什麼叫三業？我們有三種的業，心有三惡，身有三惡，口有四惡。身三惡就是殺盜淫，這三種惡事是由你身來犯的。心三惡就是貪瞋癡。貪，無論什麼都貪，貪而無厭。瞋，貪不到就生瞋恨心；瞋恨心生出來就變成愚癡；愚癡了就不管天地，什麼都不管了就做顛倒的事。這是由心犯出來的。
口有四惡，就是「綺語」，盡說些邪知邪見，不是正知正見的話；「妄言」，打妄語；「惡口」就是罵人，常常罵人；「兩舌」，見到姓張的說，「你知道啊！姓李的說你什麼什麼不對。」對姓李的又說，「你知道嗎？姓張的講你什麼壞話來著。」就好像昨天那個人問，說他有幾個看不見的朋友，他說了他看不見的朋友的壞話，他看不見的朋友就跑了，不來了。連看不見的朋友要跑，那看得見的更不高興了，所以這叫兩舌。
兩舌不是一個口裡長了兩個舌頭，是說兩種話挑撥離間。十惡不作就是十善。所以我們學佛法的人就是停止十惡，奉行十善。十惡十善總起來就是三業，身口意三業要是清淨了，這三種罪業都沒有了。我們唸佛的人發願同唸佛的人都有一種感應現前，等我們臨命終時，西方極樂世界一切的境界很清楚地現在我們眼前。所以見著唸佛的人和聽見唸佛的人，都要精進修行一起生到極樂世界。這是我們唸佛人應有的思想。
上人：有沒有什麼問題？
弟子：弟子果戒有三個關於戒的問題：
一、有關淫戒，請師父解釋一下淫戒是不是戒所有男女的關係？是夫婦之間要守的規矩？我和我的女朋友雖然沒有正式結婚，但是在我們的心裡是已經結過婚，不會再和其他的男人或女人有關係。
上人：這就可以。
弟子：有關打妄語，有一個境界，就是不說話也打妄語。好像美國政府在越南打犯法的戰爭，可是所有美國國民沒有說不要打的。政府和打仗的人認為人民沒有說話就是贊成。我要問，如果你不說那些惡的行為，就是贊成。這是不是不說話而打妄語？
上人：是這樣的，但比說話打妄語好一點。不說話打妄語當然是不合法，你要是說話打妄語就更不合法。希望沒有這些情形，要是自己力量做不到呢，那不管我的事情。這是關於打妄語，因為你一個人的力量沒有辦法叫所有的人不打妄語。
弟子：喝酒，我查字典酒字根本就是「毒」，在美國，大多數的人吃的飯有很多毒在裡面，很多食物有味精或其他化學物加在裡頭。咖啡裡有咖啡因，是很厲害的藥。還有人參，這也是一種藥。還有些蘑菇，有一種叫peyote，很多人把它當作一種修行的工具。特別是美國印第安人把這個當做一個法門，可以令人專心，這樣子。
上人：有一種蘑菇我都吃過。我守孝那時候沒有東西吃，我在那附近找了一個蘑菇吃了。這個蘑菇吃了就笑，這叫笑菇。吃了，喔！很歡喜笑的。我相信這裡也都有的。你把這個翻譯了給他們聽，然後再翻譯他說的。這個國家可能也都有這種蘑菇，但是我也不記得是什麼樣子。那次吃下去以後我也沒有再吃過，也沒有再見過，就吃了那麼一個蘑菇。
待續 |
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What are the three types of karma?
1. The karma created through the body, of which there are three types.
2. The karma created through the mouth, of which there are four types.
3. The karma created through the mind, of which there are three types.
The three types of evil committed by the body are killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
The mind creates three kinds of evil karma: greed, hatred, and delusion. Greed: You might say that greed is just insatiable desire. Then, if you fail to obtain the object of your desire, you grow hateful. Once you are hateful, you become deluded. You then pay no attention to heaven and earth; you heed nothing and no one, and you do things that are upside-down.
There are four evil committed with the mouth. The first is irresponsible speech, speech in which deviant knowledge and views are expressed, rather than proper knowledge and views. The second is false speech, that is, lying. The third is abusive speech, that is, scolding people. Double-tongued speech involves talking about the faults of one person to another person, and then relating the second person's faults to the first party. "Do you know what Lee said about you?" he says to John, and then to Lee he says, "Do you know what insulting things John has been saying about you?" This is like the question yesterday about the invisible playmates. She said they disappeared as soon as the child started to slander them. If invisible friends disappeared as soon as the child started to slander them, you can bet that the visible ones would be even more upset.
Now "double-tongued" definitely doesn't mean that in one mouth you have grown two tongues. It means that you speak in two different ways. You cause dissension and generally create trouble.
All these kinds of bad karma together form the ten evils. Not committing the ten evils is called practicing the ten good acts.
Students of the Buddhadharma, stop doing the ten evils! Always practice the ten good acts! The ten evils and the ten good acts are created through the three karmas of body, mouth, and mind. When the three karmas are pure, you will not commit the three types of bad
karma. We who recite the Buddha's name should make vows together to have a response manifest before us at all times. That is, when we approach the end of our lives, all the various qualities of the Land of Ultimate Bliss will appear very distinctly before our eyes. As a result, people who see and hear the recitation of the Buddha's name will all cultivate vigorously and all be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss together. We who recite the Buddha's name should have this aspiration.
Venerable Master: Who's got a question?
Disciple: (Guo Jie - Fruit of Precepts) Please clarify some things about the precepts. Does the precept against sexual misconduct prohibit all sexual conduct between men and women, or does it allow it between husband and wife? My girlfriend and I are not officially married, but in our minds we are already married, and it's very clear to us that we're not going to have sexual relations outside of our relationship.
Venerable Master: That's fine.
Disciple: As to the precept of not lying, there is the so-called "lie of silence." For example, the American government would allow us to make war on Vietnam because the people of this country did not stand up to say it was not alright to do that, so those officials say, "Well, we're doing fine, because no one says we're not doing fine. If you don't stand up and speak out against evil, then you're complying with the forces that bring it about. Is being silent in this case a form of lying?
Venerable Master: Yes, it is, but it is still a little better than actually speaking a lie. Of course, lying through silence is not allowed, but actually speaking a lie is even less correct. It is to be hoped that such things would not occur. But if you are not able to keep these precepts, that is none of my business. It is beyond the power of one individual to single-handedly stop all people from lying.
Disciple: As for intoxicants, I looked that word up and the root word is toxin. There are a lot of toxins in our food. Monosodium glutamate and other chemicals are sneaked into our food. The caffeine in the coffee we drink is a drug. Ginseng has drugs in it. On the other side of it, peyote, although it has toxins in it, it's a spiritual tool that's traditionally been used by the American Indians for a long, long time. And it's a Dharma door, so to speak, that leads to single-mindedness.
Venerable Master: I've eaten that kind of mushroom. Back in the days when I was practicing filial piety by my mother's grave, I ate that kind of mushroom, and it made me want to laugh. That's called the "laughing mushroom." After you eat it, you have a strong urge to laugh. I think this mushroom is quite commonplace. They are probably here in this country, too, but I don't remember what they look like. After I ate it that time, I never ate that kind of mushroom again, nor did I see them again. I just ate that one mushroom.
To be continued |
