生存的方式和生存的意义，您混淆了吗？

The way of living and the meaning of life may seem to be the most basic things that we should all know about, but to separate the two in practice is not so easy. I personally feel that it is rather important to be able to tell the difference between the two. Nowadays, many people including quite a few Buddhist practitioners think that the way of living and the meaning of life mean one and the same. However, what they have in mind is just the way of living, which less intelligent animals also know, never the purpose and significance of life.

生存的方式和生存的意义虽然是最简单、最基础的道理，但要做起来却不是很容易。我觉得掌握这一点很重要，现在很多人，包括不少学佛的人都把生存的方法和生存的意义混为一谈，除了生存的方法以外，没有生存的意义，就像愚昧无知的畜生一样。

For an animal，to be able to successfully live up to ten or twenty years as a result of the causes and conditions engendered in past life which allow it to live this long means victory already. This after all would be the meaning of life for this animal.

对一个动物来说，如果因前世的因缘能够活到十年、二十年，它也顺利地活到了十年、二十年的话，这就是它的胜利。对它来说，这就是生存的意义。

Many people also mix up the two. Among them, there are non-Buddhists and some lay practitioners of Buddhism. Although increasingly more people are becoming interested in learning Buddhism, some of them seek only the benefit of the celestial beings or the human realm in this life. What will happen in the next life or the question of liberation from samsara are not at all their concerns. They burn incense and read sutras only to get a better treatment from this life. On the surface, it may appear that they are practicing Buddhism, but in fact they view Dharma practice only as a way of living. To non-Buddhists, working is their way of living; for some Buddhists, the way of living means going to the temple to render worship to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The so-called Dharma practice does not touch upon the meaning of life whatsoever. To make clear distinction between the way of living and the meaning of life is the most basic step to entering the path of Dharma.

很多人也是这样，生存的意义当作生存的方式，生存的方式当作生存的意义。不学佛的人是这样，居士当中的部分人也是这样。这两年学佛的人越来越多，但有些人的所谓学佛，只是为了追求人天福报，既不特别地强调下一世怎么样，更不寻求解脱，主要是在现世生活中能够过得好一些—健康、长寿、发财，就是为了达到这一点目的去烧香、拜佛、念经等等；从外表上看是在学佛，但实际上是把佛法当成了一种生存的方式。不信佛的人，将努力工作作为生存的方式；信佛的人，将去庙里烧香拜佛作为生存的方式。这种所谓的学佛，根本没有涉及生存的意义。我们应当分清什么是生存的方式，什么是生存的意义，这是基础的基础，是学佛的第一个入口。