木頭 Log

〖木頭〗

如果我們砍下一塊木頭將它扔進河水里，木頭便會漂向下流。假使這塊木頭不腐朽或停滯在一旁的河岸，終究會漂流入大海。同樣的道理，修習中道的心，如果不去執于感官耽溺或自我苦行的任何一端，必然會達到真正的寧靜。

在我們譬喻里的那塊木頭，代表心，河岸的一邊代表愛，另一邊代表恨；或說岸的一邊是快樂，另一邊是不快樂。所謂遵循中道，是了解愛、恨和快樂、不快樂的真實面目——祇是感覺而已。一旦獲得這樣的領悟，心就不會那麼輕易地漂向它們而被束縛。這就是領悟的心的修行，不去滋養任何感覺的升起，乃至不會去執著它們。接著，心便自由無礙地漂向下游，最後流入「涅槃海」。

Log

If we cut a log of wood and throw it into a river, it floats downstream. If that log doesn’t rot or get stuck on one of the banks of the river, it will finally reach the ocean. Likewise, the mind that practices the Middle Way and doesn’t attach to either extreme of sensual indulgence or self-mortification will inevitably attain true peace.

The log in our analogy represents the mind. The banks of the river represent, on one side, love, and on the other, hate. Or you can say that one bank is happiness and the other unhappiness. To follow the Middle Way is to see love, hate, happiness and unhappiness for what they really are - only feelings. Once this understanding has been achieved, the mind will not easily drift toward them and get caught. It is the practice of the understanding mind not to nurture any feelings that rise or to cling to them. The mind then freely flows down the river unhampered and eventually flows into the “ocean” of Nibbana.