淨界法師：要斷除業力的相續， 尤其淨土宗更重要！

淨界法師 ：《天台教觀綱宗》
時間: 2015/06/03
地點: 洛杉磯 淨土教觀學苑
編號：期中研討3
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其实业力本身不可怕。 因为业力每个人都有， 阿罗汉也有业力， 就是说念珠本身不可怕， 但是到底是谁拿一条线， 把它串成一条念珠的， 可怕的是念珠中间的那一条线。

The talk discusses the Buddhist approach, particularly in Pure Land Buddhism, to breaking the continuity of karma (业力) and the importance of doing so for achieving liberation. Here's an elaboration:

The Core Issue: Continuity of Karma
The fundamental problem in samsara (the cycle of birth and death) isn't just the existence of karma but its continuity. Karma by itself isn't inherently dangerous—every being, including arhats (those who have attained enlightenment), has karma. However, the danger lies in the continuity of karma, which creates a persistent cycle of rebirth. When one life ends, another begins because karma continues to operate without interruption. The key question is: what force allows one karmic episode to lead to another, creating a chain of karma that spans lifetimes? The answer in Buddhism is **"self-view" (我执)**—the mistaken belief in a permanent self that leads to attachment and desire.

How Karma Continues:
The Buddha taught that karma is momentary and arises from causes and conditions. However, due to the delusion of a self (我), individuals perceive their body and mind as a cohesive whole, creating the illusion of continuity. This self-view acts as the thread that strings together individual karmic moments, turning them into a continuous force that perpetuates samsara.

External vs. Buddhist Approaches:
The passage contrasts this understanding with external (non-Buddhist) practices, particularly those that involve extreme asceticism (self-torture) to eliminate karma. These practices focus on punishing the body to forcefully exhaust karma, believing that once the body and karma are destroyed, liberation is achieved. However, from a Buddhist perspective, these methods are ineffective because they fail to address the root cause of karma—self-view. The problem isn't the body but the mind's attachment to the idea of a self that controls and experiences life.

The Buddhist Solution: Wisdom of Emptiness
In Buddhism, particularly in Pure Land teachings, the solution is to break the continuity of karma by eliminating self-view and attachment. This is done through the cultivation of the wisdom of emptiness (空观). Emptiness doesn't mean that things don't exist; rather, it means that things don't have an inherent, unchanging essence. Understanding this helps one realize that there is no "self" to cling to and no "self" to perpetuate karma.

1. **Analytical Emptiness (析空观)**: For those whose attachment stems from desire or sensory experiences, the practice involves contemplating impermanence, suffering, and non-self to dissolve these attachments. This method is particularly useful for breaking attachments that have emotional or sensory roots.

2. **Intrinsic Emptiness (体空观)**: For those whose attachment is more intellectual or conceptual (e.g., ideals, aspirations), the practice involves directly observing that all things are empty of inherent existence. This leads to the realization that there's nothing in life worth clinging to because everything is ultimately unreal. This method is useful for breaking more subtle attachments that are not rooted in sensory experience but in ideas.

Application in Pure Land Buddhism:
In Pure Land Buddhism, the concept of *"carrying karma while seeking rebirth" (带业往生)* is crucial. This means that while a practitioner may still have karmic seeds, the key is to prevent these seeds from ripening into new karma after death. When one life ends, it's essential to ensure that the next karmic sequence doesn't start, which would otherwise trap the person in the cycle of birth and death again.

The wisdom of emptiness helps practitioners break this continuity. Even though karma remains, by breaking the chain of continuity, the karma becomes fragmentary and loses its power to influence future rebirths.

Conclusion:
The wisdom of emptiness isn't about eliminating karma entirely but about breaking the continuity of karma by eliminating the underlying self-view and attachment. By understanding emptiness and applying it in practice, particularly at the time of death, one can prevent the next karmic cycle from starting. This approach is especially emphasized in Pure Land Buddhism, where the goal is to be reborn in the Pure Land free from the entanglement of ongoing karma.

視頻摘自：淨土教觀學苑
製作：善知識工作室
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