林鈺堂
      
      
      
      One   Thought Expanded to Limitlessness
      
       純粹一念,本來無垠;奈何此是佛陀與嬰兒境界,而非業識茫茫之凡夫所能體會。佛法理論明示「一即一切;一切即一。」惜乎曲高和寡,一般人無所措手足;望洋興歎之餘,遂歸諸清談之玄論。 
       本文謹就個人體驗陳述由修悲而趨近無垠之領會;願藉此提供一念與無垠間莫須有之橋樑,或可裨益欲深入法海一探究竟者? 
       吾人深心有難安之恐懼──於此無常之世間,不知將遭遇何種情況,特別是難以抗拒之災變,忽然到臨。而此難安之心,不限於個人之生死,乃所有有情永恆之同病。於此體會無垠,則非空洞之理念,而有實際之內容。故知無垠不止包括佛陀之智悲,亦含蓋凡夫之恐懼、貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑,而不為此等所限。佛法故曰:「佛力不可思議;眾生業力亦不可思議。」
       無垠之本來,畢竟無可限量,故曰:「不生不滅,不垢不淨,不增不減。」故曰:「應無所住而生其心。」而於一切有為法則曰:「如夢幻泡影,如露亦如電。」佛法慈悲所指,不離無垠之本來。 
       念個人之安危,而轉思眾生之苦樂,即此而深切體會無垠,故知修悲可以達智,良有以也! 
       數理邏輯對無限之研究,早有高層次之建構。此次對佛法中無限之體會,頗有類似之感,亦即無限中可以包容無限之無限。 
      
                             一九九五年九月十九日
                               供空行吉日以此供之
                               養和齋    於加州
      
       
      一念契入無垠                   林鈺堂 
        One Thought Merging  into Boundlessness
      Yutang Lin
       
      純粹一念,本來無垠;奈何此是佛陀與嬰兒境界,而非業識茫茫之凡夫所能體會。佛法理論明示「一即一切;一切即一。」惜乎曲高和寡,一般人無所措手足;望洋興歎之餘,遂歸諸清談之玄論。 
        One thought, purely in itself, is  originally boundless; nevertheless, this is the state of Buddhas and babies,  but beyond the comprehension of worldlings who are deluded by their own nets of  karmic cognitions. The philosophy of Buddhism clearly expounded that "one  is all, and all are one." Alas! Since high ideals are bound to have only  few adherents, ordinary people would not know how to accomplish this; and when  they cannot attain it they simply count it as a mysterious theory for empty  talk.
      本文謹就個人體驗陳述由修悲而趨近無垠之領會;願藉此提供一念與無垠間莫須有之橋樑,或可裨益欲深入法海一探究竟者? 
        In this essay I try  to convey my comprehension of approaching boundlessness through cultivation of  universal compassion. May it provide an unnecessary bridge between one thought  and boundlessness; and perhaps it would benefit those who want to dive deeply  into the ocean of Dharma to see the ultimate.
      吾人深心有難安之恐懼——於此無常之世間,不知將遭遇何種情況,特別是難以抗拒之災變,忽然到臨。而此難安之心,不限於個人之生死,乃所有有情永恆之同病。於此體會無垠,則非空洞之理念,而有實際之內容。故知無垠不止包括佛陀之智悲,亦含蓋凡夫之恐懼、貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑,而不為此等所限。佛法故曰:「佛力不可思議;眾生業力亦不可思議。」 
        Deep down in our  minds there lurks an unsettling fear—in this world of impermanence one does not  know what kind of situations will erupt, especially the sudden arrival of  irresistible catastrophe. And this uneasiness of mind is not confined to  personal life and death, but an eternal common illness of all sentient beings.  If boundlessness is comprehended at this juncture, then it is not an empty  idea, but with realistic contents. Therefore, one sees that boundlessness is  not limited only to Buddha's wisdom and compassion, but also encompasses fear,  greed, anger, ignorance, pride and doubts of worldlings, and yet is still not  confined by all these. Hence, it is said in Dharma: "The powers of Buddha  are incomprehensible, and the powers of sentient beings' karmas are also  incomprehensible." 
      無垠之本來,畢竟無可限量,故曰:「不生不滅,不垢不淨,不增不減。」故曰:「應無所住而生其心。」而於一切有為法則曰:「如夢幻泡影,如露亦如電。」佛法慈悲所指,不離無垠之本來。 
        The boundless  original state is ultimately beyond limitations and measures. Therefore, in  Dharma it is stated: "neither born nor deceased, neither  dirty nor clean, neither increasing nor decreasing." It is also stated:  "One should raise intentions without abiding anywhere." As to all  contrived matters, it is thus stated:"They are similar to dreams,  illusions, bubbles, shadows, like dewdrops and resemble lightning." What  all Dharma teachings compassionately point at does not stay away from the  boundless original state. 
      念個人之安危,而轉思眾生之苦樂,即此而深切體會無垠,故知修悲可以達智,良有以也! 
        From worrying  about personal safety and peril one turns the mind to the happiness and  suffering of all sentient beings, and thus deeply comprehends boundlessness.  Thus we see that through cultivation in compassion one may attain wisdom; this  is indeed a reasonable course! 
      數理邏輯對無限之研究,早有高層次之建構。此次對佛法中無限之體會,頗有類似之感,亦即無限中可以包容無限之無限。 
        In mathematical  logic the study on infinity has long since developed theories on structures of  multiple layers of infinity. The comprehension on boundlessness in Dharma as  presented here seems similar to the mathematical one, namely, in boundlessness  there is boundless multiplicity of boundlessness. 
       
      一九九五年九月十九日 
        供空行吉日以此供之 
        養和齋    於加州 
      Written in  Chinese on September 19, 1995
        An auspicious day  to make offerings to Dakinis
        This work is  hereby offered to Dakinis
        El Cerrito,  California
      Translated on  December 26, 2013
        El Cerrito,  California 
      
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