禪病Zen sickness

禪病

 

大家好！

 

有位大德為慈善付出過度心神深陷泥沼，

起不來的痛苦讓她一度悲慟不已！

原因是，她覺得自己在慈善機構付出過多，有崩潰感。

還好，慢慢聽課2年多總算走過來。

 

古代，如果有出家，在家的修行者悲慟不已，都被列為禪病-修行出了問題！

更誇張的形容是-著魔（被魔鬼附著身體、心靈）

 

真正的修行出問題原因，我查遍了所有的禪宗記載，也沒有人指出過事實，

 

只有在台北松山寺的《道安法師日誌》裡可以找到一些端倪。

 

個人想過ㄧ個問題，漢系佛教用《愣嚴經》點出修行的魔鬼，

而不真正面對現實環境與佛法教育產生的弊病，

籠統的稱呼就是禪病。

 

當面對問題時，想著修行者背負神聖的責任感，闖的過去是大智慧，

闖不過去的只能在暗夜裡哭泣，

忘卻了，更該想的是檢討一下路的指標是對的嗎？

 

半寄

Zen sickness

 

Greetings, friends of NanZen!

 

A laywoman once gave so much of her energy to charity work that she became stuck in deep emotional pain, unable to get out, and at one point was overwhelmed with grief. She felt she had given too much to the charity organization and was on the verge of breaking down.

 

Fortunately, after more than two years of listening to Dharma teachings, she managed to come through it.

 

In ancient times, when monks or lay practitioners were overwhelmed with grief, it was labeled as “Zen sickness”—a sign that something had gone wrong in their practice.In more extreme descriptions, it was likened to being “possessed by demons,” both physically and spiritually.

 

After an extensive review of Chan literature, I found no explicit explanation of the true causes—except for a few clues in Master Dao’an’s Diary from Songshan Temple in Taipei.

 

This has led me to reflect: within Chinese Buddhism, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is used to identify “demons” encountered in practice, yet little effort is made to confront the tangible problems stemming from the actual environment and the shortcomings of Buddhist education.Instead, these issues are vaguely called “Zen sickness.”

 

When such difficulties arise, the common belief holds that if a practitioner, fortified by a sacred sense of duty, can overcome them, it is proof of great wisdom. If not, they are left to weep alone in the darkness. Too rarely is the more fundamental question asked: are the signposts along the path correctly aligned in the first place?

 

Master Banji