..续本文上一页ople who raise dogs and spend a lot of time with dogs may also develop asura natures, so be careful! Don”t run off to join the asuras.

　　(七)人法界

　　人道和合，功罪相间；

　　德升孽降，岂有他焉！

　　(7) The Dharma Realm of People

　　The way of people is harmony,

　　With merit and offenses interspersed.

　　On virtuous deeds you rise, offenses make you fall;

　　It has nothing to do with anyone else at all.

　　人道也有善，也有恶。人的性情很温和的，和谁都能合得来，所以说「人道和合」。「功罪相间」：人也不是完全善，也不是完全恶。完全善就升到天上去了，完全恶又去做畜生、做饿鬼、堕地狱了。所以又有一点功，又有一点罪；或者功多过少，或者功少过多。功多罪少的，就生在富贵的家庭；功少罪多的，就生在贫困的家庭。在这里边千差万别，随着各人所造善恶业的多少而有分别。不是纯阴，也不是纯阳。纯阴者就会变鬼去，纯阳者就升天了，不会做人了。「德升孽降」：你做善功德，就向上升一升；你若造罪孽过，就向下降一降。「岂有他焉」：其他人不会教你堕地狱，不会教你去做饿鬼，不会教你去变畜生，都是你自己造的，所谓「自作自受」，自己做自己就去受去，这是人道。

　　There are good people and bad people. Human beings are harmonious by nature and can get along with anyone, so the verse says, The way of people is harmony. / With merit and offenses interspersed. People are neither completely good nor completely bad. If they were completely good, they would ascend to the heavens. If they were completely bad, they would become animals or hungry ghosts, or fall into the hells. They have a bit of merit, but they also have a bit of offenses. Either their merit exceeds their offenses, or their offenses exceed their merit. When a person”s merit is greater than his offenses, he will be born in a rich and distinguished family, but with little merit and many offenses he will be born into a poor family. Between these two extremes are myriad differences and distinctions, based on the amount of good and bad karma each inpidual has created. People are neither totally yin nor totally yang. Those who are totally yin may become ghosts, while those who are predominantly yang will ascend to the heavens, instead of remaining as people. On virtuous deeds you rise, offenses make you fall. If you perform deeds of merit and virtue, you will ascend. If you commit heavy sins, you will descend. It has nothing to do with anyone else at all. Other people cannot make you fall into the hells, become a hungry ghost, or turn into an animal. That happens only because of the offenses you yourself committed. As it”s said, "You commit the offenses yourself, and you also undergo the retribution yourself." That”s the human realm.

　　(八)畜生法界

　　畜生好贪，多而无厌；

　　将黑作白，是非莫辨。

　　(8) The Dharma Realm of Animals

　　Eager animals feed on greed,

　　Never sated by a lot.

　　Because they make what”s black white,

　　They don”t distinguish wrong from right.

　　前边所讲的七个法界，都是好一点的法界，可以试一试，到那儿去做一做戏去。唯独现在这三个法界，这不可以尝试的，你试试看就恐怕跑不出来了，否则「一失人身，万劫不复」，所以这是很危险的。

　　The seven Dharma Realms discussed above are relatively good ones, and you can try them out. You can enter them as if taking part in a play. But you shouldn”t try out the three Dharma Realms which will be discussed now. If you try them out, you might not be able to get out again. It is said, "Once you lose your human body, you may not regain it for ten thousand eons," so this is very dangerous.

　　现在这个畜生道，不是一类的畜生，畜生也有百千万亿种类不同。你看就单那飞的畜生，就有百千万亿种不同类的样子。那么走的畜生呢？也不少。小的老鼠是很小的畜生，大的大笨象是大的畜生，鹿、熊、马、牛，都是大的畜生，这在陆地上的畜生，也有百千万亿种。在水里的畜生也有百千万亿种，有水狗、水牛、水马。就是研究物理、化学、生物学、动物学的这些个人，无论你是个博士，是个专家，都没有法子完全一定知道畜生的种类。

　　Now, the realm of animals does not merely consist of only one kind of animal. There are billions of different species of animals. If you consider just the flying animals, there are already hundreds of thousands of myriads of varieties. Animals that walk and crawl are also quite numerous. They may be as small as mice, or as large as elephants. Deer, bears, horses, and cows are also large animals. These are all land animals, of which there are also hundreds of thousands of myriads of species. Aquatic creatures, such as seals, water buffaloes, and sea horses, are also infinite in variety. Even physicists, chemists, biologists, zoologists, or other specialists or Ph.D.s canno…

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