Mindfulness In Plain English - Chapter 3: What Meditation Is

Mindfulness In Plain English

佛教禪修直解

by Mahathera Henepola Gunaratana

德寶法師著作 梁國雄居士譯

Chapter 3: What Meditation Is

第三章 禪修正義

Meditation is a word, and words are used in different ways by different speakers. This may seem like a trivial point, but it is not. It is quite important to distinguish exactly what a particular speaker means by the words he uses. Every culture on earth, for example, has produced some sort of mental practice which might be termed meditation. It all depends on how loose a definition you give to that word. Everybody does it, from Africans to Eskimos. The techniques are enormously varied, and we will make no attempt to survey them. There are other books for that. For the purpose of this volume, we will restrict our discussion to those practices best known to Western audiences and most likely associated with the term meditation.

「禪修」是一個詞，像其他詞一樣，常被不同的人以不同的方式來運用。這說法似乎微不足道，實則不然。能分辨出某講者所用的字或詞之實質意義，是相當重要的。地球上的每一個文化，似乎都有產生某類可稱之為「禪修」的心智修習，其意義的寬緊，全視乎你給它所下的定義。世界各地的有關技巧，相互間的差異都很大，我們不想一一去考察它們，已有很多專書做過了。因此，為了達到本書之目的，我們想把范圍縮細，只論述西方讀者最熟悉的、經常與「禪修」一詞相提並論的修習方法。

Within the Judeo-Christian tradition we find two overlapping practices called prayer and contemplation. Prayer is a direct address to some spiritual entity. Contemplation in a prolonged period of conscious thought about some specific topic, usually a religious ideal or scriptural passage. From the standpoint of mental culture, both of these activities are exercises in concentration. The normal deluge of conscious thought is restricted, and the mind is brought to one conscious area of operation. The results are those you find in any concentrative practice: deep calm, a physiological slowing of the metabolism and a sense of peace and well-being.

在猶太教與基督教所共有的傳統中，我們發現有兩種互相重疊的修習：「祈禱( Prayer)」與「冥想(Contemplation)」。「祈禱」是向一個靈體的直接說話，「冥想」則是針對某一主題：通常是一個宗教理念或某段經文，而進行的長時間的有意識的沉思。從心智培育的觀點來看，兩種活動都是有關定力或集中力的練習。它們限制如洪水般的念頭，只讓心意在某一意識范圍內運作，結果與其他定力或集中力的修習相同：感覺非常平靜、生理上的新陳代謝減慢、有一種安靜、幸福的感覺。

Out of the Hindu tradition comes Yogic meditation, which is also purely concentrative. The traditional basic exercises consist of focusing the mind on a single object a stone, a candle flame, a syllable or whatever, and not allowing it to wander. Having acquired the basic skill, the Yogi proceeds to expand his practice by taking on more complex objects of meditation chants, colorful religious images, energy channels in the body and so forth. Still, no matter how complex the object of meditation, the meditation itself remains purely an exercise in concentration.

從印度傳統中出現了瑜伽禪修法，它也是純綷的定力訓練。傳統上的基本練習，是要集中心意于一個對象上，對象可以是一塊石頭、一支燭火、一個音節等等，同時不讓心意四處游蕩或胡思亂想。基本訓練成功後，瑜伽行者便要擴大修習范圍，以較複雜的對象來修習，例如：專心唱誦祈禱文、憶念彩色的宗教性圖象、注意體內的氣脈(Energy Channels) 等。不過，無論對象有多麼複雜，這種禪修仍只是定力或集中力的練習而已。

Within the Buddhist tradition, concentration is also highly valued. But a new element is added and more highly stressed. That element is awareness. All Buddhist meditation aims at the development of awareness, using concentration as a tool. The Buddhist tradition is very wide, however, and there are several diverse routes to this goal. Zen meditation uses two separate tacks. The first is the direct plunge into awareness by sheer force of will. You sit down and you just sit, meaning that you toss out of your mind everything except pure awareness of sitting. This sounds very simple. It is not. A brief trial will demonstrate just how difficult it really is. The second Zen approach used in the Rinzai school is that of tricking the mind out of conscious thought and into pure awareness. This is done by giving the student an unsolvable riddle which he must solve anyway, and by placing him in a horrendous training situation. Since he cannot flee from the pain of the situation, he must flee into a pure experience of the moment. There is nowhere else to go. Zen is tough. It is effective for many people, but it is really tough.

在佛教的傳統中，定力也備受重視，不過，在禪修中加入了一個新的、更為著重的元素，那就是覺知力或覺察力。所有佛教禪修皆是以發展覺知力為目標，並以定力作為輔助工具。然而，佛教傳統相當寬廣，至今已發展了多種途徑，它們都可達到此目標。日本的禪宗(Zen)有兩種不同的修法：第一種是以堅強的意志力直接投入，全神貫注于覺知之中，你坐下之後，就只管坐著，摒除心內一切雜念，不管別的，只保持坐的覺知。這修法看似簡單，實則不然，你只須照上述修法稍坐片刻，就可證明它的難度了。第二種是臨濟宗(RinzaiSchool)的修法，它設法誘導心意，走出有意識的思維，進入純粹的覺知之中。實修時，學員要設法解決一個無法解決的謎語，他被置于可怕的訓練環境之中，由于無法逃避困苦，他唯有被迫進入當下的純粹經驗之中，沒有他途。禪宗是嚴苛的，它對不少人有效，可是它的確是困難的。

Another stratagem, Tantric Buddhism, is nearly the reverse. Conscious thought, at least the way we usually do it, is the manifestation of ego, the you that you usually think that you are. Conscious thought is tightly connected with self-concept. The self-concept or ego is nothing more than a set of reactions and mental images which are artificially pasted to the flowing process of pure awareness. Tantra seeks to obtain pure awareness by destroying this ego image. This is accomplished by a process of visualization. The student is given a particular religious image to meditate upon, for example, one of the deities from the Tantric pantheon. He does this in so thorough a fashion that he becomes that entity. He takes off his own identity and puts on another. This takes a while, as you might imagine, but it works. During the process, he is able to watch the way that the ego is constructed and put in place. He comes to recognize the arbitrary nature of all egos, including his own, and he escapes from bondage to the ego. He is left in a state where he may have an ego if he so chooses, either his own or whichever other he might wish, or he can do without one. Result: pure awareness. Tantra is not exactly a game of patty cake either.

另一種策略為佛教的密宗(Tantric Buddhism)所用，它與上述的方法剛好相反。有意識的思維，至少是我們常做的方式，是一種「自我(Ego)」的表現，是你通常自以為是的「你」。有意識的思維與「自我概念(Self-concept)」緊密聯系，「自我概念」或「自我」不過是一組內心反應與形象，被人為地貼在純粹覺知的流動過程上而已。密宗試圖以破壞這個自我形象的方法來獲得此純粹覺知，這是靠觀想(Visualization)過程來實現的。學員的禪修對象是一個特定的宗教形像，例如：密宗神殿內的某一神明或本尊(Deity)，他要徹底令自己變成那個神明或本尊，他要放下自己的身份，扮演另一身份。可以想像，這需要一段日子，但可以做到的。在這過程中，他能看到「自我」是怎樣被建築而成的；他認識到所有人(包括自己)的「自我」皆是任意的，于是可擺脫「自我」的束縛。在那狀態中，他可以任意選擇一個「自我」，例如：自己原來的、自己希望的、或是不取任何「自我」。結果是純粹的覺知。由此可見，密宗的修法也非易事。

Vipassana is the oldest of Buddhist meditation practices. The method comes directly from the Sitipatthana Sutta, a discourse attributed to Buddha himself. Vipassana is a direct and gradual cultivation of mindfulness or awareness. It proceeds piece by piece over a period of years. The student’s attention is carefully directed to an intense examination of certain aspects of his own existence. The meditator is trained to notice more and more of his own flowing life experience. Vipassana is a gentle technique. But it also is very , very thorough. It is an ancient and codified system of sensitivity training, a set of exercises dedicated to becoming more and more receptive to your own life experience. It is attentive listening, total seeing and careful testing. We learn to smell acutely, to touch fully and really pay attention to what we feel. We learn to listen to our own thoughts without being caught up in them.

內觀或毗婆舍那(Vipassana)是佛教最古老的禪修方法，它直接來自佛陀宣說的《念處經(Satipatthana Sutta)》[1]。內觀是一種對密切注意或覺知的直接和漸進式的培育方法，要經年累月地、一點一滴地不斷進行；學員要謹慎地專注與密切檢查自身存在(指身心)的某些層面，令自己察覺生活經驗之流的能力不斷增強。內觀是一種溫和的修法，卻也是非常、非常的徹底。它是一套古老的、已編成法典的修心系統，一套專為逐漸增強你覺知自己生活經驗能力的練習。它是留心傾聽、專心觀看與小心測試。我們學習敏銳地去聞(嗅)、完全地去接觸，以及認真地去留意觀察這些經驗正在發生的改變。我們學習傾聽自己的想法，小心不致陷入其中。

The object of Vipassana practice is to learn to pay attention. We think we are doing this already, but that is an illusion. It comes from the fact that we are paying so little attention to the ongoing surge of our own life experiences that we might just as well be asleep. We are simply not paying enough attention to notice that we are not paying attention. It is another Catch-22.

內觀修習的目的，是要學習洞悉各種現象的實相，皆是無常、苦與無我。我們以為自己已經這麼做了，其實是一種錯覺；事實上，我們對洶湧而來的生活經驗注意極少，幾近睡眠狀態，我們根本沒有充分注意，故此覺察不出自己並沒有注意。這是另一個兩難的困局。

Through the process of mindfulness, we slowly become aware of what we really are down below the ego image. We wake up to what life really is. It is not just a parade of ups and downs, lollipops and smacks on the wrist. That is an illusion. Life has a much deeper texture than that if we bother to look, and if we look in the right way.

透過留意覺察的修習過程，我們會慢慢知道自己的實相，不再受表面的「自我」形象所迷惑。我們醒悟到生命的實相，它不僅是起落浮沉、好壞雜陳、棒棒糖與皮鞭拍擊之表面上的展示而已，那是一種錯覺。如果我們肯費心觀察，並且方法正確，將發覺生命的內容特徵，實比我們所知的較為細緻深邃。

Vipassana is a form of mental training that will teach you to experience the world in an entirely new way. You will learn for the first time what is truly happening to you, around you and within you. It is a process of self discovery, a participatory investigation in which you observe your own experiences while participating in them, and as they occur. The practice must be approached with this attitude.

內觀是一種心智訓練方式，它教你用一種全新的方法去體驗世界。你將開始學習了解真正發生在自己身上、在自己的周圍，以及在自己內部的事情。它是一種「自我發現」的過程、一種參與性的審查，你是一面觀察著自己的經驗，一面參與其事的。修習時必須抱持以下態度：「勿理會先前學到的教導。忘掉理論、偏見與陳腔濫調。我想了解生命的真實本性。我想知道這活著的經驗到底是怎麼樣的。我想領悟生命最深奧與真實的性質。我不想只是接受別人的解釋就算，我要親自見證。」

“Never mind what I have been taught. Forget about theories and prejudgments and stereotypes. I want to understand the true nature of life. I want to know what this experience of being alive really is. I want to apprehend the true and deepest qualities of life, and I don’t want to just accept somebody else’s explanation. I want to see it for myself.” If you pursue your meditation practice with this attitude, you will succeed. You’ll find yourself observing things objectively, exactly as they are–flowing and changing from moment to moment. Life then takes on an unbelievable richness which cannot be described. It has to be experienced.

你若持此態度禪修，一定會成功的。你發覺自己在觀察事物時，能客觀和如實── 它們在每一瞬間皆在流動與變遷，生命因而呈現出難以置信的豐盛，那是不可言喻的，必須親自體會始得。

The Pali term for Insight meditation is Vipassana Bhavana. Bhavana comes from the root ‘Bhu’, which means to grow or to become. There fore Bhavana means to cultivate, and the word is always used in reference to the mind. Bhavana means mental cultivation. ‘Vipassana’ is derived from two roots. ‘Passana’ means seeing or perceiving. ‘Vi’ is a prefix with the complex set of connotations. The basic meaning is ‘in a special way.’ But there also is the connotation of both ‘into’ and ‘through’. The whole meaning of the word is looking into something with clarity and precision, seeing each component as distinct and separate, and piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing. This process leads to insight into the basic reality of whatever is being inspected. Put it all together and ‘Vipassana Bhavana’ means the cultivation of the mind, aimed at seeing in a special way that leads to insight and to full understanding.

「內觀禪修」的巴利文是Vipassana Bhavana，Bhavana 的字根是Bhu ，意思是「成長」或「成為」，因此Bhavana 的意思是「培育」，由于它常常與「心」字並用，所以Bhavana 又有「心智培育」的意思。Vipassana 則是由兩個字根(Vi 與Passana)所組成。Passana 的意思是「看(Seeing)」或「感知(Perceiving)」， 而Vi 是一個具有複雜內涵的字首，粗略地可譯為「以一種特殊的方式」，或是「進入與透過一種特殊的方式」。因此， Vipassana 的完整意思是：「向某事物的內部清楚而精確地觀察，認清每一組成部分，向內一直突破，直至領悟到事物最根本的實相為止。」藉此過程，我們可洞悉任何被檢視對象的根本實相。若把兩個字合起來解，Vipassana Bhavana 的意思就是：培育心智，令能以一種特殊的方式來觀察事物，最終達致(對事物根本實相的)洞悉與完全了解。

In Vipassana mediation we cultivate this special way of seeing life. We train ourselves to see reality exactly as it is, and we call this special mode of perception ‘mindfulness.’ This process of mindfulness is really quite different from what we usually do. We usually do not look into what is really there in front of us. We see life through a screen of thoughts and concepts, and we mistake those mental objects for the reality. We get so caught up in this endless thought stream that reality flows by unnoticed. We spend our time engrossed in activity, caught up in an eternal pursuit of pleasure and gratification and an eternal flight from pain and unpleasantness. We spend all of our energies trying to make ourselves feel better, trying to bury our fears. We are endlessly seeking security. Meanwhile, the world of real experience flows by untouched and untasted. In Vipassana meditation we train ourselves to ignore the constant impulses to be more comfortable, and we dive into the reality instead. The ironic thing is that real peace comes only when you stop chasing it. Another Catch-22.

在內觀禪修中，我們培育這種觀察生命的特殊方式，我們訓練自己，使能精確、如實地看清楚事物的真相，我們稱這種特殊的認知方式為「靜觀」。這種靜觀過程與我們日常所做的，實際上很不相同。我們通常是不會看清眼前事物的，而是透過思想概念等有色眼鏡去看生命，常把心中影象誤以為現實。我們如此地陷于不斷起伏的思潮之中，乃致沒有覺察到眼前流逝的現實。我們的時間都花在活動上，不停地追求歡樂與滿足，以及不斷地逃避痛苦與不快，乃至不能自拔。我們竭盡全力，試圖令自己感覺得好些，試圖掩飾自己的恐懼，以及不斷尋求安穩。與此同時，實在的經驗世界在我們身邊溜走，沒有被接觸與品嘗。在內觀禪修中，我們訓練自己，忽略持續追求舒適的沖動，轉而向現實作深入的探究。諷刺的是，真的寧靜只有在你停止追求它時才會出現── 這又是一個兩難的困局。

When you relax your driving desire for comfort, real fulfillment arises. When you drop your hectic pursuit of gratification, the real beauty of life comes out. When you seek to know the reality without illusion, complete with all its pain and danger, that is when real freedom and security are yours. This is not some doctrine we are trying to drill into you. This is an observable reality, a thing you can and should see for yourself.

當你放下對舒適的渴求，確實的滿足才會生起；當你放下對滿足的忙亂追求，真正的美滿人生才會出現。當你追求了解現實時，能夠遠離顛倒幻想，能夠承擔過程中的所有艱辛險阻，真正的解脫與安穩一定屬于你的。這不是我們想灌輸給你的一種教義，它是可以覺察得到的現實，也是你做得到且應該親自了解、體驗的事情。

Buddhism is 2500 years old, and any thought system of that vintage has time to develop layers and layers of doctrine and ritual. Nevertheless, the fundamental attitude of Buddhism is intensely empirical and anti-authoritarian. Gotama the Buddha was a highly unorthodox individual and real anti-traditionalist. He did not offer his teaching as a set of dogmas, but rather as a set of propositions for each individual to investigate for himself. His invitation to one and all was ‘Come and See’. One of the things he said to his followers was “Place no head above your own”. By this he meant, don’t accept somebody else’s word. See for yourself.

佛教已有二千五百多年的歷史了，任何一個如此久遠的思想體系，皆有時間開展出層層疊疊的教義與儀式。雖然如此，佛教的基本態度，始終都是強調經驗(實踐)與反對權威的。喬達摩佛陀不但不依正統，且是一位真正反傳統的人物。他沒有提供一堆教條來作為他的教導，而是提供一些建議，讓大家來親自審查，他經常邀請人們：「親自來看吧！(Come and See)」。他向追隨者說過：「不要在自己的頭上安頭！」他的意思是：不要一味接受和相信別人的話，要親自去看！

We want you to apply this attitude to every word you read in this manual. We are not making statements that you would accept merely because we are authorities in the field. Blind faith has nothing to do with this. These are experiential realities. Learn to adjust your mode of perception according to instructions given in the book, and you will see for yourself. That and only that provides ground for your faith. Insight meditation is essentially a practice of investigative personal discovery.

我們希望你在閱讀此書的每一個字時，都能抱持這種態度。我們一直沒有作此宣稱：「就因為我們是這領域的權威，你們一定要接受和相信。」因為這與盲信無關，全都是經驗中的現實。若能學習依照本書指示，調教自己的認知方式，你自會親身了解的。也唯有那樣做，才能給信仰提供基礎。基本上，內觀禪修是一種探究性的、要你親自去發現的修習。

Having said this, we will present here a very short synopsis of some of the key points of Buddhist philosophy. We make not attempt to be thorough, since that has been quite nicely done in many other books. This material is essential to understanding Vipassana, therefore, some mention must be made.

說到這里，我們想對佛教思想的一些要點作簡略的介紹。我們不想詳盡，因為許多書本已經做得很好了，不過，由于這些資料對了解內觀十分重要，因此必須稍為一提。

From the Buddhist point of view, we human beings live in a very peculiar fashion. We view impermanent things as permanent, though everything is changing all around us. The process of change is constant and eternal. As you read these words, your body is aging. But you pay no attention to that. The book in you hand is decaying. The print is fading and the pages are becoming brittle. The walls around you are aging. The molecules within those walls are vibrating at an enormous rate, and everything is shifting, going to pieces and dissolving slowly. You pay no attention to that, either. Then one day you look around you. Your body is wrinkled and squeaky and you hurt. The book is a yellowed, useless lump; the building is caving in. So you pine for lost youth and you cry when the possessions are gone. Where does this pain come from? It comes from your own inattention. You failed to look closely at life. You failed to observe the constantly shifting flow of the world as it went by. You set up a collection of mental constructions, ‘me’, ‘the book’, ‘the building’, and you assume that they would endure forever. They never do. But you can tune into the constantly ongoing change. You can learn to perceive your life as an ever- flowing movement, a thing of great beauty like a dance or symphony. You can learn to take joy in the perpetual passing away of all phenomena. You can learn to live with the flow of existence rather than running perpetually against the grain. You can learn this. It is just a matter of time and training.

從佛教的角度看，我們人類的生活方式是很奇特的，我們視無常的事物為常，雖然周圍的一切事物都在轉變。轉變的過程是持續不斷的，甚至在你閱讀這些文字時，你的身體正在老化，然而你根本沒有在意。你手中的書正在腐爛，印刷正在褪色，紙質正在變脆；你周圍的牆也在老化，牆內的組成分子正以極快的速率在震盪；每一事物都在遷移、解散與慢慢消失，而你也沒有在意。不過，總有一天，你會環顧一下周圍，然後突然發覺：自己的皮膚發皺了，關節也疼痛了；書本變成泛黃、褪色的東西，房屋也在土崩瓦解。于是你不禁緬懷逝去的青春，為失去的財物而哀傷痛哭。究竟這些痛苦從何而來？它們來自你的疏忽大意，你沒有細心觀察人生，你沒有觀察周圍世界在不斷遷流變化，你建立了一大堆心理結構──「我」、「書本」、「房屋」等，並且認為它們都是堅固的獨立實體、永遠也不會改變，其實它們並非如此。不過，現在你可以調節自己進入不斷的轉變，學習體察人生的持續流逝活動，學習體察因緣和合現象的持續流動。你做得到的，只是時間與訓練的問題而已。

Our human perceptual habits are remarkably stupid in some ways. We tune out 99% of all the sensory stimuli we actually receive, and we solidify the remainder into discrete mental objects. Then we react to those mental objects in programmed habitual ways.

人類知覺上的習慣在某些地方是非常愚蠢的。我們漠視百分之九十九實際接收到的感官刺激，固定余下的百分之一為獨立的心理現象(Mental Objects)[2]，然後我們對那些獨立的心理現象作出程式的慣常反應。

An example: There you are, sitting alone in the stillness of a peaceful night. A dog barks in the distance. The perception itself is indescribably beautiful if you bother to examine it. Up out of that sea of silence come surging waves of sonic vibration. You start to hear the lovely complex patterns, and they are turned into scintillating electronic stimulations within the nervous system. The process is beautiful and fulfilling in itself. We humans tend to ignore it totally. Instead, we solidify that perception into a mental object. We paste a mental picture on it and we launch into a series of emotional and conceptual reactions to it. “There is that dog again. He is always barking at night. What a nuisance. Every night he is a real bother. Somebody should do something. Maybe I should call a cop. No, a dog catcher. So, I’ll call the pound. No, maybe I’ll just write a real nasty letter to the guy who owns that dog. No, too much trouble. I’ll just get an ear plug.” They are just perceptual and mental habits. You learn to respond this way as a child by copying the perceptual habits of those around you. These perceptual responses are not inherent in the structure of the nervous system. The circuits are there. But this is not the only way that our mental machinery can be used. That which has been learned can be unlearned. The first step is to realize what you are doing, as you are doing it, and stand back and quietly watch.

例如：在一個寂靜的夜晚，就只有你一個人坐著，遠處的一只狗在吠，這件事本身實無好壞可言。在沉寂的夜空里突然冒出聲浪，你開始聽到美妙而複雜的模式，它們在神經系統內被轉變為火花四射的電子刺激。這過程應被用作為一種無常、苦與無我的體驗，可是作為人類的我們往往完全忽略了它。我們把這知覺固定為獨立的心理現象，更在上面添油加醋，對它發動一連串的情緒思想反應：「又是那只狗，牠總是在晚上吠，真討厭！牠每晚那麼煩擾，該有人出來想個辦法才是。也許我該報警，不！應通知捕捉游蕩狗只的部門── 我要打電話給動物收容所。不！也許我應寫封惡毒的信給狗主，不！那太麻煩了，我還是找對耳塞算了。」這些不過是知覺上的心理習慣而已，它們都是你自少模仿周圍的人學到的反應方式。這些知覺上的反應不是我們的神經系統結構所固有的，線路是有的，但內心的機器並非只可作此用途。學到的東西是可以通過學習消除的，首先，你要在做的時候知道自己正在做什麼，換言之，不可介入，要退後一步來靜觀其變。

From the Buddhist perspective, we humans have a backward view of life. We look at what is actually the cause of suffering and we see it as happiness. The cause of suffering is that desire- aversion syndrome which we spoke of earlier. Up pops a perception. It could be anything–a beautiful girl, a handsome guy, speed boat, thug with a gun, truck bearing down on you, anything. Whatever it is, the very next thing we do is to react to the stimulus with a feeling about it.

從佛教的角度來看，作為人類的我們，對人生確實有顛倒的見解，我們以真正的苦因為樂。「苦因」是我們前面(第一章)說過的「愛憎反應綜合症(Desire-aversion Syndrome)」。一個感性知覺突然彈出，它可以是任何東西，例如：一個美女、一個俊男、一艘快艇、烘著的面包香味、在後面跟貼著你的貨車等；無論它是什麼，我們都會隨之作出有關此感性刺激的情緒反應。

Take worry. We worry a lot. Worry itself is the problem. Worry is a process. It has steps. Anxiety is not just a state of existence but a procedure. What you’ve got to do is to look at the very beginning of that procedure, those initial stages before the process has built up a head of steam. The very first link of the worry chain is the grasping/rejecting reaction. As soon as some phenomenon pops into the mind, we try mentally to grab onto it or push it away. That sets the worry response in motion. Luckily, there is a handy little tool called Vipassana meditation which you can use to short-circuit the whole mechanism.

例如憂慮，我們非常憂慮，憂慮本身就是問題。憂慮是一個過程，它是有步伐的，憂慮不僅是一個存在狀態，也是一個過程。你必須要做的，就是去觀察那過程的最初起點，在過程演變成令你憂心忡忡前的那些初始階段，憂慮鎖鏈的第一個環節是「執著/排斥反應(Grasping-rejecting Reaction)」。當某現象在心內出現時，我們的內心就想執著它或是推走它，這就啟動了憂慮的一連串反應。幸運地，就近有一個輕便、細小的工具，它的名字叫做內觀禪，你可以利用它來大大縮短整個機制。

Vipassana meditation teaches us how to scrutinize our own perceptual process with great precision. We learn to watch the arising of thought and perception with a feeling of serene detachment. We learn to view our own reactions to stimuli with calm and clarity. We begin to see ourselves reacting without getting caught up in the reactions themselves. The obsessive nature of thought slowly dies. We can still get married. We can still step out of the path of the truck. But we don’t need to go through hell over either one.

內觀禪教導我們如何去詳細和精確地考察自己的知覺過程。我們學習以安祥的超然態度，去觀察知覺(Perception)與思想的生起，我們學習平靜而清晰地觀看自己對刺激的反應。久而久之，我們開始發現：自己可以在不受反應的困擾下作出回應，強迫性的思想反應也會慢慢消失。我們仍然可以結婚，我們仍然可以離開貨車的慣常路徑，而無須為此要經歷地獄式的苦惱。

This escape from the obsessive nature of thought produces a whole new view of reality. It is a complete paradigm shift, a total change in the perceptual mechanism. It brings with it the feeling of peace and rightness, a new zest for living and a sense of completeness to every activity. Because of these advantages, Buddhism views this way of looking at things as a correct view of life and Buddhist texts call it seeing things as they really are.

能避免強迫性的思想反應，會對現實產生一種全新的看法，那是一種革命性的改變(Paradigm Shift)，一種知覺機制上的完全改變，伴之而來的，是一種從強迫性困擾中解脫出來的深度喜樂。正因為這些效益，所以佛教視這種觀看事物的方式為人生正見，佛教經典將之稱為「如實觀察事物(Seeing things as they really are)」或簡稱「如實觀」。

Vipassana meditation is a set of training procedures which open us gradually to this new view of reality as it truly is. Along with this new reality goes a new view of the most central aspect of reality: ‘me’. A close inspection reveals that we have done the same thing to ‘me’ that we have done to all other perceptions. We have taken a flowing vortex of thought, feeling and sensation and we have solidified that into a mental construct. Then we have stuck a label onto it, ‘me’. And forever after, we threat it as if it were a static and enduring entity. We view it as a thing separate from all other things. We pinch ourselves off from the rest of that process of eternal change which is the universe. And than we grieve over how lonely we feel. We ignore our inherent connectedness to all other beings and we decide that ‘I’ have to get more for ‘me’; then we marvel at how greedy and insensitive human beings are. And on it goes. Every evil deed, every example of heartlessness in the world stems directly from this false sense of ‘me’ as distinct from all else that is out there.

內觀禪是一套訓練程序，令我們一新耳目，如實現觀事物的真相；與此同時，對于現實核心方面的「我」，亦有一全新領悟。仔細考察一下就可發現，我們處理「我」的方式實與處理其他知覺的(錯誤)方式一樣；我們把旋轉著的思想、感情與感覺之流固定為一心理結構(Mental Construct)，然後標籤它為「我」，並從此視之為一個靜態的、恆久不變的實體，可以獨存于其他一切事物之外。我們把自己從宇宙這一個永恆轉變過程中擅自捏走，然後為自己的孤獨而悲痛。我們忽略了自己與萬物的內在聯系，並且決定「我(I)」要為「我或自己(Me)」爭取更多的東西，然後又對人類的貪婪與感覺遲鈍而驚訝，于是，情況就如此地繼續下去了。世上的每一個惡行、每一件冷酷無情的事例，都是源于「我」的錯覺── 以為它是一個與萬物分離的獨立實體。

Explode the illusion of that one concept and your whole universe changes. Don’t expect to do this overnight, though. You spent your whole life building up that concept, reinforcing it with every thought, word, and deed over all those years. It is not going to evaporate instantly. But it will pass if you give it enough time and enough attention. Vipassana meditation is a process by which it is dissolved. Little by little, you chip away at it just by watching it.

你若能爆破那個概念的錯覺，你的整個世界都會改變。然而，不可期望在一夜間就能辦到。因為，你花了一生時間去建立那個概念，又經年累月地用每一個思想言行去強化它，它是不會在一瞬間蒸發的。不過，只要你投入足夠的時間與關注，它是會消失的。內觀禪是溶解那個概念的一種修行過程，你只須觀察著它，就可逐漸地把它剷除。

The ‘I’ concept is a process. It is a thing we are doing. In Vipassana we learn to see that we are doing it, when we are doing it and how we are doing it. Then it moves and fades away, like a cloud passing through the clear sky. We are left in a state where we can do it or not do it, whichever seems appropriate to the situation. The compulsiveness is gone. We have a choice.

「我」的概念是一個過程，一個不斷地制造「我」的過程。透過內觀，我們學習在制造「我」時當即知道在制造「我」，並且知道我們是如何制造「我」的；那麼，那個心態(Mindset)[3]就會慢慢地離開和消散，像一片浮云飄過晴空一樣。于是，我們被置于一種境界，在那里我們可以選擇做或不做，全視乎當時的情況。強迫性離開了，我們可以有所選擇了。

These are all major insights, of course. Each one is a deep- reaching understanding of one of the fundamental issues of human existence. They do not occur quickly, nor without considerable effort. But the payoff is big. They lead to a total transformation of your life. Every second of your existence thereafter is changed. The meditator who pushes all the way down this track achieves perfect mental health, a pure love for all that lives and complete cessation of suffering. That is not small goal. But you don’t have to go all the way to reap benefits. They start right away and they pile up over the years. It is a cumulative function. The more you sit, the more you learn about the real nature of your won existence. The more hours you spend in meditation, the greater your ability to calmly observe every impulse and intention, every thought and emotion just as it arises in the mind. Your progress to liberation is measured in cushion-man hours. And you can stop any time you’ve had enough. There is no stick over your head except your own desire to see the true quality of life, to enhance your own existence and that of others.

這些都是重要的領悟，每一個領悟都是與人類存在的基本問題有關的深刻了解。它們不會很快出現，也不可能不勞而獲。不過，回報是很大的，它可令你脫胎換骨，從此以後，你生存的每一秒鍾都會改變。能于此道奮斗到底的禪修者將會證得完滿的健康心智，一種純淨愛護眾生之心，以及苦惱的完全止息。那可不是一個小目標，不過，你無需走畢全程才有收穫，利益不但立竿見影，而且與時俱增。它是一個累增性的函數：你禪修得越多，就越了解自身存在的實相；禪修的時間越長，你就越能如實地靜觀心內生起的每一個沖動、意圖、思想與情緒。你的解脫成就，是可以根據你的坐禪時間來衡量的。在禪修過程中，你若覺得已經足夠時，隨時都可以中止的，其中並無強制性的規則，只有你想了解自己生命的本質，以及改善自他生活質素的熱忱而已。

Vipassana meditation is inherently experiential. It is not theoretical. In the practice of mediation you become sensitive to the actual experience of living, to how things feel. You do not sit around developing subtle and aesthetic thoughts about living. You live. Vipassana meditation more than anything else is learning to live.

內觀禪本身是經驗性的，不是理論性的。在禪修過程中，你對生活的真實體驗、對事物的感受將會變得敏銳很多，你不會光是坐著去發展有關生活的崇高想法，你要去過生活。內觀禪不是別的，正是學習去過生活。

【注釋】

[1]《念處經(Satipatthana Sutta)》：亦稱《念住經》。主要指南傳藏經的中部第10經(MN-10)與長部第22經(DN-22)。北傳藏經中也有甚為類似的經文，如中阿含第九十八經之《念處經》。這些經文是內觀禪的根本經典，佛教與別不同的詳細禪修技巧，就載于這些經典之中。內容主要教導我們如何修習四念處，即如何留意觀察(靜觀)身、受、心、法等人生的四個方面，從而獲得內觀智慧，最終達致解脫內心的煩惱苦因。在中部第10經的《念處經》中，佛陀開宗明義就說：「比丘們！只有一條路可使眾生清淨、克服憂愁哀傷、滅除苦楚悲痛、達致正道、體證涅槃，這條路就是四念處。是哪四個念處呢？那就是，比丘在日常生活中：對于身體，須隨時留意觀察身體，如實了知，專注，精進，警覺，降伏對世間的貪瞋與悲痛。對于感受、心意與諸法，亦復如是。」由此可見其重要性了。傳統認為，修習四念處可親身觀察到身體不淨、感受皆苦、心念無常、以及諸法無我，從而破除我們內心所執著的四種(常、樂、我、淨)顛倒見解，最終獲得解脫。

[2] 獨立的心理現象(Mental Objects)：亦可稱精神現象。佛教專稱之為「心所有法」、「心所法」或「心所」等。例如：欲、信、精進、慚、愧、無貪、無瞋、無癡、輕安、不放逸、行舍、不害、貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑、惡見、忿、恨…… 等等善與不善的心態。

[3] 心態(Mindset)：一個人或一些人所持有的一套根深柢固的假設(信念)、方法或標記符號，持有的人會不斷采用或接受過往習以為常的行為、選擇或工具。這種認知上的偏好往往難以有系統的、理性的分析或決策過程來抵消的。