自囚牢中解放即是自由 Freedom is Salvation from Prison

[自囚牢中解放即是自由]

Freedom is Salvation from Prison

所有宗教最終的目標不外乎得救、解脫，想想各宗教常使用的「得救」、「解脫」等詞，或在其他語言中可恰當表達此涵意的字眼，其實這些字眼都具有相同的意義，那就是──得到救度。所有宗教都在教導如何得救，然而到底要超越什麼才能得救呢？要超越心靈的囚牢才能得救。

You must recall the words “salvation” or “liberation” that are used in all religions. The final goal of all religions is salvation, or emancipation, or whatever word is most suitable in each language. But all these words have the same meaning – getting saved. All religions teach salvation. Yet, from what are we saved?

大家隨時隨地乃至此時此刻，都需求的一件事，就是所謂的「自由」，簡單地說就是脫離囚牢，不論是實體的、物質的，或心靈的、精神的囚牢。因而不論在什麼情況下，我們都需要自由。

We are saved from spiritual prison. The thing that all of you want and need even right at this moment is the thing called “freedom” or “liberty,” which is, simply, escape from prison. Whether a physical, material prison or a mental, spiritual prison, the meaning is the same. In all cases, we want freedom.

缺乏智慧的人只看得到物體的或一般的囚牢，並對它產生畏懼，但那些具有智慧的人，就可以更深入地看出精神囚牢有多麼恐怖和危險。

Those who lack wisdom can see and fear only the physical, material prisons. But those who have the wisdom (pa耨a) to look more deeply will see how much more terrifying and dangerous the spiritual prison is.

事實上，難得會有人被關入一般牢獄，而世人卻都被心靈的囹圄所系縛。舉例來說，現在各位坐在這里聽講，雖然是置身于一般的囚獄外，但卻都被禁錮在心靈的囚牢中，也正因為這種被禁錮的苦迫與壓力，驅使我們學習佛法和修習禪定。至于你是否已察覺到上述情況，這並不重要，因為無論如何，它都會迫使我們從掙扎中挖掘出一條逃脫心靈囚牢的路來。不管你是否知覺心靈受到系縛，它都迫使我們不斷去尋求心靈的解脫。正因為如此，大家才會來這里或到其他地方學習佛法。

Really, we can see that hardly anybody is locked up in the ordinary jails, while everyone in the world is caught in the spiritual prison. For instance, every one of you sitting here is free of the ordinary prison, but you all are incarcerated in the spiritual prison. That which drives us to be interested in Dhamma, to come to study Dhamma, to practice mental development, is the oppression and force of being caught in this spiritual prison. Whether you feel it or not isn’t important. It forces us, no matter what, to struggle and search for a way out of spiritual imprisonment. Nonetheless, it’s forcing all of you, whether you realize it or not, to find spiritual freedom. So you come looking here and other such places.

雖然禁錮我們的就只是「執著」，但它卻以各種不同的形式展現，共有好幾十種形形色色的囚牢。如果我們去研究各類型的囚牢，就會更了解這現象，更了解執著，同時也會更加明白佛法所說：苦的根源是「愛欲( tanha )」與「煩惱」( kilesa )。 如果能夠清楚而且徹底地了解「囚牢」，就能夠了解「苦」是怎麼一回事了。

Although that which imprisons us is only one thing, namely, upadana all by itself, this prison takes on many different forms. There are dozens of styles and kinds of prison. If we take the time to study every type of prison, it will help us to understand this phenomenon much better. Then we will understand upadana better, and we also will better understand tanha (craving) and kilesa (defilements of mind) which, according to the Buddhist teaching, cause dukkha. We will understand the issue of dukkha if we understand the issue of prison clearly and thoroughly.