《旅途脚印》| 无穷——索达吉堪布

圆容

( E$ y1 a; x$ A; ^

无穷 | Without End

有些人认为，佛教中说一切众生皆作过自己父母之理，既不现实也不可能，且不论是否有
7 m. n$ e" ^8 ^8 w前世，即使有，但世间众生如此之多，如此之喻如何得以穷尽？
8 c! A3 ]7 f' @2 E7 g; ?The Buddha says all sentient beings have previously been our own mothers and fathers. Many
people find this teaching improbable and impossible. Putting aside the argument about the
+ H* K& o5 ~$ m; L& m  Pexistence of past lives, even if it were true, how could we ever exhaust all sentient beings, as
their number is simply innumerable?
; S5 O0 q) m# j$ S; R然而，以一般世间人的眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意来衡量之结果并非正量。《三昧王经》云
9 L9 t3 k$ s2 M$ P! z1 ]：“眼耳鼻非量，舌身意亦非，若彼等为量，圣道复益谁？”
However, the conclusions reached by the ordinary sense faculties—our eye, ear, nose, tongue,
2 U4 y0 }, C  }/ {- n9 vbody, and consciousness—are not valid in the ultimate sense. The King of Concentration Sutra
says:
Eyes, ears, and nose are not valid instruments of discernment,
# X. |- h5 q3 d6 A. FNor are tongue, body, and consciousness reliable.
4 A/ L6 m/ u( r8 t0 n2 G  GShould their perceptions be true,
* t0 |8 i7 e5 O# N1 wWhom should the holy Doctrines benefit?
' P0 l7 Q$ O& D0 y& S) @只有究竟之智慧，方可照见世间万事万物之本性。若未依甚深佛智，仅依凡夫之分别念，
实难彻见纷纭繁杂的现有表象之本质。

9 I! ]1 Q2 W5 u5 _It is only with supreme wisdom that the true nature of all phenomena will be revealed. Without
4 e6 q9 g/ v1 W4 s+ C( W+ s% M! f& mrelying on Buddha’s profound insight, no amount of ordinary conceptual thinking is able to
8 \6 y( X& L& `3 N# qdiscern the essence of myriad appearances.
* f* m/ \3 H; l, N' U( l6 `无始的概念，一般凡夫的六根是很难揣度的。《亲友书》云：“过去一一生身骨，辗转积若
妙高山，地土丸为酸枣核，数己形躯岂尽边。”无始以来，每一众生流转轮回的次数，世间
7 y& {; I) r9 Z5 g/ w的数字是无法表示的。为业力所转而互为亲怨的数字也同样难记其数。《圣者涅槃经》中
云：“此大地土抟成豌豆许丸用以衡量一有情为自父母之数，则可数尽，然一有情为自父母
, P4 D; `# I& D9 H0 g* h之数却不可胜数。”
Likewise, the notion of time without beginning is difficult to grasp using the six faculties of
ordinary being. In Letter to a Friend, The sublime Nagarjuna says: “Should the bones we had
through our past lives be piled up, they would be as high as Mt. Meru. Should we try to count our
% V+ G, Q2 ^" p. g) ubodies with balls of clay the size of juniper berries, we would run out of earth to count.” Since
' H4 S7 Z9 }; [5 e8 c1 ~7 ybeginning-less time we have had incalculable lives throughout samsara, the number of times that
9 W6 J  L) g5 L' l3 }+ v) Ywe had relations of affection, enmity, or indifference with every other being is also countless.
4 l" d3 \. P& l3 ~1 J7 }6 v2 ~8 c8 P5 UThe Sages’ Nirvana Sutra says: “Were this great earth made into little pellets as big as a pea to
count the number of times someone had been my father and mother, the whole earth would be
used up before I could finish counting.”
$ L# c, O7 H" n+ r' ^所以，在未对佛经进行精读、思维前，切不可对佛教之说法妄加评论。对经论进行精研以
5 Y! V( h) {, d后再下结论乃为智者之所为。
Hence, until we have thoroughly studied and reflected upon the Buddha’s teachings, we should
5 E# I) c* e+ Odefinitely refrain from making reckless remarks. A wise man will choose not to draw any
' ~9 E9 w# H1 M% kconclusion until he has carefully reviewed the sutras and shastras.
壬午年二月十六日 　
2002年3月29日 　
* |) X  }$ @! q( i4 h; A16th of February, Year of RenWu
March 29, 2002