【殊胜日】交给大家一个功课

不论哪一种形式的轮回，

其本质都是苦。

这也是弘扬佛法之所以

大慈大悲的原因所在。

不愿意众生堕落，

所以苦口婆心告诉他真相，

又想方设法引导他看见真相。

No matter what form of

 reincarnation it is,

the bitterness is its main essence.

Therefore, the Buddhism is so merciful that all sentient beings are brought to avoid being degenerated through imparting them patiently,

or even guiding them to catch sight of the truth.

人心的触动，行为的改变，都是有一个力量在推动的。没有人生下来就学佛的，也没有人生下来就是好人或是恶人。人的天赋虽然重要，但在生命价值的实现上，天赋有可能只占百分之一，后天的努力才是最重要的百分之九十九。

The formation of belief and the change of behavior are both driven by outside forces. No one is born to learn Buddhism, and no one is born to be good or evil as well. Although talents are important to humans, they may only account for only one percent in the process of realizing life values, while the rest ninety-nine percent, which is the most important part, is the acquirement achieved by arduous efforts.

如果一个人先天就是解脱者，是乘愿再来的人，那他这一生中百分之九十九的行为有可能都是在先天的百分之一的指导下进行的。

If a person is born free with the vow to benefit the sentient beings significant desires, ninety-nine percent of his actions through the whole life are likely to be conducted under the guidance of his innate talents, which only occupies one percent, but actually leads all the other.

对我们来说，如果我们用后天百分之九十九的努力来靠近圣贤，它就会成为转凡成圣的功用；如果这百分之九十九都是用来靠近黑暗，就会走向堕落的深渊。

For most of us, if we try to approach the sages with all our efforts, all things can be turned into sacredness probably; If those efforts are used to seek the darkness, we will be lost in the abyss of depravity undoubtedly.

人是会受环境的影响、他人的影响、文化的影响的。所以佛教在人间，对于自利来说是一种修行，对于利他来说是一种事业。

People are influenced all the time by the environment, others’ thoughts and different cultures. Thus, Buddhism is a kind of practice for improving oneself and a kind of career for helping others simultaneously.

我们学佛，不是一下子就能懂的，要想打破无明愚痴的轮回状态，你那后天的百分之九十九的努力就至关重要。

No one can realize the Buddhism all at once. To break the reincarnation of ignorance and stupidity, the efforts we make in our lives are essential.

《心经》读一百遍、一千遍也不懂，世间的是非讲一遍就懂了。这就在提醒我们，生命到底要皈依什么？《心经》虽然不懂，但你持之以恒，它会引领你开智慧；世间的是非一听就懂，但它只会染污你，加深你轮回的状态。

Heart Sutra can still hardly be understood through thousands times of reading, while the temporal affairs are quite easy to learn at once.

This reminds us, what life is to be converted to?

Although you cannot comprehend the Heart Sutra, it will lead you to open your wisdom if you persevere; the temporal affairs can be understood at first glance, but it will only contaminate you and do harm to deepen your state of reincarnation.

我想能来到寺庙的人，肯定都是有想法的，是有所厌离、有所追求的。所以要更加懂得运用后天的努力。比如过会儿下课后，你回到你的彩钢板房子，回到你的上铺或下铺后，就要观想你的床铺就是莲花，要把“我”在五台山好好地融化。

I think people who come to the temple must have own thoughts: such as being tired of common affairs and having spiritual pursuits. Therefore, we should know how to use the efforts of our daily lives. For example, when you go back to your residence after class, no matter where you live, you could imagine that your bed is a lotus flower and let “me‘’be blended you perceiing in Wutai Mountain.

有时候我对大家所讲的一些话，是为了维护人心的一个秩序，有了秩序之后，你要学会在这种规矩和秩序里去消融、去忘记。我自己在修行时也是这样，忘记我是一个出家人，忘记我是一个师父……

Sometimes what I say to you is to maintain the order of the people's heart. After order established, you should learn to compromise and to forget in this kind of rules and order. In my own practice, I also forget that I am a monk or I am a master……

《金刚经》里说，实无有法可得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。佛陀不说自己是佛，阿罗汉也不说自己是阿罗汉。因为你说自己是什么，这就有设定，有设定就有对立，有对立就有生死。

It is said in the Vajra Sutra that there is no way to obtain Anuttarasamyaksambohdi Bodhisattva. The Buddha denied he is a Buddha, and arhat denied he is an arhat as well. Because when you says what you are, then there is a set; if there is a set, then there is opposition, if there is opposition, then there is life and death.

所以，所有的这一切，建设也好，规矩也好，都是为了让大家能够安心在这里修行。修行的时候是没有对立的，是没有我相、人相、男相、女相、众生相、寿者相的。修行要离一切相。

Therefore, all of these construction or rules are to let everyone assured to practice here. In practice, there is no opposition. There is no self, others, male, female, sentient beings and longevity. Practice should be separated from everything.

就像我们念“南无阿弥陀佛”，念只是强化训练，让你从陌生到熟悉，从熟悉到坚持。但修的时候还是要深入去修，去思维什么是无量光无量寿？

Just like when we read "namo Amitabha", chanting is merely just intensive training, so that you can change from unfamiliar to familiar, from familiar to persistent. But when practicing, you still need to go further and think about what is limitless light and unlimited life.

无量光无量寿，就是没有对立，非二元。这光中无我，无人相、我相、众生相、寿者相。“把我执融化”，如果我把这个功课交给你，你想要完成好并不容易。冰糖好化，我执真不好化，但这就是修行。

Limitless light and unlimited life means there is no opposition and non-duality. In this light, there is no self, others, male, female, sentient beings and longevity. If I give you a task and let you give up your obsession, it won’t be easy for you to finish it well. Sugar is easy to melt, but the obsession is really hard to deal with, and this is finally the real practice.

作为修行人，你把后天百分之九十九的努力用在这上面，你就从轮回的轨道转入解脱的轨道了。

As a man who practices Buddhism, if you put all your efforts on things I mentioned above, you will turn from the orbit of reincarnation to the orbit of liberation.