光音天、科學

　　Science and the Heaven of Light-Sound

　　科學本來不存在，我們叫它科學，它就叫科學。

　　Basically, science doesn”t exist. It”s just called science because that”s what we call it.

　　問：佛教裏說：「人的始祖，是從光音天來的。」這與現代科學理論，有沒有抵觸？譬如，科學上有「進化論」，說人是從最原始微生狀態，經過若幹億兆年逐步進化演變，最後才從猿猴變爲人。這個在佛理上講得通嗎？

　　Q: Buddhism says that the first ancestor of mankind came from the Heaven of Light-Sound. Doesn”t this conflict with modern scientific theory

　　 For example, in science the theory of evolution says the most primitive microorganisms, undergoing progressive changes through hundreds of billions of years, gradually evolved into apes, and finally into humans. Does this agree with Buddhism

　　答：人是從光音天來的，這個來源不只七億兆年，恐怕七億億兆年以前就有這種情形。光音天的天人來到人間，並不是那麼完整，他們已失去智慧。爲什麼呢？這就等于我們人投胎又去托生一樣。當初這個世界沒有人類，尚未開化，混沌一片，如雞蛋似的。天人好像蒼蠅似的，飛到這世界來，以爲有什麼好吃的。從光音天到地球來，恐怕也要經過很長的時間才能到達。好像現在的衛星火箭，打入太空軌道，要經過人間很久的時間，或幾年才能入軌道。同理，天人到地球來，本來沒有什麼目的地，他們各處旅行，把指南針丟了，到了地球就手忙腳亂。他們到了地球，也不像以往在天上那麼聰明，他們僅存一種知覺性，不像在天上那麼完整。好像人本來很聰明，但死了再托生做小孩，把前生的事就忘了。也像人撞車之後，失去所有知覺，變得迷糊混淆。

　　A: People came to the earth from the Heaven of Light-Sound. Their coming wasn”t just seven hundred billion years ago. Perhaps such a situation already existed seven thousand trillion years ago. When the gods from the Heaven of Light-Sound came to this world, they were no longer that perfect and had already lost their wisdom. Why

　　 For the same reason that people lose their wisdom when they get reborn. In the beginning, there were no humans in this world, and it was still undeveloped, an indistinguishable mass, like a chicken egg. The gods flew to the world like flies, thinking there was something good to eat here. To get from the Heaven of Light-Sound to the earth, they probably had to travel a long time, just as now it takes a long time for a satellite launched into space to enter its orbit, perhaps several years in human time. The gods didn”t come to the earth for any special reason. They had been travelling and had lost their compass, so they were in quite a flurry when they got to the earth. When they reached the earth, they were not as intelligent as they had been in the heavens. All they had left was a perceptive nature. They weren”t as perfect and whole as when they were in the heavens. In the same way, a person may be very intelligent, but when he dies and gets reborn as a child again, he will have forgotten all about his previous life. It is also like those victims of car collisions who fall into a coma and become totally stupefied.

　　雖然說他們從光音天來，但是逐漸都失去本有的德性與智慧，只有一點點知覺性存在。雖然說人從天上來，但是也來得很少，沒有人知道他們究竟來了多少？時間也無人可以考查。既無曆史可查，也沒有什麼根據。

　　Although it”s said that they came from the Heaven of Light-Sound, they gradually lost their original virtue and wisdom and only had a little bit of perceptive ability left. Although they are said to have come from the Heaven of Light-Sound, only a few came, and ultimately no one knows how many. No one can verify when they came either. There are no historical records to consult, nor is there much basis for this theory.

　　至于所謂的「科學」，並不是什麼科學，這是人取的一種代名詞，叫它爲「科學」。其實它只是一種理論、理性。這種道理圓滿或不圓滿？就要憑各人的見地和理解力。有些人懂得多點，有些人沒學過科學，就不懂科學。那麼是不是沒學過科學的人，在他自性中就沒有這種理性呢？不是的。不論你有沒有學過科學，在自性裏這個理性仍然存在。不能說學過科學，就有科學；沒有學過科學，就沒有科學。這就像佛性一樣，人人自性中皆有。

　　As for the so-called science, there is no real thing called science. People just made up the name "science" and called it that. It”s actually just a body of theories. Is this kind of reasoning perfect or not

　　 It depends on each person”s perspective and faculty of understanding. Some people understand it. Others have not studied science before, and do not understand science. Does that mean the people who haven”t studied science before lack that kind of reasoning in their own nature

　　 No. Regardless of whether you”ve studied science or not, that kind of reasoning exists in your nature. You cannot say that if someone has studied science, then he has the ability to understand science, and if he hasn”t studied science, then he doesn”t have the ability to understand science. It”s the same with the Buddha-nature; everyone has it in his own nature.

　　科學，只是佛性的一小部分，並不是一個很完整的理性。說人研究科學如何如何，寫出的理論又如何如何，其實這只是個人的顛倒執著，頭上安頭，故意無事找事忙，忙來忙去也找不出一個所以然來；研究科學，研來研去也研究不出什麼名堂來。

　　Science is only a small part of the Buddha-nature, and it is not a very complete kind of reasoning. You may say people are doing such and such research in science, and writing about such and such theories, but actually, those are just the upside-down attachments of people. They are as if "adding a head on top of a head." Having nothing to do, they look for something to keep them busy. Busily doing this and that, they never discover anything. They study science, investigating back and forth, but they never reach any real conclusions.

　　人執著科學，以爲有什麼了不得，其實都是自性本有的，並不須向外求。你若是向外找，什麼時候也找不出來。你說它是真的，那都是在皮毛上呢！真的是既找不出，也說不出來。科學本來不存在，我們叫它科學，它就叫科學。

　　People become attached to science, thinking it”s something special. In fact, it is all inherent in our nature, and you don”t need to look outside. If you seek outside, you”ll never find it. You may say it”s real, but that”s just the superficial. The real thing can neither be found nor spoken of. Basically, science doesn”t exist. It”s just called science because that”s what we call it.

　　一九八二年十一月廿八日開示

　　A talk given on November 28, 1982

《光音天、科學 Science and the Heaven of Light-Sound》全文閱讀結束。