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弟子规浅释
Standards for Students

孙果秀注释 Explained by Jennifer Lin

目录

第二章:孝

Chapter Two: FILIAL PIETY

父母呼,应勿缓,父母命,行勿懒。
父母教,须敬听,父母责,须顺承。
冬则温,夏则凊,晨则省,昏则定。
出必告,反必面,居有常,业无变。
事虽小,勿擅为,苟擅为,子道亏。
物虽小,勿私藏,苟私藏,亲心伤。
亲所好,力为具,亲所恶,谨为去。
身有伤,贻亲忧,德有伤,贻亲羞。
亲爱我,孝何难,亲憎我,孝方贤。
亲有过,谏使更,怡吾色,柔吾声。
谏不入,悦复谏,号泣随,挞无怨。
亲有疾,药先尝,昼夜侍,不离床。
丧三年,常悲咽,居处变,酒肉绝。
丧尽礼,祭尽诚,事死者,如事生。

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qin

you

ji

 

yao

xian

chang

父母亲

如果有

疾病

 

药剂

在先地

尝试

parents

have

illness

medicine

first

to taste

父母亲有疾病时,所服用的汤药都要先检查过;
When parents are sick, examine the medicine before giving the dosage.

zhou

ye

shi

 

bu

li

chuang

白天

夜晚

侍奉

 

不可

离开

床边

day

night

to serve

do not

to leave

bedside

不论白天夜晚都侍奉着,不离开父母的床边。
Wait on them day and night, without ever leaving their bedside.

这说的是当父母有疾病时,做子女应有的表现。不过,因为时代的不同,社会的变迁,加之各国风俗民情、文化背景也有异,这在今日就成了一个引人争论非议的话题。尤其是头两句。给父母的药,怎么可以先去吃呢?胡乱吃乐,这简直地太危险了!现在我们先就“尝”这个中国字来解释一下,或者会比较容易明白。

 

This verse speaks of the child's duties when his or her parents are sick. However, due to the changing times and social customs and the differing cultural backgrounds, this verse--especially the first line-- has become a source of controversy and has lost its original meaning. If taken literally, how can we taste medicine before we give it to our parents? Isn't it dangerous to casually take medicine that is not prescribed for one? Let us explain the meaning of the Chinese character “chang 尝” for "taste," and then this verse will become easier to understand.

尝,本来在中国是一种秋祭的名称,就是秋天农作物收成后,用新谷来祭祀山林土地众神,以表感恩;祭典之后,人家都吃一点祭过的新谷,看看味道好不好?这叫“尝新”。因此,尝就有“用舌头辨别滋味”的意思,也引申出来“试一试”,或“鉴定”的意思。

 

The character chang was a term used in ancient China during harvest Lime. After the newly harvested crops were ritually offered to the mountain, forest, and earth spirit to give thanks, everyone would taste a little bit of the offering. That was known as chang xin 尝新"tasting the new." Thus chang meant "using the tip of the tongue to distinguish the flavor," and it also came to mean "to taste" or "to give expert evidence. "

 

因为古代中国的药,是用天然药草,加水熬成的一碗浓缩药汁。在这儿,尝药的意思,便是用舌尖轻轻碰触药汁,以辨别这个药;只是浅尝,并不是叫你吃到肚子里去。如果是今日的药丸、药片,当然就无法尝了;就是尝,除舔了到表面的糖衣外,也尝不出个所以然,所以不需要去尝它。

 

In ancient China, natural herbs were boiled and decocted to make medicine. Thus, chang meant to lightly taste the herbal decoction with the tip of the tongue, not to swallow it down. Of course, there is no way to taste modern medicines which come in the form of pills and capsules. All you would be able to taste is their sugar coating.

那么尝药的作用,既然是为了辨别,辨别什么呢?第一,辨别药汁的温度;第二,辨别药的正确性。因为药汁必须趁热吃才有药效;但也不可太烫,而烫伤了虚弱的病人。可是,手对温度的感觉是不太能凭恃的,它会因人、因碗的质地,以及不同的药性,而有些差别;唯一的方法,便是以舌尖浅尝一下了。细心的孝子是不会冒冒失失地,就端一碗热腾腾或凉兮兮的药给父母的。

 

The purpose of tasting medicine is to determine (1) how hot it is, and (2) whether it is the correct prescription. Chinese herbal decoctions are effective only if taken warm. However, they cannot be too hot, for overly hot medicine can harm weak patients. Our hands are not reliable for measuring the temperature of the decoction, since the accuracy of the measurement would depend on the person measuring, the material of the container, and the properties of the medicine. The only way to do it is to lightly test the decoction with the tip of one's tongue. A concerned filial child will not recklessly serve his parents a steaming hot or cold bowl of medicine.

那又怎么辨别药的正确性呢?中国药草之多,较常用的,也有几千种,却不外酸、苦、甜、辣、咸五味,主治心肝脾肾肺五脏。大略地说,味酸的治肝脏、风疾,味甜的治脾胃、郁闷等病,味苦的治心,味辛辣的治肺、气管诸疾,味咸的治肾;把药汁一尝,马上可以试验出医生的药方,或药房抓的药,有没有被搞错。

 

How can one determine whether the medicine is the correct one? Among the numerous varieties of Chinese medicine, there are several thousand which are commonly used. Yet all of them can be classified according to the five flavors: sour, bitter, sweet, acidic, and salty. The five flavors are primarily used to treat the five organs: the heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, and lungs. Generally speaking, sour medicine's are used to treat liver diseases and rheumatism. Medicines of a sweet nature are used to treat diseases of the spleen and stomach, depression, and other such ailments. Bitter medicinal herbs are for the heart, acidic herbs for the lungs and bronchial tube, and salty ones for the kidneys.

当然这只能试个大概,除非深谙医理和药性的人,无法验得准确,不过这是孝子的一点心意。所以我们现在对这一段文字比较了解了,应该没有可以非议的了吧?那么对于今日的药丸、药片,我们的“尝”,就是检查,看看父母服用的时间、药量对不对,有没有拿错了药,因为有的病人并不只吃一种药。这是我们应该要谨慎服侍在病床边的理由之一。

 

As soon as one tastes it, one can get a general idea of whether the medicine obtained is the correct one. Although only someone who is well-versed in medical lore and the properties of medicines can get a really accurate idea, tasting the medicine before giving it to his or her parents is a gesture of concern on the part of a filial child. Now that we have a better understanding of this verse, we should have no reason to criticize it. With regard to the pills and tablets of modern medicine, the word "taste" can be interpreted as "examine," that is, to make sure our parents take the right medicine at the right times and in the right dosages (because sometimes sick people have to take more than one kind of medicine). This is one of the reasons we should carefully attend to our parents when they are sick.

病人或者头昏眼花,或者行动不便,或者饮食无法自主,甚或大小便都不能自理,在在都需要人照顾。尤其是心情的沮丧、烦躁或恐惧,更需要人的支持与安抚。照顾病人是很苦的事情,尤其你若有自己经济上的困难、家庭的责任、工作或功课上的压力,还要奔走医院,服侍一个心理也可能已不平衡的病人,那真会令人心力交疲。中国有句俗话说:“久病床前无孝子。”实在说起来,也不能苛责做子女的,不过孝子之所以是孝子,也正因为他“难行能行、难忍能忍”,和平常人不一样。

 

Sick people may be dizzy, or have trouble getting around, or be unable to feed themselves or to use the toilet; they need other people to help them in all aspects. When they are sad, afflicted, or afraid, they especially need others to support and console them. Taking care of sick people can be very hard, especially if one has financial difficulties, family responsibilities, or pressures from work or school. If one has to make many trips to the hospital to take care of a sick person who may not be in a normal state of mind, one may become physically and mentally exhausted. There. is a Chinese saying, "There are no filial children by the bedside of one who is chronically ill." Yet. one cannot really blame the children. A filial child merits the name "filial" because he or she is able to rise above the crowd, practicing what is difficult to practice, and enduring what is hard to endure.

所以这后两句文字,说不论白天夜晚都侍奉着,不离开父母的床边;虽然在今日的社会环境中,有些不可能,总以尽心尽力为孝。这个“尽”字,便是一种不自私、不自利,一种完全奉献的心态。做子女的,只要问自己是否尽心尽力了;至于其作法,是可以因人、因时、因地而制宜,不是一成不变的!

 

The second line of the verse says that we should wait on our sick parents day and night, without leaving their bedside. Although this may not always be possible in our modern society, we should still try our best to be filial. Our spirit should be one of "giving our all" without one bit of selfishness. As children, we should simply ask ourselves if we have done our best for our parents; the methods we use are not fixed, but can depend on the person, time, and situation.

汉文帝亲尝汤药,名列二十四孝,那是因为他以九五之尊,万机之忙,却不假手他人,昼夜亲侍候薄太后,殊是不易。我们可不要找藉口,说皇帝富甲天下,不须要劳累工作,当然他有空闲和精力去日夜照顾母亲啰,尝尝药又算什么!那么古今中外,有几个孝子是出在豪门的呀?

 

Emperor Wen of the Han dynasty personally tasted his mother's medicine, and he became one of the Twenty-four Filial Paragons of China. Although he was the emperor and was occupied with the myriad affairs of riding the country, he personally waited upon his mother day and night. This is truly remarkable. We shouldn't try to find an excuse, saying, "Well, the emperor was wealthy and didn't have to work to make a living. Of course he had the time and energy to take care of his mother around the clock. What's the big deal about tasting her medicine once in a while?" Yet take a look at history in China and other countries and see how many filial children have come from rich families.

所以“不论白天夜晚都侍奉着,不离开父母的床边”,这意思是指孝事父母的那个“心”;不要在那个“时间”上钻牛角尖,而误解了圣人所说的真义。

 

The line "Wait upon them day and night, without ever leaving their bedside" is talking about the spirit with which we should serve our parents. We shouldn't become attached to the details of time and place and misunderstand the true intent of the sages.

 

读古书,要以心去领会得书中义理的精神,并行之于日用之间,才能上与古圣先贤游。断不能依文解字,以辞害义;否则我们所谓的文字,只不过是古人思想糟粕。若因此一味指责思想落伍,不能产生大用,而人云亦云,那是邪知邪见;若是拿糟粕当精华,囫囵吞枣、照单全收,那叫做屈死古人!

 

In studying the classics, we have to grasp the spirit of the principles and practice them in our daily lives. Then we will be able to roam with the sages and worthies of old. We should not interpret the classics so literally that the meaning is lost, or else we will only taste the dregs of the noble ideas of the ancients. If we insist on condemning all the classics as outdated, we will gain no benefit from them. We are simply repeating what we hear, which is based upon mistaken views. If we treat the dregs as the cream and jump to conclusions like this, we are not doing justice to the ancients.

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