佛大悲身無與等。
周行無礙悉令見。
猶如影像現世間。
因慧能宣此功德。
佛大悲身，什麼叫大悲呢？悲能拔苦，就是解除眾生的一切苦。所謂悲，就是見人家苦，猶如自己苦；見人家樂，猶如自己樂。所以要把眾生的苦給拔除去，令眾生離苦得樂，這叫大悲身無與等。世間上沒有可以和佛這個大悲身來比的，所以叫無與等。
「周行無礙悉令見」：令一切眾生都得見佛這個大悲身，周行無礙。這十方世界的眾生，也都能見到佛的大悲身。
猶如影像，好像影和像不相捨離，影不離形，形不離影。好像我們走到什麼地方，都有一個影跟著、隨著，這叫猶如影像現世間，普徧現於這個有情的世間。
「因慧能宣此功德」，這廣大因慧阿修羅王，他能宣說這種佛的功德，入這種的解脫門。
希有無等大神通。
處處現身充法界。
各在菩提樹下坐。
此義勝德能宣說。
希有就是希奇少有，沒有什麼呢？沒有障礙這種大神通。大神通誰有呢？只有佛才有這種希有無礙的大神通。怎麼叫無礙呢？能處處現身充法界。（弟子說：是無等。）無等，因爲我沒有看書，所以念成無礙。無等就是沒有比，無等也就是無礙，無礙也就是無等。因爲它無礙，所以就無等了；因爲它無等，所以就無礙，無障礙了，就沒有能比的了。不錯，這是無等，沒有可比的大神通，神通是不可以心思，不可以言議。處處他都現身充法 界，佛的法身充滿法界，沒有可以比的，也沒有障礙。
「各在菩提樹下坐」：各各佛在他的世界，坐在菩提樹下。我們這兒也把菩提樹種下，等菩提樹長大，也有佛坐菩提樹下成道。各在菩提樹下坐，在菩提樹下成正覺。
「此義勝德能宣說」：這種的義理、境界、解脫門，是誰的呢？是現勝德阿修羅王他能宣說這種境界的道理。這種境界是誰的境界呢？是佛的境界，阿修羅王他明白佛這種境界。佛的境界是無量無邊，阿修羅王就單單明白這一個境界。佛的其他境界，他就不知道了。
如來往修三世行。
諸趣輪迴靡不經。
脫眾生苦無有餘。
此妙音王所稱讚。
這回念的對不對？如來就是佛，有的人說是「如來佛」，在中國一些學佛的人，有一些愚夫愚婦也沒有聽過經，沒有研究過佛法，也不知道如來是誰？佛是誰？其實如來就是佛，佛就是如來。你若說如來佛，這是佛的兩個名字。你說「如來」也就是「佛」，說「佛」也就是「如來」。往修，往就是往昔，佛在無量劫以前修行這三世行。
三世 就是修過去世、現在世、未來世；也就是去年也修行，今年還要修行，明年又要修行；過去那個月是要修行，現在這個月還要修行，將來那個月更要修行；也就是好像我們在這兒修道，昨天是這樣修行，今天又是這樣修行，明天又是這樣修行。修行不能間斷，不能說今天修行，明天就不修行了，後天再修行，這不可以的，要天天繼續不間斷的修行。佛修道的時候，不論是小的善事，他也要去做；不論是小的惡事，他也不去做。以小的善集聚成大的善，就圓成八萬四千的行門。
佛在修行的期間，「諸趣輪迴靡不經」：諸趣就是天、人、阿修羅、地獄、餓鬼、畜生，這所有的善趣、惡趣，他都平等去受生，平等去敎化眾生，在這個諸趣裡邊，他也受這個輪迴。輪迴就是生了又死 ，死了又生，在六道輪迴裡來轉。靡不經，無論在哪一個趣裡邊，他都經驗過了。人道裡頭，那更不要說了。他也去敎化阿修羅。佛示現種種的眾生身，凡是有血有氣的眾生，他都示現在他這一類的裡邊，來敎化這一類的眾生，所以說靡不經。
脫眾生苦，怎麼樣敎化眾生呢？就是脫離眾生所受的苦，令眾生都離苦得樂。不明白佛法的人，他有很大的忍耐心來敎化他，令他明白佛法；已經明白佛法的人，他就叫他修行，用最大的忍耐心來敎化眾生，令眾生修行；已經修行的眾生，他又幫助他成就他的道業；已經成就道業的眾生，他又幫助他得到解脫。就是求道，修道，成道，了道，令眾生得到本來圓滿的果覺，所以脫眾生苦無有餘，沒有再剩下的苦，就是把苦都給除盡。此妙音王，就是這善音阿修羅王所稱讚的這種境界，這種的解脫門，這種的法門。你們誰有什麼話講嗎？有沒有話講的？
待續 |
|
The Buddha's body of great compassion is incomparable.
Going everywhere without obstruction, causing all to see it.
Like a shadow or an image, it appears in the world.
Causal Wisdom could proclaim this merit and virtue.
TheBuddha's body of great compassion is incomparable. What is great compassion? Compassion can pull out living beings' suffering. That is, it rids living beings of all their woes. Compassion means looking upon the troubles of others is if they were one's own, and considering the happiness of others one's own happiness. That leads to the wish to pluck out all miseries which beings are experiencing, so beings can leave suffering and attain bliss. That's the body of great compassion, which is incomparable. Nothing in the world can equal the Buddha's body of great compassion, and so it is said to be incomparable.
Going everywhere without obstruction, causing all to see it. The Buddha's body of great compassion gives all living beings a chance to see that compassionate body. Since it is universally pervasive and unimpeded, the living beings of the worlds of the ten directions can all perceive the body of great compassion of the Buddha.
Like a shadow or an image, it appears in the world. A shadow or an image is not separate from the shape it follows, or its image. The shadow does not leave the shape, nor does the shape leave the shadow. For example, wherever a person's body goes, it's shadow follows and accompanies it. That's known as appearing in the world like a shadow or an image, universally manifesting in the world of sentient beings.
Causal Wisdom was able to proclaim this merit and virtue. The Asura King Vast Great Causal Wisdom was able to express this type of merit and virtue of the Buddha, entering this door of liberation.
With great spiritual penetrations, rare and unequalled,
He displays a body in each place throughout the
Dharma Realm,
Each one being seated beneath the Bodhi tree.
Supreme virtue was able to proclaim this meaning.
With great spiritual penetrations, rare and unequalled. "Rare" means extremely precious and scarce. What is rare? It is the great spiritual penetrations which are unobstructed. And whose great spiritual penetrations are they? Only the Buddha has those rare and unobstructed great spiritual penetrations. That they are "unobstructed" refers to how he displays a body in each place throughout the Dharma Realm. (A disciple points out that the text reads "unequalled," instead of "unobstructed.") My text has "unequalled" too. Since I wasn't looking at the book, I recited it as "unobstructed," but it does read "unequalled"-- incomparable. However, "unequalled" is "unobstructed", and "unobstructed" is "unequalled". Due to their being, unobstructed, they are unequalled. And because they are unequalled, they are unobstructed. They have no impediments, and nothing can compare to them. Right. It says "unequalled." Nothing can match great spiritual penetrations of this sort. Such spiritual penetrations cannot be conceptualized by thought or described in words. He makes a body appear in each and every location throughout the Dharma Realm.
The Buddha's Dharma body fills the Dharma Realm, incomparable and free of obstructions, each one of its manifestations being seated beneath the Bodhi tree. Each Buddha is seated underneath the Bodhi tree in his own world. We have also planted a Bodhi tree here, and when the Bodhi tree has grown up, a Buddha will sit under it and accomplish the Way. Each sits beneath the tree of Bodhi and achieves Proper Enlightenment.
Supreme Virtue was able to proclaim this meaning. Whose meaning, whose state, and whose door of liberation was this'? The Asura King Displaying Supreme Virtue could express the principle of this kind of state. Whose state is it? It's the Buddha's state. This Asura King understood this one particular state of the Buddha. But the Asura King only understood this one state among the Buddha's limitless and boundlessly many states. He didn't know the others.
The Thus Come One formerly cultivated practices of
the three periods of time,
Passing through all destinies of the revolving wheel
without exception,
Freeing beings from suffering, not omitting any.
This was praised by King Wondrous Sound.
Did I recite it correctly this time? The Thus Come One is the Buddha. Some people say "Thus Come One Buddha." In China many dull Buddhists who've never heard Sutra lectures or investigated the Buddha-Dharma don't even know who the Thus Come One is, or who the Buddha is. Actually, the Thus Come One is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the Thus Come One. If you say, "Thus Come One Buddha," you are pronouncing two titles of Buddha. When you say, "Thus Come One," that is the Buddha; and "Buddha" 'refers to the Thus Come One. The Buddha formerly cultivated indicating that in the past, limitlessly many eons ago, he cultivated practices of the three periods of time.
"Practices of the three periods of time" means he cultivated in the past, cultivated in the present, and cultivated in the future. And it means cultivating last year, this year still continuing to cultivate, and also wanting to cultivate next year. Last month one wanted to cultivate, this month one still wishes to cultivate, and one is even more determined to cultivate next month. It's similar to how we are cultivating the Way here. Yesterday we practiced that Way, today we are still cultivating that Way, and tomorrow we will still be cultivating that Way. Cultivation must not be interrupted. You can't cultivate today but not tomorrow, then resume the following day. That won't work. You must continue to cultivate day after day non-stop. When the Buddha was cultivating the Way, he was willing to perform any good deed, no matter how small. And he would never commit any evil act, however insignificant it might seem. Consequently, those small good deeds accumulated to form great goodness, and he perfected, his 84,000 doors of practice.
During the time that The Buddha was cultivating, he was continually passing through all destinies of the revolving wheel witout exception. "All destinies" means all the good destinies and the evil destinies: those of gods, humans, asuras, hell-beings, hungry ghosts and animals. He equally underwent birth in all of them, and equally taught and transformed their living beings. Within all the destinies, he was subject to the revolving wheel.
"Revolving wheel" refers to how after being born, one dies; and having died, one is reborn. One revolves on the six-fold wheel of rebirth. He passed through all the destinies without exception. No matter the destiny, he experienced it, how much the more the path of humans. He went among asuras to teach and transform asuras. The Buddha made appear bodies of living beings of all types. Provided they were beings who had breath and blood, he would manifest among those kinds of beings to teach and transform them, which is why it says, "without exception."
He was freeing beings from suffering. How did he teach and transform living beings? He freed living beings from the sufferings which they were undergoing, so they could escape from suffering and attain bliss. When beings failed to understand the Buddha-Dharma, he used enormous amounts of patience to teach and transform them so they would understand. If beings already understood the Buddha-Dharma, he taught them how to cultivate. He employed the highest level of patience to teach and transform living beings, helping beings to cultivate. If beings were already cultivating, he aided them to bring their work in the Way to successful completion. If beings had already perfected their work in the Way, he enabled them to achieve liberation. That is, seeking the Way, cultivating the Way, accomplishing the Way, and finalizing the Way. He helped living beings attain their fundamental perfect fruition of Enlightenment. That's how he was freeing beings from suffering, not omitting any. No sufferings remained. All sufferings were ended. This was praised by King Wondrous Sound. The Asura King Wondrous Sound praised this state, this door of liberation, this Dharma-door.
To be continued |
