聖伯鐸廣場

一０一　無　我

一位富裕的企業家問大師：「你會如何發展一門企業？」

「無為。」大師說。

企業家輕蔑地笑了：「那豈不是懶惰？」

「絕非如此。對一個積極的人而言，懶惰是最大的罪過。」

後來，大師向弟子說：「若人真能無為，則一切事均能因此而成就。要費盡多少心思，才能達到無為之境啊！你們不妨試一試。」

SELFLESSNESS

An affluent industrialist said to the Master, “What do you do for a profession?”
“Nothing.” said the Master.

The industrialist laughed scornfully. “Isn’t that laziness?”

“Heavens, no. Laziness is mostly the vice of very active people.”

Later the Master said to his disciples. “Do nothing and all things will be done through
you. Doing nothing really takes a lot of doing — try it!”

一００　極　權

有囘，大師竟向一位主教說：「宗教人士常不知不覺地變得很殘忍。」弟子們覺得此話很失禮。

主教囘去後，弟子們追問其因。

「因為他們為了完成某種目的，輕而易擧地就把別人犧牲掉了。」大師道。

TOTALITARIANISM

To the disciples ‘ embarrassment the Master once told a bishop that religious people
have a natural bent for cruelty.

“Why?” the disciples demanded after the bishop had gone.

“Because they all too easily sacrifice persons for the advancement of a purpose.” said
the Master.

九九　熱　忱

有個婦人發現財富並不能帶給她快樂，而滿腹牢騷。大師說：「由你的話中，好似肯定豪富與舒適是構成快樂的因素。事實上，朋友，如果你想快樂，只需找件事讓自己熱忱地獻身就夠了。」

ENTHUSIASM

To the woman who complained that riches hadn’t made her happy the Master said.
“You speak as if luxury and comfort were ingredients of happiness: whereas all you need
to be really happy, my dear, is something to be enthusiastic about.”

九八　自以為義

大師喜歡與普通老百姓在一起，對聖德彰顯的人他總是敬而遠之。
有一囘，弟子向他請益終身大事。大師說：「只需記住一點，千萬不要嫁給一個聖人。」

「為什麼？」

「因為你遲早會被引上殉道之路。」大師笑着說。

SELF - RIGHTEOUSNESS

The Master loved ordinary people and was suspicious of those who stood out for their
holiness.

To a disciple who consulted him on marriage he said. “Be sure you don’t marry a
saint.”

“Why ever not?”

“Because it is the surest way to make yourself a martyr.” was the Master’s merry
reply.

九七　妄　見

「世事本無好壞，是我們的思想作此分別。」大師說。

弟子們要求進一步的解釋。大師說：「一個人可以虔誠喜悅地守齋七天；若換了他的鄰人吃同樣的食物，就會餓得半死。」

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　實

大師從不重視證書跟文憑，他對人，只是審視，却不評斷。

他曾說過：「只要你有耳朶，就可以聽見鳥兒的歌唱，用不着去檢定鳥兒的資格問題。」

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

許多人感到奇怪，大師似乎並不太熱中於培育青年的宗教素養。

他們探問其因，大師說：「當人還年輕時，你就為他們注射各種抗生素免疫，使得他們在成長過程中體驗不到真實的世界。」

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

大師似乎從不在意別人對他的看法。弟子想要知道獲得這種內心自由的方法。大師大笑地說：「二十歲以前，我從不在乎別人怎麼看我；二十歲以後，我總是憂慮我的親朋好友會作何想；五十多歲以後，有一天我突然發現，他們根本很少想到我。」

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　見

弟子們都在熱烈討論人類痛苦的原因。

有些人主張痛苦來自私慾，有些則主張來自妄念，另一部分人認為它是由於人類無法分辨真實與虛妄。

他們來到大師跟前請益。大師說：「所有的痛苦都是因為人沒有辦法靜靜地獨自坐在那裏。」

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　領　悟

大師愈來愈衰老了，弟子們懇求他不要捨棄他們。大師說：「如果我不走，你們怎能看得見？」

「當您同我們在一起時，什麼因素遮住了我們的眼睛？」他們問。

然而大師一言不發。

當他的死期近了。他們又問：「你走了以後，我們會看見什麼？」

大師眼中閃爍着光輝：「我以前都是坐在河邊為你們汲水；我走後，你們才會看到那條河本身。」

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.”