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一句阿彌陀佛，千萬不要丟掉 - 第282集
Do not discard Amitabha Buddha’s name.
大乘佛法沒有別的，開發自性的智慧，自性是寶藏，什麼都有，我們去開採。用什麼開？用戒定，戒定就是開採自性智慧寶藏的工具、方法。不能向外求，外頭沒有東西，大乘教上佛說，「心外無法，法外無心」。
Buddhism is nothing but uncovering our innate wisdom or extracting the treasure of the true nature which has everything. What should we use to extract the treasure? We use precepts observation and meditative concentration, which are the methods to uncover the innate wisdom (i.e., the treasure of the true nature). We cannot seek it externally because nothing exists outside. As the Buddha said in the Mahayana sutras, “Nothing exists beyond the mind; the mind does not exist beyond the phenomena.”
心外無法，你在心外怎麼能夠得到智慧？怎麼能得到德能相好？得不到，全要從自己自性，這比什麼都重要。所以大乘修行人對佛有信心，身體重不重要？身體重要，怎麼樣照顧？阿彌陀佛照顧。
Since nothing exists beyond the mind, how can you obtain wisdom, virtuous abilities and fine appearance outside the mind? You will never obtain them externally; everything has to be sought from your own true nature. This is more important than anything else. That’s why Mahayana practitioners have confidence in the Buddha. Is our physical body important? Yes, it is. How should we take care of it? Amitabha Buddha will take care of it.
海賢老和尚的師父給我們做出最好的榜樣，身體有什麼毛病，他能夠幫人治病。他用什麼藥？外面花草樹木他隨便拈一點來就是藥，就能把人病治好，什麼病都能治好。這是什麼？因為，一切花草樹木都是自性變現的，只要有信心，實際上全是信心治好的。
Great Master Hai Xian had set the best example for us. He could help people cure any kind of illness. What medicine did he use? He randomly plucked a bit of flowers and grasses outside and turned them into medicines that could help people cure any illness. What is the reason? Because all flowers and grasses are manifested by the true nature. As long as you have confidence in them, all illnesses can be cured. Their illness was actually healed by their own confidence.
你對佛菩薩沒有信心，對自己沒有信心，這很可憐，為什麼？自己的本能完全失效了，要靠外援，要靠外面的藥物，藥物都有副作用。從這個地方就真正體會到，信佛這個信字好難，太難了！過去我受戒，出家我兩年之後才受戒，受戒之後，當然第一個去拜老師，我的老師李炳南老居士。
If you have no confidence in buddhas, bodhisattvas and yourself, you are very pitiful. Why is that so? Because your own innate abilities have completely failed and you have to rely on external medicines which have side effects. From this place, we really feel that it is too difficult to have confidence in the Buddha! After I received the precepts in the past (i.e., two years after I was ordained as a monk), the first thing I did was certainly going back to pay respect to my teacher, Mr. Li Bing-nan.
我到慈光圖書館，他在裡面，我在大門外他看見了，看見我就指著我，大聲跟我講，「你要信佛！」到裡面去之後，他說你坐下來，你懂得我的意思嗎？我說我不懂，我要不信，我怎麼會出家，怎麼會去受戒？當然信佛了，你給我講這個信，所以我有疑惑。他就告訴我，有八十、九十老和尚到臨終還不信佛。我才明白他的意思。
When he saw me walking into Tsi-Kuang Library from outside the gate, he pointed at me while talking to me in a loud voice, “You must believe in the Buddha!” As soon as I entered the library, he asked me to sit down and asked, “Do you know what I meant?” I said, “No, I don’t. If I don’t believe in the Buddha, how can I become a monk and accept the precepts? Of course, I believe in the Buddha. That’s why I have doubts in what you said just now.” He then told me, “There are old monks in their eighties and nineties who still don’t believe in the Buddha even in their final moment of life.” Only then did I understand his meaning.
我們這個信佛裡頭帶著懷疑，不是真信、不是淨信，裡頭有摻雜著懷疑，有很多疑慮在裡頭，這不信。不信，佛就不靈；信，他就靈了。為什麼海賢老和尚那麼靈？他沒有懷疑。我們今天怎麼不靈？有懷疑，懷疑把信心攪亂了，所以信心不純。問題在這個地方，不能不知道。佛沒錯，經沒錯，我們學錯了自己不知道。
If we still harbour doubt in our belief, it is not a true and pure belief. Since we have many doubts in our belief, we actually do not believe in the Buddha and our practice will not be effective. It will be effective if we believe in the Buddha. Why was Great Master Hai Xian’s practice so effective? Because he had no doubt in the Buddha. Why is our practice not effective today? Because doubt has messed up our confidence, causing it to be impure. We have to know that the problem lies here. There is nothing wrong with the Buddha and the sutra, but we ourselves do not know that our practice has gone wrong.
你看，信、願、行，信，半信半疑，那個願就不是真的願。想往生，對這個世界有留戀，又捨不得去，名聞利養放不下，欲望還是在膨脹。這個障礙從自己來的，不是從外來的。你的心不清淨，你沒有通過戒定慧，你沒有學過這個，所以成就就難了。
You see, the conditions for rebirth in the Pure Land is belief, vow and practice. If belief is partially mixed with doubts, then that vow is not a real one. For instance, you may wish to be reborn in the Pure Land, but you are still emotionally attached to this world and are reluctant to leave. You cannot let go of fame and profits, and your desire is still expanding. These obstacles come from you yourself and not from outside. Your mind is impure and you have not learned and passed the Threefold Learning (i.e., precepts, meditative concentration and wisdom), so it is difficult for you to succeed.
我們今天要想真正成就，萬緣放下，徹底放下，什麼都不要去理會，一心念佛。好好照顧這個話頭，禪宗講的參話頭，我們的話頭，一句阿彌陀佛，千萬不要丟掉，分秒必爭，分分秒秒都是阿彌陀佛，我們淨土宗才真正叫淨。現在我們修的淨土宗，淨土宗淨，我們自己心不淨，入不了淨土，有名無實，這不能成就。
If we really want to succeed in our practice today, we must let go of all worldly matters and single-mindedly chant Amitabha Buddha’s name. We must take good care of this principal theme i.e., do not discard Amitabha Buddha’s name, and fight for every minute and second to chant this meritorious name. Only then is our Pure Land practice really called ‘pure.’ Even though we are practising Pure Land Buddhism now, we cannot be reborn in the Pure Land if our own mind is impure. As we merely cultivate formality (nominal) and do not truly practise (substance), we will not achieve success.