|
倓老是跟淶水縣高明寺的印魁老和尚出家落髮的；離家時恐為親情所縛，乃不告而別。家中有一妻二子，還有藥鋪；他一走，妻小都有可能淪為乞丐。或許是感應，以後他有機會復回營口，他一家人都還勉強維持生計。他不僅將他同修度化皈依三寶，而且兩個兒子也跟著出了家；此舉非大勇之人是做不到的。若是一般人，都要等一切一切安排妥當才肯出家。
以寧波天臺觀宗寺諦閑老和尚六十大壽開戒壇的殊勝因緣，倓老南下受具足戒，在那兒學了三年的教觀，深受器重。諦老曾以「虎豹生來自不群」來讚許他，等他回北方建廟弘法後，諦老正式傳其為天臺四十四代法嗣。
回北方後，倓老先後在營口主建楞嚴寺，哈爾濱建極樂寺，長春建般若寺，瀋陽重修般若寺，天津修大悲院（上人曾在那兒聽他講過《楞嚴經》），並在各處講經說法，大力興學，培養僧才，如在北京的彌勒院，最後又在青島興建湛山寺，廣博莊嚴。其寺修成得力一位王姓大護法的護持，他將整棟洋房及汽車變賣來興廟。這位王居士厭倦於多年宦海沉浮，轉向佛門，曾潛心讀《楞嚴經》，多諸疑問，南遊尋訪善知識不得，失望而歸。適逢佚老在青島開講《楞嚴經》，他起初也不很熱衷，以為還是像他所聽過的那樣講法。後來親戚家人去聽後，越聽越喜歡，王居士乃去聞其一講，疑團頓釋。自此傾心折服，以後竭力護持倓老。
「九一八事變」，日軍入侵哈爾濱，時倓老正在哈爾濱極樂寺。中國軍隊將寺院的外牆拿來對付日本人，新建的極樂寺隨時可能化為灰燼，逼得老和尚叫大家都到地藏殿唸佛。承佛菩薩加持，寺廟和人都有驚無險。
日本人為了防範抗日軍民，和追蹤嫌疑份子，派特務今井昭慶到極樂寺要求出家，並住電話室，藉以監視每人的行動。當時情形猶如置身虎口，如有任何人的口供與其偵察情報不副，即招殺身之禍，且累及廟上。
在1947年國共三年內戰在東北掀開序幕，最慘烈的一仗是長春圍城戰。倓老當時在長春般若寺，無法出去。一天夢中有人指示沿電線桿南行，即可突圍。他們一行七人冒險啟程，馬車走了六十里，被搶劫七次；到太陽溝無處過夜，幾乎住入豬圈。寒風凜冽，道路顛簸，一路翻車，把倓老摔到雪地上，那時他已經是六、七十歲的老人了。
這些故事發人深省，但倓老說，這都是一些前塵影事，提它幹什麼？只因感觸良多，故隨手拈來：一則欲藉倓老之語，彈省庵之詣，假影塵之音，仿水鏡之衷；二則常恨自己放逸身心，忘失菩提，發此感慨，聊以自警，若能有所裨益同道，則為幸事；三則緬懷讚嘆先賢諸難行苦行，也來比比我們此時的環境：外乏兵患，內無盜匪，蒙上人餘蔭，衣食豐足，比倓老當時處境強過何止百千萬倍。如果坐失這樣的機會修行，則恐失之不再。我們的一點身心煩惱病苦，實不應成為障道因緣。豈不聞上人在佛殿給弟子的棒喝：「……讓共產黨叫你跪玻璃，你就什麼病都沒有了。」
（全文完）
|
|
Elder Tan left the home-life under the
Elder Master Yinkui of Gaoming Monastery in Laishui County.
Afraid that family affections would tie him down, he left
his home without telling anyone. There was his wife and two
sons, as well as his dispensary. When he left, his wife and
children might have had to become beggars. Later, however,
perhaps due to a response, he was able to return to Yingkou,
so his family survived. Not only did he influence his wife
to take refuge with the Triple Jewel, but his two sons also
left the home-life. Someone of lesser courage could not have
done what he did. Ordinary people would not leave the
home-life until they had settled everything.
Elder Tan received the complete precepts in an auspicious
ordination presided by the Venerable Dixian of Guanzong
Monastery at Tiantai, Ningbo, on the occasion of the
Venerable's sixtieth birthday. He studied the teachings and
contemplations there for three years, and was highly
regarded. The Venerable Dixian once said in praise of him,
"He is no ordinary man." By the time he returned north to
build monasteries and spread the Dharma, the Venerable
Dixian had made him his Dharma heir in the forty-fourth
generation of the Tiantai Sect. The Memoirs also give us a
brief glance of the Tiantai teachings, contemplations, and
practices.
Returning north, the Elder Tan built Shurangama Monastery in
Yingkou, Ultimate Bliss Monastery in Harbin, and Prajna
Monastery in Changchun. He restored Prajna Monastery in
Shenyang and built Great Compassion Temple in Tianjin (where
the Venerable Master Hua once heard him lecture the
Shurangama Sutra). Elder Tan gave Sutra and Dharma lectures
in various places and educated the members of the Sangha,
actively founding schools such as the Maitreya Academy in
Beijing. Finally he built the spacious and elegant Zhanshan
Monastery at Qingdao (Green Island). The construction of
this monastery was fervently supported by a layman named
Wang, who even sold his house and car for the cause. Weary
of the ups and downs of officialdom, Mr. Wang had turned to
Buddhism. He had investigated the Shurangama Sutra, and had
gone south to search in vain for an advisor who could
resolve his many doubts and questions. He returned north in
disappointment, and it just so happened that the Elder Tan
was lecturing the Shurangama Sutra at Qingdao. At first he
was not that enthusiastic, for he thought this would be no
different from other lectures. However, his relatives who
went to listen were so delighted that Mr. Wang decided to
go. After listening to one lecture, his doubts vanished, and
he became a whole-hearted, devoted supporter of the Elder
Tan.
On September 18, the Japanese troops invaded Harbin. Elder
Tan was at Ultimate Bliss Monastery in Harbin. The Chinese
troops took cover inside the outer walls of the monastery to
fend off the Japanese. The newly built monastery was in
danger of being burnt to ashes at any time. Elder Tan told
everyone to gather in the Dizang Hall to recite the Buddha's
name. Due to the Buddhas' and Bodhisattvas' protection, the
monastery and people survived the crisis unscathed.
In order to guard against Japanese Resistance personnel and
other suspicious individuals, the Japanese sent a spy named
Akiyoshi Imai to Ultimate Bliss Monastery to request
permission to become a monk. He stayed in the telephone
office, where he could watch what everyone did. People were
in the tiger's jaws: if any person's words were determined
to be false, his or her life would have been at stake and
the entire monastery would have been harmed.
In 1947, three years of civil war between the Nationalists
and Communists began in Manchuria. The greatest tragedy was
the siege of Changchun. Elder Tan was in Prajna Monastery in
Changchun and could not get out. One night he had a dream in
which someone told him that by following the telephone poles
southward, he would find an opening in the siege. A group of
seven decided to try it. Riding in a horse carriage for
sixty li [20 miles], they were robbed seven times by
bandits. When they reached Taiyanggou, they nearly had to
spend the night in a pigsty. The freezing wind overturned
their carriage repeatedly, throwing Elder Tan onto the
snow-covered ground. He was already in his sixties or
seventies then...
Those stories are profoundly insightful, yet as Elder Tan
says, why mention those shadows from the past? I have just
casually set these words down because I have been touched in
so many ways. First of all, I wish to borrow Elder Tan's
words, expound Master Sheng An's instructions, echo their
sounds, and imitate their intent, unrealizable though it
might be. Secondly, I despise my indolence and lack of
resolve for Bodhi. Thus, this lamentation serves as a
remonstration to myself. If other cultivators find it
beneficial, then well and good. Third, in recollecting and
admiring the ordeals and austerities of former worthies and
patriarchs, we can compare our situation to theirs.
Untroubled by foreign invasions or civil unrest, enjoying
abundant food and shelter due to the Venerable Master's
blessings, our situation is thousands of times better than
Elder Tan's. If we miss the present opportunity to
cultivate, we may not have another chance. Our personal
afflictions and illnesses should not become obstacles to the
Way. As the Venerable Master insightfully remarked to his
disciples in the Buddha Hall, "When the Communists make you
kneel on broken glass, you obey without question."
(The End)
|
