平常心 Normality - 正確培養覺知的果報 The Results Of Developing Awareness In The Right Way
Part 2: Walking The Path 第2篇：行道
2-1. Taking a Shortcut 直取快捷方式
2-1-3. The Results Of Developing Awareness In The Right Way 正確培養覺知的果報
A. Cleanliness As Result 清淨為果
[So each of the practices, of making merit, generosity, keeping precepts, tranquility-meditation and insight-meditation, are ways to destroy defilement, that is to say Lobha, Dosa & Moha. The destruction of defilement, is what real merit is, the highest merit. Talking in terms of heaven, it’s the real heaven, it’s the essence, the peak of heaven. Talking in terms of Nibbana, it’s true Nibbana, the essence, the marrow of Nibbana.The finish of defilements is cleanliness.
Nibbana translates as extinguishment, coolness ; our hearts are not hot because defilements have been extinguished and become cool.If, at this moment, we don’t have suffering, it is Nibbana at this moment. When we experience Nibbana at this moment, we’ll go to Nibbana for sure. We should know heaven in our hearts ; not having suffering is heaven : we are joyful.; to look at our minds, is to be in heaven. When we have heaven in our minds like this, when we die, we’ll be born in heaven without doubt!
每一種修行：做功德、布施、持戒、止禪及觀禪等，這些都是滅除煩惱——也就是貪瞋癡——的方法。滅除煩惱是真正的功德，最高的功德。若要說天堂，這才是真正的天堂，是其本質，是最崇高的天堂；若要說涅槃，這才是真正的涅槃，是涅槃的本質，涅槃的精髓。滅除煩惱就是清淨。
涅槃意為寂滅、清涼，這樣的心無熱惱，因為煩惱已被消滅，變得清涼。如果當下這一刻，我們沒有痛苦，那當下這一刻便是涅槃。當我們當下這一刻體驗到涅槃，我們一定會從此趣向涅槃。我們應該知道天堂在我們的心中，內心沒有痛苦就是天堂，而這也就是快樂了。向內看我們的心就是進入天堂了，當我們內心有了這樣的天堂，在我們死後，也毫無疑問，必然會投生在天堂！
B. Brightness As Result 光明為果
if someone doesn’t know heaven, he or she won’t be able to go there, for example, we have electricity in our house and we want to have light but we go and take hold of the lightbulb ; the light doesn’t go on. When we’ve learned that we have to turn the switch in order for the light to go on, we turn on the switch and light appears at the lightbulb.
It is similar with the method to deal with greed, hatred and delusion : we don’t have to figure out where greed hatred and delusion are, we just come back to look at our minds and Lobha, Dosa & Moha are destroyed by themselves.
The Buddha proclaimed that He was enlightened by working with the mind. We have to look at our minds. Watching the mind is turning on the light by using the switch. When we do this often, awareness will become nimble and quick; awareness will intercept greed, hatred and delusion and prevent it from arising. Awareness and concentration are together. As for wisdom, it means knowing and seeing clearly. In Pali, it says NATTHI PANYA SAMA ABHA, meaning there is nothing as bright as wisdom. And SATI TESAM NIVARANAM, meaning awareness is that which prevents the stream of defilements. There isn’t anything that is fast enough to hold back this stream, other than Sati. It is this Awareness and wisdom that come and contact, know, see and stop it, not letting us become deluded. This is because Sati-Samadhi-Panya is opposite to Dosa-Moha-Lobha. If we don’t see, know and understand, there is full greed, hatred and delusion. It is comparable to nighttime, when it’s dark. As soon as we light a candle there is light and the darkness disappears, because darkness is afraid of light; as soon as the candle goes out, the darkness immediately comes back.
如果有人不了解天堂，他就不能去到那里，舉例來說，我們房子里有電且我們希望能有燈光，可是，我們卻只是跑去抓著燈泡，這樣燈就不會亮。當我們明白：必須打開開關燈才會亮，然後我們去打開開關，燈泡就發出光亮了。對治貪瞋癡的方法也是類似這個道理：我們不必搞清楚貪瞋痴在哪里，只需要回來看我們的心，那麼貪瞋痴自己自自然然就會滅除。
佛陀由于對治清淨了自己的心而宣稱他覺悟了，所以我們也必須看自己的心，觀心就是打開開關——真正開燈的方法。如果我們經常這麼做，覺知就會變得敏銳快捷，可以截斷貪瞋癡不再讓它生起。但是，覺知和禪定是一體的，至于智慧，意思是清楚地知道和見到。在巴利文里說：「NATTHI PANYA SAMA ABHA。」意思就是說，沒有任何東西像智慧一樣光明。又說：「SATI TESAM NIVARANAM。」意思是，覺知可以防杜煩惱之流，除了正念，沒有任何東西速度快到能夠阻斷這股泛流。只有這覺知和智慧才能跟隨它、趕上它，並且知道、看到和阻斷它，而不讓我們陷入迷惑。這是因為覺-定-慧(Sati-Samadhi-Panya)是貪瞋癡的反面。如果我們沒有覺知，沒有看到、知道和了解就會充滿貪瞋痴，那就好比夜晚，充滿黑暗；明暗是相對的，只要我們點燃蠟燭，有了燈光，黑暗就消失了，黑暗害怕光明；而一旦蠟燭熄滅，黑暗又立即回來了。
C. Peace As Result 寂靜為果
That I’m giving some reflections and explaining this shortcut-method of practice is in order for you all to take it and practice with it, so that you get quick results and don’t have to waste time. This method can be used in daily life; there is no need to stop working in order to practice. Some people have practiced a bit already, and some people have only just heard it. Some people who have never heard it might feel displeased. If that’s how you feel, then discard that feeling first, the knowledge that you have learned before. Put it down for now and test out what I’m saying; try it out and you will know what the results that arise are like. I dare to guarantee that this method is at least eighty percent right according to what the Buddha teaches. Talking according to just my own personal feeling, it is one-hundred percent right, because having practiced it, I know that it alleviates greed, hatred and delusion. When those things diminish, peace arises instead.
我之所以要給大家一些觀念以及解釋這個快捷方式的修法，是希望你們能接受它並且依之修學，好讓你們可以快速得到成果而不浪費時間。這個方法可用于日常生活中，沒有必要為了修學而停止工作。有些人已經修學過一點，有些人可能才剛聽說而已，而也有些人可能從來沒聽說過，並且感覺不喜歡，如果你是這樣的感覺，那麼請你先放下那種感覺以及你以前學到的知識，請現在就放下，然後試試我說的方法，去體驗看看，你會明白結果是怎麼回事。我敢保證，這方法至少有八成是直接傳承于佛陀的教導。就我個人的感覺來說，這是百分之百正確的方法，因為我已經練習過了，我知道它可以減少貪瞋癡。當這些東西消滅了，反之，寂靜安祥就會生起。
D. Full Awareness As Result 圓覺為果
I’d like to give another example: Take a glass. We can see that there is air in the glass. When we pour water into it, the air goes out and the water is in it instead. Then, when we pour the water out, the air goes back in and replaces the water. This compares with our turning up the hand, we know, we have awareness, Sati comes to replace not-knowing, delusion. Not-knowing goes out of our minds. Do it often. Catch the feeling often, in all postures. Sati will increase; and delusion, not-knowing will decrease just as the water replaces air in the glass.
我想再舉一個例子：就以杯子為例吧！我們可以見到杯子里有空氣，當我們把水倒下去，空氣會跑出來，而水會進到里頭去。然後，當我們把水倒出來，空氣就會回到里頭而取代了水。這就好比我們在翻掌時，如果我們知道、有覺知，那麼正念就會來取代不知與妄念，不知會被趕出我們的心。你們要經常這樣練習，在任何姿勢中，隨時抓住那個感覺(即覺知動作)，這樣你的正念就會增長，而不知與妄念就會減少，就像杯子里的水取代了空氣一樣。
Maybe some of you have heard about, or have been taught, to make merit, for example by building a ceremonial hall or temple; and you get merit for this or that many eons. And you’ve probably heard that one-hundred years on earth equals one year in heaven. The angels throw one sesame seed in a pit that is one-hundred leagues wide and one-hundred leagues deep. When it is full, that’s one eon!
也許你們有些人曾聽過或曾經被教導：要你們去作功德。比如說，蓋一間法堂或寺廟，你們可以因此而得到無量劫的功德。或許你也聽說過：地球一百年等于天上一年，以及一位天神每天丟一粒芝麻到一個將近500公里寬和500公里深的坑洞里，當洞被填滿的時候，那就是一劫的時間！
Other than that, you’ve probably heard that to once put food into a monks bowl, you get rewarded for six eons, sending a container with food to offer to monks, one gets rewarded for five eons, to send food for the midday meal, five eons. These things are puzzles, but some people don’t understand. If you want to understand, you have to practice, to develop awareness, by turning the hand up and down, feeling it.
除了那些之外，你們可能也聽說：只要供養食物在出家人的缽里，你就能得到六大劫的不思議福報；而用東西裝好食物供養僧侶則能得到五大劫的果報；或者供養午齋的食物有五大劫福報；這些都是讓人陷入迷惑的說法，但是有些人不了解而深信不疑。如果你想要了解真相，就必須練習培養覺知，手掌像這樣翻上或翻下並覺知它。
Before, we would do things without Sati, not feeling anything at all. Comparable to an abyss or pit that is empty, nothing in it, just like in that puzzle. But when training in awareness, catching the movement in all postures – for example, blinking the eyes, sitting and lying down – we are aware, feeling it, knowing it. When doing this, Sati increases, just like the sesame seeds that fall in the pit or abyss that is one-hundred leagues wide and one-hundred leagues deep. The aim of this comparison is that we train a lot in awareness that we do it a lot in order to get results, to make Sati full, so that we are not negligent or deluded.
[color=0033FF]以前，我們常常會在做事時沒有正念，一點都沒有覺知，這就好比前述惑亂人心的說法里，那個空無一物的深淵或坑洞。但是當我們開始練習培養覺知，把捉住任何姿勢的動作，比如眨眼、坐下和躺臥——我們都覺知它、感覺它、知道它。這樣練習，正念就會增加，這就好比丟入那個將近500公里寬又500公里深的坑洞或深淵里的芝麻粒。這個比喻的目的是說，只要我們努力精進地練習培養覺知，讓正念達到圓滿，那麼我們就不會再失念或迷惑了。
When we have developed the four foundations of awareness, as described earlier, we will have the ability to really contemplate, ponder and understand the various problems in our minds.
當我們修學了前面說過的四種培養覺知的念處之後，我們就會有能力真正的去觀照、思惟並了解我們心中的各種問題了。