Life - A Dream

人生•一场梦

Dharma talk by Heng Yuen ITI, March 20 1994

文•恒缘 讲于译经院 一九九四年三月二十日

We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to study the Medicine Master Buddha Sutra. Through the profound compassion, virtue, and vows of Medicine Master Buddha, we have received the great blessing of this Dharma door. By reciting Medicine Master Buddha's name, reading the Sutra, or making offerings to him, we are able to avoid various kinds of hardships and disasters.

我们很幸运的有这个机会来研究药师经。经由药师佛深切的悲心、德行、和愿力，我们可从这个法门而得到加被。借着念诵药师佛名、药师经，或供养药师佛，我们也得以避免各种的困厄与灾难。

Of course, we should only seek the Buddha's help in times of real difficulties, and not when we can solve the problems ourselves. But, we should definitely not call for help just to test the Dharma door. If we test, then the Buddha knows we lack faith and that would be insulting the Buddha. I remember a friend who is a devout Christian.  He told me that he would call for God to help whenever he had difficulties. Even when he couldn't find a missing screw while doing some carpentry at home, he would call for God's help.

当然，我们是在遇到真正的困难，非自己能解决时，才寻求佛的帮助；但是我们求佛帮助，绝不是只为了要试这个法门。若只试一试，那么佛知道我们不具信心，而这也是侮辱了佛。记得我有一个朋友，他是很虔诚的基督徒。他告诉我，只要他有任何困难，他就求助于上帝。就算是在家里做木工时掉了一个螺丝钉，他也会求上帝的帮助。

Calamities such as floods hurricanes, and wars are caused by our collective karma, but the degree to which individuals suffer from these events depends on their individual karma. Natural calamities, wars, and riots occur because, collectively, we have in the past sowed the seeds for them to happen. That is, we have created bad karma and then, consequently, receive the effects. When such problems are beyond our individual control, we could try to seek help from Medicine Master Buddha.

所有灾难，如水灾、飓风、和战争，都是由共业所造成的。但是其中每个人所受的痛苦，又因个人的别业而异。不论是天灾或战争还是暴乱的发生，都是因为在过去，我们种下了共同的种子；也就是我们造了的恶业，因此就要受果报。所以当这些问题，不是我们个人能控制时，我们可以试着求助于药师佛。

As Buddhists, we have quite a few Dharma doors (that is, expedient means) to help us in times of danger or hardships. For example, we also have Guanyin Bodhisattva, Earth Store Bodhisattva, Amitabha Buddha, and many others. But some Buddhists are content just having these Bodhisattvas around to help them. They just go around doing all kinds of crazy things, breaking precepts, harming others and creating bad karma, and then seeking help from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas when confronted with the effects of the bad karma they have created.

做一个佛教徒，在我们有危险和困厄时，有很多方便的法门可以帮助我们。例如我们有观音菩萨、地藏菩萨、阿弥陀佛等等。但是有些佛教徒，就很满意这些菩萨在周围，等着帮助他们。他们呢，却四处胡作非为，或是破了戒，或是去伤害其他人，造恶业。然后当要受恶业果报时，又去寻求佛菩萨的帮助。

This present human life of ours is very short. We run off in all directions, doing stupid things. At the last moment, just when we are about to die, we might realize that we have done nothing to justify having lived this human life. From the time we are born to the time we die, we are always seeking. Whether or not we have obtained it, is of no significance - we have just wasted our time in this life. we cannot take wealth or fame, or achievements with us.

人现有的生命是很短的。我们四处奔波，做些愚痴的事；到最后，要死的时候，才了解到，我们这一生没做什么正经的事。从生到死，我们一直在追求。然而，不管有没有得到，这并不是要紧的；我们只是浪费了这一生的时光。财富、名誉、地位，我们都带不走，只有业随身。结果这一生，只剩一场梦。

We spend our lives doing many things that give only temporary satisfaction, and which later become meaningless and boring . We look at things, we exchange views, we get momentarily infatuated with things and become contented. Gradually, we get tired of these passing events. Things turn sour and we get remorseful and restless.

我们耗尽一生，做了许多的事，也都只得到暂时的满足。之后，又觉得没意义、厌倦了。我们看事情、交换看法、暂时的迷恋和满足。渐渐地，我们又厌倦了这些过去事。事情变得令人厌恶，自己又觉得后悔不安。

In their lifetime, what are people chasing after? Nothing but desire. Some pursue the desire for leadership, some for wealth, some for sex, others pursue the desire for fame, recognition, and benefits, and so on. These pursuits appear different, but, in reality, they are the same things.

人们一生中，所汲汲追求的是什么呢？没有别的，就是欲望。有的人就追求领导欲，有的财欲，有的色欲。其他的人呢，追求名誉、认同、和利益等等。看似不同，但事实上，是一样的。

Many people are afraid to stop running. They are afraid to look inside and face themselves, so they create activities of all kinds to keep themselves busy. People think that a good life should be cramped with lots of action, thrills, and material things. But that is actually falling far away from the Path.

许多人对停止向外驰求，感觉害怕；他们害怕反观内在、面对自己。所以他们找各种的事情让自己忙碌。人们认为一个好的人生，就是由很多的行为活动、刺激的事情、和物质所紧紧的圈着。但实际上，那却是远远与道相背。

I'll use an example. I used to be a personnel officer and there was another personnel officer called Eve. Being personnel officers, we get to know more about the employees than most others. As the weekends approached, Eve would walk to every employee asking them what they planned to do on the weekends. This kind of casual conversation would start as early as Wednesday, and was actually stealing company's productive time. Then, after the weekend was over, Eve would again go around talking to the staff about what they did on the weekend, and this would carry on from Monday to Tuesday. Again wasting time on idle conversation.

举个例子：我曾经在人事部门工作，室里另一位同事叫依芙，我们同为人事部的主管。因此我们必须比其他人更了解所有的职员。当周末近了，依芙会去问每一位职员，周末计划要做什么？这种闲谈，从早早的礼拜三就开始，而实际上是暂用了公司的生产时间。然后在周末结束之后，依芙又再一次各处找员工谈，聊他们周末都做些什么？这又从礼拜一持续到礼拜二，再一次浪费时间于无意义的对话中。

I overheard lots of this kind of conversation and came to the conclusion that most people find their lives empty and meaningless, and so they create lots of activities just to "kill time". They dare not sit still because it is too scary to face the emptiness inside; they are afraid of themselves and of the reality of their life.

这种交谈，我也已经做的太多了。结论是，大部分的人，觉得他们的生活是空虚而无意义。因此他们找来很多的活动，「杀时间」。他们不敢静静的坐下来，因为空虚的内在，是令人恐惧，而不愿意面对的。他们害怕自己，也害怕生命的事实。

Eve very often would talk of things that she and her family did, just to justify to themselves that they lived satisfactorily. People acquire material things to feel they have lived well; look for fun and thrills; look for lots of action, and so on. In doing so, they are only feeding their six sense organs, and this goes on and on. When they cannot physically find satisfaction, they take drugs to imagine it. The grasping gets stronger. Greed for all these ways to satisfy the sense organs grows stronger day by day. At the same time, hatred and disenchantment with things, people, and events also grows every minute.

依芙常常会谈些她与家人做的事情，来证明他们活得很满意。人们觉得拥有了物质就是活得好；找乐子和找刺激，要求于大量活动等等。这样做，只是喂饱了他们的六根门头，而这会不停的继续下去。当他们不满足时，他们就用药物来满足幻想。在获取的欲望越强烈时，满足六根的贪欲也就会一天比一天炽盛。同时，对人、事、物的瞋恨和乏味，也分秒地随之增加。

Is life meant only for pursuing these meaningless things? No! Our sole purpose on earth is to wake up from this dream we are in. This is a dream because we have forgotten about the past. The things we do today will become just a dream tomorrow - sometines a vague dream and sometimes even forgotten. We can't foresee the future. We can't make the present stay. We don't even have a grasp on any of these things. There is nothing in this world that is ultimately ours.

人生的意义，只在追求这些无意义的事情吗？当然不是！我们在这个世界上唯一的目的，是从我们所在的梦中醒来。这是一场梦，因为过去的，我们已经忘了。我们今天所做的事，也将变成明日的一场梦；有时变得模糊，有时甚或遗忘。我们无法预测未来，也无法留住现在，我们甚至不能片刻拥有这一切。在这个世界上，没有一样东西永远是我们的。

Even our body doesn't belong to us. If it really belonged to you then you would be able to control it, to make it the way you want. As we grow older each day, our eyes turn bad, our hearing turns bad, our teeth fall out. We may put on reading glasses, wear hearing aids, or use dentures,but then, that is depending on external resources,i.e. external    conditions. None of these belong to us.

就连我们的身体也不属于我们。假如身体真属于你的，那你应该能控制它，并且能随心所欲。随着一天天老去，我们的眼睛坏了，耳朵聋了，牙也掉了。你或许可以带上眼镜、助听器、或假牙；但是这些都是靠着外面的来源，外在的条件，没有一样是属于我们的。

If this body really belonged to us, then we should be able to tell it not to get sick or the head not to ache. But we have no control over this body of ours. The body is just made up of the four elements; earth, water, heat, and air. The body is not real. So, It is not worth our entire life doing crazy things, running in all directions for those temporary pleasures. If we drop all those attachments, wake up from the dream, and take control of our life, then we will have put some meaning into our life. The highest purpose of this life is to wake up from this dream, and stop all future dreams.

假如这个身体真正属于我们的，那么我们应该可以叫它不生病，或不头痛。但是我们无法操纵我们的身体。这身体只是地水火风的四大假合，不是真的。所以尽其一生，去做疯狂的事，四处找短暂的欢乐，这是不值得的。如果我们放下这一切的执着，从梦中醒来，自主我们的生活，那么我们的生命才有意义。而此生最高的目的，就是从这个梦中觉醒，更不再作梦。

Our long-term purpose should be to earnestly cultivate, and stop creating bad karma so that we don't need to seek external help. Look within, the potential Buddha is within you.

我们长远的目标，应是精进修行，和不再造恶业；这样，我们就不需要寻求外在的帮忙了。反观自照，未来佛就在你内里。