佛教徒应该有一个什么样的生活模式？

How should a Buddhist live? The Buddha gave us the answer long time ago. Being his followers, we should all adopt the kind of life that he had prescribed for both the monastics and laypeople. Doing so will make for a much more meaningful life.

作为一个佛教徒，究竟该怎么样生活，释迦牟尼佛早就给我们制订了一个模式，作为佛陀的后学者，无论在家人还是出家人,都应该遵循这个共同的生活模式。如果按照这套模式去生活，人生就会很有意义，此生也不会很痛苦，这就是佛教徒的生活模式。

I. Avoid duality

一、不堕两边

In the Vinaya Pitaka, the Buddha told the monastics that one should avoid duality in life. Duality mentioned in Madhyamaka is the eternalist and nihilist view, whereas in the context of the way of living, duality denotes the impoverished and self-indulgent life.

释迦牟尼佛在律藏里面对出家人说：生活不能堕两边，也就是指陷入两个极端。中观也提到两个边，是指常见和断见。生活的两个边，是指太艰苦和不知满足的两种生活方式。

In the case of ordinary people, an impoverished life means to deliberately live in a poverty-stricken condition. But to some practitioners like Milarepa，poverty is not an obstacle but assistance to their practice. Obviously, not everyone can attain the same state in practice as those masters. For us ordinary people, it would be very difficult to consider matters like renunciation，bodhicitta and liberation if we must struggle constantly to eke out a living. A harsh living condition may be helpful for some to generate renunciation, but renunciation developed under this circumstance is not real, as genuine renunciation must include aspiration to seek liberation. Poverty alone may not be enough reason for people to forsake samsara. Only those who have grasped the essence of the Dharma may possibly generate true renunciation. Therefore, Buddhists in general need not and should not deliberately live too poorly.

太艰苦的生活，就是故意过非常贫穷、非常困窘的生活。当然，这是对一般人而言的，像米拉日巴那样的少数修行人，贫穷对他们来说不但不是修行的逆缘，反而是修行的顺缘，但不是所有人都能达到这样的境界。作为一般的人，如果过得太贫困，经常为了生活考虑太多，操心太多，就没有时间考虑出离心、菩提心、解脱等等，虽然艰苦生活也许对有些人的出离心生起有一些帮助，但仅仅因为生活艰苦而觉得生活没有意义，活在人间没有意义并不是真正的出离心，这种人也不一定会去寻求解脱。真正的出离心，是要寻求解脱。日子过得苦也不一定有出离心，只有精通佛法，并将其融入自心的人，才有可能具备出离心，所以，普通佛教徒的生活不必过得太艰苦，更不能故意去过很苦的日子。

未完待续