以下是2002年Michelle與小朋友分享的學佛心得

Michelle的自我介紹

嗨, 大家好, 我是Michelle Hsieh 謝夢珊, 今年五月份就要滿十六歲, 小時候我在高雄中山國小讀小學, 到了小五的時候, 隨著爸爸媽媽到中國的上海, 現在我在上海的美國學校讀十年級, 也就是高中一年級. 在美國學校的校園生活和在台灣時很不一樣, 整體校風較為開放, 同學們也很熱情, 老師的教學也很有趣; 我們所有的課程全部已英語教學, 包括數學, 科學, 物理 , 化學, 歷史, 地理等等. 但每週也有五次中文課程, 所以未來我以國外的大學為就讀目標.

今天, 我非常高興承蒙博士多幼稚園給我這個機會在這裡和各位小朋友分享自己小小的學佛經驗, 希望能給大家帶來幫助.

謝謝!

Dear all:
My name is Michelle Hsieh. I will be 16-year-old in the May. I was in 5th grade of Kaohsiung ZhongShang Primary School before I transfer to Shanghai, China. I am currently a 10th grader of the International School. The tradition here is much different than Taiwan. They are tended to be more robust and enthusiastic. We have every subject in English, including Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, and History, etc. But we still have five Chinese classes every week. Based on what I’ve done of my academics work lead me to one result: applying a university in the United States. And, which is my goal.

佛學與我

Have you ever wondered how to be a great person? How Yo-Yo Ma became the most famous cellist of the world? Do you want to study more efficiently, and focus on everything you are doing? The best way to practice is meditation. It isn't just sitting there without doing anything, but actually repeating Buddha's name with concentration.
It teaches people to be good persons, to retain good manner, and, eventually, to pursue a wonderful life. What is the Buddha? Buddha means enlightenment and a role model of life. Let's learn Buddha's spirit ! There are many ways to practice concentration in Buddhism. The most common one is by calling Buddha & Sutra's names. That could help us get more concentrate. If we keep doing it constantly, it'll help us improve in studying, work, and business, and so on. I believe that meditation is unfamiliar to most of you, and even Greek to some of you. Perhaps that is the culture of ancient eastern countries. However, I'm now going to tell you the way to the success.

First of all, call the name of Ah Mi Tou Fou a thousand times. It's not a good way to use a rosary. It's not easy for you to focus on what you're calling with something else in your mind. For example, after staring at a picture for more than three seconds, the image of the picture in our brain is replaced by other things. Something like the place you visited, friends, the novels you've read, and so on. You may think of something else when you're reading Ah Mi Tou Fou. You will gain for nothing.So try to clean up everything else in your mind but only the thing you are doing. Like Yo-Yo Ma, he became a cellist by concentrating on praticing at least 4 hrs a day when he's young. The Chinese "Din (定)" can help you focus on here and now. You have to practice a period of time to find out the truth .

各位小朋友, 你們有沒有想過像著名的華裔小提琴家馬友友為什麼能成為第一把手 ? 台灣經營之神王永慶年屆高齡依然身心健康 ? 你想要提高讀書, 做事, 工作的效率嗎? 這裡面有一個秘訣 , 那就是"專注力" , 只要集中所有精神於一點上, 那麼一切困難便能迎刃而解, 擺脫學習困難的枷鎖, 讓一切變得有趣又輕鬆.

話雖如此, 但要怎麼做才能提高專注力呢? 我覺得"念佛" 是練習的不二法門. 佛教, 一般人都認為是一門宗教, 但實際上它是一門教育. 佛是一個覺悟的人, 一個有智者, 學佛便是學習佛的思想, 言行, 學習做人處事的道理, 成為一個有有智慧的人. 透過念佛的修持, 可以練習把散亂的心念收攝回來, 這也就是"定" 的功夫. 其實, 有時候我們在做事的時候, 常覺得效率, 成果不高, 那是因為你沒有把心思專注在所做的事情上, 當你以散亂的心念佛時, 雖然嘴巴念著, 但心猿意馬, 胡思亂想, 根本不知道自己在做些什麼. 比如你盯著一幅畫作超過五秒鐘後, 你會發現此時你的腦袋已經不再是映入眼裡的影像, 而是一些瑣碎的零星事物, 像是昨天去哪裡玩啊, 看過什麼小說漫話啊, 今晚打算去哪裡吃晚餐之類的, 反而真正要專注的事物卻早已拋諸腦外, 從而大幅降低了學習效率, 使得學習的路程更艱辛.


念佛時, 佛號是一個工具, 是一個提升專注力的工具, 我們藉由不斷重覆祂的名號, 心中專注地銘記次數直至千遍, 一天天不間斷, 並努力控制自己的意念在名號上, 久而久之便能看出它的功效.


馬友友一天專注練琴4小時, 才能有傲人的成果; 王永慶修定的功夫讓他延年益壽, 但有很多人坐在琴邊一天也拉不出一首琴來; 許多人因為心緒混亂而得憂鬱症, 這就是專注力的受益. 由此可見, 念佛使我們攝心於一個點上, 排除任何胡思亂想, 用心數才能有所成就. 如佛經所說" 攝心為戒, 因戒生定, 因定發慧" 的功夫.