下獄救渡  林鈺堂       簡繁轉換 - 繁體

 

 

地藏菩薩普為大家景仰稱道的德行是,為了救渡,不捨任何眾生,以神通力下到地獄去教化。會墮地獄的苦眾,都是因為宿世造了許多極重的惡業,而遭此等果報。地藏菩薩不因為他們「自作自受」而不理,反而趨近他們,以便開導,希望能使他們醒悟以往的愚迷與過失,轉為改過自新,甚至究竟達到開悟。

地藏菩薩如此的德行乃是出乎「一切一體,一切平等」的證悟;因此,沒有「自是他非」的對立態度與作為。學佛者,效法菩薩,應當避免對立的態度與作為,而採取平等地為所有有情祈禱離苦得樂、究竟開悟的超越心態。

如果不明白及遵守佛法乃是超越世間對立的平等救渡,而在佛法的傳佈裡夾雜了某種特定的立場,那麼,不但不能救渡眾生,反而會墮入世間對立紛爭的輪迴。我們在世間生活,極易有個別的見解與立場,並因之而容易偏離佛法的「一切一體,一切平等」之正道。願此短文,有助修行者,免入歧途。

 

二○二○年十月六日
養和齋   於加州


 

 

Descending into Hell for Salvation

Yutang Lin

 

The meritorious deed of Bodhisattva Earth Treasure, generally admired and praised by Buddhists, is his devotion to salvation without neglecting any sentient being, and hence, through his miraculous supernatural power, he descended into Hells to convert and save the suffering beings there. The suffering beings in Hells are facing such miseries simply because they had committed many deeds that inflicted much suffering to other beings. Bodhisattva Earth Treasure does not overlook them for their eating the fruits of their own doings, but instead approaches them so as to guide them, in the hope that they would thereby become awaken to their past delusions and mistakes, and hence transform themselves into new endeavors which would eventually fully enlighten them.

Such meritorious deeds of Bodhisattva Earth Treasure are born of his realization in enlightened attainments that ″all are in oneness, and all are equal″; thus, he is free from antagonistic attitudes and actions which are born of ″self-righteousness and blaming others″. People on the path toward enlightenment, in following the example as set by this Bodhisattva, should avoid attitudes and behaviors that are antagonistic, and instead adhere to the transcendental mentality of equally praying for all sentient beings to become free from sufferings, attaining Dharma joys, and ultimately attaining full enlightenment.

If one does not comprehend and abide by Dharma as the salvation rooted in equality-of-all and transcending the antagonistic conflicts in the worldly realms, and even mixed some particular views and stands into the spreading of Dharma, then, not only salvation of beings will become impossible, but also one would fall into the transmigrations which are full of worldly antagonistic conflicts. While living in the worldly realms, it is quite easy for one to sustain personal views and stands, and thereby readily move astray from the right path of Dharma that ″all are in oneness, and all are equal″. May this short article help Dharma practitioners to stay away from devious paths!

 

Written in Chinese on October 6, 2020
Translated into English on October 7, 2020
El Cerrito, California

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