問題回應Discussion on Past and Present Lives

大家好！

問題回應

    

前世今生：

師父曾推薦一部電影：

Yesterday's children，現世的美國人珍妮憶起她的前世是愛爾蘭的婦女，並回到愛爾蘭去促成她前世的子女再相聚。

請問師父，為何這位女士沒證初果卻能知前世因果？

她促成她前世的子女相聚，對她自己與她的小孩們有何正面意義？

 

半寄回答：

一般人不具備神通，前世今生感應最直接的會來自於祭祀，

如電影中女主角長子常常在跟媽媽禱告說：

他沒有把弟妹照顧好，不只媽媽擔心孩子們，孩子們也在對媽媽做一種呼喚（禱告）。

前世的緣再見面的意義牽涉原因眾多，

以電影Yesterday's children內容而言，女主角所負擔承受的心裏層次已超乎想像，

我想，除了業障的牽制，

隔世人生變化性是很大的，像片中女主角的家暴丈夫也不復存在。

 

見面對她們有什麼正面意義，很清楚的她跟她的孩子們有如釋重負再往前走的生活。

 

輪廻於我個人的看法並不是消極的，

像沒有做好的事想要再完成，

沒有探索成功的理論，也想再完成，

很多、很多可以再接著接軌的人生，

也會有不同的意義，

如果有明天，對生命有重大的意義。

 

輪廻不盡然都是消極的，佛學的傳播好像都沒有注入新血，

只往消極面陳述，輪廻只是苦！

 

「這跟你的血液決定你的想法」一樣，那才令人悲絕。

 

半寄

 

 

Discussion on Past and Present Lives

Master once recommended a movie called Yesterday’s Children. In it, an American woman named Jenny recalls her past life as an Irish woman. She returns to Ireland to help reunite the children from her previous life.

Question:
Master, why is it that this woman, who has not attained the first stage of enlightenment (Sotāpanna), is still able to recall the causes and effects of her past life?
What positive significance does the reunion of her former children have for her and for them in this life?

 

Banji replied:

Most people generally don’t have special powers, so how do they sense their past lives? Often, it comes through rituals or prayers. In the movie, the woman’s oldest son kept praying to his mother, saying he didn’t do a good job taking care of his siblings. This shows not only the mother missed her children, but the children were also calling out to their mother in their own way.

 

There are many reasons why people might meet again because of a past-life connection.

In the movie Yesterday's Children, the emotional and psychological burden the main character carries is beyond imagination.

I believe that aside from the karmic entanglements, the circumstances of one's life in different incarnations can change significantly. For example, her abusive husband from the past life doesn’t exist anymore.

 

So what’s the positive meaning of the reunion? Clearly, the mother and her children felt relieved and were able to move forward with their lives.

 

From my perspective, reincarnation is not necessarily a pessimistic concept. It allows for continuity—unfinished business can be addressed, untested ideas can be re-examined. Multiple lives offer fresh opportunities for meaning, direction, and personal growth. 

Life can have new meanings too.

The very possibility of a tomorrow grants life its profound significance.

 

Samsara is not inherently negative. Yet modern Buddhist discourse often lacks vitality, focusingonly on the pessimistic side—insisting that rebirth is nothing but suffering.

 

It’s as disappointing as believing, “Your thoughts are limited by your blood.”

 

Master Banji

 

 

工具書1-2A Reference Book1-2

工具書1

    

大家好！

 

在我自己的龍樹菩薩《中觀論》學讀路上，

一直覺得它是撬開《阿含經》佛陀主要論述12因緣、無我、無常的一本工具書，

而能走多遠同樣取決於各人對「無我、無常」的理解能力，如有取一瓢飲的經歷後，空法之路便展開。

 

路走遠時，便無法在名言或勝義的佛法裡駐留。

半寄

（AI資料） 藏傳佛教詮釋(如宗喀巴vs.自續派):八不是否應被理解為「名言 上的否定」還是「勝義的否定」――這影響整個空性修行的路徑。

 

A Reference Book1

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

In my personal study of Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā,

I’ve always regarded it as a powerful tool to unlock the Buddha’s core teachings of the Buddha in the Āgamas — particularly those on the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, non-self, and impermanence.

 

One’s progress on this path depends greatly on one’s insight into non-self and impermanence. Once even a small taste of this insight is gained, the path of śūnyatā naturally unfolds.

 

As the journey deepens, one can no longer remain within the confines of either conventional truths or ultimate doctrines.

Master Banji

 

（AI Data） Whether the "eight negations" in Madhyamaka philosophy—especially as interpreted in Tibetan Buddhism (e.g., Tsongkhapa vs. the Svātantrika school)—should be understood as "conventional negation" or "ultimate negation" has significant implications for the entire path of realizing śūnyatā.

 

工具書2

 

以流水來講解「空」的思想是中國僧人僧肇開創的學說。

 

這是利用老莊的玄學當背景，所以僧肇的《物不遷論》在近代不被運用在《中論》的講解上。

 

對《中論》有興趣的讀者，必須理解中國的老莊被歸類為玄學，儒家是倫理政治學說，中國華人本身並無邏輯思考學說。

 

所以當有邏輯思考的文化進入中國這一塊地區，其思考的邏輯性衝擊及誤解性的理解是非常大的。

 

例如；老子《道德經》的「上善若水，」

在華人地區從來沒有出現過反對的聲音，

「水亦可為惡」沒有反對聲音的辯論，一般不存在邏輯思考。

 

而印度《中觀論》「八不」觀點，

在印度的本意是龍樹時代在跟其他印度學說做一個思考上的釐清，

發展到中國自己的解釋已有很大的不同。

半寄

 

以下AI資料 僧肇以漢語玄學術語（如有無、動靜、遷不遷）重新表達空性的微妙。奠定中國佛教哲學的語境。 僧肇的詮釋為中國佛教後期（如天台、華嚴、禪宗）提供了重要啟發。 後來智者大師「不即不離、不一不異」等說法，也都可見僧肇思想的影子。

 

A Reference Book 2

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

Sengzhao, a Chinese monk, pioneered the interpretation of śūnyatā through the metaphor of flowing water.

 

Rooted in the metaphysical thoughts (Xuanxue) of Laozi and Zhuangzi, his Treatise on the Immutability of Things is rarely used in contemporary exegeses of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

 

Readers interested in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā must understand that Lao-Zhuang thought is classified as “Xuanxue” (mystical philosophy), Confucianism as a moral-political doctrine, and that classical Chinese philosophy lacks formal logic. Consequently, the introduction of logic-based systems into China often led to significant misinterpretations.

 

For example, Laozi's famous phrase from the Dao De Jing, “The highest virtue is like water,” has never faced significant opposition in Chinese-speaking societies.

The notion that “water can also be harmful” is rarely discussed, reflecting logical thinking is often missing in such cases.

 

Nāgārjuna’s “Eight Negations” were originally meant to distinguish his views from other Indian schools, but their Chinese interpretations have diverged substantially.

 

AI Data Sengzhao reinterpreted śūnyatā through Chinese metaphysical terms (e.g., being/non-being, motion/stillness, change/unchange), establishingthe philosophical framework for Chinese Buddhism.   His thought profoundly influenced later traditions such as Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan.   Zhiyi’s expressions like “neither identical nor completely different” reflect Sengzhao’s enduring impact.

 

 

 

問題討論 Discussion

問題討論

    

大家好！

 

臺灣高雄市文獻會洪前主委招祥退休後很用功。

 

師父 ：

請教有業報無作者，

以瀑布來形容 那如此體會適當嗎？

業報指瀑布 ，

作者指流水不斷隨時間推移了 ，

所以是無作者吧！

請指導 ，謝謝🙏

 

半寄：

招祥居士從對佛法《中觀論》完全的陌生，

到今天可以聽懂「本體觀點」的突破，佩服之至。

 

整理ㄧ下

依據《中觀論》；

現象界除了運用世俗名稱認知以外，不存在本體-性空緣起。

Discussion

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

Mr. Hong Zhaoxiang, former director of the Kaohsiung City Archives, has been working very hard on his Buddhist studies since retirement.

 

Dear Master,

I’d like to ask about the idea “the results of karma exist, but not the doer thereof”.

Can we use a waterfall as an example to understand this?

The karmic result is like the waterfall,

and the “doer” is like the unceasing and ever-changing flow of water over time.

So does that mean there’s really no fixed person behind the karma?

I humbly ask for your advice. 🙏

 

Banji adds:

Lay practitioner Hong Zhaoxiang, once completely unfamiliar with the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, but has now come to grasp profound ideas like the “view of ultimate reality.” Truly admirable progress.

 

To summarize:

The Middle Way teaches that everything we see and experience doesn’t have a fixed essence. Things only exist because we give them names and all things are śūnyatā in nature and arise dependently.

 

Master Banji

 

 

 

南禪基金會提醒

 大家好！

南禪基金會提醒

    把南禪生命教育基金會的名放在Facebook上面，還有南禪基金會-南禪精舍修行的探討，部落格，

還是提醒本基金會目前沒有

對外募款。

半寄

讀書會成員文章分享An Article from a Study Club Member

讀書會成員文章分享

    

大家好！

 

 

「我到了這年紀，說真的，尤其離開某公司，重回職場這2年多，真的體驗到「人間實相」，也更加能夠體會到，師父一路以來的艱難，和一切的殊勝。

 

某公司很成功，在一路成功的氛圍下，把員工框架、安置得太片段，也餵養得很好（收人相對很好）。

 

每個員工都在極其精細的片段裡，覺得世界都是美好的。（別人我不知道，至少過去的我是這樣，也是對自我在人性上，

圓滿觀的反省。）

 

公司這2個多月遇到產品問題，對業績造成衝擊，

可以看到主管們，連同客戶端的高階主管，在各自的宗教信仰上，祈求，

禱告的，衝媽祖的，拜懺的，到處拜拜的，卜卦的，各有各的祈求。

 

我只堅持三件事：

(1)如實正觀所有工程資料，努力分析各項變異。

(2)默唸般若心經，安定自己的情緒。

(3)努力找客戶，多下單。

 

我，就是不向外祈求，勇敢承擔業績崩潰的壓力和失敗，努力思索突破點。

 

職場，是修行的好地方！

除了頂禮，還是頂禮。」

 

半寄：

職場辛酸我始終清楚，還有台商的冒險患難也清楚知曉，

最近部落格的台商範圍大點閱率，知道人在哪裡，也知曉他鄉立足的不易！

 

我雖然是方外之人，但因為居士的關係始終沒有離開過職場的信息，

㊗️福在工作崗位上所有大德。

 

半寄

 

An Article from a Study Club Member

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

Now that I’m at this stage in life—especially after leaving a well-known company and returning to work for over two years—I’ve really experienced the “reality of the human world.” I can also better understand the hardships my teacher (Master Banji) has faced along the way, as well as the profound blessings that come with it.

 

My former company is very successful. Because of that success, it gives its employees a very safe and well-structured environment (with good pay, too). 

Everyone works in very specialized roles and feel like the world is perfect.

(I don’t know about others, but that’s how I used to feel. This has led me to reflect on myself and human nature, and to reexamine my previous view of "perfection.") 

Over the past two months, the company I work in has encountered product issues that impacted sales. I saw many managers—even top people from our clients’ side—turning to their own religions. Some were praying, some going to Mazu temples, others doing rituals, or asking fortune tellers for help. Everyone was trying something.

 

I chose a different path. I focused on three things:

 

Carefully checking all engineering data and analyzing every change.

Quietly reciting the Heart Sutra to stay calm.

Working hard to find more clients and increase orders.

 

I didn’t seek help externally. I faced the pressure and failure directly and kept searching for breakthroughs.

 

The workplace is truly a great place for spiritual practice!

 

I bow in deep respect.

 

Note from Ban-Ji:

I’ve always understood how tough working life can be, and I know the hardship and risk that overseas Taiwanese entrepreneurs face.

Many Taiwanese businesspeople from different places have been reading my blog lately. It has shown me where they are and how challenging it is for them to strive and survive in foreign countries.

 

Though I live outside the secular world, I’ve always stayed connected to the work world through my fellow practitioners.

Wishing everyone peace and strength at work.

 

Master Banji

 

 

 

 

遠見Foresight

大家好！

遠見

     不知何方大德在問我說：

宗教是馬克思講的「宗教是窮人的鴉片。」

我同意嗎？

這個問題我是長期的觀察者，

但馬克斯主義是一套學說，ㄧ句話的斷章取

義，也顯得問題不到位。

ㄧ直到2016年看完臺灣陳耀昌醫師用其專長

寫的《傀儡花》小說ㄧ書裡面有句話；

「你的血液決定你的思想。」

看到這句話我腦袋翻江倒海ㄧ整年，剛寫過

的文章提及個人對修行早就有「剔骨肉還父

母，蓮花化身的認知。」

不論馬克斯或陳醫師，專家學者的話語權威

常讓人無路可走！

以前看過印度聖雄甘地反對殖民，他寧願印

度人本身的愚笨，也不要學習外國人的聰

明，（忘了出處，或是與記者的對話）

這問題也見仁見智。

至於我個人走自己的路，學習ㄧ直是需要存

在的，每一個人的血及主張都看一下，以免

走起路來荒涼。

半寄

 

Foresight

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

Someone once asked me,“Marx said religion is the opium of the poor. Do you agree?”

 

I’ve reflected on this for a long time. But Marxism is a complete theory, and quoting a single sentence out of context makes the question seem inadequate. In 2016, I read a novel called Kuei-Lan Flower by Dr. Chen Yao-Chang from Taiwan. He skillfully applied his medical knowledge to literature.

One sentence really struck me,“Your blood determines your thoughts.”

 

That single sentence stirred my thoughts for a whole year. In a recent article, I wrote that I’ve long seen spiritual practice as “returning flesh and bone to one’s parents and then getting reborn from a lotus.”

 

Words from experts like Marx or Dr. Chen can sometimes feel overwhelming, leaving little room for alternative perspectives.

 

I remember Gandhi, in resisting colonialism, once said that he would rather accept the foolishness of his fellow Indians than adopt the wisdom of foreign powers. (though I can’t recall the exact source—perhaps from an interview.)

 

So this kind of question really depends on each person’s view.

 

As for me, I walk my own path. I believe learning should always continue. I strive to understand everyone’s heritage and beliefs, so that I don’t end up walking a lonely or misguided path.

 

Master Banji