Rules are Tools

　　规矩(戒)是工具

One should fear wrongdoings, sometimes even to the point of not being able to sleep. At first, cling to the rules, make them a burden. Afterwards, you can carry them lightly. But you must experience the heaviness first, just as before one can go beyond suffering, one must experience suffering. One who is conscientious is at first like a freshwater fish in salt water -trying to keep rules, his eyes will burn and sting. Whereas one who is indifferent and negligent will not be disturbed but will also never learn to see.

　　我们应该惧怕恶行──有时甚至到无法入眠的地步。刚开始，都会执著条规，把它们变成一种负担，之後，你方能够驾轻就熟。可是，你必须先经验那种负荷，如同在我们可以超越痛苦之前，必须先经历痛苦一样。一个谨慎的人刚开始时就好似一条淡水鱼在盐水里一样──试图要守持条规，但他的眼睛会如火灼般刺痛。然而，一个不关心、不在意的人，虽然毫不受干扰，但永远也学不会去了解。

Working with the 227 precepts is essential to our monk's practice. We must follow the rules well. Yet the rules are endless. Keep in mind that rules are conventions or tools. There is no need to study all the expressions of Dharma or know all the rules. To cut a path through the forest, you need not cut down all the trees. Cutting just one row can take you to the other side.

　　行持两百七十七条戒是我们出家人修行的根本。我们必须好好地遵守戒条，然而，戒是无数的。切记！戒条是约定俗成的、是工具。没有必要去学习所有的名相或认识所有的戒条。要在森林中开辟一条道路，不必把所有的树都砍掉啊!只要砍一排，就能带你到另一边了。

The point of all practice is to lead you to freedom, to become one who knows the light all the time. The only way to reach an end in the practice of virtue is by making the mind pure.

　　一切修行的意义，是要导引你至解脱，导引你成为一位一切时中都觉知光明的人。唯一能达到戒行圆满的方法，就是使心清净。