一切衆生都是佛教徒

　　All Living Beings Are Buddhists

　　現在的衆生，是我們過去的父母，未來的諸佛；

　　如果對衆生發瞋恨心，等于瞋恨父母和諸佛，成爲大逆不孝的人。

　　Present living beings are our parents from past lives, and future Buddhas. If you get angry at living beings, this amounts to getting angry at your parents and the Buddhas. Thus you become a great rebel and are unfilial.

　　南傳小乘的佛誕日和北傳大乘的佛誕日，有所不同，但無論是哪一天，只要虔誠紀念，莊嚴禮拜，就是佛誕日。因爲法無定法的緣故，若是專在這些事情上研究，把頭發累白了，眼睛弄花了，也研究不出一個所以然來，這樣把大好時光浪費掉了，是很可惜的。

　　Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists have different dates for the Buddha”s birthday. Since there are no fixed dharmas, it doesn”t matter which day it is; as long as we celebrate with sincerity and worship in a dignified manner, any day can be the Buddha”s birthday. If we spent time investigating these matters, we would just tire ourselves out until our hair turned gray and our eyes became blurred, and we would still not be able to get a definite result. We would only waste a lot of precious time, and that would be a shame.

　　對于佛教，一般人各有執著，有人執著是印度佛教；有人執著是錫蘭佛教；又有人執著是中國佛教；或者是日本佛教等等。有種種不同的執著和看法，就把佛教變成有界限、有邊際，把佛教分了家了。其實佛教是無量無邊，沒有一定範圍的。所以我一向主張，不要把佛教劃出界限，要世界一家，團結一致才對。

　　In Buddhism, people have their own attachments. Some people are attached to Indian Buddhism, some to Sri Lankan Buddhism, some to Chinese Buddhism, some to Japanese Buddhism, and so forth. Having various attach-ments and views draws boundaries within Buddhism, and thus pides it. Actually Buddhism is boundless and has no limits. I always advocate not drawing boundaries within Buddhism. We should be united and view the world as one family.

　　我常說：我所講的佛教，不是印度佛教，也不是中國佛教，而是盡虛空遍法界的佛教。詳細來說，就是沒有國籍的佛教，沒有種族的佛教，也是沒有人我的佛教。不但信仰佛教的人是佛教徒，就是不信仰佛教的人，也是佛教徒，爲什麼？因爲釋迦牟尼佛曾經說過：「一切衆生，皆有佛性，皆堪作佛。」由此可證，信佛的人也是衆生，不信佛的人也是衆生。

　　I often say, “The Buddhism I talk about is not Indian or Chinese Buddhism, but a Buddhism that pervades empty space and the Dharma Realm.” Moreover, within this Buddhism there are no nationalities, no racial differences, no you or me. Not only are people who believe in Buddhism Buddhists, but people who don”t believe in Buddhism are Buddhists as well. Why is this so

　　 Because Shakyamuni Buddha once said, “All living beings have the Buddha nature, all can become Buddhas.” This confirms that Buddhists are living beings, and non-Buddhists are also living beings.

　　有人說：「我不是衆生。」那麼你不是衆生是什麼？有人說：「我的名字叫天，我就是天。」你要知道，天也是衆生之一。有人說：「我的名字叫地，我就是地。」你要曉得，地也是衆生之一，也沒有超出衆生之外。盡虛空遍法界，都是衆生所居住的地方。十法界中的佛法界，那是超出衆生之外，其余的九法界──菩薩、緣覺、聲聞、天、人、阿修羅、畜生、餓鬼、地獄，都還在衆生之內，所以都叫衆生。

　　Someone may insist, “I”m not a living being.” If you”re not a living being, then what are you

　　 Someone may say, “My name is Heaven. I am Heaven.” Don”t you know that Heaven is also a living being

　　 Someone may say, "My name is Earth. I am Earth." Don”t you realize that Earth is also a living being and is not beyond the scope of living beings

　　Living beings dwell in places throughout empty space and the Dharma Realm. Of the ten Dharma Realms, only the Buddha realm is beyond the scope of living beings. Beings in the other nine realms—those of Bodhisattvas, Condition-Enlightened Ones, Hearers, gods, humans, asuras, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell-beings—are all within the scope of living beings, and so they”re all called living beings.

　　既然都是衆生，那麼我把不信佛教的人，算在佛教裏邊，那還有什麼不公平的呢？這是佛教的全體大用。佛說：「一切衆生，皆可成佛。」無論你信佛教，或者不信佛教，將來皆可成佛。爲什麼？因爲你跑不出衆生的圈子之外。你現在不信佛，將來會信佛；今生不信佛，來生會信佛，有一天你終究會信佛的，所以我把一切衆生都當作佛教徒。

　　Since we are all living beings, isn”t it fair for me to include non-Buddhists in Buddhism

　　 Such is the big picture of Buddhism. The Buddha said, “All living beings can become Buddhas.” Whether you believe in Buddhism or not, you will all become Buddhas in the future, because you are not beyond the scope of living beings. If you don”t believe in Buddhism now, you will in the future. If you don”t believe in Buddhism in this life, you will in the next one. Eventually you will believe in Buddhism. Therefore I regard all living beings as Buddhists.

　　現在有不講道理的宗教，硬說只有獨一無二的神，才可以主宰世界，創造世界，控製宇宙，人沒有資格做神，只能做神的奴隸，受神支配。這種理論和佛教的宗旨恰好相反。佛教的宗旨是：「人人可以成佛。」現在的衆生，是我們過去的父母，未來的諸佛，如果對衆生發瞋恨心，等于瞋恨父母和諸佛，成爲大逆不孝的人。所以我們對衆生要慈悲、要尊重，人與人之間，要以誠相待，互相援助，不要互相障礙、互相妒忌，這就是佛教最偉大之處。

　　Some religions assert that there is only one god who created and rules this world or who controls the universe. They maintain that human beings can”t become gods; that people can only be god”s workers, dominated by him. This theory is the opposite of Buddhist principles.

　　According to Buddhist principles, everyone can become a Buddha. Present living beings are our parents from past lives as well as future Buddhas. If you get angry at living beings, this amounts to getting mad at your parents and the Buddhas. Thus you become a great rebel and are unfilial. We should be compassionate and respectful to-wards living beings. We should also treat each other with sincerity, help each other out, and not obstruct or be jealous of one another. This is the greatest aspect of Buddhism.

　　今天你們大家來到萬佛聖城，參加浴佛盛會，我不管你們信佛不信佛，浴佛不浴佛，我認可你們都是佛教徒。你信仰天主，也算是佛教徒；你信仰耶稣，也算是佛教徒；你信仰猶太教，或信回教等等，都算是佛教徒，絕不把你算到佛教之外，我們大家都是一家人，沒有彼此的分別。你們看！佛教多麼偉大！沒有排斥異教的思想。

　　You have come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas today to attend the celebration of the Buddha”s birthday. Regardless of whether or not you believe in Buddhism, and whether or not you have come to bathe the Buddha, I consider all of you Buddhists. If you are Catholic, you”re a Buddhist; if you are Protestant, you”re also a Buddhist. Even if you are a Jew, a Muslim, or a follower of some other religion, you are still a Buddhist. I will not exclude you from Buddhism. We are all one family. There is no distinction between you and I. See how great Buddhism is! We don”t have the notion of excluding other religions.

　　一九八叁年五月九日開示

　　A talk given on May 9, 1983

《一切衆生都是佛教徒 All Living Beings Are Buddhists》全文閱讀結束。