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发表于 2015-9-2 14:35
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[宣化老和尚开示VenerableMasterHsuanHua'sTalks]若人
续-《●[宣化老和尚开示 Venerable Master Hsuan Hua's Talks]若人静坐一须臾 If a Person Sits Quietly in Dhyana Samadhi for an Instant》
摘自《无量香光网文章集锦》
As soon as he had a conversation with the Old Man of Mount Wei, he felt the affinities were very deep and, inspired by his faith in him, he thought, "You are really a lofty monk who has the Way! But you are living in such a shaky, broken-down hut. It leaks when it rains and the wind blows through it. It's too bitter! You can build a monastery here. I'll give you the money." On the spot he gave the Old Man three hundred ounces of silver. The value of silver at the time was such that three hundred ounces could have built ten monasteries like the one we are in now. [the former Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery]. In those days a piece of silver could buy a lot of things. Prime Minister Pei Xiu, acting as a great Dharma Protector, offered up three hundred ounces of silver. But the Old Man of Mount Wei didn't have a safe, or a safety deposit box, or even a special place to put it in. And so Minister Pei Xiu simply set the money outside the hut in the grass and left.
Three years later, Prime Minister Pei Xiu returned to call upon the Old Man of Mount Wei and found him still living in the same shabby hut. He thought, "Oh! I gave this monk three hundred ounces of silver. What did he do with it? Did he use it to buy wine? Did he buy meat with it? How strange! Three hundred ounces of silver and he didn't build a monastery. He's still living in this broken-down hut!" He went in and saw that the Old Man of Mount Wei was just the same as before. And so he asked him,"Three years ago I gave you three hundred ounces of silver and told you to build a monastery. Why didn't you do it? What have you done with the money?"
The Old Man of Mount Wei said, "Silver? Where did you put it? Go look for it there." Pei Xiu thought to himself, "At that time there was no place to put it, and so I left it in the grass." Then he went to search in the grass and sure enough, the silver was still there. It hadn't moved an inch. The Old Man of Mount Wei hadn't even gathered up the money to put it in a safe place out of fear that someone might steal it. Prime Minister Pei Xiu thought, “Oh, he's really a lofty monk who has attained the Way. For three years he didn't even touch that three hundred ounces of silver. I should build the monastery for him.” Then he took out some more money and built a huge monastery that could house more than three thousand people.
After the temple was built, many monks who cultivated Chan meditation went there to cultivate. The monastery could house over three thousand people, and more than two thousand people had already gone there to reside. Pei Xiu thought, “Ah, so many monks are living here together. I will tell my son to leave the home-life.” Then Pei Xiu sent his son, a Hanlin scholar who was extremely learned--on a par with a present-day full professor--to leave the home-life.
What did the Old Man of Mount Wei tell this son of the Prime Minister to do? He said, "Since you have just become a left-home person, first you have to practice austerities. I appoint you water-carrier. You must haul water every day for the two thousand and some people who live here." Thus, he had to rise each day shortly after two o'clock in the morning and carry water all day long until midnight. You all sit in your Chan meditation; he hauled his water. Back and forth, back and forth he went, hauling water for several years. During those several years of hauling water, he didn't do anything else. He had no time to study the sutras, no time to bow to the Buddhas, and no time to formally recite the Buddha's name. His cultivation consisted solely of carrying water and reciting Buddha's name as he went. He did not have a fixed time to concentrate on studying the sutras, or any opportunity to recite the Buddha's name together with everyone else. He was a novice; he had to do hard work.
After carrying water for several years, he thought: "Everyone resides in the Chan hall. I'm going to take a look and see what goes on in a Chan hall. It just so happened that when he stole a peek into the hall, this monk was snoring and that monk was sleeping and the more he looked, the more he saw they were all like that. He said to himself, "Wow! I have been working so hard every day carrying water for you to drink and to use in cooking. All along I thought you were working hard at your cultivation. But, in fact, you've only been sleeping here. Really! Here I am a Hanlin scholar toting water so you have the opportunity to sleep!" He was extremely upset.
As soon as he got upset, the abbot sent an attendant to summon him. In all those years he had never seen his teacher. Now he had a chance to see his teacher and the Old Man of Mount Wei said to him, "Pack up your things and get out. We can't use you here. You are being kicked out."
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