今天因為車子後玻璃碎裂的緣故,所以改搭晚上的車回台南,結果下午我哥突然接到一通電話後,就問我要不要跟一對夫婦一起去供僧?
「好啊,當然好!」我從床上跳起來說。
開了七八分鐘的車就抵達了,離我家超近,但我卻從來沒來過這間寺院,寺廟位於卑南要往初鹿的半路上,是個實修道場,裡面人不多但全都精進無比,整個下午都看到居士們在三步一拜的在繞塔朝山,從下午兩點直到我們離開都沒停過。
而參拜了大雄寶殿後,見到了住持慧希法師,法師是為很慈祥的比丘尼,先在齋堂跟我們開示,也讚歎大家能接觸佛法真的因緣福慧具足,也說了很多佛經的小故事給我們聽。
接著師父帶我們到地藏殿參拜,裡面巨大又莊嚴的菩薩像讓人看了無比讚歎,此時她恭敬的拿出一盒香粉,捏成月牙形點燃。
「這什麼香?也太...好聞又特殊無比?!」我內心驚訝,因為我記憶庫裡沒有這個味道,讓我隔著口罩也聞到濃郁的香氣,但我無法用任何一種形容詞或類似的味道來表達香的味道。
「師父這是甚麼香啊?我們自己也有在製香,但怎麼都沒聞過這個味道?」尤一起來供僧的夫婦合掌問師父。
「喔,這個啊,是牛頭栴檀!」師父點完香後,恭敬的向地藏菩薩禮拜,我們也一起拜了下去。
禮拜完後,夫婦又問:「牛頭栴檀?我們製香這麼久,還真是第一次聽到,是藥香嗎?」
「不是唷,這是我某天夢裡,看見一位天人來到我面前,我問他有什麼事嗎?祂說祂從天上帶來了三根牛頭栴檀香來給我供佛,放在西廂房的門口,說完祂就消失了!」
「後來呢?」我們都很好奇後續。
「後來我一醒來,馬上跑去西廂房門口一看,果真三根很粗的木頭整齊的放在門口,我就把木頭收好,部分研磨成粉末,點燃後供佛!佛經裡記載這個牛頭栴檀是最佳的浴佛供佛的材料之一,但世間真正的牛頭栴檀聽說好像都沒有了,所以天人才特別帶來。」師父說。
「哇,我還真的第一次聽到看到,也是第一次聞到...看來我車壞掉不是因為障礙,而是因為能聞到這稀有珍奇的香味,也能一起供佛,終於明白我留下來的緣故!」我跟我哥說,說完馬上再禮佛三拜,接著繞塔三匝。
師父出家前曾在北投發生過嚴重的車禍,她只是在田埂旁看人插秧,但朋友騎車不慎撞到她的小腿,結果送了兩間醫院都說要截肢,她內心大喊:「截肢後我未來怎麼出家?不行,我不能截肢。」
於是她就飛到美國找她哥哥,到了美國的第二天,她就見到了觀音菩薩(不知是在夢裡還是現實師父沒說),菩薩當著她的面說:「你就起來走看看吧!」
當時坐在輪椅上,之前都被診斷應該要截肢才能保命的她,就馬上站了起來走了幾步後,她就一直走到今天了!
師父說她自己沒甚麼修行,也沒什麼功德,都是藉由佛菩薩加持力,所以只能精進念佛拜佛誦經持戒來報佛恩,所以她每天早上三百拜,中午三百百拜,晚上三百拜,佛號一千,地藏菩薩聖號一千,還有其他工作與各種早晚課午供...
二十六年如一日,而徒弟與信眾們看到住持如此精進,也不敢放逸懈怠,全都一起如實修行。
我則把身上全部現金全供養給三寶,用所有插畫粉絲與大百解成員的名義,希望大家也能得到最大的利益和福德。
而我們下一站則拜訪了我第一位皈依師父,宏悟老和尚,他獨具在初鹿牧場的後山裡,九十幾歲的年紀,老和尚跟淨空法師、聖嚴法師是同期戒師兄弟,實修念佛法門,本來跟我家住在同一社區,因此結緣皈依,而老和尚現在最大期盼就是再辦一次佛七,最後閉生死關,生死關就是閉關後直到往生都不出關房。
老和尚一個人在家在山裡種菜,自己煮飯,自己做早晚課,自己敲鐘打木魚,希望越少人去找他越好,但還是偶爾會去探望他,幫他帶一些藥品上去,或是開車帶他去醫院回診。
但因為時間不夠,就沒跟老和尚詳談太久,也怕耽誤老和尚做晚課的時間,所以我們就供僧完就離開。
但我突然想到剛剛我已經把身上所有現金都供養了,現在身無分文怎麼辦?
啊!上次木星儀式我有用一個紅包戴裝了3600在裡面做儀式,後來就當發財金放在包包暗袋,馬上拿出來供養老和尚。
老和尚客氣的說認識那麼久,不用啦,他夠用夠用...但我說這是我跟所有粉絲的心願,希望老和尚能給我們機會造福田,他才點頭收下。
沒想到,因為車子壞了,多了一個下午的時間,我能有這麼棒的機緣,真的是最好的安排阿阿阿阿阿!
--
後記
我後來在網路上查了牛頭栴檀香,
相關的介紹如下:
【牛頭栴檀香】
世界上最寶貴、最奇妙的「香」,是佛住世時印度的「牛首栴檀香」。
首楞嚴經卷三曾說:
「此香若復燃於一銖(二十四銖重為 一兩 ),室羅筏城四十里內,同時聞氣」。因為世間除了佛的福德之外,再沒有人堪當受用那種妙香,所以在佛滅度之後,那種檀木也就不復出現了。—這真是一件「不可思議」的事。
世上最寶貴奇妙之香,是産自於印度的一種名爲“牛頭旃檀”的檀香,又被稱爲赤旃檀或牛首旃檀。
此香出自印度的摩羅耶山,其山峰的形狀類似牛頭,因此便將這種栴檀稱爲牛頭旃檀。
在《華嚴經》上也曾有記載說:「摩羅耶山,出旃檀香,名曰牛頭」。書上說此香“爲旃檀中最香者,且亙久不朽”,由此也可見此香之珍貴。可誰又會想到,如此珍貴難得之香,卻生長于伊蘭林中。那麽伊蘭是何物哪?佛教辭典上說:“伊蘭,臭木名,其味惡如腐屍,薰四十由旬,花紅豔可愛,若誤食之,發狂而死。旃檀香木,生此林中。”
據《觀佛三昧海經》中的記載,伊蘭與旃檀都生長在摩羅耶山中,但與香妙無比的牛頭旃檀所不同的是,伊蘭所散發出的卻是猶如死屍一般惡臭,而牛頭旃檀就生長在伊蘭林中。平日裏人們是看不到牛頭旃檀的,只有到了仲秋月圓之時,牛頭旃檀才會成熟長成旃檀樹,發出無比奇妙之香味。
此時人們聞到只有牛頭旃檀的香氣,卻聞不到伊蘭的惡臭氣味。也因此在經論中,經常用香味上妙的牛頭旃檀來比喻無上菩提,而用惡臭的伊蘭來比喻衆生的無明煩惱。
但令人覺得不可思議的是,在佛涅磐之後,這種牛頭旃檀便從世間消失了,再也沒有出現過。
--
啊啊啊啊,難怪我完全無法形容這香的味道,因為從沒聞過,就好像如果我一輩子從沒吃過奶油麵包,突然你讓我聞到...我也無法從我味道資料庫裡面找到適合的比喻或是形容詞一般。
但牛頭栴檀的味道,我無法比喻,只能說聞到的感覺,首先是一股很濃郁的香味,你的嗅覺會瞬間被這香味吸引,然後就是綿延不絕的持續與韻味,味有很多層次但都是讓人愉悅歡喜的味道,而且我聞了一陣子後,身體寒毛居然瞬間豎起,當時我以為是自己可能打了個冷顫,但當下沒有冷風更無冷氣,外面非常熱,可能毛細孔也在大口品嚐著這從來沒聞過的好味道吧?
而且本來有點鼻塞的我,聞到後我也覺得鼻孔透氣度大增,隔著口罩也能聞到相當濃郁的香氣。
直到我們走出地藏殿,還是一直聞到陣陣香味,我本來以為是殘留在口罩或是鼻腔黏膜上的殘味,但在戶外無人處脫下口罩聞幾口,果真跟在地藏殿裡聞到的一樣濃郁!
嗯,牛頭栴檀原來長在惡臭無比的伊蘭林裡,但他的香味卻能蓋過伊蘭的腐爛惡臭,而且文中說到牛頭栴檀只會在仲秋月圓時才會成熟冒出香味,而今天我剛好就是中秋月圓日聞到牛頭栴檀,真的無比的巧合,這是很棒的吉祥徵兆,我覺得自己也要更精進實修,才能從這五濁惡世的惡臭裡稍微去掉一點味道吧。
謝謝我的車車,謝謝犧牲的玻璃,謝謝師父無私點燃珍貴的牛頭栴檀供佛,我們才能有幸順勢聞到珍貴夢幻香味。
師父那邊是實修道場,所以一般不辦法會也不接遊客,所以如果不是要參加他們嚴格佛七或其他法事,通常不建議前往打擾,我也不曾看到他們的招牌或是路標,難怪在台東三十九年我也第一次知道,我家附近有這麼棒的聖地。
好了,接下來今天是幸運馬蹄鐵的儀式,也是月光菩薩、福德正神土地公的聖誕日,就以今日所聞之牛頭栴檀香的歡喜供養眾神佛,願這塊土地上的人們都健康幸福,有著同理心、慈悲心、抹去無明煩惱、燃起智慧光明之燈、在這信仰自由的土地上,我們都能珍惜,也互相尊重。
感謝一切,感謝你們看完。
接下來我好想用珍貴的香來做一場上供儀式,也幫大家迴向,讓大家一起參與。
(圖中的月牙香粉就是牛頭栴檀香)
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無明 聖 嚴 在 法鼓山 Facebook 的精選貼文
【心靈小品】【心鏡】——佛性與無明
聖嚴法師曾說:有時我看到自己的煩惱像冬天暴風雪中的雪花,飄落在我的心鏡上,透過不斷地修行,讓心鏡保持溫暖,雪片很快就融化了。
⠀
一面乾淨的鏡子會如實映現,沾染灰塵或蒸氣的鏡子則不能完全映照。心鏡象徵眾生的佛性,多數人因為迷失太久,早已忘了自己本有如來寶藏。明心見性時,般若光明便會顯露,當悟境消逝,則是煩惱再度覆心,佛性並沒有不見,只是一時失去功能。
⠀
空的體驗能增長修行的信心。如何清理心鏡上的塵垢?只須清清楚楚地覺知與辨認:六根接觸六塵時的起心動念,不需要其他方法。當禪修者專注於拂拭心鏡,而忘卻外境,妄念將自然愈來愈少。同時會發覺,環境的變化,未必會造成身心不安,而內心是否寂靜,顯然會影響我們看待外在世界的觀感。
⠀
常常有人以為,禪修是在突破自己的臨界點,其實執著於臨界點的存在,本身就是障礙。剛開始學佛時,把開悟當成目標,是為了強化修習動機,但覺醒一定是發生在不惦念開悟與否的時候。證悟的當下,沒有修行者,也沒有鍊心的方法與對境,因為自我中心消失了,我所有也就消失了。
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一切法存有的時間極短暫,如同《仁王經》說:「即生即住即滅,即有即空。」而佛菩薩的寂照可微細到「九十剎那為一念,一念中一剎那經九百生滅。」甚至更精密,因此能洞見「無常即涅槃」。當心鏡了無塵埃,即是心境一如,佛性與無明皆是空性,真正的禪鏡即是無鏡。
◎轉載自法鼓文化-心靈網路書店
◎資料來源:《智慧之劍》、《寶鏡無境》
◎圖:Guan-Horng Liu
更多心靈小品 https://pse.is/3b4wkr
#心靈小品
#佛性與無明
無明 聖 嚴 在 Facebook 的最佳貼文
「地獄空」攝影集即將在八月中元節前出版,由知名設計師與攝影家黃子欽設計,內附在下二位高徒精美繪製符咒、心經版畫書籤、愣嚴咒牌、尊勝咒語...等,感恩十方大德助印,希望疫情退散,平安喜樂,後記如下:
野放台灣五十餘年,貪狼獨坐,三方四正殺破狼格局,少年多舛,白手起家,隨展覽雲遊四海,如閒雲野鶴常持各類底片機流連廢墟、山川、宮廟忘返,遂設幻影堂自詡堂主,一日三省「凡所有相皆是虛妄」,常宅於暗房沖片放大通宵、鍾情黑白世界之單純,彩色照片俗世繽紛花俏做作甜美甚至比現實更現實故少拍也。知天命之年有餘,了悟人生一瞬、眨眼即逝,雖非仙人,亦無道骨,初聞離垢地生清淨心,但離華嚴「不動地」尚遠,待修持也。
2017年盛暑拍畢《巨神連線》,心律不整差點心肌梗塞向閻羅王報到,意識死神隨伺在側,人生苦短,如何了生脫死、盡斷煩惱、無所罣礙、遠離顛倒……總不得解,蒙釋迦摩尼佛開示飆淚三晝夜,聞佛法數載始知自我渺如塵埃,甚感慚愧。閒暇乃參訪名寺古剎,禮敬焚香佛陀菩薩羅漢諸神天仙王爺媽娘,台灣宮廟千奇百怪、宗派錯綜複雜(佛教、道教、一貫道、天主教、基督教、齋教、回教&大同教、儒教鑾堂、天帝教&天德教、慈惠堂&勝安宮、軒轅教、道院、理教、萬國道德會、會靈山……)、神棍橫行(依人不依法、偶像崇拜、斂財、邪淫),因歷史變遷、社會動盪、政治鬥爭、意識形態等因素導致佛道混雜,但地獄造景稀少,後專注拍攝各殿閻王、判官、陰司、獄卒、七爺、八爺乃至一切罪人,各寺造景巧妙、耐人尋味,意境乖張溢於言表,造型扭曲非常人所能塑也,然匠心獨運、自成一格,專研西方藝術數十載方知真誠樸拙最美,絲毫不輸喬托(Giotto di Bondone,1267~1337)乃至米開朗基羅(Michelangelo Di lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 1475 ~ 1564)矣。
創立於1986年的石門金剛宮風景優美可眺望北濱,雖主祀四面佛,儒釋道眾神尊也不含糊,可過七星橋解厄、繞行五百黝黑羅漢敲鑼印心、跪拜亞洲最大臥佛涅槃像,安太歲自不在話下,甲子太歲爺雙眼長出手掌印象甚深,1994年經閻羅王指示廟公建造一條肚內設極樂世界及陰曹地府之神龍,行走暗黑通道觸動感應機關,只見面容猙獰受刑者呼天搶地喊冤、身邊盡是血肉糢糊殘肢敗屍腦漿塗地,十殿閻羅各司其職、威儀攝人。新北市林口區青嶺湖北文紫祥宮包公廟則以壁面彩塑地獄浮雕獨步全台,粉嫩色彩搭配卡漫風格,尤為造型簡直恐怖到可愛透頂,該廟主祀森羅殿閻羅天子包拯(包青天),陽世冤屈者可至此參拜祭解,求破懸案者眾,逢中元普渡皆以紙紮船渡亡魂至彼岸,全台唯一閻羅天子巨像籌備中,四周環繞墓地,適合修不淨觀也。台灣首尊彰化八卦山大佛旁南天宮(1971)地府則是首座電動地府,規模精小但驚嚇度破表,略顯破敗但五光十色仍蠻凶悍,出自已故台南大道長金登富之作,而電動神明起始可追溯至1960年代北港朝天宮。倒是嘉義水上鄉白人牙膏觀光工廠「戴相府」、「將軍府」設置十殿地府出乎意料之外,乾淨亮麗、ㄧ殿ㄧ間、簡單樸實。由高雄蓮潭龍虎塔龍口入內可見全臺唯一交趾陶地獄牆面,尊尊栩栩如生,續入龍身乃進聞聲救苦白衣觀音大士三十三化身浮雕隧道,造型設色甚為古錐。高雄大岡山超峰寺入口處「西方三聖蓮池海會」(阿彌陀佛、觀世音菩薩、大勢至菩薩巨像)旁設靜態十殿閻羅(1970年代初),雖略為陳舊然韻味猶存,續往上行可抵「證菩提道-釋迦如來應化事迹」雕塑園區,一攬世尊畢生精華。如來年邁時,琉璃國王為報長期被釋迦族輕蔑之傲慢心,世尊雖三次單獨伽跌坐 阻擋大軍進攻之路,但因緣果報無法逆轉,昔日婢女所生王子瞋恨無以復加,還是滅了祖國。自持神通第一目犍連不忍無辜百姓慘遭屠殺,遂以缽盛救度五百族人,最終卻化為血水,佛言神通廣大仍不敵千百劫業力,因緣果報屢試不爽。其母死後墜入餓鬼道飢餓難耐,目犍連遂展神通救渡,但所食尚未入口皆化為赤火,佛陀囑咐農曆七月十五日僧眾解安居自恣日,於盆中設甘露美食供養十方僧眾,因此超度亡母。後世「盂蘭盆法會」乃至「水懺法會」、「瑜珈焰口法會 」皆為消業障、斷塵垢之超渡儀軌,既渡亡魂也自懺悔。
台南麻豆代天府規模宏大、造型豔麗,不但可遊十八層地獄尚可逛天堂(1979年興建,1983年開放),燈光絢爛、聲響駭人,獨自漫步宛如觀落陰、地獄走一回。先過「心頭山」、入「清心池」、進「陰陽界」、抵「交簿廳」、達「鬼門關」、遊「補經所」、探「枉死城」、行「奈何橋」,至ㄧ殿泰廣王照「孽鏡台」現造惡原形,睹抱柱、火床等小地獄。二殿楚江王開「陰查簿 」判案定奪,觀糞尿泥、餓鬼、舞池、寒冰、膿血、鞭韃、舌犁、劍葉、戟腹拋接、砧截……等小地獄。三殿宋帝王刑罰為倒吊、銅鐵刮臉、挖眼、搗樁、倒烤、吸血、穿肋、抽筋、蛆蛀等小地獄……兼遊「四生(胎、卵、濕、化)回魂府」。四殿五官王掌管腰斬、拔舌、沸湯、刺嘴、剝皮、箭樹、車崩、射眼……等十六小地獄。隨五殿森羅王豋「望鄉臺」回眸親人最終眼後觀擊膝、誅心、刀山、飛刀火石……小地獄。六殿卞城王別稱「大叫喚大地獄」,轄火牛、虎啖、噬腎、鉗嘴含鍼、釘喉、磨摧、砍頭……等小地獄。七殿泰山王為「熱惱大地獄」,窺烙手指、抽腸、頂石蹲身、油釜滾烹、割舌穿腮……等十六小地獄。八殿都市王掌管「大熱惱大地獄」兼火狗、鐵汁、鐵蛇、鋸劈斷肢、釘板、灸脊、鐵丸、磅秤……等小地獄。九殿平等王直轄十八層「阿鼻大地獄」,直透地心、內中陰森、不見五指、滿溢地漿,皆為極犯,另轄紫赤毒蛇鑽孔、夾頂、鐵鴉、針雨、蜂蠍……等小地獄。至十殿輪轉王上「觀生臺」、「轉劫所八司」(查驗司 、稽善司 、考過司 、恩怨司 、壽命司 、支配司、掌劫司 、授生司)後至「孟婆亭」飲「醧忘湯」忘盡前塵往事,依前世功德過金、銀、玉、石、木、竹六種橋樑至「轉輪臺(紫河車)」入六道輪迴轉生投胎。據《十八泥犁經》記載,人過世後七七四十九天為「中陰生」,經閻羅王審判善惡業力判定去留或懲罰百千萬劫,犯五逆重罪則墮入「無間地獄(阿鼻地獄)」永劫不復。地藏王乃幽冥教主,統轄十殿閻羅,逢三曹普渡便在各殿設「講道所」超度尚存善根之鬼魂。
人類居於五趣(阿修羅、人、傍生、餓鬼、地獄)雜居地五濁惡世之堪忍世界,犯十惡業(殺生、偷盜、邪淫、妄語、兩舌、惡口、綺語、貪慾、嗔恚、愚痴)者必墮三趣惡道。如何出「三界」(欲界、色界、無色界)二十八天?凡人無此意識,別說能破「十二因緣」(無明、行、識、名色、六入、觸、受、愛、取、有、生、老死)還滅門,更別想斷除「四聖諦」(苦、集、滅、道)集地八十一品見惑與八十八使思惑(五利使-身見、邊見、邪見、見取見、戒禁取見、五鈍使-貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑),了悟「五蘊」(色、受、想、行、識)本空、「十二入」(眼、耳、鼻、舌、意、色、聲、香、味、觸、法)空、「十八界」空,破俱生我執與分別我執、法執甚至空執,生十一處「善心所」(信、精進、慚、愧、無貪、無瞋、無痴、輕安、不放逸、行捨、不害),降二十六處「惡心所」(貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑、惡見、忿、恨、覆、惱、嫉、慳、誑、諂、害、憍、無慚、無愧、掉舉、惛沉、不信、懈怠、放逸、失念、散亂、不正知),須知善根斷盡則陷永劫輪迴、無垠轉世之苦。
地獄可能空滅嗎?若地獄空乏人間多鬼怪,地獄淨空世間何嘗非淨土?若能證空性何處現地獄?
地獄曠古來便廣泛流傳各部族間,老死生滅為自然運行之基礎、宇宙意識之核心,然今文明昌盛如咱城邦並非慾望消弭之所,惡性所及實無可根除,礙於憲法國家法律社會軍隊企業公司學校家庭團體之層層束縛不亞於十八層,乃遁於壓抑、束己情懷,暗埋心底、日久貪嗔痴慢疑怨噌會疊穢。而六塵未熄,心多妄念,妖魔鬼怪魑魅魍魎孤魂閃靈出沒於荒郊乃至人間,會靈於曠野密林以增性靈乃出世高人修煉之舉,我等凡人擅闖宛如迪士尼般之人造地獄,三魂七魄尚不足以出竅,驚邪恐怖淒厲猙獰倒滿足了自以為是的慚愧,豈不謬哉?
病毒肆虐年半有餘,全球確診者逼近一億八千萬,枉死者近四百萬,堪比戰爭規模,望眾生發慈悲心、令往生者安息、善待其他物種、平等有情眾生。地獄本空,唯妄念生起一切羨慕嫉妒恨而地獄現前。盡以此書作為世界新冷戰獨裁者、超限戰者、暗網駭客、陰險狡猾冷嘲熱諷落井下石者之良知備忘錄矣。
姚瑞中寫於2021年端午節
Postscript
I have been living recklessly in Taiwan for more than fifty years. According to Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology), Tan Lang is the sole star in my house of Self. This star, which represents xxx, forms an equilateral triangle with that star Qi Sha and Po Jun on the square chart and constitutes a Sha Po Lang pattern. The pattern indicates a kind of turbulence and change, a life of wandering with ups and downs and it tells a lot about my life. After my ill-fated youth, I started from scratch and traveled around the world with exhibitions that I participated. Like a flaneur, I wandered around ruins, nature, and temples with every type of film camera obliviously. Thus, I founded the Hall of Illusion and claimed to be the master of the hall. Several times a day, I pondered a quote from the Diamond Sutra, “Everything with form is unreal.” In addition, I usually stayed in the darkroom developing film and enlarging those negatives overnight. However, I treasured the simplicity of the black and white world. The earthly, gaudy, garish, phony and pleasing qualities within colored photos make the images even more realistic than the real world. It is not my cup of tea, so I seldom took colored photos. In Confucian thought, the age of fifty marks the stage knowing the mandate of Heaven. I am now at my fifties and realize how ephemeral human life is. However, I am not an immortal, nor having sagelike characteristics. I just learned that the stage of stainless (the second bhūmi) and develop a pure mind that is free from doubt and defilement. However, I’m still far from the immovable state and need to practice.
In the summer of 2017, after filming the work Incarnation, I experienced a severe heart rhythm problem which almost triggered myocardial infarction and could have killed me. Consequently, I realized that death was waiting for me and the life is too short to figure out how I can liberate myself from the cycle of Birth and Death. I couldn’t comprehend how to be free from all afflictions and worries and how to avoid delusive ideas. I wept for three days and nights after being enlightened by Shakyamuni Buddha. Up to the moment, I felt ashamed that I failed to realize that the self is as insignificant as dust after these years learning and practicing Buddhism. Since then, I have visited famous temples and monasteries in my spare time, worshiping Buddha, Bodhisattvas, arhats, and all the deities and immortals. Taiwan’s temples are myriad with a enormous number of sects, including Buddhism, Taoism, Yiguandao, Catholicism, Christianity, Chinese religions of fasting, Islam& Baháʼí Faith, Confucianism, Tiandiism& Tian-De Teachings, Xiwangmu cult, Yellow Emperor Sect, Precosmic Salvationism, Liism, World Wide Ethical Society, séance cult, etc. Some people even claim that they can mediate communication between the deities or spirits of the dead with human beings, having their believer rely on themselves instead of the orthodox dharma or dogma and pay excessive respect and admiration for the mediums or objects, accumulating wealth through such an unfair means or even harassing their believer sexually. Due to Taiwan’s historical changes, social turbulence, political struggles, and ideological issues, Buddhism and Taoism are somehow mixed. However, there are few emphases on the concept of the hell. As I took photographs of Yama of each court, judges, wardens of the underworld, jailers, General Fan and Hsieh (the ghost escorts) and all sinners, I found few temples cleverly created hellish scenes that are intriguing, exaggerating, and extraordinary. However, the creations are unparalleled unique. I have been studying Western arts for decades and then I came to realize that simplicity makes the most beautiful works of art. These hellish scenes can even compete with works of Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) and Michelangelo Di lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564).
Jingang Temple Shimen District, founded in 1986, overlooks the beautiful North shore. Although the temple is mainly dedicated to Phra Phrom (the Thai representation of Mahabrahma), spirits of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism can also be founded in the temple. The worshipper can go cross the Seven Star bridge to relieve bad luck, walk along the five hundred arhat statues and knock on the gong to affirm one’s Buddha nature. Furthermore, the worshipper can also prostrate themself before Asia’s largest statue of Buddha in Nirvana (the Reclining Buddha statue) and pacify the Taoist Tai Sui deity of the year. I was impressed by the Jia-Zi Tai Sui General that a pair of palms grow out of his eyes. In 1994, the biō-kong (the person taking charge of the temporal affairs of a temple) received a divine inspiration from Yama (the King of Hell) that he had to build a sacred hall in the shape of a divine dragon, with the interior designed according to the World of Ultimate Bliss and the Underworld. When the visitor walks in the dark hallway, they will see the tortured people (dioramas, of course) scrunching their faces and crying bitterly and loudly in excessive grief as the visitor triggers the mechanism. One will even find them in the midst of flesh, body liquid and blood, mutilated limbs, and rotten corpses. While each of the ten Yamas are focusing on their own duties, showing their sacred dignity that collect visitors’ attention. The Baogong Temple in Linkou District, New Taipei City exclusively features colorful depiction of hellish scenes in relief in Taiwan. With its pastel shades and cartoon-like style, the relief is both grotesque and adorable at the same time. This temple is dedicated to Bao Zhen (also known as Justice Bao) representing the incarnation of Yama. Living people who have been treated unjustly can come worshipping Bao Gong and receive exorcism. Therefore, many people come here for seeking to solve unsolved cases. In Zhongyuan Festival (the ghost festival), the temple will burn the Zhizha (paper craft) boat to ferry the ghosts to the other shore, which is the shore of enlightenment. The only giant statue of Yama in Taiwan is still in the making. The temple is surrounded by a cemetery, suitable for meditating on the loathsomeness and impurity. Nantian Temple (1971), located next to the Eight Trigram Mountains Buddha in Changhua, features the first animatronic underworld. Despite the small size, the animatronic underworld is intensely shocking. Though it’s slightly worn, the colorful dioramas are still brutally ferocious. The creator was the late venerable Dao Zhang (Taoist priest) Jing Deng-fu while the origin of animatronic deities can be traced back to the 1960s Beigang Chaotian Temple. On the contrary, the Whiteman Toothpaste Tourism Factory in Shuishang Township, Chiayi, features ten Yamas with individual booth. The place is unexpectedly clean and polished yet keeps a simple and modest tone. Then, the Dragon Pagoda of the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Lake in Zuoying, Kaohsiung, holds the only relief of hellish scenes made of Kochin ceramic. All the figures are vivid and life-like. If one goes further into the pagoda, they will see a relief tunnel of the thirty-three incarnations of the white-robed form of Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) on a white lotus, with a lovely and interesting design. Another Hall of Yama is built in the 1970s next to the entrance of Dagangshan Chaofeng Temple, located in the Alian District of Kaohsiung. Visitors will also see three statues of the Three Holy Ones of the Western Pureland (Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta) which assemble at a lotus pond. Although the hellish scene looks somewhat antiquated, you may still find its previous charm. If one goes further, they will reach the sculptural garden of “Attaining the Bodhi Way: the Incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha,” where the visitor can see the essence of Bhagavato’s (meaning the Blessed one, one of the common epithets for Buddha) life. When Tathāgata (another epithet for Buddha) was old, the king of Kosala wanted to avenge the arrogance of the tribe of Shakyas who had long despised him, regarding him as a son of a maiden. Although Buddha has sat in lotus position alone three times to stop the army from attacking his tribe. However, one can never reverse the cause and following karma. The prince born of a maiden was so furious that he eventually destroyed his homeland. Maudgalyāyana (one of the Buddha’s closest disciples), who is said to have had supernatural abilities that surpassed the other disciples, could not bear to see the slaughter of innocent people. Thus, he saved five hundred people of his tribe with a pātra (an eating utensil of Buddhist monks). Unfortunately, everything he did was in vain, those who were saved eventually turned into a puddle of blood. The Buddha said that the supernatural abilities cannot surpass the power of karma. The cause and effect work all the time. When Maudgalyāyana’s mother fell into the path of hungry ghost, he used his supernatural abilities to save his mother from hunger. However, all the food turned into fire before being fed to his mother. Later, the Buddha commanded the monks to put nectar and dishes in a basin on the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar for the monks from all directions to free his mother from reincarnation. In later times, the Ullambana Dharma Service, the Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance, and the Yoga Collection for Feeding the Searing Mouths Dharma Service are rituals to eliminate karmic hindrance and to cease to worldly delusions. Through such practices, one can free the dead as well as confess their repentance.
Madou Daitian Temple is a magnificent and colorful temple in Tainan. Not only can the worshippers visit the eighteen levels of Hell but also the Heaven (it was built in 1979 and inaugurated in 1983) here. The lighting and sound effects are stunning and frightening. When walking alone in the space, one may feel like taking a Guan Luo Yin trip (a Taoist necromancy which leads people’s spirits to hell and communicate with the dead ones) to visit the underworld prison. Before arriving the first court of the underworld, the visitor will walk through the Mountain of Heart Summit, the Pure Heart Pond, the Frontier between the Living and the Dead Realms, the Soul Registry Hall, the Portico of Demons, the Center for Complementary Teaching of Canonical Books, the Citadel of Premature Death, and the Bridge of Vanity. When one arrives at the first court, they will see King Chin-guang, who is in charge of the court, using the Mirror of Retribution to show the earthly form of evil creatures and also witness the sub-hell of Pillar-Holding and Fire Bed, etc. At the second court, King Chu-jiang collates the register of sins the souls of the dead have committed to impose the punishments. Here, you will see the sub-hell of Excrement and Urine, Hungry Ghost, Burning Dance Floor, Ice, Pus and Blood, Whipping, Tongue-Raking, Sword Blade, Stomach-Piercing, Chopping, etc. Next, the dead at the third court, ruled by King Song-di, will receive the punishments including inversion tortures, face-skinning with steel and copper knife, eye-wrenching, pounding, blood-sucking, rib-piercing, roasting, tendon-taking, being eaten by maggots. The visitor can pay a visit to the Palace of Soul-Resuscitation for the Four Forms of Creatures (birth from an egg, birth from a womb, birth from moisture, and birth by transformation). King Wu-guan is in charge of the fourth court. There are sixteen sub-hells at the fourth court including Waist Chop, Tongue Removal, Boiling Pond, Mouth-stabbing, Skin-peeling, Sword Tree, Burning Wheels and Cart, Eye-shooting, etc. Next, at the fifth court, sinful souls are allowed to ascend the Tower of Hometown-Viewing to take a final look of their family. The visitor will witness sub-hells of Knee-striking, Heart-slicing, Blade Mountain, Flying Swords and Burning Stones, etc. The King of Bian City takes charge of the sixth court, which is also known as the “Great Hell of Screaming,” with sub-hells including Fire Cattle, Tiger-Biting, Kidney-Eating, Mouth-Poking, Throat-Nailing, Iron Mill, Decapitation, etc. The King of Tai-shan is in charge of the seventh court, the “Great Hell of Heat and Fire.” The sixteen sub-hells at this court include Finger-Searing, Bowel-Hauling, Stone-Bearing, Boiling Oil, Tongue-Removal and Cheek-Piercing, etc. Next, the King Du-shi is in charge of the eighth court, the “Great Hell of Intense Fire and Heat,” and the sub-hells including Fire Dogs, Molten Iron, Iron Snakes, Dismemberment, Steel Spikes, Burning-Marrow, Iron Ball, Scale, etc. The ninth court is ruled by the King Ping-deng. It is known as the biggest court, Avici Hell (the Hell of Incessant Suffering), which if the lowest level of the hell realm and the interior is gloomily and terrifyingly dark. Those who committed the most serious evil deed will be sent to the Avici Hell. Sub-hells such as Poisonous Snake, Brain-Removal, Crow-Gnawing, Raining Needles, Wasps and Scorpions are included at this court. After arriving the tenth court, ruled by the Great King of the Reincarnation Palace, one can visit the “Observatory of Life on earth” and the “eight bureaus of the Reincarnation Palace” (including the Bureau of Judicial Control, the Bureau of Good-Actions, the Bureau of Bad-Actions, the Bureau of Debts, Gratitude, and Vengeance, the Bureau of Longevity and Destiny, the Bureau of Familial Ties, the Bureau of the Reincarnated, and the Bureau of Birth). The sinful one will be sent to the Pavilion of Mengpo and made to drink the Soup of Forgetfulness to forget all past affairs. According to the sinful one’s merits of previous life, they will go across one of the six bridges (gold, silver, jade, stone, wood, bamboo) to the “Reincarnation-Wheel (Wheel on the Crimson River).” Finally, one is able to reborn in the six realms. According to the Aṣṭadaśa nāraka sutra ( the Eighteen Hells Sutra), after one passes away, they will enter an intermediate and transitional state between death and rebirth, known as antarābhava in Sanskrit, for forty-nine days. The being will be evaluated by Yama, who will decide if one should get reborn or get punished at the hell. Those who committed the Five Grave Offenses (killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an Arhat, shedding the blood of a Buddha, and creating a schism within the community of Buddhist monks and nun who practice for attaining enlightenment.) will be sent to the Avici Hell and stay there eternally. Kṣitigarbha is the Lord of the Nether World, ruling the ten court of Hell. The lord will set up the “Hall of Teaching” at each court to salvage those sinful ones who still obtain few merits at the offering rituals.
Human beings live the Sahā world (sahāloka in Sanskrit, meaning “endurance of suffering,” a concept of mundane world in Mahāyāna Buddhism) where they share with other reincarnations (including beings of the hells, of the preta, and of malevolent nature spirits) with five turbidities (the Kalpa turbidity, the view turbidity, the affliction turbidity, the living beings turbidity, and the life turbidity). Those who commit the ten evil deeds (killing, stealing, adultery, lying, using immoral language, slandering, equivocating, coveting, anger, and false views) must fall into the three evil paths (animals, preta, and hell). However, how can one escape from the three realms/ twenty-eight heavens (including the six heavens of the desire realm, the eighteen heavens of the form realm, and the four heavens of the formless realm)? Worldly people who don’t have such an awareness cannot leave the cycle of the twelve nidanas (meaning causes or motivations), let alone eliminate the eighty-one afflictions (that have been produced due to misunderstanding regarding reality) and the eighty-eight illusions (including five afflictions of advanced practitioners, also known as five views: view of self, extreme view, evil view, view of attachment to views, and view of morality; and five unintelligent temptations: desire, anger, stupidity, arrogance, and doubt) of thought within the three realms and four Arya satyas (noble truths, including suffering, arising, ending, and path). They cannot realize that the essence of the five skandhas (referring to aggregates of clinging, including the matter of form, sensation, recognition, mental formation, and consciousness) , the twelve ayatana (meaning sense base, including six internal bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind and six external bases: visible objects, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects), and the eighteen dhātavah (meaning compositional elements of human existence, including six consciousness, six faculties, and their objects) are the emptiness and the void. Furthermore, they cannot dispel the two reasons for clinging to the idea of the self and the attachment to elemental constructs and even believe in the two (false) tenets that that karma and nirvana are not real and that the ego and phenomena are real. As a consequence, they fail to develop the eleven wholesome mental factors (faith, energy, conscience, being ashamed, non-attachment, non-aggression, non-delusion, calmness, equanimity, conscientiousness, and non-injuriousness) and cease the sixteen unwholesome mental factors (desire, greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, doubt, wrong view, wrath, enmity, hypocrisy, vexation, jealousy, parsimony, deceit, flattery, harming, ambitiousness, stupidity, lacking of faith, idleness, being unrestrained, forgetting, distraction, non-discernment, ). One must bear in mind that once all our virtuous roots are discontinued, they will be trapped in the never-ending reincarnation and the suffering of infinite continuity.
Is it possible that the hell will be empty one day? If the beings in hell will become extinct while evil spirits inhabit the mundane world, the world could be considered as a pure land. If we could witness the nature of the void, then hell will exist no more.
Since ancient times, the concept of hell has been widely spread among all tribes. Aging, death, beginning, and end are the basis of nature and the core of cosmic consciousness. However, the prosperous civilization as our island is not a place where desire can be eliminated. It’s impossible to eradicate evil nature. Since fetters brought by the constitution, the state, the law, society, the military, corporations, schools, families, and groups are not less than the eighteen levels of hell, the mortals repress themselves, bury their feelings. Day after day, greed, anger, stupidity, arrogance, doubt, and resentment are stacking. However, since the six dust (visible objects, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects) has not yet been extinguished, people in the mundane world are still full of delusions. The demons, devils, evil spirits, and the wondering dead exist in the wilderness, while only advanced practitioners with transcendent would attempt to make contact with the dead in the wasteland and forest. Worldly people like us trespass in Disneyland-like man-made hell. It is absurd and ridiculous that the hellish scenes cannot stop us from perpetrating evil deeds, but the horrific and cruel scenes yet satisfy our self-righteous shame.
The pandemic has been boiling over for more than a year and a half. The number of infected patients worldwide is nearly a hundred and eighty million, and the death toll has risen to four million, which is equivalent to a war crisis. I hope that we can all be compassionate, give peace to the dead, treat all sentient beings well and equally. The hell is innately empty; however, deluded and misleading thoughts would give rise to all jealousy and hatred and then manifest the hell before us. This book merely serves as a memorandum of conscience for dictators of the world’s new cold war, supporters of unrestrained warfare, dark web hackers, and those who are cunning and contemptuous and maltreat others when knowing they have problems.
June 2021,
Yao Jui-chung
無明 聖 嚴 在 巴打台 Youtube 的最佳貼文
香港今日社論2020年09月25日(100蚊花旦頭)
https://youtu.be/1641aizajk0
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明報社評
香港迪士尼樂園毗鄰一幅60公頃土地閒置多年,政府決定不再延長園方認購權。受疫情和民情影響,旅遊業可見將來難復舊觀,與其繼續在竹篙灣預留大片土地,讓園方慢慢考慮是否認購擴建,不如趁早將土地改作其他用途。當年政府為了爭取樂園落戶,對迪士尼作出太多讓步,現在要改劃竹篙灣土地用途,面對很多掣肘,發展新市鎮倡議雖好,可行與否仍需深入檢視,然而當局仍應設法地盡其用。本港土地供應不足,短中期約800公頃土地缺口,無望及時在2026年填補,竹篙灣60公頃土地有助紓緩情况,無法扭轉大局,遑論取代填海等中長期造地選項,香港覓地建屋,仍需堅持多管齊下,加快步伐。竹篙灣第2期填海計劃2009年完成,面積相當於3.2個維園,原本預留作迪士尼樂園第2期擴建之用。
蘋果頭條
沙田警區(刑事)潘岳謙總督察在記者會表示,奪命火列作屍體發現案件進行調查,交由沙田重案組第一隊跟進,受傷2男3女傷者年齡由70至90歲。男死者37歲,無業,有抑鬱及躁狂症紀錄,身上並無明顯傷痕,死因有待剖屍檢驗。現場發現有助燃劑,起火原因未明,有待進一步調查。死者在案發日早上疑病發與母親發生口角,母親離開單位避開,留下死者及其嫲嫲在單位內,至下午3時許,死者再度失去理性,撿起一隻鑊擲向祖母腳部,祖母腳部受傷自行離開單位到地下,其後街坊聽到單位內傳出玻璃碎裂及敲擊木頭聲音,稍後屋內冒煙起火,街坊約在下午4時03分報警,消防員疏散300人並將火救熄,由於單位內水喉被火燒毀爆裂,出現水浸情況,警員將積水抽走進行調查。
東方正論
白居易筆下的《賣炭翁》膾炙人口,一句「可憐身上衣正單,心憂炭賤願天寒」,形象地道出窮人飢寒交迫、掙扎求存的苦況。今日的香港,面對暴疫夾擊、中美角力等內憂外患,經濟一沉不起,百業疲不能興,更不堪的是港府止暴無能、抗疫無力、救市無方、錙銖必較,基層的慘況堪比當年的賣炭翁。實施近十年的法定最低工資,明年或迎來首次凍薪,意味基層生活苦上加苦。惟一節見則百節知,凍薪背後,何嘗不反映商界經營困難,由勞方到資方皆在捱?香港法定最低工資於二○一一年實施,當年最低工資時薪為廿八元,之後每兩年檢討一次,目前為三十七點五元。
星島社論
新冠疫情影響下,大部分直資、私立及國際學校選擇凍結學費,包括拔萃女書院、聖保羅男女中學及其附屬小學等名校。教育局公布今年僅四十五校申請調整學費,有校長坦言凍費旨在與家長共渡時艱。直資學校議會主席陳狄安指,除了疫情影響經濟外,相信凍費或加幅放緩,與當局提早公布預估津貼額,各校可更準確計算營運情況有關。教育局昨公布今學年直資、私立及國際學校本學年申請調整學費結果,僅四十五校申請調整今學年學費,較去年同期共一百七十九所學校申請,大幅下降,大部分學校選擇在今學年凍結學費。本報翻查各校網站及資料,發現不少傳統名校在四月底的申請結束前,已宣布會凍結學費,拔萃男書院今學年小一及中一學費分別維持在近四萬四千元及五萬元;連續三年加費的聖保羅男女中學及其附屬小學,今學年亦凍費,分別維持在六萬四千五百元及六萬三千元。
經濟社評
港府因應英國疫情惡化,決定將英國列入高風險地區名單,惟許多人有疑問,為何新措施要等到下周四才生效,恐有人會鑽空子,趁這段緩衝期回港避疫而可居家隔離,增加病毒輸入風險。當局是依足過去慣例,讓相關人士有足夠時間進行檢測及預訂酒店,但在這空窗期,亦須堵塞防疫漏洞,其間規定回港人士要在指定酒店或處所檢疫,同時亦應盡快將疫情嚴峻的西班牙和法國加入名單。港府昨天宣布刊憲,將英國列入高風險地區名單,下周四生效。屆時從英國回港,或抵港前14天曾到過英國人士,須持有72小時內病毒檢測呈陰性報告,以及已預訂香港酒店房間檢疫14天的確認書,方可登機。
無明 聖 嚴 在 DDMTV法鼓山網路電視台 Youtube 的最佳解答
聖嚴法師曾說:「沒有東初老人,就沒有現在的聖嚴,我的這一點成就,可說全是東初老人的功德。」
從小就展現聰穎過人、穩重沉靜特質的東初老人,二十七歲就被延請到焦山定慧寺協助辦學,在那個兵荒馬亂的年代,只用了短短幾年,就將定慧寺佛學院管理成了首屈一指的最高學府;同時,更不惜貸款鉅資築堤,解決了長江水患影響農地收成的問題。其格局與魄力,非常人所能及。尤其,東初老人對佛教改革的理想,在那個佛法式微的亂世之中,更彷如一道破曉曙光,照亮闃黑無明的世界。
讓我們透過聖嚴法師的口述,引領我們回到歷史洪流中,感受兩位師徒不平凡的生命,初次交會的瞬間........