轮转六道，身不由己

II. Comprehensive discussion

二、广述

The importance of the four characteristics of suffering

1、苦谛四种行相的重要性

Regarding the Noble Truth of Suffering, either the exoteric and esoteric Buddhism or Mahayana and Theravada, all have their own views. Here we will only discuss the viewpoints commonly held by both Mahayana and Theravada of the exoteric school.

关于对苦谛的认识，无论是显密两宗，还是大小二乘，都有自己不同的见解，此处就讲显宗大小乘共同的观点。

There are four characteristics to each of the Four Noble Truths. The word “characteristic” in Sanskrit is a technical terminology used in the Abhidharma-kosha-shastra. What is the relationship between the Four Noble Truths and their characteristics? An analogy can be drawn with the face. If the Four Noble Truths were the face, the facial features would be their characteristics. The    Abhidharma-kosha-shastra states that the four characteristics of the Noble Truth of Suffering are: impermanence, suffering, not-self (anatta) and emptiness. Generally speaking, suffering refers to all the negative and impure phenomena of samsara. If examined closely, they can be categorized into the so-called four characteristics. Although these characteristics are not acknowledged in the context of Vajrayana’s uncommon view, they are recognized by both Mahayana and Theravada of the exoteric school.

四谛中的每一谛都有四种行相，行相是《俱舍论》中的专用名词。四谛与行相是怎样的关系呢？我们可以打一个比喻，假如脸是四谛的话，脸上的五官就是行相。《俱舍论》讲，苦谛有四种行相：无常、痛苦、空性、无我。比较笼统地讲，苦谛就是轮回中一些不好的、不清净的现象。如从细节去看，就有所谓的四个行相。虽然密法在不共的见解上不承认此行相，但无论显宗的小乘、大乘，在此问题上的观点却是一致的。

As mentioned before, no sentient being is in samsara voluntarily other than certain bodhisattvas. Although some people, after being hypnotized, claim that they purposely took rebirth in samsara, it may just be a lie or their imagination. The fact is that none of us is here by choice. Why do we keep coming back to samsara? It is due to all the defilements caused by karmic power. Like growing crops, seeds do not plan what kind of fruit to yield, or any at all. Given the right temperature and humidity, fruit will grow naturally. Similarly, when people are in the bardo state, they just aimlessly drift around, not knowing specifically what to do. Most of them end up taking rebirth, as the cause for rebirth has long been committed. And with all the necessary conditions fall into place, they have no choice but to be reborn again. If one could choose, why would anyone choose to be reborn as an ox or a horse or to live in misery?

以前提到过，除了一些菩萨以外，没有一个有智慧的生命是自愿流转轮回的。虽然现在有些人在被催眠时，会说他们是故意投生于轮回的，但这么说可能是撒谎或出于自己的幻觉，实际上每个人都是在毫无选择的情况下来的。为什么非来不可呢？就是因为由业力而产生了烦恼的缘故。就像农民种庄稼，种子本身是无情，不会思维要生出何种果实，但在适当的温度与湿度的条件下，果实就产生了。同样，人在中阴时也是漫无目的，没有任何具体的想法要做什么，但还是来了，这就是因为已经有了转生轮回的因，无论是否愿意，他们都别无选择。如果真的有选择，又有谁会愿意去做牛做马或过痛苦的日子呢？