森林里的一棵樹 序言 A Tree in a Forest - Introduction

森林里的一棵樹

A Tree in a Forest

阿姜 查

Venerable Ajahn Chah

序言

Introduction

阿姜查提醒我們佛陀只能指出修行的道路，卻不能替我們修行，因為真理是不能用語言文字來說明與奉送的。阿姜查教導：「所有的教導只不過是譬喻，用來幫助心靈看到真理，如果在心里建立起佛陀，那麼我們就可以看到一切事物，視一切事物與我們並沒有什麼差異。」

Ajahn Chah himself reminded us that the Buddha himself could only point out the way and could not do the practice for us, because the truth is something that cannot be put into words or given away. “All the teachings” Ajahn Chah taught, “are merely similes and comparisons, means to help the mind see the truth. If we establish the Buddha within our mind, then we see everything, we contemplate everything, as no different from ourselves.

許多阿姜查自己用來教導的譬喻來自于他廣泛的森林生活經驗。他的修行就是注視，同時完全地敞開心胸，覺察所有發生于自己身心內外的一切。他曾說，他的修行並無特殊之處，套一句他說的話，他像森林里的一棵樹。「樹只是樹。」他曾這麼說；而阿姜查就只是阿姜查。然而從這「並無特殊之處」中卻產生了對他自己以及世界的深刻了解。

Many of the similes that Ajahn Chah himself used to teach came out of his vast experience of living in the forest. His practice was simply to watch, all the while being totally open and aware of everything that was happening both inside and outside himself. He would say that his practice was nothing special. He was, in his own words, like a tree in a forest, “A tree is as it is,” he’s say. And Ajahn Chah was as he was. But out of such “nothing specialness” came a profound understanding of himself and the world.

阿姜查經常說：「在任何時刻，佛法一直在示現著，但只有在心靈寧靜的時候，我們才能了解佛法所教導的，因為佛法不用語言文字教導。」阿姜查有這種奇異而神秘的能力能接受此非語言文字之法，而用一種新鮮易解，時而幽默、時而詩意盎然的譬喻形式，來把這種真理傳播給他的聽眾，而且總能敲中最易受感動的心靈深處：「我們好像蛆一樣啊！生命宛如落葉，心如雨水。」

Ajahn Chah used to say, “The Dhamma is revealing itself in every moment, but only when the mind is quiet can we understand what it is saying, for the Dhamma teaches without words.” Ajahn Chah had this uncanny ability to take that wordless Dhamma and convey its truth to his listeners in the form of a simile that was fresh, easy to follow, sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic, but always striking a place in the heart where it would jar or inspire the most: “We are like maggots; life is like a falling leaf; our mind is like rain water.”

阿姜查的教導充滿了像這種譬喻及比喻。我們以為把它們蒐集成冊當成一種靈感的泉源會是一個好點子，對那些想中止世間熱惱的人們，他們可以從「森林里的一棵樹」下的清涼、茂盛的樹陰中得到一些休息。

The teachings of Ajahn Chah teem with similes and comparisons like these. We thought it would be a good idea to collect them all in the form of a book as a source of inspiration for those who may want some respite from the “heat” of the world and seek some rest in the cool and abundant shade of “a tree in the forest”.

第一部分

我們必須藉由譬喻來談佛法，因為佛法沒有一定的形式。它是方的還是圓的？你說不來。唯一的方法就是透過這些譬喻來說明。

Part 1

“We have to talk about the Dhamma like this, using similes, because the Dhamma has no form. Is it square or is it round? You can’t say. The only way to talk about it is through similes like these.”

——阿姜 查