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我沒有什麼特別的好法同你們講，就講了，沒有什麼用途。我本來想今天講「吃餃子」來的，因為你們超塵法師提議要包餃子。我現在講點吃餃子的故事。
有一個人，他的太太很會包餃子；他就請客，請兩個朋友來家裡吃餃子。包得很好的餃子請朋友來吃，大家吃得都很高興，把這個肚皮吃飽了，甚至於吃到肚皮外邊去了。餃子怎麼樣吃到肚皮外邊去呀？你們才不知道呢！其中一個朋友因為太好吃了，他裝到袋裡；偷著裝了一袋，拿回去給他太太吃。說：「你試試！人家包的餃子多好！」他太太拿來吃：「啊！這個我也會包嘛！你也請客，我來包餃子！」那麼這個人也請客，他太太也包餃子，請了四個人，她包了四個餃子；多大呢？就像豬羔子、豬仔子那麼大。那麼包四個餃子，連她自己的五個。這個餃子拿上來，四個人一個人一個，他丈夫一看就說了：「哎呀！天呀！天呀！天呀！」這意思就是說：「你怎麼這麼笨呀？人家包得那麼小個，你包得這麼大個！」她說：「偏嘛？誰也不偏！你們一人一個！」他丈夫就說：「唉！你呀！你呀！」「你不要管我，我灶堂裡還有一個呢！」他丈夫就說了：「哎呀！命啊！命啊！」意思是說：「我這個命怎麼這樣呀？貪得這麼一個愚痴的太太！」她說：「你那個還說硬？我那個用火燒的，比你那個更硬！」
可是我們吃東西，吃飽了就算了，不要儘管它好不好吃。有一個老修行也想餃子吃，他就說：「好！你想餃子吃嗎？給你包餃子！」他就用米糠皮和一和，來做皮子，剁一點香菜做餡，把這個餡子包好了，擱蒸籠裡，蒸好了，拿出就吃。一邊吃一邊說：「不好吃嗎？誰叫你想這個東西吃來著？你想這個東西吃，現在你覺得不好吃，將來都沒有了！這是我對你特別好，我才給你這麼包餃子！」
你不好吃、你不要那麼狂，這個才是克己復禮的功夫，才能不任自己的食慾去跑，能以不著住到色聲香味觸法。你們各位要記得：初果的聖人，不入色聲香味觸法，不為六塵所轉。我們今天誰若知道這個菜是好的，誰就沒有證初果；誰若知道這個菜只可以吃飽，不知道它的味道是怎樣的，你是證初果了！我給你來證明。如果沒有這樣子，那我不給證明了！今天也就不說太多了，我們吃什麼，吃飽了算了！我們金山寺一天吃一餐，吃飽了算了，不管它什麼味道。
諸山大德，長老、善知識，和各位青年的老朋友！
為什麼我叫你們各位「青年的老朋友」？因為你們將來都會老的，不是天天都這麼樣青年；如果你們能天天都是這樣的青年，那我絕對不會叫你們各位「青年的老朋友」。
你們各位在青年的時候，應該知道這個世界是輪流轉，轉來轉去的；也就是我們每一個人生，從少而壯、從壯而老、從老而死。釋迦牟尼佛就因為看見生老病死苦這個輪轉沒有什麼意思；所以他發心捨去王位，到雪山去修行。我希望你們各位青年人，應該立下一個偉大的願力，要為將來的世界來服務、為佛教來服務；所以今天對你們各位所想要說的道理，就是青年的佛教。究竟是吃飯為著活著？或是活著為吃飯？這兩個問題，請各位答覆我，然後我再來對各位說話。
剛才這一位大德，他所說的意見和我的意見是相同的，所以我不需要再說。像這一位法師，用大的氣力那麼對大家說話，那麼我可以小一點聲，省一點氣力，那麼這就是這一位法師，他剛才所幫我的。
至於那個「吃飯為活著，或是活著為吃飯」，每一個人都沒有把它認識清楚。因為沒有認識清楚，所以就做出很多顛顛倒倒不正常的事情；如果把這個問題認識清楚了，你所做的事情都不會顛倒了，不會那麼愚癡了。這個問題很容易解答的，是什麼呢？就是人吃飯是為了活著，你若不吃飯就不會活；但活著絕不是就單單為著吃飯。
那麼活著單單為吃飯，方才這位法師說是卑鄙下流，一般人也都這樣看法；這又是一種錯誤，活著也是為了吃飯，但是還有另外的工作需要做的。另外什麼工作呢？另外有一種神聖的工作，有一種偉大的工作，有一種為整個世界謀幸福的工作。我們人吃飯是為了活著而吃飯，那麼活著要為世界謀幸福，為人民謀幸福，為一般青年人謀幸福，找出路。要有功於世，有德於民，有利益於天下和整個的世界；這是我們人生的目的，這才是我們人活著的真正意義。所以這一點我先要來告訴各位，各位在青年的時候，把這一個目標認清楚了，然後才會有功於世，有德於民，有利於天下和整個世界，這是我一個很膚淺的見解。
在中國有這樣一句話說：「天下興亡，匹夫有責。」我現在把它改了，我們說：「世界興亡，青年有責；佛教興亡，青年有責。」我們這個世界，好和不好，都寄託在你們各位青年的人身上；所以你們青年人先要把這個目標看清楚了，知道人生不是單單為吃飯。吃飯只是人生的一部份，只是人生應有的一個問題；不要完全把這個希望都寄託在這吃飯上。若單單為了吃飯，那就真是一般人對出家人的看法了；變成了一個蛀米的大蟲，這樣是沒有意思！那麼你要能以為世界謀幸福，為世界人類來謀幸福，為世界一切的青年人來謀幸福；這樣這個人生真正是有意義，真正是有價值的。那麼青年人把這個目標認清楚了，以後為這個世界人來謀幸福，不會做一些個顛倒的事情，不會太自私了，不會盡為自己，能以為大眾來服務，這是應該有的。
因為現在時代和以前時代不同了，現在是科學的時代；我們人人這個腦筋都應該有這種科學的思想，不要像過去腦筋那樣陳舊。在五百年以前，你若對人說，將來會有一種飛機在天空上飛。你這麼樣說，所有的人都會認為你是發神經，你是發狂了。並且你要是在當時說五百年以後，有電話，有電視，有收音機，有錄音機，又有汽車，又有輪船，用汽油就可以自由行動；當時的人或者有幾個人會相信你這個話，但是大多數的人絕對不會相信你這樣說。
從那時代到了今天，你就不要這樣說有飛機，有輪船，有電視，有電話，有收音機，這些個物質都現出來了，你不對他講，他也會相信了。那麼我現在再和你們說一句人不相信的話：將來這個世界的發展，人人不需要坐著火箭，就可以到月球上去；不需要有電話，彼此離住家以外可以講話；不需要買電視機，在盡虛空遍法界，都有這個電視機那麼現成的，你只要想要看什麼，幾千萬哩的事情都可以看得見。可是我現在說這個話，很多人不相信；那麼你等將來這個事現出來，這些個問題實現了，那時候沒有人告訴你，你也相信了。
「莫待老來方學道，孤墳都是少年人」。各位青年的朋友，你現在懂了佛法，在就應該修行。普賢菩薩警告大眾的一首句偈說：「是日已過，命亦隨減。」他說一天過去了，這命也少一點，「如少水魚，斯有何樂」，就好像魚在水裡，那水一天比一天漸漸地少了；那樣子，你說還有什麼快樂呢？水乾了，魚就會死了！「大眾當勤精進，如救頭然。」那麼所有的人應該很勤勉的修行，就好像有人要把我們的頭割去，我們想要保護這個頭那樣子，要這麼樣著急。又好像這個頭著火，我們應該趕快想法子熄滅那個火。所以「但念無常，慎勿放逸！」你常常要想到那個無常，自己不要不守規矩。
說到這裡，我想起來古時有儒釋道三教三個老人來開一個生死的會議。有一個讀書人，大約有五十歲；有一個道士，大約有六十歲；有一個和尚，就有七十歲；三個人一起來開這生死的會議，大家就發表意見了。
那個讀書人文皺皺地，一副斯文的樣子，就說：「今年酒席筵前會，不知明年又少誰？」他說咱們今年在這酒席筵前來吃齋，到此就喝酒，各人都吃齋，不可以說吃肉！不知道明年哪一個又不在了？這個老道士就說：「你說得太遠囉！」讀書人就問他：「那你怎麼說？」這道士說：「我啊！今天脫了鞋和襪，不知明日提不提？」我今天上床的時候，把這鞋和襪子脫了，不知明天我還穿不穿？那麼生死的問題是很快的。這和尚就說：「你說得也太遠囉！你本來講得那麼長呢」道士就問和尚說：「你怎麼說的？」他說：「依我說呀，我這一口氣出去，那一口氣不知道回不回來？」
所以我說生死就在呼吸間。各位想一想，不要以為今天就不會死的，「莫待老來方學道，孤墳都是少年人」，還是方才那句話！這立墳的那個地方，都是年青的人；年青的人來到這墳裡，也沒有太太，也沒有丈夫，也沒有兒子，也沒有女，就是一個孤墳。所以我們一寸的時光，就是一寸的命光，不要那麼隨隨便便就把時光空過了！我們各自努力，各位都是未來世界的主人翁，不要把自己的責任放棄了。今天很有緣和你們各位見面，雖然言語不通，有一個翻譯，可以大家互相了解。
待續
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I don’t have any special dharma to speak to you. Even if I spoke something, it would be useless. I would like to talk about making dumplings because Dharma Master Chao-Chen suggested that we make some dumplings today. So, I’d like to tell a story about eating dumplings.
There was once a man whose wife was really good at making dumplings. He invited two guests over to his house for a meal of dumplings. Everyone enjoyed the dumplings and had their fill. Not only did they put the dumplings into their stomach but also “ate them down to the outside of the stomach.”
What is meant by “eating to the outside of the stomach”? They packed the dumplings in a bag and took them home without the host’s permission. One of the guests went home and showed the dumplings to his wife, “Take a look! Try it and see how great the dumplings taste.” The wife ate the dumplings and said, “I know how to make this, too. You should also invite some guests over. I will make dumplings for them!” Consequently, this person also had a few guests over since his wife promised to make dumplings. There were a total of four guests and each was served one dumpling. How big were the dumplings? Each dumpling was as big as a piglet! Including the wife’s share, there were five dumplings. When the dumplings were served, the husband saw them and exclaimed, “Oh, my goodness! My goodness! My goodness! How can you be so stupid; the dumplings are way too big! My friend’s wife’s dumplings were small. Why are yours so big?” His wife heard the words wrong and replied, “Biased? I am not biased! Everyone gets one dumpling!” [Note: The word for “my goodness” rhymes with the word for “biased”.] The husband sighed and said, “Oh, you! You!” The wife thought the husband meant she had no dumpling and replied, “Don’t worry about me, there is one more in the kitchen for me!” The husband exclaimed, “Alas, my destiny, my destiny!” His meaning was, why did his life turn out like this: “I have such a stupid wife!” The wife misunderstood and said, “The dumplings are hard! My dumpling was broiled; it’s even harder than yours.” [Note: The word for “destiny” rhymes with the word for “hard”.]
When we eat, we are done with the food after having had our fill. We should not pay attention to whether the food tastes delicious or not. There was an old cultivator who also wanted to eat some dumplings. He had a dialogue with himself,” O.K., you want some dumplings? I will make you some dumplings!” He used rice bran to make the dough and cilantro as the filling. After he was done, he cooked the dumplings in a steamer. While eating the dumplings, the dialogue continued, “They don’t taste good? Who told you to crave this thing? You craved it and now you think it doesn’t taste good. You will have no more dumplings in the future. I am giving you special treatment and that’s why I made dumplings for you.”
If you don’t take delight in eating and are not so arrogant, you then have some skill in overcoming your desires and disciplining yourself so that you don’t follow your cravings for food. Consequently, you will then not be attached to the forms, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch and dharmas. You must remember that an Arhat of the first stage does not cling to forms, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, or dharmas; he is not influenced by the six sense objects.
Anyone who knows that the food tastes good today has not realized the first stage of Arhatship. If you only know that the food fills your stomach and are not aware of its flavors, you have realized the first stage of Arhatship. I will certify you. If you are not at this level, I will not certify you. I will not speak too much today. Whatever food we have today, we will just eat our fill. In Gold Mountain Monastery, people eat only one meal a day. We are done when we eat our fill. We don’t pay attention to what flavors the food has.
To all great virtuous ones, elders, wise teachers and all young old friends!
Why do I address you as young old friends? It’s because you will become old someday and not stay young like this everyday. If you are young like this everyday, I will not address you as young old friends.
When people are young, they should understand that this world turns and turns – it means that we start from birth; then we grow, become mature, get old and then eventually die. Shakyamuni Buddha realized that life is meaningless because he witnessed birth, old age, sickness and death. Because of this, he resolved to renounce the crown and went to the Himalayas to cultivate the Path. I hope all of you young people will make a great vow to serve the world and Buddhism in the future. What I have expounded to you today is Buddhism for youth. Do we eat to live? Or do we live to eat? These are my two questions. Please answer me; then I will say more later...
This great virtuous one had the same opinions as I. Therefore, I don’t need to repeat them. This Dharma Master spoke to you with such great energy. So, I can talk in a lower voice to save some energy. This is what this Dharma Master helped me with.
No one understands very clearly the issue of whether we eat to live or live to eat. Due to a lack of clear understanding, people engage in many deluded activities. If we clearly recognize this issue, we will no longer be confused and deluded in anything we do. This question can be answered easily: people eat to live. If you don’t eat, you will not live. The purpose of living is not simply to eat.
Living to eat is considered very lowly according to this Dharma Master and many other people. The view that we live in order to eat is wrong. It is true that we live to eat; but we also have other work to do. What work is that? We have a great and holy assignment, which is to benefit the entire world. We people eat to live and at the same time, we live to bring benefit to others in the world. We seek to benefit our youth so that they have good jobs and goals. We must create merit for the world, be virtuous towards people, and benefit the entire world. This is the goal for our lives; it is the genuine meaning of our lives. I must tell each of you about this point first. Every one of you young people should clearly recognize your own goal, and then you can create merit, be virtuous towards people, and benefit the whole world. This is my shallow opinion and viewpoint.
We have a saying in Chinese that goes, “the rise and decline of a country is every man’s responsibility.” I would like to change it so that it reads, “the rise and decline of the world is every youth’s responsibility; and the flourishing and decay of Buddhism is the obligation and responsibility of every young person.” Every young person here is entrusted with the responsibility for everything good and bad in this world. All of you young people should see your goals clearly so that we do not just live to eat. Eating is only one part of life and one issue we ought to deal with. However, we ought not to project all of our hopes in life onto eating only. Ordinary people may think that monastics’ sole purpose of life is eating and that they are parasites of society, which is basically a meaningless life. If you can really benefit the world, the human race and all the youth in the world, then life contains genuine meaning and value. Young people should recognize this goal very clearly so that they will not do deluded things. You will not be selfish or self-absorbed. Instead, you will feel obligated to serve the public.
Times have changed. We are in the scientific era where everyone has scientific knowledge, which is not the old-fashioned thinking of the past. If you told people five hundred years that in the future there would be airplanes flying in the sky, everyone would have thought you insane. If you further stated that there would be telephones, television, radio, recorders, and cars and ships powered by gasoline, a few people might have believed you, but certainly the vast majority would not have.
In the present day, even if you don’t declare that we have ships, television, radio and so on, these things are all visible and people will believe this fact. I now want to tell you something that people will not believe.
In the future when the world is more developed, people will be able to travel to the moon without a rocket. People will be able to communicate outside of their houses without telephones. In addition, we will have omnipresent television throughout space in the Dharma Realm; so it will not be necessary to purchase a television, either. Whatever you wish to watch, even from tens of thousands miles away, you will be able to see it. Many people do not believe what I am saying right now. When this fact manifests in the future, you will believe it even if no one tells you to.
“Don’t wait until you’re old to cultivate the Path. The solitary graves are filled with young people.” My young friends, now that you have now learned the Buddhadharma, you should proceed to cultivate. The Verse of Exhortation from Universal Worthy Bodhisattva says, “This day is already done. Our lives are that much less.” He meant that a day has gone by and our life has decreased that much. “We are like fish in an ever-shinking pond; what joy is there in this?” Just like fish in water which is evaporating day by day, what happiness can we feel? When the water dries up, the fish will die! “Great Assembly! We should be diligent and vigorous, as if our own heads were at stake.” We should all cultivate industriously as if we are protecting our heads from being cut off. We should also worry about saving our heads as if they were on fire. We should quickly extinguish the fire. Hence, “Only be mindful of impermanence and be careful not to be lax.” You should always be mindful of impermanence and do not disregard the rules.
Speaking of this, I remember that in the past, there were three elders of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. They had a meeting about birth and death. There was a scholar about fifty years old; a Taoist practitioner about sixty years old; a monk about seventy years old. They gathered in a meeting to discuss the issue of birth and death. Everyone expressed his opinion.
The scholar being really genteel said, “We meet at this year’s banquet; who knows who will be missing next year?” They had all gathered to have a vegetarian feast and drink wine. Everyone ate vegetarian food and did not mention anything about eating meat. It was not sure who would die next year. The old Taoist practitioner said, “When I take off my shoes and socks today, who knows if I’ll be around to put them on tomorrow.” When I go to sleep tonight, I take off the shoes and socks. I don’t know if I will live to wear them tomorrow or not, implying that birth and death comes quickly. The monk then said, “What you said is simply too far in the future. The time frame you mention is too long.” “How would you put it then?” the Taoist replied. “As for me, when I exhale this breath, I am not sure if I can inhale another one.”
Therefore, I say that birth and death is in between breaths. We should think about it. Don’t assume that you will not die today. “Don’t wait until you’re old to cultivate the Path. The solitary graves are filled with young people.” I am repeating what I just said. The solitary tombs are those of young people, who do not have wives, husband, sons and daughters. Therefore, an instant of time is an instant of life. Don’t let the time pass by in vain. You should work hard since the future belongs to you. Do not forsake your responsibilities. I now have the affinity to meet all of you. Despite the language barrier, through translation, I hope we can understand each other.
To be continued
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