法苑珠林 66.24

66.24

如五王經云。佛為五王說法。人生在世常有無量眾苦切身。今粗為汝等略說八苦。何謂八苦。一生苦。二老苦。三病苦。四死苦。五恩愛別苦。六所求不得苦。七怨憎會苦。八憂悲苦。是為八苦也。何為生苦。人死之時不知精神趣向何道。未得生處。普受中陰之形。至其三七日中。父母和合便來受胎。一七日如薄酪。二七日如稠酪。三七日如凝蘇。四七日如肉摶。五七日五皰成就。巧風入腹。吹其身體。六情開張。在母腹中生藏之下熟藏之上。母噉一杯熱食灌其身體。如入鑊湯。母飲一杯冷水。亦如寒冷切身。母飽之時迫仄身體痛不可言。母飢之時腹中了𠄏亦如倒懸。受苦無量。至其滿月欲生之時。頭向產門劇如兩石峽山。欲生之時母危父悑。生墮草上身體細軟。草觸其身如履刀劍。忽然失聲大呼。此是苦不。諸人咸言。此是大苦。何謂老苦。謂父母養育至年長大。自用強健擔輕負重。不自裁量。寒熱失度。年老頭白齒落。目視昏[瞄-田+(梳-木)]耳聽不聰。盛去衰至皮緩面皺。百節疼痛行步苦極。坐起呻吟憂悲心惱。神識轉減便旋即忘。命日促盡。言之流洟。坐起須人。此是苦不。答曰大苦。

As the Sūtra on the Five Kings says: The Buddha expounded the Dharma for five kings: "When humans are born into the world, immeasurable sufferings constantly afflict their bodies. Now I shall roughly and briefly explain the eight sufferings for you. What are the eight sufferings? First, the suffering of birth; second, the suffering of old age; third, the suffering of illness; fourth, the suffering of death; fifth, the suffering of separation from loved ones; sixth, the suffering of not getting what is sought; seventh, the suffering of encountering the hated and despised; eighth, the suffering of sorrow and grief. These are the eight sufferings. What is the suffering of birth? When a person dies, he does not know to which destiny his consciousness is heading; having not yet attained a place of birth, all receive the form of the intermediate existence. By the third seven-day period, when father and mother unite, he comes to enter the womb. In the first seven days, it is like thin curds. In the second seven days, it is like thick curds. In the third seven days, it is like congealed ghee. In the fourth seven days, it is like a lump of flesh. In the fifth seven days, the five vesicles are completed; the subtle wind enters the abdomen, blowing upon his body, and the six sense-faculties open up. Dwelling in the mother's abdomen below the stomach and above the intestines, when the mother consumes a cup of hot food, it pours over his body as if he had entered a boiling cauldron; when the mother drinks a cup of cold water, it is also like cold cutting into his body. When the mother is full, it presses tightly upon his body with unspeakable pain; when the mother is hungry, his abdomen feels hollow, also as if suspended upside down. He endures immeasurable suffering. When the months are fulfilled and he is about to be born, his head turns toward the birth canal, agonizing as if between two stone cliffs of a gorge. When he is about to be born, the mother is in danger and the father is terrified. Born and falling upon the grass, his body is soft and delicate; the grass touching his body is like treading on knives and swords. Suddenly he loses his voice and cries out loudly. Is this suffering or not?" All the people said, "This is great suffering." "What is the suffering of old age? It means that parents raise [a child] until he grows to adulthood; trusting in his own strength, he carries light burdens and bears heavy loads without measuring his capacity, intemperate in cold and heat. When old age comes, his head turns white and teeth fall out; his vision becomes dim and obscure, his ears dull of hearing; vitality departs and decrepitude arrives; his skin slackens and face wrinkles; all joints ache and walking is extremely painful; sitting and rising he groans, his heart distressed with sorrow and grief; his mental faculties decline, forgetting things immediately after turning around; his lifespan shortens by the day; speaking of it, tears and mucus flow; sitting and rising, he requires others. Is this suffering or not?" They answered, "It is great suffering."