佛教智語選錄

簡繁轉換 - 繁體
周居士輯錄

Buddhist Wise Sayings

Selected by Upasaka Chou
Translated into English by Yutang Lin

1. 青青翠竹，盡是法身；鬱鬱黃花，無非般若。 -- 大珠慧海禪師
Thriving green bamboos are all Dharmakaya; flourishing yellow flowers are nothing but wisdom.
                               Chan Master Da Zhu (Great Pearl) Hui Hai (Wisdom Ocean)

2. 手把青秧插滿田 ，低頭便見水中天 ；六根清淨方為道 ，退步原來是向前。 -- 彌勒祖師
Planting green seeding with hands all over the rice field;
As one's head lowered the sky in the water is seen.
All six sense organs are pure, and only then one comprehends;
Stepping backward is actually advancing forward.
                               Patriarch Maitreya

3. 佛在靈山莫遠求，靈山只在汝心頭；人人有個靈山塔，好向靈山塔下修。
Buddha is on the Vulture Peak but no need to seek afar;
Vulture Peak is only in your mind.
Each and every one has a Vulture Peak pagoda;
Just practice well within this Vulture Peak pagoda.

4. 大海之水可飲盡，剎那心念可數知，虛空可量風可繫，無能說盡佛境界。 -- 華嚴經
Water in a great ocean can still be exhausted by drinking,
Thoughts within a split second can still be counted,
Empty sky can still be measured, and winds tied down,
And yet it is impossible to describe exhaustively the spheres of Buddhas.
                               Avatamsaka Sutra

5. 善似青松惡似花，看看眼前不如它；有朝一日遭霜打，只見青松不見花。 -- 明．劉伯溫
Good is like green pines and evil like flowers;
Right now the former seems inferior to the latter.
Someday when frost bites down onto all,
Then green pines can still be seen but not flowers.
                               Liu Bo Wen of Ming Dynasty

6. 入門便悉彌勒笑，出寺難求俗慮拋，俗慮惱人無止境，不如時與世尊交。 -- 清．石蓮
Once entered the gate one would comprehend the smile of Maitreya,
After leaving the monastery hard to seek one without worldly sorrows,
Worldly considerations harass people without endings,
Rather to communicate with the World Honored One often.
                               Shi Lian (Stone Lotus) of Qing Dynasty

7. 青山幾度變黃山，世事紛飛總不干；眼內有塵三界窄，心頭無事一床寬。 -- 日本．夢窓疎石
Green hills have turned yellow ever so often,
Worldly affairs erupt like flying dusts of no avail;
With dusts in eyes the Three Realms are narrow,
With mind free from worries one bed is broad.
                               Dream Window Scarce Stones of Japan

8. 廬山煙雨浙江潮，未到千般恨不消；到得原來無別事，廬山煙雨浙江潮。 -- 宋．蘇東坡
Hazy rain on Mount Lu and tidal waves of River Zhe (Winding River),
Before witnessing them all sorts of longing could not be extinguished;
Once in their presence it turns out that originally there is nothing but
Hazy rain on Mount Lu and tidal waves of River Zhe.
                               Su Dong Po of Song Dynasty

9. 不經一番寒徹骨，怎得梅花撲鼻香？直饒熱得人流汗，荷池蓮蕊也芬芳。 -- 古德
Without going through chilling to the bones once,
How could the fragrance of plum blossom be smelled?
Even though it is so hot as to cause people sweating,
Lotus stamens in the lotus pond are still fragrant.
                               Ancient Virtuous One

10. 若能轉物即如來，春至山花處處開；自有一雙慈悲手，摸得人心一樣平。 -- 宋．白雲守端
If capable of turning matters around, then Tathagata is attained;
As spring arrives mountain flowers are blooming everywhere.
Naturally having a pair of compassionate hands
To smooth out all human minds to the same evenness.
                               Bai Yun (White Cloud) Shou Duan (Sustaining Righteousness) of Song Dynasty

 

11. 人身難得今已得，佛法難聞今已聞；此身不向今生度，更向何生度此身？ -- 古德
Now that one has attained the scarcely attainable human body,
And listened to the scarcely heard Dharma teachings;
If this body is not used in this life to attain enlightenment,
In which life will one put this body to such use?
                               Ancient Virtuous One

 

12. 橫看成嶺側成峰，遠近高低各不同；不識廬山真面目，只緣身在此山中。 -- 宋．蘇東坡
When looked at horizontally it became a ridge, and vertically a peak;
While looked at from afar or near, high or low, it all looks different.
Not recognizing the real appearance of Mount Lu,
Only because this body is within the very mountain.
                               Su Dong Po of Song Dynasty

13. 人生到處知何似，恰似飛鴻踏雪泥；泥上偶然留指爪，鴻飛哪復計東西？ -- 宋．蘇東坡
As one roams about in life, do you know what it is like?
Just as a flying swan steps on snowy mud;
Occasionally traces of claws left on the mud,
But the swan as it flies pays no attention to even directions!
                               Su Dong Po of Song Dynasty

14. 春有百花秋有月，夏有涼風冬有雪；若無閒事掛心頭，便是人間好時節。 -- 宋．無門慧開
In spring there are all sorts of flowers, in autumn moon;
In summer there are cool breezes, and in winter snow.
When there is nothing to worry in mind,
That is good season in this human life.
                               Wu Men (No Door) Hui Kai (Wisdom Opened) of Song Dynasty

 

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