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醉生夢死 難了生死
各位善知識，我們不知有多少次這樣聚會過，好像作夢似的。無始劫來，一切眾生互為眷屬、互為父子、互為朋友、互為兄弟，黏黏糊糊的，到時候，不能擺脫情感；不能擺脫，就是不能自由；不能自由，就是罣礙。一切問題看不清楚，不能當機立斷。為甚麼不能當機立斷呢？因為無明，無明就是不明。
無量劫以來，生了又死，死了又生，就是跟著十二因緣轉。
不明，就是愚癡。因為愚癡，就有行為。因為行為，就又種下愚癡種子。種下愚癡的種子，就有愚癡的名字。有了愚癡名字，就有我們所執著的眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意六根。六根對外面六塵的境界，對著好的境界，就有好的想法，不好的接觸，就有不好的想法。順逆的境界生出來了，自己歡喜的就保留它，自己不歡喜的，就不要它。順的境界來了就高興，逆的境界來了就不高興，因為這樣，就生出愛的心。一生出愛的心，就要得到，要拿到自己的手裏，要佔有。佔有了，就有來生。有了來生就有老、死，就是在這裏胡搞；像蒼蠅似的東飛飛、西飛飛、南飛飛、北飛飛，也不知道在做甚麼？在窗戶紙上找，找來找去，看不見對面是甚麼了。看不透，放不下，就是醉生夢死。這樣，一代接一代，一代再接一代，一代吵吵鬧鬧，一代哭哭笑笑，一代煩煩惱惱，一代爭爭吵吵，沒有停止的時候，但也不覺得疲倦，還覺得很好玩，很有意思。
勤有功，戲無益，
戒之哉！宜勉勵！
現在中東很危險，要開戰！這是因為每個人在打妄想，每個人在放毒氣。放來放去，一個人的毒氣放出到家裏，家裏受毒氣之污染，就有家庭戰爭。家裏戰爭覺得不夠熱鬧，就到鄉村裏、社會裏。你對我勾心鬥角，我對你唯利是圖，想法子怎麼利益自己，都為著爭錢。
這個「錢」字是：
二戈爭金殺氣高，
人人因它犯嘮叨；
能會用者超三界，
不會用者墮陰曹。
古人造「錢」字，造得非常有意義，左邊一個「金」字，「金」字上面是一個「人」字，「人」字底下三橫一豎，又有二點。二點是金塊，三橫大約是三個人，一豎表示一心在爭，所以，一豎在中間，左邊是一個金塊，右邊也是一個金塊子，人在上面爭。用甚麼爭？用戈矛，「錢」字是二個「戈」和「金」合在一起為「錢」字，所以中國古人造字，是很有意思的。
二個「戈」字就是二個刀槍，用刀槍爭金塊子。美金是金塊子，英鎊是金塊子，所以說二戈爭金殺氣高，你想把我殺，我也想把你殺了，好得金塊子。所以互相你一刀我一槍，你放一個原子彈，他就來個氫氣彈、毒瓦斯，看你怎樣活著。那時你得到金塊子，用不了，搶到石油也沒有用了。
「殺氣高」，就是殺氣衝天。「人人因它犯嘮叨」，人人因為這個，起了很多麻煩，都是為這個。吃不下飯，跳樓死了，也都是為這個。買馬票一下子輸了幾千億，弄得你死我活，都是為爭金塊子。
待續 |
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Living as if Drunk and Dying in a Dream, It's Hard to End Birth and Death
Good and wise advisors: there's no knowing how many times we've met together before, as if in a dream. Since time without beginning, all living beings have mutually been relatives, parents and children, friends, brothers and sisters. We become stuck so closely together that when the time comes to part, we cannot relinquish our emotional ties. Not being able to relinquish them, we cannot be free. That inability to be free is what hinders us, so that we cannot see things clearly and be decisive. Why can't we be decisive? Because of ignorance and lack of understanding.
For countless eons, we have undergone birth followed by death, death followed by rebirth, going along in the cycle of the twelve links of conditioned co-production.
Lack of understanding is stupidity. Because of stupidity, there is activity. With activity, the seeds of stupidity are sown. Once seeds of stupidity are sown, there are names created out of stupidity. When there are such names, the six sense faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) come into being and we become attached to them. The six faculties perceive the states of the six sense objects. When they perceive pleasant states, we have a pleasant experience. When they come into contact with something unpleasant, we have an unpleasant experience. Thus there are favorable and adverse states. If it is something we like, we want to hang onto it. If it is something we don't like, we want to get rid of it. When favorable states come, we feel happy. When adverse states come, we become upset. Thus feelings of like and dislike come into being. With such feelings comes birth into the next life. Once there is birth, there will be old age and sickness. And so this is how we make a mess of things, like a fly buzzing around to the east, west, north, and south, not knowing quite what it is doing. It crawls around on the windowpane, but cannot see what is on the other side.
We can't see through things and let go of them, and so we live as if drunk and die in a dream. In this way, in life after life, we argue and fight, laugh and cry, and become vexed and afflicted. It never ends, but we don't get tired of it. We think it's a lot of fun and very interesting.
There is merit in diligence.
There is no benefit in playing.
So be careful!
We should urge ourselves on!
The situation in the Middle East is very dangerous now. War is about to break out. This is because everyone is having deluded thoughts and putting out poisonous energy. It's emitted here, there, and everywhere. The individual releases his poisonous energy onto his or her family, and once the family is contaminated, there are family wars. But a family war isn't exciting enough, so it spreads into the society. You scheme against me, and I plot against you, both of us trying to find ways to benefit ourselves. All this fighting is for the sake of money.
There is a verse which describes the character qian (錢) for "money" in Chinese:
Two spears fighting over gold: the killing energy
runs high.
Everyone is obsessed with money.
Those who know how to use it can transcend the
Three Realms.
Those who don't fall into the underworld.
The way the ancients designed the Chinese character for "money" is very interesting. On the left side is the character for "gold." The character for "gold" has a "person" on top and three horizontal lines, a vertical line, and two dots below. The two dots represent gold nuggets, and the three horizontal lines are probably three people. The vertical line symbolizes the single-minded focus on fighting. And so there is a central vertical line, a gold nugget on either side, and people on top fighting over it all. What do they fight with? They use spears. So the character for "money" consists of a "gold" character and two copies of the "spear" character. So there is a lot of meaning behind the way the ancients designed Chinese characters.
The two spears are fighting over the gold nuggets, which could also be in the form of U.S. dollars or pounds sterling. So the verse says: "Two spears fighting over gold: the killing energy runs high." You want to kill me, and I want to kill you, because we're after the gold. So you take your knife, and I take my spear; you set off an atomic bomb, and someone else sets off a hydrogen bomb or uses poison gas, and waits to see if you survive. When that happens your gold nuggets are of no help, nor is the oil that you've seized. The energy of killing rises to the heavens.
"Everyone is obsessed with money." Money brings a lot of trouble. People lose their appetite, or commit suicide by jumping off buildings, all because of money. They place their bets at the horse races and lose several billion, almost losing their very life, all because of their greed for gold.
to be continued |
