20140613《靜思妙蓮華》持戒莫缺漏（第326集）
⊙修持無漏戒定慧，願行福慧聞思修，深植善根功德力，正知見思淨真如。
⊙「爾時，世尊欲重宣此義，而說偈言：比丘比丘尼，有懷增上慢，優婆塞我慢，優婆夷不信。」《法華經方便品第二》
⊙「如是四眾等，其數有五千，不自見其過，於戒有缺漏，護惜其瑕疵，是小智已出。」《法華經方便品第二》
⊙「戒」，能防非止惡。不但惡事不可為，就是惡念也不該有。「戒」又名清涼，因人能止惡行善，則必心安理得，故心無熱惱而得清涼。
⊙戒為出生死海之寶筏，若筏有缺漏，則仍沈沒於生死海矣；故戒有無缺戒、無漏戒等。
【證嚴上人開示】
從裡面出來吹著風，讓人感到心安清涼，所以我們要心存感恩。現在雖然是平平安安，未來會如何？我們不知道，不過，我們永遠就是要，抱持著這分感恩、虔誠之心。虔誠，就是我們要時時培養，培養對人、對事、對物，我們必定要時時、好好地養成這分感恩心。
我們凡夫習氣，時時都是為自己的感想而堅持，都不是為了，天地之間眾生的境界。現在這個時代，真的是濁世法末的時代，所以才需要我們人人，有因緣接觸了佛法，我們瞭解，所以瞭解佛法，才正是需要我們各人，每一個人聞而修持的時刻。
佛法在我們的周圍，我們若不懂得探手來取得佛法，用心好好來堅持，我們若不這樣，真的「一失人身，萬劫難再」。所以我們要受持，不只是受持，我們還要修持得無漏，「無漏戒定慧」，這是我們大家共同一個方向。
既遇佛法，我們必定要修持無漏，不要讓它漏掉了。每一天的佛法要入心來，入心的佛法，那就是不能缺少的是，戒、定、慧。
修持無漏戒定慧
願行福慧聞思修
深植善根功德力
正知見思淨真如
我們說要修行，我們若不懂得持戒，戒，沒有戒於我們的心，若如此，我們會很快的，時時都會脫軌；脫離了戒，就容易犯錯。
戒是防非止惡。我們要常常預防著，我們的心念，無明常常生起，若沒有戒，這個無明時時都會發作。貪，貪自己的享受；瞋，一直覺得是，周圍的人對不起我，所以愈想愈氣，愈想就愈不甘願。你們想，我們就是無戒。
所以戒能夠防非。不是說殺盜淫等等，才說是需要戒律，不是。是我們平時的心念，戒，如一條繩子，給我們一個界址，到此，你不能越界；也好似一道牆，分內、外，對的，是我們的本分事，不對的，那是以外的事情。所以，有守規矩的人，光看那一條繩子，我們的腳就不敢跨過去。
常常舉一個例來說，以前我比較常到外面的工地，工地若在工作，都會用一條繩子把周圍這樣圍起來。我們的同仁看到我走到了，他們就趕緊將那條繩子放下來，就說：「師父，這樣走過來。」我說：「不行，我還是要這樣繞過來。」他說：「不用了，這樣走過來就好了。」我說：「不行。」「為什麼？我已經放下來了。」「同樣的放下來，這個界址還在，所以我不能越過界址。」這就是我們修行者應該要有的，何況我們更需要，把戒視如一道牆，將它築起來。
因為我們眾生凡夫，光是用那一條繩子拉起來，若不是很守戒的人，一條繩子放低下來，一跨就過去了。但是多數(人)都是這樣，所以可能要用牆。用牆圍起來，低低的，還不夠，還要築高。看看監獄的牆特別高，外面一般的房屋，圍牆就比較低，監獄的牆就很高。這個戒就是一個界限，預防我們錯誤、越規，所以我們需要戒。
修行者怎能無戒呢？常常說「以戒為制度」。我們在一個人群中，能夠很和合，很整齊，那就是一個戒。用戒來作為制度，這個戒不是戒別人，這個群眾，人人守戒，這樣就是一個大制度，那就是群眾和合，這叫做戒。
有了戒，心才能定。因為，戒是一條康莊直的菩提道，是一條很開闊的路，但是它是菩提道。菩提道很直，這麼直的大路，這麼開闊的道路，讓我們走，我們也不會越界，這才是真正我們修行的工夫。因此我們的心定了，心若定，分毫就不會差，所以這叫做定。
不會受到外面種種境界，來影響我們的心，我們就是守定於戒就對了。這樣的人，就是最有智慧的人。而我們若沒有智慧，失掉了智慧，那就是心，表示心不定，除了心不定，還是就是因為心沒有戒律。所以這個戒、定、慧，是我們修行者最重要的，所以我們要「修持無漏戒定慧」。
學佛，我們必定要有願，「四弘誓願」，這是我們靜思法脈，人人應該要有的——「眾生無邊誓願度，煩惱無盡誓願斷，法門無量誓願學，佛道無上誓願成」。這是願。願，我們必定要身體力行。
我們要度眾生，無論他是十惡五逆的眾生，我們也要想盡辦法度他。我們要成就人人的道心，菩提芽開始發出來時，我們要做園丁，如何來培養這株樹，這就是園丁的責任。草、木、花，全都是園丁的責任，該留住的，我們要好好保護，我們要種什麼樣的草，什麼樣的圖樣，我們要好好用心，景觀才會美。所以這個行。
除了發願之外，我們要有願，心若沒有願，我們就沒有一個圖。蓋房子要有蓋房子的藍圖，園、造景，要有一個造景的圖。常常聽到說，我人生的藍圖。人生要有人生的規劃，我們學佛，同樣要有學佛的理想，所以這全都是叫做「願」。所以願，除了這個藍圖在腦海中，我們必定要身體力行，一要有人把它畫出來，畫出來之後，我們就要依圖施工，所以這就是「行」。
我們的理想，我們的行動，不離二字，那就是福、慧。「福」就是要修慈行，我們要用開闊的心胸，我們要覆護眾生如大地。大地之母是在養育萬物，要能夠包容大地萬物，大地要包容萬物，這叫做慈，如慈母之心，如慈父之心。佛陀乃是三界導師，四生慈父，我們既然要學佛，就是要學「慈」。所以慈就是福，要修，要為眾生去付出，造福人群。
還要「慧」，要有智慧。智慧，才不會錯亂了，我們的人生，錯亂了我們的角色。我們既然我們有我們的人生藍圖，是修行，所以我們必定要有智慧。
所以戒定慧，就要聞思修。所以我們的願行，我們既然發願，身體力行在福與慧，我們也要不斷，在聞思當中修行。聽，好好地思考：我今天的行動，起心動念，待人接物，我有按照今天聽到的話，放寬心，心如何包容一切，我有嗎？所以要思，好好思考，思考我們今天的過程有錯誤嗎？若有錯，趕緊懺悔，「懺悔則清淨」，人生結好緣。這就是聞思修，趕緊即刻即行即修，這叫做願行。
我們既然發願，我們要按照我們的理想藍圖，去好好修行，這樣我們才能，「深植善根功德力」。這個善根才能，愈扎愈深，愈伸愈遠，這棵樹才能愈茁壯，愈堅固。所以這個善根要深。所以「功德力」，根若是深而廣，如此這棵樹是茁壯的。如我們所用功的，我們所修的行，就能夠很堅固。所以「深植善根功德力」，這就是要我們好好的，真的顧好我們的心，有戒定慧嗎？有聞思修嗎？若有戒定慧、聞思修，這就是功德的力量。
此功德還要「正知見思」。要正知、正見，我們要很暸解佛知，我們更要透徹佛見，所以我們要好好思考，一切種智，回歸我們心靈的淨土，那就是如來地，也就是真如的本性。這些我們若全都修得到，整部《法華經》，不就全都瞭解了嗎？佛法就是這麼簡單，卻是佛陀為眾生，一而再，再而三，不斷循循善誘。
所以前面就說，「爾時，世尊欲重宣此義，而說偈言：比丘比丘尼，有懷增上慢，優婆塞我慢，優婆夷不信。」
爾時
世尊欲重宣此義
而說偈言
比丘比丘尼
有懷增上慢
優婆塞我慢
優婆夷不信
《法華經方便品第二》
開口開始，很正確就說出了，前面那段長行文。若想到這句話，真的內心戚戚焉，有一點悲。真的是很不忍心，為什麼佛陀時代，親自說法，竟然他的弟子之中，比丘、比丘尼還是一樣，「有懷增上慢」。佛陀的內心是多麼感嘆，所以這樣說出這個話。
佛陀既然是這樣，同樣的，我也有這樣的感覺，「有懷增上慢」。要如何能降伏，這種「增上慢」心態？外人，沒有辦法，唯有他自己能夠通達諸法。在這人群中，無量法門中，自己懂得去通達諸法，才有辦法，才能開啟智慧，才能滅掉「增上慢」。所以，這是這段（經）文，讓我的心很痛，也是有一點悲哀。這時間到底，還有多久能夠陪伴呢？所以很擔憂。
除了比丘、比丘尼增上慢以外，連優婆塞、優婆夷，就是在家居士，都有我慢在，與不信。所以，這實在是在佛的時代，到底有多少人信佛，都有這些問題了，何況說在我們現在呢？所以常常自我警惕。
佛陀開始要說話，他禮佛而退，「其數有五千」，五千人。「不自見其過」，這些人，他增上慢心，都不知道他自己有過失。所以最可悲的人就是這樣。他還不知道「於戒有缺漏」，於戒，沒有守戒，所以有虧缺，聽完之後就漏掉了，這種「於戒有缺漏」。
如是四眾等
其數有五千
不自見其過
於戒有缺漏
護惜其瑕疵
是小智已出
《法華經方便品第二》
這個戒，我們再看一次，「防非止惡」。剛才已經說過了，不但惡事不可為，就是惡念也不該有。
戒，能夠使我們清淨，所以「又名清涼」。戒也稱為清涼，因為我們有守戒，我們是清流。
印尼有伊斯蘭教的領導者，向我解釋：「慈濟」，在他們的解釋，是清淨、純潔。對啊！就是要守戒。「慈濟」兩個字，除了愛的付出，「同體大悲」，不忍心眾生之苦，對我們自己，要守戒守得好，這就是清淨。我們若有守戒，清淨，心就清涼。
有時候看到人，說：「看到你怎麼涼勢，涼勢（輕安自在）？」「若沒有計較，都會涼勢，涼勢。」同樣意思，就是清涼。我們不要去跟人計較，我們不要去犯錯，我們的心自然清淨、純潔，那就是沒有懊惱，沒有燠熱。
瞋，就是瞋火怒燒。你若發脾氣，就如火燒身一樣，一把無明火，燒掉功德林。所以我們若有守戒，除了不能造惡，惡心不起，自然就很清涼。因為人能止惡行善，就必得心安理得。我們若都能止惡，沒有做什麼惡事，還是樣樣都是好事情，若如此，我們的心就安了，道理我們都得到了，所以叫做心安理得，理得心安。這就是我們修行的好處，也就是修行就是要守戒。所以，「心無熱惱(而)得清涼」，這就是守戒。
戒能防非止惡
不但惡事不可為
就是惡念也不該有
又名清涼
因人能止惡行善
則必心安理得
故心無熱惱
而得清涼
人若是不重視戒，「於戒有缺漏」。戒就是出生死海的寶筏，我們要渡過生死海，也是需要守戒，我們若沒有守戒，我們一定會沉淪下去。所以，我們若想要平平安安，在這個煩惱、生死苦難的此岸，要到佛的境界，必定要渡過煩惱河，就需要一艘船，所以戒就如那一艘船，能夠讓我們平平安安，從此岸度到彼岸去。這艘船若破了，翻落了，那就是沉沒於生死海中。
所以這艘船，不能有漏，不能有破。船若漏水就會沉，這是一定的道理。修行若不守戒，同樣是墮落。所以，戒，我們要守得無缺無漏，這才是叫做戒。
戒為出生死海
之寶筏
若筏有缺漏
則仍沈沒於
生死海矣
故戒有無缺戒
無漏戒等
各位，學佛，我們要按照這個次序。第一，修行不能沒有戒。所以(守)戒律才能讓我們的心受法無所漏失，讓我們安安全全，能夠真正了徹所有的道理，將這個道理再普被，讓大家都能夠瞭解。我們自己要很安全的，渡過煩惱河，我們也要用寬闊的心，來教育人人共同渡煩惱河。這是我們大家的心願，不是嗎？所以我們要時時多用心。
發表主題: 回復： 20140613《靜思妙蓮華》持戒莫缺漏（第326集） 周一 6月 16, 2014 6:31 pm
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Uphold Precepts without Flaws and Leaks (持戒莫缺漏)
Date: June. 13. 2014
When we walk outside and feel a breeze, we feel peaceful and refreshed. So, we must be grateful. Though things are currently safe and peaceful, we do not know what the future holds. Regardless, we must always remain grateful and reverent. We must constantly nurture our reverence for people, matters and things. We must always foster a sense of gratitude. We ordinary people have the habitual tendency to be attached to our own thoughts and feelings, without consideration for other sentient beings. This present era really is the turbid era of Dharma-degeneration. Therefore, all of us are needed; since we have the karmic conditions to encounter the Dharma and understand it, after we understand the Buddha-Dharma, each of us must really listen to and practice it.
The Buddha-Dharma is all around us. If we do not reach out, take it in and mindfully persevere [in our practice], if we do not do this, “once our human form is lost it takes kalpas to regain.” Therefore, we must accept and uphold the Dharma. Not only must we accept and uphold it, but we must also practice it flawlessly.
“The [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom” are what we collectively cultivate. Since we have found the Dharma, we must practice the Flawless Studies, we must not allow it to leak away. Every day, we must take the Dharma to heart. The Dharma that enters our hearts is the indispensable practices of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right knowledge and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.
As we engage in spiritual practice, if we do not uphold the precepts and use them to discipline our minds, then we will quickly go astray. When we abandon precepts, we easily make mistakes. The precepts guard against wrongs and stop evils. We must always guard against ignorant thoughts arising in our minds. Without precepts, ignorance will constantly arise. With greed, we crave pleasures for ourselves. With anger, we always feel that we have been wronged by those around us. Thus, the more we think, the angrier and more resentful and become. This results from not following precepts.
So, precepts can guard against wrongs. Thoughts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are not the only things to guard against. No, we need to [watch] our every thought. Precepts are like a rope that marks a boundary. When we reach it, we know not to cross it. They are also like walls that separate the inside from the outside, the right things that we need to do from the wrong thing we must not do.
So, those who follow the rules will just see the rope without caring to step over. I often give the following example. In the past, I often visited our building sites. If people were working, they would use a rope to section off that area. When our staff saw me walking by, they would quickly take the rope down and say, “Master, please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” I still need to go around this area. He said, “what for? Please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” [They asked,] “Why? We took it down already.”Although the rope had been taken down, the boundary was still there, so I could not cross it. This is the sense spiritual practitioners must have.
Furthermore, we need to treat the precepts as a wall that we erect. Because we are ordinary sentient beings, if there is only a rope stretched our [as a marker] those who are not willing to uphold precepts can lower the rope and step over it.Since the majority of people will do this, we probably need to build a wall.A low one is still not sufficient; we must build a tall one.
Look at how tall a prison’s walls are.The walls around an ordinary house are relatively low, but prison fences are much taller.The precepts are a boundary that prevents us from making mistakes or transgressing.So, we need precepts.How can spiritual practitioners do without them?We often say, “organized with the precepts”.When we are in a group, we can be harmonious and orderly because of precepts.Precepts are for organizing ourselves, not for disciplining other people.When everyone in a group upholds precepts, the group is disciplined and can live in harmony.This is what we do with precepts.
Only with precepts can our minds be in Samadhi.Precepts create a broad and direct Bodhi-path, a very open and expansive road.This is the Bodhi-path.The Bodhi-path is very straight.If we walk on this very direct and broad path, we will not cross the boundaries.This is true mastery in our spiritual practice.Because of this, our minds can be in Samadhi.If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not deviate even slightly.This state is called Samadhi.
We must not succumb to the various phenomena around us that influence our minds.
We must continue to firmly uphold the precepts.Those who can do this have the most wisdom.But if we are without wisdom or if we lose it, that means our minds are not in Samadhi.Besides that, it shows that our minds lack precepts.
So, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are most important to spiritual practitioners.
Therefore we must “practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom”.
To study the Buddha’s Way, we must make vows.The Four Great Vows are what everyone in the Jing is Dharma-lineage must make.“I vow to enlighten countless sentient beings.”“I vow to eliminate endless afflictions.”“I vow to learn infinite Dharma-paths.”“I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.”These are vows that we must put into practice.We must transform sentient beings.
Even if they [committed] the Ten Evils and Five Offenses, we still must do all we can to transform them.We must foster everyone’s spiritual aspirations.When Bodhi-sprouts begin to grow, we must be gardeners.Nurturing a seedling is a gardener’s duty.
Whether grasses, trees or flowers, all are part of the gardener’s responsibility.
[The plants] we wish to preserve must be earnestly protected.What kind of grass should we plant?What kind of design should we create?We must be very mindful to create a beautiful landscape.
So, to engage in spiritual practice, we must make vows.If we do not have vow, we will have no plan.When we build a house, we need blueprints.To create a landscape, we need to have a site plan.People often talk about blueprints for their lives.To live our lives, we must have a plan.When we study the Buddha’s Way, we must have goals.So, all of these are “vows”.
So, these vows, aside from being blueprints in our minds, must also be put into practice.Once we draw the blueprints, we must use them to begin construction.
This is practice.Our ideals and actions cannot be separated from two things, blessings and wisdom.To attain “blessings,” we cultivate practices of loving-kindness.We must have a capacious heart.We must protect sentient beings like Mother Earth, who nurtures all things.We must embrace Mother Earth, just as she embraces all things.
This is loving-kindness.
[We must] have hearts like those of kind mothers and fathers.Buddha is the Three Realms’ Guiding Teacher, the Kind Father of the Four Kinds of Beings.Since we want to learn from the Buddha, we must learn “loving-kindness”.So, cultivating loving-kindness [brings] blessings.We must give to sentient beings and benefit humankind.We must also have “wisdom”.Only with wisdom will we not bring disorder to our lives and [societal] roles.
Since the blueprint for our lives is to engage in spiritual practice, we must have wisdom. So in learning the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we must listen, contemplate and practice. As for actualizing our vows, since we have made these vows, we must cultivate blessings and wisdom. We have must continuously practice while listening and contemplating. We must listen, then consider. Were my behavior, my thoughts and my interactions with people and matters today in accordance with what I heard today? Have I broadened my heart and embraced everything?
So, we must earnestly contemplate whether we made mistakes over the course of the day. If mistakes were made, we must quickly repent. “Repentance brings purity”. To form good karmic connections, we must listen, contemplate and practice. When we promptly take actions, we are practicing. This is how we actualize our vows.
Since we have made these vows we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice in accordance with our ideals. Only then can we “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues”. As our roots of goodness grow deeper and extend further, this tree will become stronger and sturdier. Thus, the roots goodness must be deeply rooted to create “the power of merits and virtues”. If the roots spread deep and wide, this tree will be strong. So if we work hard on this, the practices we cultivate will be very firm.
So, we must “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create power of merits and virtues”. This means we must truly and earnestly take care of our minds.
Do we have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom? Are we listening, contemplating and practicing? When we cultivate all of these things, we will attain the power of merits and virtues. Such merits and virtues also require. Right Knowledge and Right Views. We must truly understand the Buddha’s knowledge. Moreover, we must penetrate His views. Thus, we must earnestly contemplate all-encompassing wisdom and return to the pure land of our minds, which is the state of the Tathagatas; our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. If we can cultivate and attain these states, then won’t we understand the entire Lotus Sutra?
The Buddha-Dharma is that simple. But the Buddha, for the sake of sentient beings, patiently guided us over and over again. Therefore, as we discussed previously,
The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse, saying ‘Bhiksus and bhisusnis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith”
When the Buddha began to speak, He precisely said that was in that earlier section of prose. When I think of this statement, I really feel a sense of sorrow, a bit of sadness. It is truly hard [to read about]. During the Buddha’s time, He personally gave teachings, but His disciples, the bhiksus and bhiksunis, still “harbor overbearing arrogance”. The Buddha must have felt a sense of sadness, which causes Him to say these words.
The Buddha felt this way, and I too have felt this way. “[They] may harbor overbearing arrogance”. How can we subdue our overbearing arrogance? Others cannot help us; only we ourselves can fully understand the Dharma. Among people, there are infinite Dharma-doors. Only when we strive to fully understand all Dharma will we be able to develop our wisdom and eliminate “overbearing arrogance”.
So, this section of the sutra really breaks my heart and causes me to feel sad. How much longer could He be with His disciples? This made Him very worried, because other than those bhiksus and bhiksunis who harbored overbearing arrogance, even upasakas and upasikas, who were the lay disciples, had self-arrogance and lacked faith.
So, even during the Buddha’s lifetime, the [lack] of people who truly had faith in the Buddha was already a problem, let alone in our present era. So, we must constantly be vigilant of ourselves. When the Buddha began to speak, those who bowed to the Buddha and left were 5000 in number”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These overbearingly arrogant people did not know that they had faults. This is what the most pitiful people were like. They did not know that “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. They did not uphold the precepts, so they had imperfections. The Dharma leaked our as soon as they heard it. Thus, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. 2230
The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but hey defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
Let us discuss these precepts again. Precepts “guard against wrongs and stop evils. As we already discussed, not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. Following the precepts can make us pure, so, they “are pure and refreshing.
Precepts are called “pure and refreshing.” When we uphold the precepts, we are streams of purity. An Indonesian Muslim leader explained to me that Tzu Chi [compassion and relief], otheir language means clean and pure.
Indeed, we must uphold precepts. “Tzu Chi” aside from signifying giving with love and having great universal compassion so that we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer, also means we ourselves must uphold precepts. If we uphold them well, we will be purified.
If we adhere to precepts, our minds will be pure and refreshed. Sometimes when I see people, I say, “You seem so cool and calm. They say, “If we do not take issue with others, we will be cool and calm. This means [precepts] are pure and refreshing. We must not take issue with others or make mistakes. Then our minds will naturally be pure and undefiled, free of vexation and anger.
Anger is like a burning fire. When we lose our tempers, we feel like we are engulfed in flames. The fire of ignorance can destroy the forest of merits and virtues. So if we uphold precepts, not only will we not create evil, we will not give rise to evil thoughts, then our minds will naturally be pure and refreshed. If we can stop evil and do good deeds, we will be at peace, with a clear conscience. If we can stop all evil and not commit ant bad deeds, everything we do will be good. Then our minds will be at peace, since we have abided by the principles. This brings peace and a clear conscience.
This is a benefit of our spiritual practice, part of which is upholding precepts. So, “when the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure ad refreshed.” This comes from upholding precepts.
Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.
If we do not value precepts, our “upholding of the precepts is flawed.” Precepts are the precious raft used to cross the sea of samsara. In order to cross the sea of samsara, we need to uphold precepts. If we do not, we will surely sink. So, if we want to safely cross from the shore of afflictions, of suffering and hardship, to teach the state of Buddhahood, we must cross the river of afflictions. That requires a boat.
Precepts are like a boat; they allow us to remain safe as we cross from this shore to the other shore. If the boat is damaged, it will capsize and we will sink into the sea of samsara. So, our boat cannot have leaks or holes. If the boat leak, it will sink; that is certain. If we do not uphold precepts in our practice, we will also degenerate.
Therefore, precepts must be uphold without flaws or Leaks; only then are we upholding precepts.
Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.
Everyone, when studying the Buddha’s Way, we must follow a sequence. First, we cannot lack precepts. [By upholding] precepts, we allow our minds to receive the Dharma without letting it leak away. This helps us to safely and truly penetrate all principles, and make these principles more universal so that everyone can understand them. We must safely cross the river of afflictions ourselves, and also use a spacious heart to teach everyone to cross this river together. This is our aspiration, is it not? So everyone, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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發表主題: 回復： 20140613《靜思妙蓮華》持戒莫缺漏（第326集） 周一 6月 16, 2014 6:35 pm
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Uphold Precepts without Flaws and Leaks (持戒莫缺漏)
Date: June. 13. 2014
When we walk outside and feel a breeze, we feel peaceful and refreshed. So, we must be grateful. Though things are currently safe and peaceful, we do not know what the future holds. Regardless, we must always remain grateful and reverent. We must constantly nurture our reverence for people, matters and things. We must always foster a sense of gratitude. We ordinary people have the habitual tendency to be attached to our own thoughts and feelings, without consideration for other sentient beings. This present era really is the turbid era of Dharma-degeneration. Therefore, all of us are needed; since we have the karmic conditions to encounter the Dharma and understand it, after we understand the Buddha-Dharma, each of us must really listen to and practice it.
The Buddha-Dharma is all around us. If we do not reach out, take it in and mindfully persevere [in our practice], if we do not do this, “once our human form is lost it takes kalpas to regain.” Therefore, we must accept and uphold the Dharma. Not only must we accept and uphold it, but we must also practice it flawlessly.
“The [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom” are what we collectively cultivate. Since we have found the Dharma, we must practice the Flawless Studies, we must not allow it to leak away. Every day, we must take the Dharma to heart. The Dharma that enters our hearts is the indispensable practices of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right knowledge and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.
As we engage in spiritual practice, if we do not uphold the precepts and use them to discipline our minds, then we will quickly go astray. When we abandon precepts, we easily make mistakes. The precepts guard against wrongs and stop evils. We must always guard against ignorant thoughts arising in our minds. Without precepts, ignorance will constantly arise. With greed, we crave pleasures for ourselves. With anger, we always feel that we have been wronged by those around us. Thus, the more we think, the angrier and more resentful and become. This results from not following precepts.
So, precepts can guard against wrongs. Thoughts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are not the only things to guard against. No, we need to [watch] our every thought. Precepts are like a rope that marks a boundary. When we reach it, we know not to cross it. They are also like walls that separate the inside from the outside, the right things that we need to do from the wrong thing we must not do.
So, those who follow the rules will just see the rope without caring to step over. I often give the following example. In the past, I often visited our building sites. If people were working, they would use a rope to section off that area. When our staff saw me walking by, they would quickly take the rope down and say, “Master, please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” I still need to go around this area. He said, “what for? Please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” [They asked,] “Why? We took it down already.”Although the rope had been taken down, the boundary was still there, so I could not cross it. This is the sense spiritual practitioners must have.
Furthermore, we need to treat the precepts as a wall that we erect. Because we are ordinary sentient beings, if there is only a rope stretched our [as a marker] those who are not willing to uphold precepts can lower the rope and step over it.Since the majority of people will do this, we probably need to build a wall.A low one is still not sufficient; we must build a tall one.
Look at how tall a prison’s walls are.The walls around an ordinary house are relatively low, but prison fences are much taller.The precepts are a boundary that prevents us from making mistakes or transgressing.So, we need precepts.How can spiritual practitioners do without them?We often say, “organized with the precepts”.When we are in a group, we can be harmonious and orderly because of precepts.Precepts are for organizing ourselves, not for disciplining other people.When everyone in a group upholds precepts, the group is disciplined and can live in harmony.This is what we do with precepts.
Only with precepts can our minds be in Samadhi.Precepts create a broad and direct Bodhi-path, a very open and expansive road.This is the Bodhi-path.The Bodhi-path is very straight.If we walk on this very direct and broad path, we will not cross the boundaries.This is true mastery in our spiritual practice.Because of this, our minds can be in Samadhi.If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not deviate even slightly.This state is called Samadhi.
We must not succumb to the various phenomena around us that influence our minds.
We must continue to firmly uphold the precepts.Those who can do this have the most wisdom.But if we are without wisdom or if we lose it, that means our minds are not in Samadhi.Besides that, it shows that our minds lack precepts.
So, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are most important to spiritual practitioners.
Therefore we must “practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom”.
To study the Buddha’s Way, we must make vows.The Four Great Vows are what everyone in the Jing is Dharma-lineage must make.“I vow to enlighten countless sentient beings.”“I vow to eliminate endless afflictions.”“I vow to learn infinite Dharma-paths.”“I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.”These are vows that we must put into practice.We must transform sentient beings.
Even if they [committed] the Ten Evils and Five Offenses, we still must do all we can to transform them.We must foster everyone’s spiritual aspirations.When Bodhi-sprouts begin to grow, we must be gardeners.Nurturing a seedling is a gardener’s duty.
Whether grasses, trees or flowers, all are part of the gardener’s responsibility.
[The plants] we wish to preserve must be earnestly protected.What kind of grass should we plant?What kind of design should we create?We must be very mindful to create a beautiful landscape.
So, to engage in spiritual practice, we must make vows.If we do not have vow, we will have no plan.When we build a house, we need blueprints.To create a landscape, we need to have a site plan.People often talk about blueprints for their lives.To live our lives, we must have a plan.When we study the Buddha’s Way, we must have goals.So, all of these are “vows”.
So, these vows, aside from being blueprints in our minds, must also be put into practice.Once we draw the blueprints, we must use them to begin construction.
This is practice.Our ideals and actions cannot be separated from two things, blessings and wisdom.To attain “blessings,” we cultivate practices of loving-kindness.We must have a capacious heart.We must protect sentient beings like Mother Earth, who nurtures all things.We must embrace Mother Earth, just as she embraces all things.
This is loving-kindness.
[We must] have hearts like those of kind mothers and fathers.Buddha is the Three Realms’ Guiding Teacher, the Kind Father of the Four Kinds of Beings.Since we want to learn from the Buddha, we must learn “loving-kindness”.So, cultivating loving-kindness [brings] blessings.We must give to sentient beings and benefit humankind.We must also have “wisdom”.Only with wisdom will we not bring disorder to our lives and [societal] roles.
Since the blueprint for our lives is to engage in spiritual practice, we must have wisdom. So in learning the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we must listen, contemplate and practice. As for actualizing our vows, since we have made these vows, we must cultivate blessings and wisdom. We have must continuously practice while listening and contemplating. We must listen, then consider. Were my behavior, my thoughts and my interactions with people and matters today in accordance with what I heard today? Have I broadened my heart and embraced everything?
So, we must earnestly contemplate whether we made mistakes over the course of the day. If mistakes were made, we must quickly repent. “Repentance brings purity”. To form good karmic connections, we must listen, contemplate and practice. When we promptly take actions, we are practicing. This is how we actualize our vows.
Since we have made these vows we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice in accordance with our ideals. Only then can we “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues”. As our roots of goodness grow deeper and extend further, this tree will become stronger and sturdier. Thus, the roots goodness must be deeply rooted to create “the power of merits and virtues”. If the roots spread deep and wide, this tree will be strong. So if we work hard on this, the practices we cultivate will be very firm.
So, we must “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create power of merits and virtues”. This means we must truly and earnestly take care of our minds.
Do we have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom? Are we listening, contemplating and practicing? When we cultivate all of these things, we will attain the power of merits and virtues. Such merits and virtues also require. Right Knowledge and Right Views. We must truly understand the Buddha’s knowledge. Moreover, we must penetrate His views. Thus, we must earnestly contemplate all-encompassing wisdom and return to the pure land of our minds, which is the state of the Tathagatas; our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. If we can cultivate and attain these states, then won’t we understand the entire Lotus Sutra?
The Buddha-Dharma is that simple. But the Buddha, for the sake of sentient beings, patiently guided us over and over again. Therefore, as we discussed previously,
The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse, saying ‘Bhiksus and bhisusnis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith”
When the Buddha began to speak, He precisely said that was in that earlier section of prose. When I think of this statement, I really feel a sense of sorrow, a bit of sadness. It is truly hard [to read about]. During the Buddha’s time, He personally gave teachings, but His disciples, the bhiksus and bhiksunis, still “harbor overbearing arrogance”. The Buddha must have felt a sense of sadness, which causes Him to say these words.
The Buddha felt this way, and I too have felt this way. “[They] may harbor overbearing arrogance”. How can we subdue our overbearing arrogance? Others cannot help us; only we ourselves can fully understand the Dharma. Among people, there are infinite Dharma-doors. Only when we strive to fully understand all Dharma will we be able to develop our wisdom and eliminate “overbearing arrogance”.
So, this section of the sutra really breaks my heart and causes me to feel sad. How much longer could He be with His disciples? This made Him very worried, because other than those bhiksus and bhiksunis who harbored overbearing arrogance, even upasakas and upasikas, who were the lay disciples, had self-arrogance and lacked faith.
So, even during the Buddha’s lifetime, the [lack] of people who truly had faith in the Buddha was already a problem, let alone in our present era. So, we must constantly be vigilant of ourselves. When the Buddha began to speak, those who bowed to the Buddha and left were 5000 in number”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These overbearingly arrogant people did not know that they had faults. This is what the most pitiful people were like. They did not know that “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. They did not uphold the precepts, so they had imperfections. The Dharma leaked our as soon as they heard it. Thus, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. 2230
The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but hey defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
Let us discuss these precepts again. Precepts “guard against wrongs and stop evils. As we already discussed, not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. Following the precepts can make us pure, so, they “are pure and refreshing.
Precepts are called “pure and refreshing.” When we uphold the precepts, we are streams of purity. An Indonesian Muslim leader explained to me that Tzu Chi [compassion and relief], otheir language means clean and pure.
Indeed, we must uphold precepts. “Tzu Chi” aside from signifying giving with love and having great universal compassion so that we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer, also means we ourselves must uphold precepts. If we uphold them well, we will be purified.
If we adhere to precepts, our minds will be pure and refreshed. Sometimes when I see people, I say, “You seem so cool and calm. They say, “If we do not take issue with others, we will be cool and calm. This means [precepts] are pure and refreshing. We must not take issue with others or make mistakes. Then our minds will naturally be pure and undefiled, free of vexation and anger.
Anger is like a burning fire. When we lose our tempers, we feel like we are engulfed in flames. The fire of ignorance can destroy the forest of merits and virtues. So if we uphold precepts, not only will we not create evil, we will not give rise to evil thoughts, then our minds will naturally be pure and refreshed. If we can stop evil and do good deeds, we will be at peace, with a clear conscience. If we can stop all evil and not commit ant bad deeds, everything we do will be good. Then our minds will be at peace, since we have abided by the principles. This brings peace and a clear conscience.
This is a benefit of our spiritual practice, part of which is upholding precepts. So, “when the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure ad refreshed.” This comes from upholding precepts.
Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.
If we do not value precepts, our “upholding of the precepts is flawed.” Precepts are the precious raft used to cross the sea of samsara. In order to cross the sea of samsara, we need to uphold precepts. If we do not, we will surely sink. So, if we want to safely cross from the shore of afflictions, of suffering and hardship, to teach the state of Buddhahood, we must cross the river of afflictions. That requires a boat.
Precepts are like a boat; they allow us to remain safe as we cross from this shore to the other shore. If the boat is damaged, it will capsize and we will sink into the sea of samsara. So, our boat cannot have leaks or holes. If the boat leak, it will sink; that is certain. If we do not uphold precepts in our practice, we will also degenerate.
Therefore, precepts must be uphold without flaws or Leaks; only then are we upholding precepts.
Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.
Everyone, when studying the Buddha’s Way, we must follow a sequence. First, we cannot lack precepts. [By upholding] precepts, we allow our minds to receive the Dharma without letting it leak away. This helps us to safely and truly penetrate all principles, and make these principles more universal so that everyone can understand them. We must safely cross the river of afflictions ourselves, and also use a spacious heart to teach everyone to cross this river together. This is our aspiration, is it not? So everyone, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
⊙修持無漏戒定慧，願行福慧聞思修，深植善根功德力，正知見思淨真如。
⊙「爾時，世尊欲重宣此義，而說偈言：比丘比丘尼，有懷增上慢，優婆塞我慢，優婆夷不信。」《法華經方便品第二》
⊙「如是四眾等，其數有五千，不自見其過，於戒有缺漏，護惜其瑕疵，是小智已出。」《法華經方便品第二》
⊙「戒」，能防非止惡。不但惡事不可為，就是惡念也不該有。「戒」又名清涼，因人能止惡行善，則必心安理得，故心無熱惱而得清涼。
⊙戒為出生死海之寶筏，若筏有缺漏，則仍沈沒於生死海矣；故戒有無缺戒、無漏戒等。
【證嚴上人開示】
從裡面出來吹著風，讓人感到心安清涼，所以我們要心存感恩。現在雖然是平平安安，未來會如何？我們不知道，不過，我們永遠就是要，抱持著這分感恩、虔誠之心。虔誠，就是我們要時時培養，培養對人、對事、對物，我們必定要時時、好好地養成這分感恩心。
我們凡夫習氣，時時都是為自己的感想而堅持，都不是為了，天地之間眾生的境界。現在這個時代，真的是濁世法末的時代，所以才需要我們人人，有因緣接觸了佛法，我們瞭解，所以瞭解佛法，才正是需要我們各人，每一個人聞而修持的時刻。
佛法在我們的周圍，我們若不懂得探手來取得佛法，用心好好來堅持，我們若不這樣，真的「一失人身，萬劫難再」。所以我們要受持，不只是受持，我們還要修持得無漏，「無漏戒定慧」，這是我們大家共同一個方向。
既遇佛法，我們必定要修持無漏，不要讓它漏掉了。每一天的佛法要入心來，入心的佛法，那就是不能缺少的是，戒、定、慧。
修持無漏戒定慧
願行福慧聞思修
深植善根功德力
正知見思淨真如
我們說要修行，我們若不懂得持戒，戒，沒有戒於我們的心，若如此，我們會很快的，時時都會脫軌；脫離了戒，就容易犯錯。
戒是防非止惡。我們要常常預防著，我們的心念，無明常常生起，若沒有戒，這個無明時時都會發作。貪，貪自己的享受；瞋，一直覺得是，周圍的人對不起我，所以愈想愈氣，愈想就愈不甘願。你們想，我們就是無戒。
所以戒能夠防非。不是說殺盜淫等等，才說是需要戒律，不是。是我們平時的心念，戒，如一條繩子，給我們一個界址，到此，你不能越界；也好似一道牆，分內、外，對的，是我們的本分事，不對的，那是以外的事情。所以，有守規矩的人，光看那一條繩子，我們的腳就不敢跨過去。
常常舉一個例來說，以前我比較常到外面的工地，工地若在工作，都會用一條繩子把周圍這樣圍起來。我們的同仁看到我走到了，他們就趕緊將那條繩子放下來，就說：「師父，這樣走過來。」我說：「不行，我還是要這樣繞過來。」他說：「不用了，這樣走過來就好了。」我說：「不行。」「為什麼？我已經放下來了。」「同樣的放下來，這個界址還在，所以我不能越過界址。」這就是我們修行者應該要有的，何況我們更需要，把戒視如一道牆，將它築起來。
因為我們眾生凡夫，光是用那一條繩子拉起來，若不是很守戒的人，一條繩子放低下來，一跨就過去了。但是多數(人)都是這樣，所以可能要用牆。用牆圍起來，低低的，還不夠，還要築高。看看監獄的牆特別高，外面一般的房屋，圍牆就比較低，監獄的牆就很高。這個戒就是一個界限，預防我們錯誤、越規，所以我們需要戒。
修行者怎能無戒呢？常常說「以戒為制度」。我們在一個人群中，能夠很和合，很整齊，那就是一個戒。用戒來作為制度，這個戒不是戒別人，這個群眾，人人守戒，這樣就是一個大制度，那就是群眾和合，這叫做戒。
有了戒，心才能定。因為，戒是一條康莊直的菩提道，是一條很開闊的路，但是它是菩提道。菩提道很直，這麼直的大路，這麼開闊的道路，讓我們走，我們也不會越界，這才是真正我們修行的工夫。因此我們的心定了，心若定，分毫就不會差，所以這叫做定。
不會受到外面種種境界，來影響我們的心，我們就是守定於戒就對了。這樣的人，就是最有智慧的人。而我們若沒有智慧，失掉了智慧，那就是心，表示心不定，除了心不定，還是就是因為心沒有戒律。所以這個戒、定、慧，是我們修行者最重要的，所以我們要「修持無漏戒定慧」。
學佛，我們必定要有願，「四弘誓願」，這是我們靜思法脈，人人應該要有的——「眾生無邊誓願度，煩惱無盡誓願斷，法門無量誓願學，佛道無上誓願成」。這是願。願，我們必定要身體力行。
我們要度眾生，無論他是十惡五逆的眾生，我們也要想盡辦法度他。我們要成就人人的道心，菩提芽開始發出來時，我們要做園丁，如何來培養這株樹，這就是園丁的責任。草、木、花，全都是園丁的責任，該留住的，我們要好好保護，我們要種什麼樣的草，什麼樣的圖樣，我們要好好用心，景觀才會美。所以這個行。
除了發願之外，我們要有願，心若沒有願，我們就沒有一個圖。蓋房子要有蓋房子的藍圖，園、造景，要有一個造景的圖。常常聽到說，我人生的藍圖。人生要有人生的規劃，我們學佛，同樣要有學佛的理想，所以這全都是叫做「願」。所以願，除了這個藍圖在腦海中，我們必定要身體力行，一要有人把它畫出來，畫出來之後，我們就要依圖施工，所以這就是「行」。
我們的理想，我們的行動，不離二字，那就是福、慧。「福」就是要修慈行，我們要用開闊的心胸，我們要覆護眾生如大地。大地之母是在養育萬物，要能夠包容大地萬物，大地要包容萬物，這叫做慈，如慈母之心，如慈父之心。佛陀乃是三界導師，四生慈父，我們既然要學佛，就是要學「慈」。所以慈就是福，要修，要為眾生去付出，造福人群。
還要「慧」，要有智慧。智慧，才不會錯亂了，我們的人生，錯亂了我們的角色。我們既然我們有我們的人生藍圖，是修行，所以我們必定要有智慧。
所以戒定慧，就要聞思修。所以我們的願行，我們既然發願，身體力行在福與慧，我們也要不斷，在聞思當中修行。聽，好好地思考：我今天的行動，起心動念，待人接物，我有按照今天聽到的話，放寬心，心如何包容一切，我有嗎？所以要思，好好思考，思考我們今天的過程有錯誤嗎？若有錯，趕緊懺悔，「懺悔則清淨」，人生結好緣。這就是聞思修，趕緊即刻即行即修，這叫做願行。
我們既然發願，我們要按照我們的理想藍圖，去好好修行，這樣我們才能，「深植善根功德力」。這個善根才能，愈扎愈深，愈伸愈遠，這棵樹才能愈茁壯，愈堅固。所以這個善根要深。所以「功德力」，根若是深而廣，如此這棵樹是茁壯的。如我們所用功的，我們所修的行，就能夠很堅固。所以「深植善根功德力」，這就是要我們好好的，真的顧好我們的心，有戒定慧嗎？有聞思修嗎？若有戒定慧、聞思修，這就是功德的力量。
此功德還要「正知見思」。要正知、正見，我們要很暸解佛知，我們更要透徹佛見，所以我們要好好思考，一切種智，回歸我們心靈的淨土，那就是如來地，也就是真如的本性。這些我們若全都修得到，整部《法華經》，不就全都瞭解了嗎？佛法就是這麼簡單，卻是佛陀為眾生，一而再，再而三，不斷循循善誘。
所以前面就說，「爾時，世尊欲重宣此義，而說偈言：比丘比丘尼，有懷增上慢，優婆塞我慢，優婆夷不信。」
爾時
世尊欲重宣此義
而說偈言
比丘比丘尼
有懷增上慢
優婆塞我慢
優婆夷不信
《法華經方便品第二》
開口開始，很正確就說出了，前面那段長行文。若想到這句話，真的內心戚戚焉，有一點悲。真的是很不忍心，為什麼佛陀時代，親自說法，竟然他的弟子之中，比丘、比丘尼還是一樣，「有懷增上慢」。佛陀的內心是多麼感嘆，所以這樣說出這個話。
佛陀既然是這樣，同樣的，我也有這樣的感覺，「有懷增上慢」。要如何能降伏，這種「增上慢」心態？外人，沒有辦法，唯有他自己能夠通達諸法。在這人群中，無量法門中，自己懂得去通達諸法，才有辦法，才能開啟智慧，才能滅掉「增上慢」。所以，這是這段（經）文，讓我的心很痛，也是有一點悲哀。這時間到底，還有多久能夠陪伴呢？所以很擔憂。
除了比丘、比丘尼增上慢以外，連優婆塞、優婆夷，就是在家居士，都有我慢在，與不信。所以，這實在是在佛的時代，到底有多少人信佛，都有這些問題了，何況說在我們現在呢？所以常常自我警惕。
佛陀開始要說話，他禮佛而退，「其數有五千」，五千人。「不自見其過」，這些人，他增上慢心，都不知道他自己有過失。所以最可悲的人就是這樣。他還不知道「於戒有缺漏」，於戒，沒有守戒，所以有虧缺，聽完之後就漏掉了，這種「於戒有缺漏」。
如是四眾等
其數有五千
不自見其過
於戒有缺漏
護惜其瑕疵
是小智已出
《法華經方便品第二》
這個戒，我們再看一次，「防非止惡」。剛才已經說過了，不但惡事不可為，就是惡念也不該有。
戒，能夠使我們清淨，所以「又名清涼」。戒也稱為清涼，因為我們有守戒，我們是清流。
印尼有伊斯蘭教的領導者，向我解釋：「慈濟」，在他們的解釋，是清淨、純潔。對啊！就是要守戒。「慈濟」兩個字，除了愛的付出，「同體大悲」，不忍心眾生之苦，對我們自己，要守戒守得好，這就是清淨。我們若有守戒，清淨，心就清涼。
有時候看到人，說：「看到你怎麼涼勢，涼勢（輕安自在）？」「若沒有計較，都會涼勢，涼勢。」同樣意思，就是清涼。我們不要去跟人計較，我們不要去犯錯，我們的心自然清淨、純潔，那就是沒有懊惱，沒有燠熱。
瞋，就是瞋火怒燒。你若發脾氣，就如火燒身一樣，一把無明火，燒掉功德林。所以我們若有守戒，除了不能造惡，惡心不起，自然就很清涼。因為人能止惡行善，就必得心安理得。我們若都能止惡，沒有做什麼惡事，還是樣樣都是好事情，若如此，我們的心就安了，道理我們都得到了，所以叫做心安理得，理得心安。這就是我們修行的好處，也就是修行就是要守戒。所以，「心無熱惱(而)得清涼」，這就是守戒。
戒能防非止惡
不但惡事不可為
就是惡念也不該有
又名清涼
因人能止惡行善
則必心安理得
故心無熱惱
而得清涼
人若是不重視戒，「於戒有缺漏」。戒就是出生死海的寶筏，我們要渡過生死海，也是需要守戒，我們若沒有守戒，我們一定會沉淪下去。所以，我們若想要平平安安，在這個煩惱、生死苦難的此岸，要到佛的境界，必定要渡過煩惱河，就需要一艘船，所以戒就如那一艘船，能夠讓我們平平安安，從此岸度到彼岸去。這艘船若破了，翻落了，那就是沉沒於生死海中。
所以這艘船，不能有漏，不能有破。船若漏水就會沉，這是一定的道理。修行若不守戒，同樣是墮落。所以，戒，我們要守得無缺無漏，這才是叫做戒。
戒為出生死海
之寶筏
若筏有缺漏
則仍沈沒於
生死海矣
故戒有無缺戒
無漏戒等
各位，學佛，我們要按照這個次序。第一，修行不能沒有戒。所以(守)戒律才能讓我們的心受法無所漏失，讓我們安安全全，能夠真正了徹所有的道理，將這個道理再普被，讓大家都能夠瞭解。我們自己要很安全的，渡過煩惱河，我們也要用寬闊的心，來教育人人共同渡煩惱河。這是我們大家的心願，不是嗎？所以我們要時時多用心。
發表主題: 回復： 20140613《靜思妙蓮華》持戒莫缺漏（第326集） 周一 6月 16, 2014 6:31 pm
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Uphold Precepts without Flaws and Leaks (持戒莫缺漏)
Date: June. 13. 2014
When we walk outside and feel a breeze, we feel peaceful and refreshed. So, we must be grateful. Though things are currently safe and peaceful, we do not know what the future holds. Regardless, we must always remain grateful and reverent. We must constantly nurture our reverence for people, matters and things. We must always foster a sense of gratitude. We ordinary people have the habitual tendency to be attached to our own thoughts and feelings, without consideration for other sentient beings. This present era really is the turbid era of Dharma-degeneration. Therefore, all of us are needed; since we have the karmic conditions to encounter the Dharma and understand it, after we understand the Buddha-Dharma, each of us must really listen to and practice it.
The Buddha-Dharma is all around us. If we do not reach out, take it in and mindfully persevere [in our practice], if we do not do this, “once our human form is lost it takes kalpas to regain.” Therefore, we must accept and uphold the Dharma. Not only must we accept and uphold it, but we must also practice it flawlessly.
“The [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom” are what we collectively cultivate. Since we have found the Dharma, we must practice the Flawless Studies, we must not allow it to leak away. Every day, we must take the Dharma to heart. The Dharma that enters our hearts is the indispensable practices of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right knowledge and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.
As we engage in spiritual practice, if we do not uphold the precepts and use them to discipline our minds, then we will quickly go astray. When we abandon precepts, we easily make mistakes. The precepts guard against wrongs and stop evils. We must always guard against ignorant thoughts arising in our minds. Without precepts, ignorance will constantly arise. With greed, we crave pleasures for ourselves. With anger, we always feel that we have been wronged by those around us. Thus, the more we think, the angrier and more resentful and become. This results from not following precepts.
So, precepts can guard against wrongs. Thoughts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are not the only things to guard against. No, we need to [watch] our every thought. Precepts are like a rope that marks a boundary. When we reach it, we know not to cross it. They are also like walls that separate the inside from the outside, the right things that we need to do from the wrong thing we must not do.
So, those who follow the rules will just see the rope without caring to step over. I often give the following example. In the past, I often visited our building sites. If people were working, they would use a rope to section off that area. When our staff saw me walking by, they would quickly take the rope down and say, “Master, please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” I still need to go around this area. He said, “what for? Please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” [They asked,] “Why? We took it down already.”Although the rope had been taken down, the boundary was still there, so I could not cross it. This is the sense spiritual practitioners must have.
Furthermore, we need to treat the precepts as a wall that we erect. Because we are ordinary sentient beings, if there is only a rope stretched our [as a marker] those who are not willing to uphold precepts can lower the rope and step over it.Since the majority of people will do this, we probably need to build a wall.A low one is still not sufficient; we must build a tall one.
Look at how tall a prison’s walls are.The walls around an ordinary house are relatively low, but prison fences are much taller.The precepts are a boundary that prevents us from making mistakes or transgressing.So, we need precepts.How can spiritual practitioners do without them?We often say, “organized with the precepts”.When we are in a group, we can be harmonious and orderly because of precepts.Precepts are for organizing ourselves, not for disciplining other people.When everyone in a group upholds precepts, the group is disciplined and can live in harmony.This is what we do with precepts.
Only with precepts can our minds be in Samadhi.Precepts create a broad and direct Bodhi-path, a very open and expansive road.This is the Bodhi-path.The Bodhi-path is very straight.If we walk on this very direct and broad path, we will not cross the boundaries.This is true mastery in our spiritual practice.Because of this, our minds can be in Samadhi.If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not deviate even slightly.This state is called Samadhi.
We must not succumb to the various phenomena around us that influence our minds.
We must continue to firmly uphold the precepts.Those who can do this have the most wisdom.But if we are without wisdom or if we lose it, that means our minds are not in Samadhi.Besides that, it shows that our minds lack precepts.
So, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are most important to spiritual practitioners.
Therefore we must “practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom”.
To study the Buddha’s Way, we must make vows.The Four Great Vows are what everyone in the Jing is Dharma-lineage must make.“I vow to enlighten countless sentient beings.”“I vow to eliminate endless afflictions.”“I vow to learn infinite Dharma-paths.”“I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.”These are vows that we must put into practice.We must transform sentient beings.
Even if they [committed] the Ten Evils and Five Offenses, we still must do all we can to transform them.We must foster everyone’s spiritual aspirations.When Bodhi-sprouts begin to grow, we must be gardeners.Nurturing a seedling is a gardener’s duty.
Whether grasses, trees or flowers, all are part of the gardener’s responsibility.
[The plants] we wish to preserve must be earnestly protected.What kind of grass should we plant?What kind of design should we create?We must be very mindful to create a beautiful landscape.
So, to engage in spiritual practice, we must make vows.If we do not have vow, we will have no plan.When we build a house, we need blueprints.To create a landscape, we need to have a site plan.People often talk about blueprints for their lives.To live our lives, we must have a plan.When we study the Buddha’s Way, we must have goals.So, all of these are “vows”.
So, these vows, aside from being blueprints in our minds, must also be put into practice.Once we draw the blueprints, we must use them to begin construction.
This is practice.Our ideals and actions cannot be separated from two things, blessings and wisdom.To attain “blessings,” we cultivate practices of loving-kindness.We must have a capacious heart.We must protect sentient beings like Mother Earth, who nurtures all things.We must embrace Mother Earth, just as she embraces all things.
This is loving-kindness.
[We must] have hearts like those of kind mothers and fathers.Buddha is the Three Realms’ Guiding Teacher, the Kind Father of the Four Kinds of Beings.Since we want to learn from the Buddha, we must learn “loving-kindness”.So, cultivating loving-kindness [brings] blessings.We must give to sentient beings and benefit humankind.We must also have “wisdom”.Only with wisdom will we not bring disorder to our lives and [societal] roles.
Since the blueprint for our lives is to engage in spiritual practice, we must have wisdom. So in learning the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we must listen, contemplate and practice. As for actualizing our vows, since we have made these vows, we must cultivate blessings and wisdom. We have must continuously practice while listening and contemplating. We must listen, then consider. Were my behavior, my thoughts and my interactions with people and matters today in accordance with what I heard today? Have I broadened my heart and embraced everything?
So, we must earnestly contemplate whether we made mistakes over the course of the day. If mistakes were made, we must quickly repent. “Repentance brings purity”. To form good karmic connections, we must listen, contemplate and practice. When we promptly take actions, we are practicing. This is how we actualize our vows.
Since we have made these vows we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice in accordance with our ideals. Only then can we “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues”. As our roots of goodness grow deeper and extend further, this tree will become stronger and sturdier. Thus, the roots goodness must be deeply rooted to create “the power of merits and virtues”. If the roots spread deep and wide, this tree will be strong. So if we work hard on this, the practices we cultivate will be very firm.
So, we must “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create power of merits and virtues”. This means we must truly and earnestly take care of our minds.
Do we have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom? Are we listening, contemplating and practicing? When we cultivate all of these things, we will attain the power of merits and virtues. Such merits and virtues also require. Right Knowledge and Right Views. We must truly understand the Buddha’s knowledge. Moreover, we must penetrate His views. Thus, we must earnestly contemplate all-encompassing wisdom and return to the pure land of our minds, which is the state of the Tathagatas; our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. If we can cultivate and attain these states, then won’t we understand the entire Lotus Sutra?
The Buddha-Dharma is that simple. But the Buddha, for the sake of sentient beings, patiently guided us over and over again. Therefore, as we discussed previously,
The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse, saying ‘Bhiksus and bhisusnis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith”
When the Buddha began to speak, He precisely said that was in that earlier section of prose. When I think of this statement, I really feel a sense of sorrow, a bit of sadness. It is truly hard [to read about]. During the Buddha’s time, He personally gave teachings, but His disciples, the bhiksus and bhiksunis, still “harbor overbearing arrogance”. The Buddha must have felt a sense of sadness, which causes Him to say these words.
The Buddha felt this way, and I too have felt this way. “[They] may harbor overbearing arrogance”. How can we subdue our overbearing arrogance? Others cannot help us; only we ourselves can fully understand the Dharma. Among people, there are infinite Dharma-doors. Only when we strive to fully understand all Dharma will we be able to develop our wisdom and eliminate “overbearing arrogance”.
So, this section of the sutra really breaks my heart and causes me to feel sad. How much longer could He be with His disciples? This made Him very worried, because other than those bhiksus and bhiksunis who harbored overbearing arrogance, even upasakas and upasikas, who were the lay disciples, had self-arrogance and lacked faith.
So, even during the Buddha’s lifetime, the [lack] of people who truly had faith in the Buddha was already a problem, let alone in our present era. So, we must constantly be vigilant of ourselves. When the Buddha began to speak, those who bowed to the Buddha and left were 5000 in number”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These overbearingly arrogant people did not know that they had faults. This is what the most pitiful people were like. They did not know that “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. They did not uphold the precepts, so they had imperfections. The Dharma leaked our as soon as they heard it. Thus, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. 2230
The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but hey defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
Let us discuss these precepts again. Precepts “guard against wrongs and stop evils. As we already discussed, not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. Following the precepts can make us pure, so, they “are pure and refreshing.
Precepts are called “pure and refreshing.” When we uphold the precepts, we are streams of purity. An Indonesian Muslim leader explained to me that Tzu Chi [compassion and relief], otheir language means clean and pure.
Indeed, we must uphold precepts. “Tzu Chi” aside from signifying giving with love and having great universal compassion so that we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer, also means we ourselves must uphold precepts. If we uphold them well, we will be purified.
If we adhere to precepts, our minds will be pure and refreshed. Sometimes when I see people, I say, “You seem so cool and calm. They say, “If we do not take issue with others, we will be cool and calm. This means [precepts] are pure and refreshing. We must not take issue with others or make mistakes. Then our minds will naturally be pure and undefiled, free of vexation and anger.
Anger is like a burning fire. When we lose our tempers, we feel like we are engulfed in flames. The fire of ignorance can destroy the forest of merits and virtues. So if we uphold precepts, not only will we not create evil, we will not give rise to evil thoughts, then our minds will naturally be pure and refreshed. If we can stop evil and do good deeds, we will be at peace, with a clear conscience. If we can stop all evil and not commit ant bad deeds, everything we do will be good. Then our minds will be at peace, since we have abided by the principles. This brings peace and a clear conscience.
This is a benefit of our spiritual practice, part of which is upholding precepts. So, “when the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure ad refreshed.” This comes from upholding precepts.
Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.
If we do not value precepts, our “upholding of the precepts is flawed.” Precepts are the precious raft used to cross the sea of samsara. In order to cross the sea of samsara, we need to uphold precepts. If we do not, we will surely sink. So, if we want to safely cross from the shore of afflictions, of suffering and hardship, to teach the state of Buddhahood, we must cross the river of afflictions. That requires a boat.
Precepts are like a boat; they allow us to remain safe as we cross from this shore to the other shore. If the boat is damaged, it will capsize and we will sink into the sea of samsara. So, our boat cannot have leaks or holes. If the boat leak, it will sink; that is certain. If we do not uphold precepts in our practice, we will also degenerate.
Therefore, precepts must be uphold without flaws or Leaks; only then are we upholding precepts.
Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.
Everyone, when studying the Buddha’s Way, we must follow a sequence. First, we cannot lack precepts. [By upholding] precepts, we allow our minds to receive the Dharma without letting it leak away. This helps us to safely and truly penetrate all principles, and make these principles more universal so that everyone can understand them. We must safely cross the river of afflictions ourselves, and also use a spacious heart to teach everyone to cross this river together. This is our aspiration, is it not? So everyone, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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發表主題: 回復： 20140613《靜思妙蓮華》持戒莫缺漏（第326集） 周一 6月 16, 2014 6:35 pm
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Uphold Precepts without Flaws and Leaks (持戒莫缺漏)
Date: June. 13. 2014
When we walk outside and feel a breeze, we feel peaceful and refreshed. So, we must be grateful. Though things are currently safe and peaceful, we do not know what the future holds. Regardless, we must always remain grateful and reverent. We must constantly nurture our reverence for people, matters and things. We must always foster a sense of gratitude. We ordinary people have the habitual tendency to be attached to our own thoughts and feelings, without consideration for other sentient beings. This present era really is the turbid era of Dharma-degeneration. Therefore, all of us are needed; since we have the karmic conditions to encounter the Dharma and understand it, after we understand the Buddha-Dharma, each of us must really listen to and practice it.
The Buddha-Dharma is all around us. If we do not reach out, take it in and mindfully persevere [in our practice], if we do not do this, “once our human form is lost it takes kalpas to regain.” Therefore, we must accept and uphold the Dharma. Not only must we accept and uphold it, but we must also practice it flawlessly.
“The [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom” are what we collectively cultivate. Since we have found the Dharma, we must practice the Flawless Studies, we must not allow it to leak away. Every day, we must take the Dharma to heart. The Dharma that enters our hearts is the indispensable practices of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right knowledge and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.
As we engage in spiritual practice, if we do not uphold the precepts and use them to discipline our minds, then we will quickly go astray. When we abandon precepts, we easily make mistakes. The precepts guard against wrongs and stop evils. We must always guard against ignorant thoughts arising in our minds. Without precepts, ignorance will constantly arise. With greed, we crave pleasures for ourselves. With anger, we always feel that we have been wronged by those around us. Thus, the more we think, the angrier and more resentful and become. This results from not following precepts.
So, precepts can guard against wrongs. Thoughts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are not the only things to guard against. No, we need to [watch] our every thought. Precepts are like a rope that marks a boundary. When we reach it, we know not to cross it. They are also like walls that separate the inside from the outside, the right things that we need to do from the wrong thing we must not do.
So, those who follow the rules will just see the rope without caring to step over. I often give the following example. In the past, I often visited our building sites. If people were working, they would use a rope to section off that area. When our staff saw me walking by, they would quickly take the rope down and say, “Master, please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” I still need to go around this area. He said, “what for? Please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” [They asked,] “Why? We took it down already.”Although the rope had been taken down, the boundary was still there, so I could not cross it. This is the sense spiritual practitioners must have.
Furthermore, we need to treat the precepts as a wall that we erect. Because we are ordinary sentient beings, if there is only a rope stretched our [as a marker] those who are not willing to uphold precepts can lower the rope and step over it.Since the majority of people will do this, we probably need to build a wall.A low one is still not sufficient; we must build a tall one.
Look at how tall a prison’s walls are.The walls around an ordinary house are relatively low, but prison fences are much taller.The precepts are a boundary that prevents us from making mistakes or transgressing.So, we need precepts.How can spiritual practitioners do without them?We often say, “organized with the precepts”.When we are in a group, we can be harmonious and orderly because of precepts.Precepts are for organizing ourselves, not for disciplining other people.When everyone in a group upholds precepts, the group is disciplined and can live in harmony.This is what we do with precepts.
Only with precepts can our minds be in Samadhi.Precepts create a broad and direct Bodhi-path, a very open and expansive road.This is the Bodhi-path.The Bodhi-path is very straight.If we walk on this very direct and broad path, we will not cross the boundaries.This is true mastery in our spiritual practice.Because of this, our minds can be in Samadhi.If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not deviate even slightly.This state is called Samadhi.
We must not succumb to the various phenomena around us that influence our minds.
We must continue to firmly uphold the precepts.Those who can do this have the most wisdom.But if we are without wisdom or if we lose it, that means our minds are not in Samadhi.Besides that, it shows that our minds lack precepts.
So, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are most important to spiritual practitioners.
Therefore we must “practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom”.
To study the Buddha’s Way, we must make vows.The Four Great Vows are what everyone in the Jing is Dharma-lineage must make.“I vow to enlighten countless sentient beings.”“I vow to eliminate endless afflictions.”“I vow to learn infinite Dharma-paths.”“I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.”These are vows that we must put into practice.We must transform sentient beings.
Even if they [committed] the Ten Evils and Five Offenses, we still must do all we can to transform them.We must foster everyone’s spiritual aspirations.When Bodhi-sprouts begin to grow, we must be gardeners.Nurturing a seedling is a gardener’s duty.
Whether grasses, trees or flowers, all are part of the gardener’s responsibility.
[The plants] we wish to preserve must be earnestly protected.What kind of grass should we plant?What kind of design should we create?We must be very mindful to create a beautiful landscape.
So, to engage in spiritual practice, we must make vows.If we do not have vow, we will have no plan.When we build a house, we need blueprints.To create a landscape, we need to have a site plan.People often talk about blueprints for their lives.To live our lives, we must have a plan.When we study the Buddha’s Way, we must have goals.So, all of these are “vows”.
So, these vows, aside from being blueprints in our minds, must also be put into practice.Once we draw the blueprints, we must use them to begin construction.
This is practice.Our ideals and actions cannot be separated from two things, blessings and wisdom.To attain “blessings,” we cultivate practices of loving-kindness.We must have a capacious heart.We must protect sentient beings like Mother Earth, who nurtures all things.We must embrace Mother Earth, just as she embraces all things.
This is loving-kindness.
[We must] have hearts like those of kind mothers and fathers.Buddha is the Three Realms’ Guiding Teacher, the Kind Father of the Four Kinds of Beings.Since we want to learn from the Buddha, we must learn “loving-kindness”.So, cultivating loving-kindness [brings] blessings.We must give to sentient beings and benefit humankind.We must also have “wisdom”.Only with wisdom will we not bring disorder to our lives and [societal] roles.
Since the blueprint for our lives is to engage in spiritual practice, we must have wisdom. So in learning the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we must listen, contemplate and practice. As for actualizing our vows, since we have made these vows, we must cultivate blessings and wisdom. We have must continuously practice while listening and contemplating. We must listen, then consider. Were my behavior, my thoughts and my interactions with people and matters today in accordance with what I heard today? Have I broadened my heart and embraced everything?
So, we must earnestly contemplate whether we made mistakes over the course of the day. If mistakes were made, we must quickly repent. “Repentance brings purity”. To form good karmic connections, we must listen, contemplate and practice. When we promptly take actions, we are practicing. This is how we actualize our vows.
Since we have made these vows we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice in accordance with our ideals. Only then can we “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues”. As our roots of goodness grow deeper and extend further, this tree will become stronger and sturdier. Thus, the roots goodness must be deeply rooted to create “the power of merits and virtues”. If the roots spread deep and wide, this tree will be strong. So if we work hard on this, the practices we cultivate will be very firm.
So, we must “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create power of merits and virtues”. This means we must truly and earnestly take care of our minds.
Do we have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom? Are we listening, contemplating and practicing? When we cultivate all of these things, we will attain the power of merits and virtues. Such merits and virtues also require. Right Knowledge and Right Views. We must truly understand the Buddha’s knowledge. Moreover, we must penetrate His views. Thus, we must earnestly contemplate all-encompassing wisdom and return to the pure land of our minds, which is the state of the Tathagatas; our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. If we can cultivate and attain these states, then won’t we understand the entire Lotus Sutra?
The Buddha-Dharma is that simple. But the Buddha, for the sake of sentient beings, patiently guided us over and over again. Therefore, as we discussed previously,
The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse, saying ‘Bhiksus and bhisusnis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith”
When the Buddha began to speak, He precisely said that was in that earlier section of prose. When I think of this statement, I really feel a sense of sorrow, a bit of sadness. It is truly hard [to read about]. During the Buddha’s time, He personally gave teachings, but His disciples, the bhiksus and bhiksunis, still “harbor overbearing arrogance”. The Buddha must have felt a sense of sadness, which causes Him to say these words.
The Buddha felt this way, and I too have felt this way. “[They] may harbor overbearing arrogance”. How can we subdue our overbearing arrogance? Others cannot help us; only we ourselves can fully understand the Dharma. Among people, there are infinite Dharma-doors. Only when we strive to fully understand all Dharma will we be able to develop our wisdom and eliminate “overbearing arrogance”.
So, this section of the sutra really breaks my heart and causes me to feel sad. How much longer could He be with His disciples? This made Him very worried, because other than those bhiksus and bhiksunis who harbored overbearing arrogance, even upasakas and upasikas, who were the lay disciples, had self-arrogance and lacked faith.
So, even during the Buddha’s lifetime, the [lack] of people who truly had faith in the Buddha was already a problem, let alone in our present era. So, we must constantly be vigilant of ourselves. When the Buddha began to speak, those who bowed to the Buddha and left were 5000 in number”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These 5000 people “did not see their own faults”. These overbearingly arrogant people did not know that they had faults. This is what the most pitiful people were like. They did not know that “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. They did not uphold the precepts, so they had imperfections. The Dharma leaked our as soon as they heard it. Thus, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”. 2230
The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but hey defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
Let us discuss these precepts again. Precepts “guard against wrongs and stop evils. As we already discussed, not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. Following the precepts can make us pure, so, they “are pure and refreshing.
Precepts are called “pure and refreshing.” When we uphold the precepts, we are streams of purity. An Indonesian Muslim leader explained to me that Tzu Chi [compassion and relief], otheir language means clean and pure.
Indeed, we must uphold precepts. “Tzu Chi” aside from signifying giving with love and having great universal compassion so that we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer, also means we ourselves must uphold precepts. If we uphold them well, we will be purified.
If we adhere to precepts, our minds will be pure and refreshed. Sometimes when I see people, I say, “You seem so cool and calm. They say, “If we do not take issue with others, we will be cool and calm. This means [precepts] are pure and refreshing. We must not take issue with others or make mistakes. Then our minds will naturally be pure and undefiled, free of vexation and anger.
Anger is like a burning fire. When we lose our tempers, we feel like we are engulfed in flames. The fire of ignorance can destroy the forest of merits and virtues. So if we uphold precepts, not only will we not create evil, we will not give rise to evil thoughts, then our minds will naturally be pure and refreshed. If we can stop evil and do good deeds, we will be at peace, with a clear conscience. If we can stop all evil and not commit ant bad deeds, everything we do will be good. Then our minds will be at peace, since we have abided by the principles. This brings peace and a clear conscience.
This is a benefit of our spiritual practice, part of which is upholding precepts. So, “when the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure ad refreshed.” This comes from upholding precepts.
Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.
If we do not value precepts, our “upholding of the precepts is flawed.” Precepts are the precious raft used to cross the sea of samsara. In order to cross the sea of samsara, we need to uphold precepts. If we do not, we will surely sink. So, if we want to safely cross from the shore of afflictions, of suffering and hardship, to teach the state of Buddhahood, we must cross the river of afflictions. That requires a boat.
Precepts are like a boat; they allow us to remain safe as we cross from this shore to the other shore. If the boat is damaged, it will capsize and we will sink into the sea of samsara. So, our boat cannot have leaks or holes. If the boat leak, it will sink; that is certain. If we do not uphold precepts in our practice, we will also degenerate.
Therefore, precepts must be uphold without flaws or Leaks; only then are we upholding precepts.
Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.
Everyone, when studying the Buddha’s Way, we must follow a sequence. First, we cannot lack precepts. [By upholding] precepts, we allow our minds to receive the Dharma without letting it leak away. This helps us to safely and truly penetrate all principles, and make these principles more universal so that everyone can understand them. We must safely cross the river of afflictions ourselves, and also use a spacious heart to teach everyone to cross this river together. This is our aspiration, is it not? So everyone, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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