External Things(3)
外物(三)
1 The way of practice is board and deep. If you want to reach the level of Nirvana, you must be patient to persist, not being bound by the trivia on the way.
修行的道路是既寬且深的，要想到達目的地就必須耐心地，持續地走下去，不要被途中無謂的瑣事牽絆住。
2 Sanskrit said, “A log drifts from the mountain down along the river, if it wants to go to the sea, it must beware of stranding on the bank, not being picked and also beware of sinking down for the rot. It must keep itself on the middle of the river and drift along so that it is possible to reach the sea.”
世尊說：「一根木頭，自深山中順河而下。它如果想流入大海，就必須時刻提醒自己; 不要擱淺在岸邊、不要被人撿拾去、不要腐蝕，沉在河底。它必須一直保持在河中央，才有可能實現流入大海的願望。」
3 Men of practice will attain some no-learning skills in the practice of Zen, which are derivate, not the real purpose of practice. However, many people, who once attain the no-learning skill – supernatural function, they go all out to become master of Qigong, kid of Kongfu, exact future-teller or strategist. They are the log that strands on the bank, rock and the bottom of river or becomes the timber readiness for use as structural material, which are very pitiful.
修行人在禪修的過程中，陸續會有一些無學之術，逐一顯現; 然而，這些都只是修行中的衍生物，並非修行的目的。可是就是有許多修行人在獲得這些無學之術--特異功能--後，就執著在上面，成為氣功師傅、功夫小子、算命鐵嘴甚至江湖郎中、謀略家等。他們這些人都是漂向大海的木頭，在中途為其他事物羈絆在岸邊、石頭邊、河底，甚或成為建築材料，十分可惜。
4 Once upon a time, a young man in the State of Ren aspired to fish a very big fish. So, he made a big fishhook with a long and big rope tied on. The bait was made from fifty oxen. The fish pole was so long that he had to fish on the top of Kueichi hill. He threw the fishhook into the East Sea, waiting quietly for big fish biting the bait.
從前，在任國有一位公子，他立志要釣一條巨大無比的魚，因此他做了一個大魚鉤，用既粗且長的繩子繫著; 他光是魚餌，就用了五十頭閹過的公牛來製造，他用的魚竿極長，必須坐在會稽山山頂上才能施展，他將魚鉤投向東海，每天就這樣癡癡的等待大魚上鉤。
任公子為大鉤巨緇，五十犗以為餌，蹲乎會稽，投竿東海，旦旦而釣，期年不得魚。
5 Waiting more than one year, he gained nothing. Other laughed at his stupidity but he didn’t care about. He still sat on the top of Kueichi Hill and dreamed of his aspiration.
就這樣他釣了一年多都毫無結果，別人笑他傻、笑他笨，他都不以為意，每天照樣呆呆地坐在會稽山頂，釣他的大魚，做他的大魚夢。
6 One day, a big fish finally took the bait. The fish dragged the rope, diving down to the bottom of the sea and then, jumping up to the sky. Wave made by the fish was as high as hill as if the whole East Sea was stirred. King of dragon was astonished when saw the stirring. The creatures around a thousand kilometer were panic-stricken.
有一天，終於有條大魚上鉤了，魚兒牽動魚繩，時而深入海底、時而跳到天際; 魚兒翻滾時所激起的白浪有山那麼高，整個東海似乎都沸騰了起來，就連海龍王看到這樣的情形也嘖嘖稱奇，至於千里之內的生物都嚇得四處驚慌逃竄。
已而大魚食之，牽巨鉤陷，沒而下，騖揚而奮鬐，白波若山，海水震蕩，聲侔鬼神，憚赫千里。
7 After the young man caught the fish, he divided it and made it into dry production to offer a share to each person who lived in the place on east of Zhejiang and north of Changwu.
這位任公子在釣得這條魚後，將之割製成魚乾，分享大眾，從浙江以東，蒼梧以北的所有百姓，每人都分到一份。
任公子得若魚，離而腊之，自制河以東，蒼梧已北，莫不厭若魚者。
8 This story was spread far. Busybody wrote it into fiction, which came down to the aftertime and no reader wasn’t amazed by.
這個故事輾轉相傳，好事之徒還將之寫成小說以流傳後世，讀者莫不驚歎。
已而後世輇才諷說之徒，皆驚而相告也。
9 Today, those anglers take a small bamboo pole, fixed by a thin thread to fish salamander and carp in the creek. They have no opportunity to fish the big fish as the young man of the state of Ren.
現今的釣客，他們拿一根小竹竿繫著細麻繩在小溪、小河中釣鯢、鮒這類小魚，他們是沒有機會釣到如任公子的那種大魚了。
10 Nowadays, many young men stop learning once they leave school, with their limited knowledge and skills they start to seek career and fame. It is impossible for them to accomplish great cause or make the great wishes come true.
現代的年輕人，一離開校門就不再認真學習，以為靠那麼一點點膚淺的知識，就足以闖蕩江湖、謀取功名。這些年輕人，他們想要成就偉大的事業，完成宏偉的志願，那是毫無可能的。
11 So, there are fewer men of great achievement as the young man of the State of Ren.
所以，現今有如任公子那樣，擁有豐碩成果的年輕人，是少之又少了。
12 Also, there are fewer men who aspire to reach Nirvana as our role of models in practice.
修行的路上，我們想再找一位立下涅槃志，足以為我們榜樣者，也是不可得矣。
夫揭竿累，趣灌瀆，守鯢鮒，其於得大魚難矣，飾小說以干縣令，其於大達亦遠矣，是以未嘗聞任氏之風俗，其不可與經於世亦遠矣！