Part 2: Walking The Path 第2篇:行道
2-1. Taking a Shortcut 直取快捷方式
2-1-3. The Results Of Developing Awareness In The Right Way 正确培养觉知的果报
A. Cleanliness As Result 清净为果
[So each of the practices, of making merit, generosity, keeping precepts, tranquility-meditation and insight-meditation, are ways to destroy defilement, that is to say Lobha, Dosa & Moha. The destruction of defilement, is what real merit is, the highest merit. Talking in terms of heaven, it's the real heaven, it's the essence, the peak of heaven. Talking in terms of Nibbana, it's true Nibbana, the essence, the marrow of Nibbana.The finish of defilements is cleanliness.
Nibbana translates as extinguishment, coolness ; our hearts are not hot because defilements have been extinguished and become cool.If, at this moment, we don't have suffering, it is Nibbana at this moment. When we experience Nibbana at this moment, we'll go to Nibbana for sure. We should know heaven in our hearts ; not having suffering is heaven : we are joyful.; to look at our minds, is to be in heaven. When we have heaven in our minds like this, when we die, we'll be born in heaven without doubt!
每一种修行:做功德、布施、持戒、止禅及观禅等,这些都是灭除烦恼——也就是贪瞋痴——的方法。灭除烦恼是真正的功德,最高的功德。若要说天堂,这才是真正的天堂,是其本质,是最崇高的天堂;若要说涅槃,这才是真正的涅槃,是涅槃的本质,涅槃的精髓。灭除烦恼就是清净。
涅槃意为寂灭、清凉,这样的心无热恼,因为烦恼已被消灭,变得清凉。如果当下这一刻,我们没有痛苦,那当下这一刻便是涅槃。当我们当下这一刻体验到涅槃,我们一定会从此趣向涅槃。我们应该知道天堂在我们的心中,内心没有痛苦就是天堂,而这也就是快乐了。向内看我们的心就是进入天堂了,当我们内心有了这样的天堂,在我们死后,也毫无疑问,必然会投生在天堂!
B. Brightness As Result 光明为果
if someone doesn't know heaven, he or she won't be able to go there, for example, we have electricity in our house and we want to have light but we go and take hold of the lightbulb ; the light doesn't go on. When we've learned that we have to turn the switch in order for the light to go on, we turn on the switch and light appears at the lightbulb.
It is similar with the method to deal with greed, hatred and delusion : we don't have to figure out where greed hatred and delusion are, we just come back to look at our minds and Lobha, Dosa & Moha are destroyed by themselves.
The Buddha proclaimed that He was enlightened by working with the mind. We have to look at our minds. Watching the mind is turning on the light by using the switch. When we do this often, awareness will become nimble and quick; awareness will intercept greed, hatred and delusion and prevent it from arising. Awareness and concentration are together. As for wisdom, it means knowing and seeing clearly. In Pali, it says NATTHI PANYA SAMA ABHA, meaning there is nothing as bright as wisdom. And SATI TESAM NIVARANAM, meaning awareness is that which prevents the stream of defilements. There isn't anything that is fast enough to hold back this stream, other than Sati. It is this Awareness and wisdom that come and contact, know, see and stop it, not letting us become deluded. This is because Sati-Samadhi-Panya is opposite to Dosa-Moha-Lobha. If we don't see, know and understand, there is full greed, hatred and delusion. It is comparable to nighttime, when it's dark. As soon as we light a candle there is light and the darkness disappears, because darkness is afraid of light; as soon as the candle goes out, the darkness immediately comes back.
如果有人不了解天堂,他就不能去到那里,举例来说,我们房子里有电且我们希望能有灯光,可是,我们却只是跑去抓着灯泡,这样灯就不会亮。当我们明白:必须打开开关灯才会亮,然后我们去打开开关,灯泡就发出光亮了。对治贪瞋痴的方法也是类似这个道理:我们不必搞清楚贪瞋痴在哪里,只需要回来看我们的心,那么贪瞋痴自己自自然然就会灭除。
佛陀由于对治清净了自己的心而宣称他觉悟了,所以我们也必须看自己的心,观心就是打开开关——真正开灯的方法。如果我们经常这么做,觉知就会变得敏锐快捷,可以截断贪瞋痴不再让它生起。但是,觉知和禅定是一体的,至于智慧,意思是清楚地知道和见到。在巴利文里说:「NATTHI PANYA SAMA ABHA。」意思就是说,没有任何东西像智慧一样光明。又说:「SATI TESAM NIVARANAM。」意思是,觉知可以防杜烦恼之流,除了正念,没有任何东西速度快到能够阻断这股泛流。只有这觉知和智慧才能跟随它、赶上它,并且知道、看到和阻断它,而不让我们陷入迷惑。这是因为觉-定-慧(Sati-Samadhi-Panya)是贪瞋痴的反面。如果我们没有觉知,没有看到、知道和了解就会充满贪瞋痴,那就好比夜晚,充满黑暗;明暗是相对的,只要我们点燃蜡烛,有了灯光,黑暗就消失了,黑暗害怕光明;而一旦蜡烛熄灭,黑暗又立即回来了。
C. Peace As Result 寂静为果
That I'm giving some reflections and explaining this shortcut-method of practice is in order for you all to take it and practice with it, so that you get quick results and don't have to waste time. This method can be used in daily life; there is no need to stop working in order to practice. Some people have practiced a bit already, and some people have only just heard it. Some people who have never heard it might feel displeased. If that's how you feel, then discard that feeling first, the knowledge that you have learned before. Put it down for now and test out what I'm saying; try it out and you will know what the results that arise are like. I dare to guarantee that this method is at least eighty percent right according to what the Buddha teaches. Talking according to just my own personal feeling, it is one-hundred percent right, because having practiced it, I know that it alleviates greed, hatred and delusion. When those things diminish, peace arises instead.
我之所以要给大家一些观念以及解释这个快捷方式的修法,是希望你们能接受它并且依之修学,好让你们可以快速得到成果而不浪费时间。这个方法可用于日常生活中,没有必要为了修学而停止工作。有些人已经修学过一点,有些人可能才刚听说而已,而也有些人可能从来没听说过,并且感觉不喜欢,如果你是这样的感觉,那么请你先放下那种感觉以及你以前学到的知识,请现在就放下,然后试试我说的方法,去体验看看,你会明白结果是怎么回事。我敢保证,这方法至少有八成是直接传承于佛陀的教导。就我个人的感觉来说,这是百分之百正确的方法,因为我已经练习过了,我知道它可以减少贪瞋痴。当这些东西消灭了,反之,寂静安祥就会生起。
D. Full Awareness As Result 圆觉为果
I'd like to give another example: Take a glass. We can see that there is air in the glass. When we pour water into it, the air goes out and the water is in it instead. Then, when we pour the water out, the air goes back in and replaces the water. This compares with our turning up the hand, we know, we have awareness, Sati comes to replace not-knowing, delusion. Not-knowing goes out of our minds. Do it often. Catch the feeling often, in all postures. Sati will increase; and delusion, not-knowing will decrease just as the water replaces air in the glass.
我想再举一个例子:就以杯子为例吧!我们可以见到杯子里有空气,当我们把水倒下去,空气会跑出来,而水会进到里头去。然后,当我们把水倒出来,空气就会回到里头而取代了水。这就好比我们在翻掌时,如果我们知道、有觉知,那么正念就会来取代不知与妄念,不知会被赶出我们的心。你们要经常这样练习,在任何姿势中,随时抓住那个感觉(即觉知动作),这样你的正念就会增长,而不知与妄念就会减少,就像杯子里的水取代了空气一样。
Maybe some of you have heard about, or have been taught, to make merit, for example by building a ceremonial hall or temple; and you get merit for this or that many eons. And you've probably heard that one-hundred years on earth equals one year in heaven. The angels throw one sesame seed in a pit that is one-hundred leagues wide and one-hundred leagues deep. When it is full, that's one eon!
也许你们有些人曾听过或曾经被教导:要你们去作功德。比如说,盖一间法堂或寺庙,你们可以因此而得到无量劫的功德。或许你也听说过:地球一百年等于天上一年,以及一位天神每天丢一粒芝麻到一个将近500公里宽和500公里深的坑洞里,当洞被填满的时候,那就是一劫的时间!
Other than that, you've probably heard that to once put food into a monks bowl, you get rewarded for six eons, sending a container with food to offer to monks, one gets rewarded for five eons, to send food for the midday meal, five eons. These things are puzzles, but some people don't understand. If you want to understand, you have to practice, to develop awareness, by turning the hand up and down, feeling it.
除了那些之外,你们可能也听说:只要供养食物在出家人的钵里,你就能得到六大劫的不思议福报;而用东西装好食物供养僧侣则能得到五大劫的果报;或者供养午斋的食物有五大劫福报;这些都是让人陷入迷惑的说法,但是有些人不了解而深信不疑。如果你想要了解真相,就必须练习培养觉知,手掌像这样翻上或翻下并觉知它。
Before, we would do things without Sati, not feeling anything at all. Comparable to an abyss or pit that is empty, nothing in it, just like in that puzzle. But when training in awareness, catching the movement in all postures – for example, blinking the eyes, sitting and lying down – we are aware, feeling it, knowing it. When doing this, Sati increases, just like the sesame seeds that fall in the pit or abyss that is one-hundred leagues wide and one-hundred leagues deep. The aim of this comparison is that we train a lot in awareness that we do it a lot in order to get results, to make Sati full, so that we are not negligent or deluded.
[color=0033FF]以前,我们常常会在做事时没有正念,一点都没有觉知,这就好比前述惑乱人心的说法里,那个空无一物的深渊或坑洞。但是当我们开始练习培养觉知,把捉住任何姿势的动作,比如眨眼、坐下和躺卧——我们都觉知它、感觉它、知道它。这样练习,正念就会增加,这就好比丢入那个将近500公里宽又500公里深的坑洞或深渊里的芝麻粒。这个比喻的目的是说,只要我们努力精进地练习培养觉知,让正念达到圆满,那么我们就不会再失念或迷惑了。
When we have developed the four foundations of awareness, as described earlier, we will have the ability to really contemplate, ponder and understand the various problems in our minds.
当我们修学了前面说过的四种培养觉知的念处之后,我们就会有能力真正的去观照、思惟并了解我们心中的各种问题了。
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