意解脫、身作證 Liberation of mind and verification by the body

 

南禪朋友早安！

意解脫、身作證

Liberation of mind and verification by the body

昨天在台南讀書會用一個半小時的時間講解阿含經第1091經文

的「意解脫、身作證」。

華人在《阿含經》傳入以後一直以拋棄式束諸高閣的態度來面對祂，

然而《阿含經》是佛陀當時的教學及佛陀對生活態度的最忠實記載！

當禪宗的教學與思想在各地傳開以後，多少修行者為了「開

悟」窮一生之力而焦頭爛額，

而開悟的內容到底是什麼？開悟的人既便說了，沒有經過開悟

境界的修行者一樣是一頭霧水！

「開悟」的內容被弄成玄學式的講解比比皆是。

這個困住廣大修行者的開悟內容，就是《阿含經》的「意解

脫、身作證」。

我在上課中提到「意解脫」已經牽涉到大腦的意識型態束縛整個得到超越，

Liberation of mind and verification by the body

Yesterday at the book club in Tainan I spent an hour and a half

 explaining the meaning of the terms “liberation of mind” and

 “verification by the body” in Sūtra 1091 of the Saṃyuktāgama.

When Chinese Buddhists take the trouble to read the āgama section

 of the scriptures, they tend to 

do so with a dismissive attitude, not realizing that this is where we

 find the most faithful records of how and what the Buddha actually

 taught!

Once the Chan school had become popular in China, not many

 Buddhists were willing to spend a lifetime struggling to attain

 enlightenment.

Then there is the question of what enlightenment actually is. Now,

 there might be an enlightened master who explains it, but if it’s quite

 beyond your range of experience, how could you possibly

 understand it?

Enlightenment became widely discussed as a metaphysical doctrine.

This greatly limited our understanding of enlightenment, hence the

 need to understand what is meant by “liberation of mind” and

 “verification by the body” in the āgama section of the scriptures.

During the book club I explained that “liberation of mind” means

 completely transcending all obstructions of the mind.

 

再加上身體進入大腦可以感知的世界，「意解脫、身作證」六

個字清楚明白寫出有關開悟的境界內容。

修行的路走越遠，越清楚佛法的殊勝，那麼久遠的年代，佛陀

運用現代人才能理解的身、心字眼去描述修行成功的世界，這

對於我是歎為觀止！

半寄

Next comes experiencing the world through the body, so that

 “liberation of mind” and “verification by the body” give a clear

description of the state of enlightenment.

The further you go along the path of spiritual practice, the more you

 come to appreciate the excellence of the Buddhadharma. Although

 the Buddha taught all this in ancient times, it’s amazing that his

 diction and manner of describing the state to be attained through

 spiritual practice is perfectly intelligible to us today!

  Master Ban Ji

  Translated by Ken Kraynak

 

 

昏沉 掉舉 Drowsiness and agitation

 

南禪朋友早安！

昏沉掉舉

Drowsiness and agitation

佛法討論

這兩天有大德跟我討論到雙向溝通的問題。

雙向溝通的見解網路上面處處可查，這裡想要補充在佛經裡面

屬於溝通的運用，

 

佛法對於理性的探討大都是應用「觀察」。

 像是察覺到自己的恐慌，昏沉（屬於大腦不清楚狀況）接下來

就是慢慢地去克服這些障礙自己的知覺！

當人性處於懦弱階段的時候，大部分人都只想保護自己，這個

時候溝通是完全無效的，所以佛法提出想要修行的人要具備

「察覺自己」的能力，想進步的人，從察覺到自我的懦弱開

始，進而展開「自我克服，」

Dharma discussion

Over the past two days I’ve been discussing with a layperson the

 question of two-way communication.

This topic is widely discussed on the internet, and here I’d like to

 talk about how it’s used in the Buddhist scriptures.

In the Buddhadharma rational inquiry is mainly a function of

 observation.

像是察覺到自己的恐慌，昏沉（屬於大腦不清楚狀況）接下來

就是慢慢地去克服這些障礙自己的知覺！

當人性處於懦弱階段的時候，大部分人都只想保護自己，這個

時候溝通是完全無效的，所以佛法提出想要修行的人要具備

「察覺自己」的能力，想進步的人，從察覺到自我的懦弱開

始，進而展開「自我克服，」

Dharma discussion

Over the past two days I’ve been discussing with a layperson the

 question of two-way communication.

This topic is widely discussed on the internet, and here I’d like to

 talk about how it’s used in the Buddhist scriptures.

In the Buddhadharma rational inquiry is mainly a function of

 observation.For example, first you become aware of your fear or

 drowsiness (a lack of clarity), and then you set about overcoming

 the obstacles to clear awareness.

Whenever we are feeling weak, we tend to think only of self-

preservation. At this time communication is completely ineffective,

 and this is why we need self-awareness. To make progress on the

 path, we need to have the capacity to become aware of this feeling

 of drowsiness whenever it arises, so that we can then overcome it.

 

克服中起來的思考便是克服「昏沉」。想要克服，就會看到自

己的條件跟努力中哪裡不對？

為什麼前進不了？這一切一旦引發（就緒）以後，就開始可以

克服大腦中的不清楚、不清明！

 而達到前進目標想前進的大德，先丟掉圓滿的觀念，想圓滿就

見不得髒！做農夫怎可能身體不髒！（指面對自我的人性，修

行者耕心田，哪一塊田是乾淨的?)

撥開人性的萬重山，只要能露出一絲清明，則溝通處處到位！

半寄

This means conquering our drowsiness. In the process of striving to

 conquer it, we come to recognize both our strengths and

 shortcomings.

Why do we fail to make progress? Only if we are properly prepared

 will we make progress in overcoming the impediments to seeing

 things clearly.

Now, one of the biggest obstacles to making progress is

 perfectionism, the inability to accept any kind of dirt. It’s not

 possible to grow food without getting dirty! (It’s a matter of facing

 your own stuff; in cultivating the field of the mind, you’ve got to be

 willing to get your hands dirty.)

In exploring the boundless vistas of the human mind, as soon as you

 gain even a fleeting view, then you’re ready to communicate

 effectively!

Master Ban Ji

Translated by Ken Kraynak