修道人，好像眼睛那樣地清淨，不能容納一粒沙子。如果眼中有沙子，一定不舒服，總想找個法子把它拿掉，否則身心不安寧。修道也是這樣的情形，這粒沙子是什麼？就是貪心。有了貪心，事事起變化，本來是清淨，有了貪心的念頭，便起了化學作用，將清淨的水變成穢水，不能利人，反而害己。

Cultivators should be clean and pure, like our eyes, which cannot stand even a grain of sand. If a grain of sand gets into your eye, it causes immediate discomfort and you have to remove it or you cannot be at ease. Cultivation is the same way. What does the grain of sand represent? Greed. Once greed arises, everything changes. Originally there was purity, but when greed arises, it triggers a “chemical reaction” that makes clean water turbid. The greedy mind cannot benefit others; on the contrary, it even harms one’s own self.

修道人，有一分誠心，便有一分成就和感應；若有十分誠心，便有十分成就和感應。有了成就，有了感應的時候，就不要執著，不需要放在心頭上，應無所住，把它忘掉。我們修道的主要目的是為了脫生死，不是為求感應而修道。

切記！不可有所企圖而修道，為求成就，為求感應，那是大錯特錯。這一點，大家要弄清楚。你專一其心來修道，功夫到了爐火純青的時候，自然會有成就和感應。有企圖的修行，永遠得不到成就和感應現前，所謂「有心是妄想，無心是感應」，感應是可望而不可求的。

For every bit of sincerity, a cultivator gains a corresponding bit of attainment and responses. With a full share of sincerity, one will have a full share of attainment and responses. When we have some attainment and responses, we shouldn’t become attached and dwell on them continually. We should forget about them and not have anything on our minds. The main purpose of our cultivation is to end birth and death, not to seek responses. We shouldn’t have any ulterior motives in our cultivation; it’s a great mistake to seek any sort of achievement or response. Everyone should be very clear about this. If you concentrate single-mindedly on your cultivation, you will naturally have some attainment and responses when your skill is sufficient. But if you hope to gain something from your cultivation, you’ll never have any attainment or responses. As it’s said, “If something happens because you think about it, it’s merely a product of false thinking. If something happens without your thinking about it, it’s a response.” You may hope to have responses, but you must not seek them.

修道人，要有「只問耕耘，不問收穫」的心理，無論做什麼事情，盡力而為之，不管後果如何。反正光明磊落，出發點為公不為私，不存私心用事，成敗不去計較，給公家做事，亦復如是。不要前怕狼，後怕虎，有事發生，誰也不敢擔當一面，互相推卸責任，小事如此，大事可想而知。

Cultivators should “concern themselves only with tilling and weeding, not with reaping a harvest.” In everything we do, we should try our best and not worry about the outcome. We should be open and aboveboard, work for public rather than private gain, have unselfish intentions, and not worry about whether we succeed or fail. We should also be like this when working for the public. We shouldn’t be afraid, as if there were a wolf facing us and a tiger behind us. It shouldn’t be that when problems come up, no one dares to come out and take care of them and everyone tries to evade responsibility. If we act like this with petty matters, imagine what will happen when it comes to big issues.

不要有癡人妄想的念頭，沒有念書，就想得博士學位；沒有種田，就要收五穀；沒有買馬票，就想中頭獎，那有這樣的便宜事。在春天要播種、耕耘、灌溉、施肥，秋天才能有所收穫，所謂「一分耕耘，一分收穫」，這是自然的道理。

Don’t indulge in foolish fantasies, thinking you can receive a Ph.D. without studying, reap a harvest without planting, or win first prize at the horse races without buying a ticket. There are no free lunches. You have to sow in the spring, then till, weed, irrigate, and fertilize the fields, before you can expect to reap a harvest in the fall. As it’s said, “For every share of tilling, you reap a share of harvest.” This is a principle of nature.

各位注意！不要有貪求之心，貪成就，貪感應，那是夢中之夢，渺茫之至！不要騙自己。如果認不清目標，捨本逐末，把大好時光空過，那是一無所得的！

Everyone, pay attention! Don’t be greedy or seek for anything. If you’re greedy for attainments and responses, you’re just dreaming within a dream－it’s nothing but fantasy. Don’t fool yourself. If you don’t see your goal clearly and lose the substance for the shadow, then you’ll have wasted all your time and have nothing to show for it.

一九八四年五月十七日開示