正定初階 The Basic Method of Meditation
The Basic Method of Meditation
《正定初階》
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本書錄自作者于一九九七年十二月在西澳大利亞帕斯北部一個為期九天的禪期中的開示。
October 2005
Contents
Part 1 Sustained attention on the present moment
Part 2 Silent awareness of the present moment
Silent present moment awareness of the breath
Full sustained attention on the breath
Part 3 Full sustained attention on the beautiful breath
Experiencing the beautiful Nimitta
First Jhana
NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMA SAMBUDDHASSA NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMA SAMBUDDHASSA NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMA SAMBUDDHASSA
正定初階7階段：
第一部 1把注意力保持在當下
第二部 2當下的默然覺知 (當下對呼吸的默然覺知)
3持續地注意著呼吸
4完全持續地注意著呼吸
第三部 5完全持續地注意著美妙的呼吸
6 體驗美妙禪相
7 初禪
PART 1
第一部
「The goal of this meditation is the beautiful silence, stillness and clarity of mind」
此初階禪法的目標是要使心達至美妙的靜默、靜止和清明的狀態
Mditation is the way to achieve letting go. In meditation one lets go of the complex world outside in order to reach the serene world inside. In all types of mysticism, in many traditions, this is known as the path to the pure and powerful mind. The experience of this pure mind, released from the world, is very wonderful and blissful.
禪修是離棄執著、達至放下的方法。在禪修時，我們要放下外面的複雜世界，才能進入內在的寧靜世界。在所有的神秘主義中、在許多的傳統中，這都被認為是達至心靈清淨、心力強化之道。心靈從世間解放出來，這種清淨心的體驗，是非常精彩和充滿妙樂的。
Often with meditation there will be some hard work at the beginning, but be willing to bear that hard work knowing that it will lead you to experience some very beautiful and meaningful states. They will be well worth the effort! It is a law of nature that without effort one does not make progress. Whether one is a layperson or a monk, without effort one gets nowhere, in meditation or in anything.
禪修通常在開始時是會有點辛苦，但請不要抗拒，要明白你將會因而經驗到一些非常美妙、非常有意義的狀態，這是很值得辛勞的。不努力便不會有進步，這是大自然的法則，不論是在家人或出家人，禪修或做任何事情若不精進努力，便不會有所成就。
Effort alone, though, is not sufficient. The effort needs to be skilful. This means directing your energy just at the right places and sustaining it there until its task is completed. Skilful effort neither hinders nor disturbs you, instead it produces the beautiful peace of deep meditation.
然而，單是努力並不足夠，努力得來必須巧妙。這即是說，要將精力用于恰當之處，並維持至其任務完成為止。巧妙的精進努力不會障礙你亦不會阻擾你，反而只會把你帶至深層的禪定，體驗很美妙的平靜。
In order to know where your effort should be directed, you must have a clear understanding of the goal of meditation. The goal of this meditation is the beautiful silence, stillness and clarity of mind. If you can understand that goal then the place to apply your effort and the means to achieve the goal become very clear.
想知道精進努力應用于何處，便須徹底明白禪修的目標。此初階禪法的目標便是要使心達至美妙的靜默、靜止和清明的狀態。若你明白此目標，那麼應該投入精進努力之處和達成此目標的方法都會變得很清晰。
The effort is directed to letting go, to developing a mind that inclines to abandoning. One of the many simple but profound statements of the Lord Buddha is that a meditator whose mind inclines to abandoning, easily achieves Samadhi. Such a meditator gains these states of inner bliss almost automatically. What the Lord Buddha is saying is that the major cause for attaining deep meditation, for reaching these powerful states, is the willingness to abandon, to let go and to renounce.
精進努力是用來放下一切、用來發展出一顆趣向離執的心。佛陀說的話深睿但簡單，他曾說：「禪修者擁有一顆趣向離執的心，便很容易成就三摩地。」這樣的禪修者幾乎是自然地證得這些內在的妙樂狀態。佛陀的意思是，證入深層禪定、達至這等強勁狀態的主要原因，便是有舍棄、放下和出離的意願。
During meditation, we should not develop a mind which accumulates and holds on to things, but instead we develop a mind which is willing to let go of things, to let go of burdens. Outside of meditation we have to carry the burden of our many duties, like so many heavy suitcases, but within the period of meditation so much baggage is unnecessary. So, in meditation, see how much baggage you can unload. Think of these things as burdens, heavy weights pressing upon you. Then you have the right attitude for letting go of these things, abandoning them freely without looking back. This effort, this attitude, this movement of mind that inclines to giving up, is what will lead you into deep meditation. Even during the beginning stages of this meditation, see if you can generate the energy of renunciation, the willingness to give things away, and little by little the letting go will occur. As you give things away in your mind you will feel much lighter, unburdened and free. In the way of meditation, this abandoning of things occurs in stages, step by step.
我們禪修不是要發展出一顆積聚事物、抓持事物的心，我們是要發展出一顆願意放下事物、願意放下負擔的心。在非禪修期間，我們須要肩負很多責任，就像帶著很多重甸甸的手提箱一樣，但在禪修時，這麼多的行李是不必要的，所以，看看你在禪修時能把多少行李卸下。你把這些東西視為加諸你身上、把你壓著的重物負擔。這樣，你便會有正確的態度來放下所有這些東西，大方爽快地舍棄，頭也不回。這種精進努力、這種態度、這種轉變，在一顆趣向離執的心中，將會引發出深層的禪定。即使在這種禪法的起步階段，也請看看你能否生起引發舍離的精力，即那種放棄事物的意願。這樣，放下的意願便會逐點兒地生起。當你在心內把東西放棄，你便會感到輕快得多、感到輕松自在。在修禪定的方法中，這種對事物的舍離會逐階段地、逐步地生起。
You may go through the initial stages quickly if you wish, but be very careful if you do so. Sometimes, when you pass through the initial steps too quickly, you find the preparatory work has not been completed. It is like trying to build a town house on a very weak and rushed foundation. The structure goes up very quickly, but it comes down very quickly as well! So you are wise to spend a lot of time on the foundations, and on the ‘first storeys’ as well, making the groundwork well done, strong and firm. Then when you proceed to the higher storeys, the bliss states of meditation, they too are stable and firm.
若你喜歡，你可以快速完成起始階段，但若這樣做，務必要很小心。有些時候，當你太快通過起始步驟，你會發覺準備功夫還未完成。這就好像在一個很不穩固、很馬虎的地基上建造大廈一樣，樓宇很快建起，但亦會很快倒塌！因此，花多些時間于地基和第一層樓上，使基礎工作做得牢固、堅穩、扎實，這才是明智的做法。然後，當你達到較高的層次時，禪定的妙樂狀態亦會穩固扎實。
In the way that I teach meditation, I like to begin at the very simple stage of giving up the baggage of past and future. Sometimes you may think that this is such an easy thing to do, that it is too basic. However, if you give it your full effort, not running ahead to the higher stages of meditation until you have properly reached the first goal of sustained attention on the present moment, then you will find later on that you have established a very strong foundation on which to build the higher stages.
我教導禪修的方式，是喜歡從很簡單的階段開始，先要拋棄過去和未來這些包袱。有些時候，也許你會認為這有何難，太初階了。可是，假如你肯全力以赴，不匆忙躍上較高的階層，直至你真正達到第一目標，能把注意力保持在當下，這樣，你隨後便會發覺到，你已建立起一個十分堅穩的根基，可在其上建立更高的階層。
Abandoning the past means not even thinking about your work, your family, your commitments, your responsibilities, your history, the good or bad times you had as a child ..” you abandon all past experiences by showing no interest in them at all. You become someone who has no history during the time that you meditate. You do not even think about where you are from, where you were born, who your parents were or what your upbringing was like. All of that history is renounced in meditation. In this way, everyone here on the retreat becomes equal, just a meditator. It becomes unimportant how many years you have been meditating, whether you are an old hand or a beginner. If you abandon all that history then we are all equal and free. We are freeing ourselves of some of these concerns, perceptions and thoughts that limit us and which stop us from developing the peace born of letting go. So every ‘part’ of your history you finally let go of, even the history of what has happened to you so far in this retreat, even the memory of what happened to you just a moment ago! In this way, you carry no burden from the past into the present. Whatever has just happened, you are no longer interested in it and you let it go. You do not allow the past to reverberate in your mind.
拋棄過去的意思是，連你的工作、家庭、承擔、責任、前塵往事、兒時的甘苦片段等等，也不去想，對所有過去的經歷完全不感興趣、全部拋棄掉，你于禪修時變成一個沒有過去的人，甚至不去想你從何處來、生于何處、誰是你父母，或你的教養如何，所有這些過去經歷在禪修時都要拋棄。這樣，每一個參加禪期的人都變成平等，大家都只是一個禪修者。你禪修了幾多年、你是老手還是新手，這些都變得不重要。如果你拋棄所有這些個人經歷，那麼大家便都是平等無束縛。我們正是在擺脫這些關注、觀感和心念思想，不讓它們束縛我們、阻止我們開展出從放下而來的平靜。就這樣，你徹徹底底放下你過去的每一個片段，即使是在此禪期間時至這刻曾發生過的事，即使僅在這一刻之前所發生的事情的記憶！這樣，你不把負擔從過去帶進當下，無論剛剛發生了甚麼事，你都不再感興趣，任它來去。你不讓過去在心內迴盪。
I describe this as developing your mind like a padded cell! When any experience, perception or thought hits the wall of the ‘padded cell’ , it does not bounce back-again. It just sinks into the padding and stops right there. Thus we do not allow the past to echo in our consciousness, certainly not the past of yesterday and all that time before, because we are developing the mind inclined to letting go, giving away and unburdening.
我會把這描述為把心發展成有如一間軟壁房間一樣，當有任何經驗、觀感，或心念思想打在軟壁上，都不會反彈回來，只是嵌進軟墊內，停于該處。如是地，我們不讓過去在我們的意識內迴響，不管是昨日或所有之前的過去，因為我們正在開展著趣向于離執、舍棄和不累贅的心。
Some people have the view that if they take up the past for contemplation they can somehow learn from it and solve the problems of the past. However, you should understand that when you gaze at the past, you invariably look through distorted lenses. Whatever you think it was like, in truth it was not quite like that! This is why people have arguments about what actually happened, even a few moments ago. It is well known to police who investigate traffic accidents that even though the accident may have happened only half an hour ago, two different eyewitnesses, both completely honest, will give different accounts. Our memory is untrustworthy. If you consider just how unreliable memory is, then you do not put value on thinking about the past. Then you can let it go. You can bury it, just as you bury a person who has died. You place them in a coffin then bury it, or cremate it, and it is done with, finished. Do not linger on the past. Do not continue to carry the coffins of dead moments on your head! If you do, then you are weighing yourself down with heavy burdens which do not really belong to you. Let all of the past go and you have the ability to be free in the present moment.
有些人認為，如果他們深思過去，便可從中學習，並能解決到過去的問題。可是，你要明白，在你凝視著過去時，你總是透過扭曲的鏡片來看。無論你認為那是怎樣，事實卻不完全是這樣！這便是為何人們都對真實發生過的事情會有所爭論的原因，即使那是幾剎那之前的事。負責調查交通意外的警員都很清楚，即使意外是發生于半小時之前，兩個都是絕對誠實的不同的目擊證人都會有不同的描述。我們的記憶很不可靠，假如你細心想想記憶是如何不可靠，你便不會認為回憶過去是有意義的。于是，你便可以把它放下，你可把它埋葬，有如埋葬死人一樣，你把它們放在棺材內，然後埋葬，或火化，這便完結、了事。不要流連過去，不要繼續把裝著流逝時光的棺材頂在頭上！否則你便是把實際上不屬于你的重擔加諸身上。忘掉所有過去，這樣你便有能力在當下中解脫。
As for the future, the anticipations, fears, plans, and expectations-let all of that go too. The Lord Buddha once said about the future ‘whatever you think it will be, it will always be something different’ ! This future is known to the wise as uncertain, unknown and so unpredictable. It is often complete stupidity to anticipate the future, and always a great waste of your time to think of the future in meditation.
至于未來方面，預計、擔憂、計劃、期望，所有這些亦都要放下。佛陀有一次說到未來：「無論你預料那將會是怎樣，但結果往往會是別樣！」智者都了解，未來是不確定、未知和不可預知的。預想未來往往是十分愚昧，而且在禪修中預想未來更是在浪費時間。
When you work with your mind, you find that the mind is so strange. It can do some wonderful and unexpected things. It is very common for meditators who are having a difficult time, who are not getting very peaceful, to sit there thinking ‘Here we go again, another hour of frustration’. Even though they begin thinking like that, anticipating failure, something strange happens and they get into a very peaceful meditation.
在修心的修行中，你會發覺心是那麼的奇怪，它竟會做出些那麼的令人讚嘆和意想不到的事。禪修者吃苦頭，坐得不很平靜，邊坐邊想：「唉，又開始啦，另一個小時的沮喪」，這都很平常。雖然他們開始時會這樣想，預計會失敗，然而奇怪的事情發生起來，他們竟進入十分平靜的禪定。
Recently I heard of one man on his first ten-day retreat. After the first day his body was hurting so much he asked to go home. The teacher said, ‘Stay one more day and the pain will disappear, I promise’ . So he stayed another day, the pain got worse so he wanted to go home again. The teacher repeated ‘just one more day, the pain will go’. He stayed for a third day and the pain was even worse. For each of nine days, in the evening he would go to the teacher and, in great pain, ask to go home and the teacher would say, ‘Just one more day and the pain will disappear’. It was completely beyond his expectations, that on the final day when he started the first sit of the morning, the pain did disappear! It did not come back. He could sit for long periods with no pain at all! He was amazed at how wonderful is this mind and how it can produce such unexpected results. So, you don’t know about the future. It can be so strange, even weird, completely beyond whatever you expect. Experiences like this give you the wisdom and courage to abandon all thoughts about the future, and all expectation as well.
最近，我聽說有一個人參加了一個十天的禪期，這是他首次。一天後，他坐得身體很痛，于是請求回家。老師說：「多留一天吧，我保證疼痛會消失。」這樣他便留下多一天，但疼痛卻加劇，于是他又再次想回家。老師重複說：「只多一天，疼痛便會消失。」他留至第三天，但疼痛甚至更劇烈。在一連九天中，每天黃昏他都去找老師，十分痛苦地請求回家，但老師總是說：「只多一天，疼痛便會消失。」最後一天，卻完全超乎他所想像，在開始早上的第一坐時，痛楚竟真的消失了！痛楚不再出現。他可坐很久，一點痛楚也沒有！這個心竟是這麼奇妙，他感到驚訝，驚嘆它居然能產生出如此出人意表的結果。所以，你不會預知到未來，未來可以是這麼的奇怪，甚至怪異，完全超乎你預料之外。像這樣的體驗會帶給你智慧和勇氣來拋棄所有有關未來的思慮，以及所有的期望。
When you’re meditating and thinking, ‘How many more minutes are there to go? How much longer have I to endure all of this?’, then that is just wandering off into the future again. The pain could just disappear in a moment. The next moment might be the tree one. You just cannot anticipate what is going to happen.
打坐時若想著「還要坐多少分鍾？我還要忍受多久？」這其實只是又再回到未來。疼痛可以在一剎那後消失，下一剎那就可能會很順暢，你實在無法預知將會發生甚麼事。
When on retreat, after you have been meditating for many sessions, you may sometimes think that none of those meditations have been any good. In the next meditation session you sit down and everything becomes so peaceful and easy. You think ‘Wow! Now I can meditate!’, but the next meditation is again awful. What’s going on here?
你在密集禪期中一直坐了很多節，有時可能會認為沒有一節是坐得好的。接著的一節，你開始坐，發覺竟然坐得很平靜、很舒適。你想，「哇！我現在會禪修了」，可是，下一節又再是這般糟糕。到底出了甚麼事？
The first meditation teacher I had told me something that then sounded quite strange. He said that there is no such thing as a bad meditation! He was right. All those meditations which you call bad, frustrating and not meeting your expectations, all those meditations are where you do the hard work for your ‘pay cheque’ …
我第一個禪修老師告訴過我一句話，我當時聽得莫明其妙，他說，世上沒有很糟的禪坐這種事兒！他說得對，所有你認為是很糟、失敗、未如理想的禪坐，其實都是「賺取工錢」所要付出的辛勞……。
It is like a person who goes to work all day Monday and gets no money at the end of the day. ‘What am I doing this for?’, he thinks. He works all day Tuesday and still gets nothing. Another bad day. All day Wednesday, all day Thursday, and still nothing to show for all the hard work. That’s four bad days in a row. Then along comes Friday, he does exactly the same work as before and at the end of the day the boss gives him a pay cheque. ‘Wow! Why can’t every day be a pay day?!’
這就好像一個人星期一上班，工作了一整天，但下班時沒得到工錢一樣。他想：「我做這些是為了甚麼？」星期二，又工作了一整天，下班時仍是沒得到工錢，又是糟透的一天。星期三一整天、星期四一整天，所有付出的辛勞，仍是沒有回報，一連四天都很糟。然後到星期五，仍是如前一樣地工作，然而，下班時，老闆發給他一張工資支票。「哇！為何不可以每天都是發薪日？！」
Why can’t every meditation be ‘pay day’? Now, do you understand the simile? It is in the difficult meditations that you build up your credit, where you build up the causes for success. While working for peace in the hard meditations, you build up your strength, the momentum for peace. Then when there’s enough credit of good qualities, the mind goes into a good meditation and it feels like ‘pay day’. It is in the bad meditations that you do most of the work.
為何不可以每天都是「發薪日」？現在，你明白此譬喻嗎？你正是在艱苦的禪坐中積聚功勞、積聚成功因素。你在辛苦的禪坐中為了得到平靜而努力，你是在積聚力量、積聚獲取平靜的動量。這樣，當優良的質素足夠了，心便會進入精彩的禪定，感覺就有如「發薪日」一樣。你正是在很糟的禪坐中耕耘哩。
At a recent retreat that I gave in Sydney, during interview time, a lady told me that she had been angry with me all day, but for two different reasons. In her early meditations she was having a difficult time and was angry with me for not ringing the bell to end the meditation early enough. In the later meditations she got into a beautiful peaceful state and was angry with me for ringing the bell too soon. The sessions were all the same length, exactly one hour. You just can’t win as a teacher, ringing the bell!
最近一次，我在悉尼主持一個禪期，面談中，一位女士對我說，她一整天都遷怒于我，原因有兩個。在早段的禪坐中，她修得很辛苦吃力，她遷怒于我，因為我不早些打鍾；在後段的禪坐中，她進入了很美妙的平靜狀態，但卻因為嫌我過早打鍾，所以又遷怒于我。其實每一節的時間都相同，正正一小時。唉，做老師連打鍾也不討好！
This is what happens when you go anticipating the future, thinking, ‘How many more minutes until the bell goes?’ That is where you torture, yourself, where you pick up a heavy burden that is none of your business. So be very careful not to pick up the heavy suitcase of ‘How many more minutes are there to go?’ or ‘What should I do next?’ If that is what you are thinking, then you are not paying attention to what is happening now. You are not doing the meditation. You have lost the plot and are asking for trouble.
這便是當你一面打坐，一面期望未來，想著「還有幾多分鍾才響鍾」時所會發生的事，這正是你自己折磨自己、背上與你無關的沉重負擔之所在。所以，要很小心，不要背上「還有幾多分鍾？」或「之後我應怎樣做？」等等這些重擔。若你心中想著的便是這些，那麼你便不是在注意著當下所發生的事，你不是在禪修，你已失卻當下，自招煩惱。
In this stage of the meditation keep your attention right in the present moment, to the point where you don’t even know what day it is or what time it is-morning? afternoon?–don’t know! All you know is what moment it is-right now! In this way you arrive at this beautiful monastic time scale where you are just meditating in the moment, not aware of how many minutes have gone or how many remain, not even remembering what day it is.
在此禪修階段中，你應把注意力保持在正正的當下，你要做到甚至不知道今天是星期幾，或現在是甚麼時間——早上？下午？——不知道！你所知道的只是心正在哪個時刻——當下！如是地，你進入了此種美妙的寺院時間尺度，你只是于當下禪修，不知道已過了多久，或還有多久，甚至記不起是哪一天。
Once, as a young monk in Thailand, I had actually forgotten what year it was! It is marvellous living in that realm that is timeless, a realm so much more free than the time-driven world we usually have to live in. In the timeless realm, you experience this moment, just as all wise beings have been experiencing this same moment for thousands of years. It has always been just like this, no different. You have come into the reality of ‘now’.
有一次在泰國，我仍是一個年青僧人時，我當時的的確確已忘了是哪一年！生活于那種沒有時間的領域中，比生活于我們平日受制于時間的世界里要自由得多，實在非凡。在無時間的領域中，你體驗到此當下的剎那，就正像所有智者數千年以來一直都體驗到此相同的剎那一樣。它一直以來都就是這樣，沒有不同。你已進入了「當下」的實相。
The reality of now is magnificent and awesome. When you have abandoned all past and all future, it is as if you have come alive. You are here, you are mindful. This is the first stage of the meditation, just this mindfulness sustained only in the present. Reaching here, you have done a great deal. You have let go of the first burden which stops deep meditation. So put forth a lot of effort to reach this first stage until it is strong, firm and well established. Next we will refine the present moment awareness into the second stage of the meditation - silent awareness of the present moment.
當下的實相是很非凡、很令人驚嘆的。能拋棄掉所有過去和未來，就好像獲得重生一樣。你沒有走失，你有念住，這就是第一個禪定階段——只有這念住，僅是維持在當下。你達到這一步，已是做了很多了，你已擺脫掉妨礙深層禪定的第一重障礙。因此，應花多點勁來達到這第一階段，直至它很強勁、牢固、堅穩。接著，我們會把當下的覺知精鍊至下一階段——當下的默然覺知。
PART 2
第二部
’Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking. ’
靜默遠比思維活動更能生出智慧和清明。
In part 1, I outlined the goal of this meditation, which is the beautiful silence, stillness and clarity of mind, pregnant with the most profound of insights. Then I pointed out the underlying theme which runs like an unbroken thread throughout all meditation, that is the letting go of material and mental burdens. Lastly, in Part 1, I described at length the practice which leads to what I call the first stage of this meditation, and that first stage is attained when the meditator comfortably abides in the present moment for long, unbroken periods of time. I made the point that ‘The reality of now is magnificent and awesome… Reaching, here you have done a great deal. You have let go of the first burden which stops deep meditation.’ But having achieved so much, one should go further into the even more beautiful and truthful silence of the mind.
本書三部曲中的第一部點出這種初階禪法的目標，便是要使心達至美妙的靜默、靜止和清明的狀態，以孕育出最深睿的智慧，然後指出有如一條不斷的線貫通著所有禪定般的根本主題——對物質和心靈上負擔的舍棄，而在最後部份則用了很多篇幅來描述能達至我所稱為「這種初階禪法第一階段」的修習方法，還說明禪修者若能舒服地、長時間不間斷地安住于當下，便能證得此第一階段。正如前文中提到：「當下的實相是很非凡、很令人驚嘆的…………… 你達到這一步，已是做了很多了，你已擺脫掉妨礙進入深層禪定的第一重障礙。」但縱使有如此成就，你仍須再進一步，達至更美妙、更真實的心靈靜默。
It is helpful, here, to clarify the difference between silent awareness of the present moment and thinking about it. The simile of watching a tennis match on TV is informative. When watching such a match, you may notice that, in fact, there are two matches occurring simultaneously-there is the match that you see on the screen, and there is the match that you hear described by the commentator. Indeed, if an Australian is playing a New Zealander, then the commentary from the Australian or New Zealand presenter is likely to be much different from what actually occurred! Commentary is often biased. In this simile, watching the screen with no commentary stands for silent awareness in meditation, paying attention to the commentary stands for thinking about it. You should realize that you are much closer to Truth when you observe without commentary, when you experience just the silent awareness of the present moment.
在此有需要分辨清楚對當下的默然覺知和對當下的想像兩者之分別。以看電視上的網球比賽作譬喻可說明這點，當觀看這樣的比賽時，你或會注意到，事實上有兩場比賽在同時進行：一場在螢幕上看到的，另一場則是你所聽到的評述員所講述的比賽。真的，如果一個澳洲球員與一個新西蘭球員對壘，那麼澳洲評述員或新西蘭評述員所作的評論便很可能跟真正的比賽有很大的分別。評論往往是有偏差的，在這個譬喻中，純粹觀看著螢幕而沒有評論表示在禪修中的默然覺知，同時聽著評述員講解則表示用思維來想像。你要明白，當你不理會評論而只是純粹觀察、當你只是經驗著當下的默然覺知，你便更接近真理。
Sometimes it is through the inner commentary that we think we know the world. Actually, that inner speech does not know the world at all! It is the inner speech that weaves the delusions that cause suffering. It is the inner speech that causes us to be angry with those we make our enemies, and to have dangerous attachments to those we make our loved ones. Inner speech causes all of life’s problems. It constructs fear and guilt. It creates anxiety and depression. It builds these illusions as surely as the skilful commentator on TV can manipulate an audience to create anger or tears. So if you seek for Truth, you should value silent awareness, considering it more important, when meditating, than any thought whatsoever.
有時候，我們以為我們知道這世界，但其實那只是依仗我們內部的評論來認知這世界。事實上，那種內部講話對世界一無所知！正是內部的講話編造出惑亂來，因而產生痛苦；正是內部的講話令到我們對被我們認為是敵人的人生起憤怒、對被我們認為是至愛的人懷有危險的執著。內部的講話產生生命中的所有問題，它建造出恐懼和內咎、制造出憂慮和抑郁。它確實建立出這些幻象，這就有如電視中巧妙的評述員肯定可把觀眾弄至生氣或流淚一樣。因此，若要尋找真理，便應重視默然的覺知，在禪修時把它看成比任何心念思想都更為重要。
It is the high value that one gives to one’s thoughts that is the major obstacle to silent awareness. Carefully removing the importance one gives to one’s thinking and realizing the value and truthfulness of silent awareness, is the insight that makes this second stage-silent awareness of the present moment-possible.
發展默然覺知的主要障礙是因為你高度評價你的心念思想。仔細地消除你認為心念思想是至高無上的想法，明白到默然覺知的價值和真實性，這都是令到這第二階段——當下的默然覺知——得以成就的智慧。
One of the beautiful ways of overcoming the inner commentary is to develop such refined present moment awareness, that you are watching every moment so closely that you simply do not have the time to comment about what has just happened. A thought is often an opinion on what has just happened, e.g. ‘That was good’, ‘That was gross’, ‘What was that?’. All of these comments are about an experience that has just passed by. When you are noting, making a comment about an experience that has just passed, then you are not paying attention to the experience that has just arrived. You are dealing with old visitors and neglecting the new visitors coming now!
克服內部評論的一個巧妙方法便是把當下覺知發展至更幼細，你是那麼緊密地看著每一個剎那，你根本不會有時間來評論剛剛發生了甚麼事。心念思想通常都是對剛剛發生的事情的想法，例如「那很好啊」、「那真惡心呀」、「那是甚麼？」這些評論都是有關剛剛出現過的經驗。當你在用心觀記標名 (noting)，為剛剛出現過的經驗作出評論，那你便不是在注意著剛剛到來的經驗，你是在招呼舊客人，忽略了此時到來的新訪客！
You may imagine your mind to be a host at a party, meeting the guests as they come in the door. If one guest comes in and you meet them and start talking to them about this that or the other, then you are not doing your duty of paying attention to the next guest that comes in the door. Because a guest comes in the door every moment, all you can do is to greet one and then immediately go on to greet the next one. You cannot afford to engage in even the shortest conversation with any guest, since this would mean you would miss the one coming in next. In meditation, all experiences come through the door of our senses into the mind one by one in succession. If you greet one experience with mindfulness and then get into conversation with your guest, then you will miss the next experience following right behind.
你可想像你的心是一個派對的主人，在門邊恭候賓客到來。如果有位賓客來到，你款待他，開始跟他攀談這些那些，那麼你便沒有盡本分來歡迎新來到門前的客人了。由于每個剎那都有賓客來到門前，你所能做的便是迎接了一位，然後立即迎接下一位。即使是跟客人作最短暫的交談，你也賠不上，因為這即表示你將會忽略到來的下一位。在禪修方面，所有經驗都是一個接一個經我們的感官之門進入我們心內，假如你以念住來迎接一個經驗，然後跟這位客人攀談，那你便會忽略了緊隨在後的下一個經驗。
When you are perfectly in the moment with every experience, with every guest that comes in your mind, then you just do not have the space for inner speech. You cannot chatter to yourself because you are completely taken up with mindfully greeting everything just as it arrives in your mind. This is refined present moment awareness to the level that it becomes silent awareness of the present in every moment.
當每一個經驗到來你都是完全留守在當下，迎接著每一位來到你心內的客人，那你便不會有空來作內部講話，你不能和自己嘮叨，因為你正專心以念住來迎接每一個剛剛來到心內的對象而不能抽身，這便是精煉了的當下覺知，在每個剎那中都有的當下的默然覺知。
You discover, on developing that degree of inner silence, that this is like giving up another great burden. It is as if you have been carrying a big heavy. rucksack on your back for forty or fifty years continuously, and during that time you have wearily trudged through many, many miles. Now you have had the courage and found the wisdom to take that rucksack off and put it on the ground for a while. One feels so immensely relieved, so light, so free, because one is now not burdened with that heavy rucksack of inner chatter.
在發展這種層次的內部靜默時，你發現到就像放下另一個大負擔一樣，這就好像一直背負著一個龐大沉重的背囊四十或五十年，期間疲憊地走了很多里路，而現在卻有勇氣也找到智慧來卸下它，把它擱在地下一會兒。你感到多麼的寬慰、多麼的輕松、多麼的自在，因為你現在不是被那重甸甸的內部嘮叨背囊所重壓著。
_Another useful method of developing silent awareness is to recognize the space between thoughts, between periods of inner chatter. Please attend closely with sharp mindfulness when one thought ends and before another thought begins-There! That is silent awareness! It may be only momentary at first, but as you recognize that fleeting silence you become accustomed to it, and as you become accustomed to it then the silence lasts longer. You begin to enjoy the silence, once you have found it at last, and that is why it grows. But remember silence is shy. If silence hears you talking about her, she vanishes immediately!
發展默然覺知的另一個有用的方法便是觀出思想與思想之間的空間、在每一段內部嘮叨之間的空間。如果你以敏銳的念住緊密地注意著，當一個心念思想完結，在另一個心念思想開始之前——瞧！那就是默然覺知了！它最初可能只是剎那間的，但隨著你認識到那種一閃而過的靜默，你會習慣它；當你習慣了它，它便會持續久些。當你最終發現到靜默，你便會開始享受那種靜默，這就是它會生長的原因。但要記住，靜默很害羞，如果靜默聽到你在談論她，她便會立刻消失！
It would be marvelous for each one of us if we could abandon the inner speech and abide in silent awareness of the present moment long enough to realize how delightful it is. Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking. When you realize how much more enjoyable and valuable it is to be silent within, then silence becomes more attractive and important to you. The Inner Silence becomes what the mind inclines towards. The mind seeks out silence constantly, to the point where it only thinks if it really has to, only if there is some point to it. Since, at this stage, you have realized that most of our thinking is really pointless anyway, that it gets you nowhere, only giving you many headaches, you gladly and easily spend much time in inner quiet.
若我們能拋棄內部的講話，並長時間安住于當下的默然覺知上，直至能體會到箇中的樂趣，這會是我們極棒的成就。靜默遠比思維活動更能生出智慧和清明。當你體會到內心靜了下來時是如何地更寫意和更寶貴，那麼你便會覺得靜默變得更具吸引力和更重要了。內部靜默成為心向往之事，心經常會選擇靜默，心甚至會在覺得真的有需要、真的應該時，才會去思想。時至此階段，你已體會到你的大部份思想活動實在都是無謂的、沒有助益，只會經常令你頭痛，你于是便會高興地、很容易地放很多時間于內部的寧靜中。
The second stage of this meditation, then, is ‘silent awareness of the present moment’. You may spend the majority of your time just developing these two stages because if you can get this far then you have gone a long way indeed in your meditation. In that silent awareness of’ Just Now’ you will experience much peace, joy and consequent wisdom.
因此，此初階禪法的第二階段便是當下的默然覺知。你或許要用上你大部份時間來開發這兩個階段，因為若能達至這地步，可說是在禪修上已走了一段很長的路了。在此種對「此刻」的默然覺知中，你會經驗到很多的平靜、樂趣和隨之而來的智慧。
If you want to go further, then instead of being silently aware of whatever comes into the mind, you choose silent present moment awareness of just ONE THING. That ONE THING can be the experience of breathing, the idea of loving kindness (Metta), a coloured circle visualised in the mind (Kasina) or several other, less common, focal points for awareness. Here we will describe the silent present moment awareness of the breath, the third stage of the meditation.
若你想更深入，那便不用對任何走進心內的對象都作默然覺知，你可選擇僅是默然地覺知著當下的「一個對象」。這「一個對象」可以是呼吸的體驗、可以是慈愛 (mettŒ) 的心念，也可以是于心內觀想的一只色碟 (kasiöa)，或其他幾種比較少用的覺知聚焦對象。在此我們會談談當下對呼吸的默然覺知。
Choosing to fix one’s attention on one thing is letting go of diversity and moving to its opposite, unity. As the mind begins to unity, sustaining attention on just one thing, the experience of peace, bliss and power increases significantly. You discover here that the diversity of consciousness, attending to six different senses-like having six telephones on one’s desk ringing at the same time-is such a burden. Letting go of this diversity only permitting one telephone, a private line at that, on one’s desk-is such a relief it generates bliss. The understanding that diversity is a burden is crucial to being able to settle on the breath.
選擇將注意力固定于一個對象上，是舍棄多樣對象，轉向與其相反之統一。當心開始收攝統一，持續地注意著僅一個對象，其時所體驗到的平靜、妙樂和力量便會激增。此時你發覺到意識的多樣化，注意著六個不同的根門——有如有六個電話在你桌面上同時響起一樣——真是一種負擔，而放下此種多樣化——如桌上只留有一個電話、一條私人線——是多麼的如釋重負，這會產生妙樂。當你體會到這種多樣性是一種負擔，你便很容易安定于呼吸上。
If you have developed silent awareness of the present moment carefully for long periods of time, then you will find it quite easy to turn that awareness on to the breath and follow that breath from moment to moment without interruption. This is because the two major obstacles to breath meditation have already been subdued. The first of these two obstacles is the mind’s tendency to go off into the past or future, and the second obstacle is the inner speech. This is why I teach the two preliminary stages of present moment awareness and silent awareness of the present moment as a solid preparation for deeper meditation on the breath.
如果你已用了很長時間很精心地發展出當下的默然覺知，那你便會發覺很容易把那種覺知轉移到呼吸上，並能剎那復剎那地跟隨著呼吸，沒有中斷，這是因為觀呼吸禪法的兩個主要障礙經已被壓止了。這兩個障礙的第一個便是心會很容易走失，跑到過去或未來去，第二個則是內部的講話。這便是為何我在教觀呼吸禪法之前，總會先教當下的覺知和當下的默然覺知，以作為進入更深層禪定所需的扎實準備功夫的原因了。
It often happens that meditators start breath meditation when their mind is still jumping around between past and future, and when awareness is being drowned by the inner commentary. With no preparation they find breath meditation so difficult, even impossible, and give up in frustration. They give up because they did not start at the right place. They did not perform the preparatory work before taking up the breath as a focus of their attention. However, if your mind has been well prepared by completing these first two stages then you will find when you turn to the breath, you can sustain your attention on it with ease. If you find it difficult to keep attention on your breath then this is a sign that you rushed the first two stages. Go back to the preliminary exercises! Careful patience is the fastest way.
禪修者通常都是當心仍十分活躍地奔躍于過去和未來之間，或當內部評論淹蓋了覺知時，便已開始修習觀呼吸，他們未有做好準備功夫，于是便覺得觀呼吸很困難，甚至不可能修，因而沮喪地放棄，這都是因為他們不是在應在的地方起步之故，他們在把呼吸當做注意力的焦點之前，沒有先做好準備功夫。不過，若心已完成了這兩個起始階段，已有好好的準備，那你便會發覺當你轉移到呼吸上時，你可很輕而易舉地把注意力保持在呼吸上。若果你發覺很難把注意力保持在呼吸上，這即表示你是匆忙地完成兩個起始階段。回到初階的訓練去吧！謹慎地忍耐才是最快的方法。
When you focus on the breath, you focus on the experience of the breath happening now. You experience ‘that which tells you what the breath is doing’, whether it is going in or out or in between. Some teachers say to watch the breath at the tip of the nose, some say to watch it at the abdomen and some say to move it here and then move it there. I have found through experience that it does not matter where you watch the breath. In fact it is best not to locate the breath anywhere! If you locate the breath at the tip of your nose then it becomes nose awareness, not breath awareness, and if you locate it at your abdomen then it becomes abdomen awareness. Just ask yourself the question right now, ‘Am I breathing in or am I breathing out?’ How do you know? There! That experience which tells you what the breath is doing, that is what you focus on in breath meditation. Let go of concern about where this experience is located; just focus on the experience itself.
當你集中注意著呼吸，你是要集中于現在發生的呼吸經驗上，你經驗到那種「會告訴你呼吸正在做甚麼的體驗」，到底是正在入，或出，或正在中間。有些老師叫在鼻端處觀著呼吸，有些老師叫在腹部處觀著呼吸，又有些叫把它移到這兒，然後又移到那兒。我自己憑經驗發覺到在哪里觀著呼吸都不緊要。事實上，最好是不要把呼吸定于任何地方！若你把呼吸定在鼻端，那便變成鼻子覺知，而不是呼吸覺知，又若你把呼吸定在腹部，那便變成腹部覺知。你應只是在當下問問自己「我是在呼氣還是在吸氣？」你怎知道呢？哪！那種告訴你呼吸正在做甚麼的體驗，便是你在觀呼吸中所要集中之處。不要理會這種體驗是在何處，只是集中注意著體驗本身就是了。
A common problem at this stage is the tendency to control the breathing, and this makes the breathing uncomfortable. To overcome this problem, imagine that you are just a passenger in a car looking through the window at your breath. You are not the driver, nor a ‘back seat driver’, so stop giving orders, let go and enjoy the ride. Let the breath do the breathing while you simply watch without interfering.
此階段中的一個常見障礙便是會有種控制呼吸的傾向，因而使到呼吸不舒服。要克服這障礙，你可想像你只是一個坐在車內的乘客，透過玻璃窗觀看著你的呼吸，你不是司機，也不是指指點點的「後座司機」，所以，停止發出指令，放下並享受乘車之旅，讓呼吸自己呼吸，你只是不干預地看著。
When you know the breath going in and the breath going out, for say one hundred breaths in a row, not missing one, then you have achieved what I call the third stage of this meditation, ‘sustained attention on the breath’. This again is more peaceful and joyful than the previous stage. To go deeper, you now aim for full sustained attention on the breath.
當你知道氣息是入或出，這樣地比如說連續一百個呼吸，沒有漏失，那你便已達到我所說的第三階段「持續地注意著呼吸」了，這同樣是比前一個階段更平靜和更令人喜悅。要想再深入一層，你此時的目標便是完全持續地注意著呼吸。
This fourth stage, or ‘full sustained attention on the breath’, occurs when one’s attention expands to take in every single moment of the breath. You know the in-breath at the very first moment, when the first sensation of in-breathing arises. Then you observe those sensations develop gradually through the whole course of one in-breath, not missing even a moment of the in-breath. When that in-breath finishes, you know that moment, you see in your mind that last movement of the in breath. You then see the next moment as a pause between breaths, and then many more pauses until the out-breath begins. You see the first moment of the out-breath and each subsequent sensation as the out-breath evolves, until the out-breath disappears when its function is complete. All this is done in silence and just in the present moment.
當注意力增強至對呼吸中的每個剎那都注意到，這時便進入了此第四階段，「完全持續地注意著呼吸」。你知道吸氣時最先的那個剎那，你知道其時生起的第一個感覺。然後，你一直觀察著在整個吸氣過程中逐漸發展起來的那些感覺，其間連一個剎那都不遺漏。當吸氣完結，該剎那你知道，你在心中看到吸氣最後的移動。然後，在接著的一個剎那，你看到那是吸和呼之間的停頓，跟著還有更多的停頓剎那，然後才開始呼氣。你看到呼氣的第一個剎那和隨後在呼氣過程中的每一個隨之而來的感覺，直至呼氣完結消失為止。所有這些都是在靜默和正正在當下中進行。
You experience every part of each in-breath and out-breath, continuously for many hundred breaths in a row. This is why this stage is called ‘FULL sustained attention on the breath’ . You cannot reach this stage through force, through holding or gripping. You can only attain this degree of stillness by letting go of everything in the entire universe, except for this momentary experience of breath happening silently now. ‘You’ don’t reach this stage; the mind reaches this stage. The mind does the work itself The mind recognizes this stage to be a very peaceful and pleasant abiding, just being alone with the breath. This is where the ‘doer’, the major part of one’s ego, starts to disappear.
你經驗到吸氣和呼氣的每個部份，這樣地連續幾百個呼吸，這便是為何這階段被稱為「完全持續地注意著呼吸」了。你不能用力、用抓持或緊握等方法來達到這階段。除了這種發生在當下的默然剎那呼吸體驗之外，世界上所有其他東西你都一概放下，只有這樣你才能證得這種層次的靜止。不是「你」達到這階段，是心達到這階段，心自己做這份工作，心認知到這階段是一處十分平靜和愉悅的安住之處，那僅是獨自跟呼吸一起。那位「作者」，即一個人自我的主要部份，便是在此時開始消失。
You will find that progress happens effortlessly at this stage of the meditation. You just have to get out of the way, let go, and watch it all happen. The mind will automatically incline, if you only let it, towards this very simple, peaceful and delicious unity of being alone with one thing, just being with the breath in each and every moment. This is the unity of mind, the unity in the moment, the unity in stillness.
你會發覺在此階段里禪修的進展毫不費力，你只須讓開條路，放下一切，只是觀看著整個過程的出現。要是你不阻攔，心便會自動趣向這種非常簡單、平靜、快意、只有一個對象的收攝統一，在每個剎那中都只跟呼吸一起。這是心的收攝統一，在剎那中的收攝統一，在靜止中的收攝統一。
The fourth stage is what I call the ‘springboard’ of meditation, because from here one can dive into the blissful states. When you simply maintain this unity of consciousness, by not interfering, the breath will begin to disappear. The breath appears to fade away as the mind focuses instead on what is at the centre of the experience of breath, which is the awesome peace, freedom and bliss.
第四階段便是我所謂的禪修「跳板」，因為從這里你可以跳進充滿妙樂的狀態。當你只是維持著這種心識的收攝統一，不去干預，呼吸便會開始消失。由于心會轉移去集中于處于呼吸體驗中心的對象，即那種非凡的平靜、自在和妙樂，因此呼吸顯得似是漸漸地消失掉。
At this stage I use the term ‘the beautiful breath’. Here the mind recognizes that this peaceful breath is extraordinarily beautiful. You are aware of this beautiful breath continuously, moment after moment, with no break in the chain of experience. You are aware only of the beautiful breath, without effort, and for a very long time.
在這階段我用上「美妙呼吸」此詞，因為心此時認知到這種平靜的呼吸是出奇的美妙。你持續地覺知著這種美妙呼吸，剎那相續地經驗著，如一條不斷的長鏈一樣，你只是覺知著這種美妙呼吸，不用費力而可持續至很長的時間。
Now you let the breath disappear and all that is left is ‘the beautiful’. Disembodied beauty becomes the sole object of the mind. The mind is now taking the mind as its own object. You are now not aware at all of breath, body, thought, sound or the world outside. All that you are aware of is beauty, peace, bliss, light or whatever your perception will later call it. You are experiencing only beauty, with nothing being beautiful, continuously, effortlessly. You have long ago let go of chatter, let go of descriptions and assessments. Here, the mind is so still that you cannot say anything.
此時你任由呼吸消失，所剩下來的只是一種「美妙」，這種沒有主體的美妙便成為心的唯一對象。心此時正在抓著它自己的對象，你完全覺知不到呼吸、身體、思想、聲音，或外面的世界，你所覺知到的只是美妙、平靜、妙樂、光，或你的想蘊其後認為那應是甚麼的東西。你正在經驗著純粹的美妙，但沒有東西作為美妙的主體，這樣毫不費力地持續著。你在很久之前已放下了嘮叨，放下了描述和評估，此時，心是那麼的靜止，你根本不能說些甚麼話。
You are just experiencing the first flowering of bliss in the mind. That bliss will develop, grow, become very firm and strong. Thus you enter into those states of meditation called Jhana. But that is for Part 3 of this booklet!
你正是在經驗著妙樂首次在心內成熟開花。這種妙樂會發展、生長，變得很穩固和強大。這樣你便進入那些被稱為「禪那」的禪定狀態，而這將會是這本小著作下一部曲的內容。
PART 3
第三部
‘Do absolutely nothing and see how smooth and beautiful and timeless the breath can appear’
絕不要有任何做作，只是看看呼吸可以是如何平穩、美妙和恆久。
Parts 1 and 2 describe the first four stages (as they are called here) of meditation
These are:
·Sustained attention on the present moment;
·Silent awareness of the present moment;
·Silent present moment awareness of the breath; and
·Full sustained attention on the breath.
本書的第一和第二部份描述 [我所界定的] 禪修之四個階段，即是： ‧當下的覺知 ‧當下的默然覺知 ‧當下呼吸的默然覺知 ‧完全持續地注意著呼吸
Each of these stages needs to be well developed before going in to the next stage. When one rushes through these’ stages of letting go’ then the higher stages will be unreachable. It is like constructing a tall building with inadequate foundations. The first storey is built quickly and so is the second and third storey. When the fourth storey is added, though, the structure begins to wobble a bit. Then when they try to add a fifth storey it all comes tumbling down. So please take a lot of time on these four initial stages, making them all firm and stable, before proceeding on to the fifth stage. You should be able to maintain the fourth stage, ‘full sustained attention on the breath’, aware of every moment of the breath without a single break, for two or three hundred breaths in succession with ease. I am not saying to count the breaths during this stage, but I am giving an indication of the sort of time interval that one should remain with stage four before proceeding further. In meditation, patience is the fastest way!
要先好好地發展出這幾個階段，然後才進入下一個。若急著要通過這些「放下的階段」，那麼便不可能推進至較高的階層。這就好像在不適當的地基上建高樓一樣，第一層樓匆匆建成，第二層、第三層也一樣。然而，當建完第四層樓時，大樓結構開始有點搖晃，當再繼續建造第五層時，大樓便倒塌了。所以，請花多點時間在這四個起始階段上，使之扎實穩固，然後才進展至第五階段。你須能毫不費力地維持第四階段「完全持續地注意著呼吸」連續二、三百個呼吸，覺知到呼吸過程的每一個剎那，沒有間斷。我不是說要在這階段中數息，我只是在說明在向前推進之前，須留在第四階段多久。在禪修中，忍耐才是最快的方法！
The fifth stage is called full sustained attention on the beautiful breath. Often, this stage flows on naturally, seamlessly, from the previous stage. As one’s full attention rests easily and continuously on the experience of breath, with nothing interrupting the even flow of awareness, the breath calms down. It changes from a coarse, ordinary breath, to a very smooth and peaceful ‘beautiful breath’. The mind recognizes this beautiful breath and delights in it. The mind experiences a deepening of contentment. It is happy just to be there watching this beautiful breath. The mind does not need to be forced. It stays with the beautiful breath by itself. ‘You’ don’t do anything. If you try and do something at this stage, you disturb the’ whole process, the beauty is lost and, like landing on a snake’s head in the game of snakes and ladders, you go back many squares. The ‘doer’ has to disappear from this stage of the meditation on, with just the’ knower’ passively observing.
第五階段名為「完全持續地注意著美妙的呼吸」。這階段往往都是從前一階段自然地一直推進過來，當中沒有停頓或間隔。當你全部注意力能輕易持續地安住于呼吸的體驗上，沒東西打斷那平穩地一路去的覺知，呼吸便會平息下來，從一種粗重的普通呼吸轉變成一種很順暢平靜的「美妙呼吸」。心認知到這種美妙呼吸並生起愉快的感覺，它經驗到一種深層的滿足，僅是在那兒看著這種美妙呼吸便感到暢快。你不用強迫，它會自然地跟著美妙的呼吸。「你」甚麼也不做，若你在此階段嘗試有所做作，便會擾亂整個過程，美妙便會消失，這就有如玩蛇梯棋般，棋子落到蛇頭的一格，便要回落多格。從這階段開始，「作者」要消失掉，只有「知者」在被動地觀察著。
A helpful trick to achieve this stage is to break the inner silence just once and gently think to yourself ‘calm’. That’s all. At this stage of the meditation, the mind is usually so sensitive that just a little nudge like _ this causes the mind to follow the instruction obediently. The breath calms down and the beautiful breath emerges.
有個巧妙方法可令你進入此階段，你打破內部靜默，只需一次，在心內輕輕的對自己說：「定！」這便是了。禪修至此階段，心通常都十分靈敏，只如此地輕輕一推，心便會貼貼服服地依隨指示做。呼吸沉定下來，美妙呼吸呈現眼前。
When you are passively observing just the beautiful breath in the moment, the perceptions of ‘in’ (breath) or ‘out’ (breath), or beginning or middle or end of a breath, should all be allowed to disappear. All that is known is this experience of the beautiful breath happening now. The mind is not concerned with what part of the breath cycle this is in, nor on what part of the body this is occurring. Here we are simplifying the object of meditation, the experience of breath in the moment, stripping away all unnecessary details, moving beyond the duality of ‘in’ and ‘out’, and just being aware of a beautiful breath which appears smooth and continuous, hardly changing at all.
當你只是被動地觀察著當下的美妙呼吸時，「入」和「出」，或開始、中間、結尾等的觀感都應消失，所有知道的只是于此時美妙呼吸的體驗，心沒興趣知道這是在呼吸過程中的哪個部份，或這是發生在身體的哪個部份。在此我們把當下呼吸的體驗此禪修對象簡單化，除掉所有不必要的細節，躍出至「入」和「出」等的二元對立以外，只是覺知著其時很平穩連續的美妙呼吸，幾近乎完全不變。
Do absolutely nothing and see how smooth and beautiful and timeless the breath can appear. See how calm you can allow it to be. Take time to savour the sweetness of the beautiful breath, ever calmer, ever sweeter.
絕不要有任何做作，只是看看呼吸可以是如何平穩、美妙和恆久。看看你能讓它定至甚麼程度。慢慢體味美妙呼吸的甜美，不斷變得更沉定，不斷變得更甜美。
Now the breath will disappear, not when ‘you’ want it to, but when there is enough calm, leaving only ‘the beautiful’. A simile from English literature might help. In Lewis Carroll’s ’Alice in Wonderland “ Alice and the Red Queen saw a vision of a smiling Cheshire cat appear in the sky. As they watched, first the cat’s tail disappeared, then its paws followed by the rest of its legs. Soon the Cheshire cat’s torso completely vanished leaving only the cat’s head, still with a smile. Then the head started to fade into nothing, from the ears and whiskers inwards, and soon the smiling cat’s head had completely disappeared–except for the smile which still remained in the sky! This was a smile without any lips to do the smiling, but a visible smile nevertheless. This is an accurate analogy for the process of letting go happening at this point in meditation. The cat with a smile on her face stands for the beautiful breath. The cat disappearing represents the breath disappearing and the disembodied smile still visible in the sky stands for the pure mental object ‘beauty’ clearly visible in the mind.
此時呼吸會消失，但不是由于「你」要它消失，而是由于有足夠的定，其時只剩下那「美妙」。這可從英國文學中取個比喻來說明，在路易斯‧卡洛爾的《愛麗斯夢游仙境》中，有一只來自柴郡的貓咪，愛麗斯和紅王後都看到它出現在空中的微笑景象，但隨即看到它的尾巴首先消失掉，然後到其爪消失，跟著四條腿消失。很快地，柴郡貓的身軀完全消失掉，只剩下個仍在微笑的貓頭。接著，貓頭由貓耳和貓須開始漸漸隱沒，很快微笑的貓樣也整個消失了，只剩下微笑仍留在天空中！這是比喻沒有口笑的微笑，但卻還是一種可見的微笑。這個譬喻表達禪修在此階段時所發生的放下過程表達得很貼切，帶著一張笑臉的貓兒代表美妙的呼吸，貓兒的消失代表呼吸的消失，而脫離了軀體但仍可在空中看到的微笑，則代表在心中清楚看到的純心識對象「美妙」。
This pure mental object is called a nimitta. ‘Nimitta’ means ‘a sign’, here a mental sign. This is a real object in the landscape of the mind (citta) and when it appears for the first time it is extremely strange. One simply has not experienced anything like it before. Nevertheless, the mental activity called ‘perception’ searches through its memory bank of life experiences for something even a little bit similar in order to supply a description to the mind. For most meditators, this ‘disembodied beauty’, this mental joy, is perceived as a beautiful light. It is not a light. The eyes are closed and the sight consciousness has long been turned off. It is the mind consciousness freed for the first time from the world of the five senses. It is like the full moon, here standing for the radiant mind, coming out from behind the clouds, here standing for the world of the five senses. It is the mind manifesting, not alight, but for most it appears like a light, it is perceived as a light, because this imperfect description is the best that perception can offer.
這種純心識對象名為「禪相」(nimitta)。「禪相」指「一種標志」，在此是指一種心識標志。這是在心識內的景致【心識概貌】中一個真實對象，當它第一次出現時，會給人一種極之奇特的感覺，覺得完全從未有過如此的體驗。雖然是這樣，那個叫「想蘊」的心識活動為要向心提供一種對此對象的描述，會從其儲存生活經歷的記憶庫中搜尋相同的以至即使只是有點相似的記錄。在大部份人的感覺中，這種「脫離軀體的美妙」、這種心識的喜悅，是一種美麗的光。其實那不是一種光，眼睛是閉上的，眼識也早已關閉，這是第六識意識第一次從五感官世界中解放出來，這就有如滿月從云層背後走出來一樣，在此處滿月代表光芒四射的心，云層代表五感官世界。這是心的展現，並非是光，但對大部份人來說它看似是光，大部份人都把它看作是光，因為這種不實的描述是想蘊所能提供的最好描述。
For other meditators, perception chooses to describe this first appearance of mind in terms of physical sensation, such as intense tranquility or ecstasy. Again, the body consciousness (that which experiences pleasure and pain, heat and cold and so on) has long since closed down and this is not a physical feeling. It is just ‘perceived’ as similar to pleasure. Some see a white light, some a gold star, some a blue pearl… the important fact to know is that they are all describing the same phenomena. They all experience the same pure mental object and these different details are added by their different perceptions.
其他禪修者的想蘊則選擇以肉體感受來描述心的這種首次顯露，例如極深的平靜或強烈的狂喜。同樣地，[經驗樂與痛、冷與熱等等的] 身識早已關閉，所以這並不是一種肉體感覺，只是被「想」成似是一種悅樂而已。一些人看到白光，一些看到金色的星，一些看到藍寶珠……要知道清楚的是，他們全都是在描述相同的現象、全都是在經驗著相同的純心識對象，只是他們有不同的觀感，所以才加上這些不同的描述細節。
You can recognize a nimitta by the following six features:
你可以以下六種特點來斷定那是否禪相：
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It appears only after the fifth stage of the meditation, after the meditator has been with the beautiful breath for a long time;
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It appears when the breath disappears;
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It only comes when the external five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch are completely absent;
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It manifests only in the silent mind, when descriptive thoughts (inner speech) are totally absent;
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It is strange but powerfully attractive; and
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It is a beautifully simple object.
一、它只出現于第五個禪定階段之後，即在禪修者觀著美妙呼吸已有一段長時間之後； 二、它出現于呼吸消失時； 三、它只出現于色、聲、香、味、觸等的外五境完全隱卻之時； 四、它只在靜默的心中展現，其時描述性的思維運作 (內部講話) 完全停止； 五、它很奇特但極之吸引； 六、它是個簡單得美妙的對象。
I mention these features so that you may distinguish real nimittas from imaginary ones.
我提及這些特點，可讓你可分辨到甚麼是真禪相、甚麼是幻想出來的禪相。
The sixth stage, then, is called experiencing the beautiful nimitta. It is achieved when one lets go of the body, thought, and the five senses (including the awareness of the breath) so completely that only the beautiful nimitta remains.
因此，第六階段便名為「體驗美妙禪相」。當我們把身體、思想和五感官 (包括對呼吸的覺知) 都完全放下，只剩下美妙的禪相時，這便可成就。
Sometimes when the nimitta first arises it may appear’ dull’. In this case, one should immediately go back to the previous stage of the meditation, continuous silent awareness of the beautiful breath. One has moved to the nimitta too soon. Sometimes the nimitta is bright but unstable, flashing on and off like a lighthouse beacon and then disappearing. This too shows that you have left he beautiful breath too early. One must be able to sustain one’s attention on the beautiful breath with ease for a long, long time before the mind is capable of maintaining clear attention on the far more subtle nimitta. So train the mind on the beautiful breath, train it patiently and diligently, then when it is time to go on to the nimitta, it is bright, stable and easy to sustain.
有些時候，當禪相首次生起，可能會很「暗淡」，在此情況下，你應立刻返回前一個階段，即對美妙呼吸的持續默然覺知階段，你轉去禪相轉得太快了。又有些時候，禪相很明亮但不穩定，如燈塔的燈光般亮下熄下，然後更消失掉。同樣，這顯示出你是太早離開了美妙的呼吸。禪相遠比呼吸微細很多，你必須能輕易地將注意力保持在美妙的呼吸上一段很長的時間，然後心才能把清晰的注意力保持在禪相上。所以，先在美妙的呼吸上好好地把心修練好，耐心勤奮地修練，然後，當是時候轉移至禪相上時，禪相便會明亮、穩定和容易保持。
The main reason why the nimitta can appear dull is that the depth of contentment is too shallow. You are still ‘wanting’ something. Usually, you are wanting the bright nimitta or you are wanting Jhana. Remember, and this is important, Jhanas are states of letting go, incredibly deep states of contentment. So give away the hungry m, ind, develop contentment on the beautiful breath and the nimitta and Jhana will happen by themselves.
禪相暗淡的主要原因，是你的滿足程度太淺的緣故，你仍然「想要」些甚麼。通常的情況是，你想要有明亮的禪相，或你想要禪那。記住，這是很重要的，禪那是放下的狀態、是十分深層的滿足狀態。因此，送走那飢餓的心，于美妙呼吸上發展出滿足吧，然後禪相和禪那便會自然出現。
Put another way, the reason why the nimitta is unstable is because the’ doer’ just will not stop interfering. The’ doer’ is the controller, the back seat driver, always getting involved where it does not belong and messing everything up. This meditation is a natural process of coming to rest and it requires ‘you’ to get out of the way completely. Deep meditation only occurs when you really let go, and this means REALLY LET GO to the point that the process becomes inaccessible to the’ doer’.
禪相不穩定的主要原因，是因為「作者」就是不斷在干預著。「作者」便是那個操控者，那個指指點點的後座司機，總想介入不屬于他的事情，並把所有事情都弄到一團糟。此初階禪法乃是一種靜止下來的自然過程，它需要「你」完全走開讓路，當你能真真正正放下時，深層禪定才會出現，這意思是說，要真真正正放下，以至在過程當中「作者」全不能介入。
A skilful means to achieve such profound letting go is to deliberately offer the gift of confidence to the nimitta. Interrupt the silence just for a moment, so so gently, and whisper as it were inside your mind that you give complete trust to the nimitta, so that the’ doer’ can relinquish all control and just disappear. The mind, represented here by the nimitta before you, will then take over the process as you watch it all happen.
有一種可達成此種深厚放下態度的巧妙方法，那便是刻意地給予禪相信任。你極之輕柔地打斷靜默一下，只一下，把它當作在你心內般向它輕輕低語，說你把十足的信任交給禪相，以便「作者」可放棄所有操控，就此消失掉。心在此處等于出現在你面前的禪相，在你看著這一切時，它便會接管整個過程。
You do not need to do anything here because the intense beauty of the nimitta is more than capable of holding the attention without your assistance. Be careful, here, not to go assessing. Questions such as ‘What is this?’, ‘Is this Jhana?’, ‘What should I do next?’ , and so on are all the work of ‘the doer’ trying to get involved again. This is disturbing the process. You may assess everything once the journey is over. A good scientist only assesses the experiment at the end, when all the data are in. So now, do not assess or try to work it all out. There is no need to pay attention to the edge of the nimitta ‘Is it round or oval?’, ‘Is the edge clear or fuzzy?’. This is all unnecessary and just leads to more diversity, more duality of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’, and more disturbance.
你此時甚麼事都不需做，因為禪相的美妙程度，強烈得已超過把你的注意力吸住所需的力度，根本不用你幫助。此時要小心，不要去做判斷。「這是甚麼？」「這是禪那嗎？」「我接著應怎樣做？」諸如此類的疑問，都是「作者」想再次介入的傑作，是在過程中的騷擾。你可在旅程完畢後才為每一樣東西作判斷。一個出色的科學家只會在實驗完畢後，當所有資料都具備時，才作判斷。因此，現在不要作判斷或嘗試辨清所有東西，不需要理會禪相的邊緣，「它是圓還是橢圓的呢？」、「邊緣清晰或是模糊？」所有這些都是不需要的，只會引致更多的雜亂、更多的「內」和「外」等的二元分化、更多的打擾。
Let the mind incline where it wants, which is usually to the centre of the nimitta. The centre is where the most beautiful part lies, where the light is most brilliant and pure. Let go and just enjoy the ride as the attention gets drawn into the centre and falls right inside, or as the light expands all around enveloping you totally. This is, in fact, one and the same experience perceived from different perspectives. Let the mind merge in the bliss. Let the seventh stage of this path of meditation, First Jhana, occur.
讓心趣向于它想要之處，那通常是禪相的中心，中心是最美麗的部份，那里的光是最明亮最純淨的。當注意力被吸引至中心去，並掉進里面，或當光向所有方向擴展，把你完全包著時，你應放手並只是享受當乘客的樂趣。事實上，這都是同一個體驗，只是有著不同角度的觀感。讓心融入妙樂中，讓此禪定之路的第七階段——初禪——出現。
There are two common obstacles at the door into Jhana: exhilaration and fear. Exhilaration is becoming excited. If, at this point, the mind thinks, ‘Wow, this is it!’ then the Jhana is most unlikely to happen. This’ Wow’ response needs to be subdued in favour of absolute passivity. You can leave all the ‘Wows’ until after emerging from the Jhana, where they properly belong. The more likely obstacle, though, is fear. Fear arises at the recognition of the sheer power and bliss of the Jhana, or else at the recognition that to go fully inside the Jhana, something must be left behind-You! The’ doer’ is silent before entering Jhana but it is still there. Inside Jhana, the ‘doer’ is completely gone. The ‘knower’ is still functioning, you are fully aware, but all the controls are now beyond reach. You cannot even form a single thought, let alone make a decision. The will is frozen, and this can appear scary to the beginner. Never before in your whole life have you ever experienced being so stripped of all control yet so fully awake. The fear is the fear of surrendering something so essentially personal as the will to do.
在踏進禪那之門之前有兩種常見的障礙：興奮和恐懼。興奮是變得振奮緊張，假如此時心在想：「嘩，這就是啦！」那樣，這便變成為禪那最不可能出現的時刻。為要配合絕對被動的要求，這種「嘩」的反應須被壓止，你可在從禪那出來後才「嘩」，那才是你「嘩」的時候。然而，較有可能出現的障礙還是恐懼，恐懼生起于心認知到禪那的驚人力量和妙樂，或認知到要完全進入禪那，某樣東西便必須要丟下——「你」！在入禪那之前，「作者」是靜默的，但仍在那兒；在處于禪那中時，「作者」則完全消失掉，「知者」仍起作用，你完全有覺知，但所有操控此時都遙不可及，你甚至不能使一個思念形成，更莫說要下一個決定。意志已被凍結，這會令初手生起恐懼。在你一生中，你從未經驗過這般厲害地被解除掉所有的操控能力，卻仍完全清醒。這種恐懼便是由于害怕要交出如做事的意志般本質上甚個人的東西而生起的恐懼。
This fear can be overcome through confidence in the Buddha’s Teachings together with the enticing bliss just ahead that one can see as the reward. The Lord Buddha often said that this bliss of Jhana’ should not be feared but should be followed, developed and practised often’(Latukikopama Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya). So before fear arises, offer your full confidence to that bliss and maintain faith in the Lord Buddha’s Teachings and the example of the Noble Disciples. Trust the Dhamma and let the Jhana warmly embrace you for an effortless, body-less and ego-less, blissful experience that will be the most profound of your life. Have the courage to fully relinquish control for a while and experience all this for yourself.
這種恐懼可藉著對佛陀的教導的信心，和相信將會出現並可看作是回報的那種難以抗拒的妙樂兩者一起來克服。佛陀經常說，對這種禪那妙樂「不應害怕，反而應該經常仿效、發展，和修習之」《中部‧(66) 鶉喻經》(MN 66, LaÊukikopama Sutta)。因此，在恐懼生起之前，要對那種妙樂充滿十足的信心，並保持對佛陀的教導和對聖弟子榜樣的信念。為了一嘗那種全不費力、超脫身體、我執消失和充滿妙樂的體驗，請信賴法，讓禪那熱烈地擁抱你吧，那將會是你生命中最深湛的體驗。拿出勇氣來徹底拋棄操控一會，並親自去體驗吧。
If it is a Jhana it will last a long time. It does not deserve to be called Jhana if it lasts only a few minutes. Usually, the higher Jhanas persist for many hours. Once inside, there is no choice. You will emerge trom the Jhana only when the mind is ready to come out, when the ‘fuel’ of relinquishment that was built up before is all used up. These are such still and satisfying states of consciousness that their very nature is to persist for a very long time. Another feature of Jhana is that it occurs only after the nimitta is discerned as described above. Furthermore, you should know that while in any Jhana it is impossible to experience the body (e.g. physical pain), hear a sound from outside or produce any thought, not even’ good’ thoughts. There is just a clear singleness of perception, an experience of non-dualistic bliss which continues unchanging for a very long time. This is not a trance, but a state of heightened awareness. This is said so that you may know for yourself whether what you take to be a Jhana is real or imaginary.
如果是禪那，便會持續一段長時間，若只持續數分鍾，便不配被稱為禪那了。通常，較高層的禪那會維持很多小時。一旦進入了禪那，便沒有選擇的余地，只有當心一切就緒可隨時離開，即當所有你在之前積聚起的拋棄力量之「燃料」都耗盡時，你才會從禪那退出來。這都是些十分靜止和滿足的心識狀態，其性質就是要持續一段很長的時間。禪那的另一種特性是只會于當禪相如前所述般被清楚觀注之後才出現。此外，你還要明白，當處于任何層次的禪那中，是不可能經驗到身體的感覺的 (如肉體疼痛)，不可能聽到外面的聲音，或產生任何思想，即使是「善」念也不可能出現，只有清明而單一的感知，一種持久不變的非二元妙樂的體驗，這不是一種恍惚的出神狀態，而是一種提升了的覺知狀態。在此說出這些，都是為了讓你懂得自己分辨出你所認為的禪那到底是真的還是想像出來的。
There is much more to meditation, but here only the basic method has been described using seven stages culminating with the First Jhana. Much more could be said about the ‘Five Hindrances’ and how they are overcome, about the meaning of mindfulness and how it is used, about the Four Satipatthana and the Four Roads to Success (Iddhipiida) and the Five Controlling Faculties (Indriya) and, of course, about the higher Jhanas. All these concern this practice of meditation but must be left for another occasion.
還有很多禪修的話題，這里只是說出這種分七個階段最高達至初禪的基本方法，還有很多可以說，如五蓋及其克服方法、念住的意思和運用方法、四念處和四神足乃至五根，當然還有更高層次的禪那，所有這些都跟這種初階禪修方法有關，只有留待以後有機會時再說。
For those who are misled to conceive of all this as ‘just Samatha practice’ without regard to Insight (Vipassana), please know that this is neither Vipassana nor Samatha. It is called’ Bhavana “ the method taught by the Lord Buddha and repeated in the Forest Tradition of NE Thailand of which my teacher, Ven. Ajahn Chah, was a part. Ajahn Chah often said that Samatha and Vipassana cannot be separated, nor can the pair be developed apart from Right View, Right Thought, Right Moral Conduct and so forth. Indeed, to make progress on the above seven stages, the meditator needs an understanding and acceptance of the Lord Buddha’s Teachings and one’s precepts must be pure. Insight will be needed to achieve each of these stages, that is insight into the meaning of’ letting go’. The further one develops these stages, the more profound will be the insight, and if you reach as far as Jhana then it will change your whole understanding. As it were, Insight dances around Jhana and Jhana dances around Insight. This is the Path to Nibbana, the Lord Buddha said, ‘for one who indulges in Jhana, four results are to be expected: Stream-Winner, Once-Returner, NonReturner or Arahant’ (Pasadika Sutta, Digha Nikaya).
那些被誤導以為所有這些都是「純定禪法」而沒有內觀 (毗婆奢那) 的人，我想請他們明白，這並非毗婆奢那亦非奢摩他，這叫做「巴瓦拿」(BhŒvanŒ)，乃是佛陀所教導的方法，並在泰國東北部的森林傳統里延續著，而我的老師阿姜查尊者就是其中的一員。阿姜查經常說，奢摩他 (止) 與毗婆奢那 (觀) 是不能分割的，兩者也不可離開正見、正思惟、正確道德行為等等而獨立發展。真的，要于上述七個階段上有所進步，禪修者必須明白並接受佛陀的教導，而且戒行亦必須清淨。要成就以上的每一個階段，智慧是必須的，那就是領悟「放下」的意思的智慧。這些階段發展得愈深入，智慧便會愈深睿，還有，若你達至禪那，你整個見解亦會有所改變。可以說，禪那與智慧兩者互相輝映、相輔相成。這便是通往涅槃之道，因為佛陀說過：「一個常住于禪那的人，有四種可想像得到的結果：入流果、一來果、不還果，或阿羅漢果」《長部‧(29) 宜人經》(DN 29, PŒsŒdika Sutta)。
MAY ALL BEINGS GET JHANA
The Buddhist Society of WA and Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre in Perth
The Buddhist Society of Western Australia has been established to encourage the teaching, practice and realisation of the Dhamma (the Buddhist word for ‘Truth’) with special emphasis on Theravada Buddhism. To fulfil this aim, the Society has established Bodhinyana Monastery in Serpentine, 60 km south of Perth, and Dhammasara Nuns’ Monastery in Gidgegannup, 35 km north east of Perth. The Society actively supports the monastic communities living there.
The complex which we call Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre at Nollamara consists of a large Dhamma Hall used for talks on Buddhism, instruction in meditation and for major Buddhist Ceremonies; adjoining meditation and shrine rooms; and a Community Hall for Buddhist cultural activities. A multipurpose building provides accommodation for monks, offices for the administration of the Buddhist Society, a library containing many books for loan and sale as well as audio cassettes and CD recordings of many talks given by monks and nuns, and a reception area and kitchen where visitors can sit down to a cup of tea and friendly chat. The whole complex of buildings is set in beautiful grounds on a very quiet street opposite a park, just 5 km north of the centre of Perth.
Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre aims to serve the whole Buddhist community and others, regardless of age, gender or country of origin.
作者簡介
梵種尊者 (Venerable Brahmavamso，百拉馬王索尊者，一般被單音節化簡稱為阿姜班 Ajahn Brahm)，俗名Peter Betts，于一九五一年生于倫敦。他還在讀書時有一次在倫敦一間書店內瀏覽，由此而開始接觸佛教。他其後進入劍橋大學修讀理論物理，並于其時加入當地的佛學會成為會員，也開始修習禪定。他取得一級榮譽畢業後，在德文郡一所中學教導物理學，其間他在倫敦遇到一些泰國僧人，很受到激勵，于是在當了一年教師後，便毅然跑到泰國去加入僧團生活。他二十三歲時在撒克寺 (Wat Sraket ) 于Tan Chao Khun Prom Gunaphorn比丘座下受比丘戒。
梵種尊者從一九七五年開始追隨阿姜查學習，也成為國際森林寺院 (Wat Pah Nanachat) 的第一批常住之一員。一九八三年，他來到扎咖洛尊者 (Jagaro，阿姜查弟子，意大利裔，曾任國際森林寺院住持) 在西澳大利亞帕斯新建立的菩提智寺 (Bodhinyana Monastery - 「菩提智」乃阿姜查的巴利文僧名)，一直留至現在。他曾積極參與該寺的主要建築計劃，也向自小童至癌症病人乃至監獄囚犯等不同類別的大眾教導佛法。
梵種尊者對戒律的廣博學識，在西方比丘社群中享負盛名，他早在早期的出家歲月中已被請求編寫一部英文的戒律指導書籍。他在這方面的成果目前正為在英國、瑞士、澳洲和紐西蘭寺院的西方僧人提供戒律訓練的基礎。此外尊者的講座尤以幽默及振奮人心而見稱，經常被邀請在澳洲內和東南亞地區作講座。
梵種尊者于是便接手他的工作，並接任成為菩提智寺的住持，也成為西澳大利亞佛教協會的精神主事。自那時開始，他便在這所瑟彭泰恩 (Serpentine) 寺里勤奮地教導白衣修士眾和沙彌眾，以及指導比丘眾，周末則在法界佛法中心 (Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre) 教導在家眾佛典與禪修，也不時開辦講座，並提供有需要人士心靈輔導服務。
Addresses:
The Buddhist Society of WA
Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre, 18-20 Nanson Way Nollamara WA6061, AUSTRALIA
Phone: (61-8)93451711 Fax: (61-8)93444220
Website: www.dhammaloka.org.au Email address:info@dhammaloka.org.au
Bodhinyana Buddhist Monastery 216 Kingsbury Drive
Serpentine WA6125 AUSTRALIA
Phone: (61-8) 9525 2420
Fax: (61-8) 95253420
Dhammasara Nuns’ Monastery 287 Reen Road
Gidgegannup WA 6083 AUSTRALIA
Phone/Fax: (61-8)95746583
May the merits generated be to the well-being and happiness of the donors, departed ones and all sentient beings.
May all beings be liberated from suffering.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!