所以有人读诵《楞严经》，要我尽形寿供养这样的修道人，我也愿意的。因为“正法兴，楞严兴；正法灭，是楞严灭。”由这个各位应该知道，这个《楞严经》在佛教里是多么重要的。
If there is anyone who recites the Shurangama Sutra, I am willing to serve and make offerings to such a cultivator all my life. When the Proper Dharma prospers, the Shurangama prospers. When the Proper Dharma declines, the Shurangama becomes extinct. From this, you should all realize how important the Shurangama Sutra is in Buddhism.
“开慧的楞严，成佛的法华，教化众生的是华严。”因为这个，我在美国，头一次由西雅图华盛顿大学来了三十几位大学的学生，我开讲《楞严经》。第一个暑假班是九十六天，那么我给这些个大学生讲《楞严经》，中间只有礼拜六放半天假，放半天香，其余的时间都是讲经说法，他们也都写笔记。那么一开始，一天讲一次，由他们去研究。过了半个月，我算一算这个《楞严经》的篇幅和日期，恐怕讲不完，所以就增加一天讲两次。又过一个时期，还是讲不完，就一天讲三次，那么最后有半个多月，一天讲四次。
The Shurangama is for opening wisdom. The Dharma Flower is for becoming a Buddha. The Avatamsaka is for teaching living beings. Therefore, in America I started out by lecturing on the Shurangama Sutra to a group of over thirty students from the University of Washington in Seattle. During the ninety-six days of summer vacation, I lectured on the Shurangama Sutra to those college students. During that time, there was only a half day's break on Saturdays. Aside from that, I lectured on the Sutra every day, and they all took notes. In the beginning, I lectured once a day, and then they studied on their own. After half a month, I assessed the time and the length of the Shurangama Sutra. Fearing that I might not finish in time, I began lecturing twice a day. After a while, I calculated again and decided that I still would not be able to finish, so I started lecturing three times a day. Finally, in the last half month or more, I lectured four times a day.
在这个“暑假楞严讲修班”的期间，我一个人，给他们讲经也是我，做饭也是我，做菜也是我，烧茶也是我，那么买菜一切一切都是我，那时候四十八单执事，我一个人兼而行之，就这样子。那么这些个学生我本来可以叫他们轮流来做事情，但是我怕耽误他们的功课，耽误他们研究经典的时间，所以谁我也不用，那时候不敢说行菩萨道，但是因为有人要学《楞严经》，我愿意尽形寿来供养这样的人，所以在九十六天中，把《楞严经》讲完了。讲完之后，这是在美国一般人认识佛教的一个开始。
During the Summer Shurangama Study and Cultivation Session, not only did I lecture on the Sutra, I also cooked the meals, made tea, and did the grocery shopping and everything else for them. You could say I single-handedly took on all the monastic chores. Of course, I could have asked the students to take turns working, but I did not want to interfere with their cultivation and study of the Sutra. So I didn't let a single person help. Although I dare not say I was practicing the Bodhisattva Way, if people wanted to study the Shurangama Sutra, I was willing to dedicate my life to serve and support them. After ninety-six days, I finished lecturing the Shurangama Sutra. With the end of this lecture, people in America were beginning to give recognition to Buddhism.
讲完《楞严经》，有五个人就出家了，在那年正月初一的时候，我曾经对一切的信众说过，“今年美国的佛教会开五朵莲华，这五朵莲华将来就是把佛教传到西方去。”这是那时候说的话。
At the end of the Shurangama Sutra lecture series, five people left the home-life. On New Year's Day, I said to the assembly, This year, five lotuses will bloom in American Buddhism. In the future, these five lotuses will spread Buddhism in the West. That's what I said then.
那么在这个“暑假楞严讲修班”毕业之后，就有五个美国人要出家，我就派他们到台湾海会寺去受戒，遇着台湾的善知识，就告诉这五个人，说：“现在末法时代了，没有人在修行了，你们还吃一餐哪，被你师父给骗了！”我这些个美国徒弟，一听这个话，“哦！原来我们是被师父骗了，那我们怎么办呢？”这个善知识就说：“吃饭嘛！喝酒嘛！吃肉嘛！”这五个人对佛教就生了怀疑了，“怎么我师父教我们吃一餐，他们叫我们早晚都应该吃饭的，这是怎么搞的？这里头一定有问题？”心里就活活动动地就要吃饭，于是乎他们自己就开会，说：“我们回去问清楚再吃饭！”他们又告诉那个台湾的善知识说：“我们是坐单的。”台湾有一些个人就告诉他们说：“坐单！那是佛住世的时候，有人坐单；现在佛都不在世了，你们坐什么单哪？唉！真是美国人被中国人骗了。”
After they graduated from the Summer Shurangama Lecture and Practice Session, five Americans left the home-life. I sent them to Hai Hui (Sea-like Assembly) Monastery in Taiwan to receive the precepts. The Good and Wise Advisors in Taiwan told them, Now it is the Dharma-Ending Age. No one cultivates anymore. You're still eating one meal a day? You've been cheated by your teacher. When my American disciples heard this, they thought, Oh, so we've been cheated by our teacher. What should we do? The Good and Wise Advisors said, Well, go ahead and eat. Drink wine and eat meat. The five people started to have doubts about Buddhism. How come our teacher taught us to eat one meal a day, and now they tell us we should eat in the morning and evening as well? What's going on? There must be something wrong here. Their minds were swayed, and they wanted to start eating more meals, but they had a meeting and decided to go back and make sure before they did that. They also told the Good and Wise Advisors in Taiwan that they slept sitting up. Some people in Taiwan told them, You sleep sitting up? People did that when the Buddha was in the world. Now the Buddha isn't around anymore, so why do you do it? It's really a case of Americans being cheated by the Chinese.
这么样一来，怎么样呢？回去就调皮了，说：“人家台湾人都吃三餐，我们不应该吃一餐。”就和我捣蛋了。又说…，唉！总而言之，我也不记得这么多了。结果搞了三个月之后，这才没有怀疑了。
What happened then? When they returned, they got mischievous. They said, In Taiwan, everyone eats three meals a day. We shouldn't eat just one meal. They acted naughty with me. They said more, but I don't remember that much. It took more than three months before their doubts were resolved.
那么当时台湾就有人说：“这个宣化法师在美国，收了一些个邪皮（嬉皮），他因为到金门公园去，那儿很多邪皮，宣化法师就到那儿去打坐，一打坐，这些邪皮看着很奇怪的，就去和他谈话，那么宣化法师就叫他们去庙上看看，到庙上一看，和他们邪皮过的生活差不多，于是乎就都出家了。”
At that time, some people in Taiwan would say, Dharma Master Hsuan Hua has taken some hippies as disciples in America. There are many hippies hanging out in Golden Gate Park, and Dharma Master Hsuan Hua goes there to meditate. When the hippies see him meditating, they are curious and go up to talk to him. Then Dharma Master Hsuan Hua tells them to go visit the temple. They go to the temple and find that the lifestyle there is pretty similar to their hippie lifestyle, so they all leave the home-life.（待续 To be continued）
——摘自法界佛教总会