20150609《靜思妙蓮華》承父德業利益眾生(第583集)
（法華經•譬喻品第三）
⊙「聖凡同居五趣，如來遍應三界，為一切世間父，等三界以同仁，視四生如一子，如父傳子德業。」
⊙「舍利弗，如來亦復如是，則為一切世間之父，於諸怖畏衰惱憂患、無明闇蔽，永盡無餘。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙「而悉成就無量知見，力無所畏，有大神力及智慧力，具足方便智慧波羅密，大慈大悲，常無懈倦，恆求善事，利益一切，而生三界朽故火宅。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙謂如來得無上正覺，具無上勝智，於諸眾中轉妙法輪，得大自在，故名力無所畏。
⊙力用之不可思議。神者不測之義，平等同具之慈悲智慧，願力不可思議，為眾生之增上緣，恆無休息。
⊙智慧力：謂有智慧信受正法，身心猛利，能修梵行。
【證嚴上人開示】
「聖凡同居五趣，如來遍應三界，為一切世間父，等三界以同仁，視四生如一子，如父傳子德業。」
聖凡同居五趣
如來遍應三界
為一切世間父
等三界以同仁
視四生如一子
如父傳子德業
佛陀應化人間，他是聖人、聖賢，乘真如本性來到人間，只為了一件大事情，那就是要度眾生，所以他就要來人間，和我們人間凡夫同居在這個「五趣雜居」的地方。
五趣，大家應該很清楚了，天、人、地獄、餓鬼、畜生。這五道，五道，就是由我們自己所造作善惡業，那就是結果到這個五道的地方。平時行善、我們就是十善，多造善、多造福，行善、造福，這種十善具足，當然就是到五趣中，最高的境界，就是天堂，享受天福。平時的人就是守本分，做好我們該做的事情，生活在我們平凡的人中在生活，這樣的人很多，這就是人間中的凡夫，人。
當然，也有在人間生活很辛苦，又貧窮又是病又是殘廢等等，這樣在一個家庭，這種的人生就像在地獄。或者是欠缺生活，欠缺，餓鬼的境界。
還有，不守人倫道德，不知道恩義，像這樣的人，與在畜生道也是一樣。同在一個世間，天蓋之下，地載之上，這五道的人生都在世間裡。佛陀、聖人、賢人，他目的來人間就是要教化眾生，這叫做聖人，所以聖人，和世間「五趣雜居」在一起，「聖凡同居五趣」。
所以我們要時時，看到人我們都要用尊敬的心，佛陀告訴我們，人人可成佛，人人本性都是真如永恆，人人都有，只是埋在無明之中。所以修行、學佛，就是希望一層一層的無明闇蔽，趕緊將它打開，減了一層、再減一層，層層的無明這樣將它清除掉，這個清淨智慧的光明，那就展現出來了，這就是真如。真如本性，淨如琉璃，這是人人都具有。
如來乘著這種真如之理，而來人間度眾生，所以說「如來遍應三界」。真如的理性是我們人人都有，佛陀平時運用，就是用真如的道理，這樣在人群中。三界，我們所說的「三界」，就是眾生的，欲界、色界、無色界。「無色界」就是我們的思想。思想若是淨，清淨，外面的「色」就誘引不了他，就是淨、清淨。清淨的心念就沒有「欲」，所以無欲、清淨，那就是超越三界。
佛陀教育我們，就是希望我們能夠，超越欲，心的欲界，超越了心的色界、超越了心的無色界，完全都解脫。這是佛陀來人間，對我們的教育。
所以佛陀在這個三界中，是「三界導師」、是「四生慈父」，所以火宅，這個三界如火宅，就是譬喻三界中的眾生，無不都是佛的孩子、佛的弟子，佛對眾生的疼愛是平等的，所以「等三界以同仁」，叫做一視同仁。三界內的眾生，佛陀都平等看待，所以一視同仁。
「視四生如一子」，不是對人而已，還是對一切，胎生、卵生、濕生、化生，這「四生」佛陀都疼惜。所以說「蠢動含靈皆有佛性」，他不是只對人，連一切的動物，哪怕是很微小的生命，他都疼惜。所以他「視四生如一子」，所有的生命，無不都是佛所疼愛的生命。所以「如父傳子德業」，希望我們能夠像佛陀一樣，對待天下眾生都是一樣，一視同仁，大家全都是平等的愛護。
所以，前面的(經)文，我們全都能知道，世間的長者，他對火宅內的眷屬、諸子，都是很關心，設法如何讓人人能夠脫離火宅。佛陀與此相同，所以佛陀再說，「舍利弗！如來亦復如是」，如來同樣，與那位大長者一樣，「則為一切世間之父」，如來就是世間的父母一樣。「於諸怖畏衰惱憂患、無明闇蔽，永盡無餘」。
舍利弗
如來亦復如是
則為一切世間之父
於諸怖畏衰惱憂患
無明闇蔽
永盡無餘
《法華經譬喻品第三》
所有眾生他的怖畏、驚惶，或者是衰惱，或者是擔憂、患得患失，種種這些無明闇蔽，全都將它消除。
就如火宅內，那些貪著愛玩的孩子，父親就用種種方法，將他們誘引出來，「不要還在那裡玩了，不要還在那裡沉迷，趕緊放棄那個地方，趕快出來。」如來，同樣的意思，將裡面的孩子，就如我們所有三界內的眾生，用種種方法，這些怖畏、衰惱、憂患，就如火，在那個火宅中開始發生，佛陀慢慢地誘引我們，讓我們能夠離開這種三界火宅。
就如我們的心地一樣，我們心的宅，心宅一樣。人人的心中也是一間大房子，我們這個心宅中的大房子，有這些東西存在，那就是火種，無明會發生。我們若能夠接受佛法，就如得到大白牛車一樣，我們能夠在這個三界中、在人間道上，我們能夠非常平穩向前走，不只是自度，還是能夠度化他人。這是我們學佛的目標。要脫離我們心宅中這種的無明，自然我們就能夠，慢慢體會到佛的道理，用在我們的日常生活中，無明就慢慢永盡。不留在我們的內心裡，這就是要學佛，體會佛陀所教化的道理。
接下來這段(經)文說，「而悉成就無量知見，力無所畏，有大神力及智慧力，具足方便智慧波羅密，慈大悲，常無懈倦，恆求善事，利益一切，而生三界朽故火宅。」
而悉成就無量知見
力無所畏
有大神力及智慧力
具足方便智慧
波羅密
大慈大悲
常無懈倦
恆求善事
利益一切
而生三界
朽故火宅
《法華經譬喻品第三》
已經這麼舊、敗壞的房子，這是在三界。這種的三界，就是我們的眾生心靈，我們心地的三界。
我們自久以來，就不斷這個習氣，生生世世，不知幾生世以來，這種的習氣，已經污濁了我們的心地，所以叫做「三界朽故」。已經我們的心宅，已經在敗壞了，就像那間大房子已經四面火起。這是生生世世，不斷這個習氣層層疊疊，所以眾生這個習氣，由來很久了，稱為「朽故」。已經腐敗掉了，我們人人的心，已經到達這樣的程度了，所以我們要必定趕緊接受法，佛所教育的法，譬如水，趕緊來洗滌，法水入心，來洗滌我們的內心污垢，再讓它重新清潔淨，這就是我們要趕緊，向我們自己的心。
所以，佛，佛陀來人間要來教育眾生，他需要用他的力量，所以「佛之自受用身」，因為自受用的身，就是佛陀來人間，傳下來他的身、行，這個人生的過程中，來做我們的教育，這是真實人生在人間，這樣的過程。如來他是用這樣的，和我們人一樣，父母生的、人間長大，在人群中經過了，這樣的享受、這樣的思想，然後為了要救人，要希望人人都能夠，發揮平等的觀念，所以放棄了皇宮，那就是不在享受欲念裡，從他的內心脫離了那個欲，從他的身體示範，離開了享受的皇宮，他示範，你要修行就要，經過這麼辛苦，去探討人生的道理。
他將修行的方法累積起來，人間事很徹底，如何的苦難，是如何的起心動念等等，這些事情都累積起來，已經在如來的覺海中，所以修行覺悟了，無上正覺。這在人群中，修行者的觀念，全都收入他的心、知見。然後，瞭解了天地之間的道理，收納，叫做智慧覺海，已經完全瞭解了，「得無上正覺，具無上勝智」，所以「諸眾生中轉妙法輪」，這叫做如來。如來「得大自在」，所以「名力無所畏」。
謂如來
得無上正覺
具無上勝智
於諸眾中
轉妙法輪
得大自在
故名力無所畏
如來的知見，力無所畏，因為他所看的見解，已經是很廣了，天地、宇宙萬物道理，無一不知。知道事情，心就很自在。所以因為他力、知見，都很充足，所以「有大神力及智慧力，具足方便智慧波羅密」，這就是「力用」，他的力——智慧的力量，很充足。
力用之不可思議
神者不測之義
平等同具之
慈悲智慧
願力不可思議
為眾生之增上緣
恆無休息
這個智慧到多少？我們無法去測量佛陀的智慧，佛陀智慧力量，真的是不可思議！那個智慧所瞭解，宇宙萬物真理，所以「神」，「神」就是神力。這個「神」就是精神，不是怪力亂神的「神」，是我們的精神。佛陀他的精神、理念，「不測」，無法讓我們去測量。不只是力量不可測量，就是佛陀的精神理念，我們也是很難測量。
所以「平等同具」，佛陀的精神力量，對一切眾生都是平等，這叫做慈悲。所有所有「四生」的生命，都是佛陀平等，一視同仁所珍惜的。希望我們也能學佛，像這樣，對一切的生靈一視同仁。所以，他有慈悲、智慧，再加上了願力，當然就是不可思議，這樣的精神、理念。這樣的智慧，慈悲的力量，當然就是不可思議，加上了願力，這是為眾生的增上緣，「恆」永遠永遠都不休息。
為什麼叫做眾生的增上緣？因為眾生人人佛性本具，佛陀來人間，只是為眾生一個助緣，用他的智慧、慈悲、願力，再來人間與眾生同住，共住一處，來「開、示」，眾生就要來接受，才能「悟」、「入」。所以他來人間，就是給我們成佛的增上緣。「佛性人人本具」，來告訴我們，為我們「開」、「示」，讓我們從凡夫的此地，能夠到聖人的彼岸去，所以叫做「智慧波羅密」。
用這種方便智慧來度眾生，那就是當我們的增上緣，也就是眾生的善知識，亦師亦父，這樣教導我們，無非希望我們能夠，從此岸而到彼岸去，所以叫做智慧，「方便智慧波羅密」。
智慧力：
謂有智慧
信受正法
身心猛利
能修梵行
「智慧力」，那就是信受正法，身心猛利，能修梵行。我們也是具足這個智慧力，不過，我們必定要相信佛陀的教法，我們要信受，佛陀所教的正法、道理。「身心猛利」，我們若能夠接受佛陀的教法，無明一層一層這樣將它除掉，若這樣，減少了一層的無明，就增長了一分慧命，所以，層層的無明去除，慧命就不斷增長，智慧力、願力、慈悲的力量，就一直在我們的身心勇猛起來。
「能修梵行」，付出無所求，我們的心很清淨。「梵」，就是清淨的意思。雖然你在人群中，在這個五濁惡世之中，你行菩薩道，心清淨。
所以我們要受佛教育，佛陀對弟子，就是「如父傳子德業」。父親要傳給我們的，是教你這樣經營，經營你的「志業」——你志願在人群中，你就要在人群中，如佛在愛子一樣。所以常常對大家說「佛心為己心」，這是父傳子德業。
我們若將佛在我們的內心，我們要傳佛這個道德的行動，行善、造福在人群，同時還是梵行，讓我們的心常常都清淨、無欲、無色、無煩惱。若能夠這樣，叫做超越三界，就離開我們心靈，這種的火宅，怖畏等等，煩惱、闇蔽，完全我們都能夠脫離。所以，學佛要時時多用心。
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Inheriting the Father’s Virtuous Mission (承父德業利益眾生)
Date:June.09. 2015
“Noble and unenlightened beings live together in the Five Destinies. The Tathagata responds to all in the Three Realms and serves as a father to all in the world. He treats all in the Three Realms with equal benevolence. He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son. As a father He passes on His virtuous mission to His children.”
The Buddha responds to and transforms the world. He is a noble being, a sage, and He comes on the vehicle of True Suchness to the human realm for the sake of the one great cause, which is to deliver sentient beings. This is why He comes to this world and lives among us ordinary people where the beings of the Five Destinies co-exist. You should all be clear about the Five Destinies, the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Five Realms.
The good and bad karma we have created leads us to be reborn in one of the Five Realms. If we regularly practice the Ten Good Deeds, we do many good deeds and create blessings. If we do good deeds and create blessings, if we are replete with the Ten Good Deeds, of course, this will lead us to the highest realm among the Five Destinies, which is heaven, to enjoy the blessings there.
Ordinarily, people uphold their fundamental duties and carry out the things that need to be done. They simply go about their normal lives. There are many people like this; they are the ordinary people in this world. Aside from them, in this world there are people who live very difficult lives. If people are in a family which is poor and are also dealing with illnesses, disabilities, etc., they may feel like they are living in hell. As for those who lack basic life necessities, they are in the state of hungry ghosts. As for those who do not abide by human morals, do not feel gratitude or loyalty, they are like those who live in the animal realm; this can also be in seen in this world. Under the heavens and on top of the earth, all beings of the Five Realms live in the same world.
The goal of the Buddha, noble beings and sages in coming to this world is to teach and transform all beings. This is what noble beings do.
So, noble beings live together with the beings of the Five Destinies. “Noble and unenlightened beings live together in the Five Destinies.” So, no matter who we encounter, we must approach them with respect.
The Buddha told us that everyone can attain Buddhahood because everyone has an everlasting nature of True Suchness. It is just buried under our ignorance. So, we engage in spiritual practice and learn the Buddha’s Way to quickly break open one by one those layers of the dark coverings of ignorance. We remove layer after layer, until the layers of ignorance have been cleared up. Then the light of pure wisdom begins to manifest. This is our nature of True Suchness.
The nature of True Suchness is pure as crystal, and everyone has it. The Tathagata comes on the vehicle of True Suchness to transform all beings in this world.
So it is said, “The Tathagata responds to all in the Three Realms.” Everyone has the nature of True Suchness, and the Buddha regularly applies the principles of True Suchness while He interacts with people.
The Three Realms we speak of are the desire, form and formless realms in [the minds of] sentient beings.The formless realm is that of our thinking.If our thinking is pure, no “form” in our surroundings can entice us.Thus we are pure.
A pure mind is free of “desire”.So, free of desires, we are pure.This is how we transcend the Three Realms.The Buddha taught us in the hope that we will be able to transcend the desire realm in our minds, transcend the form realm in our mind and transcend the formless realm in our minds to become completely liberated.This is what the Buddha came to this world to teach us.
Within the Three Realms, the Buddha is known as the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the four kinds of beings.The burning house is an analogy for the Three Realms, and all the sentient beings in the Three Realms are the Buddha’s children, His disciples.
The Buddha loves sentient beings equally.So, “He treats all in the Three Realms with equal benevolence.”He does not discriminate between them.All sentient beings of the Three Realms are treated equally by the Buddha, thus He does not discriminate between them.
“He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son.”
He does not only treat humans equally, but all beings, womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born and transformation-born.The Buddha loves all of the four kinds of beings.Therefore He said, “All living, moving beings have Buddha-nature.”Not only does He care for humans, He cares for all creatures, down to the smallest living beings.Thus “He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son.”
All living beings are cherished by the Buddha.“As a father, He passes on His virtuous mission to His children.”The Buddha hopes we can be like Him and treat all sentient beings the same, with equal benevolence, loving and caring for them in the same way.
From the previous sutra passage, we learned that the elder in this world cared so deeply about his children and other family members that he devised ways to help them escape the burning house.The Buddha is just like him.
So, the Buddha said, “Sariputra the Tathagata is also like this.”The Tathagata is just like this elder.“I serve as a father to all in the world.”The Tathagata is like a parent.
“[I] take all fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry, al the dark coverings of ignorance and eliminate them forever, so nothings remains.”
All of sentient beings’ fear, panic, weakness, anxiety and worry about gain and loss, all these dark coverings of ignorance, are completely eliminated [by the Tathagata].
Similar, when the children stayed in the burning house to enjoy their games, their father used various methods to draw them out, saying, “Do not keep playing in there. Do not remain in that confusion. Leave that place right away and come out now.”
The Tathagata, in the same way, uses various methods to draw out the children inside, who are all the sentient beings of the Three Realms.
Our fears, weaknesses and worries are like the fire.When the fire starts blazing around the house, the Buddha slowly draws us out to help us escape the burning house of the Three Realms.The same things are happening in our minds.
Our mind is our spiritual home; in everyone’s minds, there is also a great house.In this house in our minds, our spiritual home, these [negative emotions] are like sparks of fire that can start a blaze.If we are able to accept the Buddha-Dharma, that is like acquiring the cart drawn by the great white ox.Then we will be able to travel smoothly and steadily advance on this path as humans in the Three Realms.
Not only must we transform ourselves, we must also transform others.This is our goal as Buddhist practitioners.
If we can transcend the ignorance in our minds, naturally we will be able to gradually realize the principles of the Buddha and apply them in our daily living.By slowly putting an end to our ignorance forever, it will no longer remain in our minds.This is why we must learn the Buddha’s teachings and comprehend the principles He taught.
The next sutra passage states, “[The Tathagata] perfects infinite views and understanding, powers and fearlessness, great spiritual powers and powers of wisdom.”“He is replete with the wisdom of skillful means and the Paramitas. He has great loving-kindness and compassion, and is never indolent or tired. He always seeks out good deeds to benefit all and thus is born in the decaying, burning house of the Three Realms.”
This house in the Three realms is already old and decaying. Here, the “Three Realms” refer to the Three Realms that exist in our minds. For a very long time, our habitual tendencies have been with us. For countless lifetimes these habitual tendencies have already polluted our minds. Thus, this is “the decaying…Three Realms”. Already, the home in our minds is decaying, like the burning house with fires on all sides. This is because, lifetime after lifetime, we have accumulated layers of habitual tendencies. Having had these habitual tendencies for a long time, we say our mind is “decaying”. It has already deteriorated.
All of our minds have reached this point, so we must accept the Dharma right away. The Dharma taught by the Buddha is like water. We must cleanse our minds right away, so we need Dharma-water in our hearts to wash away the impurities within our minds. Then our minds will be pure again. This is what we must immediately do in our minds.
When the Buddha came to this world to teach sentient beings, He needed to exercise His power. So, He manifested a body to exercise this power. This body that exercised the teachings was the legacy of conduct that the Buddha passed down when He came to the world. The way He lived is a teaching for us. This is the way life can truly be lived in the world. Over the course of His life, the Tathagata lived the same way that we do. He was born to parents and grew up in this world. He spent time in the world first enjoying luxury then contemplating [suffering]. Then, for the sake of saving people and in the hope that we can treat everyone equally, he abandoned his life in the palace. In this way, he no longer enjoyed those objects of desire. He had transcended the desires in his mind. With his body, he demonstrated how one can leave the pleasures of the palace.
He demonstrated that, to engage in spiritual practice, we must go through an arduous process of delving into the principles of life. He collected the methods of spiritual cultivation. He thoroughly analyzed how people suffered, how thoughts stirred in their minds, etc. all these principles were accumulated within the Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment. Through spiritual practice, he became awakened and achieved supreme and perfect enlightenment.
While interacting with people, everything he learned as a spiritual practitioner was absorbed into his views and understanding. After he grasped the principles of the world, he absorbed them into his ocean of enlightened wisdom. Having understood everything, He “attained supreme, perfect enlightenment and was replete with unsurpassed, extraordinary wisdom”. Then, “For all sentient beings, He turns the wondrous Dharma-wheel”.
This is what makes Him the Tathagata. The Tathagata “is perfectly at ease. Thus He has the powers and fearlessness”.
Because of His views and understanding, the Tathagata has powers and fearlessness. He has seen and understood so much. He knows the truths of all things in the universe; nothing was unknown to Him. With His understanding of things, He is at ease. Because the Buddha’s powers, understanding and views are very complete, He has “great spiritual powers and powers of wisdom. He is replete with the wisdom of skillful means and the Paramitas”. These are “the powers exercised by the Buddha. His powers and the power of His wisdom are very complete.
“The powers exercised by the Buddha are inconceivable. They are “spiritual” because they are unfathomable. He inherently treats everyone equally, with compassion and wisdom. The power of His vows is inconceivable. To create favorable assisting conditions, He never ceases in His efforts”.
What was the extent of His wisdom? We have no way of fathoming it. The power of the Buddha’s wisdom is truly inconceivable. He has the wisdom to understand the truths of all things in the universe.
So, we call these His “spiritual powers”. “Spiritual” refers to His spirit and not a strange supernatural power. This power comes from our spirit. The Buddha’s spirit and ideals are unfathomable; we cannot understand them. Not only is His power unfathomable, His spirit and ideals are also hard to fathom. The Buddha “inherently treats everyone equally”. He applies His spiritual powers equally towards all sentient beings. This shows His compassion.
Every single one of the four kinds of beings is equal in the eyes of the Buddha He cherishes all beings with equal benevolence.
I hope we can learn from the Buddha how to treat all living beings with equal benevolence. The Buddha has compassion and wisdom, and when the power of His vows are added to that , of course. [His state] is inconceivable. With the kind of spirit and ideals that He has, and the power of His wisdom and compassion, of course [His state] is inconceivable. By adding the power of His vows, He creates favorable assisting conditions for all and never ceases in His efforts or takes a break.
Why is it said that He creates favorable assisting conditions? Because sentient beings inherently have Buddha-nature, the Buddha comes to the world only for the sake of providing them with assisting conditions.By means of His wisdom, compassion and the power of His vows. He comes to this world to live among all beings Living here together with us, He “opened and revealed” teachings so sentient beings must accept them so we can “realize and enter.”
Therefore, He came to this world to create favorable assisting conditions for us to attain Buddhahood. “Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature.”This is what He came to tell us, to “open and reveal” to us, so we can go from the state of ordinary beings to the other shore, the state of noble beings to the other shore, the state of noble beings. This is done with wisdom and the paramitas.
By transforming us with skillful wisdom, He crates favorable assisting conditions for us. Thus He is also our virtuous friend. As both our teacher and father, He guides and teaches us solely in the hope that we will be able to cross from this shore to the other shore. He does this with wisdom, “with the wisdom of skillful means and paramitas.”
With “power of wisdom” one can “have faith in and accept Right Dharma.” “With fierce determination, one cultivates purifying practices in body and mind.”
We are also endowed with these powers of wisdom. However, we must have faith in the Buddha’s teachings. We must believe and accept the principles and the Right Dharma He taught. “With fierce determination…in body and mind, when we can accept the Buddha’s teachings, we can eliminate our ignorance, layer by layer” we can eliminate our ignorance, layer by layer. In this way, by reducing each layer of ignorance we can develop our wisdom-life more.
Therefore, as we clear away layers of ignorance, our wisdom-life will continue to grow.Our powers of wisdom, vows and compassion will empower our body and mind to cultivate purifying practice.
When we give without expectations, our minds become very pure. Purifying practices. Purifying practices bring purity. Although we live among people in this evil world of Five Turbidities, by walking the Bodhisattva-path, we purify our minds.
So, we must accept the Buddha’s teaching. To His disciples, the Buddha is like “a father passes on His virtuous mission to His children.” The legacy our father wants to leave us is teaching us how to manage our “mission.” Since our vows are go to into the world, we must remain among the people and love them as the Buddha loves His children.
I constantly tell everyone, “We must take the Buddha’s mind as our mind, for He has passed on His virtuous mission to us.” If the Buddha is in our minds, we will carry on His virtuous actions by doing good deeds and benefiting others while also cultivating purifying practice. This helps our minds constantly remain pure, free of desire, forms and afflictions. If we can achieve this state, we can transcend the Three Realms. We can leave behind the burning house in our minds and all our fears, etc. Our afflictions and dark coverings will all be left behind.
So, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
（法華經•譬喻品第三）
⊙「聖凡同居五趣，如來遍應三界，為一切世間父，等三界以同仁，視四生如一子，如父傳子德業。」
⊙「舍利弗，如來亦復如是，則為一切世間之父，於諸怖畏衰惱憂患、無明闇蔽，永盡無餘。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙「而悉成就無量知見，力無所畏，有大神力及智慧力，具足方便智慧波羅密，大慈大悲，常無懈倦，恆求善事，利益一切，而生三界朽故火宅。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙謂如來得無上正覺，具無上勝智，於諸眾中轉妙法輪，得大自在，故名力無所畏。
⊙力用之不可思議。神者不測之義，平等同具之慈悲智慧，願力不可思議，為眾生之增上緣，恆無休息。
⊙智慧力：謂有智慧信受正法，身心猛利，能修梵行。
【證嚴上人開示】
「聖凡同居五趣，如來遍應三界，為一切世間父，等三界以同仁，視四生如一子，如父傳子德業。」
聖凡同居五趣
如來遍應三界
為一切世間父
等三界以同仁
視四生如一子
如父傳子德業
佛陀應化人間，他是聖人、聖賢，乘真如本性來到人間，只為了一件大事情，那就是要度眾生，所以他就要來人間，和我們人間凡夫同居在這個「五趣雜居」的地方。
五趣，大家應該很清楚了，天、人、地獄、餓鬼、畜生。這五道，五道，就是由我們自己所造作善惡業，那就是結果到這個五道的地方。平時行善、我們就是十善，多造善、多造福，行善、造福，這種十善具足，當然就是到五趣中，最高的境界，就是天堂，享受天福。平時的人就是守本分，做好我們該做的事情，生活在我們平凡的人中在生活，這樣的人很多，這就是人間中的凡夫，人。
當然，也有在人間生活很辛苦，又貧窮又是病又是殘廢等等，這樣在一個家庭，這種的人生就像在地獄。或者是欠缺生活，欠缺，餓鬼的境界。
還有，不守人倫道德，不知道恩義，像這樣的人，與在畜生道也是一樣。同在一個世間，天蓋之下，地載之上，這五道的人生都在世間裡。佛陀、聖人、賢人，他目的來人間就是要教化眾生，這叫做聖人，所以聖人，和世間「五趣雜居」在一起，「聖凡同居五趣」。
所以我們要時時，看到人我們都要用尊敬的心，佛陀告訴我們，人人可成佛，人人本性都是真如永恆，人人都有，只是埋在無明之中。所以修行、學佛，就是希望一層一層的無明闇蔽，趕緊將它打開，減了一層、再減一層，層層的無明這樣將它清除掉，這個清淨智慧的光明，那就展現出來了，這就是真如。真如本性，淨如琉璃，這是人人都具有。
如來乘著這種真如之理，而來人間度眾生，所以說「如來遍應三界」。真如的理性是我們人人都有，佛陀平時運用，就是用真如的道理，這樣在人群中。三界，我們所說的「三界」，就是眾生的，欲界、色界、無色界。「無色界」就是我們的思想。思想若是淨，清淨，外面的「色」就誘引不了他，就是淨、清淨。清淨的心念就沒有「欲」，所以無欲、清淨，那就是超越三界。
佛陀教育我們，就是希望我們能夠，超越欲，心的欲界，超越了心的色界、超越了心的無色界，完全都解脫。這是佛陀來人間，對我們的教育。
所以佛陀在這個三界中，是「三界導師」、是「四生慈父」，所以火宅，這個三界如火宅，就是譬喻三界中的眾生，無不都是佛的孩子、佛的弟子，佛對眾生的疼愛是平等的，所以「等三界以同仁」，叫做一視同仁。三界內的眾生，佛陀都平等看待，所以一視同仁。
「視四生如一子」，不是對人而已，還是對一切，胎生、卵生、濕生、化生，這「四生」佛陀都疼惜。所以說「蠢動含靈皆有佛性」，他不是只對人，連一切的動物，哪怕是很微小的生命，他都疼惜。所以他「視四生如一子」，所有的生命，無不都是佛所疼愛的生命。所以「如父傳子德業」，希望我們能夠像佛陀一樣，對待天下眾生都是一樣，一視同仁，大家全都是平等的愛護。
所以，前面的(經)文，我們全都能知道，世間的長者，他對火宅內的眷屬、諸子，都是很關心，設法如何讓人人能夠脫離火宅。佛陀與此相同，所以佛陀再說，「舍利弗！如來亦復如是」，如來同樣，與那位大長者一樣，「則為一切世間之父」，如來就是世間的父母一樣。「於諸怖畏衰惱憂患、無明闇蔽，永盡無餘」。
舍利弗
如來亦復如是
則為一切世間之父
於諸怖畏衰惱憂患
無明闇蔽
永盡無餘
《法華經譬喻品第三》
所有眾生他的怖畏、驚惶，或者是衰惱，或者是擔憂、患得患失，種種這些無明闇蔽，全都將它消除。
就如火宅內，那些貪著愛玩的孩子，父親就用種種方法，將他們誘引出來，「不要還在那裡玩了，不要還在那裡沉迷，趕緊放棄那個地方，趕快出來。」如來，同樣的意思，將裡面的孩子，就如我們所有三界內的眾生，用種種方法，這些怖畏、衰惱、憂患，就如火，在那個火宅中開始發生，佛陀慢慢地誘引我們，讓我們能夠離開這種三界火宅。
就如我們的心地一樣，我們心的宅，心宅一樣。人人的心中也是一間大房子，我們這個心宅中的大房子，有這些東西存在，那就是火種，無明會發生。我們若能夠接受佛法，就如得到大白牛車一樣，我們能夠在這個三界中、在人間道上，我們能夠非常平穩向前走，不只是自度，還是能夠度化他人。這是我們學佛的目標。要脫離我們心宅中這種的無明，自然我們就能夠，慢慢體會到佛的道理，用在我們的日常生活中，無明就慢慢永盡。不留在我們的內心裡，這就是要學佛，體會佛陀所教化的道理。
接下來這段(經)文說，「而悉成就無量知見，力無所畏，有大神力及智慧力，具足方便智慧波羅密，慈大悲，常無懈倦，恆求善事，利益一切，而生三界朽故火宅。」
而悉成就無量知見
力無所畏
有大神力及智慧力
具足方便智慧
波羅密
大慈大悲
常無懈倦
恆求善事
利益一切
而生三界
朽故火宅
《法華經譬喻品第三》
已經這麼舊、敗壞的房子，這是在三界。這種的三界，就是我們的眾生心靈，我們心地的三界。
我們自久以來，就不斷這個習氣，生生世世，不知幾生世以來，這種的習氣，已經污濁了我們的心地，所以叫做「三界朽故」。已經我們的心宅，已經在敗壞了，就像那間大房子已經四面火起。這是生生世世，不斷這個習氣層層疊疊，所以眾生這個習氣，由來很久了，稱為「朽故」。已經腐敗掉了，我們人人的心，已經到達這樣的程度了，所以我們要必定趕緊接受法，佛所教育的法，譬如水，趕緊來洗滌，法水入心，來洗滌我們的內心污垢，再讓它重新清潔淨，這就是我們要趕緊，向我們自己的心。
所以，佛，佛陀來人間要來教育眾生，他需要用他的力量，所以「佛之自受用身」，因為自受用的身，就是佛陀來人間，傳下來他的身、行，這個人生的過程中，來做我們的教育，這是真實人生在人間，這樣的過程。如來他是用這樣的，和我們人一樣，父母生的、人間長大，在人群中經過了，這樣的享受、這樣的思想，然後為了要救人，要希望人人都能夠，發揮平等的觀念，所以放棄了皇宮，那就是不在享受欲念裡，從他的內心脫離了那個欲，從他的身體示範，離開了享受的皇宮，他示範，你要修行就要，經過這麼辛苦，去探討人生的道理。
他將修行的方法累積起來，人間事很徹底，如何的苦難，是如何的起心動念等等，這些事情都累積起來，已經在如來的覺海中，所以修行覺悟了，無上正覺。這在人群中，修行者的觀念，全都收入他的心、知見。然後，瞭解了天地之間的道理，收納，叫做智慧覺海，已經完全瞭解了，「得無上正覺，具無上勝智」，所以「諸眾生中轉妙法輪」，這叫做如來。如來「得大自在」，所以「名力無所畏」。
謂如來
得無上正覺
具無上勝智
於諸眾中
轉妙法輪
得大自在
故名力無所畏
如來的知見，力無所畏，因為他所看的見解，已經是很廣了，天地、宇宙萬物道理，無一不知。知道事情，心就很自在。所以因為他力、知見，都很充足，所以「有大神力及智慧力，具足方便智慧波羅密」，這就是「力用」，他的力——智慧的力量，很充足。
力用之不可思議
神者不測之義
平等同具之
慈悲智慧
願力不可思議
為眾生之增上緣
恆無休息
這個智慧到多少？我們無法去測量佛陀的智慧，佛陀智慧力量，真的是不可思議！那個智慧所瞭解，宇宙萬物真理，所以「神」，「神」就是神力。這個「神」就是精神，不是怪力亂神的「神」，是我們的精神。佛陀他的精神、理念，「不測」，無法讓我們去測量。不只是力量不可測量，就是佛陀的精神理念，我們也是很難測量。
所以「平等同具」，佛陀的精神力量，對一切眾生都是平等，這叫做慈悲。所有所有「四生」的生命，都是佛陀平等，一視同仁所珍惜的。希望我們也能學佛，像這樣，對一切的生靈一視同仁。所以，他有慈悲、智慧，再加上了願力，當然就是不可思議，這樣的精神、理念。這樣的智慧，慈悲的力量，當然就是不可思議，加上了願力，這是為眾生的增上緣，「恆」永遠永遠都不休息。
為什麼叫做眾生的增上緣？因為眾生人人佛性本具，佛陀來人間，只是為眾生一個助緣，用他的智慧、慈悲、願力，再來人間與眾生同住，共住一處，來「開、示」，眾生就要來接受，才能「悟」、「入」。所以他來人間，就是給我們成佛的增上緣。「佛性人人本具」，來告訴我們，為我們「開」、「示」，讓我們從凡夫的此地，能夠到聖人的彼岸去，所以叫做「智慧波羅密」。
用這種方便智慧來度眾生，那就是當我們的增上緣，也就是眾生的善知識，亦師亦父，這樣教導我們，無非希望我們能夠，從此岸而到彼岸去，所以叫做智慧，「方便智慧波羅密」。
智慧力：
謂有智慧
信受正法
身心猛利
能修梵行
「智慧力」，那就是信受正法，身心猛利，能修梵行。我們也是具足這個智慧力，不過，我們必定要相信佛陀的教法，我們要信受，佛陀所教的正法、道理。「身心猛利」，我們若能夠接受佛陀的教法，無明一層一層這樣將它除掉，若這樣，減少了一層的無明，就增長了一分慧命，所以，層層的無明去除，慧命就不斷增長，智慧力、願力、慈悲的力量，就一直在我們的身心勇猛起來。
「能修梵行」，付出無所求，我們的心很清淨。「梵」，就是清淨的意思。雖然你在人群中，在這個五濁惡世之中，你行菩薩道，心清淨。
所以我們要受佛教育，佛陀對弟子，就是「如父傳子德業」。父親要傳給我們的，是教你這樣經營，經營你的「志業」——你志願在人群中，你就要在人群中，如佛在愛子一樣。所以常常對大家說「佛心為己心」，這是父傳子德業。
我們若將佛在我們的內心，我們要傳佛這個道德的行動，行善、造福在人群，同時還是梵行，讓我們的心常常都清淨、無欲、無色、無煩惱。若能夠這樣，叫做超越三界，就離開我們心靈，這種的火宅，怖畏等等，煩惱、闇蔽，完全我們都能夠脫離。所以，學佛要時時多用心。
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Inheriting the Father’s Virtuous Mission (承父德業利益眾生)
Date:June.09. 2015
“Noble and unenlightened beings live together in the Five Destinies. The Tathagata responds to all in the Three Realms and serves as a father to all in the world. He treats all in the Three Realms with equal benevolence. He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son. As a father He passes on His virtuous mission to His children.”
The Buddha responds to and transforms the world. He is a noble being, a sage, and He comes on the vehicle of True Suchness to the human realm for the sake of the one great cause, which is to deliver sentient beings. This is why He comes to this world and lives among us ordinary people where the beings of the Five Destinies co-exist. You should all be clear about the Five Destinies, the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Five Realms.
The good and bad karma we have created leads us to be reborn in one of the Five Realms. If we regularly practice the Ten Good Deeds, we do many good deeds and create blessings. If we do good deeds and create blessings, if we are replete with the Ten Good Deeds, of course, this will lead us to the highest realm among the Five Destinies, which is heaven, to enjoy the blessings there.
Ordinarily, people uphold their fundamental duties and carry out the things that need to be done. They simply go about their normal lives. There are many people like this; they are the ordinary people in this world. Aside from them, in this world there are people who live very difficult lives. If people are in a family which is poor and are also dealing with illnesses, disabilities, etc., they may feel like they are living in hell. As for those who lack basic life necessities, they are in the state of hungry ghosts. As for those who do not abide by human morals, do not feel gratitude or loyalty, they are like those who live in the animal realm; this can also be in seen in this world. Under the heavens and on top of the earth, all beings of the Five Realms live in the same world.
The goal of the Buddha, noble beings and sages in coming to this world is to teach and transform all beings. This is what noble beings do.
So, noble beings live together with the beings of the Five Destinies. “Noble and unenlightened beings live together in the Five Destinies.” So, no matter who we encounter, we must approach them with respect.
The Buddha told us that everyone can attain Buddhahood because everyone has an everlasting nature of True Suchness. It is just buried under our ignorance. So, we engage in spiritual practice and learn the Buddha’s Way to quickly break open one by one those layers of the dark coverings of ignorance. We remove layer after layer, until the layers of ignorance have been cleared up. Then the light of pure wisdom begins to manifest. This is our nature of True Suchness.
The nature of True Suchness is pure as crystal, and everyone has it. The Tathagata comes on the vehicle of True Suchness to transform all beings in this world.
So it is said, “The Tathagata responds to all in the Three Realms.” Everyone has the nature of True Suchness, and the Buddha regularly applies the principles of True Suchness while He interacts with people.
The Three Realms we speak of are the desire, form and formless realms in [the minds of] sentient beings.The formless realm is that of our thinking.If our thinking is pure, no “form” in our surroundings can entice us.Thus we are pure.
A pure mind is free of “desire”.So, free of desires, we are pure.This is how we transcend the Three Realms.The Buddha taught us in the hope that we will be able to transcend the desire realm in our minds, transcend the form realm in our mind and transcend the formless realm in our minds to become completely liberated.This is what the Buddha came to this world to teach us.
Within the Three Realms, the Buddha is known as the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the four kinds of beings.The burning house is an analogy for the Three Realms, and all the sentient beings in the Three Realms are the Buddha’s children, His disciples.
The Buddha loves sentient beings equally.So, “He treats all in the Three Realms with equal benevolence.”He does not discriminate between them.All sentient beings of the Three Realms are treated equally by the Buddha, thus He does not discriminate between them.
“He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son.”
He does not only treat humans equally, but all beings, womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born and transformation-born.The Buddha loves all of the four kinds of beings.Therefore He said, “All living, moving beings have Buddha-nature.”Not only does He care for humans, He cares for all creatures, down to the smallest living beings.Thus “He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son.”
All living beings are cherished by the Buddha.“As a father, He passes on His virtuous mission to His children.”The Buddha hopes we can be like Him and treat all sentient beings the same, with equal benevolence, loving and caring for them in the same way.
From the previous sutra passage, we learned that the elder in this world cared so deeply about his children and other family members that he devised ways to help them escape the burning house.The Buddha is just like him.
So, the Buddha said, “Sariputra the Tathagata is also like this.”The Tathagata is just like this elder.“I serve as a father to all in the world.”The Tathagata is like a parent.
“[I] take all fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry, al the dark coverings of ignorance and eliminate them forever, so nothings remains.”
All of sentient beings’ fear, panic, weakness, anxiety and worry about gain and loss, all these dark coverings of ignorance, are completely eliminated [by the Tathagata].
Similar, when the children stayed in the burning house to enjoy their games, their father used various methods to draw them out, saying, “Do not keep playing in there. Do not remain in that confusion. Leave that place right away and come out now.”
The Tathagata, in the same way, uses various methods to draw out the children inside, who are all the sentient beings of the Three Realms.
Our fears, weaknesses and worries are like the fire.When the fire starts blazing around the house, the Buddha slowly draws us out to help us escape the burning house of the Three Realms.The same things are happening in our minds.
Our mind is our spiritual home; in everyone’s minds, there is also a great house.In this house in our minds, our spiritual home, these [negative emotions] are like sparks of fire that can start a blaze.If we are able to accept the Buddha-Dharma, that is like acquiring the cart drawn by the great white ox.Then we will be able to travel smoothly and steadily advance on this path as humans in the Three Realms.
Not only must we transform ourselves, we must also transform others.This is our goal as Buddhist practitioners.
If we can transcend the ignorance in our minds, naturally we will be able to gradually realize the principles of the Buddha and apply them in our daily living.By slowly putting an end to our ignorance forever, it will no longer remain in our minds.This is why we must learn the Buddha’s teachings and comprehend the principles He taught.
The next sutra passage states, “[The Tathagata] perfects infinite views and understanding, powers and fearlessness, great spiritual powers and powers of wisdom.”“He is replete with the wisdom of skillful means and the Paramitas. He has great loving-kindness and compassion, and is never indolent or tired. He always seeks out good deeds to benefit all and thus is born in the decaying, burning house of the Three Realms.”
This house in the Three realms is already old and decaying. Here, the “Three Realms” refer to the Three Realms that exist in our minds. For a very long time, our habitual tendencies have been with us. For countless lifetimes these habitual tendencies have already polluted our minds. Thus, this is “the decaying…Three Realms”. Already, the home in our minds is decaying, like the burning house with fires on all sides. This is because, lifetime after lifetime, we have accumulated layers of habitual tendencies. Having had these habitual tendencies for a long time, we say our mind is “decaying”. It has already deteriorated.
All of our minds have reached this point, so we must accept the Dharma right away. The Dharma taught by the Buddha is like water. We must cleanse our minds right away, so we need Dharma-water in our hearts to wash away the impurities within our minds. Then our minds will be pure again. This is what we must immediately do in our minds.
When the Buddha came to this world to teach sentient beings, He needed to exercise His power. So, He manifested a body to exercise this power. This body that exercised the teachings was the legacy of conduct that the Buddha passed down when He came to the world. The way He lived is a teaching for us. This is the way life can truly be lived in the world. Over the course of His life, the Tathagata lived the same way that we do. He was born to parents and grew up in this world. He spent time in the world first enjoying luxury then contemplating [suffering]. Then, for the sake of saving people and in the hope that we can treat everyone equally, he abandoned his life in the palace. In this way, he no longer enjoyed those objects of desire. He had transcended the desires in his mind. With his body, he demonstrated how one can leave the pleasures of the palace.
He demonstrated that, to engage in spiritual practice, we must go through an arduous process of delving into the principles of life. He collected the methods of spiritual cultivation. He thoroughly analyzed how people suffered, how thoughts stirred in their minds, etc. all these principles were accumulated within the Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment. Through spiritual practice, he became awakened and achieved supreme and perfect enlightenment.
While interacting with people, everything he learned as a spiritual practitioner was absorbed into his views and understanding. After he grasped the principles of the world, he absorbed them into his ocean of enlightened wisdom. Having understood everything, He “attained supreme, perfect enlightenment and was replete with unsurpassed, extraordinary wisdom”. Then, “For all sentient beings, He turns the wondrous Dharma-wheel”.
This is what makes Him the Tathagata. The Tathagata “is perfectly at ease. Thus He has the powers and fearlessness”.
Because of His views and understanding, the Tathagata has powers and fearlessness. He has seen and understood so much. He knows the truths of all things in the universe; nothing was unknown to Him. With His understanding of things, He is at ease. Because the Buddha’s powers, understanding and views are very complete, He has “great spiritual powers and powers of wisdom. He is replete with the wisdom of skillful means and the Paramitas”. These are “the powers exercised by the Buddha. His powers and the power of His wisdom are very complete.
“The powers exercised by the Buddha are inconceivable. They are “spiritual” because they are unfathomable. He inherently treats everyone equally, with compassion and wisdom. The power of His vows is inconceivable. To create favorable assisting conditions, He never ceases in His efforts”.
What was the extent of His wisdom? We have no way of fathoming it. The power of the Buddha’s wisdom is truly inconceivable. He has the wisdom to understand the truths of all things in the universe.
So, we call these His “spiritual powers”. “Spiritual” refers to His spirit and not a strange supernatural power. This power comes from our spirit. The Buddha’s spirit and ideals are unfathomable; we cannot understand them. Not only is His power unfathomable, His spirit and ideals are also hard to fathom. The Buddha “inherently treats everyone equally”. He applies His spiritual powers equally towards all sentient beings. This shows His compassion.
Every single one of the four kinds of beings is equal in the eyes of the Buddha He cherishes all beings with equal benevolence.
I hope we can learn from the Buddha how to treat all living beings with equal benevolence. The Buddha has compassion and wisdom, and when the power of His vows are added to that , of course. [His state] is inconceivable. With the kind of spirit and ideals that He has, and the power of His wisdom and compassion, of course [His state] is inconceivable. By adding the power of His vows, He creates favorable assisting conditions for all and never ceases in His efforts or takes a break.
Why is it said that He creates favorable assisting conditions? Because sentient beings inherently have Buddha-nature, the Buddha comes to the world only for the sake of providing them with assisting conditions.By means of His wisdom, compassion and the power of His vows. He comes to this world to live among all beings Living here together with us, He “opened and revealed” teachings so sentient beings must accept them so we can “realize and enter.”
Therefore, He came to this world to create favorable assisting conditions for us to attain Buddhahood. “Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature.”This is what He came to tell us, to “open and reveal” to us, so we can go from the state of ordinary beings to the other shore, the state of noble beings to the other shore, the state of noble beings. This is done with wisdom and the paramitas.
By transforming us with skillful wisdom, He crates favorable assisting conditions for us. Thus He is also our virtuous friend. As both our teacher and father, He guides and teaches us solely in the hope that we will be able to cross from this shore to the other shore. He does this with wisdom, “with the wisdom of skillful means and paramitas.”
With “power of wisdom” one can “have faith in and accept Right Dharma.” “With fierce determination, one cultivates purifying practices in body and mind.”
We are also endowed with these powers of wisdom. However, we must have faith in the Buddha’s teachings. We must believe and accept the principles and the Right Dharma He taught. “With fierce determination…in body and mind, when we can accept the Buddha’s teachings, we can eliminate our ignorance, layer by layer” we can eliminate our ignorance, layer by layer. In this way, by reducing each layer of ignorance we can develop our wisdom-life more.
Therefore, as we clear away layers of ignorance, our wisdom-life will continue to grow.Our powers of wisdom, vows and compassion will empower our body and mind to cultivate purifying practice.
When we give without expectations, our minds become very pure. Purifying practices. Purifying practices bring purity. Although we live among people in this evil world of Five Turbidities, by walking the Bodhisattva-path, we purify our minds.
So, we must accept the Buddha’s teaching. To His disciples, the Buddha is like “a father passes on His virtuous mission to His children.” The legacy our father wants to leave us is teaching us how to manage our “mission.” Since our vows are go to into the world, we must remain among the people and love them as the Buddha loves His children.
I constantly tell everyone, “We must take the Buddha’s mind as our mind, for He has passed on His virtuous mission to us.” If the Buddha is in our minds, we will carry on His virtuous actions by doing good deeds and benefiting others while also cultivating purifying practice. This helps our minds constantly remain pure, free of desire, forms and afflictions. If we can achieve this state, we can transcend the Three Realms. We can leave behind the burning house in our minds and all our fears, etc. Our afflictions and dark coverings will all be left behind.
So, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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