Problems of the World

　　世界的问题

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.

　　有许多人，特别是知识分子与专业人才，都从大都市里搬离出来，到郊区及小镇去寻找较平静、较单纯的生活。这是很自然的!如果你手里握满一把泥土并用力捏挤，它必会从你指缝中惨出去。人们在压力之下，同样会寻找一条出离之道。

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.

　　有人问我关於我们这世界的问题，及对世界末日。我问所谓的世俗是什么？什么是世间?你不知道?这个非常无知、非常黑暗、非常愚痴的地方，就是所谓的世间。在六根的束缚之下，我们的知识发展成了这黑暗的一部份。要找到世间问题的答案，我们必须得完全认识它的本然，并且领悟照耀在世间黑暗之上的智慧。

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.

　　这些日子以来，我们的文化，似乎正在堕落，迷失在贪、嗔、痴之中。可是佛陀的文化永不改变、永不减少，他说：“不要欺骗别人或欺骗我们自己，不要偷窃引人的，或偷窃自己的。”世间的文化是以欲望作为它的向导；而佛陀的文化则是以慈悲，“法”──真理，作为它的导引。