眾生父母恩 林鈺堂 簡繁轉換 - 繁體
佛法教示，眾生根本上的性情都是一樣的；所以說，「眾生平等」。與牲畜或寵物相處久的人，也都會有這樣的體會。佛法教示「六道輪迴」，就是說，眾生隨著愚迷造業或積德修行，也可能轉生為其他類的有情；所以，「眾生平等」不只是在根本性質上，就連轉化的因緣上，也是平等的。 人類與其所役使或食用的種種生物的關係，基本上是加以控制及利用而已；並且一般都視這種「弱肉強食」為當然。然而，從佛法教示的平等觀點來看，這些生物都是出乎無奈地在不斷奉獻與犧牲，而少有能體會彼等如父母之恩者——就像遇到不懂事、不知親長辛苦的孩子的父母，只能無奈地在承受任意的要求與揮霍。 在佛法裡，通常說「如母有情」，因為在無盡的輪迴裡，任一有情都可能曾是宿生的父母。做生意的人常說，顧客是「衣食父母」，因為顧客提供了溫飽的來源；如果我們能體會一向被人類役使或食用的種種生物的不斷奉獻與犧牲之恩，那麼，「如母有情」的意義就更加深刻了！
二○二○年六月六日
Parental Grace of All Beings Yutang Lin
Dharma teaches that, all sentient beings are basically the same in their nature; and hence, it says, ″all sentient beings are equal″. People who live with animals or pets for long time also have this kind of comprehension. Dharma teaches about ″Transmigration in the Six Realms″, which means that, sentient beings, depending on their karma of delusive activities or meritorious cultivation of good deeds, may gain rebirth as other kind of beings. Hence, ″all sentient beings are equal″ holds not only on their basic nature but also on the causal conditions of their transformation. Relations between human beings and all sorts of sentient beings that are utilized or eaten by men are basically that of control and profitable utility; and, ordinarily, people take this kind of ″weak as prey of strong″ as a matter of course. However, from the point of view of equality as taught in Dharma, all these sentient beings are helplessly making incessant offerings and sacrifices, and yet few can appreciate their parent-like grace—just as parents with kids who are ignorant of hardships in life and parents′ sacrifices, can only helplessly bear their arbitrary demands and expenses. In Dharma it is usually mentioned, ″mother-like sentient beings″ because, in the endless transmigration in the Six Realms, any sentient being could have been our parents in past lives. People in business often refer to customers as ″parents of clothing and foods″ because customers provide sources for warmth and full stomach. If we could appreciate the grace of all those sentient beings that have been incessantly making offerings and sacrifices for human ease and consumption, then the significance of ″mother-like sentient beings″ would become much more profound!
Written in Chinese and translated into English on June 6, 2020 [Home][Back to list] |