病是一把钥匙

摘要：生老病死，是人生的四个宝藏，你一定要能打开它。

许多人对病认识不清，常有一种莫名的畏惧感。虽然大家都知道生老病死是正常的，但你一旦有病，尤其是一些重大疾病，人就不愿意面对。这是正常的。
人一说这个病，就会与痛联系到一起，不舒展，无力。人一旦生病，关注的东西就不再是生活中的其他东西了，会放弃很多正常的生活，只关注这个病痛了，把它焦点化了。不管是自己或者是朋友、亲人之间，这种现象特别普遍。

实际生老病死，是人生的四个宝藏，你一定要能打开它。生老病死，是我们每个人生命的一个特质，我们要公正地去观察生活。

每个人都会有病，这是社会的一种属性，不是哪个人特有的。要整体地看，不要把大家共有的这种生命现象扛在自己身上，给自己带来没有必要的负担。这个社会属性很重要，它可以让我们更平和地坦然面对。

古代先贤要三分病态，干什么呢？去除慢心。气力很强的时候，无意识会表现一种骄慢。我们这个时代人的病难多，杂缘、违缘多。我们可以像那些先贤们一样把疾病作为师导，把它作为法侣，它是你觉悟、认识生命的推动者、教导者。

健康、疾病，只是每个人在人生不同阶段中的一种自然表现罢了，缘生缘灭没有实质，是无自性的。如果我们把疾病当成觉悟生命的良师益友，它就是能打开生命宝藏的一把钥匙，是一把打开通向自由解脱之门的钥匙，是觉悟人生、圆满人生的正机。

生命之光〜阳光早餐

开明师兄整理于2018年10月

Sickness is a key

Most of us are afraid of getting sick because we fail to observe this clearly. Although we know that birth, aging, sickness and death are normal parts of our life cycle, we are reluctant to face these facts once we get sick, especially when facing serious diseases. This is quite a common reaction.

Sickness is often linked with pains, feeling weaknesses or lack of vigor. When we get sick, most of us are totally focused on our disease, putting aside any other matter in our life, and so do our friends and relatives.

But in fact, birth, aging, illnesses and death are four treasures of our lives. We must find a way to open these treasures. Everyone’s life is characterized by these four stages. We should observe them keenly.

Everyone gets sick. It is an issue that we share with the whole society. Therefore we should look at the bigger picture. We should never face this common problem all by ourselves and take an unnecessary burden. It is very important to recognize it is a common problem we share with everyone. Adopting this view enables us to face sickness more peacefully.

Illness was always welcomed by our ancient sages. Why? Because it could support them to eliminate their pride. Indeed, when people are strong and healthy, arrogance can arise unintentionally. In this era, people are frequently trapped in sickness and other obstacles. We should learn from the ancient sages and consider these problems as our dharma teacher or as a partner who could lift us up on the way to enlightenment.

Health and sickness are just natural expression of each person at different stages in life. They are interdependently-arising and ceasing and do not have any essence of their own. As long as we see sickness as our teacher or our friend on the way to awareness, it becomes a key to open the treasures of our life or open the gates of liberation. It helps us be enlightened in life.