當我看到這本書的文稿時，心中有一份震憾，特別是其中那篇〈讓錯誤不再發生〉更是讓我感觸良多，作者王士明提到他一輩子都帶著一份扔都扔不掉的愧疚！為什麼？他這麼寫著：

「我沒想到我還是個學生，二十歲不到，但我已經荒唐地將一條生命帶來人世，又無知地剝奪他生存的權利！」

When I read the manuscript of this book, I was shaken. One of the articles in the book entitled “Don’t Let the Mistake Happen Again” especially left me with many feelings. The author, Shi Ming Wang, mentioned that he is carrying an unshakable sense of shame and guilt for the rest of his life. Why? He wrote that, 

“I couldn’t believe that as a student less than twenty years old, I did a terrible thing and brought a life into the world, then ignorantly deprived him of the right to live!”

這讓我猛然想起，當今學府又有多少當年的王士明？我自一九七五年任教以來，至今已三十三年，三十多年來目睹我們的校園風氣，由簡樸到開放，乃至先進。以前，在大學校園男女交往，基本上是含蓄中帶著禮法，彼此互相尊重婚前的情操，雙方於自我約束中自有一份含蓄的美，不會為來日罩上一層陰影。

After reading this account, I suddenly thought that, “In our schools today, how many students are in similar predicaments as the young Mr. Wang?” It has been thirty-three years since I started teaching in 1975. During these thirty-some years, I have witnessed the atmosphere on our campuses changing from being plain and simple to being permissive; our permissiveness in schools has surpassed that of some countries. In the past, men and women on college campuses were basically shy towards each other, and they acted with propriety in their relationships. During their courtship before marriage, couples respected each other’s integrity. This self-restraint on both sides had a certain beauty, and it also prevented a dark shadow from hanging over the couple in the future.

就拿婚前性行為來講，在過去，不論西方社會和東方社會，都是不應該的。可是現在呢，臺灣青年學子在暑假偷嚐禁果，開學時收拾殘局的現象，屢見不鮮。婦產科醫生更表示：近年來墮胎不再限於「九月」，現在幾乎天天是墮胎日！更令人心寒的是：年輕學子將墮胎當做避孕，態度也是無所謂的；而且墮胎的年齡層越來越下降！

As for nowadays, let’s take premarital sex as an example. In the past, such an act was prohibited in both Eastern and Western societies. However, these days, it is common for young students in Taiwan to steal a taste of the forbidden fruit during their summer vacation, and then when school starts they try to clean up the mess they have made. In addition, gynecologists have indicated that in recent years, abortion is no longer limited to the month of September (i.e., when school starts); rather, now, abortion is taking place almost every day! What really chilled my bones was when I heard that young students are using abortion as a means of birth control, with a manner-of-fact attitude; and the age of those who are having abortions is declining!

我們也可以發現，雖然臺灣人口出生率漸漸下滑，但墮胎風潮卻與日俱增，與兩性開放的法國相比，臺灣的墮胎率竟是法國的六倍！尤其是在工業化與都市化後，社會結構與人際相處，較以往複雜許多！社會價值觀的變動、混亂，倡導人向「錢」及名牌、功利主義看齊；而資訊傳播的快速，卻也不斷地訴說放縱情慾的快感。致使原本單純、血氣方剛的青年學子，因沒有正確道德觀的約束，陷入以肉體換取金錢，或是婚前性行為乃至受孕的窘境。

We also discovered that although the birth rate in Taiwan is decreasing gradually, the popularity of abortion is increasing day by day. In comparison to sexually liberated France, the number of abortions in Taiwan exceeds that of France by six times! After industrialization and urbanization, social structure and human relations are a lot more complicated than they were in the past. Our society’s value has undergone chaotic changes, and as a result, people now are led to focus on wealth and brand names, in other words, hedonism. In addition, given the speed of information dissemination (such as the internet), there is immediate access to limitless information telling one to indulge in one’s sexual desires. Due to lack of restraints imposed by a proper sense of morality, young students, who are originally innocent and full of vigor, are sinking to the level of selling their bodies for money or dealing with the embarrassment of pregnancies resulting from premarital sex.

看到這些，我們不能不憂心──我們的教育到底出了什麼問題？我們該怎麼救救這些年輕的孩子？我們是不是應該告訴他（她）們什麼是可以做，什麼是不可以做的基本道德觀念。明確了當地讓同學們知道是非，而不是「只要我喜歡，有什麼不可以」。我們不希望當年的王士明越來越多，我們也不要年輕的學子們一輩子都帶著一份扔不掉的愧疚！

When we see the situations that the students are in, we can’t help but worry. What went wrong with our education? What should we do in order to rescue these young children? Shouldn’t we tell them what they can do and what they can’t do, based on basic principles of morality? We need to let the students know clearly and unequivocally the difference between right and wrong, and not “As long as I like it, there’s nothing I can’t do.” We don’t want to have more students be like the young Mr. Wang, ending up with an unshakable sense of shame and guilt for the rest of their lives!

沒有正確的觀念，就如同走在漫長的黑夜中，走錯了也不知道。一般人對於「墮胎」也是一樣，以為還沒出生的胎兒，不算個生命，所以可以隨便拿掉。其實有孕，就有生命的存在，不然胎兒怎麼會日漸長大呢？就像我們這些已出生的人一樣，因為我們有生命，所以會動、會活、會成長。因此，胎兒的生命，是和我們一樣的。

Without proper views, it would be like walking in endless darkness; we won’t even know when we wander onto the wrong path. Similarly, most people have the wrong view about abortion; they don’t think an unborn fetus counts as a life, so they think it can be gotten rid of casually. Actually, a life comes into being at the moment of conception, or else how can a fetus gradually grow day by day? Similarly, those of us who have been born are considered alive because we can move and grow. Therefore, an unborn fetus is alive, just like us.

我本身是個天主教徒，天主教一向尊重生命。今《無辜的小鬼》一書，雖是由佛教的觀點切入，但慈悲愛護蒼生的精神令人感動。書中宣化上人等對墮胎問題的詮釋與解答，讓我大開眼界；其中個案親身的實例，更是讓我深深警惕在心。此書的問世，相信會導正很多人對墮胎的觀念，進而為社會帶來莫大的幫助，也可因此救回很多生命！我更衷心期盼「墮胎」能至此成為歷史名詞，讓更多生命因而存活。

I am a Catholic, and the Catholic religion has always treasured life. Although the “Innocent Little Ghosts” is written from the Buddhist perspective, its compassion and love towards all living beings is very moving. In this book, the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s explanations and answers to questions about abortion gave me a new perspective, and the true stories based on personal experiences serve as great warnings. I believe that, this book will guide many people towards the correct view of abortion, and be a great help to our society and save many lives! I sincerely hope that the word “abortion” will become a term of the past and let more lives continue to live as a result.