你做善事，应该找那个真的地方做。

When you practice good deeds, you should do them in a genuine place.

各位现在把掌合起来，眼睛闭上，不要向我这儿来看，你要向你内心看。看看你内心的佛性在不在？你是佛性啊？是人性啊？是鬼性啊？是畜生性？自己里边是什么性？你自己要回光返照，要反求诸己。不要向我这儿看，我连鬼都不如，你们向我这儿看是没有用的。要看你们自己，你们自己信佛的人，是不是不争、不贪、不求、不自私、不自利、不打妄语，你要是这六个宗旨都做到了，那可以说你把做人的条件已经做得差不多了，至于成佛，那还很远呢！不过成佛，你必定要由这六大宗旨向前迈步进行。你若在佛教里头还争、还贪、还有所求、还那么自私、还那么自利、还那么打妄语，这不单不是佛教徒，连鬼教徒都不如了。

Everyone, put your palms together and close your eyes. Don't look at me. Look into your own heart, and see if your Buddha-nature is there. What kind of nature is inside you--a Buddha-nature, a human nature, a ghost nature, or an animal nature? Shine your light within, and seek within yourself. Don't look at me. I'm not even up to a ghost, and it's useless for you to look at me. Look at yourself, and see whether you are a Buddhist disciple who does not fight, is not greedy, does not seek, does not pursue personal gain, and does not tell lies. If you can practice these Six Great Principles, then you have more or less fulfilled your human role. Yet you are still far from Buddhahood, and you have to start from these Six Great Principles to become a Buddha. If you continue to fight, to be greedy, to seek for something, to be so selfish and self-benefitting, and to tell lies, not only are you not a disciple of the Buddha, you cannot even be considered the disciple of a ghost.

所以你们各位学佛多年的，要看在这个不争、不贪、不求、不自利、不自私、不打妄语上是不是用过功夫？你若用过功夫，那也离佛教是相近的；你若没有用过功夫，那做人的条件还没有圆满呢！你做人的条件不圆满，还是那么争、那么贪、那么有所求，尤其向外驰求，那么样自私、那么样自利，天天对外对内尽打妄语，尽说一些不真实的语言，这是不够一个佛教徒的资格。

All of you who have studied Buddhism for many years, have you worked on not fighting, not being greedy, not seeking, not being selfish, not pursuing personal gain, and not lying? If you have worked on these, then you are close to Buddhism. If you have not, then you are far from even satisfying the conditions for being a person. If you fail to meet the conditions for being a human being, because you are so aggressive, so greedy, always seeking outside, being selfish and self-benefiting, and always lying to yourself and others, and saying untruthful things, then you do not have what it takes to be a Buddhist disciple.

我所要讲的，没有旁的，就是这个不争、不贪、不求、不自私、不自利、不打妄语。那么万佛城就是天天灌输人这种思想、这个宗旨，那么那里的人做到了没有？没有做到呢！就连我包括在内，这六大宗旨也没做到。虽然没有做到，我们愿意本照这六大宗旨，去学着做人，去学佛，我们是愿意学的，愿意往前进的。

I don't talk about anything else, just this--no fighting, no greed, no seeking, no selfishness, no pursuit of personal gain, and no lying. At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, people hear about these ideals and principles every day. Have we been able to practice them? No! And that includes myself. Although we haven't been able to practice them, we wish to follow these guidelines to learn how to be good human beings and how to be Buddhists. We are willing to learn, and to improve ourselves.

所以我这次到台湾来，干什么来了呢？我是给你们大家送福来了，你们谁若能本照这六大宗旨来做人，谁就福德无量了。你谁要不是抱着这六大宗旨，我就和你讲再奇妙、再高深的道理，也是舍近求远、舍本逐末。所以譬如：

What is my purpose in coming to Taiwan this time? I have come to bring you blessings. If any one among you can act according to these Six Great Principles, you will obtain limitless blessings and virtue. If you do not embrace these Six Great Principles, then no matter what lofty and esoteric principles I speak about, it is just "forsaking what is near to seek afar, renouncing the roots to chase after the branch tips."

登高必自卑，
行远必自迩。

If you wish to go far away,
     you have to start from what is near.
If you wish to climb up high,
     you have to start from what is low.

你们要是能在这个最基本的条件上做起，哪一个都可有成佛的希望；若没有这样做，那要再接再厉，不要错过这个机会。

If you start by meeting the basic requirements, then you can certainly aspire to become a Buddha. If you haven't met them, then you must work hard, and not let this opportunity pass you by.

我到台湾是给你们大家送福来，你们大家接受不接受，这就听你们自己了。怎么叫送福呢？譬如你做善事，应该找那个真的地方做，不要在假的地方来做。你在真的地方做，你就做多做少，都有你的功德；你若尽在那个假的地方争啊、贪啊、求啊、自私啊、自利啊、打妄语啊，这样到道场来做善事，那是无有是处的，那等于开谎花不结果的。所以你们各位要认真了。我不是说我们万佛城怎么好，万佛城的人也是一样的人，也是一样的出家人，不过现在我们全世界来讲，修道的人、出家人，男女都一天吃一餐，这是没有的，全世界你也找不着第二家。

I have to come Taiwan to give you blessings, but whether or not you accept them depends on you yourselves. What is meant by the giving of blessings? For example, when you practice good deeds, you should do them in a genuine place, not in a phony place. In a genuine place, whether the good deeds you do are great or small, you will still obtain some merit and virtue. However, if you practice good deeds at a temple full of fighting, greed, seeking, selfishness, self-benefiting, and lying, it is all in vain, like a tree that blooms but bears no fruit. You should all recognize what is true. I'm not saying that the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is good in any way. There are left-home people at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas just like anywhere else. However, both the men and the women who have left the home-life there eat one meal a day. You won't find another place in the world like that.

还有，我们万佛城的出家人，都是行、住、坐、卧不离衣，三衣钵具都是具足的，这是在佛教戒律上所许可的。可是现在一般人都“习焉不察变成风”了，不搭衣变成真的，搭衣的反变成假的了。那么搭衣的受人来攻击，说这是奇奇怪怪的。当初佛也是三衣钵具，衣不离体，一般佛的弟子也都是这样子；等到传到中国，因为气候的关系，在中国，你就搭着这个衣，也不够暖，因为它气候冷、严寒。不够暖哪，所以里面穿上衣服了，外面再搭上这个衣。有的说那时候也没有钩环，就这么往身上一缠，就像现在南传佛教一样的，也都是衣不离体的。不过中国气候寒冷，出家人又都要做工作，或者去耕田，或者去做什么事情，都是自耕自食的。自耕自食他搭着这个衣就不太方便，那么在工作的时候就不搭衣了，不工作的时候，还是一样搭着这个衣。可是时间久了，就不工作，也都不搭衣了！那么搭衣的变成在佛教里说是不对了，你们大家学佛的人，这一点最粗的知识若再不明白，那你们根本都不是个佛教徒。

Furthermore, whether they are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the left-home people at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas always wear their precept sash. They all have the requisites of three sashes, an almsbowl, and a sitting cloth, as prescribed by the precepts of Buddhism. Nowadays, people have unconsciously adopted the habit of not wearing their sash, so that those who don't wear their sash are considered authentic, while those who wear it are considered fake. Those who wear their sash are criticized by others as being strange, yet in the past the Buddha himself always wore his sash and owned three sashes, a bowl, and a sitting cloth. The Buddha's disciples did the same. When Buddhism spread to China, the sash alone was not warm enough in the colder climate, so they put on extra clothing underneath and wore the sash on the outside. Some say that there was no clasp and ring sewn on the sash in those days, and left-home people simply wrapped the sash around themselves in the same fashion that Theravada monks wear their robes now. They still wore the sash at all times. However, in China the left-home people had to farm and do a lot of other work to support themselves, and they found it inconvenient to wear the sash. As a result, they took off the sash when working, and only wore it when they were not working. After a while, they didn't wear the sash even when they were not working, and wearing the sash came to be considered incorrect. If you do not even understand this basic principle, you cannot be considered a Buddhist disciple.

大陆的一些学生，初初到台湾的时候，有这么一个公案。什么公案呢？就是每一个学生因为逃命的关系，谁也没有带毕业证书，其中只有一、二个带出毕业证书来了。到台湾考大学旳时候要毕业证书，那么这没有证书的人，就都慌了手脚了；慌了手脚就各处去找这个毕业证书的样本，一找就把这个真的样本果然找着了。找着了他们就做一些个副本，拿到教育部去一投考，就都考上了。然后这个真的呢，到这个教育部去一投考，教育部说你这是假的，人家那个证书都保持得那么干净，那么样完整，你这个证书怎么揉搓得这么破破烂烂、旧旧的，也邋邋遢遢的。这是证明你做假的，怕人家认出你是假的，所以你就故意把它弄得好像旧的一样，这不承认你。

There is a story about when the students from mainland China first came to Taiwan. Because they were fleeing for their lives, none of the students, except maybe one or two, remembered to bring their diplomas. When they applied for college in Taiwan, they were at a loss when asked for their diplomas. So they searched everywhere to find a sample diploma. When they found a real one, they forged copies. They submitted the counterfeit diplomas to the Department of Education, and were then allowed to take the entrance exams and enroll in college. However, when someone submitted his authentic diploma to the Department of Education, they thought it was false. They said, "Everyone else's diploma is clean and well-kept. Why is yours all creased and torn up? You must have forged it and made it old and dirty-looking on purpose so that people wouldn't be able to tell." So they refused to accept it.

你们各位想一想，这个假的都变成真的了，真的反变成假的了，所以现在到处出家人都不搭衣，以为不搭衣这就是个出家人。好像穿这个弯弯领不搭衣，这个弯弯领本来是俗装，是在家人穿的。什么时候在家人穿呢？是唐朝的服装。那时候出家人、在家人都穿这个弯弯领的衣服，那么出家人和在家人不同，就有这个搭衣和不搭衣的问题。可是时到今天，在家人的衣服都改变了，改变这个装束了，出家人这个衣服还仍旧贯，仍然和以前是一样的。可是虽然一样，这是唐朝的服装，它没有改，并不是这个弯弯领就是出家人的衣服。所以你连外相都迷糊了，都模糊不清，那何况真理呢？真理更是谈不到了。所以各位你们学佛的人，不要认假不认真。我不是说我是真的，或者我也是假的，装模作样，不过这个假的现在也没有了，就是“习焉不察变成风”。

All of you, think about this: The fake ones were considered real, and the real one was thought to be false. Now, left-home people everywhere do not wear their sash, thinking that is what left-home people should do. They just wear the robe with the arched collar. These robes were the standard dress of the Tang Dynasty. Both the left-home people and the laypeople wore these robes, and the left-home people wore sashes over them to distinguish themselves from the laypeople. Laypeople dress differently now, but left-home people still dress the same as before. The robe with the arched collar is the traditional dress of the Tang Dynasty and not the special attire of left-home people. If you are not even clear about questions of external appearance, how much less will you understand the underlying principle. There is no way you would see the true principle. Therefore, you students of Buddhism, don't take the false to be real. I am not claiming to be the real one. I may also be a phony, just putting on an act. However, even what is phony no longer exists. That is, people have unknowingly turned an incorrect practice into the custom.

那么我们应该研究历史，应该溯本穷源，追究这个根本。佛教传到中国是怎么样的情形？传到现在又是怎么样情形？我不反对人不搭衣，可是这个不搭衣的人居然就反对这搭衣的，这我莫名其糊涂了！

We should look into history and trace back to the source to find out the truth about Buddhism from the time it was transmitted to China until the present. Although I am not against people who do not wear their sash, they do oppose those of us who wear our sash, which is very puzzling to me.

我到台湾哪，台湾佛教徒都杯葛我，不准他们的弟子们来参加我的法会。如果参加我的法会，就等于下地狱一样。你们各位都不知道这个消息吧？那么所以我就承认我自己就在地狱里教化众生了。这一次到台湾来，虽然说给你们大家送福来了，可是我也准备抱着最大的失败回去。

Coming to Taiwan, I have been boycotted by the Buddhists of Taiwan. Their teachers threatened them, saying that if they came to my Dharma assemblies, it would be the same as falling into the hells. Did you all know about this? That is why I assert that I am teaching living beings in the hells. Although I say that I have come to Taiwan to bring you blessings, I shall return in the greatest defeat.

一九九三年一月九日下午
开示于台湾台北佛教同修会

A talk by the Venerable Master Hua
in the afternoon of January 9, 1993,
at the Taipei Society of Fellow Cultivators