收益

　　Helpful Teachings

　　吃完中飯，關上院門，在佛堂前點上香、供上燈，一切收拾妥當，即坐下來開始我最喜歡的工作——看書。

　　After lunch, I closed the gate and made offerings of incense and butter lamps at the shrine. When everything was in order, I sat down and began my favorite thing to do—reading.

　　心情如同今天的天氣一般，既不陰也不晴，窗外鳥雀的叽喳聲、花間蜜蜂的嗡嗡聲、桌上鬧鍾的滴答聲，更襯托了四周的寂靜。

　　The sky was neither cloudy nor sunny, mirroring my mood of the day. The chirping of birds and the buzzing of bees among flowers outside the window, as well as the tick-tock of the clock on the desk accentuated the quietness of my surroundings.

　　翻開《勇施等持經》，一段話映入了我的眼簾：“我應于一切衆生作本師想。何故？因我不知誰之相續成熟，誰之相續不成熟故。”的確如此，作爲具縛凡夫，我們沒有辨別相續成熟的大成就者與凡夫的能力，但很多佛菩薩卻是顯現出各種身形來度化衆生的，在不具備辨別能力之前，我們應將一切衆生若佛觀待，對其恭敬承侍。

　　Turning a page of The Sutra of Fearless Offering Samadhi, a passage caught my eye:

　　I should regard every being as the Supreme Teacher. Why

　　 It is because I have no knowledge as to who among them has successfully mastered his or her mind or who has not done so.

　　Indeed, as ordinary beings we are incapable of telling a realized great siddha from a common being. Many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, in order to tame sentient beings, often manifest in many forms. Therefore, until we gain that ability of discerning who they really are, we should regard all beings as Buddhas and treat them with respect.

　　《寶積經》也雲：“迦葉，吾與同吾者可了知法與補特伽羅，凡夫不了知法與補特伽羅。否則，會墮落之故。”作爲凡夫，我們無法了知法與補特伽羅，故應對一切衆生起真佛想。

　　The Jewel Heap Sutra (Ratnakūṭa Sutra) states: “Kasyapa, only I and others of the same caliber can really comprehend phenomena and sentient beings. Ordinary people are incapable of doing so. Acting on false assumptions will cause their downfall.” As we are but commonplace people who comprehend neither phenomena nor living beings, we therefore should regard all beings as real Buddhas.

　　更何況，一切衆生，皆具佛性，只因迷悟迥異，才有天淵之別。但終有破開迷霧，徹見曉月之機。對這些未來佛，我實應恭敬禮待。

　　Moreover, all sentient beings are endowed with the Buddha nature; it is due to the degree of confusion that their appearances vary greatly. Nonetheless, clouds of confusion will eventually be dispelled and the wisdom moon will emerge in full view. For this reason, we ought to treat all future Buddhas with respect and kindness.

　　短短的一句話，讓我受益無窮。不知我以後能否時時按此行持，反正我今天已發此願。

　　This short passage benefits me tremendously. Will I be able to conduct myself according to it from now on

　　 At the very least, I have made my aspiration to do so today.

　　一陣敲門聲打破了剛才的寂靜，我又不得不出去辦事了。

　　A knock on the door broke the silence of moments ago. Well, it”s time for me to go out and take care of business.

　　壬午年六月初叁　　

　　2002年7月13日 　

　　3rd of June, Year of RenWu

　　July 13, 2002