功德是怎么来的？布施一点钱就是有功德了？你们要把概念搞清楚。我曾经给你们讲过一个故事：在过去有一个很贫穷的女子，她把自己积蓄的一点点钱送到庙里去，结果大法师出来见她，而且很尊敬她，带她一起拜佛菩萨。就是因为她不断地积功德，最后被招进皇宫。后来这个女子又到这个庙里来捐钱，而且捐的钱很多很多，但是这个大法师没有出来见她，因为她轻视人家，藐视了庙宇，觉得自己了不起，以为自己捐这么多的钱，招呼都可以不打，随时随地来见法师。其实大法师已经知道她没有功德了，只是在做善事。什么是功德？功德是你用你的心来做某一件事情，就是功；如果做出来的事情帮助到人家，就是德。做任何事情都是从心里发出来帮助人家叫功德。
Where do merit and virtue come from? Is it just about donating a bit of money? You need to get the concept straight. I’ve shared a story with you before: long ago, a poor woman gave the little savings she had to a temple. The abbot came out to meet her, treated her with great respect, and invited her to bow to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with him. Because she consistently accumulated merit and virtue, she was later invited into the imperial palace. Years later, she returned to the temple and donated a huge sum of money, but the abbot didn’t come out to see her. Why? Because she had become arrogant—looking down on the temple and acting as if she were above everyone else, assuming her big donation meant she could dispense with courtesy and see the abbot whenever she wished. The truth is, the abbot already knew she no longer had merit and virtue—she was merely doing good deeds. So, what are merit and virtue? Merit comes from doing something with a sincere heart; virtue is when what you do truly helps others. When you act from the heart to benefit others, that’s true merit and virtue.
学佛的人要有境界，功德要齐备。就是一个人功和德不能少一样。你就算是从心里整天想“哎呀，我要帮助她呀”，这个心中出来的是有功；但是不去做，从来不去帮助人家，就没有德。如果一个人一天到晚地帮助、照顾老人，但是她心中想着，“等到这个老头子死掉之后说不定会给我留下很多东西，会给我很多遗产”。好了，她的功没有了，就剩下善德了。对不对呀？所以一个人要懂得功德要齐备。如果轻视别人的人，本身就没有功德。如果这个人看不起人家，眼睛看都不看人家，不愿意跟人家讲话，这个人就没有功德。大家听得懂吗？以前很多人到电台来，以为自己学历很高，以为自己很了不起，看不起人家，这些都是没有功德的。你没有资格来轻视人家。连我们的佛祖都说“众生皆具佛性”，他们都是原始佛，你为什么要看不起人家？你有什么资格看不起人家？所以开悟的人是不会轻视任何人的。另外，如果一个人连眼泪都没有就是心肠太狠，心肠太狠就是没有慈悲心。慈悲人的心肠是狠不出来的。修心就是修自己的慈悲心，修到自己越来越善良，修到自己越来越慈悲，像菩萨一样怜悯众生。虽然有句话叫“男儿有泪不轻弹”，那是假的。人有七情六欲，人应该是很善良的。你去看那些杀人放火的强盗，没有一个人能哭得出来的，就算关进监狱里也照样笑嘻嘻。这种人能慈悲吗？能学佛吗？所以我们千万不要轻视、藐视佛性，你才不会损失你的功德。
As Buddhists, you need a high level of awareness and you must ensure both merit and virtue are complete. You can’t lack either. If you’re constantly thinking, “I want to help her,” that intention in your heart is merit. But if you never act on it—never actually help anyone—you lack virtue. On the flip side, imagine someone who spends all day helping and caring for the elderly, but in their heart they’re thinking, “When this old person dies, maybe I’ll inherit a lot.” Their merit is gone—they’re just left with a good deed. Right? So you need both merit and virtue together. If you look down on others, you have no merit and virtue. If you dismiss people, avoid eye contact, or refuse to speak to them, you’re lacking merit and virtue. Got it? In the past, some people came here thinking they were superior because of their education or status, looking down on others. That’s a lack of merit and virtue. You have no right to belittle anyone. Even the Buddha said, “All beings possess Buddha-nature”—everyone is originally a Buddha. So what right do you have to look down on others? An awakened person would never do that. What’s more, if someone can’t even shed a tear, their heart is too hard—they lack compassion. A compassionate heart cannot be cruel. Cultivating your mind means cultivating your compassion—becoming kinder and more like a Bodhisattva who pities all beings. There’s a saying, “Real men don’t cry easily,” but that’s not true. Human beings have emotions and desires; we are meant to be kind. Just look at violent criminals who kill and set fires—they never cry. Even in prison, they laugh it off. Can someone like that be compassionate? Can they practise Buddhism? So never belittle or dismiss anyone’s Buddha-nature—that is how you avoid losing your own merit and virtue.
常为他人想，这个人就是无我。你脑子里经常想着人家，你就没有时间想自己，你不就是无我了吗？因为没有自己，就开心了；有自己，带来的就是烦恼。把自己忘掉，脑子里想的都是人家，你就成功了。为人家想，说明你有能力帮助人家。很多人只为自己想，那就是自顾不暇。今天有一份力就帮助人家一份，今天有一分钱就帮助人家一分钱，那你永远想到的就是人家。不要去想人家的回报。师父现在得到这么多人的关心就是不去想别人的回报，我就分分秒秒的在广播电台、网络里忘我地耕耘，有一个救一个，每一步都是按照观世音菩萨的安排做。如果没有观世音菩萨，哪来的我们？但是我们做出了一点点，菩萨给了我们多少？大家一定要明白这些道理。所以要无我，佛法上讲叫自他互换。用我们的话来说就是换位思考。师父告诉你们，牺牲自己为功，即要忘记自己，要牺牲自己，就是功。一切平等视为德，就是你把所有的人都看成是平等的，所有的事物都是平等的，你就是有德性的人。
Always think of others, and you embody “non-self”. When your mind is often occupied with others, you have no time to think about yourself — that is what it means to be selfless. Letting go of yourself brings happiness; clinging to yourself brings trouble. Forget yourself, fill your mind with thoughts of others, and you’ll succeed. Thinking of others shows you have the capacity to help them. Many people only think about themselves, too caught up to care for anyone else. If you have a bit of strength, use it to help. If you have a single dollar, give that dollar to help. Always keep others in mind, without expecting anything in return. Look at me—I’ve received so much care from others precisely because I don’t dwell on what I’ll get back. I pour myself into my work at the radio station and online, tirelessly helping one person at a time, following Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s guidance every step of the way. Without Guan Yin Bodhisattva, where would we be? We give just a little, but the Bodhisattva gives us so much in return. You must understand this. That’s why you need to be selfless. In Buddhist terms, this is called “exchanging self for others.” In everyday words, it’s putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Sacrificing yourself is merit—forgetting yourself, giving up your own interests, that’s merit. Seeing everyone and everything as equal is virtue. When you treat all beings and all things as equal, you embody virtue.
你的心就是他人的心。经常想“这个人是怎么想的呢？”你就能得到这个人的心。比如经常想：我现在所做的这些事情，我老公是怎么认为的呢？其实你就能得到他的心了，因为你能得到他在想什么。所以要视你的心（就是他的心），你的身（就是他的身），都是一样平等的，你就不会吵架了。比如妻子腰痛，这个先生心里会不会感觉自己的腰也痛呢？如果他当时感觉就像自己的腰痛一样，这样他就很快地去安慰妻子。因为她痛的时候会发脾气，会很烦躁，就算她讲你了，你也绝对不会讲她半句话的。这就叫道理。学佛就是让你们心明眼亮，要学会忍让，要修行修心。修自身的佛性是功。就是说修性要学会修自身的佛性。什么叫自身的佛性？就是自己的本性，自己善良的心，就是修自己的良心。用佛心来修自己的身是德。就是说经常用佛菩萨的要求来要求自己身体上做什么事情，那就是德。比如你偷了人家的东西了；比如你看见人家掉的钱，你拿起来了；比如你今天做了一件不好的事情了，你打人了、骂人了等等，这些事情的发生如果你不用佛菩萨的境界去衡量、去修它，你就永远没有德。
Your heart should reflect the hearts of others. Constantly ask, “What is this person thinking?” and you’ll begin to understand their heart. For example, if you often wonder, “What does my husband think about what I’m doing?” you’ll start to grasp his perspective. Regard your heart as their heart, your body as their body—see them as equal, and you won’t fight. If your wife has back pain, wouldn’t you, as her husband, feel that pain in your heart too? If you feel it as if it were your own, you’ll quickly go and comfort her. Even if she’s irritable from the pain and snaps at you, you wouldn’t answer back. That’s the principle. Practising Buddhism is about sharpening your heart and mind, learning patience and tolerance, refining your conduct and cultivating your mind. Cultivating your own Buddha-nature is merit. What is your own Buddha-nature? It’s your innate goodness—your conscience. Cultivate your conscience. Using the Buddha’s heart to guide your actions is virtue. That means constantly measuring your conduct against the standards of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. For example, if you steal, pick up money someone dropped, or do something wrong like hitting or cursing someone, and you don’t measure those actions against the standards of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, you’ll never have virtue.
大家要记住，争是没有止境的，争斗是没有止境的。今天跟这个人争，明天跟那个人争，是争不完的。争来的都是没有用的东西。争到最后哪有一个结果呀？如果进入了争的境界，你的境界就掉下来了，就会被万人所辱骂。好的东西是不争的，争来的也不是你的，随缘来的才是你的，所以争是没有止境的。很多事情随着时间的推移都会得到解决的。比如夫妻两人吵架吵得不可开交时，非要说今天晚上你给我说说清楚，你不说我就跟你没完……最后的结果就是离婚。如果大家忍让一下，这个事情随着时间的推移慢慢就淡了。当时要是咬咬牙，时间长了就没有了，所以忍让是有止的，而争是没有止境的。因为当一方忍让了之后，对方就会停止了，所以忍让是最好的。佛祖说，佛教是无争的宗教。佛教为什么会受到很多人的尊重？因为它不争斗。如果争斗就是偏离了佛教的方向。如果一个人经常跟这个人争，跟那个人争，这个人肯定没有人喜欢他。大家要明白其中的道理。
Always remember: fighting is endless. Arguing with one person today and another tomorrow—it never stops. Whatever you gain from fighting is worthless. In the end, what’s the point? If you get caught up in conflict, your spiritual state drops and you open yourself up to the scorn of many. Good things don’t come from fighting; what you win through conflict isn’t truly yours. What comes naturally, in accordance with conditions, is what belongs to you. That’s why fighting has no end. Many issues resolve themselves with time. Take a husband and wife, for example. If they have a fierce quarrel and one insists, “You must explain this to me tonight—if you don’t, I’ll never let it go,” that kind of fight often ends in divorce. But if both sides show a bit of patience, the issue fades over time. Grit your teeth and endure, and eventually the problem disappears. That’s why patience has an end, while fighting has none. Once one side shows patience, the other naturally stops too. So patience is the best approach. The Buddha taught that Buddhism is a religion of non-contention. Why is Buddhism respected by so many? Because it avoids fighting. To engage in fighting is to depart from the path of Buddhism. Someone who is constantly quarrelling with everyone will not be well liked. You must understand this principle.