Buddha refused to answer some common philosophical questions popular at his time. According to Buddhist Sanskrit texts, there are fourteen such questions, but Pali texts give only ten.
The fourteen questions:
Are the self and the universe eternal?
Are the self and universe transient?
Are the self and the universe both eternal and transient?
Are the self and the universe neither eternal nor transient?
Do the self and the universe have a beginning?
Do the self and the universe have no beginning?
Do the self and the universe have both beginning and no beginning?
Do the self and the universe have neither beginning nor no beginning?
Does the Blessed One exist after death?
Does the Blessed One not exist after death?
Does the Blessed One both exist and not exist after death?
Does the Blessed One neither exist nor not exist after death?
Is the mind the same as the body?
Are the mind and body two separate entities?
十四無記
1.世間有常(世界恒常存在吗?)
2.世間無常(世界不恒常存在嗎?)
3.世間有常無常(世界既恒常又不恒常嗎? )
4.世間非有常非無常(世界既非恒常又非不恒常嗎?)
5.世間有邊(世界有邊際嗎?)
6.世間無邊(世界無邊際嗎?)
7.世間有邊無邊(世界既有邊又無邊嗎?)
8.世間非有邊非無邊(世界既非有邊又非無邊嗎?)
9.是命是身(生命與自我是同一的嗎?)
10.命異身異(生命與自我不是同一的嗎?)
11.如來死後有(如來死後還存在嗎?)
12.如來死後無(如來死後不存在了嗎?)
13.如來死後有無(如來死後既存在又不存在嗎?)
14.如來死後非有非無(如來死後既非存在又非不存在嗎?)
十四無記 - 解釋
此詞又名十四不可記、十四難。即:
01、世界恆常存在。(「世有常」)
02、世界不會恆常存在。(「世無常」)
03、世界恆常而又不恆常。(「世亦有常亦無常」)
04、世界非恆常非非恆常。(「世非有常非無常」)
05、世界有邊際。(「世有邊」)
06、世界無邊際。(「世無邊」)
07、世界有邊際而又無邊際。(「世有邊無邊」)
08、世界非有邊際非無邊際。(「世非有邊非無邊」)
09、生命即是物質身體。(「命即身」)
10、生命與物質身體並非同一。(「命異身」)
11、佛死後還存在。(「如來死後有」)
12、佛死後不存在。(「如來死後無」)
13、佛死後存在而又不存在。(「如來死後亦有亦無」)
14、佛死後非存在非不存在。(「如來死後非有非無」)
依《雜阿含經》卷三十四所述,佛陀對外道以顛倒之見問難的十四個問題,皆不置可否,不予明確的答覆。《大智度論》卷二稱之為「十四難」,該卷曾解釋佛陀不回答的理由,是因「此事無實故不答。諸法有常無此理,諸法斷亦無此理,(中略)故佛不答」。
總之,這十四種問題是外道由於斷常一異等妄見而產生的邪執。其中前十二項是就有無等四句而言,后二項是就一異而言。新譯《華嚴經》卷二十一,更將前十二項就世間與我加以區分,而成十六種。
The ten questions:
The world is eternal (has no beginning in time)
The world is not eternal
The world is (spatially) infinite
The world is not (spatially) infinite
The soul (jiva) and the body are identical
The soul (jiva) and the body are different
The Tathagata (a perfectly enlightened being, the buddha) exists after death
The Tathagata does not exist after death
The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death
The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death
Buddha gave this as an analogy why he would not answer the questions, "Now did I ever say to you that if you led a religious life you would understand these things? It is as if a man had been wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends, companions relatives were to get a surgeon to heal him, and he were to say, 'I will not have this arrow pulled out until I know who wounded me, of what caste he is, what his name is, whether he is tall, short or of medium height, what colour his skin is, where he comes from, what kind of bow I was wounded with, what it was made of, whether the arrow was feathered with a vulture's wing or a heron's or a hawk's…..' Surely the man would die before he knew all this."
In another word, Buddha thought that these questions are irrelevant to seeking nirvana, and in seeking these answers, one may be distracted from Buddha's so-call "true path".
佛陀在世時,有一位比丘喜好思惟「十四難」的問題,他每天反覆思考著這些問題,卻無法找出答案,這令他寢食難安。有一天,比丘終於忍不住了,帶著自己的衣缽走到佛陀的住處,跟佛陀說:「佛陀,請為我解答十四難的問題,如果我明白了,就繼續留在僧團。如果您無法為我解答,我就要離開您,另尋名師了。」
佛陀看著這位比丘,感慨地說:「你真愚癡啊!我一生說法度眾,幫助所有眾生解脫老病死的煩惱。此老病死的問題才是當務之急。至於你問的十四難,只是無意義的辯論而已,對於實際的解脫煩惱而言,一點幫助也沒有。如果解釋給你聽,既非真實道之理,對修行、解脫又有何助益。」
接著佛陀又舉了一個譬喻繼續說道:「就好像有人被毒箭射中了,親人急著幫他找醫生取出毒箭治療,但是這個人卻說不行。他要先知道醫生姓什麼?住那裏?父母是誰?今年幾歲?還要問清楚身上的箭是出自那一座山?用什麼樹木造的?用什麼羽毛當箭翎?什麼人製作的?射箭的弓是什麼材質做的?箭上的毒藥出自何地?藥名是什麼?……這位中箭受傷的人,非要等到問清全部的問題才肯接受治療。」這時,佛陀停頓了一下,反問比丘:「這個人可不可以等到全部問題問完了,了解了,才拔箭上藥啊?」比丘不假思索地回答:「不可以。如果等到那個時候,早就毒發身亡,命喪黃泉了。」
聽到比丘的回答,佛陀慈悲地笑了笑繼續說:「你現在的處境就是如此。被邪見的毒箭射中了,不趕快求醫治病,非得要等到世間是常、無常、有邊、無邊等十四難問題解答了,才願意拔箭療傷。如果等到那個時候,早就喪失法身慧命,墮入三塗惡道的黑暗深淵了。」
比丘聽了佛陀的開示,心生慚愧。誠心領受佛陀的教導,晝夜依循佛法精進用功,最後證得阿羅漢果。(From this
website 佛典故事:: 十四難 - 中台世界)