應無所住而生其心

　　You Should Produce the Thought Which Abides Nowhere

　　你要行所無事，做出來了，還要不執著你有什麼功德。

　　You have to do things as if not doing them. After you”ve done something, don”t be attached to the merit and virtue that you”ve created.

　　作禮無住化往生，

　　無窮無盡義彌豐；

　　十方如來同攝受，

　　離苦得樂出火坑。

　　Pay homage while abiding nowhere, and transform beings to go to rebirth.

　　Endless and inexhaustible, the meanings are prolific.

　　The Tathagatas of the ten directions together gather us in,

　　So that we can leave suffering, attain bliss,

　　and escape the pit of fire.

　　在佛教裏常言：「應無所住而生其心」。所以我在講〈楞嚴咒〉不是說：「作禮無住化往生」，這個「生」就是生生無定、化化無窮的意思。作禮，就是向佛頂禮。無所住，就是叫你沒有執著；你說那麼我不要修行就沒有執著，這就錯了。你修行也不要執著有修行。你說那麼我不吃飯時，不去執著沒有吃飯，可是肚子卻不答應。可是你吃飽了，還想要再吃，那也是不對的。《金剛經》上說：「應無所住而生其心。」

　　In Buddhism, we often say, “One should produce the thought which abides nowhere.” And so, in explaining the Shurangama Mantra, I said, “Pay homage while abiding nowhere, and transform beings to go to rebirth.” Rebirth refers to undergoing indefinite births and endless transformations. “Paying homage” refers to bowing to the Buddhas. “Abiding nowhere” means you should have no attachments. You say, “Well, I won”t cultivate, and then I won”t have any attachments.” That”s wrong. Although you cultivate, you should not be attached to the notion that you are cultivating. You say, “If I don”t eat and I don”t attach to the fact that I have not eaten, my stomach won”t agree with me.” However, if you”ve eaten your fill and you want to eat more, that”s also wrong. The Vajra Sutra says, “You should produce the thought which abides nowhere.”

　　今天有一個人，以爲這個「應無所住而生其心」，就是不要修行，不要念咒，也不要念經，那就沒有執著了。不是的，你要「行所無事」，做出來了，還要不執著你有什麼功德，這叫無所住。因爲你有所住，就會黏到那個地方飛不動，所以要無住身心，掃一切法，離一切相，生生化化，無窮無盡，所以說：「無窮無盡義彌豐」，這一句咒文的義理是無窮無盡的，意義是多得不得了，再也沒有那麼多了。

　　Today someone thought the words, “You should produce the thought which abides nowhere,” meant that if you didn”t cultivate, recite mantras, or recite Sutras, you would be without attachments. That”s not it. What you have to do is do things as if not doing them. After you”ve done something, don”t be attached to the merit and virtue that you”ve created. That”s called “abiding nowhere.” If you abide somewhere, you will get stuck in one place and be unable to get out. So you must not dwell on the body or mind; sweep away all dharmas and separate from all appearances. Then the process of creation and transformation will be endless and inexhaustible. So the next sentence says, “Endless and inexhaustible, the meanings are prolific.” The meanings of this mantra are endless and inexhaustible. It has an incredible amount of meaning; nothing else has that much meaning.

　　因爲這樣，所以你一念這句咒，「十方如來同攝受」，十方諸佛都攝受你，就像哄小孩子似的，說：「你不要哭了，我有糖給你吃；不要哭了，等一等我送你兩個蘋果。」小孩子一聽到蘋果，耳朵就伸出來了，舌頭在嘴裏也裝不住了。就是這樣，十方如來同攝受你，令你「離苦得樂出火坑」。

　　Therefore, when you recite this mantra, “The Tathagatas of the ten directions together gather us in.” The Buddhas of the ten directions all draw you in, treating you like a child, saying, “Don”t cry anymore. I”ll give you some candy to eat. Don”t cry. Wait a bit, and I”ll give you a couple of apples.” Hearing the word “apples,” the child”s ears perk up and he licks his lips in anticipation. In that way, the Tathagatas of the ten directions gather you in, enabling you to “leave suffering, attain bliss, and escape the pit of fire.”