..续本文上一页 this was their only source of income, and he wondered what to do. When he asked his mother why she”d cut the cloth and stopped weaving, she answered, “If you don”t study, it”s just like cutting the cloth on the loom so that it cannot be woven anymore.” Mencius reflected, “Oh, I”d better not play hooky anymore.” After that, he studied hard and became a great sage.

　　所以，我并不是在反对这个国家，但是你任小孩子自由发展太过，也是一种错误的观念。由于小孩子就像一棵小树似的，长得很多枝枝丫丫，你若想它成一个材料，必须要把这些横枝都斩去，留一个正的根，这样才能够成为一个栋梁之材。所以，小孩子若是对的，当然由他自由发展去；如果他不对，应该教他改过一点。在这个国家，我发觉很多小孩子都是左撇子，写字、吃饭，做什么都用左手，这是不太方便的。右手属于柔顺，左手是属刚强，所以左撇子是不太好的。每一个家庭，如果有小孩子是左撇子，最好还是教他在学习的时候就能转过来，用右手写字、拿筷子等，这是好一点。因为向右是顺序，顺着次序去的。好像我们绕佛都是向右转的，这一切一切都是向右的。右手就比较灵活一点，也方便写字、吃饭，一切一切的都很顺利。所以我向有左撇子小孩的家庭做这样建议。说是这样说，不过你们若是一定教小孩子自由发展，那将来不听话，也是自由发展发来的。因为他说我要自由发展，我不听你的，你讲什么我也不听。所以到大了就做嬉皮，或者就做很多不合理的事情。从电视上会让人学得很坏的，你若是教他看电视，那不也是自由发展吗？这都是一种影响力影响了他！所以若真自由发展，要怎么样呢？就要到山里头，电话也没有，电视也没有，什么都没有，完全与世界隔绝了。他在那个地方自由发展，好像山里头的树木和世人离开，那可以自由发展。因为它没有人了嘛！那地方没有人，你不自由发展也不行。若在社会上，有人在这儿，我们则应该维持一般的智慧、常识和行动。

　　I am not opposed to this country”s methods, but I think it”s wrong to give children too much freedom in their development. Children are like young trees with many shoots. If you want the tree to be useful, you have to prune the shoots so the tree will grow straight and tall. Then the tree can serve as a pillar. If a child is on the right path, then of course we can give him independence. If he is doing something wrong, we should give him some guidance to help him change. For instance, I”ve found that many left-handed American children write, eat, and do everything with their left hand. But being left-handed is sometimes inconvenient. The right hand is associated with gentleness, the left hand with obstinacy. That is why being left-handed is not very good. If a child shows a tendency to be left-handed, his or her parents should help him or her to learn to write and eat with the right hand. Going to the right (i.e. clockwise) is the natural order. We circumambulate the Buddha and do everything else in clockwise fashion. The right hand is more active, and thus more convenient for writing, eating, and other activities. This is my suggestion to parents of left-handed children.

　　If you allow your children to develop freely, they may not listen to you in the future. They will say, “I want to do as I please. No matter what you say, I won”t listen.” When they grow up, they become hippies or do unprincipled things. From television, people can learn to be very bad.

　　You think you”re letting your children develop freely by letting them watch TV

　　 Actually, TV influences them too. To really let them develop freely, you should take them deep into the mountains, away from telephone and television, so that they are totally cut off from the world. Then they can develop freely, like the trees in the mountains, totally isolated from human influence. When there are no other people, they will develop freely whether they want to or not. But as long as we live in society, we should use wisdom and common sense, and maintain a certain standard of behavior.

　　我并不是反对左撇子，不过这左撇子的人，有的时候好像古里古怪，有一点不听话似的，这都是自由发展的关系。这个国家的小孩子，说让他自由发展，那么你们查一查，详细研究研究，在这些自由发展的小孩子里，有多少个是出来做总统的？是不是他自由发展，每一个都可以做总统？若可以这样子的话，那这个国家个个完全都变成总统了。如果不是这样子，那还是应该帮助他一点。帮助他一点，就是：对的，就让他自由发展；不对的，就应该告诉他不要那样子。

　　I am not against left-handed people, but they sometimes stand out as a bit unusual. Often they are not very obedient, because they were allowed to go their own way. Americans like to give their children a lot of freedom. Maybe we ought to do a survey and see how many children who are raised this way go on to become President. If children who receive a free upbringing can become President, we would have a nation full of presidents! If this is not the case, then we should give our children a little guidance. If they are on the right track, we can give them freedom. If not, we should correct them.

　　一九八三年三月二十日中午开示

　　于万佛圣城

　　A talk given on March 20, 1983,

　　at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

《自由发展不是真正的自由 “Free”Development Is Not True Freedom》全文阅读结束。