|
或說偈曰
住持佛法老頭陀 西天東土衍摩訶
常坐不臥脅尊者 衣未多蓄眼合和
千里寄書祇白紙 萬卷雄辯亦空說
出類拔萃真龍象 眾生依止修波羅
「住持佛法老頭陀」，所以說能修持頭陀行，抖擻精神，也就是勇猛精進，這個樣子，才能住持佛法，佛法才能住世。要沒有真修行的人，那佛法就沒有了。所以什麼地方有修道的人，什麼地方就是正法存在。什麼地方沒有真修道的人了，那正法就滅亡了。那麼團體裡頭也是，哪個團體有真正實踐這個不爭、不貪、不求、不自私、不自利、不打妄語，這才是真正的佛法。你要是還在那兒跟世俗人一樣，在那兒爭、貪、求、自私、自利，那和這個世間不修行人有什麼分別？也是在那兒求名求利，爭地位、爭權力，在那兒弄出很多麻煩來，這不是佛教徒應該有的。所以我們要認識，真正佛教是不和人爭的。你看從古以來打開歷史研究研究，其他宗教都是有戰爭、有軍隊。只有佛教，因為佛教戒殺放生，沒有軍隊，不和人爭，這是佛教和其他宗教不同。那麼在佛教裡的佛教徒要在爭、貪、求、自利、自私，那又怎麼可以做一個佛教徒？所以我們應該真正知道佛教徒應該做什麼。一定要行頭陀行，頭陀行有，日中一食，就是早晨也不吃東西，晚間也不吃東西。三衣缽具，總是帶著五衣、七衣、九衣，上衣、中衣和缽具。要常坐不臥，要脅不著蓆，要在外邊樹下坐，或者在墳墓的地方坐，在什麼地方住就住，都是很簡單的，不貪享受。那麼過午也不飲漿。過了中午十二點，牛奶、豆漿一切一切有營養的東西都不吃的。Cheese（起士）、奶油，這幾樣都包括在內的。要說不吃飯，還要吃這些東西，真是自己騙自己，這些比飯還更有營養，價錢也更貴。那麼日中一食，三衣缽具，這是頭陀行。總而言之，持頭陀行的人就是不貪、什麼也不要多。你一多了，這就貪了。衣服多了就給人，東西多了就給人，不蓄財物，這樣子。
「西天東土衍摩訶」，衍摩訶就是行一個大教法，大乘教化。「常坐不臥脅尊者」，佛教裡有個脅尊者他是常坐不臥的。脅不著蓆，脅不躺在蓆子上，這叫脅尊者。「衣未多蓄眼合和」，他的衣服不要多，只要三衣就夠了。眼合和，眼睛常常是閉著的，不看人的，不和人講那麼多的話。所以頭陀行的人，不是一天到晚跟人嚕嚕囌囌的攀緣，和人拉攏關係，他誰也不攀的。
「千里寄書祇白紙」，在千里以外給雪峰寄來的書信，那麼打開來看只是三張白紙。白紙是本來無一物，本來沒有什麼可說的。那你寄信不也是多餘的？多餘的也是教人明白，什麼都是多餘的。「萬卷雄辯亦空說」，寫萬卷雄辯的書也是空說，沒有什麼實在的。
「出類拔萃真龍象」，師備禪師也真是一個出類拔萃的超人，一個法門的龍象。法門龍象就是大善知識。「眾生依止修波羅」，眾生大家都皈依他，跟他學，修這個波羅蜜法，修這個究竟到彼岸的法。
|
|
Another verse says:
The old dhuta practitioner maintained the Buddhadharma
Both in the western region and the eastern land, he proclaimed the Mahayana.
He always sat and never lay down,,
Emulating the Venerable Master “Ribs”.
He never hoarded many robes and kept his eyes shut tight.
The letter delivered a thousand miles had only blank pages.
All heated arguments are merely empty talk.
Outstanding among his peers, he was a true dragon and elephant.
Living beings relied upon him to cultivate the
paramitas.
Commentary:
The old dhuta practitioner maintained the
Buddhadharma. If one is able to cultivate the
dhuta practices, striking up one’s spirits and being courageously vigorous, one can maintain the Buddhadharma and keep it in the world. If no one truly cultivated, the Buddhadharma would become extinct. Therefore, wherever there are true cultivators of the Way, the Proper Dharma is present. But wherever there are none, the Proper Dharma dies out. This holds true for communities as well. If there are people in a community who truly hold the precepts, who do not fight, are not greedy, do not seek, are not selfish, do not pursue personal advantage, and do not lie, true Buddhism can be found there. But if you still fight, are greedy, seek, are selfish, pursue personal advantage, and lie, then how are you any different from ordinary people in the world who do not cultivate? If you are still seeking fame, fighting for position, and struggling for power – stirring up a lot of trouble – that is not the way to perpetuate Buddhism in the world. If one understands the Buddhadharma, then one will not contend with anyone. If you examine history from ancient times to the present, you will see that other religions have all kept armies and engaged in religious wars, but not Buddhism. That is because Buddhism advocates liberating the living and prohibits killing of any kind. Buddhists never keep armies or fight with anyone. That is the difference between Buddhism and other religions. If Buddhist disciples within Buddhism fight, are greedy, seek, are selfish, pursue personal advantage, and lie, how can they deserve to be called Buddhists? One should truly understand what a Buddhist ought to do; that is the way to uphold the Buddhadharma.
Therefore, it is necessary for people to cultivate the
dhuta practices. Among those ascetic practices, there is eating only one meal a day, which means one does not eat in the morning or in the evening. One takes a single meal at noontime. Also, one only possesses the three robes, a bowl, and a sitting cloth. One always keeps the three robes with one: the five-piece robe, the seven-piece robe, and the host robe. Furthermore, one does not lie down to sleep, but instead sits up at all times and never lets one’s ribs touch the mat. If one lives outdoors, one either sits beneath a tree or in a graveyard. No matter where one lives, one’s living arrangements are extremely simple, and one is not greedy for enjoyments.
One also refrains from drinking nourishing beverages after noon. Not only does one not take any solid food after twelve, one doesn’t drink nutritious liquids such as cow’s milk or soybean milk, or eat chocolate. All such things are included in the stipulation. It’s not the case that one doesn’t eat regular food in the afternoon, but eats chocolate. To do that is simple deceiving oneself. Chocolate is even more nourishing than rice; and it’s expensive. It may also be fortified with vitamins A, B, C, and D, and lots of other nutrients. Those kinds of foods are currently available everywhere, and if one eats them, one won’t feel hungry even if one does not eat any regular food. Therefore, one should only take one meal a day at noon, and only possess three robes, and so forth.
The main point in cultivating dhuta practices is not to be greedy. Whatever it is, one should not want a lot of it. As soon as one has a lot of something, that is greed. That’s why Master Shibei only possessed three robes, a bowl, and a sitting cloth. If he had extra clothing or extra anything else, he gave it away to other people. Basically, one should not accumulate things. One should not want anything at all. That is the meaning of
dhuta practice.
Both in the western region and the eastern land, he proclaimed the Mahayana. He propagated the Dharma of the Great Vehicle, that is, the jewel of the great teaching.
He always sat and never lay down, emulating the Venerable Master “Ribs”. Within Buddhism, there was the Venerable Master Parshva (“Ribs”), who was called that because he never lay down, and so his ribs never touched the mat.
He never hoarded many robes, and kept his eyes shut tight. Dhyana Master Shibei wasn’t greedy for lots of clothes. For him, a five-piece robe, a seven-piece robe, and a host robe were enough. And he always kept his eyes closed. He didn’t look at people, and he didn’t talk very much.
Dhuta cultivators don’t chat with people all day long, exploiting opportunities and setting up connections. He never did that.
The letter delivered a thousand miles had only blank pages. The Master sent a letter from over a thousand miles away to Xuefeng, but when Xuefeng opened it, there were only blank pieces of paper inside. The meaning was, “Originally there is not one thing—so fundamentally there is nothing to say.” To invent a story and try to get someone else to understand it is superfluous and unnecessary, isn’t it? Although it is superfluous, the purpose is to cause people to understand that all is superfluous and unnecessary.
All heated arguments are merely empty talk—with no reality to them.
Outstanding among his peers, he was a true dragon and elephant. Dhyana Master Shibei was an outstanding person, a dragon and elephant within the Dharma—which means he was an extremely wise teacher.
Living beings relied upon him to cultivate the paramitas. People everywhere took refuge with him and learned from him the Dharma of the Paramitas, the methods for reaching the other shore.
The End of "Dhyana Master Shibei of Xuansha"
|
