Inspriration from all walks of life
九七 妄 见
「世事本无好坏，是我们的思想作此分别。」大师说。
弟子们要求进一步的解释。大师说：「一个人可以虔诚喜悦地守斋七天；若换了他的邻人吃同样的食物，就会饿得半死。」
PREJUDICE
“Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so.” the Master said.
When asked to explain he said. “A man cheerfully observed a religious fast seven days
a week. His neighbour starved to death on the same diet.”
九六 真 实
大师从不重视证书跟文凭，他对人，只是审视，却不评断。
他曾说过：「只要你有耳朶，就可以听见鸟儿的歌唱，用不着去检定鸟儿的资格问题。」
AUTHENTICITY
The Master was never impressed by diplomas or degrees. He scrutinized the person,
not the certificate.
He was once heard to say, “When you have ears to hear a bird in song, you don’t need
to look at its credentials.”
九五 免 疫
许多人感到奇怪，大师似乎并不太热中于培育青年的宗教素养。
他们探问其因，大师说：「当人还年轻时，你就为他们注射各种抗生素免疫，使得他们在成长过程中体验不到真实的世界。」
IMMUNIZATION
To everyone’s surprise the Master seemed unenthusiastic about religious education for
the young.
When asked why he said, “inoculated them when they are young and you prevent
them from catching the real thing when they grow up.”
九四 自 立
大师似乎从不在意别人对他的看法。弟子想要知道获得这种内心自由的方法。大师大笑地说：「二十岁以前，我从不在乎别人怎么看我；二十岁以后，我总是忧虑我的亲朋好友会作何想；五十多岁以后，有一天我突然发现，他们根本很少想到我。」
AUTONOMY
The Master seemed quite impervious to what people thought of him. When the
disciples asked how he had attained this stage of inner freedom, he laughed aloud and
said. “Till I was twenty I did not care what people thought of me. After twenty I worried
endlessly about what my neighbours thought. Then one day after fifty I suddenly saw that
they hardly ever thought of meat all!”
九三 慧 见
弟子们都在热烈讨论人类痛苦的原因。
有些人主张痛苦来自私欲，有些则主张来自妄念，另一部分人认为它是由于人类无法分辨真实与虚妄。
他们来到大师跟前请益。大师说：「所有的痛苦都是因为人没有办法静静地独自坐在那里。」
INSIGHT
The disciples were involved in a heated discussion on the cause of human suffering.
Some said it came from selfishness. Others, from delusion. Yet others, from the
inability to distinguish the real from the unreal.
When the Master was consulted he said, “All suffering comes from a person's
inability to sit still and be alone.”
九二 领 悟
大师愈来愈衰老了，弟子们恳求他不要舍弃他们。大师说：「如果我不走，你们怎能看得见？」
「当您同我们在一起时，什么因素遮住了我们的眼睛？」他们问。
然而大师一言不发。
当他的死期近了。他们又问：「你走了以后，我们会看见什么？」
大师眼中闪烁着光辉：「我以前都是坐在河边为你们汲水；我走后，你们才会看到那条河本身。」
RECOGNITION
As the Master grew old and infirm the disciples begged him not to die. Said the
Master, “If I did not go how you would ever see?”
“What is it we fail to see when you are with us?” they asked.
But the Master would not say.
When the moment of his death was near they said, “What is it we will see when you
are gone?”
With a twinkle in his eye the Master said, “All I did was sit on the river bank handing
out river water. After I’m gone I trust you will notice the river.”
九一 改 变
一位历史学家来访，他存心来找大师辩论。
「我们的努力将改变人类的历史，不是吗？」他如此质询。
「是的。」大师说。
「人为的努力已改变了我们的地球，不是吗？」
「不错！」大师说。
「那么你为什么还说：人为的努力无法挽囘大局？」
大师说：「因为，风纵然停止了，树叶还是照常落下。」
CHANGE
The visiting historian was disposed to be argumentative.
“Do not our efforts change the course of human history?” he demanded.
“Oh yes, they do.” said the Master.
“And have not our human labours changed the earth?”
“They certainly have.” said the Master.
“Then why do you teach that human effort is of little consequence?”
Said the Master, “Because when the wind subsides, the leaves still fall.”
九０ 分 离
大师的言论常常不得政府的欢心，终于他被驱逐出境了。
弟子们问他是否会染上乡愁。大师说：「不会。」
「一个人如果不知怀鄕，是违反人性的。」他们如此反驳。 于是大师说：「如果你真能以天下为家，你就永远不会沦落到放逐的厄运
SEPARATION
The Master’s teachings did not find favour with the Government that had him
banished from his country.
To disciples who asked if he never felt nostalgia the Master said. “No.”
“But it is inhuman not to miss one’s home,” they protested.
To which the Master said. “You cease to be an exile when you discover that creation is
your home.”
八九 透 视
大师心境总是欢欣愉悦，弟子们不禁怀疑：难道他从未失意过？于是他们问。
是的，他也有失意的时候。
可是弟子们深信大师确实常处于一种永恒的快乐中。
这也是真的。
他们想要知道其中的秘诀。
大师说：「这就是秘诀：事情的好坏全凭你对它的看法。」
PERSPECTIVE
The Master was in a mellow mood and the disciples were inquisitive. Did he ever feel
depressed, they asked.
He did.
Wasn’t it also true that he was in a continual state of happiness, they persisted.
It was.
What was the secret, they wanted to know.
Said the Master, “This: everything is as good or as bad as one ‘ s opinion makes it. “
八八 造化之工
大师常被人们视为改革派，避免引起政府的敌视。
有人问他，为什么不干脆积极参加社会革命，他以一首诗的格言答复：
「静坐无所事，
春来草自青。」
CREATION
The Master was known to side with the revolutionaries even at the risk of incurring the
displeasure of the government.
When someone asked him why he himself did not actively plunge into social
revolution he replied with this enigmatic proverb:
“Sitting quietly doing nothing. Spring comes and the grass grows.”