人要发愿 Everyone should make an oath

　　人要发愿，不管你是弘扬佛法，还是做世间的人，都要成为一个有用的人。老祖先的悠久的五千年文明你要学，现在科技这么发达也要学。今天讲这些，是想通过这个因缘也让大家每一个人都发奋，不管年纪轻的还是年纪大的都要发奋。你说我这么老了，我己经学不进了，那你一定要发誓，你下一世要好好学，跪在佛面前发愿：佛啊！佛啊！令我下辈子不要忘掉这个本愿。让我从小就能够跳级，别人一年读一年级，我一年读五年级。10岁就进少年大学，20岁就成材，有充沛的精力做事情。有人是大器晚成，80岁，成是成了，但有气无力，心有余而力不足了。所以说长江后浪推前浪，自古英雄出少年，这少年哪里来的？就是我们老的时候要发愿，你不发愿，你下一世怎么出少年呢？所以这个发奋非常重要，你真的发起奋来，佛都可以做哦，成佛都有余啊。所以我们佛教里讲初发心者，成佛有余，心能够发起来了，奋发图强了，你这个人必然成才，这个社会呢，必然能够昌盛！

Everyone should make an oath to be a helpful person, either for promoting Buddhism, or for living as an ordinary person. While you learn the five-thousand year civilization of our ancestor, you should also learn the developed technology. The reason why I say this today is because through this opportunity I want to encourage you all to try your best, no matter how old you are. If you think you are too old to learn, you are supposed to vow to learn well in your next life. And you should fall to your knees to vow before Buddha: Buddha! Buddha! Please don’t let me forget my initial oath. Please let me skip grades in my future life. For example, while others will be studying at Grade One, I will be studying at the Grade Fifth. I hope that in my next life I will be admitted to a university for youngsters at 10 and I will have enough energy to do meaningful things and become a helpful person at 20. There is a Chinese saying,“Great minds mature later” But if one succeeds at the age of 80 years old, it will be too hard for him or her to make contribution to the society. As in the Yangzi River, the waves behind drive on those ahead, so each new generation excels the last one. However, where does the new generation come from? Therefore, we should make an oath when we get old, or we will not be successful in the future life. It is very important to try your best. If you really do your best, it is possible and comparatively easy for you to become the Buddha. So in Buddhism there is a saying to describe this kind of situation, that is ‘If you make an oath to become the Buddha at the beginning and do your best, it will not be very hard to achieve this goal’. If you have the strong faith and work hard, you will surely be successful, meanwhile, if everyone makes such an oath, the society will be prosperous.

爱出者爱返，福往者福来。随喜转载，功德无量。