權巧方便

　　Expedient Teaching

　　比丘.恒緣/文 by Bhikshu Heng Yuen

　　The Venerable Master”s name first came to my attention when a friend gave me the book The Ten Dharma Realms Are not beyond a Single Thought. The book was based on a lecture by the Venerable Master. His explanation very succinctly linked the basics of the Buddha Dharma for me; our actions, words, and thoughts--how they form into karma, and eventually how they determine the kind of realms we could be reborn into. The book reminded me how vulnerable we are if we are not constantly mindful of the karma constantly being created by our body, mouth, and mind.

　　我第一次知道上人的名字，是在我的一個朋友給我《十法界不離一念心》這本書的時候。這本書是根據上人的開示編輯而成的，上人簡單明了地幫我們將佛法的基本要素——身、口、意，串通起來。我們的身、口、意，它們又怎麼樣造成了業；最後這業力又如何決定了我們將往生到哪一法界去。這本書提示了我們，我們對身口意所造的業，如果不注意的話，就會帶來很大的危險。

　　I then began to evaluate myself. Up to that point in my life, my understanding of the Dharma had been very superficial, and I realized that in this life I had already created lots of bad karma. If I didn”t start serious cultivation immediately, I would not be able to save myself from being reborn into the lower suffering realms. Soon after, I decided to leave the home life under the Venerable Master as I realized that I might not have such an opportunity again in a million years.

　　那時我就開始對我自己重新評價。在那以前，我對佛法的了解是很膚淺的；我了解到今生我已經造了許多的惡業。假如我不馬上認真修行的話，我恐怕就會墮入叁惡道。不久之後；我決定隨上人出家，因爲我意識到百萬年間，我恐怕都不會再碰到這樣的機會。

　　In the beginning, I knew very little about the Venerable Master, other than what was printed in his biography and from his published lectures. Gradually, as the days passed, I realized how very fortunate I was to have found such a rare teacher.

　　Indeed, it is extremely difficult to find and be accepted by such a wise, virtuous, and compassionate teacher.Although he was not looking over my shoulders every day, he had his ways to watch my every action and thought. And he had his special ways to let me know that he was watching me, and let me know where I went wrong.

　　剛開始時，除了閱讀已出版的上人簡傳，及上人開示上的數據之外，我逐漸知道自己能找到這樣一位稀有的師父是多麼幸運。的確能找到這一位德智兼備又慈悲的善知識作爲我的師父，是很不容易的。雖然上人不是每天看著我，但對我的每一言行，上人自有方法，悉知悉見，而且讓我知道我什麼做錯了。

　　For example, one night, while attending one of the daily Sutra lectures, my mind wandered. I remembered that when I requested Shifu to accept me as his left-home disciple, he asked me how my lay name was written, my date of birth, and certain other biographical data. A doubt then came to my mind:“Does Shifu still remember my lay name

　　” Half an hour later, the class ended. As I left the Buddha Hall and was just walking past the telephone in the lobby, it rang. I answered it. It was Shifu on the phone! The first words he said were:“Is your lay name such and such

　　” I was stunned. Shifu usually talked about temple business whenever he phoned and not indulge in casual conversation with me. At that time, he was in Los Angeles, which was about a thousand miles away. He phoned just to tell me that I shouldn”t let my mind wander when attending lectures! It was his way to let me know that he was watching me. I learned one lesson.

　　舉例來說，有一次在晚上聽經的時候，我的心開始不老實，我想起當我請求上人接受我做出家弟子時，上人問我俗家名字怎麼寫，我的生日是哪時，還問了一些其他個人資料。那晚聽經時，我在想：「不知道上人現在還記得我的俗家名字嗎？」半小時後，聽經結束時，我走出佛殿，經過電話桌時，忽然電話鈴響了起來，我接起來一聽，是師父！師父一開口就說：「你的俗家名字是不是叫某某某？」我啞口無言！平時上人打電話來，總是講一些廟上的公事，從不和我們閑談。那時上人正在洛杉矶，大概離我住的地方有一千哩遠。上人特地打電話來，就爲了告訴我，聽經時不應該讓我的心散去。這是上人讓我知道他在看著我的一個方法，我領教了。

　　In the early stage of being a monk, I was just getting used to eating one meal a day. Sometimes, my stomach would growl with hunger in the morning. One morning I found an old box of cereal in the kitchen. It was the kind which, when mixed with hot water, would become gluey. I decided to mix some to quiet down my hunger. The next day Shifu phoned, and his first words were:“How is your eating now

　　” I was dumbstruck! Was he inquiring how I was adjusting to eating one meal a da…

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