The Buddha’s Admonition

佛陀的告诫

The Buddha replied to Mālukyaputta as follows:

佛陀如此回答摩罗迦子：

“Then what shall I say to other bhikkhus when you are making such a request? You are old, having reached the latter part of your life. Even so you ask for just the gist of the Dhamma from me.”

“此时你提出这样一个请求，那么我该对其他比库说什么呢？你年老了，已经步入人生的晚年。即使这样，你只请求我开示简要的佛法。”

These words of the Buddha can be taken as both reproach and approval. The old monk had not striven for the Dhamma while young. Only when he already had one foot in the grave did he speak of abiding in the Dhamma. Taken in that light, Buddha’s admonition might be a reproach. However, Mālukyaputta was determined to live the life of a recluse in spite of his advanced years. What would young bhikkhus say to this? They should certainly want to emulate him. In this context it may be interpreted that the Buddha was full of praise for him. If youngsters see old people striving hard for the realisation of the Dhamma, they should try to follow suit.

佛陀的这些话可以解释为责备和赞扬两者。一位比库在年轻的时候没有为法努力，只有到了已经有一只脚踏进坟墓时他才谈起住于法。从这个角度，佛陀的告诫或许是种责备。然而，摩罗迦子不顾及他已是晚年，决心过起隐遁的生活。年轻的比库对此将说什么呢？他们当然会仿效他。从这个上下文看，可以解释为佛陀完全是在赞扬他。如果年轻人看到老者为证悟佛法而勤奋努力，他们应该尽力效仿。

Since Mālukyaputta repeated his request, the Blessed One taught him the fundamentals of insight meditation by posing a series of questions to reveal the method of insight.

因为摩罗迦子再三地请求，世尊用提出一系列问题的方式，向他教导内观禅修的基本原则，揭示内观的方法。