瀕死

　　Nearing Death

　　兒時的夥伴尤諾得了一種奇怪的病，一半的臉莫名其妙地腫脹，不僅影響日常生活，更因壓迫神經而危及生命。經多方治療，終不見效，如今已回天乏力，不得不離開膝下的一群兒女，離開生長多年的家鄉，被家人送至學院，等待死魔的判決。

　　My childhood friend Yuno has been stricken by a strange disease, half of his face started to swell up inexplicably. The ailment not only affects his daily life but also has become life threatening, as the nerves are compressed. Many treatments have all proven ineffective and his situation is now beyond medical intervention. Having no other choice but to leave behind his children and hometown, he comes to the academy with his family, to wait for the final verdict from the Lord of Death.

　　今天我去看他，令我難以置信的是，從他扭曲的臉上怎麼也搜尋不到他年輕時英俊的痕迹。對于我的安慰和祝福，他報以牽強的笑容，使他的臉顯得越發怪異，讓我無論如何也不能將眼前的尤諾與我心中那個快樂的牧童尤諾聯系在一起。

　　I paid him a visit today and was shocked to see his twisted face, which revealed not a single trace of his handsome and youthful years. On hearing my consolation and good wishes, he forced a smile, which made his face even more gruesome. It”s almost impossible for me to associate the Yuno in front of me with the Yuno in my memory as a happy shepherd boy.

　　想起曾經在一起的放牧生涯，我們總是那麼無憂無慮。清晨，陽光與清霧伴隨著我們出遊；傍晚，山歌與彩雲陪同著我們歸家。尤諾是夥伴中最英俊、最快樂的。如今，美好的日子已如流水一般飄逝。兒時的夥伴相見，竟然恍如隔世。

　　We were so merry and carefree back then, herding animals together on the pastures. Early in the day, we set out in the morning sun and misty fog; late in the day, we went home under the rosy clouds while singing folk songs. Yuno had been the most handsome and the liveliest among the bunch of us. Yet time and tide have washed away the beautiful days; now coming face to face with my childhood buddy, it just seemed so long ago.

　　人生總是這樣悲歡無常，歡笑過後常常伴隨著哀痛，短暫的晴朗就會迎來數日淒風苦雨，若不知以佛法拯救自己，終將被業力的赤風推動，被動地迎接漫漫中陰路，淒迷地等待未知的來世。

　　Life”s happiness and sorrow are always fickle. Joy is inevitably followed by misery, just like nice brisk days are followed by windy rainy ones. Unless one finds Dharma as the saving grace, one will eventually be blown about by the unrelenting karmic wind helplessly, landing in the treacherous intermediate state to wait miserably for the unknown future.

　　不幸之中的萬幸，在他最艱難的時候，他知道求助于佛法，僅憑這點信心，他也會走得較好。古人雲：“天堂人樂成佛難，閻浮人苦成佛易。”因爲天界的人太快樂，過于放縱，終將樂盡苦來，成佛無門；閻浮提的人固然痛苦，但卻因痛苦而生懲戒之心，並可依此而最終成佛。

　　Yet it is a great consolation that out of this calamity, Yuno chooses to make Buddhism his refuge. Simply by the faith he has now, he”ll have an easier departure. It has been said: “Extreme happiness in the god realm prevents celestial beings from attaining enlightenment. Miserable sufferings in the human realm facilitate humans to attain Buddhahood.” Heavenly beings indulge themselves in extravagant pleasures and exhaust their merits, resulting in ultimate downfall and cutting off of Buddhahood. Conversely, the sufferings in the human world, though painful to endure, act as spurs and warnings that lead humans onto the path of liberation.

　　如果善加利用，病痛反而會成爲成佛的良方，違緣也會轉爲順緣。我祝福尤諾，希望他能明白這個道理。

　　With skillful methods, diseases can be transformed into prescriptions of liberation and unfavorable conditions into auspicious ones. I wish Yuno all the best and pray that he will understand these teachings.

　　壬午年五月二十四日　

　　2002年7月4日　　

　　24th of May, Year of RenWu

　　July 4, 2002