Understanding the nature of life

　　了解生命真正的目的：

　　大多數人無法面對生命的真相，他們甯可沈迷于美夢或幻想，把虛幻當作事實。他們不願去了解生命的無常，而死卻是必然的事實。了解生命的無常，就能輕易的面對死亡。一般人對死亡有恐懼感，但是，無論你喜歡或不喜歡，都無法阻止死亡的到來。以正確的心態來面對死亡，可以給人勇氣、安甯和了解生命的本質。

　　Most people dislike facing the true facts of life and prefer to lull themselves into a false sense of security by sweet dreaming and imagining. They mistake the shadow for the substance. They fail to realize that life is uncertain, but that death is certain. One way of understanding life is to face and understand death which is nothing more than a temporary end to a temporary existence. But many people do not like even to hear of the word ”death”. They forget that death will come, whether they like it or not. Recollections on death with the right mental attitude can give a person courage and calmness as well as an insight into the nature of existence.

　　在了解死亡的同時，我們也必須了解我們的生命。我們的生命並非按照我們的意願一帆風順的。我們經常受到很多問題的困擾。我們不需要害怕或逃避種種的問題和困擾，這一切同時爲我們帶來對生命的洞察力。大多數人在財富、權勢、地位中尋找幸福、這種物質文明的發展造成人類追求虛幻的幸福，同時也造成了安眠藥的銷量直線上升，精神病院病人的增加和自殺率不斷的上升。

　　Besides understanding death, we need a better understanding of our life. We are living a life that does not always proceed as smoothly as we would like it to. Very often, we face problems and difficulties. We should not be afraid of them because the penetration into the very nature of these problems and difficulties can provide us with a deeper insight into life. The worldly happiness in wealth, luxury, respectable positions in life which most people seek is an illusion. The fact that the sale of sleeping pills and tranquilizers, admissions to mental hospital and suicide rates have increased in relation to modern material progress is enough testimony that we have to go beyond worldly, material pleasure to seek for real happiness.