無辜的小鬼（中英）　宣化上人主講

糊塗債

Debts Made in Confusion

◎宣化上人‧一九八○年六月十六日
A Talk Given by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, June 16, 1980

每個人能在今生做為眷屬，必然有前世的因緣…
For people to become family members in this life,
there must be causes and affinities from their past lives.

每個人的面目不同，其因果也不一樣，每個人在往昔生生世世所欠下的債也不同。有些人欠債太多了，到這個世界上來，還也還不了，所謂「債臺高築」，也就是業障之臺，一天比一天高，一天比一天深，債上加債，糾纏不清。這是什麼緣故呢？ 是因為往昔專門放高利貸，借錢給人，利上加利，貪得無饜，自己以為佔了便宜，結果是自己吃了虧，業障一天比一天重，終於拔不出腿來了！
   　    
Everyone has a different appearance. In addition, their causes and effects vary, and their debts accumulated from past lives are also different. Some people owe so much that they can’t even pay off their debts in this lifetime. It is said that these individuals are “building a high mountain of debts.” This mountain is also a mountain of karmic obstacles, which is getting higher day by day. With new debts added on old debts, the debtors get even more entangled. Why is that? It is because these individuals specialized in usurious practices in the past. They were so greedy that they charged excessive interests and thought they were making a profit at their borrowers’ expense. However, they were actually hurting themselves, because their karmic offenses were getting heavier every day. Eventually these karmic offenses became so heavy that they couldn’t pull themselves out of the resulting retributions. 　
   　    
有的欠人做父親的債，有的欠人做母親的債，有的欠人做妻子的債，有的欠人做丈夫的債，有的欠人做兒子的債，有的欠人做女兒的債。所謂「父母的飢荒，倫常的賬碼」，種種的因緣，乃促成你我今生命運的安排。可是一般人不明白一切都是前因後果，定業難逃，所以有時候還不認賬，還想扛債不還，明明欠人的債，卻不承認。因為這樣不講道理，所以釀成世界上種種麻煩的發生──你有你的麻煩，我有我的麻煩，他有他的麻煩，各人有糾纏不清、善惡夾雜的因果。偶爾遇到佛教，聽了佛理，便明白一點。
   　    
Some people repay their karmic debts by becoming their creditors’ father, mother, husband, wife, son or daughter. It is said that “parents endure hunger as a way to repay their debts to their children.” Various kinds of causes and conditions have shaped our destinies in this life. However, most people do not understand that everything occurs due to prior causes and resulting consequences. Therefore, instead of owning up to their inescapable karmic debts, sometimes they don’t even acknowledge their debts to others; instead, they try to renege. Such unreasonable actions cause many troubles in the world -- you have your trouble, I have mine and they have theirs. Everyone has both wholesome and unwholesome causes and conditions, which are entangled and difficult to separate. Once in a while, when people encounter Buddhism, they will understand the truth a bit.
   　    
可是今天明白了，明天又糊塗了；後天又想明白，大後天又糊塗了。於是變成智愚平等的局面，智慧和愚癡平均，糊塗時便不想修道，明白時便想修道。可是修道的時候很少，糊塗的時候很多，因此所修的不及所丟的，智慧也一天不如一天；而愚癡卻一天比一天增加，在無明驅使之下，便做出很多糊塗事。心裏糊塗，進一步身上也糊塗了；心裏有貪瞋癡，身上便犯殺盜淫，這些都是糊塗賬，根本算不清！
   　    
However, while being clear about the truth today, they get confused by tomorrow; being clear the day after tomorrow, but a day later they get all mixed-up again. They go back and forth between clarity and confusion until they have as much wisdom as delusion. When muddled, they don’t want to cultivate the Bodhi Path; in moments of clarity, they are willing to cultivate. Unfortunately, the time spent cultivating is a lot less than the time spent being confused. As a result, what they gained from cultivation is a lot less than what they lost due to confusion. Day by day, their wisdom decreases as their delusion increases. Driven by their ignorance, they end up engaging in all sorts of mixed-up conducts. With confused minds, their bodies also become confused; harboring greed, hatred and delusion in their minds, they use their bodies to commit killing, stealing and sexual misconducts. They create an innumerable amount of karmic debts while they are confused, and these debts are really hard to repay!
   　    
所以，有時家庭眷屬不和，父子不和、母女不和、夫婦不和、兄弟不和、姊妹不和、兄妹不和，種種問題就發生了。發生了，自己還不承認、不認賬，反而覺得很受委曲。其實這都是前因後果的定律，以前種下的因，如今結果了，有什麼好怨呢？所以「是故知命者，不立巖牆之下」，「不怨天、不尤人，下學而上達。」首先要明白因果，不要再種糊塗因果，要種清淨的因果，要是道則進，非道則退。不要再把善惡混淆不清，是非夾雜不明，若能黑白分明，真假了然，便有機會返本還原，回復到本有的性淨明體、妙真如性。
   　    
Given all these debts, sometimes disharmony arise among one's family members -- between father and son, mother and daughter, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother, elder sister and younger sister, or a brother and a sister. However, despite these family problems, one still refuses to acknowledge one’s mistakes and settle one’s debts; instead one feels he or she has been wronged somehow. Actually, all of this can be explained by the unchanging principle of cause and effect -- due to the causes one planted in the past, one reaps the consequence now. So, what is there to complain about? It is said that “If you understand cause and effect, you would not stand next to a crumbling wall.” In fact, we should not “complain to the heavens or blame others” for our misfortunes. Instead, we need to understand the principle of cause and effect, and plant pure and wholesome causes instead of confused ones. When our actions accord with the Bodhi Way, we should proceed; otherwise, we should retreat. Do not confuse good with evil any longer, or mix up the right with the wrong. If we can distinguish black from white and be clear on what’s true and what’s false, then we have an opportunity to return to our inherent nature, our wondrous Buddha nature, which is pure and bright.