[附录]作者简介
一位将生命献给佛陀的比丘——佛使尊者
(香光书乡编译组整理)
一、[出生与求学]
一九０六年五月二十七日，佛使尊者诞生于泰国南部素叻他尼府(Surat Thani)猜耶县(Chaiya)本里安镇(Pumriang)，祖父是自福建移民泰国的华人，父亲经商，母亲是泰国人，他是家中长子，另有一位弟弟。
佛使尊者二十岁入寺出家，法号“因陀般若”(Indapanno)，意思是“大智慧”(Great Wisdom)。一九二八年至一九三二年在曼谷求学，后来发愿生活在大自然中，以探讨佛法。在一次给弟弟法使居士的信上说：“曼谷是一个找不到清净的地方，我希望找一个远离外在与内在干扰的地方，以便细察和研究曾学习过的佛法，……从今以后，我不但不随世俗浮沉，更要远离世俗的方法，跟随圣人的足迹。”于是他离开曼谷回到家乡猜耶县，在弟弟及其道友的支持下，于森林中成立禅修中心，即今“解脱自在园”(Suan Mokkh)的前身。
二、[誓为“佛使”]
不久，泰国民主革命成功，推翻君主集权制度，实施民主立宪，他一方面有感于泰国佛教泥古不化，部分僧侣钻营名利、不事修行，一方面接受现代思潮，强调思辨理性，他曾评论说：“我们要把这次革命事件，当成转向新时代的前兆，我们必须尽一切力量纠正和改进各种事情。”于是在佛前自誓：“我誓以今生此身献给佛陀。我是佛陀的侍者，佛陀是我的主人。因此，我更名为‘佛使’(Buddhadasa)。”
一九三二年至一九三五年，他独自在森林中精进禅修；一九三五年才有其他僧人前来共住；一九四三年，解脱自在园移至现址。其弟法使居士于猜耶县成立“法施社”(Dhammadana Group)，开始发行杂志，并开办图书馆和印刷厂。
解脱自在园在立的初期，住在附近的居民并不了解尊者，小孩们更以为他有精神病而独自看管一座无人的寺院。另外，也有许多人怀疑解脱自在园创立的目的，甚至毁谤尊者正以宗教为幌子，暗中进行谋利的事，这样的误解大约持续了十年之久。后来，透过尊者不断地努力，他所提倡的改革运动，逐渐受到全国性的肯定，保守派僧侣虽有人仍视其为异端，但他终能影响年轻的一代用心反省，引导泰国僧侣致力于智慧的开发。
三、[大自然的智慧]
尊者自一九三二年成立解脱自在园开始，至一九九三年圆寂为止，大半生都在森林中度过，他认为修法必须选择自然的环境，因为森林是心灵全新感受的泉源。例如与一只公水獭不期而遇，他依照佛陀的教诲思惟，使自己不致在惊吓中逃走或退缩，而能继续保持冷静；在寂静的深夜里独处，更使他一再观察恐惧如何生起，终于能克服恐惧的幻觉，内心生起智慧而能不忧不惧；于空旷的地方独自结跏趺坐，即使只有一件衣服的保护，他也能集中精神自我训练。他坚信这种培养定、慧的方法，在人烟稠密的地方是无法做到的，只要随时保持清明的心智，不论阅藏或修行都能事半功倍。
于大自然中，他观察到万事万物本来如是，一切都只是缘起，包括生、老、病、死也是大自然中的一部分，只是“自然”，只是“法”，他最常讲的一句话是：“如是！如是！”晚年生病时，他对来为他治病的医生说：“自然本身就会治疗它自己，‘法’会使它的病痊愈，医生的角色是当病人体力不支时，帮忙维持体力，而其他就得托付自然了，如此我们将对自己所遭受到的一切感到满足，而不再多求。”也对要送他就医的弟子说：“佛弟子不该背著色身逃离死亡。”他以身教教导弟子要保持正念，准备死亡。他对自然的体悟，充分表现在对自己生命的态度上。
四、[关怀人类生命的安顿]
尊者终其一生殚精竭虑要建立和诠释原始佛教的纯正要义。他精研巴利三藏(尤其是经藏)，再根据教法修行，然后把所证得的灭苦方法开示给众生，他的目标是要为目前及未来的研究与修行，制订一套完整的参考体系。他的方法，总是那么合乎科学、直截了当、实际可行。
虽然他只受过十年的正式教育和初级的巴利文教育，却荣获泰国各大学颁赠六个荣誉博士学位。他的著作和演讲记录，摆满了泰国国立图书馆的一个房间，影响着所有认真修行的泰国佛教徒。
泰国社会中的进步派，尤其是年轻人，深深受到他的教法和大公无私的典范所启发。自从六十年代以来，教育、社会福利和农村发展等各界的推动者和思想家，都在接受著他的教法和开示。当时的情况是，在位者沉溺于追逐名利、权力，社会上伦理道德意识模糊，这些问题的根源都在于教育界只教导追求物质欲望，而忽略心灵的提升，于是每周电台广播弘法，演讲“断尾狗的教育”，以断了尾巴的狗走路就会不平衡为比喻，强调教育的重要与影响性，唤醒大众重新思考教育的问题，以求根本解决之道。
尊者一生坚持着三个心愿：
一、教导人类破除自私；
二、希望每个宗教都能互相了解；
三、希望每个宗教徒都能进入信仰的核心。
自从成立解脱自在园以来，他研究了佛教的一切法门，并涉猎其他宗教，这种兴趣着重在实务上的体验，而非学术上的研究。他从不站在佛教的立场抨击别的宗教，反而强调各个宗教的信仰者要思惟该宗教的精髓，将该宗教的真正精神活出来。因为他认为每个宗教的产生都是要解决人类的痛苦，若人能进入该宗教的核心，人自然就能解决他自己的痛苦。另外，他也认为世界上有些战争是由宗教引起的，根源在各宗教间彼此并不 了解。所以他有意整合一切具有宗教情操的人们，共同奋斗摧毁私心，以挽救全人类。这种开阔的胸襟，为他赢得了来自世界各地的朋友和学生的敬仰，包括基督教、回教、印度教和锡克教等各教教徒。
五、[仍在进行的计划]
一九九三年五月二十五日，尊者因脑溢血而昏迷，身体情况由此转坏，于七月八日圆寂，九月二十九日荼毗，享年八十七岁。临终前他留下遗书：“我要依循圣戒来处理我的身体。”在他生病之前，最常开示的主题就是“涅槃”，他宣说涅槃是贪、瞋、痴的止息，也是人人所应追求的最高境界，他如此解释涅槃：不再有“我”、“我所有”的执著，不增不减，心寂静安乐。
他生前倾全力推动的最后一个计划是——建立“国际佛法修习中心”，目前工作目标有三项：
一、开授课程，让外国和泰国的朋友认识佛法中所解释的自然真理，引导他们修行佛法。
二、召集泰国(将来推广到全世界)各宗教代表会议，促进彼此的了解，共同推动世界和平。
三、邀请世界各地佛教徒集会讨论，拟出“佛教的中心要旨”。
尊者的身体已随自然法则离开这个世间，但是他的智慧将永远引导着有心学佛的人迈向解脱的道路。(本文根据《解脱自在园六十年纪念专辑》、《解脱自在园的最初十年》一书，及郑振煌译《何来宗教》的<作者简介>整理而成)。
结论
我们用区分小节引用原文的方式，概说了佛陀的教诲；区分小节是为了便于了解与记忆。我希望各位同学记得前面讨论的重点，只要将列举的根本义理铭记在心，将来不论遇到什么问题，这些义理都可当作判断抉择的普遍原则。佛陀曾说，如果有疑问，就把这问题与普遍原则比较。如果不符合普遍原则，就别理它，因那不是佛陀的教诲，是说的人弄错了，是老师教错了，即使他宣称亲闻于佛陀，一个字也不要相信！如果不符合普遍原则，也就不符合“法”和“律”，那么就别理睬它，别把它当作佛陀的说法！
佛陀的教法是“空相应法”，即是无执、无著、空、无我——什么都只是元素罢了，而不是“众生”、“人”、“主体”、“我”、“你”、“他”。
在我所住的乡下地区，人们曾有个习惯，就是在入寺院出家的第一天，必须学会这段巴利经文：
这些只是自然的元素，永无休止地随缘生起(Yatha paccayam pavattananam dhatumattamev etam)，
只是“界”(元素)而已(Dhatumattako)。
不是“有情”(Nissatto)，
不是个人的生命(Nijjavo)。
没有实质的“我”(Sunno)。
在他们住进寺院要出家的第一天，第一件事就是学习这段经文，那时，他们还没学习如何礼佛、唱诵、作早晚课，也还没学习出家授戒仪式。换句话说，这是具智慧的制度，从入寺院求出家的第一天，传授他们佛法的核心。
这惯例是否还存在，我不知道；求出家的人是否了解这段经文，我也不知道；但这个惯例的设想非常了不起。在出家的第一天传授佛教的核心——“这些只是自然的元素，永无休止地随缘生起，只是界(元素)而已，不是有情，不是个人生命，没有实质的‘我’”——在他们到寺院的第一天就接受这些教导。但他们的后代让这个惯例消失了，当人们不再了解“空”，以致原始的佛教不再留存时，该怪谁呢？
我希望这次演讲能激励有善根的各位，好好想一想，以助佛教的复兴和延续。
为了世界的和平、安乐，请忘掉“自我”吧！
Conclusion
WE HAVE SUMMED up the Teaching in the form of short sections, so divided as to be easily understood and remembered, together with quotations from the texts. I hope you will remember the points we have discussed in so far as they illustrate fundamental truths that you can keep in mind, and are general principles to make use of in judging and deciding the various questions you will encounter in the future. The Buddha said that if doubt arises on any point, we must compare the doubtful proposition with the general principles. If it fails to fit in with the general principles, reject it as not being a teaching of the Buddha. Whoever made the statement has got it wrong; such a teacher is teaching the wrong thing. Even if he claims to have heard it from the Buddha himself, don’t believe a word of it. If it doesn’t fit in with the general principles, that is, doesn’t fit in with the Suttas and the Vinaya, reject it as not being an utterance of the Buddha. The Buddha’s teaching is non- grasping, non-clinging, su..atā, anattā (non-selfhood), and anything dealing only with elements, rather than with beings, individuals, selves, “I”, and “he” or “she”.
Out in the country, in the district where I come from, people used to have to learn this Pali verse on the first day they went to live in a monastery:
“Yathā paccaya. pavattamana. dhàtumattameveta. (These things are merely natural elements ceaselessly concocted by conditions,)
Dhātumattako (Just elements only,)
Nissatto (Not real beings,)
Nijjavo (Not individual lives,)
Su..o (Void of any self-entity.)
They had to learn this as the first thing on the very first day they went to stay in the monastery. They had not yet learned how to pay respect to the Buddha’s image, how to chant, or how to perform the morning and evening services; they had not yet learned how to carry out the pre-ordination procedures. In other words new arrivals were equipped with the highest knowledge, the very essence of Buddhism, right from the first day they entered the monastery to ask for ordination. Whether this custom still exists anywhere I don’t know, and whether applicants for ordination would understand what the verse means I don’t know either. But the objective of this custom was excellent, to give a person the essence of Buddhism right from the day he arrived. “Yathā paccaya., (these things are causally conditioned, that is, they are devoid of selfhood). Dhātumattameveta., (these things are only elements, that is, they are devoid of selfhood). Nissatto, nijjivo, su..o, (they are empty, nothing individual or personal, devoid of selfhood). “This they were taught on the very first day, but their descendants have let this custom die out. Who will be to blame when the day comes that su..atā is so little understood that there is. nothing left of the original Buddhism?
I hope this has done something to stimulate you good people to do some thinking, and so help nourish and sustain Buddhism.
For the sake of the peace and happiness of the world, forget all about that “self”! 3
SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
IN THE ORIGINAL talks, Ajahn Buddhadāsa provided references (volume and page) to his sources in the Royal Siamese Pali edition of the Tipi.aka where appropriate. We have translated them into a form that should help interested readers to consult the English translations. They are listed according to the numbers of the Question-Sections as found in the “Contents”.
1) Majjhima-nikāya, Alagaddūpama-sutta (#22)
3) Majjhima-nikāya, Cū.a-ta.hā-sa.kheyya-sutta (#37)
5) A.guttāra-nikāya, Catukka-nipāta, Rhohitassa-vagga (#45)
6) Majjhima-nikāya, Alagaddūpama-sutta (#22)
7) Sa.yutta-nikāya, Mahāvāra-vagga, LV, vi, 3
8) Sa.yutta-nikāya, Mahāvāra-vagga, XLV, i, 76
9) A.guttāra-nikāya,Pa.caka-nipāta, The Warrior (#79)
10) Majjhima-nikāya, Cū.a-saccaka-sutta (#35)
11) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Mahā-vagga, Kālāma Sutta (#65)
12) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Enlightenment, (#103)
13) Majjhima-nikāya, Sa.āyatana-vibha.ga-sutta (#137)
14) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Devaduta-vagga (#33)
A.guttāra-nikāya, Catukka-nipāta, Kamma-vagga (#234)
15) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Puggala-vagga (#22)
16) A.guttāra-nikāya, Catukka-nipāta, Sa.cetana-vagga (#180)
17) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Brāhmana-vagga (#56)
18) A.guttāra-nikāya, Catukka-nipāta, Uruvelā-vagga (#21)
19) Itivuttaka III, v, iii
20) Digha-nikāya, Mahā-vagga, Mahāparinibbāna-sutta (#16)
21) Sutta-nipāta, Parayana-vagga, Vatthugāthā
22) Majjhima-nikāya, Cū.a-su..atā-sutta (#121)
23) Pa.isambhidā-magga, Yoganaddha-vagga, Su..a-kathā
24) Saddhammappajjotikā Part I
25) Pa.isambhidā-magga, Pa..ā-vagga, Vipassanākathā
26) A.guttāra-nikāya, Navaka-nipāta, Mahā-vagga (#36)
27) A.guttāra-nikāya, Navaka-nipāta, Mahā-vagga (#41)
28) A.guttāra-nikāya, Navaka-nipāta, Pancāla-vagga (#51)
A.guttāra-nikāya, Satta-nipāta, Abyākata-vagga (#52)
29) Majjhima-nikāya, Bhaddāli-sutta (#65)
31) Digha-nikāya, Mahā-vagga, Mahāparinibbāna-sutta (#16)
34) Udāna, Culla-vagga, VII, i and ii
A.guttāra-nikāya, Satta-nipāta, Abyākata-vagga (#53)
37) Majjhima-nikāya, Angulimāla-sutta (#86)
39) Itivuttaka, I, iii, 7
40) A.guttāra-nikāya, Navaka-nipāta, Sihanāda-vagga (#20)
41) Itivuttaka, III, iv, 4
48) Digha-nikāya, Mahā-vagga, Mahāparinibbāna-sutta (#16)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BUDDHADāSA BHIKKHU (SLAVE of the Buddha) went forth as a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) in 1926, at the age of twenty. After a few years of study in Bangkok, he was inspired to live close with nature in order to investigate the Buddha-Dhamma. Thus, he established Suan Mokkhabalārāma (The Grove of the Power of Liberation) in 1932, near his hometown. At that time, it was the only Forest Dhamma Center and one of the few places dedicated to vipassanā (mental cultivation leading to “seeing clearly” into reality) in Southern Thailand. Word of Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu, his work, and Suan Mokkh spread over the years so that now they are easily described as “one of the most influential events of Buddhist history in Siam.” Here, we can only mention some of the more interesting services he has rendered Buddhism.
Ajahn Buddhadāsa has worked painstakingly to establish and explain the correct and essential principles of original Buddhism. That work is based in extensive research of the Pali texts (Canon and commentary), especially of the Buddha’s Discourses (sutta pi.aka), followed by personal experiment and practice with these teachings. Then he has taught whatever he can say truly quenches dukkha. His goal has been to produce a complete set of references for present and future research and practice. His approach has been always scientific, straightforward, and practical.
Although his formal education only went as far as seventh grade and beginning Pali studies, he has been given five Honorary Doctorates by Thai universities. His books, both written and transcribed from talks, fill a room at the National Library and influence all serious Thai Buddhists.
Progressive elements in Thai society, especially the young, have been inspired by his teaching and selfless example. Since the 1960’s, activists and thinkers in areas such as education, social welfare, and rural development have drawn upon his teaching and advice.
Since the founding of Suan Mokkh, he has studied all schools of Buddhism, as well as the major religious traditions. This interest is practical rather than scholarly. He seeks to unite all genuinely religious people in order to work together to help free humanity by destroying selfishness. This broadmindedness has won him friends and students from around the world, including Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs.
Now he focuses his energies on his last project, establishing an International Dhamma Hermitage. This addition to Suan Mokkh is intended to provide facilities for:
— courses which introduce friends, foreign and Thai, to the natural truth explained in the Buddha’s teachings and start them in the Buddha’s system of mental cultivation
— gatherings of representatives from the different religious communities of Thailand (and later the world) in order to meet, develop mutual good understanding, and cooperate for the sake of world peace
— meetings among Buddhists from around the world to discuss and agree upon the “Heart of Buddhism”
Actual results must depend on Natural Law, as Ajahn Buddhadāsa and his helpers continue to explore the potential of mindfully wise actions within Nature according to the Law of Nature. He welcomes visitors. 3
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
ROD BUCKNELL FIRST became seriously interested in Buddhism in the mid-1960’s, when, during a visit to Thailand, he was introduced to the techniques of insight meditation. After spending a year in various Thai meditation centres and monasteries, he took ordination as a bhikkhu (monk) under the guidance of Ajahn Pa..ānanda of Wat Cholapratan Rangsarit. He soon became interested also in the teachings of Ajahn Buddhadāsa, and, recognizing their potential value to westerners, began translating some of the Ajahn’s more important works into English. During the four years he spent in the Sangha, he translated altogether six works of vary- ing length, usually in close consultation with the Ajahn in order to ensure accuracy in the rendering of key concepts. Despite his return to lay life, he maintains a close interest — both scholarly and practical in Ajahn Buddhadāsa’s teachings, and has published several related articles in religious studies journals. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Studies in Religion at the University of Queensland, Australia. 3
For Free Distribution (Hadiah Percuma)
VERSE FOR TRANSFERRING MERIT
I vow that this merit Will adorn the buddha’s pure land Repaying four kinds of kindness above Aiding those below in the three paths of suffering May those who see and hear All bring forth the bodhi heart And when this retribution body is done Be born together in the land of ultimate bliss
PRINTED FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION
