失败

On Failure

世间的人，不管是市井白丁还是朝廷命官，人人都希望为一己之利而拼搏。凡事务求一帆风顺，经不起半点挫折。其实，失败也未必一无是处。有一句古训说得好：“祸兮福所倚，福兮祸所伏”。

People in the world, be they illiterate hillbillies or government luminaries, all eagerly strive to fulfill their own interests. When doing anything, they want nothing but smooth sailing and cannot bear the tiniest setbacks. But in fact, failure is not necessarily without merit. There is this adage:

Misfortune, that is where happiness depends;
Happiness, that is where misfortune underlies.

汉地近代高僧弘一法师，是集诗、词、书画、篆刻、音乐、戏剧、文学于一身的才子，先后培养出了名画家丰子恺、音乐家刘质平等一些文化名人。真可谓风流倜傥，才华盖世。出家后苦心向佛，过午不食，精研律学，被佛门弟子奉为律宗第十一代世祖。他为世人留下了咀嚼不尽的精神财富，是中国绚丽至极而归于平淡的典型人物。

The contemporary eminent Chinese Buddhist monk Hong Yi was extremely gifted in poetry, ci (verse), painting, calligraphy, seal cutting, music, drama, and literature. He has also mentored a number of celebrated artists such as Feng Zikai and the musician Liu Zhiping. Master Hong Yi had a carefree and elegant bearing and his achievement in arts and letters was unsurpassed in his time. After he chose to be ordained as a monk, he studied unremittingly Buddha’s teachings and abided the sparing fare of no food after midday. He dedicated himself particularly to Vinaya pitaka and is revered as the 11th lineage holder of the Vinaya School. He has left a rich spiritual legacy for future generations; in China, he stood out as a model figure whose life underwent a transformation from utter glory to utmost humbleness.

他在《闽南十年之梦影》中说道：“我的心情是很特别的，我只希望我的事情失败。因为事情失败和不完满，这才使我发大惭愧，能够晓得自己的德行欠缺，自己的修养不足。那我才可努力用功，努力改过迁善。无论什么事情，总希望它失败。失败才会发大惭愧。倘若因成功而得意，那就不得了啦。”我特别喜欢背诵这段文字，这种有悖常人的思维，正说明了法师的谦逊与大智大悟。

He wrote in Dreams of 10 Years in Minnan: “I have a rather peculiar mindset these days: I only wish for failure in the things I do. It is because failure and imperfection can make me feel humble and abashed. Only then will I see my own inadequacies and lack of qualities, and strive to correct myself for the better. Whatever I do, I invariably hope I will fail; failure teaches me humility. Should I become successful, I might be puffed up with arrogance, which would be disastrous!” This passage is my favorite to memorize, as the master’s unconventional way of thinking reveals his extraordinary realization and modesty.

无垢光尊者在《窍诀宝藏论》中的最深要诀之一即是：“灭除我执恒自取失败。”朗日塘巴尊者也有“亏损失败我取受，胜利利益奉献他”的遗训，与弘一法师的话相比，实有异曲同工之妙。不怕失败，敢于失败，真为大丈夫之胆识。

One of the most profound teachings of the Omniscient Longchenpa in The Precious Treasury of Pith Instructions is: “One must cut off self-clinging and choose failure always.” Langri Tangpa also left the teaching:

May I take upon myself the defeat
And offer to others the victory.

These teachings are fortunate coincidences with what Master Hong Yi has to say. The prowess of a truly brave man, after all, lies in his capacity to be unafraid of failure and willingly embrace failure.

关于如何面对失败，世间也积累了不少以辨证的眼光看问题的格言，如 “塞翁失马，焉知非福。”“生于忧患，死于安乐。”而且，有不少的世间人，也懂得迂回的路必有其收获。作家罗兰曾说过：“在人生途中，你每走一步，就必定会得一步的经验。不管这一步是对还是错，‘对’有对的收获，‘错’有错的教训。绕远路，走错路的结果，你就恰如迷路走入深山，别人为你的危险焦急惋惜之际，你却采集了一些珍奇的花果，获得了一些罕见的鸟兽。而且你多认了一段路，多锻炼出一分坚强与胆量。”

There are many proverbs in the world on how to face failure squarely. Many are the fruition of valid analyses, such as: “When the old man lost his mare, who could have guessed it was a blessing in disguise? A loss may well turn out to be a gain,” and, “In adversity, we thrive; in comfort, we perish.” Many people also appreciate that a convoluted path is bound to provide some kind of reward. Writer Ruo Lan once said: “In life, every step we take brings the experience of that one step. This has nothing to do with whether the step is right or wrong. The ‘right’ one yields the right reward. The ‘wrong’ one presents lessons from being wrong. Taking the longer route or walking on the wrong path is just like being lost in the deep mountains. While people are worrying and bemoaning your safety, you hit the opportunity to collect rare flowers and berries, and you spot exceptional birds and animals. In addition, having to cover the extra distance, you have cultivated extra courage and tenacity.”

若能勇敢地面对失败，则将尝到其中的甘甜滋味。

If we face failure bravely, we shall come to enjoy its sweet taste.

壬午年二月二十日 　
2002年4月2日

20th of February, Year of RenWu
April 2, 2002