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《正法印》

PROPER DHARMA SEAL

大方廣佛華嚴經淺釋
The Flower Adornment Sutra With Commentary

【卷三 世主妙嚴品第一之三 】

The Wondrous Adornments of World Rulers, Roll 3, Chapter 1, Part 3

宣化上人講於一九七三年十月二十二日星期一晚上 Commentary by the Venerable Master Hua on the evening of October 22, 1973
國際譯經學院記錄 Translated by the International Translation Institute

前期提示:
若有眾生至佛前。得聞如來美妙音。莫不心生大歡喜。遍遊虛空悟期法。

佛於一一剎那中。普雨無邊大法雨。
悉使眾生煩惱滅。此雲幢神所了知。

「佛於一一剎那中」:佛在一剎那中,這每一個剎那是很短很短的時間。在很短很短的時間,佛都做什麼呢?

「普雨無邊大法雨」:所以我們做了一個早課,或者做了個晚課,或者又看看經、念念佛,這就以為自己有了修行,這簡直是不知慚愧!你看看佛在這個剎那剎那中,他都不閒著,做什麼呢?普雨無邊大法雨,他都是說法的,在念念中都是教化眾生,剎那剎那中都在喚醒眾生。

我們這個人,你看!聽聽經,就覺得很疲倦了,就要睡覺。小心把那個頭碰到桌子上,碰壞了!昨天晚間,我站在果行的前邊,看他一邊聽經,一邊打瞌睡。我本來想打他一個耳光子,叫他醒來;但是又怕嚇死他,所以也不要打了。睡一點覺還不會死的,要是這一個耳光子嚇著他,說:「這個世界真不好,趕快往生極樂世界。」啊!那時候他若跑得很快的,也沒有人把他抓回來,所以不要打了。今天晚間你們誰願意睡覺,我更不會打的。誰願意睡就睡,我請你們睡,睡夠了,沒有問題的;你就作夢,一樣在那兒聽經的。

佛普雨無邊大法雨,做什麼呢?不是很好玩的,是要「悉使眾生煩惱滅」:用這個般若智慧水,來熄滅無明煩惱火,所以悉使眾生煩惱滅。「此雲幢神所了知」:這是雲幢主方神所明白的境界,入這一種的解脫門。

一切世間諸業海。佛悉開示等無異。
普使眾生除業惑。此髻目神之所了。
一切智地無有邊。一切眾生種種心。
如來照見悉明了。此廣大門觀世入。
佛於往昔修諸行。無量諸度悉圓滿。
大慈哀愍利眾生。此遍遊神之解脫。

「一切世間諸業海」:一切世間就是一切的有情世間,有情世間就是一切眾生的世間。一切眾生的業障多,猶如大海那樣的深,那樣的沒有邊際。

為什麼有業?因為有迷惑就造業了,所以說起惑、造業,就受報。這個業猶如大海,這個報也如大海。可是「佛悉開示等無異」:佛開示這種種的業,受種種的果報。等無異,一切眾生各有各人的業,各應該受其所受的果報,非常平等,很公平的。你種什麼因,就結什麼果。種善因,就結善果;種惡因,就結惡果。本來沒有分別,但是果報不同;雖然果報不同,還是沒有分別,各受其所應受。

所以說「普使眾生除業惑」:佛普遍令一切眾生,都把這個業惑除去了。除去業惑,就得到清淨的本體;不把業惑除去呢,就沒有得到清淨。「此髻目神之所了」:這一種的道理,就是前邊所講過的那位髻目主方神,他所明了的佛的這種境界,入此解脫門。

「一切智地無有邊」:我們所修的智地,這一切智地,一切種智的地,無有邊,無量無邊。這是佛智,這是佛地,這是無上智。無上智就是佛智,沒有再比它高尚的智慧,所以也就無量無邊。這種智慧,隨機化導,隨緣引渡。所謂:

千潭有水千潭月,萬里無雲萬里天。

這種的智慧是無作的妙智,無作的妙慧,不需要有什麼造作,不需要好像我們這個愚癡的人,也有智慧,但要想一想,思一思。佛智不需要思想,無論什麼境界來了,都是迎刃而解,來得既敏捷又迅速,也就是快。這是「一切智地無有邊」大概的意思。要是詳細說,根本就沒有法子說得完,為什麼呢?它無有邊,你怎麼會說得完?

「一切眾生種種心」:這無上智是不離一切眾生的種種心,是心生出來一切智。所以說一切眾生種種心,「如來照見悉明了」:所謂:

一切眾生若干種心,
如來悉知悉見。

照見,是怎麼知道的?用那個無上智知道的。怎麼見到的?用這個般若的智慧見到的。悉明了,是完全明白。「此廣大門觀世入」:這種廣大般若門,是這個觀世的主方神所了悟的。

「佛於往昔修諸行」:在前邊講過好幾個偈頌都有這一句,說佛於往昔修諸行。佛就是在以前修行這一切的行門。諸行,就是八萬四千的行門。又可以說八萬四千門中的一門,就是這一門。那麼他把這一門修成了,又修那一門。那一門修成了,又修另一門。所以這個「諸」字,也可以當一個「多」字講,又可以當一個「一」字講。這個「一」字,就是語助詞,就是這一門。因為多了,我們人又怕,說:「那麼多怎麼修啊!我們絕對不能成佛了!」那不要緊的,一門一門修行,你把這個門修成了,那個門也就成了。一門就是一切門,一切門也就是一門。一通一切通,一切通也就是一通,所謂「一法通,百法通」。

自性如虛空,真妄在其中;
悟徹本來體,一通一切通。

「自性如虛空」,說自己的性好像虛空似的,「真妄在其中」,也有真也有妄,「悟徹本來體」,你若明白本來的體,你若得到本體了,「一通一切通」。「得一萬事畢」,你得這個「一」,什麼事情都了了,就好像你吃飽飯,什麼也都不想了,這得「一」就吃飽飯了;什麼也不想,就是萬事畢了。你們想是不是這樣子?你若不信就試試看。

待續

◆一切眾生種種心。如來照見悉明了。 All the various thoughts of living beings The Tathagata clearly sees and completely understands.
圖:陳果魁提供 Artist:Cheng Guo Kui

A reminder of the Sutra text:
If there are living beings who come before the Buddha,
And hear the Tathagata's supremely wondrous sound,
None fails to have great delight arise within his mind.
Pervasively Roaming in Emptiness awakens to this Dharma.

The Buddha, in the space of every kshana,
Universally rains great and boundless Dharma rain,
Extinguishing completely all living beings' afflictions.
This is what the Spirit Cloud Banner understands.

The Buddha, in the space of every kshana, a single kshana being the shortest possible interval of time, does what? The Buddha in the briefest interval represented by one kshana universally rains great and boundless Dharma rain. Now when we attend one morning or evening recitation period, read a Sutra or recite the Buddha's name, we think that we have cultivation. That's really shameless! See how the Buddha in each and every passing kshana is never idle. What is he doing? He is pouring forth great and boundless Dharma rain everywhere. In every instant of thought he is speaking the Dharma and teaching and transforming living beings, and in kshana after kshana is awakening living beings.

But see what happens with us. As we listen to the Sutra, we feel very tired and want to sleep. Be careful or your head may fall down on the table and be smashed. Yesterday evening I stood in front of Gwo Hang and watched how on the one hand he was listening to the Sutra, and on the other hand was falling asleep. To start with I considered boxing his ears to get him to wake up. But then I was afraid it might scare him to death, so I didn't hit him. If he slept, at least he wouldn't die. However, if I boxed his ears he might say to himself, "This world is truly rotten. I'd better go to rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss as soon as possible!" If he left too quickly, no one could bring him back, so I decided not to hit him. Tonight, if any of you want to sleep, I'm even less likely to hit you. If you want to sleep, please go right ahead and sleep. Get as much sleep as you want--it's no problem. You can listen to the Sutra all the same in your dreams.

Why does the Buddha universally rain down boundless amounts of extensive Dharma rain? It's not just for fun, but for extinguishing completely all living beings' afflictions. He uses the water of Prajna wisdom to put out the fire of ignorance and afflictions, resulting in the total extinguishing of the afflictions of living beings. This is what the Spirit Cloud Banner understands. The Direction-Ruling Spirit named Cloud Banner understands this state and enters this kind of door to liberation.

All the seas of karma in all worlds.
Are shown by the Buddha to be the same without distinction.
He universally helps beings to dispel karmic delusions.
This is what the Spirit Cowl Eyes understands.

The ground of All-Wisdom has no bounds.
All the various thoughts of living beings
The Tathagata clearly sees and completely understands.
Contemplating Worlds enters this vast, great door.

The Buddha in the past cultivated all conducts.
And totally perfected limitlessly many Paramitas.
With great kindness and pity he benefits living beings.
This is the liberation of the Spirit Traveling everywhere.

All the seas of karma in all worlds. "In all worlds" refers to the World of Sentient Beings, which is all living beings' worlds. The karmic obstructions of all living beings are so many that they are as deep and boundless as a great ocean.

Why do they have karma? Because they give rise to delusions and create karma. As it's said: Giving rise to delusions, creating karma, and undergoing retribution. The karma is comparable to oceans, and so is the retribution. Nonetheless, they are shown by the Buddha to be the same without distinction. The Buddha points out how the various types of karma and varieties of retributions undergone are uniform without differences. Each individual living being has his or her own karma, and each has to undergo the retribution he is due to undergo. This is extremely equitable and fair. According to the kind of causes you plant, you reap the corresponding result. If you plant good causes, you will reap good results. But if you plant bad causes, you will harvest bad results. Fundamentally there is no distinction. However, the retributions are not identical. Yet even though the resulting retributions are not the same, they still have no differentiation, in that each individual receives what he or she is supposed to receive.

For that reason, the next line says: He universally helps beings to dispel karmic delusions. The Buddha enables all living beings everywhere to get rid of their karmic delusions. Dispelling the delusions of karma means reaching the fundamental substance which is pure. Until you rid yourself of all delusions of karma, you will not attain that purity. This is what the Spirit Cowl Eyes understands. The Direction-Ruling Spirit named Cowl Eyes who was discussed before understands this state of the Buddha and enters this liberation door.

The ground of All-Wisdom has no bounds. The ground of wisdom which we cultivate, the ground of all-wisdom, the wisdom of all modes, has no boundaries. It is limitless and boundless. This refers to the Buddha's wisdom and the ground of Buddhahood. This wisdom is unsurpassed, the highest wisdom being the Buddha's wisdom. There is no loftier wisdom; hence it is infinite. Such wisdom teaches and guides according to  potentials, leads and rescues adapting to conditions. As it is said:

In the water of a thousand pools, there are a thousand moons.
When there are no clouds, there's just ten thousand miles of sky.

This kind of wisdom is the wonderful wisdom of non-doing, uncontrived and effortless wondrous knowledge. No effort need be made. There's no need to do as we stupid people do. Even though we possess wisdom, we insist on thinking things out and mulling matters over. The Buddha's wisdom does not require going through the thought process. Whatever state comes along is understood as if meeting the blade of a knife. Its action is nimble and swift--in other words, fast. That's the general idea of the line: "The ground of All-Wisdom has no bounds." If discussed in detail, one could continue explaining without ever coming to the end. Why is that? It's because it is boundless, so how could you ever finish explaining it?

All the various thoughts of living beings. Unsurpassed wisdom is not separate from all the different thoughts in the minds of living beings. The mind brings forth All-Wisdom, which is why the text states that the Tathagata clearly sees and completely understands all the various thoughts in the minds of living beings. As the saying goes:

All the various thoughts in the minds of living beings
Are completely known and completely seen by the Thus Come One.

When he clearly sees, how does he know? He uses unsurpassed wisdom to know. And how does he see? He uses Prajna wisdom to see. And he completely understands, that is, has total comprehension. Contemplating Worlds enters this vast, great door. The Direction-Ruling Spirit named Contemplating Worlds awakened to this kind of door of vast and great Prajna.

The Buddha in the past cultivated all conducts. Quite a few of the verses discussed previously also had a line stating that the Buddha in the past cultivated all conducts, previously cultivated each and every door of practice. All conducts refers to the 84,000 doors of practice. One could also say that a single door among the 84,000 doors is one particular door; and that when he had cultivated that one door to perfection, then he cultivated the next individual door. Then when that one door's cultivation was achieved, he cultivated yet another single door. Hence the word "all" either can mean "every," or it can mean "each;" that is, many or one. It is interpreted as "one" because if you say the doors are many, people will become afraid and exclaim, "How could we cultivate so many? There's no way we could become Buddhas!" But that doesn't matter. Just cultivate one door at a time. When you have successfully cultivated that door, the next door will also be perfected. One door is all doors, and all doors are one door. When one is penetrated, each and every one is penetrated; and penetration of all is penetration of one as well. Hence, when one dharma  is penetrated, the hundred dharmas are penetrated.

The inherent nature is like empty space.
Truth and falseness are within it.
When one fathoms the fundamental substance,
With one penetration, all is penetrated.

The inherent nature being like empty space means that one's own nature resembles emptiness. Truth and falseness being within it means it has both the true and the false. When one fathoms the fundamental substance, when you understand that basic substance and reach that fundamental substance, with one penetration all is penetrated. With one penetration, each and every one is penetrated. If you attain the one, then the myriad matters are all ended. When you achieve the "one," you have brought all matters to their conclusion. It's as when you have eaten your fill of food--you don't think about it anymore. Attaining the one is equivalent to having eaten your fill--you no longer think about them, so the myriad matters come to an end. Do all of you think it is that way? If you don't believe, you can try it for yourselves.

To be continued

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