Translations

[6] Why Be Mindful Of The Suffering Of Birth And Death? 云何念生死苦?

丙六、念生死苦
C6: Mindfulness [Of The] Suffering [Of] Birth [And] Death

———————-┌ 丁一、地狱苦
丙六、念生死苦 ┤ 丁二、畜生苦
———————-└ 丁三、生死苦

念生死苦
[6] Mindfulness [Of The] Suffering [Of] Birth [And] Death

云何念生死苦?谓我与众生从旷劫来,常在生死,未得解脱,人间天上,此界他方,出没万端,升沈片刻,俄焉而天,俄焉而人,俄焉而地狱、畜生、饿鬼。

Why [be] mindful [of the] suffering [of] birth [and] death? Speaking of myself with sentient beings, from ancient kalpas since, constantly in [the cycle of] birth and death, [we have] yet [to] attain liberation. [In the] human world, heavens above, this world [and] other directions, appearing [and] disappearing [in] ten thousand ways, rising [and] sinking [in] a moment, suddenly there, then [as] heavenly [beings], suddenly there, then [as] human [beings], suddenly there, then [as] hell-beings, animals [or] hungry ghosts.

丁一、地狱苦
D1: Hell-Beings’ Suffering

黑门朝出而暮还,铁窟暂离而又入。

[From the] black gate [at] dawn exiting, yet [at] dusk returning. [From the] iron cave temporarily leaving, yet again entering.

登刀山也,则举体无完肤;攀剑树也,则方寸皆割裂。

Ascending knife mountains too, then [is the] entire body without complete skin. Climbing sword trees too, then [with] every square cùn [i.e. 3.33 cm] cut apart.

热铁不除饥,吞之则肝肠尽烂;洋铜宁疗渴,饮之则骨肉都糜。

[With] hot iron [that does] not eliminate hunger, swallowing it then [with the] liver [and] intestines completely rotted. [With] boiling copper rather [than] quenching thirst, drinking it then [with the] bones [and] flesh all mashed.

利锯解之,则断而复续;巧风吹之,则死已还生。

[With] sharp saws dissecting all, then cut, yet recovering continuously. [With] timely winds blowing all, then dead already, returning [to] life.

猛火城中,忍听叫嗥之惨;煎熬盘里,但闻苦痛之声。

Within [a] city [with] fierce fires, enduring hearing [of the] howls of misery. In pans frying [and] boiling, only hearing [the] cries of suffering [and] pain.

冰冻始凝,则状似青莲蕊结;血肉既裂,则身如红藕华开。

Frozen [and] beginning [to] congeal, then [with] shape resembling blue lotus buds formed. [With] bloody flesh already split [open], then [are] bodies like red lotus flowers blooming.

一夜死生,地下每经万遍;一朝苦痛,人间已过百年。

[Of] one night’s deaths [and] births, [in the] hells below often going through ten thousand times. [Of] one morning’s suffering [and] pain, [in the] human world already passing [a] hundred years.

频烦狱卒疲劳,谁信阎翁教诫?受时知苦,虽悔恨以何追?脱已还忘,其作业也如故。

Again and again, [the] prison guards [of hell become] weary. Who [will] believe old [King] Yama’s teachings [and] admonishments? When receiving [it] knowing suffering, although with regret, how [can this be] in time? Liberated already, still forgetting, that creating [of] karma [is] also like before.

丁二、畜生苦
D2: Animals’ Suffering

鞭驴出血,谁知吾母之悲?牵豕就屠,宁识乃翁之痛?

Whipping [a] donkey [till] bleeding, who knows [the] sorrow of my mother? Dragging [a] pig towards slaughter, how [can] thus [be] recognised [as the] pain of [my] father?

食其子而不知,文王尚尔;啖其亲而未识,凡类皆然。

Eating our own children yet not knowing [so, like] King Wén [we] still [do] thus. Swallowing our relatives yet still not recognising [them], ordinary kinds [of beings] all [do] thus.

当年恩爱,今作冤家;昔日寇仇,今成骨肉。昔为母而今为妇,旧是翁而新作夫。

In those years [with] love, today becoming enemies. [In] former days [as] enemies, today becoming [one’s] flesh and blood. Formerly as mothers, yet today as wives. [In the] past are fathers, yet recently becoming husbands.

宿命知之,则可羞可耻;天眼视之,则可笑可怜。

[If of] past lives, knowing them, then [is this] shameful [and] disgraceful. [If with] heavenly eyes, seeing them, then [is this] laughable [and] pitiable.

丁三、生死苦
D3: Suffering [Of] Birth [And] Death

粪秽丛中,十月包藏难过;脓血道里,一时倒下可怜。

Within clumps [of] excrement [and] filth, [for] ten months concealed [with] difficulties. [From] passages [with] pus [and] blood inside, at once falling down pitifully.

少也何知,东西莫辨;长而有识,贪欲便生。

[When] young, what [is] known, [with the] East [and] West not distinguished? [When] grown up, then having knowledge, greedy desires then arise.

须臾而老病相寻,迅速而无常又至。风火交煎,神识于中溃乱;精血既竭,皮肉自外干枯。无一毛而不被针钻,有一窍而皆从刀割。

[In one] moment then, [with] ageing [and] sickness, one after another, swiftly then, impermanence again arrives. [With] wind [and] fire in turn tormenting, [the] consciousness within [is] collapsed [and] confused. [With] essence [and] blood completely exhausted, [with] skin [and] flesh outside dried [and] withered. Not one hair [is] then not [like] by [a] needle pierced. Having one opening [is] then [like] where all knives cut.

龟之将烹,其脱壳也犹易;神之欲谢,其去体也倍难。

[When a] turtle is going [to be] cooked, that removing [of the] shell [is] still also easy. [When the] consciousness is about [to] leave, that giving up [of the] body [is] also [many] times [more] difficult.

心无常主,类商贾而处处奔驰;身无定形,似房屋而频频迁徙。

[The] mind [is] without [a] permanent host, like [a] merchant then everywhere galloping. [The] body [is] without [a] fixed form, like houses then again and again moved [into].

大千尘点,难穷往返之身;四海波涛,孰计别离之泪?峨峨积骨,过彼崇山;莽莽横尸,多于大地。

[The] great-thousandfold [world’s] dust motes, [are] difficult [to] exhaust [the number of] bodies going [and] returning. [Like the] four seas’ great waves, who [can] calculate [the] tears of separation? High accumulations [of] bones, surpass those tall mountains. Boundless lying corpses [are] more than [enough to cover the] great earth.

向使不闻佛语,此事谁见谁闻?未睹佛经,此理宁知宁觉?

If not having heard [the] Buddha’s words, [of] these matters, who [can] see [them, and] who [can] hear [about them]? Yet [to have] seen [the] Buddha’s sūtras, [of] these principles, how [can we] know [them, and] how [can we] awaken [to them]?

其或依前贪恋,仍旧痴迷,只恐万劫千生,一错百错。

Perhaps following previous greedy attachments, still ignorant [and] confused, only fearing [that in] ten thousand kalpas’ thousand lives, [with] one mistake [leading to a] hundred mistakes.

人身难得而易失,良时易往而难追。

[This] human body [is] difficult [to] attain yet easy [to] lose. Good times [are] easy [to] pass yet difficult [to] pursue.

道路冥冥,别离长久,三途恶报,还自受之,痛不可言,谁当相代?兴言及此,能不寒心!

[The] path [of rebirth is] dim [and] dusky, [with] separations [for a] long [time. Of the] three realms’ evil retributions, [there must] still [be] personal receiving [of] them, [with] pain unspeakable, who should [bear this for] another? [With] words coming to this, [how can] it not [bring] chills [to the] heart?

是故宜应断生死流,出爱欲海,自他兼济,彼岸同登,旷劫殊勋,在此一举。

Therefore, [we] should sever [the] river [of] birth [and] death, exit [from the] ocean [of] attachments [and] desires, help both oneself [and] others, [to] together ascend [the] other shore. [From] distant kalpas, [the most] surpassing [of] meritorious deeds, [is] in this one act.

是为发菩提心第六因缘也。

[This] is for giving rise [to the] Bodhi Mind, [the] sixth cause [and] condition.

净土宗十一祖省庵大师
Pure Land Tradition’s 11th Patriarch Great Master Xǐng’ān
《劝发菩提心文》
Essay [On] Exhortation [To] Give Rise [To The] Bodhi Mind

Namo Amituofo : Translation and notes by Shen Shi’an

上章
Previous Section:

念众生恩
[5] Mindfulness Of Sentient Beings’ Kindness
https://purelanders.com/2023/06/09/5-why-be-mindful-of-sentient-beings-kindness

下章
Next Section:

尊重己灵
[7] Respect Of One’s Spiritual-Nature
https://purelanders.com/2023/06/05/7-why-respect-ones-spiritual-nature

全文
Complete Text:

《劝发菩提心文》
Essay On Exhortation To Give Rise To The Bodhi Mind
https://purelanders.com/quan

Please be mindful of your speech, Amituofo!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.