「觀經云：是心是佛，是心作佛」，這兩句是世尊在《觀無量壽經》上跟我們講淨土宗的理論，淨土這個法門根據什麼道理建立的。沒有明確的道理我們不能相信、不能接受，佛把這個道理說出來，就這八個字。是心是佛，佛是什麼？佛的意思是覺，是心是覺，覺就是佛。可是我們現在怎麼樣？我們現在是心是迷，它不是覺。
The Contemplation Sutra states, “This mind is a buddha’s mind; this mind thus becomes a buddha.” These two phrases are the theory of Pure Land Buddhism proclaimed by the Buddha in the Contemplation Sutra. The Buddha told us the basis of the Pure Land method because without a clear reason, we cannot believe and accept it. ‘This mind is a buddha’s mind’ - what does ‘buddha’ mean? It means enlightenment, so this mind is enlightened (buddha). But what has happened to us now? Our mind is now deluded and not enlightened.
迷就是眾生，覺就是佛，是一不是二，眾生覺了，成佛了，佛迷了變成眾生。這個宇宙從哪裡來的？大乘教裡佛給我們說，這宇宙是假的，不是真的。《金剛經》裡頭描繪得就非常好，《金剛經》一首偈子說，「一切有為法，如夢幻泡影，如露亦如電，應作如是觀」。
Being deluded is a sentient being, and being enlightened is a buddha. Both buddhas and sentient beings are one and not two because sentient beings become buddhas when they are enlightened and buddhas become sentient beings when they are deluded. Where did this universe come from? In the Mahayana teachings, the Buddha told us that this universe is illusory and not real. There is one stanza in the Diamond Sutra which depicts this very well. It reads, “All conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles and shadows. They are like dew and lightning. We should contemplate them as such!”
這首偈說明整個宇宙的真相，是什麼？是一場夢，我們在作夢，把夢中境界以為是真的，錯了，不是真的。它的存在像露水，露水我們常見的，太陽出來了，一會就乾了、就沒有了；如電，電是閃電，一閃，再痕跡也找不到了，不是真的，是假的。所以把它當作夢境、把它當作閃電，對了，你看到宇宙萬物的真相了。
This stanza illustrates the reality of the whole universe. What is this universe? It is a dream. When we are dreaming, we think that the realm of dreams is real but it is actually not real. Its existence is just like the dew which disappears shortly after the sun rises. It is like a flash of lightning which leaves no trace at all. It is illusory and not real. Hence, by regarding the universe as the realm of dreams and a flash of lightning, you will see the reality of everything in the universe.