戒律就是修行人的生命，如果犯戒，等于生命断了一样地悲哀。世尊在将入涅盘时，告诉阿难尊者说：“以戒为师”，由此可以证明，戒律的重要性。
Precepts are a cultivator’s life. If one transgresses them, this would be as grievous as having one’s life cut off. Before the World Honored One entered Nirvana, he told the Venerable Ananda, “Take the precepts as your teacher.” This shows how important the precepts are.
严是严明，也就是严谨明察的意思。修行人不能随便乱讲话，在必要时，说话要有分寸，合乎法度，不可以信口胡言。也就是说行住坐卧，都有一定的次序，不是说我想怎样就怎样，那就是不持戒律。
“Strictly” means with certainty, cautiousness, and percept-iveness. Cultivators should not talk carelessly. When you need to speak, do so in a discreet and appropriate way, and don’t babble nonsense. In other words, there’s a definite way to act whether you are walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. You can’t just do whatever you want; that wouldn’t be upholding the precepts.
持是把持，用手拿住的意思。谨慎而小心地拿着，时时刻刻注意，而不懈怠，聚精会神来把持戒律。
To “uphold” means to manage. It also means to carefully hold something with your hands, being constantly attentive and never lax. We should uphold the precepts with full concentration.
戒是防非，也就是禁止作恶的意思，所谓“诸恶莫作，众善奉行”。戒是犯罪前的规劝，律是犯罪后的惩罚。例如蛇行是曲，入管自直，这是戒律的功用。
Precepts serve to prevent mistakes and to stop evildoing. “Do no evil; do all good.” Precepts serve to warn us before we commit offenses; they also stipulate the penalties incurred by offenses. A snake normally slithers in curves, but when it goes into a pipe, it straightens out by itself; this is the function of precepts.
律是法律。无论做什么事，要合乎规律，所谓“无规矩不以成方圆”。不能随便行动，妨碍他人自由，侵犯他人利益。
Precepts are laws. In everything we do, we should abide by the rules. There’s a saying: “Without a and a T-square, you can’t draw circles and squares.” [Note: In Chinese the words for and ‘T-square’ form a compound that means “rules”.] We should not act carelessly, hinder other people’s freedom, or usurp others’ benefits.
一言以蔽之，严持戒律就是没有脾气。忍辱功夫修到家了，顺逆境界来临时，都经得起考验，而无动于衷，心平气和，处之泰然。到了这种程度，便不会不守规矩。凡是不守规矩的人，他的忍辱功不够，压制不住无明火，往往把所修的功德，烧得一 干二净。
In a nutshell, upholding precepts means not having a temper. When we cultivate patience to the utmost degree, then we’ll be able to handle favorable as well as adverse states without losing our calm; we’ll deal with everything naturally and easily. When we reach that level, we won’t transgress the rules. People don’t abide by rules because they don’t have enough patience; they can’t keep the fire of ignorance under control, and it burns up all the merit and virtue they have cultivated.
一九八一年六月六日开示
A talk given on June 6, 1981
