In the preceding article we have reviewed the whole scale of beings, and analysed summarily some of them, merely to show the way to the general analysis of all others. The ultimate result of such an investigation2 is to acquire the conviction that all beings are subjected to mutability, pain, and illusion. This conviction, once seated in the soul, generates a generous contempt for such miserable4 objects. In this article we must see by what means this philosophical5 sentiment may be firmly rooted in the soul, and man may finally entertain a thorough disgust for all creatures, even for his own body. This loathsomeness6 for all that exists is immediately followed up by an ardent8 desire of becoming free and disentangled from all the ties and trammels that encompass9 other beings. When a man has become familiar with such a conviction to the extent that his thoughts, desires, and actions are entirely10 regulated by its immediate7 influence, he is free from the errors that deceive almost all other beings; he sees things as they are in their nature, and appreciates them by their real value.[234] He estranges11 himself from them. He is in mind in the state of Neibban, until death will complete outwardly what was already existing inwardly in his mind.
We are all aware, says our author, that the principle of instability pervades12 all that exists in hell, on earth, and in the superior seats. But this important science is with many too superficially and but imperfectly understood. Our great object is to root it deeply in our mind, so that we might ever be preserved from those false impressions which too often tempt3 us to believe that mutability and changes are not affecting all beings. What are the obstacles that oppose in us the progress to true science? There are three. The first is Santi, or duration of existence. We allow ourselves to be lulled13 into the opinion that our life shall be much longer prolonged; that we have as yet many days, months, and years to spend in this world. This groundless supposition prevents us from attending to the principle of mutability. To counteract14 this dangerous impression, let us examine how all things are born only soon to die, and therefore let us have always death present to our mind. Let us consider the short duration and vanity of our being, then we will soon be convinced that the form of the body is like the waves of the sea, that swell15 for a moment and soon disappear; that sensation is produced like froth from the dashing of the waves; that the Thangia, or persuasion16 we acquire, has no more stability or reality than lightning; that the Sangkara, or concept, or production, is like the plantain-tree without strength, and that the view of objects through our senses deserves no more credit than the words of a quack17. Let us reason in a similar manner on the ephemeral existence of all the beings that are in this world; we will easily come to a similar conclusion, that they are the victims of mutability, incessantly18 tossed about as a piece of wood by the billows of the sea.
A second obstacle to our perceiving the great principle that pain is heavily weighing on all creatures is the iriabot,[235] or the four situations or positions which the body assumes, viz., sitting, standing19, lying, and walking. If a man enjoys good health, he owes it chiefly to the change of situation. Were he doomed20 to occupy always the same place, or remain in the same situation, he would feel quite miserable. He momentarily relieves himself from his temporary afflictions by a change of situation. This relief makes him forgetful of the great principle of duka. But in truth our body is like a patient that requires the constant attendance of the physician. We must feed it, refresh it, wash it, clothe it, &c., to save it from hunger, thirst, dirt, and cold. What is all that but a sad and constant proof that we are slaves to pain? There is nothing but pain and affliction in this wretched world. The same fate awaits all other beings; they are all in a state of endurance and suffering, proclaiming aloud the irresistible21 action of duka.
A third obstacle to our being convinced that all is illusion in this world is that false persuasion which makes us to say, This is a foot, a hand, a woman, &c.; whilst these things have no reality, no consistence, but are mere1 shades, ready at any moment to vanish and disappear. These and like expressions being always used, impart at last a sort of conviction that they are true; but, after all, what are all these things but a compound of the four elements, or more simply nama and rupa?
In addition to this examination, the sage22 considers also our ideas and the operations of our mental faculties23. Here he sees these ideas appearing for a moment and then disappearing; he concludes that ideas are likewise subjected to the great law of mutability. He finds as much misery24 in his own mind as he has met with in the exterior25 objects; all around his mind is only illusion. When he has reached this point, he is delivered at once of the three Nimeit that make one believe that there is something real in birth, existence, and action. The destruction of all beings, of all things, is ever present to his mind. In such a state, the sage is free from all erroneous doctrines26; he is disgusted[236] with life; the exercise of meditation27 is easy to him, and almost uninterrupted. He is free from all passions.
Our author has another chapter devoted28 to the consideration of the miseries29 attending all living beings. To make us better informed on this subject, he desires the sage to meditate30 upon the miseries attending birth, existence, old age, and death; he wishes him to examine attentively31 the condition of all creatures, that he might never be seduced32 by the dazzling appearance that encompasses33 them. He insists at great length upon the dangers surrounding the wise man, as yet compelled to remain in contact with this material world. To make us better understand this subject, he makes use of the following similitude. A man worn out with fatigue34 enters a cave wherein he longs to enjoy a refreshing35 rest. He is just lying down in the hope of abandoning himself to the sweet delight of undisturbed repose36, when, on a sudden, he perceives close by him an infuriated tiger. At that moment all idea of rest, of sleep, of happiness, vanishes away; he is taken up solely37 with the imminent38 danger of his position. Such is the position of the sage who, living among creatures, may be tempted39 to allow himself to look on them with an idea of enjoyment40. But when he has come to that state, to be disgusted with all the modifications41 matter is subjected to, he is likened to the pure swan who never sets his feet in low and dirty places, but delights to rest on the bosom42 of a beautiful lake, of limpid43 and clear water. Our sage, who has in abhorrence44 all the filth45 of this miserable world, is delighted only in the consideration of truth. He is displeased46 with the world and all things that are therein. His mind is busily engaged in finding out the most effectual means to break with this world, and rend47 asunder48 the ties that retain him linked to it. He is like a fish caught in the net, or a frog seized by a snake, or a man shut up in a dungeon49. All three strive, to their utmost, to escape the danger that threatens them and regain50 their liberty. Such is the condition of the perfect who has attentively[237] considered the many snares51 that are around them. He, too, has but one object in view, that of freeing himself from them and obtaining the deliverance.
The best and surest means to save himself from the dangers attending existence is a profound and unremitting meditation on the three great principles: aneitsa, duka, and anatta. We will select among many reflections supplied by our author, a few on each of these principles, to convey to the reader some ideas respecting the subjects that engross52 much of the attention of the Buddhist53 sage. Most of these reflections are strikingly true, and could as well find place in the mind of a Christian54 as in that of a Buddhist.
Speaking of aneitsa, our author says: Let us reflect on this, that there is nothing permanent or stable in this world. We hold all things as a sort of borrowed property, or on tenure55; we are by no means proprietors56 of what we possess. We acquire goods but to lose them very soon. All in nature is subjected to pain, old age, and death; everything comes to an end, either by virtue57 of its own condition, or by the agency of some external cause. Shall we ever be able to find in this world anything stable? No; we leave one place, but only to go and occupy another, which, in its turn, is soon vacated. No one is able to enumerate58 the countless59 changes that incessantly take place. What exists to-day disappears to-morrow. In fact, all nature is pervaded60 from beginning to end by the principle of mutability, which incessantly works upon it.
On the miseries of this world our philosopher speaks as follows: Pain is the essential appendage61 of this world. Survey, if you can, the whole of this universe, and everywhere you will find a heavy load of pain and afflictions, so harassing62 and oppressing that we can scarcely bear them with a tolerable amount of patience. Look at birth, examine existence during its duration, consider senses, the organs of our life. In every direction our eyes will meet with an accumulation of pain, sufferings, and miseries; on[238] every side we are beset63 with dangers, difficulties, and calamities64; nowhere lasting65 joy or permanent rest is to be found. In vain we may go in quest of health and happiness; both are chimerical66 objects nowhere to be met with. Everywhere we meet with afflictions.
In speaking of the anatta, or illusion in which we are miserably67 rocked as long as we stay in this world, our philosopher is equally eloquent68. If we consider with some attention this world, we will never be able to discover in it anything else but name and form; and, as a necessary consequence, all that exists is but illusion. Here is the manner we must carry on our reasoning. The things that I see and know are not myself, nor from myself, nor to myself. What seems to be myself is in reality neither myself nor belongs to myself. What appears to me to be another is neither myself nor from myself. The organs of senses, such as the eyes, the ears, &c., are neither myself nor to myself. They are but illusions, or as nothing relatively69 to me. The form is not a form; the attributes of a living being are not attributes; beings are not beings. All that is an aggregate70 of the four elements, and these again are but form and name, and these two are but an illusion, destitute71 of reality. In a being, then, there are two attributes, form and sensation, that appear to have some more consistency72 than other things. Yet they have no reality; their nature and condition is to be destitute of all reality and stability.[52] Penetrated73 with the truth of[239] these and like considerations, the sage declares at once that all things are neither himself nor belong to himself. Nothing, therefore, appears worthy74 his notice. He at once divorces himself from the world and all the things that are therein. He would fain have nothing to do with it; he holds it in supreme75 contempt and utter disgust.
He who has reached this lofty point of sublime76 science is at once secure from the snares of seduction and the path of error. He will escape from the whirlpool of human miseries, and infallibly reach the state of Neibban. The most perfect among the perfect are so much taken upon with and deeply affected77 by the view of Neibban, that they tend in that direction without effort. Others, somewhat less advanced in the sublime science, discover, it is true, the state of Neibban at a distance, but its sight is as yet dimmed and somewhat obscured. They want as yet to train up their mind to and perfect it in the exercise of that meditation of which we have given an abbreviated78 analysis.
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1
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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loathsomeness
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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encompass
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| vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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estranges
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| v.使疏远（尤指家庭成员之间）( estrange的第三人称单数 ) | |
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pervades
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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quack
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| n.庸医；江湖医生；冒充内行的人；骗子 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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encompasses
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| v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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limpid
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| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
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abhorrence
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| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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52
engross
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| v.使全神贯注 | |
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Buddhist
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| adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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57
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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enumerate
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| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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appendage
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| n.附加物 | |
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harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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chimerical
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| adj.荒诞不经的，梦幻的 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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aggregate
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| adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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74
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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abbreviated
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| adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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