The Bodhi Mind (I)
排開心頭霧 靈山霧本無
現量不分別 誰迷復離悟
菩提心的本體，是利益一切眾生，這和佛陀教育的本質是一致的。因此，菩提心是成佛的種子，能生起一切佛法。
關於菩提心，佛教曾用很多譬喻來形容它：菩提心像良田，能生一切善；像清水∼能洗濯掉一切煩惱；像火焰∼能燒毀一切邪見；像大風∼能吹走一切障礙；像日月∼普照一切眾生。可見菩提心的重要。
為什麼發菩提心很重要呢？因為以菩提心作為堅實的根基，佛法才得以開枝散葉，相繼不滅。
開枝散葉後的佛法，生長出種種善的果實。就如同樹葉落入大地，滋養曾經誕生了自己的大地。在這種循環滋潤中，雙方的力量都將變得越來越大。
菩提心如同大地，為萬物生長提供養分，只付出、不索取，不同的是菩提心這塊良田，成長的是一切善的種子。
諸佛法就如同種子……
落入菩提心這塊良田……
才能夠茁壯成長。
乾坤一掌握 片雲蓋宇宙
三界微塵居 心器羅萬剎
資料來源：心靈甘露(四)，隆門圓通法師著。英文翻譯：張惠平。
The Bodhi Mind (I)
Discharge the mist in your heart.
There is no mist on the Vulture Peak.
There are no differences in terms of direct, non-thinking manifestation of consciousness.
Who is lost, gets out of sufferings, and attains enlightenment?
The essence of the Bodhi mind is to benefit all living beings, which is congenial to the intrinsic quality of the Buddha’s teachings. Therefore, the Bodhi mind is the seed of attaining Buddhahood and can engender all Buddhist Dharmas.
As far as the Bodhi mind is concerned, a lot of metaphors are used to describe it in Buddhism:
The Bodhi mind is like a fertile land that can give rise to all goodness.
The Bodhi mind is like clear water that can cleanse away all afflictions.
The Bodhi mind is like a strong wind that can blow away all obstacles.
The Bodhi mind is like a flame that can burn all evil views.
The Bodhi mind is like the sun and the moon that universally shine on all living beings.
We can see how important the Bodhi mind is.
Why is it important to make a Bodhi mind? This is because only when the Bodhi mind is used as a solid basis can Buddhism develop and sustain.
The developed Buddhism can engender various fruits of goodness, just like the fallen leaves nourishing the land that used to give birth to them. Under such mutual nourishment, the power of both sides will become greater and greater.
The Bodhi mind is like the mother earth that provides living things with nutrients. It only gives but does not take. What’s different is that the Bodhi mind grows the seeds of all goodness.
All the Buddhist Dharmas are like the seeds that fall into the fertile land of the Bodhi mind and then grow and become stronger.
The universe is held in the hand, and the whole world is covered by a piece of cloud.
The dusts dwell in the Three Realms, and the mind embodies all realms.
Source: Sweet Dew for the Soul (Vol. IV), Written by Master Shih Longmen Yuantong. Translated by Huei Ping Chang.