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這個呂洞賓，一般世俗人又稱他為呂祖。道教都講祖師祖師的，所以在道教裡邊，到處就供呂祖，有呂祖廟。實際上，這個呂祖是誰呢？呂祖他也是佛教的人的化身，這是哪一位呢？就是觀世音菩薩。觀世音菩薩示現這呂祖，度這一些個長毛的老道。所以嘛，為什麼他又皈依三寶呢？這是他歸家認祖，又回來了。在外邊也可以說是到道教示現一個老道，來拋磚引玉，實際上也是為佛教開路的。不過我們人啊！人人都有一種執著病，見到這一位是個老道，是叫呂祖，一般人就不承認他是佛教的觀世音菩薩了。就是一改頭換面，我們這個眾生就生大執著，就不知道是怎麼回事了。
為什麼知道他是觀世音菩薩呢？就因為他在這個娑婆世界和很多人都很有緣的，所以現在很多人都是供呂祖，拜呂祖，信呂祖。他也是接引那些個旁門左道來皈依正教，皈依佛法僧三寶。那麼這樣子嘛，所以我們要知道，這是觀世音菩薩示現另一個化身，也就是應以道士得度者，即現道士而為說法。
這位呂洞賓，他學問非常好，因為他智慧很高，能過目成誦，十歲就能寫文章。他是唐朝時代陝西長安的人，本來他是姓李，和唐太宗是一家子。那麼以後因為有黃巢作亂，他就避這個亂，而到永樂山那兒去築洞為室，在那兒造一個窯洞。這個窯洞造著有兩個門，他一看這兩個門，因為那時候姓李的人，黃巢都要殺，所以他就改姓呂，這兩個口字。他這靈機一動，說：「不姓李了，姓呂」，李、呂這個音都有點相似。所以他的名字又叫呂洞賓，在洞裡頭的一個隱士。那麼他的名字呢，又叫呂喦，因為他在山岩的地方住著，所以又叫呂喦。
他的天才是很聰明的，於是乎就中進士。中進士了，他就做縣令。做縣令的時候，他有一天就遇著這個漢鍾離了。漢鍾離在漢朝是個當大將軍，當元帥的，以後把這個世間的事情都看淡了，就出家做老道修行。那麼他遇到漢鍾離，漢鍾離就用種種的道理來教化他，令他把這個世間的富貴榮華，都把它看淡了，所以就是用種種方便法門，方才我們周老師已經講過了。那麼教化他，他以後在這個黃粱夢裡，黃粱未熟的時候，他作了很長的一個他一生的夢；等夢醒了，知道這一切無非是在作夢。
他知道一切都是夢了，所以以後就跟著漢鍾離去修道了。一修行時，他這也是善根很深厚的人，就可以有出玄入牝這種功夫了。他也有飛劍遙遙，斬一切的妖魔鬼怪，所以他會飛行變化，那麼神通很大的。神通很大了，就到處濟困扶危，到處救人，立三千功、八百行，那麼立功立德。
有一次他就到黃龍山去見晦堂禪師，他因為看見黃龍山有一股靈氣，他知道這兒有一個非凡的人，他就想會一會這一位有道德的高僧。他到那兒一見黃龍禪師，他就說了，說：「一粒粟中成世界，半升鐺裡煮山川時如何？」這個境界是怎麼樣子？黃龍禪師一聽他這麼講，知道他是個門外漢，就說：「嘿！你這一種的理論只不過是個守尸鬼而已，沒有什麼了不起的！」
→待續
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Lü Dongbin is commonly known in the world as Lü Zu or Patriarch Lü. Taoism pays particular attention to patriarchs, and Taoists everywhere worship Lü Zu and even have temples dedicated to him. In reality, who is Lü Zu? He is the transformation of a Buddhist personage, namely, Guanshiyin (Avalokiteshvara) Bodhisattva. Guanshiyin Bodhisattva manifests as Lü Zu in order to convert Taoist cultivators, who usually let their hair grow long. Why did Lü Zu take refuge with the Triple Jewel then? It was an act of returning home and acknowledging his ancestors; he came back to Buddhism. He had gone outside to Taoism and manifested as a Taoist cultivator, "casting out a brick to draw in a piece of jade," so to speak. By doing so, he was actually paving the way for Buddhism. However, people all make the mistake of getting attached. When they see that he is Taoist and is called Patriarch Lü, most people fail to recognize that he is actually Guanshiyin Bodhisattva in Buddhism. He simply assumed a different appearance, but we living beings cling to our attachments and don't know what's going on.
How can we know that he is Guanshiyin Bodhisattva? Simply by the fact that he has affinities with many people in the Saha World. That is why many people now make offerings to Lü Zu, bow to Lü Zu, and believe in Lü Zu. He is gathering in all those of other faiths and sects and leading them to take refuge in the orthodox teaching, to take refuge with the Triple Jewel of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Therefore we should recognize that this is Guanshiyin Bodhisattva manifesting another kind of transformation body. That is to say, "For those who should be taught and converted by a Taoist, he manifests as a Taoist and speaks the Dharma."
Lü Dongbin was extremely erudite. He had great wisdom and was able to memorize anything after reading it once. At the age of ten, he could already write essays. He lived during the Tang Dynasty and was a native of Changan in Shanxi Province. His original surname was Li, the same as that of Tang Emperor Taizong. Later, during the revolt of the Yellow Turbans, he fled to Yongle Mountain and hollowed out a cave to be his home. The cave dwelling had two doors. At that time, the Yellow Turbans were killing anyone whose surname was Li. Therefore, while looking at the two doors to his cave home, he had a flash of insight and decided to change his surname from the character Li to the character Lü, which is made up of two openings (呂). Li and Lü sound very similar. He changed his name to Lü Dongbin (Dongbin means "guest of the cave") and lived in the caves as a hermit. He also called himself by the name Lü Yan (Yan means "grotto") because he dwelled in the mountain caves. Gifted with high intelligence, he had passed the civil examination as a third degree graduate [considered equivalent to earning a doctorate]. Thus he was appointed as the district magistrate. While serving as magistrate, one day he met Han Zhongli, who had been a great general of the Han Dynasty but later saw through the affairs of the world and renounced the worldly life to become a Taoist cultivator. Han Zhongli explained various principles and reasons to him, teaching and transforming him so that he was also able to regard the wealth, honor, and glory of the world with indifference. As Mr. Zhou described in his lecture, Han Zhongli used all sorts of expedient Dharma-doors to teach and transform him. Later on, he had what the Chinese call a "dream while cooking millet"; that is, in the brief time before the millet was done, he had what seemed to be a very long dream about his entire life. And when he awoke from the dream, he knew that everything is a dream.
Because he realized that everything is a dream, he later followed Han Zhongli to cultivate the Way. Being endowed with good roots that were deep and thick, Lü Dongbin achieved the skill of being able to send an astral body out of the top of his head very soon after he started cultivating. He also wielded an invisible sword with great prowess, swinging and hacking away at goblins, demons, ghosts, and monsters. He could fly and transform himself, and his spiritual powers were considerable. Using these great spiritual powers, he rescued those in difficulty and danger everywhere. By going around saving people, he earned three thousand merits and performed eight hundred good deeds; he established merit and virtue.
One time Lü Dongbin traveled to Huang Long (Yellow Dragon) Mountain to visit Dhyana Master Hui Tang. He had noticed an aura of spiritual energy around Huang Long Mountain and knew that there was an extraordinary person there. Wishing to meet the person, who was an eminent monk possessed of virtue, he went to see Dhyana Master Huang Long (Dhyana Master Hui Tang, who is respectfully referred to by the name of the place he came from) and asked him, "What happens when a single grain of millet forms a world and the mountain streams are boiled in a half-pint kettle?" What is that state like? Hearing him say that, Dhyana Master Huang Long knew that he was still an amateur, so he retorted, "Hmpf! Your state is merely that of a corpse-guarding ghost; it's nothing special!"
→To be continued
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