PART 1 - 對治淫欲最好的方法是身念住 THE BODY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER

THE BODY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER. Most of our desires are bound up with it. Looking around us, we can see a world that is in the grips of sexual craving and frantic in its adoration of the human form. As meditators, we must face up to the challenges posed by our own sexuality, which stems from a deep-seated craving for sensual gratification. During meditation, this defilement is the most significant obstacle to our progress. The deeper we dig into body contemplation, the more evident this becomes. No other form of kilesa drags more on the mind, nor exerts greater power over the mind than the defilement of sexual craving. Since this craving is rooted in the human body, exposing its true nature will gradually loosen the mind』s tenacious grasp on the body.

對治淫欲最好的方法是身念住，修行身念住成功與否是以心對淫欲的減輕來衡量。一步一步地，智慧把身體的真相揭開，在過程中切斷並摧毀根深蒂固的執著，使心境逐漸更加自由和開放。要真正徹底明白它們的意義，禪修者必須自己體驗這些成果，我嘗試描述的話將會帶來副作用——它們會造成無益的期待。這些成果完全在禪修者心中產生，並且依據個人的個性和氣質而有所不同。只須全心把注意力放在修行的因，讓修行的果自己成熟。它們成熟時，你會確切清楚地明白，這是自然的道理。

Body contemplation is the best antidote for sexual attraction. Successful body practice is measured by a reduction in the mind』s sexual desires. Step by step, wisdom unmasks the reality of the body, cutting off and destroying deep-rooted attachments in the process. This results in an increasingly free and open mental state. To fully understand their significance, meditators must experience these results for themselves. It would be counter-productive for me to try to describe them—that would only lead to fruitless speculation. These results arise exclusively within a meditator』s mind, and are unique to that person』s character and temperament. Simply focus all your attention on the practical causes and let the results of that effort arise as they will. When they do, you will know them with undeniable clarity. This is a natural principle.

When body contemplation reaches the stage where reason and result become fully integrated with wisdom, one becomes completely absorbed in these investigations both day and night. It』s truly extraordinary. Wisdom moves through the body with such speed and agility, and displays such ingenuity in its contemplative techniques, that it seems to spin relentlessly in and out and around every part, every aspect of the body, delving into each nook and cranny to discover the truth. At this stage of the practice, wisdom begins to surface automatically, becoming truly habitual in manifesting itself. Because it』s so quick and incisive, it can catch up with even the most subtle kilesas, and disable even the most indomitable ones. Wisdom at this level is extremely daring and adventurous. It is like a mountain torrent crashing through a narrow canyon: nothing can deter its course. Wisdom bursts forth to meet every challenge to crave and to cling that is presented by the kilesas. Because its adversary is so tenacious, wisdom』s battle with sexual craving resembles a full-scale war. For this reason, only a bold and uncompromising strategy will succeed. There is only one appropriate course of action—an all out struggle; and the meditator will know this instinctively.

當身念住的禪修進入理性和成績兩者與智慧完美結合的階段，禪者會日夜不停完全沉滲在觀察身體，這點實在特殊。智慧以那種速度和靈巧在身體移動，展現出那麼富有創造力的分別思維技巧，它似乎無休止地在身體內外每一部位、每一層面轉動，潛入每一隱蔽處和縫隙發掘真相。在這個階段的修行，智慧的運作開始成為慣性，自動顯現。由于它是那麼的迅速和銳利，以至可以追上最微細的煩惱，熄滅即使是最頑強的煩惱。這個階段的智慧極端的大膽並勇于嘗試，就像暴發的山洪沖入峽谷般，沖向煩惱所顯現的執著和貪染，沒有任何東西可以改變其前進。由于對手是那麼難纏，智慧與婬欲的搏斗形成一場全面的戰爭。這樣的局面，只有勇猛和不妥協的策略才能獲勝，結果只有一個適合的行動——拼盡全力的斗爭，禪修者本能地知道這一點。

When wisdom begins to master the body, it will constantly modify its investigative techniques so that it will not fall prey to the tricks of the kilesas. Wisdom will try to keep one step ahead of the kilesas, constantly looking for new openings and constantly adjusting its tactics: sometimes shifting emphasis, sometimes pursuing subtle variations in technique.

As greater and greater proficiency is achieved, there comes a time when all attachment to one』s own body and to that of others appears to have vanished. In truth, a lingering attachment still remains; it has only gone into hiding. It has not been totally eliminated. Take careful note of this. It may feel as though it is eliminated, but actually it is concealed from view by the power of the asubha practice. So don』t be complacent. Keep upgrading your arsenal—mindfulness, wisdom and diligence—to meet the challenge. Mentally place the whole mass of body parts in front of you and focus on it intently. This is your body. What will happen to it? By now wisdom is so swift and decisive that in no time at all it will break up and disintegrate before your eyes. Each time you spread the body out before you—whether it is your body or someone else』s—wisdom will immediately begin to break it apart and destroy it. By now this action has become habitual.

智慧掌控身體之後，它會不斷改變觀察的技巧，以便不被煩惱的伎倆逮著。智慧會嘗試比煩惱搶先一步，不斷找尋新缺口並不斷調整它的手段：有時改變側重點，有時是技巧的微細變化。

當功夫越來越熟練時，會來到所有對自己與其他人身體的執著看來消失了的一點。實際上，一個依依不舍的執著還遺留著，它只是躲起來罷了，沒有被徹底消除掉。好好注意這點，它讓人覺得已消除了，其實是被不淨觀的力量所覆蓋而不被觀察到。所以不要自滿，加強你的武裝——念住、智慧和精進——來面對挑戰。用心力把整個身體擺在你前面，仔細地專注于它：這是你的身體，它會發生什麼呢？智慧現在是那麼的迅速和果斷，它會在你眼前立刻把那具身體分解粉碎，每一次你把身體展現在前面——不管是你自己還是別人的身體——智慧會立刻分解摧毀它。此時，這個行動已變成一種慣性。

In the end, when wisdom has achieved maximum proficiency at penetrating to the core of the body』s repulsive nature, you must place the entire disgusting mess of flesh and blood and bones in front of you and ask yourself: From where does this feeling of revulsion emanate? What is the real source of this repulsiveness? Concentrate on the disgusting sight before you and see what happens. You are now closing in on the truth of the matter. At this crucial stage in asubha contemplation, you must not allow wisdom to break the body apart and destroy it.

Fix the repulsive image clearly in your mind and watch closely to detect any movement in the repulsive feeling. You have evoked a feeling of revulsion for it: Where does that feeling originate? From where does it come? Who or what assumes that flesh, blood and bones are disgusting? They are as they are, existing in their own natural state. Who is it that conjures up feelings of revulsion at their sight? Fix your attention on it. Where will the repulsiveness go? Wherever it moves, be prepared to follow its direction.

最終，當智慧洞察身體不淨本質的核心達到最大的純熟度時，你必須把整團令人厭惡的肉、血和骨頭擺在前面然後自問：這令人厭惡的感覺從哪里流露出來？這厭惡感的真正根源是什麼？專注于眼前令人厭惡的情景看會發生什麼。你現在正逼近整件事的真相了。在不淨觀這關鍵的階段，你千萬別讓智慧把身體分解毀滅，把厭惡的影像固定在心中，仔細觀察去追蹤厭惡感的任何動靜。你對它挑起厭惡的感覺：這感覺的根源在哪里？它從哪里來？誰或什麼假設這肉、血和骨頭令人厭惡？它們只是它們的樣子，以它們自然的樣子存在，是誰看到它們時呈現厭惡感于腦際？把你的注意力固定在這點。這厭惡會到哪里去？不管它移向哪里，準備好追隨它的方向。

The decisive phase of body contemplation has been reached. This is the point where the root-cause of sexual craving is uprooted once and for all. As you focus exclusively on the repulsiveness evoked by the asubha contemplation, your revulsion of the image before you will slowly, gradually contract inward until it is fully absorbed by the mind. On its own, without any prompting, it will recede into the mind, returning to its source of origin. This is the decisive moment in the practice of body contemplation, the moment when a final verdict is reached about the relationship between the kilesa of sexual craving and its primary object, the physical body. When the mind』s knowing presence fully absorbs the repulsiveness, internalizing the feeling of revulsion, a profound realization suddenly occurs: The mind itself produces feelings of revulsion, the mind itself produces feelings of attraction; the mind alone creates ugliness and the mind alone creates beauty.

These qualities do not really exist in the external physical world. The mind merely projects these attributes onto the objects it perceives and then deceives itself into believing that they are beautiful or ugly, attractive or repulsive. In truth, the mind paints elaborate pictures all the time—pictures of oneself and pictures of the external world. It then falls for its own mental imagery, believing it to be real.

這時來到身念住的關鍵階段，這是把淫欲的根源一勞永逸地消除的時刻。全面專注在不淨觀引起的厭惡感時，你對面前影像的厭惡會慢慢地、逐漸地往內收縮，直到完全滲入心中。沒有任何引導，它自己會慢慢收縮入心中，回到它原本的根源。這是修身念住的關鍵性時刻，這是來到對淫欲煩惱與它的主要對象——身體——之間的關系最終裁決的時刻。當心的能知完全滲透入厭惡，把這厭惡感內化，一個深刻的覺悟會突然發生：心自己制造厭惡，心自己制造喜愛，心獨自制造丑陋，並且心獨自制造漂亮。這些性質並不真正存在于外在的物質世界，心只是投射這些屬性于它所認知的對象，然後自己欺騙自己相信它們漂亮或丑陋，喜愛或厭惡。實際上，心無時無刻不在描繪圖畫——自己和外在世界的圖像，然後自己陷落自己的幻想中，相信它們是真的。

At this point the meditator understands the truth with absolute certainty: The mind itself generates repulsion and attraction. The previous focus of the investigation—the pile of flesh and blood and bones—has no inherent repulsiveness whatsoever. Intrinsically, the human body is neither disgusting nor pleasing. Instead, it is the mind that conjures up these feelings and then projects them on the images that are in front of us. Once wisdom penetrates this deception with absolute clarity, the mind immediately relinquishes all external perceptions of beauty and ugliness, and turns inward to concentrate on the source of such notions. The mind itself is the perpetrator and the victim of these deceptions; the deceiver and the deceived.

Only the mind, and nothing else, paints pictures of beauty and ugliness. So the asubha images that the meditator has been focusing on as separate and external objects, are absorbed into the mind where they merge with the revulsion created by the mind. Both are, in fact, one and the same thing. When this realization occurs, the mind lets go of external images, lets go of external forms, and in doing so lets go of sexual attraction.

在這點禪修者徹底清楚地明白真相，心本身制造厭惡和喜愛，之前觀察的焦點——那堆肉、血和骨頭——內在沒有厭惡或什麼。從本質上而言，人的身體並不令人厭惡或喜愛，是心制造出這些感覺，然後把這些感覺投射到我們前面的影像上。一旦智慧絕對清晰地看穿這欺騙的把戲，心立刻放棄所有漂亮或丑惡的外在看法，向內轉去專注這觀念的根源。心自己是這欺騙的犯罪者也是被害者，是欺騙者也是被騙者。除了心，沒有其他的東西會描繪漂亮和丑惡的圖像。所以被禪修者作為分開和外在的專注對象的不淨影像滲透入心中，與由心制造的厭惡融合。其實，這兩者都是同一個東西。覺悟發生時，心放下外在的影像、外在的相，這樣做的同時它也放下了淫欲。

Sexual attraction is rooted in perceptions of the human body. When the real basis of these perceptions is exposed, it completely undermines their validity; and the external, as we know it, collapses and our attachment to it ceases of its own accord. The defiling influence of sexual attraction—which has ridden roughshod over the mind since time immemorial, luring the mind to grasp at birth and so experience death continuously for eons—this insidious craving is now powerless. The mind has now passed beyond its influence: It is now free.

淫欲根植于對人體的看法，當這些看法的真正根本被暴露出來，對它的認同就完全破壞掉。就如我們所知道的外在崩潰了，我們對它的執著也自行消失。淫欲的雜染影響——從無始以來就粗暴地對待心、多少劫以來誘惑心緊抓著生，使心因此而經歷死——這個潛伏著的執著現在已失去力量。心現在已超越它的影響，已自由了。