每个人一生要经过“生老病死”四大苦，任何人也逃不出这四种苦。除非你修道，了生脱死，那又另当别论，可是一般人都要受这四苦。

In the course of one’s life, everyone must go through the four great sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death. No one can escape these four kinds of suffering, unless they cultivate the Way and end birth and death-then it’s another story. But ordinary people all have to undergo these four sufferings.

“生”的时候，好像两山相夹，所以小孩出生时，首先要哭，表示苦的意思。生时，亲友被生的境界所转，大家来庆祝，虽然贺喜，其实是苦。

Birth is like being sandwiched between two mountains. That’s why the first thing babies do when they are delivered is cry. Crying indicates suffering. When there is a birth, relatives and friends are moved by the event and all come to celebrate. Although people think of birth as a cause for celebration, it’s actually suffering.

“老”的时候，眼睛花了，耳朵也聋了，牙齿也掉了，头发也白了。手脚不听指挥，互相罢工，不能动弹，这也是很痛苦。

In old age, the eyes become blurred, the ears grow deaf, teeth fall out, hair turns gray. The limbs are out of control; they go on strike and can’t move. That state is very painful.

“病”的时候，四大失调，互不合作，乃至卧床不能起。如果贫病交加，更是苦上加苦。那时候，心有余而力不足，你说苦不苦？

During sickness, the four elements are imbalanced and uncooperative, sometimes to the point of causing one to be bedridden. If poverty is added to sickness, the suffering is aggravated. At that time, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. What do you say: Is that not suffering?

到“死”的时候，其苦更无法表达，简直如活牛剥皮，为儿女牵肠挂肚，被七情六欲所迷，还是放不下。其实“死”是人生必经的途径，何必生时欢喜死时愁呢？可惜一般愚痴的人，打不破这种执着。

The agony of death is beyond words. It is as great as that of a cow being flayed alive. Deluded by the seven emotions and the six desires, you worry about the children and cannot let go of your attachments. Death is something we must go through. What need is there to rejoice at the time of birth and mourn at the time of death? Unfortunately, most people are too foolish to break through those attachments.

我们现在要研究“生从何处来，死往何处去”的问题。把它研究明白，就能出离三界，不受轮回。

Where do we come from at birth, and where do we go to at death? We must investigate that question until we understand; then we can leave the Three Realms and avoid further transmigration.

释迦牟尼佛就为研究这个问题而出家修道。访道六年，苦修六年，没有得到解决生死的方法。最后在菩提树下静坐四十九天，夜睹明星而悟道，彻底明白生命之轮──“十二因缘”。

Shakyamuni Buddha renounced his home in order to pursue that question. For six years he sought the Way and undertook ascetic practices, yet he still found no solution to the problem of birth and death. Finally, he sat in meditation beneath the Bodhi tree for forty-nine days, saw a bright star one night and got enlightened. He thoroughly understood the wheel of life--the twelve causal conditions.

今天为什么说这些道理？因为我初到香港（一九四九年）时，最先皈依的弟子就是罗果明居士。她今年八十一岁，昨天早晨往生，使我有所感触。她一生受环境压迫，但是从不向环境投降，自己忍苦耐劳养育五个儿女，儿女都有相当的成就，罗果明居士也得以含笑于九泉之下，或者往生于极乐世界。

Why do I tell you this today? When I first arrived in Hong Kong in 1949, the first person who took refuge with me was Upasika Luo Guoming. This year she turned eighty-one years old. She passed away yesterday morning, and that brought some thoughts to my mind. All her life she was oppressed by circumstances, but she never gave up. She bore suffering and hardship patiently, and brought up five children. Her sons and daughters all have considerable achievement. Therefore, she ought to be able to rest in peace, or be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

一九八三年九月四日