施達仁整理 黃果儀 英譯 VBS 623
Compiled by Daren Shi English Translated by Ellie Ng
常仁大師（王孝子，1874-1946）是三緣寺的創辦人，也是上宣下化老和尚的師伯。上人講《水鏡回天録》時，第一位介紹的就是常仁大師。上人十一、二歳時，聽説「王孝子」的孝行，因而開始每天早晚對父母叩頭。上人剃度出家，正是在三緣寺。可以説，上人早年在東北時期，受常仁大師影響至深。
Master Chang Ren (1874-1946), also known as Filial Son Wang, was the founder of Three Conditions Monastery. He was the Dharma brother of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s refuge teacher. When Venerable Hua wrote Reflections in Water Mirroring Heaven: Records of Turning the Tide of Destiny, he introduced Master Chang Ren first. Venerable Master Hua, motivated by the conduct of Filial Son Wang, started bowing to his parents and many others twice a day at the age of twelve. Venerable Master Hua had his head shaved and became a monk at Three Conditions Monastery. During his youth in Northeastern China, Venerable Master Hua was greatly influenced by Master Chang Ren.
上人叙述常仁大師的生平，從大師出家前講起。當時王孝子以至孝聞名，曾感得父親主動戒掉鴉片癮。父母往生後，原本雖發願廬墓守孝，但拖了半個月，等到遇見打雷、夜夢關公追殺，讓他心生害怕，「於是乎捨不得太太也要捨了」（宣公上人語），這才痛下決心到父母墳旁守孝。
The Venerable Master started telling the life history of Master Chang Ren in the period before he became a monk. At that time Master Chang Ren was famous for his filial conduct. He was able to motivate his father to break his opium habit. After his parents passed away, he vowed to practice mourning by their gravesite. He did not act for half a month until he was frightened by thunder and the push of Lord Guan in his dream. According to the Venerable Master, “Even if he could not let go of his attachment to his wife, he had to let go.” So, he mustered up the resolve to sit by his parents’ gravesite.
上人對常仁大師著墨甚多的是，在守孝的第二個三年期間，大師立志生食並止語。上人指出，常仁大師在這三年期間，每天僅以小米麵（小米磨成的粉），泡一碗冷水進食。冬天還靠自己的三昧真火，將碗中已凍結的冰，化成水來泡小米麵；光是這一點，已非常傳奇。更難的是，姪女以死相脅，也無法讓他開口講話。大師的恆心、堅持、毅力，是他修行成功的重要因素。上人不僅讚嘆常仁大師的誠心、苦幹，更强調「不打妄語」是大師一生的好處。
The Venerable Master has mentioned a lot about Master Chang Ren’s second three-year mourning period in which Great Master Chang Ren resolved not to speak and to only consume raw food. Venerable Master Hua pointed out that during that three-year period, Master Chang Ren only consumed one bowl of millet flour soaked in cold water every day. In the winter, Master Chang Ren miraculously used the fire of samadhi to turn ice into water to soak the millet flour. Furthermore, he refused to speak even when his niece tried to coerce him to speak by threatening to take her own life. His persistence, perseverance, and willpower were the core values that ensured his success. The Venerable Master also emphasized that among Master Chang Ren’s qualities such as being hardworking and sincere, being truthful (not lying) was one of the most admirable.
此外，在生食止語期間，大師除了參襌打坐，就是誦經，「不休息地這樣用功修行，因此道業大有進步，神通、妙用、智慧都與以前大不相同」。以這些行力，他才有種種救人的靈驗事蹟。在挽救胞妹商夫人的真實情節中，上人透露常仁大師這時已非凡人。讀者若細心閱讀本書，當能對超凡入聖，從凡夫地直到證果的修行過程有所體會。
Besides practicing chan meditation during that period, he also recited sutras. “Tirelessly cultivating was the key to the advances in his cultivation. Great Master Chang Ren’s abilities, marvelous functions, and wisdom improved tremendously as well. Due to this, he developed the miraculous ability to save others. The Venerable Master had already hinted that Great Master Chang Ren was extraordinary when recounting how Great Master Chang Ren rescued his sister, Mrs. Shang. An observant reader will grasp the significance of his journey from a regular human to an enlightened sage.
修行人免不了遇到魔考，常仁大師在修行過程中，乃至修成道果後，都曾遇到魔考。最危險的一次，是他的關房起火。護持他閉關的吳家為禦匪而儲存了大批子彈火藥，若此火不及時撲滅，吳家百餘口人的身家性命都將付之一炬。面對上百人生死交關的緊急狀況，大師的辦法就是「不為所動」。但「不為所動」並非「不予處理」，當時大師化身十餘人救火，本尊則如如不動，一如他過去面對的諸多考驗，因而再次安然過關。
Cultivators will inevitably encounter trials from demons. Before and after Great Master Chang Ren was enlightened, he also encountered trials from demons. The most dangerous of these was when his room caught fire, because the Wu family, who protected him during his seclusion, stored large amounts of gunpowder and bullets in order to protect themselves from bandits. If the fire had not been extinguished quickly, over a hundred members of the Wu family would have lost their lives and property. In this dire situation, the Master’s plan was to remain unmoving. Yet, remaining unmoved did not equate to ignoring the issue. The Master transformed into over ten people to put out the fire while remaining perfectly still, the same method he used when dealing with other trials. Because of this, he safely passed these trials.
上人描述的這段經過，十分生動，也是給修行人很好的參考例證。更令人驚奇的是，據大師事後自言，這場火竟來自他的「自性之火」。這再度證明宣公上人所説的：「魔也是自性的一部分，若自性有魔，就會引進外邊的魔……這也是來看看你的火候够不够？若是够，則千魔不改，萬魔不退，不會退失菩提心。魔是來考驗你，令你更進一步。」上人在本書中，特别指出：得到襌定後，有時就有不可思議的境界。但唯有「不期而至」的境界來了，才是真的。
The Venerable Master animatedly described this incident, which is an extremely good example for cultivators. What was more surprising was that after the incident, Great Master Chang Ren himself stated that this fire came from his inherent nature. This once again validates the Venerable Master’s statement, “Demons are also a part of our own nature. If we hold demons inside, they will be attracted from outside. Demons test to see how strong our cultivation is. If it is strong enough, we will not waver or retreat in the face of ten thousand demons, and we won’t lose our resolve for Bodhi. Demons come to test us, to make us take another step forward.” The Venerable Master pointed out in the book that once you obtain Chan samadhi, sometimes you might experience inconceivable states. They are only real if the state arrives without expectation.
法界佛教總會佛經翻譯委員會將宣公上人所講的《水鏡回天録白話解》多篇譯成英文，以中英雙語版面世。其中文字最長的《常仁大師傳》另成此書，不但有白話解釋，並有英文翻譯，讓英文讀者也能看到孝順的典範，並一窺修行之堂奥。
The Buddhist Text Translation Society has translated into English Reflections in Water Mirroring Heaven: Records of Turning the Tide of Destiny and published a bilingual version of this book. The Biography of Great Master Chang Ren was extracted, because of its length, to form this book that consists of the Venerable Master’s commentary along with the English translations. This will give English readers examples of filial piety and a glimpse of the depths of spiritual cultivation.
此書由比丘近巖法師英譯，比丘尼恒懿法師、近育法師、胡愛蓮居士等人順文；比丘尼恒哲法師和凌峰居士等人負責中英校對；最後由比丘尼恒持法師證明。本書封面採用馬汀維和文教授（前恒朝法師）在緬因州所拍攝的照片；維和文博士認為這張照片恰足以表現「水鏡」——鏡頭呈現了「水天一色」，也是華嚴境界世出世間圓融無礙的最佳詮釋。
請購此書，請上佛經翻譯委員會網站: https://www.buddhisttexts.org/products/biography-of-great-master-chang-ren
English translation of this book was done by Bhikshu Jin Yan. Bhikshuni Heng Yi (De), Bhikshuni Jin Yu, Eileen Hu and Cynthia Helen Beecher did the editing; Bhikshuni Heng Je, Upāsaka Feng Ling and three other lay people did the bilingual review. Finally, Bhikshuni Heng Chih did the certification for this book. Cover photo was taken in Maine by Professor Martin Verhoeven (former Dharma Master Heng Chau) who sees that photo as illustrating a very closely related idea to “water mirror”—the experience of what are called “thin places.” A “thin place” is a locale where the distance between heaven and earth collapses. It is an Avatamsaka state where wordly and world-transcending interpenetrate without obstruction.
For purchasing this book, please visit the following website: https://www.buddhisttexts.org/products/biography-of-great-master-chang-ren