安忍

Heroic Perseverance

多部经论都认为安忍是六度中最难修持圆满的。《入菩萨行论》云：“罪恶莫过嗔，难行莫胜忍，故应以众理，努力修安忍。”在世间也有“忍字头上一把刀”的说法。
Scores of sutras and shastras state that patience, or heroic perseverance, is the most difficult to accomplish among the Six Perfections. Thus A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life says:

There is no evil similar to anger and no austerity equal to forbearance.
Thus I should strive in all ways to develop forbearance, with great effort.

尤其面对无缘无故的侮辱，无中生有的诽谤，很多的修行人都难以做到如如不动，视若虹霓。

It’s also common to say: “The Chinese ideogram ‘patience’ is epitomized by having a knife dangling over your head.” When being insulted unjustifiably or slandered for no reason, hardly anyone, many spiritual practitioners included, can remain undisturbed while seeing the attacks as insubstantial rainbows.

本师释迦牟尼佛曾转世为一外道仙人，名忍力，他发愿永远不对任何众生生嗔恨心。当时有一恶意魔王为摧毁忍力的安忍之法，就幻化出专门毁坏别人安忍功德之一千人，用咒语诅咒忍力，用妄语肆意对忍力横加诽谤，还在大庭广众之中用常人难以启齿之言词羞辱他。这些人还于忍力行、住、坐、卧之时加害于他，如此等非理之行竟持续长达八万四千年之久。

Buddha Shakyamuni was once reborn as a rishi named Patience Power who had vowed never to get angry at any beings. Mara, intending to destroy the quality Patience Power had attained, manifested one thousand beings who knew exactly how to demolish the perseverance quality of others. They cursed him with malicious mantras, defamed him recklessly with false accusations, and humiliated him in public with unspeakable sordid words. They inflicted harm on him in all his activities of walking, sitting, standing, and sleeping; these kinds of horrendous attacks continued for 84,000 years.

当仙人前往城市之时，这些恶性众生竟用不净粪浇洒在仙人头上、所捧钵孟中以及衣服上，还用扫帚猛击其头部，但他根本没有生起丝毫的嗔恨心与报复之意。不管别人如何待他，他从未想过以牙还牙，从未怒目相向，从未恶口相加，甚至诸如“我到底做错何事”之类言词都未曾说过。并且心中暗自发愿：为难以调伏之众生利益，我誓修无上菩提，一定要首先度化此等众生。

When rishi Patience Power went to town, these unruly assailants sprayed putrid feces over his head, into his begging bowl, and onto his clothes, and even hit his head forcefully with brooms. But Patience Power never had a trace of anger arise in him, nor did he have the slightest intention of revenge. No matter what assault was afflicted upon him, he never thought of avenging an eye for an eye, nor did he cast furious glares or use harsh words. Questions such as: “What have I done wrong?” were not heard from him either. Instead, he made his wishes silently: “For benefiting these recalcitrant beings, I vow to practice the Dharma to attain supreme enlightenment. Thereafter, my top priority will be to lead these beings to Buddhahood.”

日本的白隐禅师也以修安忍而着称于世。曾经有位姑娘与一男子有染而生下一子，姑娘怕虔信佛法的父母谴责，就告知父母乃白隐禅师所为。因其父母对白隐禅师一直尊敬有加，以为此法可免父母责难。这可害苦了白隐禅师，不明真相的父母听信女儿谗言，抱着刚生下的婴儿，扔给白隐禅师并说道：“你这个败坏佛门清规戒律的假和尚，以前我们没有看清你的丑恶面目，蒙受你的欺骗。没想到你竟然做出如此禽兽不如的勾当，这是你的儿子，你拿去吧！” 白隐禅师淡淡地说了声：“是这样吗？”就默默地接过孩子。姑娘的父母更以为没有冤枉白隐禅师，便将此事到处传播。人们一刹那间都知道了白隐禅师的“丑恶行径”，纷纷白眼相视。

Zen Master Bai Yin of Japan is noted for his accomplishment in patience. There was once a young maiden who gave birth to a baby sired by her boyfriend. To avoid being punished by her parents who were devout Buddhists, she lied to them that the baby’s father was the Zen master. As her parents had high respect for the master, the maiden thought she could be vindicated. Little did she know that her account brought tremendous hardship for Master Bai Yin. Her parents, ignorant of the facts and believing their daughter, brought the newborn infant to the master and said, “You fake monk, you have transgressed the precepts of the Buddha; we had been blind to your ugliness and were deceived by you. You are worse than a beast to commit such a dirty deal. Here is your son, take him!” The master responded gently: “Ah, is that so!” and received the baby without saying another word. The parents took his silence as a justification to their accusation, and scattered the news all around. Everyone came to know of Master Bai Yin’s “repulsive behavior,” and they all looked down on him.

白隐禅师抱着虚弱的婴儿，到刚生过孩子的人家乞求奶水，那些人家都说：“哼！要不是看在可怜孩子的份上，才不会给你呢！”

Holding the feeble infant, Master Bai Yin trudged to households where newborns lived with their families and begged for milk. They said scornfully: “Humph, were it not for the sake of the poor baby, we would not give anything to you!”

时间一天天过去了，姑娘的良心备受痛苦的煎熬，她不能再看到人们对白隐禅师的不公正待遇，终于向父母坦白了一切。当姑娘父母万分羞愧地来到白隐禅师面前忏悔时，他仍然是那句话：“是这样吗？”

As time passed, the young maiden’s conscience was tortured severely; she no longer could bear to see the unjust public treatment of Master Bai Yin and confessed to her parents. Master Bai Yin, when receiving the extremely repentant parents begging for forgiveness, responded gently in the same way: “Ah, is that so!”

这是多么普通的一句话啊！但要能以平常心说出这句话，绝不是“未经一番寒彻骨”之凡夫所能为之的。这些先辈们高义薄云之安忍品德，什么时候能真正融入我的相续？

What a plain sentence is this one! However, to say it calmly is not possible for any ordinary person who has not been tempered through thick and thin. The extraordinary quality of forbearance as demonstrated by the sages of the past is truly remarkable. When will it truly permeate my mind?

壬午年二月十一日 　
2002年3月25日

11th of February, Year of RenWu
March 25, 2002