慈悲的法流 第二天 問答 Questions and Answers
第二天 問答
Questions and Answers
問： 誰是神？
Q: Who is God?
答： 實相是神，了解到實相你就會了解神。
A: Truth is God. Realize the truth and you will realize God.
問： 請解釋催眠術與禪修有何不同？
Q: Please explain the difference between hypnotism and meditation.
答： 古印度真正禪修的技巧，與催眠術是完全不同的。其它有些技巧使用到催 眠術，但這是完全與法相違背的。法使你自立，催眠術絕不會使你自立，因此這 兩者是無法相提並論的。
A: The true meditation techniques of ancient India were totally against hypnotism. Some techniques did use hypnotism, but this is totally against Dharma. Dharma makes you self-dependent. Hypnotism will never make you self-dependent. Therefore these two do not go together.
問： 內觀與逃避現實有何不同？
Q: How is Vipassana different from escapism?
答： 內觀是面對這個世界，內觀是不允許逃避這個世界的。
A: Vipassana is to face the world. No escape is permitted in Vipassana.
問： 目前是否有任何解脫的聖者仍在這個世間呢？
Q: Are there any liberated people living presently?
答： 是的。這是一條步向解脫的正道；你遠離幾分的不淨煩惱，也就獲得幾分 的解脫，而有的人已經完全地淨化自心。
A: Yes. It is a progressive path to liberation. As much as you are free from impurity, that much you are liberated. And there are people who have reached the stage where they are totally free from all impurities.
問： 建造寺廟、發心服務、義務教導的工作或在醫院服務，哪一個比較好？
Q: Which is better: temple construction, service, teaching or hospital work?
答： 所有這些社會服務都是重要的！這些工作都是好的。但是要以清淨的心去 做。如果你以不清淨的心來從事服務性的工作，來增長自我，對自己和他人是沒 有多大益處的。以清淨的愛心、慈悲心來做這些事，那麼你將會發現，它開始幫助你，也開始給予他人真正的利益。
A: All these social services are important; there is nothing wrong with them. But do them with purity of mind. If you do them with an impure mind, generating ego, it does not help you and it does not help others. Do it with purity of mind, with love, with compassion and you will find that it has started helping you, and it has started giving real benefit to others also.
問： 我們應該過著道德的生活，但道德在今天的世界上已經墮落敗壞了！
Q: We should lead a moral life, but morality is deteriorating in the whole world.
答： 當道德日漸敗壞時，正法在此時的興起就顯得格外重要了。在黑暗籠罩的時候，就是該破曉的時候。太陽應該要升起了！
A: It is all the more important that Dharma should arise at this time, when morality is deteriorating! The time when there is darkness all around is the time when the day should break, the sun should rise.
問： 如果我們所做的負面行為是為了使他人受益，這樣是否不好呢？
Q: If a negative act is committed for the good of others, is it bad?
答： 當然這是不好的！當你一產生負面行為時，你就開始傷害你自己，這個時 候你是無法幫助其他人的。一位生病的人本身是無力去照顧另一位病人的。因 此，首先你必須使你自己健康起來，那麼你會發現你已經開始在幫助別人了。
A: Certainly it is bad. A negative act starts harming you. When you have harmed yourself, you can never help anybody else. A lame person can never help another lame person. First you have to make yourself healthy, and then you will find that you have started helping others.
問： 我們要如何避免像抽菸、嚼檳榔等等不良的習慣呢？
Q: How can we avoid bad habits like smoking cigarettes and chewing pāna?
答： 不僅是在抽菸或嚼檳榔––––還有許多其它形式的不良癖好也要避免。當你 修習內觀時，將會了解到你上癮的其實不是某種東西。看起來好像是你對香菸、 酒、毒品或檳榔上癮，但其實是你對身體的某種感受上癮。當你在抽菸、嚼檳榔 或吸毒時，在你身體上會產生某種感受；相同地，當你生起了忿怒或悲傷的習性 反應時，在你身體上也會生起某些感受––––你是對感受上癮的。透過修習內觀， 你可以脫離那種癮，也遠離對外界事物的執取。這是多麼的自然、多麼科學，只 要試著去做，你將會發現它是如何產生效果的
A: Not only smoking cigarettes or chewing pāna—there are so many different types of addictions. When you practise Vipassana, you will understand that your addiction is not actually to that particular substance. It seems as if you are addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs or pāna; but the real fact is that you are addicted to a particular sensation in the body. When you smoke a cigarette, there is a sensation in the body. When you chew pāna, there is a sensation in the body. When you take a drug, there is a sensation in the body. Similarly, when you are addicted to anger or passion, these are also related to body sensations. Your addiction is to the sensations. Through Vipassana you come out of that addiction. You come out of all outside addictions also. It is so natural, so scientific. Just try and you will find how it works.
問： 是否只有人類充滿了痛苦與不幸呢？是否其它眾生就過著和諧的生活呢？
Q: Are only human beings in misery? Are other beings living a harmonious life?
答： 痛苦無所不在，但其他眾生無法從痛苦當中解脫，因為它們無法觀察到它 們自身當中的實相。自然的法則(或者也許你想要稱它為「全能的神」)，只賦 予人類這種觀察自身實相並解脫痛苦的絕妙能力。因此，讓我們好好地利用我們 所具有的這種絕妙力量吧。
A: Misery is everywhere, but other beings can』t come out of their misery because they can』t observe the reality within themselves. Nature—or if you want to call it “God Almighty”—has given this wonderful power only to human beings, to observe the reality within ourselves and come out of misery. Make use of this wonderful power that is given to us.
問： 如果你是一位軍人，殺害敵人是否違反道德呢？
Q: It is against morality to kill an enemy if you are a member of the Armed Forces?
答： 是的。但是，基于保衛國家和人民而言，軍隊是需要的。軍隊不應該只是 用來消滅敵人而已，它同時要顯示出國家的強盛，使對方甚至不會有想要侵略和 傷害自己國家人民的念頭。因此，軍隊的存在是必要的，但決不是殺戮，而是要 顯現出軍隊的強盛。如果某人侵害這個國家，第一件事要做的是警告，萬一警告 沒有用，到了絕對必要的時候，就應該采取行動。但是我們必須知道，要將軍隊 訓練成沒有忿怒與憎恨；否則他們的心會變得不平穩、不平靜，所有的決定都會 出錯。反之，如果以平穩、平靜的心，就能做出正確、良好的決定，不僅是有益 于自己也有益于他人。
A: Yes. But at the same time, the Army is necessary for the protection of the country, for the protection of the civilians. The Army should not be used just to kill others. It should be used to show the strength of the country, so that an enemy cannot have even the thought of being aggressive and harming people. Therefore, the Army is necessary. But not to kill, just to show strength. If somebody is harming the country, then the first thing is to give a warning. Otherwise, if it becomes necessary, action has to be taken. But then again, the soldiers have to be trained not to have anger, not to have animosity. Otherwise their minds will become unbalanced, all their decisions will go wrong. With a balanced mind, we can take good decisions, right decisions, which will be very helpful to us and helpful to others.
問： 心智障礙的人可否經由修習內觀而獲得自我控制呢？
Q: Can a mentally retarded person gain control over himself by Vipassana?
答： 這要看情況而定。如果他無法了解所教的，那麼當然不能獲益。這個方法不是魔術，也不講奇蹟。這只是一種心的訓練；就好像你做不同的健身運動來鍛鍊身體一樣，你是在做這個心的運動。一個人至少要有足夠的心智來了解修習的是什麼，並且去練習它。有些心智障礙的人曾經受益，但我們無法說每一個人都會受益。
A: It depends. If one cannot understand what is being taught, then there is no magic, no miracle in the technique. It is a mental exercise. Just as you do different physical exercises, so you do this mental exercise. One should be at least intelligent enough to understand what the exercise is, and then to practise it. There are some who have been helped, but we can』t say that everyone will be helped.
問： 為什麼婆伽梵歌當中說要遵循 swadharma(自法)，而不是 paradharma(他法)。
Q: The Gītā says swadharma [our own Dharma] should be followed, not paradharma [the Dharma of others].
答： 這要看你如何解釋。對我而言，所謂的「自法」是指人類的法，人類具有 能夠觀察自身，並且從中解脫出來，遠離一切束縛的絕妙能力。動物是無法做到 的，一只小鳥或昆蟲就無法做到這些。如果你僅僅是活在世間，而不善用這個能力，那麼你過的是動物的生活，過的是小鳥、昆蟲的生活。你與這些眾生並沒有 什麼差別––––你過的不是合乎自法(swadharma)的生活，你過的是他法 paradharma 的生活。為了遵循「自法」，你必須經由觀察你自身之內的實相，學習如何從束縛當中解脫出來。
A: It depends how you interpret it. To me, swadharma is the Dharma of human beings. A human being has been given this wonderful faculty to observe oneself and come out of the misery, come out of the bondage. An animal cannot do this, a bird cannot do this, an insect cannot do this. If you are just living the life without using this faculty, then you are living the life of an animal, the life of a bird, the life of an insect. Then no difference between you and that being—you are not living the life of swadharma, you are living the life of paradharma. For swadharma, you must learn how to come out of your bondages, by observing the truth within yourself.
問： 在過去的十到十二年之中我一直無法很安穩地入睡，怎麼辦呢？
Q: For the last ten to twelve years I haven』t been able to sleep properly.
答： 內觀將會有助于此。不過，還得看你修習得正不正確。如果你來參加內觀課程唯一的目的是為了睡得安穩，那麼還是不來參加得好。你來修習內觀應該是 為了將內心所有的不淨去除。你的混亂不安是因為你的心中充滿了這麼多的負面心態與憂慮；而所有的憂慮、負面心態和不淨煩惱將在你修習內觀之後逐漸地消除。你就能夠安穩地入睡了。
A: Vipassana will help, depending on how properly you work. If you come to Vipassana with the sole aim of getting sound sleep, then it』s better that you don』t come. You should come to Vipassana to come out of the impurities of your mind. There is a disturbance because there is so much negativity in the mind, so much worry. All those worries, negativities and impurities will start getting eradicated by Vipassana, and you will start getting very sound sleep.
問： 是否應該將內觀介紹到學校的教育當中呢？
Q: Is it necessary to introduce Vipassana into education?
答： 當然！這是一種生命的藝術，一種生活的藝術。我們的下一代必須在年輕時就學習這種藝術，他們才能過著一種非常健康而和諧的生活，從種種派別的形式、包袱當中解脫出來。如果他們了解純淨的法、了解自然的法則，他們就會依循自然的法則來生活。如果孩子們在學校之中學習內觀，一定會有很好的成果。
A: Certainly. This is an art of life, an art of living. The next generation must learn this art at a young age, so that they can live a very healthy life, a harmonious life, free from all the other things which are going on in the name of Dharma. If they understand pure Dharma, the law of nature, they will live according to the law of nature. When children are taught Vipassana in the schools and colleges, there are very good results.
問： 如果修習正法是必要的，我們是否同樣地要采取相對的反應來面對非法呢？
Q: If what is needed is to start practising Dharma, do we have to face adharma as an equal and opposite reaction?
答： 是的，當你開始修習正法時，非法是存在著的；非法的力量、振動，這些是你必須要面對克服的。而你有足夠的力量，最後正法將會贏得勝利；如果你了解什麼是正法，並且知道如何應用正法在你自己身上，那所有的非法將會被擊潰––––這是無庸置疑的。
A: Yes. When you start practising Dharma, the adharma is there. The forces of adharma, the vibration of adharma—you have to fight them. But you have the strength. Ultimately, Dharma wins. If you understand what Dharma is, and if you understand how to apply Dharma within yourself, all the adharmas will get defeated—there is no doubt about that.
問： 你總是譴責宗教儀式，但是我們表達尊敬及感恩有何不對呢？
Q: You always condemn ritualism, but what is wrong with expressing our respect and gratitude?
答： 沒有什麼不對，尊敬及感恩並不是宗教儀式。宗教儀式是指：當你不了解自己在做什麼，或者當你只是因為別人要求你這樣做就做。比如說，你自己認為： 「我在向一位特定的神或女神致敬」或者「我正在向我的雙親致敬」––––這個時候，你要問問自己，什麼是這位神的特質呢？什麼是這位女神的特質呢？我是否 以在自身當中發展相同的特質，作為向神或女神真正的致敬呢？我是否在自身當 中發展和我雙親一樣的美德而真正地向他們致敬呢？如果這些答案是肯定的，那麼你對所做的一切都有正確地了解，這就不是典禮或儀式了。但是，如果你是機械性的做這些事，那麼這些就僅僅是典禮或儀式。
A: There is nothing wrong with that. Respect and gratitude are not rituals. Rituals are when you don』t understand what you are doing, when you are doing something just because somebody asked you to. If deep inside you understand, “I am paying respect to my parents” or “I am paying respect to a particular god or goddess”—then, see: What are the qualities of that god? What are the qualities of that goddess? Am I giving real respect to that god and goddess by developing the same qualities within myself? Am I giving real repect to my parents by developing their good qualities? If the answer is yes, then you are doing these actions with understanding, and they are not rites or rituals. But if you perform something mechanically, then it becomes a rite or ritual.
問： 生命在死亡之後是什麼呢？
Q: What is life after death?
答： 一個人無時無刻都在出生、都在死亡，了解生命和死亡的這個過程，這將會使你充滿了喜悅，並且很容易地了解到死亡之後到底發生了什麼。
A: Every moment one is taking birth, every moment one is dying. Understand this process of life and death. This will make you very happy and you will easily understand what happens after death.
問： 如何破除非法呢？
Q: How to break adharma?
答： 發展正法，那麼非法將被破除。
A: Develop Dharma, and adharma will get broken.
問： 請慈悲地談談，內觀對在校學生的意義是什麼。
Q: Kindly give a few words on how students can use Vipassana.
答： 我們已經發現，即使學生開始練習的，只是內觀的第一個部分––––訓練心的專注，也都得到了很好的結果。他們的記憶力增強，對課業的理解力提高，心 的領悟力變好，緊張的情形減低––––這些改變，對他們的學習會有很大的幫助。 而同時，也幫助他們培養良好的品性。
A: We have found good results from students who have started practising even the first part of Vipassana, concentration of mind. Their memory has become sharper, their ability to understand a subject has improved, the comprehending part of their mind has gotten better, and their nervousness has decreased. All these are very helpful to them in their studies. And along with those, character-building starts from the very beginning.
問： 印度教的法與回教的法有何不同呢？
Q: What is the difference in Dharma between Hindus and Muslims?
答： 要了解：我並不是反對印度教或回教。我對每一位教徒都是友善的，但是 我並不贊成所謂的「印度教的法」、「回教的法」等等的這些稱呼。你可以稱呼 他們是某一個群體、某一教派，但是如果你稱呼某一教派為「法」，那麼你只會造成你自己或他人的迷惑與混淆。因為法是普遍性的。所謂印度教的法僅僅是屬 于一個特定的小區或特定的教派，所以它並不是普偏性的法；回教、佛教或基督 教也是一樣。事實上，他們都應該要繼續留存下來，都應該要彼此親善。如果每一個人都是如法的人，那麼稱呼他自己是回教徒或印度教徒並沒有什麼差別–––– 他們都會真誠懇摯地生活在一起，因為他們都是如法的人。成為一個如法的人比 成為一個忠實的印度教徒或回教徒來得更為重要。
A: Understand: I am not against Hindus or Muslims. I am friendly to everyone, but I am against calling them Dharma. Call them a group of people, call them a sect, but when you call that sect “Dharma,” you are just deluding yourself and others. Dharma is universal. Hindu-dharma is only for a particular society or a particular sect, so it is not Dharma. It is the same with Muslim, Buddhist or Christian. They should all survive, they should have goodwill for each other. If everybody is a Dharma person, then it makes no difference whether one calls oneself a Hindu or a Muslim—they will live in a very cordial way, because they are all Dharmic people. To be a Dharma person is more important than to be a staunch Hindu or a staunch Muslim.
問： 你是一位無神論者嗎？
Q: Are you an atheist?
答： (笑)對我而言，神並不是一位想象的人物；對我而言，實相是神，最究竟的實相就是最崇高的神。如果你說的「無神論者」是指一個人不相信神，那麼我不是，我相信神。
A: (Laughs.) If by “atheist” you mean one who does not believe in God, then no, I am not. I believe in God. But for me, God is not an imaginary person. For me, truth is God. The ultimate truth is ultimate God.
問： 如果有人從小就是個聾、啞或瞎的人，他們要怎麼辦呢？
Q: If a person is deaf, dumb or blind from childhood, how can he live?
答： 這是因為過去的一些業力所產生的不良果報。內觀無法改變這些事實。但是練習內觀的人都學過慈悲觀，以愛心和慈悲心來回向，這對這些人是有所幫助的。
A: This is some bad fruits of past karma. Vipassana cannot help that. But those who practise Vipassana are taught another technique, to give vibrations of love and compassion. These are helpful to such persons.
問： 是否有一位神創造了地球呢？
Q: Is there a God who created the earth?
答： 我從未看過如此的一位神。如果你見過神，你可以相信；但是對我而言， 實相才是神、自然的法則是神、法就是神，而且依據法、依據自然的法則，所以一切都在演變。如果你了解到這些，並且以自然的法則來生活，你就會過得很好； 不論你是否相信神，都沒有什麼差別。
A: I have not seen such a god. If you see God, you are welcome to believe. But for me, truth is God, the law of nature is God, Dharma is God, and everything is evolving because of Dharma, because of the law. If you understand this, and live according to the law of Dharma, you live a good life. Whether you believe in God or you don』t believe in God, it makes no difference.
問： 什麼是生命的目標？
Q: What should be the aim of life?
答： 過著安詳美好的生活，健康的生活––––對自己有益，也對他人有益。
A: To live a good life, a healthy life—good for yourself and good for others.