(依據在高雄正信佛青會的答問筆錄、修訂而成,20200509修訂)
「住定作觀」還是「出定作觀」?這是一個既古老,
(依據在高雄正信佛青會的答問筆錄、修訂而成,20200509修訂)
「住定作觀」還是「出定作觀」?這是一個既古老,
The Buddha Day in 2020 is very special. The Buddha Day, also known as Vesak day, is on a full moon day in the month of May. In Chinese Buddhism, it is also called the Bathing of the Buddha Festival, or Buddha’s Birthday, which falls on the 8th day of April on the Lunar Calendar. The differences are primarily from records of different traditions in Indian Buddhism.
According to different Buddhist traditions, some consider Buddha’s birth, enlightenment (Buddhahood), and death (Parinirvāna) as three separate days. A decision was made later by the World Fellowship of Buddhists to celebrate the full-moon day in May as the Buddha Day, to commemorate the birth, enlightenment (Buddhahood), and death (Parinirvāna) of the Buddha altogether. This is based on the literature from Theravada Buddhism/ Southern Buddhism.
Nonetheless, a date needs to be selected. It may seem inconceivable to some that discrepancies exist on the date of such a sacred day. As a matter of fact, disagreement on important religious days also occurs in other religions other than Buddhism, a known fact to people who have studied the history of religions.
The Buddha Day, also called Vesak Day in the early days, is a reminder to all of us to recollect Buddha’s merits and virtues. In the suttas, the Buddha has mentioned the reason for the Buddha to appear in the human world. According to Saṃyutta Nikāya or Saṃyukta-Āgama, that is because human beings have been undergoing the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death. All Buddhas make their appearances in the human world to guide beings to see their sufferings and afflictions (Pali: kilesas).
The sufferings mentioned here refers to not only the physical painful sensations, but more often the sufferings caused by our own afflictions. For instance, our physical body is a kind of resultants from the past kammas. As long as you have this body, you will have to deal with sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death. Since we are born, we are aging gradually every day, each hour and every minute. The progress of continuous aging, and the possibilities of contracting diseases, just like the COVID-19 pandemic nowadays, inflict sufferings on us. Those who are not infected are experiencing mental distress and the discomfort under social distancing and quarantine restrictions. However, the situation is much worse for those who have unfortunately contracted the virus, who have to undergo the complications of fear, trepidation, and tremendous bodily sufferings — something that is hard for us otherwise healthy people to fathom.
Though we know that the pandemic is occurring around, it may seem somehow far from us until, in an unfortunate case, a familiar friend is sick and suffering. You would identify with a more close relation with this circumstance, and be pressed by a sense of urgency.
Recently, I have been told that some friends have unfortunately contracted the virus, and some have lost their lives. We start to feel that it is more related to ourselves. This feeling comes from looking at things from a perspective of me. While we develop a sense of urgency, it is more likely for us to engage in careful considerations into the importance of our lives and of our health. This is ‘maraṇānussati’ taught by the Buddha. A practitioner who practice maraṇānussati correctly will have a sense of urgency and therefore treasuring lives. This sense of urgency can eliminate and purify many afflictions we have. The thought that we will live long or the habit of excessive thinking would generate worries and afflictions.
Maraṇānussati will help to peel off and purify (these afflictions). It reminds you about the value of life, and transforms you to become more diligent in making good use of this life on things that are meaningful, such as the cultivation of merits, of wisdom, our practice, fostering benevolence and warding off unhealthy connections.
Shakyamuni Buddha appears in the human world and it is the same for Buddhas in the past and Buddhas in the future. Since seeing the suffering of birth, aging, sickness and death, physical sufferings, and even mental sufferings and after knowing the sufferings according to what it is, we need to further investigate the causes of suffering. This is the noble truth of Suffering and the noble truth of the Cause of Suffering. The study of the Eightfold Noble Path, Samatha and Vipassanā, and the Threefold Training (virtue, mind and wisdom), is the Path to the Cessation of Suffering. The Cessation of Suffering is dependent on the noble truth of the Path .
We’d better reflect on our own mortalities, and engage in cultivating merits, Samatha and Vipassanā. For a beginner, you need to give yourself some homework each day, comprising the cultivation of merits and the practice of Samatha and Vipassanā. For people who haven’t learnt Samatha and Vipassanā, you need to at least accumulate some merits. People who have practised Samatha and Vipassanā, it would be better to have fixed meditation practices of at least 15 minutes for beginners, and of minimum of half an hour to one hour for experienced practitioners, including contemplation in daily life. And you can develop a good habit out of those practices. With repeated efforts in the cultivation of merits and mind, we gain powerful tendencies in the good.
The root of the word Buddha is Budh, meaning awakening. The realization of the mortality of life is a state of awakening. Knowing how to cultivate merits proactively is a state of awakening. Engaging in developing Samatha and Vipassanā is a state of awakening.
Buddha Day is to remind us to develop awakening – to cultivate merits actively. Merits are the only belongings we could bring to the next lives and continue to live upon it. Other forms of belongings will part with us once life is over, and would be left to benefit the alive. Only the wholesome kammas ( including unwholesome karmas) can be taken away.
Awakening is multilevel with the highest lies within the experience of Samatha and Vipassanā. The cultivation of Samatha enables us to reduce or temporarily suppress the five hindrances, and then one can start off to focus on developing vipassanā knowledge. It is vipassanā knowledge that touches the highest level of awakening capacities. If possible, I encourage you to practice and attain the Knowledge of Dissolution (Pali: bhaṅga-ñana), and even better the Knowledge of Equanimity towards Formations (Pali: saṅkhārupekkhā-ñāṇa). Seeing that the nature of all mental and material phenomena is impermanence, dukkha, non-self, and are bound to dissolve and break down, we should go further and investigate that the nature of our own consciousnesses which are capable of perceiving objects, is also impermanence, suffering, non-self and are in dissolution and breaking-down. The realization that both the subjects and the objects are dissolving and breaking down is so profound that it (the Knowledge of Dissolution) will lead us to a deep insight into the nature of emptiness. Penetrating and breaking the notion of self, one no longer applies oneself to the things that will lead to suffering. An accomplisher in vipassanā will not be afraid of death any more, living a worthwhile life even without attaining the fruition of stream-entry ( Pali: Sotapatti-phala).
People who possess the awakening states would practice proactively. On the day of commemorating the Buddha, one would think of various merits and virtues of Buddha. What the Buddha taught us in the human world is Dhamma. The four pairs and eight kinds of noble disciples who observe, promote and carry forward the teachings are called Sangha. This is what is called the Three Jewels of Buddhism.
The current epidemic reminds us how impermanent lives are and we should make good use of it. To the patients, we wish them a speedy recovery from sickness. To those who have passed away, we hope them being reborn into the wholesome realms. To ourselves, seize the time and promote our awakening capacity.
On the path to enlightenment, seeing suffering and therefore being awakened to suffering, will strengthen our aspirations for enlightenment, purify the faith, cultivate merits, and grow wisdom.
Wishes to everyone: Happy Buddha Day!
Translation: 夢陽
阿姜開照2020年佛陀日開示 Dhamma talk by Ajhan Kaizhao on 2020 Buddha Day
「因為你我來到世間都是一樣的,面對著老、病、死的自然法則,也要承受著來到人間的這種的真相,都在面臨著未來的變數,未來的輪迴。但目前最重要的,活著是根本的問題,散佈著這個信念,珍惜這個人生。」
開印阿闍梨2020年佛陀日開示 Dhamma talk by Acariya Kaiyin on 2020 Buddha Day
「在菩提道上,因見苦而覺苦,讓道心更為堅固、淨信,廣修福業,開發智慧。」
可以關注:出現這種情況時,是不是在有登錄學習管理系統修改密碼後。如果新的密碼太簡單,系統會要求您勾選確認使用簡單的密碼的選項。如果沒有勾選這個選項,會造成密碼更新不成功而無法登陸系統。
無論是什麼原因,請聯繫我們 webmeeting.santamonastery@gmail.com ,我們會盡快幫您重設登陸信息。
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通常情況,一個連續的課程會使用同一個會議ID。您也可以在之前的郵件裡查到這個信息。
連線聽不到聲音是因為音頻沒有連接。一般點擊屏幕左下角喇叭圖案,可以看到連接電腦音頻或通過Internet鏈接音頻的字樣。點擊連接即可聽到聲音。
還有其它疑問,可以參考問題3給出的答案。
手機無法看到郵件正文和/或附件信息,可能是手機APP的問題,超過禪舍能力所及的範圍。一般發生這種情況,可以嘗試在電腦上登錄郵箱,或通過瀏覽器登錄郵箱查看。
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如果在上課前30分鐘內,您沒有接到禪舍發出的上線郵件,請採用下面「兩步走」的方式:
第一步,檢查垃圾郵件箱(Spam or Junk Email)。禪舍的郵件帶有鏈接,您使用的郵件服務可能會將其判攝為垃圾郵件。所以請先檢查您的垃圾郵件箱。
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沒有接到禪舍的郵件,請先檢查垃圾郵件箱(Spam or Junk Email)。如果垃圾郵件裡沒有,請與我們聯繫 webmeeting.santamonastery@gmail.com 。
這裡也溫馨提醒:大家登陸Google Group之後,請勿點擊取消訂閱 Cancel Subsription
請不用擔心,您所看到的設置是正確的。阿毗達磨課程的Google Group,只用來給大家發送郵件,不用來上傳講義和發佈課程公告。所以上面不會有這些信息。
講義通常在上課前上傳到學習管理系統。作業會在相關主題結束當天或之前上傳。講義和作業上傳後,學員會收到郵件通知。
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上課期間,老師會專注於講課,不回答問題。如果您有關於課程的疑問,可以先記錄下來。我們會安排特定的時間來接受問題及給大家解答疑問。具體安排會發送到大家的郵箱。

日期: 2020年03月28日
地點:美國寂靜禪舍
主講:開印阿闍梨
講次:1 講
講義下載:以正思維較少「共情傷害」
「共情傷害」是⼀個⼼理學概念。意思是當你長期⼤量地關注災難、有立場政論資訊,同情⼼導致的代入感,會傷害你的⼼理健康,會讓你抑鬱、焦慮、憤怒甚⾄精神崩潰。
When we pour a large amount time into the news of disaster and polarized political views, our ability to identify with others’ feelings can undermine our psychological health, and lead to depression, stress, anger, even metal breakdown.
走出「共情傷害」的修行方法,就是「正思惟」。透過思惟因果、業報、緣起等,儘量將自己的感受和心境調適到「中立」狀態,慈愛而不貪,悲愍而不憂,穩定的情緒可以更有效地看清事實和幫助到其他人。
Right intention can help us walk out of the danger of too much empathy. By contemplating on cause and effect, kamma and resultants, dependent origination etc, we try to tune and stablize our minds. We cultivate loving-kindness and compassion, staying away from greed and grief. We equip ourselves with the clear vision to see the truth and the ability to help others.
中國大陸可至百度網盤觀看
链接: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1BVOn3yYgrcXISyhSNeJ4Cw
提取码: ay8t
時間長度 Length: 00:29:58