..續本文上一頁d thoughts, and vow that we and living beings will meet good teachers who can apply skillful means, we are also cultivating. When sweeping floors or paving a road, we vow that living beings will attain the Ground of Leaving Filth and reach the Ground of Not Moving. When patching leaks and repairing a house, we vow that living beings will attain the Three Kinds of Non-Outflow and sit in the Thus Come One”s seat. We avoid making all sorts of calculations on our own behalf, and we don”t hold any grudges against others. These are all ways in which we can cultivate.
質是之故，誦經禮佛是修行，講法持戒是修行，掃地煮飯亦是修行，就是穿衣、吃飯、睡覺，也無一不是在修行。有人怕做工沒時間修行，有人怕教書妨礙修行，這是把修行的真谛曲解了！所謂「自淨其意，是諸佛教。」日常生活中，從表至裏，由粗而精，自小及大不論是個人的吃喝拉睡、讀書、工作，或爲公家的服務，只要在做的那一剎那是心志純淨、不雜，不亂，那就是「精」；日日如是，恒常以行，那就是「進」。精進便是修行的原則，若「精」是所知，「進」是當行；「進」是已知，「精」是必行。譬如說穿衣吃飯，不起貪念，雜念，但願我及衆生：得柔和忍辱衣、能以禅悅爲食；那是修行。又譬如說念書教書，不生瞋心、懈怠心，但願我及衆生：開大智慧、得大法利；那是修行。再譬如說交朋友，做生意，不做癡想、妄想，但願我及衆生：逢善知識，遇大方便；那還是修行。掃地鋪路，當願衆生：登離垢地、到不動地；補漏修屋、當願衆生：得叁無漏、坐如來座。對自己，不起百千種思慮；對他人，不生萬億種計較，無論做什麼，都是修行。
If we say that “cultivation comes first, and work comes second,” it”s to be feared that some people will misunderstand and think, “Do you mean we should set aside our jobs and bury ourselves in the Sutras, Shastras, and Vinaya
Or that we should hide ourselves in the crowd at the Buddha hall and pay no attention to the affairs of the world
” No. As we said before, work itself is cultivation. But many people start out working for the sake of cultivation or for the sake of making a contribution. But once they begin working, their intrinsic attachments and old habits and faults reappear, and the farther they go the deeper they get. Thinking they are fulfilling their responsibilities, they are anxious to make a good impression. But eventually they end up working just for the sake of working,just for the sake of impressing others, or just for the sake of fame and profit. On a small scale they indulge in personal prejudices and gossip; on a more serious scale they contend and form factions based on jealousy and obstructiveness. Not only do they neglect their daily ceremonies and their personal practices, they forget completely the inner cultivation of the mind. Although they are Buddhists, they are more impolite and have less understanding of matters and principles than non-Buddhists. They are supposed to be spiritual, but they act more worldly than ordinary people. Cultivation becomes a mere slogan, and they use their work as an excuse not to cultivate. Their actions and gestures are no different from those of worldly people. Their thoughts are filled with worldly ideas and views. Not only can they not purify and concentrate their minds, they don”t even bother to do small good deeds, but carelessly do small evil deeds as they please. The Six Principles of “no contending, no greed, no seeking, no selfishness, no pursuit of personal advantage, and no lying” have long since been forgotten. This style of working cannot be considered cultivation. On the contrary, it should be called “falling.”
現在我們說「修行第一，工作第二」，恐怕又有人要誤會：是不是教我們都放下工作，趕快鑽到經論藏叢中，或躲到佛殿人堆裏，不問世事？不是的！誠如方才所說，工作本身就是修行！但是卻有很多人，起初爲了修行而工作，爲了貢獻而工作；一工作，本然的執著心就起了，舊有的習氣毛病也複蘇了，而且越陷越深。自以爲盡責，只急于表現，到最後竟演變成爲工作而工作，爲表現而工作，甚至爲爭名奪利而工作。微小者妄計人我，閑論是非；甚焉者忌妒障礙、分裂鬥爭。不要說是忽略了有形有相的隨衆日課儀軌，和自我的修持功課，連內心的修行也忘得一乾二淨。學佛的比不學佛的不懂禮貌、不通事理，出世的比入世的更入世。于是乎修行流于口號，做事成爲擋箭牌。舉手投足間，無異于世俗人；心行思路中，也充斥著世間法。莫說不能自淨其意、專一其心，連起碼的小善也不爲，小惡則爲所欲爲。所謂「不爭、不貪、不求、不自私、不自利、不打妄語」的六大宗旨，自然早已抛出腦後了！像這樣的工作法，就不叫修行，也談不上修行。相反的，應該稱之爲「墮落」。
Therefore, in the statement “cultivation comes first, and work comes second,” we should interpret cultivation broadly as including work within its scope, as being the continuous integration of knowledge and practice. This is the essential meaning of cultivation, and it should not be mixed up with the narrow sense of work not being cultivation.
故所謂的「修行第一、工作第二」是指包括工作在內的廣義修行，是念茲在茲、知行合一的修行；以此修行爲首要，而不讓狹義的工作觀念，混淆了修行的真谛！
《修行 On Cultivation》全文閱讀結束。