---
title: Mindfulness In Plain English - About the Author - Preface
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

About the Author

作者簡介

Venerable Henepola Gunaratana was ordained at the age of 12 as a Buddhist monk at a small temple in Malandeniya Village in Kurunegala District in Sri Lanka. His preceptor was Venerable Kiribatkumbure Sonuttara Mahathera. At the age of 20 he was given higher ordination in Kandy in 1947. He received his education from Vidyalankara College and Buddhist Missionary College in Colombo. Subsequently he traveled to India for five years of missionary work for the Mahabodhi Society, serving the Harijana (Untouchable) people in Sanchi, Delhi, and Bombay. Later he spent ten years as a missionary in M alaysia, serving as religious advisor to the Sasana Abhivurdhiwardhana Society, Buddhist Missionary Society and the Buddhist Youth Federation of Malaysia. He has been a teacher in Kishon Dial School and Temple Road Girls』 School and Principal of the Buddhist Institute of Kuala Lumppur.

At the invitation of the Sasana Sevaka Society, Venerable Gunaratana came to the United States in 1968 to serve as Hon. General Secretary of the Buddhist Vihara Society of Washington, D.C. In 1980 he was appointed President of the Society. During his years at the Vihara, he has taught courses in Buddhism, conducted meditation retreats, and lectured widely throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

He has also pursued his scholarly interests by earning a B.A., and M.A., and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the American University. He taught courses in Buddhism at the American University, Georgetown University and University of Maryland. His books and articles have been published in Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka and the United States.

Since 1973 he has been buddhist chaplin at The American University counseling students interested in Buddhism and Buddhist meditation. He is now president of the Bhavana Society in West Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, about 100 miles from Washington, D.C. teaching meditation and conducting meditation retreats.

Preface

作者序言

In my experience I found that the most effective way to express something in order to make others understand is to use the simplest language. Also I learned from teaching that the more rigid the language the less effective it is. People do not respond to very stern and rigid language especially when we try to teach something which normally people don』t engage in during their daily life. Meditation appears to them as something that they cannot always do. As more people turn to meditation, they need more simplified instructions so they can practice by themselves without a teacher around. This book is the result of requests made by many meditators who need a very simple book written in ordinary colloquial language.

我的經驗告訴自己，想別人明白，最有效的表達方式，是用最淺顯通俗的語言。在教學中我也認識到，語言越刻板嚴謹，效果就越少，尤其是在教授別人一些從未接觸過的東西時，用難懂的語言，是很難打動別人的。禪修不是人們熟悉的，由于越來越多人轉向禪修，因此，他們需要更簡單的指導，好讓他們可以無師自學。這本簡單、通俗易懂的禪修書，就是順應此要求而寫的。

In preparing this book I have been helped by many of my friends. I am deeply grateful to all of them. Especially I would like to express my deepest appreciation and sincere gratitude to John Patticord, Daniel J. Olmsted, Matthew Flickstein, Carol Flickstein, Patrick Hamilton, Genny Hamilton, Bill Mayne, Bhikkhu Dang Pham Jotika and Bhikkhu Sona for their most valuable suggestions, comments and criticisms of numerous points in preparing this book. Also thanks to Reverend Sister Sama and Chris O』Keefe for their support in production efforts.

在寫本書過程中，我得到很多朋友的幫助，我對所有人皆深表感激，我想特別多謝：約翰．派迪確(John M. Peddicord)、丹尼爾．歐姆斯特(Daniel J. Olmsted)、馬修．弗里克斯坦(Matthew Flickstein)、卡羅．弗里克斯坦(Carol Flickstein)、帕翠克．韓美頓(Patrick Hamilton)、鄭妮．韓美頓(Genny Hamilton)、比爾．梅尼(Bill Mayne)、鄧范．左狄卡比丘(Bhikkhu Dang Pham Jotika)、桑拿比丘(Bhikkhu Sona)等，他們在我撰寫此書過程中，給了我很多寶貴的建議、批評與指正。伊利莎伯．雷特(Elizabeth Reid)對于在新版中所加入的後記，提供了寶貴的協助。此外，我亦要多謝薩瑪尼師(ReverendSister Sama)和克里斯．奧奇菲(Chris O』Keefe )，她們一起幫助有關出版的一切事宜。

H. Gunaratana Mahathera

德寶法師(觀勒拉坦拿法師)

Bhavana Society
Rt. 1 Box 218-3
High View, WV 26808
December 7, 1990

Introduction

導言

American Buddhism

美國的佛教

The subject of this book is Vipassana meditation practice. Repeat, practice. This is a meditation manual, a nuts-and-bolts, step-by-step guide to Insight meditation. It is meant to be practical. It is meant for use.

There are already many comprehensive books on Buddhism as a philosophy, and on the theoretical aspects of Buddhist meditation. If you are interested in that material we urge you to read those books. Many of them are excellent. This book is a 』How to.』 It is written for those who actually want to meditate and especially for those who want to start now. There are very few qualified teachers of the Buddhist style of meditation in the United States of America. It is our intention to give you the basic data you need to get off to a flying start. Only those who follow the instructions given here can say whether we have succeeded or failed. Only those who actually meditate regularly and diligently can judge our effort. No book can possibly cover every problem that a meditator may run into. You will need to meet a qualified teacher eventually. In the mean time, however, these are the basic ground rules; a full understanding of these pages will take you a very long way.

本書的主題是內觀禪(Vipassana Meditation)[1]的修習，我重複，是修習。這是一本禪修手冊，一本有關內觀禪具體細節與步驟的指南書，它是為了可供實際應用而寫的。坊間已有很多廣泛論述佛教義理或佛教禪修理論的書，如果對那些資料有興趣，我也鼓勵你們去閱讀，其中實有很多精品。可是，這本書是一本「怎麼去做」的禪修指南書，它是為了實在需要禪修的人而寫的，尤其是那些想立刻起步的人。在美國，有資格指導佛教禪修的導師實在很少，因此，我們想給你所需的基本資訊，好讓你可飛快地開始。只有那些跟隨本書指引去做的讀者，才能評論我們的成敗得失，也只有那些勤奮和經常如法修習的讀者，才能對我們的努力作出評價。沒有一本書可以涵蓋禪修者有可能遇上的所有問題，最後你還是要會見一位有資格的導師，直接向他請教。不過，在這期間，請先翻閱本書，里面載有禪修的基本原則，對它們若能完全了解，已可令你進步不少了。

There are many styles of meditation. Every major religious tradition has some sort of procedure which they call meditation, and the word is often very loosely used. Please understand that this volume deals exclusively with the Vipassana style of meditation as taught and practiced in South and Southeast Asian Buddhism. It is often translated as Insight meditation, since the purpose of this system is to give the meditator insight into the nature of reality and accurate understanding of how everything works.

「禪修」的方式很多，每一個較大的宗教傳統都有其所稱的「禪修」程序，而這個詞又經常被濫用。所以，請先了解，這是一本專論內觀禪修法的書，它是南傳佛教[2]歷來傳習的禪法。Vipassana Bhavana 這巴利文，通常被英譯為Insight Meditation，意思是「內觀禪(為達致內觀智慧的禪修)」，因為此種禪系的目的，是要令行者洞悉現實的本質，正確地了解各種事物(諸法)的基本運作方式。

Buddhism as a whole is quite different from the theological religions with which Westerners are most familiar. It is a direct entrance to a spiritual or divine realm without addressing deities or other 』agents』. Its flavor is intensely clinical, much more akin to what we would call psychology than to what we would usually call religion. It is an ever-ongoing investigation of reality, a microscopic examination of the very process of perception. Its intention is to pick apart the screen of lies and delusions through which we normally view the world, and thus to reveal the face of ultimate reality. Vipassana meditation is an ancient and elegant technique for doing just that.

整體來說，佛教與西方人最熟識的神學宗教是頗為不同的，它可以令人直接進入非凡的心靈或聖者境界，無需神祇或媒介的幫助。它有強烈的臨床意味── 類似醫生辨症論治那麼客觀和慎重，它又近似「心理學」多于一般所稱的「宗教」。佛教徒的修習，是一種對現實持續不斷的考察活動，也是一種對感知本身的微觀審查活動，它的目的是要撕開籠罩著我們、使我們經常迷惑和受騙的面紗，從而顯露現實的本來面目。內觀禪修就是為了此目的而出現的一種古老而優雅的技巧。

Theravada Buddhism presents us with an effective system for exploring the deeper levels of the mind, down to the very root of consciousness itself. It also offers a considerable system of reverence and rituals in which those techniques are contained. This beautiful tradition is the natural result of its 2,500-year development within the highly traditional cultures of South and Southeast Asia.

上座部佛教(Theravada Buddhism)[3]給我們提供了一個有效的系統，它可以幫助我們探索內心深處，直達意識本身的根源。它也提供了一個相當龐大的宗教崇敬與儀式系統，里面也包含上述的禪修技巧。這個優秀傳統，是在南亞與東南亞的濃厚傳統文化中，歷經了二千五百多年的發展而自然形成的。

In this volume, we will make every effort to separate the ornamental and the fundamental and to present only the naked plain truth itself. Those readers who are of a ritual bent may investigate the Theravada practice in other books, and will find there a vast wealth of customs and ceremony, a rich tradition full of beauty and significance. Those of a more clinical bent may use just the techniques themselves, applying them within whichever philosophical and emotional context they wish. The practice is the thing.

在本書中，我們將盡一切努力把裝飾品與根本內容分開，只呈報簡單直接的真理。偏好儀式的讀者，可研讀其他有關上座部做法的書籍，你會在那里發現大量的習俗與儀式，那是一個富麗的傳統，既多采多姿而又充滿意義。務實的讀者只需親自實行那些禪修技巧，並且把它們在思想上或情緒上應用起來即可。實修才是重點。

The distinction between Vipassana meditation and other styles of meditation is crucial and needs to be fully understood. Buddhism addresses two major types of meditation. They are different mental skills, modes of functioning or qualities of consciousness. In Pali, the original language of Theravada literature, they are called 』Vipassana』 and 』Samatha』.

了解內觀禪與其他禪修方式的區別是至關重要的，不可以含糊不清。佛教的禪修主要有兩種，它們是不同的心智技巧或運作模式，有著不同的意識特性。在巴利文，即上座部經典的原始記錄文字中，它們被稱為Vipassana Bhavana(內觀禪、觀禪或毗婆舍那)與SamathaBhavana(止禪或奢摩他)[4]。

』Vipassana』 can be translated as 』insight』, a clear awareness of exactly what is happening as it happens. 』Samatha』 can be translated as 』concentration』 or 』tranquility』. It is a state in which the mind is brought to rest, focused only on one item and not allowed to wander. When this is done, a deep calm pervades body and mind, a state of tranquility which must be experienced to be understood. Most systems of meditation emphasize the Samatha component. The meditator focuses his mind upon some items, such as prayer, a certain type of box, a chant, a candle flame, a religious image or whatever, and excludes all other thoughts and perceptions from his consciousness. The result is a state of rapture which lasts until the meditator ends the session of sitting. It is beautiful, delightful meaningful and alluring, but only temporary. Vipassana meditation address the other component, insight.

Vipassana 可譯作Insight (內觀或觀)，一種對當下、正在發生的事情的如實清楚覺知。Samatha 可譯作Concentration(集中、定)或Tranquillity(靜、止)，一種不渙散、已安靜下來、集中于某一對象的心理狀態；在此狀態的人，會感到一種甚深的平靜遍布身心，那種平靜唯親證始能了解。大多數的禪修系統皆著重止禪成分，禪修者把心念集中于某一對象，例如：一篇願文(祈禱文)、一首歌頌、一支燭火、或一個宗教性的肖像，同時排除意識內所有其他思想與知覺，漸漸達致一種喜樂，它會持續至禪坐完畢為止。它是美妙的、令人高興的、有意義的、令人著迷的，不過也是短暫的。

The Vipassana meditator uses his concentration as a tool by which his awareness can chip away at the wall of illusion which cuts him off from the living light of reality. It is a gradual process of ever-increasing awareness and into the inner workings of reality itself. It takes years, but one day the meditator chisels through that wall and tumbles into the presence of light. The transformation is complete. It』s called liberation, and it』s permanent. Liberation is the goal of all buddhist systems of practice. But the routes to attainment of the end are quite diverse.

內觀禪致力于另一成分── 內觀或觀，內觀禪修者以定力為工具，好讓他們以覺知鑿穿遮蔽著現實光芒的錯覺牆壁。過程是漸進式的，覺知將可逐漸增強至洞悉現實本身的內部運作。也許要花數年時間，可是總有一天，禪修者可鑿穿牆壁，豁然看到光芒。那轉變是徹底的，可稱之為「解脫」，而且是永久的。「解脫」是所有佛教修行體系的目標，不過，達此目標的路徑卻是多種多樣的。

There are an enormous number of distinct sects within Buddhism. But they divide into two broad streams of thought -- Mahayana and Theravada. Mahayana Buddhism prevails throughout East Asia, shaping the cultures of China, Korea, Japan, Nepal, Tibet and Vietnam. The most widely known of the Mahayana systems is Zen, practiced mainly in Japan, Korea, Vietnam and the United States. The Theravada system of practice prevails in South and Southeast Asia in the countries of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia. This book deals with Theravada practice.

佛教內部有很多不同宗派，它們都可歸納為兩大思想主流：大乘與上座部(北傳與南傳佛教)。大乘佛教(Mahayana Buddhism)[5]普遍流行于東亞地區，影響著中國、韓國、日本、尼泊爾、西藏和越南等國的文化。其中最廣為人知的大乘體系是禪宗(Zen)，它的修持多見于日本、韓國、越南和美國。上座部佛教則多見于南亞和東南亞的國家，其中包括斯里蘭卡(錫蘭)、泰國、緬甸、寮國和柬埔寨，本書所論僅涉上座部佛教的修持。

The traditional Theravada literature describes the techniques of both Samatha (concentration and tranquility of mind) and Vipassana (insight or clear awareness). There are forty different subjects of meditation described in the Pali literature. They are recommended as objects of concentration and as subjects of investigation leading to insight. But this is a basic manual, and we limit our discussion to the most fundamental of those recommended objects--breathing. This book is an introduction to the attainment of mindfulness through bare attention to, and clear comprehension of, the whole process of breathing. Using the breath as his primary focus of attention, the meditator applies participatory observation to the intirety of his own perceptual universe. He learns to watch changes occurring in all physical experiences, in feelings and in perceptions. He learns to study his own mental activities and the fluctuations in the character of consciousness itself. All of these changes are occurring perpetually and are present in every moment of our experiences.

傳統的上座部文獻對止禪與內觀禪皆有描述，據巴利文典籍所載，禪修對象(所緣)可有四十種，它們都可以被用作為止禪的對象來修習定力、或內觀禪的考察對象來達致內觀智慧。由于這是一本基礎手冊，我們將只討論其中最基本的禪修對象── 呼吸。本書是內觀禪的入門書，它將描述如何透過對整個呼吸過程的單純注意與清楚覺知，來達致正念(專注或靜觀)。內觀禪修者以呼吸為主要的集中對象，繼而對自己的全部感知世界進行參與式的觀察。禪修者要學習觀看所有身體、感受、或知覺上的經驗變化，並且要學習觀察自己的心理活動與意識本身的波動。這一切變化皆在持續發生，且是我們隨時都可以經驗得到的。

Meditation is a living activity, an inherently experiential activity. It cannot be taught as a purely scholastic subject. The living heart of the process must come from the teacher』s own personal experience. Nevertheless, there is a vast fund of codified material on the subject which is the product of some of the most intelligent and deeply illumined human beings ever to walk the earth. This literature is worthy of attention. Most of the points given in this book are drawn from the Tipitaka, which is the three-section collected work in which the Buddah』s original teachings have been preserved. The Tipitaka is comprised of the Vinaya, the code of discipline for monks, nuns, and lay people; the Suttas, public discourses attributed to the Buddha; and the Abhidhamma, a set of deep psycho-philosophical teachings.

禪修是一種活潑的、根源于內在經驗的活動，它不可能被視為一純學科來教授，那過程的活潑心法，得來自導師的親身體驗。話雖如此，仍有大量有關禪修的典籍被流傳下來，其中就有不少是出于世間有才智的大徹大悟者，這類文獻是相當值得留意的。本書的大多數觀點均引自巴利文的三藏(Tipitaka)，它是佛陀的原始教誡的輯錄，三藏包括(一)律藏，內含比丘、比丘尼及在家人的戒律；(二)經藏，內含佛陀對大眾的開示；(三)論藏，內含有關心理及哲學的深奧論著。

In the first century after Christ, an eminent Buddhist scholar named Upatissa wrote the Vimuttimagga, (The Path of Freedom) in which he summarized the Buddha』s teachings on meditation. In the fifth century A.C. (after Christ,) another great Buddhist scholar named Buddhaghosa covered the same ground in a second scholastic thesis--the Visuddhimagga, (The Path of Purification) which is the standard text on meditation even today. Modern meditation teachers rely on the Tipitaka and upon their own personal experiences.

公元一世紀時，傑出的佛學家優波提沙(Upatissa)寫下了《解脫道論(Vimuttimagga)》，里面把佛陀的禪修教導做了一番概括。公元五世紀時，另一位偉大的佛學家覺音(Buddhaghosa)依照同樣的立論基礎，寫成了《清淨道論(Visuddhimagga)》， 此書至今仍為禪修的標準教材。

It is our intention to present you with the clearest and most concise directions for Vipassana meditation available in the English language. But this book offers you a foot in the door. It』s up to you to take the first few steps on the road to the discovery of who you are and what it all means. It is a journey worth taking. We wish you success.

我們的意圖是：以最清晰、簡潔和扼要的指引，為英語世界的大眾介紹內觀禪修。本書助你入門，至于你是否繼續前進，找出你是誰及其中的意義，則要靠你自己去決定了。這是一個很值得踏上的旅程，祝你成功！