Pray and Take Vows, and Be Associated with Higher Powers

 

Pray and Take Vows, and Be Associated with Higher Powers

 

Why should you hate him if he cheated you out of money and thus rendered you into a state of utter poverty. Because hatred can’t change what has already happened and it can only bring you suffering. You take it for granted that you should hate him, but you aren’t aware that you are punishing only yourself. Therefore, compassion, which seems to be beneficial only to others, is actually most beneficial to yourself. Besides, it is the best weapon against greed and hatred.

 

I have said, of all dharmas, the highest one is the associated dharma, that is, association with your soul guru (root guru), with a greater spirit or power. The essence of associated dharma is praying, without which it is impossible to be associated with your root guru. As long as you are associated with your root guru, you are able to enlighten your mind and see your own nature and you are able to achieve ultimate liberation. And the most important thing in practicing the associated dharma is your faith in your root guru. In a sense, your faith is the mark of your capacity for growth. Only those with superior faculties have great faith. Therefore, the real hindrances to your practice are things that prevent you from having pure faith in your root guru, which include your previous knowledge, other people’s mistaken views. If you have doubts about your root guru, you aren’t able to receive the wisdom and compassion sent from his mind.

 

The content of prayers is a kind of vows. For example: I pray that my root guru may accept me. I take refuge in you and will never think of retrogressing. I will never regret the decision I make today. And I will go toward this goal courageously all my life. You must have a mind like that when you practice the associated dharma, for only in that way can your prayers be associated. You shouldn’t change your mind constantly like the little monk in that story, who sometimes made resolve to help all sentient beings to achieve enlightenment and sometimes only thought of his own liberation.

 

Another prayer goes like this: May my root guru bless and protect me. Please turn all adverse conditions in my life into agreeable ones. The so called adverse conditions refer to difficulties, setbacks, and even suffering. Turning adverse conditions into agreeable ones means making all suffering and setbacks an aid in developing wisdom.

 

For example, some people have experienced the ups and downs in business; they have lived a luxuriant life and enjoyed fame, and they have also tasted the bitterness of poverty and cold eyes. Therefore, they now understand that gains and losses are but a dream. Life itself is a big dream; nothing will last. With this knowledge, they are able to deal with everything with equanimity. Originally, failure in business is an adverse condition, but now it opens up opportunities to achieve wisdom.

 

You can also pray to your root guru to disclose your wisdom, saying “May my root guru disclose my wisdom and turn my ignorance into brightness.

 

For a man, the most terrible thing is not ignorance, but his unawareness of his ignorance. For example, some people try all means to pursue fame and fortune. In the end, though they get what they desire, they have been living under great pressure. However, they have never asked themselves if there is something wrong with their way of life. Only when ignorance is turned into brightness can they see clearly that what they once deemed to be infallible laws are actually lies and illusions. Nevertheless, as they pray piously to their root gurus to disclose their wisdom, they are getting farther and farther away from ignorance.

 

Some people pray for compassion: “May my root guru grant me the key to the treasure house of compassion and let greed and hatred vanish from my life once for all.

 

Some people can’t understand why they shouldn’t hate those who have obviously done something wrong. For example, why should you hate him if he cheated you out of money and thus rendered you into a state of utter poverty. Because hatred can’t change what has already happened and it can only bring you suffering. You take it for granted that you should hate him, but you aren’t aware that you are punishing only yourself. Therefore, compassion, which seems to be beneficial only to others, is actually most beneficial to yourself. Besides, it is the best weapon against greed and hatred.

 

These prayers and vows are necessary ritual commentaries in that they include very important things about how to associate with gurus. Not only should you have such a mind, but you should turn it into a ritual. As you keep on training yourself in such rituals, you can change your mind-nature eventually. If, after having enlightened your mind and seen your nature, you stop training, you are very likely to fall into only emptiness and lose your enlightened nature, and thus it will make it hard for you to achieve association. The prayers quoted above are those that appear frequently in ritual commentaries.

 

In the above prayers, besides prayers to one’s root guru, we also mentioned prayers to some mystical powers in the universe.

 

In terms of Buddhist practice, the mystical powers fall into two categories. One is mundane powers, which help you because you make offerings; they still have discriminating minds and they haven’t attained illuminating emptiness. The other is supramundane powers; when you have entered into emptiness, you and they are no different. Likewise, when a drop of water has fallen into the sea, they become one and the same; when a bottle of oxygen is released into the air, it becomes one and the same with the air.

 

After you enlighten your mind and see your nature, the supramundane mystical powers will help you, because at that time you and they are one and the same and meanwhile you own enormous power, which is somewhat like resonance, a kind of sympathetic vibration. When you have that sympathetic vibration, you virtually get the power of a group. When you are associated with it, you virtually get a spiritual power of resonance, which can bring you some worldly gains.

 

Some people will say that, if you keep on making vows wholeheartedly, your vows will eventually come true. This is due to the assistance of the mystical powers in the universe. The Law of Attraction, which was popular recently, says the same thing.

 

However, the real purpose of association is not to get some worldly things, but culminating wisdom. When you are one with buddhas and bodhisattvas, when that power has shattered all your habit energies, you are able to attain the absolute meeting of mother and child brightnesses. Then, you become an outlet of supramundane powers and you are likely to possess infinite wisdom.

 

Suppose you were originally a small pool by the sea. With the constant accumulation of certain powers, all the obstacles – such as earth, sand, and stones (i.e., your habit energies) – were removed, and since then you are permanently connected to the sea and are part of it. When the tide is coming in, you will rush forward roaring. In fact, what makes you rush forward is the power of the sea.

 

Therefore, what the achieved ones of all generations have depended on is the power of emptiness, which is invincible in the dharma-realm. When waves rush toward the shore, it is apparently the first wave that arrives earliest, but in fact what makes that wave rush forward is the power of the sea itself.

 

A practitioner, as he continues practicing, ends up without a self, and only then can he possess a greater self.

 

Notice

 

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第四辑：再送几条锦囊妙计

 

祈请发愿，与更高的力量相应

 

他骗了你的钱，让你变得穷困潦倒，为什么你不应该恨他呢？因为仇恨改变不了已经发生了的事情，只会给自己带来痛苦。你觉得恨他是应该的，却不明白你惩罚的实际上只是自己。所以说，慈悲看起来是利众，实际上是最大的利己，也是对治贪婪与仇恨最好的“武器”。

 

我说过，所有修法中，最高的法应该是相应法——与你的灵魂导师（根本师）、与高于你的某种精神和力量相应。而相应法的精髓就是祈请，不祈请是不可能与根本师相应的。只要你跟你的根本师相应了，就能明心见性，就能得到究竟解脱。而修相应法最重要的，就是对根本师的信心。从某种意义上来说，信心是根器的标志。大根器者，才有大信心。所以说，修行中真正的业障，就是阻碍你净信根本师的那些东西，包括你原有的知识、他人的邪见，等等。如果你对根本师怀有怀疑，便无法得到他以心印心传递给你的智慧和慈悲。

 

祈请的内容，也属于一种发心，比如：“祈请根本师摄受我，我皈依你并且永远不生退转之心，我永远不会后悔今天的这个决定，并且一辈子都会向着这个目标去努力、迈进。”修相应法时必须有这样一种心，祈祷、祈请才能相应。你一定不能像前面说过的那个故事中的小和尚一样，忽而发菩提心，忽而只求自己解脱。

 

有一种祈请的内容是：“祈请根本师护佑我，让我生命中间所有的逆缘都成为顺因。”所谓的逆缘，就是困难、挫折，甚至是一些苦难。逆缘成顺因，指的是让所有的苦难和挫折，都变成开启智慧的助缘。

 

比如，有的人经历了生意上的大起大落，极尽奢华、名利双收的生活他体验过了，突然而来的穷困窘迫与世人的冷眼他也品尝过了，因此他明白了利益得失不过是一场梦幻，人生就是一个巨大的梦境，什么都不会永恒。明白了这一点之后，无论再发生什么事，他都能任运自在，处之泰然。所以，生意失败本是逆缘，却变成了他开启智慧的契机。

 

你也可以直接祈请根本师开启智慧：“祈请根本师开启我的智慧，让我的愚痴化为光明。”

 

最可怕的，其实不是一个人很无知，而是他根本就不知道自己无知。比如，有的人费尽所有精力去追名逐利，最后名利是有了，他却一直生活在巨大的压力之下，但他从来没有问过自己，这样的生活方式是否存在什么问题？只有当愚痴化为光明时，他才会看清楚生活中，一些自己曾经奉为金科玉律的东西，其实是一个又一个谎言和幻境。不过，当他虔诚祈请根本师开启智慧时，实际上已经开始一点点远离愚痴了。

 

有的人则祈请根本师开启慈悲：“祈请根本师把慈悲宝库的钥匙交给我，让贪婪和仇恨永远从我的生命中消失。”

 

有的人不明白，一些人明明做错了事情，为什么自己却不应该去恨他？举个例子，他骗了你的钱，让你变得穷困潦倒，为什么你不应该恨他呢？因为仇恨改变不了已经发生了的事情，只会给自己带来痛苦。你觉得恨他是应该的，却不明白你惩罚的实际上只是自己。所以说，慈悲看起来是利众，实际上是最大的利己，也是对治贪婪与仇恨最好的“武器”。

 

这些祈请发愿、皈依发心的内容当中，包含了有关相应师尊的一些非常重要的内容，是一种必要的仪轨。你不仅仅要有这样一种心念，而且还要把心念转化为这样一种仪式。当你通过这种修行的礼仪、仪式长期反复地训练自己时，才能真正改变自己的心性。如果明心见性之后不去训练，就很容易会流于顽空、丢失觉性，这样就会很难得到相应。上面的祈请内容，就是修行仪式中经常出现的东西。

 

在上面的祈请中，除了祈请根本师之外，我们也谈到了对宇宙间某种神秘力量的祈请。

 

按修行的说法，这种神秘力量分为两种：一种属于世间的范畴，是靠供养来帮助你的，它还有分别心，没证得明空；另外一种属于出世间的范畴，当你明白心性，进入空性之后，你和它是无二无别的。正如一滴水融入大海之后，它们便是一体；一瓶氧气进入天空之后，跟空气也融为一体。

 

当你明心见性之后，出世间的神秘力量就会帮你，因为那时他和你是一体的，而同时你也拥有了许多力量，这种力量类似于一种共性的力量，是一种共振力。当一个人得到这种共振力时，就等于得到了一个群体的力量。你在与其相应时，就等于得到了一种共振的心灵力量，这种力量会帮助你达成一些世间的东西。

 

有的人会说，发愿发到一定的程度，愿望真的会实现，这就是获得宇宙间的神秘力量帮助的一个表现。前段日子盛行一时的“吸引力法则”讲的也是这个道理。

 

不过，相应真正的目的，并不是得到某种世间的东西，而是得到一种究竟的智慧。当你和诸佛菩萨完全成为一体，那种力量破除了所有的习气后，你就能达到纯粹的“子母光明会”，这时你就是出世间力量的一个出口，就可能会俱足无量的智慧。

 

比如你本来只是海边的一个水塘，但因为某种力量的日积月累，你与大海之间的所有阻隔——包括泥土、沙石等，就像是你的习气——都被清理干净了，从此与大海连在一起，变成了大海的一部分。所以涨潮的时候，你也会气势澎湃地向前冲，但其实支持你向前冲的还是大海的力量。

 

因此，历代大成就师凭借的，也是法界无坚不摧的空性力量。好像大海咆哮起来涌向某个海滩时，表面看起来第一个浪头是最先到达，但实质上支持那个浪头向前冲的还是大海本身的力量。

 

修行修到最后就没有自己了，没有自己的时候才会拥有“大我”。

 

 

声明：本文系文化志愿者试译，非专业人才翻译，错误定然不少，如出现疏漏及错误，敬请读者见谅。如有任何翻译上的建议及修正意见，欢迎及时与我们取得联系，我们会加以校对、修改，并希望有专业才能的朋友也能加入我们志愿者群体中来。

 

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