Ten Meritorious and Ten Evil Actions

　　十善与十恶

　　A fortunate or unfortunate life depends on inpidual merits and demerits.

　　幸与不幸的生活是受到善与不善业的影响。

　　The performance of good actions gives rise to merit (punna), a quality which purifies and cleanses the mind. If the mind is unchecked, it has the tendency to be ruled by evil tendencies, leading one to perform bad deeds and getting into trouble. Merit purifies the mind of the evil tendencies of greed, hatred and delusion. The greedy mind encourages a person to desire, accumulate and hoard; the hating mind drags him to dislike and anger; and the deluded mind makes one become entangled in greed and hatred, thinking that these evil roots are right and worthy. Demeritorious deeds give rise to more suffering and reduce the opportunities for a person to know and practise the Dhamma.

　　善行将带来善的功德(善业，Punna)，一种高品质的、纯净和明晰的心识。一个人的心识，如果不善加控制，将受恶力的影响导致恶行，为自己带来烦恼。功德净化我们的心识，抑制贪、嗔、痴等坏的心念。贪欲导致渴求和欲望永远无法满足，嗔恚导致愤怒和不满，而愚痴是贪欲和嗔恚的根源，将恶行当作善行。这三种恶根为人类带来不幸，抑制了人类向善、学佛和修持佛法的心。

　　Merit is important to help us along our journey through life. It is connected with what are good and beneficial to oneself and others, and can improve the quality of the mind. While the material wealth a person gathers can be lost by theft, flood, fire, confiscation, etc., the benefit of merits follows him from life to life and cannot be lost, although it can be exhausted if no attempts are made to perform more merits. A person will experience happiness here and now ass well as hereafter through the performance of merit.

　　功德有助于我们的生活，它将我们和善业，利益紧紧的联系在一起，同时提升了我们思维的境界。物质的财富会因为盗窃、水灾或火灾而消失，功德的利益却紧跟着我们，永远也不会失去，因此，我们要不断的累积功德。一个人能获得幸福，主要就是功德的展现。

　　Merit is a great facilitator: It opens the doors of opportunity everywhere. A meritorious person will succeed in whatever venture he puts his effort into. If he wishes to do business, he will meet with the right contacts and friends. If he wishes to be a scholar, he will be awarded with scholarships and supported by academic mentors. If he wishes to progress in meditation, he will meet with a skillful meditation teacher who guides him through his spiritual development. His dreams will be realized through the grace of his treasury of merit. It is merit which enables a person to be reborn in the heavens, and provides him with the right conditions and support for his attainment of Nibbana.

　　功德是大收获。它的大门永远打开，任何人都能轻易的透过个人的努力而获得。一个拥有功德的人，如果他想做生意，将会碰很好的机会和朋友，如果他想求学，他将会晋身名校，如果他想修行，将会遇见有高深修养的导师，协助他开发心智。他的一切梦想，都会因为功德的回向而实现。功德同时也帮助人往生善界，或提供正面的条件，协助他证悟涅槃。

　　There are several rich fields of merit (recipients of the deed) which give rise to bountiful results to the performer of the good deed. Just as some soil can yield a better harvest (say black fertile soil compared to stony soil), a good deed perfo, rmed to some persons can give rise to more merits than to others. The rich fields of merits include the Sangha or holy people, mother, father and needy. Good deeds performed to these persons will manifest in many ways and be the fountainhead of many wondrous results.

　　功德，是各种不同善行的积累。这有如优良的土壤，造就了优良的生态环境。善行造就的功德，同样可以回向给他人，如：僧人、修行者、父母、祖父母等。一个人的善行，将会造成许多不可思议和美妙的结果。

　　Ten Meritorious Deeds

　　十善：

　　The Buddha taught ten meritorious deeds for us to perform in order to gain a happy and peaceful life as well as to develop knowledge and understanding.

　　The ten meritorious deeds are:

　　佛陀阐述了十种有助于我们获得幸福和宁静生活的善行，我们必须以我们的智慧，对他做全面的了解。这种善行是：

　　Charity

　　Morality

　　Mental culture

　　Reverence or respect

　　Service in helping others

　　Sharing merits with others

　　Rejoicing in the merits of others

　　Preaching and teaching the Dhamma

　　Listening to the Dhamma

　　Straightening one”s views

　　一、布施。

　　二、持戒。

　　三、禅修(发展心灵的力量)。

　　四、恭敬(礼敬佛陀，尊重一切圣贤、师长)。

　　五、服务社群。

　　六、随喜功德(与他人分享自己的功德)。

　　七、回向功德与他人。

　　八、弘扬正法。

　　九、学习和聆听佛法。

　　十、正直己见(矫正自己不正确的见解)。

　　The performance of these ten meritorious deeds will not only benefit oneself, but others as well, besides giving benefits to the recipients. Moral conduct benefits all beings with whom one comes into contact. Mental culture brings peace to others and inspires them to practise the Dhamma. Reverence gives rise to harmony in society, while service improves the lives of others. Sharing merits with others shows that one is concerned about others” welfare, while rejoicing in others” merits encourages others to perform more merits. Teaching and listening to the Dhamma are important factors for happiness for both the teacher and listener, while encouraging both to live in line with Dhamma. Straightening one”s views enables a person to show to others the beauty of Dhamma. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha taught:

　　实现十种善行，不仅利益自己，也利益他人。任何实现善行的人，都会获得利益。发展心灵力量，能使人更容易的接近和实践佛法。尊重贤德者，能稳定社会。服务社群，能提升他人的生活素质。与他人分享自己的功德或将自己的功德回向给他人，有助于提升自己的道德行为。弘扬和学习佛法是一种自我的提升，同时也让他人理解佛法的微妙。学习佛法的同时，也矫正了自己不正确的见解。

　　”Should a person perform good,

　　He should do it again and again;

　　He should find pleasure therein;

　　For blissful is the accumulation of good.”

　　”Think not lightly of good, saying,

　　”It will not come near to me”

　　Even by the falling of drops a water-jar is filled.

　　Likewise the wise man, gathering little by little,

　　Fills himself with good.”

　　佛陀曾经这么为我们开示：

　　如果一个人做了善行，

　　他应该继续不断的做，

　　他应该喜欢于自己的善行，

　　善德的积累将带来安乐。

　　《法句经》V.118

　　不要轻视小小的善行，

　　不要以为它不会带来善报。

　　一滴滴的水珠，能装满整个水瓶，

　　累积一点一滴的善，以将福德满盈。

　　《法句经》V.122

《十善 Ten Meritorious Deeds》全文阅读结束。