无论是出家人，或是在家人，在讲经说法的时候，一定要十分小心。事前要静坐五分钟，将心安定之后，再翻开经本，合掌恭恭敬敬地读诵经文，然后详细地解释。如果对理论不相应，勉强解说，就不合乎逻辑学。

所以讲经或说法，先要把“名相”弄清楚，先要把“经文的义理”搞明白，否则就很容易讲错，所谓“差之丝毫，谬之千里。”令听经的人，得不到要领，有莫名其妙之感。

Whether you are a monk or nun or a lay person, you must be very careful when you speak the Dharma or lecture on the Sutras. Before you start your talk, sit quietly for five minutes. After your mind is calmed down, open the Sutra, put your palms together and reverently read the Sutra text, and then explain it in detail. If you don’t quite understand the principles of the Sutra, you won’t be able to give a coherent explanation. Therefore before speaking Dharma or giving Sutra lectures, you must be clear about all the terms, and understand the principles and meanings of the Sutra text. Otherwise it’s very easy to make mistakes. It is said, “If you are off by a hair in the beginning, you’ll miss it by a thousand miles in the end.” You’ll end up confusing your listeners.

学佛法的人，不要图快，所谓“囫囵吞枣，食而不知其味。”要细嚼慢咽，品其滋味。贪多嚼不烂，反而受其害。讲经要注意经的义理，稍有讲错，便与整个经义不相吻合，不但没有功德，反而有罪过，所谓：

Students of Buddhism should not try to hurry. That would be like “swallowing a date without chewing, eating it without knowing its taste.” We should take our time in savoring the flavor of the food we eat. If we are greedy and bite off more than we can chew, it will be harmful to us. When you are lecturing, pay attention to the meaning and principle of the Sutra. If you make a small mistake, your lecture will not match the meaning of the entire Sutra. In that case, you’ll create offenses instead of acquiring any merit. It is said,

依文解义，三世佛怨；
离经一字，即同魔说。

Explaining the meaning too literally
Grieves the Buddhas of the three periods
     of time;
Yet deviating from the Sutra by a single word
Makes it the same as demonic discourse.

后果多么严重，谨之！慎之！

What a serious consequence! One must be very cautious!

至于听经的人，更要聚精会神地听，不管讲经的法师或居士所讲的经或所说的法，讲得好，也应该注意听；讲得不好，更要注意听。要研究，讲得好，好在什么地方？讲得不好，不好在什么地方？好的，就学习；不好的，要改正过来，作为自己的借镜，这样才能锻炼自己的择法眼。

As for people who listen to the Sutra lectures, you should concentrate your attention and energy and listen, regardless of whether the Dharma Master or layperson speaks well or not. You should look into why they speak well or poorly. Then you can learn from their good points and use their weak points as examples to correct your own shortcomings. This way you’ll be able to develop your Dharma-selecting vision.

择法眼是从修戒、修定、修慧三方面而来。戒定慧圆融无碍，则对于一切经藏，迎刃而解，没有丝毫的障碍。这时候，讲经说法，口若悬河，滔滔不绝，没有穷尽。古人讲经，有天花乱坠，地涌金莲的境界，你们虽然没有这种境界，可是也要有乐说无碍之辩才。

Dharma-selecting vision comes from cultivating precepts, samadhi, and wisdom. When precepts, samadhi and wisdom are perfectly fused with no obstruction, then you’ll be able to understand all the Sutras and Shastras effortlessly, without the slightest hindrance. At that point, you will be eloquent in speaking Dharma and lecturing on the Sutras. When the ancients lectured on the Sutras, flowers would rain from the sky and golden lotuses would come forth from the earth. Even if you don’t quite reach this state, with Dharma-selecting vision you will have unobstructed, joyful eloquence.

一九八三年八月十一日
开示于万佛圣城