法苑珠林 47.11

47.11

又涅槃經云。夫死者。於嶮難處無有資糧。去處縣遠而無伴侶。晝夜常行不知邊際。深邃幽暗無有燈明。入無門戶而有處所。雖無痛處不可療治。往無遮止到不得脫。又無量壽經云。獨生獨死獨來獨去。苦樂之地。身自當之無有代者。幽幽冥冥別離長久。道路不同會見無期。甚難甚難。復得相值。夫生則親族歡聚盡慈愛之和。死則朝亡暮殯。便有恐畏分離之狀。歌哭相送。往者不知。反室空堂。寂滅無覩。存亡有無。變化俄頃。故出曜經佛重說死苦偈云。

Moreover, the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says: "As for death, in that perilous and difficult place there are no provisions; the destination is far away without companions; one journeys day and night without knowing the limit; it is profound and dark without lamp or light; entering has no door yet there is a place; although there is no specific locus of pain, it cannot be cured; going there cannot be hindered; arriving there, one cannot escape." Furthermore, the Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra says: "Born alone, dying alone, coming alone, going alone. In places of suffering or joy, one undergoes it by oneself; none can take one's place. Dim and murky, parting is for long; paths are different, meeting again has no fixed time. It is exceedingly difficult, exceedingly difficult to encounter one another again." In life, relatives gather in joy, fully expressing the harmony of affectionate love. In death, dying in the morning and buried in the evening, there are immediately signs of fear and separation. Singing and weeping escort the departed, yet the dead knows nothing of it. Returning to the empty hall of the chamber, all is silent and extinguished with nothing to behold. Existence and non-existence, being and nothingness, transform in an instant. Thus in the Udāna-sūtra the Buddha again spoke a verse on the suffering of death, saying: