端午節 Dragon Boat Festival

今天，2023 年 6 月 22 日，是端午節（粵語 Dyun-Ng-Jit）。 這是農曆5月15日的中國傳統節日，相當於公曆的5月下旬或6月下旬。 為紀念古代詩人屈原，這個節日通過舉行龍舟比賽和吃粽子來慶祝。

Today, 22 Jun 2023, is the Dragon Boat Festival (Dyun-Ng-Jit in Cantonese). This is a traditional Chinese holiday on the 15th May of the Lunar calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar. A commemoration of the ancient poet Qu Yuan, the holiday is celebrated by holding dragon boat races and eating sticky rice dumplings called zongzi.

這個節日在中國眾所周知是為了紀念戰國時期楚國詩人兼大臣屈原（公元前 340-278 年）逝世。 當楚王決定與日益強大的秦國結盟時，屈原作為大臣，因反對結盟而被指控為謀反罪而被貶。 他在流亡期間寫了大量詩歌。 最終，秦國攻占了楚國。 屈原絕望之下投汨羅江自盡。

It is well known in China that this festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan (340–278 BC) of the state of Chu during the Warring States period. When the king of Chu decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu Yuan as a higher minister, was banished for accused of treason since his opposing the alliance. He wrote a great deal of poetry during his exile. Eventually, Qin captured the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River.

據說，賽龍舟的起源是當地仰慕他的人們划船去救他，或者至少找回他的屍體。而各種粽子的由來，就是在找不到屈原屍體的情況下，救援人員將糯米糰扔進河裡，代替屈原的屍體讓魚兒吃。

The origin of dragon boat races is said that the local people who admired him were raced out in their boats to save him, or at least retrieve his body. And the the origin of various zongzi (Chinese rice dumpling) is that when his body could not be found, the rescuers dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of Qu Yuan's body.

戒律的應用 The apply of precepts

在解釋戒律的目的之前，我們首先要對“因果”有一個大概的了解。這是佛教徒必須知道的基本概念之一。它解釋了業力（一種形成因果關係的自然力量）如何運作，即我們的動機和行為（因）與痛苦或快樂的結果（果）之間的關係或聯繫，以及在結果形成之前作出改變或調整的可能性。

Before explaining the purpose of the precepts, we must first have a general understanding of "Cause and Effect". This is one of the fundamental concepts that Buddhists must know. It explains how Karma (a natural force forming the related effects of causes) works, that is, the relations or connections from our motives and actions (causes) to the outcomes (effects) of suffering or joy, and the possibility to change or adjust the outcomes before formed. 

戒律不是牢不可破的嚴格限製或法律，而是建立在相互尊重和業力運作方式的基礎上的靈活指導方針，讓我們避免因不當的言行而受苦。例如，我們從不殺戒中可以知道，為私心而殺生，會死於報復。此外，為了避免被捕或被報復，兇手會因為隨時隨地要都有小心眼，所以失去生活的樂趣。了解與此戒相關的業力，我們可以通過持守此戒來避免上述痛苦。

Rather than the rigid unbreakable restrictions or laws, the precepts, which based on mutual respect and how Karma works, are flexible guidelines that showing the way to avoid suffer from our inappropriate words and deeds. For example, we may know from the precept of no killing that killing for selfishness will lead to death unexpectedly by being revenge. In addition, to avoiding being arrested or being revenge, the killer will lose his fun in life since he must put an eye everywhere at any times. Knowing Karma that relates to this precept, we may avoid the suffering above by keeping this precept.

另一方面，通過坦白認罪、尋求調解等方式，也有調整業力的可能。通過這些措施，兇手無法避免被捕，但至少可以避免因為擔心被報復而承受精神上的痛苦。

On the other hand, it may have the possibility to adjust Karma through the measures of frank confession and seeking mediation. By these measures, the killer can not be avoided being arrested, but at least his spiritual distress can be avoided by being free from being revenge.

此外，從同一個戒，我們可以知道，軍隊或警察在必須造成必要的傷害或殺戮以保護公民時，永遠不會被視為破戒，因為他們的動機和行為是適當的，並且不帶有自私心。因此，即使他們知道自己可能會遭到報復，也不會因他們的差事而感到精神上的痛苦。軍警們如果盲目執持此戒，可能會造成更多的傷亡，不僅要為此承擔法律責任，而且還會被視為嚴重違背這個戒律。

Further, from the same precept, we may understand that  armies or police will never be considered for breaking this precept when they have to inflict the necessary harm or killing to protect citizens, since their motives and actions are appropriate and with no selfishness. Thus, there are no spiritual distress from their errand even through they know that they may possible suffer retaliation. If the armies and police blindly insist on keeping this precept, may causing more casualties, they will not only bear legal responsibility for this, but will also be considered as serious offense on this precept.

因果是我們持戒的原因，能夠靈活持戒是我們運用自己人生能力的體現。就像不殺生戒一樣，持守每一條戒，都可以讓我們遠離相應的痛苦。了解每一個戒律背後的因果/業力，可以在我們不小心觸犯戒律時立即彌補，並讓我們知道在某些情況下必需臨時靈活地破戒。

Cause and Effect is the reason for us to keep the precepts, and being able to hold the precepts flexibly is a manifestation of our ability to apply our own life. Just like the precept of no killing, keeping of each precept may prevent us from the corresponding suffering. Learning the Cause and Effect / Karma behind each pre
cepts may make up for it as soon as we accidentally offend the commandment, and let us know when we have to flexably break the precepts temporarily for certany circumstances.

可以說，如果我們能夠靈活地持守與不傷害有關的戒律，我們就不會受到傷害； 持不劫戒，自有財物不受侵犯； 如果持戒，我們就會受到尊重和支持……在我們的生活中持戒，不僅可以避免我們的痛苦，還可以得到他人的幫助。

It can be said that if we are able to flexibly keep precepts which relate to no harming, we will not suffer harm; if keep precepts of no plundering, our own property will not be infringed; if keep precepts of respecting others, we will be respected and supported... With keeping precepts in our life, may not only avoid us for suffering, but also gain assistance from other.

語言與存錢能力 Language and the ability to save money

當我在工餘修讀翻譯學士時，曾被要求觀看行為經濟學家 Keith Chen 的演講。 Keith 因為對Whorfian hypothesis（沃爾夫假說）的研究而聞名。本次演講的標題是他訂的。這是視頻的鏈接（https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_chen_could_your_language_affect_your_ability_to_save_money）。

When I was studying my Bachelor of Translation in the evening class, I had been asked to watch a short video a speech by Keith Chen, a behavioral economist. Keith has been known for his research on the Whorfian hypothesis. The title of this talk "Could your language affect your ability to save money?" was given by him. Here is the link to the video　(https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_chen_could_your_language_affect_your_ability_to_save_money).

在這次演講中，Keith 介紹了他的研究結果，表明語言對語法上時間敏感的人比使用非時間敏感語言的人能積蓄的錢更少。他認為，說後一種語言的人更面向未來，因此具有更大的財務責任感。總而言之，他的演講對語言和經濟學的交叉點提供了引人入勝的見解，並鼓勵我們考慮我們自己的語言使用如何影響我們的金融行為。

In this speech, Keith presents the results of his research showing that people whose language is grammatically time-sensitive tend to save less money than people who speak non-time-sensitive languages. He believes that people who speak the latter language are more future-oriented and therefore have a greater sense of financial responsibility. Overall, his speech provides fascinating insights into the intersection of language and economics, and it encourages us to consider how our own language use affects our financial behaviour.

我認為，經濟學的學者應該參考這個演講，因為內容與經濟學有關。另一方面，與英中兩語相關的譯者或學者也應該參考這篇演講，因為Keith指出了兩種語言在時態之外的另一個獨特之處：一個簡單的中文稱謂可能包含複雜的親屬關係信息，如父系或母系，直系或旁系……這些內容無法用簡單的英文稱謂來表達。

In my opinion, scholars of economics should refer to this talk, as the content is related to economics. On the other hand, translators or scholars relating to English and Chinese should also refer to this talk, as Keith brought out another uniqueness in each of both linguages beside the tense: a simple Chinese appellation may contain complex kinship information such as patrilineal or matrilineal, immediate or collateral relatives... these contants can not be expressed with a simple English appellation.

順帶一提，TED（Technology, Entertainment and Design 的簡稱）是一個致力於傳播新思想或新技術的非營利組織，通常會邀請專家學者就一個新概念進行簡短而有力的演講。 這些演講通常被命名為"TED talks"。 英語水平好的觀眾可以通過TED網站（https://www.ted.com）的關鍵詞找到他們感興趣的不同領域的演講。

By the way, TED (short form of Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a non-profit organization devoted to spreading new ideas or technologies, and usually invites experts and scholars to give short but powerful talks on a new concept. The talks often be nameed as "TED talks".  Audiences with good English skills may find speeches on different ralms they are interested in through keywords on the TED website (https://www.ted.com).