..续本文上一页 food. They wish to eat delicious food that keeps their bodies strong and healthy. If they eat less than their fill, they aren”t satisfied. If they eat too much, lust arises and they plunge headlong into the pursuit of sex, sometimes even at the risk of their own lives. Therefore, food and sex are inseparable. If ignorance didn”t have the accomplices of food and sex, it wouldn”t act up so much.

　　出家人吃得越坏越好，越没有营养越好，所以对于吃东西的问题，不要看得那么重，修道人吃得能维持生命就可以了。但是要行中道，不需要吃得太有营养，也不要吃得太坏，否则会弄垮了身体。

　　For left-home people, the less rich the food is, the better. Food should not be regarded as too important. A cultivator should practice moderation and eat only enough to sustain himself. We should neither eat very rich food, nor eat spoilt food, for either one could ruin our health.

　　我最佩服的人，就是台湾的水果和尚(广钦老和尚)。他既不贪财，也不贪色。人家给他果仪，他连看也不看，这不是一般凡夫俗子所能做到的。一般人放不下财，都视财如命；但他却看得那么轻松，也不看果仪包了有多少，就放在一边，谁愿意拿就去拿。

　　I really admire the "Fruit Monk" [Elder Master Guangqin] in Taiwan. He is not greedy for money or for sensual pleasures. He doesn”t even look at the offerings people make to him. Ordinary people are so attached to wealth that they value it more than life itself. But this monk is so unconcerned about wealth that he doesn”t even check to see how much money the offerings contain. He just puts the offerings aside, and anyone can take them.

　　所以他有些徒弟就偷拿许多钱，然后偷跑去还俗。你说这样他以后应该会管紧了钱吧？没有，他还是管也不管，看也不看，你说这老人的定力有多高！他只吃水果、花生，不吃有味的食物，他不入色声香味触法，而证得初果。他修行很有感应的，时常保护着台湾，有些人认识他，但也有人不认识他的德行，反而骂他是哑羊僧。他因为年迈身体不好，所以现在就吃点粥，于是有人就开始呱呱叫，以为他要堕落了。其实他们的观点是错误的，人家吃不吃粥是他的事，怎么可以管那么多！如果人人修行都像这位老人那么不贪不染，那么佛教一定会发扬光大，正法一定会常住在世。这位老人是我最欢喜的一位老同参，也可说我们是志同道合。

　　Some of the Fruit Monk”s disciples stole quite a sum of money from him and then sneaked off and returned to lay-life. You”d expect him to watch his money more closely after that, but he doesn”t. He still doesn”t bother to keep track of, or even look at, his offerings. How great would you say this old cultivator”s samadhi power is

　　 He used to eat only fruit and peanuts, and never ate seasoned food. He detached himself from sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects, and dharmas, and he attained the first stage of Arhatship. He has had many miraculous responses in his cultivation, and Taiwan is under his constant protection. Some recognize what kind of person he is, but others don”t see his virtue and criticize him for being a "mute monk." Since he is now quite old and not as healthy as before, he occasionally eats a little porridge. Some people criticize him for this and say he will fall. Actually, their attitude is wrong. Why should they meddle in his affairs

　　 Whether or not he eats porridge is his own business. If every cultivator could be as unselfish and undefiled as this elder monk, Buddhism would surely flourish and the Proper Dharma would prevail in the world. This old monk is my favorite fellow cultivator. He and I have the same aspirations and travel the same path.

　　在万佛圣城，你不能说我们每一样都是对的，都是佛法，但我们愿意依教奉行，依照佛法去做。所以万佛圣城所有的人，不注重吃好东西，或穿好衣服，或住好的地方，只要能维持四大假合的身体，能活着就可以了。我们所需要的是法，是无上法味，所以每天在万佛圣城都讲经说法。

　　We can”t say that we do everything right at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, but we do try to follow the Buddha-dharma and practice the teachings. People at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas don”t think it”s so very important to eat delicious food, wear fine clothes, or live in a fancy place. We are satisfied if we can sustain our bodies, which are temporary aggregates of the four elements anyway. What we really need is the supreme flavor of the Dharma. That”s why Sutra lectures and Dharma talks are held daily at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

　　你们各位到听经的时候，要勇猛精进听讲《华严经》，不要懒惰。你们听经不是给师父听，而是给自己听。你若自己觉得什么都懂，那你就不需要听了；可是你并不是什么都懂，你所懂的都是世智辩聪，尽是精细鬼、伶俐虫在作怪。你学法是给自己学，不是给师父、给旁人学的。切记！不要白白把光阴空过了，否则将来后悔莫及。

　　During the lectures, all of you should pay diligent attention to the Flower Adornment (Avatamsaka) Sutra. Don”t be lazy. You are listening to the Sutra for your own sake, not for your teacher”s sake. If you already understand everything, you don”t have to listen. However, you don”t really understand everything. Your understanding is mere world-ly cleverness and intellectual knowledge. You”re playing into the hands of your own intelligence. You are learning the Dharma for your own good, not for your teacher or anyone else. So don”t let the time pass in vain, or you”ll later regret it.

　　一九八二年五月九日开示于万佛圣城

　　A talk given on May 9, 1982

　　at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

《修道的秘诀：节食、寡欲 The Secret to Cultivation: Eat Less and Reduce Desire》全文阅读结束。