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 October 10, 2009


六祖說：「善知識，內外不住，去來自由，能除執心，通達無礙。能修此行，與《般若經》本無差別。」

Virtuous and knowledgeable friend, dwell neither inside or outside, come and go freely; eliminate fixating mind, reach without hindrances. To practice this cultivation is fundamentally no different from the Prajna Sutra.

In Buddhism, when we say inwardly, it means observing one𠏋 own mind. On the other hand, outwardly deals with the more materialistic affairs such as accumulating wealth, treating illnesses, caring for family, and subjugating enemies. But you cannot find your own mind. What the Sixth Patriarch means is that your mind is neither inside nor outside.

What does 𡤧oming and going freely?mean? The Sixth Patriarch explains that when you awaken, you may come and go freely thus you are free from the cycle of birth and death. Nothing could stop you.

I see everyone as equal. I deliver all sentient beings and I will not desert anyone. I used to have attachments. I had said that I would deliver all sentient beings except one. That is fixation. And what I said was wrong. No matter how much you hate a person or how long you have hated them, you should not be bound by that thought. Therefore the more you cultivate the better your view of the world.

Passion is a type of attachment. It is actually a seed of hell, one that is difficult to suppress. But by transforming passion into compassion an attachment can become a non-attachment. Other types of attachment are hatred and anger. Turning these attachments into non-attachments is important. So is eliminating all fixations.

Acharya Lianfo talked about faith. This is important. You enter this door when you believe. This belief comes from affinity. Affinity must exist before belief can be developed. Otherwise, if you were to ask someone to take refuge in True Buddha School or Grand Master Lu, s/he won㦙 listen if there is no affinity.

Do you think this universe is perfect? It is not. When you realize that nothing in this world is perfect, you will then be able to let go of your attachments. Upon achieving this, your wisdom will be equal to Prajna. None of us is perfect. Our country is not perfect. This whole universe or nature is not perfect. We gaze upon the moon and its beauty but in reality even the moon is not perfect. The four elements (earth, water, fire, and wind) are all imperfect. Earth has earthquakes. Fire could burn mountains. Water could become floods. And wind can turn into hurricanes. Since there is nothing perfect in this world, you need to follow the path of non-attachedness and not be influenced by the surrounding environment.

Please refer to www.TBSN.org for the full story.

Translated by: TBTT
Summarized by Rina Tseng, Proofread by Angela Yeh, Edited by Justin Chiu