⊙「漏」者，煩惱之異名，漏洩之義。
⊙貪瞋等之煩惱，日夜由眼耳等六根門漏洩流注而不止，謂之漏。
⊙煩惱能令人漏落於三惡道，謂之漏。
⊙無因緣造作曰無為，又無生住異滅四相之造作曰無為，即真理之異名也。
⊙世間一切皆生滅虛妄之相。無生者，謂無虛妄之生。既無有生，云何有滅？不生不滅，乃究竟實相也。
⊙「爾時四部眾，見日月燈佛，現大神通力，其心皆歡喜，各各自相問，是事何因緣？」《法華經序品第一》
⊙大眾各自相問，欲聞法，懇切心志成就也。佛教因緣為宗，以佛聖教自淺至深，說一切法，不出因緣二字。
【證嚴上人開示】
大家在每日生活中，我們的心是否隨著分秒時間在起滅？有生、住、滅嗎？修行，我們就是要修好這一念，顧好我們的心。所以，《無量義經》這段(經)文就說，「無漏無為緣覺處，無生無滅菩薩地」。
無漏無為緣覺處
無生無滅菩薩地
《無量義經德行品第一》
這段(經)文也是同樣要我們大家反觀自照，「無漏」。過去一直向大家說過，煩惱叫做「漏」。我們能到無漏的境界，那就是法入心，沒有讓煩惱將我們困擾。我們若只是聽法，法不在心裡，心，所放的都是煩惱，這叫做「有漏」。下面就解釋，「漏者煩惱之異名」。漏，「漏洩之義」。
「漏」者
煩惱之異名
漏洩之義
漏，就是漏，一直漏、一直洩出去了。一個桶子若乾淨，裝著水就是乾乾淨淨。但是這桶子若是髒的，水裝進去同樣還是水漏掉，卻是髒的東西還是在桶子裡。什麼叫做髒的東西？那就是貪、瞋、癡等煩惱。這些煩惱會使我們的法入心很快就漏掉。
常常告訴大家，人人本具佛性。人人本來與佛的智慧是平等，卻是有了貪、瞋、癡，遮蓋掉我們原來清淨本性智慧。就如清水漏掉，不乾淨、髒污的東西還存著，這叫做煩惱，叫做無明。
無明煩惱從何起？那就是在我們日常生活中，我們所(面)對的境界，六根對六塵的境界，在這個六根、六塵，對境之中，讓我們的心起貪瞋癡等等的煩惱。所以，在佛教的術語來說，叫做「貪瞋等之煩惱，日夜由眼耳鼻舌身等六根門漏洩流注而不止」。
貪瞋等之煩惱
日夜由眼耳等
六根門
漏洩流注而不止
謂之漏
就是我們的智慧不斷這樣一直流出去。意思就是說，清淨的智慧留不住於我們的心裡，那就是因為我們每天的生活，受外面的境界代替了我們的智慧。再一句更清楚地說，由這個「識」代替了「慧」。
這個「識」就是六根識，智慧就是我們清淨無染的法，所以這個六根、六塵會使我們清淨的法髓漏失。所以煩惱不斷漏失掉我們的智慧，所以叫做「漏」。煩惱，對我們人到底有什麼樣傷害呢？傷害很大！「煩惱能令人，漏落於三惡道」。
煩惱能令人
漏落於三惡道
謂之漏
漏就是煩惱，因為煩惱使人再造煩惱，煩惱惡業不斷重疊地造下去，智慧一直沒有現前，所以一片的黑暗，我們所造作的都是不明，就是無明的道，所以容易落入惡道。我們做的事，道理不清楚，真正所做的結仇連禍，這就是造三惡道的根源，所以我們大家要很小心。
那要如何才能離開惡道？就是要修「無漏法」。「無漏法」就是法入心，不要讓它漏失，這叫做修「無漏法」。除了無漏，又是「無為緣覺處」。無漏就是無為，什麼是無為？無為就是說，「無因緣造作曰無為，又無生住異滅四相造作曰無為」，也就是真理的異名。
無因緣造作
曰無為
又無生住異滅
四相之造作
曰無為
即真理之異名也
我們若能無漏，自然就能到無為的境界。無漏，就是智慧要保存著。無為，意思就是我們沒有去造作那些因緣。種種的人生複雜的問題，就是因為有因、有緣，有了因緣構造起來，所以就有很多的煩惱。有了很多的煩惱，自然生、住、異、滅。
人人的心，每天的時間都為了人、事、物這樣在起心動念，那就是生、住、異、滅在我們的心理裡。這就是因為有因、有緣，自然它就會去造作，很多煩惱的業力。所以，我們能無為無為(無著)去造作，自然我們就能心沒有煩惱。
所以，「無漏無為緣覺處」，緣覺，就是獨覺，自己覺悟。緣覺是緣著四季，春夏秋冬的境界，來體悟人生無常，體悟了人生有生、老、病、死等等，這叫做緣覺。所以，對道理明白、清楚，這就是緣覺所修的方法，也是要清除我們的煩惱，所以他能到無漏、無為，這就是「緣覺處」，這是到緣覺的境界。
「無生無滅菩薩地」，我們如何能無生、無滅？我們要知道，世間一切都是在生滅中變遷，世間一切都有生滅，沒有不生滅的，一定有生滅。有早晨就有夜晚，行蘊中不斷在輪轉，歲月不斷交替，所以生、滅，虛妄之相。是真，是假呢？過去的事，拿來看看，已經無影無蹤了，已經過去，全都成為虛妄之相。
所以，「無生者，謂無虛妄之生」。它能常住，常住就是無生。我們說佛性，人人都有佛性，無始以來就有，無法說佛性是何時生，本來就有，所以叫做無生。無生，就是無虛妄之生，這一點都不虛妄。
所以，「既無有生，云何有滅？」所以從一開始，當然佛性也是無滅，不論是在六道裡，天、人、地獄、餓鬼、畜生道，佛性還是在，所以佛經裡就說：「蠢動含靈皆有佛性。」所以我們要能了解，我們的佛性是無生滅的，有生有滅的都是虛妄。所以，不生不滅那就是究竟實相，這就是真理。希望我們能更深入了解，希望佛法入我們的心，入我們心中能永遠常住。
世間一切
皆生滅虛妄之相
無生者
謂無虛妄之生
既無有生
云何有滅
不生不滅
乃究竟實相也
最重要的，我們最擔憂的就是無法常住，我們的覺性就隨著如此流失，被掩蓋掉了。我們若能無生無滅，那就是住於菩薩地。無漏無為是緣覺處，無生無滅那就是菩薩地。
佛陀講六度，教導我們行六度法。六度是付出無所求，這種布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、智慧，它能明明覺覺、清清楚楚，能讓我們了解，了解人生真理實相。所以，我們要貼近佛，就是要從菩薩道開始。
佛陀來人間唯有一項，就是教菩薩法，所以《法華經》中，從開始佛陀要講《法華經》，他在靜坐中，由彌勒與文殊二人來解釋，解釋佛陀來人間，為了要廣度眾生累積的因緣，就引述了日月燈明佛。日月燈明佛，他的道場，同樣佛性光明，發光照耀道場的境界。所以，《法華經》這段(經)文再說：
爾時四部眾
見日月燈佛
現大神通力
其心皆歡喜
各各自相問
是事何因緣
《法華經序品第一》
當時，那個光明所照耀的是四部眾，不論是從初機開始，四諦、十二緣、六度行等等，都是很精進在這四部眾，就是修真正行。日月燈明佛，在定中發光現瑞，那種現大神通力，大家見了很歡喜，同樣心有疑問，也是要趕緊求佛能說法。究竟要說什麼法？所以「各各自相問」。這各各自相問是四部眾，大家在道場裡，大家的心很歡喜，但是不知佛又是要說什麼法？所以，在這個環境中，人人就是有這種急切想要了解。「是事何因緣」，意思就是，大眾互相在問，就是一直希望能趕緊聽到，佛現在準備說什麼法？
大眾各自相問
欲聞法
懇切心志成就也
佛教因緣為宗
以佛聖教自淺至深
說一切法
不出因緣二字
所以，欲聞法，那種懇切的心志成就。這段(經)文的意思，已經成就了大家靜下心來，很懇切要聽日月燈明佛所說法。這是追求法的心很懇切，人人聽法的心情懇切，法才能入心。我們聽法若不尊重、不懇切，就無法真正將法住於我們的內心。所以佛佛相同，我們的釋迦牟尼佛與這段(經)文的日月燈明佛，將要講大法時，形相都差不多，要先讓大家起尊重心，有重法的心，法才能在行中展現。
所以，「佛教因緣為宗」。佛陀在教化眾生，就是以因緣為宗旨。因為眾生人人都是因緣和合，這個因緣和合，自然就是因為因緣，所以來造成很多的煩惱，眾生就是結業，將這個業都造作不好的業，所以我們常說，眾生共業。各個眾生，不同的煩惱、不同的因緣，不論何種因緣都是漏落煩惱。那個漏，落入煩惱中，所以煩惱中就造作很多的因緣，就是污染的緣，這就是眾生。
佛陀就是為眾生來設教，所以「以佛聖教自淺至深」。佛陀就要來說聖教，聖人的教育，聖人的教育從淺到深，從四諦法、十二因緣，到六波羅蜜，從淺到深說一切法，不出於因緣二字。所以，佛陀所說的法很多很多，再怎麼樣的真理，皆沒有離開因緣二字。
所以，各位菩薩，因緣果報是整個佛法的真理，我們不能抹煞因緣果報，我們要好好奉持佛的聖教，因為一切無不來自於因緣。剛才所說的《無量義經》，也是「無漏無為緣覺處，無生無滅菩薩地」。這個生滅因緣，都是來自於因緣會合。
總之，日常生活中照顧好我們的心，心不要讓煩惱進來，我們的智慧必定要顧守住。智慧就是要無漏，有漏就漏落煩惱，受煩惱牽引就走入三途去。這是《無量義經》所說，同時《法華經》也這樣說，所以我們還是要好好用心，重視日常生活中人與人之間的因緣造作，我們都要多用心。
Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Understand Karma with Flawless Wisdom (無漏智慧了悟因緣)
Date: October. 31, 2013
In our daily living, do our minds arise and cease as time passes? Are thoughts arising, abiding and ceasing? As we engage in spiritual practice, we must practice mindfulness and take good care of our hearts.
So, in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, there is this passage, “Some reach the state of Pratyekabuddhas, free of Leaks of unconditioned. Some attain the Bodhisattva Ground of non-arising and non-ceasing.”
This passage also encourages introspection and self-reflection. We have talked about “free of Leaks” before. As I have said, “free of Leaks,” and Leaks are afflictions. If we can attain a state free of Leaks, then the Dharma has penetrated our minds and afflictions do not trouble us. If we just listen to the Dharma without allowing it to enter our minds, our minds will only contain afflictions. This means we “have Leaks”.
Next, I will explain, “A Leak is another name for affliction. It means to leak out.”
A Leak is a flaw through which [teachings] continue to flow out. If a water bucket is clean, the water it contains is also clean. If we fill a dirty bucket with water, and the water leaks out, the filth still remains. What are these filthy things? They are afflictions such as greed, anger and ignorance. These afflictions will cause the Dharma to leak out when it enters our minds. I often tell everyone that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature and wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. But greed, anger and ignorance has covered our intrinsic pure nature and wisdom, the way [Leaks] cause clear water to flow out and leave dirty and filthy things behind. These are afflictions and ignorance.
Where do they come from? From our daily living, from the external conditions we face when our Six Roots come in contact with the Six Dusts. So as our senses encounter these sense objects, afflictions such as greed, anger and delusion arise in our minds.
So in Buddhist terms, “afflictions such as greed and anger [arise] day and night from the Six Gateways, eyes, ears and so on. When [wisdom] flows away continuously without pause, that is called a Leak.”
This is how our wisdom constantly flows away. Thus, pure wisdom cannot remain in our minds because in our daily living, we are constantly influenced by external conditions and [afflicted consciousness] has replaced our wisdom. To put this even more clearly, “consciousness” has replaced “wisdom”. Consciousness refers to the Six Consciousnesses and wisdom is pure and undefiled Dharma.
So, the Six Roots and Six Dusts will cause our pure Dharma-essence to flow out.
Therefore, afflictions will cause our wisdom to continuously leak out, so they are called Leaks.Exactly what kind of damage can afflictions cause us?They can cause great harm.
“Afflictions can cause people to fall into the Three Evil Realms.”
So, Leaks are afflictions.Because afflictions lead people to create more afflictions, our bad karma grows in this cycle and our wisdom cannot manifest.Therefore, [our minds] are filled with darkness.At we have created is a lack of clarity, a path of ignorance, so we easily fall into the evil realms.If we do not act based on principles, we will create a cycle of enmity and disasters.This is the root of the Three Evil Realms.So, we must be careful.
How can we leave the evil realms behind?We must cultivate flawless Dharma, so the Dharma can enter our minds and not leak away.This is called cultivating flawless Dharma.Aside from being free of Leaks, “the state of Pratyekabuddhas is unconditioned”.To be free of Leaks is to be unconditioned.
What is unconditioned?“No causes, conditions, or creation is called unconditioned.”
“It does not go through the four states of arising, abiding, changing and ceasing.”This is another term for true principles.
If we can be free of Leaks, we can naturally attain the unconditioned state and preserve our wisdom.Unconditioned means that we will not create any cause or conditions, which cause various complications in people’s lives.Because of the interconnections of causes and conditions, there are many afflictions.When there are many afflictions, naturally there will be arising, abiding, changing and ceasing.
Every day, our minds give rise to thoughts in response to people, matters and objects.
This arising, abiding, changing and ceasing is the workings of our minds.Because of causes and conditions, our minds will naturally create much karma from afflictions.
So, if we are unconditioned and do not create [Kama], there will be no afflictions in our minds.
So, “the state of Pratyekabuddhas is free of Leaks and is unconditioned”.
Pratyekabuddhas are solitary realizes, those who have awakened themselves.
By coming in contact with the four seasons, spring, summer, winter and fall, they realized the impermanence of life, of the cycle of birth, aging, illness and death.
So, they are also realizes of conditions.
Their method of practice is to clearly understand principles.By also eliminating afflictions, they can attain a state that is free of Leak and is unconditioned.This is “the state of Pratyekabuddhas.”“Some attain the Bodhisattva Ground of non-arising and non-ceasing.”How can we experience no arising and no ceasing?We should know that everything in the world changes and goes through arising and ceasing.All things must arise and cease.
If there is dawn, there will be night.The aggregate of action leads to constant change.
The months continue to take each other’s place, so arising and ceasing are illusory appearances.Are they real or not?When we look at the past, everything is gone without a trace.It is all an illusory appearance. So, “something that is non-arising does not arise from illusions”. Something that is ever-abiding is non-arising. I have said that we have had Buddha-nature since Beginningless Time. It is impossible to say when Buddha- nature arose. It has always existed, so it is called non-arising. Non-arising means there is no arising of illusion. “Since there is no arising, how is there ceasing?”It has been there since the very beginning. Buddha-nature is also non-ceasing. Whether we are in the Six Realms, in the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost, or animal realm, our Buddha-nature always remains. So, Buddhist sutras state, “All living beings have Buddha-nature”. Thus, we need to understand that our Buddha-nature is non-arising and non-ceasing.
Anything that arises and ceases is illusory. So, anything that is non-arising and non-ceasing is the ultimate, absolute truth. This is the truth. I hope our understanding grows deeper, that the Buddha-Dharma will enter our minds and abide within us forever.
All things in the world have illusory appearances of arising and ceasing. Something that is non-arising does not arise from illusions. Since there is no arising, how is there ceasing? Non-arising and non-ceasing are the ultimate, absolute truth.
More importantly, we are worried that if we cannot remain in this state, then our awakened nature will leak away or be covered. If we can be non-arising and non-ceasing, that is abiding in the Bodhisattva Ground. “Some reach the state of Pratyekabuddhas. Some attain the Bodhisattva Ground of non-arising and non-ceasing”.
The Buddha taught us to practice the Six Perfections, a way of giving unconditionally. Giving, [upholding] precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom can bring us clarity and understanding of the ultimate truth of life. So, if we want to be close to the Buddha, we need to start with the Bodhisattva-path. The Buddha's only purpose in coming to the world is to teach the Bodhisattva-path.
So, in the Lotus Sutra, before the Buddha began giving these teachings, He sat in meditation. Maitreya and Manjusri explained the causes and conditions that led the Buddha to come to this world to transform sentient beings by describing Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha and how the radiance of His Buddha-nature illuminated that Dharma-assembly.
So, this passage in the Lotus Sutra states, “Then the fourfold assembly, seeing the Sun-Moon-Lamp Buddha manifest great and powerful spiritual powers, all rejoiced in their hearts. And each inquired of the other. What is the reason for these events?”
At that time, the radiance illuminated the fourfold assembly. Everyone, from beginners to those practicing the Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links, Six Paramitas, etc., all diligently cultivated proper practices among the fourfold assembly Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha sat in Samadhi, radiating light and manifesting auspicious signs. He also manifested spiritual powers. People were very happy to see this and also had questions in their minds. They also made haste to ask for teachings. But what Dharma would He expound? So, they “each inquired of the other”. This happened within the fourfold assembly. They were at the Dharma-assembly and were very joyful. But they did not know what the Buddha would teach.
So, under this circumstance, everyone eagerly wanted to understand “the reason for these events.” This means that everyone was because they were eager to hear what the Buddha was preparing to teach.
The assembly asked each other because they wanted to hear the teachings, because they developed that sincere resolve. The Buddha’s teachings are based on causes and conditions. The Buddha’s noble teachings, from the simple to the simple to the profound, are inseparable from causes and conditions.
So, they wanted to hear the teachings because they developed that sincere resolve. This passage indicates that everyone had quieted down and sincerely wanted to listen to Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha’s teachings. They were sincere in their pursuit of teachings, so the Dharma could enter their minds. If we heart teachings without respect or sincerity, we cannot truly keep the Dharma in our minds.
All Buddhas share the same path, so when Sakyamuni Buddha and Sum-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha prepared to expound great teachings, their manifestations were similar. They both first invoked reverence in the assembly, so people would value the Dharma. Then they would [manifest] the Dharma in actions.
So, “the Buddha’s teachings are based on cause and conditions.” The fundamental teachings of the Buddha begin with causes and conditions. All sentient beings face the convergence of cause and conditions. The convergence occurs naturally create many afflictions. Sentient beings Buddha’s create karma, which leads to the creation of more bed karma. As I often say, sentient beings share collective karma. Every sentient beings has different afflictions and karmic conditions. Regardless of their causes and condition, they are all tainted and have become afflicted, they create many causes and conditions, which are defiled conditions. This is what sentient beings do. The Buddha came to establish sentient beings sentient beings.
So, “the Buddha’s noble teachings” [range] “from the simple to the profound.” He came to give noble teachings, which ranged from the simple to the profound, from the Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, to Six Paramitas. All teachings, from the simple to the profound, are inseparable from causes and conditions. The Buddha had given many teachings, but none of the true principles deviated from causes and conditions.
So fellow Bodhisattvas, the law of karma is the truth that the Buddha-Dharma is based on. We cannot ignore the law of karma; we must uphold and practice His noble teachings because everything originates from causes and conditions. The Sutra of Infinite Meanings also taught that “Some reach the state of Pretykabuddhas, free of Leak and unconditioned. Some attain the Bodhisattva Ground of non-arising and non-ceasing.” Causes and conditions arise and cease as they converge.
In summary, in our daily living, we must take good care of our mind and prevent afflictions from entering it. We must safeguard our wisdom. Our wisdom must be flawless. If there are Leaks, it will flow away and we will be led by our afflictions into the Three Evil Destinies. This was stated in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, as well as the Lotus Sutra. So, we must world very hard and pay attention to the causes and conditions that we create in our daily interactions. We must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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