---
title: 蛇 Snake
description: "人們厭惡痛苦而希求快樂，但事實上快樂正是痛苦的微細形態，而痛苦本身是一種較粗糙的形態。我們可以將他們比喻為一條蛇，蛇的頭部表示「苦」，蛇的尾部表示「樂」。蛇的頭部是很危險的，因為牠有毒牙，如果你觸碰牠，牠會立刻咬你一口，但是不消說，即使你去"
---

〖蛇〗

人們厭惡痛苦而希求快樂，但事實上快樂正是痛苦的微細形態，而痛苦本身是一種較粗糙的形態。我們可以將他們比喻為一條蛇，蛇的頭部表示「苦」，蛇的尾部表示「樂」。蛇的頭部是很危險的，因為牠有毒牙，如果你觸碰牠，牠會立刻咬你一口，但是不消說，即使你去抓蛇尾，同樣地，牠會立刻轉身咬你，因為蛇頭和蛇尾同在一條蛇身上。

同樣的道理，快樂和不快樂，或愉快和悲傷，是從同一條「蛇」——欲望，所生起的。所以當你快樂時，心並不是平靜的。

例如當我們得到我們所喜歡的，像財富、威望、讚美或幸福時，所得的結果便是快樂的。但是心中卻仍舊隱藏著不安，因為我們害怕會失去它。極為憂慮並非平靜，往後我們可能真的失去這些，緊接而來的便是痛苦。因此，如果我們不清醒的話，即使是快樂，繼之而來的便是痛苦。正如同抓住蛇尾一樣——如果你不放手，牠就會轉身咬你。所以，無論是蛇頭或蛇尾，也就是說，健全或不健全的狀況，他們都是輪迴的特徵，與無限的變遷。

Snake

People want happiness, not suffering. But in fact happiness is just a refined form of suffering. Suffering itself is the coarse form. We can compare them to a snake. The snake's head is unhappiness. The snake's tail is happiness. The snake's head is really dangerous. It has the poisonous fangs. If we touch it, it'll bite right away. But never mind the head? Even if we go and hold onto the tail, it will turn around and bite us just the same, because both the head and tail belong to the one snake. Likewise happiness and unhappiness, pleasure and sadness, arise from the same snake: wanting. So when we're happy, the mind isn't really peaceful. For example, when we get the things we like, such as wealth, prestige, praise or happiness, we become pleased, but the mind remains uneasy for fear of losing them. That very fear isn't a peaceful state. Later we may really lose those things, then we truly suffer. So if we're not aware, even when happy, suffering is imminent. It's just like grabbing the snake's tail - if we don't let go, it'll bit. So be it the snake's conditions they're all just characteristics of the Wheel of Existence, of endless change.