阿羅漢果The State of an Arhat

阿羅漢果

 

大家好！

 

19號台南讀書會提出一個問題：

 

104經：白話文翻譯 (Grok AI)

「我是這麼聽佛說的：

有一次，佛陀住在舍衛國的祇樹給孤獨園。當時，有一位名叫焰摩迦的比丘，產生了一種錯誤的、有害的見解。他說：「依照我對佛所說法義的理解，一個斷盡所有煩惱的阿羅漢，當他身體毀壞、生命結束之後，就完完全全地什麼都不存在了。」

 

「舍利弗再問：「對於這樣一個無常、苦、不斷變化的東西，一位聽聞正法的聖弟子，會不會在其中找到一個真實不變的『我』、或一個『獨立於我之外』的實體、或是一個『我與它相互依存』的實體呢？」焰摩迦回答：「不會的，舍利弗尊者！」

 

有位大德問說：焰摩迦是說阿羅漢果死後完全沒有，

舍利弗卻回答他關於無常的問題，

那這個要怎麼看？

 

半寄：

焰摩迦說的阿羅漢果是指一個果實的問題，你可以說焰摩迦對佛法的認知是；修行到最後果實是沒有的。

 

一般我們在佛教寺廟受到的教育都是認為身體是臭皮囊，無常迅速生死事大，

所以這個身體是要趕快丟掉的，

身體都不要了！

那被理解為到最後什麼都沒有應該才是對的，也沒錯啊！

 

讓我們從實際修行的角度看，你說身體拖累我太深，要丟掉，然後肉體就真的可以丟掉嗎？

 

如果不是自殺（自殺也不等於是丟掉肉體）

要把肉體從修行的角度丟掉它或者解脫它，事實上是一件非常困難的事。

 

舍利弗尊者從佛法修行的過程裡面，去指出來你必須認知「修入無常」或「理解無常」你才能知道阿羅漢果的世界，

 

不從「果」講起，而是直接講過程是最正確的，

因為不了解過程，

講因跟果通常會是錯誤的較多

，

理解過程的學習者在過程裡面如果指標弄對，修行理解正確，他隨時隨地就在累積功力，累積功力就已經不斷在累積果實，

所以阿羅漢果到底有沒有？

對於整個佛法修行過程都正確的學習者而言，答案早已出現。

 

半寄

 

The State of an Arhat

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

On the 19th, during the Tainan study club, we discussed Sutra No. 104:

“Thus have I heard.
Once, the Buddha stayed in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s Park, in Sravasti. A monk named Yamaka developed a wrong and harmful view. He said, ‘From my understanding of the Buddha’s teaching, when an Arhat, having ended all defilements, dies and the body perishes, he completely ceases to exist.’

Sariputta then asked, ‘Regarding what is impermanent, suffering, and ever-changing, would a noble disciple who has heard the true Dharma find in it a real, unchanging self, or an entity independent of the self, or one that depends upon the self?’
Yamaka answered, ‘No, Venerable Sariputta.’”

 

A member of the study club asked: “Yamaka said that after death, an Arhat completely ceases to exist. Yet Sariputta responded by speaking about impermanence — how should we understand this?”

 

Banji:
Yamaka’s understanding of Arhatship was focused on the “fruit” — and in his view, the final fruit was nothingness.

 

In traditional Buddhist education, we are often taught that the body is just a “stinking sack of skin,” impermanent and frail, and that we must quickly discard it because life and death are great matters.
So, if one concludes that in the end “nothing remains,” might seem logical,— and yet, it isn’t the full picture.

From the perspective of actual practice:
You might say, “This body burdens me too deeply — I want to abandon it.” But can the physical body really be discarded just like that?

Unless through suicide — which is not genuine liberation — it is actually extremely difficult to “let go of” or “be liberated from” the body through practice.

 

Sariputta pointed out that one must understand impermanence to truly grasp the world of the Arhat.

He did not begin by talking about “the result,” but by emphasizing “the process.”
This approach is most accurate, because without understanding the process, discussions of cause and effect often go astray.

 

For those who comprehend the process correctly — whose practice is aligned and whose understanding is right — they are continuously accumulating inner strength.
That accumulation itself is already the unfolding of the fruit.

 

So, does the Arhat state “exist” or “not exist”?
For those who follow the right path and understand the Dharma rightly, the answer has long been realized within their path.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Master Banji