道場聖刊      經典寶藏

The Origin of Congratulations

在介紹三寶之前，首先要向各位前賢道聲「恭喜！恭喜！」。

Prior to the Introduction of The Three Treasures, would like to extend to  everyone,“Congratulations! Congratulations!” first.

大家可能會覺得莫名其妙，為什麼今天只是在佛前跪了一下、拜了幾拜，就向大家說恭喜呢﹖

One may be baffled, as to why, kneeling and paying homage before a Buddha, today, would be congratulated.

事實上，今天在莊嚴肅穆的佛堂裡向各位大德所說的恭喜，和一般節慶喜事所說的恭喜，意義是不一樣的。

As a matter of fact, the congratulations we extended to you today in this sacred and magnificent temple is different from the ordinary occasions, such as festive seasons or joyous occasions.

我們在民間常聽到的恭喜，不是結婚、生子，就是升官、發財，然而今天跟大家說恭喜，喜是從何來呢？今天在此跟大家恭喜，不外乎是在恭喜大家已經得「道」，皈依了「正法明師」。

In a mortal world, often and frequently we are congratulated for occasions like marriage, new-born, career advancement and promotion, and prosperity. Nevertheless, what is it to be joyful today? At this junction, congratulating one is nothing more than to share the joy of one attaining the message of Tao and one has been converted to follow the “Orthodox Living Teacher.”

得了什麼道呢？得了自古以來不輕傳的超生了死之道。

What is the message of Tao? Since time immemorial, the message of Tao is not easily come by and transmitted. It enlightens one’s wisdom to transcend through life and death.

皈依了什麼明師呢？皈依了當今正法真宗明心見性的住世祖師圓普老祖師、淨蓮祖師。

Who are the “Orthodox Living Teachers?” Currently, under the orthodox and true dhamma, they are the enlightened Senior Patriarch Yuan Pu and Patriarch Jin Lian.

各位大德，求道不是現代才有的，昔日古聖先賢就是因為得此道方能成仙作佛，

All respectable ones, Tao initiation commences way back to the past. In the past, sovereign saints and sages became immortals due to the attainment of the message of Tao.

只不過那個時期，僅能一代傳一位而已，例如：燃燈古佛為釋迦牟尼佛授記；達摩祖師為神光二祖傳道等等，都是一個傳一個，

Then, during that period, the transmission of the message of Tao was one-to-one basis.  For example, Buddha Pamkara who enlightened and proclaimed Buddha Sakayamuni and Buddha Bodhidhamma who proclaimed Sheng Guang to be the second Patriarch in China.

法不傳六耳，謂之「單傳獨受」。由此可知，今天幸逢大開普度，各位與歷代聖賢仙佛所得的道是一樣的，

Dhamma is not transmissible to more than one person, term it as “one transmitter and one recipient” (bilateral transmission). From here as we performed in the initial ceremony, we can see that we are in this period of the universal salvation of mankind at household level. The message of Tao we attained in this period and that sovereign saints and Immortals attained in the past, are exactly the same.

是無比的尊貴，相當的殊勝，如果不是機緣成熟、與佛有緣，即使手捧萬兩黃金也求道無門，只能流浪生死苦海，所以請大家要好好珍惜難得的因緣。

It is valueless and rare.  If not because of the maturity of the timing and fate, and our affinity with Buddha, even holding abundance of gold in our hands, Tao initiation would not be possible, and we would be wandering between life and death.  Therefore, we earnestly plead to all of you to treasure this unique affinity.  

今天大家有幸得了道，也從以上明白了大道的尊貴，那麼相信對於得道的內容，更想來作進一步的了解，咱們現在就先來探討：人為什麼要求道？

Fortunately, we have all attained the message of Tao.  As mentioned above, we understand the importance and significance of Tao, one would like to study in depth about the message of Tao.  We shall now explore: Why should one go through the Tao initiation?