迷梦中的人们，赶快醒过来吧

There are also those who either due to their cultural background or poor financial condition, are not in the position to concern themselves with these issues just yet. But if one does have the means and the will, it is never too early to begin tackling these questions to make oneself aware of the true reality. On the other hand, if one refuses to change course and still indulges in pleasure seeking, one will in many respects match the description given by the past practitioners that such people are really no different from animals. Animals only care about having fun and enough to eat. Other values are not their concerns. We may think of them as being pitiable, what with all the limitations of their lives, while they themselves do not. Those who only focus on seeking pleasures in life are really not much better than animals, and in this sense the description from the past is a fitting one.

当然，有的人由于文化背景的影响，或自身温饱都未能解决，所以在目前还没有条件考虑这些。但只要有条件，就不如早作打算，让自己能尽早苏醒过来。如果执迷不悟，整天只是顾着享乐，就真对应了从前修行人称此类人“无异于畜生”的说法。畜生所关心的就是温饱玩乐而已，我们看重的它们不在意，我们看它们苦，它们倒不以为苦。那些只知及时行乐的人，的确与畜生没有高下之分。前人所下的结论，将此种情况描绘得极为真切，实在并不过分。

The eight kinds of suffering set forth in The Words of My Perfect Teacher have all been part of our personal experiences. You may refer to the book for details. Some people assign a relatively low priority to the questions of life and death whereas fulfilling the basic needs of life is of the utmost importance. And they believe it is rightfully so. This just indicates a lack of in- depth understanding of suffering and impermanence.

《普贤上师言教》中提到的八种痛苦，都是我们亲身经历过的，具体细节可以看书了解。有些人认为生死问题无关紧要，眼前的衣食住行才是最重要的，解决生活问题是理所当然的事情。这都是因为没有意识到痛苦与无常的缘故。

Why does the present matter but not the future? Can we really ignore the question about future life? Why don’t we need to resolve what will face us in the next life and the one after that? Is it justified to only care about the present? Some may argue that there is no next life based on some scientific reasoning. But I think this question is a philosophical one rather than scientific. No science can prove the nonexistence of past and future life. Some so-called proofs are just the premature judgment of a small group of people which in no way can refute the existence of past and future life. This is a very real question that we should not make any excuse to evade. But more importantly, we need to contemplate the true nature of samsara on a much deeper level. To take life and death only at face value is what keeps us in samsara from beginningless time until now. The fact is that we have been fooled all along and need to wake up to this fact as quickly as we can.

为什么眼前的事重要，以后的问题就不重要呢？后世的问题难道真的可以摆在一边不管？下一世、再下一世所要面对的，为什么不需要解决？我们有什么理由只看眼前而不看其他呢？没有理由。或许有人会说后世是不存在的，因为有科学的论证。但后世存在与否，我认为是哲学而非科学的问题，没有任何科学可以证明前后世不存在，一些所谓的证据，只不过是少部分人的一种不成熟的想法而已，所以并不能推翻前世来生的存在。我们不但没有借口不去思考这个现实问题，而且要更深层次地去思维轮回的真面目。只看表面的后果，就是让我们从无始以来流转轮回至今，可以说我们是被蒙骗了，所以要赶快醒过来。以上讲的是第二种行相。