堪布 竹清嘉措仁波切仁波切生平故事（二）

資料來源：http://ktgr.dscloud.me/moodle/course/index.php?categoryid=29
This unedited transcript kindly provided by Aaron Chrietzberg
尚未編輯的英文逐字稿提供自Aaron Chrietzberg

Namthar Seattle 1997

Translator: Ari Goldfield

西雅圖 1997

翻譯: Ari Goldfield

So Rinpoche made a promise, or resolve, to recite a million Manis. It took him about five years, and about the time he was thirteen he finished. He had one mala. Every day he said just a few a day, but he made it all the way to a million. 

因此仁波切做了個決定，要持嘛呢咒一百萬遍。那花了他大約五年時間，結束時他十三歲。他有個念珠，每天他都只唸一些些，但是他就這樣持續地唸了一百萬遍。

One day Rinpoche got really sick, he had some kind of sickness in his throat.It was evidently pretty bad because he thought he was going to die. And so he got very scared and he thought, “The only thing that can help me when I die is to recite the mani, but I haven’t finished!” So he was reciting manis, and he was very scared. So that’s why Rinpoche says if you are sick, or at the time of death, you think of the dharma, then it’s very helpful. So Rinpoche says that he thinks that if you are dying, and you are about to die, then it’s good to recite the mani because the mani will be your friend in the Bardo, and when you have to be born in the next life.

有天仁波切感覺生病了，喉嚨感覺很不舒服，顯然病得很嚴重，因為當時仁波切覺得他就要死了。所以他很害怕，而且想「在我死時唯一能幫助我的就是唸誦嘛呢咒，但是我還沒唸完呢！」所以他持續持咒，而且非常害怕。仁波切說，當你生病或將死之時，憶持佛法會有幫助。他認為當人在死亡，或將死之時，持誦嘛呢咒是很好的，因為嘛呢咒會是你在中陰身，要投生到來世時的好朋友。

So also in Rinpoche‘s home country they say that there are many demons and zombies roaming around at nighttime. They can really hurt you if they catch you. So what protects you from them is Arya Tara. So then Rinpoche began to recite the mantra of Arya Tara a lot. So in Tibet, unlike in America and Europe, we don’t tell little kids that there are lots of demons, and ghouls, and zombies, running around outside and that they’ll catch you if you are not careful. But in Tibet they tell the little kids that. So the little kids have a very powerful fear of demons that continues all the way until they are grown up; they believe in these things.

在仁波切的家鄉，人們說有許多魔鬼和僵屍會在夜裏徘徊，如果被他們捉住，是真的會傷人的，而真正保護人免於鬼魔傷害的就是聖度母。所以仁波切開始持誦許多度母咒。在美國或歐洲的人們，不說外頭有魔鬼、食屍鬼、僵屍的故事給小小孩聽，告訴小小孩如果你不小心就會被鬼魔捉到，但在西藏，人們會告訴小小孩這些。所以小小孩有對鬼魔強大的恐懼，直到他們長大，他們都持續相信這些。

And so Rinpoche says the positive result of that is that they develop great faith in the deities, like Tara, who will be the protectors from that. So Rinpoche makes up a verse about this: “based on having fear of the demons, you have faith in the deities, and then you defeat all the demons, and so that’s why this is a very good connection!” So when Rinpoche had a nightmare at one time, he had a dream of a very beautiful woman coming to help him and save him. It didn’t look like exactly what Tara looks like; but it was a beautiful woman.

所以仁波切說，這樣正面的結果，發展了人們對於保護他們遠離恐懼的本尊，如度母，強大的信心。關於這個，仁波切造了個偈頌，「源於鬼魔之恐懼，昇起本尊之信心，擊退諸眾魔鬼故，善妙緣起因此生！」仁波切有次做了惡夢，甚至夢到一位非常美麗的女性來幫助他和保護他，雖然她看來不是那麼像度母，但真的是一位很美麗的女性。

Rinpoche says this shows the power of faith – even if you don’t know the reason, and it’s just kind of a faith in things. Then that can be of great benefit. (18:00) So Rinpoche didn’t know anything about Tara at this time, he didn’t know why she had the power to protect people from fear, but he believed that she did. And so this helped him a lot. This shows the power of even ignorant faith. Even faith where you don’t know the reason, it can be very powerful and very helpful. Tara is renowned as the protectress from all different kinds of dangers and fears. Like the fear of being burned in a fire, or the fear of being chased and killed by an elephant, or eaten by a tiger, if you have faith in Tara she’ll protect you from all these. So this faith without knowing the reason, but that’s ok, because if you believe in her then she’ll protect you, so this kind of faith is something that is very powerful.

仁波切說，那顯示了信心的力量--你不知道原因，對某些事情就是有信心。仁波切說當時他並不了解關於度母的任何事，他不知道為何度母有力量保護人們遠離恐懼，但他就是相信度母，這樣的信心很有幫助。這顯示甚至盲信都很有力量。雖然你不了解信心從何而來，仍會帶來力量，非常有幫助。度母做為護眾免於危險與恐懼是很有名的，例如護眾免於火燒的恐懼，或被大象追逐殺害的恐懼，或被老虎掠食的恐懼……假如你對度母有信心，度母會保護你遠離這些恐懼。所以沒有來由的相信，也很好，因為僅僅相信度母能保護你，這樣的信心，就很有力量。

So one time Rinpoche was on Pilgrimage, he was about seventeen years old, and he was around the monastery Samye in Tibet. In between Samye and Tsetang there is a big river. And Rinpoche fell in the river and he didn’t know how to swim. He just started to paddleand praying to Tara to please help him. He wasn’t reciting the mantra, but because he was praying like this - he didn’t swallow any water. And so he didn’t drown. He didn’t know how to swim, but he didn’t swallow any water because he was constantly saying this mantra and he just paddled and he made it to the other side of the river. That made him really, really believe in Tara. So then even if you fall in a river if you are about to drown, if you have faith in Tara, then this experience is something that is a friend of your practice because it develops your faith in the deities.

大約十七歲時，仁波切去西藏桑耶寺附近朝聖，在桑耶和澤當之間有條大河，仁波切落入河中，而當時他不知道怎麼游泳。他只是開始划水並祈請度母來幫助他。他沒有持咒，但是因為他的祈請，竟然也沒有嚥下任何水，也沒有溺水。他不知道如何游泳，但是他並沒有嚥下任何水，因為他持續的說咒語(?)，他只是划水，竟然就到了對岸。這讓他真的，真的相信度母。所以假如你對度母有信心，甚至你掉入水中、溺水了，這經驗仍會成為你修行的友伴，因為它會幫助你對本尊昇起信心。