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正法的代表

正法的代表

正法的代表




一九八八年十一月九日 开示于台湾高雄元亨寺
A talk given on November 9, 1988, at Yuan Heng Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan


南无萨怛他
苏伽多耶
阿罗诃帝
三藐三菩陀写
南无萨怛他
佛陀俱胝瑟尼钐
南无萨婆
勃陀勃地
萨多鞞弊
南无萨多南
三藐三菩陀俱知南
娑舍啰婆迦
僧伽喃
南无卢鸡阿罗汉多喃
南无苏卢多波那喃
南无娑羯唎陀伽弥喃
南无卢鸡三藐伽多喃
三藐伽波啰
底波多那喃
南无提婆离瑟赧
南无悉陀耶
毗地耶
陀啰离瑟赧
舍波奴
揭啰诃
娑诃娑啰摩他喃
南无跋啰诃摩尼
南无因陀啰耶


 NA MO SA DAN TUO
SU QIE DUO YE
E LA HE DI
SAN MIAO SAN PU TUO XIE
NA MO SA DAN TUO

FO TUO JU ZHI SHAI NI SHAN
NA MO SA PO

BO TUO BO DI

SA DUO PI BI
NA MO SA DUO NAN
SAN MIAO SAN PU TUO JU ZHI NAN
SUO SHE LA PO JIA
SENG QIE NAN
NA MO LU JI E LUO HAN DUO NAN
NA MO SU LU DUO BO NUO NAN
NA MO SUO JIE LI TUO QIE MI NAN

NA MO LU JI SAN MIAO QIE DUO NAN
SAN MIAO QIE BO LA

DI BO DUO NUO NAN
NA MO TI PO LI SHAI NAN
NA MO XI TUO YE
PI DI YE
TUO LA LI SHAI NAN
SHE PO NU
JIE LA HE
SUO HE SUO LA MO TUO NAN
NA MO BA LA HE MO NI
NA MO YIN TUO LA YE

方才读的这一遍,这是〈楞严咒〉的前边二十八句,这二十八句是教我们“皈依尽虚空遍法界,一切诸佛、一切菩萨、一切声闻、缘觉、一切诸天”。那么最后那个“南无因陀啰耶”,这一句就是我们中国人所说的玉皇大帝。所以不懂佛法的人,他说:“玉皇大帝那是道教的,我们不要拜他。”他不知道这玉皇大帝就是这个帝释天;可是我们做佛的弟子,也要恭敬他,也要来摄受他。在〈楞严咒〉这前一段,这也是护持三宝的一段,所以念上这一段咒的时候,一切的妖魔鬼怪他都要退避三舍;不止退避三舍,他要退到他所不能退的那个地方去。


 What I just recited was the first twenty-eight lines of the Shurangama Mantra. These twenty-eight lines tell us to take refuge in all the Buddhas, all the Bodhisattvas, all the Hearers, all Those Enlightened by Conditions, and all the gods throughout empty space and the Dharma Realm. The last line, "Na mo yin tuo la ye," refers to what Chinese people call the Jade Emperor. Those who do not understand the Buddhadharma say, "The Jade Emperor belongs to Daoism. We shouldn't bow to him." They don't realize that the Jade Emperor is just Lord Shakra. As Buddhist disciples, we should also respect him and gather him in. This first section of the Shurangama Mantra is the section for protecting and supporting the Triple Jewel. Therefore, when this section is recited, all the demons, goblins, ghosts, and other strange creatures flee far away. They retreat as far as they can go.

所以我们在佛教里头,如果有一个人能在这个世界上念〈楞严咒〉,这妖魔鬼怪他都不敢公然出现于世;如果一个人也没有了,也没有人会背〈楞严咒〉了,这时候妖魔鬼怪他们都出现于世了。他们在这个世界上为非作歹,一般人也不认识他们了。现在因为有人会念〈楞严咒〉,所以妖魔鬼怪他不敢公然出现于世。你念这一段咒文,有四句话可以来表达这段咒文的意思。这四句话说的:


 Therefore, in Buddhism it is said that if there is even one person in the world who can recite the Shurangama Mantra, then the demons, goblins, ghosts, and all the other weird creatures will not dare to openly show themselves in the world. If not even one person can recite the Shurangama Mantra from memory, then at that point all the demons, goblins, ghosts, and all the other weird creatures will appear in the world. They will wreak havoc, but no one will recognize them. Right now, since there are still people who can recite the Shurangama Mantra, the demons, goblins, ghosts, and all the other weird creatures don't dare to openly show themselves in the world. There is a verse which expresses the meaning of this section of mantra.


 

千朵红莲护住身,
坐驹骑着墨麒麟,
万魔一见往远躲,
济公法师有妙音。


 A thousand red lotuses protect one's body.
As one sits astride a black unicorn.
Seeing this, the myriad demons go away to hide.
Dharma Master Ji Gong had this wonderful sound.


 

“千朵红莲护住身”:我们佛教都知道这个莲华,有千朵红莲来护持你这个身。

“坐驹骑着墨麒麟”:你一念这个咒,你这个持咒的人是坐到一个麒麟的身上。

“万魔一见往远躲”:他都跑了,不敢面对这种大威德的相。我们人人都知道佛教里头有一位济公,当初济公就是专用这一段咒文的,所以说“济公法师有妙音”。这是这一段咒文大概的意思,那么至于要详细说呢,这个〈楞严咒〉是妙不可言的。所以说:

奥妙无穷实难猜,
金刚密语本性来;
楞严咒里有灵妙,
五眼六通道凡开。


 A thousand red lotuses protect one's body.
A thousand red lotuses come to protect your body.


As one sits astride a black unicorn.
When you recite the mantra, you are sitting astride a unicorn.



Seeing this, the myriad demons go away to hide.
They all flee, because they are afraid to face such awesome virtue. We all know about the character Ji Gong in Buddhism. In his time, Ji Gong used this section of mantra, so the verse says, Dharma Master Ji Gong had this wonderful sound. This verse gives the general meaning of this section of mantra text. If we were to go into detail, the Shurangama Mantra is wonderful beyond words. Thus it is also said:

The esoteric wonder is inexhaustible.
It is truly difficult to fathom.
The secret words of Vajra come from

the inherent nature.
The Shurangama Mantra contains

miraculous wonders.
Cultivators and ordinary people can open

the Five Eyes and Six Penetrations.


 

“奥妙无穷实难猜”:〈楞严咒〉非常奥妙,它这个变化也是不可思议,很不容易测度的。“金刚密语本性来”:这个金刚密语,〈楞严咒〉是密中之密,这是金刚来护持这个咒。本性来,它是从自己那个佛性生出来的。“楞严咒里有灵妙”:这个〈楞严咒〉也叫做灵文,因为他特别灵,特别有力量,所以说“楞严咒里有灵妙”。“五眼六通道凡开”:你若能常持〈楞严咒〉,专心一致,心不旁骛,你可以得到五眼六通,可以有不可思议那种的境界来变化莫测的,所以不是一般凡夫俗子可能知道的。因为这个,所以希望大家都能读诵《楞严经》,背诵〈楞严咒〉。


 The esoteric wonder is inexhaustible. It is truly difficult to fathom.
The Shurangama Mantra is extremely wonderful, and its transformations are inconceivable. It is very difficult to fathom.
The secret words of Vajra come from the inherent nature.
The secret words of Vajra, the Shurangama Mantra, is the secret within the secret. It is Vajra that supports and protects this mantra, which comes from our own Buddha-nature.
The Shurangama Mantra contains miraculous wonders.
The Shurangama Mantra is also known as a magical text. It is very miraculous and especially potent. That's why it is said, "The Shurangama Mantra contains miraculous wonders."
Cultivators and ordinary people can open the Five Eyes and Six Penetrations.
If you constantly recite the Shurangama Mantra with single-minded concentration, not thinking of anything else, you can attain the Five Eyes and the Six Penetrations. You can experience inconceivable states and transformations which are beyond the understanding of ordinary people. Therefore, I hope everyone will study and recite the
Shurangama Sutra, and recite the Shurangama Mantra from memory.

 

一般的学者说:《楞严经》是假的,不是佛说的,又有什么考证,又有什么地方记载。这都是他怕《楞严经》,没有办法来应付《楞严经》这个道理。《楞严经》中他们所最怕的,就是〈四种清净明诲〉。这〈四种清净明诲〉是照妖镜,把所有妖魔鬼怪都给照现原形了;还有那个〈五十阴魔〉把天魔外道他们的骨头都给看穿了,把他们妖怪的这种相貌都给认识了。哪一位能读诵,能把《楞严经》背得出来,那是真正佛的弟子。


 Most scholars say the
Shurangama Sutra
is false and claim that it was not spoken by the Buddha. They say they have various pieces of evidence and documents to support it. This is all because they fear the
Shurangama Sutra
and have no way to deal with the principles in the
Shurangama Sutra. What they fear most in the Shurangama Sutra are the Four Clear Instructions on Purity. The Four Clear Instructions on Purity serve as a demon-spotting mirror. All the demons, goblins, ghosts, and weird creatures are reflected in their true form. Furthermore, the section on the Fifty Skandha-demons exposes the celestial demons and externalists to the bone, enabling people to recognize their demonic appearance. Anyone who can memorize the
Shurangama Sutra
is a true disciple of the Buddha.

 

《楞严经》在佛法末法的时候是先断灭的。为什么它断灭?就因为这一些个学者啊,又是什么教授啊,甚至于出家人,都说它是假的。那么他们这种的言论,久而久之,被人以讹传讹,就认为他们所说的是对的,所以就认为《楞严经》是假的了,连佛教徒也认为它是假的,久而久之,这个经就没有了。所谓经典断灭也就是这样子,大家不学习,它就没有了,就这样断灭了。


 In the declining period of the Buddha-dharma, the first Sutra to disappear will be the
Shurangama Sutra. Why will it disappear? Because these so-called scholars, professors, and even left-home people all claim it is false. Over time, their theory will become widespread, and people will all believe what they say and take the
Shurangama Sutra
to be false. Even Buddhist disciples will consider it false, and after a while the Sutra will disappear. That is how the Sutras become extinct. People no longer study them, so they disappear.

 

《楞严经》里〈四种清净明诲〉说得非常地正确,非常地肯定,就说这个杀、盗、淫、妄,所以一般学者、教授就怕这〈四种清净明诲〉,他们就想得到不明白的那个诲,这个明诲他们就很怕很怕的。因为如果说《楞严经》是真的,他们就没有立足之地了,他那种又抽烟、又喝酒、又玩女人,就立不住了,被人家都认识他了。所以你看看,《楞严经》里所讲的道理,是非常正确的,非常有逻辑学的,再没有比这个说得更清楚了。《楞严经》全部经,就是一部照妖镜,所以这照妖镜一悬起来,这个妖魔鬼怪都胆颤心惊。


 In the
Shurangama Sutra, the Four Clear Instructions on Purity which explain killing, stealing, lust, and lying, are absolutely accurate and definite. That's why those scholars and professors fear the Four Clear Instructions on Purity. They only want to listen to muddled instructions and are terribly afraid of the Clear Instructions. If they admitted that the
Shurangama Sutra
is true, they would have no ground to stand upon. They would not be able to defend their smoking, drinking, and womanizing, for everyone would know them for what they are. The principles of the
Shurangama Sutra
are extremely accurate, extremely logical, and as clear as can be. That is why the entire
Shurangama Sutra
is a demon-spotting mirror. When this demon-spotting mirror is hung up, the demons, goblins, ghosts, and weird creatures are frightened out of their wits.


 

我方才所说的话,所解释的《楞严经》和〈楞严咒〉这个道理,如果不合乎佛的心、不合乎经的意,如果《楞严经》是假的,我愿意永远永远在地狱里,再不到世上来见所有的人。我虽然是一个很愚痴的人,可是也不会笨得愿意到地狱去,不再出来。各位由这一点,应该深信这个《楞严经》和〈楞严咒〉。


 If what I have just said about the
Shurangama Sutra
and Shurangama Mantra does not accord with the Buddhas' mind and the Sutra's meaning, and if the
Shurangama Sutra
is really false, I am willing to stay forever in the hells and never come out to see the people in the world. Although I am a stupid person, I am not so foolish that I would want to go to the hells and never come out. For that reason, you should all deeply believe in the
Shurangama Sutra
and Shurangama Mantra.


 

我方才所说的我的愿力是这样子,如果不合乎佛心,我愿意下地狱。那么我现在所说的话,也请十方尽虚空遍法界无尽无尽常住佛法僧三宝,在默默中证明,令一切众生早成佛道。


 What I have just said is my vow. If what I said does not accord with the Buddhas' mind, I am willing to go to the hells. I now request the infinite, endless, eternally dwelling Buddhas, Dharma, and San-gha--the Triple Jewel in the ten directions throughout empty space and the Dharma Realm--to silently certify what I have said and to enable all living beings to quickly realize the Buddha Way.


 

我再请十方菩萨摩诃萨、十方声闻缘觉诸圣人、贤圣僧,再请一切护法诸天,光明会上,所有护法放光加被,令所有一切众生都离苦得乐,了生脱死。


 I also request the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas in the ten directions, the Sound Hearers and Those Enlightened by Conditions in the ten directions, all the Worthies and Sages in the Sangha, and all the Dharma-protecting gods of the Radiant Assembly, to emit light and shine upon all living beings, enabling them to leave suffering, attain bliss, and be liberated from birth and death.

 

我再请求各位善知识,如果我说的有不合乎佛法的地方,希望明以教我,我虽不敏,请尝试之。我是一个很愚痴的人,所见的也不圆满,所以我讲的有不圆满的地方,希望无论出家人、在家人,不吝指导,明以教我,我当叩头顶礼,尽形寿而感谢。


 I also pray that all of you Good and Wise Advisors will instruct me if I have said something that disagrees with the Buddha-dharma. Although I am not intelligent, I hope you will try to teach me. Since I am a very stupid person with limited views, my words are far from perfect. Whether you are a left-home person or a layperson, I hope you will kindly teach me. I shall bow in respect and be grateful all my life.

 

所以有人读诵《楞严经》,要我尽形寿供养这样的修道人,我也愿意的。因为“正法兴,楞严兴;正法灭,是楞严灭。”由这个各位应该知道,这个《楞严经》在佛教里是多么重要的。


 If there is anyone who recites the
Shurangama Sutra, I am willing to serve and make offerings to such a cultivator all my life. When the Proper Dharma prospers, the Shurangama prospers. When the Proper Dharma declines, the Shurangama becomes extinct. From this, you should all realize how important the
Shurangama Sutra
is in Buddhism.

 

“开慧的楞严,成佛的法华,教化众生的是华严。”因为这个,我在美国,头一次由西雅图华盛顿大学来了三十几位大学的学生,我开讲《楞严经》。第一个暑假班是九十六天,那么我给这些个大学生讲《楞严经》,中间只有礼拜六放半天假,放半天香,其余的时间都是讲经说法,他们也都写笔记。那么一开始,一天讲一次,由他们去研究。过了半个月,我算一算这个《楞严经》的篇幅和日期,恐怕讲不完,所以就增加一天讲两次。又过一个时期,还是讲不完,就一天讲三次,那么最后有半个多月,一天讲四次。


 "The Shurangama is for opening wisdom. The Dharma Flower is for becoming a Buddha. The Avatamsaka is for teaching living beings." Therefore, in America I started out by lecturing on the
Shurangama Sutra
to a group of over thirty students from the University of Washington in Seattle. During the ninety-six days of summer vacation, I lectured on the
Shurangama Sutra
to those college students. During that time, there was only a half day's break on Saturdays. Aside from that, I lectured on the Sutra every day, and they all took notes. In the beginning, I lectured once a day, and then they studied on their own. After half a month, I assessed the time and the length of the
Shurangama Sutra. Fearing that I might not finish in time, I began lecturing twice a day. After a while, I calculated again and decided that I still would not be able to finish, so I started lecturing three times a day. Finally, in the last half month or more, I lectured four times a day.


 

在这个“暑假楞严讲修班”的期间,我一个人,给他们讲经也是我,做饭也是我,做菜也是我,烧茶也是我,那么买菜一切一切都是我,那时候四十八单执事,我一个人兼而行之,就这样子。那么这些个学生我本来可以叫他们轮流来做事情,但是我怕耽误他们的功课,耽误他们研究经典的时间,所以谁我也不用,那时候不敢说行菩萨道,但是因为有人要学《楞严经》,我愿意尽形寿来供养这样的人,所以在九十六天中,把《楞严经》讲完了。讲完之后,这是在美国一般人认识佛教的一个开始。


 During the Summer Shurangama Study and Cultivation Session, not only did I lecture on the Sutra, I also cooked the meals, made tea, and did the grocery shopping and everything else for them. You could say I single-handedly took on all the monastic chores. Of course, I could have asked the students to take turns working, but I did not want to interfere with their cultivation and study of the Sutra. So I didn't let a single person help. Although I dare not say I was practicing the Bodhisattva Way, if people wanted to study the
Shurangama Sutra, I was willing to dedicate my life to serve and support them. After ninety-six days, I finished lecturing the
Shurangama Sutra. With the end of this lecture, people in America were beginning to give recognition to Buddhism.

 

讲完《楞严经》,有五个人就出家了,在那年正月初一的时候,我曾经对一切的信众说过,“今年美国的佛教会开五朵莲华,这五朵莲华将来就是把佛教传到西方去。”这是那时候说的话。


 At the end of the
Shurangama Sutra
lecture series, five people left the home-life. On New Year's Day, I said to the assembly, "This year, five lotuses will bloom in American Buddhism. In the future, these five lotuses will spread Buddhism in the West." That's what I said then.

 

那么在这个“暑假楞严讲修班”毕业之后,就有五个美国人要出家,我就派他们到台湾海会寺去受戒,遇着台湾的善知识,就告诉这五个人,说:“现在末法时代了,没有人在修行了,你们还吃一餐哪,被你师父给骗了!”我这些个美国徒弟,一听这个话,“哦!原来我们是被师父骗了,那我们怎么办呢?”这个善知识就说:“吃饭嘛!喝酒嘛!吃肉嘛!”这五个人对佛教就生了怀疑了,“怎么我师父教我们吃一餐,他们叫我们早晚都应该吃饭的,这是怎么搞的?这里头一定有问题?”心里就活活动动地就要吃饭,于是乎他们自己就开会,说:“我们回去问清楚再吃饭!”他们又告诉那个台湾的善知识说:“我们是坐单的。”台湾有一些个人就告诉他们说:“坐单!那是佛住世的时候,有人坐单;现在佛都不在世了,你们坐什么单哪?唉!真是美国人被中国人骗了。”


 After they graduated from the Summer Shurangama Lecture and Practice Session, five Americans left the home-life. I sent them to Hai Hui (Sea-like Assembly) Monastery in Taiwan to receive the precepts. The Good and Wise Advisors in Taiwan told them, "Now it is the Dharma-Ending Age. No one cultivates anymore. You're still eating one meal a day? You've been cheated by your teacher." When my American disciples heard this, they thought, "Oh, so we've been cheated by our teacher. What should we do?" The Good and Wise Advisors said, "Well, go ahead and eat. Drink wine and eat meat." The five people started to have doubts about Buddhism. "How come our teacher taught us to eat one meal a day, and now they tell us we should eat in the morning and evening as well? What's going on? There must be something wrong here." Their minds were swayed, and they wanted to start eating more meals, but they had a meeting and decided to go back and make sure before they did that. They also told the Good and Wise Advisors in Taiwan that they slept sitting up. Some people in Taiwan told them, "You sleep sitting up? People did that when the Buddha was in the world. Now the Buddha isn't around anymore, so why do you do it? It's really a case of Americans being cheated by the Chinese."


 

这么样一来,怎么样呢?回去就调皮了,说:“人家台湾人都吃三餐,我们不应该吃一餐。”就和我捣蛋了。又说…,唉!总而言之,我也不记得这么多了。结果搞了三个月之后,这才没有怀疑了。


 What happened then? When they returned, they got mischievous. They said, "In Taiwan, everyone eats three meals a day. We shouldn't eat just one meal." They acted naughty with me. They said more, but I don't remember that much. It took more than three months before their doubts were resolved.


 

那么当时台湾就有人说:“这个宣化法师在美国,收了一些个邪皮(嬉皮),他因为到金门公园去,那儿很多邪皮,宣化法师就到那儿去打坐,一打坐,这些邪皮看着很奇怪的,就去和他谈话,那么宣化法师就叫他们去庙上看看,到庙上一看,和他们邪皮过的生活差不多,于是乎就都出家了。”


 At that time, some people in Taiwan would say, "Dharma Master Hsuan Hua has taken some hippies as disciples in America. There are many hippies hanging out in Golden Gate Park, and Dharma Master Hsuan Hua goes there to meditate. When the hippies see him meditating, they are curious and go up to talk to him. Then Dharma Master Hsuan Hua tells them to go visit the temple. They go to the temple and find that the lifestyle there is pretty similar to their hippie lifestyle, so they all leave the home-life."


 

台湾又有一个谣言,说:“你知道吗?宣化法师在美国,和一班邪皮在一起吸毒啊!那个邪皮吃LSD(迷幻药)、吸大麻,一粒LSD一吃,就惚惚悠悠的,好像到了极乐国似的,这个宣化法师他吃十几粒,都不动弹,也不这么惚惚悠悠到极乐世界去。所以这些邪皮都佩服了,于是乎就跟他出家。你们不要相信他!”


 There is another rumor in Taiwan: "You know what? Dharma Master Hsuan Hua takes drugs with the hippies in America. The hippies take LSD and marijuana. They can get high on just one capsule of LSD and feel as carefree as if they were in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. But Dharma Master Hsuan Hua can take more than ten capsules without being affected in the least. He doesn't get high or feel as carefree as if he were in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. That's why all those hippies admire him and left the home-life under him. Don't believe in him."


 

那么说来说去,邪皮也好,不邪皮也好,大家谁用功修行谁就好,谁不用功修行谁就不好。不是邪皮,你若不修行也不好;若是邪皮,你若能修行也一样好。所以佛教里头,不是口头禅所说的,要有真实的功夫,要有真实的受用,你不要在口头上说:“我得了定了!我有三昧!我有四昧!”那个人又创出个五昧来。


 You can talk back and forth, but whether they are hippies or not does not matter. He who works hard in cultivation is good. He who does not work hard in cultivation is not good. If he is not a hippie, but he does not cultivate, that is not good. If he is a hippie and he cultivates, that is just as good. Therefore, in Buddhism, mere talking about cultivation doesn't count. There must be real practice and real benefit. Don't just say, "I have concentration. I have this samadhi or that samadhi." And another person also comes up with another kind of samadhi.

 

现在我想起几句话来,和大家说一说,我说:


 Now I will tell everyone about some lines that I thought of:


 

口头说三昧,
我对你不对;
日久现原形,
搞得满身罪。


 Paying lip service to samadhi,
They say, "I am right and you are wrong."
In time, their original appearance is revealed,
And they are covered with offenses.


 

这是说的这个尽用口头禅,把佛教当儿戏,来随便乱讲乱说,也不负因果的责任。谁下拔舌地狱呢?就是这一类人。将来下拔舌地狱,那时候把舌头给拔出来,他不会说话了,那时候他说不出话,心里想:“唉呀!我真糟糕!我若知道这么样子,我就不应该开那种玩笑。”


 This is saying that people just pay lip service to Buddhism and treat it as child's play. They talk carelessly without taking responsibility for the cause and effect. Who will fall into the hell of Ripping Out Tongues? Precisely that kind of people. When they get there, their tongues will be ripped out and they cannot talk anymore. In their minds they will think, "What a mess I'm in. If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn't have fooled around like that."


 

总是口头三昧,总说:“我对,我自己对!你什么都不对!”你对,我也说你不对;你不对,我也说你不对。这是“我对你不对!”,你说这有公理没有?什么事情都是“我对你不对!”。“日久现原形”:时间一久了,“路遥知马力,日久见人心”,日久那个原形毕露了。“搞得满身罪”:满身都是罪业,入了拔舌地狱还不知道。


 They always paid lip service to samadhi, saying, "I'm right. You're wrong about everything. Even if you were right, I'd say you were wrong. And if you're wrong, I also say you're wrong." Would you say that is just? In everything, they say "I am right and you are wrong." "In time, their original appearance is revealed."


After a long distance, one will know a horse's stamina.

After a long time, one will see a person's heart.


In time, their true form is uncovered. "And they are covered with offenses." Their bodies are covered by offensive karma. They enter the Hell of Ripping Out Tongues without even realizing it.


 

说:“法师,你不要骂人哪,讲法骂什么人!”唉!我这不是骂人哪!我骂人?我天天都向那个蚊虫、蚂蚁叩头,我怎么敢骂人,不过我不能不说真理,真理是如此!


 "Dharma Master, don't scold people. As you speak the Dharma, why are you scolding people?" you ask. I am not scolding anyone. I bow to the ants and mosquitoes every day; how would I dare to scold people? But I cannot refrain from telling the truth. The truth is just like that.

 

我再告诉你们各位,我有今天,就是这些个说我不对的人,来教我的,来帮助我的。所以这些个说我不对的人、毁谤我的人,都是我的善知识。他们都是我的师父,我的师父都是口头禅的,我现在所以会说口头禅,也就因为学我师父的。


 Let me tell you, it's just those people that criticize me who have taught and helped me, making me the way I am today. So the people who criticize and slander me are all my Good and Wise Advisors. They are all my teachers. My teachers all pay lip service to Chan. The reason I know how to do it is because I learned it from my teachers.


 

我有这么几句话,我说:“众人是我师”:众人都是我的师父,不论哪一个,你是有血气的,我都要照你们学习。你们有好的,我就学好的;有坏的,我就学坏的;我要学得全身都是武艺,十八般兵刃件件精通,所以到比起武来,这绝招很多。“我是众人师”:我也是大家的师父。“时常师自己”:时常我还要以自己作为师父,自己也时常给人家作师父,所以大家互相提携,互相向这个菩提道路上勇猛精进,不要在娑婆世界这么打算盘,来争你强我胜的。我们看谁先走到极乐世界去!


 I have another verse which begins: "All people are my teachers." Everyone is my teacher. As long as you have blood and breath, I want to learn from you. If you are good, I learn the good. If you are bad, I learn the bad. I want to learn until I am a martial arts expert, skilled in all weapons. That way, when I am challenged to a fight, I will have many winning moves. "I am a teacher for all people." I am also everyone's teacher. "I always teach myself." I am very often a teacher for myself. I am also constantly a teacher for others. That way, everyone can encourage one another to vigorously advance on the Bodhi Way. Let's not linger in the Saha world, scheming and calculating about wins and losses. Let's see who will reach the Land of Ultimate Bliss first!

 

有人说:“法师你尽强辞夺理,骂人还不承认!你承认吗?你骂人你若承认,你就不会骂人的。对吗?”可是骂人的人,是“仰天自唾,还岔己身”。那么要喜欢被人骂,骂人给人加肥料呢!你那土地不肥沃,要上一点肥料,令你那五谷就长得茂盛了,你那果实也坚固了。


 Someone says, "Dharma Master, you keep arguing and refusing to admit that you are scolding people. Do you admit it? If you admit that you are scolding people, then you won't scold them anymore. Right?" But the one who scolds people is like "one who spits up into the skies, and gets the spit back on his own face." We should like being scolded, because when people scold us, they are giving us fertilizer. Our fields are not fertile, so they need to be fertilized. Then our crops will be abundant and our fruits will thrive.


 

说:“法师!你方才说众人是你的师父,那有好人,有坏人,都是你师父,你也学好,也学坏?”你这是误会了,所谓“众人是我师”,善者,是我的法师,我就效法他;恶者,是我的戒师,我自己不要学他那样子,所以众人都是我的师父。“时常师自己”,自己要常常提高警觉,不要做错了,不要用那个无明去做事,要用那个智慧。要用光明智慧来处理一切的问题,不要用那个愚痴、无明处理事情。人要把这个境界转过来,那个境界不要转我们人,我们再要“勿以善小而不为,勿以恶小而为之”。不要说,善很小的,我不要做了;那恶事很小的,我要做,做了也不要紧;譬如吃斋,吃个鸡蛋没有关系。没有关系?将来你去作鸡的时候,就知道那关系是从吃鸡蛋那儿来的。就这一点点小的问题,你弄不清楚,这叫“善恶夹杂,果报不爽”,不是很好玩的!


 "Dharma Master, you just said that all people are your teachers. But there are good people and bad people, and if you take them all as teachers, you will learn to be both good and bad," you object. You have misunderstood. When I say "All people are my teachers," I mean that good people teach me how I should be, and I learn to be like them. Bad people teach me how I should not be, and I learn to not be like them. That's why all people are my teachers. "I always teach myself." We ourselves must always be alert and not make mistakes, not act in ignorance. We should use bright wisdom in handling all matters instead of using stupidity and ignorance to take care of things. We must turn states around, rather than being turned by states. "Do not fail to perform a good deed, thinking it is trivial. Do not perform an evil deed, thinking it is insignificant." Don't think, "That good deed is trivial. I'm not going to do it. That bad deed is really minor. I'll go ahead and do it. It doesn't matter." For example, you think, "I'm vegetarian, but it won't matter if I eat an egg." But in the future when you are reborn as a chicken, you will know that it was because you ate chicken eggs. If you are not clear in these small matters, then you are "mixing good and evil, and the retribution will not be off." It's not fun at all.



 

今天我又发狂了,也不知道讲什么,我若讲的有得罪各位的,请你来打我一顿、骂我一顿,我都很欢喜的!


 I've gone kind of crazy today, and I don't really know what I am saying. If I have offended you, please come up and give me a beating or scolding. I would be very delighted.








TOP

《大佛顶首楞严经》这一部经其中有〈楞严咒〉,这〈楞严咒〉的“楞严”两个字,就翻译成“究竟坚固”。那么这一部经,在中国来说,是很重要的一部经,所谓“成佛的法华,开慧的楞严。”我也很愿意讲这个《楞严经》和《法华经》,因为这两部经,既能开智慧,又能成佛。所以不单我愿意讲,我希望每一个人都把它研究明白了,尤其是《楞严经》。


 The Shurangama Mantra is in the
Shurangama Sutra. The word 'Shurangama' has the meaning 'absolutely firm and solid.' In China, this Sutra is considered one of the most important Sutras. It is said: "to become a Buddha requires the
Dharma Flower Sutra; to develop one's wisdom requires the
Shurangama Sutra." I'm very willing to lecture on the the
Shurangama Sutra
and the
Dharma Flower Sutra, because these two Sutras can develop people's wisdom and lead them to Buddhahood. Not only do I want to talk about them, but I also hope everyone here will study and understand them, especially the
Shurangama Sutra.

讲到这个《楞严经》,在我们中国有一位智者大师,他在一生之中,只听见这部经的名字,他就想要读诵这一部经,就向着印度天天叩头礼拜,希望见到这一部经。叩头礼拜十八年,结果也没有见着这一部经。智者大师他的智慧已经出类拔萃,他的辩才已经是无碍了,那么他还恭敬礼拜这一部《楞严经》,可见这一部《楞严经》的重要性。


 Speaking of the
Shurangama Sutra, I remember in China there was a Great Master named Zhi Zhe ("Wise One") who, upon hearing the name of the
Shurangama Sutra, wanted to read it. For that reason he bowed in the direction of India every day, hoping to someday to study it. Although he made full prostrations for eighteen years, he never saw this Sutra. Though the wisdom and intelligence of Great Master Zhi Zhe surpassed that of ordinary people and his eloquence had no limits, he still revered and bowed to the
Shurangama Sutra. This shows how important this Sutra is.

有这一部《楞严经》在世的时候,天魔外道就都不敢出现。可是很不幸地,这一部《楞严经》在末法的时候,就先先没有了,先没了。等这一部经一没的时候,这天魔外道就会得便了。所以现在有一些个冒充佛学的专家,也说自己是研究佛法的一个学者,或者是某一个大学里头佛学系的教授,那么他们公然就提倡,说是《楞严经》是假的,是中国人伪造的。啊!你们各位想一想,我们中国虽然是出过很多的圣人,但是我相信能造《楞严经》的这种圣人,还找不出来哪一个。所以我绝对相信这《楞严经》是真的,是正确的,是降伏天魔、制诸外道的一部经。因为〈楞严咒〉里边所说的,都是降伏天魔、制诸外道的,从一开始到终了,每一句都有它的妙处,都有它不可思议的力量。所以这个《楞严经》,就是为〈楞严咒〉而说。


 As long as the
Shurangama Sutra
exists in this world, the demons from the heavens and the externalists will be afraid to show themselves. Unfortunately, the
Shurangama Sutra
will be the first to disappear in the Dharma-ending Age. After this Sutra disappears, the demons from the heavens and the externalists will take advantage of the situation. That is why now there are some who pretend to be experts on Buddhism, who say they are scholars of Buddhist studies or professors of Buddhism in such-and-such universities, and they publicly suggest that the
Shurangama Sutra
is a spurious Sutra created by the Chinese. All of you just think for a moment: Although China has produced many sages, I doubt that we could find one among them who could have written the
Shurangama Sutra. I firmly believe that the
Shurangama Sutra
is genuine and correct, and that it offers the means to subdue demons from the heavens and control externalists. That is because the phrases in the Shurangama Mantra serve to subdue demons from the heavens and control externalists. From the beginning to the end, each line of the mantra has its mystical effect and inconceivable power. It was because of the Shurangama Mantra that the
Shurangama Sutra
was spoken.

 

以前在香港有翻译《楞严经》的人,把《楞严经》翻译成英文了。那么翻译成英文,他就把“设楞严坛”这种仪规都删去了,把那一段经文也不要了,咒也不要了。他说西方人哪一个也不相信〈楞严咒〉,他们都不愿意诵持咒的,他们对于咒认为是迷信,不相信咒的这种功用。所以他把怎么样地设坛啊,怎么样修持这个楞严大法啊,他都不要了。那么现在等我到西方国家,到美国,我亲身的经验,在西方人里,很多很多都是欢喜诵持〈楞严咒〉的。不单欢喜诵持〈楞严咒〉,而且还都能背得出来。在金山圣寺,我有一个徒弟,他早晨做早课随着诵〈楞严咒〉,晚间做晚课我们也诵持〈楞严咒〉,那么早晚这么念一念,他念到二十六天,就能背得出来了。我在美国第一个考试,就是考试〈楞严咒〉,谁会背〈楞严咒〉,谁就第一个考试及格;谁若不会〈楞严咒〉,就暂时不及格、不合格。那么我在那个暑假班是这样规定的,所以有一位是二十六天能背得出〈楞严咒〉,有一位是二十八天能背出〈楞严咒〉。所以现在在西方的佛教徒,认识〈楞严咒〉的,是很多的。


 In the past, someone in Hong Kong translated the
Shurangama Sutra
into English, but he deleted the section on the rites of setting up the Shurangama Platform and also left out the entire Shurangama Mantra. He said that no Westerners would believe in the Shurangama Mantra, that they wouldn't recite it since they consider mantras to be superstitious and don't believe in the functions of mantras. Therefore, he left out the instructions for setting up the platforms and for practicing and upholding the Great Shurangama Dharma. After coming to this Western country--the United States, I personally realized that there are many Westerners who love to chant the Shurangama Mantra. Not only do they like to chant the Shurangama Mantra, they are even able to recite it from memory! At Gold Mountain Monastery, I had a disciple who joined us in reciting the Shurangama Mantra during morning recitation and again during evening recitation. After twenty-six days of reciting it in the morning and evening, he was able to recite it from memory. The first test I gave to my students in America was on the Shurangama Mantra. I stipulated in the summer session (1968) that whoever could memorize the Shurangama Mantra would pass, and whoever could not would fail. There was one who memorized the Shurangama Mantra in twenty-six days, and another who memorized it in twenty-eight days. And now, many Western Buddhists are familiar with the Shurangama Mantra.

 

我们各位应该想一想,这一些个冒充佛学专家,或者一些个自命为学者的,或者是某一个大学里头的教授,为什么他们要倡议说这个《楞严经》是假的?就因为《楞严经》上所说的,都是对治这些人的毛病,把他们所本有的一些老毛病都说得清清楚楚的。好像其中那个〈四种清净明诲〉,说得清清楚楚的,不可毁犯。这一些人根本就不愿去他们的毛病,所以就提议说:“《楞严经》是中国人造的。”这个最初是谁说的呢?是日本人提议出来的。那日本人说谁告诉他的呢?说是一个中国的法师告诉他的,说这个《楞严经》是假的。那么我不知道这个法师究竟他懂不懂《楞严经》?这法师的名字不要提他了,因为已经是很早的事情了。那么就这么样以讹传讹,说《楞严经》是假的。这就证明这个佛法没啊,一点一点地就是由佛教里边的人造出这种谣言来,一点一点地就令人生一种怀疑;生一种怀疑,久而久之就狐疑不信了;那么狐疑不信,就把这一部经会置诸高阁;置诸高阁就等于毁灭了一样的。所以,你对这一部经也不研究了,他对这一部经也不发生兴趣了,久而久之,就这样毁没了。不是这个经自己就没有字了,或者没有纸了,或者怎么样的,而是人们一点一点地就把它淡忘下来了。


 All of us should stop for a moment and think, "Why do these fake Buddhist experts, self-proclaimed scholars, and college professors say that the
Shurangama Sutra
is false?" It's because the doctrines of the
Shurangama Sutra
counteract the faults of these people; it clearly exposes their faults. For example, it explains very clearly that the Four Clear Instructions on Purity must not be transgressed. Since these people have no intention of eliminating their faults, they insinuate that the
Shurangama Sutra

was created by the Chinese. Who were the first ones to say this? The Japanese. Who told the Japanese? It is said that a Chinese Dharma Master informed them that the
Shurangama Sutra
was counterfeit. I don't know whether that Dharma Master understood the
Shurangama Sutra. We don't have to mention his name, because it was a long time ago. Since then, people have been spreading the rumor that the
Shurangama Sutra
is not genuine. This shows that the Buddhadharma is declining: people within Buddhism made up such a rumor, gradually causing doubts in others. Over a period of time, people became doubtful and disbelieving, and in their disbelief they put this Sutra away in the attic. That's equivalent to destroying it, for no one will study this Sutra or have any interest in it. Over the course of time, the Sutra will disappear, not because of something like the words fading away or the pages falling out, but because, little by little, people will forget about it.

为什么人要提倡这个?就是因为他不愿意守这个规矩。那经上又说,五十种阴魔有种种的神通,这都不算一回事。所以他想自己有一点神通的时候,就认为我如果有这个神通,也变成假的了。现在在日本有一个同参,据说他有神通,用手一指,这个蜡烛就着了,那么究竟是不是这样子?我还没有证实。我这一次十四号到日本去,或者见一见这个人,他在很早以前也希望见我,那么我们去,大家互相交换一下意见。


 Why have people made up this false theory? Simply because they do not want to follow the rules. The Sutra also states that the various spiritual powers associated with the fifty skandha-demon states are not significant. So those people think, "Even if I had some spiritual powers, they would be considered false." I've heard that a certain cultivator in Japan has spiritual penetrations--it's said that he can point his finger at a candle and cause it to light up. Is this the case? I haven't witnessed it yet. I'm going to Japan on the fourteenth, so maybe I'll look him up. A long time ago he also wanted to see me, so when I visit him we can exchange ideas.
 

那么《楞严经》和〈楞严咒〉这个重要性,是没有法子能说得完的,尽未来际也说不完它的这种妙用,所以说不可思议。我今天再用我诚诚实实的这种心,来向你们各位坦坦白白地说一说这个〈楞严咒〉的妙用。过去我在东北的时候,每逢遇着人有病,我就一定要令他的病好。我以什么力量来令一切的人病好?就是这个〈楞严咒〉的力量。


 The importance of the
Shurangama Sutra
and the Shurangama Mantra is beyond words. Even if I were to speak to the end of time, it would be impossible to completely describe its wonderful effects. It is inconceivable. Today I'm using a very honest mind to candidly tell all of you about the wonderful effects of the Shurangama Mantra. When I was in Manchuria, whenever I met people who were sick, I was determined to cure their illness. What power did I use to cure sick people? The power of the Shurangama Mantra.


 

这个〈楞严咒〉其中有五部,东方是阿閦佛,阿閦佛就是金刚部;南方是宝生佛,就是宝生部;中央是佛部;西方是莲华部;北方是羯磨部。这五部就是管理这个世界五方的五大魔军,所以你一诵〈楞严咒〉,这五方的五大魔军他都俯首低头,那么老老实实地不敢违犯〈楞严咒〉的这种威力。


 The Shurangama Mantra contains five divisions: In the East is the Vajra Division, hosted by Akshobhya Buddha; in the south, the Jewel-creating Division, hosted by Creation of Jewels (Ratnasambhava) Buddha; in the center, the Buddha Division, hosted by Vairochana Buddha; in the West, the Lotus Division, hosted by Amitabha Buddha; in the North, the Karma Division, hosted by Accomplishment (Amoghasiddhi) Buddha. These five divisions control the vast demon armies of the five directions. When you recite the Shurangama Mantra, the soldiers of the five demon armies will lower their heads in obedience. They will behave themselves and will not dare to oppose the awesome power of the Shurangama Mantra.
 

〈楞严咒〉上,又有“息灾法”:你一诵这个〈楞严咒〉,一切的zai 难都没有了。有“降伏法”:就是无论你是什么天魔外道,一诵〈楞严咒〉,就把这个魔的法力都给破了,把他就降伏了。又有“增益法”:你譬如修道,能增益你的智慧,增益你的菩提心,增益你这个愿力,一切一切都会增加,这是增益法。有“成就法”:一诵这个〈楞严咒〉,你修什么法门都会成就的,这又是一种。又有一种“钩召法”:就是遇着天魔外道,你想要把他抓来的时候──举个例子,就像世间的警察,到那儿把那个犯罪的人抓来了;这钩召法也就是无论是天魔也好,外道也好,你想要把他抓来,这一切的护法善神、天龙八部、八万四千金刚藏菩萨即刻就会把他抓来,这是钩召法。


 In the Shurangama Mantra, there is a Dharma for Quelling Calamities. When you recite the mantra, all disasters and misfortunes will disappear. There is also a Dharma for Subduing. No matter what kind of demons from the heavens or heretics you encounter, when you recite the Shurangama Mantra, you will destroy the power of the demons and subdue them. There is a Dharma that Increases Benefits. When you are cultivating the Way, this dharma will help you increase your wisdom, your resolve for Bodhi, and the power of your vows; it can increase everything. This is called the Dharma that Increases Benefits. There is an Accomplishment Dharma. When you recite the Shurangama Mantra, no matter what Dharma-door you practice, you will accomplish it. There is another dharma called the Hooking and Summoning Dharma. This dharma is to be employed when you encounter demons from the heavens and heretics and you want to seize them, just as the policemen in our society catch criminals. When you want to catch the demons from the heavens or the heretics, all the kind-hearted Dharma-protecting spirits, the gods and dragons, and the remainder of the eightfold division, and the 84,000 Vajra Store Bodhisattvas will immediately seize them. This is the Hooking and Summoning Dharma.



 

〈楞严咒〉有五会,其中分出来有三十几部法。那么我在东北能对治这一切人的病痛,都因为〈楞严咒〉的这种力量。可是这个〈楞严咒〉不是随随便便人人都可以使用的;那么使用也不是全面的,因为分出来三十几部,有三十几部法。我这样说,那么在美国有一些个不懂佛法的教授,他们就想了,说:“哦!原来这个〈楞严咒〉是很多小咒凑到一起的!”你说这讲出来,真是笑死人!自己也不明白,就以教授这个科学的脑袋,来揣测〈楞严咒〉这种不可思议的情形。我听见这么样地讲,觉得很可笑!


 The Shurangama Mantra consists of five sections and can be divided into over thirty types of dharmas. It was because of the power of the Shurangama Mantra that I was able to treat people's illnesses when I was in Manchuria. However, it is not the case that just anyone can casually use the Shurangama Mantra. When one uses it, one doesn't necessarily have to use the whole mantra, because it contains over thirty types of dharmas. When I mentioned this, some professors in the United States didn't really understand Buddhism, and they thought, "Oh! Now I see that the Shurangama Mantra is just a combination of many little mantras." How ridiculous! They themselves do not understand, so they use the scientific mind of a professor to speculate on the inconceivable state of the Shurangama Mantra. This is what I've heard. What a joke!


 

为什么要讲这个〈楞严咒〉呢?因为这一部《楞严经》,就是为着〈楞严咒〉而说的;如果没有〈楞严咒〉的话,根本就不会有《楞严经》。所以翻译英文这一位先生,他把〈楞严咒〉不要,把结坛这种仪规也都不翻译,这可以说,就好像一个人没有了头似的。一个人没有个头,这有什么用呢?所以在翻译经典时,不能武断,不能自己用自己这个小智小慧,或者以管窥天、以蠡测海,用自己这种知见来断章取义,妄加去取,对于经上,这是不可以的。


 Why do we want to talk about the Shurangama Mantra? Because it was for the sake of the Shurangama Mantra that the
Shurangama Sutra
was expounded. Without the Shurangama Mantra, there wouldn't be any
Shurangama Sutra. Therefore, since that person from Hong Kong left out the Shurangama Mantra and didn't translate the rites of setting up the platform, you could say that his English translation is like a person without a head. What can a person do if he has no head? When we translate Sutras, we shouldn't arbitrarily add or delete sentences by interpreting passages out of context or using our own limited understanding and wisdom. If we did, it would be like viewing the sky through a reed or measuring the ocean with a gourd. This is not allowed when we are translating Sutras.


 

我们现在在金山圣寺也是翻译经典,那么凡是经上所有的,绝对是保留的,不会或者把这个经的头给砍去,或者把脚给剁去了。也不会像某某一个professor(教授),翻译这个“两足尊”,他翻译成什么呢?就翻译成“两条腿”,他说“皈依佛,两条腿。”那么这种的翻译法,也不能说是完全不对,但是有多少是大相迳庭了,与这个经的本意是不相合的。因为这种关系,所以我们金山圣寺所翻译的这个经典都特别谨慎小心,不是随便就把经某一段取消了。那么今天讲这《楞严经》,顺便说一说这个意思。


 Now, we are also working on Sutra translations at Gold Mountain Monastery, and we absolutely must retain all the text that is in the Sutras. We will not chop off the head or do away with the feet. Nor will we be like a certain professor who translated
liang zu zun
(which means "Doubly Perfect Honored One") as "Most Venerable of Two Legged Beings," implying that we should "Take refuge with the Buddha's two legs." [The Chinese character
zu
can mean perfect or foot.] This way of translating (word-for-word) cannot be said to be completely incorrect, but it is quite far from the intent of the text and does not agree with the original meaning in the Sutra. For these reasons, we are extremely attentive and careful in all the Sutras we translate at Gold Mountain Monastery. We would not casually delete a paragraph in the Sutras. Since I'm talking about the
Shurangama Sutra
today, I have taken an opportunity to bring this up.

 

节录自《大势至菩萨念佛圆通章浅释》


 Excerpted from the explanation of

The Chapter on the Perfect Penetration

through Mindfulness of the Buddha

by Great Strength Attained Bodhisattva

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我不能用圣水洗净人的罪业;也不能用手取掉人的身心之苦;
我的悟心也无法移植给别人;只能用真理进行教化使人们自解脱。
               
释迦牟尼佛

TOP

楞严经这是佛教里一部照妖镜的经,所有天魔外道、魑魅魍魉,一见到《楞严经》都现原形了,它无所遁形,什么地方它也跑不了。所以在过去,智者大师听说有这一部经,就向印度遥拜,拜了十八年,以十八年这种恳切至诚的心,求这一部经到中国来。


 The
Shurangama Sutra
is a Sutra that acts like a demon-spotting mirror in Buddhism. All the celestial demons, externalists, and the
li, mei, and
wang liang
ghosts reveal their true appearance when they see the
Shurangama Sutra. They have no way to hide and no place to flee to. And so in the past, when Great Master Zhi Zhe heard of the existence of this Sutra, he bowed in the direction of India for eighteen years. For eighteen years, he used this spirit of utmost sincerity to pray for this Sutra to be brought to China.

过去的大德高僧,所有这一些有智慧的高僧,没有哪一个不赞叹《楞严经》的。所以《楞严经》存在,佛法就存在;《楞严经》如果毁灭了,佛法也就毁灭了。怎么样末法呢?末法就是《楞严经》先毁灭了。谁毁灭的呢?就是这一些个天魔外道。这些天魔外道一看见《楞严经》,就好像眼中的钉、肉中的刺一样,坐也坐不住,站也站不稳,所以它必须要创出一种邪说,说是《楞严经》是假的。


 Of all the greatly virtuous and eminent monks of the past, all the wise and lofty Sanghans, there was not a single one who did not praise the
Shurangama Sutra. Therefore, as long as the
Shurangama Sutra
exists, the Buddhadharma exists. If the
Shurangama Sutra
is destroyed, then the Buddhadharma will also become extinct. How will the decline of the Dharma come about? It will begin with the destruction of the
Shurangama Sutra. Who will destroy it? The celestial demons and externalists will. They see the
Shurangama Sutra
like a nail in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh. They can't sit still, and they can't stand steady; they are compelled to invent the deviant theory saying that the
Shurangama Sutra
is false.

我们做佛教徒应该认识真理,《楞严经》上所讲的道理,每一个字都是真经真典,没有一个字不是讲真理的。所以我们现在研究这五十种阴魔,更应该明白《楞严经》这种重要性,其他这些邪魔鬼怪最怕的就是《楞严经》。


 As Buddhist disciples, we should recognize true principle. Every word of the doctrines in the
Shurangama Sutra
is the absolute truth. There isn't one word which does not express the truth. So now that we are studying the Fifty Skandha-demons, we should realize even more just how important the
Shurangama Sutra
is. The
Shurangama Sutra
is what the deviant demons, ghosts, and goblins fear most.

 

虚老活了一百二十岁,他一生,旁的什么经典也没注解过,只有注解这部《楞严经》。注解《楞严经》这个稿子,他是很注意地来保存,保存了几十年,结果以后在云门事变时,就丢了,这是虚老一生一个最大遗憾的事情。他主张我们身为一个出家人,都应该把《楞严经》读得能背得出来,由前边背到后边,由后边背到前边,顺背倒背,顺倒都能背得出来,这是他的主张。那么我知道虚老一生之中,对《楞严经》是特别重视的。


 The Venerable Master Hsu Yun lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, and during his whole life, he didn't write a commentary for any Sutra other than the
Shurangama Sutra. He took special care to preserve the manuscript of his commentary on the
Shurangama Sutra. He preserved it for several decades, but it was later lost during the Yunmen incident. This was the Elder Hsu's greatest regret in his life. He proposed that, as left-home people, we should study the
Shurangama Sutra
to the point that we can recite it by memory, from the beginning to the end, and from the end to the beginning, forwards and backwards. That was his proposal. I know that, throughout his whole life, the Elder Hsu regarded the
Shurangama Sutra
as being especially important.


 

有人也对虚老提过,说:“《楞严经》有人说是伪造的。”老和尚说这末法怎么叫末法呢?就因为有这一班人,弄得鱼目混珠,是非分不清楚,教你这人都迷了,瞎人眼目,令人认不清楚佛法了。他在那儿把这个真的,他当假的;假的他又当真的了。你看这一些个人,又是这个人写一部书,人也拿着看;那一个人写一部书,他也拿着看,真正佛所说的经典,人都把它置诸高阁,放到那个书架子上,永远也不看。所以这也就看出来众生的业障是很重的,他若听邪知邪见,就很相信的;你讲正知正见的法,说了他也不信,说了他也不信。为什么呢?就是善根不够,根基不够的关系,所以对正法有一种怀疑的心,有一种狐疑不信的心。


 When someone informed the Elder Hsu that there were people who said the
Shurangama Sutra
was false, he explained that the decline of the Dharma occurs just because these people try to pass fish eyes off as pearls, confusing people so that they cannot distinguish right from wrong. They make people blind so that they can no longer recognize the Buddhadharma. They take the true as false, and the false as true. Look at these people: this one writes a book and people all read it. That one writes a book and they read it too. The real Sutras spoken by the Buddha himself are put up on the shelf, where no one ever reads them. From this, we can see that living beings' karmic obstacles are very heavy. If they hear deviant knowledge and deviant views, they will readily believe them. If you speak Dharma based on proper knowledge and proper views, they won't believe it. Speak it again, and they still won't believe it. Why? Because they don't have sufficient good roots and foundations. That's why they have doubts about the proper Dharma. They are skeptical and unwilling to believe.

我们万佛城这儿要立楞严的坛场,最好你们谁发心把这部《楞严经》,天天能读它,或者一个钟头、两个钟头。能把它像读书那么读,能记得又能背得出,把这《楞严经》、《法华经》,甚至于《华严经》都能背诵出来,这是最好的。谁能把《楞严经》、《法华经》、《华严经》若都能背得出来,那世界上这还是正法存在的时候。所以我们这儿万佛城这么好的地方,大家要发大菩提心,做一些个事情。不是说我们和人比赛,我们要出乎其类、拔乎其萃,要做这些事情。


 Here at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, we will be setting up the Shurangama Platform, so it would be ideal if some of you bring forth the resolve to read the
Shurangama Sutra
every day for one or two hours. You can study it daily just as if you were studying in school, and memorize it so that you can recite it by heart. If you can recite the
Shurangama Sutra, the
Dharma Flower Sutra, and even the
Avatamsaka Sutra
from memory, that would be the very best. If someone is able to recite the
Shurangama Sutra, the
Dharma Flower Sutra, and the
Avatamsaka Sutra
from memory, then it will mean that this is still a time when the proper Dharma exists in the world. Therefore, in such a wonderful place as the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, everyone should bring forth a great Bodhi resolve to do these things.It is not that we are competing with others. We should be outstanding, rise above the crowd, and do these things.

 

我在以前有这么一个心愿,想要把《法华经》能背得出来,再能把《楞严经》也背得出来。在香港有位果一,就是恒定,他《楞严经》能背得出来,《法华经》我教他读,他最后大约没有完全背得出来,这是很遗憾的事情。我们这么好的地方,大家要发大心,把佛经和戒律、《楞严经》、《法华经》和《四分律》、《梵网经》都能背得出来,这是最好的,那我们这儿一定是正法久住了


 In the past, I had a wish: I wanted to be able to recite the
Dharma Flower Sutra
and the
Shurangama Sutra
from memory. In Hong Kong, there is a disciple named Guo Yi (Heng Ding) who can recite the
Shurangama Sutra
from memory. I taught him to study the
Dharma Flower Sutra, but in the end he probably didn't finish memorizing it, which is very regrettable. In such a fine place as we have here, everyone should bring forth a great resolve to study the Buddhist Sutras and precepts--the
Shurangama Sutra, the
Dharma Flower Sutra, the
Vinaya in Four Divisions, and the
Brahma Net Sutra--until he can recite it from memory. That would be the best, for then the proper Dharma would surely remain here for a long time.

我不能用圣水洗净人的罪业;也不能用手取掉人的身心之苦;
我的悟心也无法移植给别人;只能用真理进行教化使人们自解脱。
               
释迦牟尼佛

TOP

天地灵文楞严咒


The Shurangama Mantra--
The Efficacious Language of Heaven and Earth


我现在给你们讲〈楞严咒〉,这〈楞严咒〉百千万劫也没有人讲一次,也不容易讲一次。这么一个法会是很稀有的,难遭难遇的。在我给各位讲时,我知道没有人听得懂。就是有人自以为懂得,也不是真懂。有人自以为懂了,所以不注意,那也等于不懂。在佛教里头,〈楞严咒〉是最重要的一部咒,是咒中的王,也是咒里边最长的一个咒,这个咒关系整个佛教的兴衰。〈楞严咒〉是支持天地没有毁灭的灵文,〈楞严咒〉是支持世界不到末 ri的灵文。所以我常说,世界上若有一人会念〈楞严咒〉,这世界就不会毁灭,佛法也不会毁灭的。等到世上没有人会念〈楞严咒〉时,这世界就快毁灭了,因为正法不存在了。


 Now I am explaining the Shurangama Mantra for you and it is extremely difficult to encounter such a rare Dharma assembly as this. Billions of eons pass and no one explains the Shurangama Mantra even once. Nor is it easy to explain even once. When I am explaining, I know full well that no one understands what's being said. Even if there are those who think they do, they don't really understand. Some think they already understand and so they don't pay attention, but that's also failing to understood.
Among the Buddha's teachings, the Shurangama Mantra is considered to be the king of mantras because it is the longest and most important. The flourish or demise of Buddhism rests entirely with the Shurangama Mantra. It is the efficacious phrases of the Shurangama Mantra that keep heaven and earth from being destroyed. It is the efficacious phrases of the Shurangama Mantra that keep the world from coming to an end. That is why I often tell you that as long as a single person can recite the Shurangama Mantra, the world cannot be destroyed, nor can Buddhism. But when there is no longer anyone who can recite the Shurangama Mantra, then very quickly the world will be destroyed, because the Proper Dharma no longer abides.


现在便有一些天魔外道说,《楞严经》和〈楞严咒〉都是假的,这是天魔外道派出魔子魔孙来造出这些谣言,令人不相信《楞严经》和〈楞严咒〉。《楞严经》和〈楞严咒〉,这是正法最要紧的一部经和一部咒,《楞严经》就是为〈楞严咒〉而说的,这《楞严经》就是解释〈楞严咒〉的一部经。《楞严经》和〈楞严咒〉的重要性是没有法子能说得完的,尽未来际也说不完它的这种功德和妙用,所以是不可思议。说来说去,归纳起来,《楞严经》就是赞叹〈楞严咒〉的。如果有一个人能在世界上念〈楞严咒〉,这妖魔鬼怪都不敢公然出现于世,因为他们所怕的就是〈楞严咒〉。如果一个人也不会背〈楞严咒〉了,这时候妖魔鬼怪就都出现于世。他们在世界上为非作歹,一般人也不认识他们了。现在因为有人会念〈楞严咒〉,妖魔鬼怪就不敢公然出现于世。所以若想世界不灭,就赶快念〈楞严咒〉、读《楞严经》,这就是正法住世。


 Now there are even heavenly demons and externalists who claim that the
Shurangama Sutra
and the Shurangama Mantra are false. These heaven demons and externalists send their demon sons and grandsons to stir up rumors that cause people to not believe in the
Shurangama Sutra
and the Shurangama Mantra. This sutra and mantra are critically important to the preservation of the Proper Dharma. The
Shurangama Sutra
was spoken for the sake of the Shurangama Mantra. There's no way to ever finish expressing the importance of the
Shurangama Sutra
and the Shurangama Mantra; to the ends of all time their merits, virtues, and wonderful functions could never be told--so absolutely inconceivable and ineffable are they! When all is said and done, the
Shurangama Sutra
is an ode to the Shurangama Mantra. As long as there is even one person who can recite the Shurangama Mantra, the demons, ghosts, and strange entities don't dare show themselves in this world. They fear the mantra. But when not even one person can recite the Shurangama Mantra by heart, then those weird entities, those demons and ghosts will come out of hiding. Depraved and up to no good, they will not be recognized by most people. At this point in time, since there are still those who can recite the mantra from memory, those malevolent beings haven't made their appearance yet. And so, if you want to keep the world from being destroyed, quickly learn the Shurangama Mantra and read the
Shurangama Sutra
to keep the Proper Dharma in the world.

今天开始讲〈楞严咒〉,〈楞严咒〉的“楞严”两个字,就翻译成“究竟坚固”。


 Today the explanation of the Shurangama Mantra is beginning. The word "Shurangama" translates as "Ultimately firm and strong."


 

这〈楞严咒〉的名字叫“摩诃萨怛多般怛啰陀罗尼”,又叫“佛顶光明摩诃萨怛多般怛啰无上神咒”。佛顶就是佛的顶上化佛,所以这〈楞严咒〉是微妙不可思议的。〈楞严咒〉里边所说的,都是降伏天魔、制诸外道的,从一开始到终了,每一句都是诸佛的心地法门,每一句有每一句的用途,每一个字有每一个字的奥妙,都具足不可思议的力量。即使只念一字、一句、一会,或念全咒,都是惊天动地,所谓惊天地,泣鬼神,妖魔远避,魑魅遁形。所以佛顶光明,这光明也就是表示咒的力量,是能破除一切黑暗,能成就人一切功德。你若能受持〈楞严咒〉,将来一定是成佛的,一定得到无上正等正觉的。你若常常诵念〈楞严咒〉,就能消除你宿世的业障,往昔的罪业都可以消除。这是〈楞严咒〉的妙用。


 The entire title of the Shurangama Mantra is "Great White Canopy of Light Dharani Mantra" (mo he sa dan tuo bo da la tuo lo ni zhou). It is also called "Brilliant Buddha's Crown, Great White Canopy of Light, Unsurpassed Spiritual Mantra." The Buddha's Crown refers to the transformation Buddha atop the Buddha's crown. There is no way to conceive the subtle wonder of the mantra. The content of the Shurangama Mantra subdues heavenly demons and controls externalists. Every line, from beginning to end, is the Buddhas' mind-ground Dharma-door. Each line has its own function; each possesses its own esoteric wonder; and each is endowed with incredible power. The recitation of a single word, a single line, a single assembly, or the recitation of the entire mantra causes the heavens to vibrate and the earth to tremble; it's said that heaven and earth are shocked, the ghosts and spirits wail, the demons keep a wide distance, and mountain and river sprites hide away. That brilliance at the Buddha's crown represents the power of the mantra that can dispel every sort of darkness and that enables people to amass all kinds of merit and virtue. If you can accept and uphold the Shurangama Mantra, then you will definitely become a Buddha in the future. You will certainly attain the Unsurpassed Proper and Equal Right Enlightenment. If you continually recite the Shurangama Mantra, then you can get rid of your karmic obstacles from last life and all past lives. That's the incredible function of the Shurangama Mantra!

 

摩诃是梵语,翻译中文叫“大”,英文叫 Big。那么什么叫大?就是体、相、用都是大的。体遍十方,所以叫大;这个用是尽虚空遍法界的;相,它是没有相的,可是无相无不相。这个用也可以说它没什么用,尽虚空遍法界无所不用。这用是大用,这个相是大相,这个体也是大体,周遍十方,尽虚空、遍法界,这是摩诃的意思。萨怛多也是梵语,翻译过来叫“白”,就是清净的意思,也就是没有污染的意思。所谓白净法,清净没有染污的法,这〈楞严咒〉是白净法。


 Mo he
is Sanskrit and means "Great." The substance, appearance and function are all great. The substance is said to be great because it pervades the ten directions; the function fills up empty space and reaches throughout the Dharma Realm; and the appearance--well, there isn't any appearance. You can say that it neither has any appearance nor lacks any appearance. The function also doesn't really exist, yet there isn't any place its function doesn't reach in all of space and the Dharma Realm. That's a great function, a great appearance, and a great substance. Pervading the ten directions, exhausting the limits of space, and filling the Dharma Realm is the meaning of "mo he."

Sa dan tuo, also Sanskrit, means "white" and represents purity and lack of defilement. Pure white Dharma is devoid of filth. The Shurangama Mantra is pure white Dharma.





般怛啰也是梵语,翻译中文叫“伞盖”。伞盖是譬喻,这个伞盖它是用荫万德,这伞盖的用,就是保护一切有德的人,谁有德行,谁就能遇到这种白净法;没有德行的人,是遇不到这种法的。所以才说:


 Bo da la
is also Sanskrit and translates as "canopy." Canopy is an analogy. This canopy provides shelter for those with myriad virtues. The function of this canopy is to protect those endowed with virtue and those practicing virtuous conduct, meaning anyone who encounters this mantra. Those lacking virtuous conduct won't have an opportunity to meet with this Dharma. It's said:

 

三光普照透三才

阎浮世界取不来
大德大善能遇得

无德无善不明白


 
The three lights universally illumine,

 permeating the three forces.
In all this world of Jambudvipa

 you may not come upon it.
Only those with great virtue and

  great goodness will attain it.
Those lacking virtue and goodness
  just won't understand it.


 

“三光普照透三才”,这三光不是日、月、星,是你诵持〈楞严咒〉,身上有身光,口里有口光,你心里头有心光,身、口、意这三业都放光。三才,就是天、地、人。


 The three lights universally illumine, permeating the three forces. Here, the three lights do not refer to the sun, moon, and stars. Rather, it means that when you recite the Shurangama Mantra, your body emits light, your mouth emits light, and your mind emits light. It is talking about the light of the three karmas. The three forces refer to heaven, earth, and people.

 

“阎浮世界取不来”,在阎浮界你找不着,你各处找不着,你一定要受持〈楞严咒〉才能得到这种光。


 In all this world of Jambudvipa you may not come upon it. Throughout our world, Jambudvipa, you may seek but not find it. You absolutely must uphold the Shurangama Mantra in order to attain this light.
 

“大德大善能遇得”,你若有大的德行、大的善,才能得到这种法门。


 Only those with great virtue and great goodness will attain it.
If you have amassed virtuous conduct and have magnanimous virtue, then you will be able to attain the Dharma-door.
 

“无德无善不明白”,你若没有德行,没有善功德来栽培着,你就是当面也会错过,交臂也会失之。见到黄金你以为是铜,见到钻石你以为是玻璃,都会不认识。你见到〈楞严咒〉了,以为这是很普通的,没有什么,所以就不知道宝其所宝,不知道妙其所妙!不知道〈楞严咒〉这种的功德,是不可思议的。

 Those lacking virtue and goodness just won't understand it. If you don't have sufficient virtue and haven't done enough good deeds, then even if you come face-to-face with it, you'll miss your chance. Right within arms' reach, you'll lose it. Having come upon gold you'll mistake it for copper; having found a diamond, you'll think it's a piece of glass. You'll fail to recognize it. You'll look upon the Shurangama Mantra as nothing at all out of the ordinary, and as a consequence won't realize it's the gem of gems, the wonder of wonders! You won't have any concept of the Shurangama Mantra's unfathomable merit and virtue.
 

这方才说三光,还不只这个身、口、意三业放出清净的光明,还有红光缭绕。你诵〈楞严咒〉,自然就有红光缭绕。所以才说:


 Besides the three lights emitted when the three karmas of body, mouth, and mind are pure, there is also a swirling red light. Recitation of the Shurangama Mantra generates a swirling red light. It's described this way:
 

千朵红莲护住身

坐驹骑着墨麒麟
万妖一见往远躲

济公法师有妙音


 A thousand petaled red lotus supports one's body.
As one sits firmly mounted on a black unicorn.
Seeing this, the hordes of monsters go far away to hide.
Dharma Master Ji, the Venerable,

mastered these wonderful sounds.



 

“千朵红莲护住身”,有千朵的红莲来护持你的身,红莲华放出红光。你一念〈楞严咒〉最前面二十九句咒文,就会现出这个境界。“坐驹骑着墨麒麟”,一念这〈楞严咒〉,这持咒的人是坐在一个麒麟的身上。“万妖一见往远躲”,什么妖魔鬼怪一见都跑了,他不敢面对这种大威德的相。我们人人都知道佛教里有一位济公,当初济公就是专用这一段咒文来降伏天魔、制诸外道,很灵感的,所以说“济公法师有妙音”。这一段咒文是教我们“皈依尽虚空、遍法界,一切诸佛、一切菩萨、一切声闻缘觉、一切诸天。”这也是护持三宝的一段,所以念这一段咒的时候,一切的妖魔鬼怪都要退避三舍;不止退避三舍,要退到他所不能退的地方去,他们都不敢作怪,都老实了。


 A thousand petaled red lotus supports one's body. When you recite the first twenty-nine lines of the Shurangama Mantra a state occurs wherein a red lotus with a thousand petals manifests and emits red light.
As one sits firmly mounted on a black unicorn. Upon reciting the Mantra, the person chanting finds himself sitting astride a unicorn.
Seeing this, the hordes of monsters go far away to hide. No matter what kind of weird creature or demon or ghost it might be, they all flee, not daring to face such a magnificent and awesome manifestation. The Venerable Ji is a well-known High Master in Buddhism. His expert use of this passage of the mantra to subdue heavenly demons and control externalists was extremely efficacious. And so the last line says:
Dharma Master Ji, the Venerable, mastered these wonderful sounds. This passage of the mantra instructs us to "take refuge with all the Buddhas, all the Bodhisattvas, all the Hearers and Condition-Enlightened Ones, and all the gods throughout empty space and the Dharma Realm." It's a passage that protects the Triple Jewel, and so when you recite it the demons flee and the ghosts don't stop running until they're ten miles away. Not just ten miles, they back off until there's no more room to retreat. They don't dare make trouble; they are forced to behave themselves.


 

这是说这一段咒文大概的意思,至于若详细说,这〈楞严咒〉是妙不可言的,所以又说:


 That's a general description of what this passage of mantra is about; the details are even more wonderful.


 

奥妙无穷实难猜

金刚密语本性来
楞严咒里有灵妙

五眼六通道凡开


 Unendingly miraculous and mysterious,

it's extremely hard to fathom.
This vajra secret language wells forth from your own nature.
Inside the Shurangama Mantra is marvelous magic!
Then come five eyes and six penetrations and the Way opens up.




 

“奥妙无穷实难猜”,这个〈楞严咒〉非常奥妙,它的变化也不可思议,很不容易测度的。“金刚密语本性来”,〈楞严咒〉是密中之密,这是金刚来护持这个咒。本性来,它是从自己那个佛性中生出来的。“楞严咒里有灵妙”,〈楞严咒〉也叫做灵文,因为他特别灵,特别有力量,所以说〈楞严咒〉里有灵妙。“五眼六通道凡开”,你若能常持〈楞严咒〉,专心一致,心不旁骛,你可以得到五眼六通,可以有不可思议的那种境界来变化莫测,所以不是一般凡夫俗子可能知道的。因为这个,所以希望大家都能读诵《楞严经》,背诵〈楞严咒〉。你一诵〈楞严咒〉,为什么妖魔鬼怪不敢出来?因为力量太大了,尽虚空遍法界没有一个地方,不是有这种祥光瑞气弥漫着。所以有人诵〈楞严咒〉,就是补天地正气的不足。你一个人念〈楞严咒〉,就有一个人的力量;百人念〈楞严咒〉,就有百人的力量,这世界妖魔鬼怪都会老老实实的。所以多一点人念〈楞严咒〉是好的。


 Unendingly miraculous and mysterious, it's extremely hard to fathom. The Shurangama Mantra is quite esoteric and its changes and transformations are inexplicable; it's not easy to figure out.
This vajra secret language wells forth from your own nature. The Shurangama Mantra is the secret within the secret. That's the vajras who come to protect the mantra. Your own nature--it is born from your own Buddha nature.
Inside the Shurangama Mantra is marvelous magic!
The Shurangama Mantra is called an efficacious language because of its spell-binding power. That's what "marvelous magic" is referring to.
Then come five eyes and six penetrations and the Way opens up. If you can continually uphold the Shurangama Mantra--single-mindedly without entertaining other thoughts--then you can attain the Five Eyes and Six Spiritual Penetrations. You will then experience the inconceivable, unfathomable changes and transformations that occur which ordinary people are totally unaware of. And that's the reason why I hope everyone will learn to read the Shurangama Mantra and memorize it. Why is it that the demons, ghosts, and goblins don't dare show themselves when you recite the Shurangama Mantra? It's so powerful that there isn't a place in all of space or the entirety of the Dharma Realm that isn't flooded with auspicious light. Recitation of the Shurangama Mantra patches up the imperfections in the heavens and the earth. One person reciting the Shurangama Mantra creates power equivalent to one person. A hundred people reciting create power equivalent to a hundred people. And the weird beings here in this world become very well-behaved. So it's better if more people recite.


 

无上神咒,什么叫“无”呢?这个无,就是高明无极,也光明到极点了,没有再超过这种高和光明的,这叫无。“上”呢?是没有再比这更尊贵、更高尚了,这叫上。神就是不可思议,也就是威灵叵测,这叫神。咒就是感应道交,有一种力量,你念这咒就有感应。“佛顶光明摩诃萨怛多般怛啰无上神咒”,这是说佛顶的光明,犹如大白伞盖来荫罩我们一切持咒的人。


 It's an unsurpassed spiritual mantra. The negating prefix "un-" actually means "lofty to the utmost; brilliant to the extreme." Peerless radiant illumination piercing the heights is the meaning of "un-". And "surpassed"? Well, there's nothing more esteemed, nothing more venerated. "Spiritual" is what is inconceivable and ineffable, what is awe-inspiring, efficacious and unfathomable. The power of mantras brings a response with the Way. When you recite mantras, something happens. "Brilliant Buddha's Crown, Great White Canopy of Light, Unsurpassed Spiritual Mantra." This means that the light at the crown of the Buddha's head is like a great white canopy that comes to shelter and protect all of us who recite the mantra.

 

这个咒是没有人明白的,也不能一句一句、一个字一个字去讲,不过你如果想要明白它,我可以勉强讲给你听。单这〈楞严咒〉,一年也讲不完,三年也讲不完,甚至于十年也讲不完。现在我把这个咒的大意讲一讲,它有五会,这五会就表示五方,五方就是东、西、南、北、中。东方就是金刚部,阿閦佛为教主;南方就是宝生部,宝生佛做教主;中央就是佛部,释迦牟尼佛做教主;西方就是莲华部,阿弥陀佛做教主;北方叫羯磨部,成就佛做教主,共有这五部。这五部就是管理这世界五方的五大魔军,因为有这五魔,所以佛也分开五方,镇压这个魔。如果没有佛,那魔就会出现于世了。所以你一诵〈楞严咒〉,这五方的五大魔军就都俯首低头,老老实实,不敢违犯〈楞严咒〉的这种威力。〈楞严咒〉具足这五部,所以这个〈楞严咒〉是最妙不过了;可是你要没有执着,若有所执着,就不会太妙了。


 No one understands this mantra, nor can they explain line by line and word by word. But if you want to understand it, I can try my best to explain it to you. The Shurangama Mantra can't be explained in a year's time, or three years' time, or even ten years' time. Now I will explain the general intent of this mantra. This mantra is composed of five assemblies which represent the five directions of east, west, south, north, and center. The east is the vajra division with Akshobhya Buddha as the teaching host. The south is the welling up of jewels division with Welling Up of Jewels Buddha as the teaching host. The center is the Buddha division with Shakyamuni Buddha as the teaching host. The west is the lotus division with Amitabha Buddha as the teaching host. The north is the karma division with Accomplishment Buddha as the teaching host. Altogether these five divisions watch over the five demonic armies that abide in this world. Because of these five demons, the Buddhas split up in five directions to repress these demons. Without the Buddhas, these demons would show themselves here in our world. And so, when you recite the Shurangama Mantra, the five demonic armies in the five directions submit and surrender. They behave themselves and don't dare try to oppose the power of the Shurangama Mantra. The five divisions in the mantra are what make it so fine. But you shouldn't be attached. Your becoming attached won't be so fine.



 

〈楞严咒〉有五会,其中分出来有三十几部法。我过去在东北的时候,能对治一切人的病痛,都因为〈楞严咒〉的这种力量。可是这〈楞严咒〉不是随随便便人人都可以使用的,若使用也不是全面的,因为分出来有三十几部法。这是大概,若往详细了说,有一百多种。


 Within the five assemblies of the Shurangama Mantra are more than thirty sections of Dharmas. Before, when I was in Manchuria, the reason I was able to cure people's illnesses was all because of the power of the Shurangama Mantra. But the Shurangama Mantra cannot be used casually. If used, it's not the entire thing that's used, because within it are, in general, more than thirty different Dharmas. If looked at in detail there are over a hundred.


 

这个法,有成就法:就是一诵这〈楞严咒〉,你无论修什么法门,求什么事情,求什么愿,都会成就的,这是一种。又有增益法:就是譬如你修道,道心不够,你一诵这个咒,能增益你的智慧,增益你的菩提心,增益你的愿力,一切一切都会增加。你诵这个咒,对你自己有所求,也可以增益;对于旁人也可以增益,这是增益法。


 As to these Dharmas, there's the Dharma of Accomplishment. That means by reciting the Shurangama Mantra, whatever method you are practicing will be perfected; whatever thing you want to do will get done. There's also the Dharma of Increasing Benefits. That means, for example, if you don't have enough resolve for the Way in your practice, by reciting the mantra you can increase your wisdom; increase your Bodhi mind; increase the power of your vows; everything will get better. When you recite the mantra, everything you hope increases will surely do so! It will increase for others, too.




 

息灾法:就是你有什么zai 难,你一诵这个咒就没有了,消灾了。譬如本来这个人应该掉海里淹死,一念这个〈楞严咒〉,就把他解过去了,掉到海里也淹不死了。或者你搭船,这个船应该会沉了,念这个咒,这个船也不沉了。或者坐飞机,这个飞机在空中应该爆炸,你一念这个咒,它也不爆炸了。但是你还要靠自己,把你自己心里的灾,也要消除出去。你心里有什么灾呢?譬如你单靠着念咒,你心里还是乱打妄想,尽想一些不好的念头,你有这些不清净的杂念、欲念,那你心里头那根本的灾没有除去,你念什么咒也没有用。所以想要息你的灾,你必须要心里先清净;心里清净了,那是真息灾。你心里要是贪、瞋、痴装满肚子,你念什么咒都不灵的。所以这心是最要紧的,心一定要慈悲良善,愿意帮助其他人,要有一种好心。


 The Dharma of Quelling Disasters means that if a calamity is due, reciting the mantra will make it disappear. The disaster will be quelled. Suppose someone is due to drown in the ocean. Reciting the mantra can change the situation so that he doesn't get drowned. Or you're on a boat that's supposed to sink. Recitation of the mantra can keep the boat from sinking. Or the airplane is supposed to crash, but you are reciting the mantra and so it doesn't. Nonetheless, you have to take responsibility for dispelling the calamities in your own mind. What calamities are there in your mind? Well, if you merely rely on the mantra, but inside you are a bundle of false and malevolent thoughts, scattered and impure thoughts, lustful thoughts, then you certainly haven't expelled the calamities in your own mind. In that case, no mantra is going to work. And so if you want to avoid disasters you must first purify your own mind. The purity of your mind is what really dispels calamities. If you are full of greed, hatred, and stupidity, no mantra is going to be efficacious. Our frame of mind is extremely important. We must be kindhearted and filled with goodness, wishing to help others. Our mind should be wholesome.

 

勾召法:就是遇着天魔外道,你想要把他抓来的时候用。举个例子,就像世间的警察,把那犯罪的人抓来了;勾召法也是这样子的,这妖魔鬼怪,他在这个地方害人,做不对的事情,令人生病,或者生zai 难,然后他跑了。你想要把他抓来,一诵这咒,用这个勾召法,他就相离多远,这一切的护法善神、天龙八部、八万四千金刚藏菩萨,即刻就能把妖魔鬼怪抓来。但是抓是抓来,他有时还是不服的,你必须用种种的方法来教化他。你单强压迫他,来降伏他,是下品法,不是一种好的方法。好的方法,不用任何的势力来压迫,也不压迫他,也不和他斗争,不要好像修罗似的,斗争坚固,不要学那样。你明明有力量可以降伏他,也不要用降伏法,要用德行来感化他,来教化他。


 The Dharma for Hooking and Summoning is for use when you meet up with heavenly demons and externalists and want to catch them. Just as law enforcement officers catch criminals, so too, the Hooking and Summoning Dharma catches weird creatures, demons, and ghosts. They do something here to harm others or do some bad thing that causes people to get sick and then they run away. But you want to catch them and so you recite the mantra, using the Hooking and Summoning Dharma. Well, no matter how far away from you they are, the Dharma-protecting good spirits, or members of the eightfold division, or some of the eighty-four thousand Vajra Treasury Bodhisattvas will immediately snatch them and bring those demonic beings back. Even then, sometimes they won't give in and you have to use all kinds of expedients to teach and transform them. If you use brute force to subdue them, then that's the lowest grade of dharma, it's not a good method. The best methods don't use any sort of power plays to oppress beings. Don't oppress them and don't contend with them. Don't be like an asura--tough and looking for a fight. Even when you clearly have the power to do so, don't use the dharmas to subdue them. You should use virtuous conduct to influence beings and then teach and transform them.



 

又有降伏法:魔它也有神通,他也有咒,你念咒,他也念咒。但是你用这个〈楞严咒〉,就把他所有的咒,都给破了,把他降伏了。用这势力把他折伏了,令他老实了。我以前对你们大家都讲过,〈楞严咒〉其中有几句是破魔罗网的一种咒,也是破魔咒术的。为什么这个〈楞严咒〉一念,那个先梵天咒就没有效验了呢?就因为有这个五大心咒。这五大心咒是破天魔外道一切咒术的根本的咒。无论他有什么咒,你一念这几句,就都给他破了,他的咒就没有功效了。我这个法如果要卖钱,几百万我也不卖。不过我看你们都有点诚心,我一个 cent(分)也不要 ,传授给你们。这就是降伏法。总而言之,无论你修什么法,你必须要有无上的菩提道心,大慈大悲、大喜大舍。不可以用你的道力,来压迫任何的人,或来压迫任何的妖魔鬼怪。


 And finally, there is the Dharma of Subduing. Demons have spiritual penetrations and they also have mantras. You recite your mantra and they recite theirs. But when you use the Shurangama Mantra, you break through all their mantras and subdue them. You use the power to quell them and make them behave. I've told you all before that the Shurangama Mantra has within it a few lines of mantra that rends the nets of demons. Why was the mantra from the Brahma Heavens rendered useless? It was because of the Five Great Hearts Mantra. The Five Great Hearts Mantra destroys the mantras underlying the demons' and externalists' spells and incantations. It doesn't matter what mantra they use, when you recite these lines, their spells are smashed and their mantras become ineffectual. If I wanted to market this Dharma, a million dollars wouldn't even touch my asking price! But I can see that you have a bit of sincerity and so I am transmitting it to you absolutely free. To sum it up, no matter what Dharma you cultivate, you must have the unsurpassed resolve for Bodhi; you must have great kindness and compassion; you must practice great giving and great renunciation. You must not use the powers you gain in practicing the Way to oppress any other person or to squelch any demon, monster, goblin, or ghost.



 

又有吉祥法:你念这个咒,一切的事情都随心如意,很吉祥的。这是有这种种的法,我把这几种法的意思给你们讲一讲。


 Furthermore, the Dharma of Auspiciousness enables things to go your way when you recite the mantra. Good fortune prevails. Now I've given you an explanation of these Dharmas.

 

这个咒如果要说它的好处,那就是说几年也说不完的,太多了。所有十方一切诸佛都是从〈楞严咒〉里边生出来的,所以〈楞严咒〉可以说是佛的母亲。十方如来就是藉着〈楞严咒〉,得成无上正遍知觉。十方如来能应身到微尘数那么多国家,去转法 lun教化众生,在十方给众生摩顶授记,拔济众生的群苦,令众生一切大小诸横同时得到解脱,都是凭着这个〈楞严咒〉心的力量。假设想得阿罗汉果,你一定要诵这个咒,才能没有魔事。末法的时候,如果有人能背诵〈楞严咒〉,或者叫他人诵读〈楞严咒〉,这样的人火也不能烧他,水也不能淹死他,无论大毒小毒,都害不了他。一切的毒入到诵持〈楞严咒〉这个人的口里,都会变成甘露味。受持〈楞严咒〉的人不会生到不好的地方,就是你想去也不行。为什么呢?这个〈楞严咒〉拉着你,叫你不要去!不要去!诵持〈楞严咒〉的众生纵然他自己不做什么福德,十方如来所有的功德都给这个人。你说这便宜不便宜!只念念〈楞严咒〉而已。你念〈楞严咒〉,就能常常生在佛出世的时候,和佛在一起熏修。


 I could talk for several years and never finish describing the good points of this mantra. All Buddhas of the ten directions come forth from the Shurangama Mantra. The Shurangama Mantra is the mother of all Buddhas. It was by means of the Shurangama Mantra that all Buddhas perfected Unsurpassed Proper and Pervasive Enlightened Knowledge. The ability of the Buddhas of the ten directions to create response bodies and go throughout the ten directions turning the Dharma wheel to teach and transform living beings; to rub the crowns of those beings and bestow predictions upon them; to rescue beings from their complex sufferings; to enable beings to escape both large disasters and small calamities--their ability to do all that comes from the power of the Shurangama Mantra Heart. If you want to attain the fruition of Arhatship, you absolutely must recite this mantra to keep demonic things from happening. During the Dharma-ending Age if people can memorize the Shurangama Mantra or encourage others to memorize it, well, fire cannot burn such people and water cannot drown them. No matter how potent a poison, it cannot harm them. For those who recite the Shurangama Mantra, poison turns to sweet dew as soon as it enters their mouths. People who recite the Shurangama Mantra will never get born in bad places, even if they want to. Why is that so? It's because the Shurangama Mantra pulls you back and won't allow you to go. Someone who recites the Shurangama Mantra may never have amassed any blessings or virtue, but, simply because he recites the mantra, the Thus Come Ones of the ten directions will bestow their own merit and virtue upon that person. Wouldn't you call that a bargain? That happens based on the recitation of the Mantra alone. If you recite the Shurangama Mantra, you will continually get to be born at a time when a Buddha is in the world and will be able to immerse yourself in cultivation under that Buddha's guidance.



 

假设你心念非常散乱,没能专一,而且没有定力。可是你心里想佛所说的〈楞严咒〉,口里就诵持。金刚藏王菩萨就用很精真的这种心,跟着你这个散乱心持〈楞严咒〉的人,暗暗来催速,一点一点令你这个散乱心就没有了,一点一点就可以得到定力。就是在默默中帮助你,令你开智慧,心念专一,从前八万四千恒河沙劫这么长时间的事情,你就一切一切都明了了。


 If your mind is terribly scattered so that you can't concentrate and don't have any samadhi-power, but you think about the Shurangama Mantra and recite it with your lips, the Vajra Treasury King Bodhisattvas will very attentively watch for ways to invisibly help you gradually until your confusion has disappeared and you develop samadhi. They will imperceptibly help you open your wisdom and concentrate your mind to the point that you become crystal clear about all the events spanning the previous eighty-four thousand Ganges' sands of eons.

 

你若能把〈楞严咒〉读会了,能背得出,就像由你自己心里流出来的,〈楞严咒〉也就是你一个心,你的心也就是〈楞严咒〉,得到持咒三昧,诵得犹如流水似的,源源不断。这样子,你最低限度也可以七生都像美国煤油大王那么有钱,七世都做员外,做有钱的人。说:“这么好,我赶快学〈楞严咒〉,好做七世员外。”你要是境界这么小,那就不要学〈楞严咒〉了,七世员外也是一眨眼的期间。那么念会〈楞严咒〉要希望什么呢?要希望究竟作佛,得到无上正等正觉。不要境界那么小,实际上学〈楞严咒〉,就是佛的化身;不但是佛的化身,还是佛的顶上化佛,化佛中的化佛,所以〈楞严咒〉的妙处是不可思议的。有人真能持〈楞严咒〉,在这个地方,虚空里头就有一个大白伞盖。你的功夫若大、若高,你一念这个伞盖,甚至于几千里地以内,都无灾无难了;你功夫若小,那么这个伞盖在你自己的头上,也保护着你。你要是有道德,是一个大德高僧,你这一念,甚至于整个国家都得到好处了,都没有什么zai 难了。就有zai 难,大的zai 难也就化小了,小的zai 难就化没有了。


 If you can learn the Shurangama Mantra until you have memorized it fluently--so that you become one with the mantra--then you attain the mantra's samadhi and your recitation will be like flowing water, welling up uninterrupted. If you can do that, then at the very least for seven lives to come you will be as wealthy as America's richest oil magnates. And you say, "That's great! I'm going to learn the mantra right away! I wouldn't mind being a magnate of some kind!" Well, if you are that selfish, then don't even bother learning the mantra. Seven lives pass in the blink of an eye anyway. What should those who learn the Shurangama Mantra be hoping for? You should hope for ultimate Buddhahood; hope to attain the Unsurpassed Proper and Equal Right Enlightenment. Don't be so petty! Actually those who are really dedicated in reciting the Shurangama Mantra are transformation bodies of Buddhas. Not just any transformation bodies, but those atop the Buddha's crown--transformation bodies of that transformation body! And so you see that the wonderful aspects of the Shurangama Mantra are difficult to express, difficult to conceptualize. Wherever someone is seriously reciting the Shurangama Mantra, a great white canopy will be there in the space above him. If your skill in reciting the mantra is high-level and far-reaching, then when you recite, the canopy will extend for thousands of miles, preventing any disasters or difficulties. If you only have a little skill, then the canopy will be right above your own head protecting you. If you have virtue in the Way, if you are a High Sanghan, then when you recite, the entire nation will be benefitted and no calamities will occur. Or if disasters are unavoidable, big ones will turn into little ones, and the little ones won't even happen.


 

无论哪一个国家饥荒、瘟疫传染病,或者有打仗、贼难,所有一切的zai 难。你若能写楞严神咒,放到城的四门上,或者有炮台、堡垒那个看岗的地方,使令这个国家所有的众生都迎接这个〈楞严咒〉,叩头顶礼恭敬,一心供养这个〈楞严咒〉,就像供养佛那么样恭敬。使令这个国家的人民,每个人身上都佩带一卷〈楞严咒〉,或者每个人把它放到自己所住的宅子里边。这样,这些zai 难的事情都消灭了。如果有〈楞严咒〉在这个地方,天龙就都欢喜,也没有狂风暴雨这种灾害了,所有的五谷也都丰收,一般老百姓都很平安的。所以〈楞严咒〉这个功德是不可思议的,你想也想不到,思也思不到的,它妙的地方也在这个地方。


 It doesn't matter if it's a nationwide famine, plague, war, or plunder, all those kinds of disasters will be alleviated. Suppose you were to write out the Shurangama spiritual mantra and place it at the main entrances to the city, or in its watchtowers or other lookout places; suppose you could inspire the nation's inhabitants to show interest in the Shurangama Mantra, so that they bow to and revere it and single-mindedly make offerings to it as if they were offering to the Buddhas themselves; suppose you could get every single citizen to wear the mantra on their person or to keep it in their place of residence; well, if you could do that, all disasters would disappear. Whenever the Shurangama Mantra can be found in a place, the gods and dragons are delighted, and so that place will be free from devastating storms; the crops will produce in abundance; and the populace will be peaceful and happy. That is why I say that the merit and virtue of the Shurangama Mantra is inexpressible; it can't be reckoned in the mind; it can't be cognized in our thoughts. That's the wonder of it!


 

本来破戒是不可补救的,但是你若能念〈楞严咒〉,还能恢复你戒根清净。但是能念,不是就念一念,一定要得到诵咒三昧。这个咒就是从你心里念出来的,这个咒又能回来到你心里。所谓咒心心咒,这个心和咒合成一个了,没有分别,你想要忘,也忘不了了,这叫不念而念,念而无念。你把一切妄想杂念都念没有了,就是一个诵持〈楞严咒〉的心,这叫打成一团,成一个了,团结起来了。你这思想念头团结起来了,没有第二念了,就像流水源源而来,前浪推后浪,浪浪不断,这样子水流风动演摩诃,水流的声音,和风动的声音,都是〈楞严咒〉的咒心。你能念到这个样子,那时候你就是破戒了,也还能得到戒根清净;你没有受戒,就得到受戒。本来你不向前进步,不研究佛法,一念〈楞严咒〉,念得时间久了,也自然生出一种精进心来;没有智慧的人,也会开智慧。如果你修行不得清净,开斋破戒,但是因为你不忘〈楞严咒〉,所以很快又恢复清净了。如果你在没持咒、没受戒以前,犯过禁戒,那么持咒之后,所有一切破斋犯戒,这一些个罪,不管是轻、是重,甚至于不通忏悔的四波罗夷罪、五逆、四弃八弃,你一念〈楞严咒〉,无论怎么样重的罪都消灭了,连一个头发那么多都没有了,所以〈楞严咒〉的力量是不可思议。


 Basically broken precepts cannot be mended. But if you recite the Shurangama Mantra, you can return to purity. But when I say recite, I don't mean you can just do it casually. You have to attain the mantra-recitation samadhi. The recitation of the mantra must flow forth from your mind and the mantra must flow back into your mind. That's called "the mantra is the mind and the mind is the mantra." Your mind and the mantra become united. There isn't any distinction. It reaches the point where you couldn't forget it if you wanted to. That's called even when not reciting, the recitation continues; when reciting there really isn't any recitation. You recite until there aren't any idle thoughts remaining. The only function of the mind is the recitation of the Shurangama Mantra. That's called meshing with the mind. There are no second thoughts. The flow of the mantra's recitation is like water that flows on in uninterrupted waves. At that point, everything expresses the Mahayana--the sounds of the breezes blowing and the water flowing are all the Shurangama Mantra's Heart Mantra. If you can reach that level, then if you have broken precepts, you will be able to return to pure precepts. You will be endowed with the precepts without going through the formal transmission. If you are someone who doesn't want to progress in your practice, who doesn't want to investigate the Buddhadharma, but you recite the Shurangama Mantra for a period of time, quite naturally you will be inspired to be vigorous; those who lack wisdom can open their wisdom. If you are not pure in your cultivation so that you break your vegetarian practices and violate the precepts, but you have not forgotten the Shurangama Mantra, you will be able to quickly return to purity. If you violated precepts before you began upholding the mantra and prior to receiving the precepts, then once you start reciting the mantra you can completely wipe out all those former offenses, no matter how serious they were, including even the Four Parajikas, the Five Rebellious Acts, the Four or Eight Offenses warranting dismissal from the Sangha, which are basically unpardonable. Not even a hair's breadth of an offense will remain. And so I say that the power of the Shurangama Mantra is beyond all conception or description!


 

有的人听见〈楞严咒〉这么灵,他就单单念咒,也不修行了,这也是一种太过的行为。因为修道,无论修哪一种法,要求中道,不要太过,也不要不及。这个咒固然是灵,但是定力也要修的。《楞严经》说这个咒是灵的,但是反闻闻自性,修耳根圆通这个法门,也是最要紧的。你就诵咒的时候,也应该反闻闻自性,要自己回光返照。前边不是说吗?诵这个咒,咒就是心,心也就是咒,心和咒分不开了,心、咒,二而不二。你能到这个样子上了,你求什么就都能随心如意,一定会成就的。那么你能心和咒都合到一起,这也正是你得到禅定三昧了,得到真正的定力了。所以这一点,我们每一个人要知道的。


 Some people who learn how efficacious the Shurangama Mantra is decide to exclusively recite it and ignore all other aspects of cultivation. That's going overboard. In cultivation, no matter what Dharma it is, you have to keep to the Middle Way. Don't do too much and don't fail to do enough. Although the mantra is definitely efficacious, still, you have to develop samadhi. The
Shurangama Sutra
describes how efficacious this mantra is, but it also explains the method of returning the hearing to listen to your own nature by cultivating perfect penetration of the ear organ. That's also extremely important. While you are reciting the mantra you should be returning your hearing to listen to your own nature. You must reflect within. Didn't I explain earlier how the mantra becomes the mind and the mind becomes the mantra? The mind and the mantra cannot be separated; they are non-dual. When you get there, then you can attain whatever you seek; everything will go the way you want it to; and you will have success in whatever you undertake. When the mind and the mantra merge into one, then you have actually attained the samadhi of Chan meditation and have acquired real samadhi-power. That is something you should know.


 

〈楞严咒〉每一句都有无量意义,每一义都有无量功能。要明白〈楞严咒〉是天地间的灵文,灵文中之灵文,秘中之秘,无上法宝,是一切众生救命之宝。它包罗万有,上自十方诸佛,下至阿鼻地狱,四圣六凡都要遵从〈楞严咒〉的法,十法界中,无论哪一个法界都没有超出这个范围;所有一切鬼种类、神种类、一切护法诸天的种类、声闻、缘觉、佛乘都在〈楞严咒〉内。〈楞严咒〉所说的都是鬼神王的名字,一念这鬼神王的名字,其余鬼眷属和神眷属就都服服贴贴,循规蹈矩,不敢放肆了。天天念〈楞严咒〉,能令世上的妖魔鬼怪都老实一点,不敢出来害人。〈楞严咒〉是全体大用的,可以说是包括佛教所有的教义,若能明白〈楞严咒〉,就能将佛教秘密精华都明白。天地间的奥妙、天地间不可思议的事情,也是在〈楞严咒〉内。若会〈楞严咒〉,则不必学密宗,白教、黑教、黄教、红教,什么教也不需要学。这是根本的三昧法,最究竟的密法。不过这种密法没有人懂得,也没有人认识。一般人都是学而不化,只知道念,却不知它的意义。本来咒不必知道意义,只要知道它是不可思议的灵文就够了。


 Every line of the Shurangama Mantra contains infinite meanings as well as infinite functions. You should realize that the Shurangama Mantra is the most efficacious language in the world--the efficacious within the efficacious, the esoteric within the esoteric! It is an unsurpassed Dharma Treasure--the gem that can save living beings' lives. It embraces all that exists. From the Buddhas of the ten directions to the Avichi Hell, all the four kinds of sages and six sorts of common realms pay homage to the Shurangama Mantra. None of the ten Dharma realms transcends its scope. All categories of ghosts, spirits, Dharma-protecting deities, Hearers, Condition-enlightened Ones, up to the Buddha Vehicle are contained within the Shurangama Mantra. The Shurangama Mantra contains the names of ghost and spirit kings. When the names of those leaders are recited, all the ghosts and spirits in their retinues become very obedient and behave themselves. They don't dare to make trouble. Reciting the Shurangama Mantra every day can cause demonic beings and weird ghosts throughout the world to settle down and stop harming people. The substance and function of the Shurangama Mantra are all-encompassing. It can be said that within the mantra can be found the entirety of Buddhism's teachings and meanings. If you can understand the Shurangama Mantra, then you have understood the essence of Buddhism's esoteric teachings. All the inconceivable wonders and esoteric phenomena in the universe are contained in the Shurangama Mantra. If you master the Shurangama Mantra, then you don't need to study the esoteric school's white teaching, black teaching, yellow teaching, red teaching or any other teaching. This is the ultimate method of samadhi and the most esoteric Dharma. Unfortunately no one really understands this esoteric Dharma; no one even recognizes it. Most people study it but cannot absorb it; they can only recite it but don't know its meanings. Basically it's not necessary to know the meanings of mantras, you need only realize that they are an ineffable efficacious language.


 

能念〈楞严咒〉就是利益众生,不能念就不能利益众生。各位赶快把〈楞严咒〉学会,背得出,再研究明白了,才是佛教徒所应有的行为。想学〈楞严咒〉,持诵〈楞严咒〉的人最好能发大心,为全世界诵持,把所有的功德回向给全世界。在佛教里再没有比〈楞严咒〉更重要了,〈楞严咒〉是正法的代表,有〈楞严咒〉就有正法,没有〈楞严咒〉就没有正法,不会背〈楞严咒〉不配做佛教徒。〈楞严咒〉叫愣半年,天天念,要念半年才会背。我们能诵〈楞严咒〉的人,都是在无量劫以来培植大善根的人,才能把〈楞严咒〉读得熟,背出来,永远也不忘,这就是善根的表现。若你没有善根,不但不能念,就连〈楞严咒〉的名字也遇不着;就算遇着了也不懂,不会念。所以我们现在能念能背,都是有大善根。


 Being able to recite the Shurangama Mantra is a benefit to all beings. Not being able to recite it, you cannot offer that benefit to beings. Quickly learn it, memorize it, investigate and understand it! Then you will be doing what Buddhist disciples should do. The very best is for those who want to recite the Shurangama Mantra to do it for the sake of the entire world; transfer all the merit to the whole world. There isn't anything more important in Buddhism than the Shurangama Mantra. The Shurangama Mantra is a sure sign of the Proper Dharma. The existence of the Shurangama Mantra ensures the existence of the Proper Dharma. When the Shurangama Mantra is gone, the Proper Dharma is gone. Those who cannot recite this mantra are not worthy of being Buddhist disciples. The Shurangama Mantra is nicknamed "six months' stupor" because for most people it takes a half year of diligent recitation to get it memorized. Those of us who can recite the Shurangama Mantra have been planting and nurturing good roots for countless eons. Being able to memorize it perfectly and never forget it is evidence of those good roots. Without good roots, not only will you not be able to recite it, you will never even hear of the existence of the Shurangama Mantra; or if you hear of it you won't understand it and won't be able to recite it. Truly, then, those who can recite it by heart do have great good roots!



 

楞严法是百千万劫难遭遇的法门,我们学得一句,明白一句的力量,便要照着去实行。但也不是听说法有大灵感妙用及力量,就去用它。你用法,但不持戒,好像一般人什么都不懂,随便杀生、偷盗、邪淫、妄语、饮酒,而在紧要关头时念五大心咒,这是污蔑法;没有功德,却要支配鬼神及护法,那只有增加自己的罪业,自己会遭受飞灾横祸之事。所以修法的人首先要守持戒律,要注重德行,必须要不争、不贪、不求、不自私、不自利、不打妄语。你道德不够,就像假传圣旨,冒充国王,这是行不通的。现在人只注重念咒灵验有功力,但不注重自己的品德,即使念也没有功力。


 The Shurangama Mantra is a Dharma-door difficult to encounter in billions of eons. For every line we learn and understand, we activate one part of its power. But, then, we must actually put it into practice. However it's not that you try to make use of the mantra's vast efficacy and tremendous power. If you use this Dharma but you don't hold the precepts--like most people who aren't clear about anything and casually kill, steal, are lustful, lie, and indulge in intoxicants, and who only recite the Five Great Hearts Mantra when some crisis happens--then you are defiling the Dharma and there is no merit in that. If you insist on trying to control the ghosts and order the Dharma protectors around, then you're just going to be increasing your own karmic offenses. You will bring calamities down upon yourself. Therefore, the first criterion for people who want to cultivate a Dharma is to hold the precepts and place emphasis on developing virtuous conduct. You must not fight, be greedy, seek, be selfish, pursue your own advantages, or lie. If your virtue in the Way is insufficient but you pretend to be a sage who can transmit teachings, or pass yourself off as the leader of a nation, then your behavior is unacceptable. Nowadays everyone is interested in getting the most magic out of mantras, but they are not attentive to their own moral character. And so in fact their recitation will be ineffectual.



 

所以学〈楞严咒〉法,所行必须要正,存心要正,不打不清净的妄想,不做不清净的事,要念兹在兹修清净的行门。如果一方面修〈楞严咒〉法门,一方面不好好守规矩,就会有很大的问题发生,这一点大家必须明白。若是你不存正念,不行正行,便会令金刚藏菩萨不佩服你,不保护你,佛菩萨是慈悲的,他不会损害众生,不会瞋害人;可是所有的侍从,一切的护法、天龙、鬼神,都是有很大的脾气。这种恶鬼、恶神,他见到你这修道持咒的人有过错了,他就给你一点灾害,或者令你不自在,令你有很大的麻烦,你便会发生种种zai 难,受种种的果报,这是丝毫不可以开玩笑的。所以必须要斋戒沐浴,要心里也清净,不打染污的念头;身上也清净,不行染污的法门,时时刻刻要保持清净,不可以有丝毫不守规矩的行为。


 Therefore those who study the Shurangama Mantra Dharma must be proper in their behavior, proper in their intent; must not have defiled thoughts, and must not do impure deeds. They should be very attentive to cultivating purity. If on the one hand they cultivate the Shurangama Mantra and on the other hand they don't follow the rules, then they will get themselves into deep trouble. Everyone should pay close attention to this point. If your intent is not proper and your conduct is not proper, then the Vajra Treasury Bodhisattvas will lose their respect for you and won't protect you. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are compassionate and would not hurt any living being or harm beings out of anger. But their attendants--the Dharma-protectors, gods, dragons, ghosts, and spirits will become enraged. Those evil ghosts and evil spirits, upon seeing you cultivating the mantra while committing offenses, will bring disaster and harm down upon you; will make you feel very uncomfortable; will cause you to get in grave trouble; or make you have to undergo a series of misfortunes or a series of retributions. This is really no joking matter! Therefore you must eat vegetarian food and purify yourself. Most of all your mind must be pure. Don't have defiled false thoughts. Maintain physical purity and don't practice defiling dharmas. At all times guard your purity. Don't commit even the slightest infractions of the rules.



 

诵持〈楞严咒〉比买卖黄金更赚得多,诵〈楞严咒〉一遍,就等于几万万盎斯的黄金那么有价值,不过不能用贪心来诵持。若能持戒律,无嫉妒障碍,无贪瞋痴,那么诵持〈楞严咒〉就有大感应、大利益;若你有不守规矩的行为,修这个法便没有大的感应力量。并不是咒没有灵验,而是因为你不守规矩,护法善神离得你远远的,有什么事情他也不管。所以凡是读诵〈楞严咒〉的人,不要有一种诡谲的心,不要有一种尽造罪业的行为。任何时候都要正大光明,只知利他,不知利己,存菩萨心肠,行菩萨行门。


 Reciting the Shurangama Mantra is more valuable than any amount of gold. Reciting the mantra once is equivalent to tons of gold! But your recitation shouldn't be motivated by greed! If you hold the precepts, then you won't be jealous or obstructive; you won't be greedy or angry and your recitation of the mantra will generate pervasive responses and massive benefits. But if your behavior doesn't accord with the rules, the Dharma protecting good spirits will stay far away from you and when something happens to you they won't pay any attention. Therefore, those who recite the Shurangama Mantra shouldn't be cunning or behave in ways that continually create offenses. At all times they should be open and public-spirited; they should strive to benefit others, not themselves; they should cherish the ideals of Bodhisattvas; and cultivate the practices of Bodhisattvas.


 

修楞严法是很灵感的,但也不是那么容易,首先要没有自私心,其次要没有自利心,要存大公无私的心,要存至中不偏的心,要存舍己为人的心,要存普度一切众生的心。有以上所说这样的心,便能很快成就。各位要很注意,你一定要守五戒,奉行十善,这是最低限度要遵守的规则。修这个法不守规矩是不行的,你不守戒律,或心里尽打染污的妄想,不单修法没有感应,不能成就,而且会有奇祸。所以修楞严法的时候,要特别注意,要身、口、意三业清净,才可以相应。不可以随随便便讲是讲非,挑拨离间,或令大家在道场住得不安乐。你一定要举动行为管自己,行住坐卧不离家,不可以尽给旁人洗衣服,要自己好好把自己照顾一下,回光返照。


 The Shurangama Mantra is extremely efficacious, but it is not that easy to master. First of all you cannot be selfish; next you cannot be out to get your own private gains. You have to be magnanimous and devoid of selfish thoughts. You have to be impartial and not prejudiced. You have to be willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others. You have to have the resolve to universally save all living beings. If you can embody the above-listed qualities, then you will have swift success. Pay close attention: you must hold the five precepts and practice the ten good deeds. That's the very least you should do.
It won't work to practice this Dharma if you are not following the rules. If you cultivate this Dharma but you don't behave yourself; if you don't guard the precepts or if you are always having defiled thoughts, then not only will there be no response, not only will you have no success, you will in fact bring disaster down upon yourself. And so when you are cultivating the Shurangama Mantra you must be very attentive to maintain purity with your body, your mouth, and your mind. That's the only way you're going to get a response. You cannot say things that cause schisms or make people in the Way-place uneasy. You must pay attention to all aspects of your behavior, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. It's not all right to always be "washing other peoples' clothes" as it were. Take care of yourself. Look into yourself.

 

〈楞严咒〉是灵文,每一句有每一句的效力,你不必想:“我持〈楞严咒〉怎么没有什么效验?”不管有没有功效,你就去念,好像打功夫,天天去打拳,不管功夫如何,锻炼就有功夫,不可说不锻炼就有功夫。同理,受持法要天天不间断,在任何情形下,在百忙中都要修法。不要时间久了就生懈怠,对〈楞严咒〉不再有兴趣。这不是说你一念,就见到什么功效,就见、不见什么功效,你也要天天受持读诵。这必须要日久功深,不是一朝一夕就能成就,就有感应的。好像读书要读十年、二十年、三十年,才能真正有学问,修行亦复如是。持诵这个咒,你要念兹在兹的,时时刻刻都诵持这个咒,不要间断,也就像穿衣、吃饭、睡觉那样要紧,一天都不可以少的。不管它有没有功效,你天天受持读诵,时间久了就有基础,自然就有它的功用。


 The Shurangama Mantra is an efficacious language. Every line has its own particular efficacy. But you don't need to think: Why don't I get any responses from holding the Shurangama Mantra. Don't pay any attention to whether there are responses or not, just keep reciting it. It's like practicing martial arts, every day you have to practice your punches, regardless of what your skill is like. Skill comes through training. It's impossible to have skill without training. By the same principle, you should cultivate your Dharmas every day, no matter what happens, no matter how busy you are. Don't slack off after you've been at it for a while, losing interest in the Shurangama Mantra. It's certainly not the case that you will have some efficacious response as soon as you begin reciting it. Regardless of whether you perceive any response, you should continue reciting it every day. You must deepen your skill day by day. Success doesn't happen overnight. For instance you have to study for ten, twenty, or even thirty years before you gain real scholarship. It's the same with cultivation. You must keep your mind on your recitation of the mantra, continuing your recitation without ever letting it get cut off. It should be just as important as putting on clothes, eating food, and going to sleep; you shouldn't be able to be without it for a single day. It doesn't matter whether there's any response, because by reciting every day you will gradually have a foundation and quite naturally the mantra will function.


 

你想成就妙行,得到不可思议的力量,你不要心里总打妄想,想入非非,总是妙想天开。你诵咒若间断了,你三昧就不会成就的。修习楞严法门要拿出真心、诚心来修习。什么叫真心?就是为修持〈楞严咒〉,把时间也忘了,空间也没有了。是日、是夜都不知道,吃饭、没吃饭也不知道,睡觉、没睡觉不知道。什么都忘了,什么都没有了,一念像无量劫那么长,无量劫又为一念。要有这种精神,吃饭、睡觉什么都忘了,只一心来修行〈楞严咒〉,一定成就楞严三昧的。不能这样,就谈不到真正修楞严法门。不只修楞严法是如此,修其他的法门都要如此,行不知行,坐不知坐,渴不知渴,饿不知饿。说:“那不是变成最愚痴的人了吗?”就是要如此,这才叫


 If you hope for its wonderful functions and inconceivable power, then you must not keep having false thoughts, always day-dreaming and fantasizing. If you cut off your recitation of the mantra, then you will not be able to attain samadhi. You must use your true mind and practice the Shurangama Mantra with sincerity. What's a true mind? It means that for the sake of reciting the Shurangama Mantra you can forget all about time and even space disappears. You don't know if it's day or night; you don't know if you've eaten or not; you don't know if you've slept or not. You forget everything else. Everything disappears and one thought extends for infinite eons, while infinite eons is one thought. That's the kind of spirit you should have--forgetting to eat and sleep for the sake of cultivating the Shurangama Mantra. In that way you certainly can attain the Shurangama Samadhi. If you cannot be that way, then you aren't really cultivating the Shurangama Dharma-door. You should be that way not only in cultivating the Shurangama Mantra, but in the cultivation of any Dharma door--walking without realizing you are walking; sitting with being aware you are sitting; being unaware that you are thirsty or hungry. "Well," you say, "isn't that just turning into a stupid person?" That's right. It's said,



 

养成大拙方为巧

学到如愚始见奇


 When you learn to be a big idiot, then you start to have some skill;

Studying until you are as if stupid is the beginning of real insight.


 

你若能学愚痴到这个样子,无论你修那个法门,都能得到三昧,都会有所成就的。就因为你没能愚痴,没能真正深入三昧的境界,所以修来修去也不相应。


 If you can learn to be as if stupid, then no matter what Dharma door you cultivate you will attain samadhi and gain some realization. It's just because you are unable to be stupid that you cannot properly enter into samadhi and don't get any response from your cultivation.

 

你用功持诵〈楞严咒〉的时候,或者会梦见拜佛,或者梦见佛放光,或者梦见佛来摩顶,或者梦见佛和你讲经说法,或者梦见菩萨、缘觉、声闻、圣僧,或天上的天将,或者梦见自己腾身虚空,或者梦见会飞了,这都是好境界;或者骑马,或者渡江,种种祥瑞的光,或者有种种非常出奇的异相。假设得到这样的应验,你更应该很小心的,你要发菩提心,身、口、意三业要清净,更加紧你的功夫来持诵这个咒。可是你不可以对人去宣说,你有什么感应了,有什么灵验,叫人相信你,对你有好感。你有什么感应,自己知道就得了,你尽炫示自己的功德,各处卖广告,满街卖修行,这是不对的。你如果这样,便有了漏洞,魔就得其便。就好像你有了财宝,不把它放在保险箱里,你把它放在门口,一定会被人偷去。所以修佛法要很小心,不要让天魔外道得便。可是和你同道的,就是一同修行,你不是为了名利,或者为了令人恭敬我、赞叹我,你可以说的。


 When you are developing your skill in reciting the Shurangama Mantra, you may dream of yourself bowing to the Buddhas; or in a dream see the Buddhas emitting light; or dream that you see the Buddha come as rub the crown of your head; or dream that the Buddhas speak Dharma for you; or dream that you see the Bodhisattvas, or Condition-enlightened Ones, or Hearers, or Sagely Sanghans or gods and heavenly generals; or in a dream see yourself ascending into space; or dream that you can fly. All of these are good experiences. Or you may be riding a horse or crossing a river and encounter all sorts of auspicious lights; or there may be other extremely rare appearances that manifest. If you do attain responses such as these, then you should be very careful. You should bring forth the resolve for Bodhi; guard the purity of the karma created by your body, mouth, and mind; and increase your efforts and tighten your skill in reciting the mantra. You should not tell others what kinds of responses you've had in order to get others to believe in you or to think highly of you. It's enough for you yourself to know what responses you've had. If you keep advertising your own merits and selling your cultivation out on the streets, then you are wrong. If you act like that, you leave yourself open and the demons will attack. That's like failing to put your jewels in a safebox. If you leave them at the doorway, then someone is certainly going to steal them. Therefore, we must be very careful in our cultivation of the Buddhadharma. Don't let the heavenly demons and externalists have their way with you. But you can report your experiences to your fellow-cultivators if you are not doing it in order to get famous or rich or to make people respect and praise you.


 

在《楞严经》上说:你要是诵持〈楞严咒〉,有了功夫,有了受用,那么八万四千金刚藏菩萨和他的徒众眷属,就都常常随从保护着你,令你遂心满愿。纵然魔王想找一个漏洞,想来找你的麻烦也没法子。在过去五祖弘忍大师在湖北东山那个地方修行,他戒行精严,修行也特别认真。


 The
Shurangama Sutra
says, "If you recite and uphold the Shurangama Mantra until you gain skill and can make it function, then eighty-four thousand Vajra Treasury Bodhisattvas and their retinue of followers will always stay near you and protect you, so that everything you hope for will come true." But the demon kings never give up searching for a hole so they can give you more trouble than you can handle.


 

有一次土匪把湖北这个城给围上,弘忍大师忍不住了,就想要救这个城里头的老百姓,于是乎他就下山了,从东山那个地方到湖北城里去。土匪一见弘忍大师来了,就吓得丢盔卸甲望影而逃,为什么这样子呢?因为弘忍大师虽然是一个人下山来的,可是土匪就看到完全是穿金盔金甲的天兵天将,好像从天上下来的天神一样,都穿着金盔金甲,手拿着宝剑威武奇扬的。土匪一见到这样的情形就吓得望影而逃,不用一刀、一枪、一箭,他们就撤退了。这是因为弘忍大师他诵持〈楞严咒〉,所以土匪一见着弘忍大师就吓得跑了。这也可以说是金刚藏菩萨显圣,也可以说是弘忍大师修行的威德把他们都慑服了。那么一个修道的人能不用一兵一卒,把这个土匪给吓跑了,这就是有真正的功夫才能这样子,若没有真正的功夫,怎么会有这样的感应道交。


 In the past, Great Master Hongren, the Fifth Patriarch, was cultivating in Hubei at East Mountain. He upheld the precepts strictly and cultivated with unusual intensity. Once when a group of bandits surrounded the city of Hubei, Great Mater Hongren could bear it no longer and decided to try to save the people in that city. He came down the mountain and walked into that city. As soon as the bandits saw Great Master Hongren coming, they were terrified, dropped their armor and weapons, and fled. Why? Because although Great Master Hongren came alone into the city, the bandits saw an army of heavenly generals and heavenly troops clad in golden armour. It was as if the gods themselves had come down to earth--all donning golden armour and carrying jeweled swords and other awesome weapons. That's what caused the bandits to retreat in such haste. And so, without the use of a single knife, spear, or arrow, he routed the bandits. It was because Great Master Hongren recited the Shurangama Mantra that the bandits found him to be so terrifying. You could say that was a manifestation created by the Vajra Treasury Bodhisattvas or you could say it was the awesome virtue of Great Master Hongren that frightened them. That a cultivator was able to frighten the bandits into retreat without the use of a single soldier or weapon is verification of his genuine skill. How else could there have been such a response in the Way?



 

因为释迦牟尼佛为了保护我们现在所有一切初发心的学道人,所以宣示〈楞严咒〉,来帮助我们得到定力,令我们身心泰然,没有什么麻烦。所以我们时时刻刻不要忘了这个法,我们若能诚心专一诵持〈楞严咒〉,就是绍隆佛法,就是正法住世。


 Shakyamuni Buddha proclaimed the Shurangama Mantra in order to protect of all of us who have brought forth the initial resolve to study the Way; to aid us in attaining samadhi; to help us be at peace in body and mind; and to keep us out of trouble. Therefore we should never forget this Dharma. We should recite and uphold the Shurangama Mantra with single-minded sincerity. By doing so we are helping to perpetuate the Buddhadharma, to keep the Proper Dharma long in the world.

我不能用圣水洗净人的罪业;也不能用手取掉人的身心之苦;
我的悟心也无法移植给别人;只能用真理进行教化使人们自解脱。
               
释迦牟尼佛

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关于《楞严经》的问题,我告诉你们一个实实在在的话,《楞严经》这是佛的一个舍利,这是佛的真身。有人批评《楞严经》,无论是哪一个,他要是菩萨,批评《楞严经》是假的,这个菩萨即刻就堕地狱;他是阿罗汉,批评《楞严经》是假的,这个阿罗汉他也即刻会堕地狱。不要说是一些凡夫俗子,什么scholar,什么学者,这些个都是垃圾篓里头的东西,他根本就没有资格明白这个《楞严经》,也没有资格来批评《楞严经》。所以任何人批评《楞严经》的,我不管他是谁,他都是地狱的种子。


 Let me tell you the honest truth about the
Shurangama Sutra. The
Shurangama Sutra
is the Buddha's sharira, the Buddha's real body. It doesn't matter who criticizes the
Shurangama Sutra. If it is a Bodhisattva criticizing the
Shurangama Sutra
as being false, this Bodhisattva will fall into the hells instantly; if it is an Arhat criticizing the
Shurangama Sutra
as being false, this Arhat will also fall into the hells right away. Needless to say, those ordinary people, those scholars, are nothing but trash; basically they are not qualified to understand the
Shurangama Sutra
at all, nor are they qualified to criticize the
Shurangama Sutra. Therefore, anyone who criticizes the
Shurangama Sutra--I don't care who he is--is planting a seed for the hells.

《楞严经》这一部经,是整个佛教一部代表的经,若没有《楞严经》就没有佛教。所以佛才预先就说,法灭的时候,《楞严经》先灭;《楞严经》灭完了以后,其他的经典才继续地灭。所以我们佛教徒,要是想护持佛教,先要护持《楞严经》,到处来讲《楞严经》,说《楞严经》,翻译《楞严经》,念《楞严经》,并且主要地要诵〈楞严咒〉。这〈楞严咒〉就是佛的法身,有〈楞严咒〉的地方,就是有佛的舍利。


 The
Shurangama Sutra
is a Sutra that represents the whole of Buddhism. If the
Shurangama Sutra
didn't exist, there wouldn't be any Buddhism. Therefore, the Buddha predicted that when the Dharma is in the process of becoming extinct, the
Shurangama Sutra
will be the first to disappear. After it disappears, the other Sutras will disappear in succession. As Buddhists, if we want to protect and support Buddhism, we first have to protect and support the
Shurangama Sutra. We have to lecture on and explain the
Shurangama Sutra
in every place, translate the
Shurangama Sutra, recite the
Shurangama Sutra, and most of all, memorize the Shurangama Mantra. The Shurangama Mantra is the Buddha's Dharma-body. Wherever the Shurangama Mantra is found, that's where the Buddha's sharira is.

所以在前边我才说,我们佛教徒,无论哪一个,你也不能批评《楞严经》是假的,你不能这样说。你若这样说,就是地狱的种子,就是想要下地狱去了,在这个人世间不愿意做人了,想要去堕地狱、做饿鬼,将来做畜生去。你就动一个念,来说《楞严经》是假的,这都是将来入阿鼻地狱永无出期的一个因。知不知道怎么那么多的人下地狱?就因为他不相信《楞严经》。乃至于就现在的博士、学者,他们自己根本就无知识,没有资格来批评哪一部经典是真的,哪一部经典是假的,因为他没有择法眼呢!他也不认识佛法是怎么回事,就那么人云亦云。


 I mentioned previously that none of us who are Buddhists should criticize the
Shurangama Sutra
and say that it is false. You musn't say that! If you say that, you are planting a seed for the hells; you are just trying to fall into the hells. You don't want to be a human being in this world; instead you want to fall into the hells, to be a hungry ghost, and to be an animal in the future. Just by having that one thought of saying that the
Shurangama Sutra
is false, you are sowing the cause for falling into the Avici Hell forever and never coming out. Do you know why so many people fall into the hells? It's because they do not believe in the
Shurangama Sutra. Those Ph.D.'s and scholars who disclaim the Sutra nowadays are completely ignorant. They are not qualified to judge which Sutra is true and which one is false because they do not have the Dharma-selecting Eye! They do not know what the Buddhadharma is all about; all they do is echo the words of others
.

我不能用圣水洗净人的罪业;也不能用手取掉人的身心之苦;
我的悟心也无法移植给别人;只能用真理进行教化使人们自解脱。
               
释迦牟尼佛

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《楞严经》是诸经的骨髓



  研究佛法要了解经中的义理。佛所说的经典,每一部经都有其真正的义理;并且所有的经典,互相都有连带关系,其中的义理也都是有连贯性的。佛说小乘,说大乘,最后归纳到佛乘上。不论大乘、小乘、佛乘,首先都是教人去除习气毛病,去无明烦恼,去贪嗔痴。你若能把毛病都去除,与经义自然会相合;如果毛病不除,总是不能明白经义的。

  现在我们研究《楞严经》,已经把〈五十阴魔〉和〈四种清净明诲〉都研究完了,究竟经的真正义理是什么?为什么佛要说这部经呢?你若找到真义,才是真正明白经法;若找不到真义,还算不上真正明白经法。就好像有一个人,你知道他的姓名,还要进一步认识这个人的相貌、思想、行为,才算对他有所认识;你若单单知道他的姓名,而不知道他的相貌、思想等等,这还不算认识。我们研究佛经,亦复如是。

  《楞严经》的相貌是大而无外,小而无内的。《楞严经》的义理就好像人身上的骨头,人若是没有骨头,只有皮肉筋血,就不像一个人,也无法站立了,所以《楞严经》是诸经之骨髓。《楞严经》的用途是破邪显正,破一切邪,显真正三昧。若没有《楞严经》,就没有佛法了;有《楞严经》,就有佛法。

  我们为了护持佛法,首先要弘扬《楞严经》,要能背能讲《楞严经》,并且要依照《楞严经》来修行。万佛圣城就是楞严坛场,我们一定要放楞严大光,修楞严大定,成就楞严大智,圆满楞严大慈!







佛法独不迷信,而且是破除迷信的。佛法不但不消极,而且是积极的。佛法不但不逃避现实,而且是舍己救人的。而且是要你发愿入世度生的。

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