比丘尼恒揚法師2024年10月22日晚間講於萬佛聖城大殿
阿彌陀佛,諸佛菩薩、師父上人、各位尊敬的法師、居士們,大家阿彌陀佛。 今天是恒揚在這裡跟大家結法緣。我十歲的時候學佛,第一個學佛的地方是一個佛教會,是居士辦的佛教會。 那個佛教會供奉觀世音菩薩。我在那邊學佛十一年後,二十一歲就跟隨上人出家。
All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Venerable Master, all Dharma Masters, all good-knowing advisors, and all laypeople, Amitabha. This is Heng Yang, and today it’s my turn to tie Dharma affinities with everyone. I started learning Buddhism when I was 10 years old, and at that time, I participated in a layperson’s Buddhist society, Proper Faith Society. This society specifically honored and respected Guanyin Bodhisattva. I was part of that society for eleven years until I was 21 years old, and then I followed the Venerable Master and left home under him.
那個道場的名字叫佛教正信會,剛蓋好的時候,上人1978年就去馬來西亞各地弘法的時候,就有去到麻坡佛教正信會,他就去那裡了。 上人1978年去的時候,就曾經在那個佛教會裡面救了一個中降頭的人,那個女孩子被人家下毒了,所以她的病不好,然後就來求上人救她。上人在麻坡佛教正信會就拿他的柺杖敲了她的頭三下,這個人就在那個小小的溝渠,是在那個廟裡面有一個小溝渠,然後她就吐了很多蟲出來,就醫好了這個女孩子。 那是1978年底師父去麻坡弘法,我還沒去。四、五個月後我才去那個道場,
When the Venerable Master went to Malaysia in 1978 with a Dharma delegation, he went to Proper Faith Society at Mabo. There he saved a girl who was hexed and unwell. The Venerable Master took his walking stick and hit her three times on the head. She vomited a lot of worms into a small ditch at the temple, and then she was cured. At the end of 1978, I had not been at the Proper Faith Society yet. I went there four or five months later.
我去是因為那邊剛好第一次主辦衛塞節的遊行,衛塞節就是三期同一慶,就有經過我的家鄉,他們的隊伍經過我的家鄉,我是小孩子,我很好玩,我們就看熱鬧,他們就有一組人是拿著蠟燭的,然後我就跟著隊伍走,我非常的高興,第二天我的同伴們就告訴我說,這個隊伍是來自附近的一間佛堂,他們在當天,就是前一天,他們白天已經有去那個佛堂觀察了,他說那邊有小孩子會念經的,我們要不要去學佛,就這樣問我,然後我說好啊,我們就去囉,小孩子也會念經,我也願意去,然後我們還記得很清楚,那時候我們就一起商量說,以後我們不可以罵粗話了,要去學佛了,所以我們就一組七八個小孩就走路,走好遠喔,走暗暗的一個地方,走到佛堂去,就給人家拉去樓上上佛學班,
我們那個佛學班有四組,有啟蒙、初級、中級、高級,那我是小朋友嘛,我被拉去啟蒙級,上的是主要內容是釋迦牟尼佛的一生,他的故事。小朋友喜歡聽故事嘛,而且他的課本我也看得懂,所以我挺喜歡這個內容,然後有人又告訴我說,今天是禮拜三,禮拜四呢,每個禮拜四還有英文組的,英文組的呢,就也不錯的,也可以來學,後來我也去參加英文組,英文組的是南傳佛法,他是教那個巴利文的唱誦,就是Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa, (禮敬世尊、阿羅漢、正等正覺的佛陀)就是這一類的,
就三皈五戒啦,還有教我們英文的唱誦,還有打坐之類。
I went because they were hosting the Vesak parade there for the first time. The Vesak Festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and the ultimate passing of the Buddha. The Vesak parade happened to pass through my hometown. I went there with my team. I was a kid and I enjoyed it. We watched the festival. There was a group of people holding candles. I followed the team. The next day, my friends told me that the group came from a nearby Buddhist temple. They said that at that society, there were children who could recite sutras, and they asked me if we wanted to learn Buddhism. I said, “Yes, I would like to go.” We were a group of seven or eight children, and we walked a long way to get to Proper Faith Society. When we arrived at the Buddhist temple, we were told to go upstairs and take the Buddhist class. There were four levels in the Buddhist class. When we got there, the Dharma Masters or the teachers there sent us upstairs where we had Buddhist classes. For the Mahayana section or classes, there were four different levels from elementary all the way to [the] advanced [level]. And in the elementary level, because I was new to Buddhism, they told us different Buddhist stories such as Shakyamuni Buddha’s life story, which I really enjoyed a lot, so that was on Wednesdays. On Thursday, there was an English group, and in the English group, people studied the Theravada sutras, so they taught us how to chant a lot of Pali chanting, such as: Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sama Sambuddhassa. We also learned different things such as the three refuges, the five precepts, and how to meditate.
那大乘的呢,我們是學大乘的啟蒙,中級,高級,初級,那個呢,每年年底,不是年底,馬來西亞的國慶日,我們就會舉行全國性的佛教佛學考試,有分啟蒙,初級,中級,高級,然後我就每年都有報考,但是我們這個佛學班真的很好的,它是有課本的,有Syllabus(課程), 所以在13歲之前,我就把所有的佛教名相都背了,譬如說六度,布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、般若,六度應該度什麼毛病啊,我都背起來了。六度第一個布施度要度慳吝,持戒度是要度毀犯,忍辱度是要度瞋恚,精進是度懈怠,禪定是度散亂,般若就是度愚癡嘛,所以還有這個四念處啊,十六觀啊,四念處每一處有觀身不淨,觀受是苦,觀心無常,觀法無我。每個身受心法又可以分,譬如說觀身不淨,也是觀身是苦,也是觀身無常,觀身無我,觀心亦復如是,總共有十六個,反正這些我那時候在那個佛教會裡面,我就學到了。
At the end of every year, on the National Day of Malaysia, we held a national Buddhist exam. I took the exam every year. The Buddhist class was really good. There were textbooks and syllabi. Before I was 13 years old, I had memorized all the Buddhist concepts. For example, the Six Paramitas: generosity, vinaya, patience, diligence, meditative samadhi, and wisdom. What kinds of afflictions should the six perfections eradicate? Generosity eradicates stinginess, the vinaya eradicates transgression, patience eradicates anger, diligence eradicates laziness, meditative samadhi eradicates distraction, and wisdom eradicates ignorance. There are the Four Mindfulnesses and the Sixteen Contemplations. The Four Mindfulnesses are: contemplating of the body as impure, contemplation of feelings as suffering, contemplation of the mind as impermanent, and contemplation of phenomena as selfless. Each of [the] body, feelings, mind, and phenomena can be further divided. For example, contemplation of the body as impure is also contemplation of the body as suffering, contemplation of the body as impermanent, and contemplation of the body as selfless. The same applies to [the] mind. In total, there are sixteen contemplations. Anyway, I learned all this when I was in that Buddhist society.
學了幾年之後,1983年,三步一拜實法師,就率領幾位男眾法師,也來到我們的佛教會。他們來佛教會來兩天,我那時候就去住廟,我也住在那個佛堂。可是法師們是住樓上,我們就住在辦公室裡面,在辦公室的那個窗可以看到大殿的,然後我就想要參加他們的早課,可是我記得那一天我就睡過頭了,人家已經開始早課了,我看到他們在大殿念經,我就錯過了,
After studying for a few years, in 1983, the “Three Steps, One Bow” Master, Dharma Master Sure led a group of bhikshus to our Buddhist society. They came for two days. At that time, I was also staying in the Buddhist hall. The monks were staying upstairs, while I was staying in the office. From the window of the office, I could see the main Buddha Hall. The people from the delegation conducted the ceremonies there. I really wanted to participate in [the] Morning Ceremony, but I overslept. When I saw them reciting sutras in the Buddha Hall, I realized I had already missed the Morning Ceremony.
但是那一次他們一來的時候,就有給我們免費看法總的書籍,因為我們在當時不容易拿到上人的書,可是他一來他帶了很多師父的書,有《地藏經淺釋》、〈普門品〉、《阿彌陀經》,還有更重要的就是有《修行者的消息》,還有《精進者的日記》,這四本書,我就當寶這樣子,好像在看小說這樣在追,看看看到我就發菩提心了。本來我讀佛學只是玩玩罷了,不是認真要修行的,可是看到《精進者的日記》跟《修行者的消息》,我就真的說,我一定要成為這本書裡面的出家人,我要跟他一樣,我要成為像他這樣子的修行人,我那時候就發心。所以我一發心之後,我就很認真學佛聽法,我的老師他就發現到我不一樣,他說我變了。那我真的是變了,因為我真的覺得我很喜歡這樣的生活,我就要做這樣子的修行人,所以實法師可以算是令我發菩提心的一位三步一拜法師,
When they came, they brought a lot of books from our Dharma Realm Buddhist Association such as the “Universal Door Chapter,” the Earth Store Sutra, News from True Cultivators, and Journals on a Bowing Pilgrimage. When I received these books, I really treasured and read them. I was so immersed in reading them; and it was from reading News from True Cultivators and Journals on a Bowing Pilgrimage that I gave rise to the resolve for Bodhi. Before when I studied Buddhism, I actually only studied it for fun, but after reading News from True Cultivators and Journals on a Bowing Pilgrimage, I really wanted to study and learn from them because I liked their livelihood, and I wanted to be like these cultivators. So, from that time on, I started to be more vigorous in my study of Buddhism and listening to Dharma. Even my teachers saw my progress in studying the Dharma, so you could say that it was Dharma Master Sure who really helped me give rise to the Bodhi mind.
我可以講一點就是說, 譬如我們上人,他以前在早期的時候, 他出去弘法, 一次就帶很多弟子在家、出家, 然後就影響很多人來皈依上人, 或者受五戒乃至於出家 。上人他去馬來西亞的時候 ,也是把我們都拉回來 。因為我在那個麻坡淨業寺打過兩次佛七,就遇到了後來的恒禪師, 還有加拿大恒仲師、恒鳴師,就是反正這些後來出家的 ,我們以前都不認識 ,可是就在淨業寺打佛七, 我們就一起打佛七 。但是我真的當時不認識他們 ,可是後來出了家了, 才知道我們以前都一起, 在那邊師父去過的道場, 在那個地方打過精進佛七。所以反正上人就是到處去弘法, 把我們拉回來繼續修行 。
The Master, in the early days, went out to promote the Dharma, and at one time he brought many monastic and lay disciples, and they in turn influenced many people to take refuge in the Master, take the Five Precepts and even join the monastic order. When the Master went to Malaysia, he also brought us all back. Because I practiced Buddhism at Pure Karma Temple, I also met people who later became nuns: Dharma Master Heng Chan, Dharma Master Heng Jung and Dharma Master Heng Ming. I really didn’t know them at the time, but after we became monastics, we found out that we had all been together in the Pure Karma temple where the Master had visited, and there we had practiced the vigorous Buddha recitation session. The Master just went everywhere to spread the Dharma and brought people back to continue our practice.
時間差不多了,關於菩薩的感應沒有機會講了!老師曾說我們跟觀音菩薩很有緣 ,我就放在心 ,只是當時我不覺得 。等到我後來一門深入修淨土法門的時候, 在1998年 差不多那時候 ,我很精進在修淨土法門, 在深入淨土法門, 每天用四個小時讀 《彌陀要解》跟《淨土聖賢錄》。 有一天因為我念佛的時候, 我不入心, 晚上半夜睡覺 ,早上醒來的時候, 猷法師跟我講:「 你昨天晚上唱歌。」 我說:「我唱什麼歌?」 「你唱阿里山的姑娘美如仙,你唱這個。」 我嚇得要死 ,我說為什麼不是念阿彌陀佛?我是唱歌的 ,我怕得要命 。我說一大早要做早課, 你跟我講, 我昨晚在說夢話唱歌, 我好難過。 我出家八年 ,都沒有唱過流行歌曲, 怎麼我會參加一次,在華嚴精舍那時候他們有敬老節, 老人家70歲的, 就很開心, 唱這種歌 。我小時候聽過的 ,所以我就一聽, 我不喜歡。 可是當你起了很討厭、 很反感的心, 那個種子種下去特別的重, 所以它重過我每天 「阿彌陀佛、 阿彌陀佛」,還更重 ,所以我才會很快種子現形, 半夜就唱歌了 ,作不得主。
My teacher once said that we are closely related to Guanyin Bodhisattva. I took that to heart, but I didn’t feel it at the time. When I later started to practice diligently the Pure Land Dharma in depth in 1998, I spent four hours a day reading “Essentials of Amitabha” and “Records of the Pure Land Sages”. One day when I was reciting the Buddha’s name, I went to bed in the middle of the night. When I woke up in the morning, Dharma Master You told me, “You sang last night.” I said, “What song did I sing?” “You sang, ‘The girl from the mountain is as beautiful as a fairy’ . . .” I was scared to death, and I said, “Why did I not recite Amitabha?” I was sad. I have been a nun for eight years and have never sung a popular song. Why, after I have recited “Amitabha” for nearly a year, did I sing a song instead of reciting the Buddha’s name? It must have been that I heard 70-year-old elderly people sing this song during the recent Honoring Elders Day at Avatamsaka Vihara. I heard this song as a child, I disliked it and perhaps my dislike was so strong that it planted a deep seed in my mind, so deep that its impression was stronger than the “Amitabha, Amitabha” I recited every day. So the seeds manifested quickly, and I ended up singing in the middle of the night, unable to control myself.
所以我知道這樣 ,我很難過, 為什麼我念了將近一年的「阿彌陀佛」, 半夜睡覺不會念 ,反而會唱歌 ,我就很難過。 我就加, 從(每天念佛)一萬加到兩萬三萬, 結果一加到三萬 、還是兩萬的時候, 我就唸到很法喜, 就好像我在帶法會 。這樣唱了 「阿彌陀佛、阿彌陀佛、阿彌陀佛,阿彌陀佛,阿彌陀佛,阿彌陀佛,阿彌陀佛」,我唱到高興得不得了。 好消息, 半夜就夢見觀世音菩薩來華嚴精舍, 真的來喔 。但是是做夢, 菩薩飛來 ,真的是飛來, 然後他就在天空灑甘露, 灑在那邊 。我就趕快接甘露 ,他還跟我講話, 說:「我每年這個時間都會來」 ,他要來找我 ,意思是這樣。
然後真的第二年他來了,可是第二年他來了,我有跟人家提及;他來了三年,因為我跟人家提及,最後就不來了。可是呢,我要講的就是說,我這個境界是後來,我在聽師父開示的時候,他就說,如果一個人念佛,你念到誠心到極點的時候,你會感動到,第一個,觀世音菩薩會來跟你灑甘露。我是有了這個夢之後, 才聽到師父這麼說, 我才知道 原來是這樣子。 也就是說,觀世音菩薩從此之後 ,他會護持你,一直到你成佛。時間到了,現在我們要大迴向。
Realizing this, I felt very upset. Why, after chanting “Amitabha Buddha” for nearly a year, did I not chant it in my sleep at night, but instead, sing songs? This made me very sad. So, I increased the number of my reciting the Buddha’s name every day from ten thousand to twenty or thirty thousand. As soon as it reached twenty or thirty, I felt very happy when I recited the name. I sang “Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha,” and I was so happy. Then I received “good news.” In the middle of the night I dreamed that Guanyin Bodhisattva came to Avatamsaka Vihara. In the dream, the Bodhisattva flew, and then he sprinkled sweet dew in the sky over the Vihara. I quickly picked up a container trying to catch all the sweet dew that was pouring down. Guanyin Bodhisattva told me: “I will come at this time every year.” He really did come the next year, and the following year. However, later when I mentioned it to others, he finally stopped coming. He came for 3 years. The Master said that if a person recites Buddha’s name with extreme sincerity Guanyin Bodhisattva will be moved and come to sprinkle sweet dew on you. It was only after I had this dream that I heard the Master say this, and I realized that this was what it was like. In other words, Guanyin Bodhisattva will protect you from now on until you become a Buddha. Time is up, now we are going to do the Great Dedication.