上人于金峰聖寺開示
一九九二年六月七日
Venerable Master”s Talk at Gold Summit Sagely Monastery
June 7, 1992
恒法法師記錄 Transcribed by D.M. Heng Fa
我這一次到西雅圖來，可以說是抱著病來的。爲什麼我要抱病來呢？因爲我覺得西雅圖這一班善男信女的機緣大約到了，所以我就是流血流汗也不要休息，在我養病的期間，也抱病地來到西雅圖；因爲我走路沒有氣力，上下飛機要坐輪椅，這是我的願力，我的願力就是流血汗不休息。
你們各位要知道，我今天的到來是不容易的。本來我是不想來，可是我也到過了華府，帶了二十多個人參加總統的晚餐，如果我這次不到西雅圖來，這些人會說：「這個師父，華府都能去，爲什麼不到我們這邊來？我們這些人都很願意見一見這一位愚癡的師父，爲什麼不滿我們的願？」果修在電話上問我能不能來時，我一口就答應了，說：「好！我這一去，至少要去五個人，你買好了飛機票，我就可以來了。」但我雖來了，我還要很快地回叁藩市去。禮拜天我在叁藩市給大家講經，我這給衆生做牛做馬的命運是改不了的，所以我答應你禮拜天下午到來，禮拜一下午回去，這是一定的。你不要說：「師父啊！你多住幾天吧！我們這兒想你想得要死！」你就要死也不行的。我能到這來，你們各位就要想一想師父這種流血汗不休息的精神，就算旁的你不懂，這一點你大概也可以懂的。
You could say that as I come to see you in Seattle now, I am bringing my illness along. Why is that
Why would I do such a thing
Because I feel that with the good men and good women here in Seattle, the affinities are just about right. My time has come to arrive here. So, I am coming here shedding blood and sweat but not stopping for a rest. During this time of convalescence, I come to see you bringing my illness with me. Actually, I don”t yet have enough strength to walk. When I walk, I get very short of breath. That”s why I rode the wheelchair at the airport. But my vow strength says that I will sweat blood and sweat and never stop to rest. Those are my vows.
It is not very easy to get to Seattle; in fact I did not want to come. But two months ago, I went to Washington D.C. to attend the President”s dinner, accompanied by twenty people, and I knew that if I did not come to Seattle, the people here would say, "Oh Master, you”re not fair; you went to Washington D.C., how come you can”t come here to see us
" Well, since there are people here who want to see this dumb Master, how could I not grant your wish
So, when Gwo Syou called and asked, "Master, will you please come
" I said, "Okay," on the spot. "Five people will accompany me," I said. "If you get the tickets, I will come." So, that worked out and I came.
Even though I am here, I have to go back to San Francisco very soon. I delivered a lecture Sunday morning at the Translation Institute to a group of people. I guess I can”t avoid being a horse and a cow for living beings; I can”t get out of it. So, I agreed and said that I would arrive on Sunday afternoon but on Monday afternoon I have to return. And I must go back on Monday, so please don”t beg me to stay a few more days, saying, "Oh Master, we wanted to see you so much, we almost died." Well, even if you have to die I will still have to go back. I want you to look at my situation, think about your teacher who is sacrificing his energy and shedding blood. If you don”t understand anything else, you should know this.
The Jewelled Repentance of the Emperor of Lyang was written by Ch”an Master Jr Gung, so that Emperor Wu of the Lyang Dynasty could liberate his wife, Syi. But it was not written only for his queen-lady Syi. It was written for all living beings so that we could have a road to walk upon to renew ourselves and change our faults, so that we can repent and change from within, like the wife of Emperor Wu. We can feel as she did at that time when she was rescued. But we have to really repent; we can”t fake repentance. We can”t just read the text but fail to renew ourselves and turn over a new page. That attitude is not going to succeed. So, coming to repent because you like to sing pretty or sing loud is not the way. What we value is practice, not the music of the repentance. We want to get the true meaning of the ceremony and return to our true selves. We know that in the past we have created many offenses, but we have now met the supreme Dharma, this Dharma treasure, and we should really follow it.