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【 水鏡回天錄白話解 】

Reflections in Water and Mirrors

評梁武帝(續)
Emperor Wu of Liang (continued)

宣化上人講於一九八六年九月六日 Text and commentary by the Venerable Master Hua on November 6,1986
王雪梅博士 英譯 English translation by Xuemei Wang, Ph.D.

評曰:

因果分明 餓死臺城
雖為帝王 難逃法繩
自作自受 莫怨天公
死人說法 生者聽經

「因果分明」:種因就結果。種善因就得善果;種惡因就得惡果。殺人之父,人也殺其父;殺人之兄,人也殺其兄,這都是因果。你對人家不利,將來也有人對你不利。如是因,如是果;種瓜得瓜,種豆得豆。

「餓死臺城」:因為以前在無意中餓死這猴子,現在猴子把他關在臺城,好像關在一個洞裡似的,這就是因果分明。

「雖為帝王」:雖然他作了天子。

「難逃法繩」:也逃不出這個法網。法網就是一個定律,默默中最大公無私的法律,誰也逃不了的。

「自作自受」:他是自作自受。

「莫怨天公」:這不能怨天尤人。

「死人說法」:梁武帝死了,留下這個公案是給大家說法。

「生者聽經」:活的人聽到這種果報情形,就不要再做錯因果的事情。

又說偈曰:

差之絲毫謬千里 善惡循環由自己
餓死猴精遭惡報 救活螞蟻培善根
貴為天子仍饑斃 貧如范丹增福壽
寄語世人醒迷夢 臨渴掘井太嫌遲

「差之絲毫謬千里」:差一點,將來的果報就離得很遠。

「善惡循環由自己」:你種善因有善報,種惡因有惡報。為什麼這樣說呢?

「餓死猴精遭惡報」:因為餓死一隻通人性的猴子,所以自己也被猴子餓死。

「救活螞蟻培善根」:救活螞蟻,自己的善根也就增長了。

「貴為天子仍饑斃」:雖然他作皇帝,還是被餓死。

「貧如范丹增福壽」:范丹雖然貧窮,但他安貧樂道,反而增壽。

「寄語世人醒迷夢」:我和世人說幾句話:希望大家由迷夢中醒來。

「臨渴掘井大嫌遲」:等到渴了的時候再掘井就太晚了,來不及解決渴的。

全文完

A verse of critique says:

Cause and effect are clear: death by starvation in the palace.
Although he was an emperor, he could not escape the laws of Dharma.
One must face the consequences of one's own actions; do not blame the Lord in heaven.
The dead speak the Dharma; the living learn the lessons.

A verse of critique says:
Cause and effect are clear.
Having planted causes, one reaps their effects. When one has planted good causes, one is rewarded. If one has planted evil causes, one receives the retributions. If one kills someone else's father, one's own father will be killed. If one kills someone else's brother, one's own brother will be killed. These are all causes and effects. If you are unkind to others, others will be unkind to you. As is the cause, so will be the effect. If one plants melons, one gets melons. Planting beans, one gets beans. Death by starvation in the palace. Since he had unintentionally starved a monkey to death in his past life, the monkey locked the emperor up in the palace, just as the animal had been trapped in a cave. The relationship between cause and effect is very clear.

Although he was an emperor, he could not escape the laws of Dharma. Even though he had become the "Son of Heaven," he could not evade the net of the Dharma. The Dharma net is a kind of law, invisible, yet most fair. No one can escape from it.

One must face the consequences of one's own actions. He experienced the result of his own actions. Do not blame the Lord in heaven. One cannot blame the heavens or grumble about others. The dead speak the Dharma. Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty has died, but this story remains to teach people the Dharma. The living learn the lessons. When those who are still alive hear about such a retribution, they should take care not to make the same mistakes.

Another verse says:

Small errors lead to huge mistakes.
Good and bad retributions are all one's own karma.
Starving a monkey to death, one suffers bad retribution.
Saving the life of an ant, one's good roots deepen.
He was honored as the Son of Heaven, but he still starved to death.
One may be as poor as Fan Dan, yet enjoy happiness and longevity.
May people awaken from their deluded dreams upon hearing these words.
It is too late to dig a well when one is thirsty.

Another verse says:
Small errors lead to huge mistakes.
If you are off by a little bit in the beginning, you will miss by a lot when the retribution comes.

Good and bad retributions are all one's own karma. When you plant good causes, you will be rewarded. When you plant evil causes, you will have to receive the retribution. Why is it this way?

Starving a monkey to death brings one a bad retribution. Having starved a monkey to death, he was in turn starved to death by the monkey. Saving the life of an ant causes one's good roots to deepen. If one saves the life of an ant, one's own good roots increase as a result.

He was honored as the Son of Heaven, but he still starved to death. Despite the fact he was an emperor, he starved to death.

One may be as poor as Fan Dan, yet enjoy happiness and longevity. Fan Dan was poor; even so, he was satisfied and happy. As a result, his lifespan increased.

May people awaken from their deluded dreams upon hearing these words. I speak these words in the hopes that everyone will awaken from deluded dreams.

It is too late to dig a well when one is thirsty. If one waits until one is thirsty to start digging a well, it is already to late. One’s thirst will not be quenched.

The End

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