戒律就是修行人的生命，如果犯戒，等於生命斷了一樣地悲哀。世尊在將入涅槃時，告訴阿難尊者說：「以戒為師」，由此可以證明，戒律的重要性。

Precepts are a cultivator’s life. If one transgresses them, this would be as grievous as having one’s life cut off. Before the World Honored One entered Nirvana, he told the Venerable Ananda, “Take the precepts as your teacher.” This shows how important the precepts are.

嚴是嚴明，也就是嚴謹明察的意思。修行人不能隨便亂講話，在必要時，說話要有分寸，合乎法度，不可以信口胡言。也就是說行住坐臥，都有一定的次序，不是說我想怎樣就怎樣，那就是不持戒律。

“Strictly” means with certainty, cautiousness, and percept-iveness. Cultivators should not talk carelessly. When you need to speak, do so in a discreet and appropriate way, and don’t babble nonsense. In other words, there’s a definite way to act whether you are walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. You can’t just do whatever you want; that wouldn’t be upholding the precepts.

持是把持，用手拿住的意思。謹慎而小心地拿著，時時刻刻注意，而不懈怠，聚精會神來把持戒律。

To “uphold” means to manage. It also means to carefully hold something with your hands, being constantly attentive and never lax. We should uphold the precepts with full concentration.

戒是防非，也就是禁止作惡的意思，所謂「諸惡莫作，眾善奉行」。戒是犯罪前的規勸，律是犯罪後的懲罰。例如蛇行是曲，入管自直，這是戒律的功用。

Precepts serve to prevent mistakes and to stop evildoing. “Do no evil; do all good.” Precepts serve to warn us before we commit offenses; they also stipulate the penalties incurred by offenses. A snake normally slithers in curves, but when it goes into a pipe, it straightens out by itself; this is the function of precepts.

律是法律。無論做什麼事，要合乎規律，所謂「無規矩不以成方圓」。不能隨便行動，妨礙他人自由，侵犯他人利益。

Precepts are laws. In everything we do, we should abide by the rules. There’s a saying: “Without a and a T-square, you can’t draw circles and squares.” [Note: In Chinese the words for and ‘T-square’ form a compound that means “rules”.] We should not act carelessly, hinder other people’s freedom, or usurp others’ benefits.

一言以蔽之，嚴持戒律就是沒有脾氣。忍辱功夫修到家了，順逆境界來臨時，都經得起考驗，而無動於衷，心平氣和，處之泰然。到了這種程度，便不會不守規矩。凡是不守規矩的人，他的忍辱功不夠，壓制不住無明火，往往把所修的功德，燒得一乾二淨。

In a nutshell, upholding precepts means not having a temper. When we cultivate patience to the utmost degree, then we’ll be able to handle favorable as well as adverse states without losing our calm; we’ll deal with everything naturally and easily. When we reach that level, we won’t transgress the rules. People don’t abide by rules because they don’t have enough patience; they can’t keep the fire of ignorance under control, and it burns up all the merit and virtue they have cultivated.

一九八一年六月六日開示