沙門問佛 何者多力 何者最明 佛言 忍辱多力 不懷惡故 兼加安健 忍者無惡 必為人尊 心垢滅盡 淨無瑕穢 是為最明 未有天地 逮有十方 無不皆明 善昔念之者 所以者何 不以有為而有明也
shā mén wèn fó hé zhě duō lì hé zhě zuì míng fó yán rěn rǔ duō lì bù huái è gù jiān jiā ān jiàn rěn zhě wú è bì wèi rén zūn xīn gòu miè jìn jìng wú xiá huì shì wèi zuì míng wèi yǒu tiān dì dǎi yǒu shí fāng wú bù jiē míng shàn xī niàn zhī zhě suǒ yǐ zhě hé bù yǐ yǒu wéi ér yǒu míng yě
Key Message
Forbearance is the greatest strength, and the original purity of the mind — free from all grime — is the greatest brightness.
▸A monk asks what is most powerful and most bright.
A monk asks what is most powerful and most bright. The Buddha answers: forbearance (忍辱) is most powerful, for it harbors no evil and thus adds peace and strength to the body and mind. One who forbears has no evil and is inevitably respected by others. The most bright is the purified mind from which all grime has been utterly erased, leaving no flaw or defilement. This brightness pervaded the ten directions even before heaven and earth existed — and it is not a brightness produced by deliberate effort.