念去去千里煙波 Thinking of The Journey Ahead Is Long, and the Chance of Meeting again Is Slim.

念去去千里煙波

     

記得當年讀太虛大師、印老的一些佛法論述時感到很遺憾，他

們都只是論述而不下結論。

似乎漢系研究ㄧ直有著儒家的謙虛。

 方東美先生是個例外，先生的《華巖宗哲學》拿出來再翻了幾

頁還是覺得他的結

構嚴謹，儘管至今台灣的佛法興盛、研究也多，但我覺得東美

先生的《華嚴宗哲學》研究還是值得再讀一遍，

只是對當時的我來說基礎未穩，《華嚴經》的世界太大了。

      正躊躇間，沛宏居士從日本回國探親，談起了日本佛法，日

本佛法對我並不陌

生，記得去印順導師的華雨精舍時還看過導師全套的望月大辭

典，十分驚訝導師

竟然是看日文原文的。

此後，都保有閱讀日本佛學研究的習慣，也學到日本學者對他們

的研究敢下定論的精神。

 利用沛宏（蔡醫師長子）暑假回國時跟空照師三人一起做環島旅行，

一路上有佛教徒投熱烈的眼光，認為我福報好有弟子相陪旅行

（我沒有弟子也不

做皈依儀式，輕車從簡也是一個比較快的方法），

事實上我對佛法還沒有頭緒感到焦慮，旅行也只是暫時轉移焦

點罷了！

 高雄復興三路的蔡皮膚科家族跟我半輩子有緣，2025元旦蔡醫

師及其家人照例來訪，我們還談起在環島的時候坪林買老茶的

往事，蔡夫人，沛宏阿姨們也都是老茶客，感謝🙏她們年年幫

我準備茶葉，去他們家喝茶是一種茶的饗宴。

（大家都有年齡了，每年聚一次總有一種說不出的喜悅。

有人龍曆新年時託一個供養給我，沛宏拖到年底才帶到，我還

跟他說：你都沒有加利息，哈😄）

 沛宏居士跟我所學的佛法相左，但他從沒因我跟他的意見常相

左而離去，也算是奇緣。

半寄

 

Thinking of The Journey Ahead Is Long, and the Chance of Meeting again Is Slim.

 

I remember when I was reading the Buddhist discourses of Master Taixu and Venerable Yinshun, I felt a bit regretful because they only presented their ideas without offering conclusions. It seemed that Chinese Buddhist scholars, influenced by Confucian humility, have always been like this.

 

Mr. Fang Dongmei is an exception. I’ve skipped through a few pages of his Philosophy of the Avatamsaka (Huayan) School and still found his structure rigorous. Despite the flourishing of Buddhism in Taiwan and the abundance of research, I believe Mr. Fang's work on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra (Flower Garland Sūtra) is still worth revisiting.However, at that time, my foundation was not strong enough, and the world presented in the the Avataṃsaka Sūtra was just too vast for me to comprehend.

 

While I was in doubt, Peihong, a lay practitioner, came back from Japan to visit his family. He spoke about Japanese Buddhism, which I was somewhat familiar with. I remember when I visited Venerable Yinshun at Huayu Monastery, I saw that Venerable Yinshun had complete volumes of Great dictionary of Buddhism, and I was amazed that he read the original Japanese texts. Since then, I’ve maintained the habit of reading Japanese Buddhist studies and learned the spirit of Japanese scholars, who are often brave enough to draw conclusions in their research.

 

During Peihong’s summer trip back home, we went on a round-island trip with Master Kongzhao. Along the way, many Buddhists looked at me with admiration, thinking I was fortunate to have a disciple accompanying me on the journey (though I actually didn’t

 have disciples or conduct any formal ordination ceremonies—traveling light was simply a faster method). In fact, I was still anxious about not fully understanding Buddhism, and the trip was just a temporary distraction.

 

The family of Dermatologist Tsai on Fuxing 3rd Road in Kaohsiung has a deep connection with my life. On New Year’s Day 2025, Dr. Tsai and his family visited as usual, and we talked about buying aged tea in Pinglin during our round-the-island trip. Mrs. Tsai and Peihong (Dr. Tsai’s first son)’s aunts are also avid tea lovers, and I appreciate their preparing tea for me every year. Visiting their home for tea is truly a tea feast.

 

As everyone gets older, there is joy beyond description with our annual gathering. Someone asked Peihong to give me the red envelope last Chinese New Year, and Peihong didn’t bring it to me until the end of this year. I jokingly told him, "You should have added the interest, haha

."Peihong and I have different views on Buddhism, but he has never left me due to our disagreements, which I consider to be a rare bond.

 

                                                                                        Master Banji