Fortune-Telling and Charms

　　占蔔與符咒

　　Hard work is the luckiest star.

　　勤奮就是幸運之星。

　　Although Buddhism does not refute belief in deities, spirits, astrology and fortune-telling, the Buddha”s advice was that people should not be slaves to any of those forces. A good Buddhist can overcome all his difficulties if he knows how to make use of his intelligence and will-power. The above mentioned beliefs have no spiritual significance or value. Man must overcome all his problems and difficulties by his own efforts and not through the medium of deities, spirits, astrology or fortune-telling.

　　佛教從來不鼓勵對天神、精靈、星宿、占蔔的信仰。佛陀奉勸信徒不要成爲這些無聊信仰的奴隸。一位真正的佛教徒，如果善于運用他的智慧和意識，一定能克服一切困難，對天神、精靈、星宿、占蔔的信仰，沒有宗教的實質意義。人類必須憑自己的努力去克服一切困難，而不是祈求天神、精靈、星宿、占蔔等媒體。

　　In one of the Buddhist Jataka stories, the Bodhisatta said:

　　在《本生經》裏，佛陀這麼說道：

　　”The fool may watch for lucky days,

　　Yet luck he shall always miss,

　　The luck itself is luck”s own star,

　　What can mere stars achieve

　　He believed that hard work was the luckiest star and one should not waste time by consulting stars and lucky days in order to achieve success. To do your best to help yourself is better than to rely solely on the stars or external sources.

　　「愚癡的人期待幸運日子的到來，但是幸運卻不到來。幸運本身是它自己的星宿，有什麼能靠星宿來完成呢？」佛陀相信努力工作是最幸運的星宿，一個人不應該浪費時間在占蔔和選擇黃道吉日。靠自己的努力，比依賴占蔔和外在的力量要殊勝的多。

　　Although some Buddhists practise fortune-telling and dispense some forms of charms or amulets under the guise of religion, the Buddha at no time encouraged anyone to practise such things. Like fortune-telling, charms come under the category of superstition, and have no religious value. Yet there are many people today who, because of sickness and misfortunes attribute the cause of their illness and ill-luck to the power of charms. When the cause of certain sickness and misfortunes cannot be ascertained or traced, many people tend to believe that their problems are due to charms or some other external causes. They have forgotten that they are now living in the twentieth century. This is the modern age of scientific development and achievement. Our leading scientists have thrown aside many superstitious beliefs and they have even placed men on the moon!

　　盡管某些佛教徒假借佛教的名義從事算命、占蔔、符咒等行業，但是，佛陀從來就沒有鼓勵他們這麼做。占蔔、符咒是一種迷信，沒有宗教意義。然而，今天很多人把疾病和厄運歸咎于符咒的力量，當某些疾病或厄運無法獲得充分的理由來解釋時，他們認爲是符咒在作祟。他們已經忘記了他們生存在科技發達的二十世紀，科學家們早就甩掉所有的迷信，把人送上月球了。

　　All sicknesses owe their origin to either mental or physical causes. In Shakespeare, Macbeth asked a doctor if there was any medicine that could cure his wife and the doctor replied: ”More needs she the pine than the physician.” What he meant was that some diseases could only be cured if the mind was purified. Some severe mental disorders manifest themselves in a physical manner--ulcers, stomach aches, and so on.

　　造成疾病的産生主要是心理或生理的因素。在莎士比亞的劇作中，有人問麥比特文醫生：「有什麼良方可以治療他的妻子。」醫生說：「她需要的是宗教而不是藥物治療。」醫生的意思是認爲疾病是需要純淨的心靈才能獲得痊愈，很多疾病是因爲心裏問題而造成的，如：腸胃潰瘍、胃病等等。

　　Of course diseases are purely physical and can be cured by a competent doctor. And finally, some inexplicable disorders could be caused by what Buddhist call the ripening of the kammic fruit. This means we would have to pay for some evil deed that we have committed in a past life. If we can understand this in the case of some incurable diseases, we can bear it with greater patience, knowing its real cause.

　　當然，那些疑難雜症，在一些高明醫生的護理下，也能痊愈。一些無法治療的疾病，就如佛教所說的「業報」，是因爲過去時所積累的惡業的展現。了解這一事實，我們就會進一步的了解那些無法治療的疾病的真正起因，也就會變得更容忍了。

　　People who cannot be cured of their sickness are advised to consult a medical specialist and obtain specialized attention. If after having gone through a medical check-up, a person still feels in need of attention, then he may want to seek spiritual guidance from a proper religious teacher.

　　當疾病發生時，就應該找醫生診治，治不好，就要找更高明的專家，再治不好的情況下，才尋求一位適當的宗教導師做心靈的輔導。

　　Buddhists are strongly advised against falling into the miserable pit of superstitious beliefs and allowing the mind to be troubled by unnecessary and unfounded fears. Cultivate a strong will-power by refusing to believe in the influence of charms.

　　佛陀告誡所有的信徒，不要讓不必要的困擾和沒有根據的恐懼──可悲的迷信深嵌于我們的內心，這種令人迷惑的感受，是一種病態的心理作用。培養堅強的意志，就能抗拒這些迷惑了。

　　A short meditation course may also prove very helpful to clear the mind of unwholesome thoughts. Meditation leads to the purification of the mind. A purified mind automatically leads to a purified and healthy body. The Buddha-Dhamma is a soothing balm to get rid of sickness of this nature.

　　即使是短暫的，禅修或靜坐有助于淨化內心不健康的思想。禅定能淨化心識，當心靈獲得淨化後，就能帶動純淨和健康的身體。佛法是能使人寬心的鎮定劑，也能消除疾病。

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