早起晚睡爲誰忙

　　Rising Early and Retiring Late, for Whom Are We Busy

　　我們要夙興夜寐地去禮佛、念佛，爲求消滅罪障，爲法忙。

　　From morning till night, we should bow to the Buddhas and recite the Buddhas” names to eradicate our obstructions from offenses, and we should be busy for the sake of the Dharma.

　　夙興夜寐爲誰忙？

　　衆生難度頗堪傷；

　　迷諸塵勞性顛倒，

　　耳提面命化無方。

　　Rising up early in the morning,

　　going to bed late at night,

　　for whom are we busy

　　Living beings are hard to save:

　　it”s pretty sad.

　　Confused by the wearisome dust,

　　their natures are upside-down.

　　Boxing their ears and commanding them directly,

　　there is still no way to teach them.

　　夙興，是早起；夜寐，是夜眠，有很多人兢兢業業，早起夜眠，爲的是什麼？究竟是爲我忙呢？還是爲你忙呢？還是爲他忙呢？這個問題，我相信很多人都無法回答，甚至于有人索性就說：「無事忙！」

　　Getting up early in the morning and going to bed late at night, many people are busy all day doing all kinds of work. For the sake of whom

　　 In the last analysis, is the person busy for the sake of himself

　　 Is he busy for your sake

　　 Or is he busy for the sake of others

　　 I believe that a lot of people can”t come up with a satisfactory answer to this question; even to the point that some people make a point of flippantly saying “busy doin” nothin”.”

　　啊！那可奇怪了。然而卻偏偏有人去做連自己也不清楚的事；譬如商人，他們一天到晚都想著自己的「生意」，弄到睡也睡得不安眠，這就是夙興夜寐爲「錢」忙，乃至于士、農、工、商，凡是想成功的，便會不由自主地要「朝起早，夜眠遲」了。

　　Ha! That”s strange. But indeed, there are people who do things without really knowing why. For example, some people spend every waking moment intent upon their business, almost to the point of perpetual insomnia. This is being busy from morning till night for the sake of money. And so it is with scholarship, farming, laboring, business: if we want any accomplishment, then we can”t do as we please or be our own boss, but instead we must get up early and retire late.

　　《詩經》裏有這麼一段：

　　雞既鳴矣，朝既盈矣，

　　匪雞則鳴，蒼蠅之聲。

　　As a passage from the Book of Odes says,

　　The cock has already crowed!

　　The morn is already full!

　　Oh, that”s not that cock that”s crowed

　　It”s just the buzzing of a fly.

　　這幾句話，如果照普通的口氣來說，就是「雞好像已經啼了吧！現在已是早上了嗎？啊！原來不是雞在啼，只不過是蒼蠅的聲音罷了！」這段《詩經》是形容古代的賢明君主。你看，身爲皇帝，晚上尚且不得好睡，整晚惦記著只要天亮了便應臨朝理事，以致神經過敏地把蒼蠅的聲音聽爲雞在鳴叫，這就是夙興夜寐爲「民」忙了。所謂「一人有慶，兆民賴之。」若是遇著了這樣賢明的仁君，老百姓就可以過著刀槍入庫、馬放南山的幸福生活。那麼，身爲君主的，難道可以不夙興夜寐地爲人民謀幸福嗎？

　　In ordinary language, we could paraphrase the poem, “It seems that the cock has already crowed. Is it morning already

　　 Oh! That wasn”t the cock crowing, it was just the sound of a fly buzzing.” This is describing one of the virtuous and wise emperors of old. As an emperor, he didn”t sleep easily at night. The whole night long, he thought of nothing but the dawn, when he could get on with the day”s business. In his anxiety for the night to pass, he rested so fitfully that he started at the sound of a buzzing fly and mistook it for the cock”s crow. This is an instance of being busy from morning till night for the sake of the people. It is said, “If there is a single man with blessings, the masses will put their trust in him.” If there is a humane ruler who is worthy and intelligent, the populace will be able to put away their weapons, let their horses out to the pasture, and live in peace. However, the emperor himself must rise early and retire late, working for the prosperity of the people. How can he not do that

　　至于我們修道的人，也要夙興夜寐，既不是爲利忙，也不是爲名忙，而是爲「法」忙。我們要「夙興夜寐，以事諸佛。」要朝起早、夜眠遲地日日禮佛誦經，表示我們是個忠實、誠摯的佛教徒，並不是口是心非，能說而不能做的。

　　We who cultivate the Way should also be busy from morning till night, not for the sake of profit, nor for the sake of fame, but for the sake of the Dharma. We should “serve the Buddhas without laxness in the morning and evening.” We should get up early in the morning and go to bed late at night, and every day bow to the Buddhas and recite sutras to display our devotion and sincerity as Buddhist disciples. It should not be that we say the right things but our hearts are false. It should not be that we can talk but not…

《早起晚睡爲誰忙 Rising Early and Retiring Late, for Whom Are We Busy

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