《靜思晨語。法譬如水》504. 心輪轉福禍

The Mind Can Bring Disasters or Blessings

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我們要把心照顧好，心若是稍微照顧不好，就會去造作惡業。

We need to take good care of our minds. If we even slightly take poor care of them, we create negative karma.

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心獄瞬息輾轉受酷刑
神識難堪苦痛難忍耐
身心受苦非他人造作
唯是自我不信因果報

In a mental hell we are tortured constantly. Suffering in our consciousness is hard to endure. The pain of body and mind is not caused by others, but by our lack of belief in karmic retribution.

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「心獄瞬息輾轉受酷刑，神識難堪苦痛難忍耐，身心受苦非他人造作，唯是自我不信因果報。」各位，這一段和大家來分享。

"In a mental hell we are tortured constantly. Suffering in our consciousness is hard to endure. The pain of body and mind is not caused by others, but by our lack of belief in karmic retribution." Everyone, I share this passage with you all.

剛才說過心要顧好，一念的起動，是善那就是福，福就是快樂。福因、福緣受福報，這就是從一念心起。

I just said we must take good care of our minds. When a thought arises, if it is good, it brings blessings. Blessings are happiness. Blessed causes, conditions bring blessed rewards. This all begins with a single thought.

假使同樣這念心，我們若是偏向惡，惡輪就轉了，就招惹來了很多災禍苦報，所以叫做「心獄」。不必等到說：「地獄在哪裡我看不到！」若是說：「那個人是不是有墮地獄了？在世這麼壞的人，那麼是不是會墮地獄呢？」他也會主張：「看不到啊！」

If a thought slightly deviates toward evil, negativity manifests, thus attracting many disasters and retributions. This is a mental hell. There is no need to wonder, "Where is Hell? We do not see it." "Did that person fall into Hell? Will such an evil person descend into Hell?" "But we have no way to see!"

是看不到，不過那個業力若是很強時，那現世就看得到。讓我們看不到的是心獄－－內心的地獄。作惡事，其實他的心也是，很惶恐很驚惶，心不得自在，也是很苦。那種在發脾氣，或者是貪欲心大，其實也不好過。

We cannot, but if karmic forces are strong, we can see it in their present life. What we cannot see is their mental hell, the one in their minds. If they committed bad deeds, they are actually frightened and anxious. Minds that cannot be at ease are in great pain. Those who lose their temper or are too greedy actually suffer a lot.

在我們平常人的心中，就有這種心輪，把它轉到那個地獄中去。想想看，心獄瞬息輾轉。

As ordinary beings, we have this kind of mindset, which can lead us toward Hell. Think about it. A mental Hell can appear in an instant.

我們昨天說過的故事。看她為了自己的生日宰殺多少的生靈？那種很偏差的思想，那種殘酷慘毒的心，宰殺生靈、吞食生靈，在一般人看不出這是多麼殘酷，在她內心也沒有感覺；這都在不知覺中，很微細業力種子已經不斷累積下來。到了那時候，她自己的心、意識，靈魂脫體，好像跑進每一種動物身上被宰殺、被凌遲等等…多少的恐怖！

The woman in the story we spoke of yesterday, ordered so many living beings slaughtered to celebrate her birthday. This is a very distorted mindset. This kind of cruel-heartedness in slaughtering and consuming living creatures is something most people do not sense. She likewise felt nothing at all. In her unawareness, the very subtle seeds of karma had accumulated. So at that time, her consciousness left her body, and seemed to enter the bodies of those animals that were being slaughtered and butchered. How terrifying!

雖然她嚇到了、雖然她開始素食了…這段文章到此為止，到底她心靈的地獄有沒有停歇呢？

Although she was frightened, and became a vegetarian, the essay stops here. Was her mental hell truly over?

心獄瞬息輾轉受酷刑，那種掙扎苦難，別人看起來沒什麼，聽起來也沒什麼，但是他看起來就非常嚴重，他聽起來就好像千刀萬剮，覺得人人對待他，都是什麼樣的酷刑，這是心理狀態，這叫做心獄。

In a moment of mental hell we endure cruel torture. With this kind of struggle and suffering, other people looking at us or listening to us do not think anything is wrong. But to us, things look very serious, like we are being slashed by 1000 knives. We feel that everyone else treats us cruelly. This is a mental state. This is a mental hell.

在瞬息之間它就是如此輾轉，又再加上神識難堪苦痛難忍耐，那種真的是難堪。在精神上，在他的意識上，覺得說世間就是他過不去了。

Things can develop like this in an instant; suffering in our consciousness is hard to endure. It is truly unbearable. In people's spirit and consciousness, they feel like they cannot go on living.

所以現在社會有多少，到底是怎麼了？沒什麼事情，為什麼去自殺、跳樓，想出種種的方法來折磨自己？或者是自己損滅自己？那就是在心靈中的煉獄！其實沒有什麼事情，就是在心靈中，這心理狀態，神識真的是難堪苦痛難忍耐。

We see this often in society. What happened? Nothing much happened, so why did they commit suicide, jump off a building, or think of many ways to brutalize or mutilate themselves? This is a mental purgatory. Nothing actually happened; it is just their mental condition. Their consciousness cannot bear it; they cannot endure the suffering.

真的是這樣一了百了嗎？只不過是又再多造業。不是說過嗎，這也是殺業之一！尤其是殺了自己父母給我們的身體－－這個身體是父精母血造成的，父母用心撫養。殺掉了自己的身體，等於殺掉了父母給我們的這個身體，留下來的血統、留下來的身體。

Will this be the end of it all? No, this act creates more karma. Haven't I said this is also a type of killing? In particular, if we kill ourselves, we destroy the body our parents gave us. Our bodies were formed by our parents' sperm and egg. Our parents carefully raised us. If we kill ourselves, we destroy the body our parents gave us, the bloodline and body they left for us.

所以真正孝順的人就是要「自愛」，自愛叫做「報恩」。不只是疼惜自己的身體，還要在保護自己的心理，那身心要保護健康，這叫做感恩。那感父母恩、感眾生恩、感天地之恩，給我們如此健全的身體。那這個身體自己自愛，我們要去發揮愛人，這叫做「報恩」。真的是「天地之恩，眾生之恩，父母之恩」，就是要以我們這個身體，好好去付出回報。

A truly filial person will have self-respect. Self-respect is a way to repay their kindness. Not only do we need to cherish our bodies, we also need to protect our minds. By keeping our bodies and minds healthy, we show our gratitude for the grace of our parents, the grace of sentient beings, and the grace of Heaven and Earth. They gave us such a healthy body. So, love yourselves and love others, thus you repay their grace. The grace of Heaven and Earth, the grace of sentient beings, and the grace of parents, all need to be repaid by putting our bodies to use.

若是相反的，就是自己損害自己，沒有顧好這念心，所以不但沒有造福人群，還使心的惡輪一轉，所造的業就會很重。所以這種心，身心要照顧好。所以有時若去造了惡業，心若沒顧好，心獄就進去了，所以自然神識難堪，苦痛難忍難，想要忍耐都是很難堪忍。

If instead we harm ourselves, and do not take good care of our minds, not only do we not create blessings for others, we allow our thoughts to turn towards evil, thus creating very severe karma. So, we must take care of our bodies and minds. If we create negative karma and do not take good care of our minds, Hell will appear in our lives. Naturally the suffering in our consciousness will be hard to endure. Even if we want to bear it, it will be difficult.

所以說來，都是一念心。

So, it is all about our thoughts.

所以我們「身心受苦非他人造作」，我們的心在苦、身在苦，我們所面對的很多，現實的環境折磨等等…這不是別人造作給我們的，是我們自己，我們自己過去生中，結了這樣的緣，造了這樣的惡；所以今生此世，所遇到的因緣果報，所以我們的心和身在受苦。

The pain of body and mind is not caused by others. If our minds suffer, our bodies suffer. If we are tormented by the conditions we encounter, and so on, this is not something someone else did to us. We did it ourselves. In our past lives, we created these conditions, committed these kinds of evils. So in this lifetime, when we encounter karmic retribution, we cannot blame others for the suffering in our bodies and minds.

不要埋怨別人，非他人造作，是我們自己。「唯是自我不信因果報」，就只是我們自己，不要相信因緣果報，所以我們為非，做壞事情一直做，所以才會變成了我們這一生，很多不如意。或者是生在什麼樣的苦難的國家、邊地，或者是貧窮苦難，多災、多難、多人禍，那也是不由自己去的人間地獄。

It was not created by others, but by ourselves, because we did not believe in karmic retribution. If we do not believe in karmic retribution, then we will constantly commit transgressions. Then as a result, we encounter unfortunate events in our lives, or are born in ravaged countries, remote areas, or poor places with much suffering and human disasters. Going to these Living Hells is beyond our control.

看到那個地方(衣索比亞)是不是很普遍的人間地獄呢？不只是餓鬼地獄，也是熱焰火爐地獄；非常熱，非常乾旱。看到孩子的腳和手都像乾柴，肚子很大很大。餓啊！餓到躺著；蟲、蒼蠅滿臉，都沒有力氣動一下去把牠趕走。

As we look around, aren't these living hells found everywhere? Not only are there Hell or Hungry Ghost realms, there are also Hells of Fiery Flames and Furnaces. These are very hot, very dry places. Children's feet and hands are like kindling. Their stomachs are very big. They are so hungry that they cannot stand Though their faces are covered with bugs, they have no strength to drive them away.

過去說：「可是地獄又看不到，怎麼常常在說地獄呢？」是的，《水懺》現在這段懺文，完全在說地獄。以現在此事來比喻，大家應該就要能夠清楚「相信因果，有這個地獄」。

Doesn't this look like Hell on Earth? We often say you cannot see Hell, so why do we keep talking about it? Because this passage in the Water Repentance completely focuses on Hell. If we compare it to modern events, everyone should be able to clearly believe in cause and effect, and in Hell.

若要再說人間，做惡的人到底有沒有報應？有的，現在受報。

Looking again at the Human Realm, will people who do evil face retribution? Yes. That is present-life retribution.

在清朝有一個人姓葉，他就是以這個屠牛為生，他覺得說：「這是我要營生，我也要生活，屠牛就是我的專長，牛本來生來就是拖磨，拖到老來不能工作了，那就是殺了讓人吃肉，這是一種很自然的事情。」所以他不覺得如何，就是從事這種殺業。

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a Mr. Yeh. He slaughtered cows for a living. He thought, "I do this to make a living. I have to live. Slaughtering cows is my expertise. Cows were born to work. After they are too old to work, they are meant to be killed and eaten. This is a very natural thing." So, he did not think anything of engaging in this kind of killing occupation.

有一天在中午時分，忽然間風雲密布 雷雨交加，這之間，忽然間一道的雷，電光閃電，那樣雷電剛好往這個人身上打下來，全身受到那個雷電燒傷很重。

One day around noon, suddenly wind and clouds, thunder and rain converged. At this moment, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and precisely struck this man. His entire body was burned; his wounds were serious.

在那個時代，哪有什麼樣的醫院去治療他，只是鄉下就是採草藥幫他敷。但是那種的痛是難堪，不斷一直爛，爛到全身沒有一處是不爛的，以致他的精神也失常了，全身會癢就一直抓，抓得都破皮，全身都是赤裸裸的肉。破皮了又生蟲了，他自己在生蟲，蟲都是吃他的肉，養得很肥，他就是把自己身上的蟲拿來吃，一邊去抓蟲來吞蟲，又在不斷哀叫。

At that time, there were no hospitals to treat him. In that rural area, they used a poultice of herbs. But that pain was unbearable. His flesh continued to rot until his whole body was rotting. This caused him to lose his mind. He scratched himself because he was itchy. He scratched until he broke the skin. His body was just raw flesh. The skin was broken and filled with bugs. They ate his flesh and grew to be quite fat. So, he ate the bugs on his body. He caught the bugs and swallowed them as he constantly shrieked.

那種哀叫的聲音，就是一直問人：「牛肉好吃嗎？」這樣經過了一段幾個月的時間，蟲吃他的肉，他吞食蟲，一直哀叫，每一句的哀叫就一直說：「牛肉好吃嗎？」就是這樣一直喊一直叫。可見這也是現世的地獄，在人間他就已經受到。

With his wails he asked others, "Does beef really taste good?" This lasted over a couple of months. Bugs ate his flesh, he swallowed the bugs, and he kept crying out. With every cry he said, "Does beef really taste good?" He kept yelling and screaming. Clearly this was Hell in the present lifetime.

我們看得到的地獄報，全身從頭至足都是潰爛；這個地獄的形態，我先這樣描述，大家去想想看，是不是可怕！

In this world, he was already experiencing retributions of Hell that others could see. He was covered in ulcers from head to toe. If I first describe Hell's appearance this way, does everyone think that this is scary?

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牛頭獄卒 形如羅剎
而有九尾 尾如鐵叉
復有九頭 頭上十八角

The ox-headed jailers look like Raksas. They have nine tails, each like a metal fork. They also have nine heads with 18 horns on their heads.

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角有六十四眼
一一眼中
皆悉迸出諸熱鐵丸
燒罪人肉

Each horn has 64 eyes. Each eye can shoot out bursts of hot iron balls that burn the flesh of wrongdoers.

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我們現在來看接下來地獄的，這段懺文－－「牛頭獄卒，形如羅剎，而有九尾，尾如鐵叉。復有九頭，頭上十八角，角有六十四眼；一一眼中，皆悉迸出諸熱鐵丸，燒罪人肉。」

Right now let us read this next passage about Hell. "The ox-headed jailers look like Raksas. They have nine tails, each like a metal fork. They also have nine heads with 18 horns on their heads. Each horn has 64 eyes. Each eye can shoot out bursts of hot iron balls that burn the flesh of wrongdoers."

看起來應該知道，但是覺得世間有這樣的東西嗎？

It should be obvious, but are there such things in this world?

地獄有「牛頭獄卒」，那個獄卒就像牛一樣。這牛在世間很溫馴，任勞任怨，隨著人再多東西讓牠拖，走慢了牛鞭就對著牠打下去，受盡了苦磨。但是到了地獄去，牛就不是這樣了！牛，這種牛頭就像是羅剎，羅剎就是最凶惡的，這隻牛的羅剎，牛頭還有牛尾。

In Hell, there are "Ox-headed jailers". These look like oxen. In our world oxen are gentle and tame. They work without complaint. No matter how much they carry, if they slow down, they are whipped. They endure a lot of suffering. But in Hell, oxen are different. There, the ox-headed jailers are like Raksas. Raksas are very vicious creatures. The oxen Raksas have ox heads and ox tails.

牛有九個尾巴，這個尾巴就像是鐵叉一樣。我們若看到牛身上有蒼蠅，牠就尾巴揮一下、揮一下，在趕蒼蠅。但是那些牛尾就好像是鐵叉一樣。

They have nine tails and each tail is like a metal fork. When we see flies on real oxen, we see how they wave their tails to drive them away. But these oxtails are like metal forks.

又再者，這種的牛頭有十八支角，每一支角都有六十四個眼睛，可見那個牛角是多麼兇惡！因為他的眼睛「一一眼中」，就是「皆悉迸出」，每一個眼睛不是平平的，是那樣凸出去的。那尤其是很多的鐵丸，就像是從他的眼睛，那樣燒紅的鐵丸射出去，「燒罪人肉」－－去燒人的肉。

This ox-headed jailer has 18 horns. Each horn has 64 eyes. Look at how ferocious-looking those horns are "Each eye can shoot out bursts". Their eyes are not flat, but protruding, and they can shoot iron balls. They shoot red-hot iron balls out of their eyes to "burn the flesh of wrongdoers".

想想看，可怕不可怕！一但若是造了地獄的因，受了地獄的果報，就是要受這種苦刑。我們常常都看到說：「在人間，也會有這樣的苦痛。」大家好好去想想看。

Think about it. Isn't this scary? When we sow the seeds of Hell, and face these hellish retributions, we will endure the suffering that we often see in this world. Think long and hard about this.

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然其一瞋一怒
哮吼之時
聲如霹靂

With each burst of anger and rage, their roar is as loud as a thunderclap.

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復有無量無邊刀輪
空中而下
從罪人頂入
從足而出

Then countless and boundless wheels of knives descend from midair, entering through the heads of wrongdoers, and exiting from their feet.

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「然其一瞋、一怒，哮吼之時聲如霹靂。復有無量無邊刀輪，空中而下，從罪人頂入，從足而出。」

"With each burst of anger and rage, their roar is as loud as a thunderclap. Then countless and boundless wheels of knives descend from midair, entering through the heads of wrongdoers, and exiting from their feet."

這種的牛頭夜叉，他不只是形態那麼恐怖，而且他的「一瞋一怒」，他會出聲－－發出了聲音。「哮吼之時」，我們曾聽過我們人間的牛，在叫的聲音是無奈的聲音，但是在地獄就是，很兇惡的聲音了。那種「哮吼之時，聲如霹靂」，很響，響亮很大，甚至那種聲音叫出來都會震動。

These ox-headed Raksas are not just scary in appearance. With each "burst of anger and rage", they make sounds, they roar. We have heard the oxen cry; they make a helpless sound. But in Hell, they make a ferocious sound. "The roar is as loud as a thunderclap." It rings clearly and loudly. The sound even shakes the earth.

又再「復有無量、無邊刀輪」。地獄裡中還有很多，無量、無邊的刀輪在轉。

"Then countless and boundless wheels of knives". In Hell, many immeasurable and boundless wheels of knives spin.

有時候我們會看到媒體在報導摩天輪，那還不夠大。地獄的輪不是放椅子讓人坐，那都是刀，輪很大。所以這是無量的，很多、很多這種的刀輪「空中而下」，從上面一直輾轉下來，那樣「從罪人頂入，從足而出」－－那個刀輪從人的頭那樣插進去，從腳出來。

Sometimes we see Ferris wheels in the news. Those are not big enough. The wheels in Hell do not have seats to sit on, just knives. Those wheels are big. There are countless numbers of them. These wheels of knives "descend from midair". They spin as they fall down. They "enter through the heads of wrongdoers and exit from their feet".

我們曾看到人在烤魚嗎，烤魚拿一支竹子，從嘴那樣穿進去，從魚尾出來。曾看過嗎？曾看過現在的人在吃豬肉，那個小豬才出生叫做乳豬，就是剛生出來還在吃奶，小小隻的豬，也是去烤。

Haven't we seen people grill fish? They take a piece of bamboo and stick it through the mouth and out by the tail. Have you seen this? I have seen people eat pork. When pigs are just born they are suckling pigs. They are not yet weaned. People roast them too.

你們想，人間就是夜叉，和這種牛頭的夜叉，不是差不多嗎？那麼人間到處是地獄，貪食眾生肉。你看，無奇不有的凌遲！你們想，人間這些人，是不是也是地獄的夜叉。所以這種對畜生動物，真的是很殘忍！說來說去，真的是人間地獄。地獄離人間不遠，只要我們多用心去體會。

Think about it. There are Raksha in the Human Realm. Are they any different from ox-headed Raksas? Hell exists everywhere. People crave the flesh of sentient beings. We can see them use many forms of brutality. If you think about it, aren't these people Raksas from Hell, too? Treating livestock and animals this way is very cruel. This truly sounds like Hell on Earth. Hell is not far from this world, if we truly understand this concept.

所以說起來，「心獄瞬息輾轉受酷刑」，這心真的要顧好，不要去造惡。我們應該要轉福輪，不要去轉到惡輪，轉了惡輪，惹來了這個心獄；自己受刑，自己也有很多神識難堪，苦痛難忍耐。

Therefore, in a moment of mental hell we endure cruel torture. Let us truly take good care of our minds, and not create evil. We should think good thoughts, not evil thoughts. If our thoughts turn towards evil, we attract a mental hell. We will be tortured. Our consciousness will face unbearable suffering.

那「身心受苦非他人造作」。大家要覺悟，我們自己所惹來的禍端，受苦不是別人造作給我們的，是我們自己所造作的。因為我們自己不相信因果！

The pain of body and mind is not caused by others. We must all realize that we attract the source of these disasters. Other people did not create our suffering, we did, because we did not believe in cause and effect.

各位，真的學佛就是要顧好這念心，心輪一轉，禍福都是在我們自己這一念心中。所以大家要時時多用心！

Everyone, we learn Buddhism to take good care of our minds. When our thoughts change, they bring disasters or blessings in that moment. So everyone, please always be mindful.