It is hard to get to hear the Buddha-dharma. This can also be interpreted as: It is hard to meet a good teacher and get to hear the Right Dharma.
佛法难闻:也可以说良师难遇,正法难闻。
In this Age of Dharma Decline, many people go around visiting temples to worship whilst offering incense or looking for spiritual masters. But do you know how many people in the world believe in Buddhism? Do you know how many of them really understand the importance of reciting Buddhist scriptures? You may have heard many people claim to worship and believe in the Bodhisattva.
在这个末法时期,许多人到处去拜菩萨,烧香或拜师。你们知道在全世界现在有多少人信佛?但又有多少人真正懂得念经?你们知道很多人都说自己拜菩萨啊,我相信啊等等。
But as I told you before, and to put it in harsher terms, if someone simply prays to the Buddha but does not recite Buddhist scriptures, they are no different from those who do not pray at all. If they understand nothing about Buddhism, knowing not even the names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, how can they expect to receive help from Bodhisattvas?
你们以前都听师父讲过,拜佛不念经(讲的严重一点)就等于不拜佛。连菩萨的名字都不知道,什么都不明白,怎么能得到菩萨的帮助呢?
To use an analogy: let’s say I like a university very much. But how can I expect to be admitted to this university if I do not want to make an effort or to study hard? This is a crucial point to understand.
我常给大家讲一个比方:我很喜欢和崇拜这所学校,可是自己既不学习也不读书,又怎能考进大学呢?所以要明白这个道理。
It is hard to get to hear the Buddha-dharma. In this Age of Dharma Decline, you ought to seek the true Buddha-dharma if you wish to understand the essence of the Bodhisattva’s teachings and receive blessings from Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
佛法难闻,在末法时期,你想要得到菩萨的真谛,能得到观世音菩萨保佑,就应该找到真正的佛法。
Nowadays, it is hard to emulate the Bodhisattva, and even more so the Buddha. A Bodhisattva is a being who has attained a kind of understanding and wisdom, whereas a Buddha is a being who has become fully awakened and completely enlightened.
现在学菩萨难,学佛更难。菩萨是一个悟,智慧,而佛是觉悟,大彻大悟。
In other words, once you become awakened and have attained complete and perfect enlightenment, you are a Bodhisattva. To become a Buddha, you must attain unsurpassed, complete and perfect enlightenment.
当你开悟了,得到了正等正觉,你就是菩萨。要想成佛就必须证得无上正等正觉。