聲聞修四諦，就是苦、集、滅、道。苦有三苦、八苦、無量諸苦；三苦就是苦苦、懷苦、行苦。
苦苦是苦中之苦，既貧窮又困苦。貧窮是沒有飯吃，沒有衣服穿，也沒有房子住；有一個小房子又被火燒了，再造一個又被水給沖去了，所以這叫苦苦。
壞苦是富貴人沒有貧窮的困苦，但是他富貴不能久長，或者火燒，或者賊偷，把財就失去了，壞了，這是壞苦。 又有行苫，就是由少而壯，由壯而老，由老而死，這念念遷流，念念不停，由小孩變大人，由大人變老人，由老人變死人，就這麼變化，這也是個苦。這是三苦。
八苦頭四個就是生苦、老苦、痛苦、死苦；生出來很痛苦的，老去也很痛苦，有病更苦，死的時候是更苦。
以前有三個老人在一起喝酒，一個有六十多歲，一個有七十多歲，一個有八十多歲。這三個老年人聚在一起喝酒，很高興的。這個年紀輕的人看這兩個老年人，他就大約心裡想：「你們兩個老得這樣，就快死囉！」所以他就說了：「今年酒席筵前會，不知明年又少誰？」今年我們大家在這兒一起喝酒，等到明年不知我們這三個人哪一個就沒有了，意思就是死了。
這個七十多歲的人說：「唉！你說得簡直太遠囉！」他問：「你怎麼說？」「我說，今天脫了鞋和襪，不知明日提不提？」提不提就是不知明天還穿不穿這個鞋和襪子了。
八十多歲這老年人說：「唉！你說得也太遠了」。這兩個人說：「這個他還說遠！那你怎麼說呢？」八十多歲這老年人說：「唉！我怎麼說？我這口氣出去，那一口氣就不知道會不會回來了！」這就言其生死是很沒有人情講的，和你一點都不客氣，這口氣出去，那口氣就不知道回不回來了，這是死苦。
又有愛別離苦、怨憎會苦、求不得苦、五陰熾盛苦，合起來這叫八苦。古來人說：「老僧自有安心法，八苦交煎也不妨。」就說老僧我有一個安心的方法，你就是八苦交煎的時候我也不怕，沒有關係沒有問題。所以這苦，你若有定力了，苦也變成樂了；你若沒有定力，樂也變成苦了。這是聲聞，修四諦一苦、集、滅、道。
集，就是煩惱，有很多種，有大煩惱、中煩惱、小煩惱，詳細說太多了；滅就是寂滅，得到涅槃了；道就修道，要知苦、斷集、慕滅、修道。釋迦牟尼佛最初成佛就是說四諦法，三轉四諦法輪，度五比丘。這五比丘一聽這四諦法都開悟了。
待續
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4. The Dharma Realm of Hearers. Hearers investigate the Four Truths and awaken to the Way. The Four Truths are suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way.
The Four Truths:
a. The truth of suffering. There are three kinds of suffering, eight kinds of suffering, and limitless kinds of suffering. The three sufferings are:
1. Suffering within suffering
2.the suffering of decay
3. the suffering of process
1. Suffering within suffering occurs when one is poverty-stricken and experiences additional difficulties. One may be so poor that one has no food to eat and no clothes to wear. One has a small house to live in, but then the house burns down. One builds another house, and that one is washed away in a flood. That is suffering within suffering.
2. The suffering of decay occurs when what was good goes bad. When one is wealthy and honored, one does not have the problem of being poor; but wealth and honor do not last forever. One's wealth may be lost in a fire or stolen by thieves. That's the suffering of decay.
3. The suffering of process occurs as we go from being small to being adults, to being old, and finally dying. That process flows on unceasingly with every passing thought. A child grows into an adult; the adult becomes an old person; the old person finally dies. That kind of change is a form of suffering.
There are also eight sufferings, the first four of which are:
1. the suffering of birth
2. the suffering of old age
3. the suffering of sickness
4. the suffering of death
It is very painful to be born. It is also painful to be old. Sickness brings even more suffering, and death more suffering still.
Long ago there were three old men who gathered together to drink wine. One was sixty, one was seventy, and one was eighty. During their party, the youngest one thought, "These two friends of mine are really old and will die before long." Then he said, "This year we gather for a banquet, but who knows who will not be here next year!" He was wondering who would be dead before the next year.
The seventy-year-old said, "You are giving us a lot of time. Tonight when I take off my shoes and socks, I don't know if I'll be around to put them on in the morning!"
The eighty-year-old said, "You two have lots of time! When I breathe out this breath, I don't know if I'll be around to breathe in the next one!"
Birth and death are impartial events. There is no politeness involved. It's just as the old-timer said, "When I breathe out this breath, I don't know if I'll be around to breathe in the next one." That's the suffering of death. The last four of the eight sufferings are:
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 getting what you want
8. the suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas
That's the eight sufferings. There's a saying:
The old monk has a way to pacify his mind.
When the eight sufferings strike, he doesn't feel obstructed.
If he gets caught up in the eight sufferings, he is not afraid; it does not bother him. Therefore, if you have samadhi, suffering turns into bliss. If you don't have any samadhi, bliss can turn into suffering.
b. The truth of accumulation. Accumulation refers to afflictions. There are many kinds of afflictions: great afflictions, intermediate afflictions, and small afflictions.
c. The truth of cessation. This refers to Nirvana—the passage into stillness.
d. The truth of the Way. This refers to cultivating the Way. Hearers regard the Four Truths in order to know suffering, to cut off accumulation, to aspire toward cessation, and to cultivate the Way. Right after Shakyamuni Buddha realized the Way, he spoke the Dharma of the Four Truths, turning the Dharma Wheel of the Four Truths three times to take across the five Bhikshus. When the five Bhikshus heard the Dharma of the Four Truths, they awakened to the Way.
To be continued |
