Chapter IV. The Third Noble Truth

　　Nirodha: The Cessation of Dukkha

　　第四章 第叁聖谛：滅谛——苦的止息

　　The third Noble Truth is that there is emancipation, liberation, freedom from suffering, from the continuity of dukkha. This is called the Noble Truth of the Cessation of dukkha (Dukkhanirodha-ariyasacca), which is Nibbāna, more popularly known in its Sanskrit form of Nirvāna.

　　第叁聖谛的要義是：人類可以從相續不斷的苦得解脫、獲解放、享自由。這聖谛名爲苦滅聖谛，也就是涅槃。巴利文作Niana，但梵文的Nirvana更爲人所廣知。

　　To eliminate dukkha completely one has to eliminate the main root of dukkha, which is ”thirst” (tanhā), as we saw earlier. Therefore Nirvāna is known also by then term Tanhakkhaya ”Extinction of Thirst”.

　　要想徹底祛除苦的根本——渴(愛)。這在前面已經講過，所以涅槃也叫做斷愛。

　　Now you will ask: But what is Nirvāna

　　 Volumes have been written in reply to this quite natural and simple question; they have, more and more, only confused the issue rather than clarified it. The only reasonable reply to give to the question is that it can never be answered completely and satisfactorily in words, because human language is too poor to express the real nature of the Absolute Truth or Ultimate Reality which is Nirvāna. Language is created and used by masses of human beings to express things and ideas experienced by their sense organs and their mind. A supramundane experience like that of the Absolute Truth is not of such a category. Therefore there cannot be words to express that experience, just as the fish had no words in his vocabulary to express the nature of the solid land. The tortoise told his friend the fish that he (the tortoise) just returned to the lake after a walk on the land. ”Of course” the fish said, ”You mean swimming.” The tortoise tried to explain that one couldn”t swim on the land, that it was solid, and that one walked on it. But the fish insisted that there could be nothing like it, that is must be liquid like his lake, with waves, and that one must be able to pe and pe and swim there.

　　你要問：可是什麼是涅槃呢？爲了答覆這個十分簡單而自然的問題，已有人寫了好幾部書了。可惜這些書不但沒有把問題解釋清楚，反而使它們愈趨複雜。惟一合理的答案是：這問題永遠不能以語言文字充份而圓滿地答覆。因爲人類的語言太貧乏了，不足以表達涅槃這種絕對真理、最終實相。語言是人類所創造以表達他們由感官與心靈所經驗到的事物與意象的。超越凡情的經驗如絕對真理者，不屬于這一範疇之內。因此，沒有任何語文足以表達這種經驗，就像魚的字彙裏沒有形容陸地的字眼一樣。烏龜和它的朋友魚說，它剛到陸地上散步回湖。魚說：“當然你的意思是說遊泳啰！”烏龜想對魚解釋陸地是堅實的，不能在上面遊泳，只能在上面步行。可是魚卻堅持不可能有這麼一樣東西。陸地一定也是液體，和它住的湖一樣；有波浪，可以在裏面跳潛遊泳。

　　Words are symbols representing things and ideas known to us; and these symbols do not and cannot convey the true nature of even ordinary things. Language is considered deceptive and misleading in the matter of understand of the Truth. So the Lankāvatāra-sūtta says that ignorant people get stuck in words like an elephant in the mud. [1]

　　語文是代表我們所熟知的事物和意念的符號。這些符號甚至不足以表顯日常事物的真實性狀。在了知真理方面，語文是不可靠而易致差錯的。所以，《楞伽經》裏就說愚人執著語言文字，如大象陷于泥淖。［注一］

　　Nevertheless we cannot do without language. But if Nirvāna is to be expressed and explained in positive terms, we are likely immediately to grasp an idea associated with those terms, which may be quite the contrary. Therefore it is generally expressed in negative term[2] -a less dangerous mode perhaps. So it is often referred to by such negative terms as Tanhakkhaya ”Extinction of Thirst”, Asamkhata ”Unconditioned”, Virāga ”Absence of desire”, Nirodha ”Cessation”, Nibbāna ”Blowing out” or ” Extinction”.

　　可是我們又不能沒有語言文字。不過如果用正面的文詞來表诠涅槃，我們立刻就會産生一項與這語詞有關的意念而執著它，結果可能與原意適相違反。因此，說到涅槃，我們大都用反面的文詞［注二］，如“斷愛”、“無爲”、“止貪”、“寂滅”等。因爲這樣做，似乎比較不易引起誤解。

　　Let us consider a few definitions and descriptions of Nirvāna as found in the original Pali texts:

　　我們再看看巴利文原典裏若幹涅槃的定義及說明：

　　”It is the complete cessation of that very ”thirst” (tanhā), giving it up, renouncing it, emancipation from it, detachment from it.” [3]

　　“涅槃是徹底斷絕貪愛：放棄它、摒斥它、遠離它、從它得解脫。”［注叁］

　　”Calming of all conditioned things, giving up of all defilements, extinction of “thirst”, detachment, cessation, Nibbāna.” [4]

　　“一切有爲法的止息，放棄一切汙染，斷絕貪愛，離欲，寂…

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