---
title: 捉住一條蛇 To Grasp a Snake
description: "\"Our practice here is not to grasp anything,\" Achaan Chah told a new monk."
---

To Grasp a Snake

　　捉住一條蛇

"Our practice here is not to grasp anything," Achaan Chah told a new monk.

　　阿姜 查告訴一位新比丘：「我們這里的修行是不去執著任何事物。」

"But isn't it necessary to hold onto things sometimes?" the monk protested.

　　比丘提出異議：「但是有時候不是必須要握東西嗎?」

"With the hands, yes! but not with the heart," the teacher replied. "When the heart grasps what is painful, it is like being bitten by a snake. And when, through desire, it grasps what is pleasant, it is just grasping the tail of the snake. It only takes a little while longer for the head of the snake to come around and bite you.

　　老師回答說：「用手，可以，但不是用心。當心執著痛苦時，就好像被蛇咬到一樣。而當欲望執著快樂時，也只是捉住蛇尾，只要一下子，蛇頭便會回過來咬你。」

"Make this nongrasping and mindfulness the guardian of your heart, like a parent. Then your likes and dislikes will come calling like children. 'I don't like that, Mommy. I want more of that, Daddy.' Just smile and say, 'Sure, kid.' 'But Mommy, I really want an elephant.' 'Sure, kid.' 'I want candy. Can we go for an airplane ride?' There is no problem if you can let them come and go without grasping."

　　「讓這不執著和正念作為你心的守護者，就如父母一樣。你的好、惡會像小孩般地來叫你：『媽媽，我不喜歡那個!爸爸!我要多一點那個！』只要笑著說：『沒問題，孩子。』『但是，媽媽，我真的想要一只象。』『沒問題，孩子。』『我想要糖果。』『我們可以去坐飛機嗎?』如果你能讓它們來去而不執著就沒問題了。」

Something contacts the senses; like or dislike arises; and right there is delusion. Yet with mindfulness, wisdom can arise in this same experience.

　　某些事物接觸到感官，喜歡或不喜歡于是生起；而這當下就是愚癡。然而有了正念，智慧就能夠在同樣的經驗下生起。

Do not fear places where many things contact the senses, if you must be there. Enlightened does not mean being deaf and blind. Saying a mantra every second to block things out, you may get hit by a car. Just be mindful and do not be fooled. When others say something is pretty, say to yourself, "It's not." When others say something is delicious, say to yourself, "No, it's not." Do not get caught in the attachments of the world or in relative judgments. Just let it all go by.

　　如果你必須在那里，不要對會有很多事物和感官接觸的地方感到恐懼。覺悟並不是指聾了或瞎了。每秒鍾都持咒來防備事物的話，你可能會被車子撞倒的。只要保持正念不要被矇騙。當別人說某物很漂亮時，告訴仍自己：「它不是。」當別人說某物很好吃時，告訴你自己：「不，它不是。」不要陷于世界的執著或相對的見解。就讓它去吧！

Some people are afraid of generosity. They feel that they will be exploited or oppressed, that they will not be properly caring for themselves. In cultivating generosity, we are only oppressing our greed and attachment. This allows our true nature to express itself and become lighter and freer.

　　有些人害怕布施，因為他們覺得他們會被利用或壓抑。在長養布施之際，我們是在壓抑我們的貪婪和執著，但這樣能使我們真實的本然得到顯現，並且變得愈來愈輕。