修行才能除苦 Alleviating Suffering by Cultivation

緣起法，是佛教的根本。緣起法的特點是什麼呢？就是「和合」 —— 人與人和合、事與事和合、物與物和合，就是所有的人事物都很規範。比如在一個佛堂里，佛像、供桌、拜墊怎麼擺才是最合適、最規範的，這是物與物和合；還有人要與物和合，人要排得整齊，一排一排的，前後左右都要對齊，等等；我們做的事情也要和合，請師、唱贊、請聖、懺悔，等等。在佛堂裡面我們就是念經、聞法、禮拜，談一些跟佛法相關的事情，這樣我們在佛堂里做的事情，就跟這個場地符合了。如果我們在佛堂里做別的事情，就不和合了，比如在裡面聊天、打電話，這都是不和合。

The doctrine of dependent origination is fundamental to Buddhism. What are the characteristics of dependent origination? It is 「unifying harmony」 – harmony among humans, harmony among actions, harmony among objects – that sets the standards for people and objects. For example, inside the Buddha Hall, the concept of harmony among objects concerns how to arrange the Buddha statue, the altar, and the prostration mats; harmony between people and objects is reflected in how people are seated in an orderly formation that aligns them with people at their front, back, left, and right; and harmony must be observed in our conduct, such as ushering the masters for exposition, chanting praises, paying homage to the sages, repenting our sins, and etcetera. The Buddha Hall serves the purpose of being a place for reciting the sutras, listening to the Dharma, and worshiping the Buddha. If that is what we do inside the Buddha Hall, we are in harmony with the surroundings. However, if we do something else inside the Buddha Hall, such as chitchatting and talking on the phone, we are in disharmony with the venue.

怎樣去體會緣起法的和合？什麼叫緣起法，這個法又是什麼呢？要怎麼去體會呢？大家都知道，人都是有感受的，有感覺的。感受有三種：一種是痛苦的感受，就是我們常常講到的「苦苦」；一種是快樂的感受，就是我們常常談到的「壞苦」，這個快樂會過去；一種是不苦不樂的感受——舍受，叫做「行苦」。世間上面所有的一切感受，或者說一切的痛苦無非這三種:苦受、樂受、舍受。苦樂舍三受都是痛苦——諸受皆苦，它的本質就是痛苦。

How do we get a feel for the harmony as described in the doctrine of dependent origination? What does the doctrine of dependent origination mean, and what is this doctrine indeed? How should we experience it? All of us know that humans have feelings. There are three types of feelings: the first is the feeling of suffering, or what we commonly refer to as suffering of pain; the second is the feeling of happiness, or what we commonly refer to as suffering of change because such happiness will soon pass; and the third is the feeling of neither pain nor pleasure but of separation, also known as suffering of conditionality. All the feelings in the secular world, or rather, all types of suffering are nothing but these three types: the state of pain, the state of pleasure, and the state of renunciation of feelings. All three types are manifestation of suffering, hence the phrase 「all feelings are the same as suffering,」 because the essence of feeling is suffering.

諸受皆苦，一切的感受都是痛苦的，這和緣起法又有什麼關係呢？就是說，我們哪些行為的造作會引發諸受皆苦？我們哪些行為的造作，哪些行為的和合能夠消除這些痛苦，達到快樂？這是不一樣的，是兩種不一樣的緣起——清凈法的緣起和染污法的緣起。學習佛法的目的，就是要讓染污法的緣起變成清凈法的緣起。染污法的緣起和清凈法的緣起區別的關鍵點在哪裡？在於人的心態，在於人內心當中對佛法的成就，是從這方面來衡量和看待的。比如說,一個心理健康的人和一個心理有疾病的人，這是不一樣的兩種人。心理健康的人對事物的看法很樂觀，心理有疾病的人對事物的看法就是悲觀的、消極的，這是兩種不同的認識。因為心理有毛病，自然而然，認知的結果也就是負面的；心理很健康，對外在事物的認識也就是比較樂觀、正面的。

All feelings are suffering, meaning that all sensations cause pain; but how does this reality relate to the doctrine of dependent origination? In other words, which of our behaviors would cause different feelings that lead to suffering? Conversely, which of our behaviors would lead to harmony that will free us from suffering and achieve happiness? Note the difference here, as there are two types of dependent origination – origination from purity and origination form impurity. The purpose of Dharma study is to transform impure origination to pure origination. What is the critical difference between the two? It lies in the mindset of the person, measured and judged by the amount of achievement in the person』s Dharma study. For example, a mentally healthy person and a mentally ill person are two different kinds of persons. The mentally healthy holds an optimistic view toward people and situations, while the mentally ill holds a pessimistic and negative view; such are two different assessments. For the mentally ill, due to psychological impairment, the person naturally resorts to negative thinking; for the mentally healthy, the understanding of the external world is more optimistic and positive.

用佛法的觀點來講，無論你是一個心理健康的人，還是一個心理有疾病的人，這些都算世間法、世間善法。世間善法還是導致我們生死輪迴，不能解脫。唯有把世間善法變成出世間善法、無漏善法，才是有希望的，才是殊勝的、最好的，才是我們所需要的。要把世間善法變成無漏善法，肯定要靠修行，靠對治煩惱、調伏煩惱，才有辦法轉變過來。也就是說，假如我們帶著一顆煩惱的心去做事，我們所做的事情就是世間善法。

From the viewpoint of the Buddha Dharma, whether you are mentally healthy or ill, you are judged by the conventional principles and the principles for kindness, both of which are applied in the secular world. However, these principles will still lead us back into the cycle of rebirth, with no escape. Only when we transform the conventional principles for kindness to the supermundane principles for kindness, i.e., the principles of uncontaminated wholesomeness, can we gain hope for liberation as well as the best and extraordinary circumstances for what we need. To make the transformation happen, we must cultivate the Dharma, overcome afflictions, and restrain afflictions. In other words, if we do things with an afflicted mind, all of our deeds will be performed according to conventional principles.

來源：學誠大和尚開示《感悟人生》

Source: Understanding Life, by Ven. Master Xuecheng

翻譯：北京龍泉寺翻譯中心

Translated by: Beijing Longquan Monastery Translation Center

喜歡這篇文章嗎？立刻分享出去讓更多人知道吧！