宿緣 Karmic Connections from Past Lives

「那些正義使者敢說：

佛陀要求給孤獨長者黃金鋪地是貪財嗎？

佛陀去救他的兒子羅睺羅怕被毒蛇咬，是自私嗎？

佛法，麻煩再去研究一下。」

 

大家好！

 宿緣

 宿緣是佛法認為的輪廻生命中有關於上一輩子的ㄧ切。

真正提及宿緣，除了當事者，

第三者想知道必須具備修行的能力才能告知。

這個跟阿難在佛經結集被拒絕進入阿羅漢僧團是一樣的。

在沒有「宿命明」的共識下去解讀過去世的生命，其誤解程度是可以想的，

但就像我分享的《Yesterday's Children》前世今生電影一樣，宿緣的解開對當事者的心理程度具有關鍵性的意義，

根據我個人修行能知道的，很多人的心理痛苦，是沒有解開的宿緣，也是無題式深沉苦痛的。

以致於在佛法的修行裡面「宿命明」是佔據重要的位子。

我慢慢理解到：宿命如同昨天的事情沒有解決，今天要往前走顯得困難是一樣的。

 

而面對宿緣內容的誤解，需要解釋嗎？

 

過去，印順法師只寫西方極樂世界是太陽神的崇拜，就被告密及換來佛教界的撻伐，

這對當時有研究佛學的佛教徒而言，豈止是天大的笑話而已！

 

我也沒有看過印老出來說他的研究是不對的，來止息風波。

印老還說是太陽神的崇拜。

但他們還不滿意，那要寫什麼？

寫淨土宗是至高無上的最神聖修法？

那動動筆也做得到，印老有作嗎？也沒有。

 

修行中能「看到」宿緣是通過困難重重才能有的功力，不是想看，想說就可以有，

我也不會去更改，我「看到」的宿緣就這麼簡單。

半寄

"Do those so-called defenders of justice dare to say:

Was the Buddha greedy when he asked Anathapindika to pave the ground with gold?
Was he selfish when he went to save his son Rāhula from a snake bite?

Please study the Dharma more carefully."

 

Karmic Connections from Past Lives

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

In Buddhism, karmic connections refer to all aspects of one’s past lives within the cycle of rebirth. 

To speak of karmic ties accurately, only the individual directly involved can truly know. 

For a third party to understand such matters, they must possess the ability gained through spiritual practice. 

 

This is similar to how Ānanda was initially denied entry into the arahant assembly during the Buddhist canon’s compilation. 

Without shared recognition of the “divine insight into past lives”, any attempt to interpret previous lives can easily lead to misunderstanding.

As shown in the film Yesterday's Children, which depicts past life memories, uncovering karmic ties can be deeply meaningful for the person involved. 

From what I’ve learned in my own practice, much of people’s emotional pain stems from unresolved karmic connections—an unspoken, deep suffering without clear causes.

 

That’s why “divine insight into past lives” holds an important place in Buddhist practice. 

I’ve gradually come to see that karmic fate is like unresolved issues from yesterday—until resolved, it’s hard to move forward.

 

So when karmic ties are misunderstood, do they really need to be explained?

 

In the past, Venerable Yinshun wrote that the Western Pure Land had roots in sun-god worship. 

He was reported and harshly criticized by the Buddhist community for this statement. 

To Buddhist scholars at the time, it was more than a joke—it was absurd.

 

Yet I never saw Venerable Yinshun withdraw his view to end the controversy. 

He continued to say it was sun-god worship. 

But even then, critics still were not satisfied. 

What did they want him to write instead? 

For him to declare Pure Land Buddhism the supreme and most sacred path? That’s easy to write. 

But did Venerable Yinshun ever write it? No, he didn’t.

 

The ability to perceive karmic connections through spiritual practice is something that comes only after overcoming great difficulty.

It is not something one can see or speak of at will.

 

As for me, I won’t change what I’ve seen. 

What I’ve perceived about karmic ties is just as it is—simple and clear.

 

Master Banji