虔敬心 – 学习与修行的通用推动力

道教弟子问我何谓虔敬心？由于这对于他们还相当陌生。金刚乘佛教却一直很强调“虔敬心 ”。我依然记得一段源至于Tsewong Sitar仁波切两个星期前到访槟城时，在一个午餐上提及的真实小故事及对话。

这是关于Naropa 和Tilopa 的故事。Naropa是著名的Nalanda佛教大学的主持方丈。他对于所有的佛经非常地熟悉。一天晚上，他梦见金刚瑜伽空行母告诉他去东方寻求Tilopa作为他的上师。于是他启程往东方去，一路询问关于Tilopa这个成就者。在他脑海里一直不断的想象，这个成就者到底长什么样子，行为举止又会怎样？当他抵达该国东部的一个村庄时，他打听是否有人认识这名叫Tilopa的成就者。不少人告诉他说“这里并没有一个叫Tilopa的成就者，不过有一个叫Tilopa的渔夫。他就住在河边”。于是Naropa兴致勃勃地直奔河边去，希望找到他的上师。当他 到达河岸时，他看见了一名几乎赤裸裸并且头发邋遢的男子，正在岸边一边捕鱼，一边烤鱼。在那一刻，Naropa心想，这不可能是我已成就的上师。在Naropa心中早已设定他所期望所谓的成就上师会是长什么样子，行为该是如何的。那根本出乎他所预料的。

他问渔夫说“你是Tilopa？” Tilopa点点头。Naropa然后问眼前的Tilopa是否愿意指导他。由于Tilopa的外貌，Naropa甚至没有向Tilopa进行礼拜之礼。Tilopa告诉Naropa说，我并没有任何东西可以教你，我只是个渔夫。他还问Naropa“你想吃点鱼吗？ ”

当Naropa 坐在岸边看着Tilopa吃鱼，他看见一些他无法解释的情景。每当Tilopa把鱼放在火上烤时，他打个响指，那些鱼的灵性马上得到解脱。这时Naropa才意识到Tilopa是一名真正的成就者。

从那一刻起，Naropa的虔敬心增长了。不管Tilopa去哪里，Naropa都会跟随。他放弃了他主持方丈的地位，并成为像Tilopa一样的禅修者。尽管Tilopa没有给予他正式的教导，反而喜欢沿途给他许多艰苦的考验。由于Naropa对他的上师从不动摇的虔敬心，最终在这一世成佛了。

基于弟子的能力，教学的方式共有三种。首先是通过心灵传授。这需要天资聪敏的弟子，上师只需通过心灵传授一切所懂的。而弟子将立刻开悟。第二种是透过强烈的虔敬心，能力中等的弟子 – 没有得到太多的教导，但对上师的一举一动都视作一种教导。由于对上师的强烈虔敬心，他们也可以成就悟道。而第三种方式是像如今一般人一样，接受一些教导然后慢慢修践，然而增加虔敬心，再获得更多的教导。

以上是关于金刚乘佛教及虔敬心对于佛，法，僧的重要性，因为没有虔敬心，一切修行都没有任何意义。

对道教而言，我们并没有视神明为我们的上师。然而敬重及某形式上的虔敬心是必须有的，如果我想学到一些东西。

如今，“师父”这一词还正在使用，但却只是一种随意的称呼。有些人会称呼您师父，因为他们希望于现在或不久的将来获得一些好处。他们并没有兴趣了解道教。他们所在乎的是 – 它可以给我什么？当师父点出弟子的错误时，他们的自我受到的伤害，他们会寻找许多方法来证明自己。忽然间，这些弟子好像变成道家，佛家的专家似的。

他们将尝试通过网路寻找一些贴文来“提醒” 师父，实质上应该如何处理及应对，而不是检视他们自己的反应。因为一直以来他们与师父一起，并不是为了学习而是他们可以得到什么好处 – 他们的自我已经充满了内心，以致心中无法容入任何学习。他们总会想 – 教我一些道法，所以我可以做别人办不到的事情。然而满足自我。

每当面对师父的指责，他们的自我便跳出来证明：“你不是说你是修行人，怎么都没有菩提心啊？”因为他们的自我不能接受指责没，先天性认为师父应该要教导他们。

如果道家弟子早已对他们的师父有了一个心中期许的刻板印象。那是妄想自我的一部分，包括他们应该如何被对待和他们的自我在任何情况下都不被指点。如果师父只为了取悦弟子，从来没有指点他所见的错误，那并不是师父与弟子的关系 – 而是商家与客户的关系，他们之间只希望从对方手里得到一些物质上的利益。

由于我们生活在现今社会里，一切都是以自我为中心。为了放下自我，减少自我也许是教学上最难的一件事情了。道法曾经有很多的修行者，但如今已所剩无几了。这主要是因为前辈们看见一代不如一代的人格与态度，基本上放弃了接受任何弟子或传授道法。我将它归咎于缺乏虔敬心。

Translated by Koay Boon Wee

DEVOTION The Universal Drive to Learning and Cultivation

Taoist disciples asked me what is devotion? as this concept is quite foreign to them. Vajrayana mentions about devotion quite a lot. I remember a conversation or a matter a fact, a teaching by a short story that Tsewong Sitar Rinpoche talked about during lunch when he was here in Penang 2 weeks ago.

It's the story of Naropa and Tilopa. Naropa was an abbot in famous Nalanda university. He was very knowledgeable in all the sutras. One evening he had a vision of Vajrayogini a dakini that asked him to seek out Tilopa at the East as his teacher. He went to East and asked many places looking for the Mahasiddha Tilopa. He had many ideas in his mind, what a mahasiddha would look like and how one would behave. When he arrived in a village on the Eastern side of the country. He asked around whether anybody knows of this enlighten person named Tilopa. 

Many told him "there is no enlighten person named Tilopa here, but we have one Tilopa the Fisherman. He lived by the river". So Naropa excitedly went straight to the river in hope of finding his guru. When he reached the river banks, he saw an almost naked man, with scruffy hairs catching fishes and roasting some fish by the river. At that moment, Naropa thought to himself, this can't be my enlightened guru. Naropa in his mind already have a fixed set of expectation what his guru or an enlightened being would look like and behave. This is by no means matches any of his expectation.

Naropa

He asked the fisherman "Are you Tilopa?" Tilopa nod his head. Naropa then told Tilopa of his vision and asked whether Tilopa can teach him. Because of Tilopa's outlook, Naropa did not even prostrate when he met him. Tilopa told Naropa, I have nothing to teach you, I am just a fisherman. And he asked Naropa "Would you like some fish?"

Tilopa

As Naropa sit by the river and watch Tilopa eats his fish, then he saw something he cannot explain. When Tilopa puts the fish to roast, he snaps his fingers and those fishes were liberated spiritually. Then Naropa realized that Tilopa is a real Mahasiddha. 

From that moment onwards, Naropa devotion grew. Where ever Tilopa went, Naropa would follow. He gave up his abbot status and became a yogi like Tilopa. Although Tilopa did not give him official teachings, more like many gruelling test along the way. Naropa succeeded in achieving enlightenment in one life time due to his unshakeable devotion towards his guru Tilopa.

There are 3 methods of teaching dependent on the capacity of the students. First is through mind transference, this is for students who have very strong potential and very smart in which the teacher/guru just transfer whatever he/she knows via the mind. And the student would instantly be enlightened. Second is through strong devotion, the student of medium capacity - does not receive much teaching but each action of the guru becomes a teaching in itself. Due to their strong devotion towards the guru they would also achieve enlightenment. Whereas the Third way is like everyone else nowadays, receive some teachings slowly practice, arise some devotion practice further, and receive more teachings.

The above is about Vajrayana and the crucial key of devotion towards guru, buddha, dharma and sangha because without it none of the practice one does will make sense.

In Taoism however, we do not have to see the teacher as embodiment of Deities. However deep respect and some form of devotion should be within us, if we were to expect to learn anything.

Nowadays, the term Shi Fu 师父 is being used and called loosely. Some would call you Master, because they expect to receive some benefits now and or in the near future. They are not interested to learn about Taoism. The main interest is WIIIFM - What is in it for me? When a Master points out the student's fault. Their ego is hurt, and they will find many ways to justify their action. Automatically the student suddenly becomes an expert in Taoism and Buddhism.

They will try to Google hard and long to find the exact write up and post to essentially 'remind' the Master how they should act instead of inspecting themselves on what should they reflect upon. Because all these time they are with the master, it is not because of learning it is because what can I get - their ego is full no amount of learning can go into the mind anymore. They would only like to think - give me some 道法 Tao Fa, so I can do things what other people cannot do. Again actions to feed the ego.

When reprimanded by the Master, their ego will jump to justify - 'how come you said you are cultivator, but you have no Bodhicitta?' Because their ego cannot be reprimanded, innately viewing themselves as enlighten beings instead of viewing the master has something to teach them.

If a Taoist student has already had an impression in their mind how a teacher would behave and act. That is part of the delusional ego on how they should be treated and how the ego must not be pointed out at any instances. If a Master is only nice to their student, never point out any faults of the students that master can see, that is not a master disciple relationship - that is a transaction customer/vendor relationship when each hoping to get some materialistic benefit from the relationship.

Because we live in a modern world and everything in our society are geared towards feeding the ego. To put down or reduce the ego temporarily for any forms of teaching maybe the hardest things. Tao Fa once had quite a number of practitioners few decades ago, but nowadays the number is very low. Largely due to seniors seeing the degrading attitudes of each generation of people, which is why they essentially gave up receiving any disciples or give any transmission. I attribute it to the lack of devotion.