文／蓮生活佛 盧勝彥
修持禪宗的人，往往認為參禪時，如見佛來，或祖師來，則以為是妖異，或視如夢幻，皆應該破之才是。所以有「佛來殺佛，魔來殺魔」之說。
禪宗認為密教的結壇、手印、誦咒，豈不是有相。而禪宗自視為「無相法門」，見持咒者，往往興謗，謂非修行。
然而，我則如此說，在無盡的法界之中，本來就有無盡的法門，無相法門只是無盡法門之一而已。阿彌陀佛的極樂世界是法門之一，彌勒樓閣更是未來的法門。在密教來說未有一佛不由神咒而得成道度眾生矣，這也是十玄門中的託事顯法門。
因此，在密教來說，在「定中」、「夢中」、「醒中」，見到本尊前來放光、摩頂、賜寶物、贈法藥……。若逢如上等事，是福慧增長之相，莫生疑惑之心，是吉祥如意的。我們只是教大家，勿執著見相，勿生取捨之念，應觀所逢境界，是鼓勵行者，避免因執著而入魔境。
密教行者看見本尊，或者會認為魔也會幻化本尊前來，這時應該怎麼辦？我教大家，當本尊出現時，行者不知是否真假，可唸『根本上師心咒』共三遍：「嗡。古魯。蓮生悉地。吽。」以察其真偽。
如果是魔化本尊，隨即隱沒。
如果是真的本尊，真則顯現更清楚。
還有一法，行者「空去自身我執」，魔化的本尊也一樣的隱沒。
The Authenticity of the Principal Deity
Written by Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by Cheng Yew Chung edited by Victor Hazen
True Buddha Translation Teams
Those who follow Zen Buddhism often have the notion that during meditation, should one see the Buddha or any patriarch approaching, one should regard it as the presence of an evil being or simply the appearance of illusion, which must be dismissed as falsehood. Thus, there is the saying “When you meet the Buddha, kill him. When you meet the devil, kill him.”
Zen Buddhism regards the Vajrayana approach to establishing mandalas, forming mudras and chanting mantras as attachment to form. Zen Buddhism views itself as the formless gate, and upon seeing a cultivator of mantra, the Zen practitioner often slanders the Vajrayana cultivator as it does not see mantra recitation as proper cultivation.
Yet, this is what I have to say. In the endless Dharma realms, there already exist infinite Dharma gates, and the formless gate is but one of the countless gates. The Dharma gate of Amitabha Buddha’s Land of Ultimate Bliss is one, and Maitreya’s tower shall be the Dharma gate of the future. In the view of Vajrayana Buddhism, every Buddha who attains Buddhahood and delivers sentient beings accomplishes this through the practice of mantra. This is the gate of revealing truth through respective manifestations of activities as described in the Ten Mysterious Gates.
Therefore, in the view of Vajrayana Buddhism, if one sees the principal deity appearing in one’s meditation, dream, or in the waking hours, and the principal deity radiates light towards oneself, touches one’s head, gives precious objects, or offers medicinal pills, these are seen as signs of enhancement of one’s blessing and wisdom. Thus, one should not have doubts, for these are auspicious signs. We are here to teach you not to be attached to what you see, and to refrain from developing thoughts of taking and rejecting, as we need to view these spiritual occurrences as means of encouragement. In this way, the practitioner avoids being drawn into the Mara realms due to attachment.
Should the Vajrayana practitioner see the principal deity and suspect that it is an illusory manifestation of the Mara demon, what should the practitioner do? Let me teach you how to resolve this. When the principal deity appears, and the practitioner is unsure of its authenticity, he or she may recite the Root Guru’s Mantra three times: OM GURU LIAN-SHENG SIDDHI HUM and verify its identity.
If it is a manifestation of the Mara demon, it will immediately vanish. If it is the authentic principal deity, it shall appear even clearer than before. Another way is to empty oneself of the attachment to the ego-self, and at this point, the Mara’s manifested deity should vanish just as well.
