暇满难得 | A Precious Human birth is Rare to Attain

前些天，我看到了一些图片与视频，生活在非洲的众生过着近乎于恶鬼般的生活，他们不仅没有吃的，连喝的水都是带有大量的泥沙甚至是垃圾。能够住到泥盖的房子也是上等生活，一般的人只是用几根木棍搭一下便是家，他们一般都和自己养的牲畜住在一起，一小块地方一边睡觉，一边吃饭，一边是鸡或者其它牲畜。一瓶干净的矿泉水、一袋泡面对于他们来说已经是上天赐予的礼物。

看着这样的场景，一方面对他们生起强烈的悲心，另一方面又深深感到我们的人身真的是暇满难得，那些难民们连吃穿都不能具足，甚至随时都有可能被野兽或者瘟疫吞食生命，修行佛法对于他们来说是根本不可能的事情。

同为人类，完全不同的生活境遇，我们虽然处于轮回，但源于往昔深厚的善根，我们不愁吃穿，只是如果能欲望少一些，信心多一些便有很多修行的机会与时间，所以大家真的应该珍惜，试想，如果下一世我们转身于这样的地方，或者更苦的恶鬼地狱道，那时垂胸顿足又有什么意义呢？

但从另一个角度来说又是什么样的业力让他们转生于这样的环境呢，就是贪心，贪心是转身于饥馑之地的因。所以此生修善断恶是保护自己今生及来世唯一的方法。人身难得、寿命无常，在尚有机会时，一定要做好一切准备。

嘉样堪布

A few days ago, I saw some pictures and videos. The sentient beings in Africa live a life like a ghost. They have nothing to eat, even their drinking water is mixed up with sediment and even garbage. For them, living in a house made of mud means already high quality life, more people live in houses built only with a few wooden sticks. They usually live with their livestock together in tiny space with one side for sleeping and another side for eating, even chicken or other animals. A bottle of mineral water and a package of instant noodles are already gift from God.

By witnessing such, strong compassion for them arose from my heart; on the other hand, I deeply realized our mortal bodies are really precious. Those refugees had no enough food or clothes, even their lives would be possibly devoured by wild beasts or any plague at any moment. So to practice Buddha Dharma is quite impossible for them.

As human being in samsara, different people experience completely different living conditions. Stemmed from our deep virtuous roots in the past, we are not worried about food or clothes, as long as we can lower our desire and enhance our confidence, we would have many opportunities and much time for practice, so please cherish our precious human body. Imagine if we were reincarnated to such a place or even more miserable Lower World with hungry ghost or hellhounds in the next life, what’s the point of beating our breasts and stamping our feet by then?

However, from another perspective, what karma makes them reborn in such a circumstance? Greed. Greed is the cause of being reincarnated to a place of famine. Therefore, to do good things and to break evil in this life is the only way to preserve our own present life and afterlife. A human body is rare to attain, lifetime is impermanent, and we must make all the preparations, while opportunities still exist.

Khenpo Jamyang