學習教導 Learning to Tech
Learning to Tech
學習教導
Makkha Puja is an important Buddhist holiday celebrating the coming together of 1,250 enlightened disciples in the Buddha’s presence. At this meeting, he told them to “wander forth” spreading the Dharma “for the good, the benefit, and the awakening” of beings everywhere.
Makkha Puja是個重要的佛教節日，慶祝一千兩百五十位悟道的弟子在佛陀前的聚會。集會中，佛陀告訴他們去「四處云游」以弘揚佛法──為了一切眾生的「好處、利益和覺悟」。
To celebrate this holiday, Achaan Chah and his many hundred monks sit up all night in meditation with the village lay supporters. In a typical year the great hall is filled with perhaps a thousand villagers. They sit for an hour, then Achaan Chah or one of his chief disciples, who are all abbots of their own monasteries, gives an inspiring Dharma talk. Again they sit for an hour, alternating sitting and talks all night long.
為了慶祝這個節日，阿姜 查與他數百位弟子和村中的在家護法居士一同靜坐一整個晚上。在一個代表性的年度中，大殿坐滿了大約一千位村民。他們靜坐一小時，然後由阿姜 查或他的首座弟子中的一位──他們都已是僧院的住持，來給一場生動的開示。接下來，他們再靜坐一小時，整個晚上靜坐、開示輪流交替。
One of the earliest Western students of Achaan Chah was seated among the group of new monks feeling the inspiration and joy and difficulty of this night long celebration and practice. At the completion of one hour of sitting in the middle of the night, Achaan Chah announced to the villagers that they would now hear a talk in their native Lao language by the Western monk. The monk was as surprised as the viJ1agers, but having no chance to prepare or to get nervous, he sat in front of the assembly and spoke of the inspiration that had brought him to ordain and of the new understandings of the Dharma he had gleaned from practice. After this experience, he was rarely ever nervous about speaking before a group.
一位阿姜 查的西方弟子中最早期的弟子，坐于新進比丘之中，感受著這漫長的慶典及修行的啟示、喜悅及艱辛。半夜里，一小時的靜坐結束後，阿姜 查對村民們宣布，現在他們將會聽到一位西方僧侶以他們當地的語言──寮語，來給大家開示。那位僧侶跟村民們一樣驚訝，但，他連準備和緊張的機會都沒有，就坐于大眾前，將促使他出家的啟示和他從修行中得到的對「法」的新領悟說給大家聽。這次的經驗過後，他在群眾前說法就很少緊張了。
Achaan Chah later explained that Dharma teaching must flow unprepared from the heart and from inner experience. “Sit, close the eyes, and step out of the way,” he said. “Let the Dharma speak itself.”
事後，阿姜 查解釋說，法的教示，必須不經準備地從心和內在的經驗中流露出來。「坐下來，將雙眼闔上，走出障礙，」他說：「讓法自然流露。」
On another occasion, Achaan Chah asked Achaan Sumedho, his senior Western monk, to speak. Sumedho talked for a half hour. “Speak a half hour more,” said Achaan Chah. A half hour later, Achaan Chah said “Speak more still:’ Sumedho continued, becoming increasingly boring. Many of the listeners started to doze. “Surrender to speaking,” Achaan Chah cajoled. “Just do it.” After struggling on for several hours, SUI11edho had learned to bore his listeners thoroughly and was never again afraid of their judgments when he talked.
在另一次的機會中，阿姜 查叫他資深的弟子阿姜 蘇美多上去開示。蘇美多開示了半個小時，阿姜 查對他說：「再說半小時。」半個小時後，阿姜 查又說：「再繼續說下去。」于是蘇美多繼續地說下去，但他逐漸地變得乏味無趣，許多聽眾也開始打盹了。「儘管說，」阿姜 查鼓勵道：「繼續說就對了。」經過幾小時的掙扎過後，他的聽眾已十分厭倦，可是，他學會了在開示時不再對他們的評語感到驚恐。
Achaan Chah asked a monk who was leaving if he was planning to teach when he got back to the West. No, he had no particular plans to teach Dharma, he replied, although if someone asked, he would do his best to explain how to practice.
阿姜 查問一位即將離開的僧侶，他回到西方時，是否有計劃要弘法。他回答，沒有，他沒有特別的計劃要弘法，雖然如此，如果有人問，他還是會盡力說明修行的方法。
“Very good,” Achaan Chah said, “it is beneficial to speak about the Dharma to those who inquire. And when you explain it,” he went on, “why not call it Christianity. They won’t understand in the West if you say anything about Buddha.
阿姜 查說：「很好，對那些詢問者說法，對他們有很大的益處，而當你在解釋佛法時，」他繼續說道：「何不稱它作基督教?在西方，如果你談到佛陀，他們是不曾了解的。」
“I speak of God to Christians, yet I have not read their books. I find God in the heart. Do you think God is Santa Claus, who comes once a year with gifts for children? God is Dharma, the truth; the one who sees this sees all things. And yet God is nothing special-just this.
「我對基督徒談上帝，然而，我不曾讀過他們的聖經。我在心中找到上帝。你認為上帝就是一年一次帶禮物來送給小朋友的聖誕老人嗎？上帝就是「法」——真理，一位徹見這點的人，即徹見了一切。然而，上帝並沒有特殊之處──如此而已。」
“What we are really teaching is how to be free from suffering, how to be loving and wise and filled with compassion. This teaching is the Dharma, anywhere in any language. So call it Christianity. Then it will be easier for some of them to understand.”
「我們實際上在教導的是，如何解脫痛苦、如何去愛、如何有智慧和如何充滿慈悲。不論任何地方或任何語言，這種教導就是「法」。因此，稱它作基督教，如此一來，便能夠讓他們更容易明了。」
Achaan Chah had this advice for an aspiring Dharma teacher: “Don’t let them scare you. Be firm and direct. Be clear about your own shortcomings, and acknowledge your limits. Work with love and compassion, and when people are beyond your ability to help, develop equanimity. Sometimes teaching is hard work. Teachers become garbage cans for people’s frustrations and problems. The more people you teach, the bigger the garbage disposal problem. Don’t worry. Teaching is a wonderful way to practice Dharma. The Dharma can help all those who genuinely apply it in their lives. Those who teach grow in patience and understanding.”
阿姜 查對一位有志說法的法師有以下的建議：「別受他們的驚嚇，保持堅定、直接。了解自己的短處，對于自己的極限要有自知之明。從愛與慈悲著手，當你的能力無法幫助他們時，增長平等心。有時，教育是件很辛苦的工作。老師就好像人們丟棄他們的挫折和問題的垃圾桶。你救的人愈多，垃圾的處理問題就愈大。別擔心，教育他人是個修習佛法的最佳法門。佛法會幫助這些將它真正實踐在生活里的人。這些教育他人的人，增長了耐心和領悟。」
Achaan Chah encourages his students to share what they learn. “When you have learned the truth, you will be able to help others, sometimes with words but mostly through your being. As for conversing about Dharma, I am not so adept at it. Whoever wants to know me should live with me. If you stay for a long time, you will see. I myself wandered as a forest monk for many years. I did not teach-I practiced and listened to what the masters said. This is important advice: when you listen, really listen. I do not know what else ’to say.”
阿姜 查鼓勵他的弟子們把他們所學的跟他人分享。「當你體會到真理時，便能夠去幫助他人，有時候是用語言，可是，大部份都是透過你的身行。對于佛法的討論方面，我並不精通。想要認識我的人，就應該來和我相處。如果你住很長一段時間，你自會明白。身為一位森林僧的我，也云游了許多年，並沒有去弘法──只做修行和聆聽禪師們所說的。『當你在聞法的時候，確實地聆聽』這是個很重要的建議。除此之外，我不知道該說些什麼了。」
He had said enough to last us a long time.
他所說的，足以讓我們去反省一段時間了。