何謂自然? What Is Natural?

What Is Natural?

　　何謂自然?

Claiming they want their practice to be “natural,” some people complain that this way of life does not fit their nature.

　　有些人抱怨這里的生活方式與他們的根性並不相符，所以，他們呼籲修行要合乎「自然」。

Nature is the tree in the forest. But if you build a house, it is no longer natural, is it? Yet if you learn to use the tree, making wood and building a house, it has more value to you. Or perhaps the dog is natural, running here and there, following its nose. Throw food to dogs and they rush to it, fighting each other. Is that what you want to be like?

　　自然，就是森林里的樹，可是，一旦你拿它來蓋房子，就不再是自然了，不是嗎?然而如果你學會利用樹木、刨制木材來建造房屋，它對你而言就更有價值了。或許狗的本性是隨著嗅覺到處跑，如果丟些食物給他們，它們就會互相爭奪。這是你所要的自然嗎？

The true meaning of natural can be discovered with our discipline and practice. This natural is beyond our habits, our conditioning, our fears. If the human mind is left to so-called natural impulses, untrained, it is full of greed, hatred, and delusion and suffers accordingly. Yet through practice we can allow our wisdom and love to grow naturally until it blossoms in any surroundings.

　　在持戒和修行中能發現自然的真義，這個自然是超越我們的習氣、我們的習慣和恐懼的；假使心任由自然的沖動發展，而不加訓練，就會充滿貪、嗔、痴而受苦。然而，透過修行，我們便能夠讓我們的智慧與慈悲自然地增長，直到遍地開滿了花。