悟 Epiphany

Epiphany is a process and not a destination.


「悟」是一個過程，不是終點。


In many books on Buddhism, there are countless number of stories of Buddhist monks that had some sort of epiphany from a hit on the head, a spoken word, or a look and a smile. These stories made it seems like they go from knowing nothing, to know everything in a blink of the eye with no cause that can make any sense.


不少佛教典籍寫了很多佛教僧侶，因為被打了一下、一句話或一顰一笑而頓悟的故事。
從這些故事裡，我們都會覺得很神奇，這些僧侶怎麼會因為這種事而「悟」到？好像他們不是人一般。


But what these stories don't tell you is that these monks had been contemplating the issues and concepts for a long time before the epiphany. They had been assembling pieces of the puzzle for a long time, and at the final moment, the last piece was delivered in the form of a hit on the head, a spoken, or a look and a smile.


他們當然是人！這些故事沒有告訴您，他們在「悟」到之前的努力和用功。
他們好像花了很多時間在做拼圖。
然後在「悟」的那當下、那一擊、那一句、那一眼、那一笑給他們最後一小塊拼圖，
而完成了整幅圖畫。


I know as I worked in my high-tech job many years ago, these were how a lot of difficult problems were solved. I am sure other people have the same sort of experiences in their own job. I think about the problem day and night, even in my sleep, and one day, while in the shower, or eating lunch, the solution all of the sudden became clear.


我很多年前在美國的高科技公司工作，遇到許多困難，然而很多問題也是像這樣子，
突然悟到答案的。
我相信其他人也有工作上類似的經驗。
日夜夢裡都在思考一個問題，然後，某天，也許在淋浴時，或吃飯間，
答案自己跑出來便頓時瞭解了。


Epiphany in Buddhism occurs in the same way; through hard work.


「悟」在佛學上也是這樣來的，需要不斷的精進用功。


And sometimes, the moment of epiphany pass you by with you even realize it. It is not until you have to explain it to other people, and amazed at the clarity of your explanation, that you realized that you had the epiphany.


有時，您也不會知道「悟」的那瞬間，直到您要解釋想法給人家聽，才明白原來您有了頓悟。


But, the ideas that resulted from epiphany are not always correct. They might be close, but they still need refinement. Or they might be totally wrong. Just because it is an "epiphany" doesn't mean its true. We need to think like scientists; to test and validate our "epiphany".


但是， 悟到的道理不見得都是正確的。
那些道理也許可以被改得更精準，也有可能是完全錯的。
「悟」不代表正確，我們需要有科學家的精神去不斷的驗證「悟」。


After the epiphany, all that remains are the work involved to validate it and realize it.


「悟」了之後， 還是需要精進用功，才能驗證跟實踐所悟到的道理。