早起晚睡为谁忙

　　Rising Early and Retiring Late, for Whom Are We Busy

　　我们要夙兴夜寐地去礼佛、念佛，为求消灭罪障，为法忙。

　　From morning till night, we should bow to the Buddhas and recite the Buddhas” names to eradicate our obstructions from offenses, and we should be busy for the sake of the Dharma.

　　夙兴夜寐为谁忙？

　　众生难度颇堪伤；

　　迷诸尘劳性颠倒，

　　耳提面命化无方。

　　Rising up early in the morning,

　　going to bed late at night,

　　for whom are we busy

　　Living beings are hard to save:

　　it”s pretty sad.

　　Confused by the wearisome dust,

　　their natures are upside-down.

　　Boxing their ears and commanding them directly,

　　there is still no way to teach them.

　　夙兴，是早起；夜寐，是夜眠，有很多人兢兢业业，早起夜眠，为的是什么？究竟是为我忙呢？还是为你忙呢？还是为他忙呢？这个问题，我相信很多人都无法回答，甚至于有人索性就说：「无事忙！」

　　Getting up early in the morning and going to bed late at night, many people are busy all day doing all kinds of work. For the sake of whom

　　 In the last analysis, is the person busy for the sake of himself

　　 Is he busy for your sake

　　 Or is he busy for the sake of others

　　 I believe that a lot of people can”t come up with a satisfactory answer to this question; even to the point that some people make a point of flippantly saying “busy doin” nothin”.”

　　啊！那可奇怪了。然而却偏偏有人去做连自己也不清楚的事；譬如商人，他们一天到晚都想着自己的「生意」，弄到睡也睡得不安眠，这就是夙兴夜寐为「钱」忙，乃至于士、农、工、商，凡是想成功的，便会不由自主地要「朝起早，夜眠迟」了。

　　Ha! That”s strange. But indeed, there are people who do things without really knowing why. For example, some people spend every waking moment intent upon their business, almost to the point of perpetual insomnia. This is being busy from morning till night for the sake of money. And so it is with scholarship, farming, laboring, business: if we want any accomplishment, then we can”t do as we please or be our own boss, but instead we must get up early and retire late.

　　《诗经》里有这么一段：

　　鸡既鸣矣，朝既盈矣，

　　匪鸡则鸣，苍蝇之声。

　　As a passage from the Book of Odes says,

　　The cock has already crowed!

　　The morn is already full!

　　Oh, that”s not that cock that”s crowed

　　It”s just the buzzing of a fly.

　　这几句话，如果照普通的口气来说，就是「鸡好像已经啼了吧！现在已是早上了吗？啊！原来不是鸡在啼，只不过是苍蝇的声音罢了！」这段《诗经》是形容古代的贤明君主。你看，身为皇帝，晚上尚且不得好睡，整晚惦记着只要天亮了便应临朝理事，以致神经过敏地把苍蝇的声音听为鸡在鸣叫，这就是夙兴夜寐为「民」忙了。所谓「一人有庆，兆民赖之。」若是遇着了这样贤明的仁君，老百姓就可以过着刀枪入库、马放南山的幸福生活。那么，身为君主的，难道可以不夙兴夜寐地为人民谋幸福吗？

　　In ordinary language, we could paraphrase the poem, “It seems that the cock has already crowed. Is it morning already

　　 Oh! That wasn”t the cock crowing, it was just the sound of a fly buzzing.” This is describing one of the virtuous and wise emperors of old. As an emperor, he didn”t sleep easily at night. The whole night long, he thought of nothing but the dawn, when he could get on with the day”s business. In his anxiety for the night to pass, he rested so fitfully that he started at the sound of a buzzing fly and mistook it for the cock”s crow. This is an instance of being busy from morning till night for the sake of the people. It is said, “If there is a single man with blessings, the masses will put their trust in him.” If there is a humane ruler who is worthy and intelligent, the populace will be able to put away their weapons, let their horses out to the pasture, and live in peace. However, the emperor himself must rise early and retire late, working for the prosperity of the people. How can he not do that

　　至于我们修道的人，也要夙兴夜寐，既不是为利忙，也不是为名忙，而是为「法」忙。我们要「夙兴夜寐，以事诸佛。」要朝起早、夜眠迟地日日礼佛诵经，表示我们是个忠实、诚挚的佛教徒，并不是口是心非，能说而不能做的。

　　We who cultivate the Way should also be busy from morning till night, not for the sake of profit, nor for the sake of fame, but for the sake of the Dharma. We should “serve the Buddhas without laxness in the morning and evening.” We should get up early in the morning and go to bed late at night, and every day bow to the Buddhas and recite sutras to display our devotion and sincerity as Buddhist disciples. It should not be that we say the right things but our hearts are false. It should not be that we can talk but not…

《早起晚睡为谁忙 Rising Early and Retiring Late, for Whom Are We Busy

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