---
title: 斷除妄想亦能健康長壽 Getting Rid of False Thinking Leads to Health and Longevity
description: "百歲高僧離欲上人遺著"
---

斷除妄想亦能健康長壽

Getting Rid of False Thinking Leads to Health and Longevity

百歲高僧離欲上人遺著

An instructional talk by the late eminent Chan Master Liyu (Apart from Desire), who lived to be over 100 years old

先師離欲上人，為禪門宗匠，一生建寺弘法，化度甚眾。住錫四川樂至報國 寺，前後達五十余年。于一九九二年四月十七日，預知時至，安詳坐化，世壽一百五十歲。師平時教人，以消除妄念為學佛要領。誠以妄念一斷，大之可以明悟自 心，徹見本性；小之亦能卻病延年，健康長壽，乃真語實語。觀師年逾期頤，而神清氣朗，目光炯炯，視聽聰明，步履輕健，豈偶然所致。整理遺稿，得此短篇，用 特刊出，以饗讀者。

Our late teacher, the Venerable Liyu, was a great master of the Chan sect. He dedicated his life to erecting monasteries and propagating the Buddhadharma, and he saved and influenced many people. He spent over fifty years of his life at Baoguo Monastery in Lezhi County, Sichuan Province. On April 17, 1992, he knew in advance that his time had come, and he peacefully left the world sitting in full lotus posture. He was 150 years old. The Master often taught people that the key to Buddhist practice is to eliminate 「false」 thoughts.* When one does this to a great degree, he will be enlightened to his own mind and clearly see his own nature; if he does so to a lesser degree, he will live a long and healthy life and be free of illness. This is indeed true. Even when he was over a hundred years old, our teacher was always vigorous and clear-minded; his eyes were bright and lively, his stride light and nimble, and his vision and hearing sharp. This is no coincidence. While sorting through the writings left by the Master, we came across this short article and hope it can be

妙首釋昌臻識

一九九五年四月十五日于四川樂至報國寺

published as a present to the readers.
Recorded by Miaoshou, aka Shi Changzhen
April 15, 1995
Baoguo Monastery, Lezhi County, Sichuan Province

古來，我佛度人，無非就是斷除妄念。自我披剃出家以來，時時都是堅決根除妄念。發勇猛心，不隨妄想習氣轉；在 一切時中，不分行住坐臥，動靜一相，本自如如。妄念不生，自然疾病減少，並能健康長壽。古德說：「若能識得心，大地無寸土」。全部佛法歸結到一點，即是斷 除妄念。妄念，又稱為「妄想」。例如，我們早晨睜眼，腦筋里不斷想事情，種種念頭，種種幻想，公事私事，人我是非，八百年前的往事，都像電影一幕一幕地過 去，又像奔流不息的瀑布，沒有一分一秒停止。這個常常想事的心，就是「妄心」。斷妄心實在不容易。古人說：「斷妄念如斷四十里流」，談何容易！

In ancient times, the Buddha had no other means for saving people than teaching them get rid of false thoughts. Ever since I left the home-life, I have worked persistently to get rid of my false thoughts in every moment. I have brought forth a vigorous resolve and refused to be affected by false thoughts and bad habits. At all times, whether I am moving or still, sleeping or awake, I have tried to remain in a state of unmoving thusness. When one is free of false thoughts, one will naturally be healthy and long-lived and not get sick as often. The virtuous ones of old said, 「Once the mind is recognized, the earth no longer exists.」 All of the Buddha』s teachings go back to the basic principle of eliminating false thoughts, that is, fanciful thoughts. From the time we open our eyes in the morning, thoughts, ideas, and fantasies race nonstop through our minds; we think of public affairs, private matters, gossip, and even things that happened 800 years ago. Scene after scene flashes onto our mental movie screens. Our minds are like flowing waterfalls that don』t stop for a second. This ceaselessly thinking mind is the false mind, and it』s no easy task to stop it. The ancients said, 「Stopping the false mind would be like damming up a river for forty miles.」 It』s easier said than done.

我們每天從早到晚，一切動作與思維，都離不開妄念；妄念是分別心、第六識。如眼之于色，耳之于聲，鼻之于香， 舌之于味，身之于觸，意之于想，皆是識的作用。內有眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意、六根，外有色、聲、香、味、觸、法、六塵；六根和六塵一接觸，就產生六識。此 六識因為受了第七末那識「執我」之影響，一切語言行為，莫不為自己打算，以我為本位，因而發生人我是非，種種煩惱。此「執我」之一念，即是根本無明。由此 無明，便造種種業，受種種報，以致流轉生死，永無止息。我們想拔除生死之本，對于永無休歇的六識心浪，必須予以停止，相續不斷的意識便不起作用；此時的心 理狀態是動靜如如，湛寂常照，靈明不眛，不思維過去、現在、未來一切事物，故稱之為「無念」。如能永遠維持此心之寂靜，那麼，健康長壽，永保青春，不過是 隨之而來的副產物而已。

From dawn till dusk each day, our movements and thoughts are inseparable from the false mind. The false mind is the discriminating mind, the sixth consciousness. It is functioning of the consciousnesses that enables the eyes to perceive forms, the ears to perceive sounds, the nose to perceive smells, the tongue to perceive flavors, the body to perceive contact, and the mind to perceive thoughts. When the six internal sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) come into contact with the six kinds of external sense data (forms, sounds, smells, flavors, contact, and dharmas), the six consciousnesses are brought into being. Because the sixth consciousness is influenced by the seventh consciousness with its attachment to a self, all speech and actions are based on the self and motivated by the wish to benefit the self. This leads to discriminations between self and others and to all kinds of afflictions. That one thought of 「attachment to self」 is none other than our fundamental ignorance. Based on ignorance, we create various kinds of karma and incur various sorts of retribution, so that we must undergo endless rounds of birth and death. Should we want to uproot the foundation of birth and death, we must calm the restless waves of the conscious mind and interrupt its continuous functioning. At that time the mind will be in a state of perpetual thusness, profoundly still and eternally illuminating, spiritually bright and unconfused, not thinking of anything in the past, present or future. That is called 「having no thought.」 If one can maintain that peaceful state of mind, then health, longevity, and eternal youth will come as natural by-products.

此種無念真心，是絕諸對待，沒有大小、方圓、長短、善惡、是非、垢淨、增減、生滅、來去等相；一塵不染，空空 洞洞，什麼都比不上。這是禪宗所求的終極目標––明心見性，也就是祖師的指標，在二六時中，不分行、住、坐、臥、動、靜，一相本自如如；妄念不生，何患長 壽不了？若不如此，總是忙忙碌碌，從朝至暮，從生到死，空過光陰；在修持上固然是勞而無功，在身上也永遠不得安定。這樣，和健康長壽也是背道而馳的。

The true mind which is free of thought is absolute; it precludes all dualities. There are no distinctions of great or small, round or square, long or short, good or evil, right or wrong, pure or defiled, increasing or decreasing, production or extinction, coming or going. Undefiled by a single speck of dust, it is empty and beyond compare. That is the ultimate goal sought for in the Chan sect—understanding the mind and seeing the nature. It is also what the patriarchs pointed to. At all times, whether one is moving or still, sleeping or awake, the One Mark is originally thus. If one has no false thoughts, how can one worry about not attaining long life? On the other hand, if we are busy and hectic from morning to night, from birth until death, then we are letting the time go by in vain. Not only will we fail in our cultivation, but we will also be unable to find peace and calm. We will be running in the opposite direction from health and longevity.

因此，我們應當知道，妄念對于人生實在是關系太大，必須以真對治。

Therefore, we should realize what a tremendous influence false thinking has upon our lives. We must use a true method to deal with.