依靠自己 Rely on Oneself

Rely on Oneself

　　依靠自己

Sitting cross-legged on a hard stone temple floor is natural to villagers who have grown up in a culture without furniture. But to one newly arrived Western novice, gawky and inflexible, it was a hard way to begin the daily hours of meditation and chanting. Thus it was with some relief the novice discovered that by arriving early to meditation, he could sit next to the stone pillars at the front of the hall and, once. All the monks had closed their eyes to practice, he could gently lean on the pillar and meditate in Western-style comfort.

　　對成長在沒有家俱文化的村民而言，盤腿坐在寺院的硬石板土是很自然的事。但是，對一個新來的西方沙彌而言，即遲鈍又僵硬，用這種方式來開始一天的禪坐與課誦，是個困難的方式。因此，這位沙彌發現，只要早點去打坐，他使可以坐在大殿前面的石柱旁，只要大家一闔上眼睛修行，他就能夠輕輕地靠在石柱上，以西方較舒適的方式來打坐。

After a week of this practice, Achaan Chah rang the bell to end the sitting and start the evening Dharma talk. “Tonight,” he began, looking directly at the new monk, “we will talk about how practicing the Dharma means to support oneself, to rely on oneself, to not have to lean on things outside of oneself.” The other monks in the hall tittered. The Westerner, a bit embarrassed, sat up unusually straight for the rest of the lecture. From that point on his resolve grew firm, and he learned how to sit straight on any floor under any conditions.

　　這樣地修行了一個星期後，阿姜 查搖鈴結束坐禪，然後開始晚間的開示。「今晚，」他直盯著這位新沙彌開始說道：「我們要談談為何修習佛法說要依靠自己、支持自己，而不是去依靠外在的東西。」大殿里的其他僧侶都在偷偷地笑。這位西方人，有點不好意思，坐得比平常還要直，靜靜地聽完開示。從此以後，他的決心堅固地建立了起來，而且學會了如何在任何情況下、任何地板上，都能挺直而坐。