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Global Lamrim II

Lecture No. 0173

Tape: 3B 04:05 ~ 05:42

Date: 2019-11-25 ~ 2019-11-27

Topic: Only the Buddha’s explanation is clear and thorough for the meaning of suffering and happiness

English Lamrim Volume 1, page 34

【All those fortunate ones who are unobscured by the darkness of partisanship,
    Who have the mental capacity to differentiate good and bad,   
    And who wish to make meaningful this good life of leisure         
    Should listen with one-pointed attention.】

Master’s discourse Vol 1 P82-LL4 ~ P83-L6 (2016 NanPuTuo Version: Vol 1 P82-LL5 ~ P83-L6)

If we are to discuss the purpose of the Dharma, without the guidance from virtuous teachers, we would have listed hundreds and thousands different purposes. Among all these purposes we list, we might not be able to find one that is very close to the purpose in the depths of our heart; nor can we find the simplest and the purest purpose. However, Master said if you probe into Dharma carefully and deeply to search for the purpose - Such a statement must have come from someone with experience! Master examined the purpose carefully and deeply such that he came to realize the purpose of Buddha’s teaching is extremely simple and straightforward - it is [the issue of] suffering and happiness – removing suffering and attaining happiness. That’s it!  [00:43]

When Master was explaining the Lamrim, guiding us to listen [to the Lamrim], all of our hazy murky thoughts are easily cleared up, just like a shaft of sunlight streaming into a dim place; you become very clear about what you are studying and what you are thinking about; you will not find yourself in this situation: the more you study, the more confused you are, and the more clueless you become. [01:04]

If the purpose of Dharma is so simple and straightforward ... Master followed by saying, “If we use these two criteria as a yardstick, every single living being in the world is no exception. Everyone is actually bustling around for nothing but this goal of [attaining happiness and eliminating suffering].” What does this statement mean? The true intention of Dharma is also the goal that everyone is bustling around for – for the sake of eliminating suffering and attaining happiness. Master said, it is all for this purpose alone and nothing else. It doesn't matter if they are the rational type, or what they seek, if you reach the true intention behind every engagement, it is still for this purpose [of eliminating suffering and attaining happiness]. And then Master also mentioned [another type of people] – those who are muddleheaded; though they may be emotional, what are they searching for? If they explore further and deeper, what they are after is still for the sake of eliminating suffering and attaining happiness. [01:43] 

Now here comes another question: the purpose of Dharma is to remove suffering and attain happiness, and the goal behind everyone’s busy engagements is for the sake of removing suffering and attaining happiness. However, why is that we have worked very hard bustling around, yet could not achieved this goal? Master said, “Therefore, the reason why people cannot achieve true happiness in the secular world is that they do not understand the true nature of suffering and happiness, nor do they understand their causes.” These statements are very, very startling! He said, “the reason why people cannot achieve true happiness in the secular world is that they do not understand the true nature of suffering and happiness”. These statements involve [how we define] what suffering is and what happiness is; our understanding of its definition is changed as well due to learning of its real nature! There is a distinctive demarcation between what the true nature of reality is, what the falsehood is, and what the approximation is, as the Chinese idiom indicates, “as different as the waters of the Jing river and the Wei river.” [02:42]

So what exactly is the definition of suffering and happiness? Would you consider the blend of suffering and happiness as happiness? Is it happiness if we sometimes feel happy but at other times feel disgruntled? How about the kind of happiness when we are exhilarated to a far extent and then it suddenly comes crashing down, is this happiness? Do we all fancy these sorts of happiness? Are these different kinds of happiness the true nature of happiness [that Buddha had in mind]? What about the true cause of the suffering and happiness? Also, what is the actual reason that we have not reached the ultimate state of eliminating suffering and attaining happiness? Master said, “If we don’t know the true nature of reality, whatever we engage in will be wrong.” However hard we try to obtain happiness and remove suffering, it just won’t work. Why? Because we don’t know the true nature of reality; that in turn leads to the fact that we do not know the cause of it. That’s why whatever we engage in will be wrong. It is all because we don’t know the true nature of reality. [03:34]

Do you still remember what Master said next [in teaching #172]? If you have brought along the transcript of the commentary, please refer to it. What did Master say? Master used “Yet ” as the transitional phrase; yet, who is the only one? “Yet, Buddha is the only one who can elaborate in detail its profound meaning clearly and thoroughly.” Master made a comparison, he said that we don’t understand the true nature of suffering and happiness, thus we can’t thoroughly remove suffering and attain happiness no matter how hard we try. Take the issue of death and rebirth for example. No matter how wholesome your mundane life conditions are, when death arrives, all good things in the mundane world will be ruined. However healthy, good-looking one is, all of these would be desolated by death. How can we eliminate old age and death? Not knowing what to do, we will be left with no choice but to passively endure the tremendous suffering. Because there is no alternative! No hospital sells medicine that can prevent death; there is no such medicine! Nor is there a doctor claiming, “After this treatment, you will be immortal.” There is no such thing. Thus, the ultimate final point of our journey is that we, [along with whatever we have,] will be destroyed by death. This is the kind of suffering pervading the three realms, and no living being can ever escape from such suffering; thus it is very excruciating. [04:56]

So then, do we actually have the solution to this problem? Is it possible for us to understand the true nature of reality? Are there causes for all these sufferings? Why do we have to endure all of these? Suppose that has been the way it is – from the past, to now, and till the future, that’s the way it has always been, and there is no solution to it. Then, whatever we have attained will eventually be gone for good; all the aggregates will end up breaking apart, and happiness will turn into suffering at the end. Because the moment when death arrives, the dissolution of all four elements of our physical form is painful, and our physical form will then turn into ashes just like the dissolution of the four elements. [05:29]

If there was truly no solution to it, then that would be very pathetic! Fortunately, that’s not the way it is, there is a solution! Therefore, Master said, “Yet, Buddha is the only one”. Only Buddha is able to “elaborate in detail its profound meaning clearly and thoroughly”. What is the “profound meaning”? It is the benchmark for suffering and happiness, the true nature of suffering and happiness, as well as the causes of suffering and happiness. Its profound meaning is elaborated – “clearly and thoroughly.” Hence, if we are aspired to truly remove suffering and attain happiness out of the cyclic existence, Buddha is the one we must look for – the great teacher guiding the Path. Because he has the most accurate, most complete understanding of all phenomena in this world. For all that is an object of knowledge, there is nothing Buddha cannot comprehend in his mind stream; the capacity of his mind is as vast as the object of knowledge. He totally realized why there is suffering, and even knew why would one obtain happiness, what happiness is, what suffering is, as well as their causes. Thus, there is no ambiguity in this regard; it has been explained clearly and explicitly before. Master at the very beginning of his commentary on the Prologue, when we are trapped in a bewildering and dreary circumstance, fruitlessly fighting against suffering, unable to attain happiness, it was as if there was a stream of light, enabling us to see the Buddha. [06:45]

This matter [the issue of death] is not something totally incurable no matter what, nor does it mean whatever efforts we exert will remain fruitless. Suffering is not unconditionally endless, it is not something that cannot be cut off, like when we pull out a sword to cut at a water stream, the flow of stream still runs, making us feeling very disappointed and frustrated. It is not like that, suffering can be severed. Suffering can be rid of, happiness is as tangible as something we can obtain with our hands, we do have this capability. Buddha is such a powerful being; once we take refuge in the Buddha, we regard him as the great teacher guiding the path, and we follow his footsteps and learn from him; eventually we will also attain such power. So Master once again presented the meaning of taking refuge right before us, allowing us to contemplate in the midst of our suffering: the purpose of Dharma – eliminating suffering and attaining happiness, can it actually be achieved? Why is that we can’t achieve it? Did Buddha elaborate on it clearly and thoroughly? Is the intention of Buddha’s teaching so simple and straightforward? Is it true that all of our pursuit, all of our struggle, and all of our hard work are just for the sake of eliminating suffering and attaining happiness? We can examine ourselves sincerely. [07:48]

Asking ourselves hundreds or thousands of times, we will come to conclude: actually the intention of whatever I do is nothing but to obtain happiness and remove suffering; and I also want to help those who I care about to remove their suffering and attain happiness. Having this goal totally aligned to the intention of Buddha’s teaching, then it leads to the next question. That is in the next paragraph.  [08:13]

讲次 0173

标题 苦乐的内涵，只有佛说得清楚明白

音档 3B 04:05 ~ 05:42

日期 2019-11-25 ~ 2019-11-27

广论段落 P2-L2 诸有偏执暗未覆……诸具善者专励听

手抄页/行 第1册 P82-LL4 ~ P83-L6　( 2016 南普陀版：第1册 P82-LL5 ~ P83-L6 )

手抄段落 佛法真正的目的是什么......说得清清楚楚、明明白白。

单是讨论一个佛法的目的是什么这件事，如果没有善知识引领我们，我们可能会列出一千个、一万个目的。那么在这所有的目的中，我们可能找不到一个非常切近我们内心的目的，也不能找到一个极为单纯的目的。但是师父说如果你仔细地、深入地、很深入地去探究它的目的的话——那么说这句话的一定是个过来人嘛！他仔细地、很深入地探究过了，所以他知道佛法的目的是极为单纯的——就是苦乐，离开痛苦、得到快乐，离苦得乐，就是这样！ [00:43]

师父在讲《广论》的时候，在带我们听闻的时候，非常容易地把很多雾霾的状态、我们思考的一些阴暗的地方，很快地就去除掉了。真的就像一道阳光照进来，你会非常清晰你在学什么、你在思考什么，不会越学越混乱，越学越不知道在干什么。 [01:04]

那么佛法的目的如果是这么单纯，甚至是单纯极了的话，师父说：“以这两个标准来说，世间没有一个人例外，所有的人他真正忙碌的目的无非为这个。”这句话是在讲什么？佛法的目标就是所有的世间人忙碌的目标——人忙碌就是为了离苦得乐，说：无非是为了这个。不管他是理智的、求什么，就他深入的这个中心去问的话，还是为找这个。然后也提到：感情糊里糊涂的，他虽然糊里糊涂的，可是为什么？如果去探索，还是为了这个。 [01:43]

但是现在问题就出现了：佛法的目的是去掉痛苦、得到快乐，所有人的目标，忙碌啊，都是为了离开痛苦、得到快乐，那为什么我们这么卖力气地奔忙都没有得到呢？师父说：“普通世间所以得不到，因为并不了解苦乐的真正的真相，以及苦乐的原因。”这两句话非常非常地震撼！说：“之所以得不到，是因为并不了解苦乐真正的真相”，这已经涉及到什么是苦、什么是乐，它的定义发生了改变，因为真相嘛！真相和假相、和相似的东西，就像“泾渭分明”，像泾水和渭水一样是很清楚的。 [02:42]

那么苦和乐的定义到底是什么？苦乐参半是不是乐？一会儿苦、一会儿乐，是不是乐？快乐、快乐、快乐到极限的时候就突然掉下来，那是不是乐？那是不是我们要得到的快乐呢？那是不是真正的快乐的真相呢？还有这个苦乐的真相背后的原因，以及之所以没有达到离苦得乐的那个原因是什么？师父说：“那个事情真正的真相都弄不清楚，所以呀怎么弄就怎么错。”怎么费力气想要得到快乐、去掉痛苦都是不行的，因为不了解真相，以及导致那个真相的原因都不了解，所以平常我们是怎么弄怎么错，因为真相弄不清楚。 [03:34]

接着师父讲的那句话还记得吗？如果你们有手抄可以看，是哪几个字啊？师父用了一个“而”，转折了，而只有谁呀？ “只是佛才把那个内涵说得清清楚楚、明明白白。”师父做了对比，说我们不了解苦乐的真相，所以怎么努力就是不能彻底地离开痛苦、得到快乐。譬如生死这件事，无论世间多圆满，最后死亡一来，一切世间的圆满都会被破坏掉；无论多健康、长得多庄严，都会被老死所毁灭。你怎么样去把老死毁灭掉呢？不知道该怎么办，就只能万分痛苦地接受。因为无可奈何，在任何一家医院里，没有卖一个药，说吃了这个药可以不死的，没有这样的药！也没有医生说：“我给你治了之后，你就可以永远不死。”没有这样的东西。所以我们最终极、到了那个顶点，就会被死所摧坏，这个是遍及三界的痛苦，是没有一个众生可以躲开的痛苦，所以它是非常酷烈的。 [04:56]

那么到底我们有没有办法可以解决？这个真相到底可不可以了解？这些痛苦有没有原因？为什么会受这些？如果说从来如此，从过去到现在、到未来完全无法可想，就是永远是这样的，那我们得到的一切永远会失去，聚合的一切永远会散开，乐的最终会都变成苦的，因为死亡四大分散都是苦的，然后我们的身体也会随之变成尘埃，和四大一样就成那样子了。 [05:29]

如果这一切事情无法可想，那真是太悲哀了！可是不是这样的，是有办法的！所以师父说：“而只是佛”，只有佛陀，“才把那个内涵说得清清楚楚。”什么内涵？苦乐的标准，真正的苦乐的真相，以及苦乐的原因。把这个内涵说得——那八个字——“清清楚楚、明明白白。”所以要想在生死轮回中真正地离开痛苦、得到快乐的话，一定要找到佛陀——示道大师，因为他对一切事物有最正确的、完全周遍的了解。只要是所知，没有佛陀的心续不了解的，他的心跟所知一样大，他完全了解为什么会痛苦，乃至为什么会得到快乐、什么是快乐、什么是痛苦，以及它们的原因。所以这一点是完全没有含糊，清清楚楚、明明白白地讲过了。师父在这么前边的〈皈敬颂〉里，再一次地在我们的痛苦、得不到快乐、怎么也弄不清楚的这种迷闷的状态下，好像突然一道光，让我们看到佛陀。 [06:45]

这件事不是怎么想都没有办法，也不是怎么努力都是绝望的；痛苦不是无限地长，怎么也切不断，就像抽刀断水水还流的忧愁，不是那样的，它是可以被斩断的。苦是可以被断的，乐是可以像我们用手可以拿到一样把它取来的，我们是有这样的力量的。佛陀就是这样的有力士夫，我们一旦皈依佛，跟随佛为示道大师，我们在后面学，我们最终也将获得这样的力量。所以师父又把皈依的内涵再再地在我们面前呈现，让我们在苦楚中考虑一下：佛法的目的——离苦得乐，到底可不可以达到？为什么我们达不到？是不是佛陀把这些问题讲得清清楚楚、明明白白？佛法的目的是不是这么单纯？我们所有的追求、所有的挣扎、所有的奋斗，只是为了离开痛苦、得到快乐，是不是这样？我们可以扪心自问。 [07:48]

如果扪心自问个千百回、上万回，都会得到：其实我做的所有事情都是想要得到快乐、去掉痛苦，也想让我关爱的那些人、那些生命都去掉痛苦、得到快乐，这个目标是跟佛法讨论的目标完全一致的话，那么接下来就会引生下面的问题。那就是下一段。 [08:13]