【文化释说英文有声书】第二篇 探本溯源 佛道遐昌（六）

Six – Exploring the origin to search for the source: the everlasting flourishing of the Buddhist path

电影《超体》的女主角叫露西,影片讲述的是一股邪恶势力, 炼了母体在怀孕六个月时分泌的一种物质,这种物质可促进婴儿细胞分裂和大脑细胞的生长,他们企图借露西的身体运到他国。结果途中出现意外,露西被打,容器在她身体里破掉了,这种物质就融进了她的血液,她的脑细胞开始苏醒,最后露西的脑细胞百分之百开发。《超体》以电影的方式,展示了一种人类自身的认知。

The movie Lucy is about a group of evil characters which have managed to create a substance made from the bodily discharge of a six-month pregnant lady. This substance enhances both cell division and the growth of the brain in babies. The characters intend to bring this substance to another country using Lucy’s body. However, there is an accident midway and Lucy is physically assaulted. The container breaks inside her body and the substance enters her bloodstream. Her brain cells awaken and they become completely developed. Through the medium of a movie, Lucy demonstrated a kind of self-awareness humans have of our own body.

大脑的许多奥秘至今无法破解,人类大量的潜在心智能量还未能启动,也没有使用过。

佛教修行,直截了当地告诉我们:通过“戒定慧”三无漏学,把我们的漏洞补起来,减少负能量,增加正能量。戒定慧 :“戒”, 戒恶 ;“定”,定在善里,“止于至善”;“慧”,不着善不着恶。从现象看到本质,一个生命依着大“道”的本质,就像坐电梯一样, 不是自己在爬楼了。

At present, we are still unable to know the many secrets of our brain. A large part of our mental and intellectual energies which are hidden and have never been utilized have yet to be roused. Buddhist practice tells us directly that through training in ‘morality, concentration, and wisdom’ – the triple uncontaminated practices - we are able to fix our ‘outflows’, lessen our negative energy, and increase our positive energy. ‘Morality’ is to do away with unwholesomeness; ‘concentration’ abiding in wholesomeness and to stop only at complete wholesomeness; and ‘wisdom’ the attachment to neither wholesomeness nor unwholesomeness. It is to be able to see the essence from appearances – the essence of a life which is in accord with the great Dao, like when one is taking a lift, ascending without having to climb the stairs using one’s own efforts.

“人的智慧是第一生产力。”这是现代社会的共识。人生最大的浪费就来自于自身。从生到死,大量的心智潜能得不到开发,更谈不上使用,可惜而又遗憾。就像给你一碗饭,你只扒拉两口,饭就倒进了垃圾桶。虽然你也在听课、在坐公交车、在吃饭,但像梦游一样。人只是利用自己的大脑去完成一个社会角色,并由此误失许多获知真理的机会。我们不知道,“天命之谓性”,每个人都有佛性,都有上百亿个脑细胞,所以,古人云“大梦谁先觉”。

Human wisdom is the initial source of productivity. This is widely acknowledged in today’s society. Life’s greatest waste comes from oneself. From birth until death, a large part of one’s mental and intellectual potential is undeveloped, needless to mention utilized. This is both lamentable and regrettable. It is like throwing away a whole bowl of rice that has been offered to you after you have only taken two mouthfuls. Although you are listening in class, taking the commute, and eating, you are no different from a sleepwalker. Humans only use their brains to fulfill their roles in society, and due to this, miss out on many opportunities to attain the truth. We do not know that ‘what Heaven ordains is known as ‘nature’’. Everyone has Buddha-nature and possesses billions and billions of brain cells. Hence, the ancient adage: ‘Who is it who will be the first to be enlightened in this big dream?’

佛是觉者,就是醒过来的人,凡人还没醒。醒或不醒,脑细胞的数量没有增减。因而,人人可以修道,不修是人生最大的损失。六道轮回,生死苦海,是冤枉的事情,是你错误地进入了恶性循环。就是说, 通达“道”的圣人来救这些不明白的人,是仁慈、慈悲之心;凡夫想跳出六道轮回,首先要有一颗虔诚之心,来配合圣贤相救。

The Buddha is an enlightened individual, one who is awakened. Worldlings have yet to awaken. The total number of brain cells one has does not increase or decrease whether one is awakened or not. Hence, everyone can practice the Dao, and it will be life’s greatest loss if one does not. Transmigration through the Six Realms of existence and rebirth in the ocean of suffering are things one need not go through. It is because in erring, you have entered this vicious cycle. That is to say, the sages who can penetrate the Dao are here to help people who do not understand the Dao – all out of a mind of benevolence, loving kindness, and compassion. Worldlings hoping to escape transmigration through the Six Realms should, most importantly, possess a mind which is pious and sincere in order to requite such benefaction from the sages and the virtuous ones.

其实,《中庸》有两个重点:一是圣人之心,一是仁慈之心。还有句话:妇人之仁遍及天下,便是圣人之仁。

In fact, there are two themes in The Doctrine of the Mean: the mind of the sage, and the mind of one who is benevolent and lovingly-kind. There is also the saying that the universal benevolence of one who is motherly is also the benevolence of the sage.

佛教说“不忍众生苦”。地藏菩萨曰:“地狱不空,誓不成佛, 众生度尽,方证菩提 。”在我们这个时代,请问圣人在不在?圣人的仁慈之心在不在?在的。

It is mentioned in Buddhism that ‘the suffering of myriad beings is unbearable’. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said, ‘I vow that as long as hell is not empty, I will not achieve Buddha-hood. Only when myriad beings have been conveyed [to emancipation], will I attain Bodhi.’ May we ask if sages exist during our time? Does the mind of benevolence and compassion exist? They do.

今天,通过趵突泉的“水”,溯源而上,我们是不是慢慢登顶泰山之巅!泰山有海天之怀,华夏之魂。泰山封禅,天人合一的象征意义要远远大于君权神授的政治统治意义,它是中华民族传统文化在泰山留下的最为浓墨重彩的一笔。天、地、人,作为一个有机的整体, 强调的是人与自然的和谐,人与天的和谐。

By the tracing of Baotu Spring to its source today, have we not gradually reached the summit of Mount Tai? In Mount Tai we find the bosom of the seas and the skies, and the spirit of the Chinese civilization. The rite of the paying of homage to Heaven on Mount Tai by the emperor symbolized the union of heaven and man; and this far surpassed in significance the political implication of the receiving of the emperor’s right to rule from Heaven. This is the single most important aspect of Chinese traditional culture which is found in Mount Tai. The heaven, the earth, and man have come together as an organic whole, in which the harmony between man and nature, and that between man and heaven is emphasized.

泰山,通天拔地,擎天捧日。孟子说:“孔子登东山而小鲁,登泰山而小天下。”能够登顶泰山,何其圣神!倘若没有敬慕之心,假使无数次越上泰山之顶,尧舜之典,孔孟之志,盛唐之象,都会与你擦肩而过;倘若没有寻道之意,假使攀越世间所有高山,你还会像一个贫穷的孩子,徒然步量百山万川,胸中却无泰山可缘。泰山,在山东。泰山,不仅仅只在山东。

As it rises from the earth and penetrates into the sky, Mount Tai props up heaven and holds up the sun in its place. Mencius said, ‘As he ascended Mount Dong, Confucius realized the insignificance of the State of Ru; and as he ascended Mount Tai, he realized the insignificance of all that is under the sky.’ How magnificent and holy must it be when one is able to reach the summit of Mount Tai! If one does so without respect and awe, one would have missed the opportunity to understand the rites of Emperors Yao and Shun, the ambitions of Confucius and Mencius, and the golden age of the Tang Dynasty, even though one has ascended the summit of Mount Tai countless times. If one does not have the intention to pursue the Dao, one is as if a poor child who will never give rise to a connection with Mount Tai in his mind despite having scaled all the mountains in the world and having travelled across hundreds and thousands of mountains and creeks on foot. Mount Tai is in Shandong; yet, it is not merely in Shandong.

今天,我们探趵突泉之源,登上泰山之巅。儒释道的根骨宗风千古常习,圣人入世的本怀万古不易。我们思虑的是如何“知行合一”, 既不失自己的尊严又积极投诚,以虔诚的向道之心,继承中华民族的圣贤文化,进而与天地同化育。

As we explore the source of Baotu Spring today, we have reached the summit of Mount Tai. The essences, customs and traditions, and practices of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have endured for thousands of years; so has the original intention of the sages to enter this world remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years. That on which we need to contemplate is this: how to conduct ourselves according to what we have learned – by surrendering ourselves without losing our dignity and sincerely giving rise to a mind which is aligned with the Dao, so that the Chinese cultural heritage of the sages and the virtuous ones can be perpetuated, and we, in going further, can be transformed and cultivated in unison with the heaven and the earth.  

《中庸》有《中庸》之大美,《大学》有《大学》之大美,《论语》 有《论语》之仁爱、挚爱之心。今天短短的两个多小时,难以尽其美, 但当你捧起圣贤书,是非常享受的,因为你不仅在体悟“道”,更是与圣贤在一起了啊 !

The Doctrine of the Mean possesses great beauty, and so has The Great Learning. There is benevolent and sincere love to be found in The Analects. Within such a short time of two hours of so today, it is hard to give an exhaustive account of the beauty to be found within these works. However, it is very enjoyable when you can hold a book of the sages and the virtuous ones in your hands. This is because you are not only experiencing and realizing the Dao; more than that, you are in the company of the sages and the virtuous ones.

所以,我们今天是同走一段观澜知源、探本溯源之路,希望我们只是拉开一个序幕。如果我们现在身心的每个细胞都在享受着这种快乐,能延续着这条路走下去,那么,大明湖是不是用“大明”二字, 已无关紧要,我们做个明白人,最为重要!生而为人,不能糊涂,应探知“大明”的源头,要把生命达至极致。

Therefore, we have walked together today along part of the path on which we have set out ‘to search for the source of a water by observing its ripples’ and to discover its origin. We hope this is just a prelude. If every cell in our body and mind now is enjoying itself in this blissfulness, and we are able to journey on along this path, then the question of whether the Lake of Great Illumination is called so is no longer of any importance. What matters most is that we are ‘illuminated’! We cannot be muddle-headed human beings; we have to explore and discover the fountainhead of the ‘great illumination’ and elevate our life to its fullest extreme.

“道”为何物?“道”在天地间,无处不在。“道也者,不可须臾离也,可离,非道也”。所以,圣人警示我们:不要说修“道”。因为“道”遍于一切处。

What is the Dao? It is in between the heaven and the earth; it is present everywhere. ‘That which is called the Dao cannot be separated from for an instant; that which can be separated from is not the Dao.’ As such, the sages have warned us not to speak of ‘practising the Dao’. This is because the Dao is omnipresent.

“大学之道,在明明德,在亲民,在止于至善。知止而后有定, 定而后能静,静而后能安,安而后能虑,虑而后能得。”这是教我们具体的方法。

‘The way of the Great Learning’ is to ‘make luminous one’s bright virtues’, to ‘love the people’, and to ‘stop [striving] only at ultimate wholesomeness. After having known when to stop [striving], one possesses imperturbability; after imperturbability is there quietude; after quietude is there repose; after repose is there contemplation; after contemplation is there the ability to achieve.’ This is the definitive method that has been taught to us.

佛教里讲到“定”,还有个补充,即若扰乱别人,是“定”不了的。俗话说: 白天不做亏心事,半夜不怕鬼敲门。在“定”的前面,有个“戒”, 是“戒恶”,你不要去扰乱别人、侵损别人,一个不侵损别人的人, 自己就会得“定”,“定”了自然显发“智慧”,所以佛教讲“戒定慧”。

“知止”,这里“止”的“定”非常高,是指“止于至善”。“大学之道”,如果从佛教的角度来解释,分小乘道和大乘道。小乘道是“独善其身”,大乘道“在亲民”,普及天下。无论“独善其身”,还是“达济天下”,“止于至善”的能量非常大。我们往往从知识、学问、 字面的意义去理解,没有从一个“道”的践行者的角度去体验。

More needs to be said on the mention of ‘imperturbability’ in Buddhism. If there is anything that causes disturbance, one will not be able to remain unperturbed. As the saying goes, ‘There is no need to fear when someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night if you have not done anything that betrays your conscience during the day.’ Abstinence precedes imperturbability. This is the abstinence from unwholesomeness – to refrain from causing disturbance or harm to others. One who does not disturb or cause harm to others achieves imperturbability himself; and imperturbability once achieved gives rise to ‘wisdom’. As such, Buddhism talks about ‘morality (abstinence), concentration (imperturbability), and wisdom’.

The imperturbability that is achieved when one ‘knows when to stop’ is of the highest level -- it refers to ‘stopping at ultimate wholesomeness’.  If we are to explain The Great Learning using the Buddhist perspective, it can be divided into the ways of the Lesser Vessel and the Great Vessel. The way of the Lesser Vessel aims at ‘the wholesomeness of oneself’, whereas the way of the Great Vessel aims at ‘loving people’ and making that universal. Be it the ‘wholesomeness of oneself’ or the ‘universalization of the love for people’, there is extreme great energy from ‘stopping at ultimate wholesomeness’. Very often, we try to understand this vis-à-vis the knowledge or know-how we possess, or from a literal viewpoint, instead of seeing it from the angle of a practitioner of the Dao.

祖籍山东的美籍华人,世界著名的大科学家丁肇中,现在研究的 一个著名课题叫反物质。前面说过, 我们对宇宙仅知 5%,未知的 95% 是客观存在的,但是我们不知道、看不到。他探索研究的反物质,对我们修行者来说,非常重要。

Ding Zhao-zhong, the world-renowned Amercian-born Chinese scientist of Shandong ancestry, is presently doing studies on a well-known subject – antimatter. As mentioned previously, we know only five percent of the universe. The other 95 percent of the universe which is unknown exists objectively, but we are not aware and cannot see it. To us practitioners, his exploration and study of antimatter is extremely important.

我们现在是人,在已知的空间里,对反物质、暗物质、暗能量还无从感觉。这些物质也有空间,它们要进来,不需经由门,可以穿墙过壁或其他物体。人甚至可以从这些物质的身上直接穿过去,它们也可以从人身上直接穿过去。而现在我们已知的 5% 的世界里,对于 95% 未知的世界来说,人也相当于那些未知物质一样。我们讲的“梦”, 在佛教里叫中阴,反物质或者暗物质也仿佛是一种中阴,做梦也是中阴,我们现在活着不明“大道”,犹处中阴。佛教讲有六种中阴状态。这已知的 5% 的空间,在穿越着 95% 的空间,或者说,反物质、暗物质在穿越着人的三维空间,人却不知道。

Being humans now and within the spatial dimension we already know, we are still not able to experience antimatter, dark matter, and dark energy. These matters have their own spatial dimensions, and they make an entrance not through the door, but through walls and other objects. Humans can directly pass through these matters, and vice versa. The five percent of the universe that we already know to those in the 95 percent of the universe which is unknown, is similar to these matters which we are unable to experience. The ‘dreams’ we speak of are known as zhongyin (lit., ‘intermediate shade/gloom’ - the state of existence intermediate between two lives) in Buddhism. Antimatter or dark matter is also types of zhongyin. When we dream, we are in zhongyin as well. At present, as we are not illuminated to the Dao, we are as if under this ‘intermediate shade’. It is mentioned in Buddhism that there are six states of zhongyin. As the five percent of the universe which is known and the 95% percent which is unknown penetrate each other, or as anti- and dark matters penetrate through the three-dimensional human world, we are unaware.

丁肇中研究的反物质,科学家认为,当正物质与反物质相遇时, 就会相互湮灭,发生爆炸,并产生出巨大的能量。现在的发电方法, 比如水力发电、火力发电、风力发电、太阳能发电、潮汐发电等,还有核发电,包括核裂变核聚变,人类在不断地探索能源开发利用方式。现在的量子物理学,探索得越细,释放的能量就越高。我们 5% 的世界的能量跟 95% 的能量怎么比?现在地球带着我们绕太阳转,但是穿越宇宙的 95% 的能量,我们根本就不知道。

For the antimatter which Ding Zhao-zhong is studying, there is mutual annihilation when a particle collides with its anti-particle partner, leading to an explosion during which great energy is produced. Mankind has been continuously exploring ways to generate energy, the methods of which presently includes hydropower, fossil fuel, wind, the sun, wave, and also nuclear fission and fusion. Nowadays, as the study of quantum physics gets more exact, we find we are able to obtain a greater release of energy. How can the energy in the five percent of the universe which is known compare with the energy in the 95 percent which is unknown? As the planet we are on revolves around the sun, we are completely unaware that we are going through the energy that is in the 95 percent unknown portion of the universe.

而在中国,我们的祖先很早就观察到地球是圆的。商周时代成书的《周髀算经》认为,北极星空是天的中央,日月星辰围绕北极星向左旋转。我们现在认为地球围着太阳转,整个太阳系围绕着银河系的中心在转,还是三维的。射电望远镜探索宇宙文明,还是在三维里活动, 连四维、五维都探不进去,高级文明却不只存在于低维度的世界里, 更多的显现在高纬度的世界里。处在低维中的恰恰是我们人类自己, 所以人本身就处在一个无知的状态。

However, it is in China that our ancestors knew very early on that the earth is round. The Arithmetic Classic of the Zhou Gnomon which was completed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties mentions that the North Star is the centre of the heavens and that the constellations revolve around it. We now know that the earth revolves around the sun and that the whole solar system revolves around the centre of the galaxy. This is three-dimensional. When we use the radio telescope to search for other civilizations in the universe, it is still three-dimensional. We are unable to penetrate the fourth- and fifth-dimensional worlds. Higher civilizations do not exist only in the lower dimensional worlds; many of them appear in worlds of higher dimensions. We find our own human kind in the lower dimensional world – as such, we have always been in a state of ignorance.

我们现在就穿梭在暗物质里,这个暗物质包含着多少宇宙的真相,我们却不知道。

We are currently penetrating though dark matter; yet, we are unaware of the many realities of the universe that are being contained in this dark matter.

一次,丁肇中回到山东,记者访问他:“按照您的理论,每一个东西都有反物质,那么我们人,也应该有一个反物质。”

Once, a journalist asked Ding Zhao-zhong when he was back in Shandong, ‘According to your theory that everything has antimatter, does it mean that we humans also have antimatter?’

丁肇中回答:“是的。”

Ding Zhao-zhong replied, ‘Yes.’

记者又问:“那‘我’能不能跟‘反物质的我’见面呢?”虽然是记者的想像,但这个问题非常伟大。

The journalist went on, ‘Then can I and my antimatter meet?’  Although this was the journalist’s imagination, it was a profound question.

丁肇中回答:“不能。”

Ding Zhao-zhong replied, ‘No, you can’t.’

记者:“为什么不能?”

‘Why not?’ asked the journalist.

丁肇中回答:“如果‘我’能跟‘反物质的我’见面的话,我们会变成光。从这个意义上来说,我们就不存在了。”

Ding Zhao-zhong answered, ‘If we can meet with our dark matter, we will turn into light. From this, it means that we will no longer exist.’

“为什么不存在?灭亡了吗?消失了吗?”

‘Why will we not exist? Have we been annihilated? Have we disappeared?’

“不是消失,是升华了 !”

‘We have not disappeared; we have been sublimated!’

“正面的我”跟“反面的我”如果能见面,其实就叫“止于至善”。有这个本事的人,即遵循“道”的规律的人,叫明德,所以佛菩萨头上有光,身上的能量是巨大的,光脚踩在石头上可以留下脚印,走路是悬浮的。

When the positive ‘I’ and the negative ‘me’ meet, this is actually what is called ‘stopping at ultimate wholesomeness’. Those who are able to achieve this – that is, those who are able to abide by the Dao – are the ones with ‘illuminated virtues’. Hence, with the light that shines from the Buddha’s or Bodhisattva’s crown and the great energy in his body - he floats when he walks and leaves footprints when he steps barefoot on stone.

1991年的大年初一,我到泰山。那天,时值黄昏,游人稀少,有位道士在碧霞祠跟我聊天,他问:“你学什么的?”我说:“学《道德经》。” 他说:“你对《道德经》是什么理解?”我讲了几句,他很认可。他说:“你相信人会飞吗?”我说:“相信。”他说:“你晚上 9 点钟来。”

On the first day of the Lunar New Year in 1991, I was at Mount Tai. It was nearing dusk and there were only a few people around. There was a Taoist master with whom I chatted in Bi Xia Shrine. He asked, ‘What are you studying?’ ‘The Dao De Jing,’ I said. He said, ‘What do you understand of the Dao De Jing?’ He concurred with a few things I mentioned. Then he said, ‘Do you believe that humans can fly?’ To which I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ ‘Meet me at nine tonight,’ he said.

我在岱山宾馆住好,天街里吃了饭,再到碧霞祠。道士因有事, 他让人来接我,结果两人没碰上。第二天我跟那位道士见了面,我就下山了。现在碧霞祠的道长,那时候还没出家呢。

为什么我说我相信,我以前是不相信鬼神的。我是 1967 年出生的, 这个年龄的人,看儒释道都属于封建迷信,都是帮助帝王统治人、愚昧人的工具。

As I was staying at the Dai Shan Hotel, I had my dinner at Tian Street and went to Bi Xia Shrine after that. As the Taoist master had some other commitment, he had someone else receive me and as a result, we didn’t  meet up. After having seen him passingly on the second day, I descended the mountain. At that time, the current Taoist master of Bi Xia Shrine was still a layman. Why did I say I believed him when I had not believed in ghosts and gods before? I was born in 1967; people of like age see Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as superstitions from feudal times, as tools to help emperors rule over and mislead the people.

现在想过来,不是这样啊!我们这些人是大不孝,是忤逆之子, 没有真正继承好中华民族优秀的文化。我们不是一个好的炎黄子孙, 我们老祖先,是那样子的大仁大义,把真话都告诉了我们。

It is not so when we think about it now. People like us are gravely unfilial - unbefitting sons and daughters who have not inherited properly the excellent culture of the Chinese nation. We are not good descendants of emperors Yan and Huang. Out of great benevolence and righteousness, our forefathers brought the truth to us.

无论《大学》《论语》,还是《中庸》,从中你找不到一个字是“假的”,现在的“假的”,铺天盖地,你想找到“真的”很难 !

Whether it s the Great Learning, The Analects, or The Doctrine of the Mean, you will never find in them a character which contains falsehood. Falsehoods are everywhere nowadays – it will be extremely difficult for you to find out what is true.

现在才发现,我们砸碎一个旧中国,但错砸了自己的文化!中华民族能立于民族之林,就是靠老祖宗那些家当。

It is only now that we find in breaking up old China we have also inadvertently done damage to our own culture. It was exactly due to the cultural wealth our ancestors possessed which enabled the Chinese nation to stand tall among the many races of the world.

在当今世界,我们要发愤图强!我们要从祖先的智慧里赶快找到生命的能量,找到一个做好人的信心,找到一个做圣贤的勇气!

We have to resolve to strive harder in today’s world. From within the wisdom of our forefathers, we have to urgently search for the energy to live life, the faith to be a good person, and the courage to become a sagely and virtuous person.

这个时代,我们连做好人都没信心了。“老人倒了不敢扶”,为什么“不敢扶”?我扶了怕他诬赖我,连做好人的胆量都没有了。

In present times, we do not even have the faith to be a good person. Why is it that we are not even brave enough to help an elderly person who has fallen? This is because we are afraid he or she will malign us instead afterwards.

所以人的心性是有能量的。丁肇中说,“正面的我”跟“负面的我” 合在一起,是会发光的。我们念南无阿弥陀佛,就叫无量光无量寿。请问我们如果生到极乐世界,每个人会不会放出光来?会。寿命是无量无边的,是“道”的人格化。

Therefore, there is energy which comes from a person’s mind. Ding Zhao-zhong said that light would be emitted when the positive ‘I’ and the negative ‘me’ meet. The ‘Namo Buddha Amitabha’ that we chant means ‘infinite light and infinite life’. If we are reborn in the World of Absolute Bliss, will every one of us emit light? Yes. Our life will be infinite and without end – such is the personification of the Dao.

能量守恒是自然科学最基本的一个定律,揭示出运动现象的本质, 科学地阐明了运动不灭的观点。你活在现象里,你活在波澜里,“澜” 就是生命的低级状态、愚昧的状态、现象的状态,现象是生灭的,本质是不生不灭的。我们为什么要“观澜”来“知源”,要探索这个源头? 因为这个“源”是每个人本来就具有的。你领悟,他在;你不领悟, 他还在。所以,一个人的生死轮回,徒生徒死是冤枉的。

The Law of Energy Conservation is a fundamental principle in the natural sciences that shows us the basic nature of the phenomenon of motion. It explains scientifically the proposition that motion never ceases. You live in a world of phenomena, in this ‘ripple’ that is a low-level form of existence - a state of ignorance, and a state of appearances. Appearances are subject to arising and ceasing while essence is not. Why do we need to ‘observe the ripples to uncover the source’? This is because this source is what every one of us had originally. Whether you realize it or not, it is there. That is why one goes through the cycle of birth and death. It is unnecessary and fruitless that one should go through the cycle of birth and death.

佛教是最积极的。佛教说改变命运,命运不是固定的,轮回不是固定的,是可以解脱出来的。从这个角度说,佛教是无神论,也非宿命论。所以,佛教的修行是积极的人生观。

Buddhism is most positive. It talks about changing one’s destination as one’s destination is not pre-determined. So is the cycle of rebirth, from which one is able to escape. From such a perspective, Buddhism is atheist, and also non-fatalistic. As such, that which Buddhist practice adopts is an optimistic view of life.

我自己学了这么多年,是深有体会的。当我自己去体解大道,然后安住于“道”,发现老祖宗说“道不远人”是真实不虚的,这点在《我的出家因缘》里面曾讲到。这种现象,现代物理学是没办法解释的, 或者说,三维空间里的规律是没有办法解释的。

Having been in practice for so many years, I have some profound understanding myself. When we try to understand the Great Dao ourselves, and to abide in it subsequently, we will find that it is really true that ‘the Dao does not abandon us’. I have mentioned this in The Causes and Conditions for My Leaving the Household Life. Modern physical science is not able to come up with an explanation for such a phenomenon. Or rather, the laws of a three-dimensional world will never be able to explain such a phenomenon.

如果依丁肇中“正面的我”跟“负面的我”,两个合在一起的理论看, 像我们前面讲的“朋”字,两个“月”合在一起,是指修道的人,是通达“中庸之术”的人。

If we see it from the perspective of Ding Zhao-zhong when he said as the positive ‘I’ and the negative ‘me’ meet to come together as one, it is like the character we have mentioned previously. It points to someone who practises the Dao, one who is well-versed in the craft of the Doctrine of the Mean.

这种人是圣人,这种人不会跟一般人一般见识的。明白道的叫君子,不明白的叫小人,小人即使误解君子、不理解君子,君子也不会跟他一般见识。所以,小人可以害君子,君子不会害小人。这是人类文明的核心,人类没有这个文明了,就变成群魔乱舞,小人碰小人, 还有什么出息?

Such is a sagely person who will never see things as average people do. The one who understands the Dao is called a gentleman, while the one who does not an inferior person. Even when the inferior person misunderstands the gentleman or does not understand him, the gentleman will still not see things as the former does. As such, the inferior person is able to hurt the gentleman, but the gentleman will not hurt the inferior person. This is the crux of human civilization. Without this, it will just be a messed-up unwholesome world with inferior people hurting other inferior people. What good will there be?

所以,我们现在提倡君子文化, 倡中华民族的优秀文化,成为社会主义核心价值观。物质再发达,如果你失去了国魂,国将不国, 不是因为没有钱,而是这个国家的国魂、道统不在了。

That is why we are encouraging cultivation of the way of the gentleman nowadays, so that this excellent culture of the Chinese people can become the essential social value system. There can be ever-progressive material advancement, but if the spirit of a nation is lost, a country will never be a country; not because it is lacking financially, but because the tradition of the Dao – the national spirit – is no longer there.

所以,我们现在探讨的这些, “小”到每一个人的心灵和肉体的完美结合、身心灵的健康成长,“大”可关系到社会国家的安定团结。

Hence, these issues that we are exploring now can be as minor as how one’s spirit and body can come together perfectly to bring about physical health as well as mental growth, and as major as how they can be related to social and national peace and cohesiveness.

今天所讨论的话题——观澜知源,希望我们透过外在的千变万化看到“道”的本质和源头。

As we hold our discussion on the theme of ‘Discovering the source of a water through the observation of ripples’, we hope to be able to penetrate through the outer multitudinous ever-changing phenomena and grasp the essence of the Dao and its source.

英文翻译&读诵：建成