寿夭穷通皆不出轮回

　　Rich or Poor, Long-lived or Short-lived－None Can Escape Transmigration

　　人生如梦；不要执着，就没有一切烦恼。

　　要看破放下来修行，不要再留恋在六道轮回中了。

　　Life is like a dream. Be attached to nothing and you will have no affliction.

　　See through everything, put it all down, and cultivate. Don”t hanker after this transient existence in the six paths.

　　石崇富贵范丹穷，

　　运晚甘罗太公早；

　　彭祖寿高颜命短，

　　六人都在五行中。

　　自古以来，富有的人，最有名的就是石崇，他是晋朝人，家产富可敌国。有一次，他和朋友宴饮时，朋友说：「我有一棵珊瑚树高二尺八寸。」特意从库房中搬出来，请石崇参观。

　　Now we will discuss some of the richest, the noblest, the poorest, and the lowliest figures in Chinese history.

　　Shi Chong was wealthy,

　　 and Fan Dan, poor;

　　Gan Luo”s fate was to be late,

　　 while Tai Gong was early.

　　Peng Zu was long-lived,

　　 but Yan”s life was short.

　　These six people are all within

　　 the five elements.

　　Shi Chong, who lived in the Jin Dynasty, was one of the wealthiest and most famous people in Chinese history. His fortune was comparable to the national treasury. Once Shi Chong went to a banquet at a friend”s house. His friend told him how he had obtained a coral "tree" two feet eight inches high and then brought the piece out to show Shi Chong.

　　石崇见到这棵珊瑚树，就说：「这算个什么！」一脚就把它踢碎了，他的朋友感叹地说：「哎啊！我不知在什么地方才找到这棵珍贵的珊瑚树，现在你这么样就把它踢碎了，这太可惜了！」

　　Shi Chong took a look and scoffed, "What”s so great about that

　　" He then stomped on the coral tree and smashed it to bits.

　　"Oh no!" his friend cried ruefully. "It was so hard to find in the first place, and now you”ve ruined it. How awful!"

　　石崇说：「你可惜什么？这算个什么？哼！我家里垃圾桶里也不知有多少这一类的东西，你到我家里去看看。」

　　Shi Chong retorted, "What”s the big deal

　　 I”ve got zillions like this in the storerooms at home. Come see for yourself."

　　朋友就到他家去看。一看，原来石崇家里，三尺多高的珊瑚树有几百棵。石崇说：「你随便拿，你愿意拿哪一棵就拿吧！」所以他朋友视为宝贝之物，在石崇家不算一回事。这就是说石崇富贵财宝不知有多少。

　　The friend went to Shi Chong”s house where he saw several hundred coral clusters over three feet tall.

　　Shi Chong said, "Go ahead! Take one! Choose whichever one you like!" What his friend had prized as a treasure was a dime a dozen in Shi Chong”s house. This shows how tremendously wealthy Shi Chong was. No one knew the true extent of his fortune.

　　范丹是个要饭的，他到处为家，什么也没有，天天出去讨饭，要了多少就吃多少，也不出外做工，吃完了再出去要，也就是所谓的：

　　Fan Dan was a beggar who had nothing of his own. Each day he would go out and beg for his food, and then he would eat however much he got. He didn”t work at all. When he ran out of food, he would go and beg for more. His situation was such that:

　　家无隔宿之粮，

　　身无立锥之地。

　　Barely getting by on a day”s scraps,

　　He was on the verge of homelessness.

　　范丹虽然穷，时常出外要饭，但以后大概也有一点积蓄，存了一点粮食。有一次孔夫子带着弟子，在陈国绝粮，他们没有东西吃，所以孔夫子派子路到范丹那儿去借米。你看看，孔夫子有很多人，而竟向一个要饭的借米去，这岂不是笑话？当子路到了范丹那儿，就表达来意说：「我的老师因为在陈国绝粮，现在没有饭吃，所以我特意到你这儿来借点米，回去用用。」

　　Every place was home to him. Although it was true that Fan Dan was poor and always had to beg for food, he probably started saving up some food. Confucius and his disciples ran out of food when they were travelling through the state of Chen. Since they had nothing to eat, Confucius told his disciple Zi Lu to go and borrow some rice from Fan Dan. Confucius had so many followers, and yet he needed to borrow rice from a beggar－strange how things work, isn”t it

　　 Zi Lu went to Fan Dan and explained, "My teacher has run out of food in the state of Chen, and I”ve come to borrow rice from you."

　　范丹说：「你要借米可以，但我先有个问题要你答复，答对了就借给你；答不对，就不借。」子路信心充足地说：「你尽管问吧！」

　　Fan Dan said, "If you want to borrow rice, that”s fine, but first you must answer my question. If you give the right answer, I”ll lend you the rice. If you don”t, I won”t lend it to you."

　　Zi Lu confidently replied, "Ask away!"

　　范丹就问了：「你告诉我，世界上，天地间，什么多？什么少？什么欢喜？什么恼？你能答对了，我就毫无条件借米给你，要借多少都可以。你如果答不对，那我就不借给你，这点要先说清楚了。」

　　Fan Dan said, "Tell me, in this world, what is numerous and what is few

　　 What makes people happy and what makes them sad

　　 If you tell me the right answer, I”ll lend you the rice with no st…

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