..續本文上一頁r, and vexation act up, the four elements become unbalanced. An excess of joy, hate, sorrow, fear, or desire throws the four elements out of balance and causes various sicknesses. Sickness speeds up the aging process and brings on the suffering of old age.

　　(四)老苦。到老的時候，眼花、耳聾、牙掉，腿不聽使喚，身也做不得主了。這是生、老、病、死，這四種苦都是令人不自在，令人生很多的煩惱。

　　4. The suffering of old age. In old age, our eyes grow blurry, our ears become deaf, our teeth fall out, and our legs can”t walk very well. We no longer have much control over our body. People can never truly feel at ease because of the tremendous afflictions caused by the first four sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death.

　　(五)愛別離苦。人爲什麼做人？就因爲有愛，才生到這五濁惡世來。若愛減輕了，就會生到其他世界，譬如極樂世界或琉璃世界。古人說：

　　5. The suffering of being apart from those you love. We are born as people in this evil world of the five turbidities because of love. If our emotional love were not so strong, we could be reborn in other worlds, such as the Land of Ultimate Bliss or the Lapis Lazuli Land. The ancients said,

　　愛不重不生娑婆，

　　業不空不生極樂。

　　If you didn”t have such strong emotions,

　　you wouldn”t be born in the Saha World.

　　If your karma is not emptied, you cannot

　　be born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

　　業盡情空就是佛，業重情迷是凡夫，世人被情愛所迷，打不破關頭，還以爲男女愛情是無上的，是最有價值的。其實愛越重，情越重，就被纏迷得越重。有人明明知道這樣是不對的，但是卻越要往裏頭鑽。男女一長成，就想趕快結婚，走這條老路。

　　With karma ended and emotions emptied, one is a Buddha. With heavy karma and confused emotions, one is a common mortal. Worldly people are deluded by emotional love and cannot get beyond it. They think it”s the best thing around. In reality, the stronger our passions, the more confused we become. Some people know very well that it”s wrong, yet they want to get more deeply involved. As soon as boys and girls grow up, they are eager to get married and race down the same old road.

　　愛是一種情牽物累，人之所以精神痛苦不自在，受了打擊，都是因爲這個愛。本來兩人相愛，如膠似漆，如魚得水，但是一種特別的境界來了，迫不得已要分開，這就有了愛別離苦，這種極度難分難舍的場面，非常痛苦；這種精神上的折磨，是不容易受的。

　　Love is a kind of emotional attachment that weighs us down. People experience psychological suffering and trauma because of love. When two people are in love, they are as if stuck together with glue; they need each other as much as fish need water. But if circumstances force them to separate, they experience the suffering of being apart from those they love; such partings are unbearably painful. These psychological ordeals are very hard to cope with.

　　(六)怨憎會苦。人若有緣，一見面談話就很融洽，做事也不沖突。但有的人，一見面就無緣，就討厭對方，所以要遠離對方到別處去，但到了別處，又碰到對方。越怨憎他，卻越碰到他，這也是精神上的苦。

　　6. The suffering of being together with those you hate. People who get along well can work together without conflict. But sometimes we may detest a person and want to get away from him. Yet no matter where we go, we keep meeting up with him. The more we hate him, the more we run into him. This is also a form of psychological suffering.

　　(七)求不得苦。有所求就有所貪，貪不到就生出種種煩惱，這也是苦。求名、求利、求財、求色，求不得皆是苦，不能遂心滿願，隨心如意。縱使求到了，也不是樂。譬如錢，未得之，就患得之；已得之，又患失之，晝夜提心吊膽，怕失去了。所以求得也是苦，求不得更是苦。那麼其他的東西，也是如此類推，未得之，患得之；已得之，又患失之，心中總是不平安、不快樂，總覺得不自在。

　　7. The suffering of not obtaining what you want. If you seek something, you are greedy for it. If you cannot obtain the object of your greed, you”ll experience all sorts of afflictions. That”s also a kind of suffering. Whether you desire fame, profit, wealth, or sex, if you cannot obtain it, you suffer. Even if you do obtain what you want, you won”t be happy. Before obtaining it, you are anxious to get it. Once you”ve got it, you constantly worry about losing it. Your mind is never peaceful or happy. You always feel uneasy.

　　(八)五陰熾盛苦。五蘊：色、受、想、行、識，又叫五陰，都是不容易降伏，很不容易看空的。這五蘊熾然而盛，如火一般，燒得人精神痛苦萬分。這八苦令人煩惱萬分，可是你若有安心法，有安身法，這八苦就與你漠不相關了，所以說：

　　8. The suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas. The five skandhas [aggregates which make up the illusory self] are form, feeling, thinking, formations, and consciousness. It is very difficult for us to overcome them and see them as empty. The five skandhas burn us up and keep us in a state of agonizing pain.

　　The Eight Sufferings cause great vexation to human beings. But if you understand the way to mental and physical peace, these sufferings won”t affect you.

　　老僧自有安身法，

　　八苦交煎也無妨。

　　The Eight Sufferings cannot disturb

　　The old monk who knows how to set

　　himself at ease.

　　一九八二年五月一日開示于萬佛聖城

　　A talk given on May 1, 1982

　　at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

《業盡情空就是佛 With Karma Ended and Emotions Emptied, One Is A Buddha》全文閱讀結束。