..续本文上一页 young people these days are deeply entangled in love affairs and are unable to extricate themselves; it”s quite sad. Actually, with a bit more time and experiencing life”s many trials, you will see the present problem really amounts to nothing; it”s just a befuddling experience of one journey in life”s passage.

　　Q: I am a senior student; may I ask what the difference is between religious faith and superstition

　　A: Any religion, be it Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, or Buddhism, risks the danger of becoming a superstition if it is practiced only perfunctorily, without understanding its underlying principles. For instance, in order to ask favors for promotion or wealth, people may go to the temple to burn incense and pay homage to the Buddhas, and appear to have some religious piety. But such worship is a superstition, as it is not done with a comprehension of the function of their action and the difference between gods and Buddha; it is merely using Buddha as leverage to get rich.

　　Temples nowadays are attended by worshippers every day; I don”t want to generalize, but many of them certainly are tainted by a superstitious mind. Why

　　 It is because the people don”t even know why they are prostrating to the Buddhas. A genuine Buddhist is one in whom unshakable faith toward the Buddha has arisen from the bottom of the heart. Through reading and reflecting upon the writings of past masters and the wisdom thus gained, a person comes to know that the Buddha had indeed arrived in this world. And the Buddha had taught the infallible Truth that can remove all worldly suffering and solve life”s problems. Conversely, if you know Buddhism only superficially and are muddle-headed about the Doctrines, then your faith is a superstition, even if you proclaim yourself a Buddhist.

　　Therefore, the act of burning incense or performing prostrations to the Buddha does not necessarily make one a true Buddhist follower; fishermen could have done the same thing for their fishing livelihood. When I was in the southern provinces, I”ve seen people flock to the temple to burn incense and pray for abundant catches before they set out to sea. Isn”t this absolute superstition

　　 Liang Qi Chao wrote in a book about the distinction between superstition and the right faith, saying that the genuine Buddhist faith is an intelligent one rather than a superstition. Without a right understanding of the Buddhist Doctrines, one”s faith is likely to turn into superstition rather than intelligent faith.

　　Q: We all know that the monastics should forgo alcoholic drinks and meats. Then why is that Ji Gong the Buddhist monk said: “Wine and meat just pass through my guts, while the Buddha remains in my heart”

　　A: Actually, following these lines, monk Ji Gong immediately added: “If trying to imitate me, you common folks, you are likely to enter a demonic path.”

　　Monk Ji Gong is a renowned master in history. While he let “wine and meat just pass through the guts,” he could also manage to have “the Buddha remain in the heart.” Similarly, many past sages upon reaching high achievement saw no difference between meat and vegetables or between wine and water. There was a great siddha in India who made the wine he drank into water and had it drip out from his fingers. Monk Ji Gong likewise had attained this extraordinary state; drinking alcohol or eating meat does not hinder him. But as ordinary laypeople or monastics, we should never try to follow suit blindly.

　　Nowadays the first half of this verse has often been quoted out of context in films or videos to justify drinking wine and eating flesh. It also has become a pet phrase over drinks of leading officials who know nothing about the Dharma. I have a friend in Tibet who often drinks himself to death, and he always uses these words…

《Question-and-Answer Session at Nanyang Normal University》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…