The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters - 38
佛說四十二章經 第38章
後漢 西域沙門迦葉摩騰 竺法蘭 同譯
Translated jointly by Indian Sramana Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaraksa in the Later Han Dynasty
法师讲解 00:57 开始 单词 03:38 开始
第38章 生即有滅
Birth Comes with Death
佛問沙門。人命在幾間。
The Buddha asked a monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?"
對曰。數日間。佛言。子未知道。
The monk answered, "By days." The Buddha said, "You do not understand the Way."
復問一沙門。人命在幾間。對曰。飯食間。佛言。子未知道。
The Buddha asked another monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" The monk answered, "By the time that passes during a meal." The Buddha said, "You do not understand the way."
復問一沙門。人命在幾間。對曰。呼吸間。
The Buddha asked a third monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" The monk answered, "By the breath."
佛言。善哉。子知道矣。
The Buddha said, "Very well, you know the Way."
英文版经文转载自 菩提字幕屋，英译者 D.T. Suzuki
English version sourced from Bodhi Fansubs, translated by D.T. Suzuki
法师讲解：38 生即有灭
Commentary: Birth comes with death
When we talk about the anitya of life it means the commencement and cessation of a term of life are determined by causation, and death can befall someone abruptly beyond prediction. The Brahmajala Sutra says: “The anitya of life is more volatile than nature. Existence today provides no guarantee for existence tomorrow.” Great land and waters are changing every moment although they look stable. For example, river flow will change by the turn of seasons, and mountain ranges will change due to crustal activities. As for life, it is even more volatile because nobody can assure that one can see the sunrise tomorrow. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s verse of exhortation in evening recitation says: “Be diligent now as if to put out a fire on our head; Be mindful of anitya and not to be lax.” That’s why Great Master Yin Guang always had the word “death” pasted on the forehead. This reminded him to forgo the five desires and the six fields of senses, and be diligent in cultivation.
说生命是无常因为它是由因缘生，也由因缘灭，而且死亡随时都可能降临，无法预料。《梵网经》说到：“人命無常過於山水。今日雖存明亦難保。”山河大地看似常在但其实每时每刻都在改变，例如河流因季节而变化，崇山峻岭也因为地壳运动而变化。但生命的变化比这些都更难预料，没有人能保证自己能看到明天的日出。晚课的普贤警众偈也提到 “當勤精進，如救頭然，但念無常，慎勿放逸”，我们要对无常有所警惕，不要放逸。所以印光大师经常把“死”字贴在额头上，目的是警醒自己不要贪恋五欲六尘，要专心修行。
In addition, there is a story about the idiom of The Monks at the Border of Sichuan province: At the border of Sichuan province there were two monks, one rich and the other impoverished. The impoverished monk aspired to visit Putuo Island in order to pay respects to Guanyin Bodhisattva. However, he was ridiculed by the rich monk, who had been planning the same for years and wanted to buy a boat first before setting out. As for the impoverished monk, he started off only with a bottle and an alms bowl! The next year he returned from Putuo Island and saw the rich monk again, who was still planning his trip! We should live for the moment and seize the day to do something worthy. We shouldn’t live for the past just to regret or reminisce. After all, what’s past is past. We should not turn our future into a burden either, e.g., by deferring Buddhism learning or doing charity until retirement, for anitya can come anytime.
另外，成语中有“蜀鄙之僧”一个典故，四川边境有两位和尚，一贫一富。穷和尚要到普陀山朝拜观音菩萨，但遭到富和尚嘲笑。富和尚筹划了好几年，又要先买条船，但一直没有成行，而穷和尚单凭一瓶一钵便只身起行了！第二年穷和尚从普陀山回来又见到那位富和尚，他仍然在筹划当中！我们应当活在当下，把握现在的时光做一些应该做的事情。我们不要活在对过去的追悔或缅怀中，毕竟过去已经过去了，也不要把未来变成我们的包袱，例如等退休再学佛或行善，因为无常随时会降临。
讲解 | 释宏添 北京天开寺
By Bhiksu Hong Tian, Tiankai Temple
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