佛陀的啟示 第四章 第三聖諦：滅諦——苦的止息 Chapter IV. The Third Noble Truth - Nirodha: The Cessation of Dukkha
Chapter IV. The Third Noble Truth
Nirodha: The Cessation of Dukkha
第四章 第三聖諦：滅諦——苦的止息
The third Noble Truth is that there is emancipation, liberation, freedom from suffering, from the continuity of dukkha. This is called the Noble Truth of the Cessation of dukkha (Dukkhanirodha-ariyasacca), which is Nibbāna, more popularly known in its Sanskrit form of Nirvāna.
第三聖諦的要義是：人類可以從相續不斷的苦得解脫、獲解放、享自由。這聖諦名為苦滅聖諦，也就是涅槃。巴利文作Niana，但梵文的Nirvana更為人所廣知。
To eliminate dukkha completely one has to eliminate the main root of dukkha, which is ‘thirst’ (tanhā), as we saw earlier. Therefore Nirvāna is known also by then term Tanhakkhaya ‘Extinction of Thirst’.
要想徹底祛除苦的根本——渴(愛)。這在前面已經講過，所以涅槃也叫做斷愛。
Now you will ask: But what is Nirvāna? Volumes have been written in reply to this quite natural and simple question; they have, more and more, only confused the issue rather than clarified it. The only reasonable reply to give to the question is that it can never be answered completely and satisfactorily in words, because human language is too poor to express the real nature of the Absolute Truth or Ultimate Reality which is Nirvāna. Language is created and used by masses of human beings to express things and ideas experienced by their sense organs and their mind. A supramundane experience like that of the Absolute Truth is not of such a category. Therefore there cannot be words to express that experience, just as the fish had no words in his vocabulary to express the nature of the solid land. The tortoise told his friend the fish that he (the tortoise) just returned to the lake after a walk on the land. ‘Of course’ the fish said, ‘You mean swimming.’ The tortoise tried to explain that one couldn’t swim on the land, that it was solid, and that one walked on it. But the fish insisted that there could be nothing like it, that is must be liquid like his lake, with waves, and that one must be able to dive and dive and swim there.
你要問：可是什麼是涅槃呢？為了答覆這個十分簡單而自然的問題，已有人寫了好幾部書了。可惜這些書不但沒有把問題解釋清楚，反而使它們愈趨複雜。惟一合理的答案是：這問題永遠不能以語言文字充份而圓滿地答覆。因為人類的語言太貧乏了，不足以表達涅槃這種絕對真理、最終實相。語言是人類所創造以表達他們由感官與心靈所經驗到的事物與意象的。超越凡情的經驗如絕對真理者，不屬于這一范疇之內。因此，沒有任何語文足以表達這種經驗，就像魚的字彙里沒有形容陸地的字眼一樣。烏龜和它的朋友魚說，它剛到陸地上散步回湖。魚說：『當然你的意思是說游泳囉！』烏龜想對魚解釋陸地是堅實的，不能在上面游泳，只能在上面步行。可是魚卻堅持不可能有這麼一樣東西。陸地一定也是液體，和它住的湖一樣；有波浪，可以在里面跳潛游泳。
Words are symbols representing things and ideas known to us; and these symbols do not and cannot convey the true nature of even ordinary things. Language is considered deceptive and misleading in the matter of understand of the Truth. So the Lankāvatāra-sūtta says that ignorant people get stuck in words like an elephant in the mud. [1]
語文是代表我們所熟知的事物和意念的符號。這些符號甚至不足以表顯日常事物的真實性狀。在了知真理方面，語文是不可靠而易致差錯的。所以，《楞伽經》里就說愚人執著語言文字，如大象陷于泥淖。［注一］
Nevertheless we cannot do without language. But if Nirvāna is to be expressed and explained in positive terms, we are likely immediately to grasp an idea associated with those terms, which may be quite the contrary. Therefore it is generally expressed in negative term[2] -a less dangerous mode perhaps. So it is often referred to by such negative terms as Tanhakkhaya ‘Extinction of Thirst’, Asamkhata ‘Unconditioned’, Virāga ‘Absence of desire’, Nirodha ‘Cessation’, Nibbāna ‘Blowing out’ or ’ Extinction’.
可是我們又不能沒有語言文字。不過如果用正面的文詞來表詮涅槃，我們立刻就會產生一項與這語詞有關的意念而執著它，結果可能與原意適相違反。因此，說到涅槃，我們大都用反面的文詞［注二］，如『斷愛』、『無為』、『止貪』、『寂滅』等。因為這樣做，似乎比較不易引起誤解。
Let us consider a few definitions and descriptions of Nirvāna as found in the original Pali texts:
我們再看看巴利文原典里若干涅槃的定義及說明：
’It is the complete cessation of that very ‘thirst’ (tanhā), giving it up, renouncing it, emancipation from it, detachment from it.’ [3]
『涅槃是徹底斷絕貪愛：放棄它、摒斥它、遠離它、從它得解脫。』［注三］
‘Calming of all conditioned things, giving up of all defilements, extinction of 「thirst」, detachment, cessation, Nibbāna.’ [4]
『一切有為法的止息，放棄一切污染，斷絕貪愛，離欲，寂滅，涅槃。』［注四］
‘O bhikkhus, what is the Absolute (Asamkhata, Unconditioned)? It is, O bhikkhus, the extinction of desire (rāgakkhayo) the extinction of hatred (dosakkhayo), the extinction of illusion (mohakkhayo). This O bhikkhus, is called the Absolute.’ [5]
『比丘們啊！什麼是絕對(無為)？它就是貪的熄滅、嗔的熄滅、癡的熄滅。這個，比丘們啊！就叫做絕對。』［注五］
‘O Rādha, the extinction of 「thirst」 (Tanhakkhayo) is Nibbāna.’ [6]
『羅陀啊！熄滅貪愛，就是涅槃。』［注六］
‘O bhikkhus, whatever there may be things conditioned or unconditioned, among them detachment (virāga) is the highest. That is to say, freedom from conceit, destruction of thirst, [7] the uprooting of attachment, the cutting off of continuity, the extinction of 「thirst」, detachment, cessation, Nibbāna.’ [8]
『比丘們啊！一切有為無為法中，無貪最上。就是說：遠離憍慢，斷絕渴想［注七］，根除執著，續者令斷，熄滅貪愛，離欲，寂滅，涅槃。』［注八］
The reply Sāriputta, the chief disciple of the Buddha, to a direct question ‘What is Nibbāna?’ posed by a Parivrājaka, is identical with the definition of Asamkhata given by the Buddha (above): ‘The extinction of desire, the extinction of hatred, the extinction of illusion.’ [9]
佛的大弟子舍利弗回答一個游行者『什麼是涅槃』的問題時，他的答覆與佛所作無為法的界說(見上)一般無二：『貪的熄滅、嗔的熄滅、癡的熄滅。』［注九］
‘The abandoning and destruction of desire and craving for these Five Aggregates of Attachment」 that is the cessation of dukkha.’ [10]
『放棄、消滅愛欲與對此五蘊之身的貪求，就是苦的止息。』［注十］
‘The cessation of Continuity and becoming (Bhavanirodha) is Nirvāna.’ [11]
『生死相續的止息，就是涅槃。』［注十一］
And further, referring to Nirvāna the Buddha says:
此外，對于涅槃，佛又曾說：
‘O bhikkhus, there is the unborn, ungrown, and unconditioned. Were there not the unborn, ungrown, and unconditioned, there would be no escape for the born, grown, and conditioned. Since there is the unborn, ungrown, and unconditioned, so there is escape for the born, grown, and conditioned.’ [12]
『比丘們啊！有不生、不長的非緣生法(無為法)。如果沒有這不生、不長的非緣生法，則一切生的、長的、因緣和合的，即無從得解脫。因為有這不生、不長、非緣生法故，生的、長的、因緣和合的，才能得到解脫。』［注十二］
‘Here the four elements of solidity, fluidity, heat and motion have no place; the notions of length and breadth, the subtle and the gross, good and evil, name and form are altogether destroyed; neither this world nor the other, nor coming, going or standing, neither death nor birth, nor sense-objects are to be found.’ [13]
『此中沒有地水火風四大種。長寬、粗細、善惡、名色等等觀念也一律摧破無遺。無此世間亦無他世間，無來無去亦無停留，不死不生亦無根塵。』［注十三］
Because Nirvana is this expressed in negative terms, there are many who have got a wrong notion that it is negative, and expresses self-annihilation. Nirvāna is definitely no annihilation of self, because there is no self no annihilate. If at all, it is the annihilation of the illusion, of the false idea of self.
因為涅槃是用反面文詞所表達的，因此有許多人得到一種錯誤觀念，以為它是消極的、表現自我毀滅的。但涅槃絕不是自我的銷毀，因為根本無『我』可毀。只能說它(涅槃)所銷毀的是『我』的幻覺、『我』的錯誤意念。
It is incorrect to say that Nirvāna is negative or positive. The ideas of ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ are relative, and are within the realm of duality. These terms cannot be applied to Nirvāna, Absolute Truth, which is beyond duality and relativity.
把涅槃說成積極或消極，都是不對的。『消極』與『積極』本是相對的觀念，只存在于『兩立』的境界之內。這些形容詞不能應用于涅槃(絕對真理)上，因為涅槃超越兩立與相對的境界。
A negative word need not necessarily indicate a negative state. The Pali of Sanskrit word for health is ārogya, a negative term, which literally means ‘absence or illness’. But ārogya (health) does not represent a negative state. The word ‘Immortal’ (or its Sanskrit equivalent Amrta or Pali Amata), which also is a synonym for Nirvāna, is negative, but it does not denote a negative state. The negation of negative values is not negative. One of the well-known synonyms for Nirvāna is ‘Freedom’ (Pali Mutti, Skt. Mukti). Nobody would say that freedom is negative. But even freedom has a negative side: freedom is always a liberation from something which is obstructive, which is evil, which is negative. But freedom is not negative. So Nirvāna, Mutti or Vimutti, the Absilute Freedom, is freedom from all evil, freedom from craving, hatred and ignorance, freedom from all terms of duality, relativity, time and space.
反面的文詞，並不一定就代表消極的狀態。在巴利文和梵文中，『健康』一詞教做arogya，其字義就是『無疾』，也是一個反面的名詞。但無疾並不代表消極的狀態。英文里的不死immortal(相當于梵文的Amrta或巴利文的Amata)，涅槃的同義字，也是個反面名詞，但也不代表一種消極的狀態。消極價值的反面，就不消極了。涅槃另一個同義字就是解脫(巴利文作Mutti梵文作Mukti)。沒有人會說解脫是消極的。但是甚至解脫一詞也有其反面的意義：解脫者乃從某種障礙得自由的意思。障礙是惡法、是反派的，而解脫卻不是反派的。因此，涅槃、解脫、絕對自在，是從一切惡得自在，從貪、嗔、痴得自在，從一切兩立的相對時、空等得自在。
We may get some idea of Nirvāna as Absolute Truth from the Dhātuvibhanga-sutta (No. 140) of the Majjhima-nikāya. This extremely important discourse was delivered by the Buddha to Pukkusāti (already mentioned), whom the Master found to be intelligent and earnest, in the quiet of the night in a potter’s shed. The essence of the relevant portions of the sutta is as follows:
涅槃即是絕對的真理，從《分別六界經》(巴利藏《中部經》第一四零經)里可以略窺其端倪。這部極為重要的經，是佛住在一個陶工家里的時候，在一個安靜的晚上，發現弗加沙有智慧而誠懇，因而對他所說的(前文曾提到過)。這部經里有關部份的要義如次：
A man is composed of six elements: solidity, fluidity, heat, motion, space and consciousness. He analyses them and finds that none of them is ‘mine’, or ‘my self’. He understands how consciousness appears and disappears, how pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations appear and disappear. Through this knowledge his mind becomes detached. Then he finds within him a pure equanimity (upekhā), which he can direct towards the attainment of any high spiritual state, and he knows that thus this pure equanimity will last for a long period. But then he thinks:
人由六種元素組成：堅性、濕性、暖性、動性、空與識。佛將六者予以分析，結論是六者中沒有一樣是『我的』、『我』或『我自己』。它徹底明了識如何來？如何去？愉快的、不愉快的、以及既非愉快亦非不愉快的感覺如何來？如何去？由于這種了解，他即心無所著。心無所著，就成為一純粹、平等的舍心。他可將這舍心隨意升到任何高層的心靈境界，而長時間的維持此一狀態。但是他又想：
‘If I focus this purified and cleansed equanimity on the Sphere of Infinite Space and develop a mind conforming thereto, that is a mental creation (samkhatam). [14] If I focus this purified and cleansed equanimity on the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness… on the Sphere of Nothingness … or on the Sphere of Neither-perception nor Non-perception and develop a mind conforming thereto, that is a mental creation.’ Then he neither mentally creates nor wills continuity and becoming (bhava) or annihilation (vibbava). [15] As he does not construct or does not will continuity and becoming or annihilation, he does not cling to anything in the world; as he does not cling, he is not anxious; as he is not anxious, he is completely calmed within (fully blown out within paccattam yeva parinibbāyati). And he knows: ‘Finished is birth, lived is pure life, what should be done is done, nothing more is left to be done.’ [16]
『如果我將這純淨的舍心集中于空無邊處，而生一心與彼相應，是知該處乃心所造，是有為法。［注十四］如果我將此純淨舍心集中于識無邊處……于無所有處……于非有想非無想處，而生一心與彼相應，是知該等處皆是心造。』于是，他不再以心造作，亦不以意志求生存相續，亦不求滅。［注十五］因為他不造作，不求生存相續，亦不求斷滅故，他對世間心無執取。心無執取，則無所掛礙。無所掛礙故，心得澈底完全的平靜(內心的寂滅)。于是他自知：『受生已盡，清淨的生活已過完了，該做的事都已做了，已沒有余事可辦。』［注十六］
Now, when he experiences a pleasant, unpleasant or neutral sensation, he knows that it is impermanent, that it does not bind him, that it is not experienced with passion. Whatever may be the sensation, he experiences it would being bound to it (visamyutto). He knows that all those sensations will be pacified with the dissolution of the body, just as the flame of a lamp goes out when oil and wick give out.
佛在經歷一種愉快、不愉快、或既非愉快亦非不愉快的感覺的時候，他知道這種感覺是不久長的。它即沒有纏縛他的力量。經歷這些感覺，不能使他情感激動。不論是什麼樣的感受，他都能經歷而不受它的拘縛。他知道一旦軀殼朽敗，這些感覺終將歸于平靜，就像油盡燈枯一樣。
’Therefore, O bhikkhus, a person so endowed is endowed with the absolute wisdom, for the knowledge of the extinction of all dukkha is the absolute noble wisdom.
『因此，比丘們啊！有這樣賦稟的人，才是賦有絕對的智慧。因為具有滅一切苦的智識，才是絕對的聖智。
‘This his deliverance, founded on Truth, is unshakable. O bhikkhus, that which is unreality (mosadhamma) is false; that which is reality (amosadhamma), Nibbāna, is Truth (Sacca). Therefore, O bhikkhu, a person so endowed is endowed with this Absolute Truth. For, the Absolute Noble Truth (paramam ariyasaccam) is Nibbāna, which is Reality.’
『他這築在真理上的解脫，是不可動搖的。比丘啊！凡是虛妄不實的，都是假法。凡是真實的、涅槃的，才是真理。因此，比丘啊！有這種賦稟的人，才是賦有絕對的真理。因為絕對的聖諦就是涅槃，也是實相。』
Elsewhere the Buddha unequivocally uses the word Truth in place of Nibbāna: ‘I will teach you the Truth and the Path leading to the Truth.’ [17] Here Truth definitely means Nirvāna.
在另一部經里，佛毫不含糊地用真理一詞代替涅槃：『我將教你們真理，以及走向真理的道路。』［注十七］在這里，真理的意義，很明確的就是代表涅槃。
Now, what is Absolute Truth? According to Buddhism, the Absolute Truth is that there is nothing absolute in the world, that everything is relative, conditioned and impermanent, and that there is no unchanging, everlasting, absolute substance like Self, Soul, or Ātman within or without. This is the Absolute Truth. Truth is never negative, though there is a popular expression as negative truth. The realization of this Truth, i.e., to see things as they are (yathābhūtam) without illusion or ignorance (avijjā), [18] is the extinction of craving ‘thirst’ (Nirodha) of dukkha, which is Nirvāna. It is interesting and useful to remember here Mahāyāna view of Nirvāna as not being different from Samsāra. [19] The same thing is Samsāra or Nirvāna according to the way you look at it – subjectively or objectively. This Mahāyāna view was probably developed out of the ideas found in the original Theravāda Pali texts, to which we have just referred in our brief discussion.
什麼是絕對的真理？依佛教說，絕對的真理就是：世間沒有絕對的事物。凡所有法都是相對的、緣起的、無常不永恆的；而沒有恆常不變、亙古永存的絕對的實體，諸如『自我』、『靈魂』或『神我』等，無論在身內或身外。這就是絕對的真理。雖然，在通俗言詞里，也有『反面的真理』一詞，真理卻決不是反面的。體證這真理，就是對事物的如實知見，無有無明妄想［注十八］；也就是斷絕貪愛、滅苦、涅槃。在此值得記住的，就是大乘佛教『生死即涅槃』的見解。同一事物可以是生死，也可以是涅槃，全在你的看法如何——主觀或客觀。這種大乘觀點，大抵是從上座部巴利文原典中的觀念演變而來。這些觀念在我們方才短短的討論中已經提到過。［注十九］
It is incorrect to think that Nirvāna is the natural result of the extinction of craving. Nirvāna is not the result of anything. If it would be a result, then it would be an effect produced by a cause. It would be samkhata ‘produced’ and ‘conditioned’. Nirvāna is neither cause nor effect. It is beyond cause and effect. Truth is not a result nor an effect. It is not produced like a mystic, spiritual, mental state, such as dhyāna or samādhi. TRUTH IS. NIRVĀNA IS. The only thing you can do is to see it, to realize it. There is a path leading to the realization of Nirvāna. But Nirvāna is not the result of this path. [20] You may get to the mountain along a path, but the mountain is not the result, not an effect of the path. You may see a light, but the light not the result of your eyesight.
認為涅槃是絕滅貪愛的自然結果，那是錯誤的。涅槃不是任何東西的結果。如果它是一個結果，它就是由某種因緣所得的效應。那它就是緣生的，而為有條件的存在。但是涅槃既非因亦非果，他是超越因果的。真理不是一個結果，也不是一個效應。它不是一種神秘的心靈或思想的狀態，猶如禪定一般。真理就是真理。涅槃就是涅槃。你惟一想知道它的方法就是親見親證。有路可通涅槃，但是涅槃並不是這條路的結果。［注二十］你可以沿一條小徑到達一座山，但那山卻不是那條路的結果或效應。你可以看見一道光明，但是光明並不是你目力的結果。
People often ask: What is there after Nirvāna? This question cannot arise, because Nirvāna is the Ultimate Truth. If it is Ultimate, there can be nothing effect it. If there is anything after Nirvāna, then that will be the Ultimate Truth and not Nirvāna. A monk named Rādha put this question to the Buddha in a different form: ‘For what purpose (or end) is Nirvāna?’ This question presupposes something after Nirvāna, when it postulates some purpose or end for it. So the Buddha answered: ‘O Rādha, this question could not catch its limit (i.e., it is beside the point). One lives the holy life with Nirvāna as its final plunge (into the Absolute Truth), as its goal, as its ultimate end.’ [21]
常有人問：涅槃之後又如何？這問題是不能成立的，因為涅槃是最終的真理。它既是最終，它之後就不能再有別的。如果涅槃之後仍有什麼，那末那東西才是最終的真理，涅槃就不是了。一個名叫羅陀的比丘，曾用另一方式將這問題問佛：『涅槃的作用是什麼？』這問題先假定涅槃之後仍有余事，所以要求涅槃須有作用。因此佛答稱：羅陀啊！這問題是不得要領的。修習梵行即以涅槃為其最終目的，沉潛于絕對真理之中。［注二十一］
Some popular inaccurately phrased expressions like ‘The Buddha entered into Nirvāna or Parinirvāna after his death’ have given rise to many imaginary speculations about Nirvāna. [22] The moment you hear the phrase that ‘the Buddha entered into Nirvāna or Parinirvāna’, you take Nirvāna to be a state, or a realm, or a position in which there is some sort of existence, and try to imagine it in terms of the senses of the word ‘existence’ as it is known to you. This popular expression ‘entered into Nirvāna’ has no equivalent in the original texts. There is no such thing as ‘entering into Nirvāna after death’. There is a word parinibbuto used to denote the death of the Buddha or an Arahant who has realized Nirvāna, but it does not mean ‘entering into Nirvāna’. Parinibbuto simply mean ‘fully blown out’ or ‘fully extinct’, because the Buddha or an Arahant has no re-existence after his death.
若干通俗而不正確的語句，如『佛于死後入于涅槃或般涅槃』，曾引起許多對涅槃的幻想與揣測。［注二十二］一聽說『佛入涅槃或般涅槃』，即以為涅槃是一種境界、一種領域或一個位置，其間仍有某種的存在，而以所熟知的『存在』一詞的涵義來臆測涅槃是何等樣子。這通俗的說法『佛入涅槃』在巴利文原典中，並無與它相當的詞句。所謂『佛于死後入于涅槃』，根本沒有這一說。巴利文中有 Pariniuto一詞用以代表佛或阿羅漢等親證涅槃者的逝去，但這字的意思並非『入于涅槃』。這字簡單的意義，只是『完全謝世』、『完全熄滅』或『圓寂』而已。因為佛或阿羅漢死後即不再受生。
Now another question arises: What happens to the Buddha or an Arahant after his death, parinirvāna? This comes under the category of unanswered questions (avyākata). [23] Even when the Buddha spoke about this, he indicated that no words in our vocabulary could express what happens to an Arahant after his death. In reply to a Parivrājaka named Vaccha, the Buddha said that terms like ‘born’ or ‘not born’ do not apply in the case of an Arahant, because those things-matter, sensation, perception, mental activities, consciousness- with which the terms like ‘born’ and ‘not born’ are associated, are completely destroyed and up-rooted, never to rise again after his death. [24]
另外一個問題是：佛或阿羅漢死(般涅槃)後如何？這問題是屬于不可答的問題之類(無記)。［注二十三］佛談到這問題時，也表示在人類的辭彙里，沒有字眼可以表達阿羅漢死後的情狀。在答覆一個名叫婆磋的游方者所發的同樣問題的時候，佛說『生』、『不生』等名詞不能適用于阿羅漢。因凡與『生』、『不生』有所關聯的色、受、想、行、識等，以阿羅漢言，俱已澈底根除無遺，死後不再生起。［注二十四］
An Arahant after his death is often compared to a fire gone out when the supply of wood is over, or to the flame of a lamp gone out when the wick and oil are finished. [25] Here it should be clearly and distinctly understood, without any confusion, that what is compared to a flame or a fire gone out is not Nirvāna, but the ‘being’ composed of the Five Aggregates who realized Nirvāna. This point has to be emphasized because many people, even some great scholars, have misunderstood and misinterpreted this smile as referring to Nirvāna. Nirvāna is never compared to a fire or a lamp gone out.
一般常將阿羅漢之死與薪盡火滅、油竭燈枯相比擬。［注二十五］于此有一事必須明白了解，不容含混。這就是：以『火焰的熄滅』作比的，不是涅槃，而是由五蘊和合而生、而親證涅槃的『人』(換言之：熄滅的是『人』，而不是涅槃——澄基注)。這一點必須特別強調，因為許多人，甚至若干大學者，都常誤會或誤解這涅槃的譬喻。涅槃從來不能與火或燈的熄滅相比。
There is another popular question: If there is no Self, no Ātman, who realizes Nirvāna? Before we go on to Nirvāna, let us ask the question: Who thinks now, if there id no Self? We have seen earlier that it is the though that thinks, that there is no thinker behind the thought. In the same way, it is wisdom (paňňa), realization, that realizes. There is no other self behind the realization. In the discussion of the orgin of dukkha we saw that whatever it may be- whether being, or thing, or system- if it is of the nature of arising, it has within itself the nature, the germ, of its cessation, its destruction. Now dukkha, samsāra, the cycle of continuity, is of the nature of arising; it must also be of the nature of cessation. Dukkha arises because of ‘thirst’ (tamhā), and it ceases because of wisdom (paňňa). ‘Thirst’ and wisdom are both within the Five Aggregates, as we saw earlier. [26]
另外，還有一個很普通的問題：如果沒有『我』，沒有『神我』，那末誰來親證涅槃呢？在沒有談到涅槃之前，先讓我們自問：如果沒有『我』，現在想者是誰？在前面的文章里，我們已經弄明白：思想的乃是念頭，在念頭的後面，再沒有其他的思想者。同樣的，能證涅槃的就是智慧(般若)。在證的幕後，別無證者。在討論苦的來源(集諦)時，我們已經明了，不論什麼——眾生、事、物、制度只要是緣起的，在它自身內即含有滅、壞的種子。苦與輪迴，相續不斷的生死，都是緣起的，所以也一定是緣滅的。苦因貪愛(渴)生，由般若(智慧)而滅。貪愛與般若都在五蘊之內，前文已經講過。
Thus, the germ of their arising as well as that of their cessation are both within the Five Aggregates. This is real meaning of the Buddha’s well-known statement: ‘Within this fathom-long sentient body itself, I postulate the world, the arising of the world, the cessation of the world, and the path leading to the cessation of the world.’ [27] This means that all the Four Noble Truths are found within the Five Aggregates, i.e., within ourselves. (Here he word ‘world’ (loka) is used in place of dukkha). This also means that there is no external power that produces the arising and the cessation of dukkha.
由是可知，它們生起與熄滅的種子，都在五蘊之內。這才是佛的名言：『在這眾生六尺之軀內，我說即是世界，世界的生起與寂滅，以及走向世界寂滅之道』［注二十六］的真實意義。這意思就是說，所有的四聖諦也都在這五蘊之中；也就是說，都在我身中(這里『世界』二字代替了苦字)。這意思也是說：苦的生起與熄滅，並非有賴于外力。
When wisdom is developed and cultivated according to the Fourth Noble Truth (the next to be taken up), it sees the secret is discovered, when the Truth is seen, all the forces which feverishly produce the continuity of samsāra in illusion become calm and incapable of producing any more karma-formations, because there is no more illusion, no more ‘thirst’ for continuity. It is like a mental disease which is cured when the cause or the secret of the malady is discovered and seen by the patient.
遵照第四聖諦的方法，去發展及培養智慧(般若)(見下章)時，即能澈見生命的奧秘，如實地見到事物的真相。這秘密發現後，真理見到後，所有一切狂熱地制造著輪迴相續的妄見的力量，一時俱歸平靜，不能再產生任何業果。因為妄執已破，對繼續生存的渴愛已斷。就像精神病患在自覺到他疾病的原因和秘密時，他的病就霍然而愈一樣。
In almost all religions the summmum bonum can be attained only after death. But Nirvāna can be realized in this very life; it is not necessary to wait till you die to ‘attain’ it.
在幾乎所有的宗教中，至善之境只有在死後方能達到。涅槃卻可以當生成就，不必等到死方能『獲得』。
He who has realizes the Truth, Nirvana, is the happiest being in the world. He is free from all ‘complexes’ and obsessions, the worries and troubles that torment others. His mental health is perfect. He does not repent the past, nor does he brood over the future. He lives fully in the present. [28] Therefore he appreciated and enjoys things in the purest sense without self-projections. He is joyful, exultant, enjoying the pure life, his faculties pleased, free from anxiety, serene and peaceful. [29] As he is free from selfish, desire, hatred, ignorance, conceit, and all such ‘defilements’, he is pure and gentle, full of universal love, compassion, kindness, sympathy, understanding and tolerance. His service to others is of the purest, for he has no thought of self. He gains nothing, accumulates, nothing, not even anything spiritual, because he is free from the illusion of Self, and the ‘thirst’ for becoming.
凡是親證真理、涅槃的人，就是世間最快樂的人。他不受任何『錯綜 (complex)』、迷執、憂、悲、苦惱等苛虐他人的心理狀態所拘縛。他的心理健康是完美的。他不追悔過去，不冥索未來，只是扎扎實實地生活在現在里。［注二十七］因此，他能以最純淨的心情欣賞與享受一切，而不摻雜絲毫自我的成分在內。(譯者按：即陶然與萬物合一，渾然忘我之意。)他是喜悅的、雀躍的、享受著純淨的生活。他的感官愉悅，無所憂煩，心靈寧靜而安詳。［注二十八］他既無自私之欲求、憎恚、愚痴、憍慢、狂傲以及一切染著，就只有清淨、溫柔，充滿了博愛、慈悲、和善、同情、了解與寬容。他的服務精神是最純正的，因為他不為自己設想。他不求得、不積儲、甚至不積貯精神的資糧；因為他沒有『我』的錯覺，而不渴求重生。
Nirvāna is beyond all terms of duality and relativity. It is therefore beyond our conceptions of good and evil, right and wrong, existence and non-existence. Even the word ‘happiness’ (sukha) which is used to describe Nirvana has an entirely different sense here. Sāriputta once said: ‘O friend, Nirvāna is happiness! Nirvāna is happiness!’ Then Udāvi asked: ‘But, friend Sāriputta, what happiness can it be if there is no sensation?’ Sāriputta’s reply was highly philosophical and beyond ordinary comprehension: ‘That there is no sensation itself is happiness.’
涅槃超越一切兩立與相對的概念，因此它不是一般善惡、是非、存在不存在等觀念所能概括。甚至用以形容涅槃的『快樂』一詞，其意義也迥乎不同。舍利弗有一次說：『同修啊！涅槃真是快樂！涅槃真是快樂！』優陀夷問他：『可是，舍利弗，我的朋友，如果連感覺都沒有了，怎麼會有快樂呢？』舍利弗的答案具有高度的哲學意味，而不是一般所能了解的。他說：『沒有感覺本身就是快樂。』
Nirvāna is beyond logic and reasoning (atakkāvacara). However much we may engage, often as a vain intellectual pastime, in highly speculative discussions regarding Nirvāna or Ultimate Truth or Reality, we shall never understand it that way. A child in the kindergarten should not quarrel about the theory of relativity. Instead, if he allows hiss studies patiently and diligently, one day he may understand it. Nirvāna is ‘to be realized by the wise within themselves’ (paccattam veditabbo viňňūhi). If we follow the Path patiently and with diligence, train and purify ourselves earnestly, and attain the necessary spiritual development, we may one day realize it within ourselves- without taxing ourselves with puzzling and high- sounding words.
涅槃是超越邏輯與理性的。不論我們怎樣埋頭精研高深的理論，以臆測涅槃或最終真理與實相，都只能算是一種無作用的、絞盡腦汁的游戲而已。我們終不能循此途徑而對它有所了解。在幼稚園的小娃娃，不可與人爭辯相對論。如果他耐心而勤奮的鑽研他的學問，有一天也許他會了解它。涅槃是要由智者內證的。如果我們耐心而勤奮的循著「大道』前進，至誠懇切的訓練淨化自己，獲得必要的心靈方面的成長，也許有一天我們可以內證到它，而毋須乎殫精竭慮于鑽研謎樣艱深的文字。
Let us therefore now turn to the Path which leads to the realization of Nirvāna.
現在讓我們回頭面對趨向內證涅槃的大道吧！
[1] Lanka. p. 113
[2] Sometimes positive terms like Siva ‘Auspicious’, ‘Good’, Khema ‘Safety’, Suddhi ‘Purity’, Dipa ‘Island’, Sarama ‘Refuge’, Tāna ‘Protection’, Pāra ‘Opposite shore’. ‘Other side’, Santi ‘Peace’, ‘Tranquillity’ are used to denote Nirvāna. There are 32 synonyms for Nibbāna in the Asamkhata-samyutta of the Samyutta-nikāya. They are mostly metaphorical.
[3] Mhvg. (Alutgama,1922), p. 10; S. V p. 421. It is interesting to note that this definition of Nirodha ‘Cessation of Dukkha’, which is found in the first sermon of the Buddha at Sarnath, does not contain the word Nibbāna, though the definition means it.
[4] S I, p. 136
[5] Ibid. IV, p. 359.
[6] Ibid. III, p. 190.
[7] Here the word pipāsa which lit. means thirst
[8] A (PTS) II, p. 34.
[9] S (PTS) IV, p. 251
[10] Sāriputta’s words. M I, (PTS), p. 191
[11] Words of Musila, another disciple of the Buddha. S II (PTS), p. 117
[12] Ud. (Colombo, 1929), p. 129
[13] Ibid. p. 128; D I (Colombo, 1929), p. 172.
[14] Notice that all the spiritual and music states, however pure and high they may be, are mental creations, mind-made, conditioned and compound (samkhata). They are not Reality, not Truth (sacca).
[15] This means that he does not produce new karma, because now he is free from ‘thirst’ will, volition.
[16] This expression means that now he is an Arahant.
[17] V (PTS), p. 369.
[18] Cf. Lamka. P. 200; ‘O Mahāmati, Nirvāna means to see the state of things as they are.’
[19] Nāgārjuna clearly says that ‘Samsāra has no difference whatever from Nirvāna and Nirvāna has no difference whatever from Samsāra.’ (Madhya. Kari XXV, 19).
[20] It is useful to remember here that among nine supra-mundane dharmas (navalo-kuttara-dhamma) Nirvāna is beyond magga (path) and phala (fruition).
[21] S III (PTS), p. 189
[22] There are some who write ‘after the Nirvāna of the Buddha’ instead of ‘after the Parinirvāna of the Buddha’. ‘After the Nirvāna of the Buddha’ has no meaning, and the expression id unknown in Buddhist literature. It is always ‘after the Parinirvāna of the Buddha’.
[23] S IV (PTS), p. 375 f.
[24] M I (PTS), p. 468
[25] Ibid. I, p. 487; III, p. 245; Sn (PTS), v. 232 (p. 41).
[26] See Aggregates of Formations above pp. 22, 31.
[27] A (Colombo, 1929) p. 218.
[28] S I (PTS), p. 5.
[29] M II (PTS), p. 121.
注釋：
一：見一九二三年京都出版社南條文雄編入《楞伽經》。
二：有時亦有以正面文字形容涅槃者，如吉祥、善、安全、清淨、洲、皈依、護、彼岸、和平、寧靜等。《雜部經》中之Asamkhata Samyutta經中列有涅槃之同義字卅二種，大多是譬喻性的。
三：見一九二二年阿陸葛瑪出版薩達帝沙上座所編之律藏大品第十一頁及《雜部經》第五集第四二一頁。請注意此處滅(息苦)字的界說，佛在鹿野苑第一次說法時已講過。但其中並無涅槃一詞，雖然它的意思就是涅槃。
四：見《雜部經》第一集第一三六頁。
五：見同經第四集第三五九頁。
六：見同經第三集第一九零頁。
七：此字原為pipasa，口渴義。
八：見巴利文學會版《增支部經》第二集第三十四頁。
九：見巴利文學會版《雜部經》第四集第二五一頁。
十：舍利弗語。見巴利文學會版《中部經》第一集第一九一頁。
十一：佛陀另一弟子謨尸羅語。見巴利文學會版《雜部經》第二集第一一七頁。
十二：見一九二九年哥崙坡版《小部經》感興語(嗢陀南)第一二九頁。
十三：見一九二九年哥崙坡版《小部經》感興語第一二八頁及一九二九年哥崙坡版《長部經》第一集第一七二頁。
十四：請注意一切秘密的精神境界，不論如何崇高純淨，皆由心造，是緣生而有為的。它們都不是實相，不是真理。(譯者注：關于這段文字，可在參閱漢譯《中阿含》第一六二分別六界經，有更詳盡的解釋。)
十五：意思就是他不再制造新的業，因為他現在已不再有渴愛、決意、思。
十六：這句話的意思，就是他已成為阿羅漢。
十七：見巴利文學會版《雜部經》第五集第三六九頁。
十八：參閱《入楞伽經》第二零零頁『摩訶摩帝啊！涅槃就是如實地知見一切事物。』
十九：龍樹很明白地說過：『生死不異涅槃，涅槃不異生死。』見蒲桑編中論釋第廿五章第十九節。
二十：請記住在九無為法中，涅槃是超越道、果的。自性涅槃不是一種結果，不是什麼東西生的，但是有余涅槃和無余涅槃則不能如是說。張澄基識。
二十一：見巴利文學會版《雜部經》第三集第一八九頁。
二十二：有的作者常用『佛涅槃後』而不說『佛般涅槃後』。『佛涅槃後』一語是沒有意義的，在佛典中找不到這種說法。應該說『佛般涅槃後』。
二十三：見巴利文學會版《雜部經》第四集第三七五頁以次。
二十四：見巴利文學會版《中部經》第一集第四八六頁。
二十五：見同經第一集第四八七頁，第三集第二四五頁，以及巴利文學會版《小部經集》第四十一頁(u. 232)
二十六：見一九二九年哥崙坡版《增支部經》第二一八頁。
二十七：見巴利文學會版《雜部經》第一集第五頁。
二十八：見巴利文學會版《中部經》第二集第一二一頁。