念佛如同打电话
Reciting the Buddha”s Name Is Like Making a Phone Call
如果你自己不打电话，又有谁来接你的电话？
If you don”t make the call, then who”s going to answer the phone
念念真诚念念通，
默默感应默默中；
直至山穷水尽处，
逍遥法界任西东。
Thought after thought is true and sincere;
thought after thought penetrates.
Working quietly, there”s a response
in the midst of the quiet work.
Go straight to the place beyond the
mountains and streams,
And you will be free to roam the Dharma Realm,
going east or west as you please.
刚才所说的偈颂，大家能否了悟其中的真义？
Has everyone awakened to the true meaning of the above verse
「念念真诚念念通」：第一个念，是心中所发出的念。第二个念，是有之于心，而形之于口，从口中发出的；若只存有第二念，口念的「念」，便不能算是真诚的念了，所以「心」、「口」俱要真诚，这是对念菩萨或念佛而言。我们要念到心口合一，一而不二。我们不可随便地念，也不可散乱地念，也不可夹杂其他的妄想来念，如果能做到这几点，便可以称为「真诚」了。
The first “thought” refers to the thought produced from the mind. The second thought comes from the mouth. It originates in the mind and takes form in the mouth. If you only keep the secondary thought of the mouth, it doesn”t count as a thought of true sincerity. Therefore, the mind and the mouth must both be sincere in reciting the name of the Buddha or Bodhisattva. We should recite until the mind and mouth unite into one, and are no longer two. We should not recite casually or with a scattered mind, nor should we entertain idle thoughts while reciting. If we can fulfill these conditions, then we can be considered sincere.
有了真诚的意念，一定会有感应的，这感应是什么呢？就是凡夫的心和佛菩萨的光相通，所谓：
光光相照，
孔孔相通。
If our thoughts are sincere, we will certainly obtain a response. What kind of response
Our common mind will interpenetrate with the light of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as in the saying,
The lights shine upon one another;
The holes mutually connect.
为什么会有这种感应呢？譬如打电话，号码打通了，对方一声「喂！」于是乎就可以畅所欲言，有了连络。念菩萨圣号也如同拨电话号码，到时菩萨就会问你：「善男子(善女人)，你想求些什么？」于是你就可以有求必应了。若是没有诚心，这就好像是五个号码，你只拨三个号码就住手了，那又怎能把电话打通呢？念菩萨亦复如此。假使你念一会儿又不念了，这就没有诚意，那是一定不会通的。
Why will such a response occur
It”s like making a phone call: after you dial the number, the other person answers, “Hello
” Then you can say what you need to say and communicate with each other. Reciting the Bodhisattva”s name is like dialing the number. Then the Bodhisattva will ask you, “Good man (Good woman), what do you seek
” At that point, you will obtain whatever you seek. But if you aren”t sincere, it will be like dialing only three digits of a five-digit phone number. How can the call go through
Reciting the Bodhisattva”s name is the same. If you recite for a while and then stop because you lack sincerity, your recitation certainly won”t go through.
这种光光相照的感应，是只有身受的人才能感觉到的。譬如打电话，也只有拿起听筒收听的人才能清楚对方的话，凡夫的肉眼是无法看到声波的去来，所以说：「默默感应默默中」。
The response of lights shining upon one another can only be felt by the people who personally do it. Similarly, when there”s a phone call, you have to pick up the receiver in order to hear the caller clearly, because the eyes of ordinary people cannot see the sound waves. So it is said, “Working quietly, there”s a response in the midst of the quiet work.”
这种光光相照的感应，是只有身受的人才能感觉到的。譬如打电话，也只有拿起听筒收听的人才能清楚对方的话，凡夫的肉眼是无法看到声波的去来，所以说：「默默感应默默中」。
“Beyond the mountains and streams” refers to the state of: “At the top of a hundred-foot pole, take another step. Let go in midair and another world appears.”
「山穷水尽」是「百尺竿头重进步，撒手天空另有天。」的境界，念至山穷水尽时，简直是念而不念，打成一团、念成一片了，那时就可以「逍遥法界任西东」。若是我们要往生西方极乐世界，就可以应念而往；若想倒驾慈航，回来广度众生，也可以应念而回到极乐世界之东的娑婆世界，乃至一切法界，也皆可应念而往，所以说「任西东」，所谓：
一如意一切如意，
一自在一切自在。
When you recite to the point that the mountains and streams have vanished, you are basically reciting, yet not reciting. You are reciting with a single mind, in a state of uninterrupted mindfulness. At that time, "you will be free to roam the Dharma Realm, going east or west as you please." If we want to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the West, we can recite and obtain the response of being…
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