諸經要集 20.21

20.21

何謂憂悲苦惱。謂人生在世。長命者乃至百歲。短命者胞胎傷墮。長命之者。與其百歲。夜消其半。餘年五十。在其酒醉疾病。不知作人減少五歲。小時愚癡。至年十五未知禮義。年過八十。志鈍無智。耳聾目冥。無有法則。復減二十。年已九十。年過餘有。十歲之中多諸憂愁。天下欲亂時亦愁。天下旱時亦愁。天下大水亦愁。天下大霜亦愁。天下不熟亦愁。家室內外多諸疾病亦愁。持家財物治生。恐失亦愁。官家百調未輸亦愁。家人遭官繫閉牢獄。未知出期亦愁。兄弟遠行未歸亦愁。居家窮寒無有衣食亦愁。比舍村落有事亦愁。社稷不辦亦愁。室家死亡。無有財物殯葬亦愁。至春種作無有犁牛亦愁。如是種種憂悲。無有樂時。至其節日共相集聚。應當歡樂。方共悲啼相向。此是苦不。答曰。實是大苦。

"What is meant by the suffering of grief, sorrow, and affliction? It refers to human life in the world: those who are long-lived reach up to a hundred years; those who are short-lived are harmed and aborted in the womb. For those who are long-lived, granting them a hundred years: the nights consume half of it, leaving fifty years. In that, through drunkenness and illness, when one is unconscious of being a person, deduct five years. When small, one is ignorant; up to the age of fifteen, one does not yet understand ritual and duty. Past the age of eighty, the faculties are dull and devoid of wisdom, the ears deaf and the eyes dim, with no sense of principles; deduct another twenty. Ninety years have passed; out of the remaining ten years, they are filled with many anxieties: when the empire is about to fall into chaos, one worries; when there is a drought under heaven, one worries; when there is a great flood under heaven, one worries; when there is a great frost under heaven, one worries; when the harvest fails under heaven, one worries; when many illnesses arise within and without the household, one worries; when managing the household property to make a living, fearing loss, one worries; when the official levies and taxes are not yet paid, one worries; when a family member is prosecuted by officials and locked in prison, not knowing the date of release, one worries; when brothers travel far and have not returned, one worries; when the household is poor and cold, lacking food and clothing, one worries; when neighboring villages face troubles, one worries; when offerings to the local gods cannot be prepared, one worries; when a family member dies and there is no wealth for the funeral, one worries; when spring planting arrives and there is no plow ox, one worries. In these various manners of grief and sorrow, there is no time of joy. Even when festivals arrive and people gather together, when they should be joyful, they end up weeping face to face. Is this suffering or not?" He replied: "Truly, it is great suffering."