每个人的面目不同，其因果也不一样，每个人在往昔生生世世所欠下的债也不同。有些人欠债太多了，到这个世界上来，还也还不了，所谓“债台高筑”，也就是业障之台，一天比一天高，一天比一天深，债上加债，纠缠不清。

Just as each person has unique features, he or she also has unique causes and effects and an individual set of debts incurred in past lives. Some people have such heavy debts that they cannot repay them in one lifetime. Their debts (their karmic hindrances) keep getting higher and deeper with each passing day. Debts are slapped on top of debts until they can never extricate themselves.

这是什么缘故呢？ 是因为往昔专门放高利贷，借钱给人，利上加利，贪得无厌，自己以为占了便宜，结果是自己吃了亏，业障一天比一天重，终于拔不出腿来了！

Why is this? In previous lives they were loan sharks; they lent money to people at exorbitant interest rates. In their insatiable greed, they thought they were getting a bargain, but in fact they were taking a loss. Their karmic hindrances became heavier and heavier until they finally became stuck.

有的欠人做父亲的债，有的欠人做母亲的债，有的欠人做妻子的债，有的欠人做丈夫的债，有的欠人做儿子的债，有的欠人做女儿的债。所谓“父母的饥荒，伦常的账码”，种种的因缘，乃促成你我今生命运的安排。可是一般人不明白一切都是前因后果，定业难逃，所以有时候还不认账，还想扛债不还，明明欠人的债，却不承认。

Some owe the debt of being a father or a mother; others owe the debt of being a husband or a wife; others owe the debt of being a son or a daughter. There is a Chinese phrase, "the debt of being parents in the account-book of human relations." Our fate in this lifetime is determined by various causes and conditions. Ordinary people do not realize that everything is a result of cause and effect and that there is no escape from fixed karma. Sometimes they refuse to acknowledge their debts and pay up. Such unreasonable behavior leads to all sorts of problems in this world: You have your problems, and I have mine. Each person has his or her own set of causes and effects involving a mixture of good and bad deeds.

因为这样不讲道理，所以酿成世界上种种麻烦的发生--你有你的麻烦，我有我的麻烦，他有他的麻烦，各人有纠缠不清、善恶夹杂的因果。偶尔遇到佛教，听了佛理，便明白一点；可是今天明白了，明天又 糊涂了；后天又想明白，大后天又糊涂了。于是变成智愚平等的局面，智能和愚痴平均，糊涂时便不想修道，明白时便想修道。可是修道的时候很少，糊涂的时候很多，因此所修的不及所丢的，智慧也一天不如一天，而愚痴却一天比一天增加，在无明驱使之下，便做出很多 糊涂事。心里糊涂，进一步身上也糊涂了；心里有贪瞋痴，身上便犯杀盗淫，这些都是糊涂账，根本算不清！

Once in a while, we may encounter Buddhism and understand a little bit of its principles. One day we may understand, but the next day we become muddled again. The day after that we try to understand again, but the following day we are confused again. There is an equal balance of wisdom and delusion. On days of wisdom, we want to cultivate; on confused days, we don't. Most of the time we are confused, and we spend very little time cultivating. The fruits of our cultivation are far too few to make up for the merit we lose. Our wisdom diminishes and our delusion increases day by day. Driven by ignorance, we do many foolish things. Our confused thoughts lead to confused actions. The greed, anger, and delusion in our minds causes us to commit acts of killing, stealing, and lust. These confused accounts can never be straightened out.

所以有时家庭眷属不和，父子不和、母女不和、夫妇不和、兄弟不和、姊妹不和、兄妹不和，种种问题就发生了。发生了，自己还不承认、不认账，反而觉得很受委曲。其实这都是前因后果的定律，以前种下的因，如今结果了，有什么好怨呢？所以

As a result there is disharmony within families: fathers can't get along with their sons, mothers can't get along with their daughters, husbands and wives don't get along, and brothers and sisters are in disharmony. However, instead of acknowledging the problems and accepting responsibility, each person feels wronged. Actually, all of this is the law of cause and effect at work. Everything in the present is an effect resulting from causes planted in the past. So what is there to feel resentful about? There is a proverb: