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宣化上人開示錄(九)
Venerable Master Hua’s Talks on Dharma Volume Nine

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

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萬物的主宰者

The Lord of All Things

如果真是受神支配的話,那神就不應該教我們做種種惡,
應該只教我們做種種善。
If we were ruled by a god, he should keep us from doing evil and cause us to do good.

要知道一切的一切,都是從「一」聚集而成,又要知道多是由很多的「一」而成就的,以前所講的O字,那是超出數外,所謂「超出三界外,不在五行中。」三界就是欲界、色界、無色界,五行就是金、木、水、火、土。

 

Everything is formed from the "one." The "many" are formed from the accumulation of many "ones." Earlier I mentioned that the zero is beyond numbers, "beyond the Three Realms and outside of the five elements." The Three Realms are the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm. The five elements are metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

所有的人,都在五行中,每個人的相貌,都具足五行,臉瘦身高,屬於木形;頭尖下巴寬,屬於火形;面方色黃,屬於土形;面白屬於金形;面黑而肥,屬於水形。

All people are included within the scope of the five elements. Our features are characterized by the five elements. For example, tall people with thin faces are predominantly of the wood element. Those with pointed heads and wide chins belong to the fire element. People with squarish faces and yellow complexion are earthy; those with whitish or pale complexions are metal, and those with plump and dark-complexioned faces are of the water element.

有人是木火土,有人是木火金,有的人本身金木相剋,自己和自己鬥爭。水形和火形在一起,木形和土形在一起,便會常發生鬥爭,但O字就超出這些數目之外。

Some people are a combination of wood, fire, and earth; others may be wood, fire, and metal. People who are a combination of the mutually destructive elements of metal and wood often fight with themselves. If water-type people are put together with fire-type people, or wood-type people meet earth-type people, many quarrels and arguments may ensue. However, the zero transcends all these kinds of fate.

一般人認為命運有一定的安排,所謂「命有八尺,難求一丈。」不錯!但這是指平常人而言,若是修道人,就不在此數中。修道人不要問易經,那是一般凡夫俗子所用的,修道人的生死尚且能了,何況其他的數呢?更應該超出去,所以不要理會這些。

Most people think that destiny is fixed. There is a saying, "If something is fated to be eight feet, it's hard to ask for ten feet." This is true, but only for ordinary people. Genuine cultivators aren't bound by fate. Cultivators don't need to consult The Book of Changes; that's for ordinary people. Cultivators are able to end birth and death; how much the more can they alter other aspects of their fate. Thus, we should transcend fate and not pay attention to it.

講五行不過明白其理而已,其實認真去修行,什麼道理自然而然就會明白。這個O字是最要緊的法門!各位若對O字用功夫,仔細研究一番,將來一定會有辦法。因為它不在數中,數目一開始,就有個「一」,可是O字,連「一」也沒有了。

We have discussed the five elements to understand their principles, but in fact, if we earnestly cultivate, we will spontaneously understand all principles. The zero is essential. If we work on it and investigate it, we will certainly find a way. The zero transcends all numbers. The numbers begin with one, but the zero is beyond even the one.

 

要知道「一」多了,就是眾多,眾多是由「一」成就的,所謂

When there are many "ones," it becomes a multitude. The "many" are formed from "one." As it is said,

「一本散為萬殊,萬殊仍歸一本」,「一為無量,無量為一。」

One root spreads into ten thousand branches, Yet the ten thousand branches return to the one root. The one is limitless; the limitless are one.

為什麼有無量?因為有一,為什麼有一?因為有無量。若是「一」生出來,就有很多麻煩事,從一生出二三四,乃至八九十,無窮無盡的數目就跟著來了;若是「一」沒有了,其他當然也沒有了;眾多微塵空了,一粒微塵也沒有了。

How can there be the limitless? Because of the one. How can the one exist? Because of the limitless. Once the "one" comes into being, there are many troubles. From the one comes two, three, four, ... eight, nine, ten, and all the numbers up to infinity. Without the "one," the other numbers cannot exist either. When all dust motes are gone, then not even one dust mote exists.

諸法沒有一個自性,所以無所依賴,但是從互相假和合,而成就一切方便法。   All dharmas (phenomena) have no intrinsic substance, nothing to depend on. They arise expediently through a false process of combination.
     
天地間一切萬事萬物,有些人說在冥冥中有主宰操縱,這是能作。一切萬事萬物,這是所作。有個主宰它能作一切萬事萬物,一切萬事萬物是它所作出來的,一般宗教,都是這樣說法。可是往真實來講,沒有哪個人能主宰一切萬事萬物,所以才說無能作所作,沒有一個能作者,也沒有所作。   Some people say that everything in the universe is invisibly controlled by a Lord. Most religions say that there is a Creator who creates the myriad things, and that everything in the world is created by him. In reality, no one can be the lord of the myriad things. There is no creator and nothing that is created.
     
那是怎樣呢?所有一切的一切,都是起惑、造業、受報。業是從什麼地方生出來?是從妄想所感召出來的。在最初是不覺,不覺就是無明,因為無明,就生出迷惑。要是沒有無明,就沒有迷惑;有了迷惑,就生出妄想;有了妄想,就造出種種的業。所造的業,是善因,就有善的果報;是惡因,就有惡的果報;是不善不惡因,就有不善不惡的果報。   How do we explain things, then? We can explain everything in terms of becoming deluded, committing offenses, and undergoing retribution. Where does karma come from? It comes from deluded thinking. Initially there is non-enlightenment, or ignorance. Ignorance gives rise to confusion. Without ignorance, confusion would not arise. When there is confusion, we engage in deluded thinking, and then create all kinds of karma. If we create good karma, we receive a pleasant retribution. With evil karma, we undergo an unpleasant retribution. If the karma is neither good nor evil, the retribution will also be neutral.
     
所以眾生所遭所遇,無非是自己所造的,並不是其他人所造、所支配的,一切都是自己。乃至在輪迴中轉來轉去,不能出離,隨業而受果報,生生死死,死死生生,永不離開生死,都是自己所造的。怎能知道是這樣呢?因為要是離開這種道理,就沒有其他道理可講了。   Everything that happens to us is a result of the karma we created ourselves; we are not controlled or created by anyone else. We go round and round on the wheel of rebirth, receiving retributions according to our karma, never managing to escape from birth and death. This is also our own doing. How do we know? There is no other logical explanation of the matter.
     
有的宗教,主張世間一切是受神的支配;既然是受神的支配,那麼造善造惡與自己就沒有關係。但是到時候受果報,還是要自己去受,神幫不了忙,可見這是不合理的道理。因為這個緣故,所以說果報是從自己的業感召而生出來的,正所謂「如是因,如是果。」   Some religions say that everything in this world is controlled by God. If that were true, it wouldn't matter whether we did good or evil. But the reality is that, when the time comes, we ourselves have to undergo the retribution for our own deeds and God cannot help us. Therefore it's not sensible to say that God controls everything. Rather, we bring the reward or retribution upon ourselves through what we do. "As you sow, so shall you reap."
     
好像有人主使別人去殺人,這人雖然犯罪,可是主使人也有罪;如果神來支配我們,一切一切都由神來作主,那麼我們所造的業,神應該分一半果報,才合情理。如果不是這樣,神教我們所作的事情,罪全歸我們受,這就不平等、不合理了!   If one person tells another to commit murder, the first person is also guilty. By the same principle, if we are controlled by God, then it is only reasonable that God share half of our karmic retribution. We simply did what God told us to do, so we shouldn't have to suffer the consequences alone--it wouldn't be fair!
     
我們自己所造的業,與他人無關,我們所作的是善事,就得善的果報;所作的是惡事,就得惡的果報,這是很合理的因果。所以我們一舉一動,並不受任何人或神來支配。如果真是受神支配的話,那神就不應該教我們做種種惡,應該只教我們做種種善,這樣才對。因為神不願意人做惡事,希望人做善事。如果神沒有這個能力,那麼我們做惡,還是自己受報,做功德是衪的,做惡是我們自己承擔的,這太不合邏輯學了。   Actually, the offenses we commit have nothing to do with anyone else. If we do good deeds, we receive good results; evil deeds reap bad results. This principle of cause and effect is very reasonable. We are not controlled by any person or any god in what we do. If we were ruled by a god, he should keep us from doing evil and cause us to do good. Gods and spirits like to see people do good and refrain from evil. But since they don't have the power to control us, we must still take the retribution for our evil deeds. For them to take the credit for our meritorious acts, while we bear the consequences for our evil deeds, is totally illogical!
     
     
一九八O年六月二十日開示   A talk given on June 20, 1980
     

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