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菩提田

 

BODHI FIELD

佛法有賴僧傳 (四)
The Monastic Sangha As the Torchbearer of the Buddha's Teaching (Part IV)

菩提比丘法師 2006年7月初講於西方僧伽會議
A Talk Given by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi at the Western Buddhist Monastic Conference held at the Bhavana Society, West Virginia, July 2006
王青楠博士 中譯 Chinese Translated by Qingnan Wang, Ph.D.

依我看,南傳傳統中(或許在其它傳統中也有相應變化),一種特定的法門──即正念禪修,已經根離了傳統的基礎,而依不同的背景來講授。它教導一些人,他們雖或反對現代科學的機械世界觀,但其心中仍深受此世界觀的影響。它教導一些人,他們雖或不願接受包括佛教在內的任何新論,但即使不願承認,內心仍非常接受唯物世界觀。而且,他們經常持不可知論的態度──這仍是種「論」。而這種觀念將影響他們佛教禪修的體驗,定型出他們所適用的佛教禪修;因此修禪不再是傳統的解脫戒法,而是一種治療技術。這也許不是狹礙意味的精神療法,但它是一種存在主義的療法,在有為法中開擴視野,使個人適應有為法環境;但它自己本身不會化成一個使人從局限、有限的有為法中解脫之道。它是一種療法,可治現代文明產生的生活無意義感,存在主義的空虛感。它不再是種超越所有治療方式,度眾生根除染惑,超出濁惡生死的方法。

我想簡要地舉一個例子,它有關對無常的觀照。現在在家的內觀禪教者和寺院以巴利聖典為本的南傳禪師都說,無常意味著:「不要執著,如果執著任何東西,都會受苦。」但二者在這種邏輯下,事實上卻得到幾乎相反的結論。正統佛教中,無常是深刻理解苦相的途徑:「無常是苦,無常遷變之苦,應作如是觀:『非我所,我所非,所非我』」。所以,五蘊中的一切,聖弟子視之為「非我所,非我,所非我」因此看到如是,你就會覺悟不迷了。覺悟就清涼,清涼就解脫。解脫意味著心從原本的煩惱中得自在,不再受輪迴生死。但許多在家的內觀禪者,視無常為正面的,雖然 執著無常會受苦;但他們說可以充分地沉浸於無常之中而不執著,這是常見的結論。因此,無常是苦意味著我們應生活在世間,敬畏好奇地體驗一切,「與萬物齊舞而不執著」。正念的修行再次導致對世界的新肯定和欣賞;從傳統佛教立場看,這是對輪迴的微妙的再肯定。

悲智是佛教的兩翼,這兩種最優秀的道德,智慧是的智德的巔峰,慈悲是性德的巔峰。我要強調說,深信和正見是使慈悲心完全開發的必要條件。慈悲心有許多層次和種類,但要使其發展到頂點,它必須以正見作為基礎,能洞察有為法的危險和有漏性。沒有這悟性,你可能向著有種種苦痛的眾生修習慈悲心──當然總有無量無邊的眾生時時在遭受苦痛,因此我們從未失去修慈心的緣──但我們的慈心不會到達最充分和最深刻的程度。要打破這一困境,我們就必須領悟到輪迴的無邊痛苦,束縛我們於輪迴的微細煩惱,以及眾生在生死流轉中眠伏暗藏的危險(我們已知這些眾生可能是我們過去無量劫的父母、兄弟和姐妹)。

我相信要使僧團佛教正確地紮根發展,最需要的是在家人對僧團有發自內心的尊重。而要在家人達到這種尊重,教授佛法時必須反覆強調兩點:信心和正見。或許不要一開始就談太多佛教虔信論和錯綜複雜的佛教宇宙觀,但機緣成熟時我們要這樣做,而且還須理直氣壯地這樣教。否則我們只是成為剃除鬚髮穿著袈裟的教禪老師,與在家禪修老師一樣;而與其主要的不同是,俗人師生間有更大的親和力,因為他們可更加親密地談家庭生活的共有的經驗。

我們必須毫不猶豫,無懼地強調的另一個要點,就是法賴僧傳。我們應理直氣壯地講述,一個個世紀以來,是通過僧尼的自我犧牲,法才得以延續;他們有願力熱情為佛法放棄了一切世間享樂,身心完全地奉獻給三寶。這裡我們必然得到下述結論:若要正法在美國紮根,繁榮昌盛,我們需要美國人挺身而出,邁出勇敢的一步。他們出家,不僅因為「有助於修行」,而是因為他們真的為法所感動,決心為法奉獻生命的一切。因此當在家人遇到致力於無私奉獻生活的僧尼,他們才能欣賞出家的美與價值,尊敬出家人,發心供養出家人。

對於美國在家佛教徒,我想要講幾句自己的觀察來做結論。我不認為,我們應該期望今天在家人恢復以前在佛教中的傳統角色──就是讓他們扮演單純地護持寺院的角色,提供僧眾必要的物質為來生種福;我也不覺得這樣是理想的。我認為在今天的世界,在家人有更豐富的修習佛法機會,身為出家眾,我們應該隨喜鼓勵他們;我們應該幫助他們瞭解,他們有足夠的資格做修行人或佛法老師。我們生活在這樣一個時代,當人們需要體驗法所能帶引來的具體好處時,他們應有因緣做到這點。這是個在家人可有更多休閒和機會來參加長期禪修,深入學習佛法,過接近於寺院生活的時代;這也是個具備知識、經驗,和語言技能條件的在家人宏揚佛法的時代。

更多思考必須提供給在家人為佛教扮演與其能力相應的角色,我們也必須在今天的新條件下調整佛教的社會型態。我們不可單純地盼望西方佛教仿效亞洲佛教;但我覺得,要使真實的佛法如佛所正視的發揚光大,西方佛教要健康發展,就必須法賴僧傳。我這麼說,當然不是想為我們自己保留某些特權,以便我們能上高座,揮動題有我們法號的扇子,或獲得典雅的名聲;因為我確信,受過具戒的出家人來承擔真正的佛法延續,是佛陀的意思。這意味著,在各主要佛教傳統中,都需要更多有才幹願獻身的人挺身而出、來出家、受正規訓練,修持到可以培訓下一代僧尼的程度;這樣,法才能一代代傳下去。

全文完


It seems to me that what has happened in the Theravada tradition (with perhaps parallel developments in other traditions) is that a particular Buddhist practice, namely the practice of mindfulness meditation, has been uprooted from its classical context and then taught against a different background. It is taught to people who, though they might have rejected the mechanistic world view of modern science, have minds that are still largely shaped by that same world view. It is taught to people who, though they may say that they don’t want to adopt any new “ism” including Buddhism, are still largely subscribing to the world view of materialism, even if they don’t want to admit it. At any rate, they often take an attitude of agnosticism, which is still an “ism.” And this is going to shape their experience of Buddhist meditation, to shape the way they appropriate Buddhist meditation, so that meditation will no longer be functioning as a liberative discipline in the traditional sense, but as a therapeutic technique. It may not be a psychotherapy narrowly conceived, but it will still be an existential therapy intended to reconcile the individual to conditioned existence by opening up greater prospects of fulfillment within conditioned existence; it won’t transform itself into a path to emancipation from the limitations, the finitude, the flaws and faults of conditioned existence itself. It will be serving as a therapy for the sense of meaninglessness, the feeling of existential emptiness, that modern civilization has left as its legacy. It won’t be a way that transcends all therapeutic functions, a way that obliterates the kilesas, the defilements and delusions, at their root; a way that leads altogether beyond the vicious round of birth and death.

I want to briefly give one example of this. It concerns the contemplation of impermanence. Now for both the lay Vipassana teachers and for monastic Theravada Buddhism based on the Pali Canon, impermanence implies: “Don’t cling. If you cling to anything, you will undergo suffering.” But the two draw different conclusions from this thesis, indeed, almost contrary conclusions. For canonical Buddhism, impermanence is the passageway to a radical understanding of the dukkha-lakkhaÜa, the mark of suffering. “Whatever is impermanent is dukkha; whatever is impermanent, dukkha, and subject to change, that should be seen thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’” Therefore, whatever there is among the five aggregates, the noble disciple sees this all as “not mine, not I, not my self.” Seeing it thus, one becomes disenchanted with it. Being disenchanted, there comes dispassion. Through dispassion, there is liberation. And liberation (vimutti) here means the release of the mind from the primordial defilements, the Ásavas and samyojanas, and release from the cycle of rebirths. But many lay Vipassana meditators see the fact of impermanence as a fact imbued with positive significance. True, to cling to what is impermanent brings suffering. But, it is said, one can immerse oneself fully in the impermanent without clinging to anything, and this is the lesson that is often drawn. So the fact that clinging to the impermanent brings suffering means that one should live in the world and experience everything with awe and wonder, “dancing with the ten thousand things without clinging to them.” Once again, we are led through the practice of mindfulness to a new affirmation and appreciation of the world. From the standpoint of classical Buddhism, this turns out to be a subtle re-affirmation of samsÁra.

Wisdom and compassion are the two “wings” of Buddhism, the two most excellent virtues, wisdom being the crowning intellectual virtue, compassion the crowning virtue of our affective nature. I want to hold that deep faith and right view are also necessary conditions for compassion to be brought to its fulfillment. Now compassion has many degrees and kinds, but for compassion to reach fullness and depth of development, it has to be grounded upon right view as a keen perception of the dangers and inherent unsatisfactoriness of conditioned existence. Without this perception, one can develop compassion towards those who are subject to the manifold types of experiential suffering — and of course there are countless numbers of beings undergoing such types of suffering all the time, so we are never deprived of opportunities to practice compassion — but our compassion still won’t reach its fullest and deepest dimensions. This only becomes possible when we take into account the boundless extent of samsaric suffering, the subtle fetters that keep beings tied to the round of becoming, and the hidden dangers that ever lurk before these beings (who, we are told, may well have been our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters in countless past lives) as they move from life to life.

I believe that for monastic Buddhism to take root and become properly established, what is needed is a laity that has an intrinsic respect for monastics, and for lay people to develop this respect, two themes that must be emphasized again and again in the teaching of the Dharma are faith and right view. Perhaps we shouldn’t begin with heavy doses of Buddhism pietism and teachings on the intricacies of Buddhist cosmology; but when the time is right to do so, we also have to be straightforward and unabashed in teaching people. Otherwise we will just become robed and shaven-headed teachers of mindfulness meditation, similar to our lay colleagues, and then the main difference will be that lay people will find greater affinity with the lay teachers, who can speak to them at a more intimate level of shared experience of the household life.

Another theme we have to emphasize, without any fear or hesitation, is the contributions that monastics have made to the survival of the Dharma. We shouldn’t hesitate to speak about how the Buddha Dharma has survived down the centuries through the self-sacrificing efforts of monks and nuns, who had the courage and earnestness to give up the pleasures of mundane life and dedicate themselves fully to the cause of Buddhism, surrendering their very persons to the Triple Gem. And we have to draw the inevitable corollary: If the proper Dharma is to take root and flourish here in America, we need Americans to come forward and make that courageous move. Not just because it is “more conducive to their practice,” but because they truly have been swept off their feet by the Dharma and want to offer their lives to the Dharma in every respect. It is when lay people encounter monks and nuns leading lives of selfless dedication that they can appreciate the beauty and value of the monastic life, revere it, and bring forth a mind of generosity to support those who have entered its fold.

I also want to add some concluding observations regarding the situation of lay Buddhists here in America. I don’t think that we should expect lay people today to revert to the roles of lay people in a traditional Buddhist culture, that is, to see their roles to be simply supporters of the monastic Sangha, providing their material necessities as a way of earning merit for a future birth; nor do I think this is desirable. I think in today’s world, lay people have much richer opportunities to lead a fuller Dharma life, and as monks and nuns we have to rejoice in this opportunity and try to encourage them. We should be of service to help them to realize their full potential as Dharma practitioners and teachers. We live at a time when people want and need to experience the concrete benefits to which the Dharma can lead, and they should have every chance to do so. This is a time when lay people will have more leisure and opportunity to participate in long-term meditation retreats, to study the Dharma in depth, and to live lifestyles that will approximate to those of monastics. This is also a time when there will be lay people who have the knowledge, experience, and communicative skills needed to teach the Dharma.

Much thought has to be given to the task of establishing roles for lay Buddhists that can tap their talents, and we will have to adjust the social forms of Buddhism to the new conditions we find ourselves in today. We simply can’t expect Western Buddhism to imitate Asian Buddhism. And yet, I feel, for the true Dharma to flourish as the Buddha himself had envisaged it, a healthy development of Western Buddhism will have to preserve the position of the monastic Sangha as the torchbearers of the Dharma. I say this, of course, not to try to reserve certain privileges for ourselves, so that we can sit up on high seats and wield fans with our names inscribed on them and get addressed with elegant and polite terms, but because I’m convinced that it was the Buddha’s intention that the full monastic ordination with the opportunities and responsibilities it offers are necessary for the true Dharma to survive in the world. And this means that, in each major Buddhist tradition, we will need more people of talent and dedication to come forth, take ordination, receive proper training, and then reach a point where they can give training to the next generation of monks and nuns. In this way, the Dharma will be able to reproduce itself from one generation to the next.

The End

Seeking Volunteers for Boys Dormitory 聖城男校徵求宿舍義工

If you like working with young people and are interested in providing meaningful, educational experiences for young men at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Instilling Goodness Elementary and Developing Virtue Secondary Boys Divisions are seeking:

1. Long-term dorm counselors for the boys dorm.

2. Weekend dormitory counselors to relieve the regular dorm staff.

Duties consist of supervising and counseling boys ages 12-19 in the dorm during non-school hours. Qualifications: Teaching and/or parenting experience helpful. Must relate well to teenagers.

For more information, please contact the school at (707)468-1138 or dvbs@drba.org. Applications may be made at the Administration Office at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Successful applicants will need to be fingerprinted for a background check and have a negative TB test before commencing work.

The school has various other volunteer positions open. Please visit www.drbavolunteers.org for more information.

1. 長期男生宿舍指導員
2. 男生宿舍週末指導員,以替換專職人員
工作職責為非在校時間監督輔導12-19歲住宿生。資格:有老師或父母經驗者為佳,並必須與青少年好相處。
請洽詢電話 (707)468-1138 電郵 dvbs@drba.org. 應徵信請寄萬佛聖城總辦公室。
應聘者工作前需提供指紋與肺結核報告。其他義工職位請詳見www.drbavolunteers.org

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