節育.墮胎和自殺 Birth Control, Abortion and Suicide
Birth Control, Abortion and Suicide
節育.墮胎和自殺
Although man has freedom to plan his family according to his own convenience, abortion is not justifiable.
人類可以根據自己的條件而調整家庭的人口，但是，墮胎是一種不當的行為。
There is no reason for Buddhists to oppose birth control. They are at liberty to use any of the old or modern measures to prevent conception. Those who object to birth control by saying that it is against God’s law to practise it, must realize that their concept regarding this issue is not reasonable. In birth control what is done is to prevent the coming into being of an existence. There is no killing involved and there is no akusala kamma. But if they take any action to have an abortion, this action is wrong because it involves taking away or destroying a visible or invisible life. Therefore, abortion is not justifiable.
節育：
佛教徒沒有理由反對節制生育。他們可以自由的使用各種古老的或現代的方法來節育。有人說「節育」違反了「神」的旨意，因此反對「節育」，這些人必須了解，他們這種觀點是不合理的。節育，是防止促成生命，不是殺生，因此不造成惡業。但是，墮胎是一種無可分辨的錯誤行為，這涉及摧毀或殺害一個看得見或看不見的生命，對佛教而言，墮胎是絕對不允許的。
According to the Teachings of the Buddha, five conditions must be present to constitute the evil act of killing. They are:
按照佛教戒律，造成觸犯殺生戒的條件有五種：
a living being
一、必須是生命。
knowledge or awareness it is a living being
二、知道這生命是活的。
intention of killing
三、有殺害的意圖。
effort to kill, and
四、有殺害的行為。
consequent death
五、造成生命的死亡。
When a female conceives, there is a being in her womb and this fulfills the first condition. After a couple of months, she knows that there is a new life within her and this satisfies the second condition. Then for some reason or other, she wants to do away with this being in her. So she begins to search for an abortionist to do the job and in this way, the third condition is fulfilled. When the abortionist does his job, the fourth condition is provided for and finally, the being is killed because of that action. So all the conditions are present. In this way, there is a violation of the First Precept ‘not to kill’, and this is tantamount to killing a human being. According to Buddhism, there is no ground to say that we have the right to take away the life of another.
當婦女懷孕時，生命已存在于她體內(第一條件)，兩個月後，她知道這生命是活的(第二條件)，她為了某種理由，不想要肚里的生命(第三條件)，她去墮胎(第四條件)，肚里的小生命因此而被摧毀(第五條件)。這整個過程，五項條件都具足了，因此觸犯了殺生戒。墮胎的整個過程，表面沒有殺生的跡象，而事實就是在殺生。墮胎違反了佛陀的教義，佛教徒都不應該墮胎，對佛教徒而言，我們並沒有權力去拿掉另一個生命。
Under certain circumstances, people feel compelled to do that for their own convenience. But they should not justify this act of abortion as somehow or other they will have to face some sort of bad karmic results. In certain countries abortion is legalized, but this is to overcome some problems. Religious principles should never be surrendered for the pleasure of man. They stand for the welfare of the whole mankind.
在環境的壓迫下，人們為了自己的方便被迫去做這種不道德的事。但是，人類不應該認為墮胎是合理的，墮胎造成惡業，將來要受到果報。在某些國家，墮胎是合法化的。然而，不要把宗教牽扯進去。這是世界性的問題。宗教原則絕對不是為了某些人的個人享受或方便，而是為全人類的福址。
Committing Suicide
自殺：
Taking one’s own life under any circumstances is morally and spiritually wrong. Taking one’s own life owing to frustration or disappointment only causes greater suffering. Suicide is a cowardly way to end one’s problems of life. A person cannot commit suicide if his mind is pure and tranquil. If one leaves this world with a confused and frustrated mind, it is most unlikely that he would be born again in a better condition. Suicide is an unwholesome or unskillful act since it is encouraged by a mind filled with greed, hatred and delusion. Those who commit suicide have not learnt how to face their problems, how to face the facts of life, and how to use their mind in a proper manner. Such people have not been able to understand the nature of life and worldly conditions.
Some people sacrifice their own lives for what they deem as a good and noble cause. They take their own life by such methods as self-immolation, bullet-fire, or starvation. Such actions may be classified as brave and courageous. However, from the Buddhist point of view, such acts are not to be condoned. The Buddha has clearly pointed out that the suicidal states of mind lead to further suffering.
在任何環境或條件下，摧毀自己的生命，無論在精神或道德，都是一種錯誤的行為。
因受到挫折或絕望而自殺，將造成更大的苦難。以自殺來結束生命是一種懦弱的行為，如果一個人的心識是純淨和鎮定的，他就不會自殺。如果一個人以離亂和挫折的心情離開人世，他將得不到好的因緣而轉世。自殺是一種不健全和低級的行為，因為，自殺者心里充滿了貪、嗔、癡。自殺者不知道如何面對自己的問題，如何面對生活，如何正確和適當的運用自己的心識。這些人不明了生命的本質和世間的緣起。
有些人為高貴的理由而奉獻自己的生命。有些人以自己的生命做為祭祀。有些人采取飲彈、絕食等方式來斷送生命的勇敢行為，可是，這畢竟是出自人類的盲從和沖動。從佛教的角度來看，這種行為無法抵消它所造成的惡業。佛陀清楚的指示，自殺會導致更多的痛苦。
Why Does the World Population Increase?
為何世界人口會劇增
There is really no ground to think that this is the only period in which the population of the world has increased.
我們沒有證據證明，目前是世界人口劇增的唯一時代。
If Buddhists do not believe in the soul created by god, how are they going to account for the increase of population in the world today? This is a very common question that is asked by many people today. People who ask this question usually assume that there is only one world where living beings exist. One must consider that it is quite natural for the population to increase in such places where good climatic conditions, medical facilities, food and precautions are available to produce and to protect living beings.
很多人都要問一個很普通的問題：如果佛教不相信人類或靈魂是「神」的「產品」，那麼，如何解釋今天世界人口劇增的問題？他們之所以會問這個問題，是因為他們假定了生物所居住的世界只有一個。同時他們也可以認為人口劇增是一件非常自然的事，因為，這個時代有好的生存條件、好的氣候、醫療普及、物質資源和食物豐富，以及各種有效的防抑自然災害的方法，來捍衛生命和助長生命力。
One must also consider that there is really no ground to think that this is the only period in which the population in the world has increased. There are no means of comparison with any period of ancient history. Vast civilizations existed and have disappeared in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Ancient America. No census figures on these civilizations are even remotely available. Population, as everything else in the universe, is subject to cycles of rise and fall. In cycles of alarming increases of birth rate, one might be consequently tempted to argue against rebirth in this or other worlds. For the last few thousand years, there has been no evidence to prove that there were more people in some parts of the world than there are today. The number of beings existing in the various world systems is truly infinite. If human lives can be compared to only one grain of sand, the number of beings in the universe is like the grains of sand all the beaches in the world. When conditions are right and when supported by their good kamma, a few of these infinite number of beings are reborn as human beings.
我們沒有證據證明，目前是世界人口劇增的唯一時代，但是，我們也沒有足夠的資料來與古代的歷史做比較。中亞、中東、非洲、古美洲，都有大量的文明存在，而後來都消失了。對于這些古文明的研究，我們連一點關于古代人口的資料也沒有發現。人口與世間其他事物一樣，也有起落循環的規律。在這循環規律中，人口驚人的增長。有些人反對這種觀點，也反對有其他世界生命輪迴再生的觀念。近幾千年來，我們沒有證據證明，世界某個地方的人口曾經比今天還要多。在宇宙中擁有數不清的生命，就好像全世界海灘的沙一樣多。當因緣條件具足和善業的果報成熟時，在這些眾多的生命當中，有一部份會轉世為人。
The advancement of medicine especially in the 19th and 20th centuries has enabled human beings to live longer and healthier lives.
This is a factor that contributes to population increase. Population can further increase unless sensible people take measures to control it. Hence, the credit or responsibility of increasing the population must be given to medical facilities and other circumstances available today. This credit or responsibility cannot be allotted to any particular religion or any external sources.
在十九、二十世紀醫學發達，使人類的健康和壽命獲得延長。這就是造成人口劇增的原因。除非有人設法控制，否則人口將越來越多。因此，人口的劇增是由于醫學的發達和生存環境所造成的，不能歸咎于任何宗教或任何外在的因素。
There is a belief among certain people that all unfortunate occurrences that destroy human lives are created by god in order to reduce the population of the world. Instead of giving so much suffering to his own creatures, why cannot he control the population? Why does he create more and more people in thickly populated countries where there is no proper food, clothing and other basic and necessary requirements? Those who believe that god created everything cannot give a satisfactory answer to this question. Poverty, unhappiness, war, hunger, disease, famine are not due to the will of god or to the whim of some devil, but to causes which are not so difficult to discover.
有些人相信，所有不幸的事件，導致生命的摧毀，是「神」的安排，「神」這麼做是為了減低世界的人口。「神」為自己創造的生命制造苦難，為何不去控制「生命」的「產量」。為何「神」要為那些貧困、落後的國家，大量的「生產」人口。那些相信「神」是萬能的造物者，無法給予人口問題一個滿意的答覆。貧窮、不幸、戰亂、飢餓、疾病、糧荒都不是「神」的旨意或魔鬼的傑作，真正的原因不難發現。