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 12, 2009


六祖說：「 若大乘人，若最上乘人。聞說金剛經，心開悟解。知本性自有般若之智。自用智慧，常觀照，不假文字。譬如雨水，不從天有。元是龍能興致。令一切眾生一切草木有情無情悉皆蒙潤。百川眾流，卻入大海，合為一體。眾生本性般若之智亦復如是。」

If those of the Great Vehicle, of the Most Superior Vehicle, hear the Diamond Sutra, they awaken. They are aware self-nature holds the wisdom of Prajna. Use the wisdom to continually examine and contemplate, relying not on written words. As rain comes not from the sky, rather dragons at play, it moistens all the sentient beings, vegetation, including those with feelings or not. One hundred rivers are but tributaries that join as one with the sea. The wisdom of Prajna within sentient being`s self-nature is the same.

The key point is examining and contemplating. If you hear the Diamond Sutra and awaken, it doesn㦙 mean you are already a Buddha. Those who have awakened are Buddhas only in theory; however, if they do not apply Prajna to examine what they do, what they say and what they think, they are still unenlightened. Those who achieved enlightenment have to look inside themselves to see if anything from their actions, speech and thoughts fails to represent Buddha`s teachings. If they don㦙 do that, they are just ordinary people, not the awakened ones. They are to be scrutinized by all and lead by example for all.

Acharya Lian Chuan mentioned 弌 heart as big as the world.\` All sentient beings have the tendency to discriminate. The disciples from the True Buddha School distinguish their own temples from other temples, so do some Acharyas and Reverends. In reality, everybody including but not limited to TBS disciples is Buddha𠏋 disciple. Everyone including but not limited to Buddha𠏋 disciples is a Buddha. Just like the Sixth Patriarch said, 㜁hen rain falls, it doesn㦙 discriminate and falls only on good people𠏋 farms.?Another key point here is that everything merges as one. Heaven and earth have the same root as me; all things are a whole. What does that mean? It means the Prajna in the self-nature of every sentient being is identical.

When you arrive at the Western Paradise, you𠑥l know that everyone is interconnected. If one𠏋 happy, everyone is happy. When you are there, you will no longer discriminate. If you awaken, you see no slanders hence you no longer have to practice tolerance. Slanders do not have any influence on the awakened ones. You might not understand what I am saying but have perseverance. Practice nonstop and you will awaken eventually.

Sixth Patriarch`s words teach us how to be unbounded and barrier-free, because when you discriminate, you can`t be unbounded and barrier-free.

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

Translated by: TBTT
Summarized by Lina Huang, Proofread by Angela Yeh, Edited by Morgan Chiu