三苦：苦苦、壞苦、行苦。什麼叫苦苦，就是苦中苦，苦上加苦，好像這個人本來就窮了，沒有衣服穿，住一間破房子，偏偏又遇到下雨打風，把房子給打壞了。本來沒有穿的沒有吃的，沒有地方住，這可以說是苦，但是還不是苦上加苦，這回把房子給打爛了，衣服也沒有得穿，吃也沒有得吃，住也沒有得住了。衣、食、住這三個問題、三個大條件都不能解決了，所以苦上加苦，這叫貧窮的困苦，苦上苦。有的生來富貴，他不苦，豐衣足食，住的也住得高樓大廈，住得很美好的房子，很好啦！可是又著火了，把房子所有的財產都給燒去，這叫壞苦，壞了。富貴壞苦，貧窮有困苦。說我也不貧窮，我也不太富貴，那我是沒有苦了？你要是沒有苦，那我也沒有苦了。可是雖然沒有貧窮困苦，也沒有富貴壞苦，免不了這個行苦，什麼叫行苦呢？由少而壯，由壯而老，由老而死，念念遷流，念念不停，你做不了主，這完全是被動的，就是被人家支配，這個命運的安排，叫你說這個小孩子快點長大了；說你長大了，你就應該老了，喔！你就很聽話的，又老了；說你現在老了，你就應該死囉！於是乎，也就很聽話的，比這個徒弟聽師父更聽話，師父叫徒弟說，你不要抽香煙了，他偷偷摸摸去抽一根香煙；師父說不可以喝酒，他偷偷摸摸去喝酒；師父說你不可吃迷魂藥，他或者在佛堂裡不方便吃，跑到街上吃，然後快點吃完，就跑回來，啊！真是不聽話。但是你到老了，這個命運閻羅王說，你現在老了，就該死了囉！快點來啦！於是乎，他乖乖地很聽話地就死了，這叫行苦。這是由少而壯，由壯而老，由老而死，老了也就死得無疾無病的，也算不錯，可惜，也不是那麼順利，又有病，等到死之前又有病了。或者病三天五天，那也不錯，就死了，沒有生大痛苦。有的人你說生了什麼病呢？生了個半身不遂病，一邊身體聽自己招呼，那一邊就說，喔，我應該先死了，我一邊一邊從這邊開始死，怎麼死？就是不聽你話，這個胳膀，你叫它抬起來，它也抬不起來，你叫這個腿邁步，他也不會邁步了，這叫半身不遂，這半邊身先死，想要坐起來，也不容易，想要翻一個身，也不容易，想要走一步，也不容易，你說多痛苦啊！這叫行苦。這三苦，其餘還有八苦，八苦是什麼呢？生老病死苦、愛別離苦、怨憎會苦、求不得苦、五陰熾盛苦。生苦，我們誰都生過，生過，但是不知道那個苦，我們都是從父母生出來，不知道那時候最苦，其實在小孩出世的時候，一生出來非常苦。所以小孩一出生就說，苦啊，苦啊！他叫苦。生出來就會老，老的時候，眼睛也花了，看東西也看不清楚，耳朵也聾了，聽聲音聽不清楚，人家說，「你吃餅乾不吃啊？」他說，「我不喝茶。」「你喝茶不喝茶？」「我吃飽了。」所以這種老人，聾的。你問他這個，他答你那個，答非所問。說「你小孩都好嗎？」「我先生早就死了。」 問她小孩子好嗎？她說她丈夫早就死了。你看！這都答非所問。為什麼？就因為聾，耳朵聽不清楚，你問她這個，她看著你那一張嘴，以為你問她那個，聽不清楚，以為自己好聰明，大約他是問我這個，她就答覆你這個了。這個耳朵聾了，眼睛花了，這都還不要緊，最苦惱的就是牙痛，牙痛，牙也都掉了，吃什麼東西都不香，啊！吃什麼東西都不香，你說，這苦不苦，這老苦。病苦，有病的時候那真苦惱，到死的時候更苦，那個氣，斷氣的時候更苦，所以說生來好像生龜脫殼似的那麼苦，死的時候像活牛剝皮那樣苦，生老病死苦。愛別離苦，你最愛的這個人，偏偏要和你分開，要離開了，這也痛苦。怨憎會苦，你最討厭這個人，偏偏和你在一起，你越討厭他，他越和你見一面，這就怨憎會苦。你說這個人討厭我，我到另外一個地方去，我避開這個人，到另外一個地方，遇到一個比這個還厲害，這就是怨憎會苦。求不得苦，想求財也不得財，求名也不得名，求利也不得利，求職業也不得職業，求所有的，你所想要求的都得不到，這也是一個苦，求不得苦。五陰熾盛苦，就是：財色名食睡，這五陰熾然茂盛，很茂盛的枝葉把你支配得顛顛倒倒。這叫五陰熾盛苦，誰都免不了的這五陰熾盛苦，這是八苦。講起來苦有無量諸苦，還有很多很多的，這個娑婆世界就有這麼多的苦，所以堪忍，本來忍不了的，但是你能忍，你真算有忍辱了，所以就堪忍世界。
（待續）
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The three sufferings are: the suffering within suffering, the suffering of decay, and the suffering of process. What is the suffering within suffering? This is suffering on top of suffering. For example, someone is already poor and has no clothes to wear and lives in an old shack. Then a rainstorm comes up and damages his house! To begin with he had nothing to wear, nothing to eat, and no place to live. This is suffering, but it's not suffering on top of suffering. But now that his house has been wrecked as well, and he also lacks the three basic necessities of clothing, food, and shelter, it can be called suffering on top of suffering. So this is the hardship and suffering of poverty, called the suffering on top of suffering.
Someone might be born wealthy and noble, and not suffer, for he has plenty of clothes and food and lives in a splendid mansion, a big, fine place. Everything seems great. But then a fire burns up all his possessions in his home. That's called the suffering of decay.
The wealthy experience the suffering of decay, and the poor experience the suffering of poverty. You say, "Well, I'm not poor and I'm not rich and noble either. So I'm free from suffering, right?" If you have no suffering, then I also have no suffering anymore. But even if you don't have the suffering of poverty or the suffering of decay, you cannot avoid the suffering of process. What is the suffering of process? As one goes from youth to middle age, from middle age to old age, and from old age to death, in every thought there is change, thought after thought without cease, and you are not in control of it at all. You are completely passive, controlled by others. Fate rules. When you are a child, fate tells you to grow up quickly, and once you grow up, it says you should get old, and ah, you obediently grow old. Once old, it says you should die! Therefore, you again listen, more obedient than the disciple is to his teacher. The teacher tells his disciple, "Don't smoke," and the disciple sneaks off and smokes a cigarette on the sly. The teacher says not to drink, but he drinks on the sly, too. The teacher says, "You may not take drugs," so since it's not convenient to do so in the Buddha Hall, he runs out onto the streets to take the drug and then hurries back. Oh, he's really disobedient! But when you get old, King Yama of Fate tells you, "You're old now, and it's time to die. Hurry and come!" Then you very obediently die. That's the suffering of process. This goes from youth to middle age, to old age, and then to death. If one just died in old age without any illness, it wouldn't be that bad. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Most people get sick first before they die. If they are only sick for three or five days before dying, that's not bad, for there isn't a great deal of suffering. But what illness do you suppose some people get? Half their body gets paralyzed--one half listens to your commands, but the other half says, "Oh, I should die first. I'll die one half at a time, starting with this half." How does it die? It refuses to listen to orders. You want to raise your arm, but it doesn't listen. You want your leg to take a step, but it cannot. This is being paralyzed in half of the body; that half of the body dies first. It's hard for you to sit up or turn over or walk. How much pain do you think that is? This is called the suffering of process.
These are the three sufferings. There are also the eight sufferings. They are the sufferings of: birth, old age, sickness, death, being separated from what one loves, being near those one hates, not getting what one wants, and the raging blaze of the five skandhas. The suffering of birth-although we have all been through birth, we don't know how much suffering it is! When a child is born it undergoes a lot of suffering, and so it cries, "Ku, ku, ku!" (Ku means suffering in Chinese.) Once we are born, we will grow old. In old age, a person's eyes go bad and no longer see clearly; his ears grow deaf and cannot hear clearly. Someone says, "Would you like a cookie?" and he says, "No thanks, I don't want any tea." Or "Would you like some tea?" and he says, "I'm full!" That elderly person is deaf. You ask one thing, and he replies something else altogether, not answering what you asked. Someone says, "How are your children?" and she says, "My husband died long ago." You see? She gave an irrelevant reply. Why? Because she is going deaf, and cannot hear clearly. When you ask her a question, she sees your lips moving, and thinks she knows what you said. Someone says, "How are your children?" and she says, "My husband died long ago." You see? She gave an irrelevant reply. Why? Because she is going deaf, and cannot hear clearly. When you ask her a question, she sees your lips moving, and thinks she knows what you said. Although she cannot hear, she thinks she's very clever, and answers what she thought you asked. Their eyes get blurry and their ears go deaf, but that's not the worst. What's hardest to take is when their teeth start hurting and fall out and then nothing tastes good when they eat it. No matter what they eat, it doesn't taste good. Wouldn't you say this old age is suffering?
The suffering of sickness is truly painful, and when you die it's even more painful, especially at the point when your breath stops. So it's said that birth is as painful as ripping the shell off of a live turtle, and death is as painful as skinning a live cow! This is the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death.
The suffering of being separated from what one loves: When the person you love most leaves you, it is very painful. The suffering of being near those one hates: The person you detest the most is always close by. The more you detest him, the more you run into him. You may move somewhere else hoping to get away from him and sure enough you meet someone even worse that he is! This is the suffering of being near those you hate. The suffering of not getting what one wants: You wish for wealth, but fail to get it. You seek fame, but cannot attain it. You want profit and cannot get it. You seek a job, and cannot find one. Whatever you seek, you fail to obtain. This is also a kind of suffering, the suffering of not getting what you want. The suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas: Wealth, sex, fame, food and sleep, these five
yin are like a raging fire, and also like dense vegetation. They order you around and turn you upside down. No one can escape the fiery blaze of the five
yin. These are the eight sufferings. If we want to talk about suffering, there are limitless kinds of suffering. There is so much suffering in the Saha World, so it is called "endurable." Basically, it's unbearable, but you can endure it, and you have real patience, so it's called the endurable world.
(to be continued) |
