科学而伟大的东方传统文化（3）人人皆可自主生命
主讲：清凉月老师
编辑：思维本体学资料编译组
The Scientific and Great Eastern Traditional Culture (3):Everyone Can Take Charge of Their Own Life
Lecturer:Master Qingliangyue
Editor: Compilation Team of Siweibentiology
生命 生死也是我们必须面对的问题，对你来说，可能觉得这个东西有什么可研究，人人都要死的，生命无法永恒，这没必要讨论吧？如果你觉得真的没必要谈，那么我们去谈一些大家都知道的，国家所认可的，历史所公认的东西。
Life and death are also issues we must face. For you, youmight wonder, What is there to study about this? Everyone will die, and life cannot be eternal—isn’t it unnecessary to discuss this? If you really think it’s unnecessary, let’s talkabout something universally known, nationally recognized, and historically acknowledged.
举例来说，在我们的历史记载中，在佛教历史上曾经有一位大师，他不像一般人身体很差了才去找墓地，他在身体很好的时候，就让徒弟给自己建一个墓，还不停地问徒弟：墓盖好了没有，徒弟说：“还没盖好，”“没好就抓紧盖。”盖好之后举行个典礼，那天告诉徒弟们，我要走了。然而徒弟们依依不舍，他问徒弟们：“你们见过坐着往生的，见过站着往生的没有？”徒弟们说：“没见过站着往生的。”于是他就说：“那我就给你们表演一个，我今天站着往生。”于是他站在桃花下，手握桃花，就这样潇洒的走了，就这样轻轻松松的走，解决了生死，生命就是这样的洒脱。
For example, in our historical records, there was a masterin Buddhist history who, unlike ordinary people who only look for a graveyard when their health deteriorates, asked his disciples to build a tomb for him while he was still in good health.
He kept asking his disciples, “Is the tomb ready?” The disciples said, “Not yet.” He replied, “Hurry up and finish it if it’s not ready.”
After the tomb was completed, he held a ceremony and told hisdisciples that day, “I’m going to leave.” However,the disciples were reluctant to part with him. He asked them, “Have you seen anyone pass away sitting? Have you seen anyone pass away standing?” The disciples said, “We haven’t seen anyone pass awaystanding.” So he said, “Then I’ll perform it for you. Today, I’ll pass away standing.”
Then he stood under a peach blossom tree, held a peach blossom in his hand, and left gracefully and easily, resolving the issue of life and death. This is how free and unrestrained life can be.
我们再举一个例子，在四川青城山，大家上网搜一下，中央电视台有纪录片的。青城山是道家的一个实证的基地，这个地方有一个大的往生殿，那里摆放着很多很多年前人的身体。这些人他们经过实证，实证之后生死问题解决了，于是，他们觉得某一天很好，几个人约定那一天走，并且告知其他同修，我们那一天走。到那一天，沐浴更衣，跟大家再见，几个人如约坐到那个殿里，就自主生死，就解决了生死。你可以去参观一下，中央电视台曾经专门拍过纪录片的。身体放在那里排成一排，从古代到现代。
Let’s take another example:Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan. You can search online—there are documentaries by CCTV. Qingcheng Mountain is apractical cultivation base of Taoism.
There is a large “Departure Hall” there,where the bodies of many people from ancient times are placed. After achieving practical spiritual realization, these people resolved the issue of life and death. They chose a good day, agreed among themselves to leave on that day, and informed other fellow practitioners.
On that day, they bathed, changed their clothes, said goodbye to everyone, and sat in the hall as agreed, taking charge of their life and death. You can visit there—CCTV has specially produced documentaries about it. The bodies are arranged in rows there, from ancient times to the present.
大家还可以到广东韶关南华寺，看看武则天的师父六祖大师，他走之前跟徒弟们说：我要走了，你们还有什么问题要问吗？徒弟们说没问题了。没问题他就走了。徒弟们哭成一片，怎么还是哭呢？过了一星期，他又坐起来了，坐起说：我再给你们讲一讲吧，你们有问题就问，我再走的时候，你们不能再哭了，你们知道我到哪里了，不要再哭了，你们再哭我就不认你们是徒弟了。于是又和他们学习交流了几天，之后就再次走了，徒弟们就不再哭了。
You can also go to Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan, Guangdong, tosee the Sixth Patriarch, Master Huineng, who was the master of Empress Wu Zetian. Before he left (passed away), he said to his disciples, “I’m going to leave. Do you haveany questions to ask?”
The disciples said there were no more questions. So he left.
The disciples wept bitterly. Why were they still crying? A week later, he sat up again and said, “Let me teach you again. If you have questions, ask them. When I leave again, you must not cry. You know where I’m going, so don’t cryanymore. If you cry again, I won’trecognize you as my disciples.”
Then he studied and communicated with them for a few more days before leaving again,and this time, the disciples did not cry.
他的那个身体现在还保存得很好，肉身。你觉得我们现在有各种防腐技术，但需要损伤人体，要经过一些处理的。人家不经过任何处理，从唐朝放到现在，而且还是在那种温度下，广东这个地方是高温高湿的，就在这样的环境里，人家的肉身到现在还是好好的。你可以去参观一下。
His body is still well-preserved as a mummy.
You might thinkwe have various embalming techniques now, but they require damaging the body and going through some processes.
However, his body has been preserved since the Tang Dynasty without any treatment, even in the high-temperature and high-humidity environment of Guangdong. His mummy remains intact to this day. You can go and visit.
你可能认为这些都太久远了，太久远的认识和掌握不了，我们就举一个比较近的例子。
在藏传佛教里有个大宝法王，他在尼泊尔讲课的时候去世了。他那个宗派有个特点，他下一世到哪地方，需要他自己认定的，必须是自己写的，自己写父亲叫什么 母亲叫什么，出在哪个地方，必须自己写才可以，要不然都不承认的。
他去世后，徒弟们就开始找他的遗嘱，翻箱倒柜，怎么找都找不到。
几年之后，他那个最贴身的徒弟，突然想起，之前师父曾经给了他一个锦囊，并且告诉他：这个东西很重要，你随身带着。这个徒弟不知道这个“很重要”究竟该怎么理解，因为作为护身符也是很重要，他可能当做这些了，就随身带着。
这一下突然想起来，他马上拆开锦囊，锦囊里面就是他师父留下的遗嘱。上面画着一幅地图，就是他下一世出生的地方，旁边有河流，有几座西藏人住的帐篷，还有山坡等等，还写着父亲和母亲的名字。他马上把这个遗嘱交给国家宗教局，这是我们建国之后，国家宗教局第一次认可的，然后，领着当地的高僧们一起找到那个地方。真的与图上描绘的完全一样，父亲和母亲的名字与遗嘱完全一样 ，清清楚楚，明明白白，精确到这种程度。
You might think these examples are too distant and difficultto understand or grasp, so let’s take acloser example.
There was a Great Treasure Dharma King in Tibetan Buddhism who passed away while giving a lecture in Nepal. His sect has a feature: the place where he will be reborn in the next life needs to be identified by himself. He must write it down himself—recordinghis father’s name, mother’s name, and birthplace. It must be written by him, or it won’t be acknowledged.
After his death, his disciples began searching for his will, rummaging through everything, but couldn’t find it anywhere.
Years later, his closest disciple suddenlyremembered that the master had once given him a brocade bag and told him, “This thing is very important—carry it with you.”
The disciple didn’t know exactly what “very important” meant. As a talisman is also important,he might have regarded it as such and carried it with him.
Suddenly remembering this, he immediately opened the brocade bag, and inside was his master’s will. It showed a map of the place where he would be born in the next life, with a river, several Tibetan tents, hills, etc., and the names of his father and mother. He immediately submitted this will to the State Administration for Religious Affairs.
This was the first recognition by the State Administration for Religious Affairs after the founding of our country. Then, he led local eminent monks to find that place. It was exactly the same as depicted in the map, and the names of the father and mother were exactly the same as in the will—clear and precise to such a degree.
你觉得生命这个东西，真的是我们通常所认为的那样吗？我们现在的认知毕竟是有限的，我们总是用已知去推断未知，我们的已知已经严重限制了我们对事物的认识，所以我们需要对我们的已知进行一个重新的审视，你才能够真正的直面东方传统文化，认识东方传统文化，你才会知道它里面有很多非常先进的东西。这些先进的东西，能够远远颠覆你的认知，它将使我们，能够重新认识生命和生死问题。在重新认识基础上，我们再去做进一步的决定。这是我们学习东方传统文化的对我们健康、生命这些最紧要的问题的一个重要的意义。
Do you think life is really as we usually believe? After all, our current knowledge is limited.
We always use the known to infer the unknown, and our existing knowledge has severely restricted our understanding of things.
Therefore, we need to re-examine our existing knowledge so that we can truly face Eastern traditional culture and understand it. Only then will you realize that it contains many highly advanced things.
These advanced things can far subvert your cognition and enable us to re-understand the issues of life and death.
Based on this new understanding, we can make further decisions. This is the important significance of learning Eastern traditional culture for our most critical issues such as health and life.
当我们深入学习了东方传统文化之后，你将对这些问题有了重新的认识，在新的认识基础上，你的人生将更加阳光灿烂。为什么？，因为笼罩在每个人头顶上的那片阴云就是健康和生死。无论你过得多么高兴，你的生活多么美好，权力多么大，你的名望多么高，在你头上一定有一块挥之不去的乌云，那就是生死和健康。这两个问题没解决，它迟早会笼罩下来。所以对于我们来说，当我们头顶的这个乌云，完全被抛去的时候，完全散开的时候，你才能够过得阳光灿烂，而这必须靠我们学习东方传统文化总的来说，东方传统化不仅对我们国家和民族，对整个人类都有着非常大的意义，对我们个人也是这样。这种意义可以说是决定性的，因为这些重大的问题没解决的时候，一切都是浮云。所以对于我们来说，东方传统文化，由于它解决了人类最根本的问题，也解决了我们个人最关切的问题，所以它是我们必须去研究的，必须去学习的。这是我们学习东方传统化的意义。
After we deeply study Eastern traditional culture, you willgain a new understanding of these issues. Based on this new understanding, your life will become more bright and sunny. Why? Because the cloud hanging over everyone’s head is health and life-death.
No matter how happy you are, how wonderful your life is, how powerful you are, or how famous you are, there must be an unshakable cloud over your head—that is, life-death and health. If these two issues are notresolved, they will eventually hang over you.
Therefore, for us, when the cloud over our heads is completely dispelled, only then can we live a bright and sunny life. And this must be achieved through learning Eastern traditional culture. In general, Eastern traditional culture is of great significance not only to our country and nation but also to all humanity and each individual.
This significance can be said to be decisive because when these major issues are not resolved, everything else is just floating clouds. Therefore, for us, Eastern traditional culture, because it solves the most fundamental problems of humanity and the issues we care about most as individuals, is something we must study and learn. This is the significance of our learning Eastern traditional culture.