A practitioner of the Buddhism (?) once said to Buddha, Family/friends in this life are like people checking in at the same hotel, staying together for a while, and not seeing each other for many lives. And this is so sad. The Buddha said this is a wealth, a noble wealth. Sadness towards the existence is an amazing wealth. It generates the renunciation.
有一位修行人曾经对佛陀说,这一世的家人和朋友,就如同在同一家旅店住宿的旅客。短暂的相聚之后,是长久的很多世的分离。这是多么地令人悲哀啊。佛陀说,这是财富,非常宝贵的财富啊。对于我们的存在而产生的悲哀是了不起的财富啊,它让我们产生出离心。让我们想出离轮回的苦。
On the Path 道路
Renunciation is individual, it is not uniform. It is a very individual path. "Not disturb others, not cheat/deceive yourself"-Vinaya monk's saying.
出离,亦因人而异。“不要干扰别人的心,也不要欺骗自己的心”。
Again, What is Luck? 那么,到底什么是幸运?
There are two types of luck, namely, spiritual luck and material luck. It is what you value that determines what luck is. We have learned to measure a lot of things by it material value. Most of the education is taught by our culture and tradition, most importantly, by our habit, which stems from insecurity.
幸运有两种,物质上的幸运和灵性上的幸运。归根到底,幸运是什么取决于我们的价值观。我们学会用物质来衡量很多事情。我们所受的教育从我们的文化和传统中来,更重要的是,从我们的的积习中来。而我们的积习,源自我们的不安全感。
Even though some of us intellectually understand the weakness of our value, but the habit is so strong that we cannot overcome/change it. The world in general, and the material world in specific, has different ways of valuing things. The way we value good/bad, rich/poor is all measured by money which is designed in the system. The system is design in such a way that we work so hard to earn the money, and there are all sorts of mechanism that induces us to spend the money we earn. If you are brave enough, you can still get out of this cycle of materialized world.
尽管我们中的一些人在知识的层面理解我们自身的价值系统有问题。然而我们身上的积习是如此地深重以至于我们无法改变它。这个世界,尤其是物质世界,有很多衡量价值的体系。我们往往用钱来衡量好坏和对错。而钱,正是这个系统本身的产物。在这个系统中,我们努力挣钱,而系统又设计出种种诱使我们花钱的渠道。于是,在这个系统中,我们挣钱,花钱,如此循环往复。如果我们足够勇敢,我们是可以跳出物质世界的这个圈子的。
There is one thread that connects the mind and the body. There are several threads that connect the body and the different needs of the body such as shelters, food, table and phone. There are more threads connect to these needs and a lot of other things. And it goes on and on. Among many of these, they are thorns that you do not want. After walking in the bush, there are thorns attached to our sock. And we have to spend a lot of time taking away the thorns from our socks. Similarly, in life, a big trunk of our time spends on taking away the thorns from our socks. Some of them are so hard to take off and we spend money on getting tweezers to get rid of them. Most of them do not work. Even if they work, they are the baggage we have to carry.
心和身体之间,有一个连线。而身体和那些身体所需要的东西(譬如住所,食物,电话等等)之间又有一些连线。而又有一些更多的连线,连着这些东西,和更多的别的东西。而很多这些东西都是我们不需要的。譬如我们在丛林里行走,我们的袜子上会沾上好多小刺让我们不得不花很多时间把它们从袜子上给拔掉。同样的,我们的生命中很大一部分时间都是花在拔掉袜子上的小刺上的。有些刺是如此地难以去除,让我们不得不花大价钱买专门的镊子来拔出它。而很多时候,这些镊子根本就不管用。即使它们能帮到我们,它们也是我们路途中的负累。
Luck, comes down to what it is that we value. As a Buddhist, we value spiritual luck.
幸运与否,归根到底,关乎我们看重的是什么。作为佛教徒,我们追寻的是灵性上的幸运。
Spiritual Luck and Material Luck, Are They Contradictory?
灵性上的幸运和物质上的幸运是否矛盾?
Some of the people have material luck. They are worried about embarking on a spiritual journey because they do not want to give up the material luck. Some thinks they will do it later in their life when they are satisfied with the material realization without realizing that the later part of their life may not come.
有的人很有物质上的幸运。因为不愿放弃物质上的幸运,他们对于走上灵修的道路心存有疑虑。有的人打算等以后,等他们终于在物质上达到了满足以后再走上灵修之路。可是,谁又能知道他们还有没有这个以后呢?
If a spiritual journey tries to compromise, it is not a spiritual journey. So for those of us who are living in the worldly life, are we deprived of spiritual luck? Not necessarily. Although spiritual luck and material luck are contradictory, but you have no choice at the moment but to pursue the spiritual journey while having material luck. That is the only way.
如果灵性的旅程是可以妥协的话,那个这个旅程便也不能称之为灵性旅程了。那么,我们这些在红尘中有无数牵绊的众生,就无缘拥有灵性上的幸运了吗?也不尽然。尽管灵性幸运和物质幸运有矛盾。但是此刻,我们别无选择。我们只能在拥有物质幸运的同时走上灵修的道路。
We do prayers that involves seeming worldly (live long, healthy, and wealthy). We aspire to live long so that this longevity is the condition to pursue/strengthen the spiritual journey. We use our motivation to turn our material journey into something spiritual.
我们的祈愿也可以是物质层面的(长寿,健康,财富等等)。祈愿的同时,可以发愿将我们的物质上的幸运为灵性幸运所用。比如祈愿长寿的同时,我们发愿长寿是为了更好地灵性修行。
The contradictory of spiritual and material is demonstrated as follows. The aspiration of spiritual can actually be achieved. The aspiration of material (rich, longevity, etc.) will never be achieved. People who are pursuing materialism will never be satisfied, and think, say, now I am the richest.
灵性和物质幸运的矛盾之处在于,在灵性层面的发愿确实可以实现。而物质方面的发愿却永远不会实现。追逐物质生活的人永远不会满足于当下拥有的。
Giving 布施
When we give, we think that by doing that, we will get more in our next life or later. That is one way of understanding it. However, there is another way of understanding it. The definition of richness is thinking that you possess something. The definition of poverty is such that you want and need, and that you don't have something. Performing the act of giving, you are already experiencing having something that you are giving. So you already you are rich. The generosity already makes you and others happy.
当我们布施的时候,我们或许会想,通过布施会让我们在下一世得到更多。这是一种理解。事实上,还有另外一种理解。富足的定义是认为我们拥有。而贫穷的定义是认为我们没有,我们想要或者需要得到。布施的时候,我们已经在体验拥有-拥有这样我们正在布施的东西。此时,我们已经富足。慷慨令己令人都快乐。
How to Accumulate Luck 如何积累幸运
Are you destined to have such luck? How to get rid of the obstacles of this luck and how to make the luck indestructible? 我们注定有这样的幸运吗?如何去除幸运的违缘,和让幸运不减呢?
According to Buddhism, there is no such thing as unlucky person. The luck/merit is innate. It is there all the time. It needs to shine, to come out. Every being has the potential. No one has less than others, every one is the same.
佛法说,没有人是不幸运的。幸运和福德与生俱来。它一直都在那儿,只是需要被发现。每个人都有这样的潜质。没有人的幸运比别人更多或者更少,所有的人都是一样的。
The practice of Buddhism is not to get something that you don't have. It is to actualize, realize, and discover what you already have. The full realization/discovery of what you innately have is called enlightenment. This makes the Buddhist path different from other path. Everybody is by nature Buddha. What they need is to discover this. The enlightenment state is the ultimate luck/merit. The understanding and trust of this is the base of all the luck.
修行不是让我们得到我们所没有的,而是为了让我们实现,发掘出我们自性拥有的。自性的完全实现,便是开悟。这便是佛法的道路和其他道路的不同之处。每一个人都有具足佛性。我们要做的只是发掘它。开悟便是终极的幸运和福德。而对这一点的理解和信任,便是所有幸运的基础。
Luck and Confidence 幸运和自信
Luck and confidence helps each other. The more confident people are luckier. Similarly, luckier people are more confident.
幸运和自信相辅相成。越自信的人越幸运。同样的,越幸运的人越自信。
Confidence is based on knowing the truth. Apart from the Buddha nature, for all the other references we have (being beautiful intelligent, powerful, etc.), we are not sure. Things change at every second. Confidence built on things such as a Rolex watch is not sustainable.
自信源自对真相的认识。除去我们的与生俱来的佛性之外,我们对于其他的任何参照物(美丽,聪明,权利等等)都没有全然的把握。事物无时无刻不在变化,建立在诸如劳力士手表等等之上的自信都是无法长久的。