---
title: Potthila長老 The Elder Potthila
description: "At the time of the Buddha there was an elder named Potthila who was learned in the Tipitaka, but he neglected the practi"
---

The Elder Potthila

Potthila長老

At the time of the Buddha there was an elder named Potthila who was learned in the Tipitaka, but he neglected the practice of meditation. The Buddha chided him as Tuccha Potthila - vain and useless Potthila. Realising his shortcomings in the field of meditation, the elder visited a monastery where thirty Arahants lived in a forest and requested them to prescribe a meditation exercise for him. The senior Arahant knew about his pride of learning and refused to advise him, directing him to approach another monk. The other monks all did the same, until at last only a seven-year old novice, who was also an Arahant, remained. The novice said that he was inexperienced, but Potthila insisted so the novice gave him this instruction:

佛陀時代有位精通三藏的長老叫Potthila，但他忽視了禪修的實踐。佛陀斥責他為 Tuccha Potthila - 空虛和無益的Potthila。認識到在禪修方面的不足後，這位長老去拜訪森林中一座居住有三十位阿羅漢的寺院，請求他們給他指導禪修練習。年老的阿羅漢知道他自負于學識，拒絕給他建議，指示他去接近另一位比庫。其他比庫全部都是這樣做，一直到最後一位只有七歲大的沙馬內拉(sāmaṇera)。這位沙馬內拉同樣是位阿羅漢，留下了他。沙馬內拉說他沒有(禪修的)經驗，但是Potthila再三堅持請求。所以，沙馬內拉給了他下面的指導：

 「Venerable sir. There are six openings in a mound, which an iguana makes his home. If you want to catch the iguana, close up the five exits from the mound, and wait for it to come out from the last exit. There are six doors through which sense-objects can enter. If you close five of them, and keep watch at the mind-door, your task will be accomplished.

「尊者，有一座住著蜥蜴的土堆，它有六個出口。如果你想捉住這只蜥蜴，你要堵上土堆的五個出口，然後等待它從最後一個出口爬出。有六個感官對象得以進入的門。如果你關閉掉它們中的五個，然後持續觀照意門，你的任務就能完成。」

What the young Arahant advised was for Potthila not to allow impulsion to hang on to any of the five sense-doors, but to shut them all, and note only the mind-door so that impulsion could lead him on to insight. This gave the learned monk a clue to the method of insight practice. When one sees, one must stop at the thought moment of determining and note all phenomena with mindfulness. It is the same as saying, 「When you see, you just see it.」 Having practised meditation as suggested, Potthila attained Arahantship.

這位年少的阿羅漢給Potthila的建議是，不允許速行糾纏在眼耳鼻舌身五門中的任何一門上面，把它們全都關閉掉，然後只注意意門，這樣速行就能帶領他通往內觀。這段話給這位博學的修行人提供了內觀實踐方法的線索。在看時，他必須在確定心的心識剎那停下來，帶有正念地注意所有的現象。這和經句「看，只是看」是一致的。依照建議的方法練習禪修後，Potthila證得了阿羅漢。