Ten Meritorious and Ten Evil Actions
十善與十惡
A fortunate or unfortunate life depends on inpidual merits and demerits.
幸與不幸的生活是受到善與不善業的影響。
The performance of good actions gives rise to merit (punna), a quality which purifies and cleanses the mind. If the mind is unchecked, it has the tendency to be ruled by evil tendencies, leading one to perform bad deeds and getting into trouble. Merit purifies the mind of the evil tendencies of greed, hatred and delusion. The greedy mind encourages a person to desire, accumulate and hoard; the hating mind drags him to dislike and anger; and the deluded mind makes one become entangled in greed and hatred, thinking that these evil roots are right and worthy. Demeritorious deeds give rise to more suffering and reduce the opportunities for a person to know and practise the Dhamma.
善行將帶來善的功德(善業，Punna)，一種高品質的、純淨和明晰的心識。一個人的心識，如果不善加控製，將受惡力的影響導致惡行，爲自己帶來煩惱。功德淨化我們的心識，抑製貪、嗔、癡等壞的心念。貪欲導致渴求和欲望永遠無法滿足，嗔恚導致憤怒和不滿，而愚癡是貪欲和嗔恚的根源，將惡行當作善行。這叁種惡根爲人類帶來不幸，抑製了人類向善、學佛和修持佛法的心。
Merit is important to help us along our journey through life. It is connected with what are good and beneficial to oneself and others, and can improve the quality of the mind. While the material wealth a person gathers can be lost by theft, flood, fire, confiscation, etc., the benefit of merits follows him from life to life and cannot be lost, although it can be exhausted if no attempts are made to perform more merits. A person will experience happiness here and now ass well as hereafter through the performance of merit.
功德有助于我們的生活，它將我們和善業，利益緊緊的聯系在一起，同時提升了我們思維的境界。物質的財富會因爲盜竊、水災或火災而消失，功德的利益卻緊跟著我們，永遠也不會失去，因此，我們要不斷的累積功德。一個人能獲得幸福，主要就是功德的展現。
Merit is a great facilitator: It opens the doors of opportunity everywhere. A meritorious person will succeed in whatever venture he puts his effort into. If he wishes to do business, he will meet with the right contacts and friends. If he wishes to be a scholar, he will be awarded with scholarships and supported by academic mentors. If he wishes to progress in meditation, he will meet with a skillful meditation teacher who guides him through his spiritual development. His dreams will be realized through the grace of his treasury of merit. It is merit which enables a person to be reborn in the heavens, and provides him with the right conditions and support for his attainment of Nibbana.
功德是大收獲。它的大門永遠打開，任何人都能輕易的透過個人的努力而獲得。一個擁有功德的人，如果他想做生意，將會碰很好的機會和朋友，如果他想求學，他將會晉身名校，如果他想修行，將會遇見有高深修養的導師，協助他開發心智。他的一切夢想，都會因爲功德的回向而實現。功德同時也幫助人往生善界，或提供正面的條件，協助他證悟涅槃。
There are several rich fields of merit (recipients of the deed) which give rise to bountiful results to the performer of the good deed. Just as some soil can yield a better harvest (say black fertile soil compared to stony soil), a good deed perfo, rmed to some persons can give rise to more merits than to others. The rich fields of merits include the Sangha or holy people, mother, father and needy. Good deeds performed to these persons will manifest in many ways and be the fountainhead of many wondrous results.
功德，是各種不同善行的積累。這有如優良的土壤，造就了優良的生態環境。善行造就的功德，同樣可以回向給他人，如：僧人、修行者、父母、祖父母等。一個人的善行，將會造成許多不可思議和美妙的結果。
Ten Meritorious Deeds
十善：
The Buddha taught ten meritorious deeds for us to perform in order to gain a happy and peaceful life as well as to develop knowledge and understanding.
The ten meritorious deeds are:
佛陀闡述了十種有助于我們獲得幸福和甯靜生活的善行，我們必須以我們的智慧，對他做全面的了解。這種善行是：
Charity
Morality
Mental culture
Reverence or respect
Service in helping others
Sharing merits with others
Rejoicing in the merits of others
Preaching and teaching the Dhamma
Listening to the Dhamma
Straightening one”s views
一、布施。
二、持戒。
叁、禅修(發展心靈的力量)。
四、恭敬(禮敬佛陀，尊重一切聖賢、師長)。
五、服務社群。
六、隨喜功德(與他人分享自己的功德)。
七、回向功德與他人。
八、弘揚正法。
九、學習和聆聽佛法。
十、正直己見(矯正自己不正確的見解)。
The performance of these ten meritorious deeds will not only benefit oneself, but others as well, besides giving benefits to the recipients. Moral conduct benefits all beings with whom one comes into contact. Mental culture brings peace to others and inspires them to practise the Dhamma. Reverence gives rise to harmony in society, while service improves the lives of others. Sharing merits with others shows that one is concerned about others” welfare, while rejoicing in others” merits encourages others to perform more merits. Teaching and listening to the Dhamma are important factors for happiness for both the teacher and listener, while encouraging both to live in line with Dhamma. Straightening one”s views enables a person to show to others the beauty of Dhamma. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha taught:
實現十種善行，不僅利益自己，也利益他人。任何實現善行的人，都會獲得利益。發展心靈力量，能使人更容易的接近和實踐佛法。尊重賢德者，能穩定社會。服務社群，能提升他人的生活素質。與他人分享自己的功德或將自己的功德回向給他人，有助于提升自己的道德行爲。弘揚和學習佛法是一種自我的提升，同時也讓他人理解佛法的微妙。學習佛法的同時，也矯正了自己不正確的見解。
”Should a person perform good,
He should do it again and again;
He should find pleasure therein;
For blissful is the accumulation of good.”
”Think not lightly of good, saying,
”It will not come near to me”
Even by the falling of drops a water-jar is filled.
Likewise the wise man, gathering little by little,
Fills himself with good.”
佛陀曾經這麼爲我們開示：
如果一個人做了善行，
他應該繼續不斷的做，
他應該喜歡于自己的善行，
善德的積累將帶來安樂。
《法句經》V.118
不要輕視小小的善行，
不要以爲它不會帶來善報。
一滴滴的水珠，能裝滿整個水瓶，
累積一點一滴的善，以將福德滿盈。
《法句經》V.122
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