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宣化上人開示錄(五)
Venerable Master Hua's Talks on Dharma Volume Five　

上宣下化老和尚開示 Lectures by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

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業盡情空就是佛

With Karma Ended and Emotions Emptied, One Is A Buddha

愛是一種情牽物累，人之所以精神痛苦不自在，都是因為這個愛。
Love is a kind of emotional attachment that weighs us down.
People suffer psychological trauma because of emotional love.

釋迦牟尼佛修道時，父系親屬有三人跟著他修行，母系親屬也有二人隨佛修道，這幾個人最後卻離開佛了。什麼原因呢？有三人說跟著佛修道太苦了，受不了這個苦，所以他們離佛而去，自己去修另外的法門；又有兩個人看見佛喝奶粥，以為佛受不了苦，貪圖享受，所以也離佛而去。你看看，眾生的根性是沒有法子滿足的，所謂：

 

When Shakyamuni Buddha left home to practice the Way, he was accompanied by three relatives from his father's side and two from his mother's side. In the end, however, these five people all left the Buddha. Why? Three of them found the Buddha's ascetic lifestyle too bitter, so they left the Buddha and took up other methods of practice. The other two saw the Buddha drink some porridge with milk and left in disgust, thinking the Buddha was a wimp who couldn't take suffering. So, you see, beings can never be satisfied.

諸佛菩薩難滿眾生願。

　

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas find it difficult
To fulfill the wishes of beings.

眾生所願意的，有種種的不同。他所願意的，就是他所貪的，他沒有滿足的時候。你這時滿足他這種願，但他又生出另一種欲，所以貪欲是無底洞，什麼時候也不能滿足。貪來貪去，從有生以來，就貪；從少而壯，壯而老，老而死，一生都在貪求。貪求名，就死在名上；貪求利，就死在利上。貪求名，就被火燒死；貪求利，就被水淹死，這是水火二災。再貪求榮華富貴，就死到風裏。眾生都把世事看得那麼重要，放不下。

　

Beings wish for different things. Their greed is insatiable. Once you fulfill a being's wish, he'll start craving something else. The greed of beings can be compared to a bottomless pit that can never be filled. We have been greedy ever since the time we were born. From youth through middle age to old age and death, our whole lives are driven by greed. If we are greedy for fame, we will die in the pursuit of fame. If we are greedy for profit, we will die in the pursuit of profit. Pursuing fame, we get burned to death; chasing after profit, we die by drowning. These are the disasters of water and fire. If we pursue wealth and honor, wind will cause our death. Living beings take worldly affairs extremely seriously and cannot put them down.

　 　

釋迦牟尼佛修行時，忍苦耐勞，跟他一同修行的人都離他而去，轉而修外道法。我們現在依照佛法來修行，也有很多人都不同意，都以為修道吃虧太大了。他們拿不出真心，發不出真願。有些人出家之後，仍是混吃等死，也不理會自己的生死有沒有了，就隨隨便便讓一天空過去，等無常鬼來到時，一點把握都沒有，生死俱不自由。所以這樣子出家是空過光陰。我們不要以為在佛教中就可以隨便造罪業，這樣是佛教中的罪人！

　

When Shakyamuni Buddha was cultivating, he endured toil and suffering, but his fellow cultivators all abandoned him and went to follow other ways of practice. Now we are cultivating in accord with the Buddhadharma, and many people disapprove of what we are doing. They think they will lose out on too much if they cultivate. They cannot bring forth a sincere mind and make a true resolve. Even after leaving the home-life, some people care only about getting their meals and don't do any work. Unconcerned about ending birth and death, they idly while away their time. When the ghost of impermanence comes for them, they'll have no control over their own birth and death. If that is how we act after leaving the home-life, we are wasting our time. If we think we can casually commit offenses within Buddhism, we are criminals within Buddhism!

　 　

釋迦牟尼佛修人所不能忍受的苦行，終於開悟成佛，他首先轉四諦法輪──苦集滅道。苦有三苦、八苦、無量諸苦。三苦是：

　

While a prince, Shakyamuni Buddha cultivated extremely difficult ascetic practices and eventually became enlight-ened. After he became a Buddha, the first thing he did was to turn the Dharma Wheel of the Four Truths: suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way. As to suffering, there are the Three Sufferings, the Eight Sufferings, and limitless sufferings. The Three Sufferings are:

　 　

（一）苦苦
（二）壞苦
（三）行苦

　

1. the suffering within suffering,
2. the suffering of decay, and
3. the suffering of process.

　 　

略述如下：

　

They are briefly described as follows:

　 　

（一）苦苦。貧窮的人沒有房子住，又沒有禦寒的衣服，也沒有蔽熱的衣服，而且又沒有飯吃，你看這有多苦！這是苦上加苦，苦中加苦，萬苦交煎。為什麼會受到這樣的苦呢？因為在往昔不好好修行，或欺師滅祖，或輕法慢教，或儘聽自己伶俐蟲、精細鬼的教唆，做種種惡事。因為不知道修行，就墮落而受這種的苦。受這種苦的人，大多數是畜生轉來。因為前生毀謗大乘，欺師滅祖，所以墮落到地獄中，而後轉變成餓鬼、畜生，最後做人了，也是諸根不具，五官不端正。

　

1. The suffering within suffering is experienced by those who are so poor they don't even have a place to live, clothes to keep out the cold or heat, or food to eat. They suffer such extreme misery because they failed to cultivate in past lives. Instead, they cheated their teachers, scorned the teachings, engaged in evil, and were too clever and cunning for their own good. Not knowing enough to cultivate the Way, they fell and had to undergo suffering. Most of these people have just come from the animal realm. Because they slandered the Great Vehicle and cheated their teachers, they fell into the hells, underwent rebirth in the realms of hungry ghosts and animals, and finally became humans. Yet even as humans, their faculties are imperfect.

　 　

（二）壞苦。這不是貧窮人所受的苦，而是富貴人所受的苦。富人衣食住行俱全，有飛機、輪船、洋房，但突然遭到大火，把一切都燒盡，結果什麼都沒有了。或者飛機突然失事，喪失生命了；或者輪船在大洋中撞翻了，人就淹死在海中，這都是壞苦。本來很好的，可是一下子意外發生，就什麼也沒有了。這「壞」，不是壞苦，而是壞福。

　

2. The suffering of decay. This type of suffering is undergone by those who are rich and honored. A person may have all he needs in terms of clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. He may own his own plane, boat, and mansion. But then a sudden fire burns up all his property, leaving him destitute. Or maybe he dies in a plane crash or a shipwreck. These belong to the suffering of decay. Everything had been going well, but then he loses everything, perhaps even his life. This is the suffering caused by the decay of blessings.

　 　

（三）行苦。既沒有貧窮的苦苦，也沒有富貴的壞苦，而是平平常常的。由少而壯，由壯而老，由老而死，念念遷流，自己做不得主。老邁時眼花耳聾，甚至手腳也不靈活了，這就是一生的行苦。

　

3. The suffering of process. Perhaps you are neither rich nor poor, and so you do not experience the previous two sufferings. You just lead a very ordinary life. From childhood, you enter the prime of life, grow old, and die. Your thoughts flow on in a continuous succession, and you cannot control them. When you grow old, your eyes get blurry, your ears become deaf, and your hands and feet are no longer nimble. This is the suffering of process.

　 　

在世界人類中，三苦有很大的勢力。什麼樣的英雄豪傑，有時就被苦給苦倒了，甚至苦死了，你說可憐不可憐！所謂：

　

The Three Sufferings hold tremendous sway over our lives. Even the greatest hero is sometimes overwhelmed by these sufferings, even to the point of dying. Isn't that pathetic?

　 　

善有善報，
惡有惡報。

　

Good deeds bring a good reward;
Evil deeds bring an evil retribution.

　 　

報應有早晚，禍福是絲毫不爽的，我們不要任一時之性，而造無窮之罪業。所謂：

　

The retribution may come early or late, but we never fail to receive the blessings or calamities we deserve. We should take care not to commit limitless offenses in a moment of indulgence.

　 　

一失足成千古恨，
再回頭已百年身。

 　

A single mistake brings everlasting regret;
By the time we recover, we will have
reached a ripe old age.

　 　

我們在世間無論如何要做一個正氣者，出家要護持正法，行持正法，時時刻刻循規蹈矩，不能有絲毫違犯戒律的地方。你如果一不小心，就很容易造業，所謂地獄門前僧道多。

出家人若不守規矩，一定會墮地獄的，這是一點也不客氣的，因為明知故犯，所以罪加三等，不是很好玩的。不可以想佛菩薩都見不到我，就可以胡作非為了。要知道，你肚裏想什麼，天都知道，更何況佛菩薩呢！不要以為佛菩薩不睜眼，你就可以亂來。這是掩耳盜鈴，自己騙自己，以後到受果報時，後悔也來不及了。

　

No matter what happens, we have to maintain a righteous and proper spirit. After leaving the home-life, we should protect and practice the Proper Dharma. We must abide by the rules in every moment and not commit even the slightest transgression of the precepts. It is easy to create bad karma in a moment of carelessness. That's why there are said to be many Buddhist monks and Taoist priests at the gates of hell. Left-home people who don't follow the rules are headed for the hells. No mercy is shown to those who deliberately commit offenses. In fact, their punishment is tripled. It's not a lot of fun. Don't act recklessly, thinking that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas cannot see you. Even the gods and spirits can read your mind, how much more the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas! Don't think you can do evil things because the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have their eyes closed. You're just fooling yourself-it's like covering your ears and stealing a bell, hoping that others won't hear it. When it's time to suffer the consequences, it'll be too late to regret what you've done.

　 　

老子說：「吾所以有大患者，為吾有身；及吾無身，吾有何患？」就是說我們人有種種執著，放不下，就因為被關到五蘊的籠子裏，不能出去，生出種種執著，種種分別，種種妄想，所以就不能了生脫死。

　

Lao Zi said, "I suffer great troubles because I have a body. Without a body, what troubles would I have?" People cannot relinquish their various attachments because they are locked in the cage of the five skandhas. Since they entertain various attachments, discriminations, and discursive thoughts, they cannot put an end to birth and death.

　 　

又有八苦，總括來說有八種，其實何止八種，實際上有無量無邊的苦。八苦是：

　

We also speak of the Eight Sufferings, although there are in fact infinite kinds of sufferings. The Eight Sufferings are:

　 　

（一）生苦
（二）老苦
（三）病苦
（四）死苦
（五）愛別離苦
（六）怨憎會苦
（七）求不得苦
（八）五陰熾盛苦

　

1. the suffering of birth
2. the suffering of old age
3. the suffering of sickness
4. the suffering of death
5. the suffering of being apart from those you love
6. the suffering of being together with those you hate
7. the suffering of not obtaining what you want
8. the suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas

　 　

這八種苦是世界上害人最甚的。

　

These Eight Sufferings are the most harmful things in the world. They are briefly explained below.

　 　

（一）生苦。人還未出生，就已經受很多苦難了，在母親肚子裏，母親吃冷的東西，孩子就像住在冰山中；母親吃熱的東西，孩子就像住在火山裏。到出生時，就猶如被兩座大山夾住，所以小孩子一出生就哇哇叫，只會說：「苦啊！苦啊！苦啊！」想說苦，可是不會說話，只會哇哇叫。

人若是沒有身體，就不會有苦痛的感覺；有了身體，就有種種的苦痛。出生時的苦，猶如生龜脫殼，痛苦難忍！

　

1. The suffering of birth. People have already suffered many hardships by the time they are born. When a mother eats cold food, the baby in her womb feels as if it's in the freezing mountains. When she eats hot food, the baby feels as if it's in a volcano. Being in the womb is an unpleasant experience. During birth, the baby cries because it feels as if it's being squeezed between two great mountains. The baby cries, "Ku! Ku! Ku!" ["Ku" means "Suffering" in Chinese.] The baby is trying to say that it is in terrible pain, but it can't talk. If we didn't have bodies, we wouldn't feel pain and suffering. We experience all sorts of physical suffering through our bodies. Right at the time of birth, the baby's agony is like that of a live turtle whose shell is ripped off.

　 　

（二）死苦。有生就有死，到死的時候，四大分張，被業風所牽，也是痛楚難言。

　

2. The suffering of death. Birth leads inevitably to death. When a person dies, the four elements disperse and his spirit is dragged off by the karmic wind. Death entails unspeakable suffering.

　 　

（三）病苦。人的身體是由地、水、火、風四大假合而成。若火多了，水就少了；或風多了，土就少了；或水多了，火就少。四大不調合、不均勻，身體就會有病，有病就有痛苦。有的人頭痛，或腳痛，或胳臂痛，或腰痛；或有心臟病，或有脾病、腎病，各從其類，各有各的來源。

若好色，腎就會有病；貪財多了，就會有心病；脾氣大，肝就會有病；生惱怒，肺就會有病；盡怨人，脾就會有病。

心、肝、脾、肺、腎的病，就是由恨、怨、惱、怒、煩所起的。恨人就傷心，怨人就傷脾，惱人就傷肺，怒人就傷肝，煩人就傷腎。這四大不調，是因為恨、怨、惱、怒、煩，和七情在作怪。

或者喜太多，或恨太多，或哀痛太多，或恐懼太多，或欲太多，都能令四大不調，生出種種的病。有病苦就容易老，所以接下來有老苦。

　

3. The suffering of sickness. The human body is a false combination of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Perhaps there is more fire than water, or more air than earth, or more water than fire. In general, if the four elements are not in balance, we become sick. We may suffer headaches, footaches, sore arms, backaches, heart pain, sickness in the spleen or kidneys, and so on.

Each individual's sicknesses are different, and each sickness has its own cause. Lustful people tend to suffer kidney ailments. Greed for money can cause heart disease. A big temper makes the liver sick. Vexation and distress harm the lungs. Resentment causes spleen disease. Diseases of the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys have their origin in hatred, resentment, affliction, anger, and vexation. Hating people harms the heart. Resenting people hurts the spleen. Getting afflicted at others hurts the lungs. Getting angry at others harms the liver. Feeling vexed by people harms the kidneys. When hatred, resent-ment, affliction, anger, and vexation act up, the four elements become unbalanced. An excess of joy, hate, sorrow, fear, or desire throws the four elements out of balance and causes various sicknesses. Sickness speeds up the aging process and brings on the suffering of old age.

　 　

（四）老苦。到老的時候，眼花、耳聾、牙掉，腿不聽使喚，身也做不得主了。這是生、老、病、死，這四種苦都是令人不自在，令人生很多的煩惱。

　

4. The suffering of old age. In old age, our eyes grow blurry, our ears become deaf, our teeth fall out, and our legs can't walk very well. We no longer have much control over our body. People can never truly feel at ease because of the tremendous afflictions caused by the first four sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death.

　 　

（五）愛別離苦。人為什麼做人？就因為有愛，才生到這五濁惡世來。若愛減輕了，就會生到其他世界，譬如極樂世界或琉璃世界。古人說：

　

5. The suffering of being apart from those you love. We are born as people in this evil world of the five turbidities because of love. If our emotional love were not so strong, we could be reborn in other worlds, such as the Land of Ultimate Bliss or the Lapis Lazuli Land. The ancients said,

　 　

愛不重不生娑婆，
業不空不生極樂。

　

If you didn't have such strong emotions,
you wouldn't be born in the Saha World.
If your karma is not emptied, you cannot
be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

　 　

業盡情空就是佛，業重情迷是凡夫，世人被情愛所迷，打不破關頭，還以為男女愛情是無上的，是最有價值的。其實愛越重，情越重，就被纏迷得越重。有人明明知道這樣是不對的，但是卻越要往裏頭鑽。男女一長成，就想趕快結婚，走這條老路。

　

With karma ended and emotions emptied, one is a Buddha. With heavy karma and confused emotions, one is a common mortal. Worldly people are deluded by emotional love and cannot get beyond it. They think it's the best thing around. In reality, the stronger our passions, the more confused we become. Some people know very well that it's wrong, yet they want to get more deeply involved. As soon as boys and girls grow up, they are eager to get married and race down the same old road.

　 　

愛是一種情牽物累，人之所以精神痛苦不自在，受了打擊，都是因為這個愛。本來兩人相愛，如膠似漆，如魚得水，但是一種特別的境界來了，迫不得已要分開，這就有了愛別離苦，這種極度難分難捨的場面，非常痛苦；這種精神上的折磨，是不容易受的。

　

Love is a kind of emotional attachment that weighs us down. People experience psychological suffering and trauma because of love. When two people are in love, they are as if stuck together with glue; they need each other as much as fish need water. But if circumstances force them to separate, they experience the suffering of being apart from those they love; such partings are unbearably painful. These psychological ordeals are very hard to cope with.

　 　

（六）怨憎會苦。人若有緣，一見面談話就很融洽，做事也不衝突。但有的人，一見面就無緣，就討厭對方，所以要遠離對方到別處去，但到了別處，又碰到對方。越怨憎他，卻越碰到他，這也是精神上的苦。

　

6. The suffering of being together with those you hate. People who get along well can work together without conflict. But sometimes we may detest a person and want to get away from him. Yet no matter where we go, we keep meeting up with him. The more we hate him, the more we run into him. This is also a form of psychological suffering.

　 　

（七）求不得苦。有所求就有所貪，貪不到就生出種種煩惱，這也是苦。求名、求利、求財、求色，求不得皆是苦，不能遂心滿願，隨心如意。縱使求到了，也不是樂。譬如錢，未得之，就患得之；已得之，又患失之，晝夜提心吊膽，怕失去了。所以求得也是苦，求不得更是苦。那麼其他的東西，也是如此類推，未得之，患得之；已得之，又患失之，心中總是不平安、不快樂，總覺得不自在。

　

7. The suffering of not obtaining what you want. If you seek something, you are greedy for it. If you cannot obtain the object of your greed, you'll experience all sorts of afflictions. That's also a kind of suffering. Whether you desire fame, profit, wealth, or sex, if you cannot obtain it, you suffer. Even if you do obtain what you want, you won't be happy. Before obtaining it, you are anxious to get it. Once you've got it, you constantly worry about losing it. Your mind is never peaceful or happy. You always feel uneasy.

　 　

（八）五陰熾盛苦。五蘊：色、受、想、行、識，又叫五陰，都是不容易降 伏，很不容易看空的。這五蘊熾然而盛，如火一般，燒得人精神痛苦萬分。 這八苦令人煩惱萬分，可是你若有安心法，有安身法，這八苦就與你漠不相關了，所以說：

　

8. The suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas. The five skandhas [aggregates which make up the illusory self] are form, feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness. It is very difficult for us to overcome them and see them as empty. The five skandhas burn us up and keep us in a state of agonizing pain.

The Eight Sufferings cause great vexation to human beings. But if you understand the way to mental and physical peace, these sufferings won't affect you.

　 　

老僧自有安身法，
八苦交煎也無妨。

　

The Eight Sufferings cannot disturb
The old monk who knows how to set
himself at ease.

　 　
     

一九八二年五月一日開示於萬佛聖城

　

A talk given on May 1, 1982
at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
　

法界佛教總會 • DRBA ／ BTTS ／ DRBU

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