Karma
in different cultures: Aṅgulimāla,
Jetsun Milarepa, Yuán-zé 2
The second story is about Jetsun Milarepa, a patriarch of the Kagyu lineage (white sect) of Tibetan Buddhism.
Compared with Aṅgulimāla’s case, the reason that Milarepa killed many people
indirectly was not due to the false education.
二、密勒日巴尊者
第二個我們來講密勒日巴尊者，也是西藏地區密宗白教的祖師故事。央掘利摩羅是被教錯的而去殺人，但這位密勒日巴尊者不是。
Jetsun Milarepa was born into a wealthy family in Tibet but became
miserable after his father died. His
uncle and aunt took away all of the inheritance to obtain noble status and
abused Milarepa, his mother, and his sisters as their servants. Such miserable encounter can be found elsewhere
that reveal the dark side of human nature. Sufferings from mistreatment could cause
more harm or throw people off the track; Milarepa learned the black magic of hailstorm
raising for revenge, as his mother asked.
密勒日巴尊者是身世可憐的，他爸爸過世以後，伯父跟姑媽佔據了密勒日巴他們家的財產、衣食，他們變成貴婦，而尊者他們變成下賤的僕人。這種故事一大堆，是不是在說明人性之惡! 密勒日巴的母親跟他說：我們受到這麼大的痛苦，你去學習詛咒之術--降雹。
Black magic may sound weird and superstitious to Chinese people, yet the
Tibetan cults seem familiar with the power of spells if looking into their
religious history. For me, spell and curse are similar, but their powers are on
different scales. Cursing can be strong
enough to harm people, can’t it?
我們華人的社會通常都會覺得詛咒聽起來好像很奇怪、是迷信，但研究西藏宗教史會常看到這一類用語。情況就像去對某人實施什麼降頭，然後那個人就會狀況不對..... 但我認為這是詛咒的力量，別人在詛咒你，這個力量究竟能不能夠實現？
Milarepa’s curse was very powerful to destroy his uncle and aunt’s
barley field by casting off a hailstorm in the almost-harvest time of May. All the crops were frozen and then caused a massive
famine in the neighboring area. The villagers blamed him for the disaster. Then
he just found out that was a terrible mistake. He sought Buddhist masters for
redemption, yet there is no one to show him how to repent. The torments of conscience prompted him to seek
relief. He took Buddhist practices as a method
of good-karma cultivation for redemption.
在密勒日巴尊者身上實現了，在他伯父、姑媽種植的青稞快要收成時，就像我們稻米要收成，密勒日巴詛咒讓五月天下起了雪，那雪一下青稞就凍死了，青稞沒辦法收成，鬧飢荒，這個詛咒力量竟然可以這麼大！
而這種詛咒產生一個更大的問題，下雪也會殃及隔壁的青稞田，鬧得那個地方的人們饑荒，大家就埋怨他，村民對密勒日巴的埋怨讓密勒日巴覺得自己做錯事了！爾後他就很想修一個善法來懺悔，從別人對他的價值觀改變讓密勒日巴知道做錯事了！沒有人教他該如何懺悔，是他自己要去找老師來教他修持一些好的佛法，修持一些好資源讓他自己懺悔。
According to The Life of Milarepa, the story goes as follows.
Milarepa became Marpa’s disciple. Marpa was an eminent lay Buddhist
practitioner in the area, and realized what bad karma has been caused by
Milarepa. Marpa tested Milarepa’s resolution through a series of ordeals,
which demanded Milarepa to transport tons of big rocks from the bottom to the top
of the hill without using pack animals such as donkeys or horses. And then he
had to build a house. Of course, the transporting-rocks ordeals caused server abscesses
and bleeding in his back. Finally, he accomplished the task, Marpa asked him to
demolish the house and rebuild it again. He did the same thing back and forth
for three times. His back’s abscesses and bleeding relapsed again and again.
密勒日巴的老師馬爾巴是在家居士，根據《密勒日巴尊者傳》的記載，馬爾巴在當地是一個非常有修持的高僧，他的上師馬爾巴知道他造了惡業，為了磨練他，跟他說：「你跟我出家可以，請你幫我蓋一間房子，你從山下背石頭上去蓋房子，你不能用那些驢、馬運上去，石材建材請你從山下自己駝負上去！」那些石頭的重量各位可以想一想，用人力去扛石頭上山會怎樣！他的背部因此長膿瘡流血。好不容易蓋好，他上師又說：麻煩你再把它拆掉，因為我對你的建法不太滿意！就這樣一下子要建、一下子要拆，前後總共三次，背部膿瘡流血，反覆好了又復發⋯⋯
Marpa’s wife condemned, “Marpa, you have gone too far. You are torturing
him to death. He came to learn about Dharma. Why don’t you teach him methods to
achieve enlightenment?” Marpa relied his wife angrily, “you don’t understand. The
ordeal can reduce his sins. Otherwise, too much bad karma would block him to comprehend
what I want to teach him.” In other words, as a result of the karmic debts, Milarepa
couldn’t comprehend the Dharma. His brain had gotten stuck.
但他是有家庭的，密勒日巴的師母對馬爾巴說：「你也太沒良心了，你要把他搞死嗎？能不能把他要的佛法、證悟的方法教給他？」 馬爾巴罵師母說：「妳懂個什麼，我折磨密勒日巴是在減低他的業障，要不然我現在說佛法給密勒日巴聽，他也聽不懂 ！」馬爾巴指出密勒日巴聽不懂大法，意思是說：密勒日巴造了那麼多的惡業，大腦塞住了，我講授的佛法密勒日巴是聽不懂的。這個大家有興趣可以去看張澄基教授的《密勒日巴尊者傳 》。
Milarepa only destroyed crops. His crime did not seem as serious as Aṅgulimāla’s
fatal violence killing 999 people. Aṅgulimāla attained enlightenment without
suffering from ordeals or punishments, whereas Milarepa needed to repay the
debts first. That is an interesting
comparison. I will make it clear later.
但是很奇怪喔，密勒日巴只是損毀五穀雜糧，五穀雜糧無收成而已，他也沒有去殺人，前面故事裡那個央掘利摩羅殺了那麼多人，為什麼可以不用先受折磨就證悟，等一下我們再做總結互相比較一下 。
Beyond telling tales, I would like to shed light on the immediate karma
affecting one’s current life. Jetsun
Milarepa survived the ordeals and paid off his karmic debts successfully. That
manifests that Milarepa’s capability of overcoming all the obstructions are
worthy of being respected as a patriarch of the White Sect.
我不是只要說故事，密勒日巴既然活下來又成為白教的一代祖師，就表示他修法成功，密勒日巴也成功通過了償還業障的程序。密勒日巴尊者是值得尊敬的，他經過很多痛苦才修持成功，這是一個也是現世報。
(C) The Legend of The Three-Life Stone (San-Sheng Shi)
The three-life stone indicates the view of karma from the Chinese culture.
There is a verse for this story:
“On the stone, the old souls migrated through past, present,
and future life,
No more poems about memory;
they have passed away;
Meeting the beloved from a past
life; shame arises,
The bodies changed; the souls
remain.”
Have you ever heard of this? That description is the remarks of Monk
Yuán-zé’s three-lives in the Tang Dynasty. The story begins as a man called Li-yuan who took
refuge and then became the best friend of the monk Yuán-zé. He lived in the
temple for more than fifty years and involved with Yuán-zé’s three-life. Their
relationship is extraordinary. They can talk about everything, but no one could
understand their talks. One day they took a road trip to Ermei Mountain, Sichuan.
When they were passing a crossroad, they started arguing about which way to take.
Yuán-zé chose Chang'an Xiegu Road, the road to the capital Chang'an. But Li-yuan
avoided getting too close to the capital because his father died during the
political riot. Yuán-zé couldn’t help but
let Li-yuan lead the way. In the meantime, he let out a long sigh of despair
and said, “Conduct is no such thing as free will.” That is manifesting the
question—Can you go your way as you wish? Not Likely! We thought most times we could decide which
way to go; things might always turn out differently. Life journey depends on variables, such as
unexpected interference by friends, natural disasters, or accidental events. For
example, if there were a typhoon today, I could not come to the meeting in
Hsinchu. Things are not necessarily going your ways.
然後再舉一個 ，漢人社會的業報觀，其中三生石的故事有一首詩
「三生石上舊精魂 ，賞月吟風莫要論，慚愧情人遠相訪， 此身雖異性長存。 」
聽過這個故事嗎？這個故事講說有一個名叫李源的人，他在家道中落以後 ，寄生在寺廟，一待就待50幾年。他跟寺廟裡一位出家人叫圓澤的感情非常好，他們兩個常常講話講整天，但人家都聽不懂他們在講什麼， 有一天他們兩個就相約要去遊山玩水，當要經過一個地方的時候，圓澤說：我要從長安斜谷路去。長安路也就是京城路，李源說京城之道 離我遠去， 因為李源的爸當官是死於京城的鬥爭 ，李源堅持不要從哪裡經過 ，所以他們就從另外一個地方去走，兩個好朋友為了走哪條路，爭執過！於是圓澤法師就被李源帶到另外一條路去， 但圓澤要跟李源走的時候， 他很感慨跟李源說 ，「行止固不由人！」意思是；你以為你要走哪一條路都可以由你自己安排嗎，順著你自己願意嗎，其實不行？！因為你的同伴會影響你， 那天災地變也可能影響你， 好比我來新竹的話 ，早上好像在刮颱風 ，萬一颱風也會選擇其他的路走，都有可能，所以他就很感慨說，你以為你要走哪條路那條就給你走嗎？不見得 !
As they proceeded on the other road, Yuán-zé came across a pregnant woman
fetching water from the river. Yuán-zé
said to Li-yuan, “That woman has been pregnant for 3 years and couldn’t give
birth, because I am going to reincarnate as her baby in my next life. She is waiting
for me to show up. That is why I didn’t want to take on this road. Today I’ve seen
her; thus I know the end of my life is near. It is inevitable!
在另外一條路上圓澤看到一個婦人， 以前的人要到溪邊拿溪水回家去用， 那婦人看起來懷孕了！圓澤看到她就指著她對李源說 ，你看我不走這條路就是為了她 ，她已經懷孕三年，因為我沒有來所以她沒辦法生下小孩，那我現在看到她 ，我就得死！逃避不了 ！逃避不了！
Li-yuan felt sorry for his bad karma that leads Yuán-zé to here. Yuán-zé comforted him and promised, “Do not
feel sad. Please visit the woman’s family three days after the baby’s birth. If
the baby smiles at you, he acknowledges you. Twelve years later we’ll meet on
the Moon Festival night, at Tianzhu Temple in Hangzhou.” After finishing his
talk, he died. Three days later, Li-yuan went back as he was told and saw a
newborn baby who seemed to know him and smiled at him. Then, thirteen years
later when Li-yuan travel to Hangzhou for his appointment with Yuán-zé as
promised. All of a sudden he heard a cowherd boy tapping on the ox horns and
humming a verse,
"On the stone, the old souls migrated three lives, past, present,
and future,
No more poems for the memory;
they have passed away;
Meeting the beloved from a past
life; shame arises,
The bodies changed; the souls
remain.”
This story is famous in Chinese history. Though it doesn’t belong to Memoirs
of Eminent Monks, the names of these legendary people and places correspond
to those in history. It is not likely a made-up story.
李源一聽完了! 覺得自己好像造了一個惡業怎麼會把圓澤引到這裡來 ，圓澤說你也不要覺得難過，李源幫他準備了要往生時穿著的衣服 。圓澤跟李源約說 ：我出生後，你三天以後來看我 ，如果我衝著你笑，證明那個小孩就是我 ，然後就往生了 ， 3天以後李源去看小孩，果然是衝著他笑，證明那個小孩是圓澤禪師來出生的。圓澤跟李源又有ㄧ個約定，13年後在中秋的月夜杭州天竺寺外跟李源相見。13年後，子源來到他們相約的杭州天竺寺外，依照約定在杭州天竺寺外李源看到一個牧童在叩牛角，那小孩看到李源就吟了這句首詩：
「三生石上舊精魂， 賞月吟風莫要論 ，
慚愧情人遠相訪，此身雖異性長存。」
這個故事在中國很有名，而且有名有姓有地點，造假的成份不太高 ，雖然他不是當代高僧的故事 ，但是人名、地名的描述都很真切。
The monk Yuán-zé tried to avoid karma that forced him to go on his next
life. However, when he and Li-yuan met up 13 years later, he said, “Wait, do
not be near each other. Timing is not yet ready.” But this was an appointment made by Yuán-zé. Isn’t
it strange?
從故事中的描述圓澤看起來在逃避下一世的投胎，是不是在逃避一個業障？！更奇怪的是， 圓澤跟他約定13年後相見， 當李源要靠近他時他又說，我跟你的緣還不到 ，請你不要接近我 ，這怪不怪 ！
In three legends, Aṅgulimāla in India during the time of Gautama Buddha,
Jetsun Milarepa in ancient Tibet, and Yuán-zé in Chinese Tang Dynasty dealt
with their interpersonal relationships and obstacles differently. I admire Aṅgulimāla
and Milarepa. Because they chose to repay their karmic debts in the present
life and took punishment as the suffering of immediate karma, the physical wretchedness
could help them overcome obstacles. In contrast, the Han Chinese would like to
make a sentiment-oriented approach for their relationships. Let’s imagine what
kind of emotional entanglement will be?
從佛陀時期的央掘利摩羅 ，到西藏的密勒日巴尊者 ，到漢人修行者，大家對人跟人相處之間產生的恩怨解決的方法都不一樣！以我個人的看法，我比較佩服前面的兩個人，他們都是當世報，而他們也承受了一定程度的痛苦，在他們的肉體承受一定的痛苦之後 ，幫助他們過關 ，反觀漢人文化喜歡多情，多情的結果會怎樣互相糾纏 ？！
Aṅgulimāla and Jetsun Milarepa repaid their debts in one lifetime,
whereas Yuán-zé and Li-yuan promised to meet each other in next life. And after
Li-yuan came to see him, Yuán-zé postponed their reunion again by saying, “Timing
is not yet ready. We should not be near each other.” Quite a story! Yuán-zé also shows how a famous
monk dealt with obstacles.
央掘利摩羅跟密勒日巴尊者的業障在一世結束，圓澤跟子源相約在下一世相見 ，圓澤又說，我跟你李源的緣還不到，你不要靠近我 ！這也是一個得道高僧的感覺。
What is your opinion on procrastination?
To resolve things immediately in the current life or wait for another life
again and again? As previously stated,
time and space affect doer and karma altogether. Moreover, doers are entitled
to manage their time. Therefore, it changes their karmic results accordingly.
It is quite interesting to compare the practices of dharma in different ways according
to national and cultural differences. It shows that people would all come
across karma, but have different levels of tolerance for karmic results.
各位看這個有什麼感覺， 一世可以解決的事情拖到兩世了，可能還會拖到第三世，所以我說「作者跟業力」之間他有時間的問題，確定有 ！那麼操控時間的這個人 絕對是自己！你看各民族展現 都是修佛法， 各民族對業力的承受力是不一樣的有沒有覺得很有趣！
Derrick:
I am curious about why Yuán-zé knows the timing of meeting the woman and
the end of his life? Why did he retain his old memory after reincarnation as a cowherd
boy? According to the Buddhist scriptures, the mystery of reincarnation is
without a memory of the previous life.
純德說: 師父請教一下 圓澤禪師 ，他都能夠知道自己什麼時候見到那個婦人，什麼時候他要走 ，那他為什麼下一世 當那個牧牛童， 他還有記憶呢？佛法不是常講 人過世之後會有隔陰之迷？
Ban Ji:
Not really. I think this theory doesn’t apply to a practitioner having
attained some achievements in his practice. His soul isn’t constrained. The
story has also mentioned, “Li-yuan went back to their temple. The disciple said
Yuán-zé had left his last words beforehand. As we can see in the story, Yuán-zé
spent two lifetimes continuing his bond with Li-yuan. He also tried hard to
avoid reincarnation, though we don’t know what he was exactly trying to avoid.
But I wonder how long he can avoid karma? Maybe couples of lifetimes.
半寄師父: 不見得，我覺得那對一個已經修持有功力的修行者是沒有制約力的。他靈魂不受操控， 這裡面還有一段是「子源回去他們的寺廟，跟他的徒弟說你師父往生，他的徒弟說有啊，他已經留信，此去不回了，」我要講的是 ，圓澤跟李源兩個人之間的情誼用兩世說明 ， 而圓澤自己也在避掉不要有下一世！他到底要避什麼？只有他心裡懂 ！但是這樣子他要逃避到什麼時候，可能要花費好幾世的時間！
In contrast, Aṅgulimāla during the time of Gautama Buddha spent one life
to end up terrible entanglement. Jetsun Milarepa of Tibet also broke his bond
in just one lifetime. Therefore, a lifetime can be operated slowly or quickly,
which is governed by ourselves.
那我們看佛陀當時的央掘利摩羅，看起來很可怕，但是他用一世！跟密勒日巴尊者也用一世就了結了他們之間的恩怨！所以生命時間的運作長短是控制在各位手裡，控制到我們自己手裡 。
Derrick: We
often say an eye for an eye. However, Aṅgulimāla
killed so many people but only repaid his debts via being beaten and insulted. Is
it fair?
Ban Ji: Not
fair. But he had attained the Arhathood.
純德: 師父像那個央掘利摩羅他殺那麼多人， 那一命換一命 ，可是他只是被人家羞辱、被人家打， 這樣是不是不太對稱 ？
半寄師父: 不太對稱？ 但他證阿羅漢果了！
Derrick: So was he beaten after he had attained the Arhathood?
Ban Ji: Yes. In other words, Aṅgulimāla was well-equipped before being beaten
up.
純德: 所以他被打是他證阿羅漢果以後的事 ？
半寄師父: 對！ 他被打已經是他證阿羅漢果以後的事，也可以說央掘利摩羅具足本錢出去被打。
In a nutshell, karma, as stated, has “no doer.” “No doer” doesn’t mean that the doer vanishes into thin air. As examining karma, “doer” is always placed as a pivot. That is problematic. The pivots are time and space, instead of a doer. Within the space-time constructed dimensions, there is “no doer.” However, karma exists because the force power would remain with subjects. The subject will keep changing. What will remain unchanged? Neither doer nor result. Karma exists, from the utilitarian perspective, that transforms into two types of force—hindrance and advantage to push yourself either forward or backward. Everything is not
Master Ban Ji
Translated by Ken Kraynak
(Translated by Hui-tun Chuang and Grace Jui-hsin Tsai)
(Proofread by Sophia Fang-chun Kuo)
關於業報上次就講「作者」是「無作者」，但不是說「作者會憑空消失」，不是！主軸是在時空點裡面，「作者」做那件事的時空點被帶走 ，根據這樣的理由說沒有作者， 那當然 ，因為作者他不是被固定、沒有被固定， 所以業報(力)會跟作者而講有業報 。當做事的人不存在，那做的事會存在在哪裡嗎？不會 ！他只會化成阻力，或是化成推升你的力量往前！ 就這兩個 ！時空、人物都不會在原地駐留！
半寄
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