《旅途脚印》| 五四 ——索达吉堪布

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五四 | May 4th

7 R1 V, h% {6 i; K今天是“五·四”青年节，从1919年五四运动至今已经历了近百年的历史。随着时代的变
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3 ]; H2 _, \& A4 M迁，青年们早已不必再为反封建、反压迫而战，他们以各种形式庆祝着这一节日。

Today is Youth Day; it was more than a hundred years ago when the May 4th Movement shook

( A8 H/ f8 x- S3 u0 }/ S1 |, Vthe nation in 1919. As time goes by, however, young people these days no longer emphasize
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fighting feudalism or oppression as their earlier peers did. Instead, they choose to celebrate their

0 t. u0 b& [1 m5 Vday in various ways.

我也加入了一帮有很多青年人组成的行列，举行了一次大规模的放生活动。三艘船承载着

饱受死亡恐惧的海底居民，浩浩荡荡地驶往深海，除了厦门本地的信众，来自各地寺院、

; y% ^' d. ~2 o6 E; C* ]佛学院的出家人，福州、台湾、香港等地的居士，约200名道友都参加了这次放生活动，出

家人的红黄僧衣，在家人五彩缤纷的各式服装，在蓝色大海的衬托下，形成了一道道靓丽
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的风景。

I found myself in the company of young people to carry out large-scale life liberation. Three ships

loaded with many sea creatures whose lives were once at grave stake sailed off the coast in an
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impressive formation. The 200 or so participants included local Buddhists from Xiamen, monks
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and nuns from nearby monasteries and Buddhist Academies, as well as lay practitioners from

Fuzhou, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Against the blue sea, the maroon and yellow monastic robes

9 m+ C% k. ^1 wand laities’ attire of various colors stood out vividly and brightly. It was quite a beautiful sight to

" `2 A/ r, A* Hbehold.

在我身居其中的四个月期间，每当午餐和晚餐之时，窗户外面时常会漂来宰杀海鲜的血腥

气息，使这座沿海城市纯净的空气受到了玷污，更使来自藏地的我和同伴食不下咽，将这
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些可怜的鱼虾从屠刀下解救出来一直是我们未了的心愿。虽然今天解救的生灵与整个城市

的杀生数量难以相比，但也能让我们稍感欣慰。
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During my four-month stay in this coastal city, at lunch or dinner time the stench of seafood
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being prepared often wafted through the open window, polluting the fresh air of the shore, and

7 ~6 U( C8 n2 D* R. a2 O# a+ \making my friend, also from Tibet, and me lose our appetites. We have long wished to save the

9 g6 Q& H1 z6 a( h" ppoor fish, shrimp, and so forth from meeting their ends at the knife, it is only today that we have

; R. Y. J% s: P% a' h9 ~come to fulfill it. Even though the number of lives we are saving is incomparable with that of

" J' q! F( e& l2 G/ W( U. Fbeing killed in the whole city, we are still grateful for the opportunity.

- |8 ^6 E! n1 U0 W- ]# n记得曾有一县令名曰潘公，在他上任期间，制定县规命令百姓不得入江湖渔捕，犯者加罪
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) r, O1 S7 y6 n+ k+ R4 B& }" B6 g。当他后来去任时，水中发出号呼之声，如丧考妣。当地人听到后，莫不叹异。不知道什
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+ i0 A8 e$ a: G$ p么时候厦门也能有这样的好县令，也能使这些生灵免受刀俎之苦。不过，此地的放生之风
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还算比较盛行，听说是一位居士发心印了一万册《放生功德文》，广为结缘，才使此风日
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; }, j0 ~# \) _: L益兴盛，继而流传下来的。
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There was once a county magistrate name Poon Gong who forbade his subjects from catching

any live fish by instigating severe punishments for perpetrators. Years later when he was about
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to leave his official post, a wailing sound as grief-stricken as if one’s parents had been lost was

heard from the waters, filling people’s hearts with sadness and amazement. I often wonder
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when such a benevolent county magistrate will appear again in Xiamen such that many beings
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, q+ r7 A1 @7 o+ o9 Gwill be saved from going under the knife. Nonetheless, the practice of lifesaving has been well

* F& _  _/ R, t- C& kaccepted here, due largely to, I was told, the free distribution of 10,000 booklets of The Merit of

' Z1 [7 r( z: F( x+ \Releasing Live Beings by an aspiring layperson. The tradition thus has gradually flourished and

# g; ?( j6 G$ e. wcome down to this day.
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; L& r( _" K  a3 `据说这是当地近年来规模最大的一次放生。不管规模大小，至少，这也是我们为这些生灵
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; s' h+ k" c: R- P7 f7 h反对压迫而举行的一次抗议。善无大小，唯贵久长，日日增之，月月累之，但愿百年以后

* X. Y) `' p4 b& r$ \1 P，生灵涂炭的悲剧不会再上演了。
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9 ^3 m# w' f; P8 o* t% e" dToday’s lifesaving activity reportedly is the largest one in recent years in the area. Regardless of
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whether the magnitude is large or small, at least we have made a revolt against oppression on

8 F% Y# j4 {" t. Z/ o" Obehalf of these sea creatures. The value of good deeds depends not so much on their scale but
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7 m% a; v4 O6 M7 u% A! emore on their consistency. When virtues are practiced daily and enhanced monthly, we hope

# J: Q" q& U0 K) f9 s. Ithat one hundred years from now, the tragedy of taking other beings’ lives will no longer exist.

# ?0 X8 X0 R) f! c( O! a+ }壬午年三月二十三日　
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& c: e# @+ Q+ G2002年5月4日　　

) a4 m% L$ T3 Q5 P/ \23rd of March, Year of RenWu
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May 4, 2002
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