As the process of commercialization in society progresses, the mantra of money being omnipotent has reached an unbridled extent, as if having money means having everything, thus everything we do revolves around money.
随着社会商业化的进程，金钱万能的口号已经到了肆无忌惮的地步，似乎有钱就有一切，所以一切都在向钱看。
Of course, appropriate material wealth is required to satisfy our survival needs. However, today, although we have basically solved the problem of food and clothing, our attachment to wealth has not diminished but instead strengthened. Money is worshiped as a deity, and earning money is considered the sole goal of life. For many people, possessing wealth is no longer about ensuring a livelihood but a means to satisfy their greed.
当然，生存需要一定的物质基础。但在温饱问题基本解决的今天，人们对财富的执著不但没有减轻，反而愈演愈烈。金钱被奉若神明，而挣钱则被当作生活的唯一目标。对很多人来说，拥有财富已不再是为了保障生活，而是满足贪欲的手段。
But have we considered that accumulated wealth will eventually dissipate? Thieves will devise myriad ways to take it, descendants will squander it without guilt, and even if it’s securely locked in a safe, inflation can turn it into beautiful but useless paper overnight, not to mention destruction by natural or human-made disasters. Therefore, if we regard wealth as eternal, we are undoubtedly planting another seed of suffering in our lives.
可我们想过没有，积聚的财富终将消散：窃贼会千方百计来瓜分它，儿女会心安理得地挥霍它，即使牢牢地锁在保险柜中，通货膨胀也会使它在一夜间成为精美的废纸，更不必说天灾人祸的摧毁。如果我们将财富视为永恒，无疑是在生命中埋下又一粒痛苦的种子。
The attachment to affection is one of the causes of suffering. If we are eager for a harmonious and loving relationship, we may, one way or the other, be disappointed once reality sets in. Some may toss and turn for unrequited love, unable to get what they desire; some may be saddened by a separation from their beloved, or by living far away from each other; some may agonize over being with someone they dislike due to frequent conflicts.
执著感情也是导致痛苦的原因之一。我们向往的两情相悦一旦落入现实，总会带来这样那样的不如意：或是由于单相思带来求不得苦，或是由于天各一方带来爱别离苦，或是由于生活中的摩擦带来怨憎会苦。
If two persons become mutually enamored, they may expect their love to last forever. But this world is impermanent, and so is the mind. No matter what they have pledged to each other, it will hardly withstand the test of impermanence. We always view marriage and family as important to a happy life, yet we don’t know that they are a source of troubles and concerns.
若是双方彼此爱慕，又会进一步希望相爱到永远。可世间是无常的，心念是无常的，不论什么样的爱情誓言，都难以经受无常的考验。世人总是将结婚成家作为人生幸福的重要组成部分，却不知这正是麻烦和牵挂的开始。
In addition to all the attachments above, we usually cling to many other things, such as status, career, reputation, and loved ones.
除此以外，众生的执著还有很多：对地位的执著，对事业的执著，对名誉的执著，对亲人的执著……
Still, we hardly realize that everything in the world is impermanent and illusory. If we are obsessed with illusions, insisting they are real and permanent, we will fall into the pit we dig for ourselves. Only when we fully recognize the false appearance that originates dependently and understand its empty nature, can we root out our attachments.
殊不知，世间一切都是无常而虚幻的，如果我们将其妄执为有，妄执为常，就好比作茧自缚。只有充分认识到缘起的假相，认识到性空的原理，才能从根本上破除执著。
摘自《生命的痛苦及其解脱》
版权所有：济群法师
Excerpted from:
Life’s Suffering and Its Liberation
By Master Jiqun
