我们现在是生活在末法时代，为什么叫“末法”？就因为人人都不认真修行，躲懒偷安，只在名利上用功夫，所以佛法变成有名无实。现在大家打禅七，就是要脚踏实地来修持佛法，把末法的颓风改正过来，使末法成为正法。

We are living in the Dharma-ending Age. Why is it called the Dharma-ending Age? Because no one cultivates seriously. Everyone is lazy and lax, exerting himself only for the sake of fame and profit. The Buddhadharma exists in name only; there’s no substance behind it. We are now holding a Chan session, and we want to cultivate the Buddhadharma in a down-to-earth manner so that we can reform the decadent trends of the Dharma-ending Age and turn it into the Proper Dharma Age.

佛法，只要你会用，世间所有的一切法都是佛法。可是人们所行却与正法背道而驰，专门往邪法上走。修道是要往真的去做，可是现在我们所行所做都是戴着假面具，没能躬行实践，认真修行，这样误人而且误己。我们在这里用功，就像在雕琢一块玉，“如切如磋，如琢如磨”，切磋琢磨使它光亮，成为一件有用的器皿。

All the dharmas in the world, if you know how to use them, are just the Buddhadharma. Yet people always behave in ways contrary to the Proper Dharma; they know only how to follow deviant teachings. To cultivate, one must do things truthfully. But right now we wear masks in everything we do. We aren’t able to practice the teachings ourselves and cultivate in earnest, so we end up harming others as well as ourselves. Our work here can be likened to carving a piece of jade, "cutting and filing, grinding and polishing," to make a shiny and useful object out of it.

我们每个人都可以成佛，但能否成佛就要看我们认不认真。谁认真谁就能成佛，不认真就不能成佛，公修公得，婆修婆得，不修不得。这个禅七就快打完了，第二个禅七又将开始，我们要珍惜时间，不要空过；把光阴空过，想再把它找回来，是不容易的。

Every one of us can become a Buddha, provided we work hard. Whoever works hard can become a Buddha, and whoever doesn’t cannot. Whoever cultivates can have attainment, and whoever doesn’t cannot. This seven-day Chan session is almost over. The second session is about to start. We should cherish the time and not let it pass in vain. Once it’s gone by, it’s not easy to get it back.

一九八三年十二月卅一日开示