---
title: 佛教唯一的核心 The Single Essence of Buddhism
description: "另外， 我想建議大家直接使用 upadana (執著)，而不要用 attachment 或其他英文譯字取代它。 目前你可能對 upadana 的意義還一知半解，但可試著使用這字眼，使你的口、你的心以及你的感受先習慣它。因為佛教的唯一核心就是"
---

[佛教唯一的核心]

The Single Essence of Buddhism

另外， 我想建議大家直接使用 upadana (執著)，而不要用 attachment 或其他英文譯字取代它。 目前你可能對 upadana 的意義還一知半解，但可試著使用這字眼，使你的口、你的心以及你的感受先習慣它。因為佛教的唯一核心就是斷除執著，當執著斷除後，便不再有囚牢，也就沒有苦了。

I'd like to advise that you use this word "upadana" instead of "attachment" or any other English translation. Those English words are constantly being misunderstood. You may not understand it fully at this time, but try to use this word upadana to accustom your mouth, your mind, and your feelings to it.

We must realize that the heart of Buddhism is to wipe out upadana. The heart of Buddhism is that which gets rid of upadana, or cut it out. Then there is no prison, and then there is no dukkha.

想了解 upadana 必須將英文中依戀附著( attachment )、 黏著的( clinging )及緊握的( grasping )三個字的意思融合在一起， 這樣才能確切表達 upadana 的涵意。當然最好是使用 upadana這個字，因為它的涵意比較豐富，能夠使我們以更寬廣的角度了解「執著」。

You must take the meaning of the English words attachment, grasping, and clinging, then combine them to get the meaning of "upadana." It's better for us to use the word upadana. Its meaning is broader and it will enable us to look into this matter more deeply and extensively.

upadana (執著)雖只是個簡單的字，但卻最為重要，因為佛教的核心就是要根除執著，進而解除苦。請大家務必了解斷除執著就是佛教各宗各派的核心，這在每一宗派都可發現得到。上座部佛教也好，大乘佛教也好，禪宗、西藏佛教也好，或任何你所喜歡的宗派都好，他們只不過在名相、外在儀式或修持法門上有所不同罷了，其實就本質而言，同樣都是為了斷盡執著。

It may be just one simple word, but upadana is the most important thing. The heart of Buddhism is just to uproot or cut out this upadana. Then dukkha will be finished. Please understand that this is the heart of all Buddhism, it is found in every sect and school. Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, whatever kind of Buddhism you like, they're different only in name or in the external ceremonies and practices. But inside it's all the same thing: the cutting off of upadana.

不必因為無法研遍佛教各宗派的教理而感到憂傷、沮喪或焦慮，別給自己找麻煩。假如你無法到西藏、斯里蘭卡、緬甸、中國或其他地方研習佛法，也不要感到憂慮，那只是浪費時間罷了。因為佛教唯ㄧ的核心，就是去除執著。如果要說上座部、大乘、禪宗、密宗及中國佛教之間有什麼差異的話，也只是外殼、表皮的肉瘤或儀式的多少不同罷了。佛教的真正核心，其實處處都相同，那就是執著的斷盡。所以不必因為無法研究各宗各派的佛教而感到悲傷或不足，只要全心修習斷除執著，那就夠了。

Don't be sad, don't be disappointed or anxious, don't make trouble for yourself thinking that you haven't been able to study all the schools of Buddhism. Don't worry if you haven't been able to study Buddhism in Tibet, in Sri Lanka, in Burma, in China, or anywhere. That's a waste of time. There is just a single essence or heart of it all, namely, to eliminate upadana. The labels Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, Tibetan, and Chinese reflect only the outer covers of what seems to be different kinds of Buddhism. If there are any differences they are merely surface or superficial ones, just a bunch of accumulated rites and rituals. The true heart of the matter, the heart of all Buddhism, is the same everywhere: the uprooting and cutting out of upadana.

So just study this one thing. Don't waste time being sad or thinking that you haven't studied all the different kinds of Buddhism. Study this single matter of the cutting off of upadana, that is enough.

如果想要像專家一樣研究大乘佛教，就得研習梵文，但你可能學了一輩子仍然一無所知；或為了想好好地了解禪宗而去學中文，但耗盡一生學中文，到頭來還是不懂什麼是禪宗；若想了解西藏密教金剛乘，那就必須學藏文。只是學習這些語言，就要花上你將近一生的時間，但仍然無法真正了解任何東西，也無法進入佛教的核心。這些都只是外在表相，人們卻把它當成「新發展」( new development )。 如果要知道佛教的核心，只需要學習斷除執著，只要學習這件事，你就會了解佛教的本質了。因此，不管佛教被貼上大乘、上座部、禪宗或金剛乘的標籤，不管它來自中國、日本、韓國或其他任何地方，它們只有一個共同的核心──斷除執著。

If you really want to know Mahayana Buddhism like an expert, then you'll have to go and learn Sanskrit. You can spend almost your entire life trying to learn Sanskrit and still not really know anything. Or if you want to know Zen well, then you have to learn Chinese. Spend your whole life learning Chinese and in the end you still won't know Zen. To know Vajrayana, the Buddhism of Tibet, you'll have to learn Tibetan. Just learning the languages will cost almost your whole life, yet you won't really have learned anything.

You still haven't gotten into the heart of Buddhism. These are just superficialities conjured up as new developments. Understand the heart of it all and learn just this one thing: the cutting off of upadana. Then you'll know the essence of Buddhism, whether it is labeled Mahayana, Theravada, Zen, or Vajrayana. Whether its from China, Japan, Korea, or anywhere else, it's all in one place: cutting out upadana.

其實單單上座部佛教，便有各種不同的形態，光是修習禪定就有許多法門，例如：觀察腹部的起、伏，或持念 Samma Araham (正阿羅漢)及 Buddho 、 Buddho (佛陀、佛陀)，以及其他各種不同的法門。但只要方法正確，必定能斷除執著。如果不能斷除執著，就無法契入佛法的本質，那項法門也就毫無益處了。為何不對「斷除執著」(或者用比喻來說，對「摧毀囚牢」)產生興趣呢？所以，今天我們來談囚牢是再好不過了。

Even in the single school of Theravada Buddhism there are many different forms. There are many different ways of mental cultivation, too. There's the kind of meditation from Burma, where they watch the rising and falling of the abdomen. There are the kinds based on the mantras "Samma Araham" and "Buddho, Buddho," as well as all other kinds of different things. But if it's correct, the heart of each is always in exactly the same place: the need to eradicate upadana. If it hasn't gotten to the elimination of upadana, it isn't the real thing yet. And it won't be of any use or benefit, either. Why not be interested in the matter of cutting off upadana, or, if we speak metaphorically, destroying the prison? So it's best if we speak about this prison.

正確地說，我們實在無法從經典、技巧，或各式各樣的教義中學到如何斷除執著，我們必須在執著的本身，也就是在囚牢或苦之中學習，才能獲得真實的利益。因此，我們最好先找到這囚牢，以下我們就來談談「囚牢」。

To speak most correctly, we really can't learn from scriptures, from techniques, or from those various teachings if we are to be truly successful. To successfully reap any real benefits, we must learn in the thing itself, namely, the actual prison. Study the actual dukkha in itself, that prison itself. So we'd better look for and find this prison.