..续本文上一页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.
我们各位应该想一想，这一些个冒充佛学专家，或者一些个自命为学者的，或者是某一个大学里头的教授，为什么他们要倡议说这个《楞严经》是假的？就因为《楞严经》上所说的，都是对治这些人的毛病，把他们所本有的一些老毛病都说得清清楚楚的。好像其中那个〈四种清净明诲〉，说得清清楚楚的，不可毁犯。这一些人根本就不愿去他们的毛病，所以就提议说：「《楞严经》是中国人造的。」这个最初是谁说的呢？是日本人提议出来的。那日本人说谁告诉他的呢？说是一个中国的法师告诉他的，说这个《楞严经》是假的。那么我不知道这个法师究竟他懂不懂《楞严经》？这法师的名字不要提他了，因为已经是很早的事情了。那么就这么样以讹传讹，说《楞严经》是假的。这就证明这个佛法没啊，一点一点地就是由佛教里边的人造出这种谣言来，一点一点地就令人生一种怀疑；生一种怀疑，久而久之就狐疑不信了；那么狐疑不信，就把这一部经会置诸高阁；置诸高阁就等于毁灭了一样的。所以，你对这一部经也不研究了，他对这一部经也不发生兴趣了，久而久之，就这样毁没了。不是这个经自己就没有字了，或者没有纸了，或者怎么样的，而是人们一点一点地就把它淡忘下来了。
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.
为什么人要提倡这个？就是因为他不愿意守这个规矩。那经上又说，五十种阴魔有种种的神通，这都不算一回事。所以他想自己有一点神通的时候，就认为我如果有这个神通，也变成假的了。现在在日本有一个同参，据说他有神通，用手一指，这个蜡烛就着了，那么究竟是不是这样子？我还没有证实。我这一次十四号到日本去，或者见一见这个人，他在很早以前也希望见我，那么我们去，大家互相交换一下意见。
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…
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