18 May 2019

第十七世大寶法王嘉華噶瑪巴，泰耶多傑於衛塞節跟他的學生分享訊息

在一個傳統已越來越被遺忘的世界裡，值得我們思考慶祝生日這個歷久不衰的習俗。

佛教徒不會反對慶祝活動，儘管我們並沒有特別習慣去紀念生辰。

當談到許多人慶祝釋迦牟尼佛誕生、死亡和涅槃紀念日的衛塞節方式時，我們會以好奇和理解來迎接這個時刻。

從佛教觀點上，過去、現在和未來三世諸佛並沒有看到誕生是實有的。從究竟意義來說，沒有出生就像沒有死亡一樣。從相對意義而言，誕生的顯現，我們就認為這是從無到有的一件事，因此覺得它是一件值得慶祝的事情。

與此同時，我們看到像悉達多太子這樣的普通人，變成一個非凡偉大的佛陀。同樣地，在相對意義而言，我們認為這是從無到有的事情！一個曾經是農民的兒子怎能成為歷史上的佛陀呢？我們看到這種可能性，這種潛能，對我們所有人來說都是存在的，這也是為什麼紀念的原因。

因此，世界各地的佛教團體在衛塞節，會舉行傳統儀式，如讀誦和聽聞佛經，透過三摩地禪修慈悲心和行善幫助有需要的人。

這樣的做法消除了各種失望 – 尤其在沒有生日蛋糕的情況下！

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, shares the following message for his students on the occasion of Vesak:

‘In a world in which tradition is increasingly discarded, it is interesting to reflect on the enduring tradition of celebrating birthdays.

Buddhists do not discourage celebrations, though we do not really have a particular habit of honouring birthdays.

When it comes to the way in which many people celebrate Vesak, the anniversary of the birth, death and parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni, we approach this moment with curiosity and understanding.

From the perspective of Buddhist philosophy, all of the Buddhas of the past, present and future have not seen an inherent birth. In absolute terms, there is no birth, just as there is no death. In relative terms, there is the appearance of the birth, and we perceive this almost as something from nothing, and it is therefore a cause for celebration.

At the same time, we see an ordinary person like that of Prince Siddhartha somehow transform into an extraordinary being, a Buddha. Again, in relative terms, we perceive this as something from nothing! How is it that a once-upon-a-time farmer’s son can become the historical Buddha? We see that this possibility, this potential, is there for all of us, and again this is cause for remembrance.

Therefore, on Vesak, we perform traditional rituals, such as the recitation of and listening to the sutras; meditation on compassion through samadhi; and charitable activities for those who are in need, in Buddhists communities worldwide.

Practices like these dispel all kinds of disappointments – especially when there is no cake!

(Photo/Tokpa Korlo)

#Karmapa #Vesak

(中文翻譯由本中心翻譯小組負責。若有錯漏，請見諒。節錄或載列文章內容以原文為準。）