见师 Beholding the Guru

以欢喜心见上师，或听闻上师名号后生起欢喜心有无量功德。能时时系念上师，学佛的信心自然会增上。佛弟子在梦中、定中，若能见上师、见佛、见菩萨，是信心深固的明证。同时，有真实信心的，才会确信非佛法不能利济自他。

When we behold our teachers with delight or when we feel tremendous joy upon hearing their names, we are creating great virtues. Constant remembrance of our teachers naturally enhances our confidence in the Buddhist path. Having visions of the guru, the Buddha, or Bodhisattvas in dreams or in meditation is a sign that the disciple has established an unshakable faith in the Dharma. Similarly, only a person with uncontrived faith will be convinced that nothing other than the Dharma can truly benefit the self and others.

具有法相的上师，至少是具足世俗行、愿菩提心的菩萨，对如此菩萨无论以信心或以贪心目视，均有无量功德。《趋入定不定手印经》云：“譬如，将十方世界中一切众生之双目挖出，有人将彼等复原，或者将关于漆黑监狱中之十方世界一切众生释放，令彼等享受转轮王或梵天之安乐，若有善男子、善女人以信心目视大乘信解菩萨，且赞颂之，则福德胜过前者无数倍。”《圣者宝积经》中讲述了商主之女胜德母，因对乐生菩萨生起炽火般的贪心，以致命绝身亡，以此果报，死后转生三十三天的公案。

An authentic teacher is a Bodhisattva who has generated the relative bodhichitta of intention and application at the minimum. To look at such a Bodhisattva, whether with faith or covetousness, creates immense merit all the same. The Sutra of the Seal of Entering into Certainty and Uncertainty says, “Suppose all beings in 10 directions had their eyes gouged out and someone managed to restore them all, or suppose all beings in 10 directions were incarcerated in dungeons and someone managed to release them all and establish them in the happiness of Chakravartin or Mighty Brahma, the merit of all this is still countlessly less than that generated when a son or daughter of spiritual heritage looks at and offers praise to a sublime Bodhisattva of the Great Vehicle with faith and devotion.” The Sage Ratnakūṭa Sutra describes an episode: “A daughter of a merchant, Chengyi Chok, was seized with blazing lust when she caught sight of Bodhisattva Gaje, so much so that she died on the spot, yet she was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.”

《百业经》中也记载了婆罗门子因见佛生喜，以此功德得以在十三个大劫中不堕恶趣，又于十三个大劫中转生天人，享受诸乐，最后转为人身，出家修持三十七道品，证得独觉果位的公案。

In the Sutra of One Hundred Stories on Karmas, a story is told: “A young Brahmin aroused great joy when he looked at the Buddha; due to this merit, he was spared from rebirth in the lower realms for 13 kalpas and was reborn as gods for 13 kalpas, enjoying all the well-being and happiness. Eventually he was born as a human and became a monk; through training on the Thirty-Seven Elements of Enlightenment, he attained the level of Pretyekabuddhas.”

由此可见，对总集三宝为一身的上师生起贪恋之烦恼也有很大功德，更何况以信心目视、供养上师？

Hence, even arousing the emotion of craving toward spiritual teachers, the embodiment of Three Jewels, results in considerable merit. What needs to be said if we behold or make offerings to them with deep devotion?

上师是引领我们逃离痛苦渊薮、驶抵解脱彼岸的筏渡，是一切幸福的根源。不论你是快乐还是忧伤，时常以欢喜心面见或忆念上师，源源不断的加持甘露就会灌满你的心田。

A spiritual teacher leads us on the path free from all sufferings; he or she is the boat that takes us toward the shore of liberation and is the source of all happiness. Always look at or remember your teachers with joy, whether you are happy or sad; you will be filled to the brim with the nectar of blessings unceasingly.

壬午年七月十四日 　
2002年8月21日

14th of July, Year of RenWu
August 21, 2002