..續本文上一頁a Mantra. He said that no Westerners would believe in the Shurangama Mantra, that they wouldn”t recite it since they consider mantras to be superstitious and don”t believe in the functions of mantras. Therefore, he left out the instructions for setting up the platforms and for practicing and upholding the Great Shurangama Dharma. After coming to this Western country--the United States, I personally realized that there are many Westerners who love to chant the Shurangama Mantra. Not only do they like to chant the Shurangama Mantra, they are even able to recite it from memory! At Gold Mountain Monastery, I had a disciple who joined us in reciting the Shurangama Mantra during morning recitation and again during evening recitation. After twenty-six days of reciting it in the morning and evening, he was able to recite it from memory. The first test I gave to my students in America was on the Shurangama Mantra. I stipulated in the summer session (1968) that whoever could memorize the Shurangama Mantra would pass, and whoever could not would fail. There was one who memorized the Shurangama Mantra in twenty-six days, and another who memorized it in twenty-eight days. And now, many Western Buddhists are familiar with the Shurangama Mantra.
我們各位應該想一想，這一些個冒充佛學專家，或者一些個自命爲學者的，或者是某一個大學裏頭的教授，爲什麼他們要倡議說這個《楞嚴經》是假的？就因爲《楞嚴經》上所說的，都是對治這些人的毛病，把他們所本有的一些老毛病都說得清清楚楚的。好像其中那個〈四種清淨明誨〉，說得清清楚楚的，不可毀犯。這一些人根本就不願去他們的毛病，所以就提議說：「《楞嚴經》是中國人造的。」這個最初是誰說的呢？是日本人提議出來的。那日本人說誰告訴他的呢？說是一個中國的法師告訴他的，說這個《楞嚴經》是假的。那麼我不知道這個法師究竟他懂不懂《楞嚴經》？這法師的名字不要提他了，因爲已經是很早的事情了。那麼就這麼樣以訛傳訛，說《楞嚴經》是假的。這就證明這個佛法沒啊，一點一點地就是由佛教裏邊的人造出這種謠言來，一點一點地就令人生一種懷疑；生一種懷疑，久而久之就狐疑不信了；那麼狐疑不信，就把這一部經會置諸高閣；置諸高閣就等于毀滅了一樣的。所以，你對這一部經也不研究了，他對這一部經也不發生興趣了，久而久之，就這樣毀沒了。不是這個經自己就沒有字了，或者沒有紙了，或者怎麼樣的，而是人們一點一點地就把它淡忘下來了。
All of us should stop for a moment and think, "Why do these fake Buddhist experts, self-proclaimed scholars, and college professors say that the Shurangama Sutra is false
" It”s because the doctrines of the Shurangama Sutra counteract the faults of these people; it clearly exposes their faults. For example, it explains very clearly that the Four Clear Instructions on Purity must not be transgressed. Since these people have no intention of eliminating their faults, they insinuate that the Shurangama Sutra was created by the Chinese. Who were the first ones to say this
The Japanese. Who told the Japanese
It is said that a Chinese Dharma Master informed them that the Shurangama Sutra was counterfeit. I don”t know whether that Dharma Master understood the Shurangama Sutra. We don”t have to mention his name, because it was a long time ago. Since then, people have been spreading the rumor that the Shurangama Sutra is not genuine. This shows that the Buddhadharma is declining: people within Buddhism made up such a rumor, gradually causing doubts in others. Over a period of time, people became doubtful and disbelieving, and in their disbelief they put this Sutra away in the attic. That”s equivalent to destroying it, for no one will study this Sutra or have any interest in it. Over the course of time, the Sutra will disappear, not because of something like the words fading away or the pages falling out, but because, little by little, people will forget about it.
爲什麼人要提倡這個？就是因爲他不願意守這個規矩。那經上又說，五十種陰魔有種種的神通，這都不算一回事。所以他想自己有一點神通的時候，就認爲我如果有這個神通，也變成假的了。現在在日本有一個同參，據說他有神通，用手一指，這個蠟燭就著了，那麼究竟是不是這樣子？我還沒有證實。我這一次十四號到日本去，或者見一見這個人，他在很早以前也希望見我，那麼我們去，大家互相交換一下意見。
Why have people made up this false theory
Simply because they do not want to follow the rules. The Sutra also states that the various spiritual powers associated with the fifty skandha-demon states are not significant. So those people think, "Even if I had some spiritual powers, they would be considered false." I”ve heard that a certain cultivator in Japan has spiritual penetrations--it”s sa…
《〈楞嚴咒〉的妙用 The Wonderful Effects of the Shurangama Mantra》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…