佛在心頭坐The Buddha Sits In My Heart

吾想吾的讀者粉絲們應該有看過由游本昌主演的《濟公》，這部電視劇的主題曲膾炙人口，裏面唱到： “酒肉穿腸過”，“佛祖在心頭坐”。

如何確定佛在你心頭坐？

你時時刻刻的起心動念，舉手投足都是在善的，都是在戒律中，沒有跟道德理念有沖突，沒有占人家便宜。

佛沒有喜歡或不喜歡。你看到你討厭的人，已經沒有起嗔念。你看所有的人都能把他們當成佛。

如果你沒有，你怎麽說心中有佛？心中有佛的人會謙虛。

你去參加公司的常年晚宴，因爲社交，而喝酒。你把酒喝下去，沒有讓酒煽動你的心。

你吃肉，能不把肉當成肉，你懂得持咒超度畜靈，你懂得供養，沒有貪口腹之欲。

如果你不能，你怎麽說酒肉穿腸過？

曾在吾根本上師蓮生活佛書中讀到：

在宋孝宗的時代，有位叫「戒闍黎」的大行者，祂的食量很大，聽說能吃三個豬頭、五斗酒。

有位汪平甫的太守，請戒闍黎來吃飯。

戒闍黎又是酒，又是肉，吃得不亦樂乎，果然食量大的驚人，廿人份的，一口氣全吃光，如同秋風掃落葉。

戒闍黎到了汪太守的後院，汪太守夫人偷偷瞧見，只見戒闍黎口中吐出酒箭，空中有鬼神接去。

又吐出肉，空中又有鬼神接去。

太守夫人告訴太守，汪太守十分驚駭，從此對這位戒闍黎，敬畏得五體投地，也皈依了戒闍黎。

擧此利説明，戒闍黎表面上喝酒吃肉，其實他根本沒有，真正是「酒肉穿腸過」。

（傳說中的戒闍黎是文殊菩薩的化身。）

你說佛在你心頭坐，請問：

你是皈依的佛弟子嗎？
你有日日參禪修法嗎？
你有日日研讀佛法嗎？
你有日日渡衆生嗎？
你有日日菩提精進嗎？

如果你沒有，請不要說你心中有佛因爲這是妄語。不要在佛菩薩面前裝無知，拿佛菩薩來妄語及誤導他人會自食其果。

酒肉穿腸過，佛在心頭坐，聼起來很簡單，三歲小孩雖懂但八十嵗老翁做不到。

I am guessing most of my readers and fans would have seen the Chinese drama serial “Ji Gong”, starring Chinese actor You Benchang. The popular theme song has lyrics going like this, “Wine & meat pass through the intestines”, “The Buddha sits in my heart”.

How can you be sure that the Buddha is in your heart?

In each moment of your life, every emotion and thought you have, every action you do, stems from kindness and is in accordance with the precepts. There is no conflict with the morals and ethics and there is no taking advantage of another sentient being.

The Buddha does not feel any affection or hatred. When you see someone you dislike, does hatred arise in you? Do you treat all other sentient beings, even the animals and ghosts, as Buddhas?

If you are not able to do so, how could you say that the Buddha resides in your heart? A person who truly has the Buddha in his heart practices humility.

When you attend your company’s Dinner and Dance event, and consume alcohol for social reasons, the alcohol will not fan the flames and desires of your heart.

When you devour meat, you do not see it as meat. You possess the knowledge to deliver the spirit of the animal through mantra recitation. You know how to make an offering and no greed for food and alcohol arise in you.

If you cannot do all of the above, how could you say that “wine and meat only pass through the intestines”?

From a writing by my Root Guru, Living Buddha Lian Sheng, I read of this:

During the Song Dynasty, there lived a powerful spiritual cultivator by the name of Precept Master. He was known for his ferocious appetite and word had it that He could easily polish off 3 pigs and quaff 5 jars of wine.

Wang Ping Pu, a local governor, invited the Precept Master to his home for a meal.

The appetite of Precepts Master was indeed a sight to behold. He happily devoured meat and wine, enough to feed over 20 people, as speedily as the autumn winds sweeping away the fallen leaves.

After the meal, the Precept Master went to the backyard, with the wife of the governor secretly watching him by the side. She saw the Precept Master opened His mouth and arrows of meat and wine shot through the air, into the waiting arms of the spirits and gods!

She told the governor what she witnessed and from that moment onwards, he was in awe and veneration of the Precept Master and took refuge under Him.

This story tells us that even though the Precept Master was seen physically consuming the meat and wine, he was not. This is the true essence of “wine and meat only pass through the intestines”.

Legend had it that this Precept Master is a manifestation of the Manjusri Bodhisattva.

You proclaim that the Buddha sits in your heart, but let me ask you:

Have you taken refuge in the Triple Gem?
Do you practice insightful meditation and cultivate everyday?
Do you study the Dharma deeply everyday?
Do you help other sentient beings by expounding the Dharma to them everyday?
Do you diligently strive towards Enlightenment everyday?

If you do not, please do not say that you have the Buddha in your heart because that is an outright lie. Do not act ignorant in front of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as there is a heavy price to pay for sprouting untruth to Them and using Them to mislead others.

“Wine and meat only pass through the intestines, the Buddha sits in my heart”. This verse is simple to the ears, simple for a 3-year-old to know but extremely challenging for a 80-year old man to fulfill.