2025年2月3日：【惊醒梦中人】Awakening Those in a Dream
⧉ 今天，将日记的内容交给负责设计的义工莲友处理。没想到，对方正在休息，却被我的来讯声惊醒。义工笑着说：「啊，师父，您这是把弟子从梦中叫醒了。」
听到这话，我突然想到几天前有位莲友问：「师父，如果要简单地说，什么是佛法呢？」
我当时回答：「佛法，就是用来惊醒我们这些梦中人的。」
佛经上说：
一切有为法，如梦幻泡影。
古德也曾开示：
梦幻空花，何劳把捉？
得失是非，一时放却。
梦里明明有六趣，
觉后空空无大千。
所以，
何为凡夫？就是梦中人。
何为佛陀？就是梦醒者。
何为佛法？就是能够「惊醒梦中人」之法。
在专业术语中，这就叫「觉悟」。
我们在轮回之中生活，这一生的种种经历，乃至过去无量劫的种种，都如同「梦中事」。虽然众生常常乐于造业，但在佛陀眼里却十分可怜——因为他们仍然在做梦，不知不觉就弄得一身腥。想想看，一个人若是在梦中因为荣誉而开心、因逆缘而伤心，这岂不是很冤枉吗？真是太冤枉、也太可怜了。
或许对有些人来说是「遗憾」，毕竟一辈子辛苦「努力」的事，原来就像在水中捞月。但也是好事，因为既然已经意识到自己在「梦游」，就开始有机会走向「觉醒」。人生所有的是非成败，所谓「利、衰、毁、誉、称、讥、苦、乐」等八风，本来就是心上的负担，如今或许可以渐渐放开，从而获得一份小小的自在。这正是佛法给众生带来的好处。
不过，要彻底从轮回的大梦中醒来，还需要进一步深入的信仰。
其他法门，强调靠自己在梦中让自己觉醒。
念佛法门，则是依靠阿弥陀佛来「敲醒」我们。
哪个方法更容易？哪个更困难？想一想，自己在熟睡中，要仅凭自身意识醒过来容易，还是借助外在闹钟的声音更容易？答案不言而喻。
正如善导祖师所言：
六方如来舒舌证，专称名号至西方；
到彼华开闻妙法，十地愿行自然彰。
一入涅槃常住国，彻穷后际更何忧；
念念时中常证悟，十地行愿自然成。
祈愿更多大众，称念「南無阿弥陀佛」，仰仗弥陀大愿加持，于此生真正成为梦醒之人。
南無阿彌陀佛
≡ 净本法师记录 ≡
English Translation: 【Awakening Those in a Dream】
Today, I handed over the content of diary to a volunteer practitioner who is in charge of the design. Unexpectedly, my message woke him from his rest. Laughing, he said, “Ah, Master, you’ve awakened your disciple from a dream.”
Hearing this, I was suddenly reminded of a question posed by another practitioner a few days ago: “Master, if we were to put it simply, what is Buddhism?”
At the time, I answered: “Buddhism is a teaching used to awaken us dreamers.”
The sutras say:
“All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows.”
An ancient master once taught:
“Dreamlike illusions—why grasp them?
Let go of gains and losses, right and wrong, all at once.
“In the dream, the six realms are so real,
But upon awakening, the vast universe is empty.”
Thus:
What is an ordinary being? A person in a dream.
What is a Buddha? One who has awakened from the dream.
What is the Buddhist teaching? It is the method that “awakens those in a dream.”
In technical terms, this is called “enlightenment.”
We live within the cycle of rebirth. All the experiences of this life—and even those from infinite past eons—are like “events in a dream.” Though sentient beings often delight in creating karma, from the Buddha’s perspective, they are deeply pitiable—still engrossed in dreaming, unwittingly creating negative conditions for themselves. Think of a person in a dream who experiences joy because of honors or feels sadness due to misfortune. Isn’t that quite tragic? It’s truly a pity.
Some might feel a sense of “regret” in hearing this, because all their hard work in this lifetime is like “grasping for the moon in water.” Yet, this recognition can also be a good thing. Once you realize you are sleepwalking, you finally have the chance to move toward “awakening.” All of life’s successes and failures, and the so-called eight winds—gain and loss, defamation and praise, honor and ridicule, suffering and joy—are ultimately burdens on the mind. Perhaps now we can gradually let them go and gain a bit more freedom. This is the benefit Buddhism brings to sentient beings.
However, to fully awaken from the grand dream of cyclic existence, we need to go deeper into the faith.
Other paths emphasize relying solely on oneself, attempting to awaken from within the dream.
The Path of Pure Land School, on the other hand, relies on Amitabha Buddha to “knock us awake.”
Which method is easier? Which is harder? Think about it: if you’re in a deep sleep, is it easier to wake up solely by your own awareness, or to be awakened by an external alarm clock? The answer is self-evident.
As Great Master Shandao said:
[1]
The Buddhas of the Six Directions extend their tongues in testimony,
To encourage recitation of the Name exclusively, enabling birth in the Pure Land.
Once reborn there, when the lotus blooms, one hears the wondrous Dharma;
Then the practices and vows of the Ten Stages naturally manifest.
[2]
Entering the eternal realm of Nirvana in the Pure Land,
One thoroughly transcends all future worries.
In every moment of mindfulness in there, one attains realization;
The practices and vows of the Ten Stages naturally come to fruition.
≡≡≡
I pray that more people will recite “Namo Amitabha Buddha,” relying on Amitabha’s Great Vow for support, and truly become “awakened beings” in this very life.
Namo Amitabha Buddha
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｜南無阿彌陀佛｜
