小乘出离心，大乘菩提心，不具不算修行人

The motivation of an average practitioner is that of a sravaka and pratyekabuddha, which is not to practice for worldly blessings like health or longevity. These people are scared of and loath all worldly fulfillments and clinging to the five aggregates (from physical body to consciousness)，and long to rid themselves of the shackles of the five aggregates as soon as possible. Therefore, they do not perform good deeds or practice the Dharma for worldly benefit; yet liberation of others does not concern them either. Well, do arhats not have compassion? Yes, they do, and they take pity on the sentient beings as well. But because their compassion is not deep enough, they do not have the courage to help all sentient beings to freedom from samsara, wanting only to resolve their own cyclic existence. They are unwilling to generate bochicitta and practice for others’sake. That is why such motivation is only of middling quality. Practice with this kind of motivation yields no karmic fruit other than liberating oneself.

第二是中士道，即小乘声闻、缘觉的动机，也即不是为了追求世间圆满，不是考虑健康、长寿等而修行。因为这种发心的人，对世间圆满以及自身五蕴（肉身等）怀有恐慌厌离之心，极其渴望能早日摆脱五蕴的束缚。所以，他的行善修法不是为了追求世间圆满。但是，他也从未考虑过众生的解脱。那么，阿罗汉是否没有慈悲心呢？不，他有慈悲心，也认为众生非常可怜，但因为其慈悲心深度不够，所以没有勇气度众生，只是想解决自己的生、老、病、死。他们不愿发菩提心，为众生而修法。所以，这种动机是中等的。以这种修法除了能使自己获得解脱之外，没有其他的果报。

Some people may think of themselves as practitioners of Mahayana, Pure Land, Zen or Vajrayana, but never Theravada practitioners. And they feel complacent, what with Mahayana being the superior vehicle and Vajrayana simply outstanding, whereas Theravada not being particularly profound. However, please carefully examine each one’s own motivation. Perhaps we will be ashamed to find that we are not even up to the standards of Theravada practitioners.

或许有人会认为：我是学大乘的、学净土的、学禅宗的、学密乘的，不是小乘修行人，小乘的法没有什么可修的，大乘的法才殊胜，密乘的法才了不起，并因此而沾沾自喜。但是，请大家仔细地观察一下自己的发心，也许我们会自惭形秽地发现，自己连小乘的修行人都不如。

All branches of Buddhism fall under Mahayana and Theravada. There is no third vehicle. To be a Theravada practitioner, the first requisite is having unshakable renunciation—complete distaste for worldly fulfillments and whole-hearted pursuit of liberation from samsara. Do we have such resolution? If not, we would not qualify as Theravada practitioners.

佛教的一切分支都归纳于大乘和小乘当中，没有其他的第三乘。要作小乘的修行人，第一个条件就是必须要有坚定不移的出离心——非常讨厌世间圆满，并不遗余力地希求解脱。我们做到了吗？如果没有，就算不上是小乘的修行人。

Mahayana practitioners, on the other hand, must have undaunted bodhicitta and be willing to serve the needs of others unselfishly and unconditionally. Can we do that? If not, we would not be deemed Mahayana practitioners either.

而大乘的修行人，又必须具备百折不挠的菩提心，能无自私、无条件地付出，我们能作到吗？如果不能，则也算不上是大乘的修行人。

If we are neither Mahayana nor Theravada practitioners, strictly speaking, we are not Buddhist practitioners at all. What are we after all? At best, we are believers of Buddhism or of Shakyamuni Buddha, who may intermittently chant some mantras and do some good deeds here and there. Really, just be a little better than non-believers. Though we may have had many teachings and empowerments, met more than a few respectable teachers and practitioners, we still cannot get any closer to even the edge of liberation. Worse, it must have been horrifying to discover that we possibly may not even be Buddhist practitioners when going through the aforementioned self-examination.

如果我们既不是大乘的修行人，也不是小乘的修行人，那么，从严格的意义上来讲，我们就根本不是佛教的修行人。那么，我们是什么呢？只是信仰佛教，信仰释迦牟尼佛，平时念念咒、做做善事，比不信佛的人稍强一筹的人而已。虽然我们听了很多法，灌了很多顶，拜见了很多高僧大德，却与解脱了无关系。当我们反观自省时，如果发现自己竟然不是佛教修行人，那是非常可怕的。