..续本文上一页thinking in regard to this question. The Buddha did not waste His time on this issue. The reason for His silence was that this issue has no religious value for gaining spiritual wisdom. The explanation of the origin of the universe is not the concern of religion. Such theorizing is not necessary for living a righteous way of life and for shaping our future life. However, if one insists on studying this subject, then one must investigate the sciences, astronomy, geology, biology and anthropology. These sciences can offer more reliable and tested information on this subject than can be supplied by any religion. The purpose of a religion is to cultivate the life here in this world and hereafter until liberation is gained.
一般宗教对宇宙是缘起，只是接受了推理性的解说，因此，不为现代科学知识份子所接受。甚至佛学者所注释的经典，也被科学家质疑。佛陀并没有浪费他的时间在这个课题，他保持沉默的理由是，佛教的价值在于获得心灵的解脱和智慧，宇宙的缘起并不重要。然而，一个人如果坚持要研究这个科目，他就必须深入的探讨与科学、生物学、地理学和天文学。这些科目能提供比佛教更多也更有参考价值的材料。佛教的价值在于培养今世和来世的生活情操，一直到解脱。
In the eyes of the Buddha, the world is nothing but Samsara--the cycle of repeated births and deaths. To Him, the beginning of the world and the end of the world is within this Samsara. Since elements and energies are relative and inter-dependent, it is meaningless to single out anything as the beginning. Whatever speculation we make regarding the origin of the world, there is no absolute truth in our notion.
在佛陀眼里，这世界只有生死不断循环的「轮回」。对佛陀而言，宇宙的起点和终点都在「轮回」之内，因为物质与能源不断的相互依赖而存在，寻找出宇宙的起点和终点，是一件没有意义的事。实际，所有一切有关于宇宙缘起的思想都是空谈泛论，不是究竟的或绝对的真理。
”Infinite is the sky, infinite is the number of beings,
「虚空无尽，众生无数。
Infinite are the worlds in the vast universe,
宇宙中有无数的世界。
Infinite in wisdom the Buddha teaches these,
佛陀教导我们，
Infinite are the virtues of Him who teaches these.”
智慧无尽，道德也无尽。」
(Sri Ramachandra)
─ 斯里.拉玛詹德拉─
One day a man called Malunkyaputta approached the Master and demanded that He explain the origin of the Universe to him. He even threatened to cease to be His follow if the Buddha”s answer was not satisfactory. The Buddha calmly retorted that it was of no consequence to Him whether or not Malunkyaputta followed Him, because the Truth did not need anyone”s support. Then the Buddha said that He would not go into a discussion of the origin of the Universe. To Him, gaining knowledge about such matters was a waste of time because a man”s task was to liberate himself from the present, not the past or the future. To illustrate this, the Enlightened One related the parable of a man who was shot by a poisoned arrow. This foolish man refused to have the arrow removed until he found out all about the person who shot the arrow. By the time his attendants discovered these unnecessary details, the man was dead. Similarly, our immediate task is to attain Nibbana, not to worry about our beginnings.
一天，木伧伽子(Malunyaputta)要佛陀向他解释宇宙的缘起，如果能令他满意，他就愿意追随佛陀。其实，佛陀并不强迫任何人追随他，因为真理是不需要任何强迫性的支持。佛陀对木伧伽子的问题保持沉默不给予他面的回答。对佛陀而言，回答这个问题是在浪费时间，人们不应该关注于过去的问题，而是应该关心未来的解脱。为了让木伧伽子明白这个道理，佛陀对他开示道：
「有一天，一位愚痴者被毒箭射中，他拒绝医生的诊治，他要先找出箭镞的毒素，当他还没有完成他的想像，就已经毒发身亡了。」
我们最迫切的任务是如何通往涅槃，而不是争执于宇宙的缘起。
《第十六章 环境与生存 Chapter 16 Realms of Existence》全文阅读结束。