| 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 一、元音上师一九九一年三月五日复湖南嘉鱼县祁文金居士书： | I. Letter from Master Yuanyin to lay practitioner Qi Wenjin of Jiayu County, Hunan, March 5, 1991: |
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| “关于密法传习，概须灌顶传授，‘六字大明咒’亦不例外。 | “With regard to the transmission and practice of Esoteric Buddhism, empowerment is generally required; the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra is no exception. |
| 但因上师慈悲心切，以方便为究竟，将有些众所周知的、修法简易、修后不至发生偏差的密法，如大弥陀法、绿、白度母法、观音救度法与六字大明咒等法，公开传授，不须灌顶（尤其如远道或因病不能行者）只要至诚恭敬供养、顶礼本尊亦可修习。遇有问题，致函自己所熟知的大德，探讨研究，即不至步入歧途而安达彼岸矣。” | However, out of the master's deep compassion, and taking skillful means as ultimate, certain well-known esoteric practices that are simple to perform and unlikely to lead to deviations after practice—such as the Great Amitābha Practice, the Green and White Tārā Practices, the Avalokiteśvara Deliverance Practice, and the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra—may be transmitted openly and practiced without empowerment. This applies especially to those who live far away or are unable to travel because of illness. So long as one makes sincere and reverent offerings and pays homage to the yidam, one may practice them. Should questions arise, write to a virtuous teacher whom you know and consult with them; then you will not stray onto a mistaken path and may safely reach the other shore.” |
| 二、元音上师一九九七年在美国灌顶传法时开示《心中心法修法程序》（录音整理）： | II. Teachings given by Master Yuanyin while conferring empowerment and transmitting the Dharma in the United States in 1997: “Procedures for Practicing the Heart-of-Heart Dharma” (transcribed from an audio recording): |
| ……莲花印，表示我们的心像一朵莲花。这个手印非常简单，而且非常殊胜，功能非常大。消灾、除障、治病、事业成就等都可用，有观世音菩萨的护持，使我们都能成就。四臂观音，就是四个手臂的观世音菩萨。 | …The lotus mudrā signifies that our minds are like lotus flowers. This mudrā is very simple, yet exceptionally sublime and highly efficacious. It may be used to dispel calamities, remove obstacles, cure illness, accomplish undertakings, and so forth. With the protection of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, we can all attain accomplishment. Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara is Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva with four arms. |
| 咒也很重要，六个字：嗡、吗、呢、呗、咪、吽。修这个法，打坐从半小时开始，以后慢慢地增加到一小时，一小时半，二小时。修心中心法至少要坐两个小时，有许多人刚开始吃不消，所以可先修这六字大明咒法。 | The mantra is also important. It has six syllables: oṃ, ma, ṇi, pad, me, hūṃ. In practicing this Dharma, begin meditation with half an hour, then gradually increase it to one hour, one and a half hours, and two hours. To practice the Heart-of-Heart Dharma, one must sit for at least two hours. Many people cannot manage this at first, so they may first practice the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra. |
| 结印时，要用黄布把手印盖起来，原因有二： | There are two reasons for covering the mudrā with a yellow cloth while forming it: |
| 第一、因为空中有佛、菩萨、神灵经过，佛是不会给我们顶礼的，菩萨、神灵看见了，认为这个手印是佛，就会给我们顶礼，但我们刚开始修法，还是凡夫，不是佛菩萨，不能接受他们的顶礼。所以我们用黄布把手印罩起来，过往的神灵看见我们罩着手印修法，就不顶礼了。 | First, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and spiritual beings may pass through the air. Buddhas will not bow to us, but when bodhisattvas and spiritual beings see the mudrā, they may regard it as a Buddha and bow to us. Yet when we have only just begun the practice, we are still ordinary beings, not Buddhas or bodhisattvas, and cannot accept their homage. Therefore, we cover the mudrā with a yellow cloth. When passing spiritual beings see that we have covered the mudrā while practicing, they will not bow. |
| 第二、其他人看到我们这个手印，学着结印，盗窃佛法，就不好了。用黄布罩着修，别人看不见，就不会仿照着结手印，以免造罪！ | Second, if others see us forming this mudrā, they may imitate it and steal the Buddhadharma, which would not be good. If we practice with it covered by a yellow cloth, others cannot see it and will not imitate the mudrā, thereby avoiding the creation of wrongdoing. |
| 打坐时有几个禁忌： | There are several prohibitions to observe while meditating: |
| 一、座上忌想心思动脑筋。因为平时想不起的念头，一上座都想起来了，噢！这件事情该怎么做，那件事情又该怎么做。这样不好！这样打坐没有用处。 | 1. While seated, avoid thinking things over or racking your brains. Thoughts that ordinarily do not come to mind all arise as soon as you sit down: “Oh! How should I handle this matter? And how should I handle that one?” This is not good. Meditating in this way is of no use. |
| 我们上座时要死心踏地，好比死掉了，死了还能管什么事情呢？家里事情，工作事情，都不管了。座上妄念翻出来，就把咒提起来，用咒来转化自己的念头。 | When we sit down to meditate, we must settle our minds as though we were dead. What affairs could a dead person still attend to? Do not concern yourself with family matters or work matters. When deluded thoughts arise during meditation, bring up the mantra and use it to transform your thoughts. |
| 不是压念头，念头来了不压，不阻止，让它来，我就是不睬、不理，自然叫它化空，这就是转化。不是压制，压制是把念头压死，压到死水里去了，一个念头不起，死在那里，死水不藏龙，那样不能开悟。所以我们成道是要成活佛、要起妙用的，不要压念，念头尽管来，不睬就是。 | This does not mean suppressing thoughts. When thoughts arise, do not suppress or stop them; let them come. Simply do not heed or attend to them, and they will naturally dissolve into emptiness. This is transformation. It is not repression. Repression means pressing thoughts to death, pressing them into stagnant water, so that not a single thought arises and one remains dead there. Dead water does not harbor dragons. In that way, one cannot awaken. Our realization of the Way is to become living Buddhas and give rise to wondrous functioning. Do not suppress thoughts. Let thoughts come as they will; simply do not heed them. |
| 二、不能求神通，一点不能求！求神通非但不能成佛，成魔倒是有份。因为心有所求就是执着，执着就是成魔的因素。我们心中空净如洗，一点不著，一点不执，一点不求，那才能真正的成佛，就是自心是佛，自性成佛。 | 2. Do not seek spiritual powers—not in the least! Seeking spiritual powers will not only prevent you from becoming a Buddha; it will instead make you liable to become a demon. For whenever the mind seeks something, it is attached, and attachment is a factor in becoming a demon. When our minds are empty and pure, as clean as if washed, without the slightest clinging, attachment, or seeking, only then can we truly become Buddhas: one's own mind is Buddha, and one's own nature becomes Buddha. |
| 心空净，才能成佛，心不空净，不能成佛。所以成佛是在心，不在神通。外道也有神通，怎么他们成了外道呢？成了魔王呢？就是因为他们太执着了，心不空净。心真正空净了，什么也不可得，一法不立，一丝不挂，一尘不染，这样才能成佛。所以说要开智慧成佛，不是发神通成佛。大家不要执着神通，这一点非常重要。 | Only when the mind is empty and pure can one become a Buddha; if the mind is not empty and pure, one cannot become a Buddha. Thus Buddhahood lies in the mind, not in spiritual powers. Non-Buddhist paths also possess spiritual powers; why, then, do their followers become adherents of non-Buddhist paths, even demon kings? It is because they are too attached and their minds are not empty and pure. When the mind is truly empty and pure, nothing can be obtained: not establishing a single dharma, utterly bare, unstained by a single speck of dust. Only then can one become a Buddha. Therefore, one becomes a Buddha by opening wisdom, not by developing spiritual powers. Do not be attached to spiritual powers. This is extremely important. |
| 三、吃饱了饭不能马上上座，对胃不好，要隔开一到一个半小时，才能打坐。 | 3. Do not sit to meditate immediately after a full meal. It is harmful to the stomach. Wait one to one and a half hours before meditating. |
| 四、心情不愉快、烦恼时，不要打坐，因这样压制了肝气不通，会生病。所以心情不愉快时，可以出外散散心，把不愉快的心情消化掉，再来打坐。 | 4. Do not meditate when you are unhappy or afflicted. Suppressing the qi of the liver so that it cannot circulate may cause illness. When you are unhappy, you may go out for a walk and work through those feelings before returning to meditate. |
| 五、尤其要注意的是夫妻同房的事情。因为夫妻同房伤害身体很厉害，打坐之后，不能马上夫妻同房，要隔开5-6小时；同样的，同房之后也不能马上打坐，须经过5－6个小时休息后再打坐，如果立刻打坐很容易生病！ | 5. One should be especially attentive to sexual relations between husband and wife. Such relations are very taxing on the body. After meditating, do not have sexual relations immediately; wait five to six hours. Likewise, after sexual relations, do not meditate immediately. Rest for five to six hours before meditating again. If you meditate at once, you may easily fall ill. |
| 六、女人月经来不要紧，可以打坐，但是不能双盘，双盘容易造成血崩的危险，所以月经期要注意。怀孕时还可以继续打坐，但是四个月之后就不要盘腿坐了，可以躺着修；到八、九个月快要临盆时，就不要修了，可以躺在床上念六字大明咒，有观世音菩萨加持，对修法没有妨碍。 | 6. Menstruation is not a problem; women may meditate, but they should not sit in the full lotus posture, as it may easily create a risk of severe bleeding. Therefore, take care during menstruation. During pregnancy, one may continue meditating, but after four months one should not sit cross-legged; one may practice lying down. When eight or nine months pregnant and close to delivery, do not practice meditation; one may lie in bed and recite the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra. With the blessing of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, this poses no obstacle to practice. |
| （编者按：根据印光大师《普劝全球同胞同念观音圣号文》开示，妇女临产疼痛难忍时,可出声念观世音菩萨圣号或心咒,不宜默念） | (Editor’s note: According to teachings in Master Yinguang’s “Essay Urging Compatriots Throughout the World to Recite the Sacred Name of Avalokiteśvara Together,” when women suffer unbearable pain in childbirth, they may audibly recite the sacred name or heart mantra of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva; silent recitation is not advisable.) |
| 问：修法的地方要有佛像吗？打坐面向何方为好？ | Question: Must there be an image of the Buddha in the place where one practices? Which direction is best to face when meditating? |
| 答:不一定,家里没有佛像也不要紧,方向也不一定,因为方方都有佛,佛不一定都在西方。 | Answer: Not necessarily. It does not matter if there is no Buddha image at home, and the direction does not matter either, because Buddhas are present in every direction; Buddhas are not necessarily all in the West. |
| 问：打坐什么时间好？ | Question: What time is best for meditation? |
| 答：时间每个人可以自己安排，最好是在早上。因为刚睡了一夜，体力充足，坐起来有精神；如果晚上坐，一天工作疲劳，坐起来容易打瞌睡，所以还是早上坐最好。 | Answer: Each person may arrange the time according to their own circumstances. Morning is best. After sleeping through the night, your physical strength is restored, and you will be alert when you sit. If you sit in the evening, you may be tired after a day of work and easily become drowsy. Therefore, morning meditation is best. |
| 问：先拜佛，后打坐，行吗？ | Question: Is it all right to pay homage to the Buddha first and then meditate? |
| 答：那很好！先拜拜佛，提提神，把心清净下来，再来打坐，这样很好。 | Answer: That is very good! First pay homage to the Buddha, refresh your spirit, and settle the mind into purity; then meditate. This is very good. |
| 问：是不是念咒念到不想念时，就不念了？ | Question: When one no longer wishes to recite the mantra, should one stop reciting it? |
| 答：不对，不想念，还是有妄想啊！要念到不能念时，念到咒念不出来时，自然就不念了。 | Answer: No. If you do not wish to recite it, deluded thoughts are still present! Recite until you are unable to recite, until the mantra can no longer be brought forth. Then recitation will naturally cease. |
| 问：身体不适应，还要打坐吗？ | Question: Should one still meditate when the body is unwell? |
| 答：小小的不适应，还可以打坐。假如病得很厉害，不能打坐了，可以躺着修。年纪太大的人，坐着不行，也可以躺着修。 | Answer: If the discomfort is minor, you may still meditate. If you are seriously ill and cannot sit in meditation, you may practice lying down. Elderly people who cannot sit may also practice lying down. |
| 问:大小便时可以念咒吗？会不会不恭敬呢？ | Question: May one recite the mantra while urinating or defecating? Would that not be irreverent? |
| 答:大小便可以念咒,但不要出声念,这样就不会不恭敬。 | Answer: You may recite the mantra while urinating or defecating, but do not recite it aloud; then it will not be irreverent. |
