第4集 — 什麼是中國古老的教學法

老師提出三個條件，三個條件如果我能接受，他就留我在台中跟他學習，如果不能接受他不收留，你另求高明。這三個什麼條件？第一個，你過去所學的，就是說我跟方老師學的、跟章嘉大師所學的他不承認，完全作廢，從今天起你要跟我學，完全聽我的，這第一個條件。

Teacher Li gave me three conditions; if I could accept them all, he would let me stay in Taizhong to learn from him. Otherwise, I had to look for another wise teacher as he would not take me as his student. What were the three conditions? First, he would not acknowledge everything that I had learned in the past, so all that I had acquired from Professor Fang and Great Master Zhangjia (or Janggya Hotogtu) had to be rendered void. He said, “From today onward, you have to learn from me and only listen to me.” This was the first condition.

第二個條件，要跟我學，台中這個地區任何法師大德來講經教學，沒有得到我的同意，你不准去聽。你看，第一個，我學得很簡單，不複雜，只跟兩個老師，那兩個老師所講的他不承認，要聽他的，其他的任何人講經教學不可以去聽。文字，無論是佛經、是世間文字，沒有經過他同意不可以看，我要看的東西先向他報告，他點頭才行，不點頭不可以看。

Second, I was forbidden from listening to the lectures given by any venerable or great masters in Taizhong without his prior approval. You see, my learning was considered very simple and not complicated because I only learned from two teachers in the past, yet he refused to acknowledge their teachings. Moreover, I must not listen to anyone else’s lectures other than his. Third, I was not allowed to read any texts, be they Buddhist sutras or secular texts, without his permission. I had to first report to him what I wanted to read. I could only read them if he nodded his head but not otherwise.

不准你聽，不准你看，完全聽他一個人指導，他對我要負完全責任。我最後想想，我還是接受了。接受就留在台中，三個月之後感覺得受用了，得什麼受用？心清淨了。很多東西不准看、不准聽，心清淨，心清淨就生智慧，這中國古老的教學法。

I was not permitted to listen to others’ lectures and read other materials without his consent. Since I had to completely listen to his instructions alone, he had to be fully responsible for my learning. After giving some thought to it, I still accepted the three conditions and stayed in Taizhong. Three months later, I felt the benefit of this learning and practising. What was the benefit? My mind became pure and clear. Since I was forbidden from reading and listening to many things, I attained purity of mind and my wisdom grew. This is the ancient Chinese’s way of teaching and learning.

我們當時聽老師這三個條件，感到老師太跋扈，好像目中無人一樣。到二十多年之後，我到新加坡遇到演培法師，也是老朋友了，他告訴我，他是從小出家的，小沙彌，在諦閑老和尚會下，老和尚也是講這三條。我才恍然大悟，不是李老師的專利，原來是過去祖宗教學，世世代代都是守著這個規矩。你不聽老師的你跟他幹什麼？

When we first listened to these three conditions from Teacher Li, we felt this teacher was too domineering, as if he was supercilious. More than twenty years later, I met my old friend, Venerable Yan Pei (1917-1996) when I was in Singapore. He became a novice monk at a tender age and studied Buddhism under the guidance of Great Master Di Xian. He told me that the Great Master gave them these three conditions too. I suddenly realized that these conditions were not devised by Teacher Li himself. It turned out that this method had been taught by our ancestors and all generations had been adhering to these rules. What is the point of learning from our teacher if we do not obey his instructions?