应作与不应作

摘要：应作、不应作,如鸟之两翼、车之双轮，缺一不可。

我们在生活中，当看到不应作分时，就一定要知道另外有个应作分。这两方面一定是同时、相互配合支持的。单执一边，就会成为一种制约。像某人做了一个不应作的事，我们通常就会说，你不应该这样做，这样做不对。如果没有应作分的支持，就会有对他人的要求与指责。

我们来举个例子。有一位父亲约好自己的孩子与其他几个小朋友去踢球，马上要出门的时候，自己的孩子突然说他要吃东西，不给吃就不去了，闹情绪。此时这位父亲如果直接去说:“大家都在等你，你不能这么自私，不许吃！”这样孩子就会委屈，会感到自己的需要受到制约。相反，在孩子这个不应作的时候，引导孩子应该做什么——应该去支持大家，这样不仅会给所有的朋友带来欢乐，同时也会得到其他朋友对他的信任。有了这个应作分的支持，他就容易欣然接受家长的引导与建议了，也不会感觉太压抑与委屈自己了。

许多有宗教信仰的人都会有戒律的守护，比如不杀生是其中的一条。在自己守护或者引导他人时，常因为单执不应作分，造成人对戒律的排斥，认为太多的制约了，这其实是缺乏应作分的支持。要清晰不杀生的益处是什么很重要！比如不杀生或者护生，人能健康长寿，心中无有畏惧，会得到一切生命对自身的支持。了解了不杀生的利益，守护这个不杀生的意乐就建立起来了。

应作、不应作，如鸟之两翼、车之双轮，缺一不可。我们在不应作上要认知，同时不要丢失应作分的支持。这样会令我们在不应作上歇心，在歇心的基础再去作为。

生命之光～阳光早餐

开明师兄整理于2019年4月

What we should and shouldn’t do

When we come across something that we shouldn’t do in our life, we must understand there also exists the other side – what we should do. The two sides exist simultaneously and support each other. For example, if someone has done something wrong, we often tell him that he shouldn’t have done this and it was wrong. Without the support of telling him what he should have done instead, our words may seem to demand and blame him.

Let’s say a father arranges a football game for his son along with his son’s friends over the weekend. But the moment they are about to go out, the son suddenly says that he wants to have something to eat and he refuses to leave home unless he gets a snack immediately. The son gets in a bad mood. In this situation, if the father blames him with such words as: “Everyone is waiting for you. Don’t be selfish. Don’t eat!”, his son may feel hurt or feel that his needs are neglected. On the contrary, instead of telling him what he shouldn’t do, the father guides his son with what he should do: “Are you willing to support others by leaving home quickly? If you don’t keep your friends waiting for you, they will be happy and you can win their trust. ” The father’s words encourages the son to willingly accept his suggestions, without feeling depressed or neglected.

Many people with beliefs follow precepts such as avoiding killing any sentient beings. In observing these precepts or trying to convince others to observe them, many people get rejected by others or even by themselves because they may feel there are too many restrictions if they only focus on what they shouldn’t do. In this case, it is very important to understand the benefits of not-killing. If we don’t kill or even protect other lives, we can be more healthy and live longer, fear nothing in our heart, and receive gratitude or supports from other forms of life. By understanding the benefits of not-killing, we become more willingly to observe this precept.

What we should and shouldn’t do are like two wings of a bird or two wheels of a vehicle. Both are necessary to correctly function. We must be clear about what we shouldn’t do, while at the same time encourage ourselves with what we should do. This way we can rest our heart in what we shouldn’t do and act in what we should do.