Introduction
H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu Holiest Tathagata is the true incarnation of Dorje Chang Buddha. His Holiness possesses the state of realization and virtue that entails the Three Bodies and Four Wisdoms of a Buddha. His Holiness is able to “manifest the universe on the tip of a hair and store limitless worlds in a grain of sand.” In worldly terms, this state of realization and virtue is reflected in His Holiness’s profound and vast knowledge, noble moral character, mastery of both ancient and modern learning, and status as a great figure in contemporary times and the highest Buddha. His Holiness’s philosophical thoughts are truly comprehensive and deep, containing practical wisdom about worldly matters that benefit living beings. These philosophical sayings are different from profound Buddhist teachings contained in this book, such as Sutra on Understanding and Realizing Definitive Truth, Debate Between a Monk and a Laywoman, What is Cultivation?, and the listed recorded discourses on the Buddha-dharma. These maxims on worldly matters are one of His Holiness’s outstanding contributions to mankind. The tremendous erudition and nobility of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III are reflected in his profound philosophical thoughts. The philosophical thoughts of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III are based upon the supreme and holiest wisdom of this ancient Buddha, His Holiness’s thorough understanding of the ultimate truths of human life and the universe, and His Holiness’s practice of what he preaches. They express the highest level of civilization and morality.Asaresult,thesephilosophicalthoughtsaremaximscontainingtheessenceoftruth. Ifoneseriouslystudiesthemanddeeplyreflectsuponthem,onewillreap tremendous educational benefits and mental development from the transcendent wisdom and moral integrity of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, who has fathomed the subtleties underlying all phenomena. That is one reason why these philosophical sayings have the ability to move and inspire others and why they are widely admired. In response to the requests of many people and in order to facilitate learning and understanding, more than ten years ago the Office of the Secretary of Master Wan Ko Yee together with Yiyun Chen (who is an assistant researcher at the Sociology Research Institute within the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) selected from His Holiness’s writings some of His Holiness’s philosophical sayings and added to them brief commentaries. That was later made into a book that was published and distributed by China Social Sciences Academic Press. Out of caution, they requested that H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu Holiest Tathagata expound upon those philosophical sayings. The explanations H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III gave were extremely detailed and complete. None of those detailed explanations are included in this category. We believe that these philosophical sayings are a cultural treasury. We hope that everyone will obtain from them abundant knowledge and a pure moral character. We hope that they will benefit mankind and provide mankind with good fortune and wisdom. If you study them with all your heart and mind and put them into practice, you will experience limitless beneficial effects. Because of limited space, we have included only one brief commentary of a philosophical saying as an example, although all of the original philosophical sayings themselves are included. In 2002, World Dharma Voice, Inc. in the United States republished and began distributing around the world a book in Chinese on philosophical sayings of H.H. Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu Holiness Tathagata entitled Brief Commentaries on Selected Philosophical Sayings of Master Wan Ko Yee.
(This text was translated from the Chinese text that follows.)
簡介
雲高益西諾布頂聖如來為多杰羌佛真身降世，本身具備三身四智之證境證德，能將『一毫端現寶王剎、一粒沙藏三千界』， 而反映在世間法上，則是學識淵博，德品崇高，博古通今，一代大家，大覺能仁。他的哲學思想，實在是博大精深，是世間法 利益大眾的實用智慧，有別於本寶典中的甚深佛法教授，如《了義經》、《僧俗辯語》 、《什麼叫修行》及法音開示等，這些 世法格言也是三世多杰羌佛對人類文明的卓越貢獻之一。三世多杰羌佛深藏不露之純淨修養，更從另一方面體現出他高深的哲 學思想。 三世多杰羌佛的哲學思想，是古佛以至高無上的頂聖智慧，洞悉宇宙人生的真諦，融會貫通，身體力行，直入文明道德的 最高境界的至理。認真研習，深鑒內識，從其超塵脫凡之智慧，無私正節，了明萬法之微妙，都會受到很大的教益和啟迪，因 此一提到雲高益西諾布頂聖如來的哲言就能感召大眾，深受敬慕。早在十多年前，應大家的要求，為便於進一步學習理解，義 雲高大師秘書辦公室和中國社會科學院社會學研究所副研究員陳一筠共同從三世多杰羌佛的文論中，選擇了部份哲言，加以淺 釋，中國社會科學文獻出版社並予以出版發行。為慎重起見，當時特地請雲高益西諾布頂聖如來為淺釋組作了講解，三世多杰 羌佛的講解至為詳盡，但限於本書篇幅，因此我們只用了哲言正文，未用釋解，雖然如此，我們相信這本哲言將是人類思想文 化的寶貴財富，願大家能從中獲得更豐富的知識，純淨德品，增益人類，獲得福慧，若能盡心研學，受用無窮。下面僅例舉一 條哲言，附上白話文解釋。
二零零二年，美國世界法音出版社再次出版雲高益西諾布頂聖如來的《義雲高大師哲言選淺釋》發行全球。
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu’s
Selected Philosophical Sayings About Worldly Matters
(This is a translation of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Wan Ko Yeshe Norbu’s philosophical sayings about worldly matters originally written in Chinese.)
I.
A person is established in character only when he truly knows himself. Why? It is difficult for a person to be aware of his own flaws, just as he cannot see his own back, though it is in plain sight of other people. It is quite natural for a person to hide his own flaws, but overdoing it will alienate the person from those around him. When the person realizes this and feels ashamed, he turns to seek knowledge and adhere to moral integrity so as to establish his own character and win the respect and support of other people.
Brief Commentary
One must know oneself before one can truly be a human being. What is the rationale behind this? Why must we know ourselves before we can truly call ourselves a human being? Although we all consider ourselves as human beings right now, the conduct of many of us is worse than that of animals. The essential character of some people cannot even be called the essential character of a true human being, because a lot of us fail to understand ourselves. Only by understanding ourselves can we truly be a human being. We generally cannot see our own mistakes. Even if we see our own shortcomings, we forgive them. It is difficult to understand ourselves because we all hold our own individual internal principles and stubbornness. It is just like the fact that we cannot see our own backside. No matter how hard we try, we cannot lean our head back far enough to see our backside, but others can see it very easily and clearly. It is the same with our mistakes and shortcomings. We cannot see them, but outsiders can see them from every angle without us knowing it. So to make others like us, we have to hide our mistakes and conceal our flaws. It is human nature. Some people try too hard to hide their mistakes or flaws. Their strenuous and fierce efforts are excessive. In the long run, no one wants to be with them or work with them. People feel they are too selfish, too negative. If we can acknowledge our inadequacies, understand our mistakes and shortcomings, and try to acquire knowledge with a humble mind, then our ways will naturally comport with ethical standards. You can then become a true human being. When people witness your behavior and state of mind, they will naturally respect you and help you willingly. Therefore, by knowing yourself, you will be able to successfully develop yourself. By successfully developing yourself, you will then receive respect and support, and everything in the world will then be complete.
三世多杰羌佛雲高益西諾布世法哲言選
一
必識己方立人，何以故也？己之諸癖自難于解，如瞻己背終弗所見，為外人頗觀，己藏己過乃人之常性，過甚則離或離而不願同謀，識己得之其弗覺，愧而求知，格得其德，方可立人，人皆敬之而助也。
白話解釋
必須認識自己才能真正成為一個人，這是什麼道理呢?為什麼我 們首先要認識自己才能真正成為一個人呢?雖然我們現在每個人都認 為自己是人，但有的人做的很多事情連動物都不如，有的人的本質可 以說根本不是一個人的本質。因為有很多人都不了解自己，所以只有 認識自己，才能成為一個真正的人。自己的錯誤、缺點，往往自己看 不見，就是看見了也會自己原諒自己。自己難於理解自己，因為人有 個我執性在裡面，就正如想看自己的背，不管你用盡一切辦法，你的 頭也伸不過去看見你自己的背，而別人則往往很容易把你的背看得清 清楚楚，對錯誤、缺點同樣是如此，自己往往不容易發現，而局外人 經常都會從各個方面暗暗地看到你的很多錯誤、缺點，加上為了討得 別人的喜歡，自己只得把自己的過失藏起來，以其遮蓋，這就是人的 常性。但是有的人做得很露骨，非常強硬、猛烈，因此稱為過甚，長 此以往，別人就不願意和你在一起同謀共事，就覺得你這個人太自 私、太不好了。如果我們認識到自己的不足，認識到自己的錯誤、缺 點，以慚愧心去求得知識，那麼，自己的格調自然就進入道德規範， 這個時候就可以真正成為一個人了，人們看到你的行為境界以後，自 然就很尊重你，個個都敬你而且願意幫助你，因此，識己才能立人， 立人才能得到幫助，一切世事才能圓滿。
