业感

Karmic Consequences

今天，我去拜访了一位据说有现代华佗之称的中医。在经过一番故弄玄虚的检查折腾之后，“华佗”给我开了药。并苦口婆心地再三叮嘱，除了他的药，其他的药一律不能服用。继而又以不可一世的神情，对西医的治疗方式和理论进行了全方位的抨击。

Today I visited a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine reputed to be a modern Huatuo. Having me first go through a deliberately mystifying examination, the “Huatuo” then handed me his prescriptions. He repeatedly cautioned me that I should adhere to his medicines only; any other formulas should absolutely be avoided. He then went on in a brassy manner to denigrate Western medicine in all aspects of theory and treatment modality.

听着他滔滔不绝的演说，顿生许多感慨：对于同一病症，中西医常会有不同的说法，《金匮要略》言：“夫人禀五常，因风气而生长，风气虽能生万物，也能害万物，如水能浮舟，也能覆舟。若五脏元真通畅，人即安和。客气邪风，中人多死。”由此可见，中医所认为的疾病之因，多由经络受邪及九窍壅塞所致。而西医则认为是人体细胞免疫力下降所致。虽然二者说法不一，但我们却应该承认其皆有道理，不能随意肯定一方而贬斥另一方。

As he talked gushingly, many thoughts ran through my mind. Chinese medicine and Western medicine usually interpret the same disease in different ways. In Synopsis of Golden Chamber it says: “Human beings with the five elements are nurtured by external climate chi. The climate chi that sustains the growth of all living things, however, can also turn around to cause harm, just as the water that bears the boat is the same one that swallows it. When positive chi flows smoothly throughout the five major organs of the human body, health and peacefulness follow. When the internal chi is weakened or invaded by external foul chi, then illness or even death ensues.” Thus Chinese medicine regards the blockage of nine vital points and the disturbance to the energy channels as the major causes of illness. Western medicine, on the other hand, holds the weakened cellular immunity of the human body as the culprit. Although these viewpoints are different, we should acknowledge that each has its own merit, and not haphazardly take one side while belittling the other.

这就如同佛教与科学的世界观有着天壤之别一样，很多人对这一点始终百思不得其解，最后以其缺智乏慧的分别念，想当然地推导出一个自以为是的结论：因为佛教理论所说的须弥山、四大部洲与科学相违，所以佛教是有悖于真理的。

Similarly, there is a huge difference in the perception of the universe between Buddhism and science. Many people, failing to find a definitive answer after long pondering, eventually resort to their wisdom-less, conceptual thinking. They presumptuously conclude that because the Buddhist’s description of Mount Meru and the four continents disagrees with modern scientific findings, Buddhism is contradictory to the truth.

其实这与中医和西医的理论不相同的道理一样，稍微懂一点佛教理论的人都知道，这其中的奥妙与不同人的业力有关，比如同样是榴莲，有的人视之为美味，有的人则认为它奇臭无比；同样一个女人，有人认为貌若天仙，有人却认为无异于无盐再世。

In fact, such deviations are similar to the differences between theories of Chinese and Western medicine. Anyone with some understanding of the Dharma knows that the profound secret of perception lies in the unique predisposition of each individual. The fruit durian, for instance, is an absolute delicacy to some people, but to others it is totally repugnant; a woman could be seen by some as beautiful as the divine goddess, while to others she might as well be the incarnate of ugly Wu Yan.

作为凡夫，对不清楚的问题应该详细观察之后再下结论，不要因妄加诽谤而造下口业，否则后果不堪设想。《百业经》中因造口业，而感于地狱中于舌耕田之苦的公案，我想凡是看过的人，都不会不引起一番思索吧！

As ordinary beings, we should not make hasty conclusions on uncertain issues without prior thorough investigation. Do not slander recklessly. Otherwise, the negative action of speech will result in unimaginable karmic consequences. The Sutra of One Hundred Stories on Karmas describes many cases of people who, through verbal misdeeds, are reborn in hell and suffer from the horror of their tongues being ploughed as the farmland. Koans like this, I bet, will make the readers do some hard thinking!

壬午年正月初十　　
2002年2月22日

10th of January, Year of RenWu
February 22, 2002