A Way Of Life

  

A Way Of Life

A Buddhist philosophy on living in harmony with your fellowmen. The following advice is a dialog between the bodhisattvas (菩蕯), Manjusri (Wen Shu, “Keen awareness”) and Samantabhadra (Po Hsien, “Lord of Truth”) in their incarnations.

Song of Sufferance (忍耐歌)

寒山、拾得笑呵呵，我劝世人要象我。
Cold-Mountain and Can-Be-Picked1 are hee-hawing in laughter. Let me beseech ye mortals of the world to be like us,

忍一句，禍根從此無生處; Restrain one’s tongue and there is no place for the roots of evil to sprout.
饒一著，切莫與人爭強弱; To forbear is to eliminate the desire to see who is the stronger.
耐一時，火坑變作白蓮池; To endure is to turn trenches of fire into pools of white lotuses.
退一步，便是人生修行路. In backing off… ‘Tis the way of life.

寒山問曰:                             Manjusri asked,

任他嗔.                                 Let him be annoyed and displeased.
任他怒.                                 Let him be angry.
只管寬心大著肚.                 Simply be generous hearted.
终日被人欺.                        All day I am bullied and taken advantage of.
神明天地知.                        Ye Gods, Heaven and Earth know of my plight.
若還存心忍.                        Still in tolerance will I bear.
步步得便宜.                        Each step they take advantage of me.
世人欺我.                            I am bullied by the people of the world.
害我打我骂我骗我.            Harm me, beat me, curse me and deceive me.
如何處之.                            How shall I deal with them?

拾得答曰:                            Samantabhadra replied,
只管任他.                            Simply let him be.
憑他,遠他,莫要理他.          With him, distance him, ignore him.
再過幾年看他.                    After a few years, see how he fares.
身穿破衲襖.                        Clothes in tatters.
淡飯随時飽.                        Meager and tasteless food shall fill his belly.
涕唾在臉上.                        Snort shall cover his face.
不棄自乾了.                        Turning dry without wiping them away.
有人來駡我.                        There are those who come and curse me.
我也只說好.                        Still I shall bid them fair.
有人來打我.                        There are those who come and beat me.
我自先睡倒.                        I shall first lie down and be asleep.
他也省氣力.                        He shall expend his energy.
我也無煩腦.                        While I am free from vexation.
這個波羅蜜.                        Oh this, sweet sweet perfection2.
就是無價寶.                        Is such a priceless treasure.
能依這忍字.                       All just from relying on the word “forebear”.
一生過到老.                       With this I shall live to a ripe old age.

1. Cold-Mountain and Can-Be-Picked are poet monks in the Tang Dynasty, who are thought to be the incarnations of the two Bodhisattvas, Manjusri and Samantabhadra. Cold-Mountain once lived in the Temple of the Cold Mountain in Soochow or that he spent his hermitage in a cave on Tentai mountain. Can-Be-Picked was an orphan. On his way back to the temple of Country Purity, the abbot (豐干) took pity on him and took the boy with him. Collectively the Cold-Mountain and Can-Be-Picked are known as the “Twin Saints of Peace and Harmony” (和合二聖). With the abbot, they are known as the “Three Hermits of Country Purity” (國清三隱) or “Three Saints On the Same Mountain (三聖同山).

2. “paramita” – the Six Perfections in Buddhism.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81ramit%C4%81
      http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E5%BA%A6

      It can also mean the jackfruit.

      http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B3%A2%E7%BD%97%E8%9C%9C

Tuesday, March 13, 2012