佛法双语工作坊经典连载：佛说四十二章经第35章

法师讲解：35 垢净明存

Commentary: Wisdom remains when defilement is cleared

Immediately after attaining Buddhahood under the Bodhi tree, Buddha Sakyamuni said with surprise: “Strangely enough, even though every sentient being is born with the wisdom and virtue that the Buddhas possess, erroneous thoughts and attachment have made them unable to attain Buddhahood.”It follows that all sentient beings, including animals, in the six paths of samsara are born with an innate potential to become a Buddha; it is just that such Buddha nature has been hidden.

释迦牟尼佛在菩提树下证得佛果后，即惊觉说：“奇哉怪哉。一切眾生皆具如來智慧德相。只因妄想執著。不能證得。”意思是每一个六道里的众生，包括所有的动物本来就具备成佛的潜质，只是我们原来的佛性被埋没而已。

In addition, the Great Master Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch of the Zen School, recited this verse soon after becoming enlightened on hearing the discourses of the Diamond Sutra: “Our svabhāva （or self nature ）is inherently pure...”Master was amazed to discover that our inherent nature is undefiled without sins.  

另外，六祖惠能大师听闻《金刚经》开悟后说了一个偈子，当中说到：“何其自性本自清净……” 大师惊叹的发现原来我们的自性本来是清净无垢，不带罪业的。

From here we can see that we are born with Buddha nature; rather than being chosen we can attain Bodhi through our endeavours, coupled with blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. That is why in the Brahmajala Sutta Buddha Sakyamuni said to disciples: “You are the future Buddhas, and I am the present Buddha.” From the perspective of inherent nature, we are at par with other animals, celestial beings, Bodhisattvas and even Buddhas. Therefore Buddhism opposes meat eating not because animals lack a soul, but because we are all equal in terms of inherent nature. As long as we can set aside our erroneous thoughts and discriminations, we can also attain the unsurpassed Buddhahood.  

由此可见，我们本来就具备成佛的本质，我们可以通过自身努力而非被选拔，再加上佛菩萨的加被而得以成就。故释迦牟尼佛在《梵网经》中对弟子云：“汝是當成佛 我是已成佛”在本质上说，我们与其它动物、天神、乃至佛菩萨都是等无差别，所以佛教提倡不吃众生肉，不是因为它们没有灵魂，而是大家本质上都是平等的。只要我们把妄想分别放下，一样可以成就无上佛果。

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