^佛法修学次第的思考

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+# Edit suggestions for 《佛法修学次第的思考》/《汉传佛教的反思》
+
+## Terminology decisions (flagged for review)
+
+1. **Title.** 佛法修学次第的思考 → "Reflections on the Stages of Buddhist Practice", following the term map in 静心学堂学员手册/term-map.md. The companion title 汉传佛教的反思 → "Reflections on Chinese Buddhism", following 人生百问 (established).
+
+2. **Five-element chain.** 皈依、发心、戒律、正见、止观 rendered as "taking refuge, generating aspiration, observing precepts, establishing right view, practicing samatha-vipassana" — matching the established chain in 静心学堂学员手册/bilingual.dj ("Taking Refuge, Generating Aspiration, Observing Precepts, Establishing Right View, and Practicing Samatha-Vipassana"). DoT定稿 uses "Samatha and Vipassana" for 止观; heading/TOC uses "Samatha-Vipassana".
+
+3. **皈依体 → "the refuge commitment".** Technical term for the commitment generated through the refuge ceremony. Alternative: "refuge vow". Chose "commitment" because the source later distinguishes it from 誓言 (vows); consistent in lines 123/125.
+
+4. **省庵大师 → "Master Sheng'an".** Romanization uncertain; common alternatives are "Sheng'an" and "Xing'an". Verify against a published source (Pure Land literature).
+
+5. **五欲六尘 → "the five desires and six sense objects".** Terms DB (佛教术语, from 禅意设计) has "the Five Desires and the Six Dusts"; chose the more standard English collocation.
+
+6. **小乘 → "the Lesser Vehicle"** (line 173). DB contexts also show "Hīnayāna"/"Theravada"; chose neutral "Lesser Vehicle" per modern usage. 二乘 → "the two lesser vehicles".
+
+7. **观察修 / 安住修 → "analytical meditation" / "placement meditation".** 观想修 → "visualization meditation" (DoT定稿). Verify against 济群法师's published English (his books use these terms in the 三级修学 framework).
+
+8. **增上心 → "the upward-striving mind"** (line 211). Context: 人天乘的增上心 — the mind seeking higher rebirth.
+
+9. **地前菩萨 → "bodhisattvas who have not yet reached the grounds"** (line 211).
+
+10. **无漏智慧 → "undefiled wisdom"** (lines 52/76); 无漏/有漏 → "undefiled"/"defiled". 认识菩提心 uses "outflow"; kept "undefiled" for readability — consider aligning to "outflow-free" if consistency with that book matters.
+
+## Quote renderings (established or faithful)
+
+- Refuge vows: "For my entire life, I take refuge in the Buddha/Dharma/Sangha" (佛教术语 DB) and "I take refuge in the Buddha and will never take refuge in devas, maras, or followers of other paths; ..." (faithful).
+- 瑜伽师地论 definition of bodhicitta: "will certainly attain unexcelled, complete, perfect enlightenment" / "will be able to accomplish every benefit of sentient beings" (faithful).
+- 菩提道次第论: "If one learns only one of the two---skillful means or wisdom---one cannot attain buddhahood" (faithful).
+- 普贤行愿品: "The Buddhas and Tathagatas take great compassion as their very essence. Because of sentient beings, great compassion arises; because of great compassion, bodhicitta arises; because of bodhicitta, they attain perfect enlightenment."
+- Chan slogan 不立文字，教外别传，直指人心，见性成佛: published standard rendering.
+- 人成即佛成: "when one perfects being human, one attains buddhahood" (echoes 太虚's verse; DB 偈颂经文名言 has a garbled fuller version).
+- 如人饮水，冷暖自知: "the person who drinks the water knows best whether it is hot or cold" (nti_zh_en DB).
+- 一花开五叶: "one flower bloom into five petals" (佛教术语: "One Flower Blooms with Five Petals").
+
+## Structural notes
+
+- TOC converted to plain text per convention (no link targets, no page numbers).
+- Trailing `\` hard-break markers on source lines 192–211 preserved on target.
+- Second article 《汉传佛教的反思》 is a full excerpt of the 2004 essay; no content was omitted.

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+# Review comments for 《佛法修学次第的思考》/《汉传佛教的反思》
+
+Translator: 代艺 (Dai Yi)
+Reviewer: Kimi (peer review, other mode)
+Date: 2026-08-11
+Files reviewed: source.dj, target.dj, bilingual.dj (214/214 lines, 92/92 paragraphs)
+
+## Summary
+
+随喜赞叹，这一稿整体质量很高：五大要素链条（taking refuge, generating aspiration, observing precepts, establishing right view, practicing samatha-vipassana）前后一致，引文（皈依誓言、《普贤行愿品》、《瑜伽师地论》、Lamrim、如人饮水）大多与术语库吻合，正文无遗漏、无截断——我逐段核对了全部 23 个长段落的收尾与中段，source 每句都有对应。`check-translation.py` 全部通过（行数、段落、标题、强调、CJK、数字、bilingual 时效）。以下问题都不涉及内容缺失，主要是 3 处措辞需要修，其余是可议的术语选择。
+
+## Must-fix issues
+
+1. **句法残缺（结说）。** 源文：由学佛至成佛的关键阶段
+   译文：`we grasp the key stages from beginning to study Buddhism to attaining buddhahood`（target L186）
+   问题：`from beginning to study Buddhism to attaining…` 动名词与名词并列，读不通。
+   建议：`the key stages from first taking up the study of Buddhism to the attainment of buddhahood`（或 `…from beginning to study Buddhism all the way to attaining buddhahood`）。
+
+2. **术语引注方向说反（止观一节）。** 源文：梵语毗婆舍那，汉译为观
+   译文：`Vipassana, rendered in Chinese as insight, encompasses…`（target L173）
+   问题：汉译是「观」，「insight」是英文对译；现在这句话等于说中文译作 insight，与源文不符。
+   建议：`Vipassana (vipaśyanā in Sanskrit), rendered in Chinese as guan, meaning "insight," encompasses…`——把中文与英文各归其位。
+
+3. **搭配生硬（计算机类比段）。** 源文：是佛教能否健康发展的命脉所在
+   译文：`is the lifeline of whether Buddhism can develop healthily`（target L43）
+   问题：`the lifeline of whether…` 英文不成立（介词短语带 whether 从句）。
+   建议：`is the lifeline on which the healthy development of Buddhism depends`，或 `is the lifeblood of Buddhism's healthy development`。
+
+## Considerations
+
+1. **维系不堕。** L195 尾：`to keep it from falling`（维系不堕）——「falling」太弱，修行传承语境下建议 `to keep it from dying out` 或 `to keep the lineage alive`。
+2. **殚精竭虑。** L198：`the exhausting efforts of the Tripitaka Master Xuanzang`——「exhausting efforts」字面是「令人精疲力竭的努力」，语义反了；建议 `painstaking efforts` 或 `tireless, exhaustive efforts`。
+3. **出世间正见。** L63：`transcendent right view`——术语库（BAICKZ/龙泉）倾向 `supramundane`；`transcendent` 亦可，若全书统一用 supramundane 更贴库。请定夺。
+4. **末法。** L83：`the degenerate age of the Dharma`——术语库有 `Dharma-ending age` / `Age of Dharma Decline`；现译是英文佛教文献的常见说法，可保留，仅提示与库的差异。
+5. **止持 / 作持。** L153：`precepts of restraint / precepts of performance`——库中 `止持` 为 `proscriptive observance`（作持即 prescriptive）；现译更易懂，若想更术语化可换。
+6. **禅和子。** L175：`Chan practitioners`——库（nti）为 `a Chan monastic`；原文指禅宗出家人，收窄为 monastic 更准，视行文需要。
+7. **学术化的佛教。** L207：`the academization of Buddhism`——coined word；可考虑 `the turn toward academic Buddhism` 或 `Buddhism's academic turn`。
+8. **六度四摄。** L210：`four means of embracing`——库（佛教术语，生命的痛苦及其解脱）为 `Four Means of Conversion`；`embracing` 亦为常见译法，统一即可。
+9. **增上心。** L211：`upward-striving mind`——此处语境（人天乘的增上心）译得贴切；库中 `增上心` 条目对应三学之 `adhicitta`（unsurpassed/meditative mind），与本句语境不同，可保留现译。
+10. **五分法身。** L202：`fivefold dharmakaya`——库（BAICKZ）有 `the five dharma bodies` / `five manifestations of the Buddha's Dharma body`；现译可读性好，提示备选。
+
+## Terminology notes
+
+- 皈依体 → `the refuge commitment`：库中无条目；文中与誓言（vows）区分清晰，前后一致（L123/125 一带），认可此选择。
+- 别解脱戒 → `precepts of individual liberation`：与库（vows of individual liberation）一致。✓
+- 普贤行愿品 → `Chapter on Samantabhadra's Practices and Vows`：与 BAICKZ 一致。✓
+- 瑜伽师地论 → `Yogacarabhumi Sastra`：与经论名表一致。✓
+- 菩提道次第论 → `The Lamrim (the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment)`：库为 Lamrim Chenmo / Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path；现译通用可接受。
+- 念佛 → `Buddha-name recitation`：常见译法，一致。✓
+- 三坛大戒 → `one of the three platforms of the triple-platform ordination`：达意，库条目过简，不冲突。
+- 五大要素链条、出离心/renunciation、凡夫心/ordinary mind、菩提心/bodhicitta、止观/samatha-vipassana：全文一致，未发现一处一词两译。
+
+## Structural notes
+
+- TOC 已按惯例转纯文本（无链接、无页码）。✓
+- 第二篇《汉传佛教的反思》全部 15 段均有对应，未省略内容。✓
+- 源文两处笔误（惮精竭虑、相似的的经论）照译无碍，无需处理。
+
+## Closing
+
+以上 3 处 must-fix 都是局部措辞，改完即可定稿。术语部分的考量项请按项目统一口径取舍。若需要我直接应用这些修改（direct-edit 模式改 target.dj 并重新生成 bilingual.dj），说一声即可。随喜代艺师兄的用心，这一稿可以放心交付。

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+# 佛法修学次第的思考
+
+------2005年讲于新加坡"汉传佛教修学次第研讨会”
+
+济群法师
+
+[佛法修学次第的思考 [1](#佛法修学次第的思考)](#佛法修学次第的思考)
+
+[一、佛法的核心要素 [2](#一佛法的核心要素)](#一佛法的核心要素)
+
+[1. 解脱道的修行 [3](#解脱道的修行)](#解脱道的修行)
+
+[2. 菩萨道的修行 [3](#菩萨道的修行)](#菩萨道的修行)
+
+[二、佛法的修学次第 [4](#二佛法的修学次第)](#二佛法的修学次第)
+
+[三、五大要素的实践 [6](#三五大要素的实践)](#三五大要素的实践)
+
+[1. 皈　依 [6](#皈-依)](#皈-依)
+
+[2. 发　心 [7](#发-心)](#发-心)
+
+[3. 戒　律 [8](#戒-律)](#戒-律)
+
+[4. 正　见 [9](#正-见)](#正-见)
+
+[5. 止　观 [9](#止-观)](#止-观)
+
+[四、结　说 [10](#四结-说)](#四结-说)
+
+本次研讨会主题为"汉传佛教的修学次第”，这是当今教界亟待厘清的现实问题。在多年弘法过程中，我深切感到，许多人虽学佛日久，但对修学基本理路仍混沌无知。原因何在？正是不得要领、不明次第所致。
+
+佛教宗派众多，卷帙浩繁。在万余卷三藏典籍中，什么才是核心，哪些才是纲领？人们或是不明就里，或是执此废彼，真正对之了然于胸者百无一人。如是，盲修瞎练也就在所难免。还有些人，虽在念佛、禅修等法门中获得相应体证，但对佛法缺乏系统认识，多半滞留于某个程度无法深入。须知，仅仅得到一定禅修体验，或念佛念得稍有轻安，离成佛尚有天地之遥。怎样断除烦恼？怎样契入空性？怎样圆满佛菩萨具备的品质？都是修学路上必须逐一攻克的堡垒。那么，又该从何处着手进行呢？
+
+首先应当认识，一个完整的修学体系须包含哪些核心要素。换言之，把握这些要素，也就把握了佛法要领和修学方向。否则，动辄八万四千法门，委实让初入门者无所适从，望而生畏。
+
+其次需要了解，修学佛法到底要遵循怎样的次第。不然，即使学到一些理论，却不知其在整个修学过程所处的位置，不知各修学环节的递进关系，也难以有效运用。
+
+此外还应明确，每个步骤该如何运用于实践。若不掌握具体的操作方法，即使具备前两个条件，还是难免落于空谈，流于教条。
+
+我感觉，对于佛法核心要素、修学次第、实践方法的模糊和缺失，恰是目前多数学人修行不得力的关键所在。当然，对这些问题的探讨决非易事。佛法浩瀚，不仅有南传、汉传、藏传三大体系，每一体系还有众多宗派和分支。各宗各派，多有自身相对独立的修学建构。若另立一个法门，另建一种次第，充其量是在八万四千法门外再增加一个，成为八万四千零一个法门、零一种次第，未必有多少实际意义。
+
+基于此，我们需要探讨的核心要素和修行次第，应与任何一宗不存在冲突，并适用于一切法门的修学。就像电脑的操作系统，必须具有良好的兼容性，才能运行种种软件，开展种种工作。若将不同宗派和修行法门比作软件的话，那么，佛法的核心要素、修行次第和实践方法就像计算机的操作系统。若是系统自身存在漏洞，不仅会影响软件运行，更将导致系统的整体崩溃。因而，建立一套完善、实用的系统，是佛教能否健康发展的命脉所在，也是我们这代佛子责无旁贷的使命。
+
+{#一佛法的核心要素}
+## 一、佛法的核心要素
+
+佛教各大语系及宗派皆有自身相对独立的修学建构，但万变不离其宗，其中仍有着共同的核心要素。唯有把握这些核心，才能更好地理解各宗修行。那么，佛法的核心要素又是哪些？我觉得，正是皈依、发心、戒律、正见和止观。
+
+我们不妨考察一下：哪个法门的修学可以绕开这五点？或许有人会问，为何不是其他？也不是四点或六点？原因有二：其一，作为核心要素，须统摄一切佛法。其二，作为核心要素，既应适用于一切宗派，又毋须太多，否则便不成其为核心了。
+
+为什么说，这五大要素能统摄一切佛法呢？佛法有解脱道和菩萨道之分，一切宗派、法门非此即彼。解脱道的修行目标，是开发无漏智慧，契入空性，证得涅槃，成就解脱。菩萨道的修行目标，是圆满佛陀智慧、慈悲的品质，从而解除惑业，得大自在。由此修行目标，就锁定了抵达目标的必要条件。
+
+{#解脱道的修行}
+### 1. 解脱道的修行
+
+于解脱道修行而言，首先应对解脱道的目标及方法具足信心，相信解脱对人生的重大意义，相信依法修行必能解脱。若缺乏这种信心，修行从何谈起？皈依，正是对解脱的目标（佛）、解脱道的方法（法）及引导我们走向解脱的老师（僧）生起信心，并通过如法仪式与之建立信赖、依存的密切关系，全身心归投依靠。当我们在诸佛菩萨前发愿"尽形寿皈依佛、尽形寿皈依法、尽形寿皈依僧”时，就意味着这种关系的确立。
+
+但仅仅相信还不够，进而，还须生起希求意愿，也就是发出离心。凡夫的生命，或是随妄流漂浮，或是被环境左右，盲目而不能自主。出离心的发起，代表着生命自觉的选择。它不仅是解脱道修行的开始，也贯穿于整个修行过程，直至解脱，才是对出离心的彻底完成。
+
+那么，又是什么在束缚我们，使我们不得自在，不得解脱？那就是惑业，是无尽生命中积累的惑业妄流。受持戒律，正是止息这一妄流的关键。戒，有防非止恶之义，即止息不善行为，如不杀、不盗、不邪淫、不妄语等，通过对自身行为的规范，降伏烦恼，止息妄流相续。
+
+但止息不等于断除，事实上，妄流的力量仍在，贪嗔痴烦恼仍在，只是得不到活动机会而暂时进入潜伏期。正见，才是断除惑业的真正利器。正见，有世间正见及出世间正见之分。通过闻思经教，能获得世间正见，获得辨别真妄、邪正的能力。唯有了知何为真妄、何为邪正，才能在修行过程中如理取舍，断惑证真。
+
+然而，闻思正见是知识性、观念性的，和无始以来的生命妄流相比，其力量仍难以匹敌。这就必须借助止观，将闻思正见落实于心行，契入空性，引发无漏正见。如是，方能截断众流，彻底铲除惑业之根，证得涅槃，成就解脱。
+
+{#菩萨道的修行}
+### 2. 菩萨道的修行
+
+菩萨道的修行，同样要对佛果及菩萨道的修行方法生起信心，相信成就佛陀品质对于生命的无上价值，同时也相信，通过菩萨道的修行必能帮助我们成就这一品质。这是菩萨道行者必须具备的信念。皈依，就是对菩萨道的目标（佛）、修习菩萨道的方法（法）及能引导我们走向无上菩提的老师（僧）生起信心，并通过如法仪式，身心归投，至诚依靠。
+
+由仰慕佛陀的崇高品质，相信菩萨精神的伟大，而心向往之，发起殷切的菩提心。依《瑜伽师地论》定义，此心是希望自己"决定当证无上正等菩提”，并"能作有情一切义利”。菩提心包含自觉、利他的内涵，这正是佛陀成就悲智两大品质的心行基础，自觉来自智慧，利他乃因慈悲。
+
+要言之，菩萨道修行不外两大任务：一是舍凡夫心，一是成就佛陀品质。初发心菩萨，当如何着手进行？这就需要受菩萨戒，修菩萨行。菩萨行的内容不外六度，又分方便与慧两部分。前五度为方便，依此成就佛陀的慈悲品质；第六度为慧，依闻思大乘经教，树立正见而引发。《菩提道次第论》云："方便与慧，随学其一，不能成佛。”说明唯有借助方便与慧的修行，才能圆成佛陀所具足的悲智两种品质。若忽略慈悲的修习，将落入二乘；而不成就正见，则无法舍去凡夫心。
+
+慈悲与慧的修习，都离不开止观。依寂天菩萨"自他相换”或阿底峡尊者"七因果”的观修，可以培养慈悲品质；依唯识或中观正见的观修，则能成就无漏智慧。菩萨道的修行，正是通过止观不断长养慈悲、智慧，最终圆满佛陀的品质。
+
+由此可见，无论从解脱道还是菩萨道的修行来说，五大要素都是必不可少的，缺失任何一点，必将成为修学障碍，乃至影响佛教的健康发展。明确这些核心，我们就能了解一个完整修学体系所应具备的基本内容，从而检讨自身修行是否完备，又该如何补充完善。同时，也能帮助我们化繁为简，直达重点，而不至于在修学路上目迷五色，主次不分。此外，还可解决修行中时常出现的偏执现象，或以戒律为一切，或以止观为一切，执著其一而不见佛法。
+
+{#二佛法的修学次第}
+## 二、佛法的修学次第
+
+汉传各大宗派多形成于隋唐时期，其时，行人根机较利，教理基础也较扎实。因此，祖师大德在立宗时未将重点放在基础建设上，而着重阐扬圆顿思想，以使上根利智者当下直契本心，立地成佛。如今时值末法，众生根机浅薄，圆顿法门对多数人而言，犹如天边云彩，可望而不可及。所以，认识修学共同基础、建构大众化的修学次第，是教界的当务之急。
+
+前面谈到佛法的核心要素，事实上，探讨修学次第同样离不开这些内容。内容相同，重点和意义却不同。探讨修学次第，关键是要认识皈依、发心、戒律、正见、止观之间层层递进的关系。
+
+学佛首先要皈依。皈依，是佛法的根本，不皈依或不重视皈依，修学便如无本之木；皈依，又是信仰的根本，对三宝是否产生依赖，对三藏教法能否信受奉行，都取决于皈依的深浅程度。因为皈依三宝，所以才能发心、持戒、闻思经教、树立正见、修习止观。否则的话，这一切就无从谈起。
+
+然后还要发心。发心，是对三宝具备的品质生起希求。如果没有这份见贤思齐的希求之心，就算不上真正的佛教徒。因为这份希求，生命才会有目标，修行才会有动力。所以，皈依后必须发心，在此基础上，才能进一步修习戒律、正见、止观。发心是修行的根本，如果心发错了，不论做什么，都与修行了不相干。
+
+戒律为三学之首，也是定慧之基，所谓由戒生定，依定发慧。因此，皈依、发心之后还要受戒、持戒，这是佛法修行的常规。依佛制，比丘应"五年学戒，不离依止”，并在律中规定，未学戒之前不可学习毗昙。这都充分说明，受持戒律是树立正见、修习止观的必备前提。
+
+正见与止观，则是实践佛法的关键。正见是止观的眼目，而止观则是将正见落实于心行的技术，两者相辅相成。若无正见指导，修习止观往往不得其门而入；而没有止观印证的知见，又易落入玄谈的误区。从修学次第看，应先学正见，再修止观。如四法行的修习，依次为亲近善知识、听闻正法、如理作意、法随法行，也说明了这一点。依正见修行，还能帮助我们纠正心行中的所有偏差。否则，皈依可能会落入迷信，发心可能会夹带杂质，持戒可能会流于形式，而止观则可能劳而无功。
+
+虽然这五个环节是依次深入的，但并不是说，皈依完成后才开始发心，也不意味着发心后就无须修习皈依。事实上，五个环节皆须解脱或成佛乃能究竟圆满。因而，这一次第所代表的，只是每个修学阶段的重点。因皈依而有发心，但发心又是对皈依的深化，故在发心过程中还应继续修习皈依，其他也是同样。所以，它们又是相互融摄的。但基本次第不能违越，否则，修行同样会出现问题。
+
+有些人直接从止观禅修入手，认为学教是入海数沙，徒劳无益。但没有正见指引，究竟修什么？究竟证什么？究竟解决什么？就像进入车站，尚不知自己要前往何方，就冒然登上同样不知去向何方的车。结果坐了几年，甚至几十年，仍是混混沌沌，不知所终。
+
+有些人直接从学教入手，但大经大论读多了，往往对律仪行持等规范不再重视。而没有戒律的防范和守护，仅依意识层面建立的闻思知见，是没有力量降伏烦恼习气的。
+
+有些人直接从持戒入手，这固然重要，但若没有正确发心，不清楚持戒的意义，持戒会变得异常艰难。如果没有出离心，只是被动抵制五欲六尘，难度系数会很大。因为凡夫心是有粘性的，碰到哪里就粘到哪里，须内外结合，才能增加对治力度。而没有菩提心的话，持菩萨戒也会困难重重，因为凡夫关心的是"我”和"我的一切”，没有推己及人的悲心，怎能义无反顾地利益众生？
+
+同样，若对三宝没有矢志不移的皈依之心，发心也难以长久保持。出离心和菩提心的力量从哪里来？正是从对三宝的向往和信心而来。因为我们向往解脱，也相信自己能像佛陀那样成就解脱，所以发起出离心，断除我法二执；因为我们向往成佛，也相信自己能像佛陀那样圆成佛果，所以发菩提心，成无上道。
+
+了解修学次第，可以帮助我们安立一条循序渐进的学佛之路，明确各个环节的重点，认识彼此相互增上的原因。当修行进入某一阶段时，自己能清楚地知道，这一阶段需要完成的任务是什么，对之前的修学能有什么提高，对之后的修学又该奠定什么基础。同时，还能帮助我们检验并纠正不按次第修学带来的种种问题。
+
+而次第中的前三个环节，即皈依、发心、戒律，又是修学任何法门绕不开的共同基础。因为见和止观多有宗派特点，如见有唯识、天台、中观之别，禅修的用心方法亦不尽相同。若将见和止观比作不同的专业门类，那么皈依、发心、戒律就是选择专业前必须接受的基础教育。基础扎实了，才有能力深入专业领域。
+
+这些话听来似乎是老生常谈，不必特别强调，但摆在我们面前的现实却不容乐观。从佛学院教学来看，学僧们学了各宗教理，但就是用不起来，甚至信仰淡化，道念退失。在家信徒也存在类似情况，尽管读了很多经论，却不重视修学基础，以为皈依太粗浅，发心没深度，戒律已过时。结果呢？说起来头头是道，做起来一无是处。如果说学教理的多流于玄谈，那么重实修的又如何呢？无论念佛还是坐禅，真正修得相应者同样罕见。多数只是在稀里糊涂地念着，昏昏沉沉地坐着。玄谈和盲修，表面看来似乎是不相干的两个极端。但问题症结却在一处，那就是绕开了不该绕开的核心，缺失了不该缺失的基础。
+
+{#三五大要素的实践}
+## 三、五大要素的实践
+
+那么，如何遵循这些核心要素来完成佛道修行？换言之，如何将每个要素落到实处？下面，分别就各项修学重点和存在问题作简要说明。
+
+{#皈-依}
+### 1. 皈　依
+
+佛法无边，入门处却是唯一，即皈依三宝。作为修学开端，我们怎样由此入手，不断深化，最终由自身完成三宝品质？
+
+首先，是考察动机。皈依动机是否正确？是否为解脱轮回、为成佛作祖而皈依三宝？若只为求人天福报、平安顺遂而皈依，虽也能得到诸佛护佑，但只能结下一些善缘，与修行、改造生命了不相干。事实上，这种信仰往往带有迷信、盲信的成分，不能算作正信佛子。
+
+其二，是获得皈依体。皈依时是否真诚？是否对皈依对象具足信心？是否对皈依抵达的目标充满向往？是否发自内心地宣誓：以三宝为身心依怙、以佛法解决生命问题并以此帮助大众？如果皈依时发心不正确，或皈依仪式不如法，皆不能得到皈依体。
+
+其三，是守护皈依体。得到皈依体，并非一劳永逸，还须日后悉心守护。尤其不能违背皈依时的誓言，那就是"皈依佛，终不皈依天魔外道；皈依法，终不皈依外道典籍；皈依僧，终不皈依外道邪众”。若有违越，便会破失皈依体。
+
+其四，是修习并强化皈依。任何心念或技能，皆须长期重复、熏习才能得到强化，皈依也不例外，决非一次仪式即可大功告成。所以，皈依后还须日日修习，时时忆念，以此强化三宝在心目中的地位。否则，其分量自然会慢慢减弱，乃至被其他取而代之。今年以来，我在各地大力推广皈依修习，并编写了以修习皈依为中心的，包括发心、忏悔、供养、观察修、安住修、发愿、回向等内容的共修仪轨，既可作为个人的日常功课，也可作为寺院带领信众共修的常规宗教生活。
+
+我们对三宝的信任有多少，皈依之心就会有多强，相应的，佛法对我们产生的作用就会有多大。所以说，修行能否成就，能否完成预期目标，首先取决于皈依的质量。
+
+{#发-心}
+### 2. 发　心
+
+无论是否学佛，也无论做些什么，都离不开发心，区别只在于发什么样的心。无始以来，我们所发的是凡夫心，是贪嗔痴，由此造就现今的凡夫品质。当我们认识到凡夫心给生命带来的过患，不愿再沉沦于这样的人生，就要以正确发心进行对治。
+
+正确发心有二，一是出离心，一是菩提心。发什么心修行，最后便会成就什么。此外，若发心过程中产生偏差或夹带杂质，也会失之毫厘而差之千里，这是需要特别注意的。发心代表着生命中的强烈意愿，但刚发时只是一念，须以观察修不断强化，方能使星星之火得以燎原。
+
+声闻行者希求解脱，视世间如牢狱，三界如火宅，片刻不想停留，是为出离心。事实上，出离心若能发得真切、猛利，解脱便已成功一半。为什么现代人修行如此艰难？关键就在于出离心不切。出离心，是对五欲六尘的出离，是对无明烦恼的出离，更是对生死惑业的出离。若出离意愿至强至坚，对世间便不再有所贪恋。如是，建立于执著之上的烦恼亦将随之松动、土崩瓦解。
+
+所以，我们要时常观察并思维轮回之苦，看清自己身处三界不得自在的困境。那样，就会像狱中急切盼望获得自由的人，一旦有机会离开，决不愿在牢笼中多停留一分钟。事实上，我们在轮回中的处境就是如此。一旦认识到这点，对财色名食睡也就无可贪恋了。因为贪恋的结果，只能是继续坐牢。
+
+作为菩萨道行者，同样要发起出离心。不仅如此，菩萨本着对众生的悲心，见其辗转轮回苦海，不忍独自出离，发愿帮助一切有情共同解脱。这种推己及人的悲悯之心为菩提心，是成就佛陀品质的根本。正如《普贤行愿品》所言："诸佛如来以大悲心而为体故，因于众生而起大悲，因于大悲生菩提心，因菩提心成等正觉。”
+
+菩提心的生起和强化，也要辅以相应的观察修和安住修，如阿底峡尊者的七因果、寂天菩萨的自他相换，省庵大师的《劝发菩提心文》，都是深化菩提心的殊胜教授。除这些心理引导外，还须受持、修习菩提心仪轨，每天昼夜三次念诵思维，不断提醒自己：我要成就的是什么，我的人生目标是什么。这不只是空洞地喊几声口号，那是没什么用的，关键要发自内心地希求，真切无伪地发愿。
+
+{#戒-律}
+### 3. 戒　律
+
+戒，为正顺解脱之本，亦为无上菩提之本，通过"此应作、此不应作”的行为规范，为修行提供良好的心灵环境，帮助我们顺利抵达解脱和成佛的目标。
+
+与解脱道和菩萨道修行相对应，戒律也有别解脱戒和菩萨戒之分。别解脱戒，包括在家的五戒、八戒，出家的沙弥戒、比丘戒等，为解脱道学人的行持标准。其重点在于止，通过远离五欲尘劳、约束行为来止息妄流相续，从而降伏烦恼，趣向解脱。
+
+菩萨戒，则在止持基础上增加了作持，止恶与行善并进。而菩萨戒提倡的六度万行，既是成就无上菩提的资粮，也是瓦解凡夫心的利器：布施可以克服悭贪，持戒可以对治放逸，忍辱可以战胜嗔心。同时，这些善行还是考察菩提心是否成就的标准。当我们修习布施时，是否对自身所有可以毫无保留地施舍？是否对施舍对象没有亲疏远近的分别？是否已不再执著有能布施的我，受布施的他？
+
+菩萨戒主要有梵网、瑜伽两大系统。相比之下，《瑜伽菩萨戒》的开遮更为善巧，故近代太虚大师也曾大力提倡。而《梵网菩萨戒》是大菩萨境界，凡夫行持起来难度较大。在汉传佛教界，菩萨戒被列入三坛大戒之一，故绝大多数出家人都曾受过，即使在家众，受过菩萨戒的也相当可观。这本是可喜现象，但令人担忧的是，尽管那么多人受了菩萨戒，却往往不知菩提心为何物，亦不曾有修习慈悲的习惯，只是形式上的、有名无实的"菩萨”。
+
+有鉴于此，我特别根据中观、瑜伽二大体系关于菩提心修习的传承，及《菩提道次第论》的菩提心教授编写了受持、修习菩提心的仪轨，并从戒幢佛学研究所的学员们开始传授。菩提心是菩萨戒的灵魂，所以，受持菩萨戒前，应从发菩提心、力行慈悲开始训练，具备相应基础后，再进一步受持菩萨戒。如此，方能切实贯彻菩萨道精神，成为荷担如来家业的真佛子。
+
+{#正-见}
+### 4. 正　见
+
+正见，为八正道之首，是一切法门的指南，也是漫长修行之路的灯塔。因为发心不可能一步到位，持戒不可能马上圆满，包括对皈依的深化，同样不是一蹴而就的。在此过程中，正见就起到举足轻重的作用，指导我们纠正心行偏差，剔除其中杂质。
+
+对解脱道修行来说，缘起、业果的正见极其重要。生命是习惯的积累，我们做什么、想什么，未来生命就是什么。所以说，在缘起的世界中，业就是一切。此外，无常见、无我见、空性见，都是修学必须具备的基本认知。菩萨道的修行同样离不开正见指引，如此，才能将世俗菩提心升华为胜义菩提心。凡夫有我、人、众生、寿者之相，就如有限的容器，将心局限其中。唯有空性见才能粉碎这一束缚，使有限回归无限，从而以平等、无我之心利益一切众生，圆满佛果资粮。
+
+那么，如何才能获得并巩固正见？离不开亲近善知识、闻思经教。根据多年教学经验，我认为这个学习过程应该一门深入。现代人往往学得很杂，天台、华严、中观、唯识均有涉猎。若非精力过人，上根利智，这种学习多半浅尝辄止，似乎什么都知道一些，但只是"知道分子”，连系统的知识都未形成，何况正见？我觉得，多数人在一生修学中，只需具足一宗正见即可，或是无常见、无我见，或是唯识见、空性见。将一种武器练习纯熟，得心应手，照样可以杀敌制胜、勇往直前。
+
+但建立于意识层面的闻思正见往往很粗糙，因为人的思维会有很多误区，如何使之趋于精确？一是通过师友间的相互辩论、彼此切磋，使认识中的盲点和问题暴露出来，从而去芜存精，提高纯度。一是通过禅修获得实证，因为佛法精髓无法以语言完全传递，那些不可言说的部分，唯亲证乃得究竟，所谓如人饮水，冷暖自知。
+
+{#止-观}
+### 5. 止　观
+
+止，为禅定异名，梵语奢摩他，又名三摩地，包括有所止和无所止。小乘禅观偏向有所止，即有止的对象。而禅宗及藏传佛教大圆满、大手印的修行，则属于无所止，通过特定方法直接契入空性并将心安住于此。梵语毗婆舍那，汉译为观。包含观照、观想、观察修几个层面。
+
+许多人误读禅宗，将止观的修习片面理解为无分别。我觉得，这是造成禅教对立的主要原因。如是，因为不重经教而缺乏闻思正见，又无善知识把手提携，造成多少禅和子的盲修瞎练。
+
+无分别的禅修，是无修之修，乃无分别智契入空性时的禅修，并非普通禅修者所能把握。因为我们现有的心行基础极不稳定，且建立于颠倒认识之上。若直接从无分别入手，如何调整错误观念及颠倒心行？所以，必须以有分别的观修为前提，使心从颠倒状态中摆脱出来，乃能进入无分别的禅修。
+
+同时，止的修习也必不可少。止，虽是佛教与外道的共法，却是修观的重要基础。汉传佛教中，观的理论非常丰富，为什么现在很少有人能实际操作？正是由于长期以来对止的忽略。若能具备止的基础，再以正观照破我法二执，契入空性就不是我们想象的那么遥不可及了。
+
+除禅宗所说的无分别、无造作的用心之外，有分别的观修也不可或缺，如观察修、观想修，都是很好的修行方式。好就好在，即使没有禅定基础的普通人也能修得起来。可以说，能够正常思维的人就能观察修；具备想象力的人就能观想修。当然，观察修和观想修虽对学人要求不高，但也必须具备相应的闻思正见。如是，才能通过如理思维或观想，安住于正念正知中。对于学习教理者，多运用观察修，通过思维所学法义来调整心行，是非常好的学修结合的方式。
+
+{#四结-说}
+## 四、结　说
+
+综上所述，皈依、发心、戒律、正见、止观不仅是佛法修学的核心要素，也是贯穿始终的修学次第。把握这五大要素，也就把握了由学佛至成佛的关键阶段。同时，它们又像长养万物的大地，是一切修学法门得以确立的共同基础。若能对之引起重视，并真正落实于心行，那么，不论我们学佛的起点是高是低，根机是利是钝，进步是快是慢，都是在一步一个脚印地向终点迈进。这不但对于个人修学意义重大，更是汉传佛教在当今社会健康发展的有力保障。
+
+# 汉传佛教的反思
+
+2004 年春节发表
+
+在中国文化史上，虽有先秦的诸子百家，但汉魏以来活跃于社会的主要是儒释道三家。其中，唯佛教属外来文化。但它在中国流传的两千多年中，和传统文化水乳交织，并以其丰厚的思想义理深深影响着国人，与源自本土的儒、道二教呈鼎立之势，成为中国文化的重要组成部分。正确认识佛教，不仅能帮助我们认识生命真相、解决烦恼痛苦，也能使我们对中国传统文化有全面、深入的了解。\
+　　佛教在西汉哀帝时传入中国，历经南北朝的弘传，至隋唐而达鼎盛。佛教在中国传播的初期，主要从事两方面工作：一是佛经翻译，一是义学研究。对佛经的翻译，使汉传佛教较为完整地继承了印度早期和中期的佛教思想；而对义学的研究，则使佛教在中国形成了不同的思想体系，即天台宗、三论宗、华严宗、禅宗、净土宗、唯识宗、律宗、密宗八大宗派。\
+　　宗派的形成，并非中国特有的新生事物。不论在早期印度，还是南传、藏传地区，都曾出现过不同的教派。之所以会有宗派之分，主要是因为佛教博大精深，任何人都难以完整掌握。祖师们为了佛法弘扬的需要，同时也为了便于人们修学，便根据某部经论或内容相似的的经论，建立起各自的修学体系，进而演变为不同宗派。\
+　　汉传佛教的各大宗派多创立于隋唐，但其历史却可追溯至南北朝甚至更早。如净土宗初祖为东晋慧远，而实际创立者乃唐代善导。天台宗初祖为北齐慧文，因读《大智度论》领悟"三智一心中得”，又从《中论》悟到"一心三观”。慧思继承此说，结合《法华经》要义，传至智者形成"一念三千”、"三谛圆融”的思想，正式创立了天台宗。由此可见，任何思想体系并非一蹴而就，而须经过几百年的积累、几代人的总结方能形成。其后，还有赖于修行成就者的代代传承来维系不堕。\
+　　中国的宗派佛教有着自身特色。首先，每个宗派皆有各自的依据典藉，如天台宗依《法华经》，华严宗依《华严经》。其次，各宗还有自身的思想传承，或渊源于印度，如唯识宗以弥勒菩萨为初祖，三论宗以龙树菩萨为初祖；或萌芽于本土，如前面所说的净土宗及天台宗。第三，各宗对世尊一代教法也有不同的评判标准，即判教，如天台的五时八教，华严的五教等。除此而外，因为各宗核心理论的不同，还形成了自身独有的修行法门。\
+　　中国宗派佛教的形成，不仅标志着国人对佛法思考和认识的成熟，同时也体现了汉传佛教本土化工作的完成。宗派佛教继承了印度大乘佛教思想，但这种继承并不是拷贝，而是根植于华夏文明的土壤中，溶入了本土文化的色彩。如天台、华严、禅宗的盛行，皆与中国传统文化及国人习性有关。可以这么说，宗派佛教是具有中国特色的佛教。\
+　　自唐宋以降，中国国势日衰，佛教弘传也随之走向衰落。其中，唯识宗因缺乏汉文化的基础，虽有玄奘三藏为之惮精竭虑，但仅传两、三代便已湮没无闻。而律宗、三论宗在中国也未能广泛弘扬，经武宗、世宗灭佛之劫，重要典藉散佚不见。幸而这些失传的典籍在邻国东瀛尚保存着，清末民初又回归故土。至于天台、华严，虽为国人尊崇，但在流传过程中，证法传承未能完整沿袭下来，终致有教无观。最后，唯禅宗、净土因解、行简单得以普及，可究其实，同样也存在不少问题。\
+　　法门的衰微令我感慨，同时也促使我不断反思：衰落之因究竟何在？在多年修学过程中，我逐渐发现，其中部分宗派确实先天存在不足，仅能作为一种思想体系或实修法门，尚不足以形成独立的修学体系。我认为，作为完整的修学体系，应该具备五大要素：即皈依、菩提心、戒律、闻思正见和止观实践，缺一不可。\
+　　皈依，是成为佛弟子的基本手续，也是对于佛陀言教信受奉行的必要前提。佛弟子能否认真实践佛陀教法，关键就在于，是否对三宝生起真切的皈依之心，是否真正认识到三宝对改善生命、实践人生最高价值的作用。即便有了这样的认识，皈依后还得不断修习皈依。因为生命是无尽的积累，在此过程中，凡夫心早已形成巨大的力量。我们唯有不断念死无常，观想三宝功德，才能减少凡夫心的作用，使三宝在我们内心逐渐生根发芽，最终成为人生的主导力量。遗憾的是，汉传各宗对皈依的修习多未特别提倡，使当前教界出现严重的信仰淡化现象。\
+　　大乘本是积极入世的佛教，可在中国却给民众留下消极出世的印象。为什么会这样？归根结底，正是因为忽略菩提心所致。以往，我们一直认为大乘经典便代表着大乘佛教，学习大乘经论自然便是大乘行者。却不知区别大小乘的关键在于发心，在于是否具足菩提心。因为菩提心才是成佛的不共因，才是大乘的不共教法。反观汉传佛教的各大宗派，普遍对菩提心不够重视。也正因为如此，在很多人的心目中，六度四摄等菩萨行门，似乎只是为大菩萨们所说，与个人修学并无关联。\
+　　戒律是佛法修行的基础，声闻乘的五分法身是戒、定、慧、解脱、解脱知见，而大乘也以戒为无上菩提本，这都说明戒律在修行中的重要性。中国祖师将戒律单独建构为一个宗派，其用意应该是加强人们对戒律的重视，从而更好地学戒、持戒。可是，当戒律以宗派的独立形式存在时，往往有人将戒律的作用无限夸大，以为持戒便是修行的一切。事实上，戒律并不能作为完整的修学体系，因为它只是修行的共同基础而不是一切。同时，学习戒律也不是律宗行者的专利，而是每个佛子的行为准则。\
+　　闻思正见也非常重要。八正道为佛法的修学要领，其中便以正见为首。《阿含经》的四预流支，为亲近善知识、听闻正法、如理作意、法随法行；大乘经论中，则提倡以闻、思、修入三摩地。可见，大小乘经教都很重视正见的获得。唯有在正见指导下，才能如法修行。而在汉传佛教中，流传最广的禅宗和净土宗都没有特别强调闻思正见的重要性。达摩西来，在传佛心印的同时，也提出以《楞伽》印心，但只是悟后印心而用。而禅宗提倡的"不立文字，教外别传，直指人心，见性成佛”，却成为不少人远离经教的依据。当然，在教理研究极为发达的隋唐时代，许多人在进入禅门之先已有深厚的教理基础，不特别强调正见似乎并无大碍。更何况，其时高僧辈出，学人即使在教理上弱些，但有大善知识的耳提面命，修行也不至于出现偏差。但到了教理衰落、宗门无人的时代，若仍不重视闻思正见，修行无异是盲修瞎练了。\
+　　教和观为佛教修行的两大要领。任何一个宗派，不仅要有经教作为理论建构，还须具备瑜伽止观的实践方法。各宗的修行法门，多是祖师在继承世尊教法的基础上，结合自身的修行经验，代代相传而来。如三论宗有鸠摩罗什、僧肇、僧朗、僧诠、法朗、吉藏，华严宗有杜顺、智俨、法藏、澄观、宗密，禅宗更是一花开五叶，法脉得绵延。这些宗派在早期都有非常殊胜的证法传承，至今却多已模糊不清。由于修证传承不力，使许多学人无法将闻思正见落实于止观实践，成为引发根本智、契入空性的方便。同时，因为对空性慧缺乏体验，对义理的修学也无法深入下去。\
+　　清末民初以来，佛教呈现复兴趋势。其时，有虚云老和尚弘扬禅宗，印光大师弘扬净土，谛闲法师、倓虚法师弘扬天台，兴慈法师弘扬华严，弘一律师弘扬律宗。这些大德在大江南北弘化一方，并对社会产生了一定影响。在他们弘扬传统宗派佛教的同时，太虚大师则积极致力于人生佛教的弘扬，一方面是为了革除佛教在流传过程中出现的陋习，一方面是提倡佛教应立足于现实人生，由人乘而抵达佛道，所谓"人成即佛成”。\
+　　人生佛教的提出，为流于神秘化、鬼神化、出世化的佛教赋予了崭新的形象。使佛教得以走入现实人生，对社会存在的各种问题给予全面关注，充分体现了佛教济世利人的慈悲情怀，对于佛教的普及无疑具有重大意义。但有些人却不能正确把握人生佛教的内涵，以为佛教只关心现实人生的幸福，忘却了佛教特有的三乘解脱及大乘不共教法。从而使佛教在当今社会的弘扬出现肤浅化、世俗化的倾向，这一现象值得我们加以关注。\
+　　在当代的佛教弘扬中，还出现了不同以往的动向，那便是学术化的佛教。在相当一段时期，佛教因被视作迷信而为世人所不屑。自赵朴老提出"佛教是文化”之说，才使佛教重新引起文化界的关注。近年来，许多高校也开始重视佛学研究，纷纷成立宗教研究所及佛学中心，更有不少学者投身于佛学研究的热潮。佛教界对此也表现得相当积极，一些青年僧人先后进入国内外高校攻读学位，各地寺院也纷纷举办学术会议、创办学术刊物。这种潮流，对于佛教在文化界的推广显然有着积极意义。可学术所能关注的，只是佛教作为文化的层面，而佛教所具有的深刻义理及内证，并不是仅靠学术研究便能触及的。作为住持佛法、荷担如来家务的僧伽，如果只关心学术层面的佛教，势必会失去僧伽本色。\
+　　鉴于佛教在流传过程中存在的种种弊端，我认为，未来的佛教发展应该注意以下几个方面：首先要重视皈依的修习，此为佛法根本所在，不重视皈依，也就失去了佛法的根本。其次是菩提心，大乘法门的修学必须以菩提心为前提，唯其如此，才能导入佛道，而不是停留于人天乘或只求自了。第三是受持戒律，戒律是一切修行的基础，同时也是修行取得成就的基本保障。第四是闻思正见，以正见为指引，修行才能拥有正确方向，而不是在上下求索中蹉跎一生。第五是止观实践，以此将佛法智慧落实于心行，成为改善生命的力量。缺少这一核心，所学的教理就会失去生命力。\
+　　或许有人会说，"即心即佛”或"自性弥陀，唯心净土”便可，何必如此复杂？的确，这两句话代表了很高的见地。可作为一种层次极高的见，并不适合所有人。事实上，它们的起点之高，只有极少数上根利智者才有能力承担。因为"即心即佛”并非一般人当下的境界，众生虽然具有佛性，但无始以来仍滞留于凡夫心的状态。而从凡夫心到佛心的圆满成就，必须有方便善巧的法门作为途径。不然的话，即使我们将"即心即佛”或"自性弥陀，唯心净土”高喊一万年，依然无法从凡夫心的状态中获得解脱。\
+　　那么，舍凡夫心、成就佛心的关键是什么呢？便是菩提心、菩萨行和正见。凡夫的愿和行皆从凡夫心出发，最终成就的自然是凡夫心。如果我们希望成就无上菩提，便要发起菩提心。而菩萨道的六度四摄，则是成就佛果悲智二德不可或缺的方便。尽管众生本具如来智慧德相，但这一宝藏要有相应的方便才能发掘出来。声闻乘的圣者虽然也证得法性，却未能成就无量功德，便是因为缺少菩提心及六度四摄的方便行。除了菩提心和菩萨行，还需要正见作为指导。我们现有的心行基础为凡夫心，它早已成为我们生命中的主人翁，不论我们做什么都难以超越它的作用。闻思正见能帮助我们认识凡夫心的本质，并在根本上克服它、瓦解它，从而使生命得到超越。\
+　　对于人生佛教的弘扬，菩提心、空性见也是必不可少的。单纯一种善行，很难判断它属于佛法修行中哪个层次。如布施法门，人天乘、解脱道、菩萨道都在提倡。依人天乘的增上心去修习，便是人天乘善法；依声闻乘的出离心修习，便是解脱行；依菩提心修行，便是菩萨行。菩萨行又包括有漏的凡夫行和无漏的圣贤行，地前菩萨尚未摆脱凡夫心的作用，所修布施仍为有漏善行。而菩萨在修习布施的过程中，不断以空性见消除凡夫心的作用，最终契入空性，成就胜义菩提心。由此可见，唯有在菩提心、空性见的指导下，人天善行才能上升为菩萨行。否则的话，人生佛教很可能会演变为人乘佛教。\
+　　我提出了修学大乘佛法的五大要素，虽然没什么新意，却是修学各宗派必须具备的根本条件。希望我们能以此重新审视汉传佛教，看看自己尊崇的宗派是否具备这些条件，或者本来具足，却久已被我们忽略。同时，更要检讨一下自己的修学：是否对三宝生起真切皈依之心？菩提心可曾发起？是否按戒律生活？是否具备闻思正见？能否落实于止观，成为契入空性的方便？是否遵循相应的修学道次第？如果具备了这些条件，相信大家的修行一定会有结果。若是缺少某个环节，就应该及时弥补。那么，如何进行弥补呢？自宗本有这些内容就从自宗补充。若自宗缺乏这些内容，就应该吸收他宗的长处，以此完善自宗的修学。
+
+在此，让我们共同祈求三宝加被，龙天护持，祈求教界同仁们一起发心，依此五大要素修学汉传的宗派佛教，并吸收藏传、南传佛教的长处。如果能做到这些，相信汉传佛教一定可以发扬光大。

translate-files/佛法修学次第的思考/target.dj

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+# Reflections on the Stages of Buddhist Practice
+
+------Delivered at the Symposium on the Stages of Practice in Chinese Buddhism, Singapore, 2005
+
+Master Jiqun
+
+Reflections on the Stages of Buddhist Practice
+
+I. The Core Elements of the Dharma
+
+1. Practicing the Path of Liberation
+
+2. Practicing the Bodhisattva Path
+
+II. The Stages of Practice in the Dharma
+
+III. Putting the Five Elements into Practice
+
+1. Taking Refuge
+
+2. Generating Aspiration
+
+3. Observing Precepts
+
+4. Establishing Right View
+
+5. Practicing Samatha-Vipassana
+
+IV. Conclusion
+
+The theme of this symposium is "the stages of practice in Chinese Buddhism," an issue the Buddhist community urgently needs to clarify today. After years of spreading the Dharma, I have come to feel deeply that many people have studied Buddhism for a long time yet remain utterly confused about the basic framework of practice. Why is this? Precisely because they have not grasped the essentials or understood the stages.
+
+Buddhism has countless schools and an enormous canon. Among the ten thousand and more volumes of the Tripitaka, what is essential, and what are the guiding principles? People either fail to understand or cling to one thing while discarding another; not one in a hundred truly grasps it all. No wonder blind, reckless practice is so common. There are also people who have gained realizations through practices such as Buddha-name recitation or Chan meditation, yet, lacking a systematic understanding of the Dharma, remain stuck at some level, unable to go deeper. It must be understood that a certain meditation experience, or a slight ease in reciting the Buddha's name, is still worlds away from buddhahood. How do we cut off afflictions? How do we realize emptiness? How do we perfect the qualities the Buddhas and bodhisattvas possess? These are all fortresses that must be taken one by one on the path of practice. So where should we begin?
+
+First, we should recognize which core elements a complete system of study and practice must contain. In other words, grasping these elements means grasping the essentials of the Dharma and the direction of practice. Otherwise, the constant talk of eighty-four thousand Dharma gates leaves beginners at a loss and daunted.
+
+Second, we need to understand what sequence of stages the study and practice of Buddhism actually follows. Otherwise, even if we learn some theories, we cannot use them effectively when we do not know their place in the whole process of practice or the progressive relations among the various links of practice.
+
+Beyond that, we should be clear about how each step is to be applied in practice. Without mastering the concrete methods, even with the first two conditions in place, we will inevitably end up with empty talk and dogma.
+
+I feel that the vagueness and absence of the core elements of the Dharma, the stages of practice, and the practical methods are precisely the key to why most practitioners today make little progress. Of course, exploring these questions is far from easy. The Dharma is vast: beyond the three great traditions of Theravada, Chinese, and Tibetan Buddhism, each tradition has numerous schools and branches, and each school has its own relatively independent structure of study and practice. To set up yet another practice method or yet another sequence would, at best, add one more to the eighty-four thousand Dharma gates---making eighty-four thousand and one gates and one extra sequence---which would hardly have much practical meaning.
+
+For this reason, the core elements and stages of practice we need to explore should not conflict with any school and should apply to the study and practice of every method. Just as a computer's operating system must be highly compatible in order to run all kinds of software and support all kinds of work, so---if different schools and practice methods are compared to software---the core elements, stages of practice, and practical methods of the Dharma are like the operating system of a computer. If the system itself has flaws, it will not only affect the running of software but bring down the entire system. Therefore, building a sound, practical system is the lifeline on which the healthy development of Buddhism depends, and an inescapable mission for us Buddhists of this generation.
+
+{#一佛法的核心要素}
+## I. The Core Elements of the Dharma
+
+All the major language traditions and schools of Buddhism have their own relatively independent structures of study and practice, but however much they vary, they still share common core elements. Only by grasping these cores can we better understand the practice of each school. So what are the core elements of the Dharma? I think they are precisely taking refuge, generating aspiration, observing precepts, establishing right view, and practicing samatha-vipassana.
+
+Let us consider: which method of practice can do without these five? Perhaps someone will ask: why these and not others? Why not four or six? There are two reasons. First, as core elements, they must encompass all of Buddhism. Second, as core elements, they must apply to all schools without being too many in number---otherwise they would no longer be core.
+
+Why can these five elements encompass all of Buddhism? The Dharma distinguishes the path of liberation from the bodhisattva path; every school and method belongs to one or the other. The goal of the path of liberation is to develop undefiled wisdom, realize emptiness, attain nirvana, and accomplish liberation. The goal of the bodhisattva path is to perfect the qualities of the Buddha's wisdom and compassion, thereby freeing ourselves from delusion and karma and attaining great freedom. These goals in turn lock in the necessary conditions for reaching them.
+
+{#解脱道的修行}
+### 1. Practicing the Path of Liberation
+
+For the practice of the path of liberation, first of all, we should have full confidence in its goal and methods---believing that liberation is of great significance to life and that practicing in accordance with the Dharma will surely bring liberation. Without such confidence, how can practice even be spoken of? Taking refuge is precisely arousing confidence in the goal of liberation (the Buddha), the methods of the path of liberation (the Dharma), and the teachers who guide us toward liberation (the Sangha), and, through a ceremony conducted in accordance with the Dharma, establishing a close relationship of trust and reliance with them and surrendering to them wholeheartedly. When we make the vow before the Buddhas and bodhisattvas---"For my entire life, I take refuge in the Buddha; for my entire life, I take refuge in the Dharma; for my entire life, I take refuge in the Sangha"---it means this relationship is established.
+
+But faith alone is not enough; we must go further and give rise to the wish to seek it---that is, arouse renunciation. The lives of ordinary beings either drift with the deluded stream or are swayed by circumstances---blind, unable to be their own masters. The arising of renunciation represents a conscious choice of life. It is not only the beginning of practice on the path of liberation but runs through the entire process of practice; only with liberation is renunciation brought to full completion.
+
+So what is it that binds us, keeping us from freedom and liberation? It is delusion and karma---the deluded karmic stream accumulated over countless lives. Observing the precepts is precisely the key to stopping this stream. Precepts have the meaning of preventing wrong and stopping evil---that is, ceasing unwholesome deeds such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and false speech. By regulating our own conduct, we subdue afflictions and stop the continuation of the deluded stream.
+
+But stopping is not the same as eradicating. In fact, the force of the deluded stream remains; the afflictions of greed, hatred, and ignorance remain, only temporarily dormant because they get no chance to act. Right view is the true weapon for cutting off delusion and karma. Right view is of two kinds: worldly right view and transcendent right view. Through hearing and contemplating the scriptures, we can gain worldly right view and the ability to distinguish the true from the false and the right from the wrong. Only when we know what is true and false, what is right and wrong, can we adopt and reject appropriately in the course of practice, cut off delusion, and realize truth.
+
+However, the right view gained through hearing and contemplation is intellectual and conceptual; set against the stream of delusion flowing since beginningless time, its force is still no match. This is why we must rely on samatha-vipassana to bring the right view of hearing and contemplation into mind and conduct, realize emptiness, and give rise to undefiled right view. Only then can we cut off the deluded stream, completely eradicate the root of delusion and karma, attain nirvana, and accomplish liberation.
+
+{#菩萨道的修行}
+### 2. Practicing the Bodhisattva Path
+
+The practice of the bodhisattva path likewise requires confidence in the fruit of buddhahood and the methods of the bodhisattva path---believing that accomplishing the Buddha's qualities has unsurpassable value for life, and also believing that practicing the bodhisattva path will surely help us accomplish these qualities. This is the conviction every bodhisattva practitioner must possess. Taking refuge is arousing confidence in the goal of the bodhisattva path (the Buddha), the methods of practicing it (the Dharma), and the teachers who can guide us toward supreme enlightenment (the Sangha), and, through a ceremony conducted in accordance with the Dharma, surrendering body and mind in sincere reliance.
+
+Admiring the Buddha's sublime qualities and believing in the greatness of the bodhisattva spirit, we yearn toward it and arouse an earnest bodhicitta. As the Yogacarabhumi Sastra defines it, this mind is the wish that one "will certainly attain unexcelled, complete, perfect enlightenment" and "will be able to accomplish every benefit of sentient beings." Bodhicitta contains the meanings of self-awakening and benefiting others---precisely the mental foundation on which the Buddha accomplishes the two great qualities of compassion and wisdom: self-awakening comes from wisdom, and benefiting others comes from compassion.
+
+In short, practice on the bodhisattva path comes down to two great tasks: abandoning the ordinary mind and accomplishing the Buddha's qualities. How should a bodhisattva who has just generated the aspiration set about this? This requires receiving the bodhisattva precepts and practicing the bodhisattva deeds. The content of the bodhisattva deeds is none other than the six perfections, which are divided into two parts: skillful means and wisdom. The first five perfections are skillful means, through which we accomplish the Buddha's quality of compassion; the sixth is wisdom, aroused by establishing right view through hearing and contemplating the Mahayana scriptures. The Lamrim (the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) says: "If one learns only one of the two---skillful means or wisdom---one cannot attain buddhahood." This shows that only by practicing both skillful means and wisdom can we perfectly accomplish the two qualities of compassion and wisdom with which the Buddha is endowed. If we neglect the cultivation of compassion, we will fall into the two lesser vehicles; and without accomplishing right view, we cannot abandon the ordinary mind.
+
+The cultivation of compassion and wisdom both depend on samatha-vipassana. Through contemplative practice such as Shantideva's "exchanging self and other" or the Venerable Atisha's "seven causes and effects," we can cultivate the quality of compassion; through contemplating the right view of Consciousness-only or Madhyamaka, we can accomplish undefiled wisdom. Practice on the bodhisattva path is precisely the continual nurturing of compassion and wisdom through samatha-vipassana, ultimately perfecting the Buddha's qualities.
+
+From this it is clear that, whether on the path of liberation or the bodhisattva path, the five elements are indispensable; the lack of any one of them will become an obstacle to practice and even affect the healthy development of Buddhism. Clarifying these cores, we can understand the basic content a complete system of study and practice should contain, and so examine whether our own practice is complete and how it should be supplemented and improved. At the same time, it helps us simplify the complex and go straight to the essentials, so that on the path of practice we are not dazzled by a riot of colors, unable to tell the primary from the secondary. It can also resolve the one-sidedness that often appears in practice---treating precepts as everything or samatha-vipassana as everything, clinging to one and losing sight of the Dharma.
+
+{#二佛法的修学次第}
+## II. The Stages of Practice in the Dharma
+
+Most of the major schools of Chinese Buddhism took shape during the Sui and Tang dynasties, when practitioners had sharper faculties and a firmer grounding in doctrine. For this reason, the founding masters did not focus on laying foundations but on expounding the perfect-and-sudden teachings, so that those of sharp faculties and keen wisdom could directly realize their own mind and attain buddhahood on the spot. Now we are in the degenerate age of the Dharma; the faculties of sentient beings are shallow, and for most people the perfect-and-sudden methods are like clouds on the horizon---within sight but beyond reach. Recognizing the common foundations of practice and building a sequence of practice accessible to all is thus the urgent task of the Buddhist community.
+
+Earlier we spoke of the core elements of the Dharma; in fact, discussing the stages of practice likewise cannot do without these. The content is the same, but the emphasis and meaning differ. In discussing the stages of practice, the key is to recognize the progressive, layer-upon-layer relations among taking refuge, generating aspiration, observing precepts, establishing right view, and practicing samatha-vipassana.
+
+To study Buddhism, one must first take refuge. Taking refuge is the root of the Dharma: without taking refuge, or without taking it seriously, practice is like a tree without roots. Taking refuge is also the root of faith: whether we come to depend on the Three Jewels, and whether we can accept, believe, and practice the teachings of the Tripitaka, both depend on the depth of our refuge. It is because we take refuge in the Three Jewels that we can generate aspiration, observe precepts, hear and contemplate the scriptures, establish right view, and cultivate samatha-vipassana. Otherwise, none of this could even be spoken of.
+
+Then we must generate aspiration. Aspiration is the wish for the qualities with which the Three Jewels are endowed. Without this wish to emulate what is worthy, one cannot be counted a true Buddhist. Because of this wish, life has a goal and practice has momentum. Therefore, after taking refuge, we must generate aspiration; only on this basis can we go on to cultivate precepts, right view, and samatha-vipassana. Aspiration is the root of practice: if we generate the wrong kind of aspiration, then whatever we do has nothing to do with practice.
+
+Precepts stand at the head of the three trainings and are the foundation of concentration and wisdom---from precepts arises concentration, and based on concentration, wisdom arises. Thus, after taking refuge and generating aspiration, we must also receive and observe the precepts; this is the standard course of Buddhist practice. According to the Buddha's regulations, a monk should "study the precepts for five years without leaving his teacher," and the Vinaya stipulates that one may not study the Abhidharma before learning the precepts. All this fully shows that observing the precepts is the necessary precondition for establishing right view and cultivating samatha-vipassana.
+
+Right view and samatha-vipassana are the keys to putting the Dharma into practice. Right view is the eye of samatha-vipassana, while samatha-vipassana is the technique for bringing right view into mind and conduct; the two complement each other. Without the guidance of right view, the practice of samatha-vipassana often cannot find its way in; and knowledge not verified by samatha-vipassana easily falls into the trap of empty theorizing. Viewed in terms of the stages of practice, we should first learn right view and then cultivate samatha-vipassana. The four practices---associating with virtuous teachers, hearing the true Dharma, applying appropriate reflection, and practicing in accordance with the Dharma---also illustrate this. Practicing on the basis of right view can also help us correct every deviation in our minds. Otherwise, taking refuge may lapse into superstition, aspiration may carry impurities, observing precepts may become a mere formality, and samatha-vipassana may end in fruitless toil.
+
+Although the five stages deepen in sequence, this does not mean that we only begin generating aspiration after completing refuge, nor that once we generate aspiration we need no longer practice taking refuge. In fact, all five stages can reach their ultimate completion only with liberation or buddhahood. Thus, this sequence represents only the emphasis of each stage of practice. Aspiration arises because of refuge, but aspiration is also a deepening of refuge; so in the course of generating aspiration we should continue to practice taking refuge, and the same holds for the others. In this way they interpenetrate. But the basic order must not be violated; otherwise practice will likewise run into problems.
+
+Some people start directly with samatha-vipassana meditation, thinking that studying the teachings is like counting the sands of the sea---a futile effort. But without the guidance of right view, what are they ultimately practicing? What are they ultimately realizing? What are they ultimately resolving? It is like entering a station without knowing where one wants to go and boarding at random a train bound for some equally unknown destination. After riding for years, even decades, they remain muddled, not knowing where they will end up.
+
+Some people start directly with studying the teachings, but having read many great sutras and treatises, they often come to disregard norms such as the rules of discipline and conduct. And without the protection and guardianship of the precepts, the knowledge gained through hearing and contemplation, built only at the level of consciousness, has no power to subdue afflictions and habitual tendencies.
+
+Some people start directly with observing precepts. This is certainly important, but without correct aspiration and a clear understanding of the meaning of the precepts, observing them becomes extremely difficult. Without renunciation, merely passively resisting the five desires and six sense objects carries a high degree of difficulty. For the ordinary mind is sticky---it adheres to whatever it touches---and only by combining inner and outer efforts can we strengthen our countermeasures. And without bodhicitta, observing the bodhisattva precepts is also beset with difficulties, because ordinary beings care about "me" and "all that is mine." Without a compassion that extends from oneself to others, how can one benefit sentient beings without hesitation?
+
+Likewise, without an unwavering mind of refuge in the Three Jewels, aspiration cannot be maintained for long. Where does the strength of renunciation and bodhicitta come from? Precisely from our longing for and faith in the Three Jewels. Because we long for liberation and believe we can accomplish liberation as the Buddha did, we arouse renunciation and cut off attachment to self and dharmas; because we long for buddhahood and believe we can perfect the fruit of buddhahood as the Buddha did, we arouse bodhicitta and accomplish the supreme path.
+
+Understanding the stages of practice can help us establish a step-by-step path of learning Buddhism, clarify the emphasis of each stage, and understand why they enhance one another. When practice reaches a certain stage, we can clearly know what tasks this stage requires, what it adds to earlier practice, and what foundation it should lay for later practice. At the same time, it helps us examine and correct the various problems that arise from practicing without regard for the stages.
+
+And the first three stages of the sequence---taking refuge, generating aspiration, and observing precepts---are the common foundation that no practice method can bypass. Views and samatha-vipassana are more school-specific: views differ among Consciousness-only, Tiantai, and Madhyamaka, and the ways of applying the mind in meditation also differ. If views and samatha-vipassana are compared to specialized fields, then taking refuge, generating aspiration, and observing precepts are the basic education one must receive before choosing a specialty. With a solid foundation, one is able to go deep into a specialized field.
+
+These words may sound like commonplaces that need no special emphasis, but the reality before us gives little cause for optimism. Looking at teaching in the Buddhist academies, monastic students study the doctrines of every school but cannot put them to use; some even see their faith weaken and their aspiration for the path decline. Lay practitioners have similar problems: though they have read many sutras and treatises, they do not take the foundations of practice seriously, thinking that taking refuge is too elementary, aspiration lacks depth, and precepts are outdated. And what is the result? They speak with glib fluency but accomplish nothing in practice. If those who study doctrine tend toward empty theorizing, what of those who emphasize actual practice? Whether reciting the Buddha's name or sitting in meditation, those who truly practice with results are equally rare. Most merely recite in a muddle and sit in a daze. Empty theorizing and blind practice seem at first glance to be two unrelated extremes, but the crux of the problem is the same: they have skipped what should not be skipped and omitted what should not be omitted.
+
+{#三五大要素的实践}
+## III. Putting the Five Elements into Practice
+
+So how do we follow these core elements to complete the practice of the Buddha path? In other words, how do we put each element into practice? Below, I will briefly explain the emphasis and existing problems of each.
+
+{#皈-依}
+### 1. Taking Refuge
+
+The Dharma is boundless, yet it has but one entrance: taking refuge in the Three Jewels. As the beginning of practice, how do we enter through this gate, deepen it continuously, and ultimately accomplish the qualities of the Three Jewels within ourselves?
+
+First, we examine our motivation. Is our motivation for taking refuge correct? Are we taking refuge in the Three Jewels to be liberated from samsara, to attain buddhahood and become a patriarch? If we take refuge merely to seek the blessings of human and celestial rebirth, peace and good fortune, we may receive the Buddhas' protection, but we only form some good affinities, which have nothing to do with practice or transforming our lives. In fact, this kind of faith often contains elements of superstition and blind faith and cannot be counted as the faith of a true Buddhist disciple.
+
+Second, we obtain the refuge commitment. At the time of taking refuge, are we sincere? Do we have full confidence in the object of refuge? Do we yearn for the goal that refuge leads to? Do we vow from the depths of our hearts to take the Three Jewels as the refuge of body and mind, to solve the problems of life with the Dharma, and to help others with it? If our aspiration at the time of taking refuge is incorrect, or the ceremony is not conducted in accordance with the Dharma, we cannot obtain the refuge commitment.
+
+Third, we safeguard the refuge commitment. Obtaining the refuge commitment is not a once-and-for-all matter; we must carefully guard it afterward. In particular, we must not violate the vows made at the time of taking refuge: "I take refuge in the Buddha and will never take refuge in devas, maras, or followers of other paths; I take refuge in the Dharma and will never take refuge in the scriptures of other paths; I take refuge in the Sangha and will never take refuge in the misguided assemblies of other paths." If we transgress these, the refuge commitment is broken.
+
+Fourth, we practice and strengthen the refuge. Any thought or skill must be repeated and habituated over a long period to be strengthened, and refuge is no exception; it is by no means accomplished in a single ceremony. Therefore, after taking refuge, we must practice it daily and recall it constantly, so as to strengthen the place of the Three Jewels in our minds. Otherwise, its weight will naturally dwindle, until it is replaced by other things. Since the beginning of this year, I have been vigorously promoting the practice of refuge in various places and have compiled a group-practice liturgy centered on the practice of refuge, covering aspiration, repentance, offerings, analytical meditation, placement meditation, vows, and dedication of merit---suitable both as an individual's daily practice and as the regular religious life of monasteries leading the faithful in group practice.
+
+The more we trust the Three Jewels, the stronger our mind of refuge, and correspondingly the greater the effect the Dharma has on us. Thus, whether practice can succeed and accomplish its intended goals depends first of all on the quality of our refuge.
+
+{#发-心}
+### 2. Generating Aspiration
+
+Whether we study Buddhism or not, whatever we do, we cannot do without aspiration; the only difference is what kind of aspiration we generate. Since beginningless time, what we have generated is the ordinary mind---greed, hatred, and ignorance---and this is what has produced our present ordinary character. When we recognize the harm the ordinary mind has brought to our lives and no longer wish to sink into such a life, we must counter it with correct aspiration.
+
+There are two kinds of correct aspiration: one is renunciation, the other bodhicitta. Whatever aspiration we practice with, that is what we will ultimately accomplish. Moreover, if deviations or impurities creep into the process of generating aspiration, a slight error at the start will lead a thousand miles astray---this calls for particular attention. Aspiration represents a strong wish in life, but when first generated it is only a single thought; it must be continually strengthened through analytical meditation before a spark can start a prairie fire.
+
+Practitioners of the sravaka vehicle seek liberation; they see the world as a prison and the three realms as a burning house, unwilling to stay a moment longer---this is renunciation. In fact, if renunciation is genuine and intense, liberation is already half accomplished. Why is practice so difficult for modern people? The key lies in renunciation not being earnest. Renunciation is renunciation of the five desires and six sense objects, renunciation of ignorance and afflictions, and above all renunciation of the delusion and karma of birth and death. If our wish to renounce is strong and firm, we will no longer cling to anything in the world. The afflictions built upon attachment will then loosen and crumble away.
+
+Therefore, we should often observe and contemplate the suffering of samsara and see clearly that we are trapped in the three realms, unable to be free. Then we will be like a prisoner eagerly longing for freedom: given the chance to leave, we would not want to stay one minute longer in the cage. In fact, this is exactly our situation in samsara. Once we realize this, there is nothing to cling to in wealth, lust, fame, food, or sleep, because clinging can only mean staying in prison.
+
+As practitioners of the bodhisattva path, we must also arouse renunciation. Not only that---out of compassion for sentient beings, bodhisattvas see them turning endlessly in the sea of suffering and cannot bear to leave alone; they vow to help all beings gain liberation together. This compassion that extends from oneself to others is bodhicitta, the root of accomplishing the Buddha's qualities. As the Chapter on Samantabhadra's Practices and Vows states: "The Buddhas and Tathagatas take great compassion as their very essence. Because of sentient beings, great compassion arises; because of great compassion, bodhicitta arises; because of bodhicitta, they attain perfect enlightenment."
+
+The arising and strengthening of bodhicitta must likewise be supported by analytical meditation and placement meditation. The Venerable Atisha's seven causes and effects, Shantideva's exchanging self and other, and Master Sheng'an's Exhortation to Arouse the Bodhi Mind are all sublime instructions for deepening bodhicitta. Apart from these psychological guides, we must also receive and practice a bodhicitta liturgy, reciting and contemplating it three times each day and night, constantly reminding ourselves: What am I to accomplish? What is my goal in life? This is not just shouting empty slogans---that is of no use. The key is to wish for it from the depths of the heart and to vow with genuine sincerity.
+
+{#戒-律}
+### 3. Observing Precepts
+
+Precepts are the root that accords with liberation and also the root of supreme enlightenment. Through the behavioral norms of "this should be done, this should not be done," they provide a wholesome mental environment for practice, helping us reach smoothly the goals of liberation and buddhahood.
+
+Corresponding to the practice of the path of liberation and the bodhisattva path, precepts are likewise divided into the precepts of individual liberation and the bodhisattva precepts. The precepts of individual liberation include the five precepts and eight precepts for laypeople, and the novice precepts and monks' precepts for monastics---the standards of conduct for practitioners on the path of liberation. Their emphasis is on restraint: by keeping away from the five desires and worldly toils and disciplining our behavior, we stop the continuation of the deluded stream, subdue afflictions, and move toward liberation.
+
+The bodhisattva precepts, on top of the precepts of restraint, add the precepts of performance, so that ceasing evil and doing good go forward together. The myriad practices of the six perfections advocated by the bodhisattva precepts are both the provisions for attaining supreme enlightenment and sharp weapons for dismantling the ordinary mind: giving overcomes stinginess and greed, observing precepts counteracts negligence, and patience conquers anger. At the same time, these virtuous deeds are the standard for examining whether bodhicitta has been accomplished. When we practice giving, can we give up everything we own without reserve? Do we make no distinction of closeness or distance toward those who receive? Have we ceased clinging to a self who gives and an other who receives?
+
+The bodhisattva precepts have two major systems: the Brahma Net and the Yogacara. By comparison, the allowances and prohibitions of the Yogacara Bodhisattva Precepts are more skillful, which is why Master Taixu of the modern era vigorously advocated them. The Brahma Net Bodhisattva Precepts, on the other hand, represent the level of great bodhisattvas and are quite difficult for ordinary beings to uphold. In the Chinese Buddhist community, the bodhisattva precepts are included as one of the three platforms of the triple-platform ordination, so the vast majority of monastics have received them; even among laypeople, a considerable number have received the bodhisattva precepts. This should be a gratifying phenomenon, yet what is worrying is that, although so many people have received the bodhisattva precepts, they often do not know what bodhicitta is and have never developed the habit of cultivating compassion---they are "bodhisattvas" in name only, a mere formality.
+
+In view of this, I have compiled a liturgy for receiving and practicing bodhicitta, drawing on the traditions of bodhicitta practice in the two great systems of Madhyamaka and Yogacara and the bodhicitta instructions of the Lamrim, and I have begun transmitting it to the students of the Jiechuang Institute of Buddhist Studies. Bodhicitta is the soul of the bodhisattva precepts; therefore, before receiving the bodhisattva precepts, one should train by arousing bodhicitta and earnestly practicing compassion, and only after laying the corresponding foundation receive the bodhisattva precepts. Only in this way can we truly carry out the spirit of the bodhisattva path and become true children of the Buddha who shoulder the Tathagata's great work.
+
+{#正-见}
+### 4. Establishing Right View
+
+Right view heads the Noble Eightfold Path; it is the compass of all practice methods and the lighthouse of the long path of cultivation. Because aspiration cannot be accomplished in one step, precepts cannot be perfected overnight, and even the deepening of refuge is not achieved at a stroke, right view plays a decisive role in this process, guiding us to correct deviations of mind and weed out its impurities.
+
+For practice on the path of liberation, the right views of dependent origination and karma and its results are extremely important. Life is the accumulation of habits: what we do and think determines what our future life will be. Thus, in the world of dependent origination, karma is everything. Moreover, the views of impermanence, no-self, and emptiness are basic cognitions that practice must possess. Practice on the bodhisattva path is likewise inseparable from the guidance of right view; only so can conventional bodhicitta be elevated into ultimate bodhicitta. Ordinary beings cling to the marks of self, person, sentient being, and life span---like a limited vessel that confines the mind within it. Only the view of emptiness can shatter this confinement, returning the finite to the infinite, so that we can benefit all sentient beings with an impartial, selfless mind and complete the provisions for the fruit of buddhahood.
+
+So how can we obtain and consolidate right view? It cannot be separated from associating with virtuous teachers and hearing and contemplating the scriptures. Based on many years of teaching experience, I believe this learning process should go deep into a single approach. Modern people tend to study in a scattered way, dabbling in Tiantai, Huayan, Madhyamaka, and Consciousness-only alike. Unless one has extraordinary energy and sharp faculties, such study mostly skims the surface: one seems to know a little of everything but is merely a "knowing intellectual," without even systematic knowledge, let alone right view. I think most people, in a lifetime of practice, need only the right view of a single school---whether the view of impermanence or no-self, or the Consciousness-only view or the view of emptiness. Practice one weapon until it is fully mastered and wielded with ease; you can still defeat the enemy and press forward bravely.
+
+But the right view of hearing and contemplation, established at the level of consciousness, is often very coarse, because human thinking has many pitfalls. How can it be made precise? One way is through debate and mutual refinement among teachers and peers, exposing the blind spots and problems in our understanding, discarding the dross, and keeping the essence to raise its purity. Another is through gaining experiential realization in meditation, because the essence of the Dharma cannot be fully conveyed in words; those ineffable parts can only be finally known through personal realization---as the saying goes, the person who drinks the water knows best whether it is hot or cold.
+
+{#止-观}
+### 5. Practicing Samatha-Vipassana
+
+Samatha, in Sanskrit, is another name for meditative concentration; it is also called samadhi. It includes samatha with an object and samatha without an object. The meditation of the Lesser Vehicle leans toward samatha with an object---that is, with an object of focus. The practice of the Chan school and of the Tibetan traditions of Dzogchen and Mahamudra, by contrast, belongs to samatha without an object: through specific methods, one directly realizes emptiness and settles the mind in it. Vipassana, rendered in Chinese as guan and meaning "insight," encompasses the levels of contemplation, visualization, and analytical meditation.
+
+Many people misread the Chan school and one-sidedly reduce the practice of samatha-vipassana to non-discrimination. I think this is the main cause of the opposition between Chan and the doctrinal schools. As a result, neglecting the scriptures, they lack the right view gained through hearing and contemplation, and without a virtuous teacher to guide them by the hand, how many Chan practitioners have fallen into blind practice!
+
+Non-discriminative meditation is the cultivation of non-cultivation---the meditation in which non-discriminative wisdom realizes emptiness. It is beyond the grasp of ordinary meditators, because our present basis of mind is extremely unstable and built upon inverted views. If we start directly with non-discrimination, how can we adjust our wrong views and inverted mental states? Therefore, we must take contemplation with discrimination as the precondition, freeing the mind from its inverted state, before we can enter non-discriminative meditation.
+
+At the same time, the practice of samatha is indispensable. Although samatha is a practice common to Buddhism and non-Buddhist paths, it is an important foundation for cultivating insight. In Chinese Buddhism, the theory of insight is extremely rich---so why can so few people actually put it into practice today? Precisely because samatha has been neglected for so long. If we can establish the foundation of samatha and then use right contemplation to break through attachment to self and dharmas, realizing emptiness is not as far out of reach as we imagine.
+
+Apart from the engagement of mind free from discrimination and fabrication spoken of in the Chan school, contemplation with discrimination is also indispensable: analytical meditation and visualization meditation are both excellent ways of practice. What is good about them is that even ordinary people without a foundation in meditative concentration can practice them. It can be said that anyone who can think normally can do analytical meditation, and anyone with imagination can do visualization meditation. Of course, although analytical and visualization meditation do not demand much of practitioners, they must still be based on the corresponding right view gained through hearing and contemplation. Only then, through appropriate reflection or visualization, can we abide in mindfulness and clear awareness. For those who study doctrine, making good use of analytical meditation---adjusting mind and conduct by reflecting on the meaning of the Dharma they have learned---is an excellent way to combine study with practice.
+
+{#四结-说}
+## IV. Conclusion
+
+In summary, taking refuge, generating aspiration, observing precepts, establishing right view, and practicing samatha-vipassana are not only the core elements of Buddhist study and practice but also the stages of practice that run through it from beginning to end. Grasping these five elements, we grasp the key stages from first taking up the study of Buddhism to the attainment of buddhahood. At the same time, they are like the great earth that nurtures all things---the common foundation on which all practice methods are established. If we take them seriously and truly put them into practice in mind and conduct, then whether our starting point is high or low, whether our faculties are sharp or dull, whether our progress is fast or slow, we are all advancing toward the destination step by step. This is not only of great significance for individual practice; it is also a strong guarantee of the healthy development of Chinese Buddhism in today's society.
+
+# Reflections on Chinese Buddhism
+
+Published during the Spring Festival of 2004
+
+In the history of Chinese culture, although there were the Hundred Schools of Thought in the pre-Qin era, the three traditions active in society since the Han and Wei dynasties have mainly been Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Among them, only Buddhism is a foreign culture. Yet in its two thousand and more years of circulation in China, it has become intimately blended with the traditional culture, deeply influencing the Chinese people with its rich thought and doctrine, standing as one of three pillars alongside the native Confucian and Daoist traditions and becoming an important part of Chinese culture. Correctly understanding Buddhism can not only help us recognize the truth of life and resolve afflictions and suffering, but also give us a comprehensive, in-depth understanding of traditional Chinese culture.\
+Buddhism entered China during the reign of Emperor Ai of the Western Han, spread through the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and reached its peak in the Sui and Tang. In the early period of its spread in China, Buddhism was mainly engaged in two kinds of work: the translation of sutras and doctrinal studies. The translation of sutras enabled Chinese Buddhism to inherit the Buddhist thought of early and middle-period India fairly completely, while doctrinal studies led Buddhism in China to form different systems of thought---namely the eight major schools of Tiantai, Three Treatise, Huayan, Chan, Pure Land, Consciousness-only, Vinaya, and Esoteric.\
+The formation of schools is not a new phenomenon unique to China. Different sects appeared in early India as well as in the Theravada and Tibetan regions. The reason schools arose is mainly that Buddhism is so vast and profound that no one can master it completely. In order to spread the Dharma and to make practice easier for people, the patriarchs built their own systems of study and practice on the basis of a particular sutra or treatise, or a group of similar ones, which then evolved into different schools.\
+The major schools of Chinese Buddhism were mostly founded in the Sui and Tang, but their histories can be traced back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties or even earlier. For example, the founding patriarch of the Pure Land school was Huiyuan of the Eastern Jin, while its actual founder was Shandao of the Tang. The founding patriarch of the Tiantai school was Huiwen of the Northern Qi, who, on reading the Mahaprajnaparamita Sastra, realized "the three wisdoms attained in a single mind," and from the Madhyamaka Sastra awakened to "three insights in one mind." Huisi inherited this teaching and, combined with the essentials of the Lotus Sutra, transmitted it to Zhiyi, who formed the ideas of "one thought containing the three thousand realms" and "the perfect interfusion of the three truths" and formally established the Tiantai school. From this it is clear that no system of thought is accomplished overnight; it must accumulate over several hundred years and be summed up by several generations before it takes shape. Afterward, it still depends on being passed down from generation to generation by those accomplished in practice, to keep it from falling.\
+Chinese sectarian Buddhism has its own characteristics. First, each school has its own foundational scriptures: the Tiantai school relies on the Lotus Sutra, and the Huayan school on the Avatamsaka Sutra. Second, each school has its own intellectual lineage, either originating in India---as the Consciousness-only school takes Maitreya Bodhisattva as its founding patriarch and the Three Treatise school takes Nagarjuna---or sprouting on native soil, like the Pure Land and Tiantai schools mentioned above. Third, each school has different criteria for evaluating the Buddha's entire teaching---that is, doctrinal classification, such as Tiantai's five periods and eight teachings and Huayan's five teachings. Beyond this, because of differences in each school's core theory, each also formed its own distinctive practice methods.\
+The formation of Chinese sectarian Buddhism not only marked the maturity of the Chinese people's thinking about and understanding of the Dharma, but also embodied the completion of the localization of Chinese Buddhism. Sectarian Buddhism inherited the thought of Indian Mahayana Buddhism, but this inheritance was not a copy; it took root in the soil of Chinese civilization and absorbed the color of native culture. The prevalence of Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan, for instance, was related to traditional Chinese culture and the temperament of the Chinese people. It can be said that sectarian Buddhism is Buddhism with Chinese characteristics.\
+From the Tang and Song onward, as China's national power declined, the spread of Buddhism also went into decline. Among the schools, the Consciousness-only school, lacking a foundation in Chinese culture, faded into oblivion after only two or three generations despite the exhausting efforts of the Tripitaka Master Xuanzang. The Vinaya and Three Treatise schools likewise failed to spread widely in China; after the Buddhist persecutions under Emperor Wuzong and Emperor Shizong, their important texts were scattered and lost. Fortunately, these lost texts were still preserved in neighboring Japan and returned to their homeland in the late Qing and early Republic. As for Tiantai and Huayan, although revered by the Chinese, their transmissions of realization were not carried down intact, and in the end there was doctrine without contemplation. In the final analysis, only Chan and Pure Land became widespread because their theory and practice were simple---yet, in reality, they too had no small number of problems.\
+The decline of these methods filled me with regret and also impelled me to keep reflecting: where does the cause of the decline truly lie? Over many years of study and practice, I gradually discovered that some of these schools do indeed have innate deficiencies: they can serve as a system of thought or a method of practical cultivation, but are not enough to form an independent system of study and practice. I believe that a complete system of study and practice should have five elements: taking refuge, bodhicitta, precepts, the right view gained through hearing and contemplation, and the practice of samatha-vipassana---none of them can be missing.\
+Taking refuge is the basic procedure for becoming a Buddhist disciple and the necessary precondition for accepting, believing, and practicing the Buddha's teachings. Whether Buddhist disciples can earnestly practice the Buddha's Dharma depends on whether they have generated a genuine mind of refuge in the Three Jewels and truly recognize the role of the Three Jewels in improving life and realizing life's highest value. Even with such recognition, after taking refuge one must continue to practice taking refuge, because life is an endless accumulation, and in the course of it the ordinary mind has long since formed tremendous force. Only by continually contemplating death and impermanence and visualizing the qualities of the Three Jewels can we reduce the workings of the ordinary mind, let the Three Jewels gradually take root and sprout within us, and eventually make them the dominant force of our lives. Unfortunately, the Chinese schools have mostly not especially promoted the practice of taking refuge, so that the Buddhist community today shows a serious weakening of faith.\
+The Mahayana is by nature a Buddhism of active engagement with the world, yet in China it has left people with the impression of passive renunciation. Why is this? In the final analysis, it is because bodhicitta has been neglected. In the past, we always assumed that Mahayana scriptures represented Mahayana Buddhism and that studying Mahayana sutras and treatises naturally made one a Mahayana practitioner. We failed to realize that the key distinguishing the Mahayana from the lesser vehicles lies in aspiration---in whether bodhicitta is present. For bodhicitta is the distinctive cause of buddhahood and the distinctive teaching of the Mahayana. Looking back at the major schools of Chinese Buddhism, they have generally not attached enough importance to bodhicitta. It is for this very reason that, in many people's minds, bodhisattva practices such as the six perfections and four means of embracing seem to be taught only for great bodhisattvas, with no connection to one's own practice.\
+Precepts are the foundation of Buddhist practice. The sravaka vehicle's fivefold dharmakaya consists of precepts, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation, and the Mahayana likewise regards precepts as the root of supreme enlightenment---all of which shows the importance of precepts in practice. When the Chinese patriarchs constructed the precepts into a school of their own, their intention must have been to strengthen people's respect for the precepts, so that they would study and observe them better. But when the precepts exist as an independent school, some people tend to inflate their role without limit, thinking that observing the precepts is all of practice. In fact, the precepts cannot serve as a complete system of study and practice, because they are only the common foundation of practice, not everything. At the same time, studying the precepts is not the exclusive preserve of Vinaya practitioners but the code of conduct for every Buddhist disciple.\
+The right view gained through hearing and contemplation is also very important. The Noble Eightfold Path is the essential practice of Buddhism, and right view heads it. The four factors of stream entry in the Agamas are associating with virtuous teachers, hearing the true Dharma, applying appropriate reflection, and practicing in accordance with the Dharma; in the Mahayana sutras and treatises, it is advocated to enter samadhi through hearing, contemplation, and practice. It is clear that both the greater and lesser vehicles' scriptures attach great importance to obtaining right view. Only under the guidance of right view can one practice in accordance with the Dharma. Yet in Chinese Buddhism, the most widely spread schools---Chan and Pure Land---have not particularly emphasized the importance of the right view gained through hearing and contemplation. When Bodhidharma came from the West, along with transmitting the Buddha's mind seal, he also proposed using the Lankavatara Sutra to seal the mind---but it was used only to verify the mind after enlightenment. And the Chan slogan---"not established on words and letters, a special transmission outside the scriptures, pointing directly to the mind, seeing one's nature and attaining buddhahood"---has become the basis on which many people distance themselves from the scriptures. Of course, in the Sui and Tang era, when doctrinal study was highly developed, many people already had a deep doctrinal foundation before entering the Chan gate, so not emphasizing right view seemed to do no great harm. Moreover, at that time eminent masters appeared in abundance: even if practitioners were weaker in doctrine, the earnest instruction of great virtuous teachers kept their practice from going astray. But in an age when doctrine has declined and the Chan school has lost its masters, if one still does not emphasize the right view gained through hearing and contemplation, practice is nothing short of blind cultivation.\
+Teaching and contemplation are the two great essentials of Buddhist practice. Any school must have not only scriptures as its theoretical construction but also the practical methods of yogic samatha-vipassana. The practice methods of each school were mostly passed down from generation to generation by the patriarchs, who inherited the Buddha's teachings and combined them with their own practice experience. The Three Treatise school had Kumarajiva, Sengzhao, Senglang, Sengquan, Falang, and Jizang; the Huayan school had Dushun, Zhiyan, Fazang, Chengguan, and Zongmi; and the Chan school, still more, saw one flower bloom into five petals, keeping the dharma lineage alive. These schools all had very sublime transmissions of realization in their early days, but today most of them have become blurred. Because the transmission of practice and realization has been weak, many practitioners cannot bring the right view gained through hearing and contemplation into the practice of samatha-vipassana, making it a means of arousing fundamental wisdom and realizing emptiness. At the same time, lacking experience of the wisdom of emptiness, they cannot go deep in their study of doctrine either.\
+Since the late Qing and early Republic, Buddhism has shown a trend of revival. At that time, the Venerable Xuyun promoted Chan, Master Yinguang promoted the Pure Land, Venerables Dixian and Tanxu promoted Tiantai, Venerable Xingci promoted Huayan, and Master Hongyi, a Vinaya master, promoted the Vinaya school. These great masters taught in their own regions across the country and had a certain influence on society. While they were promoting the traditional sectarian Buddhism, Master Taixu was energetically devoted to promoting Humanistic Buddhism---on the one hand, to reform the bad practices that had accumulated in the spread of Buddhism, and on the other, to advocate that Buddhism should stand on real human life and reach the Buddha path from the human vehicle, in the words of the saying, "when one perfects being human, one attains buddhahood."\
+The proposal of Humanistic Buddhism gave a new image to a Buddhism that had drifted into mystification, spirit worship, and otherworldliness. It enabled Buddhism to walk into real human life and give comprehensive attention to the various problems existing in society, fully embodying Buddhism's compassionate spirit of benefiting the world and helping others---undoubtedly of great significance for the popularization of Buddhism. But some people fail to grasp the true content of Humanistic Buddhism, thinking that Buddhism cares only about happiness in real human life and forgetting Buddhism's distinctive three-vehicle liberation and the distinctive teachings of the Mahayana. This has caused the spread of Buddhism in today's society to show a tendency toward superficiality and secularization, a phenomenon worthy of our attention.\
+In the contemporary spread of Buddhism, there has also appeared a trend different from the past: the academization of Buddhism. For a considerable period, Buddhism was dismissed by the world as superstition. It was only after Elder Zhao Puchu put forward the saying "Buddhism is culture" that Buddhism once again drew the attention of the cultural world. In recent years, many universities have also begun to value Buddhist studies, setting up institutes of religious studies and Buddhist studies centers one after another, and quite a few scholars have thrown themselves into the wave of Buddhist research. The Buddhist community has responded quite actively as well: some young monks have entered domestic and foreign universities to pursue degrees, and temples everywhere have been holding academic conferences and founding academic journals. This trend is clearly of positive significance for promoting Buddhism in the cultural world. But what scholarship can attend to is only the cultural dimension of Buddhism; the profound doctrines and inner realization of Buddhism cannot be touched merely through academic research. If the sangha, which upholds the Dharma and shoulders the Tathagata's work, cares only about the academic dimension of Buddhism, it is bound to lose the sangha's true character.\
+In view of the various ills that have appeared in the course of Buddhism's spread, I believe that the future development of Buddhism should pay attention to the following aspects. First, we should attach importance to the practice of taking refuge---this is where the root of the Dharma lies; without valuing refuge, the root of the Dharma is lost. Second is bodhicitta: the study and practice of Mahayana methods must take bodhicitta as its precondition; only in this way can one be led onto the Buddha path, rather than remaining in the human and celestial vehicle or seeking only one's own liberation. Third is observing the precepts: precepts are the foundation of all practice and the basic guarantee of accomplishment in practice. Fourth is the right view gained through hearing and contemplation: with right view as the guide, practice can have the correct direction, instead of frittering away one's whole life in groping about. Fifth is the practice of samatha-vipassana, by which the wisdom of the Dharma is put into practice in the mind and becomes a force for improving life. Lacking this core, the doctrines one has studied will lose their vitality.\
+Perhaps someone will say, "The mind itself is the Buddha" or "one's own nature is Amitabha; the mind alone is the Pure Land"---why must it be so complicated? Indeed, these two phrases represent a very high view. But as views of an extremely high level, they are not suitable for everyone. In fact, their starting point is so high that only a very few of sharp faculties and keen wisdom are capable of shouldering them. For "the mind itself is the Buddha" is not the present state of ordinary people: although sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature, they have remained in the state of the ordinary mind since beginningless time. And to go from the ordinary mind to the perfect accomplishment of the Buddha mind, there must be skillful methods as a path. Otherwise, even if we shout "the mind itself is the Buddha" or "one's own nature is Amitabha; the mind alone is the Pure Land" for ten thousand years, we still cannot be liberated from the state of the ordinary mind.\
+So what is the key to abandoning the ordinary mind and accomplishing the Buddha mind? It is bodhicitta, the bodhisattva practice, and right view. The vows and actions of ordinary beings both start from the ordinary mind, so what they finally accomplish is naturally the ordinary mind. If we wish to accomplish supreme enlightenment, we must arouse bodhicitta. And the six perfections and four means of embracing of the bodhisattva path are indispensable skillful means for accomplishing the two virtues of compassion and wisdom of the fruit of buddhahood. Although sentient beings originally possess the Tathagata's wisdom and virtuous marks, this treasure can only be unearthed with the appropriate skillful means. The noble ones of the sravaka vehicle, although they also realize the nature of reality, fail to accomplish immeasurable merits precisely because they lack bodhicitta and the skillful practices of the six perfections and four means of embracing. Besides bodhicitta and bodhisattva practice, right view is also needed as guidance. Our present basis of mind is the ordinary mind, which has long since become the master of our lives; whatever we do, it is difficult to transcend its workings. The right view gained through hearing and contemplation can help us recognize the nature of the ordinary mind and fundamentally overcome and dismantle it, so that life can transcend it.\
+For the promotion of Humanistic Buddhism, bodhicitta and the view of emptiness are likewise indispensable. A single virtuous deed is hard to classify as belonging to which level of Buddhist practice. Take the practice of giving: it is advocated by the human and celestial vehicle, the path of liberation, and the bodhisattva path alike. Practiced with the upward-striving mind of the human and celestial vehicle, it is a wholesome dharma of that vehicle; practiced with the renunciation of the sravaka vehicle, it is the practice of liberation; practiced with bodhicitta, it is the bodhisattva practice. The bodhisattva practice includes the defiled practice of ordinary beings and the undefiled practice of sages: bodhisattvas who have not yet reached the grounds have not escaped the workings of the ordinary mind, so the giving they practice is still defiled virtuous action. But in the course of practicing giving, a bodhisattva continually uses the view of emptiness to eliminate the workings of the ordinary mind, and ultimately realizes emptiness and accomplishes ultimate bodhicitta. From this it is clear that only under the guidance of bodhicitta and the view of emptiness can the virtuous actions of the human and celestial vehicles rise to the bodhisattva practice. Otherwise, Humanistic Buddhism is very likely to evolve into human-vehicle Buddhism.\
+I have put forward the five elements for studying and practicing Mahayana Buddhism. Although there is nothing new in them, they are the fundamental conditions that the study and practice of every school must possess. I hope we can use them to re-examine Chinese Buddhism, to see whether the schools we revere possess these conditions---or perhaps originally possessed them but have long since neglected them. At the same time, we should examine our own practice: have we generated a genuine mind of refuge in the Three Jewels? Has bodhicitta been aroused? Do we live according to the precepts? Do we possess the right view gained through hearing and contemplation? Can we put it into practice in samatha-vipassana, making it a means of realizing emptiness? Do we follow the corresponding stages of practice? If these conditions are all present, I believe everyone's practice will surely bear fruit. If some link is missing, it should be made up in time. Then how is it to be made up? If one's own school originally has these contents, supplement from one's own school; if one's own school lacks them, one should absorb the strengths of other schools to perfect one's own school's study and practice.
+
+Here, let us together pray for the blessings of the Three Jewels and the protection of the dragons and devas, and pray that our colleagues in the Buddhist community will join in generating aspiration, study and practice Chinese sectarian Buddhism in accordance with these five elements, and absorb the strengths of Tibetan and Theravada Buddhism. If these things can be done, I believe Chinese Buddhism will surely flourish and spread far.