Transcendence of Time and Space and Life

How time flies! I remember when I was a little novice monk, I always thought to myself when I saw people over the age of 50 or 60, "These old people are so poor. They are leaving soon, but how can they live happily as if nothing had happened? " In a blink of an eye, I didn't expect that I was over 50 years old and rushed to the journey of 60 years old faster.

First of all, time waits for no one.

10 years ago, when I returned from studying in Japan, I visited Nanting, an old mage of Hua Yan Lian Society in Taipei. He was my teacher when I was a little novice monk. His old man's house invited me to dinner and asked me:

"SAN yan! How old are you this year? 」

"Old Master, I am forty-four." I said.

"what! Why are you 44? " He asked in surprise.

"Ashamed! Forty-four years have been wasted and nothing has been achieved. " I said.

He rolled his eyes, looked at Cheng Yi, a disciple who was eating at the same table, and asked, "Cheng Yi! How old are you this year? 」

"I am older than the feast master, and I am twelve years older than him." Master Cheng Yi said.

"come on Why are you 56 years old! " He said in surprise.

Seeing that, it seems that we won't live to be 44 or 56 years old, so I asked his old man, "Master, how old are you?" ? 」

"I! "He said seventy-four.

"Ah! Your old man lived 74 years old, and we were only 44 and 56 years old. What's the surprise? " I said.

"oh! How time flies! " He sighed.

In a blink of an eye, the old mage Nanting died at the age of 83 last year (1982)! Now you are all young, before long, you will become middle-aged, then old, and then disappear! This "time" is really limited!

Second, the passage of time.

When I was playing Zen Seven, I used to teach people how many breaths we could have if we lived to be a hundred years old. If we only count 16 times a minute, we will breathe 840 million times when we are 100 years old, which is really very limited. Think about it, wouldn't it be great if we had 840 million property? Actually, not at all! Because money can be earned, spent and earned back, and breathing? Breathe a breath, you will lose a breath, so life is really limited and precious, which is not comparable to money, so we should lengthen our life as much as possible! But in what way? What about Rafa? Everybody! What exactly do we mean by "Amitabha"? According to Buddhist scriptures, Amitabha means "infinite life and infinite light".

The so-called "infinite life" refers to time; We usually say "longevity is like the East China Sea, longevity is better than the South Mountain". How old is this Nanshan? Someone said, "My grandfather has seen Nanshan, so has his great-grandfather, and so has his great-grandfather, so Nanshan has long existed!" "In fact? Nanshan has not existed for a long time.

We gave a speech in Kaohsiung last week. There is a Shoushan Mountain in Kaohsiung. On Shoushan Mountain, you can see coral stones. There are many shells in coral stones. Who put those coral shells on it? God probably put it on the mountain. Or did the ghosts or God put them there? Everybody! Don't you think so? Absolutely not! That's because great changes have taken place on the earth's surface, resulting in mountains sinking into the seabed and the seabed rising into mountains. Moreover, these seashells on the mountain are not weathered, and we can still see them, so we can infer that the history of this mountain will not be too long.

Also, there is a Buddhist temple in Kaohsiung. It is said that when the ground was broken, several fossils of large shells were dug up from the ground. According to archaeologists, these fossils have a history of more than 200 million years. This Buddhist temple is located in Lingya District, Kaohsiung City. In the urban area, you can actually dig up the big fossils of 200 million years ago. It can be seen that that place was an ocean 200 million years ago. So, similarly, although the mountain does not move for the time being, its life span is not long.

According to the Buddhist scriptures, how did our earth come into being? Classically, our world didn't exist at first, and then there began to be air, that is, the wind wheel; Gradually, the gas becomes liquid, that is, the wind wheel forms a waterwheel; Then the liquid gradually becomes solid, that is, the waterwheel forms the ground wheel; Then all kinds of life are born from liquids and solids. However, where did these lives come from? According to Buddhist scriptures, the first people on earth came from the world of light and sound.

Third, I have the longest life.

From what I said before, the world is limited, so how big is Nanshan? In fact, compared with "I", I am not old at all. Who is old in Nanshan? This "Nanshan" is unparalleled, because there was "I" from the beginning. Without "I", this world would not be formed, there would be no sentient beings, no ordinary people, and there would be no reincarnation of life and death. And each of us has a "I", so from the distant past to the present, death is reborn and life is reborn. In the sea of life and death, we made a start, so Nanshan is not old and "I" is the oldest.

From the perspective of individual life, after decades, you should be old if you don't want to be old; Judging from the mountains and rivers of the environment, everything changes from time to time, so life is extremely limited. But in this world, there are still many people who want to live forever, such as Taoist alchemy, but in fact, who is immortal now? It is said in history that Peng Zu lived to be 800 years old and Chen Tuan lived to be 600 years old. Seventy years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, plus more than 200 years in the Qing Dynasty, 200 years in the Ming Dynasty, 90 years in the Yuan Dynasty and 1,360 years in the Song and Tang Dynasties. This 800-year-old or 600-year-old is really not long, so we can't live forever and life is short.

But this "I", in terms of time, is long-lasting. If practice is not free from life and death, "I" will make you live and die indefinitely!

Have you ever heard of endless hell? We often say that A-nose hell is endless hell, and endless hell means that you have been suffering endlessly in time until your karma is exhausted. In fact, if each of us is not freed from life and death, it will be no different from being in hell, just like a long night that will never break. What should we do in this long night? Dream! What dream? Some are sweet dreams, some are nightmares, some are ignorant dreams, and there is really not much time for sweet dreams.

Fourth, how much do you know about life?

Everybody! Have you ever heard that there are four great pleasures in life?

(1) Rain comes after a long drought: Rain comes after a long drought is really rare, but what if it doesn't stop raining for dozens of days? Should it be changed to "after the rain clears up" to be a kind of enjoyment?

(2) Meet an old friend in a different place: friends haven't seen each other for a long time, and it's hard to see them again in a different place. I'm really happy! But if an "old friend" keeps pestering you, you may whisper in your heart, "This guy! What a nuisance! You can visit my house for a few days, but you can't stay forever! I have my own family life to live and my own career to be busy! At this time, what he is most looking forward to in his heart should be "the guest is blessed by the Lord"!

(3) Wedding night: After the wedding night? I once read a cartoon in which a gentleman was carrying a house. In the house, his wife and children are crowded. Some children clamored for toys, books, food and clothes. Where's the wife? Zhang Zhu opened his mouth and screamed: "The salary of the dead fool is too small, the family expenses are too large, and the house is too small!" Where is sir? Slowly, I bent down until my head was on the ground and I climbed. This is the result of the wedding night! Although there are many ways to make money and you don't worry about life, how many couples in this world are immortal families? Most of them are happily married, but they spend their lives in noisy and inseparable grievances, and even divorce. But, gentlemen! Want to get married or want to get married! Although you understand my argument, you can't help getting married.

(4) Time to be the top scholar: In the imperial examination era, even today, the admission list was announced after the examination, which is called the release list. If you can get a name on the list after the Beijing exam and the court exam, you will become an official. However, officials also have the pain of being officials. They socialize every day, and the people above supervise and suppress you The people below implore you. People of the same age crowd you out and envy you. It's really hard to deal with, so most people in officialdom don't have their own personality and principles. Bitter! No wonder the emperor shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty said, "It is better to be a monk for half a day than to be a monarch for 36 thousand days." It can be seen that the emperor is not as comfortable as a monk, let alone an official!

But monks like me are also very bitter. From morning till night, from today to tomorrow, there is little rest time. The more people beg me, the busier I am, the busier and the more bitter I am. So don't say it's a good thing for his parents to be the number one scholar. As the saying goes, "people are afraid of being famous, and pigs are afraid of being fat." Once a person has a name, "fame fatigue" will follow!

Five, life is like a dream

So in terms of time, happiness is too short. And bitter? But it's long. But whether it is bitter or happy, it is a dream. If you don't practice and get rid of it, this dream will never wake up. But when you wake up, you won't wake up forever. Just like waking up in the morning, dreaming, sleeping and dreaming at night. Others wake up in the morning, but daydream with their eyes open during the day. Therefore, all living beings are stupid, and their dreams are indefinite, so they are called "long nights" and "drunk dreams die". Who is the protagonist in this long dream? It's me

The dream of life and death, you can't escape if you want to. Has anyone thought of it? I have lived for decades, at most 100 years old, and it is inevitable to die in the end. As I said before, all the old people I saw when I was a child didn't think they would die. Do you think that old people will think of death? They know this, but, you say, who wants to die? Even if I knew I would die if I didn't breathe, I wouldn't think, "I will die right away."

So few people are so alert to the problem that "everyone will die". Only master Yin Guang wrote the word "death" and hung it in his room, always facing the real problem of "death".

Therefore, we should make good use of this life before we die, do something good for ourselves and others, study hard and live well; Otherwise, you are born like a drunk, and after death, it is the beginning of another dream. Where to dream? Heaven and earth, dreams are in the bellies of cows, horses, pigs, dogs and cats! To make matters worse, flies, ants and mosquitoes have to do it.

I remember here (Nongchan Temple), I once said to a believer's child, "Poor beetles and ants!" "No, they are so cute! Look, I can't fly, but beetles can fly! And ants can drill holes in the ground, but I can't. I envy them so much! " The child said innocently.

Sixth, the transcendence of time.

Ladies and gentlemen, you are not children. Do you envy beetles that can fly and ants that can drill holes in the ground? In fact, we are finally reincarnated. Once we are human, we want to prolong our lives, not die. If you want to live long, it's easy. As long as you do bad things, the more you do, the better, and the worse you do, you can live a long life. That is to accept bitter retribution in hell, and never get out again after a long time. It is human instinct to hate bitterness and pleasure. I believe no one wants to live so long.

On the contrary, it is not easy to be "short-lived". From then on, there will be no reincarnation of life and death, and it will be fast and timely. I hope to play Zen Seven or Buddha Seven, and in a seven-mile, I can prove that Arhat grosvenor and even become a Buddha! In other words, I have no "life" of this reincarnation since then. Therefore, it is not easy to be "short-lived"!

But if we feel that time is long or short, we are in time; If time can be surpassed and there is no time, it is called "infinite life". Moreover, because all beings are in time and never leave time, it is quantitative in any case and can also be calculated in sections. For example, a person's day, one year old and life are all segments; Last life, this life, next life, next life, this is also a period. On earth, the beneficiaries are born in heaven, and the criminals fall into hell, and the blessings are exhausted on the same day, or the crimes in hell are exhausted. This is the end and beginning of another paragraph. Therefore, in the six ways of life and death, the process of measuring birth and death is called subsection birth and death. Only when we leave the three realms and live and die, can we separate paragraphs without time. Out of the three realms is the proof of Siraitia grosvenorii. The person who proves Siraitia grosvenorii has no time to measure him, because he is no longer in life and death, and has surpassed time.

In Mahayana Buddhism, his time still existed before he reached the Eight Bodhisattvas. And the bodhisattvas who have reached more than eight places, if they experience self-certification, of course, have no time to divide; In the practice of bodhisattva by all beings, because when all beings are present, the bodhisattva is also present, so as to educate all beings. Therefore, we look at bodhisattvas from all beings, even if they are concentric bodhisattvas, nothing is out of place. The time when a bodhisattva is above the first place is called life and death, which is different from the life and death of ordinary people. Under the blessing of sin, ordinary people feel the six divisions in the wheel of life and death of karma, while bodhisattva gradually completes the perfect Buddha fruit with the rise of fruit position, which is the transcendence of time and the completion of life.

Seven, "I" space is so small!

Then I will talk about space and life. Tell me, how big is the scope of our activities? Someone said, "I have never been to Hualien! I have never been to Alishan! Others said, "I haven't climbed Yushan. "This is only in Taiwan Province province. However, in terms of the proportion of the total area of the earth, Taiwan Province Province is really a tiny place. For you, there are so many places you haven't been to, and because there are so many places you haven't been to, you have the illusion that Taiwan Province Province is a big place. That's because the scope of our activity space is too limited. Even though I know that Taiwan Province Province has little knowledge, I still think the experience is great.

Looking at it again, the existence of each of us always feels very important, and it seems to be quite big. Although the body is only more than one meter high, I already feel indomitable spirit and broad mind. In fact, although there are limits, the world we can perceive is extremely limited. In other words, our body's range of activities is too limited.

Have you ever been to the other side of the world? If you haven't been there, then the earth sounds far away. I, as a person, have gone and come back from the other side of the earth, coming and going, more than I have gone from Taipei to Tainan, so in my opinion, I think the earth is really small! Strangely, I often see people I know in Taiwan Province Province on the road on the other side of the world, but I seldom go out shopping in new york, but I meet those people. I remember once, when I was on the subway in new york, I met an acquaintance who was doing business in Taiwan Province Province. I was surprised and asked, "Huh? Why do you also take this bus? Do you often take this route in America? 」

"no! It's my first time in America! " He also answered in surprise.

So, from the other side of the earth to this side, people come and go to see how narrow the space we live in. Then look at the earth from the eyes of astronauts, and our earth will be smaller. However, how far is a space pilot from the earth to the earth by rocket? It's not far away. So far, there is no record that an astronaut can leave the orbit around the earth and fly to other planets in the solar system. However, from the perspective of the whole space, our earth is really just a small spaceship.

Eight, the infinite bright distance

We say that Amitabha is "infinite life and infinite light"; Life is time, and light is space. The space irradiated by light can be divided into far and near. Ladies and gentlemen, what do you mean by "boundless light"? Is it infinite color light such as red light, green light, green light and white light? Or fluorescent lamp, oil lamp, electric light, starlight, moonlight, sunshine? No, the meaning of infinite light refers to the existence of infinite deep, far, wide and great forces that are full of space and beyond the scope of space.

Have you ever heard of Lightyear? For example, how many thousand light-years is it from a certain planet to the earth? Light-year is the time that the speed of light passes, which is used to explain the distance in space. The distance of a light-year is 587.52 million miles, the speed of light is 186300 miles per second, and the diameter of the earth is only 7920 miles. However, if we use light years to calculate a long distance, does it mean that it is infinite? No, everything that can be seen and calculated is extremely limited, so it is not infinite light.

Nine, everyone has light.

So, when can we reach the infinite realm? This will wait until the power of your wisdom, your sense, your will can reach the infinite place, and your light can shine to the infinite place. This "going", though intangible, is real, so it is called a pure and free mind light, a light of wisdom and a light of sadness.

May I ask why you meditate here? Immortality or the avatar? If you have magical power, you can explore from this earth to that planet, or you can see what people are thinking. Or can you tell at a glance which girl is best for your wife and which boy is best for your husband? Or can you cross the ocean and listen to what your relatives, lovers and even enemies are saying?

However, if you get this magical power, you will be in trouble. When you see a desirable girl, it is actually your grandmother in your previous life or past life; Or meet a boy you like, damn it! He used to be the grandson of the past. How can you be husband and wife if your generations are reversed! So if you want to meditate with the avatar, you are wrong, because it will make you miserable and confused, at least it will make you busy and even life-threatening!

However, practice can concentrate your attention. The more concentrated your thoughts are, the farther light will travel. Everyone has light, which can be found by special instruments.

Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen some people with long faces and poor faces, as if they had just climbed out of hell? As soon as you see him, you will feel a little cold on him. He is either a murderer or in a very bad time. Another kind of person is full of spirit and vitality. As soon as you see him, you will feel safe and happy, as if you saw hope. Although your eyes can't see his light, in fact, his light has already come out, and you really feel it.

How much practice a person has, how much strength he can generate, the power to have confidence in himself and the power to help others. This power is sometimes tangible and sometimes intangible, but whether it is tangible or intangible, as long as it is generated, its light will already shine on you.

X. reflection and light absorption

You guys, have you let the light of Sakyamuni Buddha shine? Did you let the boundless light of Amitabha shine? Everyone was photographed, but some people were photographed, just absorbing the light but not reflecting it. Ladies and gentlemen: What do you think is the easiest thing to reflect light? A mirror, of course; If there is a layer of black paper on the mirror, it will no longer reflect light. Therefore, the clearest thing is the easiest to reflect light. Therefore, the person who practices the most is the one who can feel the light of Buddha and Bodhisattva the most.

If a person practices to help every sentient being shine and sees that every sentient being has light and reflects light, then he will find that all sentient beings are Buddhas, so Buddhas look at all sentient beings and all sentient beings are Buddhas, because Buddhas are the cleanest, clearest and most reflective. If you always see that this person is not good, that person has a problem and everything feels disgusting. This kind of person not only can't reflect light, but also absorbs light. When the light shone on him, it disappeared.

Light represents space. Since there are two different kinds of light, there are two different kinds of space, one is infinite black light and the other is infinite white light. White light is infinite, representing the power of spiritual discipline, determination and wisdom, which can reach infinity; Black light is infinite, that is to say, greed, jealousy, ignorance and other bad karma are infinite, that is to say, he absorbed all the light and became a very guilty person.

1 1. Transcendence of space

Is Buddha a luminous body after all? Or a person who doesn't shine? If the Buddha is a luminous body, is there a special luminous center? Like a lamp in a lighthouse, it radiates in all directions, or like the Buddha statue we see, it radiates around with the Buddha statue as the center? In fact, lighthouses and Buddha statues are all visual. When the Buddha is turning into the world, the incarnation Buddha appears like this, while the real Dharma Buddha is everywhere and has no specific center. Every place is where Buddhism is, everywhere, everywhere.

This is the absolute infinity of hyperspace, which is not limited by space. This is the transcendence of space and the completion of life.

(1March, 98313rd opening of the meditation meeting of Nongchan Temple)