Month: December 2023

一七八　有　省

有囘，弟子們聚在一起討論讀書的利益，有些人認為這是浪費時間，有些人則難以苟同。

於是他們請教大師，他說：「你曾否讀過一本書，列在正文下面的小字註解，有時也如正文一般激發讀者不少靈感？」

弟子們頷首同意。

大師接着說：「生活就好比那正文。」

DISCLOSURE

The discussion among the disciples once centred on the usefulness of reading. Some
thought it was a waste of time, others disagreed.

When the Master was appealed to, he said. “Have you ever read one of those texts in
which the notes scrawled in the margin by a reader prove to be as illuminating as the text
itself?”

The disciples nodded in agreement.

“Life.” said the Master, “is one such text,”

一七七　名　相

大師對時髦的新發明，童心未泯地好奇不已。當他看到一個可以放入口袋的迷你計算機，情不自禁地讚嘆一番。

過後，他說出相當中肯的一句話：「好像許多人的口袋裏都有這個迷你計算機，可是口袋裏却沒有多少錢值得計算。」

一週之後，有位訪客來請教授徒之道。他說：「讓他們分清本末。最好是先攢足夠的錢，然後才計數它；最好是先有具體的經驗，再去設立名相解說。」

DEFINITIONS

The Master had a childlike fascination for modern inventions. He could not get over
his amazement at the pocket calculator when he saw one.

Later he said, good-naturedly. “A lot of people seem to have those little pocket
calculators, but nothing in their pockets worth calculating!”

Weeks later when a visitor asked him what he taught his disciples, he said, “To get
their priorities right: better have the money than calculate it: better have the experience
than define it.”

 

一七六　欲振乏力

當大師收納某些人為弟子而拒絕其他人時，弟子們始終不能明白他那幾近專橫的態度。

直到有一天，他們聽見大師說：「不要企圖教一隻豬唱歌，這不僅是浪費時間，還會激怒了那隻豬。」弟子們才若有所悟。

FRUSTRATION

The disciples could not understand the seemingly arbitrary manner in which some
people were accepted for discipleship and others were rejected.

They got a clue one day when they heard the Master say. “Don‘t attempt to teach a pig
to sing. It wastes your time. And irritates the pig-”

一七五　壓　力

大師常是隨着個人成長的步調，任其自然發展，他從不在旁催迫。他曾說過這樣的比喻：

有個人看見一隻蝴蝶正在破繭而出，他捺不住性子，所以輕輕地向繭吹氣，這股暖氣確實加速了出繭的過程，可是出來的不是蝴蝶，而是有一雙零亂翅膀的怪蛾。」

大師總結一句：「我們不應為別人催生，否則我們會造成流產的悲劇。」

OPPRESSION

The Master always left you to grow at your own pace. He was never known to “push”.
He explained this with the following parable:

A man once saw a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon, too slowly for his
taste, so he began to blow on it gently. The warmth of his breath speeded up the process
all right. But what emerged was not a butterfly but a creature with mangled wings.

“In growth.” the Master concluded, “you cannot speed the process up. All you can do
is abort it.”

一七四　致命傷

大師以他的德高望重，對宗教却抱着隱隱的敵意。這常使弟子們困惑不已，他們一向把宗教及靈修視為一事。

「當前的宗教所強調的，不外是懲罰與賞報，令人滋生起畏懼與貪慾之心。而這兩樣東西正是靈修的致命傷。」

他接着感傷地說：「這簡直是火上加油，為虎作倀。」

DESTRUCTION

For all his holiness, the Master seemed vaguely opposed to religion. This never ceased
to puzzle the disciples who unlike the Master, equated religion with spirituality.

“Religion as practised today deals in punishments and rewards. In other words, it
breeds fear and greed — the two things most destructive of spirituality.”

Later he added ruefully. “It is like tackling a flood with water: or a burning barn with
fire.”

一七三　老　化

「天哪，你變得這麼老了！」大師和他少年時的朋友聊了一陣後，禁不住如此嘆息。

「誰也無法避免變老啊，不是嗎？」他的朋友自嘲一番。

「是的，誰也避免不了。」大師同意他的話：「但人必須避免老化！」

INFLEXIBILITY

“Heavens, how you’ve aged!” exclaimed the Master after speaking with a boyhood
friend.

“One cannot help growing old can one?” said the friend.

“No, one cannot,” agreed the Master, “but one must avoid becoming aged.”

一七二　無字天書

大師聲稱他有一本書，記載着人們想要知道有關天主的一切。

從沒有人見過這書，直到有位學者來訪，禁不住他的苦苦哀求，終於從大師那兒掙得此書。他帶囘去迫不及待地翻開，却發現每一頁都是空白的。

「這書根本沒說什麼嘛！」學者極其失望。

「我知道，」大師心平氣和地說：「仔細看看它所暗示的何等豐富！」

INSINUATION

The Master claimed he had a book that contained everything one could conceivably
know about God.

No one had ever seen the book till a visiting scholar, by dint of persistent entreaty,
wrested it from the Master. He took it home and eagerly opened it — only to find that
every one of its pages was blank.

“But the book says nothing.” wailed the scholar.

“I know,” said the Master contentedly. “But see how much it indicates!”

一七一　天　職

大師雖樂於看到科技的進步，却也清楚意識到它的限度。

當一位企業家問起他的職業，他答道：「我從事人類企業。」

「那算什麼企業？」企業家問。

「就以你為例，」大師說：「你致力於製造優良產品，我致力於生產優良人類。」

後來大師告訴弟子：「生活的意義就是造就人類。可是現代人好像只關心改良產品。」

PRECEDENCE

The Master welcomed the advances of technology but was keenly aware of its
limitations.

When an industrialist asked him what his occupation was, he replied, “I’m in the
people industry.”

“And what, pray, would that be?” said the industrialist.

“Take yourself,” said the Master. “Your efforts produce better things; mine better
people.”

To his disciples he later said. “The aim of life is the flowering of persons. Nowadays
people seem concerned mostly with the perfection of things.”

一七０　揭　示

有天，大師問弟子：「天主存在嗎？」
「存在。」弟子異口同聲答道。
「錯！」大師說。
「不存在。」弟子立刻改口。
「也錯。」大師說。
「什麼才是正確答案？」弟子問。
「沒有答案。」
「為什麼？」
「因為沒有問題。」大師說。

事後，大師解釋：「如果超越言詞及槪念的那位，根本「不可說」，你如何能夠提出任何問題？」

DEMONSTRATION

“Does God exist?” said the Master one day. “Yes.” said the disciples in chorus.
“Wrong.” said the Master. “No,” said the disciples. “Wrong again.” said the Master.
“What’s the answer?” asked the disciples. “There is no answer. “ “Why ever not?”

“Because there is no question.” said the Master.

Later he explained: “If you cannot say anything about Him who is beyond thoughts
and words, how can you ask anything about him?”

一六八　差　距

一座「趣味公園」的園主向大師敘述他矛盾的處境：當孩子們在他的公園內開懷作樂時，他常感到憂悶不堪。
「你寧願擁有公園呢，還是擁有樂趣？」大師問。
「兩樣都要。」

大師無言以對。
事後有人問起此事，大師引用一位浪子對地主所講的一番話：「你擁有土地所有權，他人却享有大地。」