毋臨渴而掘井

　　Don”t Wait Till You”re Thirsty to Dig a Well

　　誰叫你自己在沒病的時候，任作胡爲，不好好地珍惜自己。

　　Who told you to act so recklessly and brashly when you were free of sickness,

　　instead of cherishing and taking care of yourself

　　病後始知身是苦，

　　死後方知錯用心。

　　Only after being sick do you realize

　　the body is suffering.

　　Only after dying do you realize

　　you applied your effort wrongly.

　　這是衆生的通病，在沒有病時，滿以爲在世間非常快樂和滿足，到有病的時候，不能動，也不能吃，一切都不自由了，再加上種種難以忍受的痛苦，才覺得原來這個身體是令我們苦的，可是呢？已經太遲了。所謂：

　　臨崖勒馬收缰晚，

　　船到江心補漏遲。

　　Living beings all have this problem. When you are not sick, you think the world is a happy and satisfying place. But when you get sick, you cannot move around, eat, or have the freedom to do what you want, and you endure all kinds of unbearable pain and misery. That”s when you discover that this body actually causes us a lot of suffering, but it”s already too late. As it is said,

　　When the horse is on the edge of the cliff,

　　it”s too late to draw in the the reins.

　　When the boat is in the middle of the river,

　　it”s too late to patch the leaks.

　　誰叫你自己在沒病的時候，任作胡爲，不好好地珍惜自己。病是這樣，生死大事也是這樣。

　　Who told you to act so recklessly and brashly when you were free of sickness, instead of cherishing and taking care of yourself

　　 This is true not only with sickness, but also with the great matter of birth and death.

　　「死後方知錯用心」，平時不加檢點，等到見了閻王時，才知自己生前所行所事及存心都不正當。生前看見別人念佛，自己反而去譏謗他，說他迷信，笑他愚癡，但現在後悔已晚了！刀山油镬之苦，都是自己招來的。就像剛才所說「臨崖勒馬收缰晚，船到江心補漏遲」，誰叫自己事前沒有准備？

　　“Only after dying do you realize you applied your effort wrongly.” During ordinary times, you failed to examine and rectify yourself. But when you see King Yama, you realize that everything you have done in your life, and all your intentions, were improper. When you saw people reciting the Buddha”s name, you slandered them, called them superstitious, and laughed at them for being fools. But now it”s too late for regrets. You have brought the suffering of the Mountain of Knives and the Cauldron of Oil upon yourself. As it was said above, “When the horse is on the edge of the cliff, it”s too late to draw in the the reins. When the boat is in the middle of the river, it”s too late to patch the leaks.” Who told you not to prepare ahead of time

　　所以朱子說：「宜未雨而綢缪，毋臨渴而掘井。」我們在未下雨時，早就應該顧慮到下雨時可能發生的事。譬如北方的窗戶，都是用紙糊的，所以在未下雨時，就應把窗紙糊好，省得雨水濺濕了屋內的東西；若是等到下雨時才趕忙去糊窗，那未免太遲了一點。又好像在窮鄉僻壤的地方，沒有自來水管的設備，所以你在蓋房子時，就要考慮水源的問題；若是到了渴時，才記得去掘井，那不是太晚了嗎？

　　So Zhuzi said, “Make preparations before it rains. Don”t wait until you”re thirsty to dig a well.” Long before it starts to rain, we should consider the problems that might occur when it rains. For example, in northern China we use paper windows. Before it rains, we have to make sure the paper windows are pasted up well, so the rain will not wet the things inside the house. If we wait until it rains and then rush to paste up the windows, it”s a bit too late. Also, in poor villages where there is no running water, you have to consider the water source when you build a house. If you wait until you”re thirsty to dig a well, isn”t it too late

　　我們學佛的人，都明白一切無常，不免一死。可是！爲什麼不爲自己的「死」先下一番工夫呢？所謂：

　　若要人不死，

　　先下死工夫。

　　When we study Buddhism, we understand that all things are impermanent and death is inevitable. So why don”t we first spend some time to look into the problem of our own death

　　 It”s said,

　　If you don”t want to die,

　　You must first work “dead hard.”

　　死工夫，就是譬如今天的打七念菩薩名號。我們打七，第一，是爲求世界和平；第二，是爲自己的身後打算，這就是「未雨而綢缪」了。我們打七要年年參加，不可中斷，這樣才能與阿彌陀佛、觀世音菩薩結大因緣。我們必須念到好像阿彌陀佛是我們的師父，觀世音菩薩好像是我們的朋友一樣親切，既然能做佛的弟子，做菩薩的朋友，而且能年年月月日日都是如此，自然會成爲老友了。這樣，佛、菩薩一定會在我們臨命終時，接引我們到西方淨土去的，這點大家切莫懷疑。所謂：

　　修道之人心莫疑，

　　疑心一起便途迷。

　　Working “dead hard” is just like joining this session to recite the Bodhisattva”s name. We are holding this session first of all to pray for world peace, and secondly, to prepare for our future after this life. This is just to “Make preparations …

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