(３２)还有一个问题：
“我们能辨认出阿罗汉吗？”

32) Here is another question:

32) “Would we be able to recognize an arahant if we met one?”

　　一般人非常喜欢问这个问题，例如有些人怀疑：我们是否能辨认出目前在世间的阿罗汉？若有个阿罗汉迎面而来，我们是否能辨认出他是阿罗汉？这时我们可以回答“如果我们无法辨认出他是不是阿罗汉，那么连阿罗汉本身，也同样可能无法辨认出彼此。”

PEOPLE LIKE ASKING this very much. For instance there are some who doubt if we could recognize an arahant now living in the world. If asked whether we could recognize an arahant if one came walking along, we should consider the following. In the event that we didn’t recognize this one and never could recognize any of the them, then even arahants themselves would not be able to recognize one another as such.

　　据说长老舍利弗(Elder Sariputta)不知道罗婆那跋提(Lakuntakabhaddiya)是位阿罗汉，而不断向他说法，目的是想使他证得阿罗汉。这表示舍弗并不知道罗婆那跋提是阿罗汉(泰本巴利藏第２５册，１７５页)[译注一]。

It is said that the Elder Sariputta did not know that La- ku..akabhaddiya was an arahant, also. He carried on expounding Dhamma to him, the purpose of which was to make possible the attainment of arahantship. This shows that Sariputta did not know that Laku..akabhaddiya was an arahant.

　　但如果我们真的能认出阿罗汉，则连非阿罗汉的梵天也必定能认出谁是阿罗汉，同时他也能预言谁将能死前就证涅槃，或未证涅槃就死去(泰本巴利藏第２３册，７７页)。

However, if it was always the case that we did recognize an arahant as such, then even a god in the Brahma world who was himself no arahant would be able to recognize which people were arahants. He could prophesy who would die having attained nibbāna and who would die without having attained nibbāna.

　　因此，若我们被问到能否辨认出阿罗汉，我们要回答：“或许可以，或许不能，要视情况而定，有时甚至连阿罗汉本身也可能无法彼此辨认。”所以，我们不应该给予绝对的答案，若说“可以”或“不能”，就会像寺院的教师们，对这类事情总喜欢武断作答。

Thus, if asked whether we should be able to recognize an arahant or not, we must say that we might be able to or not, depending on the circumstances. Even arahants themselves might not recognize one another as such. So we ought not to give an unqualified answer, saying that we could recognize one or that we could not, as do the teachers in temple preaching halls, who like being dogmatic about such things.

　　[译注一]阿罗汉与凡夫的区别，不在于外相，他与凡夫一样不能免却老、病、死，但在看待世间、对待人事的心境，以及受世间的影响层面上，二者有显著的不同。