芒果 Mango

〖芒果〗

我們說戒、定、慧是所有聖者走向覺悟的必經之道。它們是一體的。戒即定，定即戒；定即慧，慧即定。就像一個芒果，當它還是花的時候，我們稱它作花；當它結果時，就改稱它為芒果；當它熟透時，我們稱它作熟透的芒果。同是一顆芒果，卻不停地變化，大芒果從小芒果而來，小芒果會長成大芒果。要說它們是同一顆或不是同一顆都可以。戒、定和慧也是如此相系相連，到頭來都同樣導向覺悟的大道。

我們必須了解：芒果，它最初出現時是一朵花，然後逐漸長成熟，不管別人怎麼叫它，都沒關系。一旦芒果出生，便步向老熟，然後它會往哪里去呢？我們要好好思惟這個問題。

有些人不想要老，當他們老了之後，顯得很不甘心。像這些人實在不應吃已熟的芒果！我們為什麼希望芒果成熟呢？如果時候到了它們還未成熟，我們就會以人工的方法促使它成熟，不是嗎？但是當我們年老時，我們卻滿懷不願。有些人為此掉淚，他們懼怕老死。若是這樣的話，那麼他們最好祇吃花，而不應吃成熟的芒果。如果我們能明白這個道理，我們就能見到佛法。一切都能清楚明白之後，我們就平靜了。

Mango

We say that morality, concentration and wisdom are the path on which all the Noble Ones have walked to enlightenment. They are all one. Morality is concentration, concentration is morality. Concentration is wisdom, wisdom is concentration. It’s like a mango. When it’s a flower, we call it a flower. When it becomes a fruit, we call it a mango. When it ripens, we call it a ripe mango. It’s a lone mango, but it continually changes. The big mango grows from the small mango, the small mango grows from the small mango, and the small mango becomes a big one. You can call them different fruit or all one. Morality, concentration and wisdom are related like this. In the end it’s the entire path that leads to enlightenment. The mango, from the moment it first appears as a flower, simply grows to ripeness. We should see it like this. Whatever others call it, it doesn’t matter. Once it’s born, it grows to old age and then where? We should contemplate this. Some people don’t want to be old. When they get old, they become regretful. These people shouldn’t eat ripe mangoes. Why do we want the mangoes to be ripe? If they’re not ripe in time, we ripen them artificially, don’t we? But when we become old we’re filled with regret. Some people cry. They’re afraid to get old and die. If it’s like this, they shouldn’t eat ripe mangoes. They’d better eat just the flowers! If we can see this then we can see the Dhamma. Everything clears up and we are at peace.