One night a monk was reciting a sutra bequeathed by Kashyapa Buddha.
其聲悲緊。思悔欲退。
His tone was so mournful, and his voice so fainting, as if he were going out of existence.
佛問之曰。汝昔在家。曾為何業。
The Buddha asked the monk, "What was your occupation before you became a homeless monk? "
對曰。愛彈琴。
Said the monk, "I was very fond of playing the guitar."
佛言。絃緩如何。對曰。不鳴矣。
The Buddha said, "How did you find it when the strings were too loose?" Said the monk, "No sound is possible."
絃急如何。對曰。聲絕矣。
"How when the strings were too tight?" "They crack."
急緩得中如何。對曰。諸音普矣。
"How when they were neither too tight nor too loose?" "Every note sounds in its proper tone."
佛言。沙門學道亦然。
The Buddha then said to the monk, "Religious discipline is also like unto playing the guitar.
心若調適。道可得矣。
When the mind is properly adjusted and quietly applied, the Way is attainable;
於道若暴。暴即身疲。
but when you are too fervently bent on it, your body grows tired;
其身若疲。意即生惱。
and when your body is tired, your spirit becomes weary;
意若生惱。行即退矣。
when your spirit is weary, your discipline will relax;
其行既退。罪必加矣。
and with the relaxation of discipline there follows many an evil.
但清淨安樂。道不失矣。
Therefore, be calm and pure, and the Way will be gained."
法师讲解：34 處中得道
Commentary: Following the Middle Path to attain Bodhi
The Middle Path requires that we forgo the conceptions of binary opposition, such as emptiness versus existence, eternity versus nihilism, etc, which are all heterodox views. We also need to stay away from extreme asceticism and indulgence. Buddha Sakyamuni had led a luxurious life in palace when he was a crown prince, and then he started a monastic life to practise asceticism in the snow mountain for 6 years. After all these he realized that living at extreme conditions were not helpful in attaining enlightenment at all. Thereafter he started to practise according to the Middle Path and became enlightened eventually.
中道是要我们舍弃二元对立的思维模式，当中包括“空”与“有”、“常”与“断” 等的邪见，同时也需要摒除极端的苦修与享乐。释迦牟尼佛当太子时本来在王宫过着奢华的生活，之后出家又在雪山苦修六年，结果发现这些极端的生活方式对觉悟毫无帮助，此后奉行中道的修行方式而最终悟道。
Buddhism does not deny worldly happiness. However Buddhism does remind us that worldly happiness is transient and unstable. Such peculiarity of uncertainty is named dukkha or suffering. For example, our wealth can be wiped out overnight in a financial crisis, and our vitality will decline gradually with the lapse of time.
佛法並不否定世间的快乐，但佛法提醒我们世间的快乐都是短暂，而且是变幻无常的，並称这些不定性为苦。例如我们的财富可以在一个金融危机中一夜蒸发，青春活力也会慢慢地隨时间流逝。
Buddhism advocates a lifestyle of simplicity such that we will live in contentment with fewer desires, and we shouldn’t be disorientated by our ever expanding desires. We may want to know that this is about reduction of desires rather than total abstinence, as though the fiddle strings should neither be tuned too tight nor too loose. This is the wisdom of living brought about by Buddhism with which we can still exhibit breadth and calmness in face of the Eight Influences, namely compliment, sarcasm, defamation, honor, gain, loss, suffering, and happiness. As for cultivation, we should forgo those meaningless ascetic practices but without falling too much into indolence. For example there are occasions, such as summer retreats and chanting sessions, during which monastics exercise more diligence than normal.
佛教提倡的是一种少欲知足的简朴生活方式，让我们免被不断膨胀的欲望所误导。注意这里讲的是少欲而不是禁欲，就像琴弦一样不能太松也不能太紧。这是佛法带给我们的生活智慧，让我们面对称、讥、毁、誉、利、衰、苦、乐等八风都可以坦然面对。在修行方面，我们需要放弃一些无意义的苦行，但又不能过于放逸，例如出家人有结夏安居或打佛七等特别精进用功的时候，也有相对平淡的时间。
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