..续本文上一页 been able to confess and repent. All these activities have created many good roots which we now dedicate to all living beings so that they, too, can reach the Buddha Path.
We also vow that whatever Victory and Merits that we receive from this, we dedicate to the Unsurpassed True Dharma Realm whose nature is manifested in the Buddha, in the Dharma and in the Sangha also!
The two forms of statements are thus combined in the Samadhi Seal creating an Immeasurable Ocean of Merit, and, this merit we also completely dedicate so that all living beings that possess body, mouth or mind can see as escape from the confusion that slanders our Dharma everywhere.
Thusly, all the many kinds of karmic obstacles will be fully and completely dispersed, without a trace of a remainder so that in the thought-after-thought, wisdom on every side Dharma Realms there will be the vast salvation of all living beings so that there will be no retreating into Birth and Death, and, so that throughout the Empty Realm of Sunyata and in the Finite Worlds, all living beings will be emptied of Karma and Klesa.
Therefore, in the same way that those of the Four Dharmas, whose merits are broad and limitless, have vowed to give their merit for the benefit of all living beings,
slowly turn so that the Two Ranks face each other
We also give our own merits to all living beings, saying:
Give Praise to the Great Activity of P”u Hsien Bodhisattva,
The Confession and Repentance Teaching Bodhisattva - Mahasattva!
repeat the above sentence three times
After the third repetition, the Hand Ch”ing is struck twice quickly and all rise and perform WEN-HSUN bow. The Two Ranks again turn to face each other.
RITE OF BESTOWING ALMS FOOD
Translation Note: CAUTION! This rite is clearly indicated in all texts, but common practice shows that it is not usually performed daily as the text would seem to indicate. Instead, this rite was generally performed only on Auspicious Days and on the 1st and 15th of each month. In some temples and monasteries, it was not performed at all due to caution on the part of the Abbot. Indeed, in some places anyone caught learning this Rite was banned from the establishment by standing rules. This is because this rite is one of the most serious of the Tantric Rites that became common to Chinese Buddhist practice. As the rite involves the use of Mantra, Mudra and Samadhi of the highest type, few were qualified to correctly perform it, and those who did so without the practice and knowledge required to do so correctly did (and do) so at their peril. Today, we live in an age when few ”intelligent” people believe in the ghosts for whom this rite is intended. Logic would then dictate that it be omitted by those who do not believe in ghosts. If you are one who is certain that this rite still has a purpose and an audience, please be cautious and learn the correct performance of the Mudra indicated before attempting this rite.
Being the correct manner of bestowing Alms Food on Hungry Ghosts by monks as taught at Meng Shan and handed down to us by Dharma Master Wai Kuo Kan Lu, who taught this method to the Great Assembly when he dwell for a time at the "Four Streams Concealed Mountain Monastery" commonly known as Meng Shan. In addition to the Ceremonial Words that follow, the Master also left us with this gatha:
ALL SILENTLY
A fierce fire, blazing, blazing, illuminating the Iron City
The Iron City that burns those Solitary Souls
The Solitary Souls that desire to be reborn in the Pure Land
Let them then listen to this portion of the Hua-Yen.
The IRON CITY is the most fierce and terrible of all the Hells. The phrase translated here as Solitary Souls means in its complete nuance "those souls for whom there is no-one to offer sacrifices.” The HUA-YEN…
《[晚课] Evening Recitations (late Ven· Shih Shen-Lung(Ryugen Fisher)》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…