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《正法印》

PROPER DHARMA SEAL

妙法蓮華經淺釋
The Dharma Flower Sutra With Commentary

【 卷五 安樂行品第十四 】
Roll Five, Chapter Fourteen: Happily Dwelling Conduct

宣化上人講 Commentary by the Venerable Master Hua
國際譯經學院記錄 Translated by the International Translation Institute
修訂版 Revised version

6,「如虛空」,這叫一個什麼空呢?你若看過《般若經》,這《般若經》就講的智慧,講般若,般若就是談空的,研究這空理。所以須菩提善說般若,是解空第一;他專門研究這個空,所以他叫「空生」。可是他這空生,又不空生;那麼說不空生,他又有了一個什麼?有了一個須菩提。

我大概知道,很多人都不知道這空生究竟是怎麼回事,今天跟大家來講一講。空生是須菩提;須菩提是梵語,翻過來就叫空生。怎麼叫空生呢?因為須菩提生出來的時候,他家裏所有的財寶,倉庫裏裝的金、銀、珠寶,在他生出來這一天,忽然間都空了,沒有了,所以他的父親一看這樣,「哦!這個是空生囉;」於是乎就給他取名字叫空生。那麼金、銀、珠寶這個寶庫都空起來了,這回是不是要窮了?於是乎他父親就到爻卦的那個地方去爻卦,就得到這個卦,說,「你這個金銀珠寶都空了,這是最好的,沒有什麼不好的地方。你不要煩惱,這是最吉祥了。你生這個小孩子,好得不得了,再沒有比這個再好的。」所以給他取名字就叫「善吉」既善且吉。那麼過了七天,這金銀珠寶在倉庫裏又都自己現出來了,所以又有一個名字叫「善現」。這須菩提就有這麼三個意思。

那麼為什麼他生出來的時候,金銀珠寶這個倉庫都空了呢?這就因為須菩提生生世世都研究這個「空」。空,就是什麼也都不要了,什麼都沒有了,金銀珠寶也都空了,所以他生出來這是一個空的表現,表現這個般若空,就連金銀珠寶都空,這叫「空生」。

那麼「如虛空」,這個叫什麼空?這叫大空,沒有再比它大的了。你們說是中空,中空不如大空;那個大空,就再沒有比這空再大的了。究竟你說它多大?誰也不知道。為什麼呢?它太大了,若有人知道,就談不到大。這如虛空就是個大空。  

7,「無所有性」:這是個什麼空?你們再猜一猜看看。我今天晚間看看你們的智慧如何。這個到底空沒空?你們說,這個無所有性是個什麼空?我沒有說明白了,沒說是如果你若猜著,就可以繼承祖位?我把這個心法--如來的心印妙法,都傳給你,所以不會有人那麼著急的。至多今天晚間你睡不著覺,等到明天我就又可以給你講了,你知道不知道都可以講。所以今天不講了,想一想這無所有性是什麼空?不知道的可以看看《大般若經》。  

「無所有性」:這個無所有性是一個什麼空呢?昨天問你們各位,相信你們都想起來了這是個什麼空,有人知道是個什麼空嗎?這個叫畢竟空,畢竟是空的:畢竟是空,也就是根本就是空。這有這麼幾句偈頌,說,「如來清涼月,常遊畢竟空;眾生心水淨,菩提影現中。」說是如來就好像清涼月似的,留在天邊。那個月,晚間覺得好清涼的,很舒服的;這如來也就像清涼月似的,常遊畢竟空,常常在這個畢竟空裏邊來遊玩。「眾生心水淨」:眾生的智慧水現前,心裏清淨了。「菩提影現中」:這個菩提也就隱隱忽忽的,不太真切;影現中,好像有個影子現出來是一樣的。

這個畢竟空,怎麼說「無所有性」是畢竟空呢?無所有性,你看,什麼也都沒有了,它不是個畢竟空是個什麼?這諸法沒有欠,也沒有餘;無欠無餘,無欠也就是不少一點點,無餘也不多一點點;一點也不多,一點也不少,這是諸法本體的樣子,所以叫畢竟空。因為它畢竟空,所以就叫「無所有性」這無所有性就是畢竟空。

8,「一切言語道斷」, 這是個什麼空呢?這個空也很容易就知道的,就是在這一句經文上就有這個意思了;不單這一句是這樣,每一句它本來那個經文,已經就有那個本來空的意思了。這個叫一切空:一切語言道斷,所以這個就是一切空,因為它是一切空,所以你就沒有什麼話可說的了。    

待續 

 

6. "Being like empty space." The Prajna Sutra discusses wisdom- prajna, and the principle of emptiness. The Buddha's disciple Subhuti was good at discussing prajna and the best at explaining emptiness. Since he exclusively investigated emptiness, his name means "born of emptiness." However, he was not really born of emptiness, because there was actually a Subhuti.

I think many people may not understand why he was called "born of emptiness," so now I will explain briefly. Subhuti is a Sanskrit word which means "born of emptiness." This was because at his birth all the treasuries of wealth and jewelry in his household became empty. Seeing this, his father named him "Born of Emptiness." Did the empty treasuries mean they were going to be poor? His father consulted a fortune teller who told him not to worry, that such an event was extremely auspicious, and that this was an extremely lucky child. Then the father also named him "good fortune." Seven days later, the wealth and gems reappeared in the treasuries, so his father gave him yet another name, "good manifestation." Thus "Subhuti" has three meanings.

Why did all the treasuries become empty at his birth? Because in many previous lives Subhuti had studied emptiness, and so prajna emptiness manifested at his birth, and all the wealth and valuables disappeared. So he was called "Born of Emptiness." "Being like empty space" corresponds to Great Emptiness. There is nothing greater than this. How great is it? No one knows, because it is too great. If someone knew, it wouldn't be great.

7. What kind of emptiness does "without a nature" correspond to? Take another guess. Let's see how your wisdom is-let's see if you've truly understood emptiness. I haven't said that if you guess correctly, I will transmit the Wonderful Dharma of the Tathagata's Mind-Seal to you and make you the next Patriarch. Therefore you shouldn't be that anxious. At most, you'll have a hard time falling asleep tonight. But tomorrow, whether you know the answer or not, I will explain it for you. If you don't know what kind of emptiness "without a nature" corresponds to, you can look it up in the Great Prajna Sutra.

"Without a nature" corresponds to Ultimate Emptiness. It is ultimately empty, that is, fundamentally empty. It is said,

The Tathagata is like the clear, cool moon,
Ever travelling through ultimate space.
When the water in living beings' hearts is pure,
Bodhi is reflected in them  

At night, it is very refreshing to look at the clear, cool moon in the sky. The Tathagata is compared to the moon, always roaming through space. When the waters of wisdom are brought forth in living beings and their minds are pure, the reflection of Bodhi appears. Why does "without a nature" correspond to Ultimate Emptiness? Without a nature, there is nothing at all, so how can that be anything but the Ultimate Emptiness? In all dharrnas, there is nothing lacking and nothing in excess in their fundamental substance, so they are ultimately empty, and thus without a nature. Having no nature is the ultimate emptiness.

8. "Having the path of language cut off." What kind of emptiness is this? It's very easy to deduce from the text itself. In fact, the corresponding emptiness can be inferred from each of the phrases of the Sutra text. This phrase means "Emptiness of Everything." All the paths of language are severed, and so everything is empty. Since everything is empty, nothing remains to be said. The path of language is destroyed.    

~ To be continued

 

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