是見受不？Do You Hold That View?

 是見受不？

有讀者說：如果尊者舍利弗聽聞「因緣所生，因緣所滅」就能證悟，
那很多印度當時的學問，在他腦袋已經是千錘百煉的結果，
哈哈😄，正是如是。

記得，看下面記載的這一段「對辯」時感觸很大，
這是一種旗鼓相當的有實力者在做辯論，
不禁想，我何時能有這種功力呢？

好久的回憶，有大德回應就會想起來。
半寄

「以下AI資料：
長爪梵志
出家求學： 因論辯輸給懷孕的姐姐，深感羞愧，故而離家前往南天竺習學，誓言學盡十八種經書，因不剪指甲而人稱「長爪梵志」。
不承一切： 他持「一切法不受」的見解，與佛陀論辯。

被佛折服： 佛陀問其「汝言一切法不受，是見受不？」，
讓他陷於自相矛盾，終因折服而對佛陀生起信心，出家並證得阿羅漢果。」

（又ㄧ年芙蓉花開）

Do You Hold That View?

 

A reader commented:
“If Śāriputra attained awakening upon hearing ‘arising through causes and ceasing through causes,’
it must be because his understanding in Indian knowledge had already been deeply cultivated.”
Haha 😄 — exactly.

 

I was deeply struck when I read this debate.
It was a match between two equally skilled minds.
I can’t help but wonder—when will I reach such ability?

 

An old memory—yet it returns whenever it’s mentioned.

Master Banji

 

AI Data:

Long-Fingernail Brahmin

• Lost a debate to his pregnant sister, felt ashamed, and left to study in South India. He vowed to master eighteen scriptures and became known for not cutting his nails. 

• He held the view of rejecting all teachings and debated the Buddha. 

• The Buddha asked:
“If you reject everything, do you accept this view?”
He fell into contradiction, was convinced, developed faith, became a monk, and attained arhatship. 

(Hibiscus blooms again this year

安定Inner Stability

安定

 

昨天寫出的故事，

激勵了另外一個也是悲苦中的媽媽，

人體的不方便，不管是在腦或身體，對其他家人造成的負擔不言而喻！

 

我寫的緩一緩：

「不要太心急，

這種已經是事實的事，

要扭轉他，並不容易。」

 

輪迴不只是苦而已，輪迴也是一種賦予重生的希望，

如果這一輩子的努力，可以再造就下一輩子的成就，甚至於是往前走的明天，

那想法就不一樣了，

 

一定要記住佛法的業障不是原罪，

它是可以被自己的行動改造的。

 

根據我個人的觀察，

人體在想要成就某些事的時候，操勞過度，

把精神跟肉體的能量都耗盡，

導致身體已經不堪負荷，這個不要說過去的生命，現在肉眼看得見的事實也是這樣，

 

而個人的認知錯誤，做出錯誤的抉擇，也決定了自己的生命前途，

但有誰可以完全自我肯定，都是睿智的，總做出正確的決定？

 

所以認識佛法，應該是讓我們有智慧去承認錯誤，再讓自己重生，去展現人的價值。

 

半寄

Inner Stability

 

The story I wrote yesterday inspired another suffering mother.

When the body or mind is impaired, the burden on the family is undeniable.

 

I told her:

“Don’t be too anxious.

What has already happened

is not easy to change.”

 

Samsara is not only suffering—it also offers the hope of renewal.

If our efforts in this life can shape a better next life—or even a better tomorrow,

our perspective will change.

 

Karma in Buddhism is not original sin.

It can be transformed through our actions.

 

From my observation,

people often exhaust themselves—mentally and physically—while pursuing goals,

until the body can no longer endure.

This is evident not only about past lives but also in this life.

 

Misunderstanding and poor judgment leads to poor choices,

and these choices shape our future.

But no one is always wise enough to make the right decisions

 

Therefore, learning the Dharma gives us the wisdom to admit mistakes,

renew ourselves,

and realize our human potential.

 

Master Banji

母親節快樂Happy Mother’s Day

 母親節快樂🎉

南禪基金會執行長郭芳純，傳給我一段她提供給廣播電台的錄音檔，

錄音檔中提到她的朋友ㄧ位老師，每天凌晨三點起來幫她的小孩按摩，

因為醫生說：小孩有萎縮症。

清晨各自要上班、上課，小孩的外婆陪伴她去學校的課堂上課，照顧飲食，還有大小便的問題，

這種辛苦是外人不能體會的。

這小女生在青春期的時候，我去成大醫院看過她一次，

看完跟她媽媽說：她這種病可能渡不過青春期，

她媽媽聽完跟我說：醫生也這麼說。

結果她脫離那一次危機以後，現在念到成大航太系的博士班。

當媽媽的每天淩晨3點起來，幫她的女兒按摩這件事，很久前聽過！

再聽一次，還是感動不已，

這2位媽媽太偉大了！

奇蹟都是人的意志力創造出來的，

祝福天下母親👩母親節快樂🎁🎉🎉

半寄

Happy Mother’s Day 🎉

 

Fangchun Guo, Executive Director of the NanZen Foundation, shared with me a recording she had made for a radio station.

 

In it, she spoke about her friend, who wakes up at 3 a.m. every day to massage her child because the child has a degenerative illness.

 

In the early morning, both mother and child have to go to work and school. The grandmother goes with the girl to class, helping with her meals and daily care. This kind of hardship is very hard for others to understand.

 

I once visited this girl at Cheng Kung University Hospital when she was a teenager. After seeing her, I told her mother that she might not survive puberty.

 

Her mother replied, “That’s what the doctors have said as well.”

 

However, she survived that critical period. Now, she is pursuing a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at Cheng Kung University.

 

I had heard about the mother waking up at 3 a.m. to massage her daughter before. Hearing it again still deeply touches me. These two mothers are truly amazing.

 

Miracles come from strong human willpower.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers 🎁🎉🎉

 

Master Banji

請大家看電影Let’s Watch a Movie Together

 請大家看電影：

純德社長最近退休了！
很努力地在找一些大眾易懂得的話題。

「他說：我說過下面這句話。而我其實也忘記了！😆

我個人很佩服日本人的寓教於樂，佛法都被他們藏在這些電影裏。」

師父說過，一般人不知道前世是保護機制。

Let’s Watch a Movie Together

 

Our president, Chun-De, has just retired.

He is trying hard to find topics that are easy for everyone to understand.

 

He said, “I once said this before—but I’ve already forgotten it! 😆

I really admire how Japanese people teach through entertainment. Many ideas of Buddhism are hidden in their movies.”

 

Master (Banji) once said that not knowing our past lives is actually a kind of protection.

 

Learning through entertainment—

even the idea of having “no mouth”—

is, in fact, rooted in ancient Indian culture and was spread by Buddhist practitioners.

 

Master Banji

https://youtu.be/MeuuZNJkpCQ?si=rVDRdMReWfki9zXQ

寓教於樂

沒有嘴巴，
其實也是印度自己的古老文化，由佛教的修行者傳播出去。

AI Data:

 

1. Fourth Dhyāna Heaven

• In the “Heaven of No Thought,” beings stop using their six senses. Only a very small amount of consciousness remains. They show no emotions, do not speak, and have no desire for food. That is why they are described as having “no mouth.”

 

2. The Four Dhyānas

These meditation states were very important in ancient India. They were practiced not only in Buddhism but also in other religions. So, they are better understood as shared meditation levels rather than simple beliefs.

 

AI摘要

1.四禪天。

• 特性： 無想天是四禪天中的一種特例，這些天人因修習「無想定」，使其前六識（眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意）停止運作，僅剩下微細的意識存在，外表無喜怒哀樂、無語言對話，處於一種無思想、無飲食欲望的狀態，因此常被形容為「沒有嘴巴」的樣子。

2.四禪天（或稱四禪八定）確實是古印度宗教信仰中極為核心的修行內容，但稱之為「最基本信仰」需要區分宗教信仰的層次，更準確地說，它是古印度修行者（包括佛教、婆羅門教、耆那教等）所共有的「核心修行境界」。 

白話佛學Everyday Buddhism

 白話佛學

跟純德社長討論要去社團講課的內容，他提供我一些意見。

記得幾年前，他們陸續帶過一些心理學的書籍來跟我分享，內容又跟我之前讀的心理學不一樣了，
他們帶來的書籍容易閱讀，但內容平泛，

我總是說：這也未免太小兒科了吧！應該研究佛學才對。

但是社團一直有新的年輕人，我們也應該把講課內容再易懂，
世代的表達能力一直在翻轉。

之前看他們的帶來的心理學書籍文字易懂不費腦，不免擔心，那我寫的佛法誰看啊？

卻不料，真的有人看，還很多人！
這好像告訴我，把心理學習拉到深層的層面時，追求更高階的心理層次，ㄧ樣大有人在。
半寄

Everyday Buddhism

 

I discussed the content of an upcoming talk with President Chunde, and he shared some helpful suggestions.

 

A few years ago, they would occasionally bring me psychology books to read. The ideas were quite different from the psychology I had studied before. The books were easy to read, but the content felt rather superficial. I remember thinking, this is a bit too simplistic—shouldn’t we be studying Buddhism instead?

 

But the group keeps welcoming younger members, so it makes sense that our talks should become easier to understand. Each generation expresses and absorbs ideas differently.

 

Back then, when I saw how effortless and undemanding those psychology books were, I worried—who would read what I write about Buddhism?

 

Unexpectedly, though, people did read it—and quite a lot of them.

 

It seems to suggest that when psychological learning reaches deeper levels, and when people seek more advanced inner understanding, there is still a strong audience for it.

 

Master Banji

5月讀書會週知May Study Club Notice

 5月讀書會週知

昨天4月的南禪讀書會，提議要講

斯里尼瓦瑟·拉馬努金（Srinivasa Ramanujan）

故事的純德社長，負責任的去找出

拉馬努金的數學解題，

出來解釋一下，引發大家的興趣，頓時熱鬧！

然後有人認為數學跟禪宗的頓悟與漸修一樣，我提出了不同的看法，

一個半小時很快就沒了！

因為我帶的大德們，大部分是學理工的，

我必須面對各式各樣的問題，

也早就習慣！他們的腦筋速度都很快，我一個字都不能聽誤，

一張照片、一幅畫，技法無論如何變化，都是可以就著實體討論的，

但佛法沒辦法，

如果在很多的譬喻、比如，裡面沒有拿捏好，

再下去「主題」就丟了！

半寄

 

May Study Club Notice

 

At the April NanZen study club yesterday, someone suggested talking about the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan.

 

Our president, Chun-De, took responsibility for researching Ramanujan’s math solutions and explaining them. This quickly made the discussion lively and interesting.

 

Then someone proposed that mathematics resembles Zen Buddhism in its concepts of sudden enlightenment and gradual practice. I shared a different opinion, and before we knew it, an hour and a half had passed.

 

Most of the participants I guide come from science and engineering backgrounds, so I regularly face a wide range of questions—and I’m already quite used to it. Their minds are quick, and I have to listen very carefully, without missing a single word.

 

With something like a photograph or a painting, no matter how the techniques vary, we can always discuss it based on something concrete.

 

But the Dharma is different.

If metaphors and examples are not carefully handled, it’s easy to lose the main theme as the discussion progresses.

 

Master Banji

力量Strength

 力量

（南禪潮州讀書會洪雅玲老師回饋文）

在3月的讀書會，有同修問：
為何在雜阿含經時代，修行人聽聞諸法因緣生，諸法因緣滅，就可以證果？

為什麼自己也聽聞也懂得其中道理，也相信了，卻無法證果？

師父說：證入果位，需要有力量，不是只有理解。證入是要和自己博鬥過的。
沒有和自己博鬥過，沒有力量，便無法證入。
聽了師父的說法，關於修行的力量是什麼？
如何定義？
如何形成力量？這問題像ㄧ團謎霧，在腦中徘徊。
我想，修行必需在人間鍛煉。
所以我想看看自己的經驗，是否能應用在修行上。

今年的前三個月，我有一個非常難過傷心的事，那就是女兒對我的挑戰。
從年初我們ㄧ家四口到釜山旅行，
到家族旅行和我的弟妹家人ㄧ行11人到日本10天，
到回桃園過年期間，
所有我的一言一行，ㄧ舉一動，女兒都持反對意見，
好像我既笨又蠢，她也不跟我說話，只是用無奈又銳利的眼神看我，
她對其它人都溫柔和善，唯獨對我不爽。

只要我一靠近她，她就閃開。到後來，我都不敢看她的臉，只要和她相處，我的心就像被刀割過，
心在淌血，

但在親友面前我卻必須笑笑裝沒事。之前，她回家，我會邀她一起去遛狗散步，她會跟我說一些她的事，

但後來，我根本不敢邀她。除夕夜的晚上，我蓋著棉被，默默留淚，她就睡在我旁邊，
但心裡的距離卻好遙遠。

過年後，我幾乎放棄和她互動了，我想也想不通我到底做錯什麼？我想，我應該是一個失敗的媽媽吧！

但自憐自艾也沒用，有一天，我找先生談一談，他說我做事太急了，
有時沒用大腦。（先生和女兒很合，
他們倆個同頻率，ㄧ樣聰明）

舉個例子：去日本自駕，先生開車，本來是我要坐副駕，但女兒瞧不起的說：
妳確定妳可以嗎？
她知道我會緊張兮兮又沒方向感。
而她看一眼導航就知道要往哪裡走了。
後來女兒坐副駕，她們父女倆果真全程合作順暢。

除了太急以及沒用大腦，我慢慢思索自己的其它問題，發現自己好多的問題，
像：容易預設立場、責任感太重、沒有安全感、容易緊張、
太著急想幫別人解決問題（沒有給別人時間和空間）、
希望每一個人都好、認爲自己能幫別人達成最佳利益而忽略別人的想法、完美主義、圓滿的想法、犧牲自己來迎合別人。

我又發現，我之所以會有以上的想法，來自於我的成長背景所形成。
總覺得好像肌肉和血液會有記憶，它們已深刻在身上的每一處。僅管已時過境遷，它們依然頑固的跟隨著我。

當我覺察這些，我好像忽然明白，女兒為什麼不喜歡我了。
她應該是覺得我又急又煩、又笨又緊張吧！

於是，我開始慢慢修正自己，當內心的念頭出現，我開始思考那些念頭，
並告訴自己不要那麼做。

要扭轉那些念頭很難，但值得試一試。

那些念頭是代表我，我就是那些念頭所組成的，
如果我有能力觀察並打破那些念頭，
是否也代表我有力量衝破一點點「無我」的概念。

對我而言，「無我」的概念在一次次的自我認識與挑戰中完成。

心理學可能可以分析為什麼我會有那些念頭的由來，
但它卻無法導向至「無我」的層面。
這是我覺得佛法最厲害的地方。
4月女兒生日，我和先生北上找女兒吃個飯，
我心裏其實很怕面對她。

沒想到，她這次竟然很溫和，沒有動不動就批評我或給我銳利的眼神，或許，當我開始意識到問題點並改變時，她可以感受到，然後她也有可能改變。這時，諸法因緣生、諸法因緣滅，因緣是否會有所不同了？

文/洪雅玲

半寄：雅玲應該脫胎換骨一次了！

雅玲：沒有、沒有啦！哈。

痛到底，只好自己想辦法找通路。

看清前因後果不容易，卻可以讓自己往正確的道路前進。

Strength

(Feedback from Teacher Hong Yaling, NanZen Chaozhou Study Club)

 

At our March study club, a fellow practitioner asked:

Why was it that, in the time of the Samyukta Āgama, practitioners could attain enlightenment simply by hearing that all phenomena arise from causes and conditions, and cease due to causes and conditions?

Why is it that we also hear this teaching, understand it, and even believe it—yet still cannot attain realization?

 

Master Banji replied: To attain a stage of realization, one must have strength. Understanding alone is not enough. Realization requires struggling with oneself.

Without that inner struggle, without strength, one cannot attain it.

 

After hearing this, I kept wondering:

What exactly is the “strength” in spiritual practice?

How should it be defined?

How is it developed?

These questions lingered in my mind like a fog.

 

I thought that true practice must be refined in everyday life.

So I reflected on my own experiences to see whether they could apply to practice.

 

In the first three months of this year, I went through something very painful—my daughter’s rejection of me.

 

From our family trip to Busan at the beginning of the year,

to a 10-day trip to Japan with 11 family members,

to returning to Taoyuan for the Lunar New Year—

in everything I said and did, my daughter disagreed with me.

 

She seemed to think I was foolish and incompetent. She barely spoke to me, only looking at me with sharp, helpless eyes.

She was kind and gentle to everyone else—just not to me.

 

Whenever I approached her, she would avoid me. Eventually, I didn’t even dare to look at her face.

Every time we were together, it felt like my heart was being cut by a knife.

 

Yet in front of relatives, I had to smile and pretend everything was fine.

 

Before, when she came home, I would invite her to walk the dog with me, and she would share things about her life.

But later, I didn’t even dare to ask.

 

On New Year’s Eve, I lay under the covers, quietly crying. She was sleeping right beside me, but emotionally, we felt worlds apart.

 

After the New Year, I almost gave up trying to connect with her.

I couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong. I thought maybe I was just a failure as a mother.

 

But self-pity didn’t help. One day, I talked to my husband, Wenzong.

He said I tend to act too hastily and sometimes don’t think things through.

(He and our daughter get along very well—they think alike and are both quick-minded.)

 

For example, during our self-driving trip in Japan, he was driving. I was supposed to sit in the front passenger seat, but my daughter said dismissively,“Are you sure you can do that?”

 

She knew I get nervous and have a poor sense of direction.

She, on the other hand, could understand the navigation at a glance.

 

In the end, she sat in the front seat, and the two of them worked together smoothly the entire trip.

 

Besides being too hasty and not thinking clearly, I gradually reflected on other issues I have.

I realized I have many patterns, such as: jumping to conclusions, taking on too much responsibility, feeling insecure, getting nervous easily, being too eager to solve others’ problems (without giving them space), wanting everyone to be well, assuming I know what is best for others while overlooking their feelings, perfectionism,wanting everything to be “just right,” and sacrificing myself to please others.

 

I also realized that these patterns came from my upbringing.

 

It felt as if my body—my muscles and blood—carried these memories. Even though time had passed, they still stubbornly stayed with me.

 

When I became aware of all this, I suddenly understood why my daughter didn’t like me. She probably found me anxious, overwhelming, foolish, and stressful to be around.

 

So I began to slowly change myself.

When certain thoughts arose, I started to observe them and tell myself not to act on them.

 

It’s difficult to reverse these patterns, but it’s worth trying.

 

These thoughts represent me—I am made up of them.

If I can observe and break through them,

does that mean I have some strength to move closer to the idea of “non-self”?

 

For me, the concept of “non-self” is gradually realized through repeated self-awareness and self-challenge.

 

Psychology may explain why I have these patterns, but it cannot lead to the level of “non-self.” That, to me, is where the power of the Buddha’s teachings truly lies.

 

In April, for my daughter’s birthday, my husband and I went north to have a meal with her. I was actually quite afraid to face her.

 

But unexpectedly, she was gentle this time. She didn’t criticize me or give me sharp looks.

Perhaps when I started to recognize my own issues and change, she could feel it—and she began to change as well.

 

At that moment, I wondered:

If all things arise and cease due to causes and conditions,

then when the causes and conditions change, wouldn’t the results also change?

(Written by Hong Yaling)

 

Banji: “Yaling must have gone through a complete transformation!”

 

Yaling: “No, no, not really! Haha. When the pain reaches its limit, you just have to find a way through.”

 

It’s not easy to clearly see causes and results,

but once you do, it can guide you onto the right path.