..續本文上一頁 this was their only source of income, and he wondered what to do. When he asked his mother why she”d cut the cloth and stopped weaving, she answered, “If you don”t study, it”s just like cutting the cloth on the loom so that it cannot be woven anymore.” Mencius reflected, “Oh, I”d better not play hooky anymore.” After that, he studied hard and became a great sage.

　　所以，我並不是在反對這個國家，但是你任小孩子自由發展太過，也是一種錯誤的觀念。由于小孩子就像一棵小樹似的，長得很多枝枝丫丫，你若想它成一個材料，必須要把這些橫枝都斬去，留一個正的根，這樣才能夠成爲一個棟梁之材。所以，小孩子若是對的，當然由他自由發展去；如果他不對，應該教他改過一點。在這個國家，我發覺很多小孩子都是左撇子，寫字、吃飯，做什麼都用左手，這是不太方便的。右手屬于柔順，左手是屬剛強，所以左撇子是不太好的。每一個家庭，如果有小孩子是左撇子，最好還是教他在學習的時候就能轉過來，用右手寫字、拿筷子等，這是好一點。因爲向右是順序，順著次序去的。好像我們繞佛都是向右轉的，這一切一切都是向右的。右手就比較靈活一點，也方便寫字、吃飯，一切一切的都很順利。所以我向有左撇子小孩的家庭做這樣建議。說是這樣說，不過你們若是一定教小孩子自由發展，那將來不聽話，也是自由發展發來的。因爲他說我要自由發展，我不聽你的，你講什麼我也不聽。所以到大了就做嬉皮，或者就做很多不合理的事情。從電視上會讓人學得很壞的，你若是教他看電視，那不也是自由發展嗎？這都是一種影響力影響了他！所以若真自由發展，要怎麼樣呢？就要到山裏頭，電話也沒有，電視也沒有，什麼都沒有，完全與世界隔絕了。他在那個地方自由發展，好像山裏頭的樹木和世人離開，那可以自由發展。因爲它沒有人了嘛！那地方沒有人，你不自由發展也不行。若在社會上，有人在這兒，我們則應該維持一般的智慧、常識和行動。

　　I am not opposed to this country”s methods, but I think it”s wrong to give children too much freedom in their development. Children are like young trees with many shoots. If you want the tree to be useful, you have to prune the shoots so the tree will grow straight and tall. Then the tree can serve as a pillar. If a child is on the right path, then of course we can give him independence. If he is doing something wrong, we should give him some guidance to help him change. For instance, I”ve found that many left-handed American children write, eat, and do everything with their left hand. But being left-handed is sometimes inconvenient. The right hand is associated with gentleness, the left hand with obstinacy. That is why being left-handed is not very good. If a child shows a tendency to be left-handed, his or her parents should help him or her to learn to write and eat with the right hand. Going to the right (i.e. clockwise) is the natural order. We circumambulate the Buddha and do everything else in clockwise fashion. The right hand is more active, and thus more convenient for writing, eating, and other activities. This is my suggestion to parents of left-handed children.

　　If you allow your children to develop freely, they may not listen to you in the future. They will say, “I want to do as I please. No matter what you say, I won”t listen.” When they grow up, they become hippies or do unprincipled things. From television, people can learn to be very bad.

　　You think you”re letting your children develop freely by letting them watch TV

　　 Actually, TV influences them too. To really let them develop freely, you should take them deep into the mountains, away from telephone and television, so that they are totally cut off from the world. Then they can develop freely, like the trees in the mountains, totally isolated from human influence. When there are no other people, they will develop freely whether they want to or not. But as long as we live in society, we should use wisdom and common sense, and maintain a certain standard of behavior.

　　我並不是反對左撇子，不過這左撇子的人，有的時候好像古裏古怪，有一點不聽話似的，這都是自由發展的關系。這個國家的小孩子，說讓他自由發展，那麼你們查一查，詳細研究研究，在這些自由發展的小孩子裏，有多少個是出來做總統的？是不是他自由發展，每一個都可以做總統？若可以這樣子的話，那這個國家個個完全都變成總統了。如果不是這樣子，那還是應該幫助他一點。幫助他一點，就是：對的，就讓他自由發展；不對的，就應該告訴他不要那樣子。

　　I am not against left-handed people, but they sometimes stand out as a bit unusual. Often they are not very obedient, because they were allowed to go their own way. Americans like to give their children a lot of freedom. Maybe we ought to do a survey and see how many children who are raised this way go on to become President. If children who receive a free upbringing can become President, we would have a nation full of presidents! If this is not the case, then we should give our children a little guidance. If they are on the right track, we can give them freedom. If not, we should correct them.

　　一九八叁年叁月二十日中午開示

　　于萬佛聖城

　　A talk given on March 20, 1983,

　　at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

《自由發展不是真正的自由 “Free”Development Is Not True Freedom》全文閱讀結束。