尊者阿姜曼：我們應該將佛法與世間作一個適當的調和。

谷成

摘自：尊者阿姜曼传

---

阿姜曼可說是有關鬼、天神、梵天神、夜叉、龍族、與大鵬金翅鳥等這些方面的專家。雖然阿姜曼一直沒有表現出他知道多少，但在各式各樣眾多且微細的非人境界的範圍內，他確實有超人的感應能力。他所知道的鬼故事都相當的毛骨悚然，就算那些不怕鬼的人聽了以後也不禁會對故事中那些不可思議的業報力量感到畏懼。他說如果人類目睹自己與他人所造的善惡業報就像看到水火一般那麼真實的話，那麼就不會人敢再作壞事了，就像沒有人會跳進熊熊的火堆中一樣。而善業就像水一般，有清涼與醒腦的作用，他們只會迫不及待地想造善業。如果每個人都能善護自己的行為，避免造孽，那麼這個世界的動亂就會逐漸地減少。

Ãcariya Mun was an expert in matters concerning ghosts, devas, brahmas, yakkhas, nãgas, and garuðas. Although he did not always reveal the extent of his knowledge, he had the ability to explore endless varieties of phenomena within the many gross and refined nonphysical states of existence that lie beyond the range of human perception. His stories about ghosts were quite hair-raising – even those without fear of ghosts couldn’t help but feel trepidation about the mysterious powers of kamma. He said that if only people could see their own and other people’s good and bad kamma in the way they see substantive things, like water and fire, no one would dare do evil anymore than they would dare walk into a blazing fire. Instead, they would be eager to do only good – which has the cool, refreshing quality of water. Trouble would gradually diminish in the world as each person worked to guard himself against the dangers of evil.

有一次當阿姜曼對比丘們解說有關天堂、地獄、與鬼的世界時，他的一位資深弟子提出了他的看法：「既然人類不能親眼目睹天界、地獄、或是各種非人眾生，例如鬼、天人、大鵬金翅鳥、龍族等，那麼他們就無法完全了解自己行為的果報；但你可以看得見所有的事情，那麼為了人類的利益著想，跟他們說這些事情不是很好嗎？這些都是正常、自然的現象，佛陀與他的阿羅漢弟子們也都完全地清楚，也從來沒有人指責過佛陀與他的弟子教導這些事，所以我不認為會有人反對你這樣做。大家可能會像我們身為您的弟子一樣，對你驚人的超能力讚嘆不已。」

ONCE WHEN ÃCARIYA MUN was explaining about heaven, hell, and the ghost realms to the monks, one of his senior disciples spoke up: “Since people cannot actually see heaven and hell or the various nonphysical beings like ghosts, devas, garuðas, and nãgas, they can’t fully understand the ultimate consequences of their actions. But you can see all those things, so wouldn’t it be a good idea for you to elucidate them for the benefit of people everywhere? All are natural phenomena which were clearly understood by the Lord Buddha and his Arahant disciples. No one has ever faulted the Buddha and his disciples for teaching people about them, so I don’t see why anyone should object to your doing so. People are likely to show the same appreciation for your amazing talents as we, your disciples, do.”

阿姜曼卻堅決地回答：
Ãcariya Mun was adamant in his response:  

「你出的這種餿主意會毀了我們兩個。我從來就沒考慮過要公開講這些事。我如果這麼做，你、我、以及所有在座的比丘們，最後都會被人看作是一群瘋子。一旦整個僧團都瘋了，你認為還有哪個寺院會收留我們？『法』都是在深思熟慮之後才可以說出來教導他人，並予以實踐、了解、討論。你剛才不經大腦的建議真的有深思熟慮過嗎？或只是出於一時的魯莽而已？好好地想想吧！在我看來，光是這種想法就已經夠愚蠢瘋狂了，更不用說是真的把它給說出來。就算人家有耐心去聽完我們講這些事，我們自己也一定會完了。所以，幹嘛去說這些事？」

“The kind of craziness that you suggest will destroy us both. I have never considered speaking out publicly about this matter. Should I do so, you and I and the rest of the monks sitting here would end up being a bunch of lunatics. And once the whole monastery has gone mad, what kind of monastic asylum do you think would accept us all? The sãsana was proclaimed and taught with discretion – to be practiced, understood, and spoken about with discretion. This nonsense you suggest – is it really a matter of discretion, or is it something foolhardy? Think about it. In my opinion, the very thought of it is crazy, let alone actually suggesting it. Even though people might survive listening to us talk about it, we ourselves would surely be doomed. So why bring it up?  

「如果你指的是我們身旁那些具體可見的事物，世界各地的人都非常能以適當及理性的方式去討論。雖然『法』是至高無上的真理，但仍需要世人的依止。所以，我們應該將佛法與世間作一個適當的調和。而佛陀是第一位能清楚洞悉萬法真正本質的人。佛陀以無畏的態度來談論這些現象，但也總能同時以無可指責的睿智來處理這些事情。若是公開談論這些議題，他一定會考慮場合與聽眾的情況，他只會在思考最周延且最細膩的情況下才開始說這些事。」

“If you consider the tangible, visible things all around us, people everywhere are quite capable of dealing with them in an appropriate, reasonable manner. Although Dhamma is the Supreme Truth, it still counts on the involvement of people in the world, so we should always work to harmonize the proprieties of society with the Truth of Dhamma. The Buddha was the first to clearly know and understand the true nature of all phenomena. He spoke about them with absolute assurance, but he was always impeccably discreet in the way he handled these issues. Speaking publicly about any of them, he invariably took the specific circumstances and the people he was addressing into consideration. He spoke then only with the utmost discernment and discretion.

「能夠瞭解與洞悉各種非人現象的本質是具有這種感應力的人才特有的能力，但若恣意宣揚這類的知識就會變得相當的怪異反常，一般人並不喜歡聽聞這類的事。這並不是在指摘誰，倒不如說，重要的是我們該記住有這些知識的人應該要依照法的規則適當地行事，這樣才能為自己與他人帶來利益。對我們所觀察到的事物感到驚奇與確信，並不足以構成將這些讓人聽了以後可能會精神錯亂的事公諸於眾的充分理由。而那些只不過因為宗教信仰建立在聽聞靈異現象且熱衷於這些議題的人，都早已踏上了瘋狂之路。因此，我並不贊同這類的靈異與信仰；我反而希望那些人在面對靈異事件與建立他們的信仰時，能運用佛陀所教導的洞察。儘管我們都並非智慧過人，但至少我們可展現出足夠的判斷力，將正法給維持下去，直到未來。」

“Knowledge and understanding about the diverse nature of nonphysical phenomena is a prerogative of the one who has attained that kind of perception. But talking away indiscriminately about such knowledge is quite abnormal, so normal people are reluctant to listen. This is not intended to be a criticism of anyone. Rather, what’s important to keep in mind here is that those who do possess such knowledge should act properly according to the principles of Dhamma – for their own benefit and for the benefit of everyone associating with them. Being convinced of the amazing nature of what we have perceived is not sufficient reason to speak out about things which may encourage others to go mad. Those people, who are keen on listening to such talk simply because their religious conviction is dependent on hearing about amazing phenomena, are already on the road to madness. So I don’t approve of conviction and amazement of this kind. I’d prefer that the kind of discernment the Lord Buddha taught us be used by people in their convictions, and in their sense of amazement. Even though we aren’t all exceptionally wise, at least there’s hope that enough good judgment will be shown to maintain the sãsana, preserving it for the future.

「我問你：假設你很聰明，有一些足夠使用的錢，這對你是很好的；但如果你不聰明，那些錢反而會害了你。而當你要走入人群時，你該如何處置才能確保你與你的財物都平安？」

“Let me ask you this: Suppose you had a certain amount of money which could be useful to you if you were clever, but harmful to you if you weren’t. How would you handle it when going into a crowd of people to insure that both you and your money were safe?”

那位資深的弟子回答：「我會盡可能採取必要的預防措施來看管好我的錢財。」

The senior disciple replied: “I’d take every reasonable precaution to look after my money.”  

「在這麼多人當中，你究竟要如何看好錢才能避免可能發生的危險？」

“How exactly would you go about looking after it in a large crowd of people to avoid any possible danger?”

「如果我覺得那裡有可以買的東西，我就會先仔細地算好錢，只拿出剛好的錢數，不讓旁人看到我還剩下很多的錢。剩下的金錢我則會好好地收藏起來避免危險。」

“If I felt it was appropriate to spend some of my money there, I’d take care to count out and hand over the necessary amount without allowing anyone to see the larger amount that I still had with me. That amount I’d keep well hidden from view to avoid any possible danger.”

阿姜曼接著說：「很好！現在假設你對於鬼魂與其他的非人眾生具有相當的知識與瞭解，你要如何在眾人的面前妥善地處理這類相關的知識，使他人既能得到好處，又同時不會傷害到佛法與你自己，落個臭名遠播的下場？」

Acariya Mun then said: “Okay now, let’s suppose that you possess a certain knowledge and understanding about ghosts and other nonphysical beings. How would you handle that knowledge discreetly in relation to others so that it would be of some benefit to them without becoming an issue of widespread, public notoriety, which could be harmful to both you and the sãsana?”

「我想我會像處理錢財的方式一樣，小心使用這類的知識。」

“I’d have to use the same kind of care in handling such knowledge that I’d use in handling my money.”

「就在沒多久之前，你暗示我不考慮後果，應該要對一般民眾廣為宣傳這類的知識，你為什麼要這樣？我認為一般人絕不會做出像你剛才那樣的建議，但你卻這麼做了。如果你連一般人的常識都沒有，那又怎麼會有人在你的身上找到信心？我在你的想法中看不到有任何值得讚許之處。如果有人指責你缺乏判斷力，當你面對這樣的指控時，你又該如何為自己辯解？你想想看，在這世上，究竟是智者比較優秀？還是愚者？如果照你剛才的建議去做，又如何能使正法延續下去？」

“Just a moment ago, you implied that I should broadcast my knowledge about such phenomena to the general public without ever considering the consequences. Why was that? I figure that  the average discriminating person would never suggest what you just did, and yet you spoke right up. If you don’t even have the common sense of the average person, what will anyone find to admire in you? I fail to see anything at all admirable in your thinking. Should someone reproach you for lacking judgment, how would you defend yourself when confronted with the truth of this accusation? Think about it: Which are the greater in this world, the wise or the foolish? And how would anyone be able to reasonably maintain the sãsana and preserve its continued welfare by following the suggestion you made to me just now?”

他的弟子回答：「現在想起來，我發覺剛才的建議完全是錯的。我會這樣建議是因為聽了這麼驚奇的事之後想要與每個人分享。我以為他們或許能從中獲得啟示並得到莫大的利益。但我卻忘了公開這些事會對整個教法產生不利的影響。請慈悲原諒我，我不希望將來我的個性中會有這種輕率的傾向，我將來會更加的謹慎小心，以免類似的事再發生。」

His disciple replied: “Thinking about it now, I feel that what I suggested was totally wrong. I spoke up because hearing about such amazing things has so inspired me that I wanted to share this knowledge with people everywhere. I assumed they would probably be inspired as well and so benefit enormously from it. But I never considered the obvious adverse consequences that such a disclosure would have for the whole sãsana. Please be kind enough to forgive me – I don’t want to see this tendency to be indiscreet become ingrained in my character. I shall try to be more circumspect in the future so that it doesn’t happen again.

「若有人指摘我缺乏判斷力，我會虛心並欣然地接受。直到您剛才的質問以前，我從沒有想過到底是愚蠢的人或有智慧的人那個比較多的問題。現在，從我的家鄉中只有寥寥可數的智者會認真看待道德與戒律的這件事，我便肯定這世上是愚蠢的人遠多過有智慧的人。在大多數的情況下，人類似乎不知自己生在世上的意義為何，也不知將往何處去。他們從不想思考自己為什麼要這麼做，也不管事情的好或壞、對或錯。他們只滿足於當下輕鬆可得的事物，讓命運全權決定自己的未來。我現在更明白這些道理了。能夠護法並使其持續興盛的人，肯定是謹慎且深具智慧的人，他們會以一種平穩和諧的方式引領他人，使每一個人都可以從他們的風範中受益。就如同各行各業中一定不可缺少有能力的領導者，而一位謹慎睿智的老師則是修行有成的基礎。」

“If someone reproaches me for lacking judgment, I will gladly admit my mistake for I clearly deserve the criticism. Until you asked me just now, I had never really considered whether or not the fools outnumber the wise. Now I realize that there must be many more fools in this world, since in our village communities there are very few wise people who care about moral issues. Mostly, people don’t seem to know what they’re here for and where they are going. They aren’t very interested in thinking about why they do things and whether they do right or wrong, good or bad. Being satisfied with whatever is easy and convenient at the moment, they simply let fate decide their future. I understand all this a lot better now. Those people who are capable of reasonably maintaining the sãsana and preserving its continued welfare must be wise and discerning people who lead others in an even, harmonious manner so that everyone can benefit from their example. A wise, discerning teacher is the cornerstone of success in the same way that a capable leader is essential to all affairs in all walks of life.”   

阿姜曼此時接著說明：

Ãcariya Mun took up the discussion at this point:  

「既然你能夠瞭解各種努力的成功不能缺少有智慧的人，那麼你為什麼不想想你自己在修持頭陀行的過程中，什麼才是真正重要的事？精神修持的努力非常的微妙，很難全然理解。因此，只有聰明與謹慎的人才能護法，直到圓滿成就。我在這裡所指的並不是會造成世間的災難並貶損正法的那種小聰明，而是指能明智地思辨並為自己與他人帶來物質與精神富足的決定。這種型態的聰明隱含在八正道裡的前兩項：「正見」與「正思惟」，即正確的見解觀念與正確合理地思維。若有人將這兩項內化於人格中，那麼他的言行必定符合智慧之道。」

“Since you’re capable of understanding that a wise person is essential to the success of every endeavor, why don’t you think about what’s important in your own endeavors as a practicing monk? Spiritual endeavors, being very subtle, are difficult to fully understand. For this reason, only clever, discerning people can uphold the sãsana to perfection. Here I’m not referring to the kind of cleverness that causes destruction in the world and damage to the sãsana, but cleverness that discriminates wisely, making decisions favorable to one’s material and spiritual prosperity. It’s this type of cleverness that’s implicit in the first two factors of the Noble Eightfold Path: Sammã-diååhi and Sammã-sankappo – Right View and Right Thought. And these factors are personified by someone whose words and actions always follow the principles of wisdom.

---

礼敬三宝，礼敬阿姜曼尊者，愿以此功德，回向一切众生，回向无上菩提，回向正法久住，回向四众和合。