20150828《靜思妙蓮華》離煩惱修無漏(第641集)
（法華經•譬喻品第三）
⊙「四大五陰八苦熾盛，無漏法髓慧解資糧，見聞思修在人群中。」
⊙「野干之屬，並已前死，諸大惡獸，競來食噉，臭煙熢㶿，四面充塞。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙「蜈蚣蚰蜒，毒蛇之類，為火所燒，爭走出穴。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙欲界：以蜈蚣喻瞋等。色界：雖不言蜈蚣而云毒蟲。上界不行瞋，無相害故。
⊙煩惱火種三界俱有，現行欲界獨存。行者向色、無色界，厭色麤法，觀無色法，如毒蛇被燒爭走出穴。
【證嚴上人開示】
「四大五陰八苦熾盛，無漏法髓慧解資糧，見聞思修在人群中。」
四大五陰
八苦熾盛
無漏法髓
慧解資糧
見聞思修
在人群中
「四大」：地、水、火、風。天下所有的物質，無不都是這個「四大」合會，才能成就我們所看得到的形形色色。
「五陰」，也就是「五蘊」：色、受、想、行、識。這在我們的日常生活中也沒有離開。
從我們又生老病死，人生的大事，這輩子我們已經一直集啊集，集了很多善、惡業。或者是有了因緣，培養我們的心態慢慢去除煩惱，回歸了菩提覺道，對人生道理看得清楚，能瞭解，已經減除了很多的煩惱，也消除了過去生帶來的因緣。
對人寬一寸、退一步，所以，過去生中所結的緣，這輩子有寬、有讓，所以因緣我們能夠減少惡緣。我們寬心對人，應該也是增長了福緣，減惡增福。這可能也是我們這輩子，來人間很有幸，有好緣聞佛法。但是，多數的人沒有聽到佛法，就是隨著過去帶來的業力種子，在人與人之間，不知又製造多少的惡業，彼此之間的惡緣，那就將這些緣，因緣種子落入了業識，就是再帶過去未來生。未來生就是我們這輩子所帶去的，所以不離開了這個「八苦」。
這輩子有這個「八苦」——生、老、病、死，就四苦了；求不得、怨憎會、愛別離，也是苦；再者「五陰熾盛」，會合起來到業識，這輩子捨不開，那個習氣還是落入意識裡面。過去這輩子，也是這樣帶來的業，也是這樣隨著那個境界，受依報正報。人生就是這樣，這樣在「四大五陰八苦」之中。唉呀，苦不堪啊！
再來，「無漏法髓慧解資糧」。我們若能夠透徹瞭解，人生就是這樣在循環，在「四大五陰」，人生的過程，不離開「八苦熾盛」，都不離開這些，又再增加不斷的造業，起心動念。我們已經知道了，知道之後，開始我們要決心，要發心。發心要修行，要聽法，聽法入心，我們要好好聞思修。
善的方向，我們應該如何受持；惡的方向，我們要怎麼樣預防？所以我們必定要戒、定、慧。聽到不能做的事情，一點點都不能起心動念。將法真的是入心，入了那就不要再讓它漏掉了，因為法就是成長我們的慧命，所以「無漏法髓」。
「漏」，大家都知道，叫做煩惱；我們若有煩惱，有煩惱叫做「有漏」。因為煩惱，我們就沒有專心在聽法，我們法聽進去，也沒有將它法放在心裡，所以就是「漏」，漏掉了。因為他有煩惱，因為他法沒入他的心，入心放不住，所以就漏掉。
我們現在要聞法。看我們現在的社區全省，同在這個時候，聽法的人也很多。大家都是三四點就要起床了，天暗暗的，不論是颳大風、下大雨，冬天冷颼颼，同樣就是這樣一早就要出來，這樣來聽法。在這個時間聽了之後，是不是法有放在心裡呢？不過，我也很相信，既然願意這麼早就出門，精進不間斷，相信這群菩薩聞法應該是無漏，而且法應該在心裡。
所以法在心裡，叫做法髓，所以我們能這樣，就「慧解資糧」。這個法髓入心，增長我們的慧命，這個慧命，讓我們能夠瞭解天下事，我們能夠和宇宙虛空完全接合，所以我們既瞭解，我們就能夠解除我們的欲，欲心，所以我們欲心，就不會受到外面的境界、種種的物質將我們誘引。
而我們能夠與大乾坤會合，我們的心開闊了，就不會受煩惱無明將我們障礙，所以我們「慧解」。對物質，我們透徹瞭解，對天地萬物一切的法，無不都包容在我們的心裡，所以「慧解」。這個慧解的資糧是什麼呢？就是法。所以法一定要入心。
所以，我們要「見聞思修」，因為聞、思、修。我們日常的生活中，與這個「四大五陰」，我們身體接觸到外面，一切一切的境界，現在我在說話，你們的耳根來接我的聲音，能夠解，入你們的心裡，所以這就是要有「見」。見，有「見」，再有「聞」，有真正看到為證，真正是在這個時候，師父在說的話，那個聲音聽進去了。
法聽進去，要好好用心接受，在「見聞思修在人群中」。這樣我們彼此之間更加重視法，法才能夠，在人與人之間，顯示出佛法對人間的效用，所以我們要用心。
前面的(經)文這樣說，「野干之屬，並已前死，諸大惡獸，競來食噉，臭煙熢㶿，四面充塞。」
野干之屬
並已前死
諸大惡獸
競來食噉
臭煙熢㶿
四面充塞
《法華經譬喻品第三》
「野干」，大家知道了，狐狸類的這一類，牠有小聰明，但是將他譬喻作要修行的人，知道要修行，知道人間的疾苦、這個欲所以造成了種種苦，為了要脫離，所以要修行。
在印度外道教，有種種修行方法的偏差，雖然脫離了這個六欲，卻是他偏求，「色」與「無色」，但是他雖然在那個地方，卻也是煩惱未除，還是私己的心。為自己的出離，私己的心，又所修的法就是偏差，所傳的法也就是偏差。
所以「並已前死」，就是說這些欲界他能夠遠離，卻是色界和無色界，真實正確的道理，他偏了，所以叫做「前」。「前」就是那個欲界，完全要去除欲界，卻是色界、無色界的道理，還不透徹。他心外求法，所以「諸大惡獸」，再貪求的更多。
所以「臭煙熢㶿，四面充塞」。同樣在三界內，這種壓迫，八苦，還是不離開三界，還是同樣「四大八苦」逼迫，色界、無色界，還是不離開，因為沒有在正法之中。
再接下來(經文)就說，「蜈蚣蚰蜒，毒蛇之類，為火所燒，爭走出穴。」
蜈蚣蚰蜒
毒蛇之類
為火所燒
爭走出穴
《法華經譬喻品第三》
那就是「蜈蚣蚰蜓」，「毒蛇之類」，什麼是叫做蜈蚣？就是蜈蚣，蜈蚣就是節肢動物，多足，牠那個身體一節一節，一節一節像我們的手，手指頭有好幾節，手指一節一節，所以它才能彎，我們的脊椎也是一樣，也是一節一節，所以我們要彎就很方便。
蜈蚣牠是「節」，一節一節很多，「全身多體節」，每一節都有一對腳。蜈蚣類最小的是一公分，十三對的腳，一對兩隻，所以十三對，那就是二十六隻腳。更大隻的，牠能大到三十公分，牠有一百七十七對腳，那就是三百多隻腳。牠所住的地方，就是在朽木洞裡面，要不然就是在石頭縫，這就是牠住的地方。
所以說，動物很苦，生活不是在石頭縫，要不然就是朽木之中，已經腐爛的木材裡面，牠最前面那對，那就是有毒液，所以蜈蚣有毒，這個毒液，就是要預防有人來時，牠就會射出那個毒液，這就是保護牠身體的武器。最後面那兩隻腳是特別長，就是因為牠的這兩隻腳，要有力推，往前跑才會快。
蜈蚣：
第一對有毒腳
可射出毒液當武器
最後一對腳特長
所以，這種動物，有這麼奧妙的身態，所以我們真的佩服天地萬物，這種「四生」，眾生的生命體，牠們生活的形態。所以蚰蜒和蜈蚣，是差不多同種類，不過牠比較不一樣，牠的腳更細，牠的腳更長，牠有十五對的腳，那就是三十隻腳。但是，這種蟲類，牠就是去捕捉害蟲，所以牠對農作物是有利益。
蚰蜒：
與蜈蚣類同
腳細長共十五對
捕食害蟲有益農事
所以說，天地奧妙就在這裡。在五穀雜糧，雖然說稻穀怕蟲害，但是那田裡也有一些生物，在保護這個稻作，或者是雜糧有一些蟲、鳥，這就是天地之間互相。
當初釋迦牟尼佛在遊四城門時，看到鄉村這種耕農，就是弱肉強食，活生生的東西這樣被鳥啄下去，從中間啄下去，頭尾還在掙扎，這樣活活吞下去。像這樣的境界，看到了，他感慨：人類已經有四姓階級了，畜生類也有弱肉強食。所以他體悟人間這種強弱，及四姓不平等，再看到人生的無常，所以才要去，探討人間真正的道理。所以說起來，這種蟲，迪蜓，牠是能夠幫助農作物，不過牠也是吃毒蟲。
所以說，欲界，以蜈蚣來譬喻瞋，剛剛我們說過，最前面那兩隻腳有毒，你若是碰到我，我就是射出毒液來，這種的，他用這樣來譬喻。
色界，雖然已經沒有這個欲界，因為他要棄離這個欲，所以他要修色界，色界就是沒有這個物質的貪取，但是還有煩惱在，他還是心思量的事情，思考的很多，所以這在色界，蜈蚣沒了，沒有那麼多，像牠的腳那麼多的欲，沒有了，但是有毒蟲。毒蟲是什麼？蛇。這種的毒蛇，毒蛇，你看起來牠都沒有腳，不過毒蛇是比蜈蚣還更毒。
欲界
以蜈蚣喻瞋等
色界
雖不言蜈蚣
而云毒蟲
上界不行瞋
無相害故
「上界不行瞋」，但是對欲界，對欲界他無貪，但是在思想中，煩惱沒有去除。所以這就是修行那個過程中，對這種，「蜈蚣蚰蜒，毒蛇之類」等等，來譬喻修行的過程。
「為火所燒，爭走出穴」。那就是煩惱，煩惱火種是三界俱有。
煩惱火種三界俱有
現行欲界獨存
行者向色、無色界
厭色麤法
觀無色法
如毒蛇被燒
爭走出穴
無色界或者是色界，還是煩惱沒有除。因為常常說，三界，我們要將它視為在我們內心，在我們內心的煩惱還未除，這就是火種。「火種三界俱有」，所以「現行欲界獨存」，去行動的是「欲界獨存」。我們欲界有物質，所以名、利、地位就是人去爭。所以欲、欲界，單獨是人去行動、去爭取，爭取有對象，爭取有對立等等，這是很明顯，這種欲界煩惱，有色、有物、有人，就有製造破壞等等，這都是在欲界之中。
行，行者，就是修行者，向色界、無色界。他已經是厭這個欲界，有形有色的名、利，這種的麤，非常的麤，這個東西已經全部不要，去除了，所以這個法，「觀無色法」，會「厭色麤法」，棄厭掉有色、有名、有利，這都是麤法，不值得去爭取，所以他不會去爭取。不過「觀無色法」，他用細思觀想無色之法，這還是煩惱。這種細思去觀、去想這個法。其實，不正確的法，四面都是行不通。所以，如毒蛇被火爭燒出穴，像毒蛇在那個地方還是很悶燒，因為牠沒有用身體去行動，不過那個內心，被煩惱懊熱的火在悶燒，所以叫做「爭走出穴」，爭走出穴，所以還是在內心很掙扎。
總而言之，我們學佛真的要用心。日常生活中，我們一早起來，眼睛睜開，我們的身體與境界就開始接觸了，所以「四大五陰八苦熾盛」，我們必定要緊緊牢記。我們要好好，「無漏法髓慧解資糧」，我們要好好吸收，在日常生活中，善惡緣我們要懂得選擇。「見聞思修在人群中」，所以人群中好修行。請大家時時要多用心。
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Transcend Afflictions with Flawless Studies (離煩惱修無漏)
Date:August.28. 2015
“The four elements, the Five Skandhas and the Eight Sufferings rage furiously. The flawless Dharma-essence is the nourishment for wisdom and understanding. We must look, listen, contemplate and practice among the people.”
The four elements are earth, water, fire and air. Every material thing in this world arises from the convergence of these four elements; this is how all the various things we see come into being. The Five Skandhas, also known as the Five Aggregates, are form, feeling, perception, action, consciousness. Our daily living is inseparable from them. As we go through birth, aging, illness and death, the major stages of our lives, in this lifetime we have already accumulated a lot of both good and bad karma. Perhaps we have the karmic conditions to train our minds to gradually eliminate afflictions and return to the Bodhi-path of awakening.
By clearly understanding the principles of life, we can already eliminate many afflictions and exhaust the karma we brought from our past lives. With others, we can take a step back and be a little more accommodating. If we formed [negative] connections with people in a previous life, by accommodating them and giving way in this life, we have the causes and conditions that allow us to reduce the balance of our negative affinities.
By being broad-minded in our treatment of others, we can develop more positive karmic conditions. By reducing negative [karma], good karma grows. This may be because we came into this life with the good fortune and good karmic conditions to be able to hear the Buddha-Dharma. However, the majority of people have not heard the Buddha-Dharma, so they follow the seeds of karma that they brought from the past, and as they interact with other people, there is no telling how much more negative karma and mutual negative affinities they will create. These karmic connections, these karmic seeds, will be planted in our karmic consciousness, and we will bring them into our future lives.
Our future lives will be based on the karma we bring from this one. Thus life is inseparable from the Eight Sufferings. In this lifetime, we experience the Eight Sufferings. Birth, aging, illness and death are four of these sufferings. Not getting what we want, meeting those we hate and parting with those we love are also sufferings. Then, the raging Five Skandhas come together to enter our karmic consciousness. If we cannot escape them in this lifetime, our habitual tendencies will continue to remain in our mind-consciousness. In the past and in this lifetime, we have also brought karma with us; we followed [enticing] conditions to come and face our direct and circumstantial retributions.
This is the way life works; we are amidst “the four elements, Five Skandhas and Eight Sufferings.” Oh, how unbearable these sufferings are!
Next, “The flawless Dharma-essence is the nourishment for wisdom and understanding.” We can thoroughly understand that life moves in cycles affected by the workings of the four elements and the Five Skandhas. The courses of our live are inseparable from “the Eight Sufferings raging furiously”; these are inseparable, plus we incessantly create more karma and give rise to discursive thoughts.
We already know these things, and since we do, we must be resolute in our aspirations. We must aspire to engage in spiritual practice, to listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. We must earnestly listen, contemplate and practice. How we can continue in a wholesome direction and avoid going down an unwholesome direction?We must cultivate precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
When we hear about things we should not do, we cannot feel the slightest temptation to do them.We must truly take the Dharma to heart.
Once it is in our hearts, we must not allow it to ever leak away again, for the Dharma nurtures our wisdom-life.This is what the “flawless Dharma-essence” does “Leaks,” or flaws, as everyone knows, are afflictions.
If we have afflictions, we have Leaks.Because we have afflictions, we cannot concentrate on listening to the Dharma, and even if we have heard the Dharma, we do not retain it in our minds.This means we have Leaks; the Dharma is leaking out.Because we have afflictions, we will be unable to take the dharma to heart.Even if we can, it will leak out.
Right now, we must listen to the Dharma.
We see in communities all over Taiwan, at this very moment, that many people are listening to the teachings.Everyone gets out of bed at 3 or 4am, when it is still dark outside.No matter if it is very windy or raining hard, or if there is a wintry chill, they still leave their house early in the morning to listen to the Dharma.After listening to the teachings in the morning, do they keep the Dharma in mind?
I really believe that since everyone is willing to get up so early to continue being diligent, this group of Bodhisattvas can listen to the Dharma without it leaking away.Moreover, the Dharma will remain in their minds.
When we have taken the Dharma to heart, it is the Dharma-essence.When this happens we have “nourishment for wisdom and understanding”.When the Dharma-essence is in our mind, we can develop our wisdom-life.
Our wisdom-life can help us understand all worldly matters, and we will be able to become omen with the entire universe.Since we understand this, we will be able to eliminate our desires.
Without a desirous mind, material objects external states will be unable to entice us.
Our minds can even become one with the macrocosm of the world and thus become open and spacious.Then we will no longer be hindered by afflictions and ignorance.We will have “wisdom and understanding”.
When we thoroughly understand material things, the workings of all things in the world will be encompassed within our minds.So, we will have “wisdom and understanding”.
What nourishes our wisdom and understanding?The Dharma.Therefore, we must take the Dharma to heart.
“We must look, listen, contemplate and practice.”By listening, contemplating and practicing, we see how our daily living is related to “the four elements and the Five Skandhas”.
Our body connects with all kinds of sense objects in our external environment.Right now, as I am speaking, your ears are the sense organs that take in the sound of my voice.
Once you understand, you will take the Dharma to heart.
First, you must look and experience.Once you have looked, you must listen.When you can see and verify for yourself, that is truly the time when you can take in the things that I am saying.When we listen to the Dharma, we must earnestly accept it in order to “look, listen, contemplate and practice among people.”
In this way, as we interact with each other, we will place more importance on the Dharma.Only then can our interactions with each other reveal how the Dharma can improve this world.
Therefore, we must be mindful.
This earlier sutra passage states, “The jackal and his ilk had already died. All the large vicious beasts were contending to eat them. The stinking smoke permeated all four directions.”
Everyone knows the jackal.They are similar to foxes.The jackal is clever and is used as an analogy for people who know they should engage in spiritual practice.They know that, in this world, pain and suffering are caused by desires and that, to transcend this, they must engage in spiritual practice.
In India, there were religious teachings that taught improper spiritual practices.Though people who followed them could transcend the six desires, they were biased toward seeking the form and formless realms.Even if they achieved that state, they had not completely eliminated afflictions because they were still selfishly pursuing liberation for themselves only.
So, the teachings they practiced were deviant, as were the teachings that they pass on.
So, “The [jackals] have already died” means that they have already put the desire realm far behind them, but in the form and formless realms they have deviated from the true principles. This is why the word “already” is used.
“Already” is a reference to the desire realm. They have completely transcended the desire realm, but regarding the form and formless realms, they have not yet penetrated their principles, so they seek the Dharma outside of themselves. “All the large vicious beasts” are our many cravings, and because of them, “The stinking smoke permeates all four directions”. While we are still within the Three Realms, we are pressed by the Eight Sufferings. We still face the oppression of the four elements and Eight Sufferings. We are still unable to leave the form and formless realms because we are not abiding in the Right Dharma.
The next sutra passage states, “Centipedes and house centipedes and varieties of poisonous snakes were burned by the fire and struggled to get out of their holes”.
This is about “centipedes and house centipedes and varieties of poisonous snakes”. What are centipedes? They are many-legged creatures. Centipedes are arthropods, animals with many legs. Their body is made up of segment after segment. Take our hands for example; our fingers have many segments. It is because they have all these segments that they can bend. Our spine works the same way; it is made up of many segments so it is easy for us to bend over.
Centipedes are segmented, with many, many individual segments. “Their entire body is segmented”, and each segment has a set of legs. The smallest centipede is 1 cm long and has 13 pairs of legs. There are two legs in each pair, so 13 pairs means he has 26 legs. The bigger ones can grow up to 30 cm. A 30 cm centipede has 177 pairs of legs. That is more than 300 legs.
The kinds of places they live in are holes in rotten wood, or in the seams of rocks. These are the kinds of places they live in. so, it is said that animals live in suffering. They may have to live in the seams of rocks or inside wood that is already rotten.
Their first pair of legs contains venom. Thus, centipedes are poisonous. They use their venom as a defense by shooting it against attackers. This is a weapon they use to defend themselves.
Their last pair of legs are especially long so that they have the power to propel themselves and run forward very quickly. Since animals like these are constructed in such incredible ways, we must respect all the world’s creatures all the four kinds of beings, all of these lifeforms and the ways they live.
The house centipede and the centipede are almost the same, but differ in that the legs of house centipedes are thinner and longer. They have 15 pairs of legs, which means they have 30 legs total. Unlike normal centipedes, house centipedes catch harmful insects, so they are beneficial to agriculture.
The wondrousness of the world lies in this. When it comes to our crops, we are afraid of harmful insect infestations, but there are creatures in the fields that protect the crops. Around the crops there are birds and insects that counter one another.
When Sakyamuni Buddha went to His travels, He observed the fields in the countryside and saw how the strong preyed on the weak. He saw how the birds pecked at live worms. They will stab them in the middle, and while the worms continued to struggle, the herons wolfed them down. When He saw this scene, He lamented, “Humans [discriminate between] the four castes; among animals, the strong also prey upon the weak”. He had experienced the relationship between the strong and the weak and the inequality between the four castes and further saw the impermanence of life.
Thus, he wanted to investigate the truths of life. So, as we said, these kinds of insects, these house centipedes, are helpful to the crops because they eat harmful insects.
The centipede is an analogy for anger in the desire realm. As I was just saying, their first pair of legs contains venom. If you touch them, they will shoot out that venom. This is why they are used as an analogy. The form realm is free of desires. To distance themselves from desire, spiritual practitioners try to reach the form realm. In that state, they do not greedily pursue material things; however, they still have afflictions and are still thinking about many things. When in the state of the form realm, we are not like centipedes. We do not have so many desires, like all the legs on a centipede.
But there are poisonous creatures in this state. What kind of poisonous creatures? Snakes. We can be like poisonous snakes. See, there are no legs on a snake, but they are more poisonous than centipedes.
In the desire realm, the centipede is an analogy for anger. The form realm is free of desires; though there are no reference to centipedes, it speaks of poisonous insects. There is no anger in the upper realms, and no intent towards mutual harm.
“There is no anger in the upper realms.” Regarding the desire realm, they have no greed, but these afflictions still have not been eliminated from their thinking. This describes the process of spiritual practice. These “centipedes and house centipedes and varieties of poisonous snake” are all analogies for the process of spiritual cultivation.
“Burned in the fire, they struggled to leave their holes.” This refers to afflictions.
All Three Realms have the fires of afflictions, but we take action only in the desire realm.As they move toward the form and formless realms, practitioners renounce the crude phenomena of form and contemplate the formless Dharma. This is the poisonous snakes that were burned and struggled to get of their holes.
In the state of the form and the formless realms, afflictions still have not been eliminated are also states of our mind. If we have not eliminated our afflictions, they will start fires. “All Three Realms have these fires but we take action only in the desire realm.” We only take action “in the desire realm. In the desire realm there are material rewards such as fame profit and status that people fight over.
In the desire realm alone, we take action and fight to obtain things. When fighting we have an opponent. When fighting we get into confrontations, etc. These [actions] are quite obvious. The afflictions of the desire realm, arise forms, objects and people, so we end up causing harm. All of this happens in the desire realm.
Spiritual practitioners move toward the form and formless realms. They have already renounced the desire realm and visible and tangible things fame and profit. These things are coarse and extremely crude. They have no desire for these things any longer.
The Drama they seek is to “contemplate the formless Dharma.” Having “renounced the crude phenomena of form, they have relinquished form, fame and wealth. These are all crude and not worth fighting over, so they do not struggle to obtain them. Instead, they “contemplate the formless Dharma.” They carefully contemplate the formless Dharma, but still they have afflictions. They carefully contemplate this Dharma,but in reality,this is not the Right Dharma, so there is no way [to escape from afflictions]. They are like poisonous snakes that are burned and struggle to leave their holes. Like these poisonous snakes, they are suffocated. Although they do not act with their body, inside their minds they are suffocated by the oppressive heat of afflictions.
So, “They struggle to leave their holes.” They still dace many mental struggles.In summary, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must be mindful. In our daily living when we awaken and open our eyes, our body comes in contact with the external environment. Thus, “the four elements, Five Skandhas and Eight Sufferings rage furiously. We must always hold this firmly in our minds. We must earnestly take in “flawless Dharma-essence [as] nourishment for wisdom and understanding.” We should make an effort to absorb the Dharma.
In our daily living, we must be able to discern between and “look, listen, contemplate and practice among the people.” It is among people that we can properly engage in spiritual practice. Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
（法華經•譬喻品第三）
⊙「四大五陰八苦熾盛，無漏法髓慧解資糧，見聞思修在人群中。」
⊙「野干之屬，並已前死，諸大惡獸，競來食噉，臭煙熢㶿，四面充塞。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙「蜈蚣蚰蜒，毒蛇之類，為火所燒，爭走出穴。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙欲界：以蜈蚣喻瞋等。色界：雖不言蜈蚣而云毒蟲。上界不行瞋，無相害故。
⊙煩惱火種三界俱有，現行欲界獨存。行者向色、無色界，厭色麤法，觀無色法，如毒蛇被燒爭走出穴。
【證嚴上人開示】
「四大五陰八苦熾盛，無漏法髓慧解資糧，見聞思修在人群中。」
四大五陰
八苦熾盛
無漏法髓
慧解資糧
見聞思修
在人群中
「四大」：地、水、火、風。天下所有的物質，無不都是這個「四大」合會，才能成就我們所看得到的形形色色。
「五陰」，也就是「五蘊」：色、受、想、行、識。這在我們的日常生活中也沒有離開。
從我們又生老病死，人生的大事，這輩子我們已經一直集啊集，集了很多善、惡業。或者是有了因緣，培養我們的心態慢慢去除煩惱，回歸了菩提覺道，對人生道理看得清楚，能瞭解，已經減除了很多的煩惱，也消除了過去生帶來的因緣。
對人寬一寸、退一步，所以，過去生中所結的緣，這輩子有寬、有讓，所以因緣我們能夠減少惡緣。我們寬心對人，應該也是增長了福緣，減惡增福。這可能也是我們這輩子，來人間很有幸，有好緣聞佛法。但是，多數的人沒有聽到佛法，就是隨著過去帶來的業力種子，在人與人之間，不知又製造多少的惡業，彼此之間的惡緣，那就將這些緣，因緣種子落入了業識，就是再帶過去未來生。未來生就是我們這輩子所帶去的，所以不離開了這個「八苦」。
這輩子有這個「八苦」——生、老、病、死，就四苦了；求不得、怨憎會、愛別離，也是苦；再者「五陰熾盛」，會合起來到業識，這輩子捨不開，那個習氣還是落入意識裡面。過去這輩子，也是這樣帶來的業，也是這樣隨著那個境界，受依報正報。人生就是這樣，這樣在「四大五陰八苦」之中。唉呀，苦不堪啊！
再來，「無漏法髓慧解資糧」。我們若能夠透徹瞭解，人生就是這樣在循環，在「四大五陰」，人生的過程，不離開「八苦熾盛」，都不離開這些，又再增加不斷的造業，起心動念。我們已經知道了，知道之後，開始我們要決心，要發心。發心要修行，要聽法，聽法入心，我們要好好聞思修。
善的方向，我們應該如何受持；惡的方向，我們要怎麼樣預防？所以我們必定要戒、定、慧。聽到不能做的事情，一點點都不能起心動念。將法真的是入心，入了那就不要再讓它漏掉了，因為法就是成長我們的慧命，所以「無漏法髓」。
「漏」，大家都知道，叫做煩惱；我們若有煩惱，有煩惱叫做「有漏」。因為煩惱，我們就沒有專心在聽法，我們法聽進去，也沒有將它法放在心裡，所以就是「漏」，漏掉了。因為他有煩惱，因為他法沒入他的心，入心放不住，所以就漏掉。
我們現在要聞法。看我們現在的社區全省，同在這個時候，聽法的人也很多。大家都是三四點就要起床了，天暗暗的，不論是颳大風、下大雨，冬天冷颼颼，同樣就是這樣一早就要出來，這樣來聽法。在這個時間聽了之後，是不是法有放在心裡呢？不過，我也很相信，既然願意這麼早就出門，精進不間斷，相信這群菩薩聞法應該是無漏，而且法應該在心裡。
所以法在心裡，叫做法髓，所以我們能這樣，就「慧解資糧」。這個法髓入心，增長我們的慧命，這個慧命，讓我們能夠瞭解天下事，我們能夠和宇宙虛空完全接合，所以我們既瞭解，我們就能夠解除我們的欲，欲心，所以我們欲心，就不會受到外面的境界、種種的物質將我們誘引。
而我們能夠與大乾坤會合，我們的心開闊了，就不會受煩惱無明將我們障礙，所以我們「慧解」。對物質，我們透徹瞭解，對天地萬物一切的法，無不都包容在我們的心裡，所以「慧解」。這個慧解的資糧是什麼呢？就是法。所以法一定要入心。
所以，我們要「見聞思修」，因為聞、思、修。我們日常的生活中，與這個「四大五陰」，我們身體接觸到外面，一切一切的境界，現在我在說話，你們的耳根來接我的聲音，能夠解，入你們的心裡，所以這就是要有「見」。見，有「見」，再有「聞」，有真正看到為證，真正是在這個時候，師父在說的話，那個聲音聽進去了。
法聽進去，要好好用心接受，在「見聞思修在人群中」。這樣我們彼此之間更加重視法，法才能夠，在人與人之間，顯示出佛法對人間的效用，所以我們要用心。
前面的(經)文這樣說，「野干之屬，並已前死，諸大惡獸，競來食噉，臭煙熢㶿，四面充塞。」
野干之屬
並已前死
諸大惡獸
競來食噉
臭煙熢㶿
四面充塞
《法華經譬喻品第三》
「野干」，大家知道了，狐狸類的這一類，牠有小聰明，但是將他譬喻作要修行的人，知道要修行，知道人間的疾苦、這個欲所以造成了種種苦，為了要脫離，所以要修行。
在印度外道教，有種種修行方法的偏差，雖然脫離了這個六欲，卻是他偏求，「色」與「無色」，但是他雖然在那個地方，卻也是煩惱未除，還是私己的心。為自己的出離，私己的心，又所修的法就是偏差，所傳的法也就是偏差。
所以「並已前死」，就是說這些欲界他能夠遠離，卻是色界和無色界，真實正確的道理，他偏了，所以叫做「前」。「前」就是那個欲界，完全要去除欲界，卻是色界、無色界的道理，還不透徹。他心外求法，所以「諸大惡獸」，再貪求的更多。
所以「臭煙熢㶿，四面充塞」。同樣在三界內，這種壓迫，八苦，還是不離開三界，還是同樣「四大八苦」逼迫，色界、無色界，還是不離開，因為沒有在正法之中。
再接下來(經文)就說，「蜈蚣蚰蜒，毒蛇之類，為火所燒，爭走出穴。」
蜈蚣蚰蜒
毒蛇之類
為火所燒
爭走出穴
《法華經譬喻品第三》
那就是「蜈蚣蚰蜓」，「毒蛇之類」，什麼是叫做蜈蚣？就是蜈蚣，蜈蚣就是節肢動物，多足，牠那個身體一節一節，一節一節像我們的手，手指頭有好幾節，手指一節一節，所以它才能彎，我們的脊椎也是一樣，也是一節一節，所以我們要彎就很方便。
蜈蚣牠是「節」，一節一節很多，「全身多體節」，每一節都有一對腳。蜈蚣類最小的是一公分，十三對的腳，一對兩隻，所以十三對，那就是二十六隻腳。更大隻的，牠能大到三十公分，牠有一百七十七對腳，那就是三百多隻腳。牠所住的地方，就是在朽木洞裡面，要不然就是在石頭縫，這就是牠住的地方。
所以說，動物很苦，生活不是在石頭縫，要不然就是朽木之中，已經腐爛的木材裡面，牠最前面那對，那就是有毒液，所以蜈蚣有毒，這個毒液，就是要預防有人來時，牠就會射出那個毒液，這就是保護牠身體的武器。最後面那兩隻腳是特別長，就是因為牠的這兩隻腳，要有力推，往前跑才會快。
蜈蚣：
第一對有毒腳
可射出毒液當武器
最後一對腳特長
所以，這種動物，有這麼奧妙的身態，所以我們真的佩服天地萬物，這種「四生」，眾生的生命體，牠們生活的形態。所以蚰蜒和蜈蚣，是差不多同種類，不過牠比較不一樣，牠的腳更細，牠的腳更長，牠有十五對的腳，那就是三十隻腳。但是，這種蟲類，牠就是去捕捉害蟲，所以牠對農作物是有利益。
蚰蜒：
與蜈蚣類同
腳細長共十五對
捕食害蟲有益農事
所以說，天地奧妙就在這裡。在五穀雜糧，雖然說稻穀怕蟲害，但是那田裡也有一些生物，在保護這個稻作，或者是雜糧有一些蟲、鳥，這就是天地之間互相。
當初釋迦牟尼佛在遊四城門時，看到鄉村這種耕農，就是弱肉強食，活生生的東西這樣被鳥啄下去，從中間啄下去，頭尾還在掙扎，這樣活活吞下去。像這樣的境界，看到了，他感慨：人類已經有四姓階級了，畜生類也有弱肉強食。所以他體悟人間這種強弱，及四姓不平等，再看到人生的無常，所以才要去，探討人間真正的道理。所以說起來，這種蟲，迪蜓，牠是能夠幫助農作物，不過牠也是吃毒蟲。
所以說，欲界，以蜈蚣來譬喻瞋，剛剛我們說過，最前面那兩隻腳有毒，你若是碰到我，我就是射出毒液來，這種的，他用這樣來譬喻。
色界，雖然已經沒有這個欲界，因為他要棄離這個欲，所以他要修色界，色界就是沒有這個物質的貪取，但是還有煩惱在，他還是心思量的事情，思考的很多，所以這在色界，蜈蚣沒了，沒有那麼多，像牠的腳那麼多的欲，沒有了，但是有毒蟲。毒蟲是什麼？蛇。這種的毒蛇，毒蛇，你看起來牠都沒有腳，不過毒蛇是比蜈蚣還更毒。
欲界
以蜈蚣喻瞋等
色界
雖不言蜈蚣
而云毒蟲
上界不行瞋
無相害故
「上界不行瞋」，但是對欲界，對欲界他無貪，但是在思想中，煩惱沒有去除。所以這就是修行那個過程中，對這種，「蜈蚣蚰蜒，毒蛇之類」等等，來譬喻修行的過程。
「為火所燒，爭走出穴」。那就是煩惱，煩惱火種是三界俱有。
煩惱火種三界俱有
現行欲界獨存
行者向色、無色界
厭色麤法
觀無色法
如毒蛇被燒
爭走出穴
無色界或者是色界，還是煩惱沒有除。因為常常說，三界，我們要將它視為在我們內心，在我們內心的煩惱還未除，這就是火種。「火種三界俱有」，所以「現行欲界獨存」，去行動的是「欲界獨存」。我們欲界有物質，所以名、利、地位就是人去爭。所以欲、欲界，單獨是人去行動、去爭取，爭取有對象，爭取有對立等等，這是很明顯，這種欲界煩惱，有色、有物、有人，就有製造破壞等等，這都是在欲界之中。
行，行者，就是修行者，向色界、無色界。他已經是厭這個欲界，有形有色的名、利，這種的麤，非常的麤，這個東西已經全部不要，去除了，所以這個法，「觀無色法」，會「厭色麤法」，棄厭掉有色、有名、有利，這都是麤法，不值得去爭取，所以他不會去爭取。不過「觀無色法」，他用細思觀想無色之法，這還是煩惱。這種細思去觀、去想這個法。其實，不正確的法，四面都是行不通。所以，如毒蛇被火爭燒出穴，像毒蛇在那個地方還是很悶燒，因為牠沒有用身體去行動，不過那個內心，被煩惱懊熱的火在悶燒，所以叫做「爭走出穴」，爭走出穴，所以還是在內心很掙扎。
總而言之，我們學佛真的要用心。日常生活中，我們一早起來，眼睛睜開，我們的身體與境界就開始接觸了，所以「四大五陰八苦熾盛」，我們必定要緊緊牢記。我們要好好，「無漏法髓慧解資糧」，我們要好好吸收，在日常生活中，善惡緣我們要懂得選擇。「見聞思修在人群中」，所以人群中好修行。請大家時時要多用心。
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Transcend Afflictions with Flawless Studies (離煩惱修無漏)
Date:August.28. 2015
“The four elements, the Five Skandhas and the Eight Sufferings rage furiously. The flawless Dharma-essence is the nourishment for wisdom and understanding. We must look, listen, contemplate and practice among the people.”
The four elements are earth, water, fire and air. Every material thing in this world arises from the convergence of these four elements; this is how all the various things we see come into being. The Five Skandhas, also known as the Five Aggregates, are form, feeling, perception, action, consciousness. Our daily living is inseparable from them. As we go through birth, aging, illness and death, the major stages of our lives, in this lifetime we have already accumulated a lot of both good and bad karma. Perhaps we have the karmic conditions to train our minds to gradually eliminate afflictions and return to the Bodhi-path of awakening.
By clearly understanding the principles of life, we can already eliminate many afflictions and exhaust the karma we brought from our past lives. With others, we can take a step back and be a little more accommodating. If we formed [negative] connections with people in a previous life, by accommodating them and giving way in this life, we have the causes and conditions that allow us to reduce the balance of our negative affinities.
By being broad-minded in our treatment of others, we can develop more positive karmic conditions. By reducing negative [karma], good karma grows. This may be because we came into this life with the good fortune and good karmic conditions to be able to hear the Buddha-Dharma. However, the majority of people have not heard the Buddha-Dharma, so they follow the seeds of karma that they brought from the past, and as they interact with other people, there is no telling how much more negative karma and mutual negative affinities they will create. These karmic connections, these karmic seeds, will be planted in our karmic consciousness, and we will bring them into our future lives.
Our future lives will be based on the karma we bring from this one. Thus life is inseparable from the Eight Sufferings. In this lifetime, we experience the Eight Sufferings. Birth, aging, illness and death are four of these sufferings. Not getting what we want, meeting those we hate and parting with those we love are also sufferings. Then, the raging Five Skandhas come together to enter our karmic consciousness. If we cannot escape them in this lifetime, our habitual tendencies will continue to remain in our mind-consciousness. In the past and in this lifetime, we have also brought karma with us; we followed [enticing] conditions to come and face our direct and circumstantial retributions.
This is the way life works; we are amidst “the four elements, Five Skandhas and Eight Sufferings.” Oh, how unbearable these sufferings are!
Next, “The flawless Dharma-essence is the nourishment for wisdom and understanding.” We can thoroughly understand that life moves in cycles affected by the workings of the four elements and the Five Skandhas. The courses of our live are inseparable from “the Eight Sufferings raging furiously”; these are inseparable, plus we incessantly create more karma and give rise to discursive thoughts.
We already know these things, and since we do, we must be resolute in our aspirations. We must aspire to engage in spiritual practice, to listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. We must earnestly listen, contemplate and practice. How we can continue in a wholesome direction and avoid going down an unwholesome direction?We must cultivate precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
When we hear about things we should not do, we cannot feel the slightest temptation to do them.We must truly take the Dharma to heart.
Once it is in our hearts, we must not allow it to ever leak away again, for the Dharma nurtures our wisdom-life.This is what the “flawless Dharma-essence” does “Leaks,” or flaws, as everyone knows, are afflictions.
If we have afflictions, we have Leaks.Because we have afflictions, we cannot concentrate on listening to the Dharma, and even if we have heard the Dharma, we do not retain it in our minds.This means we have Leaks; the Dharma is leaking out.Because we have afflictions, we will be unable to take the dharma to heart.Even if we can, it will leak out.
Right now, we must listen to the Dharma.
We see in communities all over Taiwan, at this very moment, that many people are listening to the teachings.Everyone gets out of bed at 3 or 4am, when it is still dark outside.No matter if it is very windy or raining hard, or if there is a wintry chill, they still leave their house early in the morning to listen to the Dharma.After listening to the teachings in the morning, do they keep the Dharma in mind?
I really believe that since everyone is willing to get up so early to continue being diligent, this group of Bodhisattvas can listen to the Dharma without it leaking away.Moreover, the Dharma will remain in their minds.
When we have taken the Dharma to heart, it is the Dharma-essence.When this happens we have “nourishment for wisdom and understanding”.When the Dharma-essence is in our mind, we can develop our wisdom-life.
Our wisdom-life can help us understand all worldly matters, and we will be able to become omen with the entire universe.Since we understand this, we will be able to eliminate our desires.
Without a desirous mind, material objects external states will be unable to entice us.
Our minds can even become one with the macrocosm of the world and thus become open and spacious.Then we will no longer be hindered by afflictions and ignorance.We will have “wisdom and understanding”.
When we thoroughly understand material things, the workings of all things in the world will be encompassed within our minds.So, we will have “wisdom and understanding”.
What nourishes our wisdom and understanding?The Dharma.Therefore, we must take the Dharma to heart.
“We must look, listen, contemplate and practice.”By listening, contemplating and practicing, we see how our daily living is related to “the four elements and the Five Skandhas”.
Our body connects with all kinds of sense objects in our external environment.Right now, as I am speaking, your ears are the sense organs that take in the sound of my voice.
Once you understand, you will take the Dharma to heart.
First, you must look and experience.Once you have looked, you must listen.When you can see and verify for yourself, that is truly the time when you can take in the things that I am saying.When we listen to the Dharma, we must earnestly accept it in order to “look, listen, contemplate and practice among people.”
In this way, as we interact with each other, we will place more importance on the Dharma.Only then can our interactions with each other reveal how the Dharma can improve this world.
Therefore, we must be mindful.
This earlier sutra passage states, “The jackal and his ilk had already died. All the large vicious beasts were contending to eat them. The stinking smoke permeated all four directions.”
Everyone knows the jackal.They are similar to foxes.The jackal is clever and is used as an analogy for people who know they should engage in spiritual practice.They know that, in this world, pain and suffering are caused by desires and that, to transcend this, they must engage in spiritual practice.
In India, there were religious teachings that taught improper spiritual practices.Though people who followed them could transcend the six desires, they were biased toward seeking the form and formless realms.Even if they achieved that state, they had not completely eliminated afflictions because they were still selfishly pursuing liberation for themselves only.
So, the teachings they practiced were deviant, as were the teachings that they pass on.
So, “The [jackals] have already died” means that they have already put the desire realm far behind them, but in the form and formless realms they have deviated from the true principles. This is why the word “already” is used.
“Already” is a reference to the desire realm. They have completely transcended the desire realm, but regarding the form and formless realms, they have not yet penetrated their principles, so they seek the Dharma outside of themselves. “All the large vicious beasts” are our many cravings, and because of them, “The stinking smoke permeates all four directions”. While we are still within the Three Realms, we are pressed by the Eight Sufferings. We still face the oppression of the four elements and Eight Sufferings. We are still unable to leave the form and formless realms because we are not abiding in the Right Dharma.
The next sutra passage states, “Centipedes and house centipedes and varieties of poisonous snakes were burned by the fire and struggled to get out of their holes”.
This is about “centipedes and house centipedes and varieties of poisonous snakes”. What are centipedes? They are many-legged creatures. Centipedes are arthropods, animals with many legs. Their body is made up of segment after segment. Take our hands for example; our fingers have many segments. It is because they have all these segments that they can bend. Our spine works the same way; it is made up of many segments so it is easy for us to bend over.
Centipedes are segmented, with many, many individual segments. “Their entire body is segmented”, and each segment has a set of legs. The smallest centipede is 1 cm long and has 13 pairs of legs. There are two legs in each pair, so 13 pairs means he has 26 legs. The bigger ones can grow up to 30 cm. A 30 cm centipede has 177 pairs of legs. That is more than 300 legs.
The kinds of places they live in are holes in rotten wood, or in the seams of rocks. These are the kinds of places they live in. so, it is said that animals live in suffering. They may have to live in the seams of rocks or inside wood that is already rotten.
Their first pair of legs contains venom. Thus, centipedes are poisonous. They use their venom as a defense by shooting it against attackers. This is a weapon they use to defend themselves.
Their last pair of legs are especially long so that they have the power to propel themselves and run forward very quickly. Since animals like these are constructed in such incredible ways, we must respect all the world’s creatures all the four kinds of beings, all of these lifeforms and the ways they live.
The house centipede and the centipede are almost the same, but differ in that the legs of house centipedes are thinner and longer. They have 15 pairs of legs, which means they have 30 legs total. Unlike normal centipedes, house centipedes catch harmful insects, so they are beneficial to agriculture.
The wondrousness of the world lies in this. When it comes to our crops, we are afraid of harmful insect infestations, but there are creatures in the fields that protect the crops. Around the crops there are birds and insects that counter one another.
When Sakyamuni Buddha went to His travels, He observed the fields in the countryside and saw how the strong preyed on the weak. He saw how the birds pecked at live worms. They will stab them in the middle, and while the worms continued to struggle, the herons wolfed them down. When He saw this scene, He lamented, “Humans [discriminate between] the four castes; among animals, the strong also prey upon the weak”. He had experienced the relationship between the strong and the weak and the inequality between the four castes and further saw the impermanence of life.
Thus, he wanted to investigate the truths of life. So, as we said, these kinds of insects, these house centipedes, are helpful to the crops because they eat harmful insects.
The centipede is an analogy for anger in the desire realm. As I was just saying, their first pair of legs contains venom. If you touch them, they will shoot out that venom. This is why they are used as an analogy. The form realm is free of desires. To distance themselves from desire, spiritual practitioners try to reach the form realm. In that state, they do not greedily pursue material things; however, they still have afflictions and are still thinking about many things. When in the state of the form realm, we are not like centipedes. We do not have so many desires, like all the legs on a centipede.
But there are poisonous creatures in this state. What kind of poisonous creatures? Snakes. We can be like poisonous snakes. See, there are no legs on a snake, but they are more poisonous than centipedes.
In the desire realm, the centipede is an analogy for anger. The form realm is free of desires; though there are no reference to centipedes, it speaks of poisonous insects. There is no anger in the upper realms, and no intent towards mutual harm.
“There is no anger in the upper realms.” Regarding the desire realm, they have no greed, but these afflictions still have not been eliminated from their thinking. This describes the process of spiritual practice. These “centipedes and house centipedes and varieties of poisonous snake” are all analogies for the process of spiritual cultivation.
“Burned in the fire, they struggled to leave their holes.” This refers to afflictions.
All Three Realms have the fires of afflictions, but we take action only in the desire realm.As they move toward the form and formless realms, practitioners renounce the crude phenomena of form and contemplate the formless Dharma. This is the poisonous snakes that were burned and struggled to get of their holes.
In the state of the form and the formless realms, afflictions still have not been eliminated are also states of our mind. If we have not eliminated our afflictions, they will start fires. “All Three Realms have these fires but we take action only in the desire realm.” We only take action “in the desire realm. In the desire realm there are material rewards such as fame profit and status that people fight over.
In the desire realm alone, we take action and fight to obtain things. When fighting we have an opponent. When fighting we get into confrontations, etc. These [actions] are quite obvious. The afflictions of the desire realm, arise forms, objects and people, so we end up causing harm. All of this happens in the desire realm.
Spiritual practitioners move toward the form and formless realms. They have already renounced the desire realm and visible and tangible things fame and profit. These things are coarse and extremely crude. They have no desire for these things any longer.
The Drama they seek is to “contemplate the formless Dharma.” Having “renounced the crude phenomena of form, they have relinquished form, fame and wealth. These are all crude and not worth fighting over, so they do not struggle to obtain them. Instead, they “contemplate the formless Dharma.” They carefully contemplate the formless Dharma, but still they have afflictions. They carefully contemplate this Dharma,but in reality,this is not the Right Dharma, so there is no way [to escape from afflictions]. They are like poisonous snakes that are burned and struggle to leave their holes. Like these poisonous snakes, they are suffocated. Although they do not act with their body, inside their minds they are suffocated by the oppressive heat of afflictions.
So, “They struggle to leave their holes.” They still dace many mental struggles.In summary, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must be mindful. In our daily living when we awaken and open our eyes, our body comes in contact with the external environment. Thus, “the four elements, Five Skandhas and Eight Sufferings rage furiously. We must always hold this firmly in our minds. We must earnestly take in “flawless Dharma-essence [as] nourishment for wisdom and understanding.” We should make an effort to absorb the Dharma.
In our daily living, we must be able to discern between and “look, listen, contemplate and practice among the people.” It is among people that we can properly engage in spiritual practice. Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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