基礎雜誌291期

20

The Continuation of

Sharing and Encouraging

◎ Cindy Tsai, Vancouver Canada

There are simply too much to be grateful for, and too many people

to give my gratitude and appreciations to, so I would just like to say

"Thank you" to everything and everyone for absolutely everything.

After the 2011 English Tao Seminar in SF, my realizations have

been so all-encompassing that I don’t even know where to begin

talking about it. They feel like they’re not there—yet there at the same

time. To be more exact, a lot of the changes that have occurred to me

are on the level of the mind, and thus are probably not "visible" to a

lot of people. Most of these changes are so subtle and refi ned that they

are diffi cult even for me to pinpoint what they are or what to call them.

Nevertheless, minute changes like such continue to have an impact

on my life, because all I know is that these seemingly insignificant

"adjustments" in my mind contribute to one thing, one direction—to

align myself with Tao (Heavenly Mother or Holy Spirit)—not alone,

but along with everyone else so that no separation and uneasiness

subsist.

If you have the heart, you will have a way

The past year has been an accelerated learning experience for me

as a temple staff as well as a Tao cultivator. I attribute this to the power

endowed in the holy vows. At the 2011 English Tao Seminar, I made

a vow to bring youths of my generation into the Tao community. I

wanted to bridge the generation gap between the senior Tao cultivators

and the youths of the next generation(s). I saw the importance of

spreading the teachings from the Holy Teacher and the importance

passing down the Tao lineage. As Lee Dian Chuan Shi mentioned, "it

is the continuation of sharing and encouraging".

The Way to Will Power

21

2013年3月

有

愿

就

有

力

共享與鼓勵的延續

◎加拿大溫哥華 蔡欣穎

有太多的感恩無法一言道盡，因此，對於所有的一切人、事、物，後學想要

獻上最摯誠的一聲「感謝您」。

自從參加了2011年在美國舊金山舉辦的英文法會後，後學的體悟甚多，真的

不知道該從何說起。這些體悟若有似無般地存在著，確切一點應該是說：這些改

變不在外而在內，所以從表面上看來似乎沒有什麼不同；而且這些改變既細小又

微妙，特別易顯人類語言的粗陋，因為語言完全不足以表達心靈所能體會到的範

圍和程度。雖然後學不知道如何用言語來精確地表達，但後學知道這些改變雖然

微小，卻時時刻刻影響著我的生命；因為它們的共同點除了是將後學的心念「調

整」到和「道」一齊，同時也是讓後學學習如何與所有的眾生一起朝著同一個目

標、同一個方向去努力，最後達到毫無分別、無不自在的境界。

你有這個心，就有這個力

過去的一年，對於後學這個道場的初級辦事人員來說，是個加速的學習體

驗，而後學把這樣的學習機會歸功於愿力所賦予的力量。在2011年的英文法會當

中，後學立愿將年輕一代的青年帶入道場，並讓自己成為道場前輩們和下一代年

輕人之間的橋梁。那時，後學體會到弘揚真理和道脈的重要性，正如李寬仁點傳

師所說的，就是「將共享與鼓勵延續下去」。

▲

無微不至的真誠服務。

基礎雜誌291期

22

Ever since this vow was made, the course of events in my life has

granted me conditions to work towards this goal. With the vow in the

deepest part of my heart, my mind was naturally driven towards it. It’s

almost as if my mind began to make decisions based on the direction

of my vow without me being totally aware of them. I came to realize

that thoughts became the energy that formed the conditions for my

learning. Vow-making is a great way to practice right-mindedness.

Whether or not the course of events were my conscious decisions

isn’t very important. What matters the most is that I learned that every

thought counts.

I have made several other vows in the past, but it wasn’t until this

past year that I was able to experience how much further my vows

have taken me on my spiritual path. Without them I would not have

been who I am today. This is why I am so grateful that during the time

between the English Tao Seminars of 2011 and 2012, life never ceased

to teach me the Way of Tao and that God continued to show me that

there’s infi nite love in the universe.

The essence of vows are to help with the "correction" of our

erroneous perceptions and, therefore, to bring about the elimination of

false illusions and actions. However, I have realized that the process of

such "correction" isn’t always a pleasant one. When this happens, we

are like children who just cannot resist the addictive taste of sweets. So

when adults take our sweets away, we may get upset or even go into a

tantrum because we think whatever makes us happy is good for us. As

a result, we often view these "corrections" as "trials" that need to be

overcome when, in fact, they are only bringing us closer to Truth.

I had found that there are certain things and certain people that just

kept coming at me to make my life miserable. However, now I seem

to know that whatever bugs me the most is where my problems are

rooted. Whether or not they are trials isn’t of utmost concern because it

isn’t WHAT it is that’s important, it’s HOW I see it that matters.

I think I got a glimpse of the kind of "invisible teachings" that

life has to offer—Thanks to the grace of God and the virtues of our

Patriarchs. In fact, I realized that whatever we think is the most

important to us will eventually be taken away because one of the lessons

we need to learn is that whatever is TRUE cannot be taken away.

齊唱道歌。

23

2013年3月

自從後學立了這個愿之後，生活中一切事物的發展，似乎都是為了給予後學

足夠的條件來達成這個目標。當後學把這個愿放在內心最深處，後學的心很自然

地就將自己往愿的方向帶去。後學的心念似乎時時刻刻都在朝自己愿力的方向做

決定，而且往往是在自己還未完全意識到的情況下就開始轉動。後學也漸漸體會

到，原來念頭會轉化成一種能量，進而促成成長的種種條件，所以發愿就是實踐

正念一種非常有效的方式。然而，這些改變與結果是否是後學有意或無意的決定

並不重要，重要的是，後學發現每一個隱微的念頭都具有不可忽視的力量。

雖然後 學以前 也曾 立過其 它的 愿，但 一直到 過去 的一年 ，後學 才體 會到

「愿」在修行道路上的重要性；如果沒有這些愿，或許就沒有今天的我。所以在

2011的英文法會至2012的英文法會之間的一年當中，生命不斷地在教導後學，上

天也不斷地告訴後學──「愛是無限的」，所以後學非常感恩。

「愿」的根本用意是為了幫助我們「矯正」錯誤的想法，進而幫助我們去

除顛倒的幻象和行為。不過後學發現，這樣的過程並不一定是愉快的，因為當我

們須要被糾正時，我們就像是無法抗拒甜食誘惑的孩子一樣，被大人拿走喜愛的

東西，我們會感到不高興，甚至還會大發脾氣，因為「我們認為」只要能讓我們

開心的事就一定是好事。因此，我們常把這些「矯正」過程當成是須要去克服的

「考驗」，卻不知道這些只是正面的力量，帶著我們更接近真理。

後學也發現，總是會有特定的一些人、事、物會反覆地在生活中帶給我痛苦

和煩惱；但是，後學現在了解，正因為那是指出了自己問題根源所在，所以才會

讓自己感到抗拒或不舒服。其實它們是不是考驗也無所謂，因為重要的是自己如

何去看待和面對這些事情。

感謝 天恩師德，後學似乎看見了生活當中種種「無形的教導」；而且後學

也體會到，我們最終必修的一課就是：我們必須了解，我們現在認為重要的一

切，最後都會離開我們，因為真正離不開也奪不走的東西是出自於我們的真如本

性，那才是真實的。

海∣外∣來∣鴻

簡介道中用語。

基礎雜誌291期

24

We are all part of each others’ equation

At the 2012 English Tao Seminar, instead of being a regular

participant, I had the opportunity to be on the service team. It feels

amazing to be able to contribute to such an extraordinary event. I was

lucky to have three friends come along with me to the Seminar. I have

to say that there is nothing more comforting and joyful than to see them

gaining so much realization out of the experience. It is true that the joy

you feel as a giver is much more than that you can feel as a receiver.

Because of the seminar, we were able to connect to one another on a

deeper and more spiritual level; we were able to talk about issues that

a lot of people don’t even think about; we were able to fi nd ourselves

on the same page and work towards the same direction. It is Tao and

God’s unconditional love that brought us together. Now, not only do

we feel like brothers and sisters holding onto each other as we ride the

waves of life, we know that we are brothers and sisters. With this Tao

heart, we behold the world and everyone else like a family so that more

hands can be joined as we return home together.

Blessings are always there for us, but we don’t see them as

blessings because they are all too often blessings in disguise. Now, I

feel more blessed than ever for everything that God, Maitreya Buddha,

and our Holy Ji-Gong Teacher have done to guide me along this path. I

also feel extremely blessed to have my peers join me towards spiritual

awakening. To be honest, I felt a bit lonely on this spiritual journey

but now I don’t, thanks to everyone who put in their time and effort to

make seminars like this happen.

People need to come together because we are all each other’s

angels—in completing our lessons we help others complete theirs too.

Re. ection of

an English Tao Seminar

◎

Paul Maska, Sacramento, CA

I looked out at San Francisco Sunset District’s Judah and 9

th

street

corner from the second . oor window of an old art deco building that

housed the I-Kuan Tao Temple. They were having an English Tao

seminar this weekend and I lavishly adored my cup of Nescafe instant

coffee on my break which was going to end any moment now when

the bell person came walking through DING DING … DING… DING

25

2013年3月

英文法會有感

從一座典雅、古風濃厚的建築二樓窗戶往外望去，是舊金山日落區猷大街與

第九街的轉角，這裡是一貫道美國基礎忠恕道院的位置所在。本週末正舉辦兩天

的英文法會，後學正利用課堂之間短暫的休息時間，咨意地享受著一杯雀巢即溶

咖啡，休息時間隨時都會結束，因為搖鈴的學長隨時都會出現。鈴鈴…… 鈴……

鈴鈴鈴！上課鈴聲響起了！「唉！真不是時候，才剛出會場來到點心休息區……

我們都是彼此方程式裡的一部分

在2012年的英文法會當中，後學很榮幸能參與法會的服務團隊，能為如此殊

勝的法會盡一份力，真的感覺很棒。後學也很慶幸能有三位朋友初次來參加英文

法會，說真的，看見他們法喜充滿、受益良多，後學覺得世界上沒有比這個更欣

慰、更快樂的事情了，所以「施者」能得到的快樂真的比「受者」更來得豐富。

因為這場法會，我們彼此能夠在心靈層面上有所交集；我們能夠聊很多別人可能

連想都沒想過的話題；我們也能夠在同樣的平台上找到共識，並且朝著同一個目

標邁進。在生命起伏的浪中，我們會抓牢對方，因為我們不只深深地覺得彼此就像

兄弟姐妹一樣，我們甚至知道我們根本就是兄弟姐妹。我們秉持著同樣的道心，所

以看待世界上一切眾生就如家人一樣，這樣的我們才能手牽著手一起回家。

塞翁失馬，焉知非福。我們之所以看不見上天的眷顧，是因為它往往以困境

的狀態現前。現在後學反而覺得自己備受上天眷顧，所以很感謝 明明上帝、彌勒

祖師、濟公老師在後學修行道路上的指引，後學也非常慶幸能夠有一些同輩一起共

修。後學一開始在修行的路上還真的覺得有點寂寞，但是現在不會了，這還得感謝

每位盡心盡力的道親，才得以讓法會進行得順利又圓滿，讓大家都滿載而歸。

大家都是彼此的天使，所以我們必須要一起走這條路，因為在完成自己的課

程的同時，我們也完整了其他人。

▲

點傳師與密西根道親合照。

海∣外∣來∣鴻

◎美國加州沙加緬度 保羅

基礎雜誌291期

26

DING DING. "Oh! This is just not right; I just got out here…just a

little moment more. I’ll sneak in late…" my thoughts were. "If I could

just get a little quick nap, then I’d be fi ne", I said to myself as I ran up

the stairs to the temple room. Bow bow, "Gan En Chi Bei," I said to

the attendant at the door returning the wet white towel, and I proceeded

inside onto my seat past the masters in the back of the room. The noise

from the street was a constant cacophony through the thin old windows

and pleaded to distract me from the words of the speakers. I waited

for something to perk my ears to attention, something new, something

grabbing. Most was as I heard before, and sleep would grab my eyes

instead. I actually fell away and got a little nap and when I awoke I

thought, "Oh good, the wet towel guy didn’t catch me."

In the air something fi lled me and made me smile. I gazed along

the walls two stories tall, standing on old hardwood . oors, I thought,

"This used to be an old Masonic Lodge." The ceilings were rounded

on the corners and the molding along the mid-seam of the walls was

somewhat ornate. Suddenly, I heard the speaker, "…and when we want

something for ourselves, we suffer. Because we don’t feel complete,

we are always looking for something to complete us. What is our true

self." These words pulled me from my narcissistic reverie and made

my back straighter. I actually wrote in my book of notes and re. ected.

And so the weekend seminar continued. The more I truly listened, the

more I heard. I don’t remember most except the good food and how

humble the staff was. I walked away with a Tao joy that I often use as

a way to get back to my true self when I forget.

We are form in action; we are Tao

Sometimes things got lost in translation from Chinese to English,

but the meaning got through somehow. Bridging the cultural gap be-

tween minds trained in different languages can be formidable when

no direct translation is possible. Yet the essence of the two different

language minds is the same. That essence is the Tao. The Tao is the

wisdom between the words that brings us inspiration and joy. To bring

Tao from the formless to the land of form is our goal, our honor, and

our cultivation practice. The more we practice, the more we are able to

bring that Tao essence from formless to form through our ACTIONS.

Our actions are the cause that affects the world around us. We are form

in action; we are Tao.

27

2013年3月

只要再一下下。待會晚一點再偷溜進會場 …… 」心裡這樣子想著。「如果可以睡

個午覺，待會上課時精神一定沒問題！」後學急忙上樓梯往

堂（法會會場） 跑

時這麼告訴自己。鞠躬，鞠躬，後學向會場門外服務學長回應：「感恩慈悲！」

感恩他恭恭敬敬遞來的一條白色濕毛巾，亦趕緊經過

堂後方幾位點傳師們的位

子，迅速地回到自己座位上坐下。外面街上不時透過這薄薄一層老舊窗戶的玻璃

傳進許多噪音，分散了後學對主講者所分享內容的注意力。後學等著，等著，等

著新的內容或是值得吸取的智慧法語來提振後學的專注，但大部份都是後學已聽

過的道理，兩邊的眼皮已快閉上，隨時都有可能見周公去。老實說真的打了一個

小盹，當醒來時，後學想：「哦！幸好！遞濕毛巾的護壇服務學長竟然沒有注意

到我睡著了。」

法會中有那麼一股氣氛使後學感到充實且讓後學不自覺地微笑！凝視著四周

兩層樓高的牆壁、站在這老硬的木板地上，後學想，「這是一個古老的同濟會會

館！」裁成圓形的天花板和牆壁中間接縫的造型，感覺上有點華麗。突然，這時

後學聽到主講者提到：「……當我們不停地追求時，就會有煩惱與痛苦，因為我

們覺得還不夠，一直在尋找一個東西來滿足自己。什麼是真我呢？」主講者提的

這些問題把後學從自戀遐想的情境中拉回，背也自然地挺直了，同時將它寫在筆

記本內並反觀自照。法會繼續進行下去。當後學越是認真聽講，聽進去的真理也

越多。老實說，除了美味可口的食物及謙恭和藹的壇辦人員，後學早已記不得聽

到什麼了。不過，永遠忘不了法會中所得到的法喜，每當迷失時，那些法喜是幫

助後學回歸自性真我的力量。

「明心見性」是本能，因為道在自身

有些時候，由中文翻成英文時會失去一些東西，但仍會捕捉到一些真義。在

沒有能直譯的情況下，要想彌合不同語言之下所教育出的文化差異，（對美國道

親而言，領悟上）是一項極大的挑戰。然而，後學發現不同語言的思想「本懷」

卻是相同的。這相同的本懷就是「道」。道亦是字與字之間的智慧，它帶給我們

靈性上的感悟和法喜。能把無形、無色、無相的道從自身上展現出來，是我們的

目標、我們的榮幸及我們的真修實煉。當我們做得越多、行得越多，我們就越能

夠將無形的「道之本懷」透過我們的行為示現出來。我們的行為（德性的展現）是

影響這周圍大千世界的因素。能夠「明心見性」是我們的本能，因為道就在自身。