谈佛法的宗教经验

谈佛法的宗教经验

─在美国纽约长岛菩提精舍讲
印顺导师
法光学坛第二期
1998年
法光佛教文化研究所发行
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导师的话：
谈佛法的宗教经验
──在美国纽约长岛菩提精舍讲──

引言──佛法的弘扬要健全团结
　　
佛法近来似乎有渐呈萎缩的现象，每一个法师及有心的居
士都想如何可以振兴佛法。海外的法师和居士们，都很希望将
佛法转移到新大陆的美国来发扬。这是非常艰钜的工作，但是
应当怎样著手呢？佛法是一种宗教，宗教须适应社会。佛法的
好处甚深，一般人不大了解，所以推动更艰难。不过出家弟子
的健全团结，与在家弟子的共同努力，实甚重要。佛陀在世之
时亦颇注意于组织僧团，推行佛法，团结就是力量。
　　 佛教是宗教，宗教要发生力量，必需这个宗教的信徒，要
具有信心，尽心去做。不论信也好，学也好，修习也好，要有
所得。因为人们往往畏问你信佛教以后得到什么？不但佛教如
此，其他宗教也莫不皆然。由信心而引发宗教经验，获得好处
。佛法的信众如都能虔诚努力，充满活力，在学习过程中，得
到佛法的真实利益，则佛法必能发扬光大。反之，如没有所得
，只知道跟了我父亲这样做，随著我母亲或祖父母这样做，我
亦照样做，信佛教变成照例文章，徒存形式，便失去了佛教的
真正意义。在美国弘扬佛法，尤须注意，因为美国社会讲求实
效。如讲道理，要寻根究底讲信仰修持，亦要有实地的经验。
佛法有深深浅浅的不同利益，即使浅浅的得到一点点经验，也
能加强信念，从浅入深，积少成多。今天不妨就浅近的来讲。

第一、“信”的经验
　　

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佛法中的“信”是什么？信佛、信法、信僧。换言之，信
仰“三宝”。为什么要信呢？我先说一个比喻：一般人生在世
上，生死轮回中，生时不知怎样生的，糊里糊涂，混著过去，
不知怎样是好，以后怎样更不知道。佛法说“生死长夜”，人
生真是漫漫长夜。虽然电灯开得很亮，但我们人生还是好比在
黑暗中摸索。东摸西摸，找不到出路，有一种彷徨空虚的感觉
。年轻的人如此，年纪大了，直到老年，念头愈多，愈加纷扰
。假如我们真正有信心，信仰三宝的话，等于眼前忽然一亮，
找到一线光明。好似在茫茫大海上，忽然看到大陆，这时真有
说不出的高兴。信佛、信僧，找到了明灯，望到了人生的归宿
。
　　 “信心”好像一颗澄清浊水的“清水珠”，能将浑水变清
；信心使我们内心清净，心上得到安定。信心没有生之前，烦
恼无穷，混混沌沌，莫知所从。凡具有信心者，必能得到安定
。佛经上说：“若有信者得欢喜”。这种豁然开朗的经验，因
为得到佛法的引导，可渐除烦恼的困扰，找得了一条光明大道
，跟此信心而来。若能向此方向努力，必得快乐。烦恼虽还是
有的，仍应努力修习。但有了内心清净信心的经验，会安心的
向前迈进了！

第二、“戒”的经验
　　
“戒”，“受戒”，好像是形式的，其实不然。诸位法师
都知道，凡出家者由戒师引导受戒，他人都来恭喜他，希望他
得到上品的戒。戒的力量确有上品、中品、下品的。受戒者得
到的这个戒，以誓愿为体。不应做的事须决心不做：应做的事
当尽力去做。要虔诚、恳切、忏悔，有这种坚强的信愿，然后
可得“戒”。这种依佛法所得的戒，即是心里增加了一种特殊
的力量，这种力量能“防非制恶”。这力量自得戒后，一天一
天的增加。一般人，里面的感情冲动很强，外面的引诱力异常
的大，推之挽之，不能抵抗。一个不小心，就会做错，所谓“
一失足成千古恨”。如得到了戒，则自内心发生一种力

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量，可以“悬崖勒马”，控制自己。
　　 “戒”好比一个城，叫做“戒城”。古时修筑城墙，所以
防制匪敌。有了城墙时，如有匪敌进犯，保卫这城者，在里面
就发动员令，当然亦可以求外面的救援，但主要的是自力内在
的戒备。“戒”的力量是由信佛法所起心理上的变化，发生一
种“清净誓愿力”。有了这种力量，一天一天增长，烦恼自然
渐除。

第三、“定”的经验
　　
修定一层，似乎中国佛教提倡的标准太高：在我国的禅宗
发扬以后，嫌定太浅，修定的少了；反而又觉得太难了，于是
专在礼拜念诵上著力。我现在所要讲的是“生得定”。是我们
每个人生下即得到的。假如诸位说没有，那是没有用因缘来显
发。譬如诸位能读书，智力也由于“生得”，经教育的学习而
获得。我们都知道，我国有一部哲学书‘庄子’。‘庄子’有
一段孔子与弟子颜回有关静定的问答。孔子教颜回学习静坐，
颜回将所得的经验，告诉孔子。颜回第一次报告孔子说：“静
坐久了，外面的境界都没有了”。第二次又报告说：“我的手
与足也不知何处去了! 第三次报告孔子说：“我的心，我自己
也不知何处去了”！那时，颜回已失却身心世界，心灵一片虚
明。正如‘庄子’所说：“虚室生白，吉祥止止”。此种境界
，中国叫做“坐忘”。这在佛法中是将到未到，到达定的边缘
──“生得”的“未到定”。年轻力壮的，如能静坐，常会很
快发现，得到这种经验。
　　 上面所说，当然是初步的，很浅的定，当然还须向上修习
。但是需要指出的是，一般人只知道向外面去寻求，现代讲求
科学，技术发达，很有成就，却不知从身心去寻求，不知道身
心中无边功德，现现成成在那里，待我人去找寻。所以即使略
得定力，也能深信佛法中的修证，而向上趣入。

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第四、“慧”的经验
　　
慧的经验，也是浅深不等。现在要讲的，是最浅的“闻所
成慧”，即“闻慧”。我人自读经，或自听开示而得来的慧，
（与一般生得慧不同）就是闻慧。对佛法绝对的真理，豁然启
悟，由豁然无碍而得贯通，所谓“大开圆解”。这种解慧，并
不是证悟。试举一个比喻：井中有水，已经明白的看到，但不
是尝到。对闻所成慧──正见，经里有颂说：“若有于世间，
正见增上者，虽历百千生，终不堕地狱”。这是说，若人生于
世界上，能得到正见的力量，增长不退。如菩萨长期在生死轮
回中度众生，得了此慧，虽然或有小错，但决不造重罪。故生
死虽历千百次，终不堕入地狱。

结论
　　
要求佛教发生力量，不能徒尚形式，徒重谈论，而要心有
所得。修学佛法的人，对于“信”要有信的经验，对于“戒”
要有戒的经验，对于“定”要有定的经验，对于“慧”要有慧
的经验。总之，要有内容，要有所得，这就是佛法的宗教经验
。有了宗教经验，然后能起实效，能不退转。记得从前太虚大
师，就是凭他在西方寺所获得的宗教经验，所以能够坚定信心
，一生从事佛教的工作，可以作我们的金鉴。再者，学佛者要
一步一步的修习，务须要将浅的办得好，然后再求深的。
　　 个人来美半年，因为身体的不强健，未能与诸位法师及居
士多所切磋，内心很负疚。因为不久要回台湾，谨以上面所讲
的，作为临别赠言。（真觉记）

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The Religious Experience of Buddhadharma
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A Lecture Given at the Bodhi Temple, Long Island, New York
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Master Yin-shun
　　 Buddhadharma, it seems, is recently showing signs
of decline. Every ordained Buddhist and concerned
layman is thinking about ways to invigorate it, and
Sangha members and laypeople living overseas hope very
much to bring it to the New World and spread it there.
But how should this extraordinary hard job be tackled?
Buddhadharma is a religion, and religions have to fit
society. Buddhadharma has many good points, yet this
is generally not well understood. Thus it becomes even
more difficult to promote it. Flawless unity of the
disciples who have left the homelife and common
efforts by those having families are of really great
importance. Also during the Buddha's time,
considerable attention was paid to the organization of
the sangha because as far as the spread of Buddhism is
concerned, being unite d means strength.
　　 Buddhism is a religion. If a religion wants to get
strong its followers have to have faith and work as
hard as they can. No matter whether in regard to
trust, study, or practice, it is necessary to have
some result because people often will ask you what you
get from being a Buddhist. This is so not only in the
case of Buddhism but holds true for all religions.
Religious experience and benefit are brought about by
trust. If the followers of Buddhism are able to work
seriously with devotion and fullof vigour, they will
receive the real benefits of Buddhadharma while they
practice. In this case Buddhadharma will no doubt
spread far and wide. On the other hand, if the
individual doesn't gain anything but just does what his
father, mother, or grandparents did then being a
Buddhist becomes following a template and nothing but
the form remains while

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the real meaning of Buddhism is lost. You have to pay
special attention to this when spreading dharma in
America because Americans stress effectiveness. If you
want to teach the doctrine you have to go into depth
and detail; if you want to talk about trust and
practice, you need real experience. Buddhadharma
offers benefits on several levels. Even if the
experience is only small and shallow, still your faith
will be strengthened, and the experience will deepen
and get larger and larger. So today I might well talk
only about simple things.

The Experience of Trust
　　 ────────────

What does "trust" mean? Trust in Buddha, dharma,
and sangha. In other words, trust in the Triple Jewel.
Why should we have trust? Let me first give an
example. The general human being is born confused into
this samsaric world, and lives a muddleheaded life
without any understanding about what is good, not to
mention about what is going to happen after this
existence. In Buddhadharma, this is called "the long
night of samsara." Indeed, human life is like a long
night. Though bright lights are on, we still l grope in
darkness here and there, without finding a way out,
with a feeling of apprehension and vanity. Young people
are like that, and the older they get, up into old age,
the more they think, the more confused they become. But
if you have real trust in the Triple Jewel, it is as if
you can all of a sudden see with light before your eyes
or as if, drifting on the boundless ocean, you finally
see land. The joy at that moment is beyond words. To
trust Buddha, dharma, and sangha means finding a bright
light or seeing the harbour of our human life.
　　 "Trust" is like a gem purifying water which makes
muddy water clean, because it induces purity into our
hearts and causes our minds to become stable and firm.
Before you have established trust, there are

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countless afflictive emotions, and you are totally
confused without a clue what to do. But anyone with
trust certainly attains stability and firmness. It is
said in the texts that "the trusting one will be
joyful." This experience of sudden opening due to the
guidance of Buddhadharma can gradually remove
disturbance by afflictive emotions, as if one had
found a bright highway. If you can work towards this,
you will become happy without doubt. There will still
be afflictive emotions but you should practice
seriously, and with the experience of clarifying trust
in your mind, you can proceed without worry!

The Experience of Morality
　　 ─────────────

"Morality" and "accepting the rules" look formalistic
but really are not so. All of you, venerable sangha
members, know that when a person leaving the homelife
is guided by the Precept Master to accept the rules,
everybody congratulates him expressing the wish he
might obtain rules of highest quality. In terms of
power, the rules are actually divided into those of
inferior, middling, and higher quality. The essence of
the rules an ordinand accepts is firm commitments. One
has to make a strong decision not to do what should not
be done and to engage in what should be engaged in. You
have to be devout, sincere, and repentant. With such
strong trust and commitment, you will receive the
"rules." The rules received in accordance with
Buddhadharma amount to a special additional power in
your mind which is able to protect from unvirtue.
After having accepted the rules, this power will
increase day by day. For the average person, emotional
impulses are very strong and the seductive forces of
the outside world pos sess extraordinary power. Even
if he tries to ward them off, he cannot resist. The
slightest lack of awareness, and a mistake is made.
This is often referred to as "stumbling once leads to
eternal

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regret." But if you've accepted the rules, you'll
acquire a mental power by which "reigning in the horse
right on the edge of the cliff" you can control oneself.
　　 Since the rules are like a city wall they are called
the "bulwark of the rules." In olden times, walls were
built around cities in order to protect them from
bandits. If you've got a wall and bandits or enemies
tried to invade, those protecting the city integrated
their forces inside the wall. Of course, they also
could try to find allies and support outside, but the
most important is to be on guard inside through one's
own strength. The power of the rules is a
psychological change which happens due to trust in
Buddhadharma and induces a kind of "power of pure
commitments." With this power increasing every day,
afflictive emotions naturally diminish gradually.

The Experience of Meditative Absorption
　 ────────────────────

Regarding meditative absorption, it seems that Chinese
Buddhism established too high a standard. Since the
spread of the Chinese Ch'an school, the level of
meditative absorption was discarded as not profound
enough and those who practiced it were only very few.
At the same time, however, people also felt ch'an to
be too difficult to practice, and they concentrated
their energies on prostrations and recitations. What I
am going to talk about here is innate concentration
which everyone possesses from birth on. If you feel
there's nothing like that, it is only because one
didn't avail oneself of situations to develop it. That
you have the intellectual capacity to read, for
example, comes also innately and is learnt through
receiving education. As all of you know, there is an
ancient Chinese philosophical work called Chuang-tzu.
It contains one episode in which Confucius and his
disciple Yen Hui discuss meditative ab-

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sorption. Confucius taught Yen Hui how to meditate,
and Yen Hui came back to report his experience. The
first time he said: "Sitting in meditation for a long
time, all outer experiences disappear." The next time
he told Confucius: "Now I even don't know where my
hands and feet are!" And the third time he announced:
"I don't know where my mind, my I is." At that time,
Yen Hui had lost his mind-body world, there was only
spiritual openness and clarity. Chuang-tzu calls this
"emptying one's heart understanding arises; goodness
and peace rest in a calm mind", and Chinese generally
refer to it as "sitting in oblivion." According to
Buddhism, however, it is only innate concentration
which has not yet reached the level of meditative
absorption. Those who are young and strong often do
have this experience when they begin to practice
meditation.
　　 What was mentioned above refers, of course, only
to preliminary, shallow meditative absorption, and it
is naturally necessary to practice further. But I want
to point out that generally people merely know how to
seek in the outside world. Today, though science is
stressed and technology well advanced and successful,
people don't know how to search within their
mind-body. They are unaware of the fact that limitless
qualities already exist in their own mind-body, just
waiting for us to inquire. So, even if you develop
only some power of meditative absorption, you will
still fully trust the practice and realization of
Buddhadharma, and continue to proceed upwards.

The Experience of Wisdom
　　 ────────────

With the experience of wisdom there are several
levels, too. What I will explain now is the most
superficial one -wisdom arising from listening or "the
wisdom of listening. " This is the wisdom we develop

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when reading sutras or listening to dharma talks. It
differs from inherent wisdom. And when you all of a
sudden awaken to the absolute truth of Buddhadharma
and from unprecedented openness proceed to
penetration, it is called "opening up universal
understanding." This understanding wisdom is not
realization wisdom. Let me explain it by means of an
example: to have clearly perceived the water in a well
does not mean you have already tasted it. A canonical
verse says about this wisdom arising out of listening
(or right view):

　　　 "If there is someone in the world whose right
view is superior though he might undergo a million
lives he will not fall into the hells."

This means if someone is born in this world and obtains
the power of right view, this power will increase
without decline. It's like the bodhisattva who saves
sentient beings for a long time in samsara: when you
achieve this wisdom, though you may still make minor
mistakes, you'll never commit any serious offense.
Therefore, despite being reborn a million times, you
won't fall into the hell realms.

Concluding Remarks
　　 ─────────

If you want Buddhism to become a power you must not
merely favour its formal aspect or emphasize talking
about it. What you need is personal experience.
Practicing Buddhists have to have the experience of
trust, morality, meditative absorption, and wisdom in
their respective fields. To sum it up, there must be
content, inner gain. This is the religious experience
of Buddhadharma. After you've had religious experience,
you can really function and you won't fall back. I
remember how Ven. T'ai-hsu relied on the religious
experiences he

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gained in Hsi-fang Monastery to make his trust firm and
engage in his lifelong service for Buddhism. He can be
our paragon. And in addition, practicing Buddhists have
to cultivate step by step. They have to deal well with
the basics before striving for more profound things. 　
　 By now, I've been in America for six months but due
to health reasons, I had too few chances to exchange
ideas with everybody. Since my return to Taiwan is
imminent, I'll offer this talk respectfully as my
parting gift.