我的宗旨：

My creed is:

冻死不攀缘，
饿死不化缘，穷死不求缘，
随缘不变，不变随缘，
抱定我们三大宗旨；
舍命为佛事，
造命为本事，正命为僧事，
即事明理，明理即事，
推行祖师一脉心传。

Freezing, we do not scheme;
Starving, we do not beg;
Dying of poverty, we ask for nothing.
We accord with conditions, but never waver;
We remain steadfast,
     yet accord with every situation.
These are our three great principles:
We dedicate our lives to do the Buddha’s work,
We forge our lives as our basic duty,
We rectify our lives to fulfill the Sangha’s role.
We express our ideals within our daily affairs,
So that within our daily affairs
our ideals shine forth.
Thus we continue unbroken
the legacy of the Patriarch’s mind.

这是我们的本份，盼共勉之。

This is our basic duty, and I hope we can encourage each other.

修行人，不要有攀缘心，要有不贪不染的清净心。我常对你们讲，凡是出家修行，一心求道，什么也不要，什么也不贪。就是一棵草，也不能随便送给人，也不能随便向人索取，所谓：

Cultivators should not exploit conditions. Instead, you should have clear, pure minds that aren’t greedy or defiled. As I always tell you, people who have entered the monastic life to cultivate should seek the Way single-mindedly, wanting nothing else and being greedy for nothing. You can’t carelessly give even a mustard seed to other people, nor can you ask people for one. There is an idiom:

一芥不以与人，
一芥不以取诸人。

Don’t casually give away a mustard seed;
Don’t casually accept a mustard seed
     from anyone.

对于“缘”，要分得清清楚楚。要清净这个“缘”，不要污染这个“缘”。清净缘，是没有贪心；染污缘，是有贪心。出家人可以受供养，但不可贪供养；不贪图供养，才是真正佛的弟子。

You should have a very clear understanding of affinities. You want to purify your affinities and not pollute them. Lack of greed makes an affinity pure. Greed pollutes an affinity. Monks and nuns may accept offerings, but they should not be greedy for them. A person who does not crave offerings is a true disciple of the Buddha.

你本来应该接受供养，可是你不受，这才是有志气。诸位不是为衣食而出家，穿好衣服，吃好东西，而不好好修行，那有何用？凡是身外之物，应看成平常，不要看得那样重，所谓“君子谋道不谋食”，今改为“君子谋道不谋衣”，对于好食物不要贪求，能吃饱就算了，对于好衣服不要贪求，能蔽寒就算了。

古人说：

To decline offerings that you are entitled to accept shows resolute integrity. You didn’t enter the monastic life for the sake of food or clothes. If you wear fine clothes and eat well, but don’t cultivate, what good is that? As for things that are not essential, we should treat them in an ordinary way and not put too much emphasis on them. There is a saying: “A superior person seeks the Way, not food.” Today I will change it to: “A superior person seeks the Way, not clothing.” Don’t be greedy for good food; you should be content if you can eat your fill; don’t be greedy for nice clothes; just make sure you wear enough to protect you from the cold. The ancients said,

君子安贫；达人知命。

A superior person feels at ease in poverty;
A wise person understands the will of Heaven.

出家人，要知道在道业没有成就之前，不可欠债。要是欠债，会把你绕住，不得解脱。尤其是这些不清净的缘，害你拔不出腿来，得不到自在。可是一般出家人，欢喜受人供养，接受人的果仪。被不清净的缘缚住，就不容易超出三界。染污缘的绳子，把你捆绕得紧紧，无法解脱。所以，不要贪恋这种不真实的来西，免得麻烦。

Monks and nuns should be aware that until one accomplishes the Way, one cannot incur debts. If you have debts, they will bind you and hinder your liberation. Impure affinities in particular will trap you so that you can’t be free. Ordinary monks and nuns, however, like to receive offerings and get bound by impure affinities. If you do so, it won’t be easy to transcend the Three Realms. The rope of polluted affinities will bind you so tightly that you won’t be able to get free. Don’t indulge in these unreal things, and then you won’t have any trouble.

出家人分为七等──

Those who have renounced the life of a householder can be grouped into seven categories.

（一）头等出家人：一身轻飘飘，什么也没有，一尘不染，万缘皆空。

1. The top ranking renunciates have no burdens. They are not polluted by any dust; all their affinities are emptied.

（二）二等出家人：手持布袋；袋中有什么，外人不会知道。

2. The renunciates who rank second hold cloth bags in their hands, and no one knows what’s in them.

（三）三等出家人：肩挑担子；因为放不下，把所有的家当，走到哪里，挑到哪里，虽然是重担（约有一百磅），也甘愿挑之。在美国这个国家，没有担子，而用背袋，是大同小异的意思。

3. The third-ranking renunciates carry their loads with poles on their shoulders; it’s everything they have. It’s a heavy load (about a hundred pounds). But since they can¬not put everything down, they are willing to carry this load wherever they go. (In this country people use backpacks instead of carrying poles, but it’s about the same.)

（四）四等出家人：东西用汽车装。

4. Renunciates of the fourth rank use cars to transport their belongings.

（五）五等出家人：东西用火车装。

5. Renunciates of the fifth rank use trains.

（六）六等出家人：东西用轮船装。

6. Renunciates of the sixth rank use ships.

（七）七等出家人：东西用飞机装。

7. Renunciates of the seventh rank use airplanes.

这是出家人所犯的通病。

This is a common fault of people in the monastic order.

我希望你们跟着我出家，早成佛道；不能成佛，也要作菩萨。总之，要利益他人，不要利益自己。不可将常住的东西随便送人情，你认为有功德，其实是盗僧伽物，与人结好，私自赠送，这种行为，是破坏道场的规矩。有这种行为就要赶快纠正过来，不可再犯；没有这种行为，谨之！慎之！

I allowed you to join the monastic life, and I hope you will accomplish Buddhahood soon. If you cannot become Buddhas, you should become Bodhisattvas. In any case, benefit others, not yourselves. Don’t casually give away the temple’s possessions for the sake of establishing relationships. You may think you’re creating merit and virtue, but actually you are stealing from the Sangha. To befriend people and give them private gifts violates the monastic rules. If you have done so, correct your behavior quickly and don’t ever do it again. Be careful about such things.

一九八三年八月十五日
开示于万佛圣城