聖尊週六同修接續講解六祖壇經


六祖說：「善知識！一切修多羅及諸文字，大小二乘，十二部經，皆因人置。因智慧性，方能建立。若無世人，一切萬法本自不有，故知萬法本自人興。一切經書，因人說有。」

Virtuous and knowledgeable friend, all sutras and writings, the great and lesser vehicles, and the twelve divisions of scriptures, are created because of men. Because of the wisdom nature, they are established. Without men, dharma does not exist. Therefore, all dharma thrives because of men. Every sutra is told for their sake.

Several key points in these words:

o Sutras refer to scriptures based on dogma. They contain intrinsic wisdom. For the wisdom within, can these sutras establish and last.

o The great vehicle (Mahayana) is called the path of bodhi ?one can liberate not only oneself but also others. The great vehicle is like a bigger car and can carry more people.

o The lesser vehicle (Hinayana) is called the path of liberation. Because one is repelled by the cycle of reincarnation, one hopes to attain liberation from the cycle through the practice of Buddhism.

o All sutras and scriptures came into existence because of people. If there were no people on earth, there would be no dharma. If there were no people, what purpose would sutras serve? Buddha dharma exists because people exist. Buddha dharma has eighty-four thousand dharma gates to treat eighty-four thousand afflictions.

When you come to hear my dharma talks, I want you to be happy. If you leave here upset or depressed, then it`s not good. As Acharya Lian Shi mentioned, there are twenty-eight benefits when you chant the mantra of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. I often encourage people to chant the Deliverance Mantra to help themselves as well as the sentient beings. Some people rumor that chanting the Deliverance Mantra would attract ghosts. Don㦙 be afraid of the ghosts. The dead are just like people. You don㦙 owe them anything so shouldn㦙 be afraid of them. To save them, of course you chant the Deliverance Mantra. Are you afraid of me too when I die? When you chant 幈m Guru Lian Sheng Sidi Hom,?will you be scared to death if I show up? You need to undertake the deliverance of sentient beings, and ghosts. Possessed by ghosts? Disturbed by ghosts? Hearing voices? That is because you owe them. The more you chant, the more amends you make. You get to settle the karma debt with them. Otherwise, you end up owing more and they still come to find you.

Acharya Lian Shi talked about Marici. The most important passage at the end of the Marici Sutra ?nothing will bully you. If you recite the Marici Sutra, any bullying, harm, evil, and black magic will be dispelled. No one can torment you or curse you. All dark forces will cease to exist. All gone. This is a supremely beneficial sutra.

We are in a world of advertising. Buddhism needs to be advertised. True Buddha School needs every student to spread its dharma teachings. Everyone including the dharma staff and students have to mention the merit of True Buddha dharma. We have so many wonderful testimonies. We found Sariras in the cremains of many of our students`. Publicize these stories. Our teachings include the Pure Land discipline ?chant Amida Buddha`s name to attain liberation. We have the Zen discipline ?my talks about the Platform Sutra and several books on Zen. We also have the Tantric discipline. Viyana discipline too. We educate and train in the vows, precepts, and monastic rules. We have Zen, Pure Land, Tantric, and Viyana. This is why True Buddha School is such a great place to learn Buddhism. Whatever you want to learn, we`ve got it here. I welcome everyone to steal Buddha dharma from me. True Buddha School has plentiful valuables, come to get it. I only worry no one steals these precious teachings. Come and steal and learn it. Learn it in its entirety. Then you become Buddhas and Bodissatvas.

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

Translated by: TBTT
Summarized by Vicky Tseng, Proofread by Angela Yeh, Edited by Morgan Chiu