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武帝又問。人用錢米。供佛齋僧。功德如何。
誌公答曰。其福甚大不可量。若人有此信向。自有無量功德。經云。供佛又禮拜。福等虛空無比賽。齋僧復施襯。如同行路著腳跟。譬如耕種田園一般。春種一粒粟。秋收萬顆子。然雖如是。全要後代修行人。脫俗離塵。守戒清淨。剃除鬚髮。不離道場。參求明師。訪問口訣。明心見性。弘法度人。接引後來。報佛恩德。若有如是僧道。應受人間供養。所以捨財施主要信心不退。亦莫生疑。異日有因緣。亦同得此道也。
【白話】梁武帝繼續請教：”如果用錢財米糧來供養佛陀、布施僧眾，能獲得怎樣的功德呢？”
志公和尚鄭重回答：”這樣的福德廣大無邊，難以估量！只要懷着虔誠之心行此善舉，自然能獲得無量功德。佛經上說：’虔誠供佛又禮拜，福德如虛空般無邊無際；齋僧布施衣物，就如同行路有了穩固根基。'”
Emperor Wu asked again, “What is the merit of making offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha?”
Master Zhi Gong replied, “The blessings they derive are limitless. If people have such faith, they will derive limitless merit and virtue. The sutra says, ‘Bowing to, revering and worshiping the Buddha will all accrue limitless blessings that exceed the vastness of empty space.’ If someone provides meals for the Sangha and also makes donations to it, this person’s blessings in the future are as assured as someone walking firmly on solid ground.
【白話】這就像耕種田地一樣，春天播下一粒種子，秋天就能收穫萬顆果實。不過——最重要的是接受供養的出家人要真正修行：遠離塵俗，持戒清淨，剃度出家，常住道場；參訪明師，求取真傳，明心見性，弘法利生；接引後學，報答佛恩。這樣的僧眾，才堪受人間供養。”
因此，布施的信眾要堅定信心，不可退轉懷疑。將來因緣成熟時，必能同證菩提大道！
It is analogous to farming or gardening: A person sows a seed of millet in the springtime, then in the autumn, he or she can harvest thousands of grains of millet.
“However, the completion of merit not only depends on the actions of the donors, but also on how those cultivators carry themselves. As cultivators who have received the kindness of donors, they must transcend the mundane world by doing the following: upholding the precepts purely, shaving their hair and beard, refraining from going away from the Bodhimanda, seeking out instructions from wise spiritual mentors, being courageous and vigorous in cultivation, and so on. Working like this, one day they will become enlightened. Then, they will come back to propagate the Dharma and rescue others, thus helping the later cultivators of the Way to repay the kindness of the Buddha. Such monastics are worthy of the offerings of the world. Meanwhile, the donors should not retreat from their faithful acts of making offerings nor give rise to doubt. One day, they can attain the Way when their conditions ripen.”