法王新闻 | 2009年12月

『第27屆噶舉祈願』第2天:龍樹親友書•第四堂课

『27th Kagyu Monlam』Day 2: Nagarjuna’s 「A Letter to A Friend」•Afternoon Session

時間:2009年12月21日下午 21 Dec., 2009 3:00-5:00pm
地點:印度 菩提迦耶 德噶寺 Tergar Monastery in Bodhigaya, India
中文翻譯:堪布丹傑
主办单位:噶舉大祈願法會組織 Kagyu Monlam

要放下,從心裡釋放自己,繼續往前走,別因曾經犯錯或失敗,就關閉自己的解脫之門。

Today we will begin with discussing mistaken attitudes, or literally, “what is turned around the wrong way.”

梵文三皈依

藏文獻曼達

藏英中音频

法王念誦藏文祈願文

第12偈 Verse 12 reads:
慳諂誑貪怠, 慢婬嗔氏族,
多聞年少嬌, 並視如怨賊。
Stinginess and cunning, greed and sloth, And arrogance, attachment, hate, and pride
(“I’ve breeding, good looks, learning, youth, and power”)— Such traits are seen as enemies of good.

慳,即吝嗇之意,不管佛法或財物,都不想分享而想自己留著,這就是「慳」。

諂,即隱藏自己的過失。

誑,是自己並無功德,卻裝腔作勢,假裝自己有功德。

怠,指懈怠、怠惰之意。

慢,是指自己並無功德卻以為自己有功德、德行的慢心。

貪,是指貪求無形的名譽或有形的財物。

嗔,對他人所擁有的起嗔心。

氏族、多聞、年少、嬌,指各種驕慢,認為自己出身好、美貌、見多識廣、年輕、有權勢等各種不同的傲慢。這裡的傲慢,是指「自以為是」,在藏文中有「虛胖」之意,明知沒有卻吹捧自己;另一種狀況是,的確有一些功德,但表現得不可一世,和別人很有距離,這樣和別人的關係也不會好。

以上十三種過患(註:本偈藏文中,有十三種應斷除之過患:慳、諂、誑、貪、怠、慢、婬、嗔、氏族之慢、色嬌之慢、多聞之慢、青春之慢、權勢之慢),是我們應斷除的。

When people are stingy, they’re unable to give to others. They can’t give either the Dharma or material things, but must keep everything to themselves.

The next mistaken attitude is translated as “cunning” but actually it’s made up of two words. g.Yo means that you conceal your faults and sgyu means that you pretend to have qualities that you do not, so there are two ways of being cunning. “Sloth” refers to allowing ourselves to be carried away by laziness.

With pride, we think we’re something very special. We are puffed up, inflated with ourselves. We are one hundred percent certain that you are a wonderful person, even if we actually don’t have so many positive qualities. We are so stuffed with the idea of our self that there’s no space for anything else. Our mind is obese. We think that we are some high ranking VIP. Or we think we’re special because we have tons of money or years of learning. No matter what positive qualities we may have, it’s important not to come under the sway of pride.

Of the three poisons, attachment comes in two kinds: attachment to people and to material things. Then, even though we may have all that we need and more, we still have aversion and feel the need to compete with others. None of these mistaken attitudes are good for this life or the next. They steal away our positive qualities and so they are seen as “enemies of good.” None of them allow us to make good connections with others, which is another reason why we should discard them.

放下自己,才能成為「眾生僕人」

過去在印度、藏地的祖師,都有一種謙虛的傳統和習慣。這種習慣,到了西方後,有些外國弟子會誤解,以為「哦,這個上師可能如他自己所說的,真的不懂,那我也可以不用去找他了。」

這裡講到的謙虛,是真正從內心發出的;但有些上師,雖然嘴裡說「不懂、不懂」,但身體語言卻表現得像什麼都懂,好像身體裡藏了一隻獅子。真正的謙虛,是對自己所學覺得只是智慧大海的一滴,還有很多值得學習、有待學習,那種由內而發的自然謙虛。弟子對上師的謙虛,要有如法的去觀察,了解上師只是謙虛的說「不懂」,不是真的什麼都不懂,心裡反而生起虔敬,別以為他真的不懂而生起鄙視之意,覺得「那不如我自己爬上法座去說法算了。」那就錯了!

尤其是一個觀修慈悲的人,更應以謙虛而對治傲慢,因為我們一想到眾生無量的苦,只想去解除眾生的痛苦,因此身口意集中一處,只是關注眾生的需要,知道自己還有太多事還沒做到,還有太多事要為眾生做,這樣就沒空生起傲慢。傲慢是有損慈悲修持的,太傲慢、自我意識太強的人,很難放下自己,成為「眾生的僕人」。

但也不能「太謙虛」,《寶性論》中說:「眾生皆具如來藏」。所以不可輕視自己,過度輕視自己,以為自己什麼也做不到,是輕視自己的佛性,是五種過患之一,是必須斷除的。

It’s a tradition in India and Tibet that great masters are very humble. They say things like, “I really don’t know very much.” “I haven’t studied a lot.” “I have no realization.” Now that the Dharma is spreading to the East and West, many masters are traveling and they still follow this tradition of humility. However, some people assume that the masters are actually telling the truth and take what they say at face value: “Well, if he doesn’t know, then there’s no need to take teaching from him.” They have not yet learned that this is an expression of humility. It is possible that someone could have false humility and harbor pride deep within. Such a person is not a true practitioner. So students have to understand this tradition of humility. When the teacher and students are of one mind, then something good can happen.

Real humility is felt deep inside. Even if we have many positive qualities, we understand how much more we have to learn. When we compare ourselves with others, we can see that what we know is like a drop of water in the ocean. We feel a natural humility when we see the great qualities we have yet to attain.

It is important for us to practice love and compassion, to the point that they become inexhaustible. From our heart we wish that living beings be free of suffering and find real happiness. We want to extinguish all the suffering of living beings and be their servant. To be able to do this well, we have to work on reducing our pride. But we should not do this by putting ourselves down. The Supreme Continuum (Uttaratantra Shastra) by Maitreya gives reasons why the Buddha taught about Buddha nature, (tathatagarbha). If we know that this essential nature of ours, (and that of all living beings), is basic goodness, the potential for full awakening, then we will not be discouraged or plagued by a sense of worthlessness. We should definitely not seek to diminish our pride by putting ourselves down because that will just make us feel hopeless. Instead, we can just think that there are many more qualities that we could attain and that now we are a small pond compared to the vast ocean of what is possible. This humble mind is what we need to develop.

第13偈
說無生由勤, 有死因放逸,
勤能長善法, 爾可修謹慎。
Verse 13 concerns with being careful or conscientious.
Carefulness is the way to deathlessness, While carelessness is death, the Buddha taught.
And thus, so that your virtuous deeds may grow, Be careful, constantly and with respect.

我們成為佛教徒之後,要隨時觀察自己的言行,不要空有佛教徒之名,所言所行卻不如法。《修心七要》中說「二證已為首」,他人和自己這兩種觀察自己言行的證人,要以自己為主,因為只有自己能隨時隨地觀察自己,要讓自己成為自己言行的證人。

勤,就是不放逸。無生,在藏文本中是「甘露」。消除身語意魔的甘露,即是「不放逸」。不放逸,是一切戒律的基礎。南傳佛法講身口七斷(斷除身口七種惡業)的不害他戒,需要不放逸;大乘講的饒益眾生、不捨棄任何眾生的「菩提心戒」更細微,更需不放逸;密乘要斷除「凡夫相」的執著,更需要於座上座下一切時,不放逸的修持本尊「淨觀」。

We may have the name of a practitioner or call ourselves Buddhist but we may not really practice, so we are merely assuming these names. What we should do, however, is examine ourselves to see what is positive and negative. In this way, we should be the witness for ourselves. As it states in The Seven Points of Mind Training: “Of the two judges, rely on the first.” And the first is we ourselves.

This verse compares being careful and attentive to nectar. The word for nectar, or amrita, in Tibetan is made up of two syllables: Dud (Tib. bdud) refers to maras or demons, which actually refer to obstacles of various kinds, such as old age and sickness or the four traditional maras of the afflictions, fear of death, the aggregates, and worldly pleasures. And tsi (Tib. rTsi) here means “to get rid of.” So the word means that those who are able to recall the nectar of carefulness are able to eliminate obstacles. Such a person is a true Dharma practitioner. To avoid negative actions of body and speech, we look very carefully at our minds to make sure that a mara does not slip in, whether it is during or after a session of meditation.

This careful attentiveness is actually necessary for any kind of practice. When following the Vinaya, we need this carefulness and mindfulness, for example, in observing the five virtuous acts. In the Mahayana the mind is much more important than body and speech. We need to be aware and evaluate what is going on in our mind. This is even more true in the Vajrayana.

第14偈
先時離放逸,後若改勤修,
猶如雲翳除,良宵睹明月。
孫陀羅難陀,央具理摩羅,
達舍綺莫迦,翻惡皆成善。
Verse 14 continues to speak of carefulness:
Those who formerly were careless
But then took heed are beautiful and fair,
As is the moon emerging from clouds,
Like Nanda, Angulimala, Darshaka, Udayana.

即使先前因放逸而造惡,只要轉為精勤修持,也能有所成就,就像雲開霧散,就能看到清明的月光。

偈頌中也舉了一些「翻惡成善」的例子,就像佛陀的弟弟孫陀羅難陀,因為大貪心而造惡,央具理摩羅因為嗔心而殺1999人,達舍曾殺父,綺莫迦曾弒母,他們後來都因改過向善,不放逸精勤修持而有所成就。

Here Nagarjuna speaks of first being corrupted by misdeeds and then purifying ourselves of them. This process is likened to the moon escaping from behind the clouds. It tells us that change is possible. The examples given are Ananda, who had strong attachment; Angulimala who killed hundreds; Darshaka who killed his mother, and Udayana who committed many negative actions.

懺悔即「斬斷」,要真正和罪業一刀兩斷

關於「懺悔」,我有些想法特別想提醒。如果過去造惡業,想懺悔不再犯,我們可以向「懺悔境」、也就是三寶、上師、阿闍黎前發露懺悔,這是很重要的;但更重要的是,自己要懂得放下,自己要原諒自己,否則我們即使在上師、三寶面前懺悔,但心裡不放過自己,緊抱著過去的罪業不放,還是會覺得很痛苦,修持都提不起勁,這是不行的。

我們總是會做錯事情,若因此就覺得自己已經是一個被染污的人,甚至覺得自己十惡不赦,因而關閉解脫之門,這是沒必要的。我們可以這樣想,在無數過去世的輪迴中,心的相續所留下的罪業來看,我們無始以來所造的惡業,和今生造的惡業比起來,實在很少,只是大海中的一滴,至少今生還知道做了什麼,過去世連做了什麼都不知道,所以不要太責怪自己,要放下,從心裡釋放自己,繼續往前走,別因曾犯錯就讓自己不能前進、不能修持,不要這樣。至於不相信輪迴的人,也要勸他們,不必對今生犯的錯,死死抓住不肯放。不管你相不相信輪迴,抱住過往的罪業,不肯原諒自己,這樣懺悔是不會發生作用的。

在藏文中,懺悔有「斬斷」之意,就是和過去的罪業一刀兩斷,不再執著於心中,不肯忘懷。就像密勒日巴大師年輕時曾造重大惡業,殺死35人,但他不曾因此懷憂喪志,反而轉懺悔之力為修持的動力,終致成就,所以懺悔完就要往前走,努力實修才有意義。

So it is possible to purify even extremely negative actions, and this process happens through stages of purification. First we regret what we have done and see it as a real mistake. We make a confession in front of the Three Jewels or a lama; we vow not to do it again, and then we practice to purify it through reciting, for example, Vajrasattva’s mantra. What is most important is that we see what we have done as wrong. Fearing suffering, some people might still harbor some hesitation deep down inside and this will subvert the purification. So it is important to confess from our very depths. When we can do this, it brings us true joy and happiness.

We should not think, however, that we are all black inside. This would be an obstacle to our path of practice. If we reflect on our present and past lives, the fact that we have made mistakes is not at all surprising. From our numerous past lives, we are not arriving here perfectly white; there are faults that we have not discarded; it is due to our karma and our afflictions, we have taken our present birth. What we have done wrong in past lives might be huge compared to this life.

So it’s good to recognize what we have done wrong, but we should not feel totally discouraged and think that there’s nothing to be done. We can change by recognizing our faults and then confessing. And when we do this, it should be complete; we shouldn’t leave behind anything inside us. Confessing is like splitting an apple in half; we totally cut ourselves off from what is wrong. For example, Milarepa worked very hard on building the towers to purify killing so many people. We can look at this from two sides: from one side he was purifying his negative action, and from another side he was creating great joy.

第15偈
勇進無同忍, 勿使忿勢行,
終得不還位, 佛證可除嗔。

這一偈是說,要在不放逸中,修持安忍,不要給嗔心任何機會。藏文「勇進」,是指苦行,沒有比對嗔恨修安忍更大的苦行,忍辱是最殊勝的苦行。就像賽車,你的安忍速度要比嗔心更快;就像遊戲,你要能很善巧地控制嗔心。

第16偈
他人打罵我, 欺凌奪我財,
懷恨招怨諍, 捨恨眠安樂。

第16偈談到「懷恨」的過患。如果有人辱罵你甚至毆打你,你會耿耿於懷,一直想、一直想,懷恨在心,接著身心就失去安寧。我自己也曾經生氣,但總是很容易就忘了,所以對記恨的人有點好奇,我就算努力去記起恨意,但總是兩三分鐘、最多一兩小時就忘了,但有人還寫他的恨寫了一本書,這真的很不容易──其實,這只是苦了自己,你若懷恨,首先受傷害的是自己,對你所恨的人可能一點都沒影響,結果你自己飽嘗記恨的後遺症,首先是睡不好,接著易怒,最後朋友也會遠離你,仔細想想,記恨真是一點好處都沒有呀。

當我們嗔心生起時,就想給別人一點點顏色瞧瞧,有時想要打官司,或想有什麼處罰對方的方式;但其實我們都沒這麼理性,你一生氣,首先處罰到的是自己,總是自己先受傷害,簡直把自己當敵人,給自己苦頭吃。

就像一個練武的人,心要很平靜,才能使出功夫、命中目標;如果你真的要出拳,就讓自己先冷靜下來,出手才能準確,才能一拳命中要害。重點是要你先冷靜下來,平息自心,別生氣,不是真的要你打人。接下來,要說個故事。

有個主人買了一隻雞,放在地上,他的狗就跑來繞著雞轉,嗅嗅嗅,一付很饞、很想吃的樣子。主人就很氣的對那隻狗說:「你敢對牠做什麼事,我就對你做同樣的事!」結果那隻狗想了一想,就舔了那隻雞的屁股一下!主人當場傻眼,因為他不是說「狗做什麼,他就對做牠同樣的事」嗎?所以嗔恨真是一點好處都沒有呀。

問答

問:根本上師只能有一位,還是可以有很多位?

法王答:

的確有些人有很多位根本上師,但也有人只有一位根本上師,的確有很多不同的做法和說法。不過我們可以想想,支分可以有很多,但根只有一個,才會穩固,這是要思考的。

問:頂禮上師,請問如何保持初發菩提心時的精進、勇猛、不退轉,直到成佛?

法王答:

1.精進:就是對自己所從事的善行,因歡喜而努力,這就是自然的精進。當然具足方便善巧,也是很重要,那有助於精進。

2.勇猛:是要思維眾生的苦,要打開自己的心、自己的眼,看見廣大眾生的苦,發願承擔眾生的苦,所以充滿勇氣,自然能勇猛。

3.不退轉:是種堅定的誓言,是指身口意完全交給菩提心,也不給自己留任何退路,沒有猶疑的堅定走下去,自然能不退轉。

法王帶領大眾唱頌梵文迴向文,結束第四堂課:

諸惡莫作,眾善奉行,自淨其意,是諸佛教。

一切有為法,如露亦如電,如夢幻泡影,應作如是觀。

以此功德願證佛自性,降伏煩惱怨敵之過患,

生老病死洶湧之波濤,願度眾生解脫輪迴海。

拔哇度 薩爾哇芒嘎浪(註:吉祥圓滿)

网页修改记录:2020年6月13日,建于原‘法王开示’栏目,仅kagyuoffice.org.tw拷贝之文本;2020年12月25日,移至此处;2022年1月04日,网页改版,增加YOUTUBE视频链接;2024年2月14日,放置剪辑音频。

Youtube 视频

第二天合辑

上一篇:『外国弟子課程』龍樹親友書•第二天上午