文／蓮生活佛 盧勝彥
「三昧」是什麼？是「定」，「定」是什麼？「不妄不亂是也」，是介於昏沉與清醒的中間。
「三昧」是夢嗎？非也，當然不是夢，如果是夢，人人皆會「三昧」。「三昧」只是像夢，這是「離幻即覺」，如果用文字語言來解釋「三昧」怎麼解釋均很困難了。
我見到李白，在三昧中。
我問：「酒戒？」
李白答：「酒若遮性，則有罪。佛教五戒，殺盜淫妄皆是重罪，唯只有酒是輕戒，煮菜或醫藥中加酒，不喝醉，飲食之實皆無罪也。」
我聽了哈哈大笑。說：「汝過患矣！」
李白答：「遊戲而已！」
我問李白：
「汝醉酒，江中撈月，是真實否？」
李白答：「遁法。」
「什麼遁法？」
「跳入波心，水遁而去！」
「汝遁到何處去？」
「天上星曹顯示靈跡於世間，遁走便回天上，天上才是故鄉是也。」（天上界或四聖界）
我問李白：「那我呢？」
李白答：「你自己想辦法回去，或是阿彌陀佛引導你回去，都不是可以嗎？」
「我也可江中撈月吧！」
「汝又不醉酒。」李白哈哈大笑。
李白補充說：「汝可以永遠隱居在葉子湖，時光倏忽間，汝亦垂垂老矣！甚至汝也可不必等老，用經行的，一直走，一直走，就走回天上去了。」
「那豈不是老子？」我問。
「我同宗老子出涵谷關，就是如此，一走了之。」
「我當如何？」
李白說：「一走了之。」
Li Bai’s Appearance in the Dream
Written by Living Buddha Lian-sheng, Sheng-yen Lu
Translated by Cheng Yew Chung
Edited by Jason Yu
Proofread by Lufang Hsiung
www.tbtts.org
What exactly is samadhi? Samadhi means concentration. What then is concentration? It is mentally being non-delusional and calm, which is a half awakened state.
Is samadhi a dream state? It is not. If it were a dream state then everyone would experience samadhi. It is similar to a dream, but works on the principle of “leaving illusion is itself realization.” If we try to use words to describe what samadhi is all about, no amount of description could do the job well.
In my samadhi, I met Li Bai [the famous ancient Chinese poet]. I asked him, “What about keeping the precepts of not drinking alcohol?”
Li Bai said, “When the consumption of wine leads to irrational behavior, then it is a sin. Among the Five Precepts of Buddhism, killing, stealing, debauchery and false talks are grave sins, with the exception of consuming alcoholic drink which is considered a lighter sin. When you add wine to cooking or as an ingredient in Chinese medication, and avoid getting yourself drunk in any way, then there is no sin in consuming some wine.”
I laughed out loud when I heard his words, and said, “You are too indulgent!”
Li Bai replied, “It’s all only a game!”
I asked Li Bai, “When you were drunk, you attempted to scoop the moon out of the river. Did it really happen?”
Li Bai answered, “It was my escape.”
“What kind of escape was it?”
“By jumping into the wave, I escaped through the water.”
“Where did you escape to?”
“When the heavenly ruler of the stars moved among the people on earth, naturally when he escapes, he returns to the heavens. The heavenly world is home.”(Referring to either the heavenly realm, or the Four Holy Realms)
I asked Li Bai, ”What about me?”
Li Bai said, “You can return by your own effort or by the guidance of Amitabha Buddha. Both these approaches do the job, don’t they?”
“I can also try to fish the moon out of the river!”
“But you are not a drunk!” laughed Li Bai.
“You can always stay in retreat at Leaf Lake, and in no time you shall become old. In fact you don’t have to wait for old age to arrive, as you can simply continue with your walking meditation and return to the heavenly realm through your walking,” added Li Bai.
“Isn’t that the way of Laozi (Lao-Tzu)?” I asked.
“What I did was no different from Laozi’s way of leaving the Hangu Pass; leaving without ever turning back.”
“What should I do then?”
Li Bai said, “Leave without looking back.”
