---
title: "Mindfulness In Plain English - Chapter 7: What To Do With Your Mind"
description: "by Mahathera Henepola Gunaratana"
---

Mindfulness In Plain English

佛教禪修直解

by Mahathera Henepola Gunaratana

德寶法師著作
梁國雄居士譯

Chapter 7: What To Do With Your Mind

第七章 如何調心

The meditation we teach is called Insight Meditation. As we have already said, the variety of possible objects of meditation is nearly unlimited, and human beings have used an enormous number down through the ages. Even within the Vipassana tradition there are variances. There are meditation teachers who teach their students to follow the breath by watching the rise and fall of the abdomen. Others recommend focusing attention on the touch of the body against the cushion, or hand against hand, or the feeling of one leg against the other. The method we are explaining here, however, is considered the most traditional and is probably what Gotama Buddha taught his students. The Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha's original discourse on mindfulness, specifically says that one must begin by focusing the attention on the breathing and then go on to note all other physical and mental phenomena which arise.

我們所教的禪修名為內觀禪修。如前所述，可用作禪修對象之事物，其數目近乎無限，在過去漫長歲月中，人類使用過的真是多種多樣，就算內觀禪傳統內也有很多：有些禪修導師教弟子們，通過觀察腹部的起伏來跟隨氣息；其他導師則提議，專注身體與坐墊的接觸、手與手的接觸、腿與腿的接觸等。可是，這里所述的方法是最傳統的，可能是佛陀教他弟子時所用的。在佛陀最早詳述內觀禪的《念住經》中，特別說要從專注氣息開始，進一步才留意觀察其他生起的身心現象。

We sit, watching the air going in and out of our noses. At first glance, this seems an exceedingly odd and useless procedure. Before going on to specific instructions, let us examine the reason behind it. The first question we might address is why use any focus of attention at all? We are, after all, trying to develop awareness. Why not just sit down and be aware of whatever happens to be present in the mind? In fact there are meditations of that nature. They are sometimes referred to as unstructured meditation and they are quite difficult. The mind is tricky. Thought is an inherently complicated procedure. By that we mean we become trapped, wrapped up, and stuck in the thought chain. One thought leads to another which leads to another, and another, and another, and so on. Fifteen minutes later we suddenly wake up and realize we spent that whole time stuck in a daydream or sexual fantasy or a set of worries about our bills or whatever.

我們坐下來，觀察著氣息在鼻子進進出出，乍看起來，這做法似很古怪與毫無用處。在繼續具體說明之前，讓我們先檢查一下其背後原因。首先要問的是，為什麼需要一個專注對象？我們畢竟只打算發展覺知力，何不乾脆坐下來，覺知心內正呈現的現象呢？事實上，這類型的禪修是有的，它們有時被稱為「松散的、無特定結構的禪修(UnstructuredMeditation)」，那是相當難做的。心是詭計多端的，思想本質上又是一個複雜過程，因此，我們很易被困住、纏住或卡住于連串的思緒之中。一個念頭會引生另一個念頭，新的念頭又會引生另一個念頭…… 如是地相續發生，不知何時停止。大約十五分鍾後，我們突然醒覺，這才發現自己竟花掉全部時間于白日夢、性幻想、或對帳單等事情的擔憂上。

There is a difference between being aware of a thought and thinking a thought. That difference is very subtle. It is primarily a matter of feeling or texture. A thought you are simply aware of with bare attention feels light in texture; there is a sense of distance between that thought and the awareness viewing it. It arises lightly like a bubble, and it passes away without necessarily giving rise to the next thought in that chain. Normal conscious thought is much heavier in texture. It is ponderous, commanding, and compulsive. It sucks you in and grabs control of consciousness. By its very nature it is obsessional, and it leads straight to the next thought in the chain, apparently with no gap between them.

覺知到一個念頭與想著一個念頭是有分別的，那分別十分微妙，它主要是一種與感受或質感(Texture)有關的事情。你自然地以單純的注意覺知到一個念頭時，會感受到一種輕柔的質感，你會對念頭與對它的覺知間有一種距離感，它像泡沫一樣輕柔地生起，然後消失，不一定會引生出那串念頭的下一個念頭；平常有意識的思想，其質感較為粗重，它是笨重的、命令式的和強迫性的，它把你吸進去，要操縱你的意識，它本質上是強迫性的，而且一下子就會引生出下一個念頭，當中明顯地沒有間隙。

Conscious thought sets up a corresponding tension in the body, such as muscular contraction or a quickening of the heartbeat. But you won't feel tension until it grows to actual pain, because normal conscious thought is also greedy. It grabs all your attention and leaves none to notice its own effect. The difference between being aware of the thought and thinking the thought is very real. But it is extremely subtle and difficult to see.

有意識的思想會令身體生起相應的緊張，例如肌肉收縮或心跳加快等；不過，直至它增長至疼痛之前，你是不會感到緊張的，因為有意識的思想亦是貪得無厭的，它會奪取你所有的注意力，讓你忽視它本身的影響。覺知到一個念頭與想著一個念頭的分別是很真實的，可是也極為細微難察。

Concentration is one of the tools needed to be able to see this difference.

「定力(Concentration)」是看清楚這種分別的必備工具之一。

Deep concentration has the effect of slowing down the thought process and speeding up the awareness viewing it. The result is the enhanced ability to examine the thought process. Concentration is our microscope for viewing subtle internal states. We use the focus of attention to achieve one-pointedness of mind with calm and constantly applied attention. Without a fixed reference point you get lost, overcome by the ceaseless waves of change flowing round and round within the mind.

深厚的定力，有減慢思想與加速覺知念頭的效用，最終可加強仔細觀察心念的能力。定力好像一台顯微鏡，讓我們可以察看細微的內部狀態。我們利用注意力的集中，來成就具有平靜與伺察(持續觀察)的心一境性(One-pointedness of mind)(參閱第十四章)。如果沒有一個固定的參考點，你會很易迷失，被心內旋轉不息、變化多端的波濤所淹沒。

We use breath as our focus. It serves as that vital reference point from which the mind wanders and is drawn back. Distraction cannot be seen as distraction unless there is some central focus to be distracted from. That is the frame of reference against which we can view the incessant changes and interruptions that go on all the time as a part of normal thinking.

當我們以氣息為焦點時，心便有一個重要的參考點，在它游離時可以退回來。因為分心是不會被察覺到的，除非有一個中心點讓心離開。憑藉此參考架構，我們才能在正常的思想中，觀察到持續不斷的變化與干擾。

Ancient Pali texts liken meditation to the process of taming a wild elephant. The procedure in those days was to tie a newly captured animal to a post with a good strong rope. When you do this the elephant is not happy. He screams and tramples, and pulls against the rope for days. Finally it sinks through his skull that he can't get away, and he settles down. At this point you can begin to feed him and to handle him with some measure of safety. Eventually you can dispense with the rope and post altogether, and train your elephant for various tasks. Now you've got a tamed elephant that can be put to useful work. In this analogy the wild elephant is your wildly active mind, the rope is mindfulness, and the post is our object of meditation-- breathing. The tamed elephant who emerges from this process is a well trained, concentrated mind that can then be used for the exceedingly tough job of piercing the layers of illusion that obscure reality. Meditation tames the mind.

古代的巴利文聖典，把禪修比喻為馴服一頭野象的過程。當時的方法，是把新捉來的野象用結實的繩子系在柱上，你這樣做時，象是不高興的，牠會尖叫、踩踏、拉扯著柱子數天之久，最後牠垂下頭來，自知無法逃走，便安靜下來。這時，你可開始餵牠，在安全范圍內去調教牠。最後，你可解開系住牠于木柱上的繩子，訓練牠做各式各樣的工作。現在你擁有一頭訓練妥當的象，可以為你做有用的工作了。在這比喻中，野象是你狂野的心，繩子是專注力(Mindfulness)，而木柱是禪修對象── 氣息，訓練妥當的象是那訓練有素的、有定力的心，此時，心才適用于下述的艱巨任務── 洞穿遮蔽現實相狀之層層疊疊的錯覺。禪修可以馴服自心。

The next question we need to address is: Why choose breathing as the primary object of meditation? Why not something a bit more interesting? Answers to this are numerous. A useful object of meditation should be one that promotes mindfulness. It should be portable, easily available and cheap. It should also be something that will not embroil us in those states of mind from which we are trying to free ourselves, such as greed, anger and delusion. Breathing satisfies all these criteria and more. Breathing is something common to every human being. We all carry it with us wherever we go. It is always there, constantly available, never ceasing from birth till death, and it costs nothing.

其次要問的是：為什麼選擇氣息作為基本的禪修對象？選一較為有趣的東西不是更好嗎？答案實在很多。一個有用的禪修對象必須能促進留意覺察力，它必須便于攜帶，容易得到，以及價格便宜，它一定不會令我們卷入那些我們正要從中解脫出來的心── 例如貪、瞋、癡等。氣息可滿足上述的標準綽綽有余，它是人類所共有的，我們可攜帶著它到處去，它亦隨時可得，由生至死都不會停息，且不用花錢。

Breathing is a non-conceptual process, a thing that can be experienced directly without a need for thought. Furthermore, it is a very living process, an aspect of life that is in constant change. The breath moves in cycles--inhalation, exhalation, breathing in and breathing out. Thus it is miniature model of life itself.

呼吸是一個與概念無關的過程，一種可以不用思維就可直接體驗的東西，此外，它是一個活生生的過程，有著生命中一種變動不停的性質。呼吸是周而復始地循環進行的── 吸入、呼出，吸入、呼出……。因而，它可算是生命的一個縮影。

The sensation of breath is subtle, yet it is quite distinct when you learn to tune into it. It takes a bit of an effort to find it. Yet anybody can do it. You've got to work at it, but not too hard. For all these reasons, breathing makes an ideal object of meditation. Breathing is normally an involuntary process, proceeding at its own pace without a conscious will. Yet a single act of will can slow it down or speed it up. Make it long and smooth or short and choppy. The balance between involuntary breathing and forced manipulation of breath is quite delicate. And there are lessons to be learned here on the nature of will and desire. Then, too, that point at the tip of the nostril can be viewed as a sort of a window between the inner and outer worlds. It is a nexus point and energy-transfer spot where stuff from the outside world moves in and becomes a part of what we call 'me', and where a part of me flows forth to merge with the outside world. There are lessons to be learned here about self- concept and how we form it. Breath is a phenomenon common to all living things. A true experiential understanding of the process moves you closer to other living beings. It shows you your inherent connectedness with all of life. Finally, breathing is a present-time process. By that we mean it is always occurring in the here-and-now. We don't normally live in the present, of course. We spend most of our time caught up in memories of the past or leaping ahead to the future, full of worries and plans. The breath has none of that 'other-timeness'. When we truly observe the breath, we are automatically placed in the present. We are pulled out of the morass of mental images and into a bare experience of the here- and-now. In this sense, breath is a living slice of reality. A mindful observation of such a miniature model of life itself leads to insight that are broadly applicable to the rest of our experience. The first step in using the breath as an object of meditation is to find it. What you are looking for is the physical, tactile sensation of the air that passes in and out of the nostrils. This is usually just inside the tip of the nose. But the exact spot varies from one person to another, depending on the shape of the nose. To find your own point, take a quick deep breath and notice the point just inside the nose or on the upper lip where you have the most distinct sensation of passing air. Now exhale and notice the sensation at the same point. It is from this point that you will follow the whole passage of breath. Once you have located your own breath point with clarity, don't deviate from that spot. Use this single point in order to keep your attention fixed. Without having selected such a point, you will find yourself moving in and out of the nose, going up and down the windpipe, eternally chasing after the breath which you can never catch because it keeps changing, moving and flowing. If you ever sawed wood you already know the trick. As a carpenter, you don't stand there watching the saw blade going up and down. You will get dizzy. You fix your attention on the spot where the teeth of the blade dig into the wood. It is the only way you can saw a straight line. As a meditator, you focus your attention on that single spot of sensation inside the nose. From this vantage point, you watch the entire movement of breath with clear and collected attention. Make no attempt to control the breath. This is not a breathing exercise of the sort done in Yoga. Focus on the natural and spontaneous movement of the breath. Don't try to regulate it or emphasize it in any way. Most beginners have some trouble in this area. In order to help themselves focus on the sensation, they unconsciously accentuate their breathing. The results is a forced and unnatural effort that actually inhibits concentration rather than helping it. Don't increase the depth of your breath or its sound. This latter point is especially important in group meditation. Loud breathing can be a real annoyance to those around you. Just let the breath move naturally, as if you were asleep. Let go and allow the process to go along at its own rhythm.

氣息的感覺是微妙的，可是，當你學懂與它協調時，它是相當明顯的，這當然要花點功夫才可，然而，人人皆可做到。你必須努力去做，但不可過分。由于所有這些原因，呼吸的確可以成為一個理想的禪修對象。呼吸過程通常是不隨意的，而是無意識地(不知不覺地)隨它本身的步伐進行，可是，稍為用意，它就會放慢或加快，使它變得深長和平穩，或是短淺而有起伏。不隨意與刻意呼吸之間的平衡是相當微妙的，況且，在這里你亦可學到一些有關意志與欲望的性質。此外，鼻孔末端的接觸點亦可視為內部與外部世界之間的一個窗口；它是一個連接點與能量交換處，于此，外部世界的東西遷入來成為所謂「我」的一部分，而「我」的一部分又流出去與外部世界混為一體。在這里，你又可以學到一些有關「自我」的概念，以及我們如何捏造它的過程。

呼吸是眾生的共有現象，對此過程有一真實體會，可令你與眾生關系密切，明白到你與眾生的內在聯系。最後，呼吸是當下的過程，意思是，它總是在眼前當下發生。我們通常不是活在當下，大多數時間不是追憶過去，就是憧憬未來，內心充滿憂慮與計劃。但呼吸從未脫離當下，若能真正如實觀察呼吸，自可即時置身于當下，從念想的困境中解脫出來，進入當下的純粹體驗。就此意義而言，呼吸是一個活生生的現實切片。對此生命縮影進行片刻靜觀所產生的真知灼見(內觀智慧)，可廣泛地應用于生活中的其他經驗。

以呼吸作為禪修對象時，第一步是要找到它，你要找的是在鼻孔末端與氣息出入時，那個物質性的接觸感覺，一般在鼻孔末端內就可找到，精確的位置會因人而異，全取決于鼻子形狀。欲找出自己的接觸點，可快速地深吸一下，然後留意上唇與鼻孔末端內部之間，那個最明顯的氣息接觸點就是；現在呼氣，然後留意同一點的感覺；這一點就是你要用來跟隨整個呼吸過程的地方。一旦清楚地找到那一點，就不可偏離，要利用那一點來令你的注意固定不移。如果找不出那一點，你就會發現自己在鼻孔管道中走上走落，不停追著那無法跟得上的氣息，因為它一直在轉變、遷移、流動。

如果你有鋸木的經驗，早已知道其中的奧妙了。作為木匠，你不會站著觀看鋸片的上上落落，那會令你頭暈的，你會把注意力集中于鋸齒正插入(接觸)木料的那一點，這是唯一可鋸成直線的方法。作為禪修者，你要集中注意力于鼻孔末端內的感覺點，在此有利情況之下，以清晰的專注力去觀察整個呼吸活動過程。不可嘗試去控制呼吸，這不是像瑜伽所做的呼吸練習，要集中于自然和自發性的呼吸活動，不要嘗試以任何方法去調節它或加強它。大多數初學者在這里都會出現一些問題，他們為了幫助自己集中注意感覺，往往會無意識地(不知不覺地)加強他們的呼吸，結果是，強迫性和不自然的努力會阻礙多于協助定力的發展，不要增加呼吸的深度和聲音，尤其是後者，這在集體禪修之中是重要的。大聲呼吸會真的煩擾你周圍的人，只須讓呼吸自然流動，就像熟睡時一樣即可，放開對呼吸的約束，讓呼吸過程依自己本身的韻律前進。

This sounds easy, but it is trickier than you think. Do not be discouraged if you find your own will getting in the way. Just use that as an opportunity to observe the nature of conscious intention. Watch the delicate interrelation between the breath, the impulse to control the breath and the impulse to cease controlling the breath. You may find it frustrating for a while, but it is highly profitable as a learning experience, and it is a passing phase. Eventually, the breathing process will move along under its own steam. And you will feel no impulse to manipulate it. At this point you will have learned a major lesson about your own compulsive need to control the universe.

這做法聽來似很容易，但事實上比你想像的更為難于捉摸。如果你發覺有刻意呼吸的情況時，也不用氣餒，用之作為觀察內心意圖性質的機會吧！觀察呼吸、控制呼吸的意念與停止控制呼吸的意念等之間的微妙相互關系。有短暫時間你會沮喪，可是，這種學習體驗是極為有益的。它只是過眼云煙，最後，呼吸過程必會自行運作，而你將不會感到有刻意操控的意念。此時，你對自己欲控制宇宙的強迫性需求，將有重大的領悟。

Breathing, which seems so mundane and uninteresting at first glance, is actually an enormously complex and fascinating procedure. It is full of delicate variations, if you look. There is inhalation and exhalation, long breath and short breath, deep breath, shallow breath, smooth breath and ragged breath. These categories combine with one another in subtle and intricate ways. Observe the breath closely. Really study it. You find enormous variations and constant cycle of repeated patterns. It is like a symphony. Don't observe just the bare outline of the breath. There is more to see here than just an in-breath and an out-breath. Every breath has a beginning middle and end. Every inhalation goes through a process of birth, growth and death and every exhalation does the same. The depth and speed of your breathing changes according to your emotional state, the thought that flows through your mind and the sounds you hear. Study these phenomena. You will find them fascinating.

看來平凡沒趣的呼吸，原來是如此複雜與迷人的一個過程，只要觀察一下，你就會發覺它充滿微妙的變化：其中有出入的氣息，長短的氣息，深淺的氣息，暢順與不暢順的氣息等，它們的相互組合又是錯綜微妙。仔細地和密切地觀察它，認真地研究它，你就會發覺它變化多端，且有固定重複的循環模式，有如一首交響樂曲。不要只觀察它的粗略相狀，里面除了呼出與吸入外還有很多可看的東西。每個呼吸皆有一開始、中段和結尾，每次吸氣都會經歷一個出生、成長與死亡的過程，每次呼氣亦是一樣，而呼吸的深度與速度則會隨著你的情緒、心念與聲音等的出現而改變。你研究一下這些現象，自會發覺它們的迷人地方。

This does not mean, however, that you should be sitting there having little conversations with yourself inside your head: "There is a short ragged breath and there is a deep long one. I wonder what's next?" No, that is not Vipassana. That is thinking. You will find this sort of thing happening, especially in the beginning. This too is a passing phase. Simply note the phenomenon and return your attention toward the observation of the sensation of breath. Mental distractions will happen again. But return your attention to your breath again, and again, and again, and again, for as long as it takes until it does not happen anymore.

然而，這不是要你坐著，在心中自言自語：「這次呼吸短而不暢順，這次呼吸深而長，下次呼吸會怎樣呢？」不！那不是內觀禪法，是思想而已。像這些現象是會發生的，尤其是在開始的時候，這也只是過眼云煙而已。只須在注意到此現象時，把注意力帶回去觀察呼吸時的感覺即可。內心的干擾會再次出現，你要一次、又一次、又一次地把注意力帶回去觀察呼吸時的感覺，直至它不再出現為止。

When you first begin this procedure, expect to face some difficulties. Your mind will wander off constantly, darting around like a drunken bumblebee and zooming off on wild tangents. Try not to worry. The monkey-minded phenomenon is well known. It is something that every advanced meditator has had to deal with. They have pushed through it one way or another, and so can you. When it happens, just not the fact that you have been thinking, day-dreaming, worrying, or whatever. Gently, but firmly, without getting upset or judging yourself for straying, simply return to the simple physical sensation of the breath. Then do it again the next time, and again, an again, and again.

剛開始上述的情況時，你要預期會遇上一些困難，你的心念會不斷漂離，好像一只酒醉的大黃蜂，在周圍飛躍、亂沖亂撞。不要擔心，這猴子心現象已是眾所周知，它是每一位禪修老兵都要應付的東西，他們都能夠以某種方式去把它克服，你亦可以做得到的。當它出現時，只須注意到你在思想、做白日夢、或憂慮等事實，然後輕巧而堅決地返回到呼吸的感覺上來，當中無須因此不安或作出任何的自我評價，然後在下一次發生時再這樣做，如是地重複、又重複、又重複。

Somewhere in this process, you will come face-to-face with the sudden and shocking realization that you are completely crazy. Your mind is a shrieking, gibbering madhouse on wheels barreling pell-mell down the hill, utterly out of control and hopeless. No problem. You are not crazier than you were yesterday. It has always been this way, and you just never noticed. You are also no crazier than everybody else around you. The only real difference is that you have confronted the situation; they have not. So they still feel relatively comfortable. That does not mean that they are better off. Ignorance may be bliss, but it does not lead to liberation. So don't let this realization unsettle you. It is a milestone actually, a sigh of real progress. The very fact that you have looked at the problem straight in the eye means that you are on your way up and out of it.

在這過程當中，你會突然驚覺，自己簡直是個瘋子，自心好像一座有輪子的瘋人院，里面的人正在胡言亂語、大聲尖叫，它正在跌跌撞撞地沖下山坡、完全失控、簡直一點希望也沒有。不用大驚小怪，你的心沒有比昨天的心更為瘋狂，它一直就是如此，只不過你沒有注意到而已；你也不比周圍的人更為瘋狂，唯一確實的分別是，你已醒悟過來，而他們還沒有。因此，他們仍覺舒適愉快，這不是說他們比較好，無知可能是一種福氣，但它不會導致解脫。所以，不要因此體會而有所不安，實際上，它是一個里程碑，一個實質進步的徵兆。你能直接看到此問題的事實本身，就說明你已走在向上和擺脫此困境的路上了。

In the wordless observation of the breath, there are two states to be avoided: thinking and sinking. The thinking mind manifests most clearly as the monkey-mind phenomenon we have just been discussing. The sinking mind is almost the reverse. As a general term, sinking mind denotes any dimming of awareness. At its best, it is sort of a mental vacuum in which there is no thought, no observation of the breath, no awareness of anything. It is a gap, a formless mental gray area rather like a dreamless sleep. Sinking mind is a void. Avoid it.

在默然地觀察呼吸時，有兩種狀態要避免：一是亂想，二是昏沉。亂想心的表現，有如前述的猴子心現象，而昏沉心則剛好相反。一般而言，昏沉心顯示覺察力的大幅減弱，它最多只是一片空白心態，內中沒有思想、沒有對呼吸的覺察、也沒有對任何事物的覺知。它像一個空隙，一個無形無相的心理灰色地帶，有點似沒有夢境的睡眠。昏沉心空無一物，要避免它。

Vipassana meditation is an active function. Concentration is a strong, energetic attention to one single item. Awareness is a bright clean alertness. Samahdhi and Sati--these are the two faculties we wish to cultivate. And sinking mind contains neither. At its worst, it will put you to sleep. Even at its best it will simply waste your time. When you find you have fallen into a state of sinking mind, just note the fact and return your attention to the sensation of breathing. Observe the tactile sensation of the in-breath. Feel the touch sensation of the out-breath. Breathe in, breathe out and watch what happens. When you have been doing that for some time--perhaps weeks or months--you will begin to sense the touch as a physical object. Simply continue the process--breathe in and breathe out. Watch what happens. As your concentration deepens you will have less and less trouble with monkey-mind. Your breathing will slow down and you will track it more and more clearly, with fewer and fewer interruptions. You begin to experience a state of great calm in which you enjoy complete freedom from those things we call psychic irritants. No greed, lust, envy, jealousy or hatred. Agitation goes away. Fear flees. These are beautiful, clear, blissful states of mind. They are temporary, and they will end when meditation ends. Yet even these brief experiences will change your life. This is not liberation, but these are stepping stones on the path that leads in that direction. Do not, however, expect instant bliss. Even these stepping stones take time and effort and patience.

內觀禪是一種主動、積極的功能，禪定(止禪)是對某一事物作強而有力的專注，覺察是清明的警覺。止與觀(Samadhi and Sati)(參閱第十四章)是我們想要培育和發展的兩種能力。昏沉的心並沒有這兩種能力的，它只會浪費你的時間，甚至令你昏昏入睡。當你剛發覺陷入昏沉時，就要在注意到這一事實時，把注意力帶回到呼吸的感覺上來，觀察吸入時的觸覺，也感受呼出時的觸覺。試試吸入與呼出，仔細看看有什麼事情發生。當你已做上一段時間後，可能是幾個星期、或幾個月，你開始感到那個接觸是一物質性的東西，繼續如是簡單的吸入與呼出過程，仔細看看有什麼事情發生。隨著你的定力加深，你也會越來越少心猿意馬的散亂，你的呼吸會放慢下來，讓你可清楚地、越來越少干擾地追蹤到它，你開始體驗到一極為平靜的狀態，享受到解脫煩惱的樂趣，當中無貪、無欲、無妒忌、無羨慕、亦無瞋，激動離開了，恐懼跑掉了，這都是美好、清晰、極幸福的心態，它們是暫時性的，待禪修完畢後就會完結。儘管如此，這些片刻間的體驗將會改變你的人生。這不是解脫，而是解脫路上的一些踏腳石而已。然而，也不要期望此幸福感可以速成，這些踏腳石也是要時間、努力與堅忍始得。

The meditation experience is not a competition. There is a definite goal. But there is no timetable. What you are doing is digging your way deeper and deeper through the layers of illusion toward realization of the supreme truth of existence. The process itself is fascinating and fulfilling. It can be enjoyed for its own sake. There is no need to rush.

禪修體驗不是比賽，它有確實的目標，但沒有時間表，你要做的事，是不斷向幻想與錯覺中一層一層地深掘下去，直至體證存在的終極真理為止。這過程本身就很迷人和有滿足感，足以使人為此走下去，匆匆忙忙地急進是沒有必要的。

At the end of a well-done meditation session you will feel a delightful freshness of mind. It is peaceful, buoyant, and joyous energy which you can then apply to the problems of daily living. This in itself is reward enough. The purpose of meditation is not to deal with problems, however, and problem- solving ability is a fringe benefit and should be regarded as such. If you place too much emphasis on the problem-solving aspect, you will find your attention turning to those problems during the session sidetracking concentration. Don't think about your problems during your practice. Push them aside very gently.

一次良好的禪修體驗，可令你有一愉快、清新的心情，它是一種平靜、輕快、充滿快樂的活力，可有效利用于解決你的日常生活問題，這回報已足夠了。禪修目的不在于解決日常問題，但解決問題是它的附加利益，這是不能否定的；如果你偏重于解決問題方面，在禪修之中，你會自然地把注意力轉向問題，從而偏離了原先要集中的目標。禪修時不要想著你的問題，應把它們輕輕地推開。

Take a break from all that worrying and planning. Let your meditation be a complete vacation. Trust yourself, trust your own ability to deal with these issues later, using the energy and freshness of mind that you built up during your meditation. Trust yourself this way and it will actually occur.

應暫時中止你的顧慮及計劃，讓禪修完全占用此休假時段。相信你自己，相信自己有能力于禪修後，可善用累積起來的活力與清新的心靈去處理那些問題；這樣地相信自己，問題自得解決。

Don't set goals for yourself that are too high to reach. Be gently with yourself. You are trying to follow your own breathing continuously and without a break. That sounds easy enough, so you will have a tendency at the outset to push yourself to be scrupulous and exacting. This is unrealistic. Take time in small units instead. At the beginning of an inhalation, make the resolve to follow the breath just for the period of that one inhalation. Even this is not so easy, but at least it can be done. Then, at the start of the exhalation, resolve to follow the breath just for that one exhalation, all the way through. You will still fail repeatedly, but keep at it.

不要為自己制定高不可攀的目標，對自己溫和一些。你要繼續不停地跟隨著你的氣息，這看起來頗為簡單，因此，你在開始時就想做到一絲不苟和精確無誤，這是不切實際的。應細步而行，在開始吸氣時，決定要在此吸氣時段內去跟隨氣息，這樣做其實也不容易，但至少可以做得到；然後，在呼氣開始時，決定要在此呼氣時段內，由始至終地去跟隨氣息。你將會一而再地失敗，不要緊，繼續堅持下去。

Every time you stumble, start over. Take it one breath at a time. This is the level of the game where you can actually win. Stick at it--fresh resolve with every breath cycle, tiny units of time. Observe each breath with care and precision, taking it one split second on top of another, with fresh resolve piled one on top of the other. In this way, continuous and unbroken awareness will eventually result.

要屢敗屢戰，做好每一個呼與吸，這是你可以獲勝的游戲級數。要鍥而不舍地在每一個呼與吸的細微步伐間，一個接著一個地重新努力；要在那剎那間，仔細而精準地重新觀察每一個氣息；這樣，連續不斷的覺知最終必會出現。

Mindfulness of breathing is a present-time awareness. When you are doing it properly, you are aware only of what is occurring in the present. You don't look back and you don't look forward. You forget about the last breath, and you don't anticipate the next one. When the inhalation is just beginning, you don't look ahead to the end of that inhalation. You don't skip forward to the exhalation which is to follow. You stay right there with what is actually taking place. The inhalation is beginning, and that's what you pay attention to; that and nothing else. This meditation is a process of retraining the mind. The state you are aiming for is one in which you are totally aware of everything that is happening in your own perceptual universe, exactly the way it happens, exactly when it is happening; total, unbroken awareness in the present time. This is an incredibly high goal, and not to be reached all at once. It takes practice, so we start small. We start by becoming totally aware of one small unit of time, just one single inhalation. And, when you succeed, you are on your way to a whole new experience of life.

靜觀氣息是對當下的一種覺察，當你正確地做著時，你只會覺察到現正發生的事情。你不會回顧過去，也不會展望將來；你忘了剛過去的氣息，也不期望快將要來的氣息。當吸氣開始時，你不會期望它的結束，也不會偷步跳到隨後而來的呼氣；你只會與現在真正發生的事情在一起。吸氣現在開始，那正是你要注意的，除此之外，沒有其他的東西了。這禪修是一種重新教育(調伏)心意的過程，你的目標境界，是要完全覺察到在你感知世界里正在發生的每一件事，如實地覺察到它的發生方式，就在當下，念念無間，完整無缺。這是一個難以置信的崇高目標，不是一下子就可以達到的，要不斷修習始得。因此我們應從小處著手，從一短暫時間開始，只須完全覺察到當下的吸氣(或呼氣)即可，如果成功的話，你已邁向一全新的人生體驗了。