Lecture No. 0056
Global Lamrim II
Lecture No. 0056
Tape no.
2A 13:40 ~ 14:58
Date
2018/10/11 ~ 10/14
Outline: Foundation
Topic: Prologue – Veneration at the beginning of the commentary
English Lamrim Vol 1, Page 33
Vol. 1 of Master’s discourse handbook P41-L1 ~ P41-L10
It’s time to study Lamrim together again! I greatly rejoice everyone for allocating time in your life to listen to the teaching. [00′12″]
Actually listening to Buddha Dharma will have profound and long-lasting influence on our lives, because it would help us to become mindful of what we are engaging in right now, or what we plan to do. Namely, is what I am engaging in now truly a must in my life? What is its priority order [in life]? Is it of the greatest importance? As we all know, there are actually many things to be accomplished in our lives, but usually, we can’t complete them all. Hence, [we] must arrange what matters the most as top priority. Thus, how should we ensure that the thing that is correct and a must be achieved first [in our lives]? To accomplish such a goal, we need to outline a plan in our own lives so that when we look back, we wouldn’t lament, “Ah! Maybe I should not have done it, but I went ahead and did it.” Or some even say, “Some of them were wrong [by nature]; I shouldn’t have done them! All these were just because [I] did not think it over deeply at that point in time, or [I] did not look at my own life from the perspective of endless flowing river of infinite lives; [I’ve] put too much focus on short-term interest and thus lost the long-term benefits.” [01′22″]
So, if we allocate time every day to listen to the teaching in this way, we will, again and again, check our current engagements, thoughts, actions, and speech with our purposes of life or our ultimate goal in life. By validation, we can make a timely adjustment once [we find ourselves] deviating from the life goal, or deviating from the target and direction to remove suffering, and attain happiness not only for ourselves but also for all beings. Constant adjustment of our own mind is, in fact, a very pleasant task. Although it can be a bit difficult, even very arduous in the beginning, eventually we will have fewer and fewer regrets in life and more and more happiness if [we] persist in doing so. [Indeed,] Buddha Dharma helps us to reflect mindfully from within and repeatedly enlightens our wisdom so that we can advance on a smooth and steady path in our lives. [02′15″]
In the last session, we have studied the first verse of the prologue, that is:
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 objects of knowledge.
Herein, today we will listen to how Master explained the line, “Whose mind sees precisely all objects of knowledge“. Everyone, please adjust and rectify your own aspiration and be focused with undivided attention while listening. Don’t be distracted or fall into drowsiness! Great! Now, let’s begin. [02′50″]
[Master Jih-Chang’s commentary book 1, tape 2A on page Prologue 6~7]
So how did he [achieve this]? His achievement was due to his thorough and definite realization. [Thus,] next, it says, “Whose mind sees precisely all objects of knowledge.” His mental capacity is such that he is able to “precisely” [achieve] definite realization. It is as simple as that. Usually, we only partially see things and are unable to see the true nature of reality. We are not able to do so. Often, we detect something such as air, but we are not able to see it. It cannot be seen! Well, scientists tell us that there is air and it exists here, yet we cannot see it. Then what is air? We cannot see it and even scientists cannot possibly see it. It is the same with all things around us; the possibility [of not seeing them] is there. Not only that, we cannot see the invisible things; take any given item in front of us, this cup, for instance; do you claim to see it? I cannot say that you do not see it, but I also want to tell you that I cannot affirm that you are seeing it. You can see one side of this cup, but can you see the other side? No. You can turn the cup around, looking at all four sides, but not inside. We always have limitations. In the case of limitation, there arise various flaws [and] all kinds of problems! That’s the way it is. [04′11″]
As mentioned earlier, usually when we speak, it is often either in jest or in dispute. However, when Buddha speaks, he can fulfill all living beings’ aspirations. Therefore, since Buddha can fulfill all beings’ aspirations, he himself has to be totally fulfilled! Thus [his] speech is bestowed with such truthful content. [04′36″]
And then, Master first brought up a question, “how did he [achieve this]?” [The question] then leads to the praising of Sakyamuni Buddha’s good qualities of mind. “His achievement was due to his thorough and definite realization”. What did [Buddha] thoroughly and definitely realize? As stated in the verse, “whose mind sees precisely all objects of knowledge”, it introduces a concept of “all objects of knowledge”. Those students who are learning the Pointing the Way to Reasoning all know what is “all objects of knowledge”? [Everything, every being, every situation] that can be the mind’s object. [It] refers to any object that can be understood and comprehended by the mind. So how big is the scope of all objects of knowledge? All existence and all things are included as all objects of knowledge. Thus, can Buddha see precisely all existences in limitlessness? Pay attention! Master said, “His mental capacity is such that he is able to precisely [achieve] definite realization”, there is nothing deceiving, and all can be seen. Then, Master followed by saying these few words, “It is as simple as that!” The sentence “It is as simple as that” actually [caught my attention when I listened until this point]. I often would pause here, looking at this sentence “It is as simple as that” and think long and hard. I am not sure if you all take notice of this section too? [06′09″]
It says all objects of knowledge – that is, infinite comprehension of objects of knowledge -- Buddha can precisely perceives the real nature of all objects, and to him, it is very simple. What is the extent of this simplicity? It is as simple as just looking at your palm lines, as if [it is] in front of your eyes; it is as simple as it all unfolds in front of you. So may [I] ask is it easy to look at your palm lines? [Yes!] It is easy! Open your hands and eyes, and you can see them readily; it’s just as simple as that! Therefore, for Buddha to understand all objects of knowledge, it is as simple as we look at our own palm lines. [Hence,] Master said, “It is as simple as that!” [06′42″]
Upon hearing this “It is as simple as that”, I actually felt how inconceivable! Why? Master followed by saying, “Usually, we only partially see things and are unable to see the true nature of reality. We are not able to do so.” In fact, [we] just see things partially; sometimes [we] can’t even see things clearly. For instance, why do people get into argument, arguing endlessly all the time? That is because [we] feel that the others don’t really understand our points, while sometimes we do not quite understand theirs, either. Because we only see a certain part of an issue and may consider the opposite party being unaware of what we have seen; thus, we argue with them, trying to tell them what we have seen or known. Likewise, our counterparts are also trying to tell us what they see. However, if we all refuse to admit what the other parties have seen, yet we only want them to accept our viewpoints, then the battle or dispute revolving around self-centeredness will begin. This applies to all of our [interactions with our] relatives, friends, and colleagues! [07′30″]
To make matters worse, we still [insist of doing] what? [We] still tightly grasp on to the part that we have seen, and believe what we have seen is [nothing but] the truth! However, Master has said, “Usually, we only partially see things and are unable to see the true nature of reality. We are not able to do so.” Nevertheless, if we could be mindful and observe our behaviours, often, when we argue or quarrel with others, we would find ourselves [falling into a habitual way of] feeling we have seen the truth/reality. After listening to this section, [from now onwards,] when you run into disagreement with others, or when you feel particularly worried and distressed, would [you] still feel, “Why don’t people understand me? Why didn’t they recognize the true nature of reality?” [08′07″]
【全球广论 II 讲次: 0056】
讲次 0056
科判 道前基础
主题 〈皈敬颂〉论前皈敬
音档 2A 13:40 ~ 14:58
日期 2018/10/11 ~ 10/14
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 第1册 P41-L1 ~ P41-L10 ( 2016 南普陀版：第1册 P41-L1 ~ P41-L11 )
手抄段落 那么他为什么能够做到这样呢？ ……种种毛病了！就这样。
又到了一起学习《广论》的时间！很随喜大家能够在自己的生命中，拨出一段时间来听法。 [00′12″]
其实听闻佛法对我们的生命影响力是很深远的，因为它会对我们现在正在做的事情，或者想要做的事情有一个觉照，就是我现在做的事情，是我的生命一定需要做的吗？那么它的排序是怎样的？是最重要的事情吗？因为我们都知道实际上人的一生有很多事情要做，但是通常都做不完，所以一定要把最需要完成的事情排在第一位。那么如何才能把正确的、一定要完成的事情最先去完成呢？就是我们对自己的生命要做一个规划，这样，当我们回首往事的时候，我们就不会说：“啊！那件事可能我不该做，我把它先做了。”甚至说：“有一些事就是错的，我不该做！就是因为当时没有深思熟虑，或者没有把自己的生命放在一个无限生命的长河中去看待，太顾眼前利益了，结果就失去了长远的利益。” [01′22″]
所以每天抽出时间来这样听法的话，我们就会再再地用自己人生的宗旨或者终极目标，来校对一下眼前的所做、所想、所行、所说。校对下来，一旦是偏离了宗旨，或者偏离了我们对自身，乃至所有有情终极离苦得乐的目标、偏离了这个方向的话，我们就会随时地调整。随时调整自己的心，实际上是一件很愉快的事情。虽然开始略觉艰辛或者很艰辛，但是坚持下去的话，我们毕竟会后悔的事情越来越少，高兴的事情会越来越多。佛法，让我们觉照内心，数数地启发我们的智慧，让我们的生命能够在一条安稳的路上去前行。 [02′15″]
上一节课我们学到〈皈敬颂〉的第一个偈子，就是：“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。”在这里边，今天要听师父解释“如实观见无余所知意”。请大家端正自己的发心，然后听的时候要专注，不要散乱、不要昏沉！好！那么现在就开始。 [02′50″]
那么他为什么能够做到这样呢？因为他彻底如实地了解了，所以下面说，“如实观见无余所知意”，他的意业就是这样的。他能够“如实”的——如实在的，简单极了！平常我们看见的，都是看见事情的一部分，而它真正的真相是看不见的，看不见的。平常我们眼前的东西，譬如说好像空气，什么都看不见，没有什么东西啊！欸，现在科学家告诉这里还有空气在，我们就看不见了。那空气有什么？我们又看不见，就像科学家也看不见。实际上眼前所有的东西都是这个样，不要说我们看不见的东西看不见，就是眼前随便一样东西，譬如说眼前这个茶杯，你说你看见了没有？我不能说你看不见，但是我也要告诉你，我不能说你看见。你看见了茶杯的这一面，那这一面看见了没有？没有！你可以转过来，四面看见了，里边没有！总是我们是局限的。那么这个局限的里边就有种种毛病了，种种毛病了！就这样。 [04′11″]
前一段讲到说：我们平常开起口来，不是戏论就是诤论，但是佛陀却能够成满一切众生无边希愿。所以呢，他能够圆满一切人，他哪有自己不圆满的！所以开起口来才会有这样真实的内容。 [04′36″]
然后师父先提了一个问题，说：“为什么能够做到这样？”这就开始引申到赞美释迦佛的意功德。 “因为他彻底如实地了解了”，彻底如实地了解了什么呢？所以那个偈子说：“如实观见无余所知意”，这里边就提到一个“所知”这样的概念。学《摄类学》的同学都知道，什么是所知？堪为心的对境。堪为心的对境就是心可以去了解、能够去了解的。那么这个所知的范围有多大呢？一切存在、一切有都是所知。那么一切存在的，佛陀都无余地观见吗？注意！师父说：“他的意业就是这样，如实的、如实在的”，没有什么欺诳的，现见的。接着师父讲了几个字：“简单极了！”这个“简单极了”，其实我听到这里的时候我通常都会停在这里，然后就看着这个“简单极了”，会想很长时间。我不知道你们有没有注意到这一段？ [06′09″]
说：把所有的所知哦——就是无穷大的所知——他全部都能够如实地观见，而且是非常简单。简单到什么程度呢？就像看自己的掌纹一样那么简单，如在目前，就像在眼前看到的一样那么简单。那请问：看自己的手纹容易吗？容易呀！你把手张开来，眼睛打开就可以看到了，就这么简单！那么佛陀了解一切所知，就像我们看自己的掌纹一样，师父说：“简单极了！” [06′42″]
其实这个“简单极了”，让我听到这里会觉得不可思议！因为什么？师父接着说：“平常我们看见都是事情的一部分，而它真正的真相是看不见的，看不见的。”其实就是看到事情的一部分，有的时候也是看不清楚的。比如人们为什么会争论，一直争论不休？就是觉得对方不了解我的意思，然后有的时候我也没有了解对方的意思。我们都因为自己看到的那个部分，可能会认为别人看不到，所以跟别人争论，想把自己看到的那部分提供给对方，但对方也想把他看到的部分提供给我们。但是如果我们都拒不承认对方看到的，只想要对方承认自己的话，那么以自我为中心的战争、争论就会开始了。亲人啊、朋友啊、同事，都是这样的！ [07′30″]
可是我们偏偏还什么呢？偏偏还对自己看到的那部分是非常执着的，还认为自己看到的是真相！可是师父说：“平常我们看见都是事情的一部分，而它真正的真相是看不见的。”但是观察一下我们自己的现行，我们通常跟别人争吵的时候，都会觉得自己看到的是真相。如果听了这一段的话，在跟别人发生争论，或者自己特别忧愁的时候、特别伤心的时候，是否还会觉得：为什么别人不理解我呢？为什么别人不理解那个真相呢？ [08′07″]