關於造物主和修行的對話
A
Dialogue about the Creator and the Spiritual Practice
有人問：造物主是全能的嗎？
佛說：如果造物主如眾所想代表公義和慈愛，祂當然不會是全能的。
無數眾生受大苦惱，造物主要是慈愛和全能，必會制止。
Someone asked the Buddha: Is the Creator
almighty?
The Buddha replied: If the Creator stands for justice and compassion,
He certainly cannot be almighty.
Witness the gross sufferings in the
world. He would have stopped them if he
could.
有人問：造物主是全知的嗎？
佛說：一切造作，身口意在內，都必有印記，有因必有果。
說造物主是全知，並不為過。
Someone asked the Buddha: Is the Creator
all knowing?
The Buddha replied: All actions of the body, or of the tongue, or
of the mind will leave their imprints and causes will certainly beget their
effects.
To say that the Creator is all-knowing is
not wide off the mark.
有人問：造物主是恆久不滅的嗎？
佛說：我不是造物主，但我已見證永恆並與永恆同在。
永恆就是超越自己的肉體，超越空間，超越時間。
Someone asked the Buddha: Is the Creator
immortal and eternal?
The Buddha replied: I am not the Creator, but I have realized the
absolute, which is eternity.
The absolute transcends the body,
transcends space, and transcends time.
有人問：為什麼人類會因造物主的名稱互相爭鬥?
佛說：造物主沒有名稱。人創造了名稱，
有了名稱，就有紛爭。
Someone asked the Buddha: Why does humanity
strive over the name of the Creator?
The Buddha replied: The Creator has no name. Names are created by human beings.
Once there are names, strife is inevitable.
有人問：為什麼有了名稱，就有紛爭？
佛說：凡人執取名相，
各有所執，各不相讓，這就是是非之源。
Someone asked the Buddha: Why is strife
inevitable once there are names.
The Buddha replied: The unenlightened hold on to names and
images.
When they seek to assert what they perceive
to be the truth, strife is born.
有人問：正道和邪道如何分別？
佛說：予人自由者正道；陷人枷鎖者邪道。
助人離一切諸相，即是正道。
Someone asked the Buddha: How can we tell
the right way from the wrong?
The Buddha replied: What frees us is right; what enslaves us is
wrong.
If the mind is freed from mental images,
the way must be right.
有人問：什麼是諸相？
佛說：諸相由心起，
凡由心起者，執之即為相，離之即無相。
Someone asked the Buddha: How are mental
images?
The Buddha replied: Mental images form when the mind clings.
When the mind clings to what it sees,
images result.
Without clinging, the mind is freed, and
mental images dissipate.
有人問：人類宗教繁多，正教和邪教如何分別？
佛說：正邪無關宗教名稱。
孰正孰邪視乎取態，即視乎修行人能否降伏其心。
Someone asked the Buddha: How would you
tell evil religions from good ones?
The Buddha replied: You cannot tell evil or good just from the
name of a religion.
Evil or good depends on what you do.
It depends on how able you are on top of
your mind.
有人問：人類宗教論說各各不同，怎可共融？
佛說：修行無關論說。
絕言絕慮，無處不通。
Someone asked the Buddha: How can the religions
of the world, with their diverse theologies, find peace with one another?
The Buddha replied: spiritual practice has nothing to do with
theology.
When you give up talk and worry you will
encounter no obstructions wherever you go.
有人問：宗教紛爭，如何化解？
佛說：世間紛爭，何止宗教。
化解之法，由修心做起。捨此無法。
Someone asked the Buddha: How can resolve
the conflicts between religions?
The Buddha replied: The world’s conflicts go beyond religions.
To resolve conflicts, the only way is to
put the mind in order.
