諸經要集 20.15

20.15

如五王經云。佛為五王說法云。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。何謂生苦。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。四七日如肉團。五七日肉皰成就。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。亦如寒氷切身。母飽之時。迫迮身體痛不可言。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。母危父怖。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。

As the Sūtra of the Five Kings says: The Buddha expounded the Dharma to five kings, saying: 'When people live in the world, immeasurable sufferings constantly afflict their bodies. Now I will roughly explain the eight sufferings to you in brief. 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 parting from what is loved; sixth, the suffering of not getting what is sought; seventh, the suffering of meeting with the hated; eighth, the suffering of worry and grief. These are the eight sufferings. What is the suffering of birth? When a person dies, they do not know what path their consciousness heads toward. Not having yet obtained a place of birth, they universally take on the form of the intermediate existence. By the third seven days, when the parents unite, they then enter the womb. In the first seven days, it is like thin curds; in the second seven days, like thick curds; in the third seven days, like congealed butter; in the fourth seven days, like a lump of flesh; in the fifth seven days, the blister of flesh forms. A subtle wind enters the belly and blows upon the body, and the six sense faculties open and expand. In the mother's womb, beneath the stomach for raw food and above the stomach for digested food, when the mother eats a cup of hot food, it pours over the body as if entering a cauldron of boiling water; when the mother drinks a cup of cold water, it is also like freezing ice cutting into the body. When the mother is full, the body is squeezed and pressed with unspeakable pain; when the mother is hungry, the belly is cramped as if hanging upside down, enduring immeasurable suffering. When the months are fulfilled and birth is imminent, the head turns toward the birth canal, agonizing as if between two crags of a ravine. At the time of delivery, the mother is in danger and the father is terrified. Falling upon the grass at birth, the body is delicate and tender; the grass touching the body is like treading on knives and swords, suddenly causing a cry of loud wailing. Is this not suffering?' All the people said: 'This is indeed great suffering.'