Chung Tai Shan Magazine #254
修行一定要精進，把念頭提起來，起大悲、發大願，時時刻刻想到佛法，二六時中、上半夜、中半夜、下半夜，經常要思惟：「過去佛菩薩是怎麼精進的？我現在也要如此精進！」如果有懈怠的心、提不起正念，就是不精進；不精進，修行就無法成就。
Cultivation requires us to be diligent: set our thoughts on practice, bring forth great compassion, make great vows, and always keep the Buddhadharma in mind. In all hours of the day and three parts of the night, constantly ask ourselves, “How were the past buddhas and bodhisattvas diligent in their practice? Now, I must also practice that diligently!” If our minds are negligent, not raising right mindfulness, then that is not diligence. Without diligence, our cultivation will not succeed.
譬如有兩個人同樣要到埔里，一個人由於精進、走得很快，所以很快就到達埔里了；另一個人走走停停，貪玩、看風光，甚至中途跑到別的地方去了，自然沒有辦法到達目的地。修行也是如此，這一條菩提路，人人都有，就看我們精不精進？精進，就能成就道業。
This is analogous to two people both trying to reach Puli. One is diligent and travels quickly; therefore, he arrives in Puli very fast. The other ambles along, stopping here and there for leisure and sight-seeing, even making detours to visit other places along the way. Naturally, this second person has no means to reach his destination. Cultivation is like this too. The bodhi path is available to everyone and anyone can walk it to completion—it all depends on if we are diligent or not. Only with diligence, will we realize the Way.
勤策三業 不生疲怠
Diligently cultivate the three karmas without a thought of exhaustion.
精進，一個是身精進，一個是心精進。譬如〈普賢十大願王〉，「一者禮敬諸佛」：盡虛空、遍法界，一切諸佛都要禮敬；不但現在要禮敬，盡未來際都要禮敬，就是身精進；乃至「念念相繼，無有間斷，身語意業，無有疲厭」，心也要精進，每一個大行都要念念相繼，綿綿密密，不夾雜、不間斷。
There are two forms of diligence: one is diligence in body, the other is diligence in mind. For example, the first of Samantabhadra’s Ten Great Vows is “pay homage to all buddhas.” It means paying homage to all buddhas over the entire span of empty space and across the Dharma realm, not only in the present, but also into the infinite future. This is diligence in body. Moreover, “raise thought after thought without interruption, be indefatigable in body, speech, and mind”—we must also be diligent in mind. Perform all great deeds attentively and thoroughly, keeping them in mind thought after thought, uninterruptedly and without any irrelevant thinking.
一般人心中不起善念，就是起惡念；心中不是起貪、瞋、癡，就是想財、色、名、利；心不靠在佛法，就是打妄想，想過去、想現在、想未來，想種種不該想的事情，實實在在是如此。因為過去想這些已經成了習慣，現在想到這些事，自己甚至還不知不覺。
When the minds of ordinary people are not raising wholesome thoughts, they are otherwise inclined to raise unwholesome ones. Then, if the mind is not raising thoughts of greed, anger, or ignorance, it is thinking about money, lust, fame, or personal gain. When not abiding in the Dharma, the mind gives rise to deluded thoughts, thinking about past, present, future, and all sorts of things we should not dwell on. Indeed, this is how we are. Because we have already grown accustomed to raising these kinds of thoughts, we may not even notice when they come up now.
眾生心中因為有這些妄想，所以必須先起善念來對治，像四正勤：「已生善念令增長，未生善念令速生；已生惡念令滅除，未生惡念令不生」；時時刻刻起善念、不起惡念，念佛、念法、念僧、念戒、念施、念死……念念不斷；〈普門品〉裡面講：「心念不空過，能滅諸有苦。」念觀世音菩薩，這是善念，要念念不斷……這些都是心精進。假使心不精進，這個心就打妄想，所以一定要念念相繼，無有間斷。
Because the minds of sentient beings tend to have deluded thoughts, we must first counteract them by raising wholesome ones. For example, the four kinds of right effort are:
“Grow the wholesome thoughts that have already arisen.
Quickly raise the wholesome thoughts that have yet to arise.
Eradicate the unwholesome thoughts that have already arisen.
Never raise the unwholesome thoughts that have yet to arise.”
Always raise wholesome thoughts and never unwholesome ones. Keep the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, precepts, giving, and impermanence of death in mind…in thought after thought without stopping.
The Universal Gateway of Guanyin Bodhisattva says, “When thoughts do not go idly by, one can extinguish the suffering of samsaric existence.” Reciting Guanyin’s name and keeping the bodhisattva in mind are to raise wholesome thoughts; we must do so in thought after thought without stopping. All of this is to be diligent in mind. If we are not, then the mind will raise deluded thoughts. Thus, it is essential to practice like this in thought after thought without interruption.
同時身也要精進，要禮拜懺悔、要誦念，還要講說、弘法、做佛事……不停地去做這些事情，身體不懈怠，也不感覺疲倦，身語意業，無有疲厭，必須要這樣來行精進，如果不精進，可能就放逸了。
At the same time, we must also be diligent in body: prostrate in repentance, practice recitation, teach and spread the Dharma, and perform the work of buddhas (i.e. hold Dharma ceremonies and events). Perform these actions constantly, without slacking off or wearying, indefatigable in body, speech, and mind. We must be diligent in this way. If not, we will become negligent.
觀苦進道 恆自精勤
Contemplate suffering and practice the Way with discipline and diligence.
佛經裡面講，上半夜、中半夜、下半夜都要精進；這在一般人來看，認為是不可能的事：「這樣白天也精進、晚上也精進，豈不是不能休息？」但如果明白生死的可怕，就不會懈怠了。因為無始以來的生死，流轉三塗，地獄、畜生、餓鬼那種苦，實在是不得了；就算是做人，假使愚癡、或六根不全：想要看經，如果眼盲也看不見；想要念佛，如果瘖啞也沒辦法念；想要拜佛，如果不良於行也沒辦法拜……把這些道理想通了，真正是長痛不如短痛！不精進也會精進！
The Buddhist sutras teach us to be diligent through the first, second, and third parts of the night. To ordinary people, however, this may seem impossible: “If I’m diligent all day and all night, does that mean I can’t rest?” But, if we understand the anguish of samsara, we will not slack off in any way. Because the suffering experienced as we cycle through the three lower realms of hell beings, animals, and hungry ghosts in beginningless samsara is utterly indescribable. Even as a human being, there is great suffering if we have ignorance or are mentally or physically handicapped. It is impossible to read the sutras with blind eyes, recite buddhas’ names if we cannot speak, or make prostrations with a disabled body…once we understand these facts and think them through, then we realize the temporary hardships of diligence are nothing compared to the endless suffering of samsara. How can we not be diligent?
因此，要觀自己苦、要觀眾生苦，這些道理不去想就不知道苦，精進心就沒有辦法提起來；明白這些道理就能了解，確確實實身要精進、心也要精進。身精進，不造惡業；心精進，不打妄想，最後達到一心不亂的境界，就能成就福慧功德、廣積福慧資糧。然而這些也不是幾天、幾個月可以成就的，所以除了要發精進心去落實，還要發長遠心。
Because of this, we should contemplate our own suffering and that of sentient beings as well. Without contemplating, we will not understand suffering and fail to bring forth a mind of diligence. But if we understand, then we know for certain: we must be diligent in body and mind. With diligence in body, refrain from creating unwholesome karma; with diligence in mind, raise no wandering or deluded thoughts. When we finally achieve a state of “one mind without scatteredness,” then we can realize both merits and wisdom, broadly accumulating them as provisions for our practice. However, this is not something that can be done in a few days or months, so we must not only bring forth a mind of diligence, but also one of perseverance.
古人說：「不負初心，成佛有餘。」每個人初發心的那念心，都非常精進；但學佛到最後，有的人卻沒什麼進步，一看到經教這麼多，打坐時腿子又痠、又痛、又麻，覺得修行實在太難了，乾脆種種善根就好了，於是心生退轉，這樣就是不精進。
The ancients said, “Do not lose the beginner’s mind, that is more than enough to reach buddhahood.” After raising the initial resolve to reach buddhahood, each of us is extremely diligent. But as time goes on, some people improve very little. Seeing a great many sutras to study and sitting in meditation with our legs getting sore, painful, and numb, we feel cultivation is really too difficult and think, ‘I should just plant some virtuous roots.’ Thus, our beginner’s mind regresses—this is how we lose diligence.
精進，就是當仁不讓，像釋迦牟尼佛因為精進的緣故，先彌勒菩薩而成佛。佛經上記載，釋迦牟尼佛在因地修行時，看到弗沙佛身上放光，三十二相、八十種好，歎為稀有，心當中起了無量的恭敬，七天當中目不轉睛，恐怕自己打瞌睡、恐怕自己不精進，一個腿子提起來、一個腿子立在地上，這樣七天七夜，以一偈來讚歎佛：「天上天下無如佛，十方世界亦無比，世間所有我盡見，一切無有如佛者。」這七天的精進，就超越了九大劫的時間，釋迦牟尼佛就以這個因緣，比彌勒菩薩早成佛。
Diligence is to proactively take on everything we must do in cultivation, like Shakyamuni Buddha, who was able to reach buddhahood before Maitreya Bodhisattva because of his diligence. The sutras tell us when Shakyamuni was still cultivating the causes of enlightenment, he saw Pusya Buddha radiating light from his body, which was replete with the thirty-two good physical marks and eighty fine attributes. Awed by the Buddha’s splendid appearance, rarely seen in the world, Shakyamuni’s mind gave rise to boundless reverence. For seven days, he did not avert his eyes. Afraid that he might doze off or lose diligence, he stood with one leg raised and the other on the floor for the entire span of seven days and nights. Then, Shakyamuni praised the Buddha with a gatha:
“In the heavens above and the earth below, no one can be compared to the Buddha. Throughout all the worlds, he is peerless.
I have seen all that is in this world.
There is no one who is comparable to the Buddha.”
These seven days of diligence surpassed nine great kalpas in time, and thus Shakyamuni was able to reach buddhahood before Maitreya.
六度當中有精進度，就是用來對治我們的懈怠，所以做什麼事情都要精進；進一步要了解，在身口意上的精進是有為，修行最後要由有為歸於無為，由有為法的精進，進而不執著、達到無為法的精進。無為法就是一念不生，現在無念、未來無念、乃至三大阿僧祇劫都是無念，當下無念，就超越三世，這就是真正的精進。
The six paramitas include diligence paramita. It is to counteract our slacking off and negligence, so we must be diligent in whatever we do. Furthermore, we must also understand: diligence in body, speech, and mind is conditioned diligence. In the end, cultivation must go from the conditioned to the unconditioned. From being diligent in conditioned dharmas, we go on to relinquish all attachments and reach diligence in the unconditioned dharma. The unconditioned dharma is to not raise a single thought, to abide in no-thought in the present, the future, and even across three incalculable eons. With no-thought in the here and now, this very mind transcends the three periods of time—this is true diligence.
我們明白了以後，不但身不要懈怠、不要放逸，心還要專注，進一步由有念歸於無念，萬法歸一，歸到這一念心；最後這一念心也不執著，這才是真正的精進、最高的精進。真正懂得佛法精進的道理，這一生道業就能有所成就。
Once we understand this teaching, we must not slack off and become negligent. In addition, the mind must remain focused, and further go from having thoughts to having no-thought, where myriad dharmas return to one, to this very mind. In the end, we attach not even to this very mind. Then this is true diligence, the highest form of diligence. By deeply understanding the Buddhist teaching of diligence, we will surely attain the Way in this very life.