Lecture No. 0197
Global Lamrim II
Lecture No. 0197
Tape: -
Date: 2020-02-17 ~ 2020-02-19
Topic: Weigh the virtuous and non-virtuous karma in our mindstream, contemplate on our rebirth after death
In the past, when we discussed the concept of being mindful of death, I recall one Lamrim classmate said, “Well! Since we are all going to die, it seems that staying alive doesn’t mean much now! How depressing it is to think about death every day!” You probably feel the same way, right? Being mindful of death weighs on our mind like a stone. However, is this what we mean by being mindful of death? This kind of feeling is not the idea of being mindful of death mentioned in Lamrim, right? Instead, this is the confusion and depression we are caught in when we think this life will eventually come to an end. Then, why did Lamrim teach us to be mindful of death? It is for us to develop the mental power to uphold the sublime teaching, a driving force to counteract suffering, rather than falling into loneliness and sorrow, totally in despair, whenever we think of death. This is not what Lamrim is meant for. [00:58]
Therefore, the Dharma category of being mindful of death is to remind us how precious this human life is and how easily we could lose it. Then, what will we think of after pondering on death? We would contemplate on the law of cause and effect. With that thought in mind, we then would think about both the virtuous and non-virtuous karmic deeds, right? So while we are contemplating on virtuous and non-virtuous karmic deeds, whose karma should we think about? It is our own karma that we must reflect on, contemplating on various virtuous karmic deeds in our mental continuum. We do have some, right? Many of us consider ourselves to be quite kind-hearted, don’t we? Then, may I ask, “Do kind and nice people carry many non-virtuous thoughts in their mind?” This is a question you should ask yourself! It’s not for you to ask others if they have a lot of non-virtuous thoughts. Ask yourself, “Do I have a lot of non-virtuous thoughts in my mind?” [01:40]
Therefore, if we were to measure our virtuous and non-virtuous karma, question: “Can I tell which one arises more in my mental stream, virtuous thoughts or non-virtuous thoughts?” [No, we can’t.] Because the karma we have created since beginningless eons can’t be retrieved and put on a scale to weigh it. Why? Because we have forgotten it all! There is no way to retrieve it! Nevertheless, great virtuous teachers all advise us, “If we are to compare the virtuous karmic deeds with non-virtuous ones, the non-virtuous deeds would far exceed the virtuous ones. Not only do the quantity of the non-virtuous deeds exceed the virtuous ones, but the force of non-virtuous karma also greatly exceeds that of virtuous karma.” Hence, although we do have virtuous thoughts in our mind stream, the virtuous thoughts are nothing compared to our non-virtuous karma, whether we see them from the angle of quantitative measurement or from the angle of their potency. [02:38]
Take heed! If we are aware of such situation and leave it at that, then we contemplate on mindfulness of death. When death arrives, because the quantity of negative karmic deeds is great and the force is powerful, we don’t have any place to go except the miserable realms, right? This is the logical inference! Moreover, if we are not able to make the best use of this human life – pay attention to the following words that I am going to say – to earnestly and sincerely abide by the sublime teachings, which can really help us purify those non-virtuous karma and nurture virtuous karma, if we have not practised diligently, may I ask, when facing the final moment, how is it possible to arise the power of being mindful of the sublime teaching, or the immense virtuous karmic force? Hence, it is very dangerous! [03:36]
Therefore, the concept of being mindful of death is by no means to cause us great anguish; rather, it is for us to contemplate deeper. What is the most vital and crucial thing we need at the moment of death? It is the sublime teaching, which also means the virtuous karma. Thus, let’s assess how many virtuous or non-virtuous karmic deeds we have. If our non-virtuous karmic force is greater than the power of virtuous karma, then there is only one place to go – being reborn to the miserable realms! Once we fall into the miserable realms, the sufferings we have in this life, like the separation from what is pleasant, encountering what is unpleasant [v.1 p.278], or other excruciating experiences in life, would be nothing compared with the sufferings in the miserable realms! It is hard for us to imagine the sufferings in the hell realms, right? It is beyond our imagination, because it exceeds far beyond our present experience. [04:20]
The suffering of hungry ghosts is also beyond our imagination. However, if we have experienced fasting* before, like some have applied water fasting, meaning that one can only drink water during the fasting, also when we are in a Buddhist meditation retreat, we can only have one meal every other day. Some practitioners would be so hungry that they have a strong urge to open their mouth in the rain! However, they have to restrain themselves from opening the mouth or they would be considered drinking water. Some would pretend to take a walk in the rain for the water to rinse the body, but they would keep their mouth shut. Why would they do that? Because at that time, the entire body seems to burn like a scorching charcoal – the feeling of hunger! In addition, not having eaten for one or two days, some practitioners will hallucinate, while others may want to punch the wall, so on and so forth. [As opposed to the hungry ghosts,] they just don’t eat for one or two days! Besides, these practitioners clearly know that they are doing so for the sake of Dharma practice and upholding precepts. Hence, it is impossible for us to imagine how miserable it would be to survive in the hungry ghost realm! [05:12]
[*Fasting should always be done under the guidance from experienced and qualified teachers or doctors.]
【全球广论 II 讲次: 0197】
讲次 0197
标题 秤量心续善恶业，思考死后趣何处
音档 -
日期 2020-02-17 ~ 2020-02-19
广论段落 -
手抄页/行 -
手抄段落 -
以前在讨论到念死的时候，记得有一个广论班的同学说：“啊！既然大家都会死，现在活着好像都没什么意思了！天天想死亡的话，那该多忧愁呀！” 你们也有这种感觉吧？觉得心里像压了一块石头一样。但这是念死吗？这不是《广论》上所说的念死吧！这是想到此生会死的时候，心里跌入的一种迷闷、忧愁吧！那么《广论》上让我们念死，到底是为什么？是要我们在内心中产生去行持正法的一股力量，去对治苦的一种力量，而不是想到死亡之后，自己心就跌在那种黑暗黑暗的孤独忧伤中，然后感到绝望。不是这种东西。 [00:58]
所以念死法门，是让我们感觉到这个人身的珍贵和易失。那么想到死之后接着要想什么？要想业。想业的话，你就得想到善业和恶业两股，对不对？那么想善业和恶业，想谁呢？一定要想自己，想我们的心续当中有许多善业。有吧？我们很多人都觉得自己还满善良的，对吧？那请问：善良的人心中有没有许多的恶业呢？自己问自己喔！不要去问别人：“你有很多恶业吗？”问自己：那我心中有没有很多恶业呢？ [01:40]
那么在善恶业两者的相较之下，请问：我自己可以分判出我心续里的善业是多的，还是恶业是多的呢？因为我们没办法把往昔劫所造的业，像拿一个秤把它秤量一下，我们拿不出来，都忘记了！没办法！但是大善知识们都这样告诫我们，说：“善恶两者的业力相较的话，恶业它的数量是远超过善业的；不仅数量超过善业，而且它的力量也远大于善业。”所以我们的心续中虽然有善，但是不管从数量的角度，还是力量的角度，它都没有办法跟恶业相比较。 [02:38]
注意！如果看到这种状况还保持现状的话，那接着又想到念死了。等到死亡到来的那一天，因为恶业的数量又多、力量又大，那除了恶趣之外，我们没有另外一个地方可以去，对不对？一定会推出这样的！并且由于我们没有办法透过这一生所获得的人身──注意下面我说的几个字──如实、真实地修学正法，这些能够真正帮助我们净化恶业、培植善业的法，我们如果没有认真修的话，请问在临命终的时候，怎么会出现强大缘念正法的力量，或者强大的善业的力量？所以是很危险的！ [03:36]
所以念死的时候，不是想到死就跌入那种痛苦，而是要往后想。死的时候什么是最必要、最需要的？就是正法！也就是善业。那就观察一下有多少善业、有多少恶业？如果恶业的力量彻底地大于了善业的力量的话，那就只有一个地方去──就堕入恶趣了！一旦堕入恶趣，就不是今生的这些爱别离苦、怨憎会苦，或者人生惨痛的遭遇所能比拟的恶趣苦！我们没法想像地狱道的苦吧？想都想不出来，因为完全是不现前的。 [04:20]
饿鬼的苦，也是想不出来的。但是我们修过断食的人，比如说有人是修水断，就是只喝水；还有我们修法的话，两天吃一餐，有的人饥渴到外面下雨的时候都想把嘴张开！但是不能那样张开，张开你就喝水了，所以要克制。然后有的人假装在雨里走过，让雨淋一淋自己，嘴也不张开，因为那时候全身已经燃烧得像一个火炭一样，饥饿！还有的人饿一两天之后就产生种种幻觉，还有的人可能想去捶墙等等。就饿一两天喔！而且你还是非常清楚是为了修法、为了持戒。所以我们无法想像饿鬼道的生存状态到底是惨成什么样子！ [05:12]