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美國這國家，是佛法很不容易弘揚的地方，如果要佛教發揚光大，我們每一個人都必須負起發展佛教的責任
發展佛教要從什麼地方著手？我認為發展佛教必須要從教育上著手。你單單的只講佛法，這佛教是不能紮下根的，所以你要從教育上著手，徹底把佛教的精神灌輸到兒童的腦海裡去，令他們懂得佛教的知識，用之於社會，能「諸惡不作，眾善奉行」，這才能紮下根去。好像中國的佛教，對於這一點就忽略了，只知道講經說法，也不知道把小孩子引入佛教精深奧妙的程度上，若是遇到大風大浪，那就幾幾乎毀滅了。所以說，如果從教育上著手，兒童明白佛教了，等他長大，自然佛教就能發揚光大。因此，我們每一個佛教徒應該注意這一點，不要盡天天眼睛裡所看見的，耳朵所聽到的，口裡所說的言語，都是要怎麼樣發財，這樣子對佛教是不會有益處的。我們每一個人要負起教育後人能明白佛法，這是要緊的。
爭利就把教育給忽略了
現在美國這個社會上，男的出去賺錢，女的也出去賺錢，把兒童的教育都忽略了，以為送到學校，就得到所應該學的知識；不知這個小孩子到了學校之後，一天比一天壞，一天比一天不聽話。學校老師和家長都脫節了，老師就教學生，你將來最有本事就是賺最多的錢，若要做世界第一個有名的人物，你先要在家裡創革命，把你父母先打倒了，老師盡是挑撥離間，令這個小孩子回家裡，就不聽家長的話，不聽父母的話。唉！這種的學校，不學也罷！
我們應該負起責任，要人人盡一點義務，盡什麼義務呢？我們有學問的人、有智慧的人，白天去工作，晚間應該把時間拿出來從事教育，在學校也好，在家庭也好，盡義務不求代價，不要薪水，把下一代教好了他。下一代教好了，這世界的人類才有福報。你若教不好下一代，就好像美國現在，問題兒童滿街都是。小孩子到處敢殺人、放火、強搶，每天每天都有。
尤其洛杉磯那地方，現在每天人都是朝不保夕，岌岌可危，因為不知哪一天就被人「呼」一槍打死了！現在，天天死的人不知有多少，恐怕比在伊拉克戰爭死的人都多。是什麼原因有這種情形？就因為人忽略了教育，重視金錢；因為重視金錢，所以就沒有什麼相當的教育。尤其做家長的，男的出去賺錢，女的也要出去賺錢，為了爭取平等自由，結果把家裡的孩子就都忽略了。有的把孩子寄到托兒所，有的放到幼稚園去，到那裡小孩子很多，耳濡目染下都是不好的事情。因為這樣子，世風日下，一代就不如一代了，這都是因為忽略教育的關係。
為什麼世風日下，人人都這麼樣顛倒，一天不如一天？溯本窮源，追究根本，就因為大家都追求「利」。因為爭利，就把教育忽略了。譬如各大學互相競爭，收學生多，錢賺得多，是不是能教育出好學生，它是在所不計，所以在教育方面，已經沒有教育的意義了。它又鼓勵學生男女浪漫，開放自由，令青年人神魂顛倒的，也沒有一個做人的宗旨，這是教育失去教育的價值了。
因為利的關係，有的老師就要求加薪，有的時候有老師拿青年人來做賭注，以罷工來威脅這個社會。為什麼這個樣子呢？也就因為這一個「利」字。所以社會國家都失去根本的概念，失去根本的理想，盡走到末稍去。因此世界就大亂了，教育也不教育了，學生也不學生了，這都是為得一個利。。啊！這個「利」字，把全世界人，都害得醉生夢死，不知道什麼叫道德，什麼叫仁義，什麼叫孝悌忠信、禮義廉恥，人人都沒有廉恥了，沒有懺悔心。
尤其在美國這兒，做家長的有本事生孩子，可是沒能教育孩子，由小孩任性發展，樣樣都講自由，任憑他去殺人，去放火。所以好像那個芝加哥人，四歲在芝加哥就放大火，燒死不知多少人。他爸爸媽媽還認為這是好樣子！自由發展，所以養成一大了，就做了一個黑社會的頭子，專門偷東西，你看這自由發展的結果。各位想一想，這個問題是多麼嚴重。
提倡不拿薪水盡義務
現在我提倡從事教育的人，都義務來教育，做所願意做的事情，不要爭加薪，這個也要錢，那個也要錢。好像萬佛城有一個老師，在我這兒十多年了，他是一個法師介紹來的，說他現在無所事事，到萬佛城來，只要有得吃，有得住，給他一點零用金就可以了。十多年到了今天，看見外邊的老師都賺錢，於是就結一個三人黨來要求加薪，若不加薪，他要罷工了。你看，這就為了一個錢，也就動了腦筋。這樣一來，外邊的老師怎麼樣呢？譬如在路遠的，開車一、兩個鐘頭的時間，以前也要給錢；老師預備課也要我給錢；老師在學校看著學生，也要給錢，什麼都算錢，這個錢、錢、錢…「錢也者，不可須臾離也」，這麼錢來錢去的，我這個錢只有去，沒有來，入不敷出。所以，我就宣布中、小學的老師，都要盡義務，大學老師因為課程太繁複了，資格若老一點的，也就給一點「榮譽」的零用金。這麼樣子，現在要求加薪的也消聲匿跡了，也沒聽說再要罷工了，這是我今天想出的一個很不合邏輯學的招數。
布希他競選總統，我看他拖泥帶水、仁柔寡斷那樣子，是沒有法子再當選了，可是我有一個方法，可以令他當選。這個方法是什麼呢？我教他宣布再做總統的時候，不拿薪水，把薪水捐出來給這個社會上來用。他們在白宮裡頭，大家研究這封信所講的道理，研究一個多禮拜，還是不接受，結果在最後他是落選了。雖然現在是魔強法弱，覺得布希還有得救，他如果宣布我這個建議，我當時在信上說，一定會當選；他要不接受呢，一定會落選，果然給我說中了，為了錢他沒有當選這是關係美國前途的大事，現在他很後悔當時沒聽我的話可是時間已晚了。
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In the United States, where it’s not easy to promote Buddhism, everyone should take on the responsibility of propagation, in order to cause the Buddha Dharma to flourish.
Where should we start? In my opinion, we should start with education. If you simply speak the Dharma, you can’t plant the roots. You have to work on education, to transmit the spirit of Buddhism thoroughly into children’s minds. Only when they understand the principles of Buddhism and practice them in society, stopping all evil and cultivating all good, can the roots of Buddhism be planted. Chinese Buddhism ignored this point in the past. People only spoke the Dharma and expounded the Sutras, without knowing to guide the children the profound and wonderful teaching of Buddhism. This is why whenever there were catastrophes, they almost destroyed Buddhism. If children are able to understand the teachings, when they grow up they can promote it. This is one thing all Buddhists must pay attention to. Don’t let the focus of everything you see, hear, and talk about be solely on making a fortune, which is of no benefit to Buddhism. Everyone of us must take the responsibility for educating people to understand the Dharma. This is an important matter.
In Their Fight for Profits, People Ignore Education
In American society today, men are out for money, and women go for money,too. They forget about children‘s education and think that they will learn what they should at school. However, at school, children often become worse. They become less obedient day by day. Teachers and parents lose contact with the teachers and the students’ subjects. Teachers tell the students that the most successful peopleare those who can make a lot of money. To be first in the world, you have to rebel at home and knock your parents down, if the teachers instigate the children’s disobedidence to their parents at home; it would be better if one does not go to this kind of school!
Everyone should voluntarily take responsibility. What kind of responsibility? We who have knowledge and wisdom, but who go towork in the daytime should volunteer some time at night for education, at a school or at home. To do this voluntarily means you don’t seek for a reward or a salary. You fulfill your responsibility at school or at home to teach the next generation well. Only when the next generation is taught properly can blessings for the world be attained. If the next generation has not been taught well, then it will be like here in America, where juvenile deliquents are all over. Children are bold enough to kill, set fires, and rob, which happens every day.
Especially in Los Angeles, people feel in peril and their life is insecure, because someday with one shot they might be killed. People die from shootings maybe even more than from the war in Iraq. What made this happen? It’s simply because people ignore education and value money, and because money is the priority to attain, people don’t have enough education. Particularly now, not only do men work for money, women do too, who demand equality and freedom. Children then are ignored by those parents. In a nursery school or a kindergarden, children are influenced by improper things. In this way, morality falls lower and lower, worse and worse, generation after generation. And it’s all because of neglect of education!
Why has the moral code of the world become degraded and people become so upside-downed, day after day? The fundamental reason is because people fight for “profits.” Seeking for profits causes education to be neglected. The universities compete among themselves for the greatest number of students in order to get more profit. Whether they can educate good students is not their concern. The significance of education is lost. Moreover, education encourages students to become dissipated, liberal, free, and frivolous. Students have lost their principles of being human. Education carries no significance.
Because of the concern for profit, some teachers ask for salary raises. Sometimes teachers go on strike, using the youth to gamble, to threaten society. Why so? Again, it is for benefit. The whole society loses the basic concepts, and ideals and has gone to the branch-tips (i.e. gone astray). Therefore the world has become chaotic. Education is not like education and the students are not like students anymore. All because of profits. Ah! This harm has caused the whole world’s populace to “live drunk and die dreaming.” They know nothing about morality, humaness and righteousness. People fail to understand filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety. Men don’t have integrity, honor and repentance.
Especially in America, parents are capable of giving birth to children, but aren’t able to raise them well. Children grow up unrestrained, and do everything at their own will --- even killing and setting fires. Just like that person from Chicago, at four of age he set a fire and caused many people to be killed; his parents thought that was good conduct! Liberal upbringing made him a head of underworld society, specializing in stealing. All of you just think how serious it is!
Promotion of Voluntary Teaching Without Pay
I am promoting that teachers should work voluntarily, of their own accord do as their wish, not fighting for salary raises, this one wanting money, that one wanting money, too. There is a teacher at the Sacred City of Ten Thousand Buddhas who has been living here over ten years. A Dharma Master introduced him to me, saying that this person was out of a job and that if he could stay at the City with room and board available, a little pocket money would do. After over ten years, seeing that teachers outside made some money, he formed a “gang of three” to ask for a salary raise. If their request had not been granted, he would have gone on a strike. See, because of money, he had the idea. What about those teachers coming from outside? In the past, I had to pay teachers for driving one or two hours to get here, for the time they prepared materials, for the time they watched students at school. Everything takes money. Money, money, money... “Money is something one cannot be apart from for a single moment.” This way, only spending without earning, the expenditures exceed the income. So I have to make the announcement that all teachers at our elementary and high schools teach as volunteers. Professors in our university, with more experience, will get some honorary allowance. Now the request for a salary raise is extinguished, and no strikes are heard ever again. This is the method, not a very logical one, that I thought out today.
When Bush campaigned for a second term as President, I saw he was too permissive and indecisive and would not be re-elected. However, I had a way to help him win the election. What was that? I told him to announce that if he were to be president again, he would not take the president’s salary and would donate it to the people. People in the White House investigated the principle in my letter for over a week and did not accept it. Eventually, he failed the campaign.
Though it is a time when demons are strong and the Dharma is weak, I felt that Bush had a hope. If he adopted my suggestion, I made it very clear in the letter that he would definitely win the campaign; if not, he would surely lose. As I predicted, he did not win because of money. This greatly affects the future of the United States. Now he is regretful that he did not listen to me, yet it is too late.
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