我们在万佛圣城所行所做的事情，和世间上都不相同。譬如我们现在有小学、中学、大学，都是免费的，这种宗旨是为什么？因为现在有很多学校都不注重教育，只知道收钱，变成学店了。学生刚刚学着做人，应该教他们没有利欲熏心的思想，不注重钱。

The things we do at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas are different from the ways of the world. For example, our elementary school, high school, and university are all tuition-free. Why do we have such a principle? It's because many schools nowadays no longer value education. They only care about making money; they've turned into “school-shops.” When students are just learning how to be people, they should be taught not to befuddle their minds with desire for profit, nor to put great importance on money.

古来的人读书，为的是“明理”，明白道理；现在的人读书，却都为着“名利”，想得好名厚利，为什么呢？就因为学校所教的方法错误，于是乎把世界搞得一天不如一天，一天比一天堕落。

When the ancients studied, their goal was to understand the truth. Nowadays, people study for the sake of fame and profit; they want to gain a good reputation and reap abundant profits. Why? It's because they were taught incorrectly in school. Consequently, the world is more confused each day. Day by day, the standards fall lower.

现在全世界有两种妖怪出现，把人都吃光了；虽然把人都吃光了，人还不知道。有人想：“这两种妖怪我知道，就是你常讲的原子弹、氢气弹、死光。”不是的，它们还够不上妖怪，这两种妖怪就是“计算机”与“电视”。计算机，把人的智能都夺去了；电视，把人的眼睛都弄瞎了。你问：“天天看电视，怎么会把眼睛弄瞎？”我所谓的“瞎”，就是人不认识真理了，以迷入迷，以盲引盲。现在杀人放火，专做坏事的恶徒，就是从电视上学来的。可是一般人不知道，还以为有电视等等新产品，是时代进步了，其实个中不知有多大害处，把人都害死了。现在又有第三种妖怪出现──“机器人”，把人的工作都抢走了，人将来都不知道要干什么？人如果一点用处都没有时，终必成为废物。

Now there are two kinds of monsters in the world. They are devouring all the people, but nobody has realized it yet. Someone is thinking, “I know what the two monsters are! They are the bombs and lasers that you are always talking about.” Wrong. Those aren't bad enough to be considered monsters. The two monsters I'm talking about are the computer and television. The computer (“electronic brain” in Chinese) robs us of our wisdom. The television (“electronic vision” in Chinese) blinds people's eyes. You say, “I watch T.V. everyday. How does that make my eyes blind?” When I say people are blind, I mean that they don't recognize true principles anymore. The confused become more confused, and the blind lead the blind. Evil people who commit murder and arson and perpetrate crimes learn to do so by watching television. Unaware of this, ordinary people still think that television and other novel inventions indicate how advanced our times are. Actually, the harm of these products is unreckonable; they have fatally harmed people. Now a third kind of monster has appeared in the world: robots. They have taken over people's jobs. What kind of work will people do in the future? If there's not the slightest use for people in the future, they will eventually become obsolete.

所以我们在万佛圣城，知道一点，就做一点，不开学店，而是要真正教导小孩孝顺父母，忠于国家，屈己待人，有仁义道德的思想。这是很笨的思想，但你想不出更好的方法来改变世界的灾难；想改变世界的灾难，只有“忠孝仁义道德”这几个字，才能挽救已死的人心，才能降妖却魔，所以我们小、中、大学都免费。从这儿各位要特别特别深深了解，我们不要像其它地方敷衍了事，纯粹牟利。又有一个原因，就是我年轻时所读的书并不多，对于一般普通的新学问，我是自叹不如。但我愿意灌输给年轻人仁义道德的思想，令他们将来成为国家有用的良材，社会的栋梁。

At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, if we know a little bit of something, we want to practice that one bit. We are not opening a “school-shop.” Rather, we truly want to teach the children to be filial to their parents, to serve the country loyally, to be humble and to treat others with courtesy. We want them to understand what humaneness, righteousness, morality, and virtue are. These are stupid ideas, but you won't find any better way to avert the disasters of the world. If we want to avert the disasters in the world, we must rely on loyalty, filiality, humaneness, righteousness, the Way, and virtue. These concepts can revive people's dead hopes; they can subdue monsters and conquer demons. That is why our elementary school, high school, and university are tuition-free. Everyone should be especially clear on this point: We do not want to be like other places, where people do a sloppy, negligent job and only look for profit. There is another reason. When I was young, I did not receive much schooling, and I know I'm not as familiar as others are with the common knowledge of today. However, I am willing to introduce the ideas of humaneness, righteousness, the Way, and virtue to young people, so that they will become productive citizens and pillars of society in the future.

一九八二年八月廿七日开示
于万佛圣城