【亲近善知识 Relying on The Excellent Teacher】未依过患者 The faults of not relying on the teacher
【未依过患者】
【设若亲近不善知识及罪恶友，亦令诸德渐次损减，一切罪恶渐次增长，能生一切非所爱乐，故一切种悉当远离。】
那么这个地方我特别提醒大家，你不亲近善知识，你必定亲近恶知识，这个里边并没有中立可言，不进则退、不进则退。你拼命上进的都不一定进得上去，这是我们必须了解的。所以这个地方没有选择的，不是我站在那里，我说赞成不赞成啊？也没有人举手，有人赞成的也不举手，有人不赞成的也不举手，这可以中立的；现在这里没有中立，你只有亲近一面。那么这个道理，目前眼前也许不一定了解，你们好好地修学下去，等到你觉得对这个法的行相有正确的认识的时候，你这个概念会很清楚。我说这个法相清楚的时候，不是说你文字上面能够辨别得清楚，法相真的清楚，是你内心的行相看得很清楚，喔，起心动念就是这样。
来源 SOURCE：
日常师父法语 21B 23’34”手抄稿第三册 P173L9
21B 23’34” Vol 3 of Master Jih-Chang’s Discourse P173L9
English Lamrim Vol 1, P90
【The faults of not relying on the teacher】
【Moreover, if you rely on nonvirtuous teachers and bad friends, your good qualities will slowly diminish and all of your faults will increase. Then everything that is unwanted will develop. Therefore, always avoid them. 】
At this point I want to particularly remind everyone that if you do not rely on an excellent teacher, it means you are bound to be relying on a nonvirtuous teacher. There is no such thing as being neutral. Instead of moving forward, you are moving backward. Even if you strive to move forward, you may not necessarily be able to advance. This is what we should understand. There is no other option here. It’s not the case where I can stand here and ask, "Do you agree or not?" Nobody would raise his hands. Some people would agree but wouldn't raise their hands. There are some people who wouldn't agree and wouldn't raise their hands. you can stay neutral. For this issue here, you can't stay neutral. You will have to rely on one or the other. For this reasoning, you may not understand it right now. However, if you continue to learn well, and when you begin to see the attributes of the teaching correctly, then you will become clear with this concept. When I say that you can see the attributes of the teaching clearly, I do not mean that you can distinguish the words clearly. To truly be able to see the attributes of the teaching means you're able to see clearly the attributes of your mind; oh, that's what my thoughts are like.
