---
title: 平常心 Normality - 其它 Miscellaneous
description: "Part 2: Walking The Path 第2篇：行道"
---

Part 2: Walking The Path 第2篇：行道

2-3. Stages of Practice 修學階段

2-3-5. Miscellaneous 其它

(DON'T BE ATTACHED TO SCRIPTURES 勿泥執經典)

A problem that I would like to draw your attention to is that most of us tend to be attached to the scriptures, which is good, it's not that it's bad, but we should reflect with awareness and wisdom.

我提一個你們會感興趣的問題：我們大多數人都喜歡經典，那是好事，不是壞事，但我們必須用覺性及智慧來思惟經義。

To give an example : It is generally believed that one gets rewarded so and so much for making merit, being generous and keeping precepts ; my parents believed that and myself, I have made merit, made offerings, kept precepts, supported an ordination, helped to erect a temple, a hall and dwelling places, but I still didn't know what merit really is.

舉個例子，一般人都相信，一個人做功德、布施或持戒多少，就會相對地得到多少的回報；我和我父母都相信這個說法，我也不斷地做功德、布施、持戒，或者護持剃度典禮，幫助建設寺院、大殿及寮房等，但我仍然不知道究竟什麼是功德。

When I was a kid, my parents told me one gets lots of merit by putting food into a monks bowl ; one recieves results for centuries. But in reality, aeons or centuries are a figurative way of talking of people in the past and it has been handed down to clarify the Dhamma, so that people with the divine eye and ear would see. People with the divine eye and ear are people with awareness and wisdom, the kind of wisdom that is able to pierce the outer bark of phenomena until seeing the truth in its entirety. It is not the divine eye and ear as we generally understand it.

當我還是個小孩時，我父母親告訴我：供養食物在比丘的缽里可以得到很多的功德；他可以得到好幾世紀的果報。但實際上，所謂的數劫或數世紀，是以前的人在溝通時的一種計量方式，而這些東西被流傳了下來，用以闡明佛法，好讓那些具足聖眼及聖耳的人們能夠明了。所謂具足聖眼及聖耳的人就是指具有覺性與智慧的人，這種智慧能夠洞穿現象的表層，而究竟親見真理。這里所謂的聖眼及聖耳不是我們一般所了解的天眼及天耳。

(BLOOMING WITH THE LIGHT OF DHAMMA 隨法光明綻開)

Let me stress again that having come here, we should make ourselves into the best type of rice, putting all our effort and intelligence into it. When we've heard the instructions and teachings, we should comprehend it and remember it. Make yourself into a flower fully in bud ; when it recieves sunlight, it blooms straight away. All of us here, the same : if we have enough intelligence, we're ready to mature and bloom just like that flower.

讓我再次強調：既然來到了這兒，我們必須讓自己成為最好的稻米，盡自己一切的努力和智慧來達成。當我們聽了開示和教導，應該要進一步去理解並記牢，使自己成為一朵完全長成而含苞待放的花，一接受陽光照射，立即盛開。我們這里的所有人也一樣，如果聰明的話，就應該要讓自已成熟並像花一般的盛開綻放。

The teachings of the Buddha compares with sunlight that exists already. If we practice in the right way, the results of practice and Nibbana will appear. On the contrary, even though the teachings and code of conduct laid down by the Buddha exist ; if we don't practice accordingly, we definitely won't reap the fruits of practice or Nibbana.

佛陀的教導就像本來具足的陽光，只要我們正確的練習，修習的種種成果及終極涅槃自然會出現。相反地，如果我們沒有依之修習，即使佛陀傳下來的教法及戒律仍然存在，我們也絕對不會獲得任何修習的成果與涅槃。

(FILLING UP A PIT 芝麻滿坑)

Let's reflect on the belief that we have to perfect certain qualities in search of Nibbana by filling up a big pond, throwing sesame seeds in the pit, hole or pond ; one seed at a time, until it is full. This obviously takes a long time. Believing this is to take it literally without using wisdom ; someone like that doesn't have the divine eye and ear. Filling up a pit 100 leagues wide, 100 leagues deep with sesame seeds, one seed every 100 years - 1 year in heaven equals 100 years on earth - an angel comes to throw it in ; when it's full this is called one aeon. The real meaning of this that can be practiced, is that the filling up of the pond with the sesame seeds is to develop awareness by turning the hand up and down, having awareness every moment is the meaning of each sesame seed, when awareness is perfected, there is no more suffering, in other words the pit is full. So people with the divine eye and ear try to do this all the time in order to perfect awareness, concentration and wisdom, and they don't let time get wasted.

讓我們反思一下這個我們信受的想法：「若欲尋求涅槃，必須丟芝麻到一個坑洞、洞穴或池塘里，而且一次只能丟一粒，一直丟到它滿為止，這樣我們才能圓滿某些質素而得到涅槃。」這顯然需要很長很長的時間，人們會相信這個想法就是因為只從字面上去理解，而沒有運用智慧，這樣的人不具有聖眼及聖耳。一個天神丟芝麻到一個200里格(約300哩)寬，100里格深的坑洞，而且每100年(天上一年等于人間百年)丟一粒，直到把坑洞填滿，這樣叫做一劫。這個說法就修行來說，它的真實意義是這樣的：「芝麻填坑」的意思是要我們藉由翻手覆手等動作來培養覺性；「一粒粒的芝麻」代表時時刻刻要有覺性；當覺性圓滿的時候，就不會再有苦，換句話說，就等于「填滿了坑洞」。所以具有聖眼及聖耳的人會隨時隨地努力練習來圓滿自己的覺性、定力和智慧，不會白白浪費時間。

(DON'T JUST TALK WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING 莫唯空談不求真知)

It is the same with merit, demerit, hell, heaven and Nibbana : we tend to misunderstand the true meaning ; we tend to believe that after making merit we get reborn as something or other in heaven. People who say that heaven is like this and like that with many different levels, are only just talking but they don't know for themselves, they've read it in a book, they remember it and tell others without reflecting or investigating the truth of it properly.

But somebody with the divine eye and ear will comprehend the matter instantly, having examined it.

功德、罪惡、地獄、天堂與涅槃也是一樣，我們都誤解了它們的真實意義：我們相信做了功德之後將來可以投生到天堂或得到什麼東西。那些說天堂是這樣、那樣而且分為很多層天的人，只是嘴巴說說而自己並沒有真正了解，他們只是在書里讀過並記住這些知識，並沒有進一步加以思惟或正確地檢證它們的真實性，然後就輕率地向別人傳述這些說法。具有聖眼及聖耳的人聽了看了就會隨即去思惟理解那件事，並予以檢證。

(CONSIDERING THE BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES 論評經典)

The reason that there are these wrong beliefs is that the Buddha passed away a long time ago and in the time of the Buddha there was no writing, not even during the first few councils after the passing away of the Buddha and the eras were far apart from each other. Only at the fifth council were the teachings recorded in script ; this was as much as 450 years after the passing away of the Buddha : that's a very long tirne ! Those who were present at this latter council may really have known the teachings and code of conduct completely or to some extent, or i t may be that they didn't really know but only knew from memory and recorded it as they could remember it. And then people in modern times believe according to what they hear and read in books.

會有這些錯誤想法的原因是：佛陀入滅已有很長的時間，而在佛陀的時代並沒有文字，甚至佛陀入滅後最初幾次經典結集的期間也都還沒有文字，而且每次結集的年代都相隔得非常久遠，(這麼長的期間當中，經典一直是藉耳聞口傳的方式流傳，)一直到第五次結集才把佛陀的教導用文字記載成冊，這已經是佛陀入滅後450年了，已過了一段非常長的時間！那些出席此次結集的人可能已經完全或某種程度上了解了正法律，但也可能他們並沒有真正了解而只是依見聞記憶而知，並將他們所記得的紀錄下來，而現在的人又直接相信從這些經典聽來和看來的東西(，所以就產生了一些錯誤的想法)。

The Buddhist scriptures, that we take these days to be the reference or authority, are good, it is not that they are not good but how much has disappeared, been adjusted and been added to it, is hard to guess. Just think of yourself, having grown up to have your present age, who can remember the first word that your parents spoke to you, what did they say ? Just that much, we can't even remember and it's not even as long ago as 100 years !

我們現在當作參考或依憑的佛教經典是好的，並不是它們不好；但其中有多少已經散失、被竄改或乃至被增添進去的呢？這已難以評斷了！想想你自己吧！你長大到這個年紀，誰還記得你父母告訴你的第一個字呢？或他們說了什麼呢？就只那麼長而已，連一百年都不到呢！我們就記不得了，何況佛陀入滅了這麼久！

Somebody with the divine eye and ear will see the truth as it is and will see through the books and information, he or she will view what is the genuine truth and will have the chance to realize and really know the things that the Buddha taught for us to practice without having to believe anybody or any scriptures whatsoever. I believe that this very way of developing awareness will give people the wisdom to come to realisation and real insight.

具有聖眼及聖耳的人能夠如實知見真理，並且會看透經典及其中傳遞的信息；他會觀察什麼是真正的真理，因而能有機會覺悟與如實真知佛陀給我們的教導，亦即：我們可以自力修行而不需要信靠任何人或任何經典等等外在的任何東西。我相信這個培養覺性的方法必然會讓人開啟智慧，而達到證悟和真實的洞見。