PART THREE
LEADING A BUDDHIST LIFE
第叁篇 佛教徒的生活
CHAPTER 7 MORAL FOUNDATION FOR MANKIND
第七章 人類的道德基礎
What is the Purpose of life
生命的真正意義
Man is the highest fruit on the tree of evolution. It is for man to realize his position in nature and understand the true meaning of his life.
人類是進化樹的果實。人類有這種成果、更應該去了解他在自然界的地位和生命的意義。
To know the purpose of life, you will first have to study the subject through your experience and insight. Then, you will discover for yourself the true meaning of life. Guidelines can be given, but you must create the necessary conditions for the arising of realization yourself.
假如你希望了解什麼是生命的真正意義？你必須通過自己的體驗和從內觀的洞察力去發現。你必須親自去發現你自己生命的意義，以其他人做爲向導，只能爲你提供部份的必要條件。
There are several prerequisites to the discovery of the purpose of life. First, you must understand the nature of man and the nature of life. Next, you keep your mind calm and peaceful through the adoption of a religion. When these conditions are met, the answer you seek will come like the gentle rain from the sky.
要了解生命的真正意義，必須先了解人的本性和生命的真相，也必須接受宗教做爲向導，並學會如何使你的心甯靜、平和。當這些條件都具足時，答案就在你身邊。這有如因緣成熟時，雨水就會從天降落一樣。
Understanding the nature of man
了解人類的本性：
人類已經有足夠的智慧登陸月球了，可是仍然無法通過內觀的洞察力了解自己的本性，因此誤解了這世間的一切，而這一切見解都建立在誤解上，這種錯誤的見解使他自我膨脹，提高我見，做出一些連他自己都不知道爲什麼的事。
Man may be clever enough to land on the moon and discover wondrous things in the universe, but he has yet to delve into the inner workings of his own mind. He has yet to learn how his mind can be developed to its fullest potential so that its true nature can be realized.
As yet, man is still wrapped in ignorance. He does not known who he really is or what is expected of him. As a result, he misinterprets everything and acts on that misinterpretation. Is it not conceivable that our entire civilization is built on the misinterpretation
The failure to understand his existence leads him to assume a false identity of a bloated, self-seeking egoist, and to pretend to be what he is not or is unable to be.
人類應該摒除愚癡的無明，努力去了解自己的本性和發展覺悟。所有的偉人都和我們一樣從母胎出生，但是，他們根據自己的道路發展而成爲偉人。真性或覺悟不能像水一樣灌入我們的大腦裏。就算是佛陀，也跟普通人一樣，必須通過正確的途徑，去體悟真正的人性。
Man must make an effort to overcome ignorance to arrive at realization and Enlightenment. All great men are born as human beings from the womb, but they worked their way up to greatness. Realization and Enlightenment cannot be poured into the human heart like water into a tank. Even the Buddha had to cultivate His mind to realize the real nature of man.
一般人，只要他能從自己無明的夢幻中覺醒，都能證悟涅槃。一個人必須明白，他的今天是無數的思維和行動，不斷反覆作用的結果，不是現成的，而是經過不斷的變化而形成的，而且還在繼續變化中。人格也是通過自己的身、語、意的抉擇後而奠定的，因此，一個人的思維和行動是自己的決定。人類是進化樹的果實。人類有這種成果，更應該去了解他在自然界的地位和生命的意義。
Man can be enlightened _a Buddha
if he wakes up from the ”dream” that is created by his own ignorant mind, and becomes fully awakened. He must realize that what he is today is the result of an untold number of repetitions in thoughts and actions. He is not ready-made: he is continually in the process of becoming, always changing. And it is in this characteristic of change that his future lies, because it means that it is possible for him to mould his character and destiny through the choice of his actions, speech and thoughts. Indeed, he becomes the thoughts and actions that he chooses to perform. Man is the highest fruit on the tree of evolution. It is for man to realize his position in nature and to understand the true meaning of his life.