裴親人（Natividad Familia Pereyra）2024年12月3日晚間講於萬佛聖城大殿
All Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Venerable Master, Dharma masters, and all Dharma friends, good evening. Tonight is Jin Ren’s turn to tie Dharma affinity with everyone.
My name is Natividad Familia Pereyra (which means Family and Christmas) But my Dharma name is Jin Ren (Patience) I was born in a small country in the Caribbean islands called the Dominican Republic. (This country is near Cuba and Puerto Rico, we share the island with Haiti.)
諸佛菩薩、師父上人、各位法師、各位法友，大家晚安。今天晚上由親人在這裡和大家結法緣。弟子本名為 Natividad Familia Pereyra，意為「家庭」與「聖誕節」。弟子法名為親人，忍辱的忍。我生於加勒比海諸島之一的多明尼加共和國（Dominican Republic）。此國近古巴與波多黎各，與海地共居一島。
Many of you might ask: Who is she, where is she from, and a question that I’m mostly asked is, Why are you here? Well, I will cut through the chase immediately. I was born from Christian family, Christian parents, and at a very young age I learned how to pray with my grandmother and from my mother I learned how to read from the bible.
許多人或許會問：她是誰？她從何而來？以及最常被問到的問題——她是如何來到這裡的？那麼，我就直接切入正題吧。我出生於一個基督教家庭，父母皆為基督徒。在我年幼之時，祖母教我如何祈禱，而母親則教了我如何閱讀《聖經》。
Because she always read the Bible every night, I will sit down with her, longing to understand the words that she was saying and to understand the meaning of this beautiful things she will read every night, but I didn’t know how to read them; so I became very interested by the age of six on how to read the Bible and how to learn about God and how God came to be.
因為母親每晚都會閱讀《聖經》，我便常常坐在她身旁，試圖理解她所念的話語，也要理解那些美麗話語的含義。然而，那時的我還不識字，無法自己閱讀。於是，我在六歲時對學習閱讀《聖經》和了解上帝產生了濃厚的興趣，並渴望知道上帝是如何來到這個世界的。
By the age of six I demanded to be baptized in the Christian Church [of which] my mother was about to become a member. After that event, most of my life evolved around Christianity, and I always had the desire to help other people. The example I wanted to follow came from my mom, my grandmother, and the Bible characters that I learnt about, since I was six and until I was 25.
六歲時，我堅決要求在基督教會接受洗禮，而當時我的母親也正準備成為該教會的一員。自那次洗禮後，我的生活大多以基督教為中心展開。幫助他人一直是我希望追隨的榜樣，而這種榜樣來自於我的母親、祖母，以及我從《聖經》中學習到的人物形象。從六歲直到二十五歲，這份信仰及願望始終引導著我的人生。
By the time I was 19 years old, I obtained a scholarship to come to the United States to obtain an associate degree in quality engineering, in the small town of Appleton, Wisconsin. During that time I was always involved with church activities and taking leadership roles in the community, specifically helping people learn about the word of God.
到我 19 歲時，我獲得了一份獎學金，來到美國威斯康辛州的阿普屯 (Appleton) 小鎮，攻讀質量工程的副學士學位。在此期間，我一直參與教會活動並擔任領導角色，尤其是，我還幫助人們學習上帝的話語。
After finishing my degree in the year 2001, I decided that I was going to follow or pursue a career in Christianity by becoming a church minister or an evangelist. I went on to become a Christian missionary in order to accomplish studies to become a minister, however, this was not possible at the time, because I was a woman and as a woman, my church did not accept for me to be ordained or authorized to teach the gospel (this happened after three years of servicing the community and churches at Lima Drive, in Lexington, Kentucky, as a Spanish interpreter and social worker.)
在 2001 年完成學業後，我決定走上基督教事業的道路，成為一名教會牧師或福音傳道者。為了實現這一目標，我投身於基督教傳教工作並開始學習以成為牧師。但是，這目標在當時並沒有實現，因為我是女性，而我的教會不允許女性被授予聖職或有權利教導福音。這一結果是在我為基督教的團體和教會服務三年後發生的——我在肯塔基州列克星敦的利馬道（Lima Drive）上的教堂和基督教團體擔任西班牙語翻譯及社工時，發現了這一限制。
Right after that disappointment, and along with so many other unanswered questions I had in my mind, I additionally discovered schemes of corruption, plagiarism, and racism, as part of the bases of the organization, which led me to the total discouragement of the doctrine I had for most of my life believed in.
在那次失望之後，伴隨著我心中許多未解的疑問，我還發現了該組織根本存在的腐敗、剽竊和種族歧視等問題，這令我對我一生大部分時間所信仰的教義感到徹底的失望。
Leaving behind everything I believed in for almost 30 years of my life I went back to my country disappointed and empty-handed. I was just very sad remembering all the people that I led to the wrong and deceitful path. However, my faith in the source and my belief in the existence of a superior being who was truly fair and compassionate did not diminish.
將近三十年來我所信仰的一切都拋諸腦後，帶著失望與空虛回到了我的祖國。我感到非常難過，回想起我曾引領許多人走上錯誤且充滿欺騙的道路。然而，我對源頭的信仰，和對一位真正公平且充滿慈悲的至高存在的信念並沒有因此而減弱。
I went on to become an English teacher, specifically language arts for children from second to sixth grade. I took delight in the job I did, but in the background I was always thinking and longing to meet with religion again. I firmly believe that religion is what can change the world. It is the spiritual practice that can transform human nature. For some reason these ideas were and still are deep down ingrained in my mind continuously.
接下來我成為一名英語老師，專門教授二年級到六年級的兒童語言藝術。我對這份工作充滿熱情，但在心底，我總是思考並渴望再次與宗教相遇。我堅信，宗教是改變世界的力量。它是能夠改變人類本性的精神修行。不知為何，這些觀念深深根植於我心中，一直以來都沒有消失過。
After some time and because of my thirst to get back to the source of a spirituality, to find the true meaning of God (and to see if it really existed or not) I stumbled upon a book in a supermarket called Consciousness. I never thought that this book would change my life and that this small book was going to take me to Buddhism.
經過一段時間，由於我渴望重新回到精神的源頭，並尋找上帝的真正意義（也想知道祂是否真實存在），我在超市裡偶然發現了一本書，名為《意識》。我從沒想過這本書會改變我的人生，也沒想到這本小書會引領我進入佛教的世界。
As I followed the pages I learned more and more about Buddhism and more and more about meditation so I stopped reading the books from that specific author and went directly for the Four Noble Truth and to learn more about the Buddha’s life.
隨著翻閱這本書，我對佛教和打坐的了解越來越多，因此我不再閱讀那位作者的書籍，直接轉向學習《四聖諦》，並開始深入閱讀佛陀的一生。
During that same period of my life, when I decided to start practicing and learning about Buddhism, I also went through tremendous emotional hardship and distress. The pressure was such that at one point I remember telling somebody “I promised you I will become a Buddha” I didn’t know what I was really saying, or how to even get to accomplish such task, but I was so desperate to get out of that pain, that in my mind the only solution was to follow the Buddha’s path.
在我決定開始實踐並學習佛教的同一時期，我也經歷了極大的情緒困擾和痛苦。壓力大到我記得我一度對某人說過：“我答應你，我會成佛。” 當時我並不知道自己真正說了什麼，或該如何實現這樣的目標，但我當時的痛苦讓我極度絕望，我心中唯一的解決辦法就是跟隨佛陀的道路。
As time went by, I created my own routine of meditation and practice. In time I felt that I was learning a lot from different sources but most literature was in English at the time (Very little was available in Spanish, which is my mother tongue). So I longed to have a Buddhist community, but I didn’t have a school to go to learn, and I didn’t have a leader other than the books that I read and the articles that I found along with the YouTube videos I was watching on my own.
隨著時間的推移，我訂定了自己的打坐和修行功課，漸漸地，我自己認為我從不同的來源學到了很多東西，但當時大多數文獻都是英文的（很少有西班牙文的資料，而西班牙文是我的母語）。因此，我希望尋找佛法的團體來學習，但我並沒有一個團體，也沒有學校可以去學習，或者與道友互相分享佛法，除了我閱讀的書籍、找到的文章和我自己觀看的 YouTube 影片之外，沒有其他的帶領者。
At this point I didn’t know exactly how the school DRBU got my email and contacted me, specifically at a moment when I was desperate. I had looked (unsuccessfully) in many places for a monastery or a sangha to go to and volunteer, in exchange to learn and practice Buddhism, but I never thought that there was such a thing as a Buddhist university. I didn’t even know that the Chan tradition was Buddhism, I thought it was a group of kung-fu monks (I was below basic).
在這個時候，我並不知法界佛教大學是怎麼獲得我的電子郵件並聯繫我的，尤其是在我非常絕望的時候。我曾在很多地方尋找過寺廟或僧團（但沒有成功的）。我希望能夠去那裡當義工，以及學習，修行佛法，但我從來沒想過會有這樣的佛教大學。那時候我甚至不知道禪宗是佛教的一部分，我甚至認為禪宗是一群習武的和尚。當時我對佛教的了解幾乎是零。
The school wrote an email offering a BA in Liberal Arts with emphasis in religious philosophy, I just could not believe it!! I thought it was some sort of a scam, so I answered immediately to see if it was not some internet trick; to my surprise the school answered back right away, and gave me details about the program and how, regardless of my financial situation, gender, age or nationality, I could start a career in religious philosophy. Five months after that first email, I made it to the USA, specifically to CTTB
and now I am finishing my second semester of a BA in Liberal Arts at DRBU at 48 yrs old.
學校發了一封電子郵件，提供一個以宗教哲學為重點的文學士學位，我簡直不敢相信！我以為這是某種詐騙！於是，我立刻回覆，看看這是否只是網絡上的一個騙局；令我驚訝的是，學校立刻回覆了，並提供了有關該計劃的詳情，告訴我無論我的經濟狀況、性別、年齡或國籍如何，都可以展開一個宗教哲學的生涯。在我收到法大第一封電子郵件的五個月後，終於來到了美國，來到了萬佛聖成，現在我以48歲的年紀，已經完成了法大第二學期的文學士課程。
It is important to mention that as I came to DRBU it was clear to me that my arrival to CTTB and DRBU had a purpose, and that purpose is to grab the Dharma and take it back to the place where I am from, to that place where no one knows the Dharma and there are no Buddhist monasteries or Sangha.
有一個重點我想提到的是，當我來到法大時，我深知我來此聖地有著明確的目的，而這個目的就是要學習佛法，並將它帶回我本來的地方——那個沒有佛法、沒有佛教的寺廟或僧團的地方。
As I was teaching the last few years before I came to DRBU, I was teaching young students about mindfulness and basic yoga practices. During these times I was convinced that education in our society shall be influenced by spiritual practices and Buddhist philosophy.
在來到法大之前的幾年，我一直在教導年輕學生關於正念和基本瑜伽的練習。在這段時間裡，我深信我們社會的教育應該受到佛法的哲理及實修的影響。
As I came to CTTB and met Master Hua and his vision and learned that his vision is the same as mine, I bowed to him, and also bowed to take this kind of education to my country. Finding the Dharma has been the same as finding a great treasure, and I feel like taking this treasure, which are the sutras and all the teachings of the Buddha, to young people in the form of education.
當我來到法大，認識上人並了解上人的願力時，我發現我的心願原來是與上人的願力有一部分相同。於是，我向上人坐像頂禮，也頂禮來承擔將這樣的教育帶回我家鄉的使命。找到佛法對我來說就像發現了一大寶藏一樣，我覺得自己應該擔負起將佛陀的教義和經典，作為教育的一部分，傳遞給年輕人。
So now as I speak before you, I feel deeply committed, to take this Dharma of the Buddha to my land. How is it going to happen? I don’t know. I just know that I must prepare and brace myself in order to accomplish this vision of mine,… this vision of Master Hua.
因此，當我現在在這裡和大家分享時，我感到內心深深的承諾——將佛法帶回我的家鄉。這會如何實現？我還不清楚。我只知道，我必須全力以赴，為實現這個心願做好準備——這既是我的心願，也是在上人願力之中。
As I conclude this Dharma talk tonight, I would like to thank each and everyone of you, this community, and this monastery for showing so much support and compassion after the passing of my mother. My mother passed away on October 21st. As I rushed to the airport for her funeral, I never thought I was going to count on so much support and compassion from the Buddhist community. Many lay people and some monastics have set up paiwei-s[1] and so many others are still praying for her during these 49 days until Dec. 8th, reciting so she can be reborn in the Buddha’s pure land. My mother transitioned on the same day when Guanyin Bodhisattva left home, and it was her dream to attend my graduation in 2027.
今晚在結束這次分享之前，我想感謝每一位在座的法師、法友，感謝這裡道場的僧團與學校的大家庭，在我母親往生時候給予我如此多的支持與慈悲。我母親於10月21日往生，當我匆忙趕往機場參與她的葬禮時，從沒想到會從佛教團體中獲得這麼多的關懷與支持。許多法師、法友為了我母親設立了牌位1，還有許多法師法友在這49天內持續為她誦經、念佛，祈願她能往生淨土，直到12月8日圓滿。我母親是在觀音菩薩出家紀念日的同一天往生的，而她的夢想是能在2027年參加我的佛教大學畢業典禮。
There is so much more I would like to share with all of you: The first experiences as I arrived to CTTB, the dreams I had with the Dharma protectors, how I took refuge under Master Hua a few months after arriving, and all the other wonderful things that have been happening to me as I progress in my practice and my time here at the City of 10,000 Buddhas. However, the time is short and I shall have another Dharma talk in order to share all of the blessings that I am now and will be receiving at this wonderful place as I enter into the Dharma Realm. Amituofo!
我還有很多故事想跟大家分享：比如說剛到萬佛聖城時的體驗、夢中見到的護法神、抵達後幾個月內在上人座下皈依的經歷，以及在這裡修行及生活中不斷發生的奇妙事情。但是，時間有限，這些故事只能留待下次再與大家分享。如今，我正在這個殊勝的聖地步入法界，感受到無盡的祝福，並期待著未來會獲得更多法喜。阿彌陀佛！
[1] People set up more than one plaque for Natividad’s mother, before and after she passed away.
在裴近忍的母親往生前後，大家為她老人家設立了不止一個牌位。