When we learn Buddhism, we first have to get clear ideas. Once our ideas and ways of thinking are clear, our views will be right. When everything is unclear, we produce a lot of problems that are caused by our delusions. When we learn Buddhism, our practice needs to be guided by the right principle, and our views need to be guided by our practice. Practice means that which we want to realize. When we learn Buddhism, we first need to have clear ideas, because without clear ideas, we easily produce all kind of problems. Why then do we need to study the scriptures? It is in order to penetrate, to understand the principle so that there are no hindrances left whatsoever. Where is this principle to be found? It is to be found in our way of thinking, in books, in our life. If the principle is just in our thoughts, but does not translate into practice, our practice will easily go astray.

If our principle is “thought is thought, action is action,” this is fake, only written on paper. In our lives we have to integrate principle and action so that there is no hindrance whatsoever, that we are completely free in everything we do and encounter. This means that we don’t give rise to emotions, we don’t harbor delusions, we don’t cause karmic obstructions, and we don’t act in contradiction to the principle. If we understand this, if we can completely integrate principle and action, this is called practice. If by practicing we are able to reach our goal and attain a result, this means that our practice is the right one. If not, it means that our practice is wrong.

Every day we talk so much and are engaged in so many things – how is it then that Shifu doesn’t talk about those things at all, but only speaks about practice? Is that not strange? This is because of a itching point here: you are beleaguered by too many troubles. You try to grasp with all your might those things that you need not grasp for at all, and you don’t grasp those that you should. And so you are not even able to scratch what really itches you. I start from the place from which you can set out, from the place which does not itch at all, namely the Buddhist Dharma, the place of practice. It is good to walk there, on this place without any fixed notions or ideas. Let us go there often, and value our practice. Which practice? It is our practice of wisdom and compassion in the midst of our daily life. Without wisdom we easily give rise to troubles, and without compassion we have no merit. Wisdom and compassion are the place where we realize the power of our vow, the vow to enter the Bodhisattva path life after life, world after world, to learn Buddhism and become a Buddha.

We are now walking on the path to become a Buddha, an Awakened One. To do so we need awareness and realization. Awareness means power of observation. Realization means understanding. When we use our power of observation, we need to understand the true form of reality – that everything comes into existence through causes and conditions. We need to understand the principle of karmic retribution, and we need to know how to create good causes and conditions so that we no longer create those troubles that cause us to turn in the wheel of samsara, the wheel of life and death.

Dharma Master Hsin Tao
(Translated by Maria Reis Habito)

重法 重師 重實踐

我們學佛，就是重法、重師、重實踐；你不重法、不重師、不重實踐，如何過清淨的日子？過得就都是業障的日子了。

學佛，首先要先把理念搞通，理念搞通了，見地才會正確，慢慢走入真的見地；如果搞不通，當然是無明煩惱一大堆。我們學佛要以理導行，以行導見，行就是我們要去見證的東西，所以學佛首重弄清楚理念，理念走不通，容易徒生煩惱。所以為什麼我們要多看經？為了弄通、弄懂道理，讓理無障礙。理在那裡？在想法、在書本、在生活，道理如果只存在於想法裡面，沒有付出實踐，就容易行不通。

所以如果我們只是「想歸想，做歸做」，那就是假的，只是紙上道理。生活上，要做到理事無礙，在每一個事上都能沒有障礙，事事無礙，在事上不起惑、不起無明、不起煩惱障礙，讓道理與事沒有衝突。所以我們若懂得這個道理，將道理與實做合一，能實踐，這就叫做修行。修行能達到目標、得到成果，表示我們的修行正確；反之，表示我們修錯了。

我們談那麼多，整天做那麼多事情，為什麼一天到晚就不談事情，師父每一次都談修行，這不是很奇怪嗎？這是因為你們的癢處、煩惱太多，偏偏不該抓的地方你拼命抓，該抓的地方都不抓，搔不到癢處。所以我從大家可以下手的地方著手，就是沒有癢處的地方，也就是佛法、修行的地方，好走、沒意見的地方，所以我們要常行，也就是重實踐，實踐什麼？實踐我們生活當中的智慧跟慈悲。沒有智慧就會易生煩惱，沒有慈悲就處處沒福報，這是實踐我們願力的緣處，願力就是生生世世入菩提處，學佛成佛。

我們現在正走上一條成佛的路，需要覺與悟，覺是察覺，悟是明白。我們察覺的時候，需要明白實相、明白因緣無常、明白因果變化，要明白果報的原因為何，知道如何起善念、起善因，而不是重覆去製造輪迴的煩惱。

─── 心道法師