為什麼要受持五戒？（中英對照）　宣化上人著

◎ 破戒怎麼辦？

◎ What if I break the precepts?

「戒 為成佛之母」，想要成佛就要持戒，不能犯戒的。犯戒就好像船有窟窿，你說這個船是不是要沉到大海裡去？所以犯戒就好像船沉到大海一樣，所以不是受了戒不持 戒。你受了戒，就要守著戒；你不守著戒，那就是漏了。你這一漏，就成了有漏，不是無漏了。無漏就是你不破戒；你破了戒，就是漏。漏了怎麼辦？就要補。怎麼 補？就要做功德，用錢或是用力量來做功德，在三寶的面前立功德贖罪，你立功就沒有罪了。

Precepts are the mother of Buddhahood. If you want to become a Buddha, you must uphold precepts and not break them. Having transgressed the precepts is just like drifting in the ocean in a leaking boat. Won't the boat sink? Violating the precepts is just like causing the boat to sink in the ocean. When you have received the precepts, you must uphold them. If you don’t, it’s the same as having leaks. When you leak, you are not free of outflows. Having no outflows comes when we do not break the precepts; when you break the precepts, you have outflows. What should you do if that happens? You must mend the precepts. How? You may create merit and virtue either by making monetary donations or by doing volunteer work. By redeeming your offenses and establishing merit before the Triple Jewel, you will wipe out your offenses.