聲聞、緣覺這是二乘的聖人，合起來跟佛、菩薩叫「四聖法界」。還有六凡法界。六凡法界最高的就是天，不明白佛法的人以為生到天國樂園，那就是最快樂最好了。其實這還在六凡法界，還在六道輪迴之中。
天上的人最長的壽命，活到八萬大劫，在非非想處天，然後還要墮落到人間來：善業成熟就生到善道，惡業成熟就轉到惡道裡頭去。天也有種種的天。
又有阿修羅，阿修羅是梵語，此雲「無端正」，就是生得最醜陋，又叫「無酒」。阿修羅雖然生得醜陋，可是阿修羅女生得最美貌。阿修羅他就存心歡喜鬥爭，鬥爭堅固，歡喜作戰，所以在人道裏也有阿修羅，畜生道裏也有阿修羅，鬼道裡也有阿修羅，天道裡也有阿修羅。這阿修羅，哪個地方他都去，所以有的時候把他算到三善道裏頭，有的時候又把他列到四惡趣裏頭，加上地獄、餓鬼、畜生，這就是四惡趣。
那麼我們就單研究人來講，你說人有多少種類？上至總統、國務卿、外交部長，這種種的政府的人。有有錢的人作世界上第一個大富翁，或者第二個第三個，這麼樣有錢。沒有錢 的人作世界上最窮的人，數起來世界上窮的他是第一，連個立錐之地都沒有。也有最醜陋的人，人人見著都討厭不歡喜：也有最美麗的人，人人見了就歡喜。也有很奇怪的人，又有最肥的人，肥得有一兩千磅那麼重。人家走的門他進不去，人家搭巴士可以走到巴士上面去，他太肥了巴士門進不去。如果他要到什麼地方去旅行，要特別訂製一個巴士，或者特別造一個飛機，那麼樣子。有那個最瘦的，瘦得骨瘦如柴一點肉也沒有，像柴火似的。又有富貴、貧賤、肥瘦、高矮、醜俊這種種的情形。
什麼因緣？我現在總起來跟你說：種富的因就得到富的果報；種貴的因就得到貴的果報：種貧的因就得到貧的果報；這都是種因結果。好像肥的人他大概是想：「哦！我最歡喜肥。」他就種肥的因，今生就得到肥的果，比肥豬還肥。這是在人道裏頭有種種樣子不同的。
又有地獄、餓鬼、畜生這三惡道。你就拿畜生來講，有多少種類？簡直數不完的。餓鬼也是那樣子，也是很多很多種類，不是就一個鬼兩個鬼那麼樣子，很多種的。地獄也是有很多種類，這合起來叫「六凡法界」。
那麼六凡再加四聖，這叫「十法界」。這十法界從什麼地方有的？就是從我們這個現前這一念心哪！你天天若發脾氣，「無明火，老虎神，這是前生罪孽根。」你那發起脾氣就像那老虎一樣，那麼你發脾氣有火，就會走到修羅法界裏頭去。你若盡貪心、瞋心、癡心，這就會墮落三惡道裡頭去地獄、餓鬼、畜生，墮落到三惡道；你若是想要修四諦——苦集滅道，就走到二乘人裏頭去；你若願意修菩薩、成佛，你就發菩薩心，修六度萬行，將來就成佛。
待續
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The Hearers and Those Enlightened by Conditions are the Two Vehicles. Together with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, they comprise the Four Sagely Dharma Realms.
The Six Common Dharma Realms
1.The Dharma Realm of Gods. This is the highest of the six common realms. People who don't understand the Buddhadharma believe that getting born into the Garden of Paradise in Heaven is the most supreme bliss. In fact, that is still within the six common Dharma Realms, and one who is born there has not transcended the cycle of rebirth.
The longest life span of the gods is eighty-thousand great kalpas. That occurs in the heaven of Neither Thought Nor Non-thought. But once the gods' life spans end, they are destined to fall. If their good karma has matured, they will be born in the three wholesome paths of rebirth. If their evil karma has come to fruition, they will be reborn in the evil paths. Besides that heaven, there are many, many others.
2. The Dharma Realm of Asuras. Asura is a Sanskrit word, which is translated as "ugly." It also means "no wine." Although the male asuras are extremely ugly, the asura women are exceptionally beautiful. Asuras like to fight. They are strong in fighting and like to make war. There are asuras in the realm of the gods, in the human realm, in the animal realm, and in the realm of ghosts. Asuras go everywhere, and so sometimes they are counted among the three wholesome paths and sometimes among the four evil destinies. The four evil destinies are the asuras, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings.
3. The Dharma Realm of Humans. Let's look into how many kinds of people there are. At the highest level, there are the Presidents, Secretaries of State, Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, and various other people in official positions. There are wealthy people who are world magnates— from the most wealthy, to the second most wealthy, to the third most wealthy, and on down. There are also people in the world with absolutely no money who live in utter poverty, on down to the very poorest person in the world, someone who does not even own a place large enough to put the point of an awl. There are extremely ugly people, whom no one would even want to look at, and also exceptionally beautiful people, whom everyone enjoys seeing. There are also very strange freaks. There are terribly fat people— some even weigh a couple thousand pounds! They can't even get through the doors that ordinary people use, or fit through the doors of the city buses! If they want to go on a vacation, they have to rent their own special bus and have a special airplane made just for them. There are also people so thin they look like match-sticks.
How do all these different kinds of people— wealthy and honored, poor and lowly, fat, thin, tall, short, ugly, handsome— come about? In general, if you plant the causes for being wealthy, you will receive the reward of being wealthy. If you plant the causes for being honored, you will receive the reward of being honored. If you plant the causes for being poor, you will receive the retribution of being poor. If you plant the causes for having blessings, then you will receive the reward of having blessings. You plant a cause and you receive a retribution. Fat people no doubt thought that they would like to be fat, and so now they receive the retribution of being fatter than pigs. In the human realm there are all different kinds of people.
4. The Dharma Realm of Animals
5. The Dharma Realm of Hungry Ghosts
6. The Dharma Realm of Hell-beings
These are the three evil paths. There are so many species and classes of animals, for example, that you could never finish counting them all. It's the same with hungry ghosts. There are many, many different kinds of ghosts, not just one or two. The hells also have many categories of beings.
The Six Common Realms and the Four Sagely Realms make up the Ten Dharma Realms. These Ten Dharma Realms come from the single thought present in our minds right now. If you lose your temper every day, then "the fire of ignorance and a tiger-like spirit are rooted in offenses created in previous lives." When you lose your temper, you really are just as fierce as a tiger. If you keep on losing your temper and having so much fire, you will walk right into the path of asuras. If you are greedy, hateful, and stupid, you will fall into the three evil paths of the hells, the hungry ghosts, and the animals. If you want to cultivate the Four Truths of suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way, then you will go into the path of those of the Two Vehicles. If you want to cultivate to be a Bodhisattva and to become a Buddha, then you must bring forth the resolve for Bodhi and cultivate the Six Perfections and the Myriad Practices and eventually become a Buddha.
To be continued |
