The Buddha”s Attitude Towards Worldly Knowledge

　　佛陀對世間知識的態度

　　Worldly knowledge can never help one to lead a pure religious life for gaining peace and emancipation.

　　世間的知識無助于純淨的宗教生活和解脫。

　　Worldly knowledge is useful for worldly ends. With such knowledge, mankind learns how to use the earth”s resources to improve the standard of living, grow more food, generate power to run factories and to light up streets and houses, manage factories and businesses, cure sickness, build flats and bridges, cook exotic dishes, and so on. Worldly knowledge can also be used for harmful purposes such as building missiles with nuclear warheads, manipulating the stock market, cheating ”legally”, and inflaming political anxiety and hatred. Despite the rapid expansion of worldly knowledge, especially in the twentieth century, mankind has been brought no nearer to the solution of his spiritual problems and pervasive unsatisfactoriness. In all likelihood, it never will solve mankind”s universal problems and bring peace and happiness because of the premises on which such knowledge, discoveries and inventions are built.

　　While Buddhism can bring greater understanding on how to lead a good, worldly life, its main focus is how to gain spiritual liberation through the development of wisdom and mental culture. For ordinary human beings, there is no end to the search for worldly knowledge, but in the final analysis it does not really matter. For as long as we are ignorant about the Dhamma, we will forever be trapped in Samsara. According to the Buddha.

　　”For a long time, Brothers, have you suffered the death of a mother; for a long time, the death of a father; for a long time, the death of a son; for a long time, the death of a daughter; for a long time, the death of brothers and sisters; for a long time, have you undergone the loss of your goods; for a long time have you been afflicted with disease. And because you have experienced the death of a mother, the death of brothers and sisters, the loss of goods, the pangs of disease, company of the undesired, you have truly shed more tears upon this long way

　　 hastening from birth to death, from death to birth---than all the waters that are held in the four great seas.” (Anguttara Nikaya)Here the Buddha is describing the Suffering of continuous births and deaths in the world. He was interested in one simple thing; to show people the Way out of all this Suffering.

　　Why did the Buddha speak in this manner to His disciples

　　 And why did He not make an attempt to solve the problems as to whether the world is eternal or not, whether it is finite or not

　　 Such problems might be exciting and stimulating to those who have the curiosity. But in no way do these problems help a person to overcome Suffering. That is why He swept these problems aside as useless, for the knowledge of such things would not tend to one”s well-being.

　　The Buddha, foresaw that to speak on things which were of no practical value, and which were lying beyond the power of comprehension, was a waste of time and energy. He foresaw that to advance hypotheses about such things only served to pert thoughts from their proper channel, hindering spiritual development.

　　Worldly knowledge and scientific research should be complemented by religious and spiritual values. Otherwise such worldly knowledge does not in any way contribute to one”s progress in leading a pure, religious life. Man has come to the stage where his mind, fed by the instruments and fruits of technological advancements, has become obsessed with egoism, craving for power, and greed for material wealth. Without religious values, worldly knowledge and technological advancement can lead to man”s downfall and destruction. They will only inflame man”s greed which will take on new and terrifying dimensions. On the other hand, when worldly knowledge is harnessed for moral ends, it can bring maximum benefit and happiness for mankind.

　　世間的知識，只會給人類帶來世界末日。這怎麼說呢？人類利用世間的知識獲得地球的資源，用以改善生活，開發電源來照亮公路和住家，經營工廠和從事商業活動，治療病患，建造樓宇和橋梁，烹煮美味的食物等等。世間的知識也讓人們製造原子彈和核子武器，投機于股票市場，合法的欺騙，左右政治，爲人類帶來動亂和傷害。特別是在二十世紀的今天，人類爲這種知識付出了太大的代價，使人類生活在永遠不滿足和精神崩潰的邊緣。沒有人可以解決這種人類自己造成的問題，更不要說爲人類帶來和平與幸福。因爲這種世間的知識並不具備建設性。

　　但是，佛教卻能透過心靈的解放，來開發智慧和精神文明，爲世間創造一個善的環境。對一個普通人來說，追尋世間的智慧是一件沒完沒了的事，但是，最終會發現這是一件沒有意義的事。如果我們無視于佛陀的教義，我們將掉入輪回的陷阱。

　　佛陀說過：「兄弟啊！從久遠劫以來，你們可曾遭逢喪失父母之痛、喪失子女之痛、喪失兄弟姐妹之痛？你可曾失去了一切所摯愛的？可曾畏懼于疾病？這久遠劫以來，你們嘗遍了喪失父母、子女、兄弟姐妹之痛。嘗到失去所摯愛的一切，嘗到疾病的纏繞，和不如意相伴隨，這一路下來，你們不知道流了多少眼淚──匆匆忙忙的從生到死、從死到生，所流過的眼淚比四海的海水還要多。」《淚水經》

　　這是佛陀爲輪回所作的開示。他只重視一件事，就是指點人類解脫于苦的道路。

　　佛陀爲何要對弟子們這麼說呢？爲何佛陀不直接解決問題呢？這世界是否永恒或將要終結了呢？這些問題或許會令人興奮或激發某些人的好奇心。但是，處理這些問題並不能使人類離苦得樂。佛陀抛開這些沒有意義的問題，因爲解決這些問題的知識，不能給人類帶來幸福。

　　佛陀不討論這些沒有實際價值的問題，這些知識欺騙了我們的理解力，浪費了我們的時間和精力。佛陀知道這些假想的問題，會引導人類走進死胡同，妨礙了精神的發展。

　　世間的知識和科學研究，應該包含宗教的精神價值，要不然，世間的知識無法建設一個純淨的神聖生活。今天人類生活在欲念的世界裏，滿腦子都充滿了先進科技的成果和儀器，沈醉于個人的成果、追求邪惡的力量和對物質需求産生飢渴。失去了神聖的宗教價值觀，世間知識和先進的科技，只能給人類帶來失落和毀滅，導致貪婪和帶來新的恐懼。話說回來，如果世間的智慧能應用在道德上，也能爲人類帶來最大的利益和幸福。

《佛陀對世間知識的態度 The Buddhas Attitude Towards Worldly Knowledge》全文閱讀結束。