無辜的小鬼（中英）　宣化上人主講

墮胎、嬰靈答問錄

Questions about Abortion and Infant Spirits

◎宣化上人 開示
Answered by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

與其悔之於後，不如防之於前。
It is better to prevent problems from happening, rather than feeling regret afterwards.

問：若有些人由於經濟不允許或其他因素不得已要墮胎，後果是不是一樣嚴重？
   　    
Question: If a married couple has no choice but to get an abortion due to financial difficulties or other reasons, will the consequence be as serious?　
   　    
上人：既然經濟不許可，根本就不應該叫她有胎的，免得會有第二種麻煩的事情。自己經濟既然不許可，沒有這種能力範圍，為什麼要等到有了問題才去想辦法？要防範未然。別的好辦法為什麼不想？為什麼一定要等到木已成舟，米已成飯，才知道已經成飯呢？每年的預算，應先打算這筆預算。
   　    
The Venerable Master: Since the financial conditions are not permitting, a pregnancy shouldn’t have happened in the first place; in this way, they can avoid the resulting trouble. Given their existing financial difficulties, why do they wait until the problem arises and then try to find a solution? They should have taken precautions against the problem from happening. Why not come up with other good ideas? As it is said, “Why wait until the wood has been made into canoe [before realizing one needs firewood to cook a meal]?” Why wait until when it’s too late to do anything? They should have included the possibility of pregnancy in their annual budget.
   　    
問：請問師父，有些未婚媽媽造成社會上很多的問題，還有墮胎……，不曉得師父對這問題，您有何看法或建議？
   　    
Question: Venerable Master, some unmarried mothers are causing a lot of social problems, and then there is abortion.... I wonder what opinions or suggestions the Venerable Master has regarding these problems.
   　    
上人：這在英文的稱呼是 ”single mother” ── 這是人性的失去，所以在未婚就不守規矩了。不守規矩 ── 好像現代一般的年輕人，他們歡喜跳舞、看電影、唱歌，歡喜這些吃、喝、玩、樂，結果就把人性失去了；把人性失去了，連自己都不知道自己是人了。人應該作人事，他們盡作鬼事，偷偷摸摸地就要不守規矩，沒有結婚就想試一試，結果就生了小孩子。這在西方國家是不當一回事，然而這在我們中國是覺得很羞恥的。
   　    
The Venerable Master: You are referring the problem of single mothers. Unfortunately, these individuals have lost their sense of humanity, so they break the rules before they get married. Nowadays, most young people like to dance, watch movies, and sing. They enjoy eating, drinking, playing, and seeking pleasure. These desires and actions lead to a loss of their humanity, to the point where they don’t even realize that they are human beings. Human beings should act like human beings, but they do things like ghosts -- covertly not obeying the rules, wanting to try things before they get married... as a result, they have a baby. Things like these may not be big deals in the West, but they are thought of as great shame in China.
   　    
所以問題就由這一念的無明而起：男的追女，女的追男……，這都是無明。有了無明，就有了行為；有了行為，就有了名色、六入、觸、受……，這些都是無明造成的，由於糊里糊塗的，結果就產生了愛，繼而佔有慾，又生出其他的問題……直到老死，這是十二因緣法。
   　    
These problems arise due to a single thought of ignorance: Man chases after woman, woman looks for man.... Because of ignorance, karmic activity follows; after the karmic activity was performed, name and form, the six entrances, contact, and feelings come into being…, these are all generated by ignorance. As a result of being confused, emotional love arises, followed by the desire to grasp and possess, then many other problems appear... until old age and death arrive. This whole chain of events is called the Dharma of Twelve-fold Conditioned Arising.
   　    
就因為不懂這十二因緣法，所以就造成相反的作用，問題也就愈搞愈大，甚至於有了小孩，不把他生下來，就在他一、兩個月，三、四個月時去墮胎了。
   　    
Because people don’t understand the chain of Twelvefold Conditioned Arising, they do things contrary to this principle. As a result, their troubles grow bigger and bigger, to the point that they get pregnant. Things get even worse when, instead of giving birth, they get an abortion when the fetus is one to four months old.
   　    
墮胎的罪是最大的，雖然你看那個鬼小啊，但鬼小神通大，能令你死亡，生種的怪病，弄得你莫名其妙，糊里糊塗地發起神經病……，所以墮胎啊，比殺成人的罪還大。因為，你既然不養他，又為什麼要懷下他？為什麼要去亂七八糟的？所以，這就是男女不懂做人的道理，因而產生了這些問題。
   　    
The offense of abortion is very serious. You may think this is just a little ghost, but it has great spiritual powers that can cause you to die or catch various strange diseases, make you feel baffled and confused to the point of a mental breakdown.... The offense of abortion is greater than the offense of killing an adult. If you do not want to raise a child, why cause the conception? Why be so messed-up? Unfortunately, because man and woman don’t understand the principles of how to be a human being, these problems arise.
   　    
要解決這些問題，就要教育有關男女的性行為知識。不要在未成熟的年齡就談情說愛，要不然，很大的問題就會發生。所以要守規矩。
   　    
In order to solve these problems, we need to provide young people with sex education, and teach them not to engage in love affairs before they are fully matured and grown up, otherwise, they will encounter serious trouble. We should urge them to follow the rules.
   　    
問：上人這次回國，您能給臺灣的信徒們一些開示嗎？
   　    
Questions: Venerable Master, since you are back in Taiwan, could you give some advice to your disciples in Taiwan?
   　    
上人：要國家太平、世界和平，要有男女不亂的根基。如果夫不夫、婦不婦、子不子，你說天下能不亂嗎？我奉勸大家要守夫妻之道，不要離婚，好好地照顧自己的子女，家庭都和樂了，自然國家就太平了。
   　    
The Venerable Master: The proper behavior between man and woman is the foundation of peace within a nation and peace in the world. If a husband acts unlike a husband, a wife acts unlike a wife, and children act unlike children, how can the world avoid being in disorder? I suggest that everyone should fulfill the proper roles of husband and wife, do not get a divorce, and take good care of your children. With every family happy and harmonious, the nation will naturally be in peace.
   　    
還有，我要勸大家不要再墮胎了！你想想看，一個生命還沒出世，就成冤魂，到處是要命的小鬼，你說社會會安寧嗎？這些小鬼需要不貪財、有道行的人才能超度。小鬼難纏啊！很難辦的，到處是罪業，你說能安寧嗎？
   　    
In addition, I urge everyone to stop having abortions! Think about it, if living beings become resentful spirits even before they are born, with these vengeful little ghosts of aborted fetuses everywhere, how can the society be peaceful? These little ghosts can only be crossed over by genuine cultivators of the Bodhi Way who are not greedy for wealth. These little ghosts are really tough to deal with! It is very difficult to resolve these matters; hence, with karmic offenses pervading everywhere, how can there be peace?
   　    
問：如何才能救臺灣呢？
   　    
Question: How can Taiwan be saved?
   　    
上人：不墮胎、不殺生。
   　    
The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings.
   　    
問：墮胎是殺業，以前沒有學佛，不知犯了殺業，如何才能補救呢？
   　    
Question: Abortion constitutes as karma of killing. Since I didn’t study Buddhism before, I unknowing committed the killing offense. How can I make up for my offense?
   　    
上人：多做功德，多懺悔，多念佛。
   　    
The Venerable Master: By doing more meritorious and virtuous deeds, by doing more repentance and reform, and by reciting the Buddha's name more often.
   　    
問：聽說墮胎在佛教裏是不對的，但從前不知而犯過，今後將作何補救？
   　    
Question: I've heard that abortion is wrong in Buddhism, but I committed this offense in the past without knowing that it was wrong. What can I do now to redress the harm that I have caused?
   　    
上人：過而能改，善莫大焉。瀰天大罪，一懺便消。
   　    
The Venerable Master: No wholesome deed is greater than correcting one's own faults. Even if your offenses are enormous, as if they were pervading the sky, if you sincerely repent and reform, they will be eradicated.
   　    
問：請教上人，現在報章雜誌上面，時常看到「供養嬰靈」，到底嬰靈是需要供養呢？還是要超度他往生？
   　    
Question: Nowadays, there are many advertisements on “Making Offerings to Infant Spirits” in newspapers and magazines. Can we make offerings to infant spirits, or should they be crossed over instead?
   　    
上人：這個不能談到「供養」，因為他不是佛，不是法，不是僧。你要是供養他，那就落邪見。那麼超度還可以，超度不是供養，超度令他離苦得樂。但是這個冤孽若深了，也不容易解開這個結，因為這是奪命的一種債務，就要用奪命來還，所以是很不容易解的。雖然不容易解，你若遇到不貪財的真修行人，還可以有機會超度他們的。
   　    
The Venerable Master: The term “Making Offerings” cannot be used in this context, because an infant spirit is not the Triple Jewel (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha). If you consider making offerings to infant spirits, you will fall into the trap of erroneous views. Rather, it should be called “crossing over.” Crossing over living beings is not the same as making offerings to them, because the act of crossing over enables them to leave suffering and attain bliss. However, the infant spirits’ resentment is so great that they are difficult to appease. Given that the debt owed to these spirits involves taking lives, it needs to be repaid with life. However, if such debtors encounter genuine cultivators of the Bodhi Way who are not greedy for wealth, they still have a chance to cross over the infant spirits.
   　    
問：有許多人付錢供養嬰靈，能解冤嗎？
   　    
Questions: Many people pay money to make offerings to infant spirits, can these spirits’ resentment and grievance be redressed by doing so?
   　    
上人：不能解。
   　    
The Venerable Master: No.
   　    
問：現在有很多人借嬰靈斂財，有些佛教人士頗不以為然。請問師父您的觀點如何？嬰靈是否會造成當事者身體不健康，或帶來其他方面的困擾？讓一些墮胎的當事者因畏懼、害怕，結果花錢為嬰靈買牌位。所以，請問師父您對這方面的看法如何？嬰靈是否會作怪？又該如何去調伏？才能夠讓嬰靈安心？
   　    
Questions: Nowadays, many people take advantage of others by claiming to appease infant spirits as a way to make money. Some Buddhists really frown upon this practice. Venerable Master, what is your opinion? Will infant spirits cause the individuals who owe them ill health or other problems? Some people who had abortions are scared into spending money to buy plaques for infant spirits. Venerable Master, what are your thoughts on this? Are infant spirits really able to cause trouble? If so, how do we subdue these spirits? How do we pacify and comfort them?
   　    
上人：弄個牌位，不如沒有位。什麼叫沒有位呢？根本就是不該去墮胎；不墮胎，就是不殺生；不殺生，就免得多此一舉。至於，給嬰靈弄個牌位，這叫捨本逐末，掩耳盜鈴。能不能超度？是否可以解開這個冤債？這是不一定的。所以，與其悔之於後，不如防之於前；在未婚前，不要吃避孕藥，也不要發生男女的關係……，為什麼等不了呢？為什麼要那麼著急呢？為什麼要那麼饞呢？
   　    
The Venerable Master: It would be better to have no plaque than to set up a plaque. What do I mean by this? One should not have an abortion in the first place; by refraining from abortion, one does not kill; by not killing, one doesn’t even need to set up a plaque. Setting up a plaque for fetus spirits is called “attending to the trifles and neglecting the essentials,” and it is like “covering up one's ears to steal a bell,” for one is deceiving oneself. Can those infant spirits be crossed over? Can the debts be settled? The answers are uncertain. Therefore, it is better to prevent problems from happening than to feel regret afterwards. Before one is married, one should not take birth control pills or have sexual intercourse. Why can’t you wait until you get married? Why are you in such a hurry?
   　    
問：請教法師，因為世界上，現在有很多墮胎的未婚媽媽及強姦、同性戀等種種的怪現象。家長們應該怎麼教育子女，才能在這個時代裏，青少年本身心理和生理都有一個健全的人格發展。
   　    
Question: Venerable Master, there are many strange phenomena in the world today, such as many unmarried mothers having abortions, rape, and homosexuality. How should parents educate their children in this day and age, so teenagers can develop both physically and mentally into wholesome individuals?
   　    
上人：這是對症下藥一個最好的問題，可是這個問題很簡單，很容易治的。青少年從什麼地方來的？這些問題青年也是父母生的。不過，做父母的不會做父母，父而不父，母而不母；雖然生出子女，不以子女為重，以貪歡縱慾為自己的快活，所以只會生而不會教。我們男女效法歐風美雨，恣情縱慾，隨便談戀愛，隨便追求異性，作為一個時髦的東西。一般人認為，如果男的沒有一個女的朋友，這是一個白痴；女的沒結婚之前，若沒有一個男朋友，在西方來講就認為是一個神精病，沒人要！所以瘋狂的恣情縱慾，那麼生出子女，也不顧子女，只顧自己。那麼結婚了二天半，三天也不夠，就討厭這個了，所以就離婚了。
   　    
The Venerable Master: This is an excellent question for it deals with the right solution to our social problems. The problems you described are very simple, because they are very easy to solve. Where did these teenagers come from? These troubled youths have parents, don’t they? However, their parents don’t know how to be proper parents – a father does not behave like a father, and a mother does not behave like a mother. Although they gave birth to their children, their focus is not on the children; instead, they are greedy for pleasure and satisfaction of their sexual desires. Acting just to please themselves, they only know how to procreate, but know nothing about how to educate their children. Men and women in our country are emulating the trends in Europe and America, by indulging in emotional love and sexual desires, dating causally, and chasing after the opposite sex; they think they are being very modern by doing so. Most people think that if a man doesn’t have a girlfriend, he is an idiot. Similarly, if a woman doesn’t have a boyfriend before she gets married, she is thought of as a mental case, and nobody would want to marry her! Since these individuals crazily indulge in emotional love and sexual desires, they don't care about their children after the children are born; they only care about themselves. In this way, it can take as soon as two and a half days after their wedding for them to start disliking each other, and they end up in a divorce.
   　    
離婚了，生出子女，不是沒有爸爸，就是沒有媽媽。美國的法官就給判了，說：「三天跟著爸爸住，四天要跟著媽媽住。」他們兩個已經離婚了，這個無論是男孩、女孩，到爸爸那兒住，爸爸就說：「你媽媽，不配做你的媽媽，她不是個好女人，所以我就和她離婚，找另外一個女人。你看看，我現在這個女朋友，心地非常好，而你媽媽是最壞的。」這個小孩子一想：「哦，我媽媽最壞的！」回到媽媽那兒去，就不睬媽媽了──「妳這麼壞，不夠資格做我的媽媽！」就聽他父親一面之詞。
   　    
After the divorce, their children are either without a dad or without a mom. Then, a judge decides that the child should stay three days with dad, and four days with mom. Since the couple no longer lives together, their child, no matter a girl or a boy, will go and live with dad for awhile. The dad will say: “Your mom is not fit to be your mom. She is not a nice woman, so I divorced her and found another woman. My present girl friend is the best, while your mom is the worst.” The child will think: “Oh, my mom is the worst!” When the child goes back to his or her mom's place, he or she ignores the mom, saying: “You are the worst. You are not fit to be my mom!” The child has only heard the dad’s side of the story.
   　    
這媽媽一看，子女變了！也要想法子了，就對他（她）說：「你爸爸是一個最壞的男人，我受不了他的氣，所以才和他離婚。」跟他（她）講出一大套的理由，把這個小孩子弄得：「啊，爸爸也是壞的，媽媽也是壞的！那怎麼辦呢？啊，我也要學一個壞孩子好了！」於是就吸毒，也是亂七八糟什麼都幹了！也不關心國，也不關心家，也不關心自己的身體了；因為這個孩子說自己是個壞種子。爸爸媽媽都是壞，自己也不會是個好東西，所以就放棄節制，無所不為了！
   　    
The mom thinks: “My child has changed! I better come up with something.” She tells the child: “Your dad is the worst man. I could not stand him, that’s why I divorced him.” She then brings up a whole bunch of other reasons for divorcing her ex-husband, and causes the child to think that, “Oh, no! My dad is the worst man, and my mom is the worst woman! What should I do? Ah, given parents like mine, I should learn to be the worst child, too!” The child starts to take drugs and get into all sorts of trouble. He or she doesn’t care about anything, including his or her country, his or her family, and his or her body. He or she thinks: “I am a bad seed; both my dad and mom are bad, therefore, I also must be bad.” With this attitude, the child gives up any sense of right and wrong and does whatever he or she pleases.
   　    
那麼，男的被女人拋棄了，女人被男人拋棄了。這一拋棄，各走極端！男的也搞同性戀，女的也是戀同性，學這個不人道的行為！那麼這個問題大了。所以造成今天的情形，就是因為夫婦不會做夫婦，所以把家庭也都壞了，國也都壞了。假如人人要都能像孟母似的，像岳母似的，能以教子成名，教子成為聖人，那世界上，也就沒有這麼多問題兒童了。我答覆你的問題，不知道對不對？如果不滿意的話，你另請高明。
   　    
Since some men have been discarded by women, and some women have been forsaken by men, they go to extremes. They become gay, and learn actions that go against our humanity. Because husbands and wives don’t know how to behave like husbands and wives, they end up creating huge problems that we face today. When families are broken, so is the nation. If everyone could be like the mother of Meng Zi or the mother of Yue Fei, both of whom were able to teach their son to become famous and sagely, there would not be so many troubled children. I have answered your question, and I don’t know whether I am right or not. If you are not satisfied, please find someone who is better qualified.
   　    
還有這墮胎啊，那更是不仁道的一件事情！各位想一想，那個小孩子還沒生出，你就叫他（她）死，你說這個因果厲害不厲害？現在，我說一句不怕你們各位不相信的話：每一個墮胎的，那雖然是個小孩子，可是那個小鬼，比那個大鬼更厲害！現在這個又是Cancer（癌）病啊，又是愛死症啊！愛死症就是同性戀，戀出來的；這Cancer病啊，也是墮胎形成的。因為墮胎的人多了，殺的小鬼也多了，所以他到處給你灑毒，到處令人不安，啊，你叫我那麼早就死了！我也不能對你善罷干休，我也要把你弄死的！所以，就生出這麼多的奇難雜症，古古怪怪的這些個病！
   　    
Regarding abortion, it is an inhumane act! Think about it, if you kill a child even before he or she is born, would you say the retribution of such a conduct is severe or not? Now I am going to tell you something whether you believe it or not: although it is only a little baby who has been aborted, this little ghost is even fiercer than a big ghost! Now cancer is fairly common in our society, and this illness is brought about by abortions. Since more fetuses get aborted, the number of little ghosts increases, and these little ghosts sprinkle poisons everywhere and cause disquiet among people. They think: “You made me die so early, I won't let you get away with it. I will also kill you!” Accordingly, we have a lot of strange and hard to cure diseases.