Now, I will talk about the “five powers”. The purpose of learning Buddhism, and of practising and cultivating the mind, is to discover our inherent nature. To do this requires us to verify by ourselves. What this means is that if you want to find your inherent nature, you must use the five powers:
今天给大家讲“五力”。我们学佛，修行，修心要找到自己的本性。靠自己求证，想找到自己的本性，必须要有五种力量，才能找到自己的本性。
1. The power of faith: This is the power of firm and genuine belief. The power of faith is particularly important, because, as the saying goes, “Faith is the source of the Way, and the mother of merit and virtue”. Believing in the Way means to have the power of faith. In other words, you believe that you will succeed at something, and you believe that Guan Yin Bodhisattva will save us. The mother of merit and virtue is the source and the root of the Way. Only when you believe can you grasp at the root and attain merit and virtue. If someone lacks confidence in what they do, and therefore does not have the power of faith, they will not succeed in anything they do at all. The power of faith can dispel doubt, so that you will not waver.
1）信力，就是切实相信的力量，信力是很重要的，信为道源功德母。道源功德母，相信道就是有一个信力，相信一个事情一定能成功，相信观世音菩萨一定会救我们，功德母就是这个道的源泉，即根源。你若相信了才能抓到根源，才能达到功德。一个人做任何事情，如果没有信心，没有信力，什么事情都不能做成功。信力可以破除疑惑，不被疑惑所动摇。
2. The power of efforts: This is the power of diligence. Some people say they believe in Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but at the same time do not properly recite Buddhist scriptures. Some say they believe that the Bodhisattvas will save them, and yet they are not diligent. Moreover, while you are making efforts, you must not mix with other practices. If you fail at that, you are not diligent. If you want to learn a bit of everything, you will succeed in nothing. The power of efforts also means to advance bravely and vigorously in cultivation. For example, if you are severely ill, you must more often recite the Great Compassion Mantra and other sutras. Why? Because the illness you encounter is not what ordinary people can endure. So, if you want to recover, you must do what ordinary people cannot do, and you must endure what ordinary people cannot endure. Only then can you recover from what ails you.
2）进力，进取的力量。今天相信佛菩萨了，但是又不好好念经，相信佛菩萨会救我，却没有信力，又不精进。而且在精进当中不能杂，如果杂了就等于不精进。如果什么东西都去学一学，什么事情都不会成功。进力还要加一个勇猛向前，就是要精进修。比如：如果得了重病，要多念《大悲咒》等经，因你现在受的不是正常人所能受的病，想让病好就要做正常人不能做的事，要忍正常人所不能忍的，才能把病治好。
3. The power of mindfulness: This is about your thoughts, which are especially important. With sincerity and positive intentions, all the things you do are counted as merits and virtues. On the contrary, if you have selfish motives and distracting thoughts, you will lose your power of mindfulness and fail to find and verify your inherent nature.
3）念力，也就是意念。一个人的念头很重要，如果今天做功德，是用心，用正念做的事情全部都是功德。如果带有私心杂念来做，你的念力就没有了，就找不到自己的本性，就不能在自身本性中得到求证。
4. The power of concentration: This is the power of right concentration. How do we distinguish what is right? It is done with the power of faith in order to locate our minds. For example, after you pray to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, your mind will be settled because you believe in Guan Yin Bodhisattva – “I must have right concentration; I believe that the wholesome deeds that I perform are from the bottom of my heart; they are the right things to do.” The power of concentration can dispel every distracting thought, enabling the mind to be calm.
4）定力，即正定力。正是以什么来区分的呢？是以自己一种信念的力量来定位自己的心。比如：今天求观世音菩萨，我的心定下来了，因为我相信观世音菩萨，一定要正定。我相信我做的善事是从心里发出的，是正确的。定力可以消除一切杂乱的念头，使心定下来。
5. The power of wisdom: Wisdom includes the “right wisdom”. While many people possess wisdom, it’s not necessary used in good ways. For example, scientists may have wisdom but they also research and develop atomic bombs, biological weapons, and the like. So, are they truly wise? Likewise, if one deviates and cannot find their inherent nature, the wisdom that arises is not then the right wisdom. They will only create negative karma.
5）慧力，就是智慧。智慧里包括正慧，许多人有智慧，但是，不是用在好的地方。比如：一个科学家很有智慧，研究出原子弹、细菌弹等等，这个人是不是很有智慧？同样如果心不正，找不到自己的本性，所产生的智慧就不是正慧，就会造孽。
To find your inherent nature and verify whether your cultivation of the mind is on the right path, you must possess these five powers. If you’re still not sure, you can use your mind to speculate. Then, coupled with the five powers, you will be aware of whether what you are doing is right or not. If a person does not have the five powers, it’s like using a mirror to reflect one’s shadow. You see that the shadow and the shape in the mirror are the same, but in the mirror, you cannot see your true self – it is merely a reflection of the true appearance. It is just a shadow, not your inherent nature.
要有这五种力量才能找到本性，才能求证自己修心到底对不对？如果你感觉不出对不对，你就可以用自己的心去推测，加上五力，你就能感觉到自己做得对不对。如果一个人没有五力，犹如在镜子里照到自己的影子一样。看自己的影子和形状是一样的，其实在镜子里，看到的不是真正的自己。每个人在镜子里看到的自己，实际上不是自己，从元灵来讲，你前世可能是谁，而在前一世又是谁谁谁，你说哪一个是你？从镜子里看到的只不过是一个影，只不过是一个外形的东西而已。只有影，不见本性。
If you want to find your true inherent nature, don’t look at the shadow, don’t listen to what you say, and don’t look at your appearance or your shape. Rather, grasp at the inherent nature from within. Another point to stress is this: If you want to find the inherent nature and learn Buddhism, you cannot simply rely on reading the Buddhist scriptures or texts. While many may think that by reading a lot of scriptures and texts they can obtain the true Buddha-dharma and discover their inherent nature and primeval soul. But that’s impossible because the Buddha-dharma is incomparably profound and beyond comprehension with our level of wisdom. As an analogy, while every scientist is able to know a small, isolated part of the universe through research, they are not able to get to the bottom of all the myriad phenomena that occur.
如果想找到最真实的本性，不是去看人影，不是听你说话，不是看你的外形和你的形状，而是要抓住自己的本性。还有一点，想找到本性想学佛，不是看经典就能得到的。许多人以为看了很多经典，就能得到真正的佛法，得到自己的本性和自己的元灵，那是不可能的。因为佛法深奥无比，我们的智慧是无法理解的。比如，每一个科学家只能研究出人间宇宙空间一部分的东西，不可能包罗万象什么都能研究出来。
When learning Buddhism and cultivating the mind, you must follow Master closely. If “shop” around for different teachings or practices, you will only become more distracted and confused. You will also end up confusing others with your own confusion. You are prone to mistakes with just a momentary lapse of attention, so whether you can make good progress in your cultivation is entirely in your hands.
你们随师父学佛修心，如果东看看，西看看，会越看越杂，越看越糊涂，越看越迷糊，最后还会拿迷糊的东西再去迷糊别人，稍不留神就会出差错。所以自己修得好与坏全在自己的掌握中。
发表于 2023-5-3 13:25:19
