中觀27道題 Nagarjuna’s Middle Way: Greed and the Greedy

 標題：中觀27道題

南禪朋友好！

貪與貪染者

《中觀27道題》觀察貪與貪染者，67頁第6行直接點出「但是對於阿毗達磨師而言，「人」不是勝義實有。

這裡也是《中觀論》的觀染染者品。

 

「人」不是勝義實有，換句話可以說「人」沒什麼好討論嗎？（哈）說這話的中觀論師們有笑傲江湖的架式！

 

記得苦讀《中論》時也是金庸小說的年代，

在苦悶的年代裡看到觀染染者都要拍案叫絕！

 

而今《中觀27道題》的作者更直接指出論師的立場是「人」不是勝義，

我每次想到都要微笑好幾天！

 

是啊！

憑什麼說大家都是貪婪者？

憑什麼說大家都有貪婪？

有人跟你的處境是不一樣的！（哈）

花的存在就是花，沒告訴「人」它的名字是貪。

而人的存在不是爲了貪染。

 

「人」不是勝義，直接跳過染缸指出「人」的錯覺比較值得討論，令人神情愉悅！

半寄

 

Nagarjuna’s Middle Way: Mulamadhyamakakarika

 

Desire and the One Who Desires

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

Nagarjuna’s Middle Way Chapter 6: Rāga-raktaparīkṣā. examines desire and the one who desires. On page 67, line 6, it directly states: "For Abhidharma scholars, “human nature” is not the ultimate truth or the permanent entity."

This is also the core idea in the Observation of Desire and the One Who Desires chapter of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

 

So, if " human nature" is not ultimately real, does that mean there's nothing to discuss about "people"? (Ha!) The Madhyamaka masters had an air of carefree grandeur, like heroes from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer!

 

I remember studying Mūlamadhyamakakārikā intensely during the era of Jin Yong novels. Even in those tough times, reading about Observation of Desire and the One Who Desires made me want to jump up and applaud!

 

Now, the authorrs of Nagarjuna’s Middle Way: Mulamadhyamakakarika state even more directly that the Madhyamaka position is: "Human nature" is not ultimately real.

Every time I think about this, I can’t help but smile for days!

 

Yes!

On what grounds do we say everyone is greedy?

On what grounds do we say everyone has desire?

Not everyone shares the same circumstances! (Ha!)

A flower simply exists as a flower; it never tells "people" that its name is greed.

Likewise, human existence is not for the sake of desire.

 

Since " human nature" is not ultimately real, why not skip the murky waters and focus on correcting misconceptions of ‘human nature’ instead? Now, that is inspiring and truly delightful!

 

Master Banji

 

 

空 Śūnyatā

空

南禪朋友好！

  有大德問起「空」是什麼？

我個人依據《中論》的「八不」濃縮成我個人想要探索的方向，

建立一套我自己要用的「空」思惟，

這樣子做長達30餘年，我常常去思索因緣裡的「空」常年建立由淺至深的探討，「空」需要熟悉「緣」的條件。

（也可以說；佛法「空」的認知建立在緣起。思考緣起不能出現矛盾）

《中觀27道題》進一步指出因緣的呈現與狀態-空。

半寄

Śūnyatā

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

Someone asked what "Śūnyatā" is.

Personally, I have condensed the Eight Negations from Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way and developed a way of thinking about "Śūnyatā" that I have applied for over 30 years. I have continuously reflected on "Śūnyatā" within causes and conditions and gradually deepened my understanding. In approaching the Buddhist idea of "Śūnyatā", it’s necessary to have a clear understanding of "conditions".

(In other words, the Buddhist concept of "Śūnyatā" is established on Dependent Origination. If one's reasoning contradicts Dependent Origination, the understanding is flawed.)

Nagarjuna’s Middle Way: Mulamadhyamakakarika further clarifies how causes and conditions manifest—this is Śūnyatā.

 

Master Banji

 

簡言之,「空」的定義就是「無不變性、無獨立性、無實在性」(印順導師

《般若經講記》),「空」所否定的是事物本質,並不否定事物的生滅變化現

象及其世間作用, 絕非甚麼都「沒有」! 正如夢中所見景象不真實,但不

能因此而否定夢境曾經出現及其影響。(擷取自香港佛門網)

 

In short, "Śūnyatā" means "no permanence, no independence, and no intrinsic reality" (Venerable Yinshun, Commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras).

 

"Śūnyatā" denies the essence of things, but does not deny the arising, changing, and ceasing of phenomena or their worldly functions. It certainly does not mean "nothing exists."

 

Just as the scenes in dreams are not real, yet we cannot deny that they occur and leave an impact. (Excerpt from Buddhistdoor, Hongkong)

 

賀新年2025 Happy New Year 2025, friends of NanZen

 南禪朋友2025年 新年快樂！

   一年將盡，感謝南禪精舍潮州、台南讀書會的持續進行！為了

讀書會的講解把曾經只在我個人腦海中思惟過的佛法慢慢整理出

來，過程的煎熬一言難盡！

      從密密麻麻的大藏經，到白話文，到佛法以外的學問⋯⋯幾

乎行雲流水的匆匆，本來認為不可能寫出來的（只供自用），

用禪師一個聲音表白，「啊！」

         感謝海內外佛學者對「南禪精舍修行的探討」部落格的熱

情，

用寫心得的方式闡述佛法，只想縮短很多有心佛學者的徘徊。

願 佛日增輝 佛水長流。

半寄

 Happy New Year 2025, friends of NanZen!!

 As the year is coming to an end, I am thankful for the ongoing

discussions of NanZen Vihara book clubs in Chaozhou and Tainan!

I used to consider the Buddhist teachings which I have contemplated in my mind too vast to organize (and thus only for guides to my personal practice). However, in order to lecture in the book clubs, I try to organize and paraphrase them in plain words gradually.

 

By integrating Taishō Tripiṭaka densely crammed full of words with plain speech as well as knowledge other than Buddhism, I can finally clarify Buddhist ideas I have comprehended in public. As for the sufferings of turning ideas into plain words, it's a long story! As timerushes by like nearly like flowing clouds and flowing water, only the Zen masters’ sigh of ‘Ah !’ is left to express my mood.

   

I appreciate Buddhists at home and abroad who are enthusiastic about my blog "Search For Enlightenment with Nan Zen Vihara; An Investigation into Practice of Buddhism". I explain the Dharma by writing down (actual practice) experiences, merely aiming to reduce and shorten the hesitation of those who set their mind to Buddhist practice.

 Ma Buddha’s sun/virtue brighten the world

and the Dharma Water flow forever

Master Ban Ji

Translated by Grace Jui-hsin Tsai

 

 

 

 

 

無明夢幻2 Ignorance And Illusion 2

無明夢幻2

       我們去看佛法談了很多「心與心所」的問題，也就是我們的感官對應外界的一切知覺，

 我們也可以說它是修行者研究過人的心、意、志的說明。

想要修行成功必須越過人本身的障礙，所以必須研究心、意、志。

 在個人的修持裏如把「心與心所」轉換成「我與我不能超越的ㄧ件事加以挑戰」，

 例如；我與我生氣的一件事，不斷挑戰我為什麼要生氣，一直到躍過這件事情。

（當然這要清楚自我的心理力量，但這樣做賺得一分是一分）

這樣做建立起自己內心的力量成心智，

很多佛法的專有名詞便可以逐一清楚明白。

半寄

                           

Ignorance And Illusion 2

 "The mind and mental concomitants" have been widely discussed in Buddhism. To put it simply, they refer to how our senses correspond to all external perceptions. We can also say that it is the explanation of the mind, intention, and will, as studied by practitioners.

 To succeed in practice, one must overcome difficulties of human nature, so it’s necessary to study the mind, intention, and will.

 In my personal practice, I transform the term "the mind and mental concomitants" into “ challenge/elevate the situations between something I cannot surpass and I”.

 Take ‘challenging something making me angry and I’ as an example.

I continually challenge myself by asking why I am angry, until I surpass my anger.

(Of course, this requires a clear understanding of one's psychological strength, but doing so brings progress little by little.)

 This process builds inner strength and mental clarity, and many Buddhist terms can then be clearly understood one by one.

Master Banji

 

 

無明夢幻1 Ignorance And Illusion

 無明夢幻1

南禪朋友好！

有大德問到，一切是無明、夢幻的佛法問題。

我的回答是： 根據《阿含經》佛陀只說到無明，（也就是不明白）

 

現在講無明大夢，大夢兩個字會把修行的指標弄扭曲，

 

佛法是結構嚴謹的一套理論跟修行，任何要加進去的字眼，

都必須把頭跟尾說清楚，因為那關係到修行能不能成功！

嚴格講是神聖的一件事情。

哪是誰讓自己在做夢？

 

從大夢中醒來，如何證果位從來沒有看見被交代清楚過，

然後不懂無明的人又在無明前面加了「無始」，變成無始無明，

又把無明推得很遠，讓大家修行變成都是沒有希望的！

這些在佛法而言，已是誤解佛法的惡法。

這是學佛者，必定要清楚的點。

 

我個人的修行經驗是「無明」在善根裡面就可以修煉，為什麼！

因為善根是要歷經考驗的，

我們總不能說我們就是好人吧！哈(哈)

 

在面對很多是非、善惡，的題目時善根的衝突點就會上來。

 

一個有智慧的人如何不被自己的無明（情緒）、慾望牽著走而邁向光明面，這裡面的衝突、轉折、處理就是在衝破無明了！

 

Ignorance And Illusion 1

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

A disciple asked about the Buddhist question “All is ignorance (avidya) and an illusion (dream)”.

 

I replied that according to the Āgamas, the Buddha spoke only of ignorance (which means not understanding).

 

Now, the term "great illusion" or "great dream" can distort the guiding principles of practice. 

 

Buddhism is a religious philosophy equipped with well-structured theories and approaches to spiritual practice.

Any additional terms must be clearly explained from beginning to end, as they affect whether the spirtual practice will be successful!

 

Strictly speaking, it is a sacred matter and have nothing to do with dreaming.

 

How does one awaken from the great dream? There has never been a clear explanation on how to be enlightened from this.

 

Then, those who don’t understand ignorance added the word "beginningless" before ignorance, turning it into "beginningless ignorance," pushing ignorance further away and making the path of practice seem hopeless!

 

These are misunderstandings and harmful interpretations of Buddhist teachings.

 

This is something every Buddhist practitioner must be clear about.

 

In my personal practice, "ignorance" can be overcome in cultivating virtuous roots.

Why? 

 

Because virtuous roots must stand the test of conflicts.

We cannot simply declare ourselves to be virtuous people merely because we have made some donations, right? Haha!!

 

When faced with many issues of right and wrong, good and evil, the conflict of virtuous roots arises.

 

A wise person is one who does not let their ignorance (emotions) or desires control them, but instead moves forward to a bright and virtuous world.

 

The facing conflicts, modifying oneself and handling of these situations are the very process of breaking through ignorance!

 

 

 

挑戰 Challenge

挑戰

南禪朋友大家好！

       在已知的印度觀念「微塵土」中思考《中論》結果是具足挑戰，

在環環相扣的十二因緣中講斷我使、我慢，從來沒有大德反思，

環環相扣如何抽一個環節出來斷掉？

半寄

Challenge

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

Trying to analyze Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way with the Indian concep of “ minute dust particle” turns out to be challenging.  

 

When discussing breaking off self-indulgence and self-conceit in the interlinked chain of Twelve Nidānas, yet no one has ever questioned:

 

How can one extract a single link from an interconnected chain, and then sever it?

 

Master Banji