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CONTENTS OF ALL SADDHARMA
Basically, what the dharma is proclaiming(宣称) is shila, samadhi, and prajna; or discipline, meditation, and knowledge. Shila, samadhi, and prajna are the contents of all the saddharma taught by the Buddha. In Tibetan this is referred to as lappa, which means “training.” Lappa is largely based on the idea of taming your mind. According to the Buddhist approach, training is not a matter of being possessed(着魔的) by the Holy Ghost or of bringing any external agent(中介,代理人) into your system; instead, you are trying to awaken your own inherent capabilities.
Discipline / Shila
The first training is discipline. Discipline is controlling one’s mind, or being, and bringing it into a state of tranquillity(安宁) through shamatha(止，梵文称为舍摩他,奢摩它、舍摩他、奢摩陀、舍摩陀，佛教術語，意譯為禪定、定禪、止禪、寂止禪、止、定或是等持，是以專注的力量，安定身心，以求進入三昧的修行方法。奢摩他是修行禪那的兩種方法之一，與內觀禪合稱為止觀) practice. Its basic message is that you should be wholesome, free from fetters(束缚), free from wandering(流浪的,漂泊的) mind, and constantly on the dot(正点,准确地). With shila, the basic faculties(机能) of mind can be fully used. The mind contains good and bad, wandering thoughts and precise thoughts; and ideally all these qualities should be used. Mindfulness, or being fully minded, plays a very important part in shila because before you can conduct(组织并实施) yourself with decency(正派), you have to be able to maintain a peaceful state of being. In other words, you have to calm yourself down, or train yourself, to be able to conduct your basic state of being in a proper manner(方式, 举止) and in accordance(一致,和谐) with common sense.
The attitude of shila is an upright(笔直的,正直的) one, a good one. Once you take that attitude, it is like deciding to take a shower: you are going to get rid of(摆脱,除去) all your dirt, including your smell, and you are going to wash and press your clothes as well. When you have taken a good shower and you are wearing fresh clothes, you feel dignity(尊贵,尊严) and wholesomeness. Morality(道德规范), in the Buddhist sense, is strength. You are not subjugated(征服) by the flu, by fever, by attacks of malaria. You are free from all sorts of attacks, free from sleepiness, tiredness, and excitement(兴奋).
There are many different levels of shila. The first level is somewhat manufactured(生产的,制造的) and deliberate(故意的). From that artificial level of trying to emulate(效仿) the possibility(可能性) of shila, we then begin to experience real shila, or real discipline. It is like feeding meat to a young lion: because it has had the smell and taste of meat, when that young lion becomes an adult it automatically knows how to hunt. Similarly, we have the instinct(本能) to awaken. We are all would-be buddhas. We are all would-be bodhisattvas, or enlightened beings—we have that instinct. So whenever we try to mimic or to emulate the Buddha, we are actually practicing real shila.
The notion of discipline, or shila, is not quite the same as the Victorian(维多利亚时代) ideal of good manners. In this case, you are organically tapping(轻敲) the source; and having organically tapped the source, true shila happens to you. This kind of discipline might hurt. If you sit for ten days in an upright posture(姿势), you might have a hell of a pain. But there is something beyond that. After that pain, you actually have learned how to sit fully and properly, and you find yourself learning to think like the Buddha, at least in small doses(小剂量的药). So there is a lot of hope in this way of practicing.
Discipline may seem complicated, but it is actually very simple—it is what binds your life together. Without discipline, life is made up of successive(连续的) indulgences(纵容) and confusions based on aggression, passion, and ignorance. If you lack discipline, life becomes a joke and is not worth living. The accomplishment(成就) of discipline is based on renunciation(放弃,抛弃,克己), and renunciation is inspired by experience that is beyond samsara, beyond both the theistic and nontheistic worlds. In Tibetan this is called ngelek. Nge means “real,” “complete,” or “true,” and lek means “good”; so ngelek means the “final good.”
Discipline is not a dead end. It is not like trying to teach a tree to talk. It is like teaching human beings to talk. Even very young children can already say “Mommy” or “Daddy,” and they soon begin to speak our language. Similarly, the shila principle is based on waking up a natural instinct. Basically, discipline always follows the same logic: whether it is at the hinayana, mahayana, or vajrayana level, it is never imposed(强制实行). Sometimes it may seem to be imposed, but we are always dealing with what we intrinsically(本质的) already have. Through shila, we are aspiring(disire,追求,渴望) to wake up that intrinsic quality.
Meditation / Samadhi(译三昧, 三摩地、三摩提，意譯為等持、正心行處、心一境性，佛教術語，意指專注於所緣境，而進入心不散亂的狀態，皆可稱為三摩地，因此又可被譯為「止」、「定」)
The second training is samadhi, or absorption(吸收,收并). In Tibetan it is tingdzin. Ting means “still,” dzin means “holding”; so tingdzin means “holding yourself still.” With tingdzin, you do not hang on to your particular preconceptions(先入之见), but develop a state of mind that is clear, precise, and relaxed. Meditation is based on both mindfulness and awareness. Through shamatha (Tib.: shi-ne), or mindfulness practice, you develop concentration and one-pointedness(专一), and with vipashyana(譯為內觀，音譯為毗缽舍那、毗婆舍那、毗婆奢那，佛教術語，意為以智慧來觀察，是修行禪那的兩種方法之一，也是三無漏學之中的慧學。) (Tib.: lhakthong), or awareness practice, you develop expansiveness(广阔), relaxation, and a wider view.( Vipashyana means “clear seeing.” Its usage varies considerably, from intellectual analysis, to direct perception, to an open and expansive meditative state. Trungpa Rinpoche also links vipashyana to postmeditation practice and to the cultivation of awareness in everyday life. )Meditation, or samadhi, is connected with the idea of overcoming the constant search for entertainment. By overcoming that, you begin to cut through the subconscious mind, the mind that provides obstacles to meditation practice. Having done so, you begin to develop a state of absorption in the sense of complete presence(在场,存在). You develop a one-hundred-percent experience of being there.
In meditation, you are mixing your mind with the dharma. Once you attain(达到,实现) that state of mind, you have no gaps in your mindfulness. You develop the potential(潜能,可能性) of vipashyana as well, because, due to your training, you are so relaxed. You have already been thoroughly(彻底地) broken in, so to speak; therefore, you can hold yourself still, whether you are awake or asleep. You are seeing reality fully through the process of discipline. By means of training in the disciplines of shamatha and vipashyana, you have learned to control your mind. You learn how to evolve(发展,进化) further, and not get stuck. You learn how you could be fully there, all the time.
Due to wandering mind, however, we would like to take a break. We would like to lie back, run into our room, and take a few puffs(一口烟), whatever those puffs may be. A long time ago, I saw in Time magazine a photograph of the Dalai Lama holding a bottle of Coca-Cola, with the caption(说明文字), “The Dalai Lama is taking a break with Coca-Cola.” I thought to myself, “Taking a break from what?” The notion of taking a break is very popular, actually. We think, “Give me a break!” But the idea of samadhi is meditation from which there is no break. A break is not needed because, in its essence, meditation is already a break from samsara.
Getting into the dharma is the greatest break you could ever think of. With samadhi, you have your break already. You don’t need a break from a break; that would be going backward. It would be a pseudo(伪装)-break, which is hard work. Samadhi does not need any break because it is already a release from pain. It is deliverance(解救), freedom, liberation. It is the sense of fully being there constantly. You are utterly, thoroughly, accurately on the spot all the time, and at the same time you are rejoicing(欣喜) and appreciating the whole thing.
Of course, there is a battle at the beginning and a battle at the end. At the beginning there is resistance to sitting down to meditate; and at the end there is the excitement(兴奋) of getting up and going back to your wicked(邪恶的) break. But the sitting practice itself is fine. It is as smooth as the ocean, vast and open. There are lots of waves; nevertheless, it is still. Although big things may be churning(漩涡) around, that is no problem, because there is a sense of being there utterly and fully and acknowledging(承认,认可) what is happening.
With samadhi, the practice of absorption, you are entering into a particular world—a full world, a big world, a complete world of meditation. Many students have a problem with that, feeling they are only on the fringe(边缘) of that world. But you have no reason to believe that you are on the fringe, as long as you carry your body, speech, and mind along with you, which everybody does. There is a feeling of poverty(贫乏) in hanging out on the fringe. Finding yourself on the edge of that big world is self-destructive(毁灭性的). The destruction doesn’t come from anybody else; it comes from putting yourself on the edge.
If you decide to sit on the wing of an airplane instead of getting inside the cabin, you know what will happen when you take off. You have a ticket that allows you to sit inside—you may even have a first-class seat waiting for you!—but once you are out on the wing, nobody can open the cabin door, because it would be too dangerous for the rest of the passengers. In the state of samadhi, you don’t sit on the wing, and you don’t have one foot on the inside and one foot on the outside—you have both feet inside, as well as your arms and your head!
When your whole being is inside, you experience totality(全部,总和). There is a feeling of being fully included, and an acknowledgment of your sense of being. The idea of absorption is that you are entering into a fully developed world of samadhi. When you are sitting, you begin to feel there is no other world than that of sitting on your cushion(坐垫). You are fully there. That is conviction(坚定的信念), that is absorption—being fully and utterly there.
If you seek confirmation, saying, “I’m not coming in unless you invite me in, otherwise I’ll jump out,” that approach is very poor. It is wicked and self-destructive. True confirmation only happens when you are inspired to become a real person, when you follow the teachings and do the work of the Buddha, the fully enlightened one. It can only happen when you see that you can transcend samsaric pain and work for the benefit of others.
Knowledge / Prajna(般若也稱為智、智慧，音譯為bōrě般若，又譯作波若、鉢若、般羅若、波羅若、鉢腎穰、鉢囉枳穰等，佛教術語，意為智慧或洞識，為三無漏學之一。
說一切有部將它列為大地法，為心所之一。大乘佛教將它列為六度（波羅密）之一，因此又稱為「般若波罗蜜多」（梵文：प्रज्ञापारमिता Prajñāpāramitā)
The third training is knowledge, or prajna. Prajna enables the hinayana practitioner to develop discriminating(有鉴别能力的) awareness. With higher prajna, you experience twofold(由两部分的) egolessness: the egolessness of self or individuality and the egolessness of dharmas or phenomena.(The Buddha taught that neither external phenomena nor the self, or ego, have independent inherent existence, and therefore both are empty. This is referred to as “twofold egolessness”: the egolessness of self and the egolessness of dharmas. ) You see the fruitlessness(不成功的,不结果的) of carrying around that extra garbage, and you discover that the awareness of what is happening is preferable(比后者更合心意,更合适) to always looking for entertainment.
With prajna, your understanding is not theoretical(理论上的) but much more practice oriented and related to your personal experience. Your state of being is an important point of reference, whatever facets(方面) of the world you might discover. The same evolutionary(发展的,进化的) process takes place with prajna as with shila and samadhi. The world that you are getting involved in is not a cocoon(茧). You cannot snuggle(偎依) in and try to make the best of it. You see the entire world with sharpness(锋利) and clarity(清晰). You understand the world’s mind, systems, science, and functions completely. You are able to distinguish things as they are.
That kind of clearheadedness takes place all the time, from the time you get up in the morning and go about your business, to when you return to your home and fall asleep. All areas of your life are included in your wakefulness(觉醒), which you have developed out of shila and samadhi. You are able to look at and experience your life fully, so nothing is missed. Everything has a quality of sharpness and humor, which is a delightful aspect of prajna. With humor, you are awake and interested in everything that goes on, and you are gentle(温和) as well.
Since your discriminating awareness covers your entire life, you know exactly what to do. You know how to handle your existence with tremendous humor and precision. So you do not confuse cats with dogs. You do not accept or reject; you simply separate things. When you part your hair, you don’t regard one side as bad and the other side as good: you see both sides as your hair. You see everything that way, with precision and accuracy. You know where to draw the line.
The contents of all saddharma are shila, samadhi, and prajna; even single words like awake, discipline, or think contain shila, samadhi, and prajna. All the dharma that has been taught in the universe has the qualities of these three trainings.
GOOD IN THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END
Dharma is said to be good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end.
Good in the Beginning
Dharma is good at the beginning because it is fresh thought, inspired by the Buddha. When we first hear the truth, it is fresh. We have never heard it before, and it throws us back(扔回) a little. We begin to realize that somebody has an entirely different way of looking at the journey, a different way of looking at things as they are. This realization makes us somewhat nervous and concerned(担忧,关心), but that is not a big problem. In the process of realizing that there is a different way of looking at things, we may become confused. It is like the old analogy(类比) of a parent pointing out the moon to their child, and the child thinking the parent’s finger is the moon. That kind of misunderstanding often takes place—in fact, always. We cannot avoid it.
In clarifying misunderstanding, the teacher does not try to explain too much. To avoid misunderstanding, the presentation of the dharma would have to become too complicated. They would have to use too many categories, so that when people had that kind of misunderstanding, the teacher could say this, and when people had this kind of misunderstanding, the teacher could say that. It would become completely complicated. Instead, the teacher just gives a hint. It is like showing someone a little corner of a square, which turns out to be a triangle. In studying this triangle, you may say, “I think this came out of a square, but it only has three points, and I have been told that a square has four corners. What about that?” You are completely occupied and at the same time confused. But that confusion is okay—it has some kind of root(根)—so you have to keep tracing back to the original truth. However, in trying to get back to the original truth (the square), you find that since the corners were cut off, it now has more than four corners. So “good at the beginning” is thought provoking(挑衅的,引起深思的).
The dharma is good at the beginning because when you begin to listen to the dharma—the saddharma, rather than any old dharma—it is joyful to listen to. The presentation of dharma does not have to be gloomy(昏暗的) or critical. In some theistic traditions, the teachings are meant to inspire guilt and pain. With saddharma, since we are completely free from someone upstairs, since nobody is watching us with a long face(不悦的脸色), we feel joyful hearing the dharma, because the dharma is truth. It is the people’s truth, if I may go so far as to say, rather than hierarchical(等级制度的) truth. It is the ultimate democracy. The dharma is joyful to hear because it is humorous and delightful. It makes sense, and it is very, very nice.
Good in the Middle
“Good in the middle” is much more sober(清醒的) and subdued(被制服,克制). The dharma is good in the middle because the process goes along in a very ordinary way. You have the sense that you are on a journey. That is your frame(框架) of reference. “Good at the beginning” provided inspiration and ground, whereas “good in the middle” is a description of the path itself. The path is straightforward. It is straight and narrow—very narrow and very straight. The more you realize it, the more straight and narrow it is. It is monotone(单调的), somewhat(稍微) gray. There is not even a yellow line down the middle to entertain you, as on a highway. There are no little garden arrangements on the side or any cities passing by. It is extraordinarily dull(沉闷的) and uninviting(无吸引力的).
Only people who by unusual circumstances(环境,情形) would like to surrender(放弃,交出) their ego can take part in this particular path. People who do not want to surrender their ego would regard taking part in this path as ludicrous(荒谬的). They would think that you had gone outright(完全的,彻底的) mad, which could be true. That kind of questioning leads you to understand the grayness of the path even more. You realize that dharma is very good, very basic, and very definite(明确的). And once you are in that format, so to speak, there is nothing you can do to put a little color into it or little personal touches. If you are bored with mailing your letters, you could occasionally put your stamps on upside down, but on this path such gestures(姿态) are not allowed.
The dharma is “good in the middle” because it is presented without too much effort. It is presented without the extremes of eternalism(永恒主义) or nihilism(虚无主义), the idea that either everything is eternally good or the idea that everything is fatally(命中注定的) bad. Neither of those extremes is included in the presentation of the dharma. Therefore, it is quite reasonable and quite effortless(不费力的) to present.
Good at the End
The dharma is good at the end because it is passionless. It leads us out of our bargaining(讨价还价的) mentality(心态). We are always making deals, asking, “What am I going to get out of this?” From that point of view, the dharma is very aloof(冷淡的), because there is no deal and you are not going to get anything out of it. Actually, you might get a lot out of it that you don’t particularly like. Therefore, the dharma is known as passionless. You are not going to come out like Superman or Wonder Woman—you are going to come out transcending passion.
But passionlessness does not mean that you will have difficulties with your lovers. Passionlessness is the equivalent(等价物) of a sense of humor. When you have passion, desire, or lust, you don’t smile. You make faces(做鬼脸) and you try to get something, whatever it may be. You are so serious and well meaning(好心的,善意的). You want to get out of this and into that. But with passionlessness, there is a quality of delight, in which you see everything clearly and face reality with a smile, without kvetching(抱怨) or complaining.
To say that the dharma is good at the end is deceptive(骗人的), because there is no particular end. The notion of an end is purely a conceptual construct. We think that we are in a present situation, and that when the present situation is over, that will be the end of the present situation and we will be in the future. But it does not work that way—the sense of end continues. Another way to understand it is that the middle has an aspect of the end at the same time. In particular, nobody is supposed to give a pitch(场地), to publicize(宣传,公布), or to advertise, the enormous and dramatic possibility of your becoming enlightened on the spot—or even later on(过后以后). It has been suggested that doing so is not a good idea, and we are following that tradition. We have been receiving that instruction for over twenty-six hundred years of Buddhist tradition, and it is a very tall order(很高的要求). One could say that dharma is the realization of one’s nature, but that sounds extraordinarily corny(老一套的), so let me rephrase it: dharma is the realization that ending is not possible. You cannot just give up and find salvation: there is no end, and nobody is going to be saved. You still have to sit on your depression and your little pain or bigger pain. And usually when pain is smaller, it seems much bigger. So good at the end is somewhat fuzzy(模糊), but that seems to be okay.
Profundity(深奥) and Vastness(广大)
The dharma is both profound and vast. It is profound because it penetrates(穿透) your system, your whole being. It is vast because when you think that you have experienced the truth, you realize that this truth means much more to you than you had expected. Something might be profound but not necessarily vast, so the sense of vastness is important to understand, although you sometimes lose that point. You might not have achieved one-pointedness and profundity, and you might lose the implication behind the whole thing—so you have to stay awake, open, humorous, and committed(坚定的,效忠的).
To run through all this once again: the dharma itself is true. Saddharma, or true dharma, consists of three trainings: shila, samadhi, and prajna. By the practice of discipline, or shila, you learn to hold yourself together; on that basis, you can attain a state of meditation, or samadhi; and out of that, through the development of knowledge, or prajna, you can analyze the situation as it should be. The presentation of the saddharma is well said; it is free from the kleshas of the three worlds. The dharma is experienced by the threefold logic of personal experience, theory, and confirmation. Therefore, it is heard fully and properly. When you hear the dharma, in the beginning it is joyful; in the middle it is simple and true; in the end it transcends(超越) passion. Finally, the dharma is both profound and vast. These definitions apply to all three yanas, or vehicles—the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana—all the way through.
Ten Definitions of Dharma
If you understand what dharma means and what dharma does, that will help solve a lot of problems later on, so you do not have to go backward again and again. There are ten traditional definitions of dharma: dharma is what is knowable; dharma is the path; dharma is freedom from pain; dharma is the perception of mind; dharma is a sense of reward; dharma is a sense of time; dharma is doctrine; dharma is a complete true message; dharma is prediction or prophesying; and lastly, dharma is particular religious beliefs.
You could use the word dharma for all of those meanings. Nine of those ten definitions refer to the common meanings of the term dharma. They are very personally oriented, based on things like finding salvation, extending the life span, or telling the future. The only definition that refers to the buddhadharma, or saddharma, is the tenth one, which refers to doctrine in the sense of a religious sect. That notion of doctrine could be said to be the true dharma. |
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发表于 2014-6-24 00:30:18