修行的关键在发心

Now I’d like to caution you not to treat what I have said as mere knowledge. I am not introducing some Buddhist ideologies to you but rather the main points of Buddhist practice, i.e., the meaning and the methods of spiritual practice. Nor am I teaching you what renunciation or bodhicitta is, as you all have had the teachings on the related subjects often enough. But are you successful in meeting the requirements set out in each of the practice? I am afraid only very few have succeeded. If you cannot forsake worldly attachment and selfishness, a monastic robe, a title of Rinpoche, Khenpo or lay practitioner are no more than just labels and therefore not very meaningful. For the same token, having a rosary draped around your chest is equally useless if not accompanied by an altruistic aspiration. However, as long as one is armed with the correct knowledge of the Dharma and grounded in the right view, it really does not matter anymore whether you are a layperson or a monk.

希望大家不要把以上所讲的仅仅当做知识来对待。我不是在介绍佛教文化，而是在讲修行要点——什么是修行，修行的时候该怎么做。不是介绍出离心是什么、菩提心是什么，这个你们已经听了很多。但是，在这些细节上的问题做到了没有？做到的恐怕还是很少。如果对世间的贪着和自私之心放不下，即使穿着出家人的衣服也好、有活佛的名号也好、堪布的名号也好，或者自称是居士也好，都仅仅是一个名字而已。如果没有正确的发心，脖子上挂一串念珠是没有用的。如果具有这些正知、正见，那不管你的外表是在家人或出家人都无所谓。

As I said earlier, something as simple as eating a meal can also be a kind of Mahayana practice, purely depending on your motivation. If that is the case, it is all the more so for other Dharma practices. Clearly, we should always be mindful of our practice as being mundane or supramundane, Mahayana or Theravada practice. Only when the right mindfulness is maintained at all times can we properly assume the role of a monastic or a lay practitioner. Absent such mindfulness, contemplative practice will just be a meaningless exercise.

因为你有了非常好的发心，那就是如同前面所讲的，连吃饭都可以成为大乘的修法，其他的更不用说了。所以一定要观察，现在我们是修世间法的人？还是修出世间法的人？现在我们是修大乘法的人？还是修小乘法的人？如果时刻提起正念、观照内心，才谈得上是居士、出家人、修行人。如果没有这样做，修行是没有什么意义的。

Naturally, if we were to abide by all the requirements of Buddhist teachings, no one, including myself, could comply one hundred percent. Yet, we should still try our very best, as the endeavors will invariably benefit us in the end.

假如让我们必须按照佛经的要求全部做到，那包括我在内都做不到。但是，我们还是要各尽所能地去做，只要能做还是有很大利益。