見師 Beholding the Guru

　　以歡喜心見上師，或聽聞上師名號後生起歡喜心有無量功德。能時時系念上師，學佛的信心自然會增上。佛弟子在夢中、定中，若能見上師、見佛、見菩薩，是信心深固的明證。同時，有真實信心的，才會確信非佛法不能利濟自他。

　　When we behold our teachers with delight or when we feel tremendous joy upon hearing their names, we are creating great virtues. Constant remembrance of our teachers naturally enhances our confidence in the Buddhist path. Having visions of the guru, the Buddha, or Bodhisattvas in dreams or in meditation is a sign that the disciple has established an unshakable faith in the Dharma. Similarly, only a person with uncontrived faith will be convinced that nothing other than the Dharma can truly benefit the self and others.

　　具有法相的上師，至少是具足世俗行、願菩提心的菩薩，對如此菩薩無論以信心或以貪心目視，均有無量功德。《趨入定不定手印經》雲：“譬如，將十方世界中一切衆生之雙目挖出，有人將彼等複原，或者將關于漆黑監獄中之十方世界一切衆生釋放，令彼等享受轉輪王或梵天之安樂，若有善男子、善女人以信心目視大乘信解菩薩，且贊頌之，則福德勝過前者無數倍。”《聖者寶積經》中講述了商主之女勝德母，因對樂生菩薩生起熾火般的貪心，以致命絕身亡，以此果報，死後轉生叁十叁天的公案。

　　An authentic teacher is a Bodhisattva who has generated the relative bodhichitta of intention and application at the minimum. To look at such a Bodhisattva, whether with faith or covetousness, creates immense merit all the same. The Sutra of the Seal of Entering into Certainty and Uncertainty says, “Suppose all beings in 10 directions had their eyes gouged out and someone managed to restore them all, or suppose all beings in 10 directions were incarcerated in dungeons and someone managed to release them all and establish them in the happiness of Chakravartin or Mighty Brahma, the merit of all this is still countlessly less than that generated when a son or daughter of spiritual heritage looks at and offers praise to a sublime Bodhisattva of the Great Vehicle with faith and devotion.” The Sage Ratnakūṭa Sutra describes an episode: “A daughter of a merchant, Chengyi Chok, was seized with blazing lust when she caught sight of Bodhisattva Gaje, so much so that she died on the spot, yet she was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.”

　　《百業經》中也記載了婆羅門子因見佛生喜，以此功德得以在十叁個大劫中不墮惡趣，又于十叁個大劫中轉生天人，享受諸樂，最後轉爲人身，出家修持叁十七道品，證得獨覺果位的公案。

　　In the Sutra of One Hundred Stories on Karmas, a story is told: “A young Brahmin aroused great joy when he looked at the Buddha; due to this merit, he was spared from rebirth in the lower realms for 13 kalpas and was reborn as gods for 13 kalpas, enjoying all the well-being and happiness. Eventually he was born as a human and became a monk; through training on the Thirty-Seven Elements of Enlightenment, he attained the level of Pretyekabuddhas.”

　　由此可見，對總集叁寶爲一身的上師生起貪戀之煩惱也有很大功德，更何況以信心目視、供養上師？

　　Hence, even arousing the emotion of craving toward spiritual teachers, the embodiment of Three Jewels, results in considerable merit. What needs to be said if we behold or make offerings to them with deep devotion

　　上師是引領我們逃離痛苦淵薮、駛抵解脫彼岸的筏渡，是一切幸福的根源。不論你是快樂還是憂傷，時常以歡喜心面見或憶念上師，源源不斷的加持甘露就會灌滿你的心田。

　　A spiritual teacher leads us on the path free from all sufferings; he or she is the boat that takes us toward the shore of liberation and is the source of all happiness. Always look at or remember your teachers with joy, whether you are happy or sad; you will be filled to the brim with the nectar of blessings unceasingly.

　　壬午年七月十四日 　

　　2002年8月21日

　　14th of July, Year of RenWu

　　August 21, 2002