數字與佛典 Numbers And Buddhist Scriptures

南禪朋友好！

 

       在了解佛典中常出現的百、千、億數字，是印度人擅長數學

 

而喜歡、甚至是掛在嘴邊的慣用「虛數字」後，我個人所講的

佛法就不再涉及無量無邊的用辭。

 

    許多歷史的事實告訴人們 ，

 

五百世的福報連皇室貴族都已進入紙醉金迷的糜爛。

 

而五百世的惡報也讓人們失去重生的勇氣， 

 

浮誇的數字只滿足文學手筆。

 

 而更甚者是「起心動念」的剎那便可扭轉一切，數字進入不能

 

再小的單位。

 

  從因緣法的觀念下手，一個想法升起，到著手改進，再到現實

 

開展已經不曉得是幾個百、千、萬、億的匯集！

 

如不能從「虛數字」裡擺脫恐怕會讓修行者沒完沒了。 

 

看似摸不著邊的數字慣用其實是讓福與報「定型」，佛法教授

 

的業力是變動性，這涉及清楚的意義。 

 

而哪一種福與報可在「人體」綿延百、千、萬、億「世」? 

 

回歸「人體」（見入法篇，或參考YouTube南襌精舍善根的超

 

越）做佛法探討吧！ 

 

半寄  

 

文獻參考。香光莊嚴第66期

http://www.gaya.org.tw/magazine/v1/2005/66/66all.htm

 

Numbers And Buddhist Scriptures

 

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

Hundreds of, thousands of, tens of thousands of, and billions of are 

 

commonly used inBuddhist scriptures. After realizing that Indians, 

 

good at mathematics and fond of numbers,are accustomed to talking 

 

about 'hyperbole numbers', I stop using terms referring toboundless 

 

when discussing the Dharma.

 

It shows in history that five hundred lives' blessings lead the royal 

 

family and nobles todebaucheries and decadency; while five 

 

hundred lives' of karmic retribution discourage people from going

 

 forward and getting reborn! 

 

This kind of hyperbole suits literature only (,but not Buddhist 

 

Practice). 

 

Another example of exaggerated numbers is the statement that the

 

 instant of "the rise of a notion" can turn everything around, in

 

 which numbers are minimizedto the smallest units.

 

In accordance with Nidānas, every accomplishment takes

 

 accumulation and fulfillment of hundreds, thousands, tens of  

 

thousands, and billions of conditions, from the rise of a notion, to

 

 improvement and  then to development  in reality.

 

The path will be endless if practitioners can't get themselves out of

 

 thetrap of the ‘hyperbole numbers', 

 

Blessings and virtues are

 

 indeed 'settled and finalized' with customary

 

 use of ambiguous numbers. However, karma in Buddhism preaches

 

 and confirms variability. 

 

What kind of blessing can last and go beyond hundreds, thousands, 

 

tens of thousands, and billions of 'lives' in the 'human body'?

 

Return to the ‘human body’ to investigate Buddhist

 

 doctrines! (please refer to Entering the Dharma  or Transcending of

 

 Virtuous Root

 

 (Chinese subtitle only) on YouTube by searching

 

 for “NanZen Vihara

 

 ” and “ virtuous root” (南禪精舍 善根)

 

Master Ban Ji

 

Translated by Grace Jui-hsin Tsai

 

(Reference for your information)

 

http://www.gaya.org.tw/magazine/v1/2005/66/66all.htm