末法 —— 白衣为人超渡

LAITY CROSS OVER LIVING BEINGS

 

宣公上人一九九三年七月四日开示于万佛圣城

Ven. Master Hua's Talk on July 4, 1993 at the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

疑惑 记录 Transcribed by Apprehension

 

 

现在末法时代，白衣居然也受人的供养， 也来弘扬佛法。所谓白衣就是在家人， 在家人也居然给人念经， 给人超渡， 向人家去收钱，指佛穿衣， 赖佛吃饭。 可是他不能出家， 骗财骗色， 到处都是， 在家人就想取代出家人，就借着出家人来卖广告，来招徕，就像做生意似的。

 

这么一来，一些无知的在家人就「 哦！这个大德都来了， 我们这些小德赶快去随喜功德。 」 啊， 想不到这里边是一个陷阱， 就是敛财呢！那个在家人巧用出家人， 就用出家人来做招牌， 实际上在佛教里头做佛教的神棍、 骗子， 这到处都是 ，不知有多少这样的人，那么我也最讨厌这一类指佛穿衣、赖佛吃饭的人。啊，他居然就能给人超渡了，谁超渡他自己呢？不要说在家人，出家人尽给人家赶经忏、超渡亡魂赚钱，这都是有问题的。

 

所以 说「地狱门前僧道多」，都是这一类赶经忏的，给人家放焰口的。我这一生我不参加赶经忏、放焰口，又什么打水陆，我都不愿参加这个工作，因为我没有德行，我道不足以感人，德不足以化人，自己还没超渡好自己，怎么去超渡亡魂？所以我是没有那么大的胆量。现在在家人居然就给人念念经，完了就说有甚么灵感，见到鬼魂，鬼现身了，又是见到观音了，就见神见鬼的这一套。

 

这是 佛教里头的虫子，佛教里头的败类。我不怕人不高兴我，我到什么地方，我都是这样说的，我是讲真理的。你以前见我是尽骂人，现在还是这样子，没改变。若这样一来，将来出家人就都没有了，谁也不做出家人了，就都做在家人，吃喝玩乐为所欲为，又可以赚钱，又可以超渡，就替出家人做代表了，这何乐而不为，所以也没有人出家了，这就是法已经亡了。法赖僧传，在家人有什么资格来帮人超渡呢！我真不明白。

 

现在不要说旁的地方，台湾就是这样子。这个取一个这个怪名字，那个就取一个那个怪名字，是很盛的，弄得会员不是一百万，就是八十万，再不就是五十万、六十万，最少的也几千。你看出家人办的佛敎会，反而没有什么人参加佛敎会的会员了，都跑到在家人那儿去了，你说这叫什么佛敎！有的男居士，就有不知多少年纪轻轻女的，都是跟着他，就说：「老师你若出家，我们就都跟着你出家；你若不出家，我们大家都不出家。」

 

你看这个一帮一帮的，一堕落就是一帮，这多可怕！你男女为什么就粘得这么厉害，大家都说为法，若眞懂佛法是这样子吗？眞懂佛法，都要修远离行的，怎么会一大帮女人跟着，这叫干什么！若这样是佛敎徒，那眞是末法了。

  In this Dharma Ending Age, who would have thought  that the laity would also receive offerings and  propagate the Dharma? But all the same, there are lay  people who recite Sutras and perform ceremonies to  cross over living beings, and then take money for their  work. They rely on Buddhism for the clothes they wear  and the food they eat, yet they have not left the home- life. They cheat people to get money and sex. So now  we find many lay people everywhere trying to replace  left-home people. They take advantage of the Sangha  to solicit people, just like a businessman who seduces  customers into purchasing his products.

 

In this case, some ignorant lay people are fooled and  think "Ah! such and such a Great Virtuous One has  been here! You should hurry and joyfully support this  merit and virtue!" Ah! they didn't suspect that it was  a trap to collect a great fortune. The trickster simply  uses the left-home person's name as bait; he is actually  a marvelous impostor. There are such people  everywhere. I despise most this kind of person who abuses the good name of Buddhism. Ah!  miraculously, he can take people across? Who is going to cross him over? Since it is still a question whether  or not left-home people who hustle ceremonies and  repentances for a living can achieve their goal, how  much the more is it a question for the lay people!

 

That's why the saying goes, "Most of the crowd  standing by the gates to the hells, are Buddhist monks  and Taoists. " And this is talking about the Sangha  members who specialize in conducting repentance  ceremonies, "liberating flaming mouth" ceremonies  and the "Water, Land, and Air" Dharma Assembly. In  this life I have never taken part in this kind of work  because I don't have enough virtue. My cultivation is  not enough to transform people; my virtue is  insufficient to influence them. I have not rescued  myself yet, how can I cross ghosts over? Therefore, I  am not that audacious. Lay people these days, much to my surprise, will recite Sutras and transfer the merit  and virtue to the spirits of ancestors. They tell people  afterwards that they got such and such response, that  they had seen ghosts or Gwan Yin Bodhisattva, and  they talk psychic stuff and nonsense.

 

Such people are parasites; they are rotten dregs in  Buddhism. I am not afraid that people will be unhappy  with me. Wherever I go I make the same comments  and what I say is the Truth. You have seen me  scolding people in the past, and now I have not  changed. If things continue this way, there won't be  any Sangha in the future. Nobody will leave home but  they will all stay home and lead a dissipated and dissolute life. Since they can make money as well as  cross over the deceased, they can replace all the left- home people, who wouldn't be happy? When there  are no more left-home people this will be the  Dharma's end. Since the Dharma is propagated by  the Sangha, what makes the lay people qualified to  cross over living beings? I really don't understand.

 

Let's just take Taiwan for instance. It has become  very popular for this organization to adopt a really  strange name, and that group to take another weird  name. And the members come around and join up,  maybe a million, or eight hundred thousand, or fifty  thousand, or sixty thousand, at the very least there  will be several thousand members. But the Buddhist  Association established by left-home people has very  few members; they have all gone to join the laity.  What kind of Buddhism is this? In these  organizations, the young male teacher will have a lot  of young women who follow him. These women say,  "Teacher, if you leave the home life, we will leave  home, too. But if you stay home, then we won't leave  home either."

 

When such a big group of people falls, they will all  fall together in a great multitude; isn't it terrible?  Why would men and women attach to each other so  closely? Everyone says he/she is cultivating for the  Dharma. If you really understand the Dharma then  how could this happen? One who understands will  practice keeping his distance. Why would he want a  whole bunch of women around him, anyway? What is  the purpose of that? If they can be called Buddhists,  then we have really reached the Dharma Ending Age!