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出家是世界上最稀有的事情，也是令人最不明白的事情。為什麼出家一定要受苦呢？既沒有男女的娛樂，不能跳舞，也不能狂歡。因為想成為出乎其類、拔乎其萃的人，必定要忍人所不能忍的事，要受人所不能受的苦；這樣的鍛鍊，才能成就金剛不壞身，所謂：
不經一番寒徹骨，
怎得梅花撲鼻香？
出家要有心理準備：出家是為了生脫死，永不受輪迴之苦，所以面對什麼樣的苦也不怕，越苦越好，不要向苦投降，改變初衷，向後退轉；要有堅忍不拔的精神，克服一切苦，才是大丈夫，所以出家不是一般人所能做得到，也就是將相也辦不到，所以說：「出家乃是神聖的工作」，並不是被一般人所譏嫌的蛀米蟲，所謂：
吃苦是了苦，享福是消福。
你們看古代高僧大德，都是從苦行中得到悟境，沒有一位祖師從享受中得到開悟，把《大藏經》找遍了，也找不到一位。
我們要有忍耐心，才能得到法喜充滿的利益；要有刻苦心，才能得到開悟的智慧。不可與佛道相違背，要攝心專意地用功，把心念收攝回來，不要打妄想，也就是將心猿意馬管住，不要教它向外奔馳。
出家修道，首先要除貪、破瞋、滅癡。將這三毒清理乾淨，智慧自然就會現前。要如何才能打掃乾淨呢？就是用戒、定、慧三學作為工具；戒能治貪，定能治瞋，慧能治癡，所以出家人稱為「沙門」。沙門翻為「勤息」，就是「勤修戒定慧，息滅貪瞋癡」，人人沒有貪瞋癡，世界就會和平了。
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Leaving the home-life is something that rarely happens in the world, and it is also something most people find hard to understand. Why does leaving the home-life mean you have to take suffering, and cannot enjoy the pleasures between men and women, or go dancing, or have an orgy? It’s because if you want to become a preeminent individual, one who stands out from the crowd, you must bear the things that others cannot bear and take the suffering that others cannot take. Only through this kind of discipline can you achieve a Vajra-indestructible body. As the saying goes,
If the plum tree did not endure cold
that chills to the bone,
How could the fragrance of its
blossoms be so sweet?
When you leave the home-life, you must be psychologically prepared. You leave home in order to be eternally liberated from birth and death and to be free of the suffering of transmigration forever. Therefore, you cannot be afraid to face any kind of hardship. The more you suffer, the better. Don’t give in to suffering, lose your initial sincerity, and retreat. A great hero must have the spirit of firm, unshakable perseverance to conquer every kind of suffering. So leaving the home-life is not something ordinary people are able to do. Even generals and prime ministers are unable to do it. That’s why leaving the home-life is said to be the work of sages and is not at all what most people ridicule as “being parasites of society.” As it is said,
To endure suffering puts an end to suffering.
To enjoy blessings uses up blessings.
Take a look at the noble Sanghans and great worthies of old: it was through bitter cultivation that they reached the state of enlightenment. None of the patriarchs became enlightened through relaxation and enjoyment. You can read through the whole Tripitaka (Buddhist Canon) but you won’t find a single one.
We must have endurance before we can gain the benefit of being filled with Dharma bliss. We must suffer hardship before we can obtain the wisdom of enlightenment. Don't work in opposition to the Buddha Way. Apply effort with a concentrated and focused mind. Gather in the mind, and don’t indulge in idle thoughts. Restrain the capricious monkey-mind, and don't let it run outside.
In leaving home to cultivate the way, we must first get rid of greed, eliminate anger, and extinguish delusion. When these three poisons are cleaned out, wisdom will naturally come forth. How can we sweep them clean? Use the three studies of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom as tools. Precepts can counteract greed; samadhi can counteract anger; and wisdom can counteract delusion. Therefore, left-home people are called Shramanas. “Shramana” means “diligent” and “putting to rest,” that is, they diligently cultivate precepts, samadhi, and wisdom and put to rest greed, anger and delusion. When all people are free of greed, anger and delusion, the world will be at peace.
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