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《菩提田》

 

BODHI FIELD

我的出家因緣
How I Left the Home-life

【恆祥師】

Bhikshu Heng Xiang

    

如其名「恆祥」,恰如其份「果瑞」。很少有這麼謙遜,這麼祥和的人,整天就在車子底下,或四處修修補補的,隨傳隨到,無論何時,總是和和氣氣的待人,難怪師父給他取這法名。真是名副其實!

提起他的學佛因緣,平凡而實在。四十三歲時,由於太太的接引,才開始吃素,跟著打佛七、受戒,更嘗試過短期出家。一九八八年,師父上人到馬來西亞弘法,躬逢其會。之後,太太與其商議一起出家,他也欣然答應。「從來沒有想過出家,竟然出家!」恆祥師說:「我自己也不知道怎麼就出家了!」

一切無求,老老實實修行,便是他的寫照。尤其家裡有一男四女,最小的還在唸設計,但他們在聽到父母想出家後,都非常贊成他們的決定,這些孩子在他們學佛之後,經一段時間的薰修,不但吃素,也變得很柔順,很懂事,真是一個模範的佛化家庭。

「沒有學佛以前,生活沒有目標,整天忙、忙、忙,也不知在忙些什麼,心裡很空虛。學佛之後,才有了真正的方向,更沒有想到出家之後日子比以前還忙,可是過得很踏實。」恆祥師感慨地說。

今年六十歲的他,也不爭,也不貪,也不求,更不自私、不自利,盡本份隨緣度日。一樣的日子,一樣的忙碌,卻是迥然不同的一顆心,一顆欣欣向著解脫大道的菩提之心!

H is Dharma name Guo Rui (fruit of auspicion), Heng Xiang (constant harmony) very appropriately describes him. Few people are as modest, peaceful, and harmonious as he is. He is often found under a car or in various places fixing and patching things up. Whenever he is needed, he appears right away. He is always amiable. No wonder the Master gave him such a name, which fits him so well.

The story of how he came to study Buddhism is plain but real. Under his wife’s influence, he became a vegetarian at the age of forty-three. Following that, he began participating in Buddha Recitation sessions, received the precepts, and even tried monastic life for a short period of time. In 1988, when the Venerable Master went to Malaysia to propagate the Buddhadharma, he had the chance to participate in the Dharma assembly. Afterward, his wife proposed that they both leave the home-life together, and he agreed. “I had never thought of leaving the home-life,” says Bhikshu Heng Xiang. “I don't know how I did it.”

Seeking nothing, just cultivating honestly—those are his hallmarks. At home, he has one son and four daughters; the youngest is still in school studying design. When they heard that their parents were going to leave the home-life, they both approved whole-heartedly. These children have not only become vegetarians but have also become more mature and compliant after learning and being influenced by Buddhism for a period of time. Their family is truly a model Buddhist family.

“Before studying Buddhism, my life was aimless—just being busy every day without knowing what I was busy for. There was a desolate void in my heart. It was only after studying Buddhism that I found the true direction. However, I never expected that after leaving home I would be even busier than before. However, this life is a very fruitful one,” Heng Xiang said with deep feeling.

He is now sixty years old, and he does not contend, is not greedy, does not seek anything, is not selfish, and does not pursue personal advantages. He passes his days by doing his share of duty and being in accord with conditions. The days are just as busy, but his mind is totally different—it is a mind that is joyously heading for Bodhi on the great path of liberation.

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