诸佛在什么寿量时出世成佛

觅寂比库中译、整理

在人类寿量超过十万岁或人寿递增的时期，并不是佛陀出世的时机，因为那时有情的生、老、死不明显，而诸佛说法必定围绕著三相，但他们对佛陀所开示的无常、苦、无我三相的真理，不仅不想听，也不相信，无法理解，所以无法证知四圣谛，无法出离轮迴之苦，因此不是佛陀出世的时机。

在人类寿量少于一百岁的时期，也不是佛陀出世的时机，因为那时有情众生的烦恼太炽盛。对炽盛烦恼的人说法，无法在教诫处住立，教法无法持久，就如用树枝在水面上写字般，转瞬即逝，因此不是佛陀出世的时机。只有在人类寿量十万岁以下、一百岁以上而且是人寿递减的时期，才是佛陀出现世间的适当时期。

The Great Chronicle of Buddhas

The time is not proper for the advent of a Buddha when the life-span of human beings is on the increase from one hundred thousand years. Owing to such longevity, suffering caused by birth, suffering caused by disease, suffering caused by old age and suffering caused by death are not manifest. Veiled by their lengthy life-span, human beings tend to be oblivious of all suffering. The Dhamma sermons to be delivered by Buddhas invariably centre around the characteristics of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and non-self (anatta). If Buddhas who appear when the life-span is more than one hundred thousand years give sermons on the nature of anicca, dukkha and anatta, the people of that period will be perplexed, wondering what the Buddhas are teaching; they will neither listen to nor believe the sermons. Without listening or believing, human beings will surely wonder what the Buddhas'' preaching is. They will never realize the Four Noble Truths and never achieve Nibbāna. It will be fruitless to teach the non-believers the discourse on the three characteristics which would liberate them from saṃsāra. Therefore, the period when the lifespan extends more than one thousand years is not the proper time for Buddhas to appear.

The period when thelife-span of human beings falls below one hundred years is also not proper for a Buddha''s appearance because beings belonging to such a period abound in the defilements of sensual pleasures. The Dhamma sermons given to such people will not endure; in fact, they will fade away instantly just as the scribbling with a stick on the surface of the water will disappear, leaving no mark whatsoever. Therefore the short period of the declining life-span below one hundred years is also not the proper time for the Buddhas to appear.

Only the periods ranging from one hundred thousand years'' life-span to one hundred years'' life-span are right for the coming of a Buddha. These are the periods in which birth, old age and death manifest themselves easily, in which the teaching on the three characteristics and the teaching as to how beings can be liberated from saṃsāra is understood easily and in which beings are not so overwhelmed by the defilements of sensual pleasures. Hence the appropriateness of the period for the most opportune arrival of a Buddha. Therefore, only the period below the one hundred thousand years'' life span and the period above the one hundred years'' life-span by human reckoning is the most propitious time for a Bodhisatta to attain Buddhahood.

佛陀出世时的寿劫长短

诸佛通常不会在人类寿量递增的劫时出世。因为假如佛陀在递增的劫时出世，并教导无常、苦和无我的教法，由于有情的寿量一劫比一劫长，他们将无法理解诸行无常、苦和无我的特相。由于这个原因，诸佛不会在任何增劫出世，而只会在减劫里出世。

即使在减劫中，诸佛只在寿量最多十万岁时出世。他们不会在寿量超过十万岁时出世，因为人们会对诸行无常、苦和无我特相的教法充耳而不闻。当人类的寿量递减时，他们可能在寿量至少一百岁时出世。当寿量少于一百岁时，诸佛是不会在这么短的寿量里出世的，因为即使诸行无常、苦和无我的教法自然辉耀而显著，由于众生的贪瞋癡烦恼是与时俱增的，尽管有佛陀的教法，众生也无法接受、遵循和修习佛陀的教法。所以在寿量少于一百岁时，是不会有佛陀出世的。

正是如此，诸佛最多在寿量十万岁，最少在寿量一百岁时出世。尽管确实他们出世在最多和最少寿量这两劫之间的减劫，诸佛只在寿量相符以及他们在菩萨期间修波罗蜜所累积的菩提资粮达到成熟程度相符的时劫中出世。那些菩提资粮在适合他们成佛的寿量十万岁时成熟的菩萨，他们会在那个寿量十万岁时出世成佛；那些还在积累波罗蜜而菩提资粮尚未成熟的菩萨，就不会在寿量十万岁时出世，而是会等到他们的菩提资粮成熟的寿量时出世，可能是在寿量九万岁，或者在寿量八万岁、七万岁、六万岁等出世。

The Great Chronicle of Buddhas

Buddhas usually do not appear in a kappa when the life-span of beings is on the increase. Because if a Buddha were to appear in such a kappa and teach the doctrine of impermanence and the like, beings would fall to understand the characteristics of anicca, dukkha and anatta of conditioned things as their lives become longer and longer one kappa after another. For this reason Buddhas do not appear in any of the kappas on the increase but they do so in the decreasing kappas.

Even with regard to the decreasing kappas, Buddhas appear only in the kappas that have the life-span of at most a hundred thousand years. They do not appear the kappas that have the life-span longer than a hundred thousand years because their teaching of the three characteristics of conditioned things would fall on deaf ears. When the life-span decreases, a hundred years is the minimum of the kappa in which they would appear. When the life-span goes down from a hundred years, Buddhas do not appear in those kappas shorter life-span because even though the characteristics of conditioned things manifest themselves glaringly, as their impurities of greed, hate and delusion grow more at the time, beings are unable to accept, follow and practise (the Dhamma) despite Buddhas'' teaching. Hence kappas of less than a hundred years of life-span are devoid of Buddhas.

In this way, Buddhas appeared during the kappas ranging from that of the maximum life-span which was a hundred thousand years to that of the minimum life-span which was just a hundred years. Though it is true that they appeared in the decreasing kappas between the two kappas - that of the maximum life-span and that of the minimum -the Buddha appeared only in the kappa in which the life-span agrees with the degree of maturity of the prerequisites for the Perfections while they were Bodhisattas. Those Bodhisattas, whose prerequisites reached the maturity that coincided with the period of a hundred thousand years of life-span appropriate to their Enlightenment, they appeared as Buddha in that kappa of a hundred thousand years of life-span. Those Bodhisattas, whose prerequisites were not mature yet as they are still at the stage of fulfilling the Perfections, could not appear as Buddhas in the kappa of a hundred thousand years of life-span but could appear in the kappas in which they would reach the maturity of their prerequisites, the kappas which might be of ninety thousand years of life-span, or eighty thousand years, seventy thousand years, sixty thousand years, or so, of life-span.

增劫和减劫

在成住阿僧祇劫开始的时候（即世界生成之时），人类的寿命是阿僧祇（asaṅkhyeyya）岁。随著时光迁移，他们逐渐地被贪、瞋等烦恼征服，因此他们的寿命逐渐地减少，直到只有十岁。如此递减的期间，巴利语称为“hāyana-kappa”（减劫）。

相反地，由于诸如慈爱（mettā）等殊胜心的善法生起与增长，因此他们后代的寿命逐渐地增加，直到阿僧祇岁。如此寿命从十岁递增到阿僧祇岁的期间，巴利语称为“vaddhana-kappa”（增劫）。

The Great Chronicle of Buddhas

At the beginning of the Vivaṭṭaṭṭhāyī Asaṅkheyya kappa (i.e. at the beginning of the world) people live for incalculable (asaṅkhyeyya) years. As time goes on, they are overcome by such mental defilements as lobha (greed), dosa, (anger), etc., and consequently their life-span gradually decreases until it becomes only ten years. Such aperiod of decrease is called Hāyana-kappa in Pāḷi (aeon of decrease).

On the contrary, owing to the occurrence and uplift of such wholesome principles as sublime states of mind, namely, mettā (loving-kindness), etc., the life-span of generations of their descendents doubles up step by step until it becomes incalculable years. Such a period of increase in life-span from ten years to incalculable year is called Vaddhana-kappa in Pāḷi (aeon of increase).

生死书注：以下节选自《六道轮回相状概论》一书。综合此页内容：增劫转轮王出世，减劫佛出世，并非每劫都有佛出世。

转轮王的出世时间

物以稀为贵，轮王也是一样的，于同一时间、同一世界，绝没有两个轮王同时出现。《俱舍论》卷第十二中说：轮王如佛无二俱生，故契经言，无处无位，非前非后，有二如来，应正等觉，出现于世。有处有位，唯一如来。如说如来，轮王亦尔。

关于四种轮王出世的时间，《大毗婆沙论》认为，唯有在人寿增长时，即增劫时，才会有轮王出世。此论卷一三五云：“于唯增时，轮王出世。”《俱舍论》卷第十二的说法更为确切，此论认为，在人寿无量岁至八万岁时，才有轮王出，人寿少于八万岁，便无轮王。此论中说：“从此洲人寿无量岁，乃至八万岁，有转轮王生。减八万时，有情富乐，寿量损减，众恶渐盛，非大人器，故无轮王。”但唐代神清撰的《北山录》卷第一与此说法却有不同：“初二万岁有铁轮王，次四万岁有铜轮王，次六万岁有银轮王，后八万岁有金轮王。”南宋志磐的《佛祖统纪》卷第三十与《北山录》略同，只有金轮王于八万四千岁时出世为异。

不管轮王是八万岁以上出世，还是铁轮王可在二万岁时出世，我们今天都是与轮王无缘了，充其量也只能见到其遗体而已，故《大唐西域记》卷一记载着玄奘大师西行时，曾见到金轮王遗留下来的牙齿的情形。

我们所处的南赡部洲，在外围边际的地方，还有轮王所经行的轮王路。这路是真金所形成的，如同四天王天上的道路一般。没有轮王出世的时候，海水上升，这路但没入大海中如有情膝量深的地方。有轮出世时，海水减退，轮王路也便显现出来。《瑜伽师地论》卷二云：赡部洲循其边际，有轮王路，真金所成，如四大王天。有情膝量，没住大海。若轮王出世，如彼膝量，海水减焉。

军轮王、财轮王、法轮王

又，据《法苑珠林》卷四十三，轮王还可以依另外一套标准分为三种，即军轮王、财轮王和法轮王。军轮王在人寿八万岁以下出世，有大威势，能以军威王一天下，如阿育王；财轮王在人寿八万岁以上时出世，因为此王福德寿命长远，八万岁以下与寿相违，故不出世，即是金、银、铜、铁四轮王；法轮王即是如来。增劫时才会有转轮王出世的说法是据财轮王说的，若是军轮王则通增减劫皆可出世。一般以阿育王为铁轮王，如《广弘明集》卷十五云：“阿育王，铁轮王也。”但是《法苑珠林》却以阿育王为军轮王，笔者以为这是有道理的，因为阿育王是以军队杀伐来征服他国的，并不符合前文《俱舍论》中所说的“一切轮王，皆无伤害。”的规则。这个规则是对金、银、铜、铁四种轮王而论的，并不适用于军轮王，因为提出这种规则的《俱舍论》只讲到金、银、铜、铁四种轮王，并没有论及军轮王。所以将阿育王定为军轮王，这是再合适也不过的了。