平常心 Normality - 見法 Seeing The Dhamma

1-2-8. SEEING THE DHAMMA見法

When we practice meditation and see colours, lights, ghosts and angels, this is a mistake. The Buddha teaches that whoever sees the Dhamma, sees the Buddha, whoever does not see the Dhamma, does not see the the Buddha, even taking hold of the Buddha’s robe or His finger, is not reckoned as one who sees the Dhamma and the Buddha. This is a principle that should be understood properly, so one doesn’t practice wrongly and one recieves the result of really seeing the Dhamma.

如果我們禪修時看到色彩、光亮、或鬼神，那就表示我們修錯了。佛陀教導說：見法即是見佛，未見法即未見佛。一個人即使擁有佛陀的法衣或指舍利，也不能說是見法及見佛，這是一個必須善加理解的道理。我們沒有修錯的話，就能得到「真實見法」的果實。

People these days, some go and practice meditation and think that seeing a crystal ball is to see the Dhamma. Whatever method it may be, they try to see a floating crystal ball. At my home village lives a teacher who tried out meditation. Having sat down, he saw a crystal ball floating into his chest, that’s what he said. This shows that he didn’t understand how and why to practice meditation.

現在有些禪修的人認為看到水晶球即是見法，因此他們嘗試各種方法，想要去看到漂浮的水晶球。在我的家鄉有位練習禪修的老師，他說他打坐之後，會看到胸口有一顆水晶球，這就表示他不了解如何以及為何要修習禪定。

Another man was well educated and worked for a government enterprise, he went to practice at a monastery. He’d been doing it for 11 years. I asked him : ‘What did you get from it and how do you do it ?’. He explained that he would sit cross-legged, with his eyes closed and recite Bud-dho Bud-dho, then the crystal ball came floating over. I asked him : ‘Did you see it every time ?’. ‘Sometimes only’ he said, ‘It’s called a sign’. I said : ‘What sign ?It’s an illusion !’.

另外有個受過良好教育且在政府機構工作的人，他到一間寺院禪修，而且一修就修了11年。有一次我問他：「你這樣修有得到什麼嗎？你是怎麼修呢？」他解釋說：他盤腿而坐、閉上眼睛並誦念佛-陀、佛-陀…，然後水晶球就會漂過來。我問他：「你每次都看到嗎？」他說：「只有幾次，這是一種禪相。」我說：「什麼禪相？！這只是個幻覺！」

What sort of meditation is that, not seeing one’s mind but seeing a crystal ball ? And so I suggested to try out the following : He had with him a suitcase and a pair of glasses, as soon as he had sat cross-legged and had his eyes closed, I moved his suitcase and glasses to another place, having finished that I told him to open his eyes. I asked him : ‘What happened to your suitcase ?’. He said he didn’t know. ‘And what about your glasses ?’.

That, he didn’t know either. So I asked him : ‘Well then, is this way of practicing advantageous or disadvantageous ?’. He said : ‘It does have disadvantages, things disappear’. This man, at that time, had a salary of more than 10.000 baht, I think he had a University degree. In the world, people with a degree like that are considered to have knowledge but he still didn’t understand how to make meditation useful. The method of practice with the eyes open, that I teach, can be done anytime. Whoever passes is seen. The mind that thinks is known and seen. That is how I understand it.

沒看到自己的心，卻看到水晶球，這是哪門子的禪修啊？！所以接著，我要他照我的話去做：他有個手提箱和眼鏡，當他盤腿坐下、閉上眼睛之後，我就把他的手提箱及眼鏡拿到別處去，藏好之後我叫他張開眼睛，然後問他：「你的手提箱怎麼了？」他說他不知道。「那麼你的眼鏡呢？」他也說不知道。于是我問他：「這樣的話，你這種禪修方是有用還是沒用呢？」他說：「不太管用，東西會不見。」這個人那時的薪水超過10,000銖，我想應該是大學畢業的。在現今社會中，擁有這樣學歷的人應該算是很有知識的了，但他還是不知道怎樣才是正確有效的禪修。我教的這種張開眼睛練習的方法，隨時隨地都可以練，而且有人經過你可以看到，心里有念頭也可以知道及看到，這是我了解的正確禪修方法。

As far as signs are concerned, it is the same : a sign is a mark or symbol, or something that perception knows, how it is perceived : well perceive it with awareness, catch the feeling of it. Like raising the hand and feeling it, that is a sign. When a thought comes up, one knows and sees it, this is called a sign.

至于禪相也是一樣。所謂禪相是指心跡或心的表相，或可說是內心覺知到的東西。禪修時我們該如何覺知這些東西呢？要用覺性好好地覺知它、感覺它，就像提起手時，感覺到它，這就是禪相；當念頭生起時，知道並看見它，這就叫禪相(不是指禪修時出現的相，而是指當下覺知的相——真是妙解)。

As for people who do sitting meditation and want to see crystal balls or Buddha images, but don’t see their own minds : when the mind suddenly thinks, they don’t see it, sitting right here but the mind is all over the place – practicing like that is not useful, it is illusion. I dare to guarantee that meditation with eyes open can be used while working, no matter what you’re doing. The mind thinks or cheats and we know it. When people come to sneak or steal something, we know it. When suffering arises we don’t latch on to it. When the mind wants to get happiness, we know it to be not the right way of thinking ; today’s happiness is tomorrow’s suffering, that’s how it is.

至于那些坐禪想看到水晶球或佛像而沒看到自心的人，當念頭剎那生起時，他們看不到念頭，所以人坐在那里可是心卻到處亂跑，像這樣的練習是沒有用的，那是在打妄想。我敢保證我教的方法絕對有用！無論你是做什麼工作，張開眼睛的禪修方法都可以應用到工作當中。當心里有念頭或想騙我們時，我們會知道；當外面有人偷偷摸摸地靠近或來偷東西，我們也會知道。當內心生起苦惱時，我們不會抓到苦惱；當內心追求快樂時，我們會知道這不是正思惟，知道今天的快樂是明天的苦惱。我教的禪法就是這樣！

So we have to see the Dhamma within ourselves, not seeing a Buddha statue or image, it’s not like that, the Buddha died a long time ago !

If that is right, then who is the Buddha, who is the real Buddha ? The Buddha is the state of cleanliness, brightness and peace. Clean means normality of mind without stains. Bright means knowing and seeing the feelings and thoughts arising in one’s own mind. Peace means that the mind is without thoughts of greed, hatred and delusion. Thoughts of greed, hatred and delusion are suffering. Therefore the Buddha teaches that it is only suffering that arises, suffering that establishes itself and suffering that passes away.

So in practicing meditation and seeing the Dhamma, we have to see our very own thinking, not seeing lights, colours, ghosts and angels.

所以，我們必須看見自己身心內在的法，而不是去看見外在的佛像或什麼影像，禪修不是這樣的，佛陀老早以前就死了(怎麼見呢)！就算那是對的，那請問哪個才是佛陀呢(現在看到的這個還是以前死去的那個)？又，什麼才是真正佛陀呢！？佛陀是指清淨、光明、寂靜安祥的心靈質地。清淨是指沒有染污的平常心；光明是指知道和看見心中的感覺與念頭；寂靜安祥是心中沒有貪瞋痴的念頭。貪瞋痴的念頭就是「苦」！因而佛陀只教導「苦」的生起、「苦」的原因及「苦」的止滅。所以所謂禪修與見法，是要看見我們自己的念頭，而不是看到光、色彩、或鬼神。