三经是什么呢？就是《华严经》、《楞严经》、《法华经》。这三部经典是释迦牟尼佛金口所说，阿难尊者所述，后来记载于贝叶，流传于世，成为佛教徒必读必诵的经典。
What are the three sutras? They are the Flower Adornment (Avatamsaka) Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, and the Dharma Flower Sutra. These three sutras are the invaluable words of Shakyamuni Buddha, recounted by the Venerable Ananda, and later recorded on palm leaves and circulated throughout the world. They are the sutras that every Buddhist should study and recite.
万佛圣城所有出家人和在家人，都要背诵这三部经典，最低限度能背诵《楞严经》；或者会背两部，或者会背三部，更为理想。可是要了解经义，不可囫囵吞枣，如果不求甚解，是无有用处。你若是能体会这三部经的境界，那么才没有白做佛教徒一场。
At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, all the left-home people and laypeople must be able to recite these three sutras from memory. At the very least, you must be able to recite the Shurangama Sutra from memory. You may memorize two of the sutras, or all three sutras, which would be ideal. But you must understand the sutras' meaning, and not just "swallow the date whole," that is, recite without understanding. If you don't seek to gain a clear under-standing, it's useless. If you can intuitively comprehend the state of these three sutras, then you will not have been a Buddhist in vain.
释迦牟尼佛在三十岁时，于菩提树下证得正觉。在二十一天的时间内，于定中为法身大士说这部《大方广佛华严经》，这部经包括三藏十二部在内，说明了宇宙万事万物圆融无碍的境界，也就是“一真法界”的境界。
At the age of thirty, the Buddha sat under the Bodhi Tree and attained Proper Enlightenment. For twenty-one days, he remained in samadhi and spoke The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra for the Great Knights of the Dharma-body (Bodhisattvas). This sutra encompasses the three treasuries and twelve divisions of the canon, and explains the perfectly fused and unobstructed state of the myriad phenomena of the universe, which is the state of the "One True Dharma Realm."
释迦牟尼佛六十二岁时，因为阿难尊者注重多闻，忽略修持，不幸被魔登伽女先梵天咒所困，险破戒体。佛用〈楞严咒〉救阿难尊者脱离女难，于是为他说出这部《大佛顶首楞严经》。《楞严经》是开智慧的经，乃是显明理论，由此道理，可以推而广之，扩而充之，触类旁通，定能智慧如海。
When the Buddha was sixty-two, the Venerable Ananda, because he valued only erudition and neglected cultivation, was snared by Matangi's mantra from the ancient Brahma Heaven, and was on the verge of destroying the substance of his precepts. The Buddha first used the Shurangama Mantra to rescue the Venerable Ananda from the woman's artifice, and then spoke for him the Sutra of the Foremost Shurangama of the Great Buddha's Summit. This is the sutra which activates our wisdom and reveals the principles. If we can take these principles and enlarge upon them, expanding their scope and making inferences from them, our wisdom will certainly become as vast as the sea.
佛七十二岁时，在灵山法华会上，为大阿罗汉、大菩萨演说“唯一佛乘”的道理，也就是成佛的道理。当时小乘人回小向大，得佛授记，将来成佛，所以说这部《妙法莲华经》，这是成佛的经典。
At the age of seventy-two, for the great Arhats and great Bodhisattvas in the Dharma Flower Assembly on Spiritual Mountain (Vulture Peak), the Buddha spoke the doctrine of the One Buddha Vehicle, which is the doctrine for becoming a Buddha. At that point, those of the small vehicle turned from the small and went towards the great, and the Buddha bestowed predictions of future Buddhahood upon them. That's why the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is considered the sutra for becoming a Buddha.
出家人，如果能像读书那样来读经典，那么，三藏十二部很容易背熟。可是出家之后，认为这样就够了，或者念佛，或者参禅，或者学教，或者持戒，或者想学密，所以就不读经典了。因为忽略读经的重要性，所以一代不如一代，养成好吃懒做的习惯，这是佛教的不幸，如果再不及时纠正这种错误的观念，那么佛教的前途就不堪设想了。
If left-home people were to study the sutras the way students study in school, it would be easy for them to memorize the three treasuries and twelve divisions of the canon. But after leaving home, they think they've already done enough. They may recite the Buddha's name, investigate Chan meditation, study the teachings, uphold the precepts, or learn esoteric dharmas, so consequently they don't study the sutras. Since they overlook the importance of studying the sutras, each generation is worse than the one before, and people turn into good-for-nothings--lazy gluttons. This is an unfortunate situation in Buddhism. If we don't correct this wrong thinking immediately, I cannot imagine what future Buddhism will have.
一九八三年十一月十二日开示
A talk given on November 12, 1983
