太上老君《清靜經》上說：

The Classic of Eternal Purity and Stillness, by the High Master Lao Zi, says:

「眾生所以不得真道者，為有妄心。
既有妄心，即驚其神。
既驚其神，即著萬物。
既著萬物，即生貪求。
既生貪求，即是煩惱。
煩惱妄想，憂苦身心。
便遭濁辱，流浪生死，
常沉苦海，永失真道。
真常之道，悟者自得。
得悟道者，常清靜矣。」

Why do living beings fail to obtain
     the True Way?
Because they have false thoughts.
With false thoughts, the spirit is disturbed.
Once the spirit is disturbed,
It attaches to external things.
Attaching to external things produces greed.
Greed leads to affliction.
Afflictions and false thinking in turn
Trouble and vex both body and mind.
Thus they meet with foul disgrace and
Wander in birth and death,
Constantly immersed in the sea of
     suffering and
Forever losing the True Way.
The true and everlasting Way is attained
By those who are awakened.
Those who awaken to the Way
Are eternally pure and calm.

我們無論用什麼功，也不能與道相應，總是不上路，這是什麼原因？就是因為我們有個虛妄不實的「妄心」。好高騖遠，求名求利，這都是妄心。有了妄心，對於自性就有動搖，好像一桶水，不動時，沙泥沉底，則水清淨；若是用棒子（妄心）把水攪拌成濁水，那麼就不辨真假、不分善惡，這時，擇法眼也不具足，智慧也不現前。

When people work hard in their cultivation yet don’t have a response, it is because they are using the false mind to seek what is lofty and distant. For example, when people seek fame and profit, the false mind is at work. The false mind disturbs the intrinsic nature. It is like a pail of water gradually becoming clear as the silt and sand sink to the bottom. But when the water is stirred up, it becomes turbid again. When we use our false mind, we muddy the water of our intrinsic nature, and we are unable to distinguish between true and false. We lack Dharma-selecting vision and our wisdom doesn’t come forth. We become unclear just like that muddy water.

「水濁不清」，就著住在萬物，亂七八糟，找不出頭緒，為什麼？因為著住在萬物上，便生貪求心，認為萬物是真實的。貪求心生出來，就有煩惱。貪求到也煩惱，貪求不到也煩惱，因為煩惱和妄想交織在一起，就被五濁惡世的濁埋沒了，那就不能恢復清淨，因為這樣，所以生了又死，死了又生，生生不息，永無了期。生的時候，不知道是怎樣生的，所以糊塗；死的時候，不知道怎樣死的，還是糊塗。不但生時糊塗，死時糊塗，就是活著，也是糊塗。糊塗一輩子，也沒有弄清楚，所以流浪生死，就把真心丟了。真心遺失，就掉到苦海中，爬不出來。若能明白這種道理，就是開悟。不會被虛妄不實的境界所轉，而智慧即時現前。有了智慧，就不顛倒。

When we become attached to external things, everything gets all muddled and confused and we can’t find our way out. Our minds turn to greed (because we think everything external is real), and this greedy mind is the source of our afflictions. If we get what we seek, we are afflicted; and if we don’t get what we seek, we are still afflicted. When the mind gets tangled up in afflictions and false thoughts, it drowns in the muddy river of the evil world of five turbidities, and cannot return to purity. For that very reason we are born and we die; we die and are then reborn. At birth we are unaware of how we got here; when we die, we don’t know the reason for our death. Not only are we muddled at the time of birth and death, we are muddled all during our lives, and we never become clear. We have been wandering in birth and death and have lost our true mind. Since the true mind is lost, we fall into the sea of suffering and are unable to get out. If we can understand this principle, we can get enlightened. Then we won’t be turned by false states. Our wisdom will come forth, and we won’t be confused anymore.

在《楞嚴經》上說：「狂心頓歇，歇即菩提。」我們為什麼和道不相應呢？就因為「狂心」沒有休息。這個狂心，就是不滿現實的心，也就是貪而無厭的心，也就是有憎有愛的心。若把這種心停止，就是智慧，就是覺道，就是佛性的本體。可是我們把這個真理忽略了。所以在糊塗境界上，處之泰然，悠哉游哉，不想辦法出離三界的生死苦海。

The Shurangama Sutra says, “When the mad mind stops, that very stopping is Bodhi.” Why don’t we have any response in the Way? Because the mad mind has not stopped. This mad mind is dissatisfied with the way things are; it is insatiable-it is the mind of love and hate. If we can put this mind to rest, then we have wisdom; we have the enlightened Way, the substance of the Buddha-nature. But in fact we have ignored this principle. We wallow in our muddled state, feeling perfectly at ease, and make no attempt to escape from the bitter ocean of birth and death.