Master Huijing’s Short Dharma Teaching about “The Fear of Death”
慧淨法師之「 死的恐怖」
Birth and death are the starting point of Buddhism. The undeniable fact that every person must die, together with the question of what will happen after death, is the starting point of Buddhism.
The starting point of Buddhism is the great matter of life to come. Buddhism begins by facing death squarely and seeking a resolution to the problem of what comes after death.
There is only one Buddhism: it begins with the great matter of the life to come, and it ends with the resolution of this great matter.
Only the resolution of the cycle of birth-and-death is the ultimate purpose of human life, and also the ultimate purpose of learning and practicing Buddhism.
The purpose of human life is, in essence, the fundamental question of human existence. It is only when a person confronts death that he or she comes to understand life.
The cycle of birth and death is the greatest problem and the most serious matter facing human beings—the matter traditionally referred to as “the one great matter of human life.”
Therefore, resolving the problem of life and death is the great matter to be addressed throughout one's entire study and practice of Buddhism.
生與死是佛教的原點。
任何人都必一死的儼然事實，及死後將如何之疑，是佛教的出發點。 佛教的出發點：後生一大事。佛教從凝視死，解決死出發。
佛教只有一個：以後生一大事為開始，以後生一大事之解決為結束。 唯有生死輪迴的解決，是人生窮極的目的，也是學佛的最終目的。
人生之目的，即是人生的本質問題。人在面對死亡時，才會了解生命。 生死輪迴是人生最大的問題，最嚴重的事，所謂「人生一大事」。 故死的解決是一生參學的大事。
Namo Amituofo!
