Venerable Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930-2009) was one of the twentieth century's foremost Buddhist scholars and meditation masters, and was instrumental in the revival of Chinese Buddhism in modern times. Venerable Sheng Yen was born into a humble farming family near Shanghai in 1930; he became a novice Buddhist monk at the age of 13. During the Communist takeover of China in 1949, he escaped with the Nationalist army to Taiwan. At the age of 28, after 15 years of strenuous scriptural study and struggle in his meditation work, while sojourning at various monasteries in southern Taiwan, he had the deepest spiritual experience of his life. Soon after, he entered into a solitary six-year meditation retreat to deepen his realization. He later received formal lineage transmission in both the extant lines of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, making him the 57th generation master of the Linji line and the 52nd generation master of the Caodong line of Chan.In 1969 Venerable Sheng Yen went to Japan to attend graduate school, with the conviction that a strong education would be required to revive Chinese monasticism. In six years he obtained Master's and Doctorate degrees in Buddhist Literature from Rissho University, becoming the first monk in Chinese Buddhist history to earn a doctorate. For the last thirty years of his life, he tirelessly devoted all of his energy to advancing Buddhist education, reviving the tradition of rigorous education for monks and nuns, leading intensive Chan meditation retreats worldwide, engaging in interfaith outreach, and working on behalf of world peace, youth development, and gender equality. Venerable Sheng Yen passed away peacefully on February 3rd, 2009. He was revered by tens of thousands of students around the world. His wisdom and compassion can be found in his books in Chinese, English, Japanese, and several other languages, and in the teachings of his students and Dharma heirs both in Asia and the West.
摘要
Tea Words is archived edition of Master Sheng Yen’s early teachings in the West. It contains 50 selected articles published in two volumes. It speaks of the attitude one should have to practice Chan correctly.
In August 1997, after 124 issues, Chan Newsletter was merged into Chan Magazine to streamline the Center's increasingly broad agenda. Though the doors of the publication were closed, the archived editions contained a treasure of Shifu's early teachings in the West, worthy of study by newer generations of Chan and Zen students. At some point, a decision was made to re-issue some of these talks; the ones selected were judiciously and lightly edited for internal consistency; so to speak, refreshed. The result is this book. The sangha and members of the Chan Meditation Center are therefore delighted to offer Tea Words, in memory of Shifu.The talks appear in the same order as they appeared in Chan Newsletter. Not consecutively, since of the 124 lead articles in the Newsletter, about 50 were selected to be published in two volumes, this being Volume One. As to those not selected, about 40% of the 124 were compiled in other books, such as Master Sheng Yen's commentaries on the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment and the Shurangama Sutra.
目次
Contents Editor’s Preface 1 Acknowledgments 5 Abbot’s Foreword 7 Parting Words 9 Shakyamuni’s Great Vow 12 Tea Words 14 The Problem of Death 18 Emptiness and Loneliness 21 How to Practice Chan 25 Is Practice Necessary? 29 Opening up to Nature 33 Right Attitudes as an Aid to Practice 36 Strictness and Laxity 39 Where is my Master? 43 Emptiness and Existence 46 Bitter Practice 49 The Other Side 52 Cultivating Your Own Field 56 Letting Go 59 Practice is like Tuning a Harp 62 Chan, Meditation, and Mysticism 66 Compassionate Contemplation 70 The Four Marks of Self 73 Buddha-Nature, Sentient Beings, and Ignorance 77 Samsara and Nirvana 81 Thinking without Purpose 85 No Anger or Love between Master and Disciple 90 Is Buddhism Theistic? 95 Four Views of Chan 100 Light and Quakes 111 Ten Thousand and One 117 Change and Changelessness 121 Creations of the Mind 126 Buddhism and Fate 131 Chan Buddhism and its Relevance in North America: Part One 140 Chan Buddhism and Its Relevance in North America: Part Two 149 Pilgrimage to India 155 Chan and Daily Life 165
