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

 

賀2024新年

祝福南禪精舍部落格朋友新年如意

 

一切見不忍 When all views whatsoever are unacceptable

南禪朋友早安！

 

一切見不忍

When all views whatsoever are unacceptable

讀書會挑了一段阿含經文做分享，講這一段經文的時候，想著

在華人禪宗公案裡面德山禪師被問道：金剛經「過去心不可

得、現在心不可得、未來心不可得，請問要點哪箇心？」

In the book club discussion, a passage from the āgama section of the

 Buddhist scriptures was brought up and it reminded me of the

gongan which quotes the Diamond Sutra, in which the Chan master

 Deshan is asked, “The mind cannot be found in the past, present, nor

 future; which mind, then, are you going to point to?”

 近代的佛法研究一直認為北傳的大乘經典不是佛說！但我們會

常看到後世演繹佛經的精彩，看到佛法傳遞中令人拍案的智

慧。

如是我聞：　　一時，佛住王舍城迦蘭陀竹園。　　時，有長

爪外道出家來詣佛所，與世尊面相問訊，慰勞已，退坐一面，

白佛言：　　「瞿曇！我一切見不忍。」　　佛告火種：　

　「汝言一切見不忍者，此見亦不忍耶？」　　長爪外道言：

　　「向言一切見不忍者，此見亦不忍。」（雜阿含969經）

耐心的慢慢咀嚼什麼叫做「一切見不忍！」

（一位學習全印度學問的學者總結他的學問是「一切見不

忍」，佛陀點出他的不足，但什麼樣的學習令他做如是見，也

值得探討。）

也細細看到自己很多見識還不清不明！哈

（個人追求對佛法的理解，南、北傳佛法都是重要依據）

近代的佛法研究一直認為北傳的大乘經典不是佛說！但我們會

常看到後世演繹佛經的精彩，看到佛法傳遞中令人拍案的智

慧。

如是我聞：　　一時，佛住王舍城迦蘭陀竹園。　　時，有長

爪外道出家來詣佛所，與世尊面相問訊，慰勞已，退坐一面，

白佛言：　　「瞿曇！我一切見不忍。」　　佛告火種：　

　「汝言一切見不忍者，此見亦不忍耶？」　　長爪外道言：

　　「向言一切見不忍者，此見亦不忍。」（雜阿含969經）

耐心的慢慢咀嚼什麼叫做「一切見不忍！」

（一位學習全印度學問的學者總結他的學問是「一切見不

忍」，佛陀點出他的不足，但什麼樣的學習令他做如是見，也

值得探討。）

也細細看到自己很多見識還不清不明！哈

（個人追求對佛法的理解，南、北傳佛法都是重要依據）

There is a widely held view in modern scholarship on Buddhism that

 the Mahāyāna sutras were never actually spoken by the Buddha

 himself. Yet there’s no denying that these same sutras convey table-

slapping wisdom, so profound that it can elicit a visceral reaction.     

 

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Buddha was

 living at Kalaṇḍaka’s bamboo grove near Rājagṛha. At

 that time the wanderer Dīrghanakha came to visit the

 Buddha. After paying his respects to the Buddha and

 

exchanging friendly greetings, he sat down on one side

and said to the Buddha, “Gautama, all views whatsoever

 are unacceptable to me.” The Buddha replied,

 “Agnivesyāyana, when you say ‘all views whatsoever

 are unacceptable to me,’ is this view of yours also 

unacceptable to you?”  The wanderer Dīrghanakha 

replied, “As I’ve already said, all views whatsoever are 

unacceptable to me, including this view of mine.” (Saṃyuktāgama, Sutra 969)       

 Patiently mull over this statement “all views whatsoever are 

unacceptable to me.”          

(A scholar with extensive knowledge of all the major schools of

 thought in India also summed up his learning by stating, “All views

 whatsoever are unacceptable to me.” The Buddha points out the

 contradictory nature of such a statement, and it’s worth considering

 how somebody might arrive at such a conclusion.)       

Doing so might also reveal the lack of clarity and consistency in

 one’s own knowledge!      

(For gaining a solid understanding of Buddhism, it’s very helpful to

 become familiar with both its northern and southern branches.)

Master Ban Ji

  Translated by Ken Kraynak

 

果報 The results of karma

 果報

The results of karma

生活裡面容易碰到的問題是；當我們有挫折沒有辦法解決時，就會認為沒有因果的存在，大家都認為自己做了很多布施，為什麼我會有這種遭遇？

我想說：應該是我們一直記住我們的布施，卻是忘記了我們從布施善行為裡面已經得到的庇廕！

記住自己的付出，不記得自己的花費，就算是算帳，這帳也沒辦法算啊！

人性的弱點會讓自己記得給與別人的，且牢牢記著，但自己生

命旅程順遂的花費都是理所當然，因為自己是「好人」，好事

發生在自己身上根本應該！

Being human inevitably includes lots of setbacks and frustrations.

 Whenever we suffer a setback, the tendency is to deny that it could

 be the result of our past karma, thinking, “I’ve done so many

 meritorious deeds, so how could something like this happen to me?”

This is because we tend to only remember the meritorious deeds

 we’ve done, while forgetting about all the happy results we’ve

 already enjoyed.

If you only keep track of the merit you’ve made, but not of the merit

 you’ve spent, then you’ll never be a good bookkeeper!

It’s one of the foibles of human nature to remember everything

 we’ve done for others, while taking for granted all the privileges and

 good fortune we have enjoyed throughout our lives; if you think of

 yourself as a good person, then you expect good things to come your

 way.

 

我個人碰到不如意的事情，會把所學到的佛法盡力、努力的應

用，花費幾年的時間去清楚自己的遭遇更是家常便飯。而布施

給予的一切，都是自己樂意以歡喜心做的，不希望從裡面趕快

得到什麼回報，因為常想著回報其實早就把自己的福都耗光！

記得自己年輕時候，剛開始學打坐，滿腦子的妄念，都被自己

嚇壞了!

從來不再敢想自己是好人，日子都是在不斷地前進跟佛法的趕

路修持中過了⋯⋯

半寄

Whenever things don’t turn out as I would like them to, I take it as

 an opportunity to apply my understanding of the Buddhadharma to

 my own life. From several years of reflecting on my own

 misfortunes, I’ve come to the conclusion that misfortune is

 unavoidable.

Meritorious deeds should be done out of the kindness of one’s own

 heart, without selfish motivations; if we make merit in the

 expectation of receiving a speedy reward, our merit gets enervated

 by our impure attitude.

In my younger days, when I was first learning how to meditate, my

 mind was so full of desultory thoughts that it actually scared me!

Ever since, I wouldn’t be so presumptuous to think of myself as

 good; anyway, I’m so busy with practicing the Dharma that there’s

 no opportunity to engage this sort of idle speculation.

Master Ban Ji

 Translated by Ken Kraynak

 

浮士德 Faust

浮士德

Faust

我常常面對一個問題，佛法講貪、瞋、痴，很多人都認為我又不「貪」，「我本來就是個好人」這個容易做到！？

 

佛法要探討的「貪」由現實的可見物質延伸到心理的問題，例如；「貪的人是誰的參悟」！

（以佛法的角度而言，不貪的人也應該清楚自己是如何做到不

貪的，因為這裡面牽涉到自我的解決問題，清楚跟明白一直是

佛學想要追求的。）

由貪再延伸到「自我的存在」如何超越。

往我們面對自己想要的物質就會起了很大的糾結，是生活所需

也好、是慾望也好，這裡面糾結的一切就夠自己忙半天！（指

修法的內心世界）

到目前為止，我都不敢說自己不貪了！哈

半寄

Many people may consider themselves good and free from all desire

 by nature. Is good and free from all desire by nature really so easy?

Now, the desire we are examining in Buddhist practice pertains not

 only to the visible material world, but also to the mind, as in the

huatou (key word or phrase in a gongan, for contemplation) “Who is

 it who is desiring?”           

(In the Buddhist perspective, even if you are free of desire, you still

 need to know how that came about, since it is tantamount to

 liberation, and since clarity of mind is what Buddhism is all

 about.)                 

Desire also pertains to transcending the notion of an independent

 self.              

Whenever we desire something, whether it’s a frivolous desire or

 something we actually require, it gives rise to all sorts of

 entanglements that keep us very busy (this also pertains to the inner

 world of Buddhist Practice).

At present, I’d never be so presumptuous to say that I’m completely

 free of desire. Ha!

 Master Ban ji

  Translated by Ken Kraynak

 

空的辯證 The dialectic of emptiness

 南禪朋友早安

空的辯證

The dialectic of emptiness

下面的網址是政大教授林鎮國老師研究的有關龍樹菩薩「空的辯證」對空法想要了解的大德們，這研究是一個很好的管道

 http://oldthinker.nccu.edu.tw/new_paper/paper001/16-5lin.pdf

Professor Lin Chen-kuo of National Chengchi University has written

 a useful article on Nagarjuna’s “dialectic of emptiness.” It can be

 read online at: http://oldthinker.nccu.edu.tw/new_paper/paper001/16-5lin.pdf

Master Ban Ji

 Translated by Ken Kraynak

 

 

 http://oldthinker.nccu.edu.tw/new_paper/paper001/16-5lin.pdf

 

讀書會好文分享Sharing of good articles in book club!

南禪精舍讀書會好文分享

 老皮失蹤 

         前一陣子的某一天，我家養了12年的狗-----老皮，失蹤了。老皮是一隻很神經質的狗， 養了十幾年，有時候你想打開籠子的門餵食的時候，牠還會想要咬我。說實話，我一點都不喜歡老皮。

但即使不喜歡，老皮失蹤後的一天，還是會在它經常躲的小角落翻翻找找。 翻翻找找的時候，你明知道他八成被人抱走或是發生不幸，回不來了！但還是大腦還是循著慣性，翻翻找找，期待牠會從某個隱身的暗處跑出來，然後一切回到往常一樣----牠經常對我呲牙裂嘴，我也繼續討厭牠。

 原來，即使不喜歡，感情的慣性也一直都在哪裡！ 對於事物在日常生活裡佔據不大的份量，況且如此，那些你喜歡的呢？那些在你心裡佔據份量的人事物呢？

        一件你很喜歡做的事，因為某種原因無法繼續，你明知道世間一切都是因緣法，但是你能接受嗎？ 我的知道往往僅止於知道！

 

 舊精魂 

『三生石上舊精魂，賞月吟風莫要論；慚愧情人遠相訪，此身雖異性長存』以前讀到這詩會覺得： 情誼跨越前世今生，故事實在令人動容。

但仔細想想，美好的情誼讓人眷戀， 但如果故事是彼此相怨的舊精魂，前生今世相逢呢？一樣是相逢，彼此的糾纏，恐怕是一點都不美好了。 

不管如何，我以為舊精魂意味著感情不動如山，所以才要再相見， 如果是這樣，舊精魂對學佛來說是不是有點可怕？ 色無常，受想行識亦無常，我知道啊！

 可是為什麼破不了身見？ 其實，少了『受離』的自己，一直就是舊精魂啊！ 舊精魂，怎麼破得了身見！

 本文作者南禪精舍居士李文宗 

 

 

Good morning, Nanchan friends!

 Sharing of good articles in book club! 

Lao Pi is missing 

One day a while ago, my dog ​​Lao Pi, who had been raised at home

 for 12 years, disappeared.

 Lao Pi is a very nervous dog. I have had him for more than ten

 years. Sometimes when you want to open the cage door to feed

 him,he will try to bite me. To be honest, I don't like Lao Pi at all.

 But even if I didn't like it, 

the day after Lao Pi disappeared, I would still rummage around in the

 little corner where he usually hides.

 When I am rummaging around for it, I know that it will probably be

 taken away by someone or something unfortunate will happen to it,

 and it will never come back! 

But my brain still follows its inertia, rummaging around, hoping that

 he will run out of some hidden dark place, and then everything will

 return to the same as before. Then, he would still bite my tongue

 often, and I would still hate him for that. It turns out that even if you

 don’t like it, 

the inertia of feelings is always there! For things that don’t play a big

 role in daily life, and even so, what about the ones you like? What

 about those people and things that hold a heavy weight in your

 heart? 

Something you like to do cannot continue for some reason. You

 know that everything in the world is caused by karma, but can you

 accept it? My knowing often ends with just knowing! 

 

Old soul

 "The old soul on the stone of three lives, there is no need to talk

 about admiring the moon and chanting in the wind; I am ashamed

 that my lover visits me from afar, although this body is of the

 opposite sex forever." （三生石上舊精魂，賞月吟風莫要論；慚愧情人遠相訪，此身雖異性長存）

When I read this poem before, I would feel: The friendship spans

 past and present lives, and the story is truly touching. But if you

 think about it carefully, beautiful friendship makes people nostalgic, 

But what if the story is about old spirits grudged against each other,

 meeting each other in the past and present? It's the same encounter,

 but the entanglement with each other is probably not beautiful at all.

 No matter what, I thought the old spirit meant that the feelings were

 immovable, so I wanted to meet again. If so, isn’t the old spirit a bit

 scary for practicing Buddhism?

 Form is impermanent, so are feelings, perception, volitional actions

 and consciousness. I know it! But why can't I break my identity? In

 fact, without the "relief", the self has always been the old spirit!

 How can the old soul lose its identity!

 The article is written by Buddhist Nanchan Vihara Lee Wenzong

(Proof reading by Sophiea Kuo)