在现今科技与物质文明都这么发达的时代里，我们该得好好想一想，并问问自己，这可是个适于人居的好时候？

In this era, when technology and materialism flourish, we want to take a careful look at the thinking of the times and ask ourselves whether or not this is a good age to live in.

科技使人生活得到改善，人当然认为它是好的，可我们也得明白俗语所谓“乐极生悲”的道理。

Science has made great advances in technology and that certainly counts as good. But we should also realize the truth in the saying,

"Anything taken to the ultimate point
transforms into its opposite."

即科学进步虽是好事，不过好事反而也会招来祸事，眼前电视就是一个现成的例子！

In the case of technological advances, good things also beckon misfortune.

我知道有人，会反对我对电视的评语，而说：“法师，你怎么愈活愈回去了呢？你真是个老骨董啊！你太赶不上时代了。”

Let's look at television, for example, I know people will object to my analysis of the TV, saying "Dharma Master, you're a throwback to another age.  You're an anachronism.  You're out of step with the times.

虽然如此，我还是认为电视对人的生活确实构成了威胁，你可知道，它简直就是一个食人魔！

"Nonetheless, in my opinion, the television is a menace to human life.  The television is a man-eater.  Did you know that?

看看现在的孩子吧！他们不做功课，只会坐在电视机前面，眼睛巴着荧幕，任由电视把他们的精气神一点一点地吸光榨乾。

Look at children these days.  Instead of doing their schoolwork, they sit in front of the TV set.  They're glued to the screen, and it eats up their very life-force. The children might as well be dead, because they will never learn the basic principles of being good people. They only learn how to stare at the television.

那电视到底教了孩子什么呢？就是一切你所能想得出的各种奇怪而颠倒的行径。他们很少从电视上学到有价值的东西，反而是对那一些邪恶有害的东西，一教便会。这样一来，不出多久，他们就会学遍一切人所能干得出来的坏事了。

And what does the TV teach them?  Every kind of strange and freakish behavior you can imagine.  They learn precious little of value.  The kids very quickly learn to enact the evil and harmful lessons they watch.  In no time at all, they learn all the bad things that people can do.

在电视尚未发明以前，这个食人魔是收音机，它也会吸乾人的精气神。在收音机流行的时代，人的耳朵老是黏着收音机，把什么都给忘了，忘了吃，忘睡，忘了日常生活的一切事情。现在电视也把我们迷到不知何去何从的地步了！

Before television came into the world, the people-eater was radio.  Radios sucked up humans' life-force.  People used to stick a radio in their ear and completely forgot everything else.  Radios made us forget about eating, sleeping, and the ordinary events of life.  Now the television has confused us to the point of not knowing whether we're coming or going.

接续电视而来的是电脑。

中文说它是“电脑”，那么以后应该还会有电眼、电耳、电舌头、电鼻子、电身体，无论这六种器官中的哪一个，都可以随我们的意思给模造出来（就像录音机），再通上电就成了。

Computers have followed along right after the television.

  In Chinese, the word for computer translates literally into "electric brain".  In the future there will be electric eyes, as well as electric ears, electric tongues, electric noses and electric bodies.  Every one of the six organs will have disposable modules, likes cassettes, and will gain an electric boost.

从此，眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意都将电脑化，甚至连“意”也会和“万事通电脑记忆银行”搭上线。

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind will be computerized. Even the mind will tie in organically with "know-it-all computer memory banks."

这是个当人的好时期吗？

绝对不是，这正是人类史上的黑暗时期。

Is this a good time to be a person?

Impossible! This is a dark age in human history. 

生在这个愚痴的时代，人的智慧都给物质偷走了，没有一个人真正称得上有智慧，因为我们的自性光明全被物质蒙蔽了。

In this benighted era, our wisdom has been stolen away by material things. Nobody has any natural wisdom to speak of. Our inherent brightness has been replaced by products and goods.

一旦我们以物质代替智慧，人将变得呆滞迟钝，像白痴一样。那个时代，智慧不见了，人都不做有益的事。

And once we substitute things for wisdom, then people will grow up blank, like idiots. Wisdom will become outmoded. People will no longer serve any useful function.

你们要切记我说的：将来的人会退化成废物！你们说这个问题严不严重？

Mark my words: in the future, people will become obsolete. Would you say this is a serious problem or not?

你们再注意看，过不了多久，人将会变得毫无用处的。举例来说，现在正有一班人，在那里绞尽脑汁尽发明些稀奇古怪的东西！

Look into it!  People will soon be rendered useless!  For instance, some unethical scientists now are busy inventing miraculous monsters. 

这些人玩的是把人的遗传基因，移植到动物体；和把动物基因，移植到人身上，这种基因互换的把戏。你要说那个东西是个人嘛！那不是真正的人；你要说那它是动物啰？它也不是真正的动物。于是，在人与动物基因互相交流的情况下，就产生了各式各样的突变种。

You say it's human?  It's not really human.  You say it's an animal?  It's not exactly an animal either.  Since they graft human genes onto animal bodies and alter human genes with animals strains, this mutual genetic modification produces a freakish, mutant, hybrid that resembles neither parent.

按照目前这个时代，人一出生很可能就长了犄角，或是长长的象鼻子。依我看，人要是长了像大象一样的长鼻子，简直就是怪物，哪还算是人？可是现在这些畸型和突变都有发生的可能。

Now people can be born with horns, or elephant-like trunks. In my opinion, a human born with a nose like a pachyderm is more a goblin than a person.  These goblins and freaks are all within the realm of possibility today.

再说，今天的科技已经发展到难以控制的局面了。接下来的两百年，电话之类的东西会全部被淘汰掉，电视和电脑自然也会消失不见！因为那时候，人类的身体──会自动配备了这些机具和它的功能。若想跟某人联络，不需要拨电话或动任何按键，只消从装在自己体内的电话机，把对方的号码发射出去（接收天线就装在眉毛或头发里），也有同样配备的对方就会收到这通电话“哈啰，早安！”你看，比起电话，这方便多了。

Furthermore, the range of technology has grown out of control.  Within the next two centuries, telephones and the like will be totally obsolete.  Televisions and computers will have disappeared.  Every person's physical body will contain the capabilities of these machines.  Nobody will have to bother dialing a telephone or punching a touch-tone.  A person will only need to beam out the number of the desired party from his own built-in phone, with its antennae located in the eyebrows, perhaps, or from his hair, and the other person will receive the call the same built-in way.  "Hello! Good morning!"  That's how easy it will be to place a phone call.

关于这点，有人可能会这么想：“法师，你所说的简直像天方夜谭嘛！”

Somebody may be thinking at this point, "Dharma Master, that's the craziest talk I've ever heard."

那好，我问你，你可想过要是五百年前，你对人说：“未来五百年内，就会发明飞机、电视、收音机等等。”会有多少人相信？大家不当你是疯子才怪。可是现在这些东西多么普遍，到处都看得见。

Well, I ask you to consider this.  How many people would have believed you if five hundred years ago you had said, "In five hundred years, there will be airplanes, television, and radios?"  Everyone would have considered you insane.  But all these inventions are commonplace now.

为什么一开始我就提这个问题呢？因为我们该知道，科学的进步和物质的便利，对人来说，其实并不是好处；是有漏的，不究竟。

Why do I mention this topic in the first place?  Because we should recognize that advances in science, and in material benefits are not necessarily good for humanity in the long run.  They are incomplete, imperfect benefits.

唯有智慧，才能究竟圆满地利益整个世界，以道德作为前导的思想和意念，才会对所有的人有益而无害。

Wisdom, on the other hand, is the most thorough-going benefit for the whole world. Thinking and attitudes born of morality and virtue are thoroughly good for us all.

像佛陀的“四无量心”──慈、悲、喜、舍──就是完完全全地利益众生；唯有把心念扎根在“四无量心”上，就可以使科学反过来为我们所用。

The Buddha's Four Measureless Attitudes of kindness, compassion, joy, and even-mindedness are totally advantageous to all creatures.  When we base ourselves in thoughts such as these, then we can go ahead and put technology to work for us.

你们听了不要害怕，就是以后我们会忘记人的基本相貌：譬如我们现在这个身体，将来的人会一丝都想不起来，人原先是长得什么样子。因为到了那个时候，人都长得像动物一样了──我不是在骂人，我这个预言是非常冷酷的事实。

There's no fear that we will forget the fundamental aspects of humanity: our own bodies for example.  In the future people will forget entirely what people look like. We will all become like animals.  I'm not scolding you; this prediction is a cold, hard fact.

这个世界，总是照着一定的规则在变化。好到极点，就变坏；恶到极点，就转好。人穷到极点，会突然致富；富人也常在一夜间荡尽家财。我们在刚出生的时候，还只是个小婴儿，然后长大、老了、病了、死了。出生和死亡在这个世界不停地交替循环，这也就是进步到极点，然后迁变毁灭的过程。

That's how the world turns.  Good taken to the ultimate point turns bad.  Evil, once it reaches an extreme, turns good.  A person who is poor to the bitter extreme of poverty can suddenly strike it rich, while rich people can lose every penny overnight.  Once born, we are tiny infants, but we grow up, grow old, get sick, and die. That's the cycle of creation and destruction rolling on in the world. It is a natural process of progressive, cyclical change.  A process of progressive, cyclical change.  A process of metabolism, and transformation.  

我们若能彻底了悟这种自然规律，就不会对发财的事那么热衷了。而且在财物失去的时候，也能用以下两句话来看待事情：

君子安贫守道，小人唯利是图。

If we recognize the state, then getting rich won't especially appeal to us any longer. And if we should lose our wealth, then we will see things according to the proverb:

The superior person, even in poverty, maintains his integrity.
The petty person stops at nothing to strike it rich.

所以，在这么一个不正常的时代中，我们不要随波逐流，而忘了我们身为人的意义在哪里。我们一定要切记──人来这个世界的根本意义是什么？

So it is most important in this day and age of insanity not to go crazy, and not to forget what it means to be a person.  We must keep in mind the original purpose and appearance of human beings.

说到人生的意义，老实说，万佛圣城的“六大宗旨”，是我一生中所做的最有价值的事。

When speaking of the meaning of human life, I can say frankly, that the most beneficial things I have run across in my entire life are the Six Guidelines of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

第一条是“不争”，这个标准可不是单方面的。我跟谁都不作战；不管你批评我什么，我一律毫无保留地接受。你想叫我什么都可以，小猫？好，我就是小猫。叫我是狗？没关系，我就是狗。随便你想让我当什么，我就是什么。你看我是佛？我就是佛；你看我是菩萨？我就是菩萨。“一切唯心造”，我就是你心念的投射。

The first of these is "not fighting."  This rule applies unilaterally.  I will not contend with anybody.  No matter what criticism you give me.  I will accept it without reservation.  Call me what you will.  A small cat?  Fine, I'm a cat.  Call me a dog?  Okay, I'm a dog.  However you perceive me in your mind, that's what I am.  Do you see me as a Buddha?  I'm a Buddha.  Do you see me as a Bodhisattva?  That's what I am.  "Everything is made from the mind alone."  I am whatever you conceive me to be.

我自己这儿呢？对于怎么当一个人，我是有自己的原则和看法的，什么原则、看法呢？就是不管对方是谁，我都不和他争。凭你欢喜怎样称呼我，我都可以接受，反正我绝不和人争。

For my own part, I have my goals and purposes for being a person.  What are they?  Simply not contending with people, no matter who it is.  You may call me what you please, and I will wear that label.  I will acknowledge the name.  That will be who I am.  I won't contend with you.

第二条是“不贪”，属于你的东西，我不想要；然而任何属于我的东西，你若想要，我都可以割舍出去。通常人总是希望别人布施给自己，可是我这个和尚，对于这种布施不感兴趣。这样的态度不对，我们应该避免。

The second rule is "no greed".  Whatever you own, is yours.  I don't want it.  And anything of mine that you want, I will give to you.  I actually will hand it over. When I give, it's not like the classic, greedy Sangha-member, who constantly tells people to "Give! Give! Give", and who mouths the platitude, "Left-home people do not crave wealth; but the more there is, the better." Any ordinary person hopes that people will give to him, yet this monk is not at all interested in being charitable towards others.  This is a wrong attitude.  We should avoid it.

第三条是“不求”，就是不要处心积虑地拼命想发财。世上的人常常为了利，而斗得你死我活，倘若我们明白不求的道理，少欲知足，就不会和人起冲突了。谁要是领悟了这一点，他就真正了解了六大宗旨。

As for "no seeking", it means don't look for opportunities to make a killing, or to score a fat profit. Everybody in the world fights for advantages.  If we understand the principle of not seeking, and resting content, with few desires, then we won't contend with people any more.  Someone who grasps this point truly understands the Six Great Principles.

为何人要不求呢？因为不求，我们就不会那么自私了。因为有自私，人才会有所求。当利己的私心一去除，所求的理由便不复存在，人就不会只顾追求自己的利益了。再来是“不自私”和“不自利”，这两者在六大宗旨中是有连带关系的。若要“不自私”，先得“不自利”，所以“不自私”和“不自利”两者虽然听起来很类似，但之间还是有些区别的。

Why don't we seek?  It's because we don't want to be selfish.  The only reason a person would seek for things is because of selfishness.  With no self, there's no reason left to seek.  And free of selfishness, one won't run after personal benefits.  These two of the Six Guidelines are inter-related.  No selfishness creates the condition for not seeking personal advantages.  The two names: "no selfishness" and "no self-benefit" sound similar: in fact, they have distinct differences.

最后一条是“不妄语”。会打妄语是出于害怕，害怕自己的利益失去，受到这个害怕心理的驱使，他就去批评别人：“你们全都错了，只有我才是对的。”为什么他会这么认为呢？因为他怕他的利益让人得去了。而那些不把自身利益放在心上的人，就没有打妄语的必要。总而言之，费心编派谎言去自欺欺人，你说值得吗？你若真正了解这六大宗旨的涵意，就会知道它所代表的正是做人的原则。

The last one is "no lying".  The only reason a person would lie is out of fear; he's afraid of losing his selfish advantages.  This fear moves him to criticize everybody else, saying, "All of you are wrong.  I'm the only one who's right.  "Why does he feel this way?  Because he fears he'll lose his benefits to other people.  Someone who didn't hanker after personal profits would have no reason to tell a lie.  In the final analysis, what's a lie worth, anyway?  If you can truly understand these Six Guiding Principles, then you know what it means to be a person.

你若不懂六大宗旨，在这么一个疯狂的时代里，你的所作所为，将无法从你争我夺的恶性竞争中超拔出来。你一旦和这种坏风气同流合污了，就会变成一个疯子，追随你的人也会像你一样的下场。这些就是今天我想告诉你们的事。

If you don't understand the Six Guidelines, then you're simply running in lock-step with the rat-race of this mad age.  As long as you flow with the tide of insanity, you're just another madman, as crazy as the next person.  That's my message for you all today.

我希望在座的年轻人，听了我所说的以后，千万不要变成我前面说的疯子。在座的年长者，从此更要努力保持自己心智的清明。在座的小孩呢？也要和大人一起学着不要变得疯狂。那我就会这么说：“Everything's okay. No problem!”（一切都好，没问题！）

I hope the young people among you who hear me won't go insane.  The elderly among you should even more keep a grip in your sanity.  The little children here can learn along with the adults.  Learn how not to go crazy.  I always say, "Everything's okay, no problem!"

在这里还有一点我想讲讲，就是当你听到我把电视、收音机、电脑叫做食人魔的时候，可不要害怕啊！

There's a bit more to add here.  Don't get scared when you hear me call television, radios, and computers man-eating goblins.  No need to be afraid.  

我的用意，主要是希望你们能清楚，这些东西原是做什么用的。你们要是了解这一点，这些电子产品就会丧失它们操控人的魔力。但若你被它迷惑了，它就会反过来驾驭你。

My hope is that you will clearly recognize these things for what they are.  Once you recognize them, then electric gadgets lose their power to confuse you.  That's enough to know.  But if you're confused by them, then they can gobble you down.

见到美女的反应也和前面的道理差不多。若你看了美女一眼，就被她迷得神魂颠倒，就表示你被色魔给吸走了。见到钱就迷，那你就让财魔附身了。若是你有想要大大出名的念头，就是遭到名闻魔的魔考。

The same principle applies to beauty.  If the sight of a pretty figure has the power to confuse you, then you've been swallowed by a man-eater.  If the sight of money confuses you, then you've just been devoured by a man-eater.  If your purpose is to establish a big reputation and fame confuses you, then you've just be swallowed by the goblin of fame.

若是你迷恋食物的好味道，即使你觉得只是在享用一道可口的菜肴而已；然而事实上，你已经被食物所控制了，食物毁了你的灵性和法身慧命，只留下一个空壳子的你。

 If good food confuses you, although you feel you've just enjoyed a tasty dish, in fact, the food has eaten you.  The food has eaten your spiritual soul, your Dharma-body.  It has eaten up your wisdom, and left you as stupid as can be.

要是这个睡，弄得你迷迷糊糊了好几百年，终于睡醒了，你一看手表，“哦，中午了。”翻个身，继续又睡，这样你就是上了睡魔的当了。

If sleep keeps you in a stupor for several centuries, and when you finally wake and see by your wrist watch that it's already half-past noon, and if then, you simply roll over and go back to sleep, then you've been devoured by sleep.

你们懂得这点了吗？

Get the point?