainder left unresolved.
还执着法性的地、水、火、风四大种性为我，思想还没净，还有生死，所以叫有余涅槃。第三种是佛所证的圣果，叫无余涅槃。既除了人我执，又除了法我见，人、法双空，无一毫可得。 They still cling to the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind in dharmatā as self. Their thoughts have not yet been purified, and birth and death remain; hence it is called nirvāṇa with remainder. The third is the noble fruition realized by the Buddha, called nirvāṇa without remainder. Both attachment to personal self and the dharma-self view have been eliminated; person and dharmas are both empty, with not the slightest thing to be attained.
这种人、法都了，二死齐捐，变易生死，分段生死都了了，就是无余涅槃。第四种是无所住处涅槃。无所住处，就没有住的地方。无处不是，处处都是。 When both person and dharmas have been fully resolved, and the two forms of birth and death have both been relinquished—when transformational birth and death and segmented birth and death have both been fully resolved—this is nirvāṇa without remainder. The fourth is nirvāṇa without abiding anywhere. Without abiding anywhere means that there is no place in which to abide. There is no place that is not so; every place is so.
所以释迦牟尼佛离开的时候说：“我没有离开你们，我常在你们面前，眼清净的人就看见我了。眼浑浊的人是看不见的”。我们还有烦恼执着，就是眼不清净。假如烦恼执着都了了，妄念不生，就是清净法眼，处处都能见佛。所以我们不要执着于有个方所，有个地方，这才是开大智慧。大智慧云涌，这就是六度万行。 Therefore, when Śākyamuni Buddha departed, he said: “I have not left you. I am always before you; those whose eyes are pure can see me. Those whose eyes are clouded cannot see me.” We still have afflictions and attachments; this means that our eyes are impure. If afflictions and attachments are all gone and no deluded thoughts arise, then one has the pure dharma eye and can see the Buddha everywhere. Therefore, we should not cling to there being some particular location, some particular place. This is great wisdom opening forth in clouds; this is the six perfections and myriad practices.
我们要成佛，一定要行菩萨道，广度众生，积累福德，才能圆满圣果。不然，福德不全，功行不满，不能成佛。行菩萨道就是自度度他，自觉觉他。“菩提萨埵”是梵文，简称为“菩萨”。中文意译就是“觉有情”。 To become Buddhas, we must follow the bodhisattva path, liberate sentient beings extensively, and accumulate merit and virtue; only then can we perfect the noble fruition. Otherwise, if merit and virtue are incomplete and our practice has not been fulfilled, we cannot become Buddhas. Following the bodhisattva path means liberating oneself and liberating others, awakening oneself and awakening others. “Bodhisattva” is Sanskrit, abbreviated in Chinese as “pusa.” Its Chinese semantic translation is “enlightened sentient being.”
就是要把自己的情见觉破，并使有情人都能觉悟。我们人都有情见，自己的父母、子女，就尊重爱护。别人的父母、子女就不睬不顾了，这都是私情作怪。尤其是男女爱情，更是生死的根本。 This means awakening from and breaking through one’s own emotionally conditioned views, while enabling sentient beings to awaken as well. We all have emotionally conditioned views: we respect and cherish our own parents and children, but pay no attention to the parents and children of others. All this is the mischief of selfish affection. The love between men and women in particular is the very root of birth and death.
我们人为什么有这个身体？就是因为爱欲，即男女的情欲浓厚，才有这个臭皮囊的。这个爱欲不断，生死就不断。“觉有情”即自觉觉他，自度度他，这就是菩萨道。 Why do we have these bodies? It is precisely because desire and love—because sexual desire between men and women—is intense that we have these foul bags of skin. So long as this desire and love continue, birth and death continue. “Enlightened sentient being” means awakening oneself and awakening others, liberating oneself and liberating others. This is the bodhisattva path.
光成菩萨道还不行，还要历劫修行，上上升进，愿众生都成佛，才能圆证佛果。菩萨里面还有很多等级。十信、十住、十行、十回向、十地等等。大菩萨——十地菩萨和佛还差一级。 Merely accomplishing the bodhisattva path is still not enough. One must cultivate over successive eons, advancing ever higher, and vow that all sentient beings will become Buddhas; only then can one perfectly realize Buddhahood. There are also many levels among bodhisattvas: the ten faiths, ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, ten bhūmis, and so forth. A great bodhisattva—a tenth-bhūmi bodhisattva—is still one level short of Buddhahood.
作个比方，度众生时，菩萨还有出没六道之见，还有进彼道、出此道之见未断。佛呢？是尽管出入而未出入，尽管度众生而未度。佛与大菩萨就相差这么一点。所以觉行圆满即福德智慧圆满是佛，故又称佛为“两足尊”，两足即福德、智慧圆满具足。觉就是大智慧，行就是救度众生的福德，觉、行都圆满才能成佛。 To give an analogy: when liberating sentient beings, a bodhisattva still retains the notion of entering and leaving the six realms, the notion of entering that realm and leaving this one. The Buddha, however, enters and leaves without entering or leaving, and liberates sentient beings without liberating them. This is the small difference between a Buddha and a great bodhisattva. Thus, when awakening and practice are complete—that is, when merit and virtue and wisdom are complete—one is a Buddha. Hence a Buddha is also called the “Honored One Complete in the Two,” the two being the complete fulfillment of merit and virtue and of wisdom. Awakening is great wisdom; practice is the merit and virtue of liberating sentient beings. Only when both awakening and practice are complete can one become a Buddha.
佛是具足三身四智的。所谓三身者，第一是法身，第二是报身，第三是化身。现在我们所修的，都是修法身，就是要打开我们的本来面目，见到法身，所以净土宗也好，禅宗也好，密宗也好，都是为证见法身修行。 A Buddha fully possesses the three kāyas and four wisdoms. Of the three kāyas, the first is the dharmakāya, the second the sambhogakāya, and the third the nirmāṇakāya. What we cultivate now is all cultivation of the dharmakāya: we must open our Original Face and see the dharmakāya. Thus, whether it is the Pure Land school, the Chan school, or Esoteric Buddhism, all cultivate in order to realize and see the dharmakāya.
报身要怎样证得呢？证得报身叫后得智，就是要度众生积累功德。我们现在打开本来面目，见到法身，这是根本智，根本如此。后得智就是度众生而得的。 How is the sambhogakāya realized? Realizing the sambhogakāya is called differentiated wisdom: one must liberate sentient beings and accumulate merit and virtue. When we now open our Original Face and see the dharmakāya, this is fundamental wisdom; such is the root. Differentiated wisdom is obtained through liberating sentient beings.
众生习性不同，就比如有人喜欢吃辣的，有人喜欢吃甜的，有人喜欢吃酸的，口味不同。同样学佛也有凡夫禅、小乘禅、菩萨禅、大乘禅等种种的不同。众生根性不同，愿望也不同。那么学的法也不同。 Sentient beings have different dispositions. For example, some like spicy food, some like sweet food, and some like sour food; their tastes differ. Likewise, there are various differences in the study of Buddhism, such as ordinary beings’ Chan, Lesser Vehicle Chan, bodhisattva Chan, and Mahāyāna Chan. Sentient beings differ in capacity, and their aspirations also differ. Therefore, the dharmas they study differ as well.
度众生的时候，我们把这一切法门都学会了，就能应机随缘，就能得心应手而不致格格不入了。因广结善缘，尽做好事，我们福德圆满就感得报身了。 When liberating sentient beings, if we have mastered all these dharma gates, we can respond to their capacities and act in accordance with conditions. We can then handle matters skillfully, without being out of place. By broadly forming wholesome affinities and doing all good deeds, when our merit and virtue are complete, we will bring about the sambhogakāya.
假如不为众生做事情，我们的福德从何而来呢？不为人类造福，光为自己，那是自了汉，没有福德。谚云：“罗汉供应薄”，光为自己了，是不能成佛的。所以报身是因地发心，福德圆满后得的果报。 If we do nothing for sentient beings, where will our merit and virtue come from? If we do not benefit humankind and act only for ourselves, we are self-liberated persons and have no merit and virtue. As the saying goes, “Arhats receive meager offerings.” One who is liberated only for oneself cannot become a Buddha. Thus, the sambhogakāya is the karmic result obtained when the resolve is aroused at the causal stage and merit and virtue have been perfected.
《华严经》说得很清楚，善财童子看见弥勒菩萨（就是我们说的兜率天的弥勒菩萨）的报身时感叹：多么庄严，多么美好！弥勒菩萨对善财童子讲：“你根本智是得到了，后得智还没有得到，报身还没有。 The Avataṃsaka Sūtra explains this very clearly. When Sudhana saw the sambhogakāya of Maitreya Bodhisattva—Maitreya Bodhisattva of Tuṣita Heaven, of whom we speak—he exclaimed, “How majestic! How beautiful!” Maitreya Bodhisattva said to Sudhana: “You have attained fundamental wisdom, but have not yet attained differentiated wisdom; you do not yet have the sambhogakāya.”
我呢？就是度众生的缘故，才福德圆满，感召弥勒阁，感召这个光明报身”。报身也有两种，一种是自受用报身，一种是他受用报身。 “As for me, it is because I liberate sentient beings that my merit and virtue have become complete, bringing forth Maitreya’s Pavilion and this luminous sambhogakāya.” There are also two kinds of sambhogakāya: the self-enjoyment sambhogakāya and the other-enjoyment sambhogakāya.
自受用报身就是功德巍巍所感得的大身，他受用报身就是吸引菩萨向上用功的，大小不一定，小菩萨现小报身，大菩萨现大报身。菩萨看到这光明美满的报身，会激发勇猛精进心，更加努力用功，以希早日也证到这美好的报身。 The self-enjoyment sambhogakāya is the great body brought about by towering merit and virtue. The other-enjoyment sambhogakāya draws bodhisattvas to strive upward in practice; its size is not fixed. For lesser bodhisattvas, a lesser sambhogakāya appears; for great bodhisattvas, a great sambhogakāya appears. When bodhisattvas see this luminous and perfect sambhogakāya, it inspires courageous and diligent resolve, and they strive even harder, hoping soon to realize this beautiful sambhogakāya as well.
以前，释迦牟尼佛看见另外一尊佛，入光明三昧叫火光三昧，身相好得不得了，非常羡慕，心想，我也要有这个报身！他精进用功，不懈的努力，于是提前七劫成就。所以，一个人成佛时间的长短，不是一个定数。 In the past, Śākyamuni Buddha saw another Buddha enter a luminous samādhi called the Fire-Light Samādhi. That Buddha’s bodily marks were incomparably splendid, and Śākyamuni greatly admired them, thinking, “I too want such a sambhogakāya!” He practiced diligently and made unceasing effort, thereby attaining accomplishment seven eons early. Thus, the time it takes a person to become a Buddha is not fixed.
我们说“三大阿僧祗”劫成佛，这个阿僧祗，就是不可知之时，时间长短不是一定的，就看我们怎么做功夫，我们用功勇猛精进，时间就短，如果懈懈怠怠，因因循循，时间就长。 We speak of becoming a Buddha in three great asaṃkhyeya eons. Asaṃkhyeya means an incalculable period of time. Its duration is not fixed; it depends on how we practice. If we apply ourselves with courageous diligence, the time is shorter. If we are lax and procrastinating, the time is longer.
最好的例子就是阿难尊者，他和释迦牟尼佛是同时发心学佛的，等到释迦牟尼佛已经成了果地佛了，阿难尊者还未开悟呢！你们看相差多大。《楞严经》就是度阿难的。 The best example is Venerable Ānanda. He and Śākyamuni Buddha aroused the resolve to study Buddhism at the same time, yet by the time Śākyamuni Buddha had already become a Buddha of fruition, Venerable Ānanda had still not awakened. See how great the difference was. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra was taught in order to liberate Ānanda.
可见成就早晚，就看我们怎么用功，懈懈怠怠的不行！阿难尊者是多闻第一，他只喜欢听这个佛如何讲，那个佛如何讲，听了很多很多，他知识很丰富，但没有用功，所以不行。我们要勇猛用功，勇猛精进时间就短了。 This shows that the timing of attainment depends on how we apply ourselves; laxness will not do. Venerable Ānanda was foremost in learning. He only enjoyed hearing how this Buddha taught and how that Buddha taught. He heard very, very much and possessed abundant knowledge, but he did not apply himself in practice, so it was ineffective. We must practice with courage and diligence; then the time will be shorter.
要证得报身，要得后得智，就要度众生，不然只成个罗汉果，不得报身。 To realize the sambhogakāya and attain differentiated wisdom, one must liberate sentient beings. Otherwise, one can attain only the fruition of an arhat and will not obtain the sambhogakāya.
化身呢？化身圆满自在，变化无碍，是应众生之机缘而显现的，就像《观世音菩萨普门品》里所说：“应以居士身得度者，即现居士身而为说法；应以宰官身得度者，即现宰官身而为说法”。 What about the nirmāṇakāya? The nirmāṇakāya is perfect and free, able to manifest transformations without obstruction. It appears in response to the capacities and conditions of sentient beings, as stated in the Universal Gateway Chapter of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva: “To those who can be liberated by the body of a lay practitioner, it manifests the body of a lay practitioner and teaches the Dharma; to those who can be liberated by the body of an official, it manifests the body of an official and teaches the Dharma.”
如何证得化身呢？就是功夫要做到微细流注断灭，什么叫微细流注呢？就是法相宗所说的五遍行心所（就是作意、触、受、想、思）中的意，即作意。 How does one realize the nirmāṇakāya? One must bring one’s practice to the point where the subtle continuous stream is cut off. What is this subtle continuous stream? It is the mental factor of intention—namely, attention—among the five universal mental factors taught by the Dharma Characteristics School: attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition.
这个作意最坏，时刻在分别，什么事情它都要分别，而且它像潜水员一样，在深水底下动，不在上面动，看不见，动得快的很，要到我们最后做到金刚萨埵定，也就是大定，才能把这个微细流注斩断。 This attention is the worst of all: it is constantly discriminating, making distinctions about everything. Like a diver, it moves beneath deep water rather than on the surface, where it cannot be seen; and it moves with great speed. Only when we finally attain the Great Samādhi of Vajrasattva—that is, great samādhi—can we cut off this subtle continuous stream.
那我们就能现百千万亿化身，度百千万亿众生了。要圆成佛果，就是要成就这三身。“四智”呢？就是由八识转的，叫转识成智，即转第八识为大圆镜智，转第七识为平等性智，转第六识为妙观察智，转前五识为成所作智。 Then we can manifest hundreds of thousands of millions of transformation bodies and liberate hundreds of thousands of millions of sentient beings. To perfect the fruition of Buddhahood is to accomplish these three bodies. What are the four wisdoms? They are transformed from the eight consciousnesses; this is called transforming consciousness into wisdom: transforming the eighth consciousness into great perfect mirror wisdom, the seventh consciousness into the wisdom of equality, the sixth consciousness into wondrous observing wisdom, and the first five consciousnesses into the wisdom of accomplishing what is to be done.
八识转为四智，要分四步，就是六、七因中转，八、五果上圆。我们现在在事境中做断除习气的功夫，就是转六识、七识。转第六识就是把我们的分别心，转成不分别而只观察的心。 The transformation of the eight consciousnesses into the four wisdoms proceeds in four steps: the sixth and seventh are transformed at the causal stage, while the eighth and fifth are perfected at the stage of fruition. Our present work of eliminating habitual tendencies amid circumstances is the transformation of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. To transform the sixth consciousness is to transform our discriminating mind into a mind that does not discriminate but merely observes.
我们生来就喜欢分别，这个怎么样，那个怎么样。好的要，坏的就不要，人我是非太多，一天到晚都在分别当中生活，所以妄念纷飞，生死不了。第七识是传送识，等于我们单位的门房，把六识送来的信息都传到第八识里去。 From birth, we like to make distinctions: this is one way, that is another way. We want what is good and reject what is bad; there are too many discriminations of self and others, right and wrong. We live amid discrimination all day long, so deluded thoughts fly about and we cannot transcend birth and death. The seventh consciousness is the transmitting consciousness. It is like the gatekeeper of an organization, transmitting to the eighth consciousness all the information sent by the first six consciousnesses.
第八识是储藏识，等于我们的仓库，接受第七识的信息，把它藏到里面。第八识的种子多得不得了，多生历劫的种子都在里面。要把这些种子都断掉，这可不容易，要到十地菩萨才能断光。所以我们要加紧做功夫。 The eighth consciousness is the storing consciousness. It is like our warehouse: it receives the information from the seventh consciousness and stores it within. The seeds in the eighth consciousness are innumerable—the seeds of many lives and kalpas are all within it. It is not easy to eliminate all these seeds; only a tenth-bhūmi bodhisattva can eradicate them completely. Therefore, we must diligently intensify our practice.
“六、七因中转”，就是现在因地修行时须着力转换，才能进而转八、五识，圆成佛果。也就是说，第八识和前五识要到后来才能转成大圆镜智而圆证佛果。 “The sixth and seventh are transformed at the causal stage” means that we must exert ourselves in transforming them during practice at the causal stage; only then can we proceed to transform the eighth and fifth consciousnesses and perfect the fruition of Buddhahood. In other words, only later are the eighth consciousness and the first five consciousnesses transformed into great perfect mirror wisdom, thereby fully realizing the fruition of Buddhahood.
现在一切众生的第八识是昏啊，它什么东西都要，不论好坏，它都抓住不放。到大圆镜智时，它就只照不动了，就不要了。前五识就是眼、耳、鼻、舌、身。它是对外的。 At present, the eighth consciousness of all sentient beings is deluded: it takes hold of everything, good or bad, and refuses to let go. Upon becoming great perfect mirror wisdom, it merely reflects without stirring and no longer grasps. The first five consciousnesses are those of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. They are directed outward.
我们平常说：“兄弟八个一个痴”，第八识是痴，不管好坏它都接受。“五个门前做买卖”，就是我们的眼、耳、鼻、舌、身。眼贪色，耳闻声，鼻嗅香，舌尝味，身触境，都是对外的。 We commonly say, “Of eight brothers, one is foolish.” The eighth consciousness is foolish: it accepts everything, whether good or bad. “Five conduct business before the gate” refers to our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. The eye craves forms, the ear hears sounds, the nose smells fragrances, the tongue tastes flavors, and the body contacts objects. All are directed outward.
“一个往来传消息”就是第七识，接受前面六识传给它的信息，送往第八识里藏起来。“其中一个最灵利”就是第六识，势力最强。所以要圆成三身四智才能成佛，不是一悟道就成了，还差得远呢！要好好用功才行。 “One carries messages back and forth” refers to the seventh consciousness, which receives the information conveyed to it by the preceding six consciousnesses and sends it to the eighth consciousness to be stored. “One among them is the most keen and capable” refers to the sixth consciousness, whose power is greatest. Thus, only by perfecting the three bodies and four wisdoms can one become a Buddha. One does not become a Buddha merely upon realizing the Way; one is still far from it. One must practice diligently.
佛教的根本是大乘教义，不是小乘教。小乘教是为自己，大乘教是为大家。“愿众生先我成佛”，是大心菩萨。你们大家都先成佛，我最后成佛。就要这样发心。 The foundation of Buddhism is Mahāyāna teaching, not Hīnayāna teaching. Hīnayāna teaching is for oneself; Mahāyāna teaching is for everyone. “May sentient beings attain Buddhahood before I do”—this is the aspiration of a great-resolve bodhisattva. All of you should become Buddhas first; I shall become a Buddha last. This is how one should arouse the resolve.
现在的人不是这样想，别说成佛了，就是一点小利益，都争先恐后往前抢，哎哟！我第一个，我第一个，排队我站第一个，他要捷足先登，这就是凡夫心。所以学佛心量要大，越大越先成佛。要发大心，才合乎佛教为法为人的精神。 People today do not think this way. Let alone Buddhahood, even for a small benefit they scramble to get ahead: “Oh! I am first, I am first!” When lining up, they want to stand first and get there before everyone else. This is the mind of ordinary beings. Therefore, in studying Buddhism, one’s mind-capacity must be great; the greater it is, the sooner one will become a Buddha. One must arouse a great resolve in order to accord with Buddhism’s spirit of serving the Dharma and benefiting others.
前面这些道理，都是佛教徒容易知道的，但是生死问题如何解决呢？学佛从何处下手呢？使很多学佛人都感到茫然。有一些老太公、老太太只知道念佛烧香，对这个问题并不知道。 The principles discussed above are readily known to Buddhists, but how is the problem of birth and death to be resolved? Where does one begin in studying Buddhism? These questions leave many Buddhist practitioners at a loss. Some elderly men and women know only to recite the Buddha’s name and burn incense; they do not understand this question.
还有一些人用功打坐得到点境界和消息，去向某些大师请教，大师说：“抱歉，我不知道，不敢瞎说”。他不敢讲，因为他自己未修法，没有功夫，怎么知道生死问题如何解决呢？实际上佛教把这些道理讲的很清楚。 Others gain a little experience or indication through diligent seated meditation and then seek instruction from certain masters. The masters say, “I am sorry, I do not know and dare not speak carelessly.” They dare not explain, because they themselves have not practiced the Dharma and lack accomplishment. How, then, could they know how the problem of birth and death is resolved? In fact, Buddhism explains these principles very clearly.
一个是竖出三界（欲界、色界、无色界），就是通过学禅、学密，把我们执着的习气，贪、嗔、痴都消了，就出去了。一个是横超三界，就是学净土宗——念佛。求佛慈悲接引往生西方极乐世界。 One way is vertical transcendence of the three realms—the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm. Through studying Chan or Esoteric Buddhism, one eliminates one’s clinging habitual tendencies, greed, anger, and ignorance, and thereby leaves them behind. The other is horizontal transcendence of the three realms: studying the Pure Land school and practicing Buddha-recitation, seeking the Buddha’s compassionate guidance for rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.
所以很多人学禅、学净、学密等，这些人知道从何处入手，但对于成佛有什么把握？他们没有深入理解佛教的深奥道理，当然就不知道了。 Thus, many people study Chan, Pure Land, Esoteric Buddhism, and so forth. They know where to begin, but how certain are they of becoming Buddhas? They have not deeply understood Buddhism’s profound principles, so naturally they do not know.
至于有没有把握，其实是有办法测验的，就是两头取证：一个是顺境得意头，一切都顺当符合自己心意的时候；另一个是逆境烦恼头，任何事情都不遂心，处处倒霉、失败。 As for whether one has such certainty, there is in fact a way to test it: verify it at two extremes. One is when favorable circumstances bring success and everything goes smoothly according to one’s wishes; the other is when adverse circumstances bring afflictions, nothing goes as one wishes, and one meets misfortune and failure everywhere.
顺境时，心能不动，不喜而忘形，还是佛念当前；逆境烦恼时，也不忧忿难当，仍是佛念当前。这两样能做到，念佛人临命终时，往生西方就有十足把握。 In favorable circumstances, can the mind remain unmoved, without becoming so delighted that one loses all composure, while Buddha-remembrance still remains foremost? In adverse circumstances and afflictions, can one likewise remain free of unbearable anxiety and resentment, with Buddha-remembrance still foremost? If one can accomplish these two things, then at the time of death a practitioner of Buddha-recitation can be completely certain of rebirth in the Western Pure Land.
假如处顺境就得意忘形，忘乎所以，佛号一点也提不起，只知道开心、快活；处逆境烦恼时，又是痛苦不堪，提不起佛号，那么生西就没有把握了。 If, upon encountering favorable circumstances, one becomes carried away and forgets oneself, unable even to bring up the Buddha’s name and knowing only pleasure and enjoyment; and if, upon encountering adverse circumstances and afflictions, one suffers unbearably and cannot bring up the Buddha’s name, then one has no certainty of rebirth in the West.
可能有人会问：“恐怕不对吧！我们死后中阴身出来，佛要接引我们的，不是就有把握了吗？”唉！要知道佛是不说谎话、假话、不打妄语的。佛是一定要来接引我们的。 Perhaps someone may ask, “That does not seem right. When our intermediate-state body emerges after death, will not the Buddha come to guide us? Would that not make rebirth certain?” Ah, you must know that the Buddha does not speak lies, falsehoods, or deceptive words. The Buddha will certainly come to guide us.
但是由于我们颠倒烦恼执着的缘故，就像喝醉了老酒，昏昏迷迷的，佛来接引我们，我们却看不见，那我们怎么去呢？所以莲池大师说：“念佛者多，生西者少”。莲池大师是净土宗的大德，他是不会说谎话吓人的。 Yet because of our inverted views, afflictions, and attachments, we are like people drunk on strong wine—dazed and confused. When the Buddha comes to guide us, we cannot see him. How, then, can we go? Therefore, Master Lianchi said, “Many recite the Buddha’s name, but few are reborn in the West.” Master Lianchi was a great master of the Pure Land school; he would not have lied merely to frighten people.
为什么“念佛者多，生西者少”呢？就是念佛心不痛切故。 Why are there “many who recite the Buddha’s name, but few who are reborn in the West”? It is because their minds are not earnest and heartfelt in Buddha-recitation.
嘴上念佛，脑筋、思想却在不断地乱转，想这想那，我们看见很多老太太、老太公一面念佛，一面还在说张家长、李家短，这样念佛能起什么作用？没有一心念佛，思想还很乱。 They recite the Buddha’s name with their mouths, while their minds and thoughts continue to race about, thinking of this and that. We see many elderly women and men who, while reciting the Buddha’s name, still gossip about the affairs of one family or another. What effect can such Buddha-recitation have? They lack one-pointed Buddha-recitation, and their thoughts remain very scattered.
所以，释迦牟尼佛教导我们：执持名号，若一日、若二日乃至七日，一心不乱，彼佛现前。 Therefore, Śākyamuni Buddha taught us: “Hold fast to the name for one day, two days, or even seven days, with one-pointedness of mind without distraction; then that Buddha will appear before you.”
我们若能一心不乱，就看见佛现在我们面前了，我们心乱糟糟的，佛即使来了也看不见哪！永明寿禅师说得很清楚：“念佛人的心，好比一盆水，佛就等于天上的月亮。”水清净了，月亮就现在里面了。 If we can attain one-pointedness of mind without distraction, we will see the Buddha appear before us. But if our minds are in a state of confusion, we will not see the Buddha even if he comes. Chan Master Yongming Shou explained this very clearly: “The mind of one who recites the Buddha’s name is like a basin of water, while the Buddha is like the moon in the sky.” When the water becomes clear and pure, the moon appears within it.
我们心乱，即如这盆水浑浊，月亮就现不出来。我们也看不见佛。佛是无所从来，亦无所从去的，只不过在我们心中现出形象叫如来。 When our minds are confused, it is like this basin of turbid water: the moon cannot appear, and neither can we see the Buddha. The Buddha comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; it is only when an image appears in our minds that he is called the Tathāgata.
净土宗的行人，净业成熟，快要往生时，佛就在他心中现起形象，我们念阿弥陀佛，佛就在西方现形应我们，故名感应道交。说到佛显相接引众生也有等级，因为功夫不同，所见相就不同。所以往生西方分九品。下品人只能见到化身佛，中品人看见报身佛，上品人才能见到法身佛，也就是常寂光佛。 When the pure karma of a Pure Land practitioner matures and rebirth is near, the Buddha’s image arises in that person’s mind. When we recite Amitābha Buddha, the Buddha manifests in the West in response to us; this is called the communion of response and accord. The Buddha’s manifestation in guiding sentient beings also has grades, for according to one’s accomplishment, the form one sees differs. Thus, rebirth in the West is divided into nine grades. Those of the lowest grade can see only a nirmāṇakāya Buddha; those of the middle grade see a sambhogakāya Buddha; only those of the highest grade can see a dharmakāya Buddha—that is, the Buddha of the Land of Eternal Quiescent Light.
修法、了生死，有三种实证功夫。第一种我们真能做到念起不随，念头一起就化去，毫不停滞，就像水上画图一样，在水上一划，水就合拢了。没有一点影子，没有一点痕迹。 There are three kinds of actual realization in practice for transcending birth and death. First, one must truly be able not to follow a thought when it arises: as soon as a thought arises, it dissolves without the slightest pause, like drawing on water. With a single stroke upon water, the water closes again, leaving not the slightest image or trace.
如鸟过长空，无有行迹，就能于生死岸头得自在，要到哪里就能到哪里，不为业力所支配，就是受生自在。第二种，我们能够于前面讲过的两种境界，好的一头，坏的一头，都是平平常常，心一点也不波动。 Like a bird crossing the vast sky, leaving no track of its flight, one can thereby attain freedom at the threshold of birth and death: one can go wherever one wishes, is not controlled by karmic force, and has mastery over taking rebirth. Second, amid the two conditions discussed earlier—the favorable and the adverse—one remains completely ordinary and the mind does not stir in the least.
我们的心没有好的喜欢，不好的就烦恼，那么分段生死就了了。所以说，参禅刚开悟的人分段生死并没有了。 When our minds do not delight in what is good or become troubled by what is not good, then segmented birth and death is ended. Therefore, for those who have just awakened through Chan inquiry, segmented birth and death has not yet ended.
为什么呢？因为习气重，还未消除，心还不能不逐境生情，教下说为思惑未除，分段生死未了，所以净土宗的人批评禅宗，说禅宗人虽然开悟了，但分段生死未了，不如净土稳妥，即是这思惑未断之故。 Why? Because their habitual tendencies are strong and have not yet been eliminated; their minds still cannot avoid giving rise to feelings in response to circumstances. In the doctrinal teachings, this is called the failure to eliminate thought-delusions; therefore segmented birth and death has not ended. For this reason, Pure Land practitioners criticize the Chan school, saying that although Chan practitioners have awakened, their segmented birth and death has not ended, and Pure Land is more secure and reliable. This is because thought-delusions have not yet been cut off.
教下将粗分无明为见惑与思惑。思惑就是思想对境而生心；见惑就是知见。认识了什么是正路，什么是邪路；什么是真，什么是妄，再不走错路，再不颠倒执著，就是见惑断了。 The doctrinal teachings divide the coarse aspect of ignorance into view-delusions and thought-delusions. Thought-delusions are the mind’s arising in response to objects and circumstances; view-delusions are erroneous views. Once one recognizes what is the right path and what is the wrong path, what is true and what is false, no longer takes the wrong path, and no longer clings with inverted views, then view-delusions have been eliminated.
见惑容易断，思惑难断哪！人的习气总是见到好的爱，见到坏的就厌恶、烦恼，心不平衡，总在妄动，住执难舍，所以生死不能了，还是要在六道中轮回，出不了生死。做到第一种，念起不随，就能做到受生自在。 The afflictions of views are easy to sever, but the afflictions of thought are difficult to sever! Habitual tendencies always make people love what they see as good and hate and become troubled by what they see as bad. The mind lacks equanimity; it is constantly stirred by delusion, and abiding attachments are hard to relinquish. Therefore, one cannot transcend birth and death, but must continue to revolve in the six realms, unable to escape birth and death. When one accomplishes the first kind—when thoughts arise, do not follow them—one can attain mastery over taking rebirth.
“受生”，就是投胎能作主了，要到那里就到那里，要到西方就到西方，要到东方就到东方，不受业力的牵缠，自己能作主了。做到第二种，心不随境牵，即能变化自在，了脱生死了。 “Taking rebirth” means being able to choose one’s rebirth: going wherever one wishes, to the West if one wishes to go West, or to the East if one wishes to go East. One is no longer bound by karmic forces and can be one’s own master. When one accomplishes the second kind—when the mind is not carried away by circumstances—one attains mastery of transformation and is liberated from the two forms of birth-and-death—segmented and transformational.
第三种是微细流注断灭，一切化空，唯有圆觉大智现前，就能现百千万亿化身，度百千万亿众生了。这就是一切用功人修法证道的真实验证。我们修心中心法和参禅一样，都是从第八识下手，在心地上用功。 The third kind is the cessation of the subtle continuous stream: everything dissolves into emptiness, and only the great wisdom of perfect enlightenment appears before one. Then one can manifest countless transformation bodies and liberate countless sentient beings. This is the true verification attained by all who exert themselves in practice and realize the Way. Our practice of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma is like Chan meditation: both begin with the eighth consciousness and work on the mind-ground.
这和其它密法不同，所以称为禅密，只和禅宗同一鼻孔出气，但在入手修法时略有不同。心密是用六个手印一个咒打开本来，然后再用禅宗的保任方法，勤除习气，时时观心，处处觉照，而与禅合辙。 This differs from other forms of Esoteric Buddhism, and so it is called Chan-Esoteric practice. It is of one breath with the Chan school, though its initial method of practice differs slightly. Heart esotericism uses six mudrās and one mantra to open up one’s original nature; it then employs the Chan method of safeguarding realization, diligently removing habitual tendencies, constantly observing the mind, and remaining aware in every circumstance. In this way, it accords with Chan.
一俟观照圆熟，证成寂而常照，照而常寂，归家稳坐，就不用觉，不要观了。这方是做一切功夫的真正最后把握。这样的功夫，讲起来容易，要真正做到，还是要费点力气的。不费点力气你也做不到。 Once contemplation has become fully mature, one realizes that quiescence is ever illuminating and illumination is ever quiescent. Having returned home and seated oneself securely, there is no longer any need to maintain awareness or to contemplate. Only this is the true final assurance in all practices. Such practice is easy to speak of, but to accomplish it in truth still requires some effort. Without making some effort, you cannot accomplish it.
说到做不到，只懂理，事上做不到，没有用处。所以在修法的途程上，分事法界、理法界、理事无碍法界和事事无碍法界四个不同的过程。事事无碍法界，就是任何事情都无妨碍，不管哪里都能去得，还要更进一步，连事事无碍的意境也不立！这样才是真正的禅和子，真正的明心见性者。这就是解决生死问题的根本，成佛的关键！ To speak of it without being able to do it means that one understands only principle but cannot put it into practice; this is of no use. Therefore, along the path of practice there are four distinct stages: the dharma realm of phenomena, the dharma realm of principle, the dharma realm in which principle and phenomena interpenetrate, and the dharma realm of the nonobstruction among phenomena. The dharma realm of the nonobstruction among phenomena means that no matter what one does, there is no obstruction; one can go anywhere. Yet one must go a step further and not establish even the conception of the nonobstruction among phenomena. Only then is one a true Chan practitioner, one who truly realizes the mind and sees one’s true nature. This is the foundation for resolving the problem of birth and death, and the key to attaining Buddhahood!
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