The Meaning of Prayer

祈祷的意义

Nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. It does not grant any special favours on request.

自然是公正的，不能以祈祷方式去讨好它。

Man is not a fallen creature who begs for his needs as he awaits mercy. According to Buddhism, man is a potential master of himself. Only because of his deep ignorance does man fail to realize his full potential. Since the Buddha has shown this hidden power, man must cultivate his mind and try to develop it by realizing his innate ability.

人类不是失败的动物，只有失败的动物才会乞求牠的需要和等待施舍。佛教认为人有潜力成为自己与宇宙的主人。人类是因为无明而蒙蔽了自己的潜能。因此，佛陀告诉我们，人是有潜能的，人必须提升自我的精神层次，并尝试了解自我的能力，同时去开发它。

Buddhism gives full responsibility and dignity to man. It makes man his own master. According to Buddhism, no higher being sits in judgment over his affairs and destiny. That is to say, our life, our society, our world, is what you and I want to make out of it, and not what some other unknown being wants it to be.

佛法给予人类充分的责任感和尊严，使人类成为自己的主人。佛教说，没有一个「最高」的存在，裁判一个人的行为和命运。也就是说，我们的生命、我们的社会、我们的世界，是因为你和我的需要而创造的，并不是为其它不可知的存在者的需求而创造。

Remember that nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. Nature does not grant any special favours on request. Thus in Buddhism, prayer is meditation which has self-change as its object. Prayer in meditation is the reconditioning of one's nature. It is the transforming of one's inner nature accomplished by the purification of the three faculties?thought, word, and deed. Through meditation, we can understand that 'we become what we think', in accordance with the discoveries of psychology. When we pray, we experience some relief in our minds; that is, the psychological effect that we have created through our faith and devotion. After reciting certain verses we also experience the same result. Religious names or symbols are important to the extent that they help to develop devotion and confidence.

记住！自然是公正的，不能以祈祷等方式去讨好它，自然不会因为你的献媚而特别眷顾你。佛陀清楚的表示过，涅槃的真正快乐，不是通过背诵经典、苦行、祈祷、忏悔、歌颂、誓愿等等途径就能得到的。
The Buddha Himself has clearly expressed that neither the recital of holy scriptures, nor self-torture, nor sleeping on the ground, nor the repetition of prayers, penance, hymns, charms, mantras, incantations and invocations can bring the real happiness of Nibbana.

Regarding the use of prayers for attaining the final goal, the Buddha once made an analogy of a man who wants to cross a river. If he sits down and prays imploring that the far bank of the river will come to him and carry him across, then his prayer will not be answered. If he really wants to cross the river, he must makes some effort; he must find some logs and build a raft, or look for a bridge or construct a boat or perhaps swim. Somehow he must work to get across the river. Likewise, if he wants to cross the river of Samsara, prayers alone are not enough. He must work hard by living a religious life, by controlling his passion, calming his mind, and by getting rid of all the impurities and defilements in his mind. Only then can he reach the final goal. Prayer alone will never take him to the final goal.

有一回，佛陀讲述了一则有关祈祷的故事：有一个人想渡河，他坐下来祈祷，希望能到对岸去，可是他的要求落空了。要渡河必须靠自己的努力，去寻找桥梁，或制造木筏或小船，再不然游泳过去，这一切都要靠自己的努力。同样的，要渡过生死轮回的河流，单靠祈祷是不够的，他必须精进、努力于实践道德化的宗教生活，有效的控制自己的情欲，净化自己的心识，消除心中不净的烦恼，才能达到最高的目标──涅槃。只靠祈祷是不行的。

If prayer is necessary, it should be to strengthen the mind and not to beg for gains. The following prayer of a well-known poet, teaches us how to pray, Buddhists will regard this as meditation to cultivate the mind:

假如祈祷是必然的，那么应该将它转向强化内心，而不是祈求。下面有一首诗，告诉我们祈祷的真正意义。

'Let me not pray to be sheltered from danger,

but to be fearless in facing them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,

but for the heart to conquer it.

Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,

but for the patience to win my freedom.'

我不以祈祷躲避危险，

但是，我不畏惧它的出现。

我不祈求缓和我的痛苦，

但是，我以心灵之力战胜它。

我不在焦虑、恐惧中祈求得救，

但是，我以忍耐赢取我的自由。