風魃之鬼。風銷報盡。生於世間。多為咎徵。一切異類。
這個風魃就是那個魃鬼。這個魃鬼，到處也不下雨，它到什麼地方，什麼地方就不下雨。它是因為在因地貪淫，貪這個淫欲而造業，作這個魃鬼，旱魃鬼。等它這個「風銷報盡」，報完了之後，再生到世間上；生到世界，它也不能作人。那作什麼呢？「多為咎徵，一切異類」：咎徵，就是不吉祥的一種的預兆，就是很凶的；異類，就是也是一種怪異的這一類的。為什麼它這樣子呢？也就因為它在因地造這個淫習，作這個魃鬼。這個鬼的報盡了，生在世間上來，它這種餘習還沒有斷盡，所以就作這種的怪異之類的東西。它就，或者作有顏色的那個飛禽，非常地美麗，可是非常地好淫，最好淫不過，有那種鳥專門好淫的；或者變成走獸，這種走獸也是歡喜行淫的，所以這作為異類。
畜魅之鬼。畜死報盡。生於世間。多為狐類。
這畜魅這種鬼，它等到這個畜死了，它也報盡了。「生於世間，多為狐類」：狐類，就多數作這個狐狸之類的。
蟲蠱之鬼。蠱滅報盡。生於世間。多為毒類。
「蟲蠱之鬼」：作蠱毒鬼的這種蠱滅了，報也盡了。「生於世間，多為毒類」：就作毒蛇、蚖蛇、蝮蠍、蚰蜒、蜈蚣，這一類的有毒的東西。這什麼有毒，它就變什麼。
衰癘之鬼。衰窮報盡。生於世間。多為蛔類。
「衰癘之鬼」：衰，衰敗了。誰遇到它誰就衰敗；癘，這個癘鬼，就非常之厲害，它這個魔力很大的。「衰窮報盡」：衰窮報盡了。
「生於世間，多為蛔類」：什麼叫蛔類呢？蛔就是蛔蟲。西方不知道有沒有這個病？這個蛔蟲，牠會說話的。在人肚子裡邊，牠會和你講話的，這叫蛔蟲。蛔蟲你用藥也藥不死牠。你吃什麼藥，牠預先知道。除非你這個有病的人也不知道，旁人給你這個毒蟲的藥，吃下去，或者可以把牠毒下來；如果有病的這個人一知道，這個蟲也就知道了。說：「你也不是我肚裡的蛔虫，你怎麼知道我想什麼呢？」這個蛔蟲，你想什麼，牠在你肚裡，牠就知道你想什麼，所以這叫蛔蟲，蛔蟲會說話的。這是一種病，人有這種病，在肚裡就有個東西會說話。
有不單這蛔蟲，就一些個怪類，也有的會在肚裡說話的。我以前對你們不講過？在香港我有一個老皈依弟子，今年大約八十多歲了，她皈依我那時候，都六十多歲了。那麼皈依我的時候，她耳朵聾；耳朵聾，但是我每逢我講經，她一定去聽。她根本就聽不見我講經講個什麼，尤其她是廣東人，我講的是國語，雖然有傳話的，那麼她也聽不見。聽不見她也去聽，我講經在那個山上講，有三百多級這個石級，晚上也是從七點鐘講，講到九點鐘。這個時候，她自己一個人上山、下山，那個路上也沒有電燈，她這麼大年紀也不怕，也不怕跌跌蹭蹭，也不怕跌壞了。那麼她很誠心去聽經。有一次，她就聽到念「南無蓮池海會佛菩薩」。她聽了一句「南無蓮池海會佛菩薩」，以後她就不聾了；不聾了，更誠心了，每逢我講經，無論講什麼經她都去聽去。就是颳風下雨她也不停止，也要去聽，有這麼誠心。人修行，有誠心就有魔障。前幾天我不是講：「要學好，就冤孽找。」你想要學好不是嗎？前生那個冤孽就都來找你了。「要成佛，就受魔。」就要受魔考。
那麼有一次，她晚間就做了一個夢，又不像做夢，又好像做夢。夢到什麼呢？夢見三個肥肥胖胖的小孩子，大約都有兩歲到三歲這麼大。那麼由發這個夢之後，她就生了一個病。什麼病呢？一天到晚吃東西。隔一個鐘頭就要吃一頓，吃一餐，隔一個鐘頭就要吃一餐。這一天，她最低限度都要吃十幾餐飯。那麼她認為這是有病了，於是乎叫中醫給醫治，也說她沒有什麼病；叫西醫給她醫治，也沒有什麼病。經過兩三年，有一年十二月初七這一天；十二月初八是釋迦牟尼佛的誕辰，趕十二月初七這一天，我從大嶼山慈興寺回來。回來她看見我，就告訴我說：「師父啊！我肚裡頭不知怎麼有人說話呢！」
那麼我就問她，我說：「說什麼啊？」她說：「我今天一早就用糯米煎餅，我吃這個餅的時候，我肚裡頭就有一個人說：『我不歡喜吃這個東西。』他說這個。」我說：「那妳說什麼來著？」她說：「我說你吃飽了就得了嘛！你不吃這個吃什么啊？」她自己就和肚裡這麼講話。我說：「不要緊。我今天晚間叫你這個病好了。妳回去，晚間十二點鐘，妳在家裡佛前，上上一枝香；上上一枝香，妳就念佛。」她回去就照這樣做；照這樣做，她在那個地方坐著，就看見從她肚子裡邊走出來三個小孩——這三個小孩子就是以前她做夢，夢見那三個小孩子——從她肚子裡邊走出來了。走出來了，她就看見這個韋陀菩薩，這個老居士看見韋馱菩薩，拿著兩碗麵，就放在那個地方，這三個小孩子爭著吃這個麵。吃麵吃完了，這韋陀菩薩用手捏著這三個小孩子的耳朶，就給拉走了。把這三個小孩子拉走之後，她說她自己就覺得肚裡頭就空了，什麼也沒有了，空空洞洞。由此之後，這個歡喜吃東西這個毛病都好了。
這蛔蟲，也是能在肚子裡頭說話的。但是這個老年人，她這個不是蛔蟲。她這是三個怪物，就是方才說的這怪鬼。這個怪鬼是什麼呢？兩個是青蛙；青蛙就是這個蛤蟆，就叫frog，有個四條腿的那個蜒蛇；蜒蛇在亞洲地方常常有，牠晚間出來就叫，泰國最多。泰國Thailand這個東西最多。有一個這個四腳蛇，有兩個那個蛤蟆。一個四腳蛇有這麼長，那兩個蛤蟆都有這麼大，所以這也就屬於餓鬼之類的。為什麼這個人她得這個病呢？以後給她觀察她這個因果，就因為在前生她信佛，也有一個人有這種病，那麼以後就好了。那麼遇到她，和她一講這個病的來源、經過。她說：「我不相信這個，人哪還有肚裡會有餓鬼會說話的，我不信這個！」她就說不相信，所以今生她自己也親身，要試驗試驗得到這種的病，就因為她不相信。那麼她這個病在香港很多人也都不相信。提起來她這個病，說：「哪有這個道理！哪有這回事！」這中國人都不相信的，不單說西方人。我相信來生，這一些個不相信的人，也都會得這種疾病。所以這個因果循環是很厲害的。
待續
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Sutra:
The retribution of the drought ghost of the wind is finished when the wind subsides, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of uncanny creature which gives inauspicious prognostications.
Commentary:
The retribution of the drought ghost of the wind is finished when the wind subsides, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of uncanny creature which gives inauspicious prognostications. Wherever drought ghosts happen to be, there will be no rain. Wherever they go, the land is arid. On the cause-ground they were greedy for lustful experiences. Through lust they created karma, and eventually they became drought ghosts when they met with the wind. When they are finished with that retribution, they are reborn in the world, but they cannot become people. Instead they become uncanny beings are fierce and bode evil. Why do they have to go through this? On the cause-ground their habits of lust created karma that made them become drought ghosts. After their retribution as ghosts was finished they are born in this world, but their residual habits are still not completely severed, and so they become such strange creatures such as these. They may be reborn as birds that are extremely colorful, but have the habit of excessive lust, or they may be reborn as beasts that are fond of lust.
Sutra:
The retribution of the mei ghost of an animal is finished when the animal dies, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of fox.
Commentary:
The retribution of the mei ghost of an animal is finished when the animal dies, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of fox. For the most part, these mei ghosts are reborn as foxes after they have finished their karma as ghosts.
Sutra :
The retribution of the hex ghost in the form of worms and insects is finished when the hex is exhausted, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of venomous creature.
Commentary:
The retribution of the hex ghost in the form of worms and insects is finished when the hex is exhausted, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of venomous creature. A hex poison ghost takes its shape when it encounters worms. When the hex poison finally wears out and the ghost's retribution is ended, it is reborn in the world as a venomous creature--as a poisonous snake, a scorpion, cobra, or the like.
Sutra :
The retribution of a pestilence ghost found in degeneration is finished when the degeneration is complete, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of tapeworm.
Commentary :
The retribution of a pestilence ghost found in degeneration is finished when the degeneration is complete, and it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of tapeworm. Whoever encounters this kind of ghost will waste away. These ghosts are really terrible; their demonic power is tremendous. When its retribution is ended, it is reborn in the world, usually as a species of tapeworm. These are the bugs in your intestines. I don't know if this kind of sickness exists in the West, but in China, these tapeworms can communicate; they can talk. They can talk to the person whose stomach they are occupying. There's no way to cure this kind of sickness with medicine, unless the person who has the sickness does not know that he is being given medicine. If the sick person knows it is medicine designed to eliminate the tapeworm, the tapeworm also knows. From this comes the expression, "You're not a tapeworm in my stomach, so how do you know what I'm thinking?"
Not only can tapeworms do this, but other kinds of weird beings can get into one's stomach and then carry on conversations. I've told you about the elder disciple I had in Hong Kong; she's probably more than eighty years old by now. She was about sixty when she took refuge with me. At that time she was deaf. Regardless of the fact that she couldn't hear, she came faithfully every time I gave a Sutra lecture. She only understood Cantonese to begin with, and I was lecturing in Mandarin, and though there was a translator, she couldn't hear the translation. But she came anyway. It was more than three hundred steps up to the temple. I lectured from seven to nine at night, and she would come up and go down all those stairs. There was no light on the path. Despite her age, she was not afraid of falling. She was very sincere. One day she heard the recitation of "Homage to the Lotus Pool Assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas," and thereafter her deafness was cured. She could hear again. That made her even more sincere, of course. Whenever I lectured and whatever Sutra was being explained, she would come to hear. Wind and rain did not keep her away. But when you cultivate, if you are sincere, then there will be demonic obstacles. As I've said before, if you want to cultivate well, your offenses will catch up with you. Karmic debts from your past lives will come to get you. If you want to become a Buddha, you have to endure the demons that come to test you.
One night, then, this woman had a dream, or what seemed to be a dream and yet appeared not to be one. In it she saw three plump children between the ages of two and three. After the dream she got sick. What was the nature of her illness? She had to eat all day long. She had to eat a meal every hour. She ate more than ten meals a day. Thinking it was a disease, she went to Western and Chinese doctors, but they told her she was not sick. This went on for two or three years. Finally one evening, on the seventh day of the second lunar month, the day before the celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha's Accomplishment of the Way, when I'd come back from Cixing Monastery on Dayu Mountain, she said to me, "Master, how can there be something in my stomach talking to me?"
"What did it say?" I asked her.
She said, "Today I made some cakes with coarse rice. When I ate them, something in my stomach said to me, 'I don't like to eat that stuff.'"
"What did you say?" I asked.
She replied, "I said, 'You get full; that's good enough. If you don't eat that, what are you going to eat?'" She talked back to her stomach like that.
I said, "Don't worry, tonight I'll make you well. Go back home, and light a stick of incense at your altar at midnight and recite the Buddha's name."
She went back and did as I said. As she did it, she saw three children come out of her stomach. They were the three plump ones she had seen in the dream. Then she saw Weitou Bodhisattva set down two bowls of noodles, and the three children fought over the food. When they finished eating, Weitou Bodhisattva pinched the three of them by the ear and dragged them away. After they were gone, she felt that her stomach was totally empty. From then on her sickness of liking to eat was cured.
Tapeworms, too, can talk in a person's stomach. But what the old woman had were not tapeworms. They were three strange ghosts; two were frogs, and one was a lizard. These lizards are very common in Asia. They come out and make sounds at night. There are many of them in Thailand. These beings can also be classed in the category of hungry ghosts. Why did she have to endure this sickness? When I looked into her causes and conditions, it became clear later that in a former life she was a Buddhist, and she knew someone who had this very same kind of sickness. He was already over the illness when she met him, but he told her about it, her reaction was, "I don't believe that. Who ever heard of someone having a hungry ghost in his stomach that could talk to him? I don't believe it." Because she said she didn't believe it, she had to personally go through the experience in this life of having that same kind of illness. When she had it, there were a lot of people in Hong Kong who didn't believe it either. They said, "Whoever heard of such a thing? It's ridiculous." Not only do Westerners find this hard to believe; Chinese people didn't believe it either. However, it's to be feared those people in Hong Kong who expressed disbelief will also have to undergo this kind of illness in some future life. The cycle of cause and effect is relentless!
To be continued |
