好事不如无 Doing Good Is Not As Good As Nothing

赵州禅师讲：“拜佛是好事，好事不如无。”拜佛是好事，好事怎么不如无事呢？

​​Chan Master Zhaozhou said: ''Bowing to the Buddha is great. Yet non-doing is better.'' How come? 

天天念经、拜佛、修行，肯定是好事。我们拜佛、念经、念佛、用功，都是为了成就功德，而不是为了追求外在的形相：拜佛的形相、念经的形相、用功的形相。不是要给别人留下印象：这个人很用功、很精进、很努力。大部分的人都很注意自己的形象，总想给别人留下好的印象；要让人家觉得这个人很灵活、很聪明、很努力、很会代人着想、特吃苦耐劳……他注意的只是怎么做才能给人留下好印象，怎么做这种好印象才能持续，只是追求一个相上的成就。

我们常常讲不要追求果相,这个就叫做追求果相。追求果相，就是追求眼前的东西，就不能持续和长久，不可能有大成就，所以说：“念佛是好事，好事不如无。”。“不如无”，就是说不能追求形相，我们要追求的是究竟的果报，是长远的，根本的利益-佛果。
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​For sure, it's great if you practice Buddhism, such as chanting sutras, bowing to Buddha, etc. on a daily basis. But our practice, worshiping, and chanting sutras or Buddhas' names are not for the sake of showing off that we are worshiping, chanting, or making an effort. It's not our purpose to impress others that we are very diligent. Most people are very concerned about their image, and they always want to make a good impression on others. People want to make others feel that they are very flexible, smart, considerate, particularly hardworking, diligent, and so forth. They care about making a good impression to continue the impact on others. Their pursuits are merely the achievement of appearance.

​We often say," Do not chase after the reward." And this is the so-called chasing-after-the-reward. Chasing-after-the-reward is pursuing what lies right in front of us. It will not sustain or last long, and cannot bring us great achievements. Therefore, it's said," Chanting Buddha is good indeed, yet, a deed inferior to Abhava." (Or: Chanting is a good deed, a deed inferior to Abhava.) "Inferior to Abhava": that is to say, we shall not focus on the appearance. What we shall pursue is the ultimate outcome, the long-term and fundamental benefit— Buddhahood.