Rebirth
輪回
Unsatisfied desire for existence and sensual pleasures is the cause of rebirth.
感官的不滿足是造成輪回的最大原因。
Buddhists regard the doctrine of rebirth not as a mere theory but as a verifiable fact. The belief in rebirth forms a fundamental tenet of Buddhism. However, the belief in rebirth is not confined to Buddhist; it is also found in other countries, in other religions, and even among free thinkers. Pythagoras could remember his previous birth. Plato could remember a number of his previous lives. According to Plato, man can be reborn only up to ten times. Plato also believed in the possibility of rebirth in the animal kingdom. Among the ancient people in Egypt and China, a common belief was that only well-known personalities like emperors and kings have rebirths. A well-known Christian authority named Origen, who lived in 185-254 A. D., believed in rebirth. According to him, there is no eternal suffering in a hell. Gorana Bruno, who lived in the sixteenth century, believed that the soul of every man and animal transmigrates from one being to another. In 1788, a well-known philosopher, Kant, criticized eternal punishment. Kant also believed in the possibility of rebirth in other celestial bodies. Schopenhauer(1788-1860), another great philosopher, said that where the will to live existed there must be of necessity life. The will to live manifests itself successively in ever new forms. The Buddha explained this ”will to exist” as the craving for existence.
輪回對佛教來說，不僅是理論而且還是可證實的事實。信仰輪回成爲佛教的基本教義。然而輪回的信仰不僅存在于佛教，在其它國度、其它宗教裏，甚至以下自由的思想家裏，都有信仰輪回的人。希臘的畢達哥拉斯(Pythagoras)能記得起他的前世，柏拉圖(Plato)也能記起他好幾個前世，柏拉圖相信人能輪回十世。同時也會輪回到畜生界裏。在古代的中國和挨及，一般都相信貴族和帝王能轉世輪回。一名基督教權威奧裏根(Orgen, 185-254)也相信輪回，他認爲沒有永遠受苦的地獄。十六世紀的意大利哲學家果拉那.布魯諾(Gorana Bruno)，相信每一個人或畜生的靈魂都是由另一個衆生的轉世。在一七八八年著名的哲學家康德，批評了「永 久 的 懲 罰 」， 康 德 也 相 信 輪 回 于 其 他 天 國 的 可 能 性 。 另 一 位 哲 學 家 叔 本 華(Schopenhauer, 1788-1860)認爲：「只要有生存的意志，就必然有生命，就是生存的意識令生命得以持續運轉。」佛陀诠釋這種「生存意志」爲：對「生」的「執著」。
It is possible but not very easy for us to actually verify our past lives. The nature of mind is such that it does not allow most people the recollection of their previous lives. Our minds are overpowered by the five hindrances: sensual desire, ill-will, sloth, restlessness and doubt. Because of these hindrances, our vision is earth-bound and hence we cannot visualize rebirths. Just as a mirror does not reflect an image when it is covered with dirt, so the mind does not allow most people the recollection of previous lives. We cannot see the stars during daytime, not because they are not there in the sky, but because they are outshone by the sunlight. Similarly, we cannot remember our past lives because our mind at present is always over-burdened with many thoughts in the present, day-to-day events and mundane circumstances.
要實際驗證我們的過去世，是可能的，但並不容易。心的本質的轉變，使大多數人無法記憶起他們的往世。我們的心被貪、嗔、癡、慢、疑五種障礙所左右，因爲有這些障礙的存在，我們的「識」受了限製，因此無法識別往世。這有如一面鏡子被灰塵蒙蔽，照不出影像一樣。因此大多數的人不能回憶前世。白天，我們看不見星星，並不是星星不存在，而是太陽的光比它們還要強烈。同樣的，我們無法回憶起我們的往世，是因爲我們現在的「心」一直負荷過重，我們對每天遇到諸多的事故，生起了種種的思慮，因此，導致「心」的真性被蒙蔽了。
A consideration of the shortness of our life-span on earth will help us to reflect on rebirth. If we consider life and its ultimate meaning and goal, and all the varied experience possible for man, we must conclude that in a single life there is not enough time for man to carry out all that is intended by nature, to say nothing about what man himself desires to do. The scale of experience is enormous. There is a vast range of powers latent in man which we see and can even develop if the opportunity is presented to us. This especially true today if special investigation is made. We find ourselves with high aspirations but with no time to attain them. Meanwhile, the great troop of passions and desires, selfish motives and ambitions, make war within us and w…
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