吃喝玩乐绝非人生目的

Did we separate the way of living and the meaning of life before learning the Dharma? I think not. At that time, most of us considered eating well and having fun the meaning of life，but the Buddha told us that those are just the way of living.

大家想想：以前没有学佛的时候，自己有没有将生存的方式和生存的意义分开过？我想应该没有。那个时候我们一般会认为，吃喝玩乐就是生存的意义；但佛告诉我们，吃吃喝喝只是生存的方式，而不是生存的意义。

Is burning fuel the purpose of a car’s existence? No. Its purpose is to transport. Burning fuel is just a way to sustain itself. Only with fuel can it have enough power to fulfill its purpose. Likewise, food, clothing and housing are what we need to maintain our existence. As for the meaning of life, there is a big difference in understanding between those who have learned the Dharma and those who have not.

譬如说，一辆汽车的生存意义是不是燃烧燃料呢？当然不是。汽车生存的意义，就是交通运输，燃烧燃料只是它的生存条件；因为有了燃料它才有活力，才可以做事情。人也是这样。衣食住行等等，是人生存的方式，至于生存的意义，学佛的人与不学佛的人在认识上会有很大的差别。

Now that we have learned the teachings of the Buddha, we should do our best to follow his advices as much as we can, if not one hundred percent. We would be Buddhas ourselves if we can comply one hundred percent! And the first step is to begin with distinguishing the meaning of life and the way of living.

现在我们懂得了佛讲的道理，也在跟着佛陀学习。佛告诉我们怎么做，我们就尽量地去做。虽然我们不能百分之百地达到佛对我们的要求，如果百分之百达到了，我们就成佛了。但我们可以做到百分之三十、五十，能做多少就做多少。做的时候从哪里开始呢？就是从区分生存的意义和生存的方式开始。

From now on, having good food, pretty clothes and a fabulous place to live in no longer denote what life is about. Material wealth and other worldly things are only necessary for us to maintain a living.

吃好吃的食物、穿漂亮的衣服、住豪华的房子不是生存的意义，以后我们只能把金钱等世俗的东西当成维持生命的条件。