..续本文上一页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。到老的时候，眼花、耳聋、牙掉，腿不听使唤，身也做不得主了。这是生、老、病、死，这四种苦都是令人不自在，令人生很多的烦恼。
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)爱别离苦。人为什么做人？就因为有爱，才生到这五浊恶世来。若爱减轻了，就会生到其他世界，譬如极乐世界或琉璃世界。古人说：
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,
爱不重不生娑婆，
业不空不生极乐。
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.
业尽情空就是佛，业重情迷是凡夫，世人被情爱所迷，打不破关头，还以为男女爱情是无上的，是最有价值的。其实爱越重，情越重，就被缠迷得越重。有人明明知道这样是不对的，但是却越要往里头钻。男女一长成，就想赶快结婚，走这条老路。
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.
爱是一种情牵物累，人之所以精神痛苦不自在，受了打击，都是因为这个爱。本来两人相爱，如胶似漆，如鱼得水，但是一种特别的境界来了，迫不得已要分开，这就有了爱别离苦，这种极度难分难舍的场面，非常痛苦；这种精神上的折磨，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)怨憎会苦。人若有缘，一见面谈话就很融洽，做事也不冲突。但有的人，一见面就无缘，就讨厌对方，所以要远离对方到别处去，但到了别处，又碰到对方。越怨憎他，却越碰到他，这也是精神上的苦。
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。有所求就有所贪，贪不到就生出种种烦恼，这也是苦。求名、求利、求财、求色，求不得皆是苦，不能遂心满愿，随心如意。纵使求到了，也不是乐。譬如钱，未得之，就患得之；已得之，又患失之，昼夜提心吊胆，怕失去了。所以求得也是苦，求不得更是苦。那么其他的东西，也是如此类推，未得之，患得之；已得之，又患失之，心中总是不平安、不快乐，总觉得不自在。
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)五阴炽盛苦。五蕴：色、受、想、行、识，又叫五阴，都是不容易降伏，很不容易看空的。这五蕴炽然而盛，如火一般，烧得人精神痛苦万分。这八苦令人烦恼万分，可是你若有安心法，有安身法，这八苦就与你漠不相关了，所以说：
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，
八苦交煎也无妨。
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开示于万佛圣城
A talk given on May 1, 1982
at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
《业尽情空就是佛 With Karma Ended and Emotions Emptied, One Is A Buddha》全文阅读结束。