可是，愛得太深，罪造得太重，生生輾轉沈溺，墮落到畜生、餓鬼、地獄道。今已成草木，這兩棵樹幹本來應是兩棵，可是依然長在一起，纏綿不相捨離。你看！左根伸出一枝來交抱右根，右根又伸出一枝來擁攬左根。這就如同男女各自伸出胳臂，互相交抱。可見夙世癡愛之劣習，至今形成草木，猶不能捨！並且這兩幹之中，有一塊石頭。他們視若珍寶，究竟這是什麼呢？原來是他們往昔銀行存款的簿子。

But they were so much in love, and the offenses they created were so serious, that in life after life they sank lower and lower, falling into the realm of the animals, then into the realm of the hungry ghosts, and then into the hells. Now they have already turned into plants. This piece of wood was originally two separate tree trunks, but they have grown together and become hopelessly intertwined. You see? The left trunk is stretching out a branch to embrace the right trunk, and the right trunk is extending a branch to grasp the left one. It's just like a man and woman holding out their arms and hugging each other. From this, one can see that even in the form of trees, they cannot renounce the habit of infatuation carried over from their former lives! In addition, there is a little stone lodged between the two trunks, and they cherish it as a precious gem. What is it? It's their bank account book from past lives!

這棵樹幹，早在幾年前，某次我們到城內河邊說法，就把它撿回來，你看：頭也割斷了，根也被刨破了，只露出赤裸枯槁的枝幹，但仍然如膠似漆地糾纏在一起，這不是太可憐了嗎？

One day several years ago, we went to speak the Dharma by the creek in the City, and we found this piece of wood. Look at it: the top of these tree trunks have been chopped off and the roots have also been severed. Only the exposed, dried up branches are left, and yet they are still stuck together like glue. Wouldn't you say this is pitiful?

由此可見，愛得太深，是多麼地危險，這絕對不是開玩笑的。有人心想：「法師，你說這個法，我是不可能相信的，既沒有根據，又不合乎邏輯，大概是你哄孩子，說夢話。」信不信由你，我也沒有辦法一定要你相信。因為這個法是很難說的。人迷戀到愛情上，不論你如何點醒他，他還是不能接受。天下最害人就是愛重情深，最高尚就是修清淨道。人不是不知，但明知故犯，而不能出離曠劫之習氣。

This shows how dangerous it is to love too deeply. It's not all fun and games. Someone might be thinking, "Dharma Master, I simply cannot believe the Dharma you speak. You have no proof to back it up, and there's no logic behind it. Probably you're just putting us on as if we were children. It's just dream talk." Whether you believe or not is up to you, because I have no way to make you believe it. This Dharma is very difficult to speak. When people are confused by love, no matter how you try to wake them up, they cannot accept it. The thing that harms people most in the world is deep love and heavy emotion, and the most exalted thing is cultivating the way of purity. It's not that people don't know this. They know it, yet deliberately go against it, unable to extricate themselves from habits accumulated throughout countless eons.

中國有句俗話：「手拿著乾屎橛，你給他麻花他不換。」這好比人攬執情愛，你告訴他：「捨棄這個邋遢東西，修道可貴。」可是他仍會固執不肯回頭，所以說：

天雨雖寬，難潤無根之草；
佛門雖廣，難度不信之人。

There's a Chinese proverb: "He holds on to a piece of dung; and if you try to give him a delicious doughnut, he won't relinquish the dung for the doughnut." That's like a person who hangs on tightly to his love. You tell him, "Throw away that dirty thing. Cultivation is worth a lot more!" But he obstinately holds on and refuses to turn around. So it's said,

Although the rain from the heavens is vast,
It's difficult to nourish grass that has no roots.
Although the gate of Buddhism is wide,
It's difficult to save people who have no faith.

這塊木頭，我保存很久，多數人來我也不讓他們看，因為說這個法他們也不相信，還要等待時機成熟。十月二十四日，諸位從遠方來朝聖，我把這塊木頭帶到萬佛殿，擱了差不多三個星期猶未開口，可是若再不講恐怕就沒有時間了，所以不管諸位相信與否？我也要說出這塊木頭的因緣。

I have kept this piece of wood for a long time, and I don't show it to most people, because if I spoke this dharma, they wouldn't believe it. I had to wait until the time and conditions were ripe. On October 24, when all of you came from afar to visit, I brought this piece of wood to the Buddha-hall, but didn't talk about it for about three weeks. If I didn't tell you today, maybe there wouldn't be any more time. So I don't care whether you believe or not; I have explained to you the causes and conditions behind this piece of wood.

一九八二年十一月十二日晚間開示於
萬佛聖城