修佛法2 Practicing Buddhism 2

 

修佛法2  

           我常常會面對有人說： 師父你10年前、20年前講過的

話，現在怎麼可以改變了呢！？ 

我常被要求在原地20年、30年都不可以動一下， 語言也不可以

轉換，也不可以修正！哈

 那我豈不變成阿呆師哈！ 人心裡的恐懼是無以言喻的！

 那種恐懼會恐懼到要求別人都跟自己站在一條線、一個點， 然後不可以動， 人性說也說不完⋯⋯

               我常覺得人怎麼可以這麼封鎖的去過完自己的一輩子！

 一個出家師父身上背負的重擔難以想像!

只能說；聽清楚了佛法，去修自己，把那個龜縮（鎖）的自己拉出來，

天下第一大神功，哈

 Practicing Buddhism 2

People often ask me how it is that what I’m now saying is different

 from what I said ten or twenty years ago.

It’s as if I’m being asked to not make any modifications, corrections,

 or improvements to what I said or wrote two or three decades ago. A

 teacher who never improves---what a scary thought!

Out of fear of change, some people cling to their current views and

 understanding, and expect others to do the same; this is human

 nature.

It’s unfortunate that some people live their entire lives enclosed in a

 tiny box. Imagine the heavy burden this places on a monk or nun

 trying to teach the Dharma!

In a nutshell, my advice is to learn the teaching well, and then apply

 it to yourself, in such a way that you extricate yourself from your

 self-created, limiting views.

Of all the amazing things in this world, this one is of foremost

 importance.

Master Ban Ji

Translated by Ken Kraynak

修佛法1 Practicing Buddhism 1

 

南禪朋友早安！

    讀書會上有大德分享瞋恨用慈悲去對治！

我回應說： 我從來不知道怎麼用慈悲對治瞋恨？-是無限、無量

的去原諒別人或是愛別人嗎！？

我個人經常會對自己的情緒或是生氣去了解原因，為什麼自己

會產生這樣的憤怒？ 找出原因好像扳開擋在前面的石頭，讓自

己跨步而去，

個人經常要求大腦去看問題，要求自己打開眼睛、耳朵，去了

解問題所在！

很多修行者從來不敢面對一個問題， 當自己要求大腦、眼睛、

耳朵去看問題，卻常常看到逃避的自己， 要對治這個龜縮的自

己就要費很多時間了吧！  

個人從修行到今天， 都不知道怎麼只用慈悲去對治瞋恨這麼簡

單的面對？ 

當佛法變成一個條理後，人好像只去接受規範，反而失去了佛

法的內容， 

我個人理解的解脫之道-應該是自我有能力跨步而去， 而不是無

限量的在原地自以為是的包容。

半寄

Practicing Buddhism 1

Good morning, friends of Nan Zen!

One of the members of the book club shared her experience in using

 compassion as an antidote for anger and hatred.

I replied that I wasn’t sure what she meant; was she talking about

 having unlimited forgiveness and boundless love for others?

Whenever I get moody or angry, I try to understand its cause, asking

 myself why I’ve gotten angry like this. When the cause becomes

 clear, it’s as if a boulder has been removed from my path, allowing

 me to go forward.

You could say I’m in the habit of opening my eyes and ears, so as to

 get a good understanding of the problem.

For lots of people on the path of Buddhist Practice, there’s a lot of

 resistance to looking into certain difficulties. However, using your

 eyes, ears, and brain to closely examine such a problem reveals the

 part of you that is unwilling to face it. Dealing with these sorts of

 self-imposed limitations can take a lot of time!

 

In all my years of Buddhist Practice, I’ve never found that anger and

 hatred can be allayed by merely using compassion.

Once Buddhism became systematized, it became the norm to merely

 accept the doctrines and standards of ethical conduct, but this leaves

 out an essential part of the Buddhadharma.

My own understanding of the path of liberation is that progress only

 comes by making an effort, and that self-complacent forgiveness,

 even if unlimited, is not enough.

Master Ban Ji

Translated by Ken Kraynak

 

變動法The Nature of Change

 南禪朋友好！

變動法

          最近有大德跟我分享她對北傳佛法「三法印」持偉大的敬意！

 諸行無常

諸法無我

涅槃寂靜

又悲她自己年邁而佛法尚無成！

我說：無常是變動法，只要反覆練習自己對無常、變動度的接受程度，應該會有所幫助。

深切的練習，反複的練習，甚至譴責不願接受變動的自己！

 自己的生命時間、空間在崩塌進行式，或在成長架構式，變動中能自處者-入無常式。

半寄

（我想說用一個系列的思想解脫自己，而不是一直看著自己的

念頭（想法）那太累了！）

The Nature of Change

Greetings, friends of Nan Zen!

Recently a disciple told me how impressed she is with the doctrine of

 the three seals of the Dharma in Mahayana Buddhism: all

 conditioned phenomena are impermanent, all compounded things

 are not-self, and nirvana is perfect peace.

What a pity that she is getting on in years, yet still hasn’t gained

 much insight into the Buddhadharma.

I told her that impermanence is the law of change and that one needs

 to practice in such a way that one’s level of acceptance of this reality

 increases. With sufficient practice, you’ll get to the point where

 you’ll become disenchanted with all that is impermanent, including

 yourself!

Whatever stage of life you find yourself in---you may still be

 growing up or already getting old---there is change, and you need to

 deal with it skillfully from the perspective of impermanence.

(Here I’m talking about a systematic approach to liberation, rather

 than constantly observing your thoughts, which would be too

 exhausting!)

Master Ban ji

Translated by Ken Kraynak

 

 

涅槃Nirvana

 

南禪朋友大家好！

               一位有智慧的女居士問起「涅槃」，

她說：一般都用「不生不滅」來形容。 但她無法理解。

我說：涅槃是修行的最後一課當然很難理解！ 

如用禪宗的話語； 

言語道斷，心行處滅！ 

似乎可以摸到形容詞背後的些許意義！

半寄

Nirvana

Greetings, friends of Nan Zen!

A wise laywoman asked a question about nirvana.

She asked what exactly is meant when nirvana is described as neither

 arising nor ceasing.

I explained that nirvana is the culmination of Buddhist Practice, so

 it’s no wonder that it’s hard to wrap your mind around it.

The Zen school explains it like this: “Cutting off the path of

 language, wherever the mind goes, that’s where cessation takes

 place.”

I’d say this is a statement pregnant with meaning!

Master Ban Ji

 Translated by Ken Kraynak