總監修／星雲大師

文／佛光星雲（1927~）

《增一阿含經》說：「小孩以啼哭為力，女人以嬌媚為力，國王以威勢為力，羅漢以少欲為力，比丘以忍辱為力，菩薩以大悲為力。」忍辱就是堅強、穩固、磨練，所謂「黃金還要紅爐煉，白玉還須妙手磨」，一件藝術品須經雕刻師的精雕細琢，才能永世流傳；梅花須經霜雪的洗禮，才能芳香撲鼻。

人的一生如果不經過寒霜雨雪，反而難成大器，因此孟子說：「天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。」可見一個人要想成功立業，必須忍人所不能忍、行人所不能行。

──選自《人間佛教論文集》

A Skilled Hand to Turn Out a Jade Bracelet

Venerable Master Hsing Yun (1927 - )

English translation:John Balcom

ed. John Gill & Susan Tidwell）

According to the Gradual Discourses of the Buddha

Ekottarikagama）,“A child's strength is in its tears, a woman's strength is in her charm, a king's strength is in his power and influence, an arhat's strength is in his paucity of desire, a monastic's strength is in patience, and a bodhisattva's strength is in compassion.”Patience is strong, stable, and tempering. It takes a skilled hand to turn out a jade bracelet, and only a patient artist can produce a lasting work of art. Only when plum blossoms are cleansed by frost and snow will they be fragrant.

If a person does not experience and patiently bear with life's difficulties, they will never truly be numbered among the outstanding. Mencius said,

That is why when heaven is going to place a great responsibility on a man, it will test his resolve, exhaust his body, make him suffer from hunger and hardship, and frustrate his efforts. In this way his patience and endurance are developed, and his weaknesses overcome.”Clearly, if a person is to be successful, he must endure the unendurable and do the undoable.

── from Of Benefit to Oneself and Others