世界的問題 Problems of the World

Problems of the World

　　世界的問題

Many people, particularly educated, professional people, are moving out of the big cities, seeking quieter living and simpler livelihood in the small towns and rural areas. This is natural. If you grab a handful of mud and squeeze it, it will ooze through your fingers. People under pressure likewise seek a way out.

　　有許多人，特別是知識分子與專業人才，都從大都市里搬離出來，到郊區及小鎮去尋找較平靜、較單純的生活。這是很自然的!如果你手里握滿一把泥土並用力捏擠，它必會從你指縫中慘出去。人們在壓力之下，同樣會尋找一條出離之道。

People ask me about the problems of our world, about a corning apocalypse. I ask, what does it mean to be worldly? What is the world? You do not know? This very unknowing, this very darkness, this very place of ignorance, is what is meant by worldly. Caught in the six senses, our knowledge develops as a part of this darkness. To come to an answer to the problems of the world, we must know its nature completely and realize the wisdom that shines above the darkness of the world.

　　有人問我關于我們這世界的問題，及對世界末日。我問所謂的世俗是什麼？什麼是世間?你不知道?這個非常無知、非常黑暗、非常愚痴的地方，就是所謂的世間。在六根的束縛之下，我們的知識發展成了這黑暗的一部份。要找到世間問題的答案，我們必須得完全認識它的本然，並且領悟照耀在世間黑暗之上的智慧。

These days, it seems that our culture is deteriorating, lost in greed, hatred, and delusion. But the culture of the Buddha never changes, never diminishes. It says, “Do not lie to others or to ourselves. Do not steal from others or from ourselves.” Worldly culture has desire as its director and guide. The culture of the Buddha has compassion and Dharma, or truth, as its guide.

　　這些日子以來，我們的文化，似乎正在墮落，迷失在貪、嗔、痴之中。可是佛陀的文化永不改變、永不減少，他說：「不要欺騙別人或欺騙我們自己，不要偷竊引人的，或偷竊自己的。」世間的文化是以欲望作為它的向導；而佛陀的文化則是以慈悲，「法」──真理，作為它的導引。