古人说：
An ancient saying goes,
君子有造命之学，
命由我立，福自己求。
A superior person is the master
of his own fate.
He determines his own destiny,
And creates his own blessings.
祸福无门，
惟人自召。
Calamities and blessings are not fixed;
We bring them upon ourselves.
天、地、人是所谓的“三才”，所以人是天地的代表者，天不说话，地也无言，只有我们人有言语动作。人生来这个命运不是一定的，但也可以说是一定的。怎样说是一定呢？好像我们分东西，你分一份，我分一份，这是一定的。怎样说不一定呢？譬如你这一份你很快就用完，而我这一份完全不用，这就是不一定了。所以才说“君子有造命之学”，你生来并没有人教你去做恶，然而你做恶了，如此一来就改变你的命运；你生来并没有人教你去做善，而你去做善，这也能超出命运。好像人走路，愿意向东走，就会到东；愿意向西走，就会到西边。所以君子的命运是活动的，而不是死板板的，一切都操在自己的手上，故说君子有造命之学。
Heaven, Earth, and Mankind are known as the three powers. Mankind is the representative of Heaven and Earth. Heaven does not speak, and Earth has no words either. Only people are endowed with the capacity to speak and act. A person's destiny is not fixed at birth. Yet, in a certain sense, it is. In what way? One's fate is similar to splitting something into portions and giving a portion to each person. How is destiny unfixed, then? You may use up your portion completely, while I don't use mine at all. That's how it is unfixed. Thus, we say, “A superior person is the master of his own fate.” When you were born, no one told you to do evil, and yet you went ahead and committed evil deeds, thus altering your fate. When you were born, no one told you to do good, and yet you did good deeds. With such acts you can transcend your fate. Similarly, if a person wants to walk east, he will go to the east; if he wants to walk west, he will go to the west. The fate of a superior person is flexible, not rigidly fixed. Everything is in his own hands. Hence a superior person can be the master of his own fate.
“命由我立”，命是我的，我能造命、立命，我也能改变自己的命运。譬如你有病，若能小心一点，就不会有生命危险，这都是由自己把握，不是依赖他人。本来你有生死，应该轮转于六道之中，然而你能修道，就能超出命运，能了生死，这就是造命。
“He determines his own destiny.” My fate belongs to me; I can determine my own destiny and alter my own fate. Even if you get sick, you can take extra precautions so as to not endanger your life. You must be responsible for this; you cannot rely on others. Basically, you are supposed to undergo endless rounds of rebirth. However, if you cultivate, you can transcend your fate and put an end to birth and death. Then you are the master of your fate.
“福自己求”，你若修福就有福，修慧就有慧，能福慧双修更好。这个福是向里边求的，反求诸己，看看自己有没有德行？有，就有福；若是无德行，就无福。君子求诸己，小人求诸人，小人才尽向外找。
“And he creates his own blessings.” If you cultivate blessings, you will obtain blessings; if you cultivate wisdom, you will obtain wisdom. To cultivate both blessings and wisdom is even better. Blessings come from yourself. If you perform good deeds, you will have blessings. Otherwise, you will not. A superior person makes demands on himself, while ordinary people make demands on others and always seek outside themselves.
“祸福无门，惟人自召”，所谓
“Calamities and blessings are not fixed; we bring them upon ourselves.” There is another saying:
病从口入，祸从口出。
Sickness enters through the mouth; Calamities come out of the mouth.
人遇到种种飞灾横祸，多因乱讲话而引起。若尽吃肥腻、有滋味，或者鸡、鸭、鱼、肉、海鲜这类的佳肴，为了享一时的口腹之欲，吃得太多，就惹来很多病痛。吃的时候觉得很美味，可是时间一久，就慢性中毒，到时便无药可医了。现在所有众生肉都有一种毒，是无药可医的，人一旦吃了畜生的肉，毒就跑到人的身上。我们若是吃蔬菜，因为它无生命，虽然有毒质，但是轻得多。肉类的毒是百分之百，而蔬菜只有百分之一，可以说是天渊之别。
When you are beset with calamities on all sides, careless talking may very well be the cause. You may temporarily enjoy the flavor of rich, fattening gourmet foods such as steak, chicken, duck, and seafood, but if you eat too much, you will end up very sick. These foods taste delicious at the time of eating, but in the long run, they will slowly poison you until you are beyond hope of medical cure. Nowadays, animal flesh contains a kind of poison for which there is no antidote. When we eat the flesh, the poison enters our bodies. Vegetables are also contaminated, but to a much lesser degree, because vegetables are not sentient. If meat is one hundred percent poisoned, then vegetables are only one percent poisoned. They are at opposite extremes of the spectrum.
所以各位学佛法，不要贪好味、贪口福，这样时间久了，就可以将体内的毒排泄出来，而不会生怪病。这些话的意思，各位应该研究研究，现代的时代太坏了，所以人人应该大声疾呼，尽量劝人戒杀护生，免得造成全人类灭亡的惨局。戒之！慎之！
Therefore, if we Buddhists do not crave good flavors, the poison will eventually leave our systems and we won't contract any strange diseases. All of you should investigate the meaning of these words. Since the present age is very evil, we should do our best to encourage people to stop killing and to protect living creatures instead. Then we may keep the human race from becoming extinct. Be careful!
一九八二年十月七日开示
A talk given on October 7, 1982
