§3. The root inheritance, the starting capital for self-training.

三、根本的财产，自我训练开始的本钱

Why is it that wise people — before chanting, receiving the precepts, or performing any other act of merit — always take up namo as their starting point? Why is it that namo is never omitted or discarded? This suggests that namo must be significant. If we take it up for consideration, we find that na stands for the water element, and mo for the earth element — and with this, a line from the scriptures comes to mind:

　　为什么聪明的人们，在诵念、受戒或做任何其它功德之前，总是 na mo‘南无’(中译注：以唐音、闽南音读之)做为他们的起点？为什么 na mo‘南无’从未被省略或被抛弃？这暗示著 na mo'南无’一定是有意义的。如果我们把它加以思考，我们发现 na'南’代表水元素，而 mo'无’代表地元素—于此，心里记起一行经文：

mata-petika-sambhavo odana-kummasa-paccayo:

　　‘父母所生，粥饭所养。’

'When the generative elements of the mother and father are combined, the body comes into being. When it is born from the mother's womb, it is nourished with rice and bread, and so is able to develop and grow.' Na is the mother's element; mo, the father's element. When these two elements are combined, the mother's fire element then heats the combination until it becomes what is called a kalala, a droplet of oil. This is the point where the connecting cognizance (patisandhi-viññana) can make its connection, so that the mind becomes joined to the namo element. Once the mind has taken up residence, the droplet of oil develops until it is an ambuja, a glob of blood. From a glob of blood it becomes a ghana, a rod, and then a pesi, a piece of flesh. Then it expands itself into a lizard-like shape, with five extensions: two arms, two legs, and a head.

　　‘当母亲和父亲的生殖元素结合时，身体成为生命。当他从母亲的子宫生出来后，用米饭和面食来喂养他，因此才能发育和长大。’ na'南’是母亲的元素； mo'无’是父亲的元素。当这两个元素结合时，母亲的火元素于是热暖结合物，直到它成为所谓的‘哥拉拉’，一个微小的油滴。这就是接著的识能够进行连结的地方，所以心意就与 na mo'南无’元素结合。一旦心意住止了，油滴就蕴育成一个血球。从一个血球成为一个杆状体，然后是一片肉。然后它扩张成一只蜥蜴的形状，有五个延伸处：双臂、双腿和头。

(As for the elements ba, breath, and dha, fire, these take up residence later, because they are not what the mind holds onto. If the mind lets the droplet of oil drop, the droplet of oil vanishes or is discarded as useless. It has no breath or fire, just as when a person dies and the breath and fire vanish from the body. This is why we say they are secondary elements. The important factors are the two original elements, namo.)

　　(至于元素风和火，它们后来才住止，因为它们不是心意所执著的。如果心意不执持小油滴，油滴就消失了或像无用之物般的被抛弃了。它没有风或火，就像当一个人死亡，而风和火从身体消失的时候一样。这就是为什么我们说它们是次要元素。重要的因素是两个原始的元素 na mo'南无’。)

After the child is born, it has to depend on na, its mother, and mo, its father, to care for it, nurturing it and nourishing it with such foods as rice and bread, at the same time teaching and training it in every form of goodness. The mother and father are thus called the child's first and foremost teachers. The love and benevolence the mother and father feel for their children cannot be measured or calculated. The legacy they give us — this body — is our primal inheritance. External wealth, silver or gold, come from this body. If we didn't have this body, we wouldn't be able to do anything, which means that we wouldn't have anything at all. For this reason, our body is the root of our entire inheritance from our mother and father, which is why we say that the good they have done us cannot be measured or calculated. Wise people thus never neglect or forget them.

　　小孩子生下以后，他必须依赖 na '南’－他的母亲，和 mo '无’－他的父亲，来照顾他，用米面一类的食物来哺育他，同时教导和训练他各种美德。因此母亲和父亲被称为孩子最初的启蒙师。母亲和父亲对于他们孩子的慈爱是无法衡量或计算的。他们给我们的遗产—身体—是我们最基本的财产。外在的财富，银或金，都从这个身体而来，如果我们没有这个身体，我们就不能做任何事，也就是说我们将会一无所有，因此，我们的身体是我们承继父母所有遗产的根本，那也就是为什么我们说他们给予我们的恩惠是无法衡量的，聪明的人们因此决不会忽略或遗忘他们。

We first have to take up this body, this namo, and only then do we perform the act of bowing it down in homage. To translate namo as homage is to translate only the act, not the source of the act.

　　我们首先必须要拥有这个身体，这个 na mo'南无’，然后我们才能顶礼膜拜。把 na mo'南无’翻译为恭敬皈依只是诠释了这个动作而已，并未说明动作的来源。

This same root inheritance is the starting capital we use in training ourselves, so we needn't feel lacking or poor when it comes to the resources needed for the practice.

　　同样这个根本的财产，就是我们用以训练自己，开始时的资本，所以当论及修习所需要的资财时，我们不须感到欠缺或贫乏。