Lecture No. 0360
Great Ocean of Lamrim
Lecture No. 0360
Lamrim Volume 1: Pg 46 L25 to L27
Date: 14 Mar 2022
Topic: : Following Master Joyously Towards the Mahayana
After we have studied Buddhism for many years, would we still pay attention to this question: “Why is there a need to shape [our] motivation in the very beginning? We can just make the Mahayana aspiration later!” Why do we need to shape [our] motivation in the very beginning? For example, our learning journey from elementary school, high school, and college: why would our parents tell us when we were young that we had to get into this or that prestigious school? Everyone can reflect on why Master said: “Here, we as Mahayana practitioners, should form the correct concept from the very beginning”? Let me stress these words, “Here, Mahayana practitioners, should form the accurate concept from the very beginning.” [01:08]
Then, we can jump to this question: why “From the very beginning, Bodhisattvas help people wherever they can”? Master asked us this question, and why is that? Is this concept correct? Are we able to transform our mind due to this concept? We can give it some thought and even come up with a totally opposite proposition to refute it. For instance, from the very beginning, I mainly wanted to help myself. Why is it so? It is because if I cannot even help myself, how can I help others? I can help myself, after helping myself, then I help others. This should be fine, right? Why do I have to make the aspiration to help others right from the very beginning? [Why do I have to] establish such a concept right off the bat? [02:05]
Imagine this: suppose someone habitually uses his or her left hand to carry things, and one day he or she is suddenly not allowed to do so, and can only use the right hand to carry things. Do you think that it will delay the time? Whenever something needs to be carried, the left hand is always the first to be used. Why? Because it is out of their habit! For example, if we self-centredly think of ourselves first in whatever we do, considering only ourselves in every aspect. Then, if one day we aspired to help others, since we are not proficient in helping others, when we encounter difficulties during this process, [two possible scenarios:] will we hold back and withdraw to the old habit of helping ourselves, or despite lacking experience, will we still [charge ahead and] want to help others? Definitely, we will immediately want to take care of ourselves first - back to [the old habit of] self-centeredness. That is why it is extremely difficult for a lefty to become right-handed. Why? It is out of habit. [03:19]
So, may I ask, for the lefty to change their habit and become right-handed, what is the thing that is exhausted here? It is the inconceivable amount of time! If we can make the Mahayana aspiration right from the very beginning [of our mind training!], obviously it is very worth it! If, eventually, we have to resolve all the issues in the cyclic existence, why not make the aspiration to resolve all the issues right from the very beginning. The same reasoning is exemplified in teaching children. Take learning languages, for example, it is extremely difficult for an adult to study 8 different languages. However, if you let a child study 8 languages from the initial learning stage, it then seems to be not that difficult. Evidently, making the aspiration in the beginning is worth the effort! Since the Buddha is endowed with wisdom, the path he guides us to take must be the most worthwhile, expend the least energy and the path where all the most beautiful things can be found. The Buddha would for sure pick that path for us, and virtuous teachers would guide us in the same way as well. [04:25]
However, we would feel that it is not worthwhile to help others when we are just beginners! It is quite burdensome! It will be good enough just to want help for ourselves. Yet it ultimately impacts our ultimate goal to perfectly resolve all issues, we will go the extremely long, most strenuous and farthest path! Therefore, “all the teachings … are the path… Some are the main points of the path; some are the various branches of the path. [V. 1 P. 46]” It would be better if we read everything together in its entire context, then we would not give the wrong answer to the first question [I asked]. [teaching #356, 6’48” and #357 5’09”] [05:07]
I will give you another analogy: a son followed his father’s footsteps and ran a dime store to put food on the table, just enough to get by. But for a prince, he would have to learn how to manage state affairs from a young age. After these two children grow up, the paths they would take in the future would definitely be different, as their education and training were different. To us, Buddhists, the training of the Mahayana Bodhisattva would enable us to become the Dharma prince in the future. What a beautiful and sublime path! You would not want to stay and protect a small, tiny place for oneself [personal liberation]. Instead, we would learn how to embrace the Dharma realm and benefit all living beings. What do you think? [05:53]
So, you see, Master stated [in the teaching #356], “after having a proper understanding, everyone would want to take this path. Even if you were told not to take it, you would disagree.” And then he continued [in the teaching #358]: “Here, we Mahayana practitioners should form the accurate concept from the very beginning. Bodhisattvas help people wherever they can.” By means of helping others, we are building our own Pure Land. This is how the correlation is. [06:24]
Thus, by reading from the original text, “Bodhisattvas make it their goal to accomplish the good of the world [all living beings],” we would recall the analogy of the auto dealer selling cars. [It says in the text,] “Since Bodhisattvas must take care of students who are followers of all three lineages [those of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas], they must train in the paths of those three lineages.” Then Master added that some customers want cars made in America, while others want cars made in Germany or from some particular countries. Thus, we cannot only have a singular product. In this way, we would earn the provision to attain Buddhahood, so why not do it? Many disciples who closely followed Master would notice that Master himself was an earnest Mahayana practitioner. We can observe that from the very first page of the Lamrim, Master repeatedly mentioned about attaining Buddhahood and heading towards the Mahayana path. Whenever there is an opportunity, Master would bring this concept up again and again [to remind us]. He would not miss any possible opportunity [to exhort us]. These are what he had in mind all the time. Master said he was committed to guiding us life after life on this path, so we should all study diligently. [07:45]
The key point is, right from the very beginning, we should help others whenever we can; by doing so, we are building our own Pure Land. Such an aspiration should be initiated at the very beginning, correct? The important application of this text, [Bodhisattvas make it their goal to accomplish the good of the world], should be to focus it in our mind [so that we can contemplate on it single-mindedly] — very clearly and vividly in our mind. Keep contemplating it and slowly establish an earnest and genuine Mahayana aspiration from the very beginning, with the correct view of taking the Mahayana path. [08:29]
【广海明月 讲次: 0360】
讲次 | 0360 (2021-09-09 ~ 2021-09-12)
标题 | 跟随师父欢喜趣向大乘
《广论》段落 | P9-L2 ~ P9-L3 此中诸菩萨所欲求事者……故须学习彼等诸道。
音档 | 5B 24:37 ~ 5B 26:43
手抄页/行 | 第1册 P159-L2~P159-LL1 ( 2016 南普陀版：P159-L4~P160-L3 )
手抄段落 | 在这个地方……都要学。
(更新日期: 2022年3月14日)
00:00
我们学佛学了很多年之后，你会不会再去注视那个疑问：“为什么一开始就要发心呢？走到后面发心就好了呀！”为什么一开始要发心？比如说我们从小学、中学、大学这样一路学习，为什么小时候父母亲就要跟我们讲：要考这个名校、要考那个名校？大家可以想一想为什么师父说：“在这个地方，大家修学大乘佛法的，有一个正确的概念应该一开始建立起来”？这里边有几个字，就是“在这个地方，修学大乘佛法，正确的概念应该一开始建立”。01:08
那么我们可以跳到这个问题：为什么“一开始建立起来，菩萨们处处地方帮别人忙”？这是师父问我们的，那这是为什么？这样的概念是正确的吗？我们可以由于这样的概念动转心意吗？我们可以去想一想，甚至可以完全列出反命题，比如说：我一开始主要就是要帮自己，为什么呢？因为如果我连自己都帮不了，我怎么能帮别人呢？帮着、帮着之后我再帮别人不是也可以吗？为什么一开始我就要发心帮别人呢？一开始就要建立这样的概念？02:05
试想一下，有一个人一直习惯用左手拿东西，然后有一天突然不让他用左手拿东西，全部用右手拿东西，大家觉得有没有可能不耽误时间呢？因为他遇到要拿东西的时候，最先举起的永远都是左手，为什么呢？因为习惯了！比如我们做什么事都以自己为中心，处处都为自己考虑，如果有一天想要发心帮忙别人，但是我们发心帮忙别人的经验是不足的。当我们帮忙别人遇到困难的时候，我们会去退到原有的习惯中帮忙自己，还是会在没有的经验中去帮忙别人呢？一定是马上就要想帮忙自己、以自己为中心。这就是一个左撇子改成右撇子的事情、很困难的事情，那是什么呢？那就是习惯。03:19
那请问东边的习惯改成西边的习惯，这里边耗费的是什么东西呢？难以想像的时间的长度！所以一开始发心很显然是满划算的！如果我们最终就要去解决一切问题，那么不如一开始就发心解决一切问题。比如说一开始小孩子的时候就教他这个，就像学语言一样，一个大人学八门语言是很困难的，但如果一个小朋友开始学八门语言，也似乎没有那么困难。很显然一开始发心还是太划算了！因为佛陀那么有智慧，他一定给我们找一个最划算、最省力、又能找到最美的东西的那条路，佛陀一定是抉择那条路给我们，善知识也是把这样的路给我们。04:25
可是我们自己都会认为：一开始帮别人多不划算啊！多费力气啊！一开始只忙自己是好的。但最后会影响我们圆满解决一切问题那个终极的目标，我们会走得特别长、特别费力、特别地远，是一条非常遥远的路！所以“此复随其所应，有是道之正体，有是道之支分”，这一段要连起来看，这样的话你第一个问题才不会答错。05:07
再举一个譬喻就是：一个跟着父亲学做小本生意的儿子，他所要兼顾的就是家庭的温饱，过得去就可以了；但是一个王子，从小的时候他就要学会怎么治理天下。那么这两个小孩出来，他们将来的路肯定是不一样的，因为他们的教育不同。对于我们佛教徒来说，受大乘菩萨的这种教育，将来就是法王子，那是最美的路！你就不会只想守着一个自我的小小的地方，我们会学会胸怀法界、普润苍生，大家觉得呢？05:53
所以你看！说：“你如果正确地了解以后，没有一个人不愿，叫你不做，你也不肯。”接着师父说：“在这个地方，大家修学大乘佛法的人，有一个正确的概念应该一开始建立起来。菩萨们处处地方帮别人忙”，然后帮了别人忙，把自己的净土建立起来。就是这样的一个连结。06:24
这样的话，我们看了这个原话“此中诸菩萨所欲求事者，谓是成办世间义利”，我们就会想到那个卖汽车的喻。“遍摄三种种性所化之机，故须学习彼等诸道。”然后师父说有人要美国的、有人要德国的，或者要哪个国家产的汽车，我们就不能只有一种产品。这样的话我们就会赚到成佛的资粮，何乐而不为呢？很多跟随在师父身边的弟子们，都会真实地看到师父他自己就是大乘这条路的一个实践者。我们可以看到他从《广论》的第一页开始，就一直讲要成佛、要趣向大乘，只要有一个可能的空间，师父就会把这个概念再跟我们讲一次、再讲一次，不会错过任何一个可能的空间，全部都要讲这件事。师父说要生生世世带着我们，大家要好好地学。07:45
那么最重要的事情，一开始就是要处处地方帮忙他人，就可以建立自己的净土。一开始要这样发心，对不对？对那句话经文的一个落处，应该是把这样的一个观点凝聚在自己的心里边，非常清晰地凝聚，常常放在心上想一下，慢慢地在内心里建立从一开始就要真实地发心、趣向大乘的正确的见解。08:29