【用这个生命来修行，是对父母最大的报恩、也是对佛菩萨最好的供养】

海涛法师开示：

我们学佛很有福报，我们懂得超度的方法。

因为我去国外看，外国人拜祖先就是拿一朵花，他也不是拜，他是怀念你这样而已。看到花，但没得吃，但是明明人如果死了堕鬼道，祂就是要吃。

但是，吃也不是直接给祖先吃，你去拜祖先，不是这个饭菜给祂吃，我们是拿这个饭菜、饼乾、水果，替祂们供养三宝，替祂们布施众生，所以祂们得到功德。

就像目犍连救妈妈，

替她供佛斋僧。阿难又提倡施食饿鬼，我们叫《甘露施食》，所以往生者得到功德，这才是正确的方法。

 

 

所以你在拜祖先也是这样，你拿一碗饭菜，先供养家裡的观音菩萨、供养家裡的佛像，供养完再回向给祖先，再把这个饭菜放在祖先面前，也不见得祂吃得到，只是因为你供养过，所以祂得到了。

然后再把这个饭菜，拿一点点去布施给众生，

祖先更得到功德，这个在佛教才是正确的方法。

当然最大的功德，念一下：「修行的功德」，除了这些外在的布施、供养，如果我们真实的用我们父母给我们的生命来修行，那才是最大的供养。

 

 

在家人最高的修行就是今天这样，守八关斋戒。

这八条戒律包含两个重点。

第一、不伤害众生。第二、不造下轮迴的因。

第一条：「不杀生」。

第二条：「不偷盗」。

第三条：「不淫欲」，就是今天晚上夫妻要分开睡，不能同房，也不能同床。除了不邪淫，又断除贪欲。

第四条：「不骗人」，这也是不伤害众生。

第五条：「不喝酒」，不喝酒除了不伤害众生，也断除口欲，嘴巴的欲望。

第六条：「不香花璎珞、香油涂身」，

今天不能化妆、擦香水，戴耳环、洗香皂。

 

 

而且今天，各位等一下回去，如果你穿皮鞋来的，你就拿在手上，不能穿。

各位，你看到出家人全身都穿布的，就是不用动物皮。你嘴巴在吃素，结果你在用牛皮，这样就颠倒了，不如法，因为大乘佛教讲慈悲。

所以，除了不爱漂亮，又不用动物皮毛。

第七条：「不睡卧高广大床」，各位今天要睡单人床，直接睡工人房间比较快，换一下，就是今天要学修苦行，睡地板，睡单人床。

「不歌舞倡伎，不故往观听」，今天不听音乐、唱歌、看电视节目，除非你是看讲经说法，就是今天眼根、耳根不要去享受。

 

 

第八：「过午不食」，

天上的神是早上太阳还没有出来就在吃饭，所以「斋天」要在一大早。

中午以前是佛菩萨、阿罗汉在吃饭，所以叫「过午不食」。

下午是畜生道在吃饭，晚上是饿鬼道在吃饭，地狱道没得吃。

我们学佛菩萨、阿罗汉，所以今天中午之前就要吃完饭，中午以后不能吃东西，可以喝水，但是不能喝有颗粒的东西，比如说牛奶、豆浆。除非你是老人、小孩，你没有办法，你就代替吧。但是正常人只有喝水或是喝加糖的水。

这八条戒，前面的就包含了不伤害众生，后面的是断除欲望。

断除欲望，你才能够种下解脱的因。

海涛法师 20170826 弘法笔记-1( 印尼-巴澹岛_八关斋戒)

 

 

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【Life-long Cultivation is the Best Repaying to Parents’ Loving-kindness, and the Best Offerings to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas】／Master Hai Tao  

Without great merits, we neither have chances to learn Buddha Dharma, nor know how to help liberate sentient beings. While going abroad to visit, I saw the foreigners dedicating flowers to ancestors as a way to worship. In fact, it's not about worship, but just their way to commemorate the ancestors. The ancestors could see the flowers, but get nothing to eat. Even if falling into the Ghost Realm after death, they still need to eat,

 but not the way of (offering food to ancestors directly).

 

 

When you go worshipping the ancestors, the meals are not for ancestors, because the concept of offering the meals to them is wrong as well. We contribute the meals, cookies, and fruit as offerings to the Three Jewels on behalf of them, and as donations to sentient beings in the name of the ancestors. Consequently, they could gain the merits. 

For example, Maudgalyayana helped liberate his mother by contributing the offerings to Buddhas and monks/nuns. Furthermore, Ananda promoted offering food to hungry ghosts. We call it "Nectar Food Offering." Thus, the deceased could get the merits. This is exactly the correct way. It's the same while worshipping the ancestors. Hold a bowl of rice and vegetables to dedicate to Avalokitesvara at home first. 

 

 

After contributing the offerings to the Buddhas, you dedicate the merits of making offerings to your ancestors. Even you put the meals in front of the ancestors, they may not be able to eat. However, through your contributing, the ancestors could gain the merits. Then you get the meal, a little of it, to donate to sentiment beings, so the ancestors could gain more merits. This is the correct way in Buddha's teaching. 

Of course, the most enormous merit is, repeating after me, "the merit of cultivation." In addition to making these external donations and offerings, if we practically and genuinely make use our lives given from the parents to cultivate, that's so-called the most tremendous offerings. 

 

 

To lay people, the supreme practice is like what we are doing today: Undertake the Eight Precepts. These eight precepts--no makeup, no killing, … These eight precepts contain two important tips, repeating after me, 1. Abstaining from being harmful to living beings. 2. Abstaining from doing the things leading to reincarnation.

 1. Refrain from destroying living creatures. 2. Refrain from taking what is not given. 3. Refrain from sexual activity. In other words, the couple ought to sleep in separate beds tonight without staying in the same room or the same bed to not only refrain from unchastity but also abandon greed. 4. Refrain from "incorrect speech." It is also categorized as not being harmful to sentient beings. 5. Refrain from "taking intoxicants." No drinking alcohol keeps from harming living creatures, and abstains from satisfying one's palate and insatiable appetite. 6. Refrain from wearing garlands, using perfumes, and beautifying the body with aromatic oil. No applying makeup or perfume today. No wearing earrings or taking a shower with perfumed soaps. 

 

 

When you go back home later, if coming here wearing leather shoes, please hold the shoes with hands without wearing them. You see that monks/nuns wear only plant made clothes from head to toe without using animal skin. Having a plant based diet while applying cow leather seems trapped in the upside-down delusion. It's against the Dharma because compassion is essential in Mahayana Buddhism. Consequently, 

neither pay attention to appearance, nor use animal fur. 

 

 

7. Refrain from lying on a high or luxurious sleeping place. You should sleep in a single bed tonight, or, better yet, go sleep in a worker's room to change the environment for it's a day for practicing ascetic cultivation. It's proper to sleep on the floor, or in a single bed. "Refrain from dancing , singing, music, and going to see entertainments." Thus, don't listen to music, sing songs, or watch TV programs unless what you watch is Buddha Dharma programs. In other words, don't indulge your eyes and ears in amusement.

 

 

 8. Refrain from eating at the forbidden time as "no eating after noon." The deities in heaven have meals before the sun rises. As a result, contributing meals to gods is held in the early morning. Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats have meals before noon, so it's called "no eating after noon." Beasts have meals in the afternoon, hungry ghosts have meals at night, but beings in the Hell Realms have nothing to eat at all. Hence, we learn from Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats to have meals before noon. No food after noon. 

 

 

Drinking water is allowed whereas all the food is forbidden including any beverage with particles in. Drinks like milk or soybean milk are for the elder and kids. If you are not able to make it, then you could drink those as substitutes. However, ordinary people only drink water or sugar flavored water. 

Among these eight precepts, the former ones focus on not harming sentient beings, and the latter ones emphasize total abstinence. Only when being able to refrain from sensuality, can you plant the seeds of liberation.