前期提示：諸苦有三苦、八苦及無量苦。
人對美味決定看不破的。因為你想要看破，你這個舌頭和你這個嘴巴不答應。你這個喉嚨也想好東西吃：我一定要吃一點，所以最樂莫如食美味。這個美味，你就想不吃是不可以的。食欲，吃東西這個desire，喔！就好像從這喉嚨裡伸出一隻手，說：「拿來，拿來。」就這樣子厲害。所以你看！有的說過午不食，等晚間也想要吃。那麼吃一餐，更不容易守這個戒律。我有一個徒弟說是：「我都犯吃東西的戒。」不錯，這是不容易的。這話又轉回來。你雖然歡喜吃，可是你要知道，「珍饈百味」－－最好吃的那個珍饈百味。饈就是也當一個美好的意思，吃的東西最美好，最好吃了；百味，一百種那麼好吃的東西，比那個糖都好吃，比蜜糖都甜。日「食祇是三餐」。雖然那麼好吃，你每一天只是吃三餐就可以了，不能吃多了。
好像中國那個皇帝，這簡直地太過了。他吃飯，十千方長，這麼方長的地方。都是菜啊、飯啊、擺這麼多。你說你怎能吃得了那麼多？方長，這就是在這五尺的地方這麼大，這四方一長的地方。十千方長，你怎麼吃那麼多？你只可以吃你眼前的東西。他擺那麼多，在那看著。吃一看二，眼觀三；吃一樣，看兩樣，又看三樣，你說這個簡直地不對了。所以現在皇帝的制度沒有了，這是很好的。「日食祇是三餐」，就吃三餐哪，這就是最好的了。「多則百病叢生」。要吃多了，說：我吃四餐、五餐，或者我吃八餐。好像上海那個法師一天吃八餐。啊！吃得肥得…喔！那可真胖得很厲害。但是有什麼用呢？啊？沒有什麼大意思。
他吃他這個八餐，這個法師很會吃的。怎麼會吃呢？他吃八餐他不吃多，每一次只吃這麼一碗，他有一定的。一早就要吃八寶粥，用這八樣最好的東西，最貴的東西，來熬粥。以後每一點半鐘要吃一餐，一天他要吃八餐，但是吃得很少，所以他會吃，吃得很肥。他到死的時候都很肥的，很胖很胖的。他沒有什麼病生，他因為會吃。你也可以學這個法師。你要不會吃，就會生病了。
生病什麼呢？「嘔瀉隨之」。你覺得這東西好，貪心生出來吃多一點。本來你應該吃一碗，你吃兩碗，說：「這東西太好，我吃多一點。」吃多一點肚子就不答應了，這個肚子就找你的麻煩了，說：「這不行的。要搬家了。」就趕快搬家。喔！從口裡就吐出，這叫嘔了。口裡吐不出來，就去親近廁所去了，就瀉肚，就是到廁所左一次，又一次，一分鐘可以去十次。你說是樂是苦？你想一想，說是：「這個我才不信。一分鐘怎麼可以到廁所去十次那麼多？」你要知道現在是火箭時代啊。
最樂莫如住華屋，然而大廈千間，夜眠不過八尺。經營管理，費盡心機，你說是樂是苦？
前邊兩段講的一個穿衣服，一個吃飯。現在講住的。人哪！最歡喜要住一個漂亮的房子。「華屋」就是最漂亮的一個房子。然而，雖然願意住漂亮的房子，你就有大廈千間－－有一千間那麼多的房子，「夜眠不過八尺。」你不能把這一千間的房子你自己都睡了。你有一千間，你就睡一千間，不會的。夜眠不過八尺，就是睡八尺那麼多的地方。「
經營管理。」你這一千間大廈，又要經之、營之，管理它。你要怎樣子想法子保護它。「費盡心機。」在這時候費了很多的心機，這心都費盡了。一天想我這個房子壞了，怎樣要把它修理好了；那個房子怎樣處理？怎樣做？一天到晚都想這些個問題，把頭髮都想白了。有的時候也睡不著覺，盡打這些個妄想，把這個心的油都燒乾了。「你說是樂是苦？」你想想看這是樂是苦？要沒有這麼多的財產，很輕鬆地，不要打那麼多妄想。所以在表面上看來是好像是樂似的，仔細一研究，這裡邊就有很多麻煩的問題。 |
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From last issue: There are three sufferings, eight sufferings and limitless sufferings.
People have an extremely hard time renouncing their attachment to food. You might want to renounce it, but your tongue and mouth don’t go along with you. Your throat also craves good flavors: “I’m determined to have a little nibble.” Fine eating is foremost among pleasures. You might try to refuse delicious food, but you find yourself unable to. Your desire for food is so strong it’s as if a hand comes out of your throat and says, “Gimme, gimme!” That’s how bad it is. And so take a look! There are people who say they won’t eat after noon, but when evening comes, they want to eat. The precept of eating one meal a day is even more difficult to maintain. One of my disciples acknowledges that he has broken the precept of not eating at improper times. It’s really not easy! But even when served the most delicious gourmet food,the finest delicacies in a hundred flavors--more delicious than candy and sweeter than honey--one can only eat three meals a day. No matter how delicious it is and how much you like to eat, you can’t eat more than than three times a day.
In China there was an emperor who really went to extremes. At mealtime, ten tables, five feet by five feet, were set with all kinds of dishes of food. How could anyone eat that much? You could only eat what was in front of you. He would just look at all that food. He might taste one dish and look at two or three others. That was really excessive, and so it’s a good thing that the imperial system is no longer around. Eating three meals a day is good. If you eat more than that, say four or five meals, or even eight meals--like a certain Dharma Master in Shanghai, which is why he was so plump--it doesn’t do much good, and in fact it brings on many illnesses.
That Dharma Master really knew how to eat. He ate eight times a day, but he only ate a fixed amount of one bowl at each meal. In the morning he would have “Eight Treasures Porridge”--rice porridge made with eight of the most expensive delicacies. Every hour and a half after that, he would have a meal. So he ate eight meals per day, but each meal was very small. He understood how to eat, so he became very plump. Even at the time of his death, he was very fat. He hardly ever got sick, because he knew how to eat. You can learn from that Dharma Master.
If you don’t know how to eat right, you’ll get sick.What kind of sickness? More brings on vomiting and diarrhea. If you are greedy, thinking, “This is so good, I’ll eat two bowls instead of one,” your stomach will say, “That won’t do. I’ve got to clear things out--now!” Then either you vomit the food, or else you rush to the toilet with diarrhea. You might have to make many visits to the toilet, perhaps going ten times a minute! Would you call this pleasure or suffering? You are thinking, “I don’t believe anyone could go to the toilet ten times in one minute.” Well, in this day and age everything happens at rocket-speed, right?
Text:
Living in a luxurious house is considered a great pleasure, but although one may accumulate thousands of mansions, during sleep one’s realm extends less than eight feet. All those estates need stewards, and caring for them exhausts one’s mental faculties. Would you call this pleasure or suffering?
Commentary:
The two preceding passages discussed the matters of clothing and food. This section concerns the matter of dwelling. Living in a luxurious house is considered a great pleasure. People are fond of living in elegant, fine houses. But although one may accumulate thousands of mansions, during sleep one’s realm extends less than eight feet.You can’t sleep in all ten thousand houses at once. You only occupy eight feet of space at night. All those estates need stewards. You have to worry about managing your houses and keeping them in good shape. And caring for them exhausts one’s mental faculties. You wear yourself out. Each day your thoughts run: “How am I going to repair this house? What needs to be done on that house?” All day long your mind is occupied with these problems, to the point that your hair starts turning white. These thoughts burn up your mental “gasoline” and you even lose sleep over them.Would you call this pleasure or suffering? Think it over. How relaxing it would be if you didn’t own so much property and have to make so many calculations! So although these things appear to be pleasurable on the surface, if you take a closer look, you’ll discover that they’re a lot of trouble. |
