仁者爱人，就是仁爱的人。这个仁，在人来讲，就是仁慈的表现，有推己及人的思想。所谓“己所不欲，勿施于人”，自己不愿意身受之事，不要加到旁人身上。如果把自己不愿意的事情，加在旁人身上，那就是不仁。

A humane person loves people, and is kind. People express their humaneness by being kind and considerate towards others. As it’s said, “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to yourself.” If you do to someone else what you wouldn’t want done to yourself, you aren’t being humane.

这个仁者，能吃亏、能忍辱。所谓“初而勉强，久而自然”，一开始时觉得别别扭扭的，不舒服，可是时间久了，就成为自然，丝毫不觉得勉强。

A humane person is able to take losses and to endure insults. This may be difficult to do at first, but gradually you get used to it. In the beginning you may feel awkward and uncomfortable, but after a while it becomes natural and isn’t the least bit forced on your part.

仁，在事来讲要有忍耐心，把事情做得恰到好处。所谓：

事欲求精   须用苦功
功夫既到   触类旁通

In practical terms, humaneness involves being patient and doing things to just the right degree. There’s a saying,

If you want to be perfect at something,
You’ve got to work hard.
When you’ve mastered the skill,
Other things also become easy.

无论做什么事情，一定要做到精益求精，尽善尽美的地步。怎样能做到？这就必须下一番苦功夫。什么是苦功夫？就是一个“忍”字。忍字好像心上插了一把刀，要忍痛、要忍苦，一切都要忍。忍饥忍渴，忍风忍雨、忍寒忍暑，忍！忍！忍！忍一切不能忍的事。对于一切事，勉为其难，要下苦功，功到自然成。那时能闻一知十，开了智慧之窍门，对于事理豁然贯通，一目了然，无所障碍。

In everything you do, continuously seek to refine your work until you achieve the ultimate perfection and beauty. How can you do that? It takes bitter effort. What kind of bitter effort? It can all be summed up in one word: endurance. The Chinese character for ‘endurance’ (忍) is a picture of

a heart (忍) with a knife (忍) stuck in it. This means we have to endure pain, suffering, and all kinds of things－hunger, thirst, wind, rain, heat, and coldness. We’ve got to endure, endure, and endure! Endure all the things that cannot be endured. In all we do, we’ve got to bear the difficulties and apply bitter effort. Then when our skill is ripe, we’ll naturally succeed. At that point, we’ll be able to hear one thing and understand ten others. We will have opened the gate to wisdom, and all things and principles will immediately be completely clear to us－we can take in the whole picture in a single glance.

这个仁，又可当种子讲，譬如种五谷，一定要选择肥大的种子，禾苗才会强壮，到了秋天才有丰富的收获。这种知识，一般农人都晓得。如果不选种、不耕耘、不灌溉、不施肥，到秋天就得不到收获。所谓“一分耕耘，一分收获。”学生在学校读书，也是一样的情形。在学校用功读书，把书的道理研究明白，当然就成为有用的人才。但读书不求甚解，敷衍了事混光阴，毕业后，无一技之长，无谋生的能力，就成为家庭的包袱，社会的寄生虫，受人歧视。

The analogy of seeds can also be used to explain humaneness. When planting the various grains, we must choose the large seeds, because they will produce strong sprouts and will yield a bountiful harvest in the autumn. Farmers understand this. If good seeds are not selected, and the fields are not tilled, irrigated, and fertilized, then come autumn there won’t be any harvest. “Each bit of tilling yields a bit of harvest.” This can also be applied to the situation of students studying in school. If you study hard and understand the principles in your textbooks, you will surely be able to make useful contributions in the future. On the other hand, if you are sloppy in your studies and do just enough work to get by, after you graduate you won’t have the skills to help you make a living. You’ll become a burden to your family and a parasite of society, and others will look down on you.

种子可分为有情种子及无情种子。有情的种子，能生出胎、卵、湿、化四种动物；无情的种子，能生草木植物类和金石矿物类。有情众生，有情有性；无情众生，无情有性。所谓“有情无情，同圆种智”，有情和无情的性是相通的，原是一个的，而无情是暂时无情，它若能返本还原，也会变为有情。但是不容易，要经过很长的时间，才能得到返本还原的机会，这机会好像三千大千世界中一粒微尘那么小。而且它虽然转为有情众生，也都是低级的动物，如孑孓、虫蚁一类的众生而已。

There are two types of seeds: sentient seeds and insentient seeds. Sentient seeds give rise to living beings born from wombs, eggs, moisture, or by transformation. Insentient seeds produce plant life such as grass and trees, and minerals such as metals and rocks. Sentient beings possess emotions and a nature; insentient beings lack emotion but do possess a nature. It is said, “Sentient and insentient beings together perfect the Wisdom of All Modes.” The natures of sentient and insentient beings are interconnected. They were originally one. Insentient beings are that way only temporarily; if they could return to their origin, they would become sentient. However, that’s not easy to do. They have to wait a long, long time before they have a chance to return to their origin. That chance is as minute as a speck of dust in the trichiliocosm. And even when insentient beings do become sentient, they are still primitive animals such as ants, worms, or mosquitoes.

我们虽然是有情，乃是暂时的，不是永远的。如果不好好做人，就会性化灵残，化为无情的植物。所以在大树中，皆有鬼神住在那里。为什么？因为大树和鬼神息息相通。人和鬼也是息息相通的，没有隔阂。修道人要明白这个道理，不要堕落到植物中；植物虽有性，但不易变有情。

Even though we are sentient beings now, this is also only a temporary state that may not last. If we don’t do a good job of being people, our natures will dissolve and transform into insentient vegetation. That’s why large trees often have ghosts and spirits living in them; it’s because there’s a close connection between large trees and ghosts and spirits. People and ghosts are connected as well; there is no real barrier between them. Cultivators had better understand this principle and avoid falling into the plant kingdom. Although plants do have a nature, it’s hard for them to become sentient beings.

同学们！人人可返本还原，可以成佛，只要早发菩提心，用功修行。但若堕落到无情中，成为植物，再想修行，就很难了，到那时就悔恨迟矣！

Fellow students! Every one of you can return to your origin and become a Buddha, as long as you bring forth the resolve for Bodhi soon and work hard at your cultivation. However, if you fall into the insentient realm and and become plants, it will be difficult for you to cultivate. You may be sorry, but by then it will be too late!

一九八四年三月六日开示