女人

　　On Women

　　今天是叁八婦女節，全世界的婦女都在以自己特有的方式，慶祝這一年一度的節日。電視裏、大街上到處都是歡樂的人群。也有一些地方的婦女，選擇在今天爲她們在平時受到的不公正待遇而舉行遊行示威活動。

　　Today is March 8, International Women”s Day. All around the world women are celebrating this annual festival in their own unique ways; throngs of cheery people are seen on the streets or TV news. In some areas, women take this occasion to hold rallies to demonstrate against the unfair treatment usually imposed on them.

　　忽然想起一位女居士問我的問題，爲什麼在佛經裏老是把女人說得很低賤？比如《念住經》雲：“女人禍害根，毀壞現後世，若欲利己者，當舍一切女。”《月燈經》雲：“此道無法證菩提，是故切莫依女子，猶如極嗔之毒蛇，一切智者舍棄彼。”奉勸別人行持善法、培植善根時也說“頂禮怙主無量光，聞佛阿彌陀名號，乃至未獲菩提間，不轉女身轉貴族。”很多佛經裏幾乎對所有刹土的描寫都少不了一句“更無女人及女人名”或“若有女人，聞我名字，得清淨信，發菩提心，厭患女身，願生我國。命終化男子，來我刹土。”無垢光尊者也一再奉勸後人：“遠離衰損根源之女人。”仿佛女人成了萬惡之源，衰損之根。這種說法是否有點不公平？

　　A question from a female lay practitioner came to my mind: In Buddhist scriptures, women have always been described as low and degraded. Why is that

　　 For example, in Satipatthana Sutra, it says: “Women are sources of disasters, they ruin this and future lives. Should you want to save yourself, stay away from all women.”

　　In The Moon Lamp Sutra it says: “This is not the way to attain enlightenment, therefore, never place any reliance on women. Like poisonous snakes with extreme venom, they should be avoided by all wise people.”

　　While promoting people to do good deeds and accumulate merits, it is also stated: “I pay homage to the protector Buddha of Infinite Light; by hearing the holy name of Buddha Amitabha, until I reach enlightenment, may I always be reborn in noble bodies rather than in female forms.”

　　In many sutras, the description of all Buddha”s Pure Land include the following: “There are no women per se, or the names of women,” or: “Any woman, having aroused pure faith and bodhichitta upon hearing my name and feeling disgusted with the female body and wishing to be reborn to my Land, will arrive in my Land in a male body when she dies.”

　　Longchenpa has also repeatedly advised future generations: “One should avoid women; they are the sources of decadence.” It sounds like women have become the sources of all evils as well as the roots of deterioration. Isn”t this statement a little unfair

　　其實，這都是因爲她對佛經了解不夠而産生的誤會，經書中的某些教言，只不過是針對女人嫉妒心強等特征而宣說的。有關遠離女人的教言，是針對不能消除貪心的男人而言。同樣，不能消除貪心的女人，也要遠離衰損根源之男人。《中觀寶鬘論》在羅列女身之不淨後說道：“如于自或他，糞穢起厭惡，自他不淨身，雲何不厭惡？如女身不淨，汝自身亦然。”可見男身與女身是具有同等過患的。

　　In fact, these are misunderstandings due to insufficient knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures. Some statements in the sutras are taught specifically for women with a strong propensity for jealousy only.

　　The teachings on staying away from women are given specifically to men who are unable to eradicate their covetous minds.

　　Similarly, for a woman incapable of eliminating her lust, she should also stay away from men who are the roots of deterioration.

　　In A Great Treatise on Jewel Garland of the Middle Way, there is a long list of uncleanliness of the female body followed by: “If you loathe the excrement and filth from yourself or others, why wouldn”t you be repulsed with the grimy body of yours or others

　　 Your own body is just as unclean as the female body so described.”

　　如果一個女人具足信心、慈悲心和智慧，她將遠遠勝過不知取舍因果的男人。在藏傳佛教史上，曾湧現過無數的偉大女修行人，如：益西措嘉空行母、瑪吉拉准空行母等等，她們爲後世衆生作出了難以估量的貢獻，世間的男子們，又有誰能同她們比肩呢？

　　It is obvious, therefore, that the male and female bodies are equal in having the same flaws and shortcomings.

　　As long as a woman has strong faith and possesses wisdom and compassion, she is much superior to any man who knows not how to act in accordance with the principle of cause and effect.

　　In the land of Tibet, there have arisen many great female Buddhist practitioners, such as Dakini Machig Labdron, Dakini Yeshe Sogyal, and others. They have left inconceivable legacies for future generations; how could any ordinary male in the world be on par with them

　　《木蘭辭》裏也說：“雄兔腳撲朔，雌兔眼迷離，雙兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌？”兔子跑起來時，不能辨別它的雄雌。一個女人真正地發菩提心，精進修行時，她與男修行人所獲得的功德是同樣的。

　　In Ballad of Mulan, it also says: “The he-hare”s feet go hop and skip, the she-hare”s eyes are muddled and fuddled. Two hares running side by side close to the ground, who can tell if I am a he or a she

　　”

　　When a rabbit runs, no one can tell if it”s a he or a she.

　　Any woman who has cultivated genuine bodhichitta and practices the Dharma diligently will attain exactly the same level of quality as a male practitioner does.

　　壬午年正月二十五日　

　　2002年3月8日

　　25th of January, Year of RenWu

　　March 8, 2002

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