薩迦法王開示「音樂對修行的助益」

 2012年 尊貴的 薩迦法王蒞臺弘法期間，開示了「音樂對修行的助益」，收錄於原動力文化即將出版的 薩迦小佛母--索南帕吉"聽見 心靈良樂"專輯中。

我想，每一位眾生都希望能夠離苦得樂，為此，大家都在努力。物質的進步確實可以解決物質上的問題，帶給我們一些身體上的舒適，但卻無法解決我們精神上的問題及精神上的平和與安樂。真正的平和與安樂只能透過心靈上的修持，因為靈性上的修持可以改變我們的心智進而找到真正的平靜。一旦我們的心智有雜染就無法體會平和與安樂，但是大家要遠離雜染更難，因為從無始以來我們就與雜染連在一起了。因此，我們可以透過佛法及佛的教導來做靈性的修行。

修行的方式有很多種，朝聖、繞佛塔、禮拜等等，我們也可以唸誦佛經、持咒、祈請文和做善事等等。我們擁有身體、聲音與心智，聲音當然是很重要的，因為聲音可以改變我們的心智，尤其優美的音樂旋律能發揮的影響更大，這比一般的唸誦更有效果，所以美妙的旋律是引導眾生接觸佛法很重要的一環，因為當聽到非常甜美的旋律時，我們可以得到安慰、得到解脫，若能藉由平靜的心來修學佛法，持續的修持，我們就能得到長久以來一直追尋的平靜與快樂。

在現代社會裡，已經有許多人對靈修很有興趣，特別是佛教的修持，因為佛教的修持是很有邏輯性的，不僅僅是相信。因為佛曾說過，你們必須解析我的法，當你認同了，知道我說的都是真相時這樣才有用，只有這樣你才能真的接受，這是非常合邏輯及科學的。佛教是唯一能與科學結合的宗教，所以說對現代的社會是最適合的；而修行的方法之一就是透過旋律、透過聲音。美妙的旋律能帶給人們完全不同的氛圍，進而產生對佛法的興趣並開始修行。

THE MERIT OF MUSIC IN SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

All beings have one thing in common, which is that all of us want to be free from suffering and find happiness. Every being strives for happiness and makes great effort to attain it.

Many people try to find happiness in material progress, but although this can bring us physical comfort, it cannot cure our mental and emotional problems, nor can it bring us lasting peace and happiness.

Real peace and happiness can only be achieved through spiritual practice, through transforming our mind. As long as our mind is controlled by our defilements, we cannot experience true peace and happiness. It is difficult for our mind to abandon its defilements because it has been associated with them since beginninglesstime. But by doing spiritual practice and following the Buddha’s teachings, the mind can become free of its defilements.

The Buddha’s teachings can take various forms, and can be practised through the body, the voice and the mind. With our body, we can visit holy places, revere sacred statues and images, and do prostrations and circumambulations. With our mind, we can generate loving kindness and compassion. And with our voice, we can recite prayers, mantras and sacred scriptures.

Our voice is very powerful. With our voice, we can produce sounds that can transform our mind as well as that of others. A beautiful melody can elevate the mind and generate feelings of purity and love. This is all the more true if a beautiful melody is used to recite mantras or spiritual texts. Then it becomes sacred music that touches the heart and can transform the mind deeply. And so, music can play an important part in the practice of the Buddhadharma.

Buddhism is a pragmatic religion and makes use of skillful means to help beings become free of their ignorance and defilements. And so, in this modern world, when people are drawn to spiritual practice but have little time to dedicate to it, the use of sacred music can be extremely beneficial in making their minds more open to the Dharma and bringing about profound transformation.