平常心是道 The Ordinary Mind is the Way（中英文字幕 English subtitle）-- 美佛寺性仁法師講佛教故事 Venerable Xingren

修行在於生活，吃飯睡覺就是最好的用功處！
修行在于生活，吃饭睡觉就是最好的用功处！
Cultivation is in life, and eating and sleeping is the best place to practice!
2022.09.30 宣講於洛杉磯美佛寺
今天，我跟大家講一個『平常心是道』的故事。這個故事來源於禪宗，是禪宗提出來的一個修行方法。『平常心是道』出於禪門的一個日常對話。這一則有趣的對話，發生在中國的唐朝時期。以下是馬祖道一的弟子大珠慧海和有源律師之間的一個對話內容。內容是這樣的：有源律師問：『和尚，您修行還要用功嗎？』大珠慧海禪師回答說：『還要用功。』有源律師就繼續問：『那要如何用功呢？』慧海禪師接著回答說：『飢來食，困來眠。』肚子餓的時候就吃飯，困的時候就睡覺。有源律師又繼續問道：『一般人不都是這樣嘛！這個怎麼算是用功修行呢？』這個時候禪師回答說：『不一樣，完全不一樣。』有源律師就問：『那到底有甚麼地方不一樣呢？哪裡不一樣呢？』禪師回復說：『一般人，吃飯不好好吃飯，總是百般地思索；睡覺不好好地睡覺，千般地計較。所以說有大大的不同。』以上這一番簡單的對話，是形成禪宗『平常心是道』的最初根源。之後，馬祖道一的再傳弟子臨濟義玄禪師，在這個對話的基礎上，進一步發揮形成『平常心是道』的這麼一個思想。更認為：佛法修行沒有別的，但『平常無事』即可。所謂『佛法無用功處，只是平常無事。著衣吃飯，困來即臥。愚人笑我，智乃知焉』。諸位同修，我跟大家講，『平常心是道』這一禪法，特別注重在『平常』這兩個字，也就是日常生活本身，以一種平平常常的心，來對待世間所有發生的一切事情。看起來非常地平常，實則不然。我跟諸位同修講，修起來的時候一點都不平常，要求非常之高。具體而言，在生活當中，在心與事的關係上，在一切事上都不曾住心，要求心無所住。這個就是《金剛經》所說的『應無所著，而生其心』。禪宗六祖惠能大師的《得道偈》：『菩提本無樹，明鏡亦非臺。本來無一物，何處惹塵埃。』我跟諸位同修講，這裡『本來無一物，何處惹塵埃』，就是《金剛經》所說的『離相無住，性空無所得』的境界。所以『平常心是道』，其本身就很平常。但要真的做到這一句話，實屬非常地不容易。這種平常心，是要有一定的修養後方可具有的。我們大家都平常不了，不是誰都能夠做到的。這個故事告訴我們，我們大家修行來源於生活，道來自於生活，離不開我們的生活。道就在生活當中，道在行住坐臥當中。平常心是道，生活就是我們修行的大道場。我們從生活當中去體會道，那這個才是我們真正的修行。那這樣修行，我們的修行才會有根。這個是我們所有的佛弟子要修的，是我們要修的全部內容。禪宗告訴我們，要擁有這個平常心。所謂的平常心就是道，最平凡的時侯是最高的，真正的真理就是在最平凡之間。大乘佛法提倡：『佛法在世間，不離世間覺』，『修行在人間，成佛在人間』。我們在生活當中，我們要處處不忘與眾生廣結善緣。度一切眾生，而無一眾生可度。要抱著一種無所得、無所住之心，這樣才能夠時時妙吉祥，處處觀自在。隨緣自在，自在隨緣。感恩大家，阿彌陀佛！

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Today, I'm going to tell you a story about "the ordinary mind is the way". This story comes from the Zen School, and it is a practice method proposed by the Zen School. "The ordinary mind is the way" is from a conversation in the Zen School. This interesting conversation took place during the Tang Dynasty in China. The following is the content of the conversation between Dazhu Huihai, a disciple of Patriarch Ma Daoyi, and a Vinaya (aka Rule) master Youyuan. The content is as follows: Vinaya master Youyuan asked, "Venerable, do you still need to work hard in your practice?" Zen master Dazhu Huihai replied, "I still need to work hard." Vinaya master Youyuan continued to ask, "Then how do you work hard?" Zen master Huihai then replied, "Eat when hungry and sleep when sleepy." Eat when I am hungry, and sleep when I am sleepy. Vinaya master Youyuan continued to ask, "Isn't that the case with ordinary people? How can this be considered a hard-working practice?" At this time, the Zen master replied, "It's not the same, completely." Vinaya master Youyuan asked, "Then what is the difference? How is it different?" The Zen master replied, "For Ordinary people, when they eat, they don't just eat, they always think in all kinds of ways; when they sleep, they don't just sleep, they worry in all kinds of ways. So, there is a big difference." The above simple conversation is the original source of the formation of "the ordinary mind is the way" of the Zen School. Later, Zen master Yixuan of Linji Sect, an adherent of Patriarch Ma Daoyi, based on this conversation, further developed the idea that "the ordinary mind is the way". He even thought that there was nothing to do in Buddhist practice other than "being ordinary and having nothing in mind". It's said that "There's nowhere else to practice Buddha Dharma hard other than being ordinary and having nothing in mind. Wear clothes, eat, and sleep when you are sleepy. Fools laugh at me, but wise men know." Fellow practitioners, let me tell you that the Zen method of "the ordinary mind is the way" pays special attention to the word "ordinary", that is, in daily life, treats everything that happens in the world with an ordinary mind. It seems very ordinary, but it is not. I tell you fellow practitioners that practicing it is not ordinary at all, and the requirements are very high. Specifically, in life, on the relationship between the mind and things, on all things, the mind never dwells, and it is required that the mind doesn't dwell on anything. This is what "Diamond Sutra" states: "One should have a non-indwelling mind". Master Huineng, the sixth Zen patriarch, said in his "Enlightenment Verse": "Bodhi has no tree, and a bright mirror is not a stand. There is nothing since the beginning, so where does it get dust?" I tell you fellow practitioners that "there is nothing since the beginning, so where does it get dust" is the state "depart from forms and do not dwell on anything, and the nature of emptiness has nothing to gain" in "Diamond Sutra". So, the idea of "the ordinary mind is the way" is very ordinary itself. But to do it is really not easy. This kind of ordinary mind can only be acquired after a certain degree of self-cultivation. We can't be ordinary, not everyone can do it. This story tells us that our cultivation is in life, and the way is in life, inseparable from our life. The way is in life, and the way is in our every move. The ordinary mind is the way, and life is the place where we cultivate. Experiencing the way in our life is our real cultivation. If we practice in this way, our practice will have roots. This is what all our Buddhist disciples need to cultivate, and it is the entire content of what we need to cultivate. Zen teaches us to have this ordinary mind. The so-called ordinary mind is the way, the most ordinary moment is the highest, and the real truth is in the most ordinary. Mahayana Buddhism advocates: "The Dharma is in the world and is inseparable from enlightening in the world", "cultivate in the world and achieve Buddhahood in the world." In our life, we mustn't forget to broadly form good affinities with beings everywhere. Enlighten all beings, but there are no beings to enlighten. We need to hold a mind of having nothing to gain and nowhere to dwell on, so that we can have good luck all the time and be at ease everywhere. Follow conditions and be at ease and be at ease and follow conditions. Namaste, Amitabha!