Feb 6, 2018
慧淨上人法語
淨土宗宗風真諦
慧淨上人法語
淨土宗宗風真諦
“As for those who follow a different path, we should keep our distance”. That means we do not get close to good and virtuous fellows of different schools. As this tenet falls into the sector of absolute truth, and not worldly truth, it doesn’t prevent us from maintaining our human relationship, or fulfilling related responsibilities or obligations. When we say to keep a distance away from those who follow a different path, we are not talking about the way of life in the mundane world.
Our goal for getting close to the like-minded practitioners is to study and discuss the Dharma, i.e. to learn from them in order to perfect our wisdom, deepen our faith, and encourage our practices. So, if the good and virtuous fellow does not belong to the same school, developing close ties with him is not beneficial to our learning of the Dharma. On the contrary, such ties will prevent us from getting the correct knowledge and views for rebirth.
Our goal for getting close to the like-minded practitioners is to study and discuss the Dharma, i.e. to learn from them in order to perfect our wisdom, deepen our faith, and encourage our practices. So, if the good and virtuous fellow does not belong to the same school, developing close ties with him is not beneficial to our learning of the Dharma. On the contrary, such ties will prevent us from getting the correct knowledge and views for rebirth.
「若非同門，不親不近」，也就是不親近非同門的善知識，這屬於真諦而不是俗諦的範圍，因此並不妨礙我們的人情義理或責任義務。我們這裏所寫的「若非同門，不親不近」，並不是指俗諦的待人處世，因為我們親近同門的目的是為了切磋法義，所謂的切磋，就是向他學習，向他請益，好讓我們的知見端正，信心增長，策勵我們的行業。如果不是同門善知識，親近他就得不到法益，反而會妨礙我們的正知正見，障礙我們的往生。
Namo Amitabha!
