คำสอน · พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์Teaching · Pra Ajarn Suraphong
คำกล่าวที่ว่า 'จงมีชีวิตต่อไปแม้จะไม่มีประโยชน์ก็ตาม' มีความหมายอย่างไร?What Does It Mean That 'One Should Go On Living, Even If There Seems to Be No Benefit'?
พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าแต่ละช่วงชีวิตมีธรรมชาติหนึ่งใน 3 ฝ่ายผลัดกันเป็นใหญ่ ยกตัวอย่างพระเทวทัตที่แม้ตกอยู่ใต้อำนาจอกุศล แต่เมื่อวาระอกุศลหมดลง กุศลก็เข้ามาช่วยได้ทันเวลา จึงควรมีชีวิตต่อไปเพื่อรอวาระของกุศลPra Ajarn explains that each stretch of life falls under the dominance of one of the three natural forces in turn, using the example of Devadatta — who, despite being under the unwholesome side's control, was rescued by the wholesome side at the very last moment — to show why one should keep living and await the wholesome side's turn.
Someone brought up the saying, 'One should go on living, even if there seems to be no benefit,' and asked whether it was true and what it meant.
Each Stretch of Life Falls Under One of the Three Natural Forces
This saying is correct, because the moment for benefit simply hasn't arrived yet. One may currently be under a stretch where the neutral force () dominates — a state that brings neither benefit nor harm, where side's turn to intervene hasn't yet come.
Even for Someone Under the Unwholesome Side, Giving Still Has Value
Even for someone under the sway of side — a thief, a criminal, a prisoner — giving alms to them still carries value, simply to sustain their life a little longer. Every human being has their own turn: sometimes the unwholesome side dominates, drawing someone into vice, drink, or drugs, pressuring and confusing the mind so it cannot find peace. This is genuinely a able state, being pressed down by the unwholesome side in this way. Even though no benefit is apparent now, and even though some suffering may be caused to others in the meantime, this is simply because the neutral or unwholesome force happens to be possessing them at that moment.
The Example of Devadatta: When the Unwholesome Turn Ends, the Wholesome Steps In
A clear example is Devadatta, who is destined to attain enlightenment as a Paccekabuddha in the future, yet who, while under the sway of the unwholesome side for a time, caused great trouble for the Buddha. Being possessed by the unwholesome side, this was simply his turn to pass through. When that unwholesome turn ended, the unwholesome side tried, true to its nature, to drag him all the way down to the Avīci hell before finally releasing its hold. But in the very midst of being dragged toward that hell, the wholesome side stepped in at precisely the critical moment, allowing Devadatta to come to his senses in time and bow in repentance to the Buddha before he fell. This shows that even someone of great merit still has their own turn to pass through — and once the unwholesome turn ends, another natural force steps in to take over the care of that being.
Go On Living, Because the Wholesome Side's Turn Will Come
The saying 'go on living, even if there seems to be no benefit' therefore means exactly this: keep living, because in time, once the unwholesome or neutral turn passes, the wholesome side will take dominance, and it will, on its own, guide that life toward genuine benefit and good.