The Benefits of Taking Refuge

by Venerable Thubten Chodron

WE BECOME BUDDHISTS

The first benefit is we become Buddhists. You may say, “What is so great about becoming a Buddhist? I am already a member of this club and that club and that other club, what do I need another membership card for?” Becoming a Buddhist is not joining a club and getting a membership card. Rather it means that we are starting on the path to enlightenment. So, one of the benefits of taking refuge is that it initiates us onto the path to enlightenment. Of course we can create good karma without taking refuge and you can be doing practices that are beneficial to yourself, but the meaning of becoming a Buddhist is that you are actually stepping onto the path that the Buddhas follow. You are trying to go in that same direction that the Buddha went.

This can bring up the whole subject of, “Well, is Buddhism the only path that is going to lead you to enlightenment?” Here’s another example that might help to illustrate this point. For instance, there are many roads from here that will take you downtown. There is more than one way to go downtown. You can drive a long way. You can drive a short way. You can go on the highway or you can go on the side streets. But not every road that you take from here where we are now will lead you downtown. We tend to go to extremes of saying, “It’s got to be Buddhist and if you are not a Buddhist you are going to hell.” That is completely erroneous. On the other hand, thinking in the other extreme and saying, “Everything is the same and all religions are the same,” is like saying you can drive any direction that you want from here on Fifty-Fourth Street and you will end up downtown. But that is not true, because if you drive north from here you will end up in Vancouver and not downtown! So I think we have to use our discriminating wisdom and not get hung up on words and labels – that is not important, but we do have to look at the meaning and what is going on.

WE NEED TO BE ASTUTE

When we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha we are saying that we have examined the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, know something about the path, have confidence in it and decide that this is the direction that we want to go.

There may be other teachings that are very good. All religions have something good in them. All religions exist to bring human happiness. By taking refuge, however, we are declaring that this particular system is something that speaks to our heart. We have confidence in it, are going to follow it and therefore we make a clear decision in our lives. I think that is important.

WE SETTLE DOWN TO ONE PATH

I am always talking about the example of someone studying crystals on Monday night and holistic healing on Tuesday night, etc. We can continue to do that. There is no pressure to take refuge. It is our own spiritual practice; we are the ones that are responsible. But at some point we might actually want to find one principal direction and settle down and devote ourselves to that.

For instance, when you are young you date a lot of guys, but at a certain point you will probably get married. It is like you get tired of going out with all these different guys, so you think marriage might be better. Of course, marriage brings a whole new set of headaches, but you do have the opportunity to go deeply into the relationship that way. Well, marriage here is analogous to taking refuge. Becoming a Buddhist and taking refuge does not mean you do not learn about crystals and holistic healing anymore. You can still learn about those things, but you have your principal priority designated and that cuts out the confusion just as getting married cuts out the confusion of fifty million guys. But taking refuge does bring you some new headaches initially because you have to start looking at your mind.

WE BEGIN TO PURIFY

It is not that Buddhism brings headaches to us, but sometimes the idea of commitment to one path can make a lot of stuff come up in our life because that is when we really begin the process of purification. When we begin to purify, all of our junk comes up.

When we begin to meditate, we have to look at what is in our mind. Whereas when we go from one spiritual thing, to the next and to others, it is like we are in a spiritual amusement park, getting amused by all the external things, so of course we do not look at our mind. But when we take refuge, we have to start looking at our mind. That is why I say practising is like living in a garbage dump initially. But there is hope. I firmly believe that it is possible to transform the garbage dump into something better, but we have to start at where we are.

If we do not take refuge, even though we may create a lot of good karma, that karma will not be dedicated for the attainment of enlightenment, because we have no faith in enlightenment and no faith in the Buddhist path.

So this first step of making a commitment, becoming a Buddhist, entering into the Buddhist path, really clarifies where we are going. Then when we create good karma we can dedicate it for the attainment of enlightenment. Whereas, if we do not really have much confidence in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, we may create good karma but we will not dedicate it for the attainment of enlightenment because if you do not believe in enlightenment, why would you dedicate the good karma for that?

WE ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATION FOR TAKING ALL FURTHER VOWS

The next benefit of taking refuge is that it establishes a foundation for taking all further vows. The reason for this is that taking refuge confirms in us that we want to attain liberation. Taking refuge confirms that we want to follow the path set out by the Buddha and thus having confirmed that, it sets the stage so that we can actually take the different levels of precepts or vows that can help us accumulate good karma and help us abandon our habitual confused behaviour.

Also, if your refuge is very strong you will keep your vows well. If your refuge is not very strong, then you will not keep your vows well. If you have not taken refuge, then you will not follow the precepts. If you do not believe in the path and the goal that the Buddha explained, you will not follow the method to get there.

THREE SETS OF VOWS

Refuge serves as the foundation for taking any further vows or initiations. There are actually three sets of vows that one can take as a Buddhist. The first level is called pratimoksha or individual liberation vows. These include the five lay precepts, the monks and nun’s vows and also one-day vows. The second type of vows is called the bodhisattva vows. The third type is the tantric vows. These are in order of how easy or difficult it is to keep them. In other words, the individual liberation vows are the easiest to keep because they point out physical and verbal behaviours that are to be abandoned. The bodhisattva vows are more difficult to keep because they point out mental behaviours to be abandoned, as do the tantric vows which are even more difficult to keep.

Nowadays, because initiations are given very freely, sometimes people’s first exposure to Buddhism is through an initiation. They might say something like, “I’ve taken this and that initiation but I am not a Buddhist.” Actually, refuge vows are given as part of the initiation ceremony, but if the person does not consider himself a Buddhist then he has not taken the bodhisattva vows or the tantric vows. And if you have not taken those, you have not taken the initiation. So people may say they have taken an initiation, they may think they have and that’s okay, there is nothing wrong with saying that or thinking that, but if one has not taken refuge in one’s heart either in a separate ceremony or in the earlier part of that initiation, then one really has not taken an initiation.

REFUGE VOWS ARE THE DOOR

That is why taking refuge is the door to the Buddha’s teachings. It is the doorway that you enter into to be able to commit yourself to any of the further practices. Like I repeatedly say, somebody can learn Buddha’s teachings and practise them without being a Buddhist. If something the Buddha taught helps your life, practise it. It does not matter if you have taken refuge or not.

But now when we talk about taking refuge we are talking of actually settling down and getting into the path and doing it. It is a different level of involvement. The advantage of taking refuge is that you get to take precepts. You are probably going, “Ugh, I get to take precepts. Who wants to take precepts! When I take the one-day Mahayana precepts, I can only eat one meal a day. I can’t sing and dance. I can’t have sex. I can’t do this. I can’t do that. Why is this an advantage?” Well that shows us something about what we think is important in life.

The advantage of taking precepts is that it acts as a framework for us to become more mindful, more aware of what we are saying, thinking and doing. If you take a precept to do, or not do, something that has been in your mind all day, you become much more aware of what is going on instead of just being on automatic mode. Taking precepts is very beneficial that way. Also, by keeping the precepts, we continually create good karma no matter what we are doing as long as we are not directly breaking the precepts.

There is a refuge ceremony for people who wish to take refuge. When you take refuge, you automatically take the precept not to kill. In addition, if people want to take any of the other precepts at that time they may, because taking refuge gives one the ability to take the five lay precepts for one’s life and one gets all the advantages of taking the precepts.

WE CAN ELIMINATE RESULTS OF PREVIOUSLY ACCUMULATED NEGATIVE KARMA

The third advantage of taking refuge is that it helps us to eliminate the negative karmic imprints on our mindstream. Previously in our confusion we may have acted destructively in verbal, physical and mental ways. We have those imprints on our mind and they will bring consequences. Taking refuge helps us because if we take refuge, we take vows, and observing the vows helps us to purify our past negative karma.

If we take refuge, we are also more likely to do the other practices that help us to purify, like doing the four opponent powers and doing purification meditation. Also if we take refuge, we have a deeper connection with the Buddha and by making offerings, doing prostrations and so forth to the Buddha, this also helps to purify our negative karma, because we are generating very positive attitudes when we are doing these practices.

Taking refuge can be a very strong purification of all the different karmas that we have created.

WE QUICKLY ACCUMULATE GREAT POSITIVE KARMA

OFFERINGS TO THE BUDDHA

The next benefit of taking refuge is that it enables us to create a vast store of positive potential for very similar reasons. In other words, if we take refuge then we are more likely to engage in the practices that are going to create positive potential in our lives. Also when we take refuge, because of the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, they become very strong objects for us with which to create karma because of their qualities. If we make offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, we create a very strong, powerful karma compared to making an offering to our best friend, unless your best friend is a Buddha!

In other words, according to the level of a person’s spiritual realisations, the qualities they have and their relationship to us, we create karma. Some people and some things are heavier objects karmically for us than others. The Buddha, Dharma, Sangha are heavy because of their qualities.

If we have taken refuge and are prompted to make prostrations or offerings or serve the Buddhist community in some way, then because of the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and because they are very strong objects with which we create karma, we create a lot of good karma through our prostrations, offerings and so on.

This is because the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha have the qualities that they do, any way in which we help them, becomes us helping all other sentient beings because the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are working for the benefit of all those sentient beings. This means if you help the Buddha and help people who are working for the benefit of other sentient beings, as you help them, they in turn help a huge array of people.

Practising forgiveness does not mean accepting wrong doing.

-- His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

不净观图片该如何运用在修持上呢？

懺雲老法師

一起欲念，马上观骷髅骨，就好。再是，平常要练习观、观得像真的一样。人死了，过几天，身上都变黑，那个难看哪、也脏。还有，死尸要是有味气了、也是难闻，叫尸臭。把骷髅骨图一展，小张也可以，大张当然更好。不过大张在屋里挂，在学校宿舍别人看见不欢喜、就用小张。常常观、常常观，一起欲念就观。普通叫欲火呀！这就是消防队的救火车一样──不净观，那很重要、很重要！多贪众生不净观。连吃饭也可以作不净观。明天吃饺子，饺子吃完了，后天呢？饺子都哪儿去了？大家都到厕所，拉在厕所里头，这也是脏，做不净观最好，多贪众生不净观。这就是不净观运用在修持上。男女做不净观，以至于饮食都作不净观，这就好。

每天，有时候早课后、或早课打钟的时候打坐作不净观好。欲念个人不同，还有一个时节、时期不同。大体欲念轻淡的、善根深厚，道心道念坚强的，这就可以修行。不过都得要对治。还有，有一阵子就是欲念很少；有一阵子欲念很多。总是准备作不净观最好。再是，众苦都是从这儿来的，想着不受苦，就不要起欲念。

或者再作五不净观。我们的身体，小孩儿不懂，以后渐渐懂、尤其信佛了，才知道身体这个血肉之躯是男精女血结合的。生产的时候，我小时候，邻居有一个太太，本来是寡妇，守寡负担不了生活、还两个孩子，她就改嫁，改嫁又经过一年两年、生产，在床上滚、生不下来。母亲说：该死了、该死了！就这样骂。过三天生下来了，俗家嫂嫂去看，回来对母亲说：还是倒生的。母亲和嫂嫂这么讲，就像参禅一样，我也不懂什么意思、还叫“倒生”的，怎么叫倒生的？等嫂嫂走出去，我问母亲怎么叫倒生？母亲说倒生的是腿先下来。我说：人生的时候，不都是腿先下来？像降落伞部队一样吗？母亲说：不是！生的时候都是头先下来的。我一听：唉呀！这不是颠倒中的颠倒吗！众生就是如此。那么生极乐世界怎么生的？是莲华化生。《阿弥陀经》里有七宝池、八功德水，有莲花青色青光、黄色黄光、赤色赤光、白色白光。青、黄、赤，一切宇宙人生所有的颜色就是这三种配合的。人生下来那个味道腥、恶；要是生极乐世界就微妙香洁。这就是有欲念、没有欲念的关系。再是，要不对治欲念，不把欲念观没有了，生死不能了。

再是欲念是假的、虚妄的，在美国看，这不是白种人黄头发蓝眼珠吗？黑种人就都是黑的难看，大红嘴唇像个血盆一样，黑种人也看黑种人美，白种人看白种人美，就是众生业障所使。还有，两人有夫妻的缘这个男女，彼此就看得美。要是能破、就超越生死。再高一点根基就是转念、不想它：“本来无一物，何处惹尘埃。”好！再是有欲念，脱不了人身，将来临死那天怎么办呢？生死怎么了呢？又去投生。人投生为人，就是依着欲念来的。狗呢？老狗生小狗也是这样，猫也是。一定想法怎么断，拜佛忏悔，求佛力加被，再是持咒、尤其楞严咒。早晨一起来就念楞严咒就是为的降伏欲念。《楞严经》中，阿难尊者那都是佛菩萨再来示现的，也是示现被欲念摩登伽女给控制住了，身不由己，这是根本问题。要是修得像广钦老和尚那样就好了，就没有这些。再是弘一大师当年在东京演茶花女，出家毅然决然做个苦行头陀，以后，那些行迹种种，就是开悟而有所证得的意境，给夏丏尊的信说是：“君子之交，其淡如水；执相而求，咫尺千里。问余何适，廓尔亡言；华枝春满，天心月圆。”那是开悟的意境、好！要是不断欲念，遇着狗胎，该生做狗就看狗胎好，该生猫就看猫胎好。还有，连百步蛇看着百步蛇也好。所以，欲念是错觉，不是真正的真心，业力所使。

五不净观，第一、种子不净，普通说是男精女血结合的，这是种子不净。第二、生处不净，从产门生的。第三、相不净，就是新陈代谢不净，喝了尿、吃了拉。第四、性也根本不干净的。第五、究竟不净，死了，变成死尸了。时常有时候到慈德寺，那时候，林居士的公子故去了，我去看，火化才抽出来，死尸就变成骨灰了。这样作不净观好，再是勇猛精进拜佛。

还有，有时提撕自己清醒，譬如猫在墙头上叫叫叫！可能是男猫找女猫，人也是一样，这就清醒，要没有这个就可以修行了。要不是，有夫有妇的，我们看这个很没有意思。要是这一念能控制得住、能把握得住，不受它调理，那就可以修行了，而且有时间。慈舟老法师七十多岁拿本书在那儿看，侍者是我一位戒兄，小戒兄对我说：你看老法师像个老学生一样，拿着书还这么卷着看。要是在家，劳碌奔波赚钱，夫妇好了就好，一个恼了也是动刀啊！

还有，对治欲念，一个人在山里，我问：倘使欲念来了怎么办？他说：我就厉声念佛！大声念念念…，念一会儿，没有了！再是自己有常常看的、特别欢喜的经，常常拜佛。再是同学、同参道友，彼此在一块修行这种生活，切磋琢磨，也少有欲念。一个人太空闲，大家在一块，再有什么困难的、也要忍耐，比一个人好。能海大师曾经到苏州灵岩山给大家开示，那时候灵岩山寺住众能有两百人，能海大师说：马铃薯一个一个洗很费事，要是两百个马铃薯一块儿洗，这么拨弄、用水龙头的水再冲，这样活动活动，一块儿洗较比快，就是彼此切磋。他在那拜佛，我看了心里欢喜、法喜充满，也感觉清净。有在阅经的，或者听梵音嘹亮，诵戒时忏悔、或者唱弥陀大愿王，都是大众同修之下切磋琢磨，高声唱念，较比能降伏欲念。再是知道欲念妄想都是幻妄不实，像天上的云一样，集合起来了，就成了雨，在寒带就变成雪，有时候还下雹子，一切因缘和合的。这时抖擞精神，我听说有两位同学早晨两点半起来就在那拜佛，很难得喔！青年像这样很不容易。他两点半起来，彼丈夫兮我亦尔，我也赶一块儿起来用功，就好。

欲念作不净观，再就是禅。对待的、就是不净观好；绝待的、就是禅──本来无一物。再是，从早到晚不让它闲，除了睡觉之外，还打瞌睡了再去睡，不让它起欲念再睡。还要多看看《高僧传》、《缁门崇行录》，可以多看看那个。

This unique, free and well-favoured human form is so difficult to obtain. Since we have actually attained it this time, let us endeavour to unfold the realisation of its full potential, and not leave it to rot.

-- Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro

The Guru and the Great Vastness

by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche

For a follower of the yana of individual liberation or the Mahayana, there are the sutras and the shastras. The sutras contain the direct teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, whereas the shastras are commentaries composed later by a disciple of the Buddha, such as Nagarjuna. Moreover, there are instructions on how to practice. For instance, many chapters of Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva contain very clear instructions.

Studying the dharma can be compared to learning how to drive. There is a driving manual that explains what things are, how they work, the rules of the road and so on. Similarly, the sutras and shastras contain the basic knowledge you need in order to practice the dharma. When you actually learn how to drive, you receive personalised instructions based on your individual skills, your driving teacher’s style and the various practical situations you encounter. These are not necessarily presented in the same order as the information in the manual. Instructions can come in most unexpected ways.

In Vajrayana, there are the tantras as well as the pith instructions. For centuries, dharma practitioners have studied the tantras while practicing according to the pith instructions. Some students place great emphasis on the tantras, the actual texts which contain the theory of the view. Those who are intellectually or academically oriented can get quite caught up in explanations and theories. Other students who are more emotionally oriented tend to get caught up in the instructions. This was a common fault in the past and continues to be so today.

Let’s suppose you have devotion, trust and the merit of having met a qualified master. For you, a mere instruction from your master can potentially lead you somewhere, even without elaborate explanations on the theoretical aspects of the tantras. Your practice could be as ridiculous as being told to have a cup of tea every hour, but it could still untie your knot of delusion and take you to a state where you are released from all kinds of grasping and fixation. This, however, is quite risky, as our devotion is often temporary and fickle. In fact, because our devotion is most often not based on even a minimal understanding of the view, it is little more than a manifestation of our insecurity. If this is the case, our devotion can become rather unhealthy.

Moreover, the merit to encounter a true, qualified master is extremely rare. Of course, I do not wish to discourage you by any means. You can always aspire to one day meet a qualified master and develop the virtues of devotion and trust. If you have such good fortune, you don’t have to read the driving manual; all you have to do is listen to your teacher and do as he or she says. But that’s quite difficult.

Pith instructions appear in many different forms. Although we often talk about them as supplementary, the ngöndro teachings are actually pith instructions. They come directly from unbroken lineages of gurus, out of lineage masters’ experiences and visions. If you want to know why Vajrasattva, guru yoga and mandala offering work, then it’s good to study a text like the Guhyagarbha Tantra, which elucidates the ideas of equality and purity and explains why everything is pure and equal from the beginning. When applied, the tantric texts and the pith instructions complement one another.

The ngöndro contains advice to help us stop our chain of thoughts. Personally, I have found it wise to follow Jamgön Kongtrül’s suggestion to spend at least half of the session just sitting and developing a sense of renunciation by contemplating impermanence and such. Doing so actually sets the atmosphere and tunes your mind so that at least some inspiration arises to actually practice. Otherwise, as samsaric beings, we have so much to do and everything is so significant — from petty shopping lists to important meetings. If you let such mundane matters bother you, they will. But if you reflect on impermanence and the like, even for just a few minutes, your mundane, incessant thoughts will at least temporarily pause. That’s quite important.

After that, if you want to elaborate, it’s good to clear the stale air. As I said, pith instructions like this one can sometimes seem illogical. For instance, if you are oriented more toward the path of individual liberation or Mahayana approaches, you might wonder what the stale air is and why it is so important in the ngöndro practice. Of course it has its own enormous theory in the Guhyagarbha Tantra, but you might question why we have to subdue the gross and subtle winds [prana] and why this results in our whole perception changing.

In spite of the numerous explanations, there’s the simple fact that clearing the stale air helps us break the chain of thoughts that we are experiencing. Moreover, clearing the stale air tunes us in to renunciation mind and purifies our perceptions. Normally when we practice we don’t spend much time on these things and so our practice tends to be rather weak.

Having evoked renunciation and cleared the air through the nostrils, next be confident that the place where you’re practicing is not ordinary. You will not find such a suggestion in the other vehicles; it is exclusive to Vajrayana.

The whole purpose of dharma practice, whether ngöndro or the main practice, is to understand the great purity and equality. This is the great vastness, longchen — the vast space where everything fits. Everything! The different schools of Buddhism variously call it nonduality, the realisation of emptiness, the union of samsara and nirvana, and so on. The fact that everything is nondual is not a recent invention nor a Buddhist one; it is the actual nature of phenomena from the beginning. As the Buddha said, “Whether the buddhas appear on this earth or not, the essence of phenomena never changes.” The nonduality aspect, the great vastness, is unchanging. It has never been fabricated, nor is it something that we create.

What does this mean in practical terms? Devotion is integral to being a Vajrayana practitioner. Wanting to be free of delusion implies accepting that we are deluded. Within our deluded state, we have to learn and believe that we need to create a pure reality. Here comes a pith instruction: this is why we have to think that the place where we are practicing is not an ordinary place. If we never abandon our impure ordinary perceptions of the mundane world and our mundane lives, we will never break out of our delusion. As Vajrayana practitioners we must learn right from the beginning to crack this shell open.

So, when taking refuge you must not think that the setting is ordinary, but rather that it is a pure realm. Then visualise the object of refuge in front of you. It is crucial in Vajrayana to understand that the object of refuge — the guru — is the embodiment of all the buddhas as well as of the dharma, the sangha, and the devas, dakinis and dharmapalas. Basically, all objects of refuge are embodied in the guru.

Now, unless your teacher specifically instructs otherwise, normally one does not visualise the object of refuge, the guru, in his ordinary form. I say this because many of us here have received teachings from the great Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, and in his guru yoga he instructs us to visualise him in his ordinary form, as however we have seen him. That’s his instruction and we have to follow that. I’m sure there’s infinite purpose behind it. But generally, in most of the ngöndro instructions, you visualise the guru in the form of Guru Rinpoche or Vajradhara, not in the form of a human being. This too is a pith instruction and there are lots of reasons for it, but they all come down to the same point: recognising the great purity and equality.

In our ordinary human, rational mind, we think that it is much easier to visualise our guru as we remember him or her. Most of us have never seen Vajradhara or Guru Rinpoche. Even if we know what Vajradhara looks like, he is still pretty impossible to visualise: a blue being with thirty-two major marks and eighty minor marks. The thirty-two major marks are incredible and inconceivable, such as webbed hands and a tongue so long it can reach across his face. Are you supposed to visualise your guru as a duck or a dog? It sounds silly, so we would rather simply remember what our guru looked like in the flesh. Besides, that’s how we got inspired in the first place. All these fanciful details go against our normal thinking pattern. Nevertheless, according to most ngöndro instructions, it is necessary to visualise one’s guru not as an ordinary being but rather as Guru Rinpoche.

Our practice is feeble and we have tarried on the path for a long time, primarily because we always see the guru as an ordinary being and not a buddha. We cannot imagine him or her as a buddha. Instead we consider him a normal person who has likes and dislikes similar to our own.

In his explanation of guru yoga, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö notes the importance of how you approach your guru. Usually we think, “I like him because he’s a decent human being; he’s kind, he’s compassionate and he’s a good man.” But according to Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, the blessing you will receive corresponds to your level of devotion, and in this case, it is not much. You too will become tolerant and a good person, but your aim is wrong. Our aim is not to become a good person or a tolerant person. Our aim is not to become a little bit better than the rest but to attain enlightenment. Enlightenment is beyond good and bad and everything.

If you have a high aim such as enlightenment, you have to change your attitude. As Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö explains, believing your guru to be a shravaka or an arhat is much better than thinking that he or she is just an ordinary, decent human being. If you think of your guru as an arhat, then you will receive the blessing of individual liberation. If you think your guru is a mahabodhisattva on the tenth bhumi, you will receive an equivalent blessing. If you think your guru is the Buddha himself — that is, you don’t imagine it but actually see him as the Buddha in person — then definitely you will receive the Buddha’s blessings. And in Dzogchen and Mahamudra, if you realise that it is actually your own buddhanature that is manifest in the form of the Buddha or the guru, you will receive the blessing of seeing everything as the Buddha, everything as the guru.

So it is important to visualise not only the place as pure and special, but also the object of refuge, your guru, as an extraordinary being. If you think about this, you will realise that many of our spiritual difficulties are ridiculous. Many of our doubts and fears are simply due to a lack of pure perception. We try to see our guru as someone special, but not really as a buddha.

You would not necessarily expect it to be so difficult to think of your guru as the Buddha. I’m slightly more fortunate than most of you because I have seen numerous great masters. Many of you, especially the younger ones, are quite unlucky because you have to put up with teachers like us. It’s very understandable if you have difficulty thinking that we are the Buddha. But if you find it difficult to think that we ordinary lamas are the Buddha, it is actually because you lack understanding of the great vastness of purity and equality. With the view of great equality and great purity, you can slowly learn to see all ordinary beings, such as many lamas these days, as buddhas. This is quite important to do.

It’s actually the same when you take refuge. What you are declaring is, “I accept that I have the buddhanature. I accept that I can be purified. I accept that my being is the great equality and great purity.” This is essential as the foundation not only of Vajrayana, but also of Buddhism as a whole. Otherwise, we are taking a very theistic approach to our refuge practice. We consider the Buddha, dharma and sangha to be saviours — a panacea of sorts — and we take refuge with the expectation that they will solve all our problems, whether mundane or spiritual. That is a very theistic slant.

Refuge can be understood on many different levels. However, I repeat, do not forget to apply pure perception, especially in Vajrayana. Think, “This place is not an ordinary place but a pure realm. My guru, my object of refuge, is not an ordinary being but a buddha.” When you say this there is a tendency to think that you are imperfect, due to seemingly unstoppable habitual patterns. But as Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö said, “Never forget that this guru who is sitting in front of you, whom you are trying to think of as a buddha, is not an ordinary being but in fact the manifestation of your own buddhanature.” It is a very beautiful path, you know.

Usually when we take refuge there’s a sense of being lower than the object of refuge. You, a pathetic being, need to be saved and you take refuge in this very wholesome, omnipotent being. Refuge usually feels like that. But you will know they are not separate at all if you understand the great vastness and the prana, nadi and bindu,[i] and the guru, deva and dakini of the bigger picture.

A brief summary is in order. Tune your mind, clear the stale air, and think that you are sitting in a pure realm. Next, visualise your guru with all of his or her retinue. When you start you usually invoke your guru as the human being for whom you have to buy the plane ticket to fly here to see. I guess it can’t be helped, but then try to think that this ordinary form is your own perception. In reality this being is not what you see with your eyes and hear with your ears; he is Vajradhara or Padmasambhava, depending on the text you are using. Finally, think that your guru, as Vajradhara or Padmasambhava, is actually a reflection of your own buddhanature. By doing so, you complete the circle of taking refuge, from the most ordinary level to the highest, which has such a great benefit. It actually makes you familiar with this idea of the great purity and equality, which is the whole purpose. It’s really incredibly important.

Nowadays, many people think that the guru is like a dictator, which is a big misunderstanding. Of course, I’m sure that some gurus do act like dictators but that has nothing to do with the true notion of a guru. Moreover, the Asian concept of a master as a father figure, like Confucius, is also incorrect. I’m bringing this up because I think that as the East and West are now so closely connected, Western Vajrayana students might tend to think guru yoga is another system supporting the roles of master and servant. Superficially, guru yoga can appear almost criminal: whatever the guru says is right, and even if he says something wrong, you should think that it is right. If you see him do something impure, it is due to your lack of pure perception. My goodness, there is no justice at all! So it is really important not to forget the great purity and equality. This becomes extremely clear at the end of the practice when you dissolve with the guru. Confucius never said the servant and the master should dissolve into one. That’s a big difference. The whole purpose and very essence of both the ngöndro and the main practice is to mingle your mind with the guru’s.

When we say dissolve, it does not mean that you are like a bag and the guru’s mind dissolves and pours into you. That would still be hierarchical. Instead think of a pot. Inside the pot there is space, and if I break the pot, the space inside it and the space outside it becomes one. So whether it’s your mind mixing with the guru’s mind or the guru’s mind mixing with your mind, it’s basically the same. That is the Vajrayana approach. Vajrayana students should never forget this.

At the end of your session there is the dissolution stage. This is where we become indivisible from the guru. We know that everything is nondual, that everything is equal and pure from the beginning. When we talk about equality, we are talking about the equality and purity of samsara and nirvana, along with that of the guru and disciple. We can grasp intellectually that the guru is a perception resulting from our merit, devotion and so on, but when we practice we can’t help actually thinking that the guru is out there.

Even at the beginning of the Longchen Nyingtig ngöndro there are many stanzas taken from the various tantras and sutras reminding us of why a spiritual companion or master is so important. After that there is Calling the Guru, a beautiful composition by Jigmey Lingpa, invoking the guru from the heart. It clearly elucidates that the guru is not an ordinary human being out there, nor is the guru someone who is going to dictate how you should live your life. It’s not like that at all.

The first stanza of this song invokes the guru from your heart. It is a very beautiful and poetic metaphor: the guru dwells within your own heart. This is totally different from our ordinary perception, whereby we think that the guru is external and separate from us. The heart refers to buddhanature. And one of the infinite manifestations of buddhanature is faith, and as a reflection of this, devotion. For instance, when passionate people look at another being, because of their passion, they see a beautiful object. When aggressive people see another being, because of their aggression, they see an ugly enemy. When devoted people see through the devotion manifested from their buddhanature, they see their guru or spiritual companion.

Jigmey Lingpa says, “From the blooming lotus of faith in the center of our heart, kind guru, our only protector, please arise to protect us from misfortunes. We are tormented by intense kleshas and karma; please remain on top of our head.” We invoke the guru from our heart and place him above us as if he’s a higher, superior being. But please never forget that in all the Vajrayana practices, and especially the Anu and Ati Yoga practices, one always dissolves the guru, or merges with the guru. This is called receiving the empowerment (abhisheka) or initiation from the guru. Light radiates from his forehead, then from the throat and next from the heart, and this light dissolves into you. Finally, you or the guru dissolve into the light and the two of you merge and become indivisible.

I think this aspect should be emphasised because many of our practices seem to have gone a bit off course. We exert ourselves in visualising the guru in front of us, praising him, supplicating him, begging for his blessing and so on. But we are content with doing the dissolution and merging for only a minute or two. Instead we should spend an equal amount of time, if not more, on the dissolution phase. My father, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, emphasised this a great deal. He told some of his students in Bhutan to practice receiving each of the four empowerments for a year. I think this is good advice because we tend to spend so little time on the dissolution stage.

Dissolve the guru into yourself, like water dissolving into water, then remain in that state of oneness as long as you can. If you prefer, you can visualise the guru instantaneously and repeat the process over and over. In fact, that’s encouraged, especially if you have received any Dzogchen instructions from your masters. If you have recognised, of course, train in rigpa, the nature of mind. But because of our habitual tendency, as soon as we watch the nature of the mind, or the state of merging our mind and the guru’s mind, we drift into all kinds of distractions. Therefore, it is often helpful to “fence in” the mind. If you have a flock of sheep or herd of cattle that you want to lead in a certain direction, you build a fence so that they go where you want them to go. Likewise, continuously visualising the guru in front of you, dissolving into him and watching that state of mind is called fencing.

It is very easy for us to say, “Rest in the nature of the mind.” But who knows whether we really are doing so or are simply in a coma? Are we in the state of experiencing the all-ground (alaya), which is like complete numbness? Or are we totally distracted, making plans for the future or rushing after the past? Are we so completely distracted that we don’t even realise it? If we continue in that vein, it’s all a big waste of time. Instead, a wise approach would seem to be repeatedly visualising the guru and dissolving him into you while watching your mind. As Longchenpa said in the Treasury of Pith Instructions, “Again and again, meditate in short periods but many times.” And when finishing the session, of course, never forget to dedicate the merit.

Though much he recites the Sacred Texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who counts others' kine. He has no share in the fruits of the Holy Life.

Though little he recites the Sacred texts, but acts according to the teaching, forsaking lust, hatred and ignorance, truly knowing, with mind well-liberated, clinging to naught here and hereafter, he shares the fruits of the Holy Life.

-- The Buddha, Yamaka Vagga (The Twin Verses)

从佛法观点谈感情问题

惠空法师

感情问题，从佛法立场来看，势必从生命现象的角度分析；因为感情，就是人与人之间的关系，譬如中国人讲的‘五伦’，就是讲君臣、父子、夫妇、兄弟、朋友之间的关系，也就是感情，而这正是实际的生命现象。这种生命现象，佛教把它分析为三个元素，就是惑、业、果报。但在这里我们把业跟果报看成同一个主体合起来讲，所以惑和业（果报）就是今天所要探讨的两个要点。

谈到惑，首先我们要了解‘感情’的内涵其实是非常复杂的，它是我们整个心性综合的表现。佛法把我们一般所讲的心绪、情绪、个性、感情通通列入‘心所’这一个观念，对于不同的心理现象、情绪变化，归纳分析成五十一个心所，这就是人性的内涵。人生有两种特质，一是善（善心所）；一是恶（烦恼心所），在善、恶的特质中，各有很多的成份（心所），而这些成分彼此错综复杂的交合，就形成了种种不同型态的感情表象。所以，感情问题，如果我们只是从感情的表象去了解，就会受困于感情的多样化而掌握不到问题的核心。

比方说夫妻之间的关系，有的像兄妹，有的像父女，有的像朋友，有的像情人，甚至有的像仇人；同样的，爸爸对女儿，妈妈对儿子，也都有很多不同的类型。所以，只有当我们理解到人与人之间感情的最后关键点是人性深处的综合表现，是人性的本质，我们才能对感情问题做一个最忠实的评鉴。

什么是人性善、恶的特质呢？基本上，烦恼心所，是对我们心性有污染的成分，包括贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑、不正见等根本烦恼及一些随烦恼；而善心所，是指对我们生命有所提升的，如信、精进、禅定、慧、无贪、无嗔、无痴、轻安、不放逸、惭愧等等。一般说来，如果感情是纯净的，多半是从信、惭愧、无贪的立场出发，比方对元首效忠，对爸爸孝顺，这是从信出发，也就是他认为这样做是好的，正确的，接受这个观念，所以就产生了孝心、忠心的心理。可是就男女的感情来说，最核心的元素是贪（当然父子、兄弟、朋友、君臣之间也有部分是靠贪来达成的。）因为有贪，我们心性无法达到最深刻的纯净，而产生感情，感情的产生，是彼此得到协调、得到沟通。而如果两方面变成排斥，就是嗔。为什么会贪？会嗔？就是因为痴，这是人性最深刻的烦恼。

从上，我们已经到人性中，贪的元素，是男女感情的症结，接著我们再继续从贪的角度来分析男女的感情。贪的对象有很多，其中色贪第一、眷属贪第二，其它还有财、名、食、睡等，譬如有人贪太太的美貌，有人贪太太的钱财，有人贪太太烧的好菜，有人贪甜言蜜语，这都是贪著。但是男女之间贪著最深的情欲，这是维系男女感情最根本的东西。

男女的情欲有四个层次，这四个层次本质是一样的，但是程度有差别。第一层次是色，也就是贪著外在的美貌；第二个是情。所谓情是两个人心灵有了沟通点，不管任何沟通点，都会产生情。不但男女之间如此，朋友之间也是这样。所以，有时专家建议夫妻之间要找共同的爱好，其实就是找沟通点，也就是感情的培养。第三个是爱，爱已经是一种执著，就是不管你爱不爱我，反正我爱你！这跟情是不一样，它是不需要沟通的。第四个层次是淫欲。淫欲是生理的反应，比较污浊，不管有没有色、情、爱，它只是一种须要解决的心理反应。这四个层次，就是男女之间互相贪著的情执。所以如果没有办法超越这四个层次，就一定会堕入男女情欲的漩涡而苦恼。以上所讲的，是说男女的感情，不可以从某一个上来看。今天为什么会离婚？一定是彼此的贪著已经没有了，或是外面的贪著比对太太的贪著更强烈；而有的夫妻之间根本没有了吸引力，为什么又不离婚？这可能是为了面子，为了小孩。所以感情的问题，不是爱不爱的问题，而是心性清净与否的问题。

今天为什么他会爱一个不该爱的人，而舍弃他该爱的人，就是因为他烦恼重、太愚痴、善性太弱了。如果这个人他心灵纯净，他站在任何角度，都会把他的烦恼降伏，让他的善性激发，对方再怎么无理，面对再大的困难，他都不会使感情破灭。所以如何激发人的善性，降伏人的烦恼，才是彻底解决人与人之间感情问题的关键。今天我们看到任何感情的案子，都必须反省到人性的缺憾，知道必定是有烦恼障蔽他的心性，让他人性陷入无知的状态而造成错误的决定。这就是今天的第一个主题--惑。

第二部分谈到业、果报的问题。我们常讲的一见钟情就是如此。今天你不是碰到他，就结不了婚，这就是业力，就是你的果报（当然这并不是每个人如此的。）所以，中国人讲夫妇结合的两种因素，一是报恩，一是报仇。恩爱夫妻是报恩来的，恩尽义绝，下辈子就不会结为夫妻；要是恩情还未了或 越结越深，下辈子还是要结为夫妇，跑不掉的，所以我们不能随便喜欢人。今天我们了解业力的力量就知道，夫妻之间反目，一半属于业力，一半属于烦恼。就是因为你跟他有仇，所以他故意让你跟他结婚，让你爱他爱得很深；让你痛苦。如果夫妇间有这种情形，不要怨对方，从业力立场来看，你今天被报仇了，要知道这是你以前对不起人家，你要甘之如饴的接受，而且反过来要感谢他、珍惜他，不要再结仇了。今天你跟他做对，他也就跟你做对，仇就结得更深了。他恼害你，你承受下来，我好好对你，将恩情来赎我以前的不好，只有这样，才能把怨仇解掉，否则怨仇没有解掉，下辈子还要再来结仇，何苦呢？

所以今天要了解到，生命的现象确实如此，以前种下恶因，今天要承受恶果，如果你没有业力的正确观念，就会埋怨，就没办法把恶果解掉。所以结论就是：从佛法的观点来看感情问题，在心性的立场上，要净化我们的心灵来解除烦恼的束缚而超越对众生的感情；在业果的立场上，要用报恩的心情跟行动来对待我们的怨仇而消除业果。这样才是面对感情问题，最有智慧的处理方法。

The dominant ignorance leads to the karmic cycle. Because of this ignorance, you have karma. Because of karma, your ignorance gets stronger. It covers the rigpa more. The sequence begins with ignorance in Tantra as well as in Sutra. For example, the twelve nidanas begin with ignorance. Because of ignorance, we commit wrong actions such as harming oneself or others. Therefore, ignorance comes first in the sequence.

Because we have gone through the cycle of the twelve nidanas so many times, often we feel that it comes from karma. Because of this, we have further ignorance and go around the loop again. So the cycle begins with ignorance, which can be intensified further with negative karma.

-- 7th Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

因为活给别人看的时候比较多，所以我们需要面子，需要掩饰，需要给自己加上一件一件皇帝的新衣，到最后，连自己也不清楚到底是在演给自己看，还是在演给别人看。轮回是剧场，但不要忘记这一次难得的人身，不要沈溺在如梦似幻的剧情中迷失了自己的方向。

———尊贵的萨迦如意法王

The Power of Unbearable Compassion

by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Practices of loving-kindness and compassion are indispensable elements of all religious traditions. These are qualities everyone can practice, regardless of their religious affiliation or ancestry. In fact, training to develop loving-kindness and compassion provides a bridge between all religions and all the many parts of our global society.

I am a Buddhist, but I still have to live my life as a member of the larger world community and take full part in society, where Buddhism is not the only spiritual tradition. There are many different forms of religion and spirituality, and there are also many different types of people, including those who are inclined toward religious or spiritual approaches and those who are not.

Since our world community is so very vast and diverse, it is important for us to respect the entire range of religious and spiritual traditions, not setting ourselves up as “opponents” of any other tradition. The way to accomplish happiness in the world is to do meaningful work in one’s own life, with a positive motivation that sees all people and all traditions as equal.

Humans are set apart from other types of sentient beings by their ability to naturally connect with sharp intelligence and with nonviolence, loving-kindness, and compassion. From the moment we are born, we are constantly chasing after happiness, thinking of ways we can become happy and free from suffering, and we actively try to bring those desires to fruition. The propensities toward loving-kindness, compassion, and nonviolence we display in following this quest for happiness demonstrate what makes human beings unique.

For any species of sentient being to continue existing, the members of that species must have affection for each other and they must support each other. In order for our human community to survive, we must nurture and sustain connections of love, compassion, nonviolence, and altruism. These connections are what will allow us not only to survive, but to make our lives meaningful. If we concentrate on ensuring that these connections are present, that in itself will be enough.

All of the Buddha’s teachings are based on refraining from harming others and engaging in helping others. It is therefore of great importance for Buddhists to have these two principles as the ground of their practice. The roots of Buddhist practice are the attitudes of altruism and non-harm. In other words, the roots of Buddhist practice are loving-kindness and compassion.

Of these two qualities, compassion is foremost: in general, we develop loving-kindness by relying on compassion. In the beginning, therefore, compassion is more important. Our compassion must have a broad focus, not only including ourselves but all sentient beings.

Why must our compassion include all sentient beings? Because all sentient beings — oneself and others — want to be happy and free of suffering. This basic desire is the same for everyone. Nevertheless, most of the sentient beings we see experience only suffering; they cannot obtain happiness. Just as we have a desire to clear away the suffering in our own experience and to enjoy happiness, through meditating on compassion we come to see that all other beings have this desire as well. Other beings are not only worthy of our compassion, they are also what cause our meditation on compassion to be possible at all.

According to the Mahayana teachings of Buddhism, all sentient beings are our parents of the past, present, and future. This means that, of all sentient beings, some have been our parents in the past, some are our current parents, and some will be our parents in the future. There are no beings who are not, in the end, our parents. For this reason, all sentient beings have a connection of affection toward us. They have a connection of kindness toward us. But these affectionate and kind parents are trapped in a state of suffering, unable to actualise their desire for happiness. So it is crucial for us to begin meditating on compassion for them, in this very moment.

When we practice various kinds of meditations on compassion, it is not enough for us simply to feel a compassionate sensation in our minds. We must bring our meditation on compassion to the deepest level possible. To make our compassion as deep as possible, we must reflect on the suffering of sentient beings in all six realms of samsara, the wheel of cyclic existence. These sentient beings who are undergoing such intense suffering are the same beings who are our kind parents of the past, present, and future. In short, we are intimately connected with all of these sentient beings.

Therefore, since we are connected to all of these beings, it is possible for us to further our connection to them by bringing them benefit. The most excellent connection we could possibly make would be to cultivate the heart of compassion for them and to think of ways we can reduce their suffering. Reflecting on our connection to these beings, we must engender a level of compassion that cannot bear their suffering to endure any longer. This great, unbearable compassion is extremely important. Without it, we might be able to feel a compassionate sensation in our minds from time to time, but this sensation will not bring forth the full power of compassion. It cannot form the basis of a comprehensive practice.

On the other hand, once unbearable compassion takes birth in our hearts, we will immediately be compelled to altruistic action. We will automatically start thinking about how we can free sentient beings from suffering. Therefore, the way to develop altruism is through meditating on compassion. When our compassion becomes genuine and deep, our actions for the benefit of others will be effortless and free from doubt. That is why it is so crucial for us to deepen our practice of compassion until our compassion becomes unbearable.

Unlike our usual kind of compassion — meditating now and then on the general notion that sentient beings experience suffering — unbearable compassion penetrates and moves our heart. If we were to see someone trapped in a raging fire, we would not hesitate to assist that person. Right then and there, we would immediately begin thinking of and engaging in ways to extract him or her from the fire. Similarly, with unbearable compassion, we witness the suffering of all sentient beings of the six realms and immediately seek ways to free them from that suffering. Not only do we genuinely try to free them from suffering; we are also completely willing to endure any obstacles we may encounter on our path to freeing them. We are unfazed by complications and doubts.

All sentient beings have basic compassion. Even people we would generally consider ill-tempered have compassion; they simply have not brought their basic compassion to a refined level. If ill-tempered people did not have any compassion at all, it would be impossible for them to develop compassion by practicing on the path. All beings have compassion, but their door to the mastery of compassion has thus far been locked. So even though it may seem that some people have no compassion whatsoever, everyone has at least a small seed of compassion. That small seed can grow into great compassion; the potential we all have for great compassion can be made manifest.

Though the great, noble beings can let the full extent of their potential for compassion shine through, we ordinary beings cannot. Though we have the seed of compassion, we do not have the compassion we want. Precisely when we need compassion the most, we cannot access it; the door of our compassion is closed.

Even as we understand that loving-kindness and compassion are so important, we will also find it is quite difficult to fully and genuinely incorporate them into our experience. What prevents us from cultivating our heart of loving-kindness and compassion further is the mental afflictions, especially anger. Emotions such as anger inflict the greatest harm on our path to authentic compassion. For this reason, we must take an honest look at our emotions and ask ourselves, is this emotion benefiting me? Or is it of no benefit at all? We need to engage in a detailed, introspective analysis. If our investigation reveals that these negative emotions are of no benefit, the vital next step is for us to take a similar outlook toward our emotions altogether, all the time; we must see problems as problems, shortcomings as shortcomings.

Let us consider the example of anger. The Buddhist teachings contain rich descriptions of the shortcomings of anger. They describe how anger and aggression produce a slew of unpleasant results, both in the immediate future and in future lifetimes. While some of those teachings might seem to apply only for those who actually believe in the existence of future lifetimes, the buddhadharma’s descriptions of the shortcomings of anger are still relevant for those who do not hold this belief. When we become angry, our face changes and we take on a frightful appearance. We become unattractive to others; even those who are close to us find it difficult to be around us. Since anger in us instills fear in others, it greatly hinders our relationships.

When we clearly see the shortcomings of anger and the positive qualities of loving-kindness, our practice of loving-kindness and compassion becomes strong and we feel delighted about training in these qualities. When we are delighted about training in these qualities, we exert ourselves all the more strongly. When we exert ourselves more, the results we experience also become much more powerful. Being able to discern what is beneficial and what is faulty, therefore, is very important.

Without such discernment, our compassion can become susceptible to the same old habits. Perhaps, when trying to practice compassion, we are treated angrily by someone. We habitually respond by looking at that person in a negative light and resenting him or her. But if we have a deep understanding of the problematic aspects of our negative emotions, and can see them to be like illnesses, we will no longer see aggressors who harm us as bad in themselves. Rather, we will understand that these aggressors are not acting out of their own free will; they are afflicted by the illness of their own negative emotions. Once we are freed from resentment in this way, we are free to grow our loving-kindness and compassion limitlessly, without obstacles.

There are many other obstacles that can prevent our practice of compassion from reaching its full power. From among all of these adverse conditions, one of the foremost is jealousy. Jealousy can rob us of our freedom and interrupt loving relationships between people. Jealousy occurs when we cannot tolerate others being happier than we are. When we continually feel we need to have others below us and have no one equal to us, that is jealousy. When we are controlled by jealousy, we only feel comfortable when others come to us for assistance; we only feel at ease when others are looking to us with hope. We cannot stand being in situations where others have something that we need.

Moreover, in this era many people in society feel that these manifestations of jealousy are justified. Many people seem to believe that when we have competitive attitudes toward others, and when we want to vie aggressively against others for some reward, this is not only acceptable but to be encouraged.

To make our compassion strong and to make our seed of compassion ripen, we need the path. When we enter the path of compassion, we begin to connect with the compassion we need in order to help others, and beyond that we begin to develop the compassion we need in order to attain enlightenment. We already have compassion, wisdom, and many other positive qualities, yet our mental afflictions are far stronger than all of these most of the time.

It is as if the afflictions have locked all of our positive qualities away in a box. One day, we will open that box and all of our good qualities will spring forth. We will see that we do not have to go looking for our compassion, trying to get it or buy it somewhere. It is not available for purchase anywhere in any case. What we will discover is that compassion is present in our minds spontaneously. At that point, a wealth of excellent qualities will become immediately available to us.

One of the ways that people in Tibet generate compassion is by visualising the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, and reciting his mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM. I have memories of my mother’s mother from when I was young reciting the mantra of Avalokiteshvara all the time. Even though she was blind, she continued to recite mantras with great diligence. She always had a cheerful demeanour and smile, as if she didn’t have any problems at all. She always maintained a graceful and dignified presence, and the gaze of her eyes was like that of a normal, seeing person. Such is the power of practicing loving-kindness and compassion. The great affection for and continual supplication to the bodhisattva of compassion was a binding force for our family. My grandmother passed it to my mother, and my mother passed it to me, and I am passing it to you, like an heirloom or an inheritance. My family was not wealthy in a material way, so this is what I have to offer as my main family heirloom.

錯誤的思想產生煩惱，有智慧是不會產生煩惱的。反過來講，你的所有煩惱都只在證明一件事，那就是當時你是沒有智慧的。

-- 法傑法師

禅与现代生活

圣严法师

禅是智慧的、安定的、清净的。智慧是不被环境所困扰；安定是不被环境所混乱；清净则是内心不随外境的杂乱而杂乱，不随外境的污染而污染。

一、禅修与忙碌的现代生活——忙而不乱，享受呼吸

现代人是非常忙碌的，除了街头的流浪汉，以及好逸恶劳的懒散者之外，大家都在忙碌过日子。忙碌的原因是什么？多数人只是为了个人糊口，或为家庭生计，或为事业打拼，少数有理想抱负的人，几乎都是为社会大众的安全幸福而忙。不仅是为目前，也为未来。

我是一个非常忙的人，但不会忙得心头发慌，心慌则烦乱，心乱即烦恼。从禅的立场来看，如果处理得当，忙也可以当作消除烦恼的修行方法。所以菩萨越忙，道心越高。

一般人在不忙的时候，不是空虚无聊，就是胡思乱想；可是忙的时候，又觉得头昏眼花，甚至手忙脚乱，那也不好。所以当你正忙得起了烦恼时，不妨用禅修的基本方法，放松身心，注意呼吸从鼻孔出入的感觉，享受呼吸、体验呼吸，没有多久，就能够心平气和，头脑清醒了。

二、禅修与紧张的现代生活——放松身心，体验感受

现代人的生活，无时无刻、无方无处，不是在紧张中度过。不论是吃饭、睡觉、逛街，甚至到海滩游泳、山上渡假，都是紧紧张张的。

最近我去了一趟罗马，吃午饭时由于要赶时间，必须在半小时内，进出餐厅、点菜、吃饭，可是等饭菜都到齐之后，时间已所剩无几，只得草草了事将食物往嘴里塞，那已经不是在咀嚼、欣赏、品味，而是将食物囫囵吞下肚子里去。

现代社会中，需要看心理医生的人越来越多，主要原因就是使人紧张的情况太多了。例如：家族间的关系，轻松的时间少，紧张的时间多；在工作场合、社交场合，与人相处的关系也是轻松的时候少，紧张的时候多；即使在休闲活动、出外旅行时，随时随地都会让人担心安全没有保障，害怕可能被喝醉酒的司机撞倒，担心一个不小心皮包可能会被人抢走了。举凡人与自然、人与社会、人与家族，乃至人与自己身心状况的不平衡，都会造成身心紧张，轻者觉得无奈无助，重者变成焦虑恐惧，躁郁症的精神病现象，便很普遍地发生了。

容易紧张的人很可怜，可是偏偏我们多数的人只要事情稍多，时间较少，或者工作较重而又所知不多时，就会开始紧张了。如果是有精神病倾向的人，更难放松身心，不论白天或夜间，可能都是紧绷着的，严重者必须靠镇静剂，让精神暂时得到舒缓。

因此从禅修的立场来看，只要在平常生活中发现有紧张状况时，便应随时将头脑放松、肌肉放松；假如无法放松身心，也可以转而将自己放在客观的立场，体验身体的情况，感受心念的状况，也可达到放松的目的。

三、禅修与快速的现代生活——赶而不急，动中有静

现代人的生活，样样都是快速的。乘的是快速度的飞机、船只及车辆，用的是快速运作的工具及机械，吃的是速制的快餐，连结婚、离婚也都是闪电式的。

“快”究竟对不对呢？虽不能说有错，但是一般人在赶工作的时候，很容易是紧张的，会失去自我主宰而变得随境而转，只知道跟着环境的人事物，快！快！快！并未思考为什么要跟着大家那么快。虽然工作的效率快，竞争力就会提高，但在快速之中，可能也会着急，一急之下，情绪容易失控而生气，一生气，就很可能捅出漏子来了。

不过，人在一生，纵然活到100岁，也仅3万6500天，一天之中能工作的时间也是很有限的，想把工作做得既多且好，不快不赶也是不行的。如能计划明确、步骤清楚的赶工作，就不会紧张；唯有毫无头绪、急急忙忙的抢时间，才会造成紧张。因此我主张：应当忙中有序地赶工作，不可紧张兮兮地抢时间。

禅修者的生活态度是精进不懈、为法忘躯，愿度无边众生，愿断无尽烦恼，愿学无量法门，愿成无上佛道，那得赶、忙、快地进行，但仍须经常保持轻松愉快。

我有两位性格完全不同的弟子，一位是慢手、慢脚、慢脾气，不论是双手的动作及走路的动作，都是慢慢吞吞的，永远不急也不生气，但是，他的工作效率并不差。另一位弟子则是整天看他忙东忙西，忙得团团转，而且老是在埋怨着说他只有两手两脚，工作又这么多，因此，经常是又焦急又生气，工作质量也只是普通。第一位采用的是禅修者的心态和方法，另一位对禅修方法，尚未用上力。对这两种状况，我的建议是，能够做到赶和快而不着急，当然很好，否则宁可工作效率低一些，也要保持身心地轻松愉快。

四、禅修与疏离的现代生活——人人是佛，血肉同体

疏离，就是人与人之间的距离很远，彼此互不关心、不相往来。譬如说，现代家庭的夫妇，从事不同行业，孩子在不同程度的班级读书，甚至一家人都在外地就学、就业，不仅白天不易见面，连睡觉或休息的时间，也有差异，一天之中夫妻俩可能讲不到半句话。父母和幼小的儿女之间，也好不了多少，孩子被送到托儿所，或由褓母照顾，能每天早晚相聚已很难得，有的在一星期之中仅见数面。至于住在高楼公寓中的现代人，对邻居是谁漠不关心，能于上下电梯中相见打一声招呼，已觉多余，彼此姓什么？做什么？更无暇知道，古代守望相助的邻里感情已不再见。

最近我在乘飞机的途中，有一位服务了12年的空中小姐，希望我替她算命，让她知道什么时候可以结婚。她是找错人了，但是我问她说：“妳天天在飞机上飞来飞去，接触的人那么多，怎么会遇不到一位可以嫁的人呢？”其实，她每天面对的对象虽然不少，却都是陌生人，没有一位是她认为可以谈心的人。

若以禅修的立场来看，应该体验人与人之间的关系，就像在佛国净土中佛和菩萨的关系一样。我们虽然有认识及不认识的不同，但是互动的关系是非常密切的，共同生活在同一个地球世界上，连彼此的呼吸都是息息相关的，虽不是血肉相连，却是声气相通的；如果心中产生这样的亲切感时，接触到任何一个人，岂非都像是自己的亲戚和朋友？

若能再进一步用禅修的方法，将小我扩大提升到大我，便会知道，所有的人都跟自己密不可分，那么，对任何人都不会觉得那么疏离而陌生了。

五、禅修与物质的现代生活——需要不多，知足常乐

现代人的物质生活非常丰富，生活环境却因此而变得极为复杂。因为物质越丰富，人类的欲望就越强烈，见到人家有的，自己也希望拥有；已经便利的，希望更便利。由于这些欲望，使得我们的生活被物质所引诱，而丧失独立自主的判断力和自信心。

有人形容物质文明和人类欲望的关系，就像一个人骑在老虎背上不能下来，因为一下来就会被老虎吃掉，他只能骑在虎背上，老虎跑得越快，骑在虎背上的人也越紧张，但无论如何紧张，也不敢让老虎的脚步停下来。作为一名现代人，似乎经常是处于这样的心情中。

对物质丰富的现代环境，不必努力抗拒，而要做到不受诱惑。如果用禅修的观念来过生活，就不会由于物质环境的影响而产生苦恼。因为禅修的目的，是重于精神的自在和解脱，而且如能从中获得平安，便不会以追求物质的享受，作为生活的指标。所以应该从精神层面多深入、多体验、多努力，对于物质条件的诱惑，便有免疫的能力了。

我曾提出：“需要的不多，想要的很多”这两句话，“想要”是贪欲的烦恼，“需要”只是生存的最低条件；“想要”的可以不要，“需要”的不是问题。禅修的人因为内心不会感到空虚不安，欲望必定减少，就能“少欲知足，知足常乐”了。

二十多年前我在台北出席一项重要的会议，与会的人士都是有钱的商人及有地位的官员，开完会之后，服务人员来问我：“请问法师，您的车子停在那儿？我们代您把司机请来！”

我说：“我的车子停得满远的，你叫它来，它是不会来的，因为那是公共汽车！”

这位服务人员替我委屈地说：“法师！您怎么没有自己的车子啊！”

当时如果我真的认为参加这样的会议，非要有一辆自己的车子不可，岂不就是受了环境影响，而失去自我了吗？

六、禅修与污染的现代生活——知福惜福，净化环境

大家都希望这个世间的环境，能越来越安静、越来越清净、越来越稳定、越来越有安全的保障；可是由于大家只知道追求个人环境的美好，却忽略了整个地球的环境正在急速地遭受破坏。

生活环境中的污染有四大来源：1.每个家庭每天都要制造很多垃圾；2.医院的医疗处理之后，也会产生很多垃圾；3.为了农产品的化肥、用药及养植，使得土地环境受到污染；4.工业生产与科技开发，使得地球的地下资源、空气资源、水资源等，都受到严重的破损污染。大家都知道这些问题必须改善，可是到目前为止，似乎还是束手无策，纵然有改善，但改善的速度却远不如破坏的速度。

其实，若要使得人类的生活环境不被污染，最重要的根本，是在人类的心念，建立惜福俭朴的观念，生活单纯，物质欲望减少，心灵受到的污染也就少，自然环境受到破坏的程度也会减低了。除了少欲知足之外，还当用禅修的方法，随时保持安定、平静的心灵；心不平衡，身体及语言的动作就会变得暴躁粗鲁，自伤伤人，像一颗定时炸弹，若非自暴自弃，便成愤世嫉俗，困扰家人，破坏社会，不仅为社会环境、大众心灵带来污染，也为他们带来毁灭性的灾难；就像在饥饿的鸡犬群中，忽然又闯进一群饥饿的狼，弄得鸡飞狗跳，人心惶惶，不可终日。

如果用禅修的观念和工夫来帮助我们每一个人，使人人都能生活在安定的、平衡的、清净的环境之中，那就是人间净土。

七、禅修与焦虑的现代生活——本来无事，万事如意

由于现代信息传播迅速，带给人们焦虑的梦魇也相当多，只要社会中、世界上、国际间，有一些风吹草动，不论直接或间接，不论是为自己、为家族、为社会、为国家、为政治、为经济生活、为宗教信仰，凡是牵连到自身安危利害、得失成败的状况，都令人无法高枕无忧。

昨天有位居士来见我，他的焦虑很多，起先只是因为夫妻感情不和睦，为了他的太太而焦虑，后来太太带着孩子不告而别，他又为孩子的平安焦虑，弄得每天失眠，心神恍惚，情绪陷于失控，于是又担心如果连工作都做不好，那该怎么办？我只能劝他：“以智慧处理事，以慈悲关怀人。”

前天我也接到一封信，有一位太太，先生过世才不久，独生的女儿又被不良少年诱拐跑了，在此同时自己身上又长了恶性肿瘤，必须及时开刀，可是她上班的公司老板却希望她马上回去复职，否则饭碗不保；但是医生告诉她，如果不赶快开刀，病情会越来越严重；她若开刀又无医疗费可付，虽然手上还有些股票，可是现在正是股票下跌到了最谷底的当口，她又舍不得把仅有的股票卖掉，况且医生告诉她，开刀也只有一半痊愈的机会……凡此种种让她非常焦虑，于是写了一封信来向我求救。

我常常遇到一些好像正被困在火海之中的人，来向我求救。通常我会倾听他们的问题，知道他们所焦虑的是什么，但不会将他们的焦虑，变成我自己的梦魇。

我给他们的建议有一个原则：对感情的问题，宜用理智来处理；对家族的问题，宜用伦理来处理；即使发生了不得了的大事，也应用时间来化解、淡化；如果真是无法避免的倒霉事，那只有面对它、接受它；能够面对它、接受它，就等于是在处理它，既然已经处理了，也就不必再为它担心，应该放下它了，不要老是想着：“我怎么办？”而是睡觉时照样睡觉，吃饭时照样吃饭，该怎么生活就怎样生活。

如果用情绪来处理感情的事，用理论来处理家族的事，如同以刚克刚，以火救火，事情会越弄越糟。尤其在处理人际问题之时，必须要有慈悲心，多为对方设想，否则不但会得罪对方，连自己都可能无路可走。

处理事物问题之时，要有智慧，将问题客观化；问题客观化了之后，便能看清如何处理才是最好的。如果鱼与熊掌只能选其一，应先把轻重缓急弄清楚了，应舍即舍，能取即取。

佛法告诉我们：诸法虚幻，无自性故；舍除我执，无常故空。禅法即是佛法，以禅修的方法观照，便能超越自我的执着，超越“空”、“有”的对立，也才能觉察到，天下本来没有什么事可让你忧虑的；能知天下本来无事，便是万事如意！

Our attempts to achieve happiness in the past have generally been motivated by self-interest and self-protection. We have followed the path of desire and attachment. This path is chosen from ignorance and it has many liabilities. Our desire for happiness can never be separated from our fear and dislike of unhappiness. The compulsive search for pleasure always includes aversion to any pain or discomfort. When we say, “I want to be happy,” we are also saying, “I do not want to be unhappy.” Everybody is like this. We are all running after good things while running away from unpleasant things. It is this dilemma that we are trying to overcome with Mind Training.

-- Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

The Two Truths

by Denma Locho Rinpoche

I have been asked to give a talk on the Two Truths: the conventional or surface level of truth and the ultimate truth. Looking at it one way it seems as if I've already finished my teaching because there are just these two words: conventional and ultimate, and that's finished! But in fact these two truths subsume within them all of Buddhism, so there is more to talk about than you'd find in a huge beak.

I ask all of you in this special place of Bodhgaya to bring up within you a special motivation. Every living creature, no matter who they are, are living creatures seeking happiness. At the same time they seek happiness, they are unaware of the cause of happiness, so call up this motivation: that to relieve them from their unhappiness, I must myself achieve all the wonderful qualities, all the excellence of an enlightened state, in order to teach them how to free themselves.

Living creatures, just like ourselves, are defined by seeking to avoid unpleasant, suffering situations, and seeking to place themselves in happy situations. Animals, from insects on up, have knowledge of methods to immediately remove suffering, they have this intelligence. The human being differs from the animal as they have the intelligence to take into account a much greater time span. They can begin to do things to alleviate states that they will otherwise experience a long time in the future — for example, getting a good education so we can find a job, make money, and live well in the future. At this point we are talking generally; spirituality hasn't entered into the discussion at all.

If one performs wholesome deeds, one's future will be in a happy state. If one has performed unwholesome deeds, one has set down the causes to find oneself in a state of woe. Spirituality then enters the thought process of a human being contemplating a future that goes beyond simple death.

Everything that the enlightened one spoke of leads back to the understanding of the two levels of truth. (This doesn't mean there is no third truth, for example the Four Noble Truths and so on, so you can have sub-divisions.) Since you have two levels of reality, you have to have something being sub-divided, or categorized in two categories.

So you can ask yourself, "What is being sub-divided?" and the answer is knowables or objects of knowledge (Tibetan: she-ja). Here, a knowable is simply something that is existing. To exist means to be knowable, and to be knowable means to exist.

For example, I could have the idea of antlers on a rabbit — it could come up in my mind. I could fabricate this awareness, and in that sense rabbit's antlers are something known but they certainly don't exist. [The problem] here is that when you equate things that exist and things that are known, they are known by [a valid] awareness but not by [just any] awareness. In other words I could get out of this difficulty by saying that, true, rabbit's antlers are known by [a particular person's] awareness, but this doesn't necessarily mean that they are known by awareness!

Ultimate truth, paramarthasatya, if you take the [Sanskrit] word apart is this: artha refers to that which is known; parama refers to that which knows its object, that is, the mind of a high spiritual being; satya means truth. It is truth because that which is known is true for that which knows its object, the mind of the high spiritual being, therefore, ultimate truth, an ultimate thing that is true.

So what about this other truth, the conventional, surface level of truth: how does one come to understand this second of the two truths if the ultimate reality is understood in this way? This is samvrtisatya. Samvrti is total covering up, and covering here means ordinary awareness covering that which is real. Here again satya is truth, but truth for an ordinary awareness. In other words, all the things that are true for ordinary minds like our own that are taken as real by them—are conventional truths, therefore, truth for an ordinary covering mind.

In the scholastic tradition we say that anything that is known will always be included in one of these two levels of reality. Anything not covered by these two levels is beyond the sphere of what is knowable. There is a deep logic here — that these two categories, the two truths, are an exhaustive description of all that there is.

Here is how it works. Truth and lie go together, don't they? If a person makes a statement that mirrors reality, then that statement is true. However, a statement not mirroring reality is a lie.

The ultimate level of reality is mirrored in the mind of awareness that knows it, in a way that is not lying. This necessarily brings out the situation that all conventional truths are lying to the awareness that knows them, about the way they appear. Similarly, ordinary things appearing to ordinary awareness must be said to be lying to that ordinary awareness. You are, by removing that truth, positively showing the truth of the awareness of the ultimate. That ultimate, appearing to an awareness that knows it is not lying to that awareness, is the suchness of things—the ultimate reality of things.

So you have one being necessitated by another in a see-saw-like fashion, and from that account you can extrapolate out to show that it is a statement that is exhaustive of all knowables, of all that exists.

In Buddhist systems of ideas, there are many interpretations of what exactly these two levels of truth are. They are set forth as the four Buddhist schools of philosophy.

In the most profound school, the Middle Way Consequentialist school, just what is emptiness or the ultimate? It is this: that in fact nobody or nothing, anywhere, has anything that inherently makes it what it is. Nothing has its own personal mark. Everything exists simply through language, through ideas.

The absence of something, the total absence, the total not-being, non-existence of anything that is not there through the power of language and thought is shunyata, emptiness, the ultimate truth.

When one talks of an ultimate truth, of emptiness, one has a focus; one is looking at objects and finding them to be totally empty. What one is looking at and finding to be empty is very important. The identification of things first becomes an important thing to do because the ultimate truth isn't something immediately apprehensible by our senses — we can't see it. We have to arrive at it through our thought processes, and in order to do this we have to use reasoning. This reasoning takes as its point of departure certain things or bases, so we must identify these in the first instance.

Let's start by trying to identify what are classically the most important of these bases, the five aggregates or skandas. In the Heart Sutra it says, "He looked and saw that the five aggregates are empty of inherent existence." So if you don't know what these five are, how can you look into the ultimate truth of them?

The five aggregates are: a great heap of physical things, a great heap of feelings, a great heap of discriminations, a great heap of created things (Sanskrit: samskara) and a great heap of awareness.

So then, one has heaps, aggregates, and these locate living creatures. Let's take the aggregate of physical things, which can be further broken down into the external objective physical things and the internal subjective physical things. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes and sensations are the external or objective physical things in this great heap of physical things, while the five senses are the subjective or internal physical things.

The second heap is that of feelings. What are feelings? They are the experiences one gets out of things: pleasant experiences, neutral experiences and unpleasant ones.

The next heap is discrimination, which is defined as that part of the mind that functions to identify particular things as what they are.

The fourth aggregate of created things has most of the non-associated created things. It's a catch-bag for everything not included in the other four heaps.

And what is the fifth heap? This is all our awarenesses or consciousness or thoughts. This is generally looked at as sense-based awareness coming from a thinking mind.

One can only focus on the reality of emptiness when one has seen the size, the dimensions, of what one is refuting or denying.

The Tibetan saint Tsongkhapa said, "Anything that is produced from conditions is never produced." You can unpack this apparent paradox in this way. What you are saying is that nothing is produced as something that is independent; nothing is produced as something that is there under its own power. That's what you are trying to demonstrate.

For example, a seedling isn't produced as something there under its own power, as something that is inherently what it is. Why? Because it is produced from causes and conditions. That's how you break down the meaning of the statement to formulate it as a reason for the hidden meaning, which is emptiness, to come clear to the mind.

Lama Tsongkhapa writes in his famous Praise to Dependent Arising, "What is more amazing, what better way of expressing a reality has ever been found? Namely that anything that depends on conditions is empty."

There are many different reasons a person can use to come to understand emptiness. But here we meet with the king of all reasonings—dependent arising—because being produced or arising dependently is the reason for everything's emptiness. Using this reason, one avoids the extreme of nihilism, because dependent arising shows something is there; nevertheless, because it is a reason that shows emptiness it also removes eternalism.

As the great Aryadeva said, "Anyone who gets a view into one reality gets a view into all realities." What he is saying is that if one plumbs the depths of reality of anything, one doesn't need to go through the whole process again with another object. Just bringing to the mind the reality you've seen in one object or person, and turning the mind to another, you will look at its reality as well.

That's why every one of our sadhanas without exception starts with the mantra that means "Om, this is purity, all Dharmas are pure, I am that purity." Before doing any sadhana one brings to mind this fact of the ultimate reality — of emptiness.