We thought that instead of waiting for me to finish translating Master Ban Ji's book, "A Guide to Buddhist Thoughts" before making the English available, I'll publish my translation as I proceed.
要是英文讀者需要等我完全翻譯完《佛法的思向》才能讀這本書 ，恐怕要等很久。
所以我決定一段一段的發表《佛法的思向》中英版。
So starting today, I'll be publish articles from the book under the label of A Guide to Buddhist Thoughts.
所以今天開始發表《佛法的思向》中英版，這些文章會用「佛法的思向」做標籤。
I will also put together a page to the right that collects these article to make looking for them easier.
我也會在網頁的右邊做一個連結，來收集這些文章。
2011年9月21日 星期三
自在 Free, Unrestrained Comfort
台灣一個注重教育品質的地方、但身為島內人、總覺這個地方少了思辨能力、很會吸收、卻無力吐出再創造。
Taiwan is a country that places important emphasis on educational quality. As a member of this island, I always felt that we, as a culture, lack some capacity for critical thought. We have great ability to learn and consume, but unable to produce and innovate.
佛教在這裡成績斐然、佛教徒在這裡願佈施、出錢、出力、令人讚嘆! 叫好!
Taiwanese Buddhists' accomplishments are impressive, their willingness to donate money and energy is laudable! Cheers!
如果這裡面再加入些思考能力、是否更令信仰的空間廣大? 進而加深個人於世上的立足點、立足點的站立穩固、會讓自己感覺修學所帶來的生命意義、你會覺得這世上竟然有一種宗教、是可以讓一般人在某一個層次精神自由! 我不知道誰可以令我自由? 但透過修學我可以給自己游刃有餘的空間。
However, if we introduce more capacity for critical thinking, would we not expand the horizon of our beliefs? From there, we can further solidify and understand ourselves and our places in the world. Once we have a solid foothold, and know who we are in the world, we will be in a better position to feel the meaning of life with learning and practice. We will be amazed to know that there is a religion in the world that will let a person be free. I don't know who can free me, but I know that I can give myself more space as result of learning and practicing.
現代是資訊爆炸年代、人腦發展到一定程度、思考再次得到提升、應該是很多人的想望、我這麼看待。
We are living in an age of information explosion. The development of human brain has reach a level that is ready for an evolution of new thoughts. I think a lot of people are looking forward to it. I know I am.
半寄 Master Ban Ji
Taiwan is a country that places important emphasis on educational quality. As a member of this island, I always felt that we, as a culture, lack some capacity for critical thought. We have great ability to learn and consume, but unable to produce and innovate.
佛教在這裡成績斐然、佛教徒在這裡願佈施、出錢、出力、令人讚嘆! 叫好!
Taiwanese Buddhists' accomplishments are impressive, their willingness to donate money and energy is laudable! Cheers!
如果這裡面再加入些思考能力、是否更令信仰的空間廣大? 進而加深個人於世上的立足點、立足點的站立穩固、會讓自己感覺修學所帶來的生命意義、你會覺得這世上竟然有一種宗教、是可以讓一般人在某一個層次精神自由! 我不知道誰可以令我自由? 但透過修學我可以給自己游刃有餘的空間。
However, if we introduce more capacity for critical thinking, would we not expand the horizon of our beliefs? From there, we can further solidify and understand ourselves and our places in the world. Once we have a solid foothold, and know who we are in the world, we will be in a better position to feel the meaning of life with learning and practice. We will be amazed to know that there is a religion in the world that will let a person be free. I don't know who can free me, but I know that I can give myself more space as result of learning and practicing.
現代是資訊爆炸年代、人腦發展到一定程度、思考再次得到提升、應該是很多人的想望、我這麼看待。
We are living in an age of information explosion. The development of human brain has reach a level that is ready for an evolution of new thoughts. I think a lot of people are looking forward to it. I know I am.
半寄 Master Ban Ji
2011年9月20日 星期二
懺悔 Repentance
Recently, Tzu Chi foundation had a performance titled "Water Repentance" in Taiwan. It's goal was to encourage people to "repent" for their "Dark Side." In the Buddhist Text of the same title, the "Dark Side" is broken down into 10 "bad karmic deeds". 3 bodily deeds of "kill", "steal", "lust". 4 deeds that originate from the mouth: "bad languages", "lie", "flattery", "two tongues". But all these 7 "Dark Sides" can trace their sources to the 3 poisons of "greed", "anger" and "ignorance".
前陣子，慈濟有一個經藏演繹叫「水懺」。
它的目標是鼓勵每個人為自己的「黑暗面」懺悔。
在佛經裡，「黑暗面」可以被分成三種「身」業：「殺」、「盜」、「淫」，
四種「口」業：「妄語」、「綺語」、「兩舌」、「惡口」。
這七種 「身口」業都是從三毒或「意」業而起，那就是「貪」、「嗔」、「癡」。
But for us, repentance is not about confession. It's not about apologizing for your misbehavior. It's not about feeling sorry for yourself or your victims. And It's not about asking for forgiveness. It's about understanding why you have the "Dark Side", why you need to use the "Dark Side," and how to change yourself so you don't need to use the "Dark Side" ever again.
從我們這個法門來說，「懺悔」的重點不是告解，也不是為您的行為道歉，
更不是覺得對不起自己或受害者，更沒有要求寬恕。
懺悔的重點是理解為什麼您有「黑暗面」？
為什麼您需要使用「黑暗面」？然後如何改變自己？
所以您以後就不需要使用「黑暗面」了。
Maybe I am harsh, but I believe that everyone should strive for uttering an apology to a particular misdeed once and only once. To me, if you feel really sorry about doing something, you should do your best not to do it again, and the best chance you have for preventing the same action is to understand why you did it in the first place and change yourself. Otherwise, apologizing for the same thing over and over again seems very insincere to me, and doesn't accomplish anything other than making yourself feel better.
也許我很苛刻，但我認為每個人都應該只為一種行為道歉一次。
對我來說，如果一個人真的覺得對不起，那他就不會再犯下同樣的行為。
或許習性難改，但是如果一個人能盡量了解自己，他就有能改變自己。
否則，為類似的事情道歉又道歉，對我來說是一個很虛偽的行為。
那沒有什麼好處，只是讓自己心裡覺得舒服一點而已。
From our point of view, repentance is also about repaying the debt owed to the victims, to make amend. Often, this is the hardest thing to do. If you lied about somebody, maybe you need to publicly apologize. If you stole someone's money, you will need to repay him, sometimes, with interests. If you killed a person, maybe you will need to repay your life to him, if not in this life time, in the next. The debt will be settled eventually, either voluntarily (i.e. you actively try to repay the debt and not trying to avoid it.), or involuntarily by the force of karma. For us, it is the best to repay your debt as fast as possible, therefore, voluntarily. Because any karmic debt will be an obstacle in your path to enlightenment.
我們的法門認為真正懺悔是需要付出代價的，需要用實際行動，還債於被害者。
這是一件很難的事。
如果您說人家的壞話，也許您需要公眾道歉。
如果偷了別人的錢，錢就要還，有時還要加利息。
如果您殺了一個人，也許代價是您的生命，如果不是這輩子，那有可能就是來世。
反正，欠人家的東西總是要還的，您可以主動的去還，或者您可以等業報來臨，
這是無法避免的。
對於我們來說，越早還越好，因為業報會阻礙您的進步。
Repentance is about asking yourself "why" as a path to change yourself.
懺悔的一個重點是：自我反省，進而從自我反省的過程中去尋找一條路，來改變自己。
The point of repentance is to use real actions to repay your debt to the victim of your "Dark Side".
懺悔的另一個重點是：用實際行動，還債於被害者。 不是無形的而已。
Repentance is only the beginning.
懺悔只是一個開始。
前陣子，慈濟有一個經藏演繹叫「水懺」。
它的目標是鼓勵每個人為自己的「黑暗面」懺悔。
在佛經裡，「黑暗面」可以被分成三種「身」業：「殺」、「盜」、「淫」，
四種「口」業：「妄語」、「綺語」、「兩舌」、「惡口」。
這七種 「身口」業都是從三毒或「意」業而起，那就是「貪」、「嗔」、「癡」。
But for us, repentance is not about confession. It's not about apologizing for your misbehavior. It's not about feeling sorry for yourself or your victims. And It's not about asking for forgiveness. It's about understanding why you have the "Dark Side", why you need to use the "Dark Side," and how to change yourself so you don't need to use the "Dark Side" ever again.
從我們這個法門來說，「懺悔」的重點不是告解，也不是為您的行為道歉，
更不是覺得對不起自己或受害者，更沒有要求寬恕。
懺悔的重點是理解為什麼您有「黑暗面」？
為什麼您需要使用「黑暗面」？然後如何改變自己？
所以您以後就不需要使用「黑暗面」了。
Maybe I am harsh, but I believe that everyone should strive for uttering an apology to a particular misdeed once and only once. To me, if you feel really sorry about doing something, you should do your best not to do it again, and the best chance you have for preventing the same action is to understand why you did it in the first place and change yourself. Otherwise, apologizing for the same thing over and over again seems very insincere to me, and doesn't accomplish anything other than making yourself feel better.
也許我很苛刻，但我認為每個人都應該只為一種行為道歉一次。
對我來說，如果一個人真的覺得對不起，那他就不會再犯下同樣的行為。
或許習性難改，但是如果一個人能盡量了解自己，他就有能改變自己。
否則，為類似的事情道歉又道歉，對我來說是一個很虛偽的行為。
那沒有什麼好處，只是讓自己心裡覺得舒服一點而已。
From our point of view, repentance is also about repaying the debt owed to the victims, to make amend. Often, this is the hardest thing to do. If you lied about somebody, maybe you need to publicly apologize. If you stole someone's money, you will need to repay him, sometimes, with interests. If you killed a person, maybe you will need to repay your life to him, if not in this life time, in the next. The debt will be settled eventually, either voluntarily (i.e. you actively try to repay the debt and not trying to avoid it.), or involuntarily by the force of karma. For us, it is the best to repay your debt as fast as possible, therefore, voluntarily. Because any karmic debt will be an obstacle in your path to enlightenment.
我們的法門認為真正懺悔是需要付出代價的，需要用實際行動，還債於被害者。
這是一件很難的事。
如果您說人家的壞話，也許您需要公眾道歉。
如果偷了別人的錢，錢就要還，有時還要加利息。
如果您殺了一個人，也許代價是您的生命，如果不是這輩子，那有可能就是來世。
反正，欠人家的東西總是要還的，您可以主動的去還，或者您可以等業報來臨，
這是無法避免的。
對於我們來說，越早還越好，因為業報會阻礙您的進步。
Repentance is about asking yourself "why" as a path to change yourself.
懺悔的一個重點是：自我反省，進而從自我反省的過程中去尋找一條路，來改變自己。
The point of repentance is to use real actions to repay your debt to the victim of your "Dark Side".
懺悔的另一個重點是：用實際行動，還債於被害者。 不是無形的而已。
Repentance is only the beginning.
懺悔只是一個開始。
2011年9月19日 星期一
求 Pray for Something
In previous article, we discussed three common methods that a person can do when what is desired exceeds his capability. Actually, in Eastern civilization, there is a common fourth way, and that is to "pray for" it. This is not to say that it doesn't happen in Western civilization, but in modern time, it is not as much a public phenomenon in the West as it is in Asian cultures.
在前一篇文章，提到三個方法來縮短我們自己欲望跟能力的落差。
其實，在亞洲社會，還有一個常見的方法，那就是去「求」。
也不是說西方社會沒有這種做法，不過西方人不像東方人總是在公開的場合裡頭「求」，例如：廟宇。
In Asian culture, it is often that a person would go to a temple that is affiliated to some deity to "pray for" something. The usual process is that they go to the temple, and pray to the deity for their desire, and if the wish is granted, how they would repay the deity for this favor. The desire can be money, love, good test scores, and even a child. Whatever one can wish for, one can always find a deity that specializes in granting that particular wish.
亞洲人通常會去一些供奉神明的寺廟「求」東西。
過程往往是：他會去寺廟發願，如果願成了，就要去寺廟還願。
什麼都可以「求」 ：錢財、愛情、功名...甚至一個孩子。
不管什麼願，通常都可以找到一個神明專門授予這樣的願。
This seems like a good deal, if the prayer is answered. I can offer a deity thousands of dollars worth of "gifts" in return for a good husband, a good grade, a winning lottery ticket even a new born.
These deities can offer things that money cannot buy.
But if the prayer has been answer, and people received desired items, do they ever think about where these items came from?
And do these items actually belong to them, or are they just renting them?
And do people think that the "gifts" that they offer to a deity are the only price that they are paying?
Is it possible that in the process of "Praying For", they are offering more than they bargain for without realizing it? Is the items received really free?
Why would these deities do such a seemingly lopsided deal?
Do they know something that we don't?
如果「求」到的話，表面上這看起來很好。
我可以提供價值數千美元的“禮物”給神明去換來一個丈夫、好成績、中獎的彩券、甚至一個小孩。
這些神明可以提供金錢買不到的「東西」。
但是，大家有沒有想過這些「東西」怎麼來的？
這些「求」到的東西真的是他們的嗎？還只是暫時租的？
有沒有可能這些「求」到東西的代價不只是這些禮物？還有其他不知道的代價嗎？
收到的東西真的是免費嗎？
為什麼這些神明願意做這樣一個看似不平衡的交易？他們是否知道一些我們不知道的事？
In our Buddhism world view, there is no free lunch in the world. Everything has a cost. How much something cost depends on the method you use to acquire it. The best and surest way to acquire something one cannot currently afford is to increase one's ability, because in the end, you will always get to keep your abilities no matter what.
在我們佛學的世界觀，天下沒有「白吃的午餐」。
任何事物都有代價。您使用的方法，決定一件事物的代價 。
最好的和最可靠的方法是增加自己的能力，因為不論如何，您總是能保持自己的能力。
在前一篇文章，提到三個方法來縮短我們自己欲望跟能力的落差。
其實，在亞洲社會，還有一個常見的方法，那就是去「求」。
也不是說西方社會沒有這種做法，不過西方人不像東方人總是在公開的場合裡頭「求」，例如：廟宇。
In Asian culture, it is often that a person would go to a temple that is affiliated to some deity to "pray for" something. The usual process is that they go to the temple, and pray to the deity for their desire, and if the wish is granted, how they would repay the deity for this favor. The desire can be money, love, good test scores, and even a child. Whatever one can wish for, one can always find a deity that specializes in granting that particular wish.
亞洲人通常會去一些供奉神明的寺廟「求」東西。
過程往往是：他會去寺廟發願，如果願成了，就要去寺廟還願。
什麼都可以「求」 ：錢財、愛情、功名...甚至一個孩子。
不管什麼願，通常都可以找到一個神明專門授予這樣的願。
This seems like a good deal, if the prayer is answered. I can offer a deity thousands of dollars worth of "gifts" in return for a good husband, a good grade, a winning lottery ticket even a new born.
These deities can offer things that money cannot buy.
But if the prayer has been answer, and people received desired items, do they ever think about where these items came from?
And do these items actually belong to them, or are they just renting them?
And do people think that the "gifts" that they offer to a deity are the only price that they are paying?
Is it possible that in the process of "Praying For", they are offering more than they bargain for without realizing it? Is the items received really free?
Why would these deities do such a seemingly lopsided deal?
Do they know something that we don't?
如果「求」到的話，表面上這看起來很好。
我可以提供價值數千美元的“禮物”給神明去換來一個丈夫、好成績、中獎的彩券、甚至一個小孩。
這些神明可以提供金錢買不到的「東西」。
但是，大家有沒有想過這些「東西」怎麼來的？
這些「求」到的東西真的是他們的嗎？還只是暫時租的？
有沒有可能這些「求」到東西的代價不只是這些禮物？還有其他不知道的代價嗎？
收到的東西真的是免費嗎？
為什麼這些神明願意做這樣一個看似不平衡的交易？他們是否知道一些我們不知道的事？
In our Buddhism world view, there is no free lunch in the world. Everything has a cost. How much something cost depends on the method you use to acquire it. The best and surest way to acquire something one cannot currently afford is to increase one's ability, because in the end, you will always get to keep your abilities no matter what.
在我們佛學的世界觀，天下沒有「白吃的午餐」。
任何事物都有代價。您使用的方法，決定一件事物的代價 。
最好的和最可靠的方法是增加自己的能力，因為不論如何，您總是能保持自己的能力。
2011年9月18日 星期日
黑暗面 The Dark Side
The "Dark Side" are thoughts and actions that will lead to negative Karma.
在這裡用「黑暗面」來代表會造惡業的思想和行動。
We choose not to use the word "Evil", or "Wrong" to describe these actions because these words can cause us to fall into the trapping of absolute morality.
These actions that manifest from the "Dark Side" are not "Wrong" in the moral sense.
According to Buddha's teaching, these "Dark Side" actions are "wrong" because they lead to suffering. Since suffering is to be avoided, "Dark Side" is to be avoided.
我們選擇不使用「惡」，或「錯」來形容這些行動，因為這些字眼可能會導致落入絕對道德的陷阱。
「黑暗面」 不見得是道德上的「錯」。
根據佛陀的教誨，這些「黑暗面」的行動是「不好的」，畢竟它們會造成「惡」業報。
我們稱這些業報為「惡」，因為 「惡」業報導致痛苦。
既然沒有人喜歡痛苦、大家都避免痛苦，我們就要避免「黑暗面」的產生。
What causes us to choose the "Dark Side"?
One idea is that it is because people are ignorant; ignorant of the teaching of Buddha and Karma. While true, this is easy to fix.
But the problem is that Karma are sometime hard to observe,
because negative Karma does not happen right after the "Dark Side",
so people are easily skeptical about it.
什麼原因導致我們去選擇「黑暗面」呢？一個觀點是無知，不知道因果報應。
這雖然很容易教，但問題是，因果報應很難觀察，業報不會馬上發生，
所以人很容易懷疑因果報應。
I believe that the true reason that the "Dark Side" manifests itself is
"when we want some thing that is beyond our capabilities."
If there is a gap between your desire and your capabilities, you will be tempted to use "Dark Side" temporary to increase your capability in order to satisfy your desire.
For example, if you don't have enough money to buy a car, you might resort to stealing to get more money.
我覺得真正的理由是「當我們沒有能力得到渴望的東西或情感」，「黑暗面」 就有可能出現。
因為「黑暗面」可以暫時增加您的能力，去滿足您，代價就是「惡」業報的產生。
例如，如果您沒有足夠的錢買車，可能會用偷錢的方法，去達到這個目的。
If the problem is the gap between "cost of desire" and "capability", then if the gap is closed, "Dark Side" will not occur. You can lower your "want" or you can increase your "capability".
如果問題是「欲望的代價」跟「能力」的差距，把差距縮到零，「黑暗面」就不會發生。
您認為如何呢？
兩個方法 ，降低您的「欲望」或增加您的「能力」。
"Reducing Wants" is the easier path and is advocated by most tradition Buddhists.
Live simply and avoid temptations are two of the most common advices.
While reasonable and laudable, there is another way to close the gap, and that is to increase your "capability."
For example, if money is the goal, one can work more hours, learn better and useful skills. If you want to be a better athletes, you will need to spent more time training. Basically, you improve yourself.
「減少欲望」是一條比較容易走的路，而且受到傳統佛教影響。
簡化您的生活跟避免誘惑是兩種最常見的建議。合理，也值得稱道。
但還有另外一個方法來縮小這個 差距，那就是增加您的「能力」。
例如，如果錢是一個差距，那您可以工作更長的時間，學習新的、
有用的技能，來賺取更多的錢。若您想成為一個更好的運動員，
您將需要花更多的時間訓練、改變自己。
All three methods have their own costs.
Self improvement requires efforts and time. Self improvement sometime even requires sacrifices.
For example, you might have less time to go see movies if you have to study.
Self improvement's cost is here and now, very visible, like paying cash.
"Dark Side's" cost is unknown and later, like paying with credit card.
"Reducing Wants" has a cost too, and that is your standard of living.
However, if you can tranquilly accept lower level of living, the cost is very little; but if you can not, then your discontent will one day surface to become the "Dark Side."
這三個方法都需要付出代價。
「改變自己」需要努力和時間，有時甚至需要犧牲。
比如說，您需要上課，可能就無法去看電影。「改變自己」 的代價是顯而易見的、是付現金的。
「黑暗面」的代價是看不到的，像是用信用卡付的。
「減少欲望」的代價是犧牲，您需要降低生活水準。
如果您能平靜的接受這樣的生活品質，
「減少欲望」 的代價非常小；
可是，如果您不能平靜的接受這樣的生活品質，那麼心中不滿有一天即會成為「黑暗面」。
If you do not believe in Karma, then "Dark Side" will come naturally to you.
If you have no wants, then you do not have to fear the "Dark Side."
However, if you are a normal human being, how you balance this equation is entirely up to you.
若有人不相信因果報應，他就會主動的去運用「黑暗面」。
如果一個人沒有「欲望」， 他也不必去擔心「黑暗面」。
一個正常人，會如何選擇，端看您的決定。
Buddhist Texts teach us the Truth, so we know the consequences of our actions and not due to ignorance.
Buddhist Texts also teach us that achieve Enlightenment is the ultimate power boost to one's capabilities.
佛經給我們真相，因此我們可以有知識性的去選擇，而不是無知無明的選擇。
佛經也說了解真相會給我們最大的能力。
在這裡用「黑暗面」來代表會造惡業的思想和行動。
We choose not to use the word "Evil", or "Wrong" to describe these actions because these words can cause us to fall into the trapping of absolute morality.
These actions that manifest from the "Dark Side" are not "Wrong" in the moral sense.
According to Buddha's teaching, these "Dark Side" actions are "wrong" because they lead to suffering. Since suffering is to be avoided, "Dark Side" is to be avoided.
我們選擇不使用「惡」，或「錯」來形容這些行動，因為這些字眼可能會導致落入絕對道德的陷阱。
「黑暗面」 不見得是道德上的「錯」。
根據佛陀的教誨，這些「黑暗面」的行動是「不好的」，畢竟它們會造成「惡」業報。
我們稱這些業報為「惡」，因為 「惡」業報導致痛苦。
既然沒有人喜歡痛苦、大家都避免痛苦，我們就要避免「黑暗面」的產生。
What causes us to choose the "Dark Side"?
One idea is that it is because people are ignorant; ignorant of the teaching of Buddha and Karma. While true, this is easy to fix.
But the problem is that Karma are sometime hard to observe,
because negative Karma does not happen right after the "Dark Side",
so people are easily skeptical about it.
什麼原因導致我們去選擇「黑暗面」呢？一個觀點是無知，不知道因果報應。
這雖然很容易教，但問題是，因果報應很難觀察，業報不會馬上發生，
所以人很容易懷疑因果報應。
I believe that the true reason that the "Dark Side" manifests itself is
"when we want some thing that is beyond our capabilities."
If there is a gap between your desire and your capabilities, you will be tempted to use "Dark Side" temporary to increase your capability in order to satisfy your desire.
For example, if you don't have enough money to buy a car, you might resort to stealing to get more money.
我覺得真正的理由是「當我們沒有能力得到渴望的東西或情感」，「黑暗面」 就有可能出現。
因為「黑暗面」可以暫時增加您的能力，去滿足您，代價就是「惡」業報的產生。
例如，如果您沒有足夠的錢買車，可能會用偷錢的方法，去達到這個目的。
If the problem is the gap between "cost of desire" and "capability", then if the gap is closed, "Dark Side" will not occur. You can lower your "want" or you can increase your "capability".
如果問題是「欲望的代價」跟「能力」的差距，把差距縮到零，「黑暗面」就不會發生。
您認為如何呢？
兩個方法 ，降低您的「欲望」或增加您的「能力」。
"Reducing Wants" is the easier path and is advocated by most tradition Buddhists.
Live simply and avoid temptations are two of the most common advices.
While reasonable and laudable, there is another way to close the gap, and that is to increase your "capability."
For example, if money is the goal, one can work more hours, learn better and useful skills. If you want to be a better athletes, you will need to spent more time training. Basically, you improve yourself.
「減少欲望」是一條比較容易走的路，而且受到傳統佛教影響。
簡化您的生活跟避免誘惑是兩種最常見的建議。合理，也值得稱道。
但還有另外一個方法來縮小這個 差距，那就是增加您的「能力」。
例如，如果錢是一個差距，那您可以工作更長的時間，學習新的、
有用的技能，來賺取更多的錢。若您想成為一個更好的運動員，
您將需要花更多的時間訓練、改變自己。
All three methods have their own costs.
Self improvement requires efforts and time. Self improvement sometime even requires sacrifices.
For example, you might have less time to go see movies if you have to study.
Self improvement's cost is here and now, very visible, like paying cash.
"Dark Side's" cost is unknown and later, like paying with credit card.
"Reducing Wants" has a cost too, and that is your standard of living.
However, if you can tranquilly accept lower level of living, the cost is very little; but if you can not, then your discontent will one day surface to become the "Dark Side."
這三個方法都需要付出代價。
「改變自己」需要努力和時間，有時甚至需要犧牲。
比如說，您需要上課，可能就無法去看電影。「改變自己」 的代價是顯而易見的、是付現金的。
「黑暗面」的代價是看不到的，像是用信用卡付的。
「減少欲望」的代價是犧牲，您需要降低生活水準。
如果您能平靜的接受這樣的生活品質，
「減少欲望」 的代價非常小；
可是，如果您不能平靜的接受這樣的生活品質，那麼心中不滿有一天即會成為「黑暗面」。
If you do not believe in Karma, then "Dark Side" will come naturally to you.
If you have no wants, then you do not have to fear the "Dark Side."
However, if you are a normal human being, how you balance this equation is entirely up to you.
若有人不相信因果報應，他就會主動的去運用「黑暗面」。
如果一個人沒有「欲望」， 他也不必去擔心「黑暗面」。
一個正常人，會如何選擇，端看您的決定。
Buddhist Texts teach us the Truth, so we know the consequences of our actions and not due to ignorance.
Buddhist Texts also teach us that achieve Enlightenment is the ultimate power boost to one's capabilities.
佛經給我們真相，因此我們可以有知識性的去選擇，而不是無知無明的選擇。
佛經也說了解真相會給我們最大的能力。
一路上 On The Path
From today on, I'll begin a series of articles that will be labeled On The Path. One intent of these articles is meant to give a different interpretation on many traditional Buddhist thoughts and concepts, in an attempt to stimulate every one's brain, including mine.
從今天起，我將開始放一系列的文章在這個部落格，這一系列文章的標籤是一路上。其中一個目的是用不同的角度來看傳統的佛教思想和概念，來激發每個人的大腦去思考，包括我自己。
I'll not to go over the traditional interpretation in detail, except to differentiate.
除了需要分別我的看法，我不會很仔細的解釋傳統的想法。
This does not mean that the traditional interpretations are incorrect, I am just try to look at the other side of the same coin. But sometime, I ended up seeing the edge.
這並不表示傳統的解釋不正確，我只是想要讓大家看到同個硬幣的另一面。
但有時候，我也許只會看到硬幣的邊緣。
The other intent is to share my experiences as I walk the Path.
另外一個目的是跟各位分享我在修行這條路上的經驗。
從今天起，我將開始放一系列的文章在這個部落格，這一系列文章的標籤是一路上。其中一個目的是用不同的角度來看傳統的佛教思想和概念，來激發每個人的大腦去思考，包括我自己。
I'll not to go over the traditional interpretation in detail, except to differentiate.
除了需要分別我的看法，我不會很仔細的解釋傳統的想法。
This does not mean that the traditional interpretations are incorrect, I am just try to look at the other side of the same coin. But sometime, I ended up seeing the edge.
這並不表示傳統的解釋不正確，我只是想要讓大家看到同個硬幣的另一面。
但有時候，我也許只會看到硬幣的邊緣。
The other intent is to share my experiences as I walk the Path.
另外一個目的是跟各位分享我在修行這條路上的經驗。
2011年9月17日 星期六
經的看法 2 A View of Buddhist Texts 2
When I wrote that you shouldn't be obsessed with every words and every sentences in the Buddhist Texts, I don't mean not to read them. Nor do I mean not to think about the meaning of those Buddhist Texts.
不要去鑽佛經裡的每一字、每一句不是叫您不要去讀經文、
也不是叫您不要去想經文的意義。
Master Yin Shun in The Way To Buddhahood: Instructions From A Modern Chinese Master (Google this for commercial availability of English version.) wrote: "Belief and Knowledge are both necessary for students of Buddhism. ... Belief is based on emotion, Knowledge is based on rationality. A student of Buddhism needs to develop these two facets equally and harmoniously, because 'Belief without Knowledge will increase ignorance';'Knowledge without belief will increase flatter'. Even thought to Buddhism, these two are the same, but some students will prefer Belief based learning; others will prefer Knowledge based learning. So even though the ultimate goals are the same, there will be preference to one or another, and separate students of Buddhism into two categories." (note: This is not the official translation from the English version. This is my own translation.)
印順法師在「成佛之道」有寫：
「信與智，是學佛所不可缺少 的功德。‧‧‧
信是情意的， 智是理性的，學佛的要使這二者，平衡進展到融和。因為『無慧之信，增長愚 癡』；『無信之慧，增長諂曲』。佛法說信智一如，但在學者的根性來說， 有是重信的，一切以信為前提而進修的；有是重智的，一切以智為前提而進修 的。所以雖然究竟的目標一致，但下手時，信與智不免偏重，形成了佛弟子的 二大類。」
In other words, the path to Buddha-hood has many roads and many methods.
由此可知，成佛之道有許多路、不同法門。
I know a traditional Chinese doctor; she started from simply reciting the name of the Buddha, to reciting the Buddhist Texts. After 20 years, she have very good understanding of Buddhist Texts. I also know some volunteers from Tzuchi acquire wisdom from doing recycling and volunteer works. However, they all have a commonality, that is, they "do" every day: near good and wise people, do good deeds, face suffering and keeping Buddha in their heart and mind.
To us, their path is a more traditional path.
我認識一個中醫，她從一開始單純只是唸佛到深入誦經，二十幾年來對佛經也有了很好的詮釋和體會。我也認識一些慈濟志工，他們可以從做環保中很有智慧的修行。這些人有很重要的共通點，那就是每天都在「行」： 接近善知識、持續做善事、面對苦難和唸佛。對我們來說他們走的是比較傳統的路。
Our path differs from theirs in that we seek to directly the dark side of our nature to generate power that will help to propel us to acquire the Truth. We think our method is direct and suit us well. Therefore, we thought that there might be others out there that might like to walk the path with us.
我們的路跟他們的不一樣。我們直接挑戰跟去除黑暗面而產生能力，然後用這些力量去尋找真相。我們覺得跟隨半寄師父走這一條路很直接、也很適合我們。所以覺得世上應該也有其他人可以跟我們一起走。
不要去鑽佛經裡的每一字、每一句不是叫您不要去讀經文、
也不是叫您不要去想經文的意義。
Master Yin Shun in The Way To Buddhahood: Instructions From A Modern Chinese Master (Google this for commercial availability of English version.) wrote: "Belief and Knowledge are both necessary for students of Buddhism. ... Belief is based on emotion, Knowledge is based on rationality. A student of Buddhism needs to develop these two facets equally and harmoniously, because 'Belief without Knowledge will increase ignorance';'Knowledge without belief will increase flatter'. Even thought to Buddhism, these two are the same, but some students will prefer Belief based learning; others will prefer Knowledge based learning. So even though the ultimate goals are the same, there will be preference to one or another, and separate students of Buddhism into two categories." (note: This is not the official translation from the English version. This is my own translation.)
印順法師在「成佛之道」有寫：
「信與智，是學佛所不可缺少 的功德。‧‧‧
信是情意的， 智是理性的，學佛的要使這二者，平衡進展到融和。因為『無慧之信，增長愚 癡』；『無信之慧，增長諂曲』。佛法說信智一如，但在學者的根性來說， 有是重信的，一切以信為前提而進修的；有是重智的，一切以智為前提而進修 的。所以雖然究竟的目標一致，但下手時，信與智不免偏重，形成了佛弟子的 二大類。」
In other words, the path to Buddha-hood has many roads and many methods.
由此可知，成佛之道有許多路、不同法門。
I know a traditional Chinese doctor; she started from simply reciting the name of the Buddha, to reciting the Buddhist Texts. After 20 years, she have very good understanding of Buddhist Texts. I also know some volunteers from Tzuchi acquire wisdom from doing recycling and volunteer works. However, they all have a commonality, that is, they "do" every day: near good and wise people, do good deeds, face suffering and keeping Buddha in their heart and mind.
To us, their path is a more traditional path.
我認識一個中醫，她從一開始單純只是唸佛到深入誦經，二十幾年來對佛經也有了很好的詮釋和體會。我也認識一些慈濟志工，他們可以從做環保中很有智慧的修行。這些人有很重要的共通點，那就是每天都在「行」： 接近善知識、持續做善事、面對苦難和唸佛。對我們來說他們走的是比較傳統的路。
Our path differs from theirs in that we seek to directly the dark side of our nature to generate power that will help to propel us to acquire the Truth. We think our method is direct and suit us well. Therefore, we thought that there might be others out there that might like to walk the path with us.
我們的路跟他們的不一樣。我們直接挑戰跟去除黑暗面而產生能力，然後用這些力量去尋找真相。我們覺得跟隨半寄師父走這一條路很直接、也很適合我們。所以覺得世上應該也有其他人可以跟我們一起走。
2011年9月16日 星期五
經的看法 1 A View of Buddhist Texts 1
Maybe it is because the way I learn Buddhism differs from most traditional Buddhists, I think my view on Buddhist texts is drastically different than most Buddhists. I thought I share my view on Buddhist Texts in case anyone finds it of any interest. But these views are based on my current understanding, and I will modify these views as I progress in my understand of Buddhism.
也許是因為我學習佛學的背景跟傳統佛教徒不一樣，
我對佛經的看法可能也跟傳統佛教徒有所不同。
說不定有人對我的看法有興趣。
但是這些觀點是根據我目前對佛學的了解，
我的想法也會跟自身佛學的成長而改變。
1. Buddhist Texts are not always correct.
佛經不一定都是對的。
The people who wrote and translate Buddhist Texts may not have sufficient understanding and experience of the content of Buddhism. So the Buddhist Texts that we read today may not be completely valid. Within the same Text, there maybe exist both correct and incorrect contents. This is not to say that all Buddhist Texts have problems, some may not have any issue at all.
It takes sufficient level of empirical understanding of Buddhism and logical thinking to be
able to separate them.
寫佛經跟翻譯佛經的人，不一定對佛學有足夠的了解跟體會，
所以寫出來的佛經不一定都完全正確。同一本佛經裡頭可能有正確的文字，但也會有不理想的內容。不過，也不是說全部的佛經都有問題，有些有，有些沒有。要分別好跟不好的內容需要對佛法有足夠的了解跟體會，還需要具備邏輯思考能力。
2. Some contents of Buddhists Texts uses Socratic style method to show a concept. Some present Buddhism world view and concepts, and some are accounts of personal experiences. Real teaching of methods are few and far in between and are often cryptic.
有些佛經的內容，會用類似蘇格拉底反詰法來表現一個概念。
有些介紹佛學的世界觀和概念。有些傳達個人經驗。真正的法門，可以說寥寥無幾、也非常難懂。
3. So it is rather pointless to obsess over every single words in Buddhist Texts for us novices. These texts are there for you to validate your own understanding and experiences, not to argue with each other about what they mean.
因此，我覺得一位剛開始修行的人沒有理由去鑽佛經裡的每一字、每一句。這些經文是要讓您驗證自己的理解和經驗，不是用來做無意義、無謂的辯論。
The problem with Buddhist Texts as a textbook is that they present an answer to a very complex problem without very much derivation, because much of the derivation occurs within oneself and is difficult to explain with words.
用佛經作為教材有一個大問題。佛經給您一個非常複雜問題的答案，但沒有跟您很詳細解釋達到那個答案的方法。因為大部分的方法都在自我裡面尋找，很難用字表達。
Reading Buddhist Texts sometime feels like reading a treatise on Quantum Mechanics without understanding any the complex mathematics behind it. I might know all the words used in the treatise, but I don't necessary know what the words meant in the context. So I end up knowing cool concepts like "quantum entanglement", but I don't really know what it really meant in our lives and how to apply it. I end up having the knowledge, but not the understanding. So why obsess over the words when I don't understand it. I should go learn the math first.
有時候，我讀佛經的感覺跟我在讀一本量子力學的論文是一樣的。我可能認得所有的字，但我不知道這些字在量子力學有什麼意思。因為我完全不了解量子力學的數學。讀完之後，我或許會知道像“量子糾纏”這樣一個聽起來很酷的概念， 但我不知道這個概念在生活中代表什麼意思以及如何應用它。讀這樣的書給我一些知識，可是我無法理解及應用這些知識。所以為什麼我需要被一些我不明白的字和知識給纏住呢？
我應該先學數學。
Therefore, our method give you some simple and basic knowledge, and some home works to help you get some personal empirical experiences with some concepts in Buddhism first. When you have a basic feel of the concepts, then we can work on the next step.
同樣的道理，我們在這裡所說的法門先給您一些基本知識跟功課，希望能幫助您有所體悟。當您有了 體會，就會有能力去做下一步。
Buddha and his disciples have put together a collection of texts that told us the Truth, what it looks and feels like. When you reach a new level of understanding, you will resonate with new and different parts of Buddhist Texts.
佛陀和他的弟子集合這些經文來告訴全世界他們所觀的真相。
當您在佛學中獲得嶄新的體會，對某一部分的佛經產生共鳴，
到時您就會知道自己的程度在哪裡了。
也許是因為我學習佛學的背景跟傳統佛教徒不一樣，
我對佛經的看法可能也跟傳統佛教徒有所不同。
說不定有人對我的看法有興趣。
但是這些觀點是根據我目前對佛學的了解，
我的想法也會跟自身佛學的成長而改變。
1. Buddhist Texts are not always correct.
佛經不一定都是對的。
The people who wrote and translate Buddhist Texts may not have sufficient understanding and experience of the content of Buddhism. So the Buddhist Texts that we read today may not be completely valid. Within the same Text, there maybe exist both correct and incorrect contents. This is not to say that all Buddhist Texts have problems, some may not have any issue at all.
It takes sufficient level of empirical understanding of Buddhism and logical thinking to be
able to separate them.
寫佛經跟翻譯佛經的人，不一定對佛學有足夠的了解跟體會，
所以寫出來的佛經不一定都完全正確。同一本佛經裡頭可能有正確的文字，但也會有不理想的內容。不過，也不是說全部的佛經都有問題，有些有，有些沒有。要分別好跟不好的內容需要對佛法有足夠的了解跟體會，還需要具備邏輯思考能力。
2. Some contents of Buddhists Texts uses Socratic style method to show a concept. Some present Buddhism world view and concepts, and some are accounts of personal experiences. Real teaching of methods are few and far in between and are often cryptic.
有些佛經的內容，會用類似蘇格拉底反詰法來表現一個概念。
有些介紹佛學的世界觀和概念。有些傳達個人經驗。真正的法門，可以說寥寥無幾、也非常難懂。
3. So it is rather pointless to obsess over every single words in Buddhist Texts for us novices. These texts are there for you to validate your own understanding and experiences, not to argue with each other about what they mean.
因此，我覺得一位剛開始修行的人沒有理由去鑽佛經裡的每一字、每一句。這些經文是要讓您驗證自己的理解和經驗，不是用來做無意義、無謂的辯論。
The problem with Buddhist Texts as a textbook is that they present an answer to a very complex problem without very much derivation, because much of the derivation occurs within oneself and is difficult to explain with words.
用佛經作為教材有一個大問題。佛經給您一個非常複雜問題的答案，但沒有跟您很詳細解釋達到那個答案的方法。因為大部分的方法都在自我裡面尋找，很難用字表達。
Reading Buddhist Texts sometime feels like reading a treatise on Quantum Mechanics without understanding any the complex mathematics behind it. I might know all the words used in the treatise, but I don't necessary know what the words meant in the context. So I end up knowing cool concepts like "quantum entanglement", but I don't really know what it really meant in our lives and how to apply it. I end up having the knowledge, but not the understanding. So why obsess over the words when I don't understand it. I should go learn the math first.
有時候，我讀佛經的感覺跟我在讀一本量子力學的論文是一樣的。我可能認得所有的字，但我不知道這些字在量子力學有什麼意思。因為我完全不了解量子力學的數學。讀完之後，我或許會知道像“量子糾纏”這樣一個聽起來很酷的概念， 但我不知道這個概念在生活中代表什麼意思以及如何應用它。讀這樣的書給我一些知識，可是我無法理解及應用這些知識。所以為什麼我需要被一些我不明白的字和知識給纏住呢？
我應該先學數學。
Therefore, our method give you some simple and basic knowledge, and some home works to help you get some personal empirical experiences with some concepts in Buddhism first. When you have a basic feel of the concepts, then we can work on the next step.
同樣的道理，我們在這裡所說的法門先給您一些基本知識跟功課，希望能幫助您有所體悟。當您有了 體會，就會有能力去做下一步。
Buddha and his disciples have put together a collection of texts that told us the Truth, what it looks and feels like. When you reach a new level of understanding, you will resonate with new and different parts of Buddhist Texts.
佛陀和他的弟子集合這些經文來告訴全世界他們所觀的真相。
當您在佛學中獲得嶄新的體會，對某一部分的佛經產生共鳴，
到時您就會知道自己的程度在哪裡了。
2011年9月15日 星期四
第一個改變 First Change
The first time that I changed my behavior due to the Method was subtle. I didn't even know I was doing it or what. It just came natural.
我第一次改變自己的習性，是一個很自然、很微妙的經驗。 這個改變我很久之後才知道。
As most married people know, husband and wife occasionally fight over the most trivial things. Things that any rational observer would say, "Are you guys idiots? Why are you fighting over such a thing?"
結婚過的人都知道，夫妻都會為瑣碎的事情吵架。 任何理性觀察者都會罵說 ：「你們是白痴嗎？為什麼要為這種事吵得那麼厲害？」
Few months after I initiated the method, during one of our fights, I suddenly had a thought: "Why am I doing this? Do I enjoy fighting with her?" But I was fighting and perished this ling of questioning. Afterward, I of course reflected on the fight and anger.
修行開始後，過了幾個月，有次我跟我的太太吵架。 在吵架當中，突然心中有了一個念頭：「我為什麼要這樣做呢？我喜歡嗎？」 但那時我很生氣，就消滅了這個念頭。 結束之後，我開始反省這個吵架和憤怒。
The next time, during the fight, another set of thoughts came to me: "It seems like we are following a formula in our fight. I know if I do A, she will do B, then I can do C, so she will do D...etc. It seems like I will only be satisfied if I see all of her expected reactions, namely, B, D...etc." This thought strike me as odd. Because this means that I continue the fight because I need to see her reactions. If I don't see her expected reactions, I would not be satisfied, and I would continue fighting. Then the reason I fight with her is to satisfy my "habits." Because, I do not get any satisfaction from fighting, because I feel sad at the end as well.
下一次，在吵架當中，又有了另一個念頭：「我們好像是照方程式在吵架，如果我做A，她會做B；那麼我可以做C，因此她將做D...等，似乎我需要這樣做才會滿意。 也就是說我需要看到心中所預期的反應，即B，D...等，按照這樣的模式，吵架才會結束，但問題並沒有解決，之後我們還是會為了類似的問題在吵 架。」 對我來說這很奇怪，我們是為了各自的習性在吵架；而不是為了我自己，畢竟吵完之後我也不會很開心。
We fought few more times, and this idea came out during those times. But I was actually afraid, afraid of change. So I did nothing, and let the fight came to the predictable end that I knew it would. Afterward, I would reflect on my fear.
我們又吵了幾次，這個想法也一直出現在吵架當中。 但是我害怕改變，所以，我什麼也沒做，只是讓這個架吵到已經預知結果，然後就結束。 每次我都會反省自己的恐懼。
Finally, one day, during the fight, I did A, and she did B. Instead of doing C, I told her this idea. I told her that I could do C, and then you would do D and so on. I told her that it would not go anywhere and I don't want to continue because it was no fun at all. I do not need to feed my "habit". That time, the fight ended differently.
終於有一天，在吵架當中，我做了A，我太太也做了B，但是我沒做C，我告訴她這個想法。 我告訴她，我可以做C，然後妳會做D..等，這樣下去不是辦法。 我不想繼續吵下去，因為跟妳吵架一點都沒有樂趣。 我不想讓自己這個習性一直存在。 那次吵架有了不同的結果。
I know, I know. You have all read this before in some self-improvement book somewhere. Actually, so did I, probably many many years ago. But in all these time of fighting, this knowledge did not helped in any way, because it is hard to think of this sort of thing during a fight. This is what we mean by knowledge and empirical understanding. From the book, I gain the knowledge that this is the reason we fight. From self-reflection, I empirically understand that the knowledge is correct. It is hard to apply a knowledge when one is emotional. Only the knowledge that is empirically understood can help in emotional times.
我知道、我知道。 你們都看過類似這種建議跟想法， 很多年前我也看過那類的書。 但這麼久的時間以來，在多次的吵架中，這知識對我沒有任何幫助。 在吵架當中，一個人很難去想這種事。 這就是知識和體會的差別。 從書中，我得到該如何解決吵架的知識。 從自我反思，我體會了這個知識。 在情緒高潮的時候，大腦的知識是很難被運用到的。 在那時候，只有心領神會（體會）的知識能幫您。
From that day forward, our fight all ended unpredictably. I think we both are trying not to fight at all.
從那天起，我們吵架的結果變得難以預測，我們盡量不吵架了。
We still fight, but fewer and shorter. And sometime, our fight even ended up with laughter, instead of tears.
當然還是會吵架，但吵架的時間變短、次數變少了。 甚至有時，我們的吵架是用笑聲結束的，而不是眼淚。
我第一次改變自己的習性，是一個很自然、很微妙的經驗。 這個改變我很久之後才知道。
As most married people know, husband and wife occasionally fight over the most trivial things. Things that any rational observer would say, "Are you guys idiots? Why are you fighting over such a thing?"
結婚過的人都知道，夫妻都會為瑣碎的事情吵架。 任何理性觀察者都會罵說 ：「你們是白痴嗎？為什麼要為這種事吵得那麼厲害？」
Few months after I initiated the method, during one of our fights, I suddenly had a thought: "Why am I doing this? Do I enjoy fighting with her?" But I was fighting and perished this ling of questioning. Afterward, I of course reflected on the fight and anger.
修行開始後，過了幾個月，有次我跟我的太太吵架。 在吵架當中，突然心中有了一個念頭：「我為什麼要這樣做呢？我喜歡嗎？」 但那時我很生氣，就消滅了這個念頭。 結束之後，我開始反省這個吵架和憤怒。
The next time, during the fight, another set of thoughts came to me: "It seems like we are following a formula in our fight. I know if I do A, she will do B, then I can do C, so she will do D...etc. It seems like I will only be satisfied if I see all of her expected reactions, namely, B, D...etc." This thought strike me as odd. Because this means that I continue the fight because I need to see her reactions. If I don't see her expected reactions, I would not be satisfied, and I would continue fighting. Then the reason I fight with her is to satisfy my "habits." Because, I do not get any satisfaction from fighting, because I feel sad at the end as well.
下一次，在吵架當中，又有了另一個念頭：「我們好像是照方程式在吵架，如果我做A，她會做B；那麼我可以做C，因此她將做D...等，似乎我需要這樣做才會滿意。 也就是說我需要看到心中所預期的反應，即B，D...等，按照這樣的模式，吵架才會結束，但問題並沒有解決，之後我們還是會為了類似的問題在吵 架。」 對我來說這很奇怪，我們是為了各自的習性在吵架；而不是為了我自己，畢竟吵完之後我也不會很開心。
We fought few more times, and this idea came out during those times. But I was actually afraid, afraid of change. So I did nothing, and let the fight came to the predictable end that I knew it would. Afterward, I would reflect on my fear.
我們又吵了幾次，這個想法也一直出現在吵架當中。 但是我害怕改變，所以，我什麼也沒做，只是讓這個架吵到已經預知結果，然後就結束。 每次我都會反省自己的恐懼。
Finally, one day, during the fight, I did A, and she did B. Instead of doing C, I told her this idea. I told her that I could do C, and then you would do D and so on. I told her that it would not go anywhere and I don't want to continue because it was no fun at all. I do not need to feed my "habit". That time, the fight ended differently.
終於有一天，在吵架當中，我做了A，我太太也做了B，但是我沒做C，我告訴她這個想法。 我告訴她，我可以做C，然後妳會做D..等，這樣下去不是辦法。 我不想繼續吵下去，因為跟妳吵架一點都沒有樂趣。 我不想讓自己這個習性一直存在。 那次吵架有了不同的結果。
I know, I know. You have all read this before in some self-improvement book somewhere. Actually, so did I, probably many many years ago. But in all these time of fighting, this knowledge did not helped in any way, because it is hard to think of this sort of thing during a fight. This is what we mean by knowledge and empirical understanding. From the book, I gain the knowledge that this is the reason we fight. From self-reflection, I empirically understand that the knowledge is correct. It is hard to apply a knowledge when one is emotional. Only the knowledge that is empirically understood can help in emotional times.
我知道、我知道。 你們都看過類似這種建議跟想法， 很多年前我也看過那類的書。 但這麼久的時間以來，在多次的吵架中，這知識對我沒有任何幫助。 在吵架當中，一個人很難去想這種事。 這就是知識和體會的差別。 從書中，我得到該如何解決吵架的知識。 從自我反思，我體會了這個知識。 在情緒高潮的時候，大腦的知識是很難被運用到的。 在那時候，只有心領神會（體會）的知識能幫您。
From that day forward, our fight all ended unpredictably. I think we both are trying not to fight at all.
從那天起，我們吵架的結果變得難以預測，我們盡量不吵架了。
We still fight, but fewer and shorter. And sometime, our fight even ended up with laughter, instead of tears.
當然還是會吵架，但吵架的時間變短、次數變少了。 甚至有時，我們的吵架是用笑聲結束的，而不是眼淚。
2011年9月14日 星期三
感想 Feelings
把我對佛學的認識盡量用討論的角度切入，東方哲學不論本國或外國，從古至今許多許多的人投身研究，力行、但繁重的經文、修法、專心投入的都無法窺探、何況一般人。
I would like to discuss my understanding of Buddhism. From the ancient time to today, many many people, regardless of their country of origin, have spent their entire lives attempting to study and practice Eastern philosophy to no avail. Due to difficult scriptures and methods. If even people who have devoted their lives have problem understanding them, how could ordinary people comprehend Buddha's words?
於是道的世界很快的神祕化、不可接近、何況修它。
Consequently, the world of Buddha's quickly become mystical, unapproachable, not to mention almost impossible to practice.
然而我們在大部分佛經裡一再看到智慧的提出、那到底是智慧太昂貴? 或是指路的地圖根本畫錯、
However, we have repeatedly seen in the majority of Buddhist Texts that put forward the Wisdom of Buddha. So is Buddha's Wisdom too expensive, or the maps that show the way incorrect?
在我過去的修學裡、面對這些我一再嚼盡腦汁深思、一路遍尋相關書籍、哲學的、文學、歷史、醫學、宗教比較、外加實地演練、演練經文的法義、測試自我對它 的承受能力、一遍又一遍、
In my past studies, I pondered these questions, while searching for clues in related areas, such as philosophy, literature, history, medicine and comparative religion. Furthermore, I practiced and thought about the methods defined in the Buddhist Texts, tested my ability to tolerate them, over and over.
在卸下對權威的看法、及國際間佛學研究、一再的推出新研究下、對法終於有了一些屬於自己感受，也就是禪師追求的說自己的法、不是釋迦牟尼的法、這是一種痛快、我費盡心血才有的一點體會、(不然 !那有元那小子在那裡逍遙 !)
After I was able to detach myself from the authoritative views and international researches on Buddhism, I was able to repeatedly try out new researches of my own. Finally, I have a little bit of my own epiphany about Buddha's method. This is the "Personal method" that Zen-Masters are fond of pursuing, and not "Sakyamuni Buddha's method." A little of empirical understanding as the result of painstaking research gave me great satisfaction. (Did she say I am free and unfettered? She and I must have different understanding of what 逍遙 means.)
藉網路的發達、與諸君分享、當然不認同者謝謝看完。
Thanks to the development of Internet, I am able to share this with everyone. Of course, if you disagree, I thank you for reading.
半寄 Master Ban Ji
I would like to discuss my understanding of Buddhism. From the ancient time to today, many many people, regardless of their country of origin, have spent their entire lives attempting to study and practice Eastern philosophy to no avail. Due to difficult scriptures and methods. If even people who have devoted their lives have problem understanding them, how could ordinary people comprehend Buddha's words?
於是道的世界很快的神祕化、不可接近、何況修它。
Consequently, the world of Buddha's quickly become mystical, unapproachable, not to mention almost impossible to practice.
然而我們在大部分佛經裡一再看到智慧的提出、那到底是智慧太昂貴? 或是指路的地圖根本畫錯、
However, we have repeatedly seen in the majority of Buddhist Texts that put forward the Wisdom of Buddha. So is Buddha's Wisdom too expensive, or the maps that show the way incorrect?
在我過去的修學裡、面對這些我一再嚼盡腦汁深思、一路遍尋相關書籍、哲學的、文學、歷史、醫學、宗教比較、外加實地演練、演練經文的法義、測試自我對它 的承受能力、一遍又一遍、
In my past studies, I pondered these questions, while searching for clues in related areas, such as philosophy, literature, history, medicine and comparative religion. Furthermore, I practiced and thought about the methods defined in the Buddhist Texts, tested my ability to tolerate them, over and over.
在卸下對權威的看法、及國際間佛學研究、一再的推出新研究下、對法終於有了一些屬於自己感受，也就是禪師追求的說自己的法、不是釋迦牟尼的法、這是一種痛快、我費盡心血才有的一點體會、(不然 !那有元那小子在那裡逍遙 !)
After I was able to detach myself from the authoritative views and international researches on Buddhism, I was able to repeatedly try out new researches of my own. Finally, I have a little bit of my own epiphany about Buddha's method. This is the "Personal method" that Zen-Masters are fond of pursuing, and not "Sakyamuni Buddha's method." A little of empirical understanding as the result of painstaking research gave me great satisfaction. (Did she say I am free and unfettered? She and I must have different understanding of what 逍遙 means.)
藉網路的發達、與諸君分享、當然不認同者謝謝看完。
Thanks to the development of Internet, I am able to share this with everyone. Of course, if you disagree, I thank you for reading.
半寄 Master Ban Ji
2011年9月10日 星期六
中秋節快樂！ Happy Mid-Autumn Holiday!
Wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Holiday (At least for the Taiwanese readers.)
We will rest a few days as well, and let everyone a chance to digest and let the knowledge settle a bit before continuing.
祝大家有一個開心的中秋節假期！
大家開心的去過中秋節吧！
本部落格也將休息幾天，大家也有機會去讓自己沈澱一下。
We will rest a few days as well, and let everyone a chance to digest and let the knowledge settle a bit before continuing.
祝大家有一個開心的中秋節假期！
大家開心的去過中秋節吧！
本部落格也將休息幾天，大家也有機會去讓自己沈澱一下。
2011年9月9日 星期五
笨的感覺 Feeling of Stupidity
I now know what stupidity feels like.
我現在知道什麼是「笨的感覺」了。
The feeling of stupidity is not the feeling you get when you get when you forgot to bring lunch to work. It is not the feeling you get when you made some mistake.
這裡所說「笨的感覺」，不是您忘記帶午餐上班的笨，也不是您犯了生活上的某些錯誤，所覺得的笨 。
No, I am talking about the feeling of stupidity when at one moment, you seems to know everything, and at the next, you know you have lost most of it, and you remember what you were like; smart. This feeling of stupidity is laced with great discomfort.
我說的「笨」，是您記得您有多聰明的「笨」。在某一個時刻，您似乎知道一 切，可是在下一個時刻
您卻忘記了大部分，但還記得您在那一刻以前是很聰明的。這種「笨的感覺」 是很不安的。
This is probably not unlike the feeling of a wealthy person losing everything he has overnight.
一個有錢人一夜之間失去所有的財產，或許也有類似的感覺。
For the past few weeks, I have been working and thinking night and day for the blog. Because we are just starting out, I want to make sure we have enough content for people to digest and I have a lot I want to say. Plus, I have to translate my writings to Chinese, and there are a lot of Buddhism words and phrases whose standard English translation that I am not familiar with, so I also had to do a lot of research.
在過去的幾個星期，為了這個部落格，我天天夜夜的在想佛學。
因為剛開始，我要確保我們有足夠的內容，加上有很多想說的話。
除此之外，我需要翻譯，所以也需要花很多時間去研究、
去了解如何用英文去詮釋佛學的單詞和句子。
During those time, I felt smart, because I felt that I have all the knowledge in the world.
那時候，我覺得自己很聰明，感覺世界上所有的知識都在我腦海裡。
Then, last night, I was able to rest a bit, because there are about an extra week of content for the blog ready, and our current topic has come to a natural resting place. It is time for our reader to think about what we wrote. It's time for digestion.
然後，昨天晚上，我終於能夠休息一下，
因為大約有一個星期的文章內容都準備好，我覺得能好好睡一覺了。
而且目前的話題已經到了一個自然需要休息的地方，讀者可能需要一些時間去思考、去消化。
So I had a great night of sleep, the best kind, uninterrupted for 8 hours.
所以，昨晚我的睡眠品質非常好，就是處於全然無知的狀態、八小時不間斷的睡眠。
And when I woke up in the morning, I felt that there is a gaping hole in my brain. I still knew the topics, but I don't think I knew them as precise as before. The concepts that I used to knew with great precision have all seem to loss their clarity. I don't think I will be able to explain the concept to another as clearly as I felt that I should.
醒來之後，覺得我的大腦似乎有個大洞。我應該還知道那些佛學的知識，但並沒有很清楚、變得不精準了。這些概念好像都失去他們的清晰度。我無法解釋這些概念像以前那樣清楚明白。
"I got stupid."
「我變笨了。」
Oh believe me, I know stupid. I have stood in awe of the brilliance of many people, blinded by them even, and felt stupidity before. But this feeling of stupidity is worse than any other, this is the feeling of stupidity that made you question if you are still the same person. This is Stupid with capital 'S'.
呵呵！相信我！我了解「笨」。我被許多聰明人的光輝照過，甚至被他們所蒙蔽而覺得自己笨。但這裡所說笨的感覺是超越其他任何感覺，這種笨的感覺讓您懷疑您是不是同一個人。
Master Ban Ji said that this is good. Our method is to help us understand ourselves better. There is no magic and no mystery to the process of understanding oneself. It is done by admit, accept and self-reflect. I admitted that I felt stupid. I accepted that I am stupid. And I self-reflected on my feeling of stupidity, what did it felt like and why did I feel this way about been stupid. This is how one grows. We have many aspects, and stupidity is one of them. Doesn't hurt to get to know this aspect early.
半寄師父說，這樣很好。這裡所修的方法是幫助我們更好好的了解自己，沒有魔法、也不神秘。
了解自己的過程中，我們需要承認、接受和自我反思。我承認我笨，也接受我變笨，也進一步的去了解笨的感覺跟我對笨的感受。成長是這樣發展的。
人的自我，有許多方面，笨就是其中之一。早點了解自我的笨也是不錯的。
To reward my growth, she told me that I get to write about it so I can self-reflect even more.
為了獎勵我的成長，半寄師父告訴我，需要寫這個經驗跟大家分享，所以我才能自我反省多一些。
So now, not only do I know I got stupid, the whole world now knows too. That's just great!
所以放這篇文章在這裡，不只是我知道自己變笨，全世界也知道我變笨，真好！
My next article should be "How it feels to know the world knows you are stupid."
我的下一篇文章應該是「全世界都知道我變笨的感覺」。
我現在知道什麼是「笨的感覺」了。
The feeling of stupidity is not the feeling you get when you get when you forgot to bring lunch to work. It is not the feeling you get when you made some mistake.
這裡所說「笨的感覺」，不是您忘記帶午餐上班的笨，也不是您犯了生活上的某些錯誤，所覺得的笨 。
No, I am talking about the feeling of stupidity when at one moment, you seems to know everything, and at the next, you know you have lost most of it, and you remember what you were like; smart. This feeling of stupidity is laced with great discomfort.
我說的「笨」，是您記得您有多聰明的「笨」。在某一個時刻，您似乎知道一 切，可是在下一個時刻
您卻忘記了大部分，但還記得您在那一刻以前是很聰明的。這種「笨的感覺」 是很不安的。
This is probably not unlike the feeling of a wealthy person losing everything he has overnight.
一個有錢人一夜之間失去所有的財產，或許也有類似的感覺。
For the past few weeks, I have been working and thinking night and day for the blog. Because we are just starting out, I want to make sure we have enough content for people to digest and I have a lot I want to say. Plus, I have to translate my writings to Chinese, and there are a lot of Buddhism words and phrases whose standard English translation that I am not familiar with, so I also had to do a lot of research.
在過去的幾個星期，為了這個部落格，我天天夜夜的在想佛學。
因為剛開始，我要確保我們有足夠的內容，加上有很多想說的話。
除此之外，我需要翻譯，所以也需要花很多時間去研究、
去了解如何用英文去詮釋佛學的單詞和句子。
During those time, I felt smart, because I felt that I have all the knowledge in the world.
那時候，我覺得自己很聰明，感覺世界上所有的知識都在我腦海裡。
Then, last night, I was able to rest a bit, because there are about an extra week of content for the blog ready, and our current topic has come to a natural resting place. It is time for our reader to think about what we wrote. It's time for digestion.
然後，昨天晚上，我終於能夠休息一下，
因為大約有一個星期的文章內容都準備好，我覺得能好好睡一覺了。
而且目前的話題已經到了一個自然需要休息的地方，讀者可能需要一些時間去思考、去消化。
So I had a great night of sleep, the best kind, uninterrupted for 8 hours.
所以，昨晚我的睡眠品質非常好，就是處於全然無知的狀態、八小時不間斷的睡眠。
And when I woke up in the morning, I felt that there is a gaping hole in my brain. I still knew the topics, but I don't think I knew them as precise as before. The concepts that I used to knew with great precision have all seem to loss their clarity. I don't think I will be able to explain the concept to another as clearly as I felt that I should.
醒來之後，覺得我的大腦似乎有個大洞。我應該還知道那些佛學的知識，但並沒有很清楚、變得不精準了。這些概念好像都失去他們的清晰度。我無法解釋這些概念像以前那樣清楚明白。
"I got stupid."
「我變笨了。」
Oh believe me, I know stupid. I have stood in awe of the brilliance of many people, blinded by them even, and felt stupidity before. But this feeling of stupidity is worse than any other, this is the feeling of stupidity that made you question if you are still the same person. This is Stupid with capital 'S'.
呵呵！相信我！我了解「笨」。我被許多聰明人的光輝照過，甚至被他們所蒙蔽而覺得自己笨。但這裡所說笨的感覺是超越其他任何感覺，這種笨的感覺讓您懷疑您是不是同一個人。
Master Ban Ji said that this is good. Our method is to help us understand ourselves better. There is no magic and no mystery to the process of understanding oneself. It is done by admit, accept and self-reflect. I admitted that I felt stupid. I accepted that I am stupid. And I self-reflected on my feeling of stupidity, what did it felt like and why did I feel this way about been stupid. This is how one grows. We have many aspects, and stupidity is one of them. Doesn't hurt to get to know this aspect early.
半寄師父說，這樣很好。這裡所修的方法是幫助我們更好好的了解自己，沒有魔法、也不神秘。
了解自己的過程中，我們需要承認、接受和自我反思。我承認我笨，也接受我變笨，也進一步的去了解笨的感覺跟我對笨的感受。成長是這樣發展的。
人的自我，有許多方面，笨就是其中之一。早點了解自我的笨也是不錯的。
To reward my growth, she told me that I get to write about it so I can self-reflect even more.
為了獎勵我的成長，半寄師父告訴我，需要寫這個經驗跟大家分享，所以我才能自我反省多一些。
So now, not only do I know I got stupid, the whole world now knows too. That's just great!
所以放這篇文章在這裡，不只是我知道自己變笨，全世界也知道我變笨，真好！
My next article should be "How it feels to know the world knows you are stupid."
我的下一篇文章應該是「全世界都知道我變笨的感覺」。
2011年9月8日 星期四
體會的意思 Meaning of 體會 (currently translated to "experience and acceptance")
I struggled with the translation of "體會" in English. If we break down "體會" and translate it literally, it means "body's understanding." "Understanding" by itself does not seem to convey the meaning of "體會" precisely enough in this context. This meant I don't understand "體會" myself.
有一段時間，我想不出怎麼樣翻譯「體會」才能正確的用英文表達這兩個字的意思。從字面上來看，它的意思是「身體的理解」，但是「Understand」好像不夠正確。這表示我也不是很了解「體會」的意思。
But after I wrote "The First Step 1", I realize that in our context, "體會" means "understand by both the body and the brain," and not "understand by the brain alone."
當我寫完「修行的第一步 1」， 我有了新的詮釋。在這裡，「體會」的意思是「身體跟腦的了解，」不是「大腦的了解。」
Just like it is impossible to truly understand the concept of "fire" by words along. Unless you see the flame and feel the heat, you wont really understand what a "fire" is. The same for the concepts of Śūnyatā and Nidānas. So I'll translate "體會" to "empirically understand" for now.
就像您是不可能從字眼去真正理解「火」的概念，您需要看到火焰跟感覺它的熱才能體會「火」。 「空」跟「因缘」也是需要被體會的。 因此，我會用 "empirically understand" 去翻譯「體會」。
So I'll put this new definition in the Glossary and modify the previous articles with this new translation.
所以，我會把這個定義加進詞彙和修改以前的文章。
有一段時間，我想不出怎麼樣翻譯「體會」才能正確的用英文表達這兩個字的意思。從字面上來看，它的意思是「身體的理解」，但是「Understand」好像不夠正確。這表示我也不是很了解「體會」的意思。
But after I wrote "The First Step 1", I realize that in our context, "體會" means "understand by both the body and the brain," and not "understand by the brain alone."
當我寫完「修行的第一步 1」， 我有了新的詮釋。在這裡，「體會」的意思是「身體跟腦的了解，」不是「大腦的了解。」
Just like it is impossible to truly understand the concept of "fire" by words along. Unless you see the flame and feel the heat, you wont really understand what a "fire" is. The same for the concepts of Śūnyatā and Nidānas. So I'll translate "體會" to "empirically understand" for now.
就像您是不可能從字眼去真正理解「火」的概念，您需要看到火焰跟感覺它的熱才能體會「火」。 「空」跟「因缘」也是需要被體會的。 因此，我會用 "empirically understand" 去翻譯「體會」。
So I'll put this new definition in the Glossary and modify the previous articles with this new translation.
所以，我會把這個定義加進詞彙和修改以前的文章。
蛻變 Transformation
很多年前，無意間看見史作檉先生的著作(台大哲學系老師、後來自願去中學教學、用更多時間實踐他的哲學慨念)，他提到、慈悲、喜捨，對他來說是不可思議的，
Many years ago, I read an article by Mr. Zuò Chēng Shǐ(Note: I am not sure what his English name is.) (He was a professor of philosophy in National Taiwan University. Later, he voluntarily went to teach in High School, so that he can practice his philosophy.) In the article, he noted that words like "compassion" and "happy to donate/give" are inconceivable/unimaginable to him.
這不是一般字眼嗎？我當下這樣想、但同時也像觸電般發抖、我意識到他在說文字的內涵、而不是文字、如果不是文字、那慈悲、喜捨、就不是人可以常去想的! 甚至去認為的!
Aren't these normal words? That's what I was thinking at the moment, but I was also shaking, as if I was struck by lightening. I realized that he was talking about content/meaning/connotation of the words, and not the words themselves. If he's not talking about words, then "compassion" and "happy to donate/give" are not something that people can fathom, even to presume.
那個顫抖讓我重新看待自己所認識的佛學。甚至後來我都不敢輕易談放下、談去執著、因為我不知道別人的遭遇、別人的心、是怎麼個深沉法、怎麼個牽掛法、字跟人體的距離太遠了、遠到讓我起敬畏、甚而默然!
That moment forced me to re-think my understanding of Buddhism at the time. Even much later, I still cannot talk about the concept of "detachment" easily. Because I don't know how deeps other people's experiences and their hearts are, and how "attached" they are. The distance between words and human is too far. Far enough to force me to be in awe and silent!
我感謝這個無意間所翻閱的書籍、它開了我另一個視野、讓我學會就修行而言、不能停留在字眼描繪的世界裡搜索、於是我走到另外一個點!
I am grateful to have read his article. It opened another view for me, and let me know that in my practice of my Buddhism, I cannot search for the Truth in the world described by words. With this understanding, I was able to advance to another place on my journey.
半寄 Master Bàn Jì
Many years ago, I read an article by Mr. Zuò Chēng Shǐ(Note: I am not sure what his English name is.) (He was a professor of philosophy in National Taiwan University. Later, he voluntarily went to teach in High School, so that he can practice his philosophy.) In the article, he noted that words like "compassion" and "happy to donate/give" are inconceivable/unimaginable to him.
這不是一般字眼嗎？我當下這樣想、但同時也像觸電般發抖、我意識到他在說文字的內涵、而不是文字、如果不是文字、那慈悲、喜捨、就不是人可以常去想的! 甚至去認為的!
Aren't these normal words? That's what I was thinking at the moment, but I was also shaking, as if I was struck by lightening. I realized that he was talking about content/meaning/connotation of the words, and not the words themselves. If he's not talking about words, then "compassion" and "happy to donate/give" are not something that people can fathom, even to presume.
那個顫抖讓我重新看待自己所認識的佛學。甚至後來我都不敢輕易談放下、談去執著、因為我不知道別人的遭遇、別人的心、是怎麼個深沉法、怎麼個牽掛法、字跟人體的距離太遠了、遠到讓我起敬畏、甚而默然!
That moment forced me to re-think my understanding of Buddhism at the time. Even much later, I still cannot talk about the concept of "detachment" easily. Because I don't know how deeps other people's experiences and their hearts are, and how "attached" they are. The distance between words and human is too far. Far enough to force me to be in awe and silent!
我感謝這個無意間所翻閱的書籍、它開了我另一個視野、讓我學會就修行而言、不能停留在字眼描繪的世界裡搜索、於是我走到另外一個點!
I am grateful to have read his article. It opened another view for me, and let me know that in my practice of my Buddhism, I cannot search for the Truth in the world described by words. With this understanding, I was able to advance to another place on my journey.
半寄 Master Bàn Jì
2011年9月7日 星期三
四果討論 Discussion on Four Stages of Enlightenment
果位
果位指的是修習之後所獲得的四種果位
初果: 須陀洹 斷三結 (身見 戒取 疑)
二果: 斯陀含 斷三結 (貪 瞋 痴薄)
三果: 阿那含 斷五下分結 (身見 戒取 疑 貪欲 瞋恚 )
四果: 阿羅漢 斷五上分結(色愛 無色愛 掉 慢 無明 )
Four stages of Enlightenment:
First Stage: Sotāpanna,Abandon 3 Fetters (elimination of identity view, ritual attachment, doubt)
Second Stage: Sakadagami,Abandon 3 Fetters(elimination of greed, anger, ignorance)
Third Stage: anāgāmi,Abandon 5 lower Fetters(elimination of identity view, ritual attachment, doubt, sensual desire, ill wills)
Fourth Stage: arahant, Abandon 5 upper Fetters(elimination of material rebirth lust, immaterial rebirth lust, conceit, restlessness, ignorance)
嘗試用現代用語解釋這些難懂的世界，希望證悟的世界不再是神秘的。，佛一字的解釋中文是覺悟者的意思，既然是覺悟者，那這個世界便可探討。
I want to try to use modern language to explain these hard to understand worlds, and I hope that I can help people realize that the worlds of Enlightenment is not mysterious at all. The meaning of the word "Buddha" is "Someone who is enlightened." or "Someone who fully understands." So if there is a human being who was able to "fully understand", then the world of enlightenment that was understood can be discussed and pursued by people.
佛涅槃後一百年，阿羅漢四果的討論，竟然延伸到肉體還有無排泄物的問題! 是可笑還是無知! 既然討論已到那樣，何不用現代的想法，開闢一條生機，這是我的拙見。
100 years after Buddha's Nirvana, the discussion about "4 Stages of Enlightenment" was reduced to arguments of whether the body of the enlightened person can have human excrement. Isn't this ridiculous? I don't know if I should laugh or cry. Given this level of discussion, what is wrong with using modern thinking to create a new understanding? Why persist on using old languages? That's my humble opinion.
四果內容的大意是人世間的自我執著，道德的認同疑問，界定，對佛說因果世界的懷疑，真相的無法透視，理性與完美的極端追求，種族的歧視 ……在證悟果位後自然得到瓦解。
The basic idea of enlightenment is that all the questions and doubts about the definitions of common morality, Buddha's world view of karma, the inability to see the Truth, extreme pursuit of perfection and rationality, racial discrimination … etc will all be neutralized once enlightenment has been achieved.
對佛陀說因果世界會懷疑，是因為現在做好事或做壞事，效果是不會馬上出來的，好，壞都要通過緣的成熟，也就是時間的催化，才會看到結果，但時間是多久? 誰也答不出來，所以會不相信。
People often suspect the world of karma presented by Buddha. This is because people cannot immediate see the effects of doing "good deed" or "doing bad deed" on the "do-er". For karma to present itself, there must be sufficient time to pass for Yuán (緣, Conditions) to be satisfied. How much time? This is a question that no one can answer, so most people do not believe in Karma.
道德的界定、區分，大家一定覺得奇怪，為什麼這樣說?其實道德是很難下定義的。第一、世界各個國家、民族對道德的認定標準都不一樣，第二、縱使集很多的討論，答案不見得令人滿意，比如:在古代你或妳會贊成貞節牌坊嗎? 在近代同志的婚姻，器官的移植，究竟是對，或錯。
Everyone must be wondering why there are difficulties with the definition of absolute morality. First, every country, every culture have different standard. Second, even after many discussions with participants from many different cultures, the answer to the question of absolute morality may not be acceptable to most people. For example, legalization of homosexual marriages and organ transplants, are these right or wrong?
很多人性所延伸的道德爭議，在進入果位的世界後證悟者本身應該是了然於心的、前面說過，證悟過程必得面臨黑暗面，如果黑暗面一、一被修持者本身克服，那人性是什麼? 誰比他或她清楚。
Many ethical issues that arise from human nature can be understood by the enlightened person. I have mentioned previously, the person on the path to Enlightenment must face the "dark side." If the "dark side" can be conquered by the enlightened person, then who will be better than the Enlightened to understand human nature.
請站在智慧的角度看待果位的想法。
Please consider Enlightenment with wisdom.
色愛、無色愛、是一種禪定，四禪天的禪定世界，(一般人認識的精神世界)，指修行人在修到可以擺脫大部份肉體 ，物質的牽制 ，束縛後(尤其是專門坐禪的人)肉體會產生一種輕快，悅愉，那樣的感受會讓人浸在裡面耽溺，不想再走了，甚至更用力去追求更輕安，舒適的感受，證悟的大難題在於已經擁有人間少有的感受後，再次放手往高處攀爬，超越!
[Note: on some level, this is about the world of zazen/jhana/meditation and I don't fully understand it. But I will try to translate this the best I can. Common translation of 色愛 appears to be "material rebirth lust" and 無色愛 to be "immaterial rebirth lust". I don't think they are correct. I'll use "physical delight" and "spiritual delight" for 色愛 and 無色愛. I translated 精神世界 as spiritual world, but do not mean the world of ghosts. Spiritual here means human spirit.]
"Physical Delight" and "Spiritual Delight" are part of fourth stage of jhana one achieves through zazen/jhana/meditation (This is what most people recognize as the spiritual world.)
"Physical Delight" and "Spiritual Delight" are physical sensations a practitioners might feel in their body if they can remove themselves from most body or physical attachment. (This is true especially for people who specializes in zazen/jhana/meditation.) This type of delightful sensation can cause one to be addicted to it and no longer have the will to improve. A crux for achieving enlightenment is the willingness to give up rare delightful feelings in the human world and continue to move forward.
精神世界絕美的追求，是多少高手的想望，藝術的，音樂的，科學的，甚至是體育的。如果用絕美來引述精神，相信清楚很多，順道一提 : 禪修是可以推升絕美的追求。
Pursuit of absolute beauty/perfection in the spiritual world is the goal of many talented professionals in art, music, science even sports. If the pursuit of enlightenment can be described as the pursuit of absolute beauty/perfection, I think many people will understand. By the way, Zen Practice can raise the level of the pursuit of absolute beauty/perfection.
半寄 Master Ban Ji
果位指的是修習之後所獲得的四種果位
初果: 須陀洹 斷三結 (身見 戒取 疑)
二果: 斯陀含 斷三結 (貪 瞋 痴薄)
三果: 阿那含 斷五下分結 (身見 戒取 疑 貪欲 瞋恚 )
四果: 阿羅漢 斷五上分結(色愛 無色愛 掉 慢 無明 )
Four stages of Enlightenment:
First Stage: Sotāpanna,Abandon 3 Fetters (elimination of identity view, ritual attachment, doubt)
Second Stage: Sakadagami,Abandon 3 Fetters(elimination of greed, anger, ignorance)
Third Stage: anāgāmi,Abandon 5 lower Fetters(elimination of identity view, ritual attachment, doubt, sensual desire, ill wills)
Fourth Stage: arahant, Abandon 5 upper Fetters(elimination of material rebirth lust, immaterial rebirth lust, conceit, restlessness, ignorance)
嘗試用現代用語解釋這些難懂的世界，希望證悟的世界不再是神秘的。，佛一字的解釋中文是覺悟者的意思，既然是覺悟者，那這個世界便可探討。
I want to try to use modern language to explain these hard to understand worlds, and I hope that I can help people realize that the worlds of Enlightenment is not mysterious at all. The meaning of the word "Buddha" is "Someone who is enlightened." or "Someone who fully understands." So if there is a human being who was able to "fully understand", then the world of enlightenment that was understood can be discussed and pursued by people.
佛涅槃後一百年，阿羅漢四果的討論，竟然延伸到肉體還有無排泄物的問題! 是可笑還是無知! 既然討論已到那樣，何不用現代的想法，開闢一條生機，這是我的拙見。
100 years after Buddha's Nirvana, the discussion about "4 Stages of Enlightenment" was reduced to arguments of whether the body of the enlightened person can have human excrement. Isn't this ridiculous? I don't know if I should laugh or cry. Given this level of discussion, what is wrong with using modern thinking to create a new understanding? Why persist on using old languages? That's my humble opinion.
四果內容的大意是人世間的自我執著，道德的認同疑問，界定，對佛說因果世界的懷疑，真相的無法透視，理性與完美的極端追求，種族的歧視 ……在證悟果位後自然得到瓦解。
The basic idea of enlightenment is that all the questions and doubts about the definitions of common morality, Buddha's world view of karma, the inability to see the Truth, extreme pursuit of perfection and rationality, racial discrimination … etc will all be neutralized once enlightenment has been achieved.
對佛陀說因果世界會懷疑，是因為現在做好事或做壞事，效果是不會馬上出來的，好，壞都要通過緣的成熟，也就是時間的催化，才會看到結果，但時間是多久? 誰也答不出來，所以會不相信。
People often suspect the world of karma presented by Buddha. This is because people cannot immediate see the effects of doing "good deed" or "doing bad deed" on the "do-er". For karma to present itself, there must be sufficient time to pass for Yuán (緣, Conditions) to be satisfied. How much time? This is a question that no one can answer, so most people do not believe in Karma.
道德的界定、區分，大家一定覺得奇怪，為什麼這樣說?其實道德是很難下定義的。第一、世界各個國家、民族對道德的認定標準都不一樣，第二、縱使集很多的討論，答案不見得令人滿意，比如:在古代你或妳會贊成貞節牌坊嗎? 在近代同志的婚姻，器官的移植，究竟是對，或錯。
Everyone must be wondering why there are difficulties with the definition of absolute morality. First, every country, every culture have different standard. Second, even after many discussions with participants from many different cultures, the answer to the question of absolute morality may not be acceptable to most people. For example, legalization of homosexual marriages and organ transplants, are these right or wrong?
很多人性所延伸的道德爭議，在進入果位的世界後證悟者本身應該是了然於心的、前面說過，證悟過程必得面臨黑暗面，如果黑暗面一、一被修持者本身克服，那人性是什麼? 誰比他或她清楚。
Many ethical issues that arise from human nature can be understood by the enlightened person. I have mentioned previously, the person on the path to Enlightenment must face the "dark side." If the "dark side" can be conquered by the enlightened person, then who will be better than the Enlightened to understand human nature.
請站在智慧的角度看待果位的想法。
Please consider Enlightenment with wisdom.
色愛、無色愛、是一種禪定，四禪天的禪定世界，(一般人認識的精神世界)，指修行人在修到可以擺脫大部份肉體 ，物質的牽制 ，束縛後(尤其是專門坐禪的人)肉體會產生一種輕快，悅愉，那樣的感受會讓人浸在裡面耽溺，不想再走了，甚至更用力去追求更輕安，舒適的感受，證悟的大難題在於已經擁有人間少有的感受後，再次放手往高處攀爬，超越!
[Note: on some level, this is about the world of zazen/jhana/meditation and I don't fully understand it. But I will try to translate this the best I can. Common translation of 色愛 appears to be "material rebirth lust" and 無色愛 to be "immaterial rebirth lust". I don't think they are correct. I'll use "physical delight" and "spiritual delight" for 色愛 and 無色愛. I translated 精神世界 as spiritual world, but do not mean the world of ghosts. Spiritual here means human spirit.]
"Physical Delight" and "Spiritual Delight" are part of fourth stage of jhana one achieves through zazen/jhana/meditation (This is what most people recognize as the spiritual world.)
"Physical Delight" and "Spiritual Delight" are physical sensations a practitioners might feel in their body if they can remove themselves from most body or physical attachment. (This is true especially for people who specializes in zazen/jhana/meditation.) This type of delightful sensation can cause one to be addicted to it and no longer have the will to improve. A crux for achieving enlightenment is the willingness to give up rare delightful feelings in the human world and continue to move forward.
精神世界絕美的追求，是多少高手的想望，藝術的，音樂的，科學的，甚至是體育的。如果用絕美來引述精神，相信清楚很多，順道一提 : 禪修是可以推升絕美的追求。
Pursuit of absolute beauty/perfection in the spiritual world is the goal of many talented professionals in art, music, science even sports. If the pursuit of enlightenment can be described as the pursuit of absolute beauty/perfection, I think many people will understand. By the way, Zen Practice can raise the level of the pursuit of absolute beauty/perfection.
半寄 Master Ban Ji
修行法門的留言 Comments for THE METHOD
sabrina7899 提到...
師父您好,
若能了解因緣所生法, 那麼哲學上或是宗教上所謂"初始點"的難題就可迎刃而解. 因為所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象。所有現象也都可以成為其他現象的「因缘」。
(If one can understand that every phenomenons are created according to Nidānas, then the questions about Origins posed by religion and philosophy can be easily resolved.)
就像橢圓形的運動跑道, 任何一點, 都可以是起點, 也可以是終點, 在橢圓形的運動跑道說哪一點是起點似乎就沒有意義了. 所以, 依照"空", "緣起"來修行, 其令人振奮的地方就在於你可以隨時開始, 隨時進入因緣所生法的人生觀, 體會"我"這個現象, 也是其他現象因緣的組合, 我們可以真正自我選擇光明或是黑暗, 我們將了解自我的遭遇都是由於自我的選擇. 因緣所生法的修行讓我們隨時注意現象的組合, 也對於既成的現象能有反省修正的能力.
(Just like a circular track, every point can be the start and finish. On a circular track, the question of Origin is meaningless. Therefore, to practice according to Śūnyatā and Nidānas means that you can start any time to realize the phenomenon that is "I." This is an exciting realization. Śūnyatā and Nidānas also means that we can choose the "light" or the "dark", and we will understand that all our experiences are results of our own choices. Practicing Śūnyatā and Nidānas lets us constantly noticing how phenomenons come together, and let us review and revise existing phenomenon.)
對嗎? (correct?)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji) [Note: I remember seeing her answer, but somehow it got deleted.]
對 (correct)
------------------
電蚊燈 提到...
師父您好:
與潛意識對話的意思指的是與自己的習慣來戰鬥,比如說壞脾氣,愛忌妒,沒耐心,爭名愛利,說長道短等等,是嗎? 簡而言之就是調整修正損人不利己的事情,對嗎? 因為講潛意識會覺得好像要透過催眠才行!(開玩笑地).不過,與自己的內心奮戰似乎不太容易,就前文講的因緣所生法,修正負向的黑暗面(黑暗面也是緣起 的),就有展現光明面的可能,我們不需急求於探知什麼是光明面(因為光明面也是緣起的),修正黑暗面的同時,光明面也就能如人飲水,冷暖自知了,對嗎?
(Talking to the subconscious means to combat one's bad habits? Like bad temper, jealousy, talking others behind their back...etc, correct? Talking to subconscious seems to require hypnosis (joking). But it seems to be difficult to fight with oneself. As mentioned in the previous comment regarding Śūnyatā and Nidānas, correcting the "dark" will provide the possibility of developing the "light". We don't need to know what is "light" because once the "dark" is eliminated, "light" will present itself.)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji)
叫電蚊燈的. 可以改放大燈: (哈):潛意識沒那麼深奧" 常跟自己對話的人會懂 . 當然不是逃避式的對話 .以下的一切是如人飲水了 半寄
(Subconscious is not that mysterious, people who often have discourse with themselves will understand. The rest you will know when you get there.)
-----------
電蚊燈 提到...
師父,不斷地與自己的內心對話,書局已有很多類似的書籍,仿間也有很多教法,對自己潛意識的修正,能讓自已的行為與人生觀得到改變,那麼,在對話的過程中,除了要誠實地面對自己外,反思的過程如何與空法,如何運用緣起性空的觀念呢?
(There are a lot of books out there that teach people how to talk to oneself and to correct one's subconscious. Then, during the conversation with oneself, other than honesty, how does one apply Śūnyatā and Nidānas?)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji)
電蚊燈: 是有很多相似點，但想向上攀登的人，還是得踏穏第一步，才能再帶入第二階段，第二階段加入無我‧無常觀，但請先熟讀因緣法要義再說，如中觀今釋(或中觀論 原文)，佛法的思向，先勾出自己對法義的熟悉，再談深入觀法，如同佛教徒對中觀論也不陌生，整個佛法都懂更好，基礎愈雄厚愈有本錢往上爬。半寄
(There are many similarities. But anyone who wants to improve oneself must have a stable foundation before they can start the second step. Second step adds the concepts of anattā and anicca. But you need to understand the concept of Nidānas first, from studying article such as A Modern Interpretation of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā or the original text of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. You must first be familiar with the concept of Nidānas before you can apply it. Of course it is better to understand the entire Buddhism, the better the foundation, the higher you will go.)
元 提到...
I want to add that knowing about the concept of anattā (not-self) before completely understand Nidānas can result in a lot of misconceptions that can be hard to correct.
我想補充一點，在完全理解「因緣」之前去想「無我」會導致很多誤解。
-------------------
電蚊燈 提到...
謝謝師父的開釋.要先熟練於與自己的對話,瞭解修正自己,對於摸自己的潛意識有所基礎,知道與外境互動時的內心狀態,對自己有所把握,再透過對緣起法的深入研究,進而與空法相應，才能有下一步的提昇。在此之前，易流於學問的探討。對嗎？
(Getting good at talking to oneself, to know and correct oneself, to have some understanding of one's subconscious, know and control one's emotions when interacting with the world, these are important foundation that is necessary before one can begin to studying Śūnyatā and Nidānas and how to apply them. Before that, the whole thing can easily become an academic study, correct?)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji)
沒錯！我想做的是一個啟發者，學問是一定要的，但佛經浩瀚何時入門，這也是為什麼只提一些相關法要出來探討的原因? 是希望有心人早日入佛法義，而不在經與經間打轉，窮耗心力卻苦無入門處，當然我不敢言有何能力帶別人通往何方? 也不想帶誰去何方！？ 有智慧的人最終將知道自己的皈依處，何須旁人的指向！我只願意啟發。 半寄
(That is correct. I want to be someone who inspires. Knowledge is necessary, but Buddhism is a vast study and can be intimating; that's why we only raise a few related concepts for discussion here. We have this blog hoping to help some people practice Śūnyatā and Nidānas, and not to spent their time spinning within the Buddhist Texts not knowing how to begin to practice them. Of course I don't want to say that I can take any one to any particular place either; I don't want to take any one anywhere. Wise people know exactly where they need to end up, and doesn't need other people's help. I am only willing to inspire.)
--------------
ang5 提到...
師父好：
在自己的潛意識深處，有氧氣，燃料和熱量；有不同的形狀，大小，亮度和色彩的火；還有我。這樣對不對?那個「我」也是排列組合來的，對嗎?
(In my subconscious, there are oxygen, fuel and heat; fire of different shape, size, luminosity and color; also me. Right? The that "I" is also result of different combinations. Right?)
[Note: I am not sure what the author meant by 排列組合, so combination is the best that I can come up with.]
ang5 提到...
師父好：
哈哈!我也上來了
師父的文章說「因緣」往往隱藏在自己的潛意識深處，我覺得這些「因緣」原本是沒有經過排列組合的存在。當排列組 合起了作用，才產生了「電蚊燈」師兄所說的自己的習慣（壞脾氣,愛忌妒,沒耐心,…），所以「跟我們的潛意識對話」應不是外顯為修正自己的好、壞習慣。可 不可以解釋為「確認各個元素和條件排列組合前的樣貌」？
(These articles said that Nidānas often hides within one's subconscious. I feel that these Nidānas originally did not undergo permutation/combination. The bad habits mentioned in the previous comment will manifest themselves when permutation/combination occurs. Can it be explained as "identify the a-priory appearance of every elements and every conditions before them are combined?"
半寄 提到...
ang5 : 你的問題.元的留言已給答案 ˋ 稍後他有更好的說法ˋ不過這個想法很好玩ˋ我想反問你組合前怎麼【確認】ˋ先假設自己的喜ˋ或怒嗎？拜託！又不是機器要製造產品ˋ可以先計算單位ˋ你一定 是工程師ˋ請正視你的感官ˋ會不會跟你說我要確認因素ˋ感覺還沒完全上來前？哈哈
[Note. I think Master Ban Ji answered both comments together here.]
(Your question was already answered by Yuan. Later, he will have better explanations. But this is an interesting concept. I like to ask you how do you "identify" before "they" combines. "Do you presume your happiness or anger?" Please, we are not something about to be assembled by machines with pre-computed quantities. You must be an engineer. Will your sense organs tell you "I want to confirm Nidānas" before you sense stuff?)
上一篇 Previous Part
師父您好,
若能了解因緣所生法, 那麼哲學上或是宗教上所謂"初始點"的難題就可迎刃而解. 因為所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象。所有現象也都可以成為其他現象的「因缘」。
(If one can understand that every phenomenons are created according to Nidānas, then the questions about Origins posed by religion and philosophy can be easily resolved.)
就像橢圓形的運動跑道, 任何一點, 都可以是起點, 也可以是終點, 在橢圓形的運動跑道說哪一點是起點似乎就沒有意義了. 所以, 依照"空", "緣起"來修行, 其令人振奮的地方就在於你可以隨時開始, 隨時進入因緣所生法的人生觀, 體會"我"這個現象, 也是其他現象因緣的組合, 我們可以真正自我選擇光明或是黑暗, 我們將了解自我的遭遇都是由於自我的選擇. 因緣所生法的修行讓我們隨時注意現象的組合, 也對於既成的現象能有反省修正的能力.
(Just like a circular track, every point can be the start and finish. On a circular track, the question of Origin is meaningless. Therefore, to practice according to Śūnyatā and Nidānas means that you can start any time to realize the phenomenon that is "I." This is an exciting realization. Śūnyatā and Nidānas also means that we can choose the "light" or the "dark", and we will understand that all our experiences are results of our own choices. Practicing Śūnyatā and Nidānas lets us constantly noticing how phenomenons come together, and let us review and revise existing phenomenon.)
對嗎? (correct?)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji) [Note: I remember seeing her answer, but somehow it got deleted.]
對 (correct)
------------------
電蚊燈 提到...
師父您好:
與潛意識對話的意思指的是與自己的習慣來戰鬥,比如說壞脾氣,愛忌妒,沒耐心,爭名愛利,說長道短等等,是嗎? 簡而言之就是調整修正損人不利己的事情,對嗎? 因為講潛意識會覺得好像要透過催眠才行!(開玩笑地).不過,與自己的內心奮戰似乎不太容易,就前文講的因緣所生法,修正負向的黑暗面(黑暗面也是緣起 的),就有展現光明面的可能,我們不需急求於探知什麼是光明面(因為光明面也是緣起的),修正黑暗面的同時,光明面也就能如人飲水,冷暖自知了,對嗎?
(Talking to the subconscious means to combat one's bad habits? Like bad temper, jealousy, talking others behind their back...etc, correct? Talking to subconscious seems to require hypnosis (joking). But it seems to be difficult to fight with oneself. As mentioned in the previous comment regarding Śūnyatā and Nidānas, correcting the "dark" will provide the possibility of developing the "light". We don't need to know what is "light" because once the "dark" is eliminated, "light" will present itself.)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji)
叫電蚊燈的. 可以改放大燈: (哈):潛意識沒那麼深奧" 常跟自己對話的人會懂 . 當然不是逃避式的對話 .以下的一切是如人飲水了 半寄
(Subconscious is not that mysterious, people who often have discourse with themselves will understand. The rest you will know when you get there.)
-----------
電蚊燈 提到...
師父,不斷地與自己的內心對話,書局已有很多類似的書籍,仿間也有很多教法,對自己潛意識的修正,能讓自已的行為與人生觀得到改變,那麼,在對話的過程中,除了要誠實地面對自己外,反思的過程如何與空法,如何運用緣起性空的觀念呢?
(There are a lot of books out there that teach people how to talk to oneself and to correct one's subconscious. Then, during the conversation with oneself, other than honesty, how does one apply Śūnyatā and Nidānas?)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji)
電蚊燈: 是有很多相似點，但想向上攀登的人，還是得踏穏第一步，才能再帶入第二階段，第二階段加入無我‧無常觀，但請先熟讀因緣法要義再說，如中觀今釋(或中觀論 原文)，佛法的思向，先勾出自己對法義的熟悉，再談深入觀法，如同佛教徒對中觀論也不陌生，整個佛法都懂更好，基礎愈雄厚愈有本錢往上爬。半寄
(There are many similarities. But anyone who wants to improve oneself must have a stable foundation before they can start the second step. Second step adds the concepts of anattā and anicca. But you need to understand the concept of Nidānas first, from studying article such as A Modern Interpretation of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā or the original text of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. You must first be familiar with the concept of Nidānas before you can apply it. Of course it is better to understand the entire Buddhism, the better the foundation, the higher you will go.)
元 提到...
I want to add that knowing about the concept of anattā (not-self) before completely understand Nidānas can result in a lot of misconceptions that can be hard to correct.
我想補充一點，在完全理解「因緣」之前去想「無我」會導致很多誤解。
-------------------
電蚊燈 提到...
謝謝師父的開釋.要先熟練於與自己的對話,瞭解修正自己,對於摸自己的潛意識有所基礎,知道與外境互動時的內心狀態,對自己有所把握,再透過對緣起法的深入研究,進而與空法相應，才能有下一步的提昇。在此之前，易流於學問的探討。對嗎？
(Getting good at talking to oneself, to know and correct oneself, to have some understanding of one's subconscious, know and control one's emotions when interacting with the world, these are important foundation that is necessary before one can begin to studying Śūnyatā and Nidānas and how to apply them. Before that, the whole thing can easily become an academic study, correct?)
半寄 提到... (Master Ban Ji)
沒錯！我想做的是一個啟發者，學問是一定要的，但佛經浩瀚何時入門，這也是為什麼只提一些相關法要出來探討的原因? 是希望有心人早日入佛法義，而不在經與經間打轉，窮耗心力卻苦無入門處，當然我不敢言有何能力帶別人通往何方? 也不想帶誰去何方！？ 有智慧的人最終將知道自己的皈依處，何須旁人的指向！我只願意啟發。 半寄
(That is correct. I want to be someone who inspires. Knowledge is necessary, but Buddhism is a vast study and can be intimating; that's why we only raise a few related concepts for discussion here. We have this blog hoping to help some people practice Śūnyatā and Nidānas, and not to spent their time spinning within the Buddhist Texts not knowing how to begin to practice them. Of course I don't want to say that I can take any one to any particular place either; I don't want to take any one anywhere. Wise people know exactly where they need to end up, and doesn't need other people's help. I am only willing to inspire.)
--------------
ang5 提到...
師父好：
在自己的潛意識深處，有氧氣，燃料和熱量；有不同的形狀，大小，亮度和色彩的火；還有我。這樣對不對?那個「我」也是排列組合來的，對嗎?
(In my subconscious, there are oxygen, fuel and heat; fire of different shape, size, luminosity and color; also me. Right? The that "I" is also result of different combinations. Right?)
[Note: I am not sure what the author meant by 排列組合, so combination is the best that I can come up with.]
ang5 提到...
師父好：
哈哈!我也上來了
師父的文章說「因緣」往往隱藏在自己的潛意識深處，我覺得這些「因緣」原本是沒有經過排列組合的存在。當排列組 合起了作用，才產生了「電蚊燈」師兄所說的自己的習慣（壞脾氣,愛忌妒,沒耐心,…），所以「跟我們的潛意識對話」應不是外顯為修正自己的好、壞習慣。可 不可以解釋為「確認各個元素和條件排列組合前的樣貌」？
(These articles said that Nidānas often hides within one's subconscious. I feel that these Nidānas originally did not undergo permutation/combination. The bad habits mentioned in the previous comment will manifest themselves when permutation/combination occurs. Can it be explained as "identify the a-priory appearance of every elements and every conditions before them are combined?"
半寄 提到...
ang5 : 你的問題.元的留言已給答案 ˋ 稍後他有更好的說法ˋ不過這個想法很好玩ˋ我想反問你組合前怎麼【確認】ˋ先假設自己的喜ˋ或怒嗎？拜託！又不是機器要製造產品ˋ可以先計算單位ˋ你一定 是工程師ˋ請正視你的感官ˋ會不會跟你說我要確認因素ˋ感覺還沒完全上來前？哈哈
[Note. I think Master Ban Ji answered both comments together here.]
(Your question was already answered by Yuan. Later, he will have better explanations. But this is an interesting concept. I like to ask you how do you "identify" before "they" combines. "Do you presume your happiness or anger?" Please, we are not something about to be assembled by machines with pre-computed quantities. You must be an engineer. Will your sense organs tell you "I want to confirm Nidānas" before you sense stuff?)
上一篇 Previous Part
2011年9月6日 星期二
偈, Buddhist Hymn
好像佛法的書都有這種偈，所以我也來試試看。
滅苦集福道成難
佛道人心一路暗
眾人成佛一心求
知因透緣人間佛
因緣難知無明起
無明住因心畏心
擊心克怖現心晴
緣起性空見世間
Note to English readers: Even thought I wrote these hymns, I really have no idea how to translate it to English and maintain the poetic quality. So please forgive me for leaving this untranslated for now. This type of hymns tends to appear in Chinese books on Buddhism and are either inspirational in nature or serves as executive summary. So you are not really missing anything except for my third grade poetry making ability.
滅苦集福道成難
佛道人心一路暗
眾人成佛一心求
知因透緣人間佛
因緣難知無明起
無明住因心畏心
擊心克怖現心晴
緣起性空見世間
Note to English readers: Even thought I wrote these hymns, I really have no idea how to translate it to English and maintain the poetic quality. So please forgive me for leaving this untranslated for now. This type of hymns tends to appear in Chinese books on Buddhism and are either inspirational in nature or serves as executive summary. So you are not really missing anything except for my third grade poetry making ability.
修行的第一步: 一些觀察 (改變 2011年9月7日) The First Step : Some Observations (changed 9/7/2011)
9/7/2011 2011年9月7日 Changed point 5. 更改第五點。
9/6/2011 2011年9月6日 I had a conversation with Master Ban Ji, and have decided to modify the content a little bit. 跟半寄師父討論之後，我把文章的內容修改了一點點。
---------
Here are some observations that I made about the practice of this step that I like to share.
我對第一步的實踐有些觀察，在此和大家分享一下。
1. Some people are very good at answering this type of questions. The chain of questions and answers can last a long time. However, I found that for many of these people, the answers become circular, like "it is important to me," "it is something that I treasure," "I rely on it.". These three answers are essentially all the same. So if asking "why losing something important to you made you sad?" has an answer of "Because it is something that I treasure.", then the chain of questions and answers just become circular.
有些人很會回答這類型的問題。 這樣一個接一個問下去可能會持續很久。 不過，我發現：到最後，他們的答案都有相同的意思，但卻用不一樣的字來回答。 例如：「這對我很重要」、「它是我的寶貝」、「我依靠它」這三個答案基本上都是一樣的。 所以，如果問「為什麼失去你很重要的東西，會讓你難過？」的回答是：「因為它是我的寶貝.」，這個問題就被躲避了。
The other case is that they simply said "I was born that way." Then there is really no good way to continue the questions.
另一種情況是，他們簡單的回答：「我生來就是這樣」。 這樣的答案是沒有辦法繼續問下去的。
Neither of these types of answers will help in their pursuit of themselves. They need to go back one question and rethink about the answer to the previous question.
類似這樣的答案，無法幫這些人尋找他們的真相。 他們需要不斷的重新問自己。
2.Sometimes, instead of asking about negative emotions such as anger, sadness or agitation, asking about positive emotions like happiness and love might be more fruitful.
有時，可以試著問正面的情緒，例如：開心和愛，會比負面的情緒如：憤怒、悲傷或激動會更有用。
Master Ban Ji said that contemplating about positive emotions is not helpful, because positive emotions are something that the body is happy to accept. In this practice, you need to focus on your weakness, which is your negative emotions.
半寄師父說，問正面的情緒不會有幫助，因為您的身體樂於接受正面的情緒。在這個法門，您需要把重點放在您的弱點上，也就是負面的情緒。
3. The trick is to have your "brain" ask your "heart." When you don't know the answer, instead of trying to use your "brain" to think of an answer, ask the "heart" instead. I found that with practice, you can skip all the questioning and simply ask the question directly. You just need to keep the incident in mind, and have your "brain" ask the question, "why do I feel X?" to the "heart" directly.
這個方法的關鍵是用您的「大腦」 去問您的「心」。當您不知道答案時，不要試圖用您的「大腦」去想，直接問您的「心」。我發現當您有了足夠的經驗，您不用一步一步的問。您只需要在您的腦海裡持續想著這個問題，然後直接問您的「心」：「為什麼我覺得.....？」
4. The key is that it is not necessary to let your "brain" know the answer to the question. The key of this process is to stimulate your subconscious.
重點不是讓您的「大腦」 知道答案，而是要刺激您的潛意識。
5.This method might be more helpful for people who tend to be rational and not emotional.
這個方法可能對理性的人比較有幫助。
If your emotion tends to overwhelm your rationality, then you need to work on raising your rationality so that you know that the answers provided by your brain are not the real answers. (See point 2.) How do you do this? You can try to learn how to write software. You can learn logic. You can learn mathematics. You can try to work with your hand and learn how to fix machines. Anything that will help your brain grow.
如果您的情緒往往壓制您的理性，那麼您需要提升您的理性，所以您才能知道您的大腦給的答案是不是真正的答案（見第2點）。 您要怎麼提升理性呢？ 您可以試試學寫電腦軟體。 您可以學邏輯。 您可以學數學。 您可以嘗試使用試著使用手，並學習如何修復機器、一切讓腦成長的方法。
9/6/2011 2011年9月6日 I had a conversation with Master Ban Ji, and have decided to modify the content a little bit. 跟半寄師父討論之後，我把文章的內容修改了一點點。
---------
Here are some observations that I made about the practice of this step that I like to share.
我對第一步的實踐有些觀察，在此和大家分享一下。
1. Some people are very good at answering this type of questions. The chain of questions and answers can last a long time. However, I found that for many of these people, the answers become circular, like "it is important to me," "it is something that I treasure," "I rely on it.". These three answers are essentially all the same. So if asking "why losing something important to you made you sad?" has an answer of "Because it is something that I treasure.", then the chain of questions and answers just become circular.
有些人很會回答這類型的問題。 這樣一個接一個問下去可能會持續很久。 不過，我發現：到最後，他們的答案都有相同的意思，但卻用不一樣的字來回答。 例如：「這對我很重要」、「它是我的寶貝」、「我依靠它」這三個答案基本上都是一樣的。 所以，如果問「為什麼失去你很重要的東西，會讓你難過？」的回答是：「因為它是我的寶貝.」，這個問題就被躲避了。
The other case is that they simply said "I was born that way." Then there is really no good way to continue the questions.
另一種情況是，他們簡單的回答：「我生來就是這樣」。 這樣的答案是沒有辦法繼續問下去的。
Neither of these types of answers will help in their pursuit of themselves. They need to go back one question and rethink about the answer to the previous question.
類似這樣的答案，無法幫這些人尋找他們的真相。 他們需要不斷的重新問自己。
2.
有時，可以試著問正面的情緒，例如：開心和愛，會比負面的情緒如：憤怒、悲傷或激動會更有用。
Master Ban Ji said that contemplating about positive emotions is not helpful, because positive emotions are something that the body is happy to accept. In this practice, you need to focus on your weakness, which is your negative emotions.
半寄師父說，問正面的情緒不會有幫助，因為您的身體樂於接受正面的情緒。在這個法門，您需要把重點放在您的弱點上，也就是負面的情緒。
3. The trick is to have your "brain" ask your "heart." When you don't know the answer, instead of trying to use your "brain" to think of an answer, ask the "heart" instead. I found that with practice, you can skip all the questioning and simply ask the question directly. You just need to keep the incident in mind, and have your "brain" ask the question, "why do I feel X?" to the "heart" directly.
這個方法的關鍵是用您的「大腦」 去問您的「心」。當您不知道答案時，不要試圖用您的「大腦」去想，直接問您的「心」。我發現當您有了足夠的經驗，您不用一步一步的問。您只需要在您的腦海裡持續想著這個問題，然後直接問您的「心」：「為什麼我覺得.....？」
4. The key is that it is not necessary to let your "brain" know the answer to the question. The key of this process is to stimulate your subconscious.
重點不是讓您的「大腦」 知道答案，而是要刺激您的潛意識。
5.
這個方法可能對理性的人比較有幫助。
If your emotion tends to overwhelm your rationality, then you need to work on raising your rationality so that you know that the answers provided by your brain are not the real answers. (See point 2.) How do you do this? You can try to learn how to write software. You can learn logic. You can learn mathematics. You can try to work with your hand and learn how to fix machines. Anything that will help your brain grow.
如果您的情緒往往壓制您的理性，那麼您需要提升您的理性，所以您才能知道您的大腦給的答案是不是真正的答案（見第2點）。 您要怎麼提升理性呢？ 您可以試試學寫電腦軟體。 您可以學邏輯。 您可以學數學。 您可以嘗試使用試著使用手，並學習如何修復機器、一切讓腦成長的方法。
2011年9月5日 星期一
我的簡介 About Myself
修行的第二步 The Second Step
The first step might seen easy, but it's not a trivial matter. It takes time, efforts and courage.
It could take months or years to see the progress.
修行的第一步看似很容易，但它需要時間、努力和勇氣來成就。 您可能需要幾個月或幾年的時間才能知道自己的進步。
We will withhold further information about the second step, until such a time that we know there are people out there that have made progress in the first step.
所以在此不討論下一步的修行方法，直到有人在修行的第一步已經取得進展。
However, in the mean time, we will be happy to help and discuss the method with anyone who are interested in pursuing it.
但在此部落格，我們會很樂意的繼續幫助有心有緣的人來修行。
As a result of persistently asking yourself, you will arouse a will to live, and you will not be willing to let yourself to continually immerse in mud. Part of the practice is to force yourself to advance and not stay in the same place. You must create energy to push into yourself to see the lights of dawn.
一直追問自已的結果，會激發自我的求生意志，不願意自已一直浸在泥沼裡，修行必須逼迫自已不要一直在原地踏步，一定要催發出前進的力量，到這裡自已會看到曙光。
上一篇 Previous Part Next Part 下一篇
It could take months or years to see the progress.
修行的第一步看似很容易，但它需要時間、努力和勇氣來成就。 您可能需要幾個月或幾年的時間才能知道自己的進步。
We will withhold further information about the second step, until such a time that we know there are people out there that have made progress in the first step.
所以在此不討論下一步的修行方法，直到有人在修行的第一步已經取得進展。
However, in the mean time, we will be happy to help and discuss the method with anyone who are interested in pursuing it.
但在此部落格，我們會很樂意的繼續幫助有心有緣的人來修行。
As a result of persistently asking yourself, you will arouse a will to live, and you will not be willing to let yourself to continually immerse in mud. Part of the practice is to force yourself to advance and not stay in the same place. You must create energy to push into yourself to see the lights of dawn.
一直追問自已的結果，會激發自我的求生意志，不願意自已一直浸在泥沼裡，修行必須逼迫自已不要一直在原地踏步，一定要催發出前進的力量，到這裡自已會看到曙光。
上一篇 Previous Part Next Part 下一篇
2011年9月4日 星期日
電子郵件 EMAIL
I have created an EMAIL for the blog.
我建了部落格的電子郵件地址。
nanzenjingshe@gmail.com
Please send email to this address if you want to talk to us but does not want to leave a public comment.
如果您不想公開留言，請發送電子郵件到這個地址。
我建了部落格的電子郵件地址。
nanzenjingshe@gmail.com
Please send email to this address if you want to talk to us but does not want to leave a public comment.
如果您不想公開留言，請發送電子郵件到這個地址。
留言規矩 Comment Policies
Now that we are having some comments on the blog, I would like to introduce our comment policies to help make our discussions useful and accessible for most people.
我們開始有留言了，所以我想向大家介紹我們的留言規矩，以讓我們的討論有用和方便。
1. No spams, no duplicated comments and no content free comments. I'll moderate the comments ruthlessly. A comment with a single word "good" or "first", is content free.
垃圾郵件，重複留言和沒有內容的留言是不允許的。
“讚”或“第一”是沒有內容的留言。
我會很無情的刪除這些留言。
2. I am currently allowing anonymous comments. However, if spam ever becomes a problem, anonymous comments will be disabled.
我目前允許匿名留言。但是，如果垃圾郵件成為一個問題，匿名留言將被禁用。
3. I will collect comments and translate them from Chinese to English, or English to Chinese as necessary, and post them as standalone articles from time to time. But I may not do every one and I will choose the comments to republish at my discretion.
我將不定時的收集和翻譯一些留言作為獨立的文章。
但不是每一個留言都會被收集的。
我們開始有留言了，所以我想向大家介紹我們的留言規矩，以讓我們的討論有用和方便。
1. No spams, no duplicated comments and no content free comments. I'll moderate the comments ruthlessly. A comment with a single word "good" or "first", is content free.
垃圾郵件，重複留言和沒有內容的留言是不允許的。
“讚”或“第一”是沒有內容的留言。
我會很無情的刪除這些留言。
2. I am currently allowing anonymous comments. However, if spam ever becomes a problem, anonymous comments will be disabled.
我目前允許匿名留言。但是，如果垃圾郵件成為一個問題，匿名留言將被禁用。
3. I will collect comments and translate them from Chinese to English, or English to Chinese as necessary, and post them as standalone articles from time to time. But I may not do every one and I will choose the comments to republish at my discretion.
我將不定時的收集和翻譯一些留言作為獨立的文章。
但不是每一個留言都會被收集的。
修行的第一步 2 The First Step 2
Often, when our emotion flares, we don't know why. We may know the reason superficially, like, "I am angry because he's too loud." But we really don't know why "he's loud" made us angry at that moment. Because, after all, if it is noise itself that cause anger, we would be angry all the time in any place with a lot of people.
通常，我們都不知道為什麼情緒會莫名的發生。 我們也許知道表面上的理由，「我很生氣，因為他很吵。」 但是為什麼他很吵就會讓我生氣呢？ 如果是聲音的大小而造成「我」的憤怒，那「我」應該在其他一樣吵的場合也會生氣。
Our emotion is caused by our Nidānas at that moment in time. The senses we that received through our body, interacts with our Nidānas in our subconscious, result in the emotion.
我們的情緒是被當下的「因缘」所造成的。 而感官所接收到的感覺與我們潛意識裡的「因缘」互動產生了那當下的情緒。
We cannot eliminate sensory inputs, but we can understand and change Nidānas within us, in order to control our emotions. To do so, we need to understand oneself. How do you go about understanding yourself? That's is easy, all you have to do is to ask.
若想要控制我們的情緒，只能透過了解和改變內在的「因缘」，「放下」我們的感官並不是好方法。 我們需要了解自己。 您要怎樣了解自己呢？ 只有不斷的向內問自己。
Anytime you feel an emotion rising, you can ask yourself “Why do I feel this way?” (For example, “Why am I jealous?”) If the answer to this question is pointing to someone else, such as “Because of him.” (For example, “Because he is wealthier.”) then you need to rephrase the question to “Why does he make me feel this way.” (For example, “Why am I been affected by his wealth?”) Keep doing this until you cannot answer the question and then keep searching for the answer in the subconscious.
每當您感覺情緒上升，您可以問問自己「為什麼我有這個感覺呢？」（例如，「為什麼我會忌妒？」）如果這個問題的答案，是指向別人，如：「因為他如何如何」（例如，「因為他很有錢。」），那麼您需要追問自己「為什麼他如何如何會讓我有這樣的感覺？」（例如，「為什麼他有錢會讓我忌妒？」）這樣不停的追問，直到您無法回答，然後不斷的在潛意識裡尋找答案。
If you cannot control your emotion at the time of the event to ask the question, you can always ask yourself when you are calm and away from the event.
如果您無法在當下控制您的情緒，您可以冷靜過後再自我反省。
During this process, you might feel a lot of physical or mental discomfort from asking the question. Keep trying for as long as you can. If the discomfort becomes unbearable, you can take a break and do something else. The more discomfort a question is, the more you will need to keep probing for answers.
在此自我反省的過程中，您也許會感受很多身體或心理的不適。 請不要理會身體或心理的不適感，繼續在潛意識裡尋找答案。 如果不適感變得難以忍受，請休息一下，做別的事情。 請您記住：若不適感愈來愈強烈，表示您愈需要向內不斷尋問。
You might not ever get any answer from your subconscious. But you will know you have improved when you respond to a situation in a different manner than a previous encounter of the same situation.
您可能永遠不會從你的潛意識裡得到任何答案。 但當下次面對同樣的情況，而您有不同的反應時，就會知道自己有進步了。
通常，我們都不知道為什麼情緒會莫名的發生。 我們也許知道表面上的理由，「我很生氣，因為他很吵。」 但是為什麼他很吵就會讓我生氣呢？ 如果是聲音的大小而造成「我」的憤怒，那「我」應該在其他一樣吵的場合也會生氣。
Our emotion is caused by our Nidānas at that moment in time. The senses we that received through our body, interacts with our Nidānas in our subconscious, result in the emotion.
我們的情緒是被當下的「因缘」所造成的。 而感官所接收到的感覺與我們潛意識裡的「因缘」互動產生了那當下的情緒。
We cannot eliminate sensory inputs, but we can understand and change Nidānas within us, in order to control our emotions. To do so, we need to understand oneself. How do you go about understanding yourself? That's is easy, all you have to do is to ask.
若想要控制我們的情緒，只能透過了解和改變內在的「因缘」，「放下」我們的感官並不是好方法。 我們需要了解自己。 您要怎樣了解自己呢？ 只有不斷的向內問自己。
Anytime you feel an emotion rising, you can ask yourself “Why do I feel this way?” (For example, “Why am I jealous?”) If the answer to this question is pointing to someone else, such as “Because of him.” (For example, “Because he is wealthier.”) then you need to rephrase the question to “Why does he make me feel this way.” (For example, “Why am I been affected by his wealth?”) Keep doing this until you cannot answer the question and then keep searching for the answer in the subconscious.
每當您感覺情緒上升，您可以問問自己「為什麼我有這個感覺呢？」（例如，「為什麼我會忌妒？」）如果這個問題的答案，是指向別人，如：「因為他如何如何」（例如，「因為他很有錢。」），那麼您需要追問自己「為什麼他如何如何會讓我有這樣的感覺？」（例如，「為什麼他有錢會讓我忌妒？」）這樣不停的追問，直到您無法回答，然後不斷的在潛意識裡尋找答案。
If you cannot control your emotion at the time of the event to ask the question, you can always ask yourself when you are calm and away from the event.
如果您無法在當下控制您的情緒，您可以冷靜過後再自我反省。
During this process, you might feel a lot of physical or mental discomfort from asking the question. Keep trying for as long as you can. If the discomfort becomes unbearable, you can take a break and do something else. The more discomfort a question is, the more you will need to keep probing for answers.
在此自我反省的過程中，您也許會感受很多身體或心理的不適。 請不要理會身體或心理的不適感，繼續在潛意識裡尋找答案。 如果不適感變得難以忍受，請休息一下，做別的事情。 請您記住：若不適感愈來愈強烈，表示您愈需要向內不斷尋問。
You might not ever get any answer from your subconscious. But you will know you have improved when you respond to a situation in a different manner than a previous encounter of the same situation.
您可能永遠不會從你的潛意識裡得到任何答案。 但當下次面對同樣的情況，而您有不同的反應時，就會知道自己有進步了。
2011年9月3日 星期六
修行的第一步 1 The First Step 1
When your car breaks down and doesn't start, what do you do? If you know cars, you can try to fix it yourself. If you don't, you will find someone else to fix it for you. Either way, for the car to be able to start, some one who knows about cars is needed to fix it. Using our terminologies,we say that "we need someone who knows car's Nidānas to fix the car."
當您的車壞了，無法啟動，您怎麼辦呢？ 如果您懂汽車，您可以自己修理。 如果不懂，您會找一個懂汽車的人幫您修理。 不論如何，要把汽車修理好，我們需要有一個懂汽車的人。 這個結論，用我們的字眼來說會成為『要把汽車修理好，我們需要有一個了解汽車「因缘」的人。』
Similarly, someone who knows our Nidānas is needed in order to resolve our emotional and mental problems. With the current technology, modern western medicines can only suppress the physical symptoms of these problems, but they cannot resolve it. Not yet, anyway.
同樣的，要解決情緒或精神上的問題，我們需要一個了解我們自己「因缘」的人。 現在的科學及西方醫學只能抑制情緒或精神問題所造成的身體症狀，還沒有辦法將問題的癥結連根拔起。
Unfortunately, there is no one else who can know our Nidānas better than us, because our Nidānas is the accumulated result of our senses and interactions with the world since the day we were born. Needless to say, our Nidānas is extremely complex. To make the matter worse, the details of Nidānas are often hidden deep within our subconscious, and it is not easy to change.
不幸的是，沒有人比我們更知道自己的「因缘」。 因為我們的「因缘」是從這輩子與世界互動所累積的，所以非常的複雜。 更困難的是，我們的「因缘」往往隱藏在自己的潛意識深處，很難去知道了解，更難去改變。
So the first step in our pursuit of our own personal Truth is to talk to our subconscious.
所以追求自我真相的第一步，是去跟我們的潛意識對話。
當您的車壞了，無法啟動，您怎麼辦呢？ 如果您懂汽車，您可以自己修理。 如果不懂，您會找一個懂汽車的人幫您修理。 不論如何，要把汽車修理好，我們需要有一個懂汽車的人。 這個結論，用我們的字眼來說會成為『要把汽車修理好，我們需要有一個了解汽車「因缘」的人。』
Similarly, someone who knows our Nidānas is needed in order to resolve our emotional and mental problems. With the current technology, modern western medicines can only suppress the physical symptoms of these problems, but they cannot resolve it. Not yet, anyway.
同樣的，要解決情緒或精神上的問題，我們需要一個了解我們自己「因缘」的人。 現在的科學及西方醫學只能抑制情緒或精神問題所造成的身體症狀，還沒有辦法將問題的癥結連根拔起。
Unfortunately, there is no one else who can know our Nidānas better than us, because our Nidānas is the accumulated result of our senses and interactions with the world since the day we were born. Needless to say, our Nidānas is extremely complex. To make the matter worse, the details of Nidānas are often hidden deep within our subconscious, and it is not easy to change.
不幸的是，沒有人比我們更知道自己的「因缘」。 因為我們的「因缘」是從這輩子與世界互動所累積的，所以非常的複雜。 更困難的是，我們的「因缘」往往隱藏在自己的潛意識深處，很難去知道了解，更難去改變。
So the first step in our pursuit of our own personal Truth is to talk to our subconscious.
所以追求自我真相的第一步，是去跟我們的潛意識對話。
2011年9月2日 星期五
空跟因緣 2 Śūnyatā and Nidānas 2
In the previous post of the same topic, we have shown that all phenomenons depends on other phenomenons for their life-cycle and that all phenomenons can be Nidānas for other phenomenons.
在前一個話題，我們已經解釋為什麼『所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象。』和『所有現象也都可以成為其他現象的「因缘」。』
Science has made tremendous progress since the time of Buddha to show us the Nidānas behind many physical phenomenons. Science is so good at it that it has advanced the explanation of physical phenomenons to subatomic and quantum levels; the level that we cannot easily see with our naked eyes, and the level that we cannot easily fathom without high level mathematics. Science are good enough to control and create Nidānas in order to create new phenomenons.
從佛陀的時代到現在，科學有了巨大的進步，讓我們了解許多物理現象的「因缘」。 科學先進到可以用很難懂的數學和不是很容易看得到的東西，比如原子和量子，來解釋物理現象的「因缘」。 科學甚至能控制「因缘」，去創造新的現象。
Concepts of Śūnyatā and Nidānas are common knowledge among most people in the world as it applies to physical phenomenons. Most of us would accept them if given different terminologies. However, none of us give this any thought as we live our lives, mainly because we don't need to. Scientists and Engineers have done the work for most of us. Scientists' search for the Truth has provided us with a more comfortable physical and material life, likewise, our search for the Truth in human nature will provide us a better mental and emotional life.
對世界上大多數人來說，「空」和 「因缘」這樣的字眼很難讓大家接受這樣的概念。 但是如果我們換個字，大家就能比較了解。 尤其在物理現象上。 但這些概念對我們的生活沒有太多影響，因為我們不需要常常將這些概念放在我們的心上。 科學家和工程師已經用這些概念改變了我們的生活。 科學家在尋找物理真相的過程中為我們提供了更舒適的物質生活。 同樣的，我們在尋找人性真相的過程，也會為我們提供一個更好的精神和情感生命。
However, if we want to learn the Truth through the path of Buddhism, we will need to develop the knowledge and personal experiences of our body and mind as they relate to Śūnyatā and Nidānas. Just as scientists spent significant portion of their lives to study and understand physical realm, we need to expect the same amount of efforts in our search for Truth in the human realm.
但是，如果我們想透過佛學去了解真相，我們需要開發自我的「空」跟「因缘」 的知識和體會。 正如科學家們花了很多時間跟精神去學習和理解物理世界，我們也需像他們一樣努力的在人世間尋求真相。
We will try to explain the concepts and provide knowledge relating to these concepts, but the experience and acceptance of these concepts can only be through personal experiences and reflections.
我們會盡量解釋這些概念和提供知識在這個部落格上，但這些概念只能通過親身經歷和反思才能真正體會。
在前一個話題，我們已經解釋為什麼『所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象。』和『所有現象也都可以成為其他現象的「因缘」。』
Science has made tremendous progress since the time of Buddha to show us the Nidānas behind many physical phenomenons. Science is so good at it that it has advanced the explanation of physical phenomenons to subatomic and quantum levels; the level that we cannot easily see with our naked eyes, and the level that we cannot easily fathom without high level mathematics. Science are good enough to control and create Nidānas in order to create new phenomenons.
從佛陀的時代到現在，科學有了巨大的進步，讓我們了解許多物理現象的「因缘」。 科學先進到可以用很難懂的數學和不是很容易看得到的東西，比如原子和量子，來解釋物理現象的「因缘」。 科學甚至能控制「因缘」，去創造新的現象。
Concepts of Śūnyatā and Nidānas are common knowledge among most people in the world as it applies to physical phenomenons. Most of us would accept them if given different terminologies. However, none of us give this any thought as we live our lives, mainly because we don't need to. Scientists and Engineers have done the work for most of us. Scientists' search for the Truth has provided us with a more comfortable physical and material life, likewise, our search for the Truth in human nature will provide us a better mental and emotional life.
對世界上大多數人來說，「空」和 「因缘」這樣的字眼很難讓大家接受這樣的概念。 但是如果我們換個字，大家就能比較了解。 尤其在物理現象上。 但這些概念對我們的生活沒有太多影響，因為我們不需要常常將這些概念放在我們的心上。 科學家和工程師已經用這些概念改變了我們的生活。 科學家在尋找物理真相的過程中為我們提供了更舒適的物質生活。 同樣的，我們在尋找人性真相的過程，也會為我們提供一個更好的精神和情感生命。
However, if we want to learn the Truth through the path of Buddhism, we will need to develop the knowledge and personal experiences of our body and mind as they relate to Śūnyatā and Nidānas. Just as scientists spent significant portion of their lives to study and understand physical realm, we need to expect the same amount of efforts in our search for Truth in the human realm.
但是，如果我們想透過佛學去了解真相，我們需要開發自我的「空」跟「因缘」 的知識和體會。 正如科學家們花了很多時間跟精神去學習和理解物理世界，我們也需像他們一樣努力的在人世間尋求真相。
We will try to explain the concepts and provide knowledge relating to these concepts, but the experience and acceptance of these concepts can only be through personal experiences and reflections.
我們會盡量解釋這些概念和提供知識在這個部落格上，但這些概念只能通過親身經歷和反思才能真正體會。
2011年9月1日 星期四
空跟因緣 1 Śūnyatā and Nidānas 1
Conceptually, Śūnyatā is simple to define; all phenomenons' creation, existence and destruction have dependencies that needs to be satisfied. These dependencies are called Nidānas.
「空」的定義很簡單，所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象，這些依靠需要被滿足，現象才能發生。 我們稱這些依靠為「因缘」。
For examples, to create and maintain a fire, it needs oxygen, fuel and heat. However, having these 3 elements is necessary but not sufficient to create and maintain a fire. There are additional conditions that must be met; there must be enough oxygen, the heat must be hot enough and that these 3 elements must be in close proximity of each other at the same time. At any moment in time, missing any of these elements, or failure to meet these conditions will immediately resulted in the destruction of fire. These elements and conditions are the Nidānas for existence of fire.
舉例來說，一把火需要氧氣，燃料和熱量。 不過，只有這3個元素還不能讓我們起火。 一些附加條件也必須得到滿足; 必須有足夠的氧氣，熱量一定要夠熱，這3個元素必須同一時間在同一個空間。 不管何時，當這些元素或這些條件不能被滿足，火立即滅。 我們稱這些元素和條件為「因缘」。
Furthermore, we can observe that while in existence, the fire flicks and dances with time due to changes in its environments and the amount of fuel, oxygen and heat that are available to the fire.
Which is to say that the fire is changing because of changes in its Nidānas.
此外，火在燃燒的時候我們可以觀察火焰。 由於環境的變化和燃料，氧氣和熱量的改變導致火的閃爍和搖曳。 火是無時無刻在改變，因為它的「因缘」也是無時無刻的改變。
The fire that we see at one moment is different than the fire that we see at the next moment. We might consider this fire to be the same fire for our convenience, but they are clearly not the same fire because they have different shape, size, intensity and color distribution just based on the observations that we can make with our naked eyes.
我們這個時刻看到的火跟下一個時刻看到的火是不同的。 也許您會說這是同一把火，是因為我們習慣這樣的說法。 但它們顯然是不一樣的，因為它們有不同的形狀，大小，亮度和色彩的分佈。 這些「不同」也只是我們的肉眼能觀察到的地方而已，但其實火的不同之處還有肉眼觀察不到的地方。
Likewise, the elements that the fire needs require their own Nidānas for existences as well, and will change as their Nidānas changes. For example, the heat of this moment needed by the fire was produced by the fire consuming the fuel and oxygen at the previous moment. The fuel is slowly been consumed by the fire, and unless replenished, it will eventually be destroyed by fire.
同樣的，火的元素也需要有自己的「因缘」才能存在。 火的元素也會依自己的「因缘」變化而變化。 舉例來說，這一刻的火所需要的熱量是上一刻的火在消耗燃料和氧氣時產生的。 燃料也慢慢被火消耗，除非燃料一直在補充，否則燃料最終也會用盡。
However, fire is also Nidānas for creation of other phenomenons; smoke, ash, light and heat for example.
但火也是其他現象的「因缘」。 以煙，灰，光熱為例。 因為火會造成煙、灰和光熱。
From this, we can make the leap and infer that all phenomenons depends on other phenomenons for their life-cycle and that all phenomenons can be Nidānas for other phenomenons.
由此，我們可以推斷，所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象。 所有現象也都可以成為其他現象的「因缘」。
「空」的定義很簡單，所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象，這些依靠需要被滿足，現象才能發生。 我們稱這些依靠為「因缘」。
For examples, to create and maintain a fire, it needs oxygen, fuel and heat. However, having these 3 elements is necessary but not sufficient to create and maintain a fire. There are additional conditions that must be met; there must be enough oxygen, the heat must be hot enough and that these 3 elements must be in close proximity of each other at the same time. At any moment in time, missing any of these elements, or failure to meet these conditions will immediately resulted in the destruction of fire. These elements and conditions are the Nidānas for existence of fire.
舉例來說，一把火需要氧氣，燃料和熱量。 不過，只有這3個元素還不能讓我們起火。 一些附加條件也必須得到滿足; 必須有足夠的氧氣，熱量一定要夠熱，這3個元素必須同一時間在同一個空間。 不管何時，當這些元素或這些條件不能被滿足，火立即滅。 我們稱這些元素和條件為「因缘」。
Furthermore, we can observe that while in existence, the fire flicks and dances with time due to changes in its environments and the amount of fuel, oxygen and heat that are available to the fire.
Which is to say that the fire is changing because of changes in its Nidānas.
此外，火在燃燒的時候我們可以觀察火焰。 由於環境的變化和燃料，氧氣和熱量的改變導致火的閃爍和搖曳。 火是無時無刻在改變，因為它的「因缘」也是無時無刻的改變。
The fire that we see at one moment is different than the fire that we see at the next moment. We might consider this fire to be the same fire for our convenience, but they are clearly not the same fire because they have different shape, size, intensity and color distribution just based on the observations that we can make with our naked eyes.
我們這個時刻看到的火跟下一個時刻看到的火是不同的。 也許您會說這是同一把火，是因為我們習慣這樣的說法。 但它們顯然是不一樣的，因為它們有不同的形狀，大小，亮度和色彩的分佈。 這些「不同」也只是我們的肉眼能觀察到的地方而已，但其實火的不同之處還有肉眼觀察不到的地方。
Likewise, the elements that the fire needs require their own Nidānas for existences as well, and will change as their Nidānas changes. For example, the heat of this moment needed by the fire was produced by the fire consuming the fuel and oxygen at the previous moment. The fuel is slowly been consumed by the fire, and unless replenished, it will eventually be destroyed by fire.
同樣的，火的元素也需要有自己的「因缘」才能存在。 火的元素也會依自己的「因缘」變化而變化。 舉例來說，這一刻的火所需要的熱量是上一刻的火在消耗燃料和氧氣時產生的。 燃料也慢慢被火消耗，除非燃料一直在補充，否則燃料最終也會用盡。
However, fire is also Nidānas for creation of other phenomenons; smoke, ash, light and heat for example.
但火也是其他現象的「因缘」。 以煙，灰，光熱為例。 因為火會造成煙、灰和光熱。
From this, we can make the leap and infer that all phenomenons depends on other phenomenons for their life-cycle and that all phenomenons can be Nidānas for other phenomenons.
由此，我們可以推斷，所有現象的生滅及存在都需要依靠其他現象。 所有現象也都可以成為其他現象的「因缘」。
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