空 "Śūnyatā" 5

 

Karma in different cultures: Aṅgulimāla, Jutsun Milarepa, Yuán-zé 3

 

Here is a point to consider. When facing an obstacle, will you be patient enough to overcome it and will be able to apply Dharma to solve the problem? I am no wiser than you when dealing with obstacles. I have to resolve the difficulty step by step. To me, dealing with the psychological hindrance is the difficult part when repaying karmic debts. We are subject to impatience and emotional hijacking that might get rise to irrational reactions. As a result, few can find ways to overcome emotional hindrances, and even fewer can pay off their karmic debts. Therefore, I believe practitioners who have patiently survived trials and successfully paid off their debts are usually outstanding among the crowd, regardless of lay people or monks.

我要請問一個問題， 你們想要化解一個阻力有多少耐心去應對？如果有一個阻力產生在你眼前，你有多少耐性、或有多少能力可以運用佛法，慢慢去通過那些阻力，應對阻力我也沒有比各位高明，也是一步一腳印走！ 我個人覺得「還業障」裡面最大的困難在於阻力的化解，在阻力裡面會形成情緒讓我們不耐煩，會讓我們情緒爆炸、讓我們喪失理智，所以在阻力裡面能化解的人不多，還要去還債的人更少 。我個人認為有耐力還債的修行者，包括出家，在家，通常會是在人群裡面成功的人物！。

 

As removing obstacles gets involved with psychological hindrances, there are two common misconceptions, yet working as an influential guide to our reactions. The first one is a virtuous person is supposed to deserve and encounter only good things. No matter how things end up, whether well or not, virtuous people would deserve, in the sense of karmic results, to get rewards instead of obstacles. Good karma brings about prosperity. But if things do not turn out good enough for a virtuous person, complaints or doubts about discrepancy between doing good and getting rewards will occur. Whether one is a virtuous person or not is to a great extent under a self-enforcing measurement.

面對阻力的障礙還要思考到心理層面，最常碰到的兩種觀點也是左右人群的大關鍵，一種是；我是好人，碰到任何事情都是以好人的觀點去想，這是華人的文化，在華人世界成長就自然有這樣的本能，是吸收文化特質的自然反應。比如；碰到好事就想自己是好人，當然有好報，碰到不好的也想自己是好人怎麼會發生不好的事情？而所謂好人也不過是自訂的標準。

 

Some people even attribute their obstacles to feng shui, even when getting scammed. Such a reaction is the embodiment of Chinese culture. However, Buddhist practitioners should not follow cultural intuition over Buddha’s teaching. Those who can defend themselves from cultural indoctrination are as clear-headed as Śāriputra.

還有人碰到詐騙竟自認是家裡風水不好！這也是華人文化的本能，想前進的佛學者必需看到這些點，為什麼碰到事情的直覺反應是文化的本能，那佛法教育在腦袋的哪裡？！想到這些案例就知道舍利佛他們的腦裏是什麼樣的資源。

 

Secondly, the misconception refers to the liberation from the guilt of misdeeds which develops the notion of original sin and vice versa. The vicious circle is thus formed. As mentioned in the previous three examples, they illustrate that hindrances/ karmic debts can be well-utilized as an impetus.

If there is no more question, I shall move on to the next topic in Sutra No. 335 (313) of the Saṃyuktāgama

那另一種是：我做錯事了有可能再解脫嗎 ？做錯事又變成原罪思想， 但是做錯事變成原罪一直背負，其實都不對的！應該去探討一下比較好，很多事情連阻力都可能變成你的助力，但是要怎麼應用才是一個關鍵 。所以我舉了這三個例子 ，如果沒有問題的話，我們就要解釋335經的下一個經文 。

 

I would like to add a point to the story of “three-lifetime stone.” The sentimentality between Yuán-zé and Li-yuan seems an embedded culture in the Han-Chinese society that attracts my attention in order to understand karma.  But my attention shifted, which connotes different levels. When first read the verse “the old souls on the three-lifetime stone”, I was amazed by its beautiful words. But I later found out it is awful for the practice of Buddhism. The form of literature embellishes karmic relationships and hides our attempts of evasion as well. The evasion prolongs the karmic entanglement that might take longer than three lifetimes or at least 150 years in total, saying Yuán-zé could live 50 years in each of his lifetimes.

Reflecting upon the problem of time-consuming, we have to reconsider why we have to spend triple the lifetime to resolve our karmic issues than other people do in only one lifetime. That is why I switch my attention from literary beauty to Buddhist practice.

不過我補充一點，因為我們都是華人，在血液裡面大概都有三生石這種感情 ，像圓澤禪師跟李源那種多情，所以我後來在修道裡面，會特別留意這種文學式的感情。讀過書而又想逃避，我們可能會用文學式的詞彙去把我們的逃避掩飾好，用詩詞歌賦掩飾掉，「三生石上舊精魂 」，用文學的角度去看， 這個典故事實上很美，但是用修行的角度看，其實都不可愛， 因為那已經是三世了， 三世是多少時間，古人活50年好了，三世 150年 ，別人50年就解決了，我要花150年，想到這裡就得深思一下！我就是這樣看待這件事 。以前剛看到那個「三生石上舊精魂」的時候，都覺得好美後來都覺得好差，哈！

 

Chun-te Yang:

Aṅgulimāla killed 999 people. Jetsun Milarepa destroyed the crops. Both of their mistakes were obvious. But what did Yuán-zé and Li-yuan do wrong? What were their karmic debts?

俊得: 央掘利摩羅殺了999個人， 這個業報很清楚，密勒日巴大師毀壞別人的田，業報很清楚， 那子源跟圓澤， 他們的業報是在哪裡？ 

Ban Ji:

Karmic debts are beyond discussion in this case. In the story, it was explicit that Yuán-zé foresaw his future and tried hard to avoid reincarnation, but on the contrary, he kept Li-yuan in the dark.  Li-yuan just went on a trip with him and couldn’t foresee what would happen next. However, the reason why Yuán-zé avoided reincarnation was unknown to us.  As stated in the story, he had already known what would be coming to him after reincarnation to the new family. Is the outcome good or bad?  That is about personal preferences, and we had no clues to understand it thoroughly.

The point is that he had the ability but chose to avoid undesirable karmic relationships. We are to a great extent likewise choosing to hold on to the desirable karmic relationships.  It is not so difficult to understand why we meet certain people in our lives. People come to our lives for a reason such as spouse, parents, and children. It is easy to understand why karma is tangible and logical.

半寄師父: 這個無法討論業報，故事中說：圓澤禪師知道他自己的事情，而子源不知道 ，圓澤禪師知道他在避開什麼， 為什麼他不想再去投胎，子源是不知道的 ！只是跟他去玩 ，怎麼知道就碰到這些事，你看圓澤禪師很明顯在避開一些他清楚的事， 比如說；他可能看到自己為什麼投胎去那一個家庭的因緣 ，或是說他要去的那個家族是不是對他有什麼不利？我們都不知道，但是圓澤禪師知道 ，像個人的隱私我們無從全盤了解。

我要講的是，你看他知道有什麼不好的前途在等他 ，但是他是用逃避的方法。

各位如果延伸這個問題，你跟某人相見會自認覺得有緣 ，有緣好像很抽象對不對？！ 其實不會 ，有緣是一種必然性， 必然性就是說你跟你的先生跟你的太太跟你的小孩之間有一種緣份，那是必然性 ，他才要來跟你生活在一起 ，所以緣份如果把它研究到底，它不會是一個很抽象的意義。

 

Derrick:

I think Yuán-zé could just leave without saying anything or not making appointments with Li-yuan. He could choose to be a little bit free and relaxed. 

Ban Ji:

 Yes, I think so, too. For this, I just want to point out the difference between each method. Then it is up to you to choose how to repay your karmic debts.

純德: 師父請教一下， 圓澤禪師如果瀟灑一點 ，也不用跟李源告別 ，也不用跟他說你三天後來看我，我會對你笑 ，13年後你來天竺寺前面跟我相會，他如果瀟灑一點 ，他就什麼都不說走了就走了！

半寄師父: 是啊，我也覺得應該是這樣 ，那你們自己比較看看，看還業障你要選擇哪一種方式自己選 ，我只是敘述讓各位清楚。

 

Chao-hsiang Hung:

Why would Aṅgulimāla still feel pain? Should all enlightened arhats transcend into the state of ease and free? Is it because of his crime of killing 999 people?

招祥師兄: 師父請教一下，證阿羅漢果的聖者不是都應該很輕安自在了嗎？怎麼央掘利摩羅還會痛苦，是不是因為他殺了999個人？ 

Ban Ji:

Do not over-divinize the state of enlightenment to the extent. That is not a truth that an enlightened saint can work without a human body. When karma remains, the body remains. Aṅgulimāla used his body strength to conduct murders, and then still used the same body to practice to attain arhathood. That is, it is the same body that makes misdeeds and virtuous acts. All of the karma results still came along with Aṅgulimāla even though he had attained arhathood. He still got his head cracked and bleeding, his bowl broken, and his outer robe torn when he went out for alms. Therefore, karma doesn’t end up with the attaining of enlightenment. Otherwise, one will die as soon as he attains enlightenment.

Moreover, according to the cycle of cause and effect, karma has no timeline. The karmic results may suspend, like fruits getting ripen at different times and maybe modifying in forms. That is, “the suspended karmic result” has diverse traits.  It takes time to fruition. In addition, location does not matter.  Conducting acts and then receiving their effect might not necessarily take place in the same spot or region. Likewise, those who are familiar with Dharma also need more time to understand all the classified contents of karma.

半寄師父: 喔！不要把證果神聖到人跟肉體都不見了。至少央掘利摩羅之前的殺人動作事實還沒清理完畢。他是一個人， 他去殺人的時候， 是一個很強壯的男人肉體， 他證阿羅漢果時也是一個比丘且有很強壯的肉體，同樣一個肉體一個造惡業、一個造善業，都是同ㄧ人， 阿羅漢果是央掘利摩羅的道果。但他身體同樣承載著業力、阻力，所以他去托缽的時候會被打得頭破血流 ，還是他的肉體在承受痛苦， 你不能說證聖果了一切都不存在？ 那他當下就得入滅。

還有佛法提到異熟果果實的成熟問題(異熟果:A地方做的事情不一定在A地方產生效應)，一位再聰慧的修行者今日聽懂佛法也要ㄧ些時間才能熟悉果位的內涵。

 

Of course, there is a case that can associate enlightenment with physical body transcendence. Transcendence only relies on the proficiency of practices acquired before enlightenment. In other words, entering a deep meditative stage and the four stages of awakening from Srotāpanna to attaining arhathood are all based on proficiency in practicing and knowing what consists of the four awakening stages. The phases of awakening are laid out for a reason that underlines why Dharma is emphasizing not only Arhathood or Nirvana but also everything in order from the cultivation of virtuous root all the way to the full awakening. Most people may have the misconception of enlightenment that everything disappears or reaches the top level as soon as one gets enlightened. However, neither of them is possible.  The outcomes are presented on the basis of personal engagement, time, and effort to practice. 

難道今天證果今天就可以讓靈魂離開肉體 ，是有，但那是之前修行的熟悉度造成的。就連入定也是練習來的，證悟從初果到阿羅漢果，一定需要對聖果內涵的熟悉，不然佛法就直接提及阿羅漢果跟涅槃就好，何必要講從善根修行到四聖果。

不可能一下子就到達頂端，這是對證悟的錯解，很多人都覺得修行好像一下子就什麼都不存在，一切都可以超然，抱歉沒有這種事！修行也是按時間、按個人的努力在呈現的。

 

The old karma remains even after one becomes an arhat. That is the connotation of the sutra “When this Skandhas /cause ceases, a different Skandhas/ cause arises and continues.” However, since an enlightened arhat is no longer an ordinary person, taking Jetsun Milarepa as an example, his severe infection of relapsed abscesses and bleeding may lead ordinary people to death. What power backed him up to survive body sufferings? I think it is his sincerity in repaying the debts that resolves entanglement. A man makes his way. Sincerity is the best way of practice.

其實在一個阿羅漢修行者身上同樣存在之前的業報，所以叫「此陰滅已，異陰相續]（此因滅已，異因相續）誰都逃不了 !但是，你看到那個能證果的修行者到底不是一般人，以密勒日巴尊者而言，像我們現在的人一個傷口沒有好動不動就感染往生！而密勒日巴尊者他身上那個爛瘡好了又爛，他怎麼沒往生啊？是什麼力量支撐密勒日巴尊者，所以我總認為路都是給人走的，如果真的產生了很大的誠意希望把這一切的恩怨做一個了結，相信會開出一條路來，所以密勒日巴尊者的肉身可以安度那些痛苦的日子還讓他成就道業。

 

I must admit I am not brave enough to endure all these sufferings since we are fragile in nature. However, I am motivated and encouraged to progress steadily step by step after reading the stories of Buddhist masters. So it is a good choice to read Memoirs of Eminent Monks and find the courage to proceed on.

不過若說讓我的身體被這般折磨，我也沒有勇氣，我們在人性裡面其實都很脆弱，我個人都是依靠祖師大德的故事，讓我增強勇氣一步一步的讓自己站穩，有時候看看高僧傳也不錯，也是一種激勵。

 

Chih-ying:

Karmic debts may make the brain stuck. May the hindrance, be not only coming from outside, but also more likely embedded within our consciousness? 

Ban Ji:

Right, it lies in the body and appears in various forms. It may sometimes become illness in our body or may sometimes turn into obstacles and all kinds of hindrances in dealing with things. But I want to propose that sincerity can make the way. So don’t worry about making mistakes since men are fragile and entitled to errors. As long as one is willing to face the music and take responsibility, he will always make his way.

致穎: 師父請教一下，業報有可能讓大腦塞住， 所以那個阻力有可能是在你意識裡面，不是純粹外來的阻力。

半寄師父: 是的，會存在於肉體，應該也是多樣性的，有時候會在自己的身體發生障礙，或者做事情都不順利還有其他種種牽絆，講到這個我還是要講，真心誠意去做會開出一條路來 ，所以大家不用擔心，所有的人都會做錯，人性是很脆弱的。但是做錯了以後， 只要願意把自己的錯承擔起來， 你在承擔時候就開出一條路了！

 

Chun-te Yang:

May I bother to ask one more question? In your opinion, is it impossible that a first-degree felony faces a very little penalty? 

Ban Ji:

Aṅgulimāla provides a fine example.  Aṅgulimāla was charged with the 999 murders! Can you imagine penalty imposing on him accordingly? But he was so sincere and voluntary to repay his crime as to mitigate the penalty. 

Chun-te Yang: Right, he only got beaten up.

俊得: 師父再問一個問題，耽誤一點時間，師父剛提到基本上沒有重罪輕受？

半寄師父: 有啊！像央掘利摩羅就重罪輕受，但是你要承擔的起啊999個 人耶，不就重罪輕受了!

俊得: 就是他只是被打而已。

 

Ban Ji:

I want to propose another concept. It is wrong to say an eye for an eye in repaying debts, which results in nothing but hatred. For example, consider this, as many people were killed in World War I and II, all the killed reincarnate to take revenge on the killer by killing. If revenge were good, wars would be launched again and again. There is no peaceful place for us to live. People had found a better way to exchange revenge with compensation, such as Japan’s unconditional surrender. Unconditional surrender is the ultimate punishment. Should we ask for more?

There is always a solution to make up for the loss and mistakes, but no way back to the original condition. There is no equilibrium one-cause-and-one-effect formula in Buddhist scriptures. Buddhism is more reasonable for the reality. “An eye for an eye” will only result in endless unbearable pain, and no one can live under the cruel circumstance. So, it is nonsense to ask why Aṅgulimāla didn’t repay 999 lives.

半寄師父: 我們再講一個概念，不要有一報還一報的概念，那是錯的！ 我們說:殺一個人還一個人的命這種想法只有仇恨。我請問你一個問題：第一次世界大戰跟第二次世界大戰都死那麼多人，如果大家都要報仇，那每個國家都還要再殺一次？！是不是，但你想有可能嗎? 人可能發生這種事嗎？大家都不要過日子嗎?人會尋求其他的方法來補償！像日本無條件投降也是一種補償， 無條件了那你還要怎樣?

人們會去尋求其他的條件來挽回造成的錯誤、罪過 ，而不是用原來同樣的條件去還那個業障。要有這個概念!不然一因一果，殺一個人再還殺一個人，會沒完沒了! 佛經裡面原則上也不講一因一果，一因一果殺來殺去，人可能承受這麼巨大的痛苦嗎？！ 不可能，所以不要問我為什麼央掘利摩羅不用還999條人命，因為這樣的還債方法大家都沒有辦法生存！

 

Zōng- běn:

I think Aṅgulimāla aimed to learn the method of enlightenment but turned out to be misled to kill 1000 people. According to Nidānas, his teacher was the one who should be blamed and owed more karmic debts than Aṅgulimāla. 

Ban Ji:

The evil teacher who intended to mislead him with false education had collective karma that he must suffer too.  “Collective karma” refers to the cooperation among different people.  However, two or more people might take part in the same project; for example, they would be likely to get a wide range of consequences in terms of virtuous or un-virtuous karma by each person’s psychological disposition and mental reaction.  In other words, collective karma will respectively modify into individual karma.

 Living in a more complex society, we tend to stay in school longer and take more time to grow into mature adults. So, we are more likely to be misled by false education until knowing that we are wrong in what we are doing. But the awareness might come from learning too.

宗本: 師父，我覺得他是拜一個大師要教他修法，卻讓他去殺1000個人，所以我覺得以因緣所生來看，應該要從那個大師傳給他錯的法算起， 業障會比較重的應該是那個大師。

半寄師父: 那個魔鬼老師故意指導他做錯的事情，這存在嚴重的指導共業!(共業指A、B兩人共同的行為。又因A、B做事後產生的心理變化不同而有不同的遭遇，涵蓋好與壞的遭遇又稱別業。)

事實上人類的成長年限較長，社會形態較複雜，我們都有可能被教錯。或許人到成年吸收其他知識才知道原來我被教錯了！

 

How can one be more aware of mistakes and then improve? A person who is falsely educated may also mislead lots of people. It is an unexpected effect, but that, in reality, could attract more forces to come into play. Like surfing, when the high and low wave pulls and pushes all the way, you can still decide where your life is heading.  It is not necessary to hold on to the ridiculous idea of an eye for an eye.  That makes life so miserable and sad. As for being misled by false education, answers can’t be clear-cut, and all depends on the ever-evolving conditions. Nidānas is too complex to be considered homogenous.

 

 

Master Ban Ji

(Translated by Hui-tun Chuang and Grace Jui-hsin Tsai)

(Proofread by Sophia Fang-chun Kuo)

知道被教錯了又要想怎麼樣才能修正！可是你被教錯的時間可能也誤導了很多人，所以人會在阻力跟扭力之間扭轉自我的人生。除了我剛才講的，不可能你殺100個人他再回來殺你100個人， 人不可能這樣活著。第二個， 原則上他就是被教錯的， 因緣是很複雜而且不可能是單一性質的。

半寄

空 "Śūnyatā"4

 

Karma in different cultures: Aṅgulimāla, Jetsun Milarepa, Yuán-zé 2

 

(B) Jetsun Milarepa

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