想修大圆满吗？那就从这里开始吧。

The happy life we are having now is not permanent. There is bound to be suffering in the future. Some people do not see the point of preparing for future lives because they are not feeling any obvious distress right now. Yet worrying about the well-being in their old age, they will do all they can to make money even without concerns for karma and retributions sometimes. This is very foolish. It has never occurred to them that they have already been born human and that no matter how hard this life is, it is nowhere close to the severe suffering born by those in the three lower realms. Where will we be reborn next time? Will we have another human birth like this one? No one knows. So, to be well prepared for the next life should be the rational thing to do. What does it take to be well prepared? It certainly is not wealth or fame we need but spiritual practice. Although Theravada practice can solve our own problems, it does not help others. Consequently, we must strive to arouse bodhicitta as it is the only means to help both ourselves and other beings to liberation.

即使我们现在活得很开心，但这种快乐是不可能持续到永远的，我们将来肯定会面临很多苦难。有的人因为现在没有明显痛苦，就不为来世作准备，却因为担心将来会过苦日子，而处心积虑地去拼命挣钱，甚至不考虑因果，这是很愚昧的。他们没有想过，毕竟我们已经投生到人间，日子就算过得再苦，与三恶道的苦也是不能相提并论的。但下一世我们会投生何处？是否还能像现在这样获得人身？这是很难保证的。所以，我们必须要为下一世做充分的准备，这才是理性的选择。所谓充分的准备是什么呢？既不是发财，也不是求名，而是要修法。虽然小乘的法可以解决自己的问题，但解决不了众生的问题。所以，一定要发菩提心，唯有菩提心才能救度自他。

Previously, I have never emphasized Vajrayana practices such as the Great Perfection. And personally, I don’t ever dream of one day attaining realization of the Great Perfection either. Is it because the Great Perfection is not sublime enough? No. The Great Perfection and the Great Madhyamaka are indeed highly sublime practices of Vajrayana. But my capacity is still not sufficient enough for me to tackle something so profound as renunciation and bodhicitta have yet been fully developed. It is as if someone sets out to paint a mural, but there is no wall space available. Of course, no mural either. So, a wall must be built first for a mural to be painted later on. This is how my situation is like right now. Practice of the Great Perfection or the inner winds and channels is something I need to learn and master but have not done so far. At this point, I can only aspire to successfully generate renunciation and bodhicitta. Other Vajrayana practices, like the Great Perfection, are not what I am seeking just yet. In fact, I will not even think about them because that will not help me one bit. My only wish now is to strengthen the foundational practices, i.e., renunciation and bodhicitta. Actually, many of the general and extraordinary preliminaries are developed and practiced just for this purpose.

在以前的所有文章里，我都没有特别强调大圆满等密法。现在我本人，也没有奢求证悟大圆满。为什么呢？是不是大圆满不殊胜呢？不是。大圆满、大中观等密法是非常殊胜的，但我的根基还不够，出离心、菩提心等基础还没有打好。这就好比一个人要画壁画，如果墙壁都没有，又画什么壁画呢？所以，首先要把墙壁砌好，然后才能于其上作画，目前我的状况就是如此。所以，虽然大圆满、气脉明点等修法，是我所欠缺和必须的，但我现在只能处于希求、向往出离心和菩提心的阶段当中，暂时不去追求、向往大圆满等密法，因为即使向往，也是无济于事的。现在我唯一的希望，就是将基础打牢。而基础的修法只有两个，一是出离心，二是菩提心。外加行、内加行的很多修法，都是围绕这两个修法而展开，都是为达到这两个目的而进行的。

This is the current state I am in. What about yours? What are your goals? Only you know the answers. I think, as a Buddhist, especially a Buddhist who has studied a great deal of Mahayana teachings, the goal should never be for money or worldly accomplishments. Perhaps to many of you, and me as well, the Great Perfection is just way too profound for us to grasp at this point. People like us should start with generating renunciation and bodhicitta, the foundational practice.

我当前的境界就是这样，不知道你们的境界如何？你们在追求的目标是什么？这些只有你们自己才了解。我想，作为一名佛教徒，尤其是听闻过许多大乘佛法的佛教徒，其目标决不应该是金钱，决不应该是现世生活中所谓的圆满。很多人或许还是像我这样，离大圆满等高深密法尚有一定的距离，这种人就应该从基础的出离心和菩提心开始。