【靜思妙蓮華】20150901 - 四大由心善惡一念 - 第643集 The Four Elements Depend on Our Minds

20150901《靜思妙蓮華》四大由心善惡一念(第643集)
（法華經•譬喻品第三）

⊙「三界心宅隨心安危，四大由心念寬清純，善惡邪正在一念間，二五利鈍互動交攻。」
⊙「鳩槃荼鬼，隨取而食。又諸餓鬼，頭上火然，飢渴熱惱，周慞悶走。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙「其宅如是，甚可怖畏，毒害火災，眾難非一。」《法華經譬喻品第三》
⊙十使煩惱業火所燒，三界五趣，受無量苦，故曰其宅如是，甚可怖畏。
⊙天災，四大不調，山河變色生命瞬間；一念萌惡，人禍引發災難甚多，難以盡言，故曰眾難非一。

【證嚴上人開示】

「三界心宅隨心安危，四大由心念寬清純，善惡邪正在一念間，二五利鈍互動交攻。」

三界心宅隨心安危
四大由心念寬清純
善惡邪正在一念間
二五利鈍互動交攻

「三界心宅」，我們這個三界，就是在我們的內心。外面的欲誘引我們的欲心，而造作很多的惑與業，就是因為外面的「色」，所以讓我們的心，生了這個欲的念，所以欲界從這樣開始，現在我們所看的，社會、人間這個災禍等等，無不都是那念，無明惑的欲念產生，所以這個欲界紛紛擾擾，無不都是這個心開始。

雖然知道這個欲界等等，真的是困擾，造業禍端，從這樣開始知道了，但是，沒有去造作，卻是內心也是充滿煩惱，這種沒有去做，但是這種的雜念、煩惱，也同樣未除。雖然知道這種外面的色界，惹來了我們很多的煩惱，雖然沒有去造作、行業，卻是這種的雜念、煩惱，「唉！不可以，還是將它去除。」，去除了這些雜念煩惱，好好來修行，但是，也無法將心打開，還是存著那個私己的念頭，獨善其身，不管天下的眾生、事物。這都是在三界的心，我們的心宅。

再另外的「三界」，那就是進我們的心外，這個欲界、色界、無色界；六欲天、十六色界天、四禪天，那全都是與我們現在的生活，沒有會合的。所以希望大家，我們盡量要將「三界」，就是從心地開始。

所以「隨心安危」。我們這念心，我們就要好好調整，調整得知道世間物質，一切就是只資助我們能生活。冬天要讓我們有禦寒的衣物，讓我們蓋得暖的棉被，讓我們能夠遮風蔽雨等等的，房屋等等，衣、食、住讓我們能充足，這物質就是資助我們的生活，外面行得通，做事情就是隨本分去做事情。若這樣，世間的物質，只不過是一種生活工具，我們若這樣就容易知足了。

有知足的人，那才懂得有感恩的心。知足、感恩，這樣的人生還有什麼好求的？所以我們自然，就沒有很多的煩惱，看到這些東西就是用著感恩心，風調雨順，天地五穀豐收，物質很充足，感恩！不要想要占為己有，這樣心不就是心很安嗎？生活、天、地、人很和合，生活得知足、感恩。

如果沒有，世間的東西都是我要的，我愛的人、我討厭的人等等，去分別的心、那種占有的心，名、利、地位、物質通通都要，像這種貪無饜足這種的心態，那就是危了，危險。因為他要占有一切，造作的業就很多了，人與人之間自然就有對立。所以，這個「三界心宅」，是要平安，或者是製造危機，這都在於人的一念心。

所以「四大由心」。最根本的四大：地、水、火、風。再來我們人生的「四大」，是四陰、四蘊，色、受、想、行這四項，也是讓我們的心去造作。身體的「四大」，就是「色」，在我們的身體，當然，身體以外，所有只要你眼睛看得到的，無不都是四大和合，包括我們人的身體。

所以有了這個身體，生老病死中，像這樣，一輩子就是紛紛擾擾過著一生。一切安危都是從我們的心，心若是複雜，那就是危；心若貪念，永遠都不安、不安定。心若安定，其實，去除了貪念，他就富有了，有餘還能夠幫助人。

像賴索托，它是在南非(共和國)中間的，一個小國，這個國家的人口多數都是貧困，所以我們慈濟長久的時間，在賴索托發放米與玉米粉。

大家都知道，這是臺灣來的白米，愛心米，所以這些人民很感恩，我們一直在推動，「八分飽，二分助人好」，所以他們知道這個訊息，回去開始他們也這樣在推動。本來就很貧困了，卻是他們也要推動，他們沒錢能幫助人，他們寧願少吃一口、二口，這樣來幫助人，所以他們開始總共有八個村，節省下來的玉米，也就是「番麥」還有高粱，他們要捐一千公斤，去幫助更加需要的人。同時，他們這八個村的人，匯集三十元美金，因為收成的是玉米，所以他們這樣一撮一撮，將它匯合起來的東西，但是要經過研磨，研磨就要錢，要將玉米變成了玉米粉、或者是高粱粉，必定要經過這樣，所以他們用三十元美金，貼(補)慈濟去研磨成玉米粉，去發放給那些更加需要的人。

聽到這個訊息，真的是令人很感動！在貧困中，又願意去付出。你們想，這不就是「心寬清純」？心地很寬，沒有貪，而且還在貧中，要再去做幫助人的人。他們用心接受法，因為他們都有在聽，師父常常在說話，要造福人群；因緣果報，這輩子的貧困是過去生中沒造福緣。他們知道了，所以安分守己，用清淨的心，少吃一口、二口，這樣去幫助人。

雖然生活很貧，卻是心很寬、念很純。因為他念純，能夠接受佛法入心；心很寬，所以願意付出，一點一點累積，實在很可愛。這群心中富有，富心靈的財富，真的是令人敬愛。其實，貧困人幫助貧困人，這很可貴。所以說，沒有人說，我是無法幫助人的，人人都有辦法能去幫助人。

所以我們的「四大」（色蘊），我們的感受（受蘊），除了身體以外，幫助人的感覺很好。這種的思想（想蘊），這樣的行動（行蘊），這個四蘊、四陰，我們都能化為善，化為富有，很充足能夠人與人之間造福。所以「四大由心念寬清純」。

「善惡邪正在一念間」。是善或者是惡呢？我們要行善是這麼簡單，要造惡也是在一念間。所以，我們平時要好好將心，心念顧好，心念若正，那就是造福人群；心念若偏邪，就擾亂人間社會，這全都是在「二五利鈍互動交攻」。我們若是一念惡，貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑等，在我們的身上會造作，偏差、脫線了，若這樣，我們一路一個方向偏，一路偏，就偏之毫釐，失在於千里的過失。

所以，我們要好好用心，心念與身行是兩項配合起來。這「五鈍(使)」、「五利(使)」，這東西這樣配合起來，你要行善或是要造惡？將這個「十使」，「前五」、「後五」，這樣轉一念心，無不都是善，無不都是福，無不都是修行清淨的念頭。總而言之，還是一念心，所以說「三界心宅隨心安危」。

前面我們說，「鳩槃荼鬼，隨取而食。又諸餓鬼，頭上火然，飢渴熱惱，周慞悶走。」

鳩槃荼鬼
隨取而食
又諸餓鬼
頭上火然
飢渴熱惱
周慞悶走
《法華經譬喻品第三》

這「鳩槃荼」等，這全都是鬼類來無形去無蹤，其實是在形容，我們的一念心若起，閃動很快，好像鬼神這樣一個念，那個行動很快。那念惡一起「隨取而食」，這種鬼神類形容我們的心念，心念充滿了貪、充滿了煩惱，這樣自己很多很多的障礙，在我們的生活中，自障礙，所以自受苦難，要用心。

接下來要說，「其宅如是，甚可怖畏，毒害火災，眾難非一。」

其宅如是
甚可怖畏
毒害火災
眾難非一
《法華經譬喻品第三》


這「宅」，那就是三界，三界之內像火宅一樣。我們所生活的空間，看，大乾坤的災難，小乾坤的人禍，「甚可怖畏」，實在是很怕。其實，外面猛火毒蛇不可怕，最可怕的是人心，所以「甚可怖畏」。

「毒害火災」，這都是毒，內心的毒。前「五鈍(使)」、後「五利(使)」，這個「十使」，驅使著我們的心念，真的是這個心念偏，那就是毒念起，所以「毒害火災，眾難非一」，造很多很多的災難。

所以「其宅如是，甚可怖畏」，表示「十使煩惱業火」，這樣在燒。這三界，三界，我們人的心態，身體所接觸到，一切一切的色、物等等，所接觸到的災難等等，受苦等等，這個「受」，無不都是在我們人。所以，有的時候，志工若出去，那種在膚慰就是這樣說：「事情既發生了，我們就心放寬一些。」「事情過去了，我們要趕緊放下。」不就是一念心嗎？「不要想那麼多，想那麼多很辛苦。」這不就是「想」蘊呢？除了感受的煩惱以外，就是念念不忘，那個「相」常常放在心裡。

所以我們若在安慰人，「不要想那麼多，過去了，放下了。」偏偏就是放不下，擔心，想，那個「相」，一直擺在我們的心上。所以說起來，我們這個煩惱就是這樣，在「想」，那個「相」壓在「心」裡，所以放不下。大家雖然日子這樣在行蘊中，在分秒中不斷過去，卻是那個煩惱還是存在，苦不堪言！

所以這個「十使煩惱火」，這樣一直在燒，這種的心，心狂火燃，真的是不堪、苦不堪，這就是在「三界」。

五趣，五趣大家都知道了，天、人、地獄、餓鬼、畜生這五趣，所以在這個三界內，在五趣中，都是「受無量苦」，苦不堪，所以「其宅如是，甚可怖畏」。

十使煩惱業火所燒
三界五趣
受無量苦
故曰其宅如是
甚可怖畏

再來說，「毒害火災，眾難非一」。在這個大空間上，天，本來就是四季分明，與大地調和，卻是我們人類可怕的，這個「十使」煩惱會合，那種的造作這個業，業力已經動了整個大乾坤，使大乾坤的四大不調。這是眾生共業所造作，所以現在常常說污染，因為污染，空氣已經污染了，所以影響到四大，造成了天災，所以天災，地、水、火、風，現在大地已經是，人類不斷不斷還在迷、惑、在造業，這個業還是繼續繼續在進行中，因為人類不覺醒。何況現在人類的人口，已經這麼的增加，所以空氣也是這樣在污染，所以我們應該要很用心。

謹慎、虔誠，要用心來慎思，非常慎重來思惟，也要很細膩，好好將法體會入心，要不然，「一念萌惡」，人人生起了這個惡念，所以禍，這個「人禍引發災難甚多」。這所有的一切，天災、四大不調、山河變色，生命在瞬間，無不都是在一念間，一念間，我們的心生起了惡念，所以人禍會引發了，這種災難很多很多，所以「難以盡言」，說不完，所以叫做「眾難非一」。唉！很苦是吧！

天災四大不調
山河變色生命瞬間
一念萌惡
人禍引發災難甚多
難以盡言
故曰眾難非一

想到在經典中要如何解釋，解釋了這個大空間大乾坤，小空間小乾坤，大小乾坤現在就是，災難一直生起，苦難，業力一直造。這就是佛陀為一大事來人間，要來調和人心，但是，有多少人，真正接受這個法入心？法水來洗滌煩惱的，到底有多少人呢？所以，我們現在總是要大發心，法引入我們的心自度，同時將我們所了解的法再去度他，希望人人的心，能夠調和下來。多一分善，就少一分惡。人人都有力量，沒有做不到的事情。所以我們必定要時時多用心。


Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Four Elements Depend on Our Minds (四大由心善惡一念)
Date:September.01. 2015

“The mind’s house of the Three Realms will be safe or dangerous depending on our minds. The four elements also depend on our minds, so we keep our minds broad and pure. Good and evil, deviated and proper, are decided in the space of a single thought. The acute and the chronic afflictions interact and combine to attack us.”

“The mind’s house of the Three Realms” means that the Three Realms are also found within our minds. Objects of desire in our surroundings can tempt our minds and cause us to give rise to much delusion and karma. This is because the “forms” in our surroundings cause thoughts of desire to arise in our minds. So, this all begins with the desire realm.
All the disasters that we see today in our society and the world are all produced from the desires that arise from delusions and ignorance. The various troubles of the desire realm all begin with the mind.
So, though we know that the desire realm is indeed troublesome and is the source of many disasters and much karma, and form this have begun to understand, even if we do not act on these desires, our minds are still filled with afflictions. Even if we do not create any more karma, our discursive thoughts and afflictions still have not been eliminated. So, though we know that the form realm causes us to give rise to many afflictions, even if we do not act on them to create karma, we still have discursive thoughts and afflictions. Ah, this is not right; we must eliminate them discursive thoughts and afflictions and earnestly engage in spiritual practice.
Yet, while we are unable to open up our minds, we will still have selfish thoughts. We only care about benefiting ourselves and disregard other beings, matters and objects. This all takes place in the Three Realms in our minds; in our minds’ house. The Three Realms can also exist outside our minds. The desire, form and formless realms are the Six Heavens of Desire, the Sixteen Heavens of the Form Realm and the Four Dhyana Heavens. These are not connected at all with our current [way of] living. So, I hope everybody, when trying to [understand] the Three Realms, will begin with the mind.
So, [the minds’ house is “safe or dangerous depending on our minds”]. We should earnestly adjust our minds so that we understand that we only need to possess material things in order to help sustain our lives. In the winter, we have clothes to protect us from the cold, cotton quilts to keep us warm, shelter that protects us from the wind and rain and so on. All we need is clothing, food and a dwelling. These material things can support our living. For things to go smoothly for us, we must do the things that fulfill our fundamental duties. If we can do that, we will treat material things in this world simply as tools for living.
If we feel this way, we will easily feel content. Only people who are content will feel grateful. If we are content and grateful, what more would we want in life?
Then naturally, we will not have many afflictions. When we see material things, we will simply feel a sense of gratitude. With favorable weather comes an abundant harvest. When we see this abundance we are grateful; we will not try to take everything for ourselves. Then won’t our hearts be at peace?
When we live in harmony with the world and with other people, we will feel content and grateful. If we do not, [we think,] “I want everything in the world.” Saying, “I love this person, I dislike that person” and so on, we make distinctions and feel possessive.
We desire to have everything,fame,wealth,
status and material things. With this mindset of insatiable greed, we are in a very dangerous state, beacause in order to possess everything, we will create a great deal of karma and enter into confronation with others.
So, whether " the mind's house of the Three Realm" will be peaceful or hazardous all depends on our minds. "
The four elements also depend on our minds " The most basic four elements of the world are earth, wather, fire and air. In addition, the four elements of life are also the four Skandhas, the four aggregates from, feeling, perception and action. These are the worlkings of the mind. The four elements of the body refer to the physical composition of the body, which is form. In addition to our bodies, everything that we can see with our eyes is created by the union of the four elements. The [ goes beyond just ] the human body. Beacause of this body we experience birth, aging, illness and death, and this will trouble us constantly throughout our entire life.
Whether we are safe or in daner depends on our minds. If our minds are too complicated, we are in danger. If we are greedy, we will never be at peace. If our minds are peaceful and stable, once we have eliminated our thoughts of greed we will feel wealthy and think we have more than enough to help others.
For instance, Lesotho is a nation in the middle of Soth Africa. The majority of Lesotho's population is poor. Therefore, Tzu Chi volunteers have distributed rice and corn flour in Lesotho for a long time. Everybody there knows that this rice comes from the love of people in Taiwan. So, the people there are very grateful.
[ Tzu Chi] has been promoting a campaingn to, " Eat till you are 80 percent full and use the other 20 percent to help others ". Once the people in Lesotho learned about this, they also began to promote this practice. They were very poor to begin with, but they still wanted to support this campaign. They could not give money help other people put they were willing to eat a little less so that they had something to give.
In the beginning, eight villages participated. With the corn and sorghum they were able to save, they could donate 1000 kg of these to help the people in greater need. At the same time, these same people also collectes US$30. What they havested was corn, so it was collected and stored in bundles. But it had to be griund before being distributed and this would cost money. To convert corn into corn flour and sorgmum into sorghum flour,the crops must go through this addtional process.
Therefore, they saved up US$30 to gring the crops into flour on behalf of Tzu Chi to be distributed to the people in greater need.
After hearing this story, I was very touched. Though poor, they willingly give to others. See, aren't their minds broad and pure?
Their minds are broad and free from greed. Futhermore, living in povety, they still aspired to help others. They had mindfully taken the Dharma to heart beacause they have constantly heard me say, " We need to benefit others [ beacause of ] the karmic law of cause and effect . People experence proverty in this lifetime beacause they did not create positive karmic conditions in their past lives". Because they understand this, they were content with what they had.With pure minds, they ate a little bit less so they could help others.
Even though their lives were hard, their minds were broad and pure. Beause their thoughts were pure, they could take the Buddha-Dharma to heart. Because their minds were broad, they were willing to help others. The way they saved up small bits of their crops is truly ending. These people are truly rich in their hearts ; they are rich in spiritual wealth. They have earned people's respect and love.
Indeed, poor people who help the poor are very precious. Therefore, we say that no one can say they are unable to help others. Everybody has the ability to help others. When we speak of the Four Aggregatsd.
In addition to our physical form, “feelings” can be the good feeling we get from helping others. With this kind of thinking and action, the workings of the Four Aggregates, the Four Skandhas, can be transformed to develop goodness and abundance so that we can benefit other people.
“The four elements also depend on our minds, so we keep our minds broad and pure. Good and evil, deviated and proper, are decided in the space of a single thought”. Are we going to good or evil? If we want to do good deeds, it is very easy. If we want to commit evils, it can also happen in the space of a thought. So, at all times we need to earnestly take good care of our minds. If our thoughts are proper, we will benefit others. If our thoughts deviate, we will disrupt society. This happens when “The acute and the chronic afflictions interact and combine to attack us”.
If we have a single negative thought of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance or doubt, this will lead our body to do things that will derail [our practice]. Once we stray from our course, this slight deviation from our course will lead us thousands of miles astray. This is why we need to be careful and mindful.
Our thoughts and actions work in concert. The five chronic and five acute afflictions also work in conjunction with each other. Do we want to do good deeds or commit evils? If we turn away from the Ten Afflictions, the five [acute] and the five [chronic], if we turn away from them, everything we do will be good and create blessings. Every thought will help us to cultivate purity.
In summary, it all depends on our minds. “The mind’s house of the Three Realm will be safe or dangerous depending on our minds”.

Previously, we mentioned, “The kumbhanda demon was chasing and grabbing them to eat. There were many hungry ghosts with the tops of their heads aflame. They were afflicted by hunger, thirst and heat and ran about in terror and distress”.

“The kumbhanda demon” and the like are ghosts that come and go without a trace. This actually describes how our thoughts arise in a flash; like ghosts and spirits, they move very quickly. If an evil thought arises, we will be “chasing and grabbing [things] to eat. Ghosts and spirits are metaphors for our thoughts. Our minds are filled with greed and afflictions. As a result, we have created many obstacles in our lives. Because we obstruct ourselves, we cause ourselves to face suffering and hardships. So, we must be mindful.

The following sutra passage states, “This house is like this; it is deeply terrifying. In this toxic and harmful burning fire, the difficulties are many, not one”.

The “house” is the Three Realms. The Three Realms are like a burning house. This is the space we live in; as you see, the macrocosm of the world suffer disasters while the microcosms of individuals face tragedies. This is “deeply terrifying”; it is indeed scary.
Actually, the fierce fire and poisonous snakes in our surroundings are not terrifying. What is most terrifying is the human mind. So, “It is deeply terrifying. In this toxic and harmful burning fire” refers to the poison inside our minds. The five chronic afflictions and the five acute afflictions constitute the Ten Afflictions that drive our thoughts. Indeed, once our minds deviate, [the Five] Poisons will arise.
“In this toxic and harmful burning fire, the difficulties are many, not one”. We will cause many disasters. “This house is like this, it is deeply terrifying”. This means we are being “burned by the karma of the Ten Afflictions”. It is burning those in the Three Realms. The Three Realms are also states of mind. With everything our body comes in contact with, all the many kinds of forms and objects, all the disasters we encounter, the suffering we experience and so on, all of these “feelings” are found within us. So, when our volunteers go among the suffering to offer them comfort they say, “Since this thing has already happened, we just need to accept it, or “Since this thing is already in the past, just let it go”. Doesn’t [our reaction] depend on our minds? If we think too much about what happened, our thoughts will be very painful. Isn’t this the workings of the aggregate of “perception”? After experiencing feelings of affliction, we recall these feelings with every thought; we constantly keep that “appearance” in our minds. So, when we comfort people, we tell them not to keep thinking about the past. It has passed, so let it go.
Unfortunately, people cannot let it go. We worry and keep thinking about it, holding onto that “appearance” in our minds.
In this way, afflictions remain in our thinking, when we burden our minds with appearances, when we burden our minds with appearances, we cannot let go of them. Though we experience infinitesimal changes daily even as time passes by continuously, our afflictions still remain, causing unspeakable suffering.
“ The fire of the Ten Afflictions” is constantly burning In this state of mind, a burning fire is raging, causing unbearable suffering. This happens when we are in the Three Realms. The Five Destinies, as everybody knows, are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

In the Three Realms, in the Five Destinies, we face “boundless suffering,” which is unbearable.
“This house is like this, it is deeply terrifying.”

Furthermore, “In this toxic and harmful burning fire, the difficulties are many, not one” Within this vast space, the climate originally consisted of four distinct seasons and was in harmony with the earth. But we humans are terrifying, combined, our Ten Afflictions let us to create karma. The power of this karma has already shaken up the macrocosm of the world, causing an imbalance in the four elements. This resulted from the collective karma created by sentient beings.
These days, we constantly talk about pollution. Because of the pollution, the air is contaminated. This affects the four elements, resulting in natural disasters. There can be natural disasters of earth, water, fire or air. The land has already been impacted by humans who endlessly create karma out of confusion and delusion. We still continue to create karma because we have not yet awakened. Furthermore, the human population is increasing [at a rapid rate]. This also increases the pollution in the air.
Therefore, we should be mindful, vigilant and reverent. We must mindfully. contemplate and very carefully think about the Dharma,so that we can experience it and take it to heart. Otherwise, “sprouting from one evil thought, when people give rise to thoughts of evil, what results is disaster.” “Manmade calamities trigger so many disasters.” With all this, the natural disasters, the imbalance of the four elements, mountains and rivers suddenly change form, and life changes in an instant. This all beings with a single thought. In the space of thought, and these manmade calamities will bring about many disasters. “It would be hard to speak of them all.” Thus it says “The difficulties are many, not one.” Alas, there is so much suffering!

Natural disasters result from the imbalance of the four elements. Mountains and rivers change in form; life changes in an instant Sprouting from one evil thought, manmade calamities trigger so many disasters it would be hard to speak of them all. Thus it says the difficulties are many, not one.

Think about how this is explained in the sutras. There is a vast space, the macrocosm, as well as a small space, the microcosm.Currently in both the macro-and microcosms, disasters are constantly arising, and we continue to crate suffering and karma. Thus the Buddha comes to the world for His one great cause, to bring harmony to people’s minds. But how many people can truly take the Dharma to heart?How many can actually use the Dharma-water to wash away their afflictions?
So, we must form great aspirations and take the Dharma to heart to transform ourselves. As the same time, with the Dharma we understand we can then transform others I hope we can all adjust our minds. The more goodness there is, the less evil there will be. Everybody has this ability. There is nothing that we cannot achieve. So, we must always be mindful.

(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)