..续本文上一页uring on the Shurangama Sutra to a group of over thirty students from the University of Washington in Seattle. During the ninety-six days of summer vacation, I lectured on the Shurangama Sutra to those college students. During that time, there was only a half day”s break on Saturdays. Aside from that, I lectured on the Sutra every day, and they all took notes. In the beginning, I lectured once a day, and then they studied on their own. After half a month, I assessed the time and the length of the Shurangama Sutra. Fearing that I might not finish in time, I began lecturing twice a day. After a while, I calculated again and decided that I still would not be able to finish, so I started lecturing three times a day. Finally, in the last half month or more, I lectured four times a day.
在这个「暑假楞严讲修班」的期间，我一个人，给他们讲经也是我，做饭也是我，做菜也是我，烧茶也是我，那么买菜一切一切都是我，那时候四十八单执事，我一个人兼而行之，就这样子。那么这些个学生我本来可以叫他们轮流来做事情，但是我怕耽误他们的功课，耽误他们研究经典的时间，所以谁我也不用，那时候不敢说行菩萨道，但是因为有人要学《楞严经》，我愿意尽形寿来供养这样的人，所以在九十六天中，把《楞严经》讲完了。讲完之后，这是在美国一般人认识佛教的一个开始。
During the Summer Shurangama Study and Cultivation Session, not only did I lecture on the Sutra, I also cooked the meals, made tea, and did the grocery shopping and everything else for them. You could say I single-handedly took on all the monastic chores. Of course, I could have asked the students to take turns working, but I did not want to interfere with their cultivation and study of the Sutra. So I didn”t let a single person help. Although I dare not say I was practicing the Bodhisattva Way, if people wanted to study the Shurangama Sutra, I was willing to dedicate my life to serve and support them. After ninety-six days, I finished lecturing the Shurangama Sutra. With the end of this lecture, people in America were beginning to give recognition to Buddhism.
讲完《楞严经》，有五个人就出家了，在那年正月初一的时候，我曾经对一切的信众说过，「今年美国的佛教会开五朵莲华，这五朵莲华将来就是把佛教传到西方去。」这是那时候说的话。
At the end of the Shurangama Sutra lecture series, five people left the home-life. On New Year”s Day, I said to the assembly, "This year, five lotuses will bloom in American Buddhism. In the future, these five lotuses will spread Buddhism in the West." That”s what I said then.
那么在这个「暑假楞严讲修班」毕业之后，就有五个美国人要出家，我就派他们到台湾海会寺去受戒，遇着台湾的善知识，就告诉这五个人，说：「现在末法时代了，没有人在修行了，你们还吃一餐哪，被你师父给骗了！」我这些个美国徒弟，一听这个话，「哦！原来我们是被师父骗了，那我们怎么办呢？」这个善知识就说：「吃饭嘛！喝酒嘛！吃肉嘛！」这五个人对佛教就生了怀疑了，「怎么我师父教我们吃一餐，他们叫我们早晚都应该吃饭的，这是怎么搞的？这里头一定有问题？」心里就活活动动地就要吃饭，于是乎他们自己就开会，说：「我们回去问清楚再吃饭！」他们又告诉那个台湾的善知识说：「我们是坐单的。」台湾有一些个人就告诉他们说：「坐单！那是佛住世的时候，有人坐单；现在佛都不在世了，你们坐什么单哪？唉！真是美国人被中国人骗了。」
After they graduated from the Summer Shurangama Lecture and Practice Session, five Americans left the home-life. I sent them to Hai Hui (Sea-like Assembly) Monastery in Taiwan to receive the precepts. The Good and Wise Advisors in Taiwan told them, "Now it is the Dharma-Ending Age. No one cultivates anymore. You”re still eating one meal a day
You”ve been cheated by your teacher." When my American disciples heard this, they thought, "Oh, so we”ve been cheated by our teacher. What should we do
" The Good and Wise Advisors said, "Well, go ahead and eat. Drink wine and eat meat." The five people started to have doubts about Buddhism. "How come our teacher taught us to eat one meal a day, and now they tell us we should eat in the morning and evening as well
What”s going on
There must be something wrong here." Their minds were swayed, and they wanted to start eating more meals, but they had a meeting and decided to go back and make sure before they did that. They also told the Good and Wise Advisors in Taiwan that they slept sitting up. Some people in Taiwan told them, "You sleep sitting up
People did that when the Buddha was in the world. Now the Buddha isn”t around anymore, so why do you do it
It”s really a case of Americans being cheated by the Chinese."
这么样一来，怎么样呢？回去就调皮了，说：「人家台…
《《楞严经》是照妖镜 The Shurangama Sutra Is a Demon-spotting Mirror》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…