在《楞严经》里，有一段文是讨论二种颠倒妄见的。什么是二种颠倒妄见呢？

A passage in the Shurangama Sutra discusses two kinds of deluded false views. What are these views?

第一是“众生别业妄见”。别业就是和其它人不同的，也可以说是“别分的妄见”。别业，就是单单自己的业，也可以说是“自业”。就是特别的，与众不同的，这就是别业。

The first one is "false alse views associated with the individual karma of beings." Individual karma refers to one's own karma, which differs from the karma of others. This is also called "individually held false views." One's own karma is special and different from that of everyone else.

这种“别业妄见”，就是自己见解也特别、行为也特别，所以自己造的罪业也特别。这种别业妄见的人，就是好标异现奇，总觉得他自己与众不同，好像一般的众生在任何场合里边，都想要做第一，这和其它的业就不同了。

Individual karma also refers to each person having his own special outlook and behavior and thus creating his own particular offenses. Because of our false view associated with individual karma, we tend to act special and feel we are different from other people. For example, most beings will compete to be first in any situation. That makes their karma different from other people's.

标异现奇，这也是一种妄见，他妄行、妄做、妄为，造出这种的业，也就与众不同，这都是一种妄想心所造成的。这个妄想，就是好高骛远的心。因为他好高骛远的关系，又标异现奇，独出己见，所以就造成一种别业，与众不同了。

Their attempt to act special and different is also a kind of false view. With false conduct, false actions, and false behavior, one creates karma that is unique, and so one's karma differs from that of others. All of this results from false thoughts. These false thoughts come from a mind that aims high but neglects the foundation. As a result of aiming too high, trying to act special, and having unique views, one creates karma which differs from that of other people.

第二是“众生同分妄见”。同分，就是和一般人相同的，又可以叫“共业”。譬如天灾人祸、天塌地陷，这一个地方一死就几十万、几百万，甚至于几千万的人一起都死了，这是共业，这就叫“同分妄见”，由这种妄想造成这种的同业。

The second one is "commonly held false views of beings." "Commonly held" means that it is shared by most other people. It is also called collective karma. An example is natural disasters and man-made calamities, in which "the sky falls down and the earth splits open," and hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of people die together. That is collective karma arising from commonly held false views; it is shared karma resulting from those kinds of false thoughts.

因为众生迷物为己、认贼作子，迷这个物，以为是自己，所以就造成同分妄见，这是由妄想所造成的这种妄见。这个“见”字，不一定是看见的见，而是见解的见，大家意见相同，这就是同分妄见。由众生的妄想造成这种的妄业，于是乎就受妄报，所谓“起惑、造业、受报。”最初就因为不明白，所以就造了业；造了业，就要受报，这是众生的共业。譬如荒旱，这地方的人都没有饭吃了，这是这一个地方众生共业所感。我来讲一个“共业所感”的实例：

When beings get totally caught up in materialism and "mistake thieves for their sons," their false thoughts create commonly held false views. The word "view" refers not to seeing, but to perception; everyone shares the same opinion, so there are false views held in common. Beings' false thoughts lead them to create false karma, and consequently they undergo false retributions. That is known as becoming deluded, creating karma, and undergoing the retribution. In the beginning, beings create karma out of ignorance. Having created karma, they then suffer the retribution. That's the collective karma of beings. For example, when there's a drought and people have nothing to eat, that's a response due to their collective karma. Let me mention one case of collective karma.

民国三十三年（公元一九四四年），在中国河南省这个地方闹荒旱，天不下雨。天不下雨还不要紧，天还生了蝗虫。蝗虫，就是在空中飞的一种虫子，这种虫子大约有三、四寸长，专门吃农产品，无论是菜蔬、小苗，农田里的耕作物，牠都吃的。这蝗虫在天空一飞，遮天盖日的，你用小网在空中这么一捞，就可以捞这么一大网。那时候，人就捞蝗虫回来自己吃，因为人们什么东西都没得吃，就想吃蝗虫。他们以为蝗虫是吃农产品的，所以人就吃蝗虫。

In the thirty-third year of the Republic of China (1944), a drought struck Henan Province in China. Not only was there no rain, there was also a plague of locusts. Locusts three or four inches long swarmed through the air and devoured all crops, including vegetables, sprouts, and anything growing in the fields.

The swarm of locusts blocked the sun, darkening the sky. There were so many that one could scoop them up with a small net to take home and eat. Having nothing else to eat, the people thought of eating locusts: The locusts had eaten their crops, and so now they were going to eat the locusts.

当时就有小孩子，看到虚空里头有一个白胡子的老人，将一口袋一口袋的东西从天空倒下来；倒下来，就变成蝗虫了。蝗虫往地上一落，落到地上就有一尺多厚那么多的蝗虫。这么一落，不是就一个地方一尺多厚，而是几百里都有一尺多厚的蝗虫，你说这蝗虫有多少！人吃蝗虫，你说奇怪不奇怪！这真是共业啊！回来把这个蝗虫煮熟了，本来是蝗虫，拿到桌子上正要吃的时候，就变成人粪了；蝗虫自己就变成人粪，你说奇怪不奇怪？人再饿，也不敢吃自己的粪。不等着吃，就变成人的屎了，啊！业障就这么厉害！所以就有很多人逃难，由河南到西京长安八百里路，每一天在路上死的人不知有多少，这些都是饿死的。怎么饿死的？他越饿就越笑，在路上一笑，他就死了。这叫“同分妄见”，这是共业所感的报应。

At that time, there was a child who saw a white-bearded old man in the sky pouring down bag after bag of stuff that turned into locusts.

The locusts kept falling until they covered the ground a foot thick for several hundred miles around. Imagine how many locusts there were! Just think how strange it was-people were eating locusts. It was truly a case of collective karma! They caught the locusts, cooked them, and set them on the table, but when they were about to eat them, the locusts turned into human excrement. No matter how hungry people are, no one would eat his own excrement. Before they could be eaten, the locusts turned into excrement! That's how terrible karmic retribution can be!

Therefore, many people fled from Henan to Chang'an, a distance of about 270 miles. Countless people starved to death along the way. What is it like to die of starvation? The hungrier they felt, the more they laughed, and they died laughing on the road. That's known as "commonly held false views." It's a case of retribution resulting from collective karma.

什么叫“别业妄见”？好像世界上有些人目有赤眚，就是在眼睛生有红色翳子，晚间看灯光时，就看见灯光四边有圆形的光晕。因为你眼睛有毛病，所以看见灯就生了变化了，那圆影里边花花绿绿的，青黄赤白黑什么色都有。你说这个圆影是真的？还是假的？这就好像现在有的人本来眼睛没有病，他自己要把它弄出毛病来。弄出什么毛病呢？就是看东西看得不清楚了，生出一种妄见，虚幻不实的那个见，啊！看墙上也变了色，五颜六色，花花绿绿的。

What is the false view associated with individual karma? It can be compared to people who have cataracts in their eyes. When they look at a lamp at night, they see circular reflections around them. Because their eyes are diseased, their perception of the lamp is distorted and they see a halo of rainbow colors encircling the lamp. Are these reflections real or illusory?

It's like some people right now with perfectly good eyes who want to distort their own vision. How do they do this? They cause themselves to not see clearly, they view things falsely and have an illusory perception of them. They may look at a blank wall and see the colors of a rainbow there.

我以前见过一个人，他大概不知吃了LSD（迷幻药）？还是其它的幻觉丸？他一边看着墙，一边哈哈地这么笑得不停止，我说：“你为什么这么笑？”他说：“你看！墙壁上有很多五光杂色！”你看！这和那个赤眚的人是不是一样呢？本来他眼睛没有毛病，他吃了这种药把自己弄得颠颠倒倒的，看这个墙也变了颜色了，你说这是真的？假的？那么他就认为这是真的，一般没有吃这个药的人就认为他是在说梦话，说呓语。上面的例子是“别业妄见”。

Once I met a person who had taken LSD or some other hallucinogen. He stared at the wall and couldn't stop laughing. I asked him what he was laughing about, and he said, "Look! Beautiful colors of the rainbow on the wall!" Wasn't he just like the person with cataracts? His eyes were fine to begin with, but after taking that drug, he became confused and saw the wall changing colors.

Would you say his state was real? He certainly thought it was, but people who hadn't taken the drug thought he was delirious. The above examples illustrate the false view associated with individual karma.

什么又是“同分妄见”呢？同分妄见，就是所造的业是相同的，大家都有一样的业，可是这种业虽然是一样，但人的面貌、人的环境、行为都各有不同。虽然不同，可是同造一样的业，在这个不同的身分、不同的地方、不同的行为，又聚集到一起了，这叫同分妄见。这种见是由“业”而发生的，大家造什么业就受什么果报，又聚集到一起。所谓“善一伙，恶一群”，什么人就找什么人，什么人也遇着什么人，什么业也就遇见什么样的果报。在不同地方造的业，在同一个地方受果报，因为“人以类聚，物以群分。”

What is meant by "commonly held false views"? This refers to the situation where many people create the same kind of karma. Although their karma is similar, they may look different, behave differently, and come from different environments. Despite all these differences, they all create the same kind of karma together. They play different roles, come from different places, and do different things usually, yet at some point they all get together, and that's how commonly held false views come about. These views arise from karma they created that was alike. Later, they meet again and undergo the retribution for whatever collective karma they have created.

There is a proverb, "The good flock together; and the evil gather in packs." Each person finds those of his own type. Each karmic act also incurs its own retribution. People may create karma in different places but receive the retribution in the same place. That's because, "People gather with their own kind, and things are sorted by their type."

好像人这个妄想所造成的南阎浮提世界，就在这南阎浮提里边，假设有一个小洲，这个小洲只有两个国家，可是两个国家所感果报不同。其中一个国家的人，就善业充满。另一个国家的人，就恶业充满，同感到有一种恶缘，一同受这个果报。恶缘，就是有不吉祥的境界现前，所谓：

Suppose that here in southern Jambudvipa (our world), which is created from people's false thoughts, there is a small continent with only two countries. The people of these two countries experience different retributions. In one country the people create plenty of wholesome karma, while in the other they create much evil karma. All the people in the second country experience the same evil conditions and undergo the same evil retribution. These evil conditions refer to inauspicious states that occur. There is an ancient saying,

国之将兴，必有祯祥；
国之将亡，必有妖孽。
现乎蓍龟，动乎四体，
祸福将至，善，必先知之；
不善，必先知之。

When the country is about to prosper,
there are sure to be auspicious portents.
When the country is about to perish,
there are sure to be evil portents.
These portents are revealed in divination and
 reflected in people's actions.
Thus, both calamities and blessings can be
known in advance.

又说：

It is also said:

一人有庆，兆民赖之。

When a ruler has blessings and virtue,
the multitudes can depend upon him.

一人，也可以说是指国家的元首、国家的领袖、国家的总统。这一个人若是有福报的话，一般老百姓就跟着借光了、有福了；若是这一个人没有福报，老百姓也就跟着受苦。所以一个国家有不祥的境界现前，就因为这个国家的领袖没有德行。因为没有德行，他就没有智慧；没有智慧，他就没有福报；没有福报，所以老百姓就跟着遭殃了。无论哪一个国家，若有灾难重重，这都是当局执政者没有修德行仁，所以才有这种的飞灾横祸。

"A ruler" can refer to the national leader, such as the president of a country. If this one person has blessings, all the citizens of the country can bask in his glory and enjoy blessings as well. If he has no blessings, the ordinary citizens will have to endure suffering. Therefore, when a country suffers misfortune, it's because the leader lacks virtue. Since he lacks virtue, he also lacks wisdom. Lacking wisdom, he won't have any blessings. Since he has no blessings, the ordinary citizens will suffer calamities. Whenever any country undergoes frequent disasters and catastrophes, it's because the leader who is presently in office does not cultivate virtuous deeds or carry out humane policies.

等恶缘现出来的时候，不是天旱，就是水涝，再不就是地震、山崩，这都是常见的一种灾难。可是又有不常见的，好像晕、适、佩、玦、彗、孛、飞、流、负、珥、虹、蜺，这些都是灾难的表现。

When evil conditions manifest, calamities such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, and landslides occur commonly. There may also be unusual portents, such as halos, hazes, and mists around the moon; different kinds of comets and meteors; various vapors around the sun, and morning and evening rainbows.

（一）月的灾象有：

A. Inauspicious Omens Associated with the Moon:

(1)晕：就是有一股黑气，让人看了就不舒服，很特别的样子，这股恶气在月亮的周围环绕着。所谓“月晕而风，础润而雨。”晕，是月亮的旁边好像有水围绕着转圈，你看好像有水的样子，不一定是水，但好像有水似的，这就表示会刮风了。造房子基础的石头若是有水，就表示会下雨。汉高祖被匈奴所困的时候，就出现月晕七重，所以汉高祖当时也就遭难了，几几乎被抓住杀了。

1. halo (yun): This refers to an ominous mass of dark vapor around the moon; just looking at it makes one feel uneasy. There's a saying: "If there's a halo around the moon, there will be wind. If there's moisture in the foundation (of a house), there will be rain." This lunar halo appears watery, although it may not really be water. It indicates that there will soon be a strong wind. Moisture in the foundation of a house indicates that rain is coming. When Emperor Gao of the Han dynasty was besieged by the Xiongnu tribe (the Huns), a halo of seven circles was seen around the moon; the emperor found himself in peril and barely escaped with his life.

( 2 )适：就是有一股黑气，很昏暗的样子，把月亮遮住了，不让它露出来，但是这个也不是云彩。

2. haze (shi): This refers to a murky haze (different from clouds) covering the moon.

( 3 )佩：就是恶气环绕着月，就好像环佩似的，太阴旁边就像女人带着玉佩一样。

3. "girdle ornament" (pei): This refers to an evil mist encircling the moon like a girdle ornament worn by a woman.

( 4 )玦：就是恶气环绕一半。

4. "incomplete jade ring" (jue): This refers to an evil mist encircling half of the moon.

这是月的灾象。总而言之，太阳、太阴的旁边都不可有什么；它一有东西就有不好的现象。可是这种“同分妄见”就只有造恶业这个国家看见，造善业这个国家就没有。虽然两个国是挨着的，可是一个国家就看得见，一个国家就看不见。

The above are inauspicious omens associated with the moon. In general, anything surrounding the sun or the moon is a bad omen. The common false views are such that the people of one country, who create bad karma, can see these signs, while those of the other country, who create good karma, don't see them. Although the two countries are right next to each other, the people in them see different things.

（二）星的灾象有：

B. Inauspicious Omens Associated with Comets and Meteors:

( 1 )彗：就是彗星，在中国俗称“扫把星”，它的光芒四射，射出去很远很远的，是一种很长的星。在中国秦始皇的时候，常常有彗星出现，所以当时的老百姓都非常地痛苦。

1. comet (hui): In China, this is called a "broom star" because it shoots out sparks and leaves a long trail of light. During the reign of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, comets appeared frequently, and so the common people suffered great misery.

( 2 )孛：它也是光芒四射的，但是它射出来的不远，就像火苗子似的，没有了又出来，出来又没有了，这叫做孛星。

2. comet in opposition (bo): This kind of comet also shoots out sparks, but intermittently and without leaving a trail of light.

( 3 )飞：就是在空中飞的，从这边飞到那个地方，就在空中这么横过去，在中国叫它是“流星”，又叫“贼星”。

3. shooting star (fei): This is a meteor which appears to fly across the sky, passing overhead from one side to the other. It is also known as a "renegade star."

(4 )流：光芒下注的，叫流星；它的光很亮的，射到人间来，就是那个陨石从天上落下来，像下雨那么多似的。

4. fireball (liu): This kind of meteor gives off showers of light and is very bright. When it enters the earth's atmosphere, meteor rocks fall from the skies as numerous as raindrops.

这些都是一种非常的灾难表现，是星辰示现的一种恶境、恶兆。

The above omens of comets and meteors are indications of unusual calamities.

（三）日的灾象有：

C. Inauspicious Omens Associated with the Sun (These are all atmospheric conditions):

( 1 )负：就是恶气在太阳的上边，叫做负。

1. fu ("to carry on the back"): This is an evil vapor above the sun.

( 2 )珥：就是恶气在太阳的旁边，就像生出耳朵似的，叫做珥。

2. "ears" (er): This evil mist on each side of the sun makes it seem as if the sun had ears.

( 3 ) 虹蜺：虹，俗语念“杠”音，文言念“红”音，是常常出现的，早上起来见的叫“虹”，晚间见到的叫“蜺”。有的人说“虹”属于雄，“蜺”属于雌；总而言之，就是阴阳的意思，这就是天地很不正常的现象。虹就是雨过天晴的时候，一般人常常见到的，不过有的不是那么恶，是普普通通下雨天晴后常常见的。但是这种有灾祸的“虹蜺”，看上去总是阴阴的，不是那么光彩；虽然看到的也是花花绿绿，好像很好看似的，可是那有一股煞气在里头藏着，会看的人，一看就知道这是不吉之兆。

3. morning and evening rainbows: Hong is the classical pronunciation; its more colloquial pronunciation is gang. Hong refers to the rainbows commonly seen at dawn. Those seen at dusk are called ni. Sometimes hong is considered male and ni female. In general, such rainbows are classified as yin or yang, and they are abnormal phenomena. Ordinary rainbows that appear after a rainfall are not evil, but hong and ni, which are rather dark, are portents of calamities. They may seem colorful and pretty, but they carry a lethal energy. People who know how to look will know at a glance that they are omens of misfortune.

所以这种种的恶象，不是单单以上所说的这几种，还有很多很多种种的恶象，这都是不吉祥的事情。好像或者见到两个太阳，为什么会有两个太阳呢？这是主于国家有大的变化，所谓

天无二日，民无二王。

There are many, many varieties of inauspicious omens. For example, the appearance of two suns indicates that a great change is about to occur in the country. There is an ancient saying,

The sky cannot hold two suns.
The people cannot serve two kings.

或者这个皇帝死了，另外一个皇帝把这个皇帝杀了；或者这个总统把那个总统杀了。或者天上没有两个太阳，而是两个太阴（月亮），你见到两个太阳、两个太阴这种的预兆，这也是主于国家不吉祥的。或者譬如有的时候树就会说话，听到有人在树上讲话，但是看不见人，这些就是“怪异”，都是不祥的境界。又好像打飓风、下大雨等等。譬如前一个时期，在美国的东部刮大风（旋风），把人和房子也都吹到虚空里头去了，树也连根拔起，都没有了，死了几百人那么多，这都叫不吉祥的事情，这都叫恶缘。

If there are two kings or two presidents, one of them may murder the other. There may also be two moons in the sky. Two suns or two moons is an inauspicious portent for the country. Sometimes trees may talk. You may hear a voice coming from the tree, but you can't see anyone there. These uncanny events are all inauspicious. Other calamities include typhoons, storms, and so forth.

同样在这个国家，有的人就受这种恶的果报，有的人就没有，好像旧金山这里就没有受到这种的恶缘，所以你就不知道受这种果报的痛苦。

For example, the recent tornado in the Eastern United States lifted people and houses into the air, uprooted trees, and took several hundred lives. In the same country, some people undergo such retribution, while others do not. For example, those of you in San Francisco were not affected by the tornado in the East, so you don't know what it was like to suffer that kind of retribution.

所以同样两个国家，一个国家的人都能看得见这种恶缘，一个国家的人就看不见这种的境界。所以这叫“同分妄见”，造同样的罪业，他们就看得见；没有这个罪业的，就看不见。这一个国家业力相同的，就有这种的妄见；业力不相同的，就没有这种的妄见。

In the example of the two neighboring countries discussed earlier, the people of one country perceive the inauspicious signs, while those of the other country do not. This is because of commonly held false views. The people who committed the same kind of offense karma could see the signs, while those who didn't have such offense karma could not. When the people of a country share the same kind of karma, they have this kind of false view. If everyone's karma were different, then this kind of false view wouldn't exist.

就像前面所讲的，眼睛有毛病的人，就见到圆影；人若有这种的业障，就会见到国土有种种的不祥。以这一个有病的人见圆影，譬喻这全国的人见到这种种的灾象，这就是业障所现出来的，众生造业，就要受果报。

In the previous case, the person with defective eyes seeing circular reflections is analogous to the people of one country who see inauspicious omens as a result of their evil karma. Beings must undergo the retribution for whatever karma they create.

所以眼睛有眚病的人，才见到这种圆影，这跟我们本有的觉性，是没有关系的，本有的见性是没有毛病的。所以，一国人的“同分妄见”和单单一个人的“别业妄见”，这都是虚妄的见。这一个人见到圆影，和这一切众生见到种种灾难，这都是有毛病了，才有这个虚妄生出来。

Although people with cataracts see circular reflections, it has nothing to do with their inherent enlightened nature. Their inherent "seeing nature" is not defective. Therefore, both the commonly held false views shared by the people of the one country and the individually held false view belonging to a single person are delusions. As for the circular reflections seen by one person and the calamities witnessed by many, it's only when there are karmic disorders that such false illusions arise.