PART 1 - 這總結了心的觀察 THIS CONCLUDES THE INVESTIGATION

THIS CONCLUDES THE INVESTIGATION of the citta. Upon reaching this level, the citta is cut off forever from birth and existence, severed completely from all manifestations of avijja and craving. The state of 「avijja paccaya sankhara」—the state in which 「fundamental ignorance conditions the arising of conditioned phenomena」—dissolves completely. It is replaced by avijjaya tveva asesaviraga nirodha sankhara nirodho: the fading away and cessation of conditioned phenomena that ends the entire mass of suffering.

這總結了心的觀察。到達這個層次，心永遠切斷生與有，徹底切斷一切無明和貪愛的顯現。「無明緣行」——根本無知形成有為的生起——的境界徹底消溶。它被「無明滅則行滅」——緣起的離散熄滅使得苦聚滅——所取代。

When avijja is extinguished, conditioned phenomena—which give rise to dukkha—are also extinguished. They have disappeared from the knowing nature of the citta. Conditioned phenomena, such as thoughts, which are an integral part of the khandhas, continue to function in their own sphere but they no longer cause dukkha. Uncorrupted by kilesas, they simply give form and direction to mental activity. Consciousness arises in the mind, purely and simply without producing suffering. Viññana paccaya namarupam, namarupa paccaya salayatanam, salayatana paccaya phasso: All sense media and the sense contact that they condition are just naturally occurring phenomena that exist according to their own intrinsic characteristics. They have no negative effect whatsoever on the citta that has successfully completed its task to the point of evamme tassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hoti. This is the total cessation of the entire mass of dukkha.

無明熄滅後，帶來苦的緣起也熄滅，它們從心知道的特性中消失。作為五蘊組合的緣起，比如想，繼續在它的領域內運作，可是不再帶來苦，它們不再受煩惱所染污，只是構成和引導心理活動。識從心中生起，簡單純淨不產生苦。「識緣名色，明色緣六處，六處緣觸」，一切感官媒介和它們所緣的觸只是根據它們內在的特性而自然發生的現象。它們不會對已經完成「純大苦聚滅」工作的心產生負面影響之類。這是整個苦聚的徹底熄滅。

When avijja and all the kilesas are extinguished, they are extinguished inside the citta. The extinction of avijja means the destruction of the cycle of repeated birth and death. Both must be extinguished within the citta, for the avijja-citta is the essence of the world of rebirth, the essence of birth, ageing, sickness and death. Sensual craving, with avijja acting as the prime mover, is the root cause of birth, ageing, sickness and death—and it exists only within the citta. When avijja finally disintegrates, being severed from the citta forever, total cessation is achieved. The citta is then free, vast and supremely empty, without limits, without bounds—totally expansive. Nothing encloses or obstructs it. All contradictions have been eliminated. When the citta knows, it knows only the truth; when it sees, it sees only the truth. This is true emptiness.

無明與所有的煩惱熄滅時，它們是在心里面熄滅。無明的熄滅意味著生死輪迴的毀滅，兩者必然在心里面熄滅，因為無明—心是輪迴世界的核心，是生、老、病和死的核心。愛欲，以無明作為主要的推動者，是生、老、病和死的根源——只是存在于心里面。當無明最終崩潰，永遠從心中切除時，就達到徹底的熄滅。心之後就自由了，廣大無際的空，無界無垠——徹底廣闊，沒有限制或障礙，一切矛盾都已消除。當心知道，它只知道真理；當它看見，它只看見真理，這是真正的空。

Degrees of emptiness are experienced at many levels. Samadhi meditation is one level. In deep samadhi, the body and the thinking mind temporarily vanish from awareness. The citta appears empty, but the duration of this emptiness is limited to the time spent practicing samadhi. At the initial level of the practice of wisdom, the citta can permanently separate itself from the physical body, but it cannot yet disengage from the mental components of personality: vedana, sañña, sankhara, and viññana. It is completely empty of physical forms, so images of the body no longer appear within the citta; but it is not empty of mental concepts. When reaching this level, wisdom is able to distinguish oneself from the physical mass that is the body, and so detach itself forever from the belief that the body is oneself. But it is still unable to separate the mental factors of feeling, memory, thought, and consciousness. By investigating further, the citta becomes detached from these mental factors as well. Then nothing remains except an extraordinary radiance that infuses the cosmos, a luminous essence of being that seems boundless, and an amazing and profound mental void. This is the awesome power of genuine avijja. By continuing to employ the full might of mindfulness and wisdom, avijja is finally extinguished within the citta. When everything permeating the citta is removed, one attains genuine emptiness. The emptiness experienced at this level is a total and permanent disengagement that requires no further effort to maintain. This means true and absolute freedom for the citta.

空的程度可以有不同層次的體驗，三摩地是一個層次。在高深的三摩地中，身體和思維心暫時從覺知中消失。心顯得空，不過這空只維持在這三摩地的境界內。在修行智慧的初期，心可以永恆地把自己與身體分離，可是還無法脫離個人的心理組合：受、想、行和識。它徹底空于色身，所以身體的影像不再出現在心內，可是它不空于心理概念。修到這個階段，智慧已可以分別自己與身體這物質組合，因此可以永遠不再相信身體是自我。可是它還未能分開受、想、行和識的心理功能。繼續觀察下去，心變得不再執著于這些心理功能。這樣除了那影響整個宇宙的特別光明，一個看似無限光明的存在，還有一個驚人而深刻的心理的空無，就什麼也不剩了。這是真正無明令人敬畏的力量。繼續發揮念住和智慧最大的力量修行，最後無明將在心中被消滅，當滲透入心的一切都被除去，一個真正的空被證得。這個階段體驗到的空是徹底和永遠離系的，不需要任何努力來維持。這意味著心的真實和絕對的解脫。

The difference between the emptiness of the avijja-citta and the emptiness of the pure citta, free of avijja, can be illustrated by imagining a person in an empty room. Standing in the middle of the room, admiring its emptiness, that person forgets about himself. Seeing that there is nothing around him in the room, he reflects only on the emptiness he perceives and not on the fact that he is occupying a central position in that space. As long as someone is in the room, it is not truly empty. When he finally realizes that the room can never be truly empty until he departs, that is the moment when avijja disintegrates and the pure citta arises. Once the citta has let go of phenomena of every sort, the citta appears supremely empty; but the one who admires the emptiness, who is awestruck by the emptiness, that one still survives. The self as reference point, which is the essence of avijja, remains integrated into the citta』s knowing nature. This is the genuine avijja. One』s 「self」 is the real impediment at that moment. As soon as it disintegrates and disappears, no more impediments remain. Everything is empty: the external world is empty, and the interior of the citta is empty. As in the case of a person in an empty room, we can only truly say that the room is empty when the person leaves the room. The citta that has gained a comprehensive understanding of all external matters, and all matters pertaining to itself, this citta is said to be totally empty. True emptiness occurs when every single trace of conventional reality has disappeared from the citta.

無明—心的空和解脫于無明——清淨心的空，兩者的不同處可以通過想象一個人在一間空屋子里。那個人站在屋子中央，敬畏于屋子的空，他忘了自己。看到屋子里面他的周圍沒有任何東西，他只考慮到他所認知到的空，沒有注意到他占據了空間的中央。只要有人在屋子內，它就不是真正的空。當他最終醒悟到只要他不離開，屋子就不可能真正的空，那就是無明分解，清淨心生起的一刻。

一旦心放下一切現象，心就變得極度的空，可是那個敬畏空的，被空所威懾住的那個人仍然存在。那無明的本質，作為根據點的自我，仍然融合在心知道的特性中，這是真正的無明。在那時刻，個人的「自我」是真正的障礙，只要它崩潰消失，就再也沒有障礙留下。一切皆空：外在世界是空，心的內在也是空。就好像那個在空屋子里的人，只有當他離開了，我們才可以真正地說屋子是空的。心對一切外在事物，一切滲入它本身的事物獲得徹底的明白，才可以說心變得徹底的空。當一切世間真實的痕跡都從心消失時，真正的空就發生了。

Avijja』s extinction is unlike that of all other things that we have investigated up to this point. Their ending was accompanied by a clear and definite understanding of their true nature. Uniquely, the radiance of avijja is extinguished in an instant, like a flash of lightening. It is a moment of being that happens spontaneously: it just flips over and vanishes completely. Only then, when the radiance disappears, do we know that it was really the genuine avijja. What remains is entirely unique. Its nature is absolutely pure. Although it has never before been experienced, there』s nothing to doubt when it appears at that moment. Anything that might cause doubt has ceased along with it. This is the end of all burdens.

無明的熄滅與這階段之前我們觀察到的其他事物完全不同，其他事物的熄滅是隨著對它們真正的本性清晰和絕對明白而來。無明的光明在一瞬間熄滅，就如閃電般一閃而過，很獨特。存在的瞬間突然發生：它只是翻過去然後徹底消失。只有在之後，當光明消失了，我們才知道它確實是真正的無明。留下的是純粹的獨一無二，它的本質絕對清淨。雖然之前不曾體驗過，可是當它出現在那一刻時卻不會有任何懷疑，任何會引起懷疑的隨著這出現而消逝。這是一切負擔的結束。

All allusions to oneself, to the true essence of one』s being refer specifically to this genuine avijja. They indicate that it is still intact. All investigations are done for its sake. This self is what knows; this self is what understands. This self is radiant, light and happy. 「I」 and 「mine」—the genuine avijja lies here. Everything is done for its sake. Once it finally disintegrates, so too does the personal perspective. Things are still done, but not for anyone』s sake.

一切隱藏著自我、自我存在本質的表現，都必然是真正無明的作用。這些表現的存在顯示真正無明仍然原封不動。一切的觀察就是為了這問題。這個自我是能知者：這個自我是能理解明白者。這個自我是放光、明亮和快樂。「我」和「我的」——真正無明就在此，一切都為了它而作。一旦它最終崩潰，自我認知也一起隨之而去。事情仍然進行，可並不是為任何人的緣故而進行。

It resembles a pot whose bottom has dropped away: regardless of how much water is poured in, not a drop is retained. Thoughts and ideas continue to arise and cease as a natural function of the khandhas, but nothing adheres to the citta because the vessel that used to hold them—avijja—has been destroyed. A thought arises at one instant and ceases the next. Since there is nothing to contain them and no one to lay claim to them, thoughts simply move on and vanish. The nature that knows this complete emptiness of self is fully contented within. This nature is true absolute purity, totally free of all burdens.

這就好像是個脫了底的罐子：不管倒入多少水，仍然一滴不剩。思想和意見作為蘊的自然功能繼續生起和滅去，可是沒有東西黏住心，因為那個用來盛它們的器皿——無明——已經被摧毀了。一個念頭這一瞬間生起，下一瞬間滅去，因為沒有東西盛它們，也沒有人對它們提出擁有權，念頭只是經過然後消逝。知道自我是徹底的空，這本性徹底滿足，這本性是真正的絕對清淨，徹底解脫于一切負擔。

The real nature of the citta is so well concealed by avijja that the incredible natural wonder of the genuine citta is never seen. The pitfall of avijja is so well disguised that meditators who reach this stage are bound to be fooled. They are completely mesmerized by what they believe to be the citta』s true wonder. They cherish it so much that they feel they must preserve and protect it at all costs. For, in essence, this is who they really are, this wonderful radiance belongs to them.

心的真正本性被無明如此完整地覆蓋著，以至無法見到真正的心那不可思議的微妙神奇。無明的陷阱偽裝得那麼善巧，禪修者一到達這個階段皆被愚弄，全被催眠相信這是心真正的神奇。他們是那麼的珍惜它，覺得要不惜一切代價地維持護衛它。其實，本質上這是他們的真面目，這令人驚異的光明屬于他們自身。

Genuine avijja is a focal point containing many strange and wonderful things hidden within it—things that we could never have imagined to exist. These contaminate the citta, much in the same way that a tiny piece of bait is contaminated with enough hidden poison to kill an animal. Since it is virtually impossible to find conceptual realities to which I can compare the contaminating factors, hiding within avijja, I can give only a brief explanation. These factors include: a radiance of being so extraordinary that it seems to be the finished product; a most exceptional sense of happiness, originating from the power of the radiance permeating the citta, that seems to transcend the entire realm of conventional reality; a feeling of invulnerability so strong that it seems nothing can possibly affect it; a cherishing, protective attachment to this radiant nature as though it were pure gold.

真正無明是里面含藏著許多殊勝神奇東西的焦點——有我們無法想象到的東西。這些令心染污的因素，就好像一小片足以殺死一只動物的毒餌。由于無法找到概念化的事實可以拿來比擬那藏在無明中的染污因素，我只可以給予簡單的解釋，這些因素包括：一個存在的光明，它是那麼殊勝以至看來像最終的果證；一個最特殊的快樂感受，源自于那滲透心的光明的力量，彷彿超越整個世間實相的領域；一個堅不可摧的感覺，感到是那麼的堅強以至認為沒有東西可以影響它；對這個發光本質有著珍惜、保護的執著，好像它是純金一般。

The avijja-citta seems to have every virtue: it is bright, it is bold, it is supremely contented and its quality of knowing seems limitless. But, despite knowing every conceivable sort of thing, this knowing nature does not know itself. This is the fundamental ignorance of genuine avijja. As soon as this knowing nature turns back and looks into itself, avijja disintegrates. This disintegration, in turn, reveals the truth about the citta, the truth about Dhamma. Only avijja keeps this truth hidden from view.

無明—心似乎擁有一切功德：它光明，它無畏，它無比的自足，而且它能知的品質好像是無限的。但是，雖然它知道一切可以想象到的事物，這個能知的特性不知道它自己，這是真正無明的根本無知。一旦這能知的特性回過來看自己，無明就崩潰。這崩潰的發生，顯露出心的實相、法的實相。過去是無明把這實相隱藏起來不讓看到。

Meditators who are not truly adept in the area of wisdom will have difficulty finding their way out of avijja, because avijja in general and genuine avijja are two very different things. The nature of avijja in general combines all the different aspects of delusion, both external and internal, into a single mental defilement. It』s comparable to a tree, which is a combination of leaves, twigs, branches and a trunk. Genuine avijja, on the other hand, is like a tree that is felled and stripped of all its branches. That is to say, through persistent effort, wisdom cuts away at avijja』s 「outgrowing」 activities one at a time so that it gradually loses its exuberant tendencies and converges into a single spot—the citta. At this point, avijja no longer has the group of henchmen that it commanded when it was fully in charge. At this spot we find the genuine avijja.

還未真正純熟于智慧領域的禪者，要脫離無明會有困難，因為一般的無明和真正無明完全不一樣。一般無明的本性是一切虛妄的不同層面，包括外在和內在的，綜合成一個心理染污。我們用樹來比擬的話，它是葉子、嫩枝、枝干和樹干的綜合。另一方面，真正無明就像一棵被放倒、所有的枝干都被砍掉的樹。也就是說，經過不斷的努力，智慧一次切除掉一個無明的外在枝末活動，使它逐漸失去繁茂，被迫匯集到一個點——心。這時，無明不再擁有它全盛時期供使喚的那夥黨羽。在這點我們發現真正無明。

The offshoots of avijja are many and varied. All other mental defilements are merely its twigs and branches. By concentrating on the offshoots, we tend to overlook the root cause. Because of this, when we actually reach the real avijja, we are confused and don』t recognize it. It』s like a vine that sprouts up in one place and then creeps along the ground to who knows where. It just goes creeping on and climbing up, with more and more offshoots that grow longer and more entangled. We must grab hold of the vine and keep following it back to its source until we reach the main stem. That』s where we will find the roots. When we pull out the roots, the whole plant dies.

無明的枝干有多種多樣，一切其他的心理染污只是它的嫩枝和分枝。我們傾向于專注于枝干，忽略根源。因此，當實際到達真正無明時，我們會混淆並認不出它。它就像一棵藤蔓，從一處長出來，沿著地面四處生長。它不斷往各處蔓延並向上攀爬，越來越多分支，長得越多越糾纏不清。我們必須緊抓著那藤蔓並往根部的方向跟隨它去，直到最後找獲主干，在這里我們會找到根。把根部拔出來，整棵植物就會死亡。

*中譯者按：本篇文章翻譯過程中曾參考網絡上流傳，由Anicata翻譯的〈滅苦之道〉一文。