持咒先要正心诚意

Recite Mantras with a Proper and Sincere Mind

心正了，学咒才有感应；不敷衍了事，茍且塞责，这样才有感应。

If you learn a mantra with a proper mind, you can obtain a response.

There will be a response only if you aren’t sloppy or careless.

诵持默念少意言，

示教利喜化大千；

所作诸法悉究竟，

不增不减到涅槃。

By reciting, upholding, and silent chanting,

diminish thoughts and words.

Explain the teaching to bring benefit and joy,

transforming the universe.

The enacting of these Dharmas can

 lead to the ultimate goal.

With nothing more and nothing less,

 reach Nirvana.

学咒先要正心诚意，若心不正，学什么咒都是邪的；心正了，学咒才有感应。心正了还不行，还要诚意。诚意就是念兹在兹，丝毫都不马虎，不敷衍了事，或茍且塞责，这样才有感应。

When studying mantras, you must first have a proper and sincere mind. If your mind is not proper, then no matter which mantra you learn, it will be deviant. If you learn a mantra with a proper mind, you can obtain a response. Not only should your mind be proper, it should also be sincere, means devoting your full attention to the mantra and not being the least bit casual. There will be a response only if you aren’t sloppy or careless.

你不是正心诚意，而存着邪知邪见想去害人，这就是魔法，是魔王所行的法。魔是害人不利人；真正想修法的人，在任何情形下也不会害人的。学咒要存利益众生的心，不要有想降伏魔鬼的思想，或者和其他人起对待心。在佛教里，没有敌人，不向任何人报复，就是任何人对自己有害处，也要忍耐，修忍辱波罗蜜，不生报复之心。这就是佛教高超之处。

If you harbor deviant views and wish to harm people, your practice is demonic. Demons want to harm people, while genuine cultivators would never harm anyone under any circumstances. You should want to benefit beings. Don’t learn mantras thinking that you’ll be able to subdue demons and ghosts or fight people. Buddhism does not regard anyone as an enemy. Don’t seek revenge on anyone. No matter who mistreats you, endure it. Be patient, and don’t harbor grudges. The nobility of Buddhism lies in that.

佛教的优点，其他的宗教都没有这种精神。虽然基督教说「爱敌」，但也只不过是口头上说说而已，它真能爱敌吗？它认为佛教是它的敌人，它爱佛教吗？不会的。它开口就是「魔鬼」，闭口也是「魔鬼」，怎么还会爱敌呢？佛教最重要的教旨就是：「你是魔鬼，我也绝不伤害你，也要摄受你，而不生一种对待法。」这就是佛教最特别的教义，对任何众生都存慈悲心，不去伤害他们。

That particular quality is not embodied in other religions. Although Christianity avows to "Love thy enemy," many only pay that lip service without being able to actually do it. Some even view Buddhism as an enemy; how could it be said that they love Buddhism? It can’t be, not when they refer to Buddhists as devils. The Buddhist attitude should be: "Even if someone is a devil, we won’t harm him. We will gather him in and will refrain from attacking him." Buddhism teaches us to treat all beings with compassion and not harm them.

〈楞严咒〉是惊天地、泣鬼神，最有效的灵文，所以我们学会〈楞严咒〉，就要时时刻刻存慈悲心，举心动念都不要去伤害人。旁人就是对自己怎么不好，也不怪他，也不去伤害他。心量要有三千大千世界那么大，把所有森罗万象都包括在里面，这才是佛教徒的本份。

The Shurangama Mantra is a most efficacious mantra; its power can awe heaven and earth and cause the ghosts and spirits to weep. For this reason, after we learn the Shurangama Mantra, we must constantly keep a compassionate frame of mind and make sure that we don’t have even the thought of harming others. No matter how badly someone treats you, don’t blame or hurt him or her. Your heart should be as vast as the universe, so that it can encompass all the myriad phenomena. That’s the right attitude for a Buddhist to have.

我们切记，不要做犯上作乱的事，有这种行为是很危险的。「诵持默念少意言」：就是不要讲那么多话，打那么多妄想，专一则灵，分歧则蔽。

We should never engage in rebellious activities, for that’s very dangerous. By reciting, upholding, and silent chanting, diminish thoughts and words. That is, don’t talk so much and have so many discursive thoughts. Singleminded concentration is efficacious, while being scattered is useless.

何谓「专一」？就是不生害人之心。若存害人之心，将来是很危险的，所谓「多行不义必自毙」，害人反害己。「杀人之父，人必杀其父；杀人之兄，人必杀其兄。」这是因果。我们佛教徒要避免恶因，以免将来受恶的果报，所以说「诵持默念少意言」。

What’s meant by singleminded concentration? Not having malicious thoughts towards others. If you harbor thoughts of malice, you’ll later find yourself in danger. It’s said, "If you engage in many unrighteous acts, you only bring death upon yourself." In harming others, you are actually harming yourself. "If you kill a person’s father, someone will kill your father. If you kill a person’s brother, someone will kill your brother." This is the law of cause and effect. We Buddhists should avoid planting evil causes, so that we won’t have to suffer an evil retribution in the future. So the first line says, By reciting, upholding, and silent chanting, diminish thoughts and words.

「示教利喜化大千」：示教利喜，指示众生佛教，令他们得到利益欢喜。我们在能利益人时，就要赶紧利益人，所谓：

Explain the teachings to bring benefit and joy, transforming the universe. The line of mantra this verse is explaining can also be translated as "explaining the teaching" and "benefit and joy." That is, one explains the Buddha’s teaching to beings, enabling them to obtain benefit and joy. This means that when we have the chance to help people, we should immediately make use of it. As it’s said,

栽培心上地，涵养性中天。

Cultivate the mind ground;

Nurture the sky of the nature.

能常利益其他人，久而久之，自己便有德行了。如果尽教人利益自己，自己不利益人，尽想找便宜，养成一种依赖性，这是最没有出息的。看看世界上专找便宜的人，结果都是失败的。你若不信，可以细细研究，无论哪一个失败者，都是贪而无餍，各处找便宜，结果都是一败涂地。你能利益人，令人欢喜，无论到什么地方，人人都会闻风而化。

If you frequently benefit others, you will eventually perfect your own virtuous conduct. You shouldn’t be constantly asking others to help you without ever helping them in return, because that way you’ll become dependent and won’t accomplish anything on your own. You’ll become a totally worthless person. In this world, those always on the lookout for advantages end up failing in their endeavors. If you don’t believe this, take a closer look: Whenever people fail in something, the failure occurred due to their insatiable greed for advantages. If you can benefit others and make them happy, then you’ll be able to exert a wholesome influence on people wherever you go.

孔子说：「言忠信，行笃敬，虽蛮貊之邦，行矣。」我们说出的话，一定要诚实有信用，不能瞪着眼睛尽打妄语，好像是说真话，其实尽欺骗人。我们的行为一定要很诚实，很笃厚，慈心下气，恭敬一切，凡事总要存谦恭和蔼之心，不要有贡高我慢的思想，觉得人人都不如我，我是老天爷，这是不可以的。

Confucius said, "If one’s words are trustworthy and one’s conduct is sincere and reverent, one can walk at ease even among barbarians." The words you speak must be truthful and honest. You shouldn’t tell lies with an innocent face, pretending to be truthful when in fact you’re lying through your teeth. Your actions must be sincere and reverent. Be modest, humble, and respectful towards everyone. Do everything with a humble, respectful, and courteous atti-tude. Don’t become arrogant and think, "No one is as good as me. I’m the Lord of Heaven."

一九八一年一月廿五日

A talk given on January 25, 1981