概要
老いの現実を直視しながらも、それを嘆くのではなく、智慧をもって受け入れることを教えるこの章は、人生の有限性を見つめる勇気を与えてくれます。老いさらばえた身体の描写は厳しくも、その先にある心の成熟への招きは温かいのです。
"Yānīdha diṭṭhadhammikā, tiṇṇaṁ loke parāyanā; yathā dhammā tathā ete, dhammā nūna mahesino."
Ko nu hāso kimānando, niccaṁ pajjalite sati; Andhakārena onaddhā, padīpaṁ na gavesatha.
What is joy, what is laughter, when the flames are ever burning? Shrouded by darkness, would you not seek a light?
Passa cittakataṁ bimbaṁ, arukāyaṁ samussitaṁ; Āturaṁ bahusaṅkappaṁ, yassa natthi dhuvaṁ ṭhiti.
See this fancy puppet, a body built of sores, diseased, obsessed over, in which nothing lasts at all.
Parijiṇṇamidaṁ rūpaṁ, roganīḷaṁ pabhaṅguraṁ; Bhijjati pūtisandeho, maraṇantañhi jīvitaṁ.
This body is decrepit and frail, a nest of disease. This foul carcass falls apart, for life ends in death.
Yānimāni apatthāni, alābūneva sārade; Kāpotakāni aṭṭhīni, tāni disvāna kā rati.
These dove-grey bones are tossed away like dried gourds in the autumn— what joy is there in such a sight?
Aṭṭhīnaṁ nagaraṁ kataṁ, maṁsalohitalepanaṁ; Yattha jarā ca maccu ca, māno makkho ca ohito.
In this city built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood, old age and death are stashed away, along with conceit and contempt.
Jīranti ve rājarathā sucittā, Atho sarīrampi jaraṁ upeti; Satañca dhammo na jaraṁ upeti, Santo have sabbhi pavedayanti.
Fancy chariots of kings wear out, and even this body gets old. But the truth of the good never gets old— so the good proclaim to the good.
Appassutāyaṁ puriso, balībaddhova jīrati; Maṁsāni tassa vaḍḍhanti, paññā tassa na vaḍḍhati.
A person of little learning ages like an ox— their flesh grows, but not their wisdom.
Anekajātisaṁsāraṁ, sandhāvissaṁ anibbisaṁ; Gahakāraṁ gavesanto, dukkhā jāti punappunaṁ.
Transmigrating through countless rebirths, I’ve journeyed without reward, searching for the house-builder; painful is birth again and again.
Gahakāraka diṭṭhosi, puna gehaṁ na kāhasi; Sabbā te phāsukā bhaggā, gahakūṭaṁ visaṅkhataṁ; Visaṅkhāragataṁ cittaṁ, taṇhānaṁ khayamajjhagā.
I’ve seen you, house-builder! You won’t build a house again! Your rafters are all broken, your roof-peak demolished. The mind, set on demolition, has reached the end of cravings.
Acaritvā brahmacariyaṁ, aladdhā yobbane dhanaṁ; Jiṇṇakoñcāva jhāyanti, khīṇamaccheva pallale.
When young they spurned the spiritual path and failed to earn any wealth. Now they brood like old cranes in a pond bereft of fish.
Acaritvā brahmacariyaṁ, aladdhā yobbane dhanaṁ; Senti cāpātikhīṇāva, purāṇāni anutthunaṁ. Jarāvaggo ekādasamo.
When young they spurned the spiritual path and failed to earn any wealth. Now they lie like spent arrows, bemoaning over things past.
老いは仏教の四苦（生・老・病・死）の一つであり、シッダールタ太子が出家を決意した四門出遊の体験にも直接つながります。古代インドでは老年は一般に尊敬の対象でしたが、ブッダは老いの苦しみを率直に語ることで、執着からの解放を説きました。この章の詩句には、骸骨のように白くなった骨や、朽ちた車のように壊れゆく身体といった、非常に直接的な描写が含まれます。これは嫌悪を催すためではなく、無常の真実を直視するための瞑想的な実践です。
アンチエイジング産業が巨大化し、老いを「敗北」と見なす風潮がある現代において、この章は老いと正面から向き合う別の道を示します。身体は必ず衰えますが、心は成長し続けることができます。この章は、若さに執着するのではなく、限りある時間を智慧の修行に充てることの尊さを教えてくれます。老いを恐れるのではなく、老いの中にも学びと成長の可能性を見出す——それこそが仏教的な成熟の姿なのです。
用語にカーソルを合わせると意味が表示されます