..續本文上一頁”；施、戒、皈依、定、慧、道、果與涅槃——全部都可歸結爲“空”。
The whole essence of the teaching can be summed up as freedom from suffering through non-attachment. Hence this non-grasping and non-clinging, this absence of any idea of self or of anything belonging to a self, is the most important teaching. So please, every one of you, bear well in mind one word, the one single word that reveals the entire Dhamma, the single syllable waang (empty, void, free), which in Pali is su..atā — the core and essence of Buddhism. People break the moral precepts because they lack cit waang (mind free of the self-idea). People lack concentration because they do not have cit waang. People have no insight because they do not have cit waang. The Buddha had cit waang. Cit waang is just what Buddhahood is. The Dhamma is simply the teaching of cit waang, the practice that leads to cit waang, and the fruit of that practice, which is cit waang and ultimately nibbāna. The Sangha consists of people following the Buddha”s system of practice in order to attain cit waang. Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha are summed up in the word waang (free, void, empty). One succeeds in keeping the moral precepts through abstaining from grasping and clinging, and through being free of the mental defilements, free of grasping and clinging. When cit waang has been attained, the defilements are absent and concentration is at its best. When one has come to see things (the world) as empty, one doesn”t grasp or cling to any of them and one has full insight. The Path and Fruit of Nibbāna consist in knowing emptiness and in successively gaining the fruits of emptiness right up to the very culmination. Charity, morality, taking refuge (in Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha), concentration, insight, Path and Fruit, and nibbāna — all these are summed up in the single word waang (empty).
這說明佛陀爲何這麼說：““空”是我所教，沒有談及“空”是他人的教導，是後期弟子爲音韻和諧所湊成的非正軌教導。任何的素旦答(suttanta)是如來所說，與“空”相應，義理奧妙深遠，超越世間。”這是如來所說的法。相反地，“任何(自稱的)素旦答(suttanta)，縱使辭藻華麗、音韻和諧，若脫離“空”的軌道，就與“空”不相應，這是弟子的說法。”有這兩種素旦答(suttanta)的說法，與“空”相應的是如來的說法，與“空”不相應的是後期弟子的說法。
This is why the Buddha said, “Emptiness is what I teach. A teaching that does not treat of emptiness is someone else”s teaching, an unorthodox teaching composed by some later disciple. All discourses which are utterances of the Accomplished One are profound, have deep significance, are the means of transcending the world, and deal primarily with emptiness (su..atā). “This was spoken by the Tathāgata. On the other hand, “A discourse of any kind, though produced by a poet or a learned man, versified, poetical, splendid, melodious in sound and syllable, is not in keeping with the teaching if not connected with su..atā. “There are these two kinds of discourses. Those dealing with su..atā are utterances of the Buddha; those not dealing with su..atā are utterances of later followers.
佛陀認爲“空”和“空相應法”爲佛教真正的本質。因此他說：“當“空”的教義失落，人們不再關心“空”時，佛法的精髓就會消失。”(泰本巴利藏第１６冊，３１１頁)。
So the Buddha considered su..atā and discourses dealing with su..atā to be real essence of Buddhism. This is why he said, “When the teaching of su..atā had died out and no-one is interested in it any longer, then the real essence of the Dhamma will have been lost.”
這很像古代陀舍羅诃(Dasaraha)國王代代相傳的鼓，當它漸漸磨損、毀壞，長期一次次被補綴整修，直到最後全由新的材料組成，它真正的實質就消失殆盡了！
It is like the drum owned by the Dasāraha kings in ancient times, which was handed down from generation to generation. As it became worn out and dilapidated, it was patched and mended time and time again, over a long period, until eventually consisted of nothing but new materials. The real substance of it had completely disappeared.
當比丘不再重視那原是他們應該去解、去行的“空相應法”時，原始佛教的本質就可說已經完全消失，除了後代弟子所說的新的內容，沒有留下什麼，那就像鼓的遭遇一樣。請去讀讀看！想一想！佛陀叮咛我們要宣揚“無執無著”的微妙法，而且“初、中、後時，法味一如”；
但是，現在佛教所呈顯的是什麼風貌？
它像原本的老鼓，或只是由新材料補綴而成的新鼓？
我們只要觀察人是否關心“空”和修習“空”，自己就可找到答案了。這些是佛陀的遺教，精勤修行，宣揚這教法(空相應法)，並藉著學習“空”，修複已毀壞的材料，讓它重現生機。大家一定要自己去挖掘，去研討，去學習，直到重新明白(空相應法)，這才可以說已經恢複它的實質了。
When the time comes that bhikkhus no longer are concerned with studying and listening to topics relating to su..atā, which is the subject that they ought to be studying and practising, at that time it can be said that the original substance of Buddhism has been lost completely and that nothing remains but new material, utterances of later disciples, just as happened with the drum. Think it over! The Buddha urged us to teach the Dhamma, splendid in its beginning, middle, and end, in terms of non-grasping and non-clinging. But what is the condition of Buddhism at the present time
Is it like the original old drum or does it consist of just new material, just patches
We can find this out for ourselves by simply examining it to see whether or not people are interested in su..atā and practise su..atā.
These were the Buddha”s last instructions to his disciples: to practice heedfulness of this teaching, to proclaim this teaching and to restore the decayed material to fresh and good condition by studying su..atā. This is to be done by digging, probing about, studying, and discussing until such time as the understanding of this teaching has been revived and it can be said that the genuine material has been restored to its original condition.
《佛陀的遺教是什麼？What were the Buddha’s last instruction to us
》全文閱讀結束。