我与观音菩萨的缘
My Affinity with Guan Yin Bodhisattva
比丘近永 2017年7 月12日讲于万佛圣城佛殿
A talk by Bhikshu Jin Yong at the Buddha Hall in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas on July 12, 2017
上人、诸位法师、诸位佛友，大家晚安！阿弥陀佛！今晚轮到近永和大家结法缘。
Venerable Master, Dharma Masters and friends in the Dharma, Good evening and Amitabha!
今天是观音菩萨成道的正日，我们中午用斋的时候，听到上人多年前在庆祝观音菩萨成道大法会上的开示；大家还记得上人问弟子们什么问题吗？
Today is the actual day of Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s enlightenment. At lunch, we listened to a talk the Venerable Master gave many years ago at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas on Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s enlightenment day. Do you remember what the Venerable Master asked the audience at the beginning of his talk?
上人说：“我们纪念观世音菩萨成道，我们应该问问自己什么时候成道？”
The Venerable Master said: “Today we celebrate Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s enlightenment, and we should ask ourselves when we will become enlightened.”
近永很惭愧，没有办法回答这个问题，所以无法和大家谈什么时候可以成道；我想和大家谈谈自己修行的经过。
I am ashamed that I cannot answer the Venerable Master’s question. Instead, I will talk about my practice.
上个月在台湾，有居士问近永：“法师，您修什么法门？”因为从来都没想过这个问题，所以我愣了一下，不晓得该怎么回答。我想一想后就说：“观音法门吧！”
During my visit to Taiwan last month, a layperson asked me: “Dharma Master, what is your method of practice?” I had never thought about that question, so I paused a little while and then with some reservation, said, “I practice Guan Yin’s Dharma door.”
今天因为要准备晚上结法缘，所以我就想当时的回答是不是正确？接下来就和大家谈谈我修行的历程，你们可以决定我那天的回答对不对。
While preparing for this evening’s talk earlier today, I pondered if my answer to that layperson was correct. I will now explain to you how I practice, and you can then decide if my answer was correct.
近永第一次到万佛圣城是在二十八年前——1989年的观音菩萨成道纪念日。那时我连三皈依都不懂，因为受朋友的委托到洛杉矶的金轮寺去见上人；无意中看见金轮寺的通告，说几天后有巴士要到万佛圣城来。基于好奇，我就报名参加，随团来圣城。
My first visit to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas was the weekend of the celebration of Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s enlightenment in 1989, 28 years ago. At that time, I did not know anything about Buddhism, not even the three refuges! A couple of weeks before that, I had gone to see the Venerable Master at Gold Wheel Monastery in Los Angeles on behalf of a friend in Taiwan. I saw an announcement there for a bus tour to CTTB in mid-July. Out of curiosity, I signed up for the tour.
二十八年了，近永对当年那个庆祝观音菩萨成道的周末，已经没有什么印象。我相信上人那时候在圣城，也作了开示，但是我不记得他讲了些什么，大概也听不懂他的开示。印象最深刻的是，圣城参天的古树；斋堂、如来寺、行政办公室旁等处都有高耸的橡树，这是我唯一记得的事情。
Since it was a long time ago, I don’t remember clearly but I believe the Venerable Master was at City of Ten Thousand Buddhas that weekend and gave a lecture at lunch on Sunday. I don’t remember what he said, though, probably because I did not understand his talk at all. What impressed me the most were old trees reaching to the sky. There were towering oak trees next to the Dining Hall, near the Tathagata Monastery and even around the Administration Building.
回洛杉矶以后，近永就经常周末到金轮寺去参加法会。因为我第一次去的时候，非常喜欢那里，觉得好像回到家一样。我记得很清楚的是，那儿星期天用完斋以后，十二点半开始拜《大悲忏》。
After returning to Los Angeles, I went to Gold Wheel Monastery almost every weekend. I liked it there and I felt at home even during my first visit. They practiced Great Compassion Repentance at 12:30 after lunch on weekends.
相信很多人都拜过《大悲忏》，《大悲忏》当然会有维那领众。但是那时候的金轮寺没有维那；维那是个录音机——放录音带，大家就跟着录音带拜。参加的人也不多，大概只有五六个人左右。虽然人不多，也没有维那，但是我在那边拜《大悲忏》，却拜得很高兴！
I believe that most of you have bowed Great Compassion Repentance. Of course you need a proctor (wei nuo) to lead the ceremony. However, that was not the case at Gold Wheel Monastery then; the participants followed a tape recording instead! At most 5–6 people attended the ceremony. Despite of all this, I very much enjoyed the Great Compassion Repentance there.
当时近永是在台湾工作，所以夏天过后，就回到台湾去；有好一阵子我把《大悲忏》当作是早课。当然《大悲忏》要整个拜完是要一个多小时，我因为还在工作，没有那么多时间，所以就取了一部分，天天跟着录音带唱诵。
I was working in Taiwan at that time, so I had to return there after the summer. For a long period of time when I used a tape recording to bow the Great Compassion Repentance almost every morning. Due to the constraint of time, I could not do the whole thing; I did only the part that I enjoyed most.
因为很喜欢《大悲忏》，所以开车的时候，我也放着《大悲忏》来听。别人大概会觉得很奇怪：这个人为什么一天到晚听这个？但是我也不管别人的想法，只要自己喜欢就好。就是这样子和观音菩萨结了缘。
I liked the Great Compassion Repentance so much that I listened to it while driving also. People might feel that I was weird; however, I didn’t care what others thought of me. That was how I established my affinity with Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
第二年夏天，我又回到圣城来；那次是来帮忙暑期班。当时我在台湾教书，有法师知道了，就建议我暑假到万佛城来帮忙暑期班。那时候的暑期班有三四周之长。我十岁的儿子，听说我要到圣城，居然也要来；我当然是求之不得，就把他带来参加暑期班。暑期班结束，准备回去时，碰到一个居士，他说他是来参加观音七的。我问他，为什么老远从洛杉矶来打观音七？
I came back to City of Ten Thousand Buddhas the following summer to help with the summer session at the Boys’ School, which lasted 3 or 4 weeks. A monk had suggested I do so after he learned that I was teaching in Taiwan. My then ten-year-old son volunteered to come with me. Of course, I was delighted to bring him here to attend the summer session. Just before we were about to return home, I met a layman who had just arrived. He said he came to attend the Guan Yin Session. I asked him why he came all the way from Los Angeles to participate in a session here.
他解释说：“在万佛城参加观音七是最殊胜的；佛殿里有这么一大尊庄严的观音菩萨像，在他面前打观音七，哪里找得到这么殊胜的地方？”我当时听了也不当一回事，像鸭子听雷一样，就离开了。
He explained to me, “CTTB is a very special place for a Guan Yin Session. Look at the big beautiful Guan Yin image in the Buddha Hall! Where can you find a better place to attend a Guan Yin Session than here before the Guan Yin image?” I did not take his words seriously and left as planned.
但是再过了一年以后，我自己却回来参加观音七。而且不只一次，接下来三四年，每一年都回来参加观音七。
However, I did come back to attend the Guan Yin Session the following summer, and the for 3–4 summers after that.
那时候虽然上人在，但是参加观音七的人并不多；在男众这边，我可以任意挑位子站。还记得有一年也是碰到戒期，女众戒子都排到男众这边来，我就站在女众戒子后面。
Although the Venerable Master was around at that time, very few people came to participate in the Guan Yin Session. I had the luxury to choose any seat I wanted. One summer happened to be the precept-training period as well. The female preceptees were bowing on the men side right in front of me.
这三四次的观音七，给近永带来非常多的益处；最主要的是，决定把台湾的工作辞掉。当时近永在台湾的工作还不算差，要把工作辞掉，不是一个小的决定，因为那时候我的两个孩子还在读中学。我到美国来的目的是要修行，不会再找工作了。所以把工作辞掉到圣城来，不但对我个人，对全家都是一个非常大的改变。
I benefitted a great deal from those sessions. It was during that time that I made the important decision to quit my job in Taiwan, even though it was a pretty good job. It was not an easy decision for me to make because I was married and had two teenaged children. I did not plan to work in US; I wanted to practice at CTTB instead. So, it was a big decision not only for myself but also for the whole family.
我们打观音七或者修行其它法门，如果专心的话，内心会很平静。当心平静的时候，我们往往对事情可以看得清楚，而能作出正确的决定。就像一个装了浑水的瓶子，静止一段时间以后，沙泥会沉淀下来，上头的水就澄清了；水澄清后，我们就可以清楚地看透它。同样的，我们的心定下来后，智慧就会显现出来；这也就是所谓的“因定发慧”。近永就是在这种情境下，深深体悟到应该把台湾的工作辞掉，到万佛圣城来。
During a session like this, or other kinds of practice, if we practice diligently, our minds can become very calm. With a calm mind, we can see things clearly and make good decisions. An analogy is a bottle filled with muddy water. After you let the bottle sit for a while, the mud will settle at the bottom and the water will become clear. “Our wisdom is revealed with samadhi.” With a very calm mind, I realized that I should quit my job and move to CTTB.
一九九五年七月近永搬来圣城常住。二十多年来，不曾后悔当初的决定；唯一遗憾的是：来得太晚，因为上人已经圆寂了！
I moved here in July 1995. It has been over two decades, and I have never had any regrets about my decision. The only regret I have is that I came too late—the Venerable Master had entered nirvana one month earlier!
大家好好地打七，相信你也可能作出，或许改变你一生的重大正确决定。
If you practice hard during the session, I believe that you can also make good decisions that may change your life!
【近永师简介】
出生于台湾，台湾大学物理学学士、加州大学旧金山医学中心生理学博士。
在加州大学圣迭戈分校及位于密西根州底特律市郊的通用汽车研究部，从事生物力学研究工作六年。1987年回台湾，任教于台北的阳明大学。
1989年夏天有缘首次到洛杉矶的金轮圣寺，拜见上人。当时内心油然生起回到家的感觉，深慨“踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫！”一个月后在金轮圣寺皈依上人，开始学佛的历程。
拜读上人的开示并参加万佛圣城及分支道场的法会后，越加了解佛法的究竟及科学的极限，遂于1995年毅然辞去台湾的教职，到万佛圣城担任义务老师。2002年底终于如愿以偿出了家，并于2005年受比丘戒。目前在万佛圣城常住，主要从事译经及负责居士训练班的课程。
【编按】摘录自《万佛城金刚菩提海》月刊（2017年8月期，NO. 567）
