..续本文上一页f what you cultivate at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, you have a lot of freedom. No one will order you around, because this is a democratic country, and this Way-place should be the most democratic of the democratic, and the freest of the free. So whatever you want to cultivate is fine, as long as you are able to "pick it up" and "put it down" when you culti-vate; that is, you work seriously, with single-minded concentration. That”s the right way.

　　再说说万佛圣城的六大宗旨：

　　(一)不争，就不会杀生。杀生就因争心作怪，一争就你死我活，死伤无数。

　　(二)不贪，就不会偷盗。为什么要窃盗他人之物？就因为贪。你要是没有贪心，就算人家给你，你也不会要，所以要把贪心去除，才不会偷。

　　(三)不求，就不会有淫欲心。淫欲心就因为有所求，女的求男朋友，男的求女朋友，都是追求异性。不单求，还要「追」求，就好像把头削得尖尖的，往里头钻。若是无所求，还有什么淫欲心？英俊的男人有什么用？漂亮的女人也只是个盖肉的臭皮囊，有什么值得贪恋的？假若无所求了，淫戒就不会犯。

　　(四)不自私，就不会打妄语。人打妄语，就因为怕失去自己的利益，自私心作怪，所以骗人撒谎，想令人不认识自己。

　　(五)不自利，就不会犯酒戒。人为什么喝酒？就想迷乱自己的身体心性，弄得它恍恍惚惚，以为自己成了神仙，在天上逍遥。喝醉酒又会骂人，又会为所欲为，又增长淫欲心。有人想用酒来助血气流通快点，喝了酒可以忘记一切，好像抽鸦片烟一样过瘾。这都是自利心作怪，所以才去喝酒。

　　As to the Six Great Principles of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas:

　　1. If you don”t contend, then you won”t kill. Killing occurs because thoughts of contention take control. When you start contending, you have the attitude of "Get out of my way or die!" The casualties that result are beyond count.

　　2. If you are not greedy, then you won”t steal. Why do you want to steal others” things

　　 It”s because of greed. If you are not greedy, then even if people want to give you something, you won”t want it. So you should get rid of greed, and then you won”t steal.

　　3. If you seek nothing, you won”t have thoughts of lust. Thoughts of lust arise because you seek something. Women seek boyfriends, and men seek girlfriends. Not only do they seek, they plunge headlong into the pursuit as if nothing else mattered. If they didn”t seek anything, then how could they have thoughts of desire

　　 Of what use is a handsome man or a pretty woman

　　 They are just stinking skin-bags containing flesh. Are they worth hankering after

　　 If you seek nothing, you won”t violate the precept of sexual misconduct.

　　4. If you”re not selfish, then you won”t tell lies. People tell lies because they”re afraid of losing personal benefits. Overcome by selfishness, they cheat people and tell lies, hoping to hide their true face from others.

　　5. If you don”t seek to benefit yourself, then you won”t violate the precept against taking intoxicants. Why do people take intoxi-cants

　　 It”s because they want to mess up their bodies and confuse their minds, bewildering themselves to the point that they think they”ve become gods or immortals, enjoying them-selves in the heavens. Once intoxicated, they will scold people and do as they please, and their lustful desires increase. Some people also want to use intoxicants to speed up their blood and energy circulation. After taking them, they forget everything. It”s as exciting as smoking opium. It”s all because they are overcome by the wish to benefit themselves that they take intoxicants.

　　所以这六个宗旨，就是五戒的别名。为什么不说五戒？因为我们人听惯了五戒，你跟他讲：「不杀生、不偷盗、不邪淫、不妄语、不饮酒。」他说：「我知道了！听你的做什么？」所以把它变个名词，「不争、不贪、不求、不自私、不自利、不妄语」。这个名词本来人人也都听过，也都懂得，但是真能去做的少之又少，所以就再提醒大家：

　　不争，就是不杀生；

　　不贪，就是不偷盗；

　　不求，就是不邪淫；

　　不自私，就是不打妄语；

　　不自利，就是不饮酒。

　　Thus, these six principles are just another name for the five precepts. Why don”t I talk about the five precepts

　　 It”s because everyone is so used to hearing about the five precepts. If I say to a person, "Don”t kill, don”t steal, don”t engage in sexual misconduct, don”t lie, and don”t take intoxicants," he”ll reply, "I already know that! Why should I listen to you

　　" So I changed the names to be: don”t contend, don”t be greedy, don”t seek, don”t be selfish, don”t try to benefit yourself, and don”t lie. Actually, everyone has also heard these terms before and understands them, but very few can truly practice them. That”s why I”m reminding everyone:

　　Don”t contend means don”t kill;

　　Don”t be greedy means don”t steal;

　　Don”t seek means don”t engage in sexual misconduct;

　　Don”t be selfish means don”t tell lies;

　　Don”t try to benefit yourself means don”t take intoxicants.

　　一九八二年十二月五日开示于

　　万佛圣城

　　A talk given on December 5, 1982,

　　at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

《六大宗旨即是五戒 The Six Great Principles Are in Fact the Five Precepts》全文阅读结束。