【證嚴法師開示】 我們要把握當下，恆持剎那。這個「剎那」，就是每個時間的當下。無論是千年、萬年，或者是分秒時間那個「當下」，我們都要好好把握，這叫做「把握當下」。若是我們現在聽了就瞭解，那就是過去的當下，聽了之後有用心。那個當下用心，把握住那個剎那，現在再聽，很快就能夠受用。原來，永恆的剎那，便是分秒的當下。所以我們要精進，無論是空間或者是時間，一點點我們都不要讓它漏失。 We need to seize the present moment and turn it into eternity. Eternity is made up of moments. Be it thousands of years or just seconds or minutes, they’re accumulated through every single moment that passes us by. So, we must seize the present moment. If you understand what I’ve just said, it means that you had been mindful, when I was teaching this in the past. You’d listened to my teachings attentively, so you are able to get it very quickly, when you hear it again now. This is what it means to turn the present moment into eternity. So, we must be diligent and not let nay opportunity or any second slip away.
其實，一瞬念間定聖凡，我們當下這念心，若正，定聖凡：「我們起一念心，我決心、發心、立願，學佛一定要佛入心、法在行中。那一念間就是定聖。」如果是漏失掉了，沒有好好把握當下，我們永遠都是凡人、凡夫，還是事事都是鈍，永遠無法瞭解天地萬物。甚至在人間，有為法之事，我們也無法瞭解。所以我們必定要用心，把握當下剎那間。 Indeed, a thought we give rise to in an instant can decide whether we can attain enlightenment or not. When we vow to learn the Buddha’s way and are determined to keep the Buddha in our hearts and practice his teachings, we’ve set on the path to enlightenment. However, if we do not hold on to our vow and seize time to live it out, we will forever remain unenlightened. We will be ignorant and deluded and will never gain insight into truths, let alone the many phenomena we see in the world. So, we must be mindful and seize the present moment.
【頭髮築巢】The Loving Spiritual Cultivator 有一位修行者，他很用功，很把握時間。他一直希望能夠進入寧靜的境界，所以常常打坐、冥想。有一天，他離開家到山上，在很寧靜的地方坐下來，就入定了。因為這位修行者平時沒有時間剪頭髮，也沒有剃鬍子，所以鬍鬚、頭髮都很長。為了方便，他將頭髮盤到頭上。 There was a spiritual cultivator who was very diligent in cultivating himself. As he had always hoped to attain the profound peace of mind, he often practiced sitting meditation. One day, he left his home and went to the mountains where he found a quiet place to sit down and entered into meditation. Because his hair and beard were very long as he seldom trimmed them, before he started meditation, he piled his hair on top of his head.
這時候，有一隻母鳥要生蛋了，看到一個鳥巢，停在鳥巢上，就生下了一顆又一顆的蛋。母鳥開始孵蛋，漸漸地，小鳥脫殼而出。母鳥找東西回來餵雛鳥。 When he meditated, a mother bird came and perched on his head as she’d mistaken it for a nest. Later, the bird laid eggs on his head. Then, the bird hatched the eggs. After the baby birds were hatched, the mother bird began feeding them right there every day.
修行者冥想醒來時，覺得頭頂好像多了一些重量，而且好像有東西在動。他探手一摸，發現了鳥巢，有小鳥、鳥蛋殻。所以他不敢動，屏息而坐，連大力呼吸都不敢。他只能很微細地呼吸，不敢驚動小鳥。 When the cultivator awoke from his meditation, he felt the weight on his head and it seemed to him that something was moving in his hair. When he touched his hair, he was surprised to find birds and eggshells on his head. So, he didn’t dare to move. He remained still and took care not to breathe heavily. He breathed gently so that he wouldn’t startle the birds.
他坐在那裡，一天、二天、七天、一個月、二個月...... 在這期間，鳥兒漸漸長大。母鳥慢慢地教牠如何展翅，如何飛。第三個月，母鳥帶著這群小鳥振翅而非，修行者看到鳥離巢而去了。天氣也冷了， 他站起來，身體很微弱。三個月如入冬眠一般，所以走路很浮，消失在秋冬交界的氣候中。 He sat there just like that for a day, two days, a week, a month, two months…As the baby birds gradually grew up, the mother bird taught them how to fly. Three months later, the birds left their nest and flew away. The cultivator watched them fly away. It was getting cold, and he tried to get up. After sitting still for three months, he got very weak and could barely walk. He slowly disappeared into the wilderness.
在這片土地，一段時間是這麼安詳。天、地、人、物，動物與人，是那麼祥和。人是這麼有愛心，擔心驚動到動物，這種人間寧靜的境界，是多麼美。無論何時，都是「今正是其時」。因為這念心這麼定，充分的愛、天地人物合一，這就是最好的時刻。把握當下即是，任何一個當下，都正是其時。我們本具與佛同等的真如本性，只是我們六道輪迴，模糊掉了。何時才能契佛心呢？「今正是其時」，現在正是時候。我們每一天的時間，每一時刻，都是我們能得到法之時。當下即是，所以我們一定要好好把握住。 See how peaceful it is when humans live in harmony with other living creatures and Mother Nature. The cultivator was so loving that he was worried about startling the birds. Such a peaceful scene is very beautiful. I truly feel that this story can best explain what it means to “seize the present moment”. See how focused and loving the cultivator was that he became one with everything around him. This was the best moment for him. As he seized the present moment to do what was right, that moment was the best moment for him to cultivate himself. Likewise, as long as we keep the Buddha in our hearts, we’ll be in touch with our Buddha nature, which is inherent in everyone, at every moment. But, as we cycle through reincarnations, our Buddha nature becomes tainted. So, when can we return to our Buddha nature? Now is the time. At every moment of every day, we can take in the Dharma around us. Now is the time. So, we must seize the present moment.
故事中的那位那麼精進的修行者，可惜他沒遇到佛，否則那麼精進，他也能轉凡入聖。他只是打坐冥想，他所求的境界，就是如此而已。雖然心很沈著，雖然愛心很微細，可惜未聞到佛法，所以求空寂涅盤。每一個時間，都是很有價值的時間；每一個當下，無不都是充滿了妙法。時間、空間、人物、境界，每一個當下都是。 It’s a pity that the cultivator wasn’t born in the Buddha’s time. Otherwise, with his diligence, he could’ve attained enlightenment. But all he did was practice sitting meditation to pursue peace of mind. That’s all he wanted. Although he was very focused and loving, he had never heard the Buddha’s teachings. So, all he pursued was the profound peace of mind. In all, every moment is valuable and filled with wondrous Dharma no matter where we are and who or what we encounter. This is true for every moment.
( Source: Da Ai TV Television 2014/2/9 - 證嚴法師說故事–Stories Told by Dharma Master Cheng Yen )
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