一貫道郭明義

求道與「皈依」有何不同？

出自:郭明義「見性成佛」 翻譯by: Lily Zhang 

◎問：求道與佛教「皈依」意義是否相同？

Q：Is there any difference between taking the Tao and taking refuge in Buddhism?

大大不同。求道，只要是有天命的點傳師為你點道，一定保証你超生了死，保証你－天榜掛號，地府抽丁。

A:  They are quite different. After taking the Tao, you are sure to escape samsara as soon as the Tao transmitters inherit the true Tao lineage. It’s definite that you will no longer be governed by king of Hell.

而到佛門皈依，那一位師父敢給你保証一定超生了死？恐怕師父自己也不敢保証自己能否斷輪迴之根，又怎敢向你保証皈依後一定超生了死？

However, is there any Buddhist monk who can promise you to escape samsara? Perhaps he himself is not sure of this. How can he guarantee?

如果皈依能確實保証你皈依可超生了死，那麼皈依和求道意義就一樣。但事實上並沒有那位法師敢擔保皈依他門下便可超生了死，所以皈依和求道是大不相同的。

If taking refuge from Buddhist monks also promises you that you can escape samsara, then it will be the same as taking the Tao. In fact, till now, there seems no monk who can promise it. Therefore, they are quite different.

求道是蒙佛授記，而我們天道弟子求道是蒙彌勒佛為我們授記，透過這求道儀式，了斷生死輪迴，從此以後不再退轉，一路向上，未來必定成佛，這是求道最寶貴之處。

Taking the Tao means that Maitriya Buddha gives us a prediction about our future attainment of Buddhahood. Through this ceremony, we can escape samsara, and never move backward. From now on, we can move forward until we reach enlightenment. This is the most precious part of taking the Tao.

常常有不信道的人，在求道儀式中，看到仙佛一尊一尊的從佛燈走出來，看到彌勒祖師在點傳師身上為求道人點道，而不得不信天道是真道應運。

People who don’t believe in Tao may have heard about special visions in the ceremony. They see a lot of Buddhas and bodhisattvas coming out from Buddha lamps and see Maitriya Buddha, standing behind the Tao transmitter and pointing at Tao receiver’s Wisdom Door. Such a vision makes them believe Tao is true.

所以求道是在彌勒祖師的宏慈大願護庇，在諸天仙佛護法下，使求道人「一指見性，了脫生死」的一個儀式。而皈依只是與佛、法、僧結下一個善緣，至於皈依以後是否能了脫生死，則全憑各人修行。

To sum up, taking the Tao is a precious ceremony in which Tao receivers can see the Buddha nature and escape samsara. All these are coming from Maitriya Buddha’s great compassion and big vows as well as many bodhisattvas’ protection. While taking refuge from monks means making good connection with Buddha, Dharma, and sangha( Buddhist monks). It can’t guarantee that you are sure to escape samsara.