文／宋．吳山淨端（1031～1104）

人生難滿百，花無十日紅；有錢不布施，死了一場空。

俗事如麻栗，妄想起重重；多貪心不足，折本一場空。

色身不堅固，常憂火宅中；佛經不持念，閑過一場空。

富貴多豐足，前緣所種功；今生不修福，後世一場空。

勸君家有剩，報答四恩濃；結緣須及早，不捨一場空。

──選自《吳山淨端禪師語錄》

Verse of Ten Empty Pursuits (Excerpt)

Wushan Jingduan (1031 - 1104, Song Dynasty)

English translation: Venerable Miao Guang

Hard it is for humans to live a hundred years in life,

rare it is to see a flower in bloom beyond ten days;

To have wealth and not be generous,

upon death, it is to have lived an empty life.

Mundane matters are as numerous as tangled skein,

Delusional thoughts arise layer upon layer;

With excessive greed, the heart will never be content,

To lose one’s inherent nature

is to have a lived an empty life.

Our physical body is insubstantial,

and is constantly troubled within the house of fire;

To not recite and uphold the Buddha’s teachings,

while leisurely, is to have lived an empty life.

An abundance of wealth and fortune

comes from the merits of previous times;

To not cultivate blessings in this lifetime

is to have empty cultivations for future lives.

One is advised, if there are surpluses at home,

to repay in full the four types of kindness*,

Seize the moment to develop affinities,

so that one will not have lived an empty life.

— from Wushan Jingduan Chanshi Yulu

(Records of Chan Master Wushan Jingduan)

*The kindness of one’s parents,the kindness of all sentient beings,the kindness of one’s nation, and the kindness of the Triple Gem.