Lecture No. 0055
Global Lamrim II
Lecture No. 0055
Tape no. -
Date
2018/10/08 ~ 10/10
Outline: Foundation
Topic: Prologue - Veneration at the beginning of the commentary
English Lamrim Vol 1, Page 33
Vol. 1 of Four Interwoven Annotations P52-L8-P54-LL3
Today let’s take a look at the explanation of the Four Interwoven Annotations authored by Rinpoche. Everyone, please turn to page 52 of the Introduction of the Four Interwoven Annotations. Do all of you have the book? Are you on the right page? [00′20″]
What follows is the veneration toward the masters of the lineage, and the first is to venerate the founder – Buddha, the Bhagavan. Lama Tsong-kha-pa paid his veneration with the following verse:
I bow my head to the chief of the Sakyas,
Whose body was formed by ten million perfect virtues,
Whose speech fulfills the hopes of limitless beings,
Whose mind sees precisely all object of knowledge.
And Dharma Master Miao Yin added his annotation by saying: How much is “ten million”? That figure means “countless”, a unit of measurement signifying a great number. It represents the largest quantity [in India] and there is nothing exceeding it. Take heed! This “ten million” is used to describe Buddha’s virtuous deeds. “It refers to the highest measuring unit in number, which is known as Koti [in Sanskrit].” It is the transliteration from Sanskrit, the representation of the highest number in Sanskrit; there is no other term beyond this measurement for the number. This is the maximum term. And it is to measure by one koti, two kotis. Over here, it mainly refers to good qualities [of Buddha]. How many good qualities does Buddha have? They are too numerous to be measured by any unit of measurement. They are simply “beyond calculation”. [01′28″]
As stated in The Lifetime Story of Million Ear, koti is a common expression for anything that is infinite, and this is what it means here. Also “Million Ear” is the name of an arhat at the time of Buddha, who is mentioned in Buddha’s Garland of Birth Stories. Thus, koti means immeasurable. And the word “perfect” refers to Buddha’s good qualities manifested in the form of body etc. It is about the perfect body of Buddha, the teacher, whose body is “formed by ten million perfect virtues”, endowed with numerous perfect virtues. Buddha’s body is formed by such blissful merits and wisdom merits, the accumulation of both merits or due to imparting the teaching. Thus [Buddha’s body] is known as the physical form at effect stage. In sum, this statement refers to Buddha’s physical form of 32 major signs and 80 minor marks. That is, Buddha emerges from both merits of blissfulness and wisdom. [02′24″]
There is another explanation that “perfect” refers to the perfection of mental intention, and physical performance. Pay attention here, both of the perfection of mental intention and physical performance. What does the perfection of mental intention mean? It could mean a great compassionate attitude, for instance. The perfection of physical performance manifests itself in the attainment of the wisdom of selflessness, etc. Since the physical form of Buddha is emerged from all these perfections and reached the ultimate, it is known as perfection. And what does “virtues” mean? Buddha was bestowed with the provisional high-status of deity and human realms’ effect states, so it is known as “virtues”. The rebirth of ultimate certain goodness with the achievement of liberation and omniscience effect stage is “excellent”; this is another explanation. [03′09″]
And what follows is the annotation by Dharma Master Ba. It says Buddha’s body is “adorned by good appearance; one will never be tired of looking at it.” In other words, never be tired of looking at, never getting enough of it is known as “never feeling satiable when gazing at Buddha”. This is how Four Interwoven Annotations interprets Buddha’s physical form. [03′33″]
Next is “whose speech fulfills the hopes of limitless beings”. Are you reading from the text? Are you? Please read along or listen attentively! Don’t be side-tracked! This is about “whose speech fulfills the hopes of limitless beings.” Based on Dharma Master Miao Yin’s annotation, “limitless” means “boundless”. Then what about “beings”? That is “reborn from previous lives to the next one”; the continuity from one life to another is known as living beings. Take heed! What does it mean by from previous lives to the next one? It is unceasing – birth state, intermediate state, prior time and rebirth, etc., a continuous on-going process if the issue of birth-aging-sickness-death is not resolved. The phrase “limitless beings” refers to many beings – all living beings. What kind of hopes to be fulfilled as in the phrase “fulfills the hopes”? It is “to fulfill the present as well as the ultimate aspirations.” Buddha’s speech is able to fulfill all aspirations in this life of ours, [notice] all aspirations in this life! Up to here, you may ask, “Is it true?” It is documented in the scriptures. You can analyze and ponder on it. Also, pay notice! It can also fulfill “the aspiration for the attainment of Buddhahood. These are the two kinds of fulfillment.” With the good qualities, we can fulfill both types of aspirations: the aspiration of this life and the aspiration of the ultimate achievement, both of which can be fulfilled. [04′56″]
You may ask, “As for our aspirations in this life, are they gradually becoming perfect now?” We can reflect on ourselves. For instance, we are aspired to follow virtuous teachers and listen to their teachings. We want to establish the monastic educational system and are devoted to the task of translating scriptures so that all monastics can concentrate on studying, contemplating, and meditating within one Sangha community. In this community, we are imbued with and cared by virtuous teachers, and are also fond of by excellent teachers. Moreover, we can submerge ourselves in huge volumes of scriptures, never feeling sorrow or agony over not being able to read the scriptures [because of language barrier], or don’t know where to find the scriptures. Now there are many scriptures in our Sutras Translation Institute. Are all of these considered the fulfillment of many monastics aspirations in this life? Why do we need to be ordained? The reason for being a monastic is to explore deeper into Buddha’s instructions. Thus, this aspiration has been amply fulfilled in the 5 Great Treatises educational system, and eventually, the ultimate aspiration would be fulfilled as well. [05′52″]
Let’s continue with the concept “fulfils the hopes”. If one is only seeking self-liberation, the fulfilment of self- liberation is the ultimate aspiration. Then prior to the fulfilment of this goal, for the sake of pursuing self-liberation, all the aspirations for longevity, free from illness in this life, as well as various conditions in next life such as you are able to give generously whenever there is an opportunity, including wealth, health, etc. are all regarded as the aspirations in the present life. As for this “speech”, it refers to the speech of the three levels of capacities. The upper-level capacity is able to hear the profound teaching and accords with each individual’s mental capacity. Take heed! Now the good quality of Buddha’s speech is extensively far-reaching: “regardless of deity, Naga, Yaksa, Gandharva and human”, it is no longer just comprehensible to one type of living beings. Though Buddha’s teaching is conveyed in one language, other sentient beings, based on their own languages, can comprehend the teaching. Thus, this is another explanation for “whose speech fulfils the hopes of limitless beings”. That is, regardless of what the appearing form is, what kind of language one speaks, any statement from Buddha can be understood in one’s own language or one’s way of communication. These are Buddha’s good qualities of speech in accord with the three types of capacities. [07′07″]
Next, it is time for me to ask you some questions. On page 54, are you looking at it? The “Dharma Teacher Zhen” [as printed on page 54] is, in fact, the disciple named Zhen-Ru. She asked, “Is this what is described in the scriptures that ‘all living beings are able to understand it individually’?” Every time I read this, I would be very surprised and asked Rinpoche in this manner. Rinpoche replied, “Right, right, that is it! The main purpose of Buddha’s teaching is to tame the suitable disciples in an expedient way. Whatever the teaching is, Buddha always intends to benefit the suitable disciples.” Pay attention! Every teaching Buddha gives has his purpose, and it is to benefit us! If the teaching of Buddha did not benefit the suitable disciples, then the teaching would be meaningless. Likewise, as the virtuous teachers giving the teaching, we need to know the mental capacity of every suitable disciple; otherwise, the purpose of our teaching is not accomplished. [07′51″]
Up to here, would you think of Master? He would say, “Well! I am just as fine [as he]. Why should I go to him for refuge?” [Discourse #51] Master would bring up the mental capacity issue. And my question, “Well! Why do we not talk about it now?” [Discourse #50] as well as many other questions. That is, you will notice an actual conversation arising in your mind. You ask a question from your standpoint, subsequent to the question, there will be a discussion, or an answer, or allow you to have a deeper contemplation. [08′14″]
If the teacher is at high mental capacity and therefore gives teaching based on [his own] high level, then it will be difficult to benefit all the suitable disciples. Thus, the teaching has to align with the three types of mental capacity, [namely, low, middle, high]; this is how we interpret Buddha’s good qualities of speech. Because if the disciple has a rather high mental capacity, yet your teaching does not align with his level, it is difficult to benefit that person. The inconceivable quality of Buddha’s speech is his capacity to teach in accordance with the respective mental capacity of all living beings. “The above ‘the speech according to the three types of capacity’ is the annotation by Dhama Master Miao Yin.” This is how Dharma Master Miao Yin comprehended Buddha’s good qualities of speech. [08′49″]
“Later, Dharma Master Ba also added his annotation: impart proper teaching in accordance with individual capacity.” Meaning that Buddha teaches in response to the ability of each disciple. “Thus, a mere statement”, which means although Buddha only said one sentence, “it is endowed with 60 or 64 attributes of rhythmical speeches”. Even one statement from Buddha is endowed with 60 or 64 attributes of rhythmical speeches. So what are the 60 or 64 attributes of rhythmical speeches? It was discussed quite extensively in the Four Interwoven Annotations, teaching 6, a rather long passage. If you like to explore it further, you can review it again. [09′15″]
Well! That’s all for today’s class. I wish that all of you would feel joyful and be inspired by hearing the Buddha’s good qualities of speech. And then when we prostrate in front of Buddha’s statue next time, please gaze at Buddha and ponder, “Wow! Buddha has such good qualities of the body, speech, and mind, etc.” By doing so, when we are prostrating in front of Buddha’s statue, definitely a different appreciation will arise in our mind! [09′49″]
【全球广论 II 讲次: 0055】
讲次 0055
科判 道前基础
主题 〈皈敬颂〉论前皈敬
音档 -
日期 2018/10/08 ~ 10/10
广论段落 P1-L3 ~ P1-L4 俱胝圆满妙善所生身……于是释迦尊主稽首礼
手抄页/行 -
手抄段落 -
入门段落 第1册 P52-L8-P54-LL3 接下来礼敬传承上师……具足六十或六十四支韵音”。
今天我们来看一看《四家合注》仁波切的解释，所以请大家把《四家合注入门》翻到五十二页。都有书吧？翻到了吗？ [00′20″]
接下来礼敬传承上师，首先是礼敬教主——佛陀薄伽梵。宗喀巴大师是以“俱胝圆满妙善所生身，成满无边众生希愿语，如实观见无余所知意，于是释迦尊主稽首礼”这样一个偈子来礼敬。然后妙音笑大师再注释说：“俱胝”是什么呢？就是“不可计数”，就是数目很大的量词，它是数目中的绝顶，已经没有比这个更大了。注意！这个俱胝哦，是形容佛陀的善行的，“是说数量的最高单位，就称为俱胝。”俱胝，是梵文的音译，在梵文中的最高的数目，过此就没有其他量词，这是顶级的。而只用一俱胝、两俱胝来计算，这里边主要是说功德。佛陀的功德多到什么程度呢？就是用最顶级的数量词去计算的话，也是没法计算的，“多到无法计算”。 [01′28″]
如《俱胝耳本生》里边所说的，俗语中不可计数亦可得俱胝之名，这里边就是指这个意思。然后“俱胝耳”是佛世的一位阿罗汉的名字，他的本生传中也有提到，所以俱胝就是不可称数的意思。那么圆满呢，就是指功德，就是身等，是说导师佛薄伽梵的身圆满。那么“俱胝圆满妙善”，有很多很多的妙善功德，由这样的福德和智慧两种资粮所生的佛身，就是二资粮所生所积聚的，或宣法音，名之为果位之身。总而言之，这句话就是说具三十二相、八十随行好的佛身，就是由福智两种资粮所出生的。 [02′24″]
那么还有另一种说法，说“圆满”就是指意乐圆满及加行圆满。注意！意乐圆满和加行圆满。意乐圆满是什么意思呢？比如说大悲心。加行圆满，比如说证得无我的智慧等等。因为佛身是从这些圆满出生的，到达了究竟，所以叫圆满。那么“妙善”的意思是什么呢？因为赐予现前的增上生人天的安乐果位，所以称为“善”；出生究竟的决定胜，成就解脱及一切遍智的果位，所以是“妙”，也有这种说法。 [03′09″]
接着巴梭法王的注，就是佛陀的身，“为相好所庄严，观之无厌。“就是永远看不够，永远看不够叫观之无厌。这是在《四家合注》这个偈子里边解释佛陀的身。 [03′33″]
接着是“成满无边众生希愿语”。有在看书吗？有在看书吗？要看哦，或者认真听哦！不要走神！说成满无边众生希愿语，“无边”，妙音笑大师的注释是“无际”。那么“众生”，众生是什么呢？就是“从前趣生于后”，就是从前生去到后世，所以叫众生。注意哦！从前生去到后世是什么意思？就是不会停息的——生有、死有、中有，再生有......，永不停息的这样一个过程，如果没有去解决这个生老病死的话。 “无边众生”，就是指很多众生、一切有情。 “成满希愿”，即是什么呢？ “成满现前究竟所欲求义”，佛语能够成满今生所求的一切希愿，今生所求的一切希愿哦！听到这里，说：“真的吗？”经典上这样写的，可以观察一下、考虑一下。还有注意！ “以及究竟获得佛陀果位的希愿，有这两种成满希愿的方式。”有这两种成满希愿的功德，今生的希愿和究竟的希愿都能圆满。 [04′56″]
你说：“那我们今生的希愿，现在有渐渐在圆满吗？”我们可以观察自己，比如说我们想追随善知识听法、我们想要建立学制、僧团的法师译经，然后大家能够在一个僧团里边好好地闻思修，能够为善知识所摄受、为善知识所爱护、为善知识所欢喜，然后我们能够置身于海量的经典之中，再不会因为看不到经典、不知道在哪里寻求经典而惆怅和痛苦，现在译经院有很多很多经典，那这是不是今生很多出家人的愿望都在圆满呢？因为为什么要出家？出家就是想要深入地学习佛陀的教诫，那么在五大论的学制中，这个愿望被强烈地满足；而且究竟的希愿也会满足。 [05′52″]
说：成满希愿，如果就单单希求解脱而言，成就解脱就是究竟的希愿，在尚未解脱之前，为了解脱所希求的一切，比如说这一生长寿无病啊，和来世的种种啊，比如说想布施的时候能够布施，富贵呀、健康啊等等，都是现前的希愿。所以这个“语”呢，是指应上中下三种根机的语，上等根机的就能够听到最上的法，符顺各自的心量。注意哦！现在扩大了，“无论对天、龙、药叉、食香、人”，它已经不仅仅是面对一类有情的问题了，佛陀随以一音说法，即使他们各自按照各自的语言去理解，也都能理解。所以这是“成满无边众生希愿语”的另一种，就是无论他以什么形象出现、什么样不同的语言，但佛陀说一句话，全部能够让他们用各自的语言、理解方式理解到。这是应上中下三种根机语的佛语的功德。 [07′07″]
接着又到了我问问题的时间了，五十四页，有看到吧？那个写着“真师”的，其实是叫真如的弟子，她说：“这就是佛经里面说的‘众生随类各得解’吗？”我每次都特别惊讶地这样问仁波切。仁波切说：“对、对、对！最主要的，佛陀说法，是调伏所化机的方便，任说何法，都必须利益所化机。”注意！他说法是有目的性的，就是要利益我们！如果没有利益到所化机的话，说法就毫无意义。比如我们身为善知识说法也是这样，必须知道符合每位所化机的心量来说法，否则就无法达到利益。 [07′51″]
说到这一点，会不会想到师父呀？他会说：“欸！我好好的，为什么要皈依？”他就提出他那个心量里边出现的东西。还有我说：“欸！为什么现在不讲呢？”还有很多疑问。就是会发现跟你的心有一种真实的互动，在你的缘起点上所提出的疑问，会有一种讨论，或者给你一种解答，或者让你更深入地去思考。 [08′14″]
如果说心量很高，就依很高的起点去说，那很难利益到所化机。因此，要顺应上中下三种所化机的心量而说法，佛陀的语功德是这样解释的。因为如果他心量很高，你不去按照他的心量的话，也很难达成对他的利益。随机度化，这是佛语的不可思议呀！ “前面‘应上中下三机之语’，是妙音笑大师的注。”妙音笑大师这样理解佛陀语功德。 [08′49″]
“之后，巴梭法王也有补注：开示应机之法”，就是他是应机的。 “故仅一语”，虽然说一句话，“亦为具足六十或六十四支韵音”，一句话也是具足佛语那种六十韵音或六十四韵音语的功德。那么什么是六十或六十四韵音语呢？因为在《四家合注》很长的那一篇（《菩提道次第广论．四家合注》第六讲）都讲过了，如果你想再了解，可以再去听一下。 [09′15″]
好！今天就上到这里，祝大家听到佛语的功德之后能够心生喜悦、心生希求。然后我们再到佛前礼佛的时候，凝视一下佛陀，去想一想：“哎呀！佛陀的身有这样的功德，佛陀的语有这样的功德，佛陀的意也有这样的功德..... .。”这样的话，我们在佛前一礼的时候，你的内心一定会有一些不一样的感受产生吧！ [09′49″]