【文化释说英文有声书】第二篇 观澜知源 中流砥柱（三）

Three – Seeking out the source of a water by observing the ripples: being like a rock standing firm in the middle of a flowing stream

趵突泉水流出来,涌进大明湖。为什么这样命名“大明湖”?老祖先是不会乱取名字的,而是特意告诉我们湖水从哪来,所以“明” 字中的“日”字,这边多了“一点”,趵突泉的“突”字的宝盖头上面, 这边少了“一点”。

The water of Baotu Spring flows into the Lake of Great Illumination. Why is it called the ‘Lake of Great Illumination’? Our ancestors did not settle on names casually. They had intended to tell us specifically where the water in the lake came from. That is why there is an extra stroke in the character ‘明’ of ‘大明湖’ (‘Lake of Great Illumination’), and a missing stroke in the character of ‘突’ of ‘趵突泉’( Basotu Spring), to signify the flow of water from Baotu Spring to the Lake of Great Illumination.

趵突泉古称泺源,从道学的含义讲,代表文化之源。在趵突泉公园里,还有皇帝的题字,一进门大牌坊上书四字:观澜知源。澜是什么? 澜是现象;源是什么?源是本质。一个人如果只活在现象里,是很痛苦的。如果能够透过现象看到本质,才是快乐的、自在的、解脱的。

Baotu Spring is known in ancient times as the Lake of Origin. From the perspective of the Dao, it signifies the source of a culture. Within the park of Baotu Spring, there is also an Emperor’s inscription of four characters on a board at the main gate: ‘观澜知源’ (seeking out the source of a water by observing the ripples). What are ripples? Ripples are appearances. What is the source? The source is the essence. It will be very unbearable for a person to lead his life only among appearances. It is only when one penetrates through the appearances and grasps at the essence that one can be happy, carefree, and emancipated.

佛教讲,一切众生皆具佛性。《中庸》里说“天命之谓性”,意思是每个众生都有不可剥夺的“性”,如果你能明白它,就能依止它; “率性之谓道”,你能依着天命而行,就叫“道”;“修道之谓教”, 你把这种学问去告诉给别人,就叫“教”,它是“立体”的。古人, 言简意赅,高度“立体”,不是平面或二维、三维的思维。中国的学问, 包括“天”,也不是我们现在想的那个物理的“天”,不是主观愚昧的“天”。

It is said in Buddhism that all myriad beings possess Buddha-nature. In The Doctrine of the Mean ‘what that Heaven ordains is known as ‘nature’’ means that every myriad being has a nature that cannot be taken away, and if you understand it, you will be able to rely on it. ‘Accordance with this nature is known as the Dao’ means that it is Dao when you are able to conduct yourself according to what Heaven has ordained. ‘Practising the Dao is known as ‘cultivation’’ means that when you have related this knowledge to other people, there is ‘cultivation’, and it is something with ‘depth and scope’. What the ancients have said is terse but profound in meaning; it has much ‘depth and scope’, and it is neither two nor three-dimensional thinking. Knowledge in China includes ‘heaven’, not the physical sky that we think it is, which is subjective and dull.

儒教既然讲到这些,为什么我们中国还需要佛教呢?因为就对 “天”而言,佛教认识得更透彻,“天”随个人不同的业力有不同的解读, 不同的业力有不同的果报。

Since Confucianism talks about these, why is it that China still needs Buddhism? This is because the understanding of ‘heaven’ in Buddhism is more thorough. ‘Heaven’ is seen in different light by different people with different karmic actions. A different karmic action leads to a different result.

我们一般认为“天”是空的,对鸟来说,却是它的高速公路;我们认为时间上一天就是一天,但佛教所说的四大天王,那里的一昼夜相当于我在人间的 50年。对四天王而言,他们管人间的风雨,大气的循环,日月的运行;三十三天即帝释天,他的业报跟四天王又不一样。那里的一昼夜,相当于我在人间100年。

We usually perceive ‘heaven’ to be a void. To the birds, it is a highway. Temporally, we perceive a day to be a day; but a day for the Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhism is equivalent to 50 years in human terms. The Four Heavenly Kings are tasked with overseeing the climatic cycles of wind and rain, and the movement of the sun and the moon. In Trayastrimsa Heaven, also known as the Heaven of Sakra, the karma of the beings there are different from those of the Four Heavenly Kings. A day there is equivalent to 100 years of our time.

如果说,一座山能够成为中华文化的局部缩影,在中国唯有泰山。泰山对中国来说,传说是玉皇大帝的儿子管泰山,泰山之顶可以通天。所以我们人间历代统治者,有资格的皇帝才可以“登泰山诰天”皇帝一方面自己体解大道,“明明德”,第二还要“止于至善”,照拂天下百姓苍生,施仁德于人间,令风调雨顺,五谷丰登,呈昌盛之相，鼎盛之相,才有资格来诰天。

If there is any mountain that could be a representation in miniature of Chinese culture, there is only Mount Tai in China. To the Chinese, Mount Tai is fabled to have been assigned to the care of the son of the Jade Emperor. Its summit leads directly to heaven. That was why only the rulers of the human world in the past - emperors who were qualified – could ‘ascend Mount Tai to seek an audience in heaven’. On the one hand, the emperor understood the Great Dao himself, and could ‘make luminous one’s bright virtues’; on the other, he had to ‘stop only at perfect wholesomeness’, take care of all living things under the sky, spread benevolence and virtues among the humans, let there be good weather and fruitful harvest, and present a picture of boom and prosperity. Only then could he be qualified to ‘seek an audience in Heaven’.

泰山是国山,是中华民族精神的象征,是炎黄子孙的精神丰碑。数千年来 , 共有 84 位帝王曾来泰山封禅,秦朝之前有 72 位,据说秦朝之后有 12 位皇帝登过泰山,以表自己不负天意,令百姓安居乐业, 四海升平。

Mount Tai is a national icon, a symbol of the spirit of the Chinese people, and also a spiritual emblem of the descendants of Emperors Yan and Huang. For the last few thousands of years, there had been a total of 84 emperors who had held the ritual of receiving the mandate from heaven in Mount Tai, 72 of them before the Qin Dynasty. It has been said that the 12 who did so after the Qin Dynasty ascended Mount Tai to show that they did not want to go against the will of Heaven, and that they had wanted their subjects to live and work in peace and for the world to be free from strive.

而我们现在的社会状态,虽身处“大明湖”,却不“明”了。有几个知“道”的?不知“道”就叫无明,无明就产生轮回、痛苦。

With the present state of our society, we are not ‘illuminated’ although we find ourselves in the Lake of Great Illumination. How many know the Dao? Not knowing the Dao is ‘ignorance’ (unilluminated), and ignorance gives rise to the cycle of rebirth and death, and suffering.

今天我们在这样一个时空、天时地利来讲“道”,探索“观澜知源” 这个主题,不亦悦乎?

今天来讲这个话题,是为了大家都来做中流砥柱,我们大家共同努力,力挽狂澜。中华民族的文化重建,要从废墟中开始,首先要把问题研究清楚。《论语》《大学》《中庸》《道德经》到底讲的是什么?

At such a juncture in time and space today, various favourable conditions have made it possible for us to talk about Dao, and to explore the theme of ‘observing the ripples to seek out the source of a water’. Is not that something to be happy about? We are going to talk about this theme so that everyone can be a ‘rock standing firm in the middle of a flowing stream’. Let us all work hard together to stop the strong currents. The restoration of Chinese culture begins from within the rubble. We have to first study the problem clearly. What is it that The Analects, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, and The Dao De Jing are talking about ultimately?

佛经讲的是什么?如果仅仅是着于文字,有时反而容易偏离于“道”。

佛教有句话:依文解义,三世佛怨。

What do the sutras talk about? If it is merely a matter of literal interpretation, it is sometimes easy to stray from the Dao. There is s saying in Buddhism: the Buddhas of the past, present, and future will be displeased if one interpretes [their words] literally.

“汝果学诗乎?功夫在诗外。”但形而上的“道”,真的无迹可循吗?不是。所以前面才有了那个场景:“学而时习之,不亦悦乎?”有通达大“道”的人,有追寻“道”的人,就跟着边学边实践,理论加实践,真是快乐的人生。

‘Do you desire to learn poetry? Effort should be directed outside of the poetry.’ However, are we really not able to detect any traces of metaphysical Dao? That is why we mentioned the scene previously: ‘To study and at due times practice what one has studied, is this not a pleasure?’ To follow someone who can apprehend the Great Dao, and who pursues the Dao, and to learn from and at the same time practice with him - there is application on top of theory; it is truly a happy life.

在座的诸位,有到过我们寺庙的,一看简直就是共产主义。很难想像,一个寺庙不开公司不产生经济价值,也没发文凭,为什么生活在这里的人这么开心呢?连狗、猫、小白兔、老鼠、牛羊、孔雀、麻 雀都开心。因为这里是探索“道”、实践“道”的地方。

Every one of you seated here who have been to my monastery will see that life there is exactly like communism. It is hard to imagine that no company has been set up, no economic systems have been established, and no certificates have been awarded, why are the people who lead their lives there so happy? Even the dogs, the cats, the mice, the cows and goats, the peacocks, and the sparrows are happy. This is because it is where we explore and put into practice the Dao.

有人探索“道”,请问那些高级文明、高智慧的诸天神,通达道义的老祖先高兴不高兴?高兴。所以《中庸》说:天命之谓性,率性之谓道,修道之谓教。这里面暗含了很多意思。

When someone is exploring the Dao, would all those deities with advanced civilization and higher intelligence, and our great ancestors who could apprehend the meaning of the Dao be happy about it? They would be. Therefore, The Doctrine of the Mean says, ‘What Heaven ordains is known as ‘nature’; accordance with this nature is known as the Dao; practising the Dao is known as ‘cultivation’.’ Much is hidden in meaning here.  

《道德经》曰:上士问道,勤而行之;中士问道,若存若亡 ；下士问道,大笑之。不笑不足以为道。下士要是不笑就不是道了，因为下士无法理解道。所以下面就是:道也者,不可须臾离也,可离,非道也。是故君子戒慎乎其所不睹,恐惧乎其所不闻。

The Dao De Jing says, ‘When men of superior mental capacity hear the Dao, they diligently live in accordance with it; when men of mediocre mental capacity hear the Dao, they seem to believe and yet be sceptical; when men of inferior mental capacity hear the Dao, they break into loud laughter - if it were not laughed at, it would not be the Dao.’ If the men of inferior mental capacity do not laugh, it would not be the Dao that they have heard. This is because they have no way of understanding the Dao. Therefore, it is said later that: ‘That which is called Dao cannot be separated from for an instant. What can be separated from is not the Dao. Therefore, the noble man is cautious in a place where no one observes him, and apprehensive in the place where no one hears him.’

理学家对此有很多解释,暂且不讲,我来讲一下我的看法。如果没有领悟“道”,人们是戒慎恐惧的。天地有大道,但是我不懂,我会生恐惧之心。没有人来传播“道”,耳朵里听不到“道”,这是人间不祥之气啊!所以很多佛教国家讲,一个地方没有了出家人、没有了修“道”的人,是天地不祥之相。

Let us not for the moment mention the many explanations offered by the Neo-Confucianists for this. Let me talk about my view. If a person does not realize the Dao, he will be cautious and apprehensive. There is the Great Dao in the universe; but I will be apprehensive if I do not understand it. When there is no one to spread the Dao, and no one to listen to the Dao, there is a sense of foreboding in the air! As such, it is said in many Buddhist countries that if a place should be empty of monastics and people who practise the Dao, it is an ominous sign of things to come.

“莫见乎隐, 莫显乎微,故君子慎其独也。”一个追求大道的人,不要跟自己的愚痴作伴,那是无明又不求甚解的,应该跟有道的人一 起,应该听有道的人讲解大道。

‘Nothing is more visible than the hidden, and more apparent than the subtle. Therefore, the noble man is cautious when he is alone.’ One who pursues the Great Dao does not want his own foolishness as companion, for that is being ignorant and nonchalant. He should be in the company of people who possess the Dao, and should be listening to them speaking on it.

这是从“明明德”的角度上说,应该如此。如果已经“明”了“明 德”,得到“体”的人,明白了这个道理,更知道“道”无处不在。甚至一个人在房间里,也知道“道”亦在,天地鬼神亦在,所以有“慎独”的思想,这个是“用”。所以,“明明德”之后的人,懂得这个 道理的人,会敬天地、敬道,虽独处暗室也保持着心的光明状态。

This is from the perspective of ‘illuminating one’s bright virtues’. It should be this way. If one has already ‘illuminated’ one’s bright virtues’, gained the essence of it all, and understood the doctrine, then he knows that the Dao is everywhere. Even when a person is in his room, he is aware that the Dao is also present, together with all heavenly divines and earthly ghostly beings. Therefore, having caution in mind when one is alone is the effect [of being aware of the Dao]. As such, after one has ‘illuminated one’s bright virtues’ and understood the doctrine, he will be respectful of the heaven and the earth, and the Dao. He will keep his mind in a state of illumination even though he finds himself alone in a dark room.

英文翻译&读诵：建成