聖尊週六同修接續講解六祖壇經

Grand Master Lu`s Dharma Talk at Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, Redmond, Washington on September 19, 2009


六祖說：「 善知識！小根之人，聞此頓教，猶如草木根性小者，若被大雨，悉皆自倒，不能增長。小根之人，亦復如是。」

Virtuous and Knowledgeable Friend, those with limited faculties upon hearing this sudden teaching are like shallow rooted plants, collapse under a heavy rain, not able to flourish.

In Buddhism, there are Gradual teachings and Sudden teachings.

1) Gradual teachings ?a step-by-step process to build the basic foundation to achieve enlightenment. Unlike Sudden teachings which are unsuitable for those with limited faculties. Take the basic training of a soldier for example; he has to go through levels of training before he can be ready for the battlefield. Those with limited capacities are just like the shallow rooted plants and trees that are easily wiped out by heavy rains thus unable to grow further. They would not be able to accept the sudden teachings; unable to imagine or believe what enlightenment is about. It will create more harm than good by revealing the truth directly to them.

2) Sudden teachings ?What the Sixth Patriarch teaches leads to sudden enlightenment. It is speaking about the supreme truth. When those of superior wisdom and faculties receive the sudden teachings, they reap instant benefits. They are able to grasp the significant message and accomplish awakening.

Fixed karma cannot be erased but can be altered, through cultivation and accumulating great virtue. Chanting frequently Medicine Buddha𠏋 mantra or Mahamayuri Vidyarajni𠏋 mantra or obtaining a spiritual response from your personal deity, you can change your fate. A spiritual response is a union. If practitioners and their personal deities can become one, they are just like their personal deities. When Buddha and I become a whole, we are transfigured to form a new Buddha. When that happens, fate and fixed karma naturally change. When practitioners can㦙 get spiritual response from a Buddha or Bodhisattva, then they can㦙 break the law of karma.

Awakening is the first priority. Life is full of sufferings. There are eighty-four thousand dharma gates in Buddhism that can help you cope with eighty-four thousand sufferings. If you practice diligently or chant many repetitions of Hundred Syllable Mantra or the High King Sutra, you can change karma. There is only one way to change karma ?practice hands-on the cultivation of Buddha𠏋 teachings. Alter your fixed karma. Miracle will happen.

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Summarized by Pin Ting, Proofread by Angela Yeh, Edited by Morgan Chiu