前期提示：飛動不沈。自然超越。此名外分。
阿難。一切世間。生死相續。生從順習。死從變流。臨命終時。未捨煖觸。一生善惡。俱時頓現。死逆生順。二習相交。純想即飛。必生天上。若飛心中。兼福兼慧。及與淨願。自然心開。見十方佛。一切淨土。隨願往生。
佛又叫一聲「阿難」，說你知道嗎？「一切世間，生死相續」：這個世間的眾生，都生了死，死了又生；生了又死，死了又生，這麼循環不斷，在六道輪迴裏頭轉來轉去，所以叫生死相續。「生從順習」：這個生，是從順習，––眾生都願意隨著這個生。「死從變流」：死的時候，就是隨業報變遷而流轉，隨他自己所造的業，去流轉去。
「臨命終時」：等這個眾生臨命終的時候，「未捨煖觸」：人在第八識沒有離開之前，這叫未捨煖觸。那麼六識都去了，七識也走了，就剩這個第八識沒有走；第八識從什麼地方走，什麼地方就是煖的、熱的。譬如第八識要是從腳心走，這腳心就是熱的；從這個腿上走，腿就是熱的；從腰上走，腰就是熱的；從頭上走，那麼頭上就是熱的。這熱的，就叫煖觸。
這個煖觸，就是最後第八識離開身體的時候所發生的現象。這時候，這是一個現陰––現在的這個五陰身。那麼中陰身呢，就是第八識離開身體，那叫中陰身。在這個時候中陰身沒有成，這叫現陰——現在在身上的陰。這個陰，你修好了呢，他就成佛；你不修行呢，他就是鬼。所以有的人問，說有鬼沒有？你要知道有鬼沒有，你先要知道有佛沒有？你若知道有佛，那就一定有鬼。你若不知道有佛，也不知道有鬼。你也要知道有沒有人，你若知道有人，也就有鬼，也就有佛。所以這都是這一個變的，死了之後叫中陰身，現在在人的身上叫現陰身，也叫靈魂，也叫佛性，都是這個。
所以未捨煖觸，「一生善惡」：他這一做善事就生天，做惡事就墮地獄。「俱時頓現」：你做什麼，造什麼業，在這個時候就要受什麼果報。你若做善功德多，第八識就會從頭上走；你若造罪孽過多，就楛q腳上走。那麼從上走，這是上升；從下邊走，這是墮落了。所以這都有一個表現，所以說即刻都現出了。「死逆生順」：這個死是逆，生是順。眾生都不願意死，這叫死逆；眾生都願意活著，這叫生順。「二習相交」：這個死和生––順和逆這兩種習性，互相交接。
待續 |
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Sutra Text from Last Issue: With flight and ascension, one will not sink, but will naturally become transcendent.
Sutra:
“Ananda, all beings in the world are caught up in the continuity of birth and death. Birth happens because of their habitual tendencies; death comes through flow and change. When they are on the verge of death, but when the final warmth has not left their bodies, all the good and evil they have done in that life suddenly and simultaneously manifest. They experience the intermingling of two habits: an abhorrence of death and an attraction to life.
Commentary:
The Buddha calls again, "Ananda, do you know that all beings in the world are caught up in the continuity of birth and death?" They get born and die, die and get reborn, again and again in a never-ending cycle. They spin on the wheel of the six paths of rebirth. Birth happens because of their habitual tendencies. Birth is something living beings want. They tend toward it. Death comes through flow and change. When they die, they follow their karmic retribution to turn again in rebirth. According to the kind of karma they have created, they will revolve on the wheel.
When they are on the verge of dying, but when the final warmth has not left their bodies, all the good and evil they have done in that life suddenly and simultaneously manifest. "The final warmth has not left their bodies" means that the six consciousnesses and the seventh consciousness have passed out of the body, but the eighth consciousness still remains. Its passage will be marked by warmth. That is, the place on the body where the eighth consciousness leaves will be warm to the touch. For instance, if the eighth consciousness leaves through the soles of the feet, the soles will be warm. If it leaves from the legs, the legs will be warm. If it departs from the waist, the waist will be warm. If it goes out the top of the head, the top of the head will be warm. This warm feeling is called the "final warmth"
This “final warmth” is a phenomenon when the eighth consciousness leaves the body, Before the eighth consciousness goes, it is referred to as the "present skandha body." Once it leaves the body it is the body between the skandhas, or "intermediate skandha body." So the text here refers to the present skandha body, before it has left the physical body. If one cultivates well, the skandha body is a Buddha. If one does not cultivate, it is a ghost. So when people ask, "Are there really ghosts?" they must first ask themselves if there are Buddhas. If they know there are Buddhas, then of course there are ghosts as well. If you are not sure that there are Buddhas or ghosts, ask yourself if there are people. If you acknowledge the fact that there are people, then you will know that there are also Buddhas and ghosts, because they are all different aspects of the same thing. After one dies then, the eighth consciousness is called the intermediate skandha body. Before one dies it is called the present skandha body. It is also known as the "soul" and as the "Buddha nature."
When a person is on the verge of death, the good and evil he or she has done is revealed and a reckoning is at hand. Depending on what one did, one will have to undergo retribution or reward. If one did good, one can get reborn in the heavens; if one did evil, one falls into the hells. If you did more in the way of good deeds and meritorious acts, then the eighth consciousness can leave from your head. If you did more in the way of committing crimes and creating offenses, then it'll leave from your feet. Obviously then, to leave from the upper part of one's body means one will gain a higher rebirth, whereas to leave from the lower part means one is going to fall. One's kind of rebirth is evident at death. They experience the intermingling of two habits: an abhorrence of death and an attraction to life. They are repelled and attracted when confronted with death and birth.
To be continued |
