Translated jointly by Indian Sramana Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaraksa in the Later Han Dynasty
△ 中文 | 梭罗木木 英文 | 弘惠 00 : 43 开始
第2章 斷欲絕求
Severance of Desires佛言。出家沙門者。斷欲去愛。識自心源。達佛深理。悟無為法。 The Buddha said: "The homeless Sramana cuts off the passions, frees himself of attachments, understands the source of his own mind, penetrates the deepest doctrine of Buddha, and comprehends the Dharma which is immaterial.
內無所得。外無所求。He has no prejudice in his heart, he has nothing to hanker after.
心不繫道。亦不結業。He is not hampered by the thought of the Way, nor is he entangled in karma.
無念無作。非修非證。不歷諸位。而自崇最。名之為道。No prejudice, no compulsion, no discipline, no enlightenment, and no going up through the grades, and yet in possession of all honors in itself,--this is called the Way." 英文版经文转载自 菩提字幕屋，英译者 D.T. SuzukiEnglish version sourced from Bodhi Fansubs, translated by D.T. Suzuki △ 英文 | 释宏添 中文 | 梭罗木木 02 : 30 开始
法师讲解
Commentary: Severance of desires
Buddhism considers that all things have their unique characteristics, appearances, and designated patterns. As such, in Buddhism everything is referred to as “dharma”. Besides, the phrase “sarva-dharma”, or all dharma, frequently seen in Buddhist scriptures precisely means everything of the universe.
Dharma can also be classified into conditioned dharma (samskrta-dharma) and unconditioned dharma (Asamskrta dharma). By contrast, unconditioned dharma is anything that does not arise from causation; it is neither arising nor ceasing but eternally abiding in stillness, thus becoming an alias for nirvana. As for all other dharma which are conditionally originated from causation, they are called conditioned dharma. In the translated text, the term “unconditioned” was translated as “immaterial” to mean non-physical, which is not very accurate. Also this word carries the meaning of being dispensable, which may be undesirable either.
For example, our body is born under the influence of karma, so it echos conditioned dharma rather than unconditioned dharma. That is why we are still in samsara but not liberation. However, arhats are liberated and are no longer subject to the influence of samsara because of their attainment of unconditioned dharma.
Unconditioned dharma is a very high status to attain; it is neither karmic, discriminating, nor spiritually purposeful. For example, some people may worship the Buddha with an intention for bliss or merits. This is considered to be karmic, discriminating and purposeful, and we call it conditioned dharma. However if such an intention is removed, the worship will be rendered natural, spontaneous and not purposeful, and such a deed will echo unconditioned dharma then. As such, this chapter is providing guidance for monastics on how their practices can be in conformance with unconditioned dharma, leading to liberation eventually.
