The Realm of Faith
Friday, February 21, 2025
学习户田第二代会长的指导 【更賜壽命】 — 最後的天子魔才是成佛的最大強敵
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
The Liturgy of SGI —— excerpts from 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra
CHAPTER 2.
Expedient Means.
At that time the world-honored one calmly arose from his samadhi and addressed Shariputra, saying: "The wisdom of the buddhas is infinitely profound and immeasurable. The door to this wisdom is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. Not one of the voice-hearers or pratyekabuddhas is able to comprehend it.
"What is the reason for this? The buddhas have personally attended a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a million, a countless number of buddhas and have fully carried out an immeasurable number of buddhas' ways and doctrines. They have exerted themselves bravely and vigorously, and their names are universally known. They have realized the Law that is profound and never known before, and preach it in accordance with what is appropriate, yet their intentions are difficult to understand.
"Shariputra, ever since I attained buddhahood I have through various causes and various similes widely expounded my teachings and have used countless expedient means to guide living beings and cause them to renounce their attachments. Why is this? Because the thus come ones are fully possessed of both expedient means and the paramita of wisdom.
"Shariputra, the wisdom of the thus come ones is expansive and profound. They have immeasurable [compassion], unlimited [eloquence], power, fearlessness, concentration, emancipation, P.57and samadhis, and have deeply entered the boundless and awakened to the Law never before attained.
"Shariputra, the thus come ones know how to make various distinctions and to expound the teachings skillfully. Their words are soft and gentle and can delight the hearts of the assembly.
"Shariputra, to sum it up: the buddhas have fully realized the Law that is limitless, boundless, never attained before.
"But stop, Shariputra, I will say no more. Why? Because what the buddhas have achieved is the rarest and most difficult-to-understand Law. The true aspect of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between buddhas. This reality consists of the appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, internal cause, relation, latent effect, manifest effect, and their consistency from beginning to end."
____
265CHAPTER 16
The Life Span of the Thus Come One
Since I attained buddhahood
the number of kalpas that have passed
is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands,
millions, trillions, asamkhyas.
Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting
countless millions of living beings,
causing them to enter the buddha way,
all this for immeasurable kalpas.
In order to save living beings,
P.271as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana
but in truth I do not pass into extinction.
I am always here, preaching the Law.
I am always here,
but through my transcendental powers
I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement
do not see me even when close by.
When the multitude sees that I have passed into extinction,
far and wide they offer alms to my relics.
All harbor thoughts of yearning
and in their minds thirst to gaze at me.
When living beings have become truly faithful,
honest and upright, gentle in intent,
single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha,
not hesitating even if it costs them their lives,
then I and the assembly of monks
appear together on Holy Eagle Peak.
At that time I tell the living beings
that I am always here, never entering extinction,
but that because of the power of expedient means
at times I appear to be extinct, at other times not,
and that if there are living beings in other lands
who are reverent and sincere in their wish to believe,
then among them too
I will preach the unsurpassed Law.
But you have not heard of this,
so you suppose that I enter extinction.
When I look at living beings
I see them drowned in a sea of suffering;
therefore I do not show myself,
causing them to thirst for me.
Then when their minds are filled with yearning,
at last I appear and preach the Law for them.
Such are my transcendental powers.
For asamkhya kalpas
constantly I have dwelled on Holy Eagle Peak
and in various other places.
P.272When living beings witness the end of a kalpa
and all is consumed in a great fire,
this, my land, remains safe and tranquil,
constantly filled with heavenly and human beings.
The halls and pavilions in its gardens and groves
are adorned with various kinds of gems.
Jeweled trees abound in flowers and fruit
where living beings enjoy themselves at ease.
The gods strike heavenly drums,
constantly making many kinds of music.
Mandarava blossoms rain down,
scattering over the Buddha and the great assembly.
My pure land is not destroyed,
yet the multitude sees it as consumed in fire,
with anxiety, fear, and other sufferings
filling it everywhere.
These living beings with their various offenses,
through causes arising from their evil actions,
spend asamkhya kalpas
without hearing the name of the three treasures.
But those who practice meritorious ways,
who are gentle, peaceful, honest, and upright,
all of them will see me
here in person, preaching the Law.
At times for this multitude
I describe the Buddha's life span as immeasurable,
and to those who see the Buddha only after a long time
I explain how difficult it is to meet a buddha.
Such is the power of my wisdom
that its sagacious beams shine without measure.
This life span of countless kalpas
I gained as the result of lengthy practice.
You who are possessed of wisdom,
entertain no doubts on this point!
Cast them off, end them forever,
for the Buddha's words are true, not false.
He is like a skilled physician
P.273who uses an expedient means to cure his deranged sons.
Though in fact alive, he gives out word he is dead,
yet no one can say he speaks falsely.
I am the father of this world,
saving those who suffer and are afflicted.
Because of the befuddlement of ordinary people,
though I live, I give out word I have entered extinction.
For if they see me constantly,
arrogance and selfishness arise in their minds.
Abandoning restraint, they give themselves up to the five desires
and fall into the evil paths of existence.
Always I am aware of which living beings
practice the way, and which do not,
and in response to their need for salvation
I preach various doctrines for them.
At all times I think to myself:
How can I cause living beings
to gain entry into the unsurpassed way
and quickly acquire the body of a buddha?
Saturday, February 15, 2025
主題:有關青年部如何擴大成長的指導-1-「青年部要加強個人指導」
主題:有關青年部如何擴大成長的指導-2-「個人指導的基本態度和作法」
<前言>
會員中有各式各樣的人,所處的環境也不同,性格、煩惱都千差萬別。因而,依據佛法的普遍法理,關注每一個人,敞開心扉交談的個人指導很重要。
<個人指導的基本態度和作法>
針對個人指導的基本態度和作法,師匠池田先生有如下指導:
「第一,絕不能感情用事。
即使是會員,也會有缺乏勤勵信心的自覺,對學會說一些批判的話。此時,不可感情用事,對其聲色俱厲。指導的人如果感情用事,對方就不會敞開心扉。那樣一來,指導與鼓勵都會徒勞無功。
第二,個人指導永遠要以對信心的確信為根本。
我們以大確信去震撼、觸發對方的心靈,這就是個人指導的根本。有了這一點,加上條理清晰的說明就會相輔相成。所以進行個人指導之際,關鍵是要好好唱題,湧起強盛的生命力。此外,在傳授確信上,還必須分享自己的體驗,以及其他會員的體驗。
第三,要牢記,絕不能把商量的內容講出去。
信仰宗教的人尤其有守密的義務。萬一洩漏了商量的內容,就會使人對整個學會產生不信任,從佛法來看,結果將構成破壞廣宣流布的重罪。
第四,要有毅力、富有包容力地貫徹指導的責任。
譬如,自己負責的組織裡有人不參加活動,於是去他家裡進行了個人指導。但是,會馬上發心的人卻少之又少吧。必須找機會再去,堅持不懈地鼓勵。在這個過程中,對方才會理解我們的真心,產生信賴,萌生要努力信心的想法。個人指導所需要的就是持續力。
做了個人指導使對方奮起了,還要擔心對方後來的信心怎麼樣,煩惱克服了嗎?打電話、寫信也可以,保持聯繫,不斷關心鼓勵。作為幹部意氣風發地拜訪會員,進行個人指導,但是只去一次就沒有下文,那就等於是半途而廢。
第五,請不要忘記,拔苦與樂是個人指導的大目的。
大家有各種煩惱,痛苦不堪,才會來接受指導。所以指導要多給予勉勵,減少對方的煩惱、痛苦,這點很重要。
舉一個例子,有位妻子為丈夫不入信而煩惱,這時候先要這麼說:
『不要緊啊,來日方長,不必著急。您丈夫生來也是帶有尊貴的使命,遲早一定會理解妻子關心他的祈願。』
這樣就能令她安心,然後可以談具體的解決辦法。」
個人指導不可缺少愛護人、深切關懷的心。這顆心化成各種關切,以擔心與鼓勵的言語表現出來。
我觀察了很多幹部,體會到徹底進行個人指導的人不會退轉。因為個人指導是不顯眼的、是需要堅持不懈的艱苦工作,在實踐過程中能深化信心,進而在反覆進行的個人指導中,能正視自己、反省自己的信心,所以就不會退轉。
當然折伏很重要。但是,只做了折伏,不繼續做好入會後的指導、照顧,就會有折伏尚未真正完成就宣告失敗的情況。
另外,也有因折伏拿到了實際的成果,被周圍的同志讚揚,因而產生慢心,造成信心的變質、敗壞。
所以,折伏的同時,全力以赴地去做個人指導,是鍛鍊自己的信心、提高境界的必要條件。
折伏、個人指導是用對話進行、開拓精神的工作。開拓,需要有向困難挑戰的勇氣與忍耐。這種艱苦耕耘人們生命的工作,會帶來幸福的果實。所以要不斷誠實地進行對話,揮動耕耘友人生命的鋤頭。
個人指導也是使組織流通人性的溫馨血液,強化組織的途徑。
在創價學會的世界,個人指導好像理所當然地每天都在進行。這是為了克服苦惱的鼓勵網絡,也是重建現代社會人際關係遭分裂的結合工作。我堅信,我們的行動,不僅是學會,也是整個社會重要的無形財富。社會與世界對於這件事實,刮目相看的時候一定會到來。」