沙彌尼近本講於2016年8月11日星期四晚 萬佛城大殿
龍是四靈之一。四靈是麒麟、鳳凰、靈龜、龍；牠們是祥瑞的徵兆。以前有很多龍，人人都可以看得見；可是現在，為什麼龍不出現了？就因為人太多，把龍給嚇住了，駭得不敢出來。
Dragons are one of the four mythical creatures symbolic of propsperity and longevity, namely phoenix, turtle , dragon, and the Chinese unicorn. There used to be a lot of dragons and people could see them. How come now, the dragons do not appear anymore? It is because there are too many people now and the dragons are too afraid to come out.
龍在龍宮裏邊住著，所住的宮殿是在海裏邊，不是在虛空裏。龍雖然不在空中住，當牠興雲佈雨時，就將雲彩遍滿虛空；有的人在這時仰視虛空，看見空中有樓閣的這種境界，就以為龍宮是在虛空呢！
Dragons live in dragon palaces and their palaces are in the sea, not in the air. Although dragons do not live in the air, when they gather the clouds and let down rain, they will spread out colorful coulds across the sky. At this time, some people might look up to the sky and see palaces in the air, so they presume dragons live in the air.
龍雖然屬於畜類，但這種畜生與一般的畜生不同，因為牠有神通。什麼神通？牠可以自大化小，又可以自小化大，可大可小。大的時候，能填滿大海；小的時候，能藏在一粒微塵裏。牠也可以自有化無，自無化有，能隱能顯，忽然就有了，忽然就沒了。龍有這種種變化無窮的本領，牠的飛騰變化是非常不可思議的。龍常常在定中，這定叫「那伽定」，就是在龍的定。龍能大能小就是由定中所化現出來的。
Dragons belong to the animal realm, but they are different from ordinary animals because they have spiritual powers. What kind of spiritual powers? They can transform from big to small, from small to big. When they are big, they can fill up the entire ocean. When they are small, they can hide inside a mote of dust. They can appear and disappear at will. Their transformations are limitless and inconceivably wonderful. Dragons constantly dwell in a kind of concerntration known as the “Nāga-Samadhi”. Their ability to transform comes from this samadhi.
「龍」究竟是什麼樣子？一般人是不知道的。除非開五眼的聖人才知道龍的真面目。不過，中國人所畫的龍，頭上有角，身上有鱗，眼睛突出，嘴巴很大，有鬍鬚，有四足，身很長，尾很短。畫龍的人，只畫龍頭不畫龍尾，所謂「神龍見首不見尾」，表示有神祕之感。中國人繪龍為什麼是這樣子？因為曾經有位禪師，在定中所見龍的形相是這樣子。
What do dragons look like? Ordinary people don’t know. Only sages who have opened the five eyes know what dragons really look like. The dragons depicted by Chinese artists have horns, scales, prominent eyes, a large mouth, whiskers, four feet, a long body and a short tail. The artists paint only the dragon’s head and not its tail. The saying, “You can see only a divine dragon’s head, not its tail” refers to the sense of mystery of dragons. Why did the Chinese paint dragons that way? Because there was a Dhyana Master who saw a dragon in his samadhi that looked like that.
那麼牠怎麼做龍呢？你不要小看牠，不要以為牠是畜生就看不起牠。龍的前生是修道人，因為往昔修道時，乘急戒緩，所以就墮落龍身。怎麼說？他在修道的時候，瞋心很重，有很大的脾氣，無論什麼事情都發火；他修行也很用功的，不怕苦，也不怕難，這樣地勇猛精進。因為他乘急，就是對於大乘佛法很盡心，也很聰明，一學就會，所以就有了神通；可是他戒緩，就是不守戒律，很不在乎的，不把戒律看重；尤其婬欲的念頭沒能斷，所以就墮落到畜生身了。
So, how did dragons came about? Do not look down on dragons just because they belong to the animal realm. In their past, they were practitioners of the way. Since they “quick with the vehicle and slow in precepts”, they have fallen into the animal realm. What does that mean? When they were cultivating the way, their have a quick temper and would get angry at anything but they diligently cultivate the way, not fearing sufferings and difficulties. Since they diligently cultivate the way, and were quick learners, they had spiritual powers. However, they do not uphold the precepts, they do not take precepts seriously, especially not cutting off lustful thought, they have fallen into the animal realm.
龍的種類不同，有金龍、白龍、青龍、黑龍，有胎生的龍，有卵生的龍，有濕生的龍，有化生的龍，又有虯龍、鷹龍、蛟龍、驪龍，又有天龍、地龍、王龍、人龍，又有魚化龍、馬化龍、象化龍、蛤蟆化龍。卵生是最笨最愚癡的；化生的是最聰明。鳥也是；化生的鳥，聰明得再沒有那麼聰明了。
There are different varieties of dragons, such as gold, white, blue, and black dragons. Some dragons are born from embryos, some from eggs, some from moisture. Others are by transformation which are also known as two-horned young dragons, eagle dragons, single-horned dragons, black dragons, celestial dragons, earthly dragons, imperial dragons, human dragons, fish-transformed dragons, horse-transformed dragons, elephant-transformed dragons, and toad-transformed dragons. Those who are born from eggs are the least intelligent while those born from transformation are the most intelligent.
龍有四種苦
龍有種種的神通變化，按理說，牠應該很快樂；可是牠也有四種苦，是哪四種苦？
一，金翅鳥食苦：大鵬金翅鳥專門吃龍。牠的眼睛特別的明亮，可以觀看十萬八千里，除非龍不現出來；龍一現出來，牠就飛來，吞麵條似地就把龍吃了。龍一看見金翅鳥怎麼樣？什麼神通都沒有了，也不會動了，就在那兒老老實實等著被大鵬金翅鳥吃。為什麼？因為金翅鳥就是降龍的，所以龍一看見金翅鳥就老實了。你看龍不是有神通嗎？可是龍一見到金翅鳥就完了。
Dragons have such inconceivable transformation abilities, in theory they should be very happy. However, dragons undergo four kinds of sufferings:
(1) the suffering of being swallowed by golden-winged peng birds: the golden-wing peng birds specialize in eating dragons, their eye sights are especially sharp and can see as far as 108,000 miles away, the instant dragons appear, they will swoop down and gobble them up they way we swallow noodles. What happens to dragons when they see golden-wing peng birds? They lose all their spiritual powers and freeze in place, they become motionless and wait helplessly to be gobbled-up. Why? It is because the golden-wing peng birds specialize in subduing dragaon. Dragons becomes very tame once they see the golden-wing peng bird. Although dragons have spiritual powers, they finished once they see golden-wing peng birds.
二，行慾時現本身苦：龍和龍要是有性行為的時候，就不是現出龍的樣子－－有金齒、金鱗、金色的犄角，而是現出蛇的樣子，就現原形了，像一條蟲。
(2) the suffering of manifesting their original form during intercourse. When dragons are engages in intercourse, they no longer look like dragons with golden-colored scales, golden-colored teeth and golden-colored horns. They assume their original form and look like snakes.
三，鱗甲細蟲苦：龍所住的龍宮是不熱的，時時都是清涼的，可是龍的每一片鱗裏面，都有許多小蟲在那兒咬牠，咬得牠渾身癢得非常受不了，這是很苦的。
(3) the suffering of having parasites lodge in their scales. Dragon palaces are not warm at all, its always cooling. However, under every scale, parasites lodge there and bite them, making it unbearbly itchy all over.
四、熱沙炙身苦：龍最怕熱，尤其最怕太陽曬，一曬就受不了。所以龍出來玩，或者出來行動，常有雲彩霧氣掩護著牠；可是當龍被蟲子咬得渾身受不了，不能忍受癢時，那怎麼辦呢？雖然有陽光，牠還是出了水，到沙灘上，用沙子來摩擦牠的鱗。一摩擦，你說怎麼樣啊？沙子被太陽曬得非常地熱，牠這麼一摩擦，整個身體就像被火炙燙這麼痛苦。
(4) the suffering of rubbing its body against hot sand: dragons are afraid of being hot, especially when the sun is basking. When dragons come out to play or do something, they are always protected under the shade of colorful clouds. However, when the bites of the bugs become unbearable, what do they do? In broard day light, they will come out of the water and rub their body against the sand of beach. The sand is burning hot from the sun, when they rub their bodies against the sand, their entire body feel like being scorn with fire.
龍的職業是佈雲降雨。可是有五種情形不能降雨：
（一）火大增盛。
（二）風吹雲散。
（三）阿修羅收雲入海。
（四）雨師放逸。
（五）眾生孽重。
The dragons’duty is to spread clouds and make the rain fall. But there are five situations under which they cannot make rain:
(1) when the fire element is in prevalence,
(2) when the wind is blowing and the clouds dispersing,
(3) when the asuras condense the clouds into the ocean,
(4) when the rainmakers are careless, or
(5) when living beings’ karmic offenses are heavy.
毘樓博叉龍王，得消滅一切諸龍趣熾然苦解脫門；
Dragon King Virupaksha gained a passage into liberation of dispelling the burning agony of all those in the path of dragons.
娑竭羅龍王，得一念中轉自龍形示現無量眾生身解脫門；
Dragon King Sagara gained a passage into liberation of manifesting the bodies of limitless sentient beings by transforming his own dragon body in a single thought.
雲音幢龍王，得於一切諸有趣中以清淨音說佛無邊名號海解脫門；
Dragon King Banner of Cloud-like Sounds gained a passage into liberation of uttering the ocean of the Buddha’s boundless names with a refreshing sound amidst all destinies.
焰口龍王，得普現無邊佛世界建立差別解脫門；
Dragon King Mouth Aflame gained a passage into liberation of universally appearing in boundlessly many Buddhalands differently established.
焰龍王，得一切眾生瞋癡蓋纏如來慈愍令除滅解脫門；
Dragon King Blazing Eyes gained a passage into liberation of learning how the Thus Come One’s kind sympathy dispels coverings and fetters of all sentient beings’ hatred and delusion.
雲幢龍王，得開示一切眾生大喜樂福德海解脫門；
Dragon King Banner of Clouds gained a passage into liberation of revealing to all sentient beings the sea of great happiness, joy, and blessings.
德叉迦龍王，得以清淨救護音滅除一切怖畏解脫門；
Dragon King Taksaka gained a passage into liberation of eradicating all fears by means of a pure sound that rescues and protects.
無邊步龍王，得示現一切佛色身及住劫次第解脫門；
Dragon King Boundless Stride gained a passage into liberation of manifesting all Buddhas’ bodies as well as the successive stages of their dwelling.
清淨色速疾龍王，得出生一切眾生大愛樂歡喜海解脫門；
Dragon King Swift Pure Color gained a passage into liberation of giving rise to the ocean of all sentient beings’ great aspirations and happiness.
普行大音龍王，得示現一切平等悅意無礙音解脫門；
Dragon King Booming Sounds Carrying Everywhere gained a passage into liberation of manifesting all impartial, delightful, and unobstructed sounds.
無熱惱龍王，得以大悲普覆雲滅一切世間苦解脫門。
Dragon King Free from Burning Afflictions gained a passage into liberation of a cloud of great compassion that overspreads everywhere, eradicating all the suffering in the world.