〈讚佛偈〉
Zan4 Fo2 Ji4
(Praise of the Buddha)
天上天下無如佛
Tian1 shang4 tian1 xia4 wu2 ru2
Fo2
十方世界亦無比
Shi2 fang1 shi4 jie4 yi4 wu2 bi3
世間所有我盡見
Shi4 jian1 suo3 you3 wo3 jin4
jian4
一切無有如佛者
Yi2 qie4 wu2 you3 ru2 Fo2 zhe3
In the heavens above, in all that
is below, nothing compares with the Buddha
Through the worlds of the ten
directions, he is matchless
Of all I have seen in the world,
there is nothing at all that is like the Buddha
(translation by the Buddhist Text
Translation Society)
〈浴佛偈〉
Yu4 Fo2 Ji4 (during
the "dedication of merit")
我今禮頌諸如來
Wo3 jin1 li3 song4 zhu1 Ru2 Lai2*
淨智莊嚴功德海
Jing4 zhi4 zhuang1 yan2 gong1 de2
hai3
五濁眾生令離垢
Wu3 zhuo1 zhong4 sheng1 ling4 li2
gou4
同證如來淨法身
Tong2 deng1 Ru2 Lai2 jing4 fa3
shen1
Today, I come to pay
respect to all Buddhas
who embody purity,
wisdom, dignity, merit, and virtue
May all sentient
beings within the world of Five Defilements** be rid of all impurities
And realize the pure
dharma-body of the Buddhas
* Ru2 Lai2 is
"Tathgata", another epithet for the Buddha. In the translation, "Buddha" is
directly used, so as not to confuse non-Buddhists with too many terms.
** The Five Defilements:
- deterioration of
the world, of our views, the rising of emotional suffering, of human misery,
and a resultant short human life.
Commentary by the Master:
The verses remind us
that during the ceremony, we have to bring forth utmost sincerity, a mind pure
like the Buddha's. Most importantly, in doing so, we are celebrating
"purity, wisdom, dignity, merit, and virtue."
The Buddha brought wisdom
to our world. What he earnestly wished, and what we too should earnestly wish,
is that “all sentient beings within the world of Five Defilements may be rid of
all impurities, and realize the pure dharma-body of the Buddhas.” We are ordinary, unenlightened beings mired
in the defilements of this impure world. The Buddha came into our world and
brought teachings that can wash away our endless afflictions and
self-delusions, and help us develop wisdom and insight. So, it is our earnest
wish that "sentient beings of this defiled world may be rid of all
impurities."
Through the ceremony,
we are also cleansing our own selves, with the wish that one day we may also
become as pure as the Buddhas. The so-called "pure body of the
Buddhas" refers to the "Dharma-Body" or "Dharmakaya"
(the eternal indestructible true principles). All sentient beings possess this
Buddha-nature, which is no different from the Buddha’s. As soon as we wash away
all our defilements and afflictions, we will be just like the Buddha, realizing
the Dhamakaya, the Dharma-Body.
The true meaning of
the Buddha's Birthday ceremony is to wash away the filth within our own minds,
so that we may attain peace, purity, and clarity.
More on the Buddha's Birthday,
compiled from Master's speeches (from the English info packet on the 41st
anniversary):
Buddha's
Birthday:
The
second Sunday of May has also been designated as the official Buddha's Birthday
in Taiwan. The Buddha is the one who
guides us to awaken our spiritual wisdom-life.
He represents "the field of reverence" that we are to
cultivate. Born into this world, we are
ignorant of the direction of our lives, and we need a guide that can lead us so
we would not go astray. The Buddha is
this spiritual guide. We are as if
adrift in a vast sea, and the Buddha is the compass that lets us know our
direction and helps us to grow spiritually.
It is my
hope that people around the world can come to know that someone such as the
Buddha existed and what he has brought to the world. In commemorating the Buddha's Birthday, we
remember that over 2,500 years ago, Sakyamuni Buddha was born. It was because such a being came into this
world that the world's suffering beings are able to find the path to awakening,
so that we can now walk correctly in this direction.
The
Buddha has unsurpassed wisdom and compassion, and being so, his views are very
different from us ordinary beings. We
are usually caught in mundane ways of thinking which throw our minds into
confusion and chaos, and bring us suffering and misery. The Buddha, however, has awakened to the
ultimate Truth, and is able to see things as they truly are. He then devoted the rest of his life sharing
these truths with all, so that we the unenlightened can see through our
delusions and transcend our afflictions to come out of suffering and likewise
walk the same path as the Buddha to enlightenment.
So, it is because 2,500 years ago, such a being as the
Buddha was born into this world that we are able to arrive at the understanding
that we now have, where we are able to recognize our suffering and see it for
what it is, that we are able to learn the ways to transform our confused mind
into the awakened mind. So, we must be
grateful to the Buddha.
