◎宣化上人一九八五年二月九日
開示於加拿大溫哥華
在現今科技與物質文明都這麼發達的時代裏，我們該得好好想一想，並問問自己，這可是個適於人居的好時候？
In this era, when technology and materialism flourish, we want to take a careful look at the thinking of the times and ask ourselves whether or not this is a good age to live in.
科技使人生活得到改善，人當然認為它是好的，可我們也得明白俗語所謂「樂極生悲」的道理。
Science has made great advances in technology and that certainly counts as good. But we should also realize the truth in the saying,
"Anything taken to the ultimate point
transforms into its opposite."
即科學進步雖是好事，不過好事反而也會招來禍事，眼前電視就是一個現成的例子！
In the case of technological advances, good things also beckon misfortune.
我知道有人，會反對我對電視的評語，而說：「法師，你怎麼愈活愈回去了呢？你真是個老骨董啊！你太趕不上時代了。」
Let's look at television, for example, I know people will object to my analysis of the TV, saying "Dharma Master, you're a throwback to another age. You're an anachronism. You're out of step with the times.
雖然如此，我還是認為電視對人的生活確實構成了威脅，你可知道，它簡直就是一個食人魔！
"Nonetheless, in my opinion, the television is a menace to human life. The television is a man-eater. Did you know that?
看看現在的孩子吧！他們不做功課，只會坐在電視機前面，眼睛巴著螢幕，任由電視把他們的精氣神一點一點地吸光榨乾。
Look at children these days. Instead of doing their schoolwork, they sit in front of the TV set. They're glued to the screen, and it eats up their very life-force. The children might as well be dead, because they will never learn the basic principles of being good people. They only learn how to stare at the television.
那電視到底教了孩子什麼呢？就是一切你所能想得出的各種奇怪而顛倒的行徑。他們很少從電視上學到有價值的東西，反而是對那一些邪惡有害的東西，一教便會。這樣一來，不出多久，他們就會學遍一切人所能幹得出來的壞事了。
And what does the TV teach them? Every kind of strange and freakish behavior you can imagine. They learn precious little of value. The kids very quickly learn to enact the evil and harmful lessons they watch. In no time at all, they learn all the bad things that people can do.
在電視尚未發明以前，這個食人魔是收音機，它也會吸乾人的精氣神。在收音機流行的時代，人的耳朵老是黏著收音機，把什麼都給忘了，忘了吃，忘睡，忘了日常生活的一切事情。現在電視也把我們迷到不知何去何從的地步了！
Before television came into the world, the people-eater was radio. Radios sucked up humans' life-force. People used to stick a radio in their ear and completely forgot everything else. Radios made us forget about eating, sleeping, and the ordinary events of life. Now the television has confused us to the point of not knowing whether we're coming or going.
接續電視而來的是電腦。
中文說它是「電腦」，那麼以後應該還會有電眼、電耳、電舌頭、電鼻子、電身體，無論這六種器官中的哪一個，都可以隨我們的意思給模造出來（就像錄音機），再通上電就成了。
Computers have followed along right after the television.
In Chinese, the word for computer translates literally into "electric brain". In the future there will be electric eyes, as well as electric ears, electric tongues, electric noses and electric bodies. Every one of the six organs will have disposable modules, likes cassettes, and will gain an electric boost.
從此，眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意都將電腦化，甚至連「意」也會和「萬事通電腦記憶銀行」搭上線。
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind will be computerized. Even the mind will tie in organically with "know-it-all computer memory banks."
這是個當人的好時期嗎？
絕對不是，這正是人類史上的黑暗時期。
Is this a good time to be a person?
Impossible! This is a dark age in human history.
生在這個愚癡的時代，人的智慧都給物質偷走了，沒有一個人真正稱得上有智慧，因為我們的自性光明全被物質蒙蔽了。
In this benighted era, our wisdom has been stolen away by material things. Nobody has any natural wisdom to speak of. Our inherent brightness has been replaced by products and goods.
一旦我們以物質代替智慧，人將變得呆滯遲鈍，像白癡一樣。那個時代，智慧不見了，人都不做有益的事。
And once we substitute things for wisdom, then people will grow up blank, like idiots. Wisdom will become outmoded. People will no longer serve any useful function.
你們要切記我說的：將來的人會退化成廢物！你們說這個問題嚴不嚴重？
Mark my words: in the future, people will become obsolete. Would you say this is a serious problem or not?
你們再注意看，過不了多久，人將會變得毫無用處的。舉例來說，現在正有一班人，在那裏絞盡腦汁盡發明些稀奇古怪的東西！
Look into it! People will soon be rendered useless! For instance, some unethical scientists now are busy inventing miraculous monsters.
這些人玩的是把人的遺傳基因，移植到動物體；和把動物基因，移植到人身上，這種基因互換的把戲。你要說那個東西是個人嘛！那不是真正的人；你要說那它是動物囉？它也不是真正的動物。於是，在人與動物基因互相交流的情況下，就產生了各式各樣的突變種。
You say it's human? It's not really human. You say it's an animal? It's not exactly an animal either. Since they graft human genes onto animal bodies and alter human genes with animals strains, this mutual genetic modification produces a freakish, mutant, hybrid that resembles neither parent.
按照目前這個時代，人一出生很可能就長了犄角，或是長長的象鼻子。依我看，人要是長了像大象一樣的長鼻子，簡直就是怪物，哪還算是人？可是現在這些畸型和突變都有發生的可能。
Now people can be born with horns, or elephant-like trunks. In my opinion, a human born with a nose like a pachyderm is more a goblin than a person. These goblins and freaks are all within the realm of possibility today.
再說，今天的科技已經發展到難以控制的局面了。接下來的兩百年，電話之類的東西會全部被淘汰掉，電視和電腦自然也會消失不見！因為那時候，人類的身體──會自動配備了這些機具和它的功能。若想跟某人聯絡，不需要撥電話或動任何按鍵，只消從裝在自己體內的電話機，把對方的號碼發射出去（接收天線就裝在眉毛或頭髮裏），也有同樣配備的對方就會收到這通電話「哈囉，早安！」你看，比起電話，這方便多了。
Furthermore, the range of technology has grown out of control. Within the next two centuries, telephones and the like will be totally obsolete. Televisions and computers will have disappeared. Every person's physical body will contain the capabilities of these machines. Nobody will have to bother dialing a telephone or punching a touch-tone. A person will only need to beam out the number of the desired party from his own built-in phone, with its antennae located in the eyebrows, perhaps, or from his hair, and the other person will receive the call the same built-in way. "Hello! Good morning!" That's how easy it will be to place a phone call.
關於這點，有人可能會這麼想：「法師，你所說的簡直像天方夜譚嘛！」
Somebody may be thinking at this point, "Dharma Master, that's the craziest talk I've ever heard."
那好，我問你，你可想過要是五百年前，你對人說：「未來五百年內，就會發明飛機、電視、收音機等等。」會有多少人相信？大家不當你是瘋子才怪。可是現在這些東西多麼普遍，到處都看得見。
Well, I ask you to consider this. How many people would have believed you if five hundred years ago you had said, "In five hundred years, there will be airplanes, television, and radios?" Everyone would have considered you insane. But all these inventions are commonplace now.
為什麼一開始我就提這個問題呢？因為我們該知道，科學的進步和物質的便利，對人來說，其實並不是好處；是有漏的，不究竟。
Why do I mention this topic in the first place? Because we should recognize that advances in science, and in material benefits are not necessarily good for humanity in the long run. They are incomplete, imperfect benefits.
唯有智慧，才能究竟圓滿地利益整個世界，以道德作為前導的思想和意念，才會對所有的人有益而無害。
Wisdom, on the other hand, is the most thorough-going benefit for the whole world. Thinking and attitudes born of morality and virtue are thoroughly good for us all.
像佛陀的「四無量心」──慈、悲、喜、捨──就是完完全全地利益眾生；唯有把心念紮根在「四無量心」上，就可以使科學反過來為我們所用。
The Buddha's Four Measureless Attitudes of kindness, compassion, joy, and even-mindedness are totally advantageous to all creatures. When we base ourselves in thoughts such as these, then we can go ahead and put technology to work for us.
你們聽了不要害怕，就是以後我們會忘記人的基本相貌：譬如我們現在這個身體，將來的人會一絲都想不起來，人原先是長得什麼樣子。因為到了那個時候，人都長得像動物一樣了──我不是在罵人，我這個預言是非常冷酷的事實。
There's no fear that we will forget the fundamental aspects of humanity: our own bodies for example. In the future people will forget entirely what people look like. We will all become like animals. I'm not scolding you; this prediction is a cold, hard fact.
這個世界，總是照著一定的規則在變化。好到極點，就變壞；惡到極點，就轉好。人窮到極點，會突然致富；富人也常在一夜間蕩盡家財。我們在剛出生的時候，還只是個小嬰兒，然後長大、老了、病了、死了。出生和死亡在這個世界不停地交替循環，這也就是進步到極點，然後遷變毀滅的過程。
That's how the world turns. Good taken to the ultimate point turns bad. Evil, once it reaches an extreme, turns good. A person who is poor to the bitter extreme of poverty can suddenly strike it rich, while rich people can lose every penny overnight. Once born, we are tiny infants, but we grow up, grow old, get sick, and die. That's the cycle of creation and destruction rolling on in the world. It is a natural process of progressive, cyclical change. A process of progressive, cyclical change. A process of metabolism, and transformation.
我們若能徹底了悟這種自然規律，就不會對發財的事那麼熱衷了。而且在財物失去的時候，也能用以下兩句話來看待事情：
君子安貧守道，小人唯利是圖。
If we recognize the state, then getting rich won't especially appeal to us any longer. And if we should lose our wealth, then we will see things according to the proverb:
The superior person, even in poverty, maintains his integrity.
The petty person stops at nothing to strike it rich.
所以，在這麼一個不正常的時代中，我們不要隨波逐流，而忘了我們身為人的意義在哪裏。我們一定要切記──人來這個世界的根本意義是什麼？
So it is most important in this day and age of insanity not to go crazy, and not to forget what it means to be a person. We must keep in mind the original purpose and appearance of human beings.
說到人生的意義，老實說，萬佛聖城的「六大宗旨」，是我一生中所做的最有價值的事。
When speaking of the meaning of human life, I can say frankly, that the most beneficial things I have run across in my entire life are the Six Guidelines of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
第一條是「不爭」，這個標準可不是單方面的。我跟誰都不作戰；不管你批評我什麼，我一律毫無保留地接受。你想叫我什麼都可以，小貓？好，我就是小貓。叫我是狗？沒關係，我就是狗。隨便你想讓我當什麼，我就是什麼。你看我是佛？我就是佛；你看我是菩薩？我就是菩薩。「一切唯心造」，我就是你心念的投射。
The first of these is "not fighting." This rule applies unilaterally. I will not contend with anybody. No matter what criticism you give me. I will accept it without reservation. Call me what you will. A small cat? Fine, I'm a cat. Call me a dog? Okay, I'm a dog. However you perceive me in your mind, that's what I am. Do you see me as a Buddha? I'm a Buddha. Do you see me as a Bodhisattva? That's what I am. "Everything is made from the mind alone." I am whatever you conceive me to be.
我自己這兒呢？對於怎麼當一個人，我是有自己的原則和看法的，什麼原則、看法呢？就是不管對方是誰，我都不和他爭。憑你歡喜怎樣稱呼我，我都可以接受，反正我絕不和人爭。
For my own part, I have my goals and purposes for being a person. What are they? Simply not contending with people, no matter who it is. You may call me what you please, and I will wear that label. I will acknowledge the name. That will be who I am. I won't contend with you.
第二條是「不貪」，屬於你的東西，我不想要；然而任何屬於我的東西，你若想要，我都可以割捨出去。通常人總是希望別人布施給自己，可是我這個和尚，對於這種布施不感興趣。這樣的態度不對，我們應該避免。
The second rule is "no greed". Whatever you own, is yours. I don't want it. And anything of mine that you want, I will give to you. I actually will hand it over. When I give, it's not like the classic, greedy Sangha-member, who constantly tells people to "Give! Give! Give", and who mouths the platitude, "Left-home people do not crave wealth; but the more there is, the better." Any ordinary person hopes that people will give to him, yet this monk is not at all interested in being charitable towards others. This is a wrong attitude. We should avoid it.
第三條是「不求」，就是不要處心積慮地拼命想發財。世上的人常常為了利，而鬥得你死我活，倘若我們明白不求的道理，少欲知足，就不會和人起衝突了。誰要是領悟了這一點，他就真正瞭解了六大宗旨。
As for "no seeking", it means don't look for opportunities to make a killing, or to score a fat profit. Everybody in the world fights for advantages. If we understand the principle of not seeking, and resting content, with few desires, then we won't contend with people any more. Someone who grasps this point truly understands the Six Great Principles.
為何人要不求呢？因為不求，我們就不會那麼自私了。因為有自私，人才會有所求。當利己的私心一去除，所求的理由便不復存在，人就不會只顧追求自己的利益了。再來是「不自私」和「不自利」，這兩者在六大宗旨中是有連帶關係的。若要「不自私」，先得「不自利」，所以「不自私」和「不自利」兩者雖然聽起來很類似，但之間還是有些區別的。
Why don't we seek? It's because we don't want to be selfish. The only reason a person would seek for things is because of selfishness. With no self, there's no reason left to seek. And free of selfishness, one won't run after personal benefits. These two of the Six Guidelines are inter-related. No selfishness creates the condition for not seeking personal advantages. The two names: "no selfishness" and "no self-benefit" sound similar: in fact, they have distinct differences.
最後一條是「不妄語」。會打妄語是出於害怕，害怕自己的利益失去，受到這個害怕心理的驅使，他就去批評別人：「你們全都錯了，只有我才是對的。」為什麼他會這麼認為呢？因為他怕他的利益讓人得去了。而那些不把自身利益放在心上的人，就沒有打妄語的必要。總而言之，費心編派謊言去自欺欺人，你說值得嗎？你若真正了解這六大宗旨的涵意，就會知道它所代表的正是做人的原則。
The last one is "no lying". The only reason a person would lie is out of fear; he's afraid of losing his selfish advantages. This fear moves him to criticize everybody else, saying, "All of you are wrong. I'm the only one who's right. "Why does he feel this way? Because he fears he'll lose his benefits to other people. Someone who didn't hanker after personal profits would have no reason to tell a lie. In the final analysis, what's a lie worth, anyway? If you can truly understand these Six Guiding Principles, then you know what it means to be a person.
你若不懂六大宗旨，在這麼一個瘋狂的時代裏，你的所作所為，將無法從你爭我奪的惡性競爭中超拔出來。你一旦和這種壞風氣同流合污了，就會變成一個瘋子，追隨你的人也會像你一樣的下場。這些就是今天我想告訴你們的事。
If you don't understand the Six Guidelines, then you're simply running in lock-step with the rat-race of this mad age. As long as you flow with the tide of insanity, you're just another madman, as crazy as the next person. That's my message for you all today.
我希望在座的年輕人，聽了我所說的以後，千萬不要變成我前面說的瘋子。在座的年長者，從此更要努力保持自己心智的清明。在座的小孩呢？也要和大人一起學著不要變得瘋狂。那我就會這麼說：「Everything's okay. No problem!」（一切都好，沒問題！）
I hope the young people among you who hear me won't go insane. The elderly among you should even more keep a grip in your sanity. The little children here can learn along with the adults. Learn how not to go crazy. I always say, "Everything's okay, no problem!"
在這裏還有一點我想講講，就是當你聽到我把電視、收音機、電腦叫做食人魔的時候，可不要害怕啊！
There's a bit more to add here. Don't get scared when you hear me call television, radios, and computers man-eating goblins. No need to be afraid.
我的用意，主要是希望你們能清楚，這些東西原是做什麼用的。你們要是了解這一點，這些電子產品就會喪失它們操控人的魔力。但若你被它迷惑了，它就會反過來駕馭你。
My hope is that you will clearly recognize these things for what they are. Once you recognize them, then electric gadgets lose their power to confuse you. That's enough to know. But if you're confused by them, then they can gobble you down.
見到美女的反應也和前面的道理差不多。若你看了美女一眼，就被她迷得神魂顛倒，就表示你被色魔給吸走了。見到錢就迷，那你就讓財魔附身了。若是你有想要大大出名的念頭，就是遭到名聞魔的魔考。
The same principle applies to beauty. If the sight of a pretty figure has the power to confuse you, then you've been swallowed by a man-eater. If the sight of money confuses you, then you've just been devoured by a man-eater. If your purpose is to establish a big reputation and fame confuses you, then you've just be swallowed by the goblin of fame.
若是你迷戀食物的好味道，即使你覺得只是在享用一道可口的菜餚而已；然而事實上，你已經被食物所控制了，食物毀了你的靈性和法身慧命，只留下一個空殼子的你。
If good food confuses you, although you feel you've just enjoyed a tasty dish, in fact, the food has eaten you. The food has eaten your spiritual soul, your Dharma-body. It has eaten up your wisdom, and left you as stupid as can be.
要是這個睡，弄得你迷迷糊糊了好幾百年，終於睡醒了，你一看手錶，「哦，中午了。」翻個身，繼續又睡，這樣你就是上了睡魔的當了。
If sleep keeps you in a stupor for several centuries, and when you finally wake and see by your wrist watch that it's already half-past noon, and if then, you simply roll over and go back to sleep, then you've been devoured by sleep.
你們懂得這點了嗎？
Get the point?
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