「常」與「無常」當如何?
How to Find the Eternal Beyond
Impermanence?
文/釋智隨 By Master Zhisui
可能很多人平常都不追蹤無常,都是想「常」,不想無常:身體要常——長期健康、永遠年輕、長壽等等;做生意都只想賺,不想虧;想保持在一個好的狀態,不變動。然而,從佛法來講,我們可以看見的萬物,以及如思想、想法這樣無形無相的,都是無常的,變化的。
Most people ignore life's transient nature, focusing instead on whatthey want to last forever. They wish for perpetual health, eternal youth,and long life. In business, they think only of profits, never losses. Theywant to maintain favorable conditions, resisting all changes. Yet, from aBuddhist perspective, everything - whether physical objects we can seeor intangible things like thoughts and ideas - is ephemeral and subjectto change.
也許很多人對「無常」的理解很悲觀,其實無常是一種客觀,而不是悲觀。無常不是讓我們對人生感到悲觀,而是要告訴我們人生真相——無常是一種客觀事實、客觀真相。
Many misunderstand this fundamental truth of constant change asbeing pessimistic. But the fleeting nature of existence isn't pessimism- it's simply reality. Understanding life's impermanence isn't meant tomake us despair about life. Rather, it reveals the universal law aboutexistence - impermanence is just how things are.
世間人往往覺得生死很遙遠,雖然知道這個世界每天都有很多人死去,但因為跟自己沒什麼關聯,所以也沒有什麼影響。如果家裡有人去世,或者是熟悉的人去世,這種衝擊就比較大了。這就說明我們對無常已經很遲鈍了。遲鈍到什麼程度呢?——只有人死了才知道有無常,人不死都不知道無常。
We tend to see death as distant and unrelated to our lives. Thoughwe know countless people die each day around the world, these deathsfeel remote and don't seem to mean anything since they don't touchus personally. Only when death claims the life of our loved ones doesits reality truly hit home. This shows how numb we've become toimpermanence. We're so numb that we only grasp life's transient naturewhen confronted by the personal loss of loved ones. Otherwise, weremain completely oblivious to it.
如果懂得無常道理的人,或者智慧比較高的人,看到花開花落,就可以悟道了。我們為什麼沒悟道,不能解脫呢?因為沒有無常觀。別人要死,我也要死,人隨時都會死,這是無常。就算有些人對此有些認識,也知道人都要死,但是不會想到自己的死,認為自己現在還年輕,身體還很好,死亡離自己還很遠。死亡在面前了還不知道無常,這麼大的衝擊,有很多人還是不醒悟。
Those with deep insight into impermanence, or those of greaterwisdom, can awaken to the truth simply by observing the passing ofthings such as the cycle of flowers blooming and withering. Why havewe not awakened and found liberation? Because we fail to understandthe transient nature of life. Death is universal - others die, we will die,anyone could die at any moment - this is impermanence. Even thosewho know intellectually that everyone must die never contemplate theirown mortality, believing they are still young and healthy and that deathis far away. Many remain unawakened even when death stares them inthe face.
我們自認為很聰明,恰恰相反,實質是很愚癡的。連全世界天天都在死人,天天都有很多問題發生,像車禍、災難等等,這樣一個客觀事實都不知道無常的存在。
什麼是無常呢?
We think we're clever, but we're actually quite foolish. Everyday, countless people die. Every day we witness tragedy and loss -accidents and disasters strike without warning. Yet, we are blind to theimpermanent nature of existence.
What, then, is impermanence?
有形有相的,是無常;無形無相的,如觀念、思想等,都是無常的。「無常」是代表沒有實體,沒有一個固定的東西存在。就像我們認為有這個身體存在,但身體只是四大假合之身,是地、水、火、風組成的。世間萬事萬物,小到個人,大到大千世界,都是各種因緣聚集,因緣一散就沒有了。所以,佛門講「無常」,緣一散,就沒有了。
Everything with form does not last. Everything formless - ourthoughts, ideas, concepts - is equally fleeting. This fundamental truthmeans nothing has ever-lasting, independent essence. Take our bodies,for instance. We think they're solid and real. Yet they're just temporarycombinations of the four elemental properties: solidity, fluidity, energy,and motion (traditionally called earth, water, fire, and wind). Everythingin existence, from individual beings to the entire universe, is just agathering of causes and conditions. We learn from Buddhist teachingsthat when such causal conditions dissipate, the relevant things will end.
如果還想尋找一個永恆不變的東西,這就是另外一個概念了,就是佛講的「佛性」。為什麼要往生極樂世界?阿彌陀佛叫無量壽、無量光,這才是真正的「常」,永恆不變的東西。凡夫追求
的東西,恰恰都是無常的,真正的「常」在淨土。淨土是無量光、無量壽,隨心所欲,想什麼有什麼,這才是永恆的。
If we seek something eternal and unchanging, we encounter adifferent concept altogether - what the Buddha called `Buddha-nature.'Why do we aspire to rebirth in the Pure Land? Because AmitabhaBuddha, whose very name means Infinite Life and Infinite Light,embodies the true meaning of permanence. The things that ordinarybeings pursue are impermanent, while eternal bliss can be found inthe Pure Land. In the Pure Land of infinite light and life everythingmanifests according to one's wishes. This is what is truly eternal.
看清無常的真相,要想超越無常的世界,最好的辦法就是:稱念「南無阿彌陀佛」,去到阿彌陀佛的世界,獲得與阿彌陀佛一樣無量光、無量壽的真實生命。
When we clearly understand the reality of impermanence, we seekliberation from this transient existence. The best path is to recite "NamoAmitabha Buddha" and attain rebirth in Amitabha's Pure Land. There,we enjoy the same infinite light and infinite life as Amitabha.
(Translated by the Pure Land School Translation Team;edited
by Householder Fojin)