毋临渴而掘井

　　Don”t Wait Till You”re Thirsty to Dig a Well

　　谁叫你自己在没病的时候，任作胡为，不好好地珍惜自己。

　　Who told you to act so recklessly and brashly when you were free of sickness,

　　instead of cherishing and taking care of yourself

　　病后始知身是苦，

　　死后方知错用心。

　　Only after being sick do you realize

　　the body is suffering.

　　Only after dying do you realize

　　you applied your effort wrongly.

　　这是众生的通病，在没有病时，满以为在世间非常快乐和满足，到有病的时候，不能动，也不能吃，一切都不自由了，再加上种种难以忍受的痛苦，才觉得原来这个身体是令我们苦的，可是呢？已经太迟了。所谓：

　　临崖勒马收缰晚，

　　船到江心补漏迟。

　　Living beings all have this problem. When you are not sick, you think the world is a happy and satisfying place. But when you get sick, you cannot move around, eat, or have the freedom to do what you want, and you endure all kinds of unbearable pain and misery. That”s when you discover that this body actually causes us a lot of suffering, but it”s already too late. As it is said,

　　When the horse is on the edge of the cliff,

　　it”s too late to draw in the the reins.

　　When the boat is in the middle of the river,

　　it”s too late to patch the leaks.

　　谁叫你自己在没病的时候，任作胡为，不好好地珍惜自己。病是这样，生死大事也是这样。

　　Who told you to act so recklessly and brashly when you were free of sickness, instead of cherishing and taking care of yourself

　　 This is true not only with sickness, but also with the great matter of birth and death.

　　「死后方知错用心」，平时不加检点，等到见了阎王时，才知自己生前所行所事及存心都不正当。生前看见别人念佛，自己反而去讥谤他，说他迷信，笑他愚痴，但现在后悔已晚了！刀山油镬之苦，都是自己招来的。就像刚才所说「临崖勒马收缰晚，船到江心补漏迟」，谁叫自己事前没有准备？

　　“Only after dying do you realize you applied your effort wrongly.” During ordinary times, you failed to examine and rectify yourself. But when you see King Yama, you realize that everything you have done in your life, and all your intentions, were improper. When you saw people reciting the Buddha”s name, you slandered them, called them superstitious, and laughed at them for being fools. But now it”s too late for regrets. You have brought the suffering of the Mountain of Knives and the Cauldron of Oil upon yourself. As it was said above, “When the horse is on the edge of the cliff, it”s too late to draw in the the reins. When the boat is in the middle of the river, it”s too late to patch the leaks.” Who told you not to prepare ahead of time

　　所以朱子说：「宜未雨而绸缪，毋临渴而掘井。」我们在未下雨时，早就应该顾虑到下雨时可能发生的事。譬如北方的窗户，都是用纸糊的，所以在未下雨时，就应把窗纸糊好，省得雨水溅湿了屋内的东西；若是等到下雨时才赶忙去糊窗，那未免太迟了一点。又好像在穷乡僻壤的地方，没有自来水管的设备，所以你在盖房子时，就要考虑水源的问题；若是到了渴时，才记得去掘井，那不是太晚了吗？

　　So Zhuzi said, “Make preparations before it rains. Don”t wait until you”re thirsty to dig a well.” Long before it starts to rain, we should consider the problems that might occur when it rains. For example, in northern China we use paper windows. Before it rains, we have to make sure the paper windows are pasted up well, so the rain will not wet the things inside the house. If we wait until it rains and then rush to paste up the windows, it”s a bit too late. Also, in poor villages where there is no running water, you have to consider the water source when you build a house. If you wait until you”re thirsty to dig a well, isn”t it too late

　　我们学佛的人，都明白一切无常，不免一死。可是！为什么不为自己的「死」先下一番工夫呢？所谓：

　　若要人不死，

　　先下死工夫。

　　When we study Buddhism, we understand that all things are impermanent and death is inevitable. So why don”t we first spend some time to look into the problem of our own death

　　 It”s said,

　　If you don”t want to die,

　　You must first work “dead hard.”

　　死工夫，就是譬如今天的打七念菩萨名号。我们打七，第一，是为求世界和平；第二，是为自己的身后打算，这就是「未雨而绸缪」了。我们打七要年年参加，不可中断，这样才能与阿弥陀佛、观世音菩萨结大因缘。我们必须念到好像阿弥陀佛是我们的师父，观世音菩萨好像是我们的朋友一样亲切，既然能做佛的弟子，做菩萨的朋友，而且能年年月月日日都是如此，自然会成为老友了。这样，佛、菩萨一定会在我们临命终时，接引我们到西方净土去的，这点大家切莫怀疑。所谓：

　　修道之人心莫疑，

　　疑心一起便途迷。

　　Working “dead hard” is just like joining this session to recite the Bodhisattva”s name. We are holding this session first of all to pray for world peace, and secondly, to prepare for our future after this life. This is just to “Make preparations …

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