我們在萬佛聖城所行所做的事情，和世間上都不相同。譬如我們現在有小學、中學、大學，都是免費的，這種宗旨是為什麼？因為現在有很多學校都不注重教育，只知道收錢，變成學店了。學生剛剛學著做人，應該教他們沒有利欲薰心的思想，不注重錢。

The things we do at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas are different from the ways of the world. For example, our elementary school, high school, and university are all tuition-free. Why do we have such a principle? It's because many schools nowadays no longer value education. They only care about making money; they've turned into “school-shops.” When students are just learning how to be people, they should be taught not to befuddle their minds with desire for profit, nor to put great importance on money.

古來的人讀書，為的是「明理」，明白道理；現在的人讀書，卻都為著「名利」，想得好名厚利，為什麼呢？就因為學校所教的方法錯誤，於是乎把世界搞得一天不如一天，一天比一天墮落。

When the ancients studied, their goal was to understand the truth. Nowadays, people study for the sake of fame and profit; they want to gain a good reputation and reap abundant profits. Why? It's because they were taught incorrectly in school. Consequently, the world is more confused each day. Day by day, the standards fall lower.

現在全世界有兩種妖怪出現，把人都吃光了；雖然把人都吃光了，人還不知道。有人想：「這兩種妖怪我知道，就是你常講的原子彈、氫氣彈、死光。」不是的，它們還夠不上妖怪，這兩種妖怪就是「電腦」與「電視」。電腦，把人的智慧都奪去了；電視，把人的眼睛都弄瞎了。你問：「天天看電視，怎麼會把眼睛弄瞎？」我所謂的「瞎」，就是人不認識真理了，以迷入迷，以盲引盲。現在殺人放火，專做壞事的惡徒，就是從電視上學來的。可是一般人不知道，還以為有電視等等新產品，是時代進步了，其實個中不知有多大害處，把人都害死了。現在又有第三種妖怪出現──「機器人」，把人的工作都搶走了，人將來都不知道要幹什麼？人如果一點用處都沒有時，終必成為廢物。

Now there are two kinds of monsters in the world. They are devouring all the people, but nobody has realized it yet. Someone is thinking, “I know what the two monsters are! They are the bombs and lasers that you are always talking about.” Wrong. Those aren't bad enough to be considered monsters. The two monsters I'm talking about are the computer and television. The computer (“electronic brain” in Chinese) robs us of our wisdom. The television (“electronic vision” in Chinese) blinds people's eyes. You say, “I watch T.V. everyday. How does that make my eyes blind?” When I say people are blind, I mean that they don't recognize true principles anymore. The confused become more confused, and the blind lead the blind. Evil people who commit murder and arson and perpetrate crimes learn to do so by watching television. Unaware of this, ordinary people still think that television and other novel inventions indicate how advanced our times are. Actually, the harm of these products is unreckonable; they have fatally harmed people. Now a third kind of monster has appeared in the world: robots. They have taken over people's jobs. What kind of work will people do in the future? If there's not the slightest use for people in the future, they will eventually become obsolete.

所以我們在萬佛聖城，知道一點，就做一點，不開學店，而是要真正教導小孩孝順父母，忠於國家，屈己待人，有仁義道德的思想。這是很笨的思想，但你想不出更好的方法來改變世界的災難；想改變世界的災難，只有「忠孝仁義道德」這幾個字，才能挽救已死的人心，才能降妖卻魔，所以我們小、中、大學都免費。從這兒各位要特別特別深深了解，我們不要像其他地方敷衍了事，純粹牟利。又有一個原因，就是我年輕時所讀的書並不多，對於一般普通的新學問，我是自嘆不如。但我願意灌輸給年輕人仁義道德的思想，令他們將來成為國家有用的良材，社會的棟樑。

At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, if we know a little bit of something, we want to practice that one bit. We are not opening a “school-shop.” Rather, we truly want to teach the children to be filial to their parents, to serve the country loyally, to be humble and to treat others with courtesy. We want them to understand what humaneness, righteousness, morality, and virtue are. These are stupid ideas, but you won't find any better way to avert the disasters of the world. If we want to avert the disasters in the world, we must rely on loyalty, filiality, humaneness, righteousness, the Way, and virtue. These concepts can revive people's dead hopes; they can subdue monsters and conquer demons. That is why our elementary school, high school, and university are tuition-free. Everyone should be especially clear on this point: We do not want to be like other places, where people do a sloppy, negligent job and only look for profit. There is another reason. When I was young, I did not receive much schooling, and I know I'm not as familiar as others are with the common knowledge of today. However, I am willing to introduce the ideas of humaneness, righteousness, the Way, and virtue to young people, so that they will become productive citizens and pillars of society in the future.

一九八二年八月廿七日開示
於萬佛聖城