任何一个人对事物的追求和看法都有两面性，对同一事物可以把它说得很好，也可以把它说出很多不好，主要是看你的心往哪边偏了。比如，老人家好不好？好！老人家经验丰富，老人家懂得关心青年人等等。反过来讲，老人家有什么不好？走不动，浑身骨头痛，脑子老僵化，什么事情都搞不清楚等等，同样一件事情可以想出它好的方面，也可以想出它不好的和坏的方面。佛法就是让我们把坏的思想全部转化为好的思想，学佛就是转换思维去劝导人家，去安慰人家，去帮助人家，去解决困难，这个叫正思维。能把人家全部都看成好的，因为你的思维正，把别人都看成正了，你就开悟了。你把人家看成坏的，就是没开悟。开悟的人，看见谁都是好人，没有好坏的概念，其实就是一个悟性，当这个悟性在人的思维中产生了正思维的时候，就是开悟了。
Every individual’s pursuit and interpretation of life can exhibit duality. The same scenario can be painted in a positive light, emphasising its beneficial aspects, or viewed negatively, accentuating its flaws. The key is where your mindset tends to lean. For instance, is ageing good or bad? It can be argued that it’s good. The elderly often bring a wealth of experience and a knack for nurturing younger generations, among other things. But if we flip the perspective, what might be the drawbacks of ageing? The elderly can face physical limitations, deal with various aches and pains, exhibit rigid thinking, and might struggle to comprehend various matters, and so on. Therefore, the same issue can be analysed from both a positive and a negative viewpoint.
The essence of Buddhism is the transformation of all negative thought processes into positive ones. Practising Buddhism involves changing your mindset to advise, console, aid others, and resolve challenges; this is referred to as right intention. When you perceive everyone in a positive light, it’s a testament to your positive intention. Viewing others positively is indicative of your enlightenment. Conversely, a tendency to view others negatively suggests a lack of enlightenment. An enlightened person perceives everyone as inherently good, devoid of the binary concept of good or bad. This is essentially a manifestation of the capacity for enlightenment. When this capacity gives rise to right intention within a person’s mind, it signals enlightenment.
开悟之后，会引来一种叫证量，也就是说一个人开悟之后，明白道理，证实了很多事情，他的能量就出来了。明白道理了，什么都不怕了，不明白道理时什么都怕，就像很多人在没有学佛之前，告诉他生命短暂会死的，他就会很怕死，等到相信了观世音菩萨之后，他什么都不怕，连死都不会怕，因为他知道人是不会死的，而且会有一个信念产生，观世音菩萨不会让我死，一定会救度我们的，这时思维会产生出一种很强的能量体，这就叫证量。拥有证量的人，是觉悟者，觉悟者又称为觉者，觉者就是你在生活的意识形态和思维意识当中已经产生了一团光，只有开悟之后才会有这团光。开悟之后就是觉者，觉者就是觉悟的人、聪明的人和有智慧的人。知道人活着应该为人家着想，你自己的问题就容易解决，而愚笨的人，就知道想自己的利益，结果害人家，就是害自己。常言道：害人就是害己。脑子里思维杂念越少的人，身上才会越干净，对事物看得清楚，看得明白。脑子思维杂念多的人，对什么事物都看不明白，搞不清楚，所以就没有了自身的智慧之光。只有当杂念没有了，有了这团光之后，就可以用这团光来化解和照耀你前进的方向，让你的方向越来越明确，这团光称为神光，也称为智慧之光，智慧之光又等于悟性之光。
Upon attaining enlightenment, a practitioner will experience a phenomenon known as “direct realisation”. That is, once a person achieves enlightenment, understands the truths of life, and confirms numerous concepts, their inherent energy manifests. With this grasp of truth, fear dissipates. In contrast, when one is uncertain about these truths, fear infiltrates all aspects of life.
This is similar to the fear many people feel about death when faced with life’s transience, especially before they learn about Buddhism. However, once faith in Guan Yin Bodhisattva takes root, all fears subside, including the fear of death, because they now know that life does not terminate with death. Moreover, a conviction arises that Guan Yin Bodhisattva will not allow them to perish, but will assuredly guide them towards salvation. In this moment, the mind produces a potent form of energy known as “direct realisation”.
Those who achieve direct realisation are considered enlightened or “awakened ones.” Awakening signifies the kindling of a light within one’s consciousness and mental awareness, a light that only materialises after enlightenment. Once enlightened, you will be considered awakened, a state synonymous with being wise and intellectual. Enlightened individuals understand the importance of considering others, which subsequently helps in resolving their own dilemmas. Conversely, those who are foolish focus solely on their personal interests, often causing harm to others and, by extension, to themselves. As the adage goes, “harming others is harming oneself.”
People with fewer wandering thoughts in their minds maintain a purer state and have a clearer perception of things. In contrast, those whose minds are filled with scattered thoughts find it challenging to understand and clarify things, thus extinguishing their inner light of wisdom. Only when these stray thoughts are cleared and the radiant light emerges, can one use this light to overcome obstacles and illuminate the path forward. This light lends increased clarity to one’s direction. It’s referred to as the divine light or the light of wisdom, both synonymous with the light of one’s enlightenment capacity.
一个人从小生出来，叫无明，无明就是什么都不知道，什么都不明白，一直到老死，最后什么都没有和不知道就走了，人生匆匆来匆匆去。在这一生当中经过十二个层次的循环，也就是有十二道关，这十二道关不断地在你的生命中循环。这十二循环是从心理和生理循环上来讲的。
From the moment of birth, a person enters into a state of “ignorance,” with no knowledge or comprehension. This state of ignorance continues through their lives until they reach old age and, ultimately, death. They depart with nothing, with much still unknown and not understood, their lives marked by a sense of fleeting passage. Within this single life, one undergoes a cycle of twelve stages, akin to passing through twelve gates, these stages persistently revolving within one’s life. These twelve cycles are conceptualised from both psychological and physiological perspectives:
1. 无明。人要克服无明，无明是不明白、不懂，什么都不明白，一个人明白了就不会做错事情，一个人不明白才会做错事情。无明引申出另一个观点，就是这个人虽然是无明，但是自以为有明，就是自己以为自己什么都明白了。
1. Ignorance: It is essential for a person to conquer ignorance, a state characterised by misunderstanding and lack of knowledge. When a person gains understanding, they cease to make mistakes, whereas misunderstanding breeds errors. Ignorance further encompasses a perspective wherein there are people, despite their lack of understanding, who think themselves to be knowledgeable, assuming they understand everything.
2. 色。色就是我们在人间所看见的有色的物体，有色的灵体。并不完全是指男女之色。
2. Forms: The concept of forms represents the coloured and shaped objects, both physical and spiritual, that we perceive in our surroundings. This concept doesn’t solely refer to sensual attractions between individuals.
3. 声。即声音，声音好听的要听，不好听的不要听，喜欢听好话，等等，这一切都是在听声。好听的话或声音传到你的耳朵里就会让你心动，这叫精神转化为物质。因为讲出来的话叫精神，物质的东西就是已经变成行为了，变成行为的东西才称为物质。比如好话听进去的时候是看不见摸不着的，听了之后在你心中引起一个共鸣，自己感觉很开心了或感觉不开心了，就会反映在你的脸上，变成了物质。
3. Sounds: This refers to sounds and voices. We are inclined to listen to pleasant sounds and avoid unpleasant ones. For instance, our preference for kind words is a part of this sound perception. When pleasing words or sounds reach your ears, they touch your heart, representing the transformation of spirit into matter. Here, spoken words are seen as the spirit, while the things that have become actions are considered matter. For example, when you hear kind words, they are intangible, but they resonate within your heart, influencing your emotions. This emotional reaction is then reflected in your expressions, transforming into something tangible or “matter.”
4. 香。人间的香有很多种，有多少种香味在人间回荡。你要躲过这十二个循环，必须要克制自己不受各种气味的诱惑。比如闻到香味了，要没感觉。看见有色的东西，要没视觉。克制是找到你真正性空的根据。
4. Odours: There exists a myriad of odours within the human world, with innumerable scents wafting around us. To escape these twelve cycles, one must cultivate the discipline to resist the allure of various scents. For instance, remain unaffected upon smelling a fragrance, or when seeing objects of colour and shape. Such self-discipline is foundational to discovering your inherernt emptiness.
5. 味。味道，从你的意识当中，可以用精神来品尝味道，常言说：人生苦味，人生的味道苦啊，正是用意识和心来体验的。
5. Tastes: Flavours, discernible through your consciousness, can be savoured with the mind. As the saying goes: “Life has a taste of bitterness.” This bitterness of life is precisely experienced through consciousness and the mind.
6. 触法。就是能摸到，能感触到，要知道人间所有的物质让你有一瞬间的感应，感受，感想，但这都是暂时的，不是长久的，这些东西都是十二因缘的循环。
6. Tactile objects and mental phenomena: This refers to tangibility, what can be physically sensed. You should understand that all material things in the human world provide momentary sensations, feelings, and thoughts. However, these are fleeting, not permanent; they all constitute part of the cycles of the twelve interconnected links.
7. 受。就是感受，感觉，受苦就是受的那种感觉。
7. Sensation: This pertains to feelings, such as the sensation that comes with suffering.
8. 想。是认识与辨别，是你心里想的种种好的、坏的念头。
8. Perception: This is recognition and differentiation, encompassing a variety of good and bad thoughts that exist in your mind.
9. 行。是心所体化出由身体造作的行为。
9. Formations: These are physical actions manifested from the mind’s impulses.
10. 识。是分别种种境界的意识，这种意识在你八识田中会种下因果的。
10. Consciousness: This is the awareness that discerns the various states of existence. This consciousness plants the seeds of karma in your field of the eight consciousnesses.
11. 爱。人的一生就是围绕着爱，这个爱并不是专指男女之爱，包括亲情之爱、亲友之爱、师生之爱等等，是各种各样的大爱。人的一辈子离不开爱，到最后死的时候还是这个爱。人活着从爱开始，到爱的灭亡，短暂的生命连爱都变成空的假的。
11. Love: A person’s life orbits around love. This love isn’t restricted to romantic love, but includes familial love, friendship, mentor-student relationships, and other types of profound love. One’s life is inseparable from love, and even at the end, it is still about love. Life commences with love and concludes with its dissolution. However, in our fleeting lives, even love becomes illusory and void.
12. 别离。爱的人离开你了，喜欢的钱用完了，一个好工作没了等等，这些都是离别。每一个离别，都是痛苦，感觉很难过。
12. Separation: Whether it’s the departure of a loved one, the exhaustion of money you’ve cherished, or the loss of a good job – these are all instances of separation. Each parting is painful and sorrowful.
这十二循环中有六根，也有六尘。六根，即眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意。六尘，即色、声、香、味、触、法。人在这十二循环中不停地受苦，受难，一直到老死。
In these twelve cycles, there exist six sense bases and six sense objects. The six sense bases are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The six sense objects consist of forms, sounds, odours, tastes, tactile objects, and mental phenomena. Humans continuously suffer within these twelve cycles, enduring hardships until the end of life.
师父给你们讲的这十二层次的循环，它会给你们造成心理的负担，所以想要性空很难。只有把这些因缘全部去除，你的本性才能空。下次再和徒弟们谈六根六尘。合十
The twelve cycles I’ve explained may impose a psychological burden on practitioners, making the quest for emptiness challenging. Only by eradicating all these interdependent links can your inherent nature become empty. Next time, we’ll discuss the six sense bases and six sense objects. Thank you.