答疑

Question and Answer

闽南佛学院的法师今天问我：“佛陀成佛后能否见众生？”这是学佛之人常有的疑惑。有人说，佛陀成佛后已无我相、众生相，自然不能见众生。又有人说，不能见众生又如何度化众生呢？

A Dharma Teacher in Minnan Buddhist Academy asked me today: “Does the Buddha still perceive sentient beings after having attained Buddhahood?” This is a question many Buddhists often raise. Some people say: “An enlightened Buddha has eliminated all perceptions of self and of beings; therefore, to him there are no sentient beings to be seen.” Still others wonder: “How can the Buddha tame sentient beings if he does not perceive them?”

对此问题应如此回答，佛陀成佛后于如所有智前，一切平等无碍，无相无众生；而于尽所有智前，能照见一切众生之起心动念，但无迷乱相，无有执著。

The answer to these questions can be stated as follows: To the enlightened Buddha, in his wisdom that knows the nature of all phenomena, all appearances are indistinguishably equal; to him there are neither forms nor beings. In his wisdom that knows the multiplicity of all phenomena, the Buddha knows every thought and idea of all sentient beings; however, to him there is neither confusion nor clinging.

近代藏地著名大德俄巴活佛，曾得弥勒菩萨摄受，法王如意宝曾于其前听闻过佛法。他于《辩宗派见解论》中引用荣索班智达的教义举例说：如同两人于一房中，其中一人做梦，另一人具他心通，而得知其梦境，但因知其为梦，而不生执著。若此时做梦之人因梦中遭遇恶境而生大苦恼，清醒之人可用神通入其梦境，令其消除恐怖直至苏醒。同样，佛陀也了知众生之境现及分别念，但无相执，却能以方便法，令各种根器众生逐渐趋入解脱道。

Tulku Dewopa, once cared for by Lord Maitreya, is a renowned contemporary Tibetan siddha from whom our Choeje (King of Dharma) Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche had received teachings. In the shastra Discerning the Views of Sects, the Tulku cites teachings from Pandita Rangjung as examples: There are two persons in a room; the first person is dreaming while the second one, who has the psychic power of knowing other minds, is awake. The second person sees the first one’s dream with no clinging because he clearly knows it is a dream. Should the dreamer have a nightmare and suffer tremendously, the second person can through his miraculous power enter the dream, dispel the horror, and wake up the dreamer. In the same way, the Buddha knows sentient beings’ conceptual thoughts and their perceived phenomena. The Buddha has no attachment and, with his skillful means that suit each individual, leads all beings gradually onto the path of liberation.

如来的智慧、功德，即使得地菩萨也不能如实了知，凡夫之分别念就更难以揣度。法称论师云：“如来智慧不可思。”

Even Bodhisattvas who have advanced to the level of bhumis cannot fathom thoroughly the wisdom and qualities of the Tathagata, what needs to be said of ordinary people with conceptual minds? Master Dharmakirti says it well: “The wisdom of the Tathagata is just inconceivable.”

对于如来之究竟智慧，应以信心与教证了知，绝非以分别念思维推理所能决断。

Only through strong faith and scriptural evidence can one comprehend the ultimate wisdom of the Tathagata. It can never be resolved by the thinking and reasoning of a conceptual mind.

壬午年三月十二日 　
2002年4月24日

12th of March, Year of RenWu
April 24, 2002