六根是囚牢 The Senses Are Prison

[六根是囚牢]

The Senses Are Prison

接下來， 要談一個最有趣、最貼近我們的囚牢， 那就是人人都有的六入( ayatana)或六根──眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意，它們也是囚牢。讓我們細細觀察，專心聆聽，以了解眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意六根如何變成囚牢。

Next, we come to the most amusing prison, the prison that’s closest to us. There are these eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind: the six ayatana, the six sense media or bases. They are prisons, too. Take a slow, careful look at them. Listen carefully in order to understand how our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind – all six of them – become prisons.

巴利文稱六根為 ayatana 。 原義是指和外界相接觸、溝通的工具或管道等等，如果大家願意的話，可以直接用巴利文 ayatana 這個字。這六根全都是囚牢。

In Pali we call them the ayatana. The root of this word literally means “tools or means for communicating with the external world” – places, mechanisms, means, or whatever, for contacting or communicating with the external world. We call them “ayatana.” If you’re willing, use this Pali word “ayatana.” We aren’t sure what to call them in English, maybe “sense media” or “connectors.” All six ayatana are prisons.

透過六根，我們得以和外界溝通、接觸，產生感受、經驗等，導致我們對自身生命產生執取。當執著于六根時，我們便得侍候它們，成為它們的奴隸。為了滿足眼睛，我們得侍候眼睛；為了滿足耳朵，我們得侍候耳朵；為了滿足鼻子，我們得侍候鼻子；為了滿足舌頭，我們得侍候舌頭；為了令皮膚及周身感到舒適，我們就得侍候身體；為了讓內心感到平順、舒暢，我們就得隨順心意。我們的所作所為正都為了取悅六根，因而屈服于它們，淪為它們的奴隸。然後，它們便壓榨、控制我們，令我們無法逃脫，這就叫作「陷入六根的囚牢」。

We have upadana towards life, regarding ourselves, which has these six media for sensing, for experiencing, for communicating, or for tasting and receiving sense objects. When there’s upadana regarding these six ayatana, we serve them and become their slaves. We serve the eyes to gratify the eyes. We serve the ears to gratify the ears. We serve the nose to satisfy the nose. We serve the tongue to satiate the tongue. We serve the skin and general body sense to make it comfortable. We serve the mind, the mental sense, in order to soothe and comfort it. This means that all our behavior is just for entertaining these ayatana. Everything we do is for the sake of these six ayatana. We surrender to them and become their slaves. Then, they squeeze and control us, there’s no avoiding them. We call this “getting caught in the prison of the ayatana.”

想想看，你們有誰不正像奴隸般地服侍六根？而且，還很樂意地去服侍它們，不是嗎？為了使眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意感到舒適和快樂，總是忍受一切艱苦，並竭盡心力地服侍它們。因此，我們必須承認自己正是奴隸。缺乏智慧的人必然是六根的奴隸，被禁錮在六根的囚牢里，只要能正確圓滿地修習出入息念，就可以逃出這囚牢；如果未能正確圓滿地修習出入息念，我們將被拘留在囚牢中，而且沒有人知道會被關到何時。

Consider whether there is anyone, whether there are any of you, who is not slavishly serving these six ayatana. And you serve them willingly, don’t you? You endure hardships and bend over backwards in order to serve them, always looking for ways to make the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind comfortable and happy, in the most bound up way. So we must admit that we are slaves. Those people who lack wisdom will certainly be slaves of the ayatana, will keep getting caught in the prison of ayatana. Through the correct and successful practice of mindfulness with breathing, we can escape from the prison. If we practice anapanasati incorrectly and incompletely, we will remain caught in the ayatana prison for who knows how long.