闻思是修持净土的前行

益西彭措堪布

我们想求生极乐世界，前行也是数数闻思净土经论。比如，对西方净土的因、果、事、理，依报、正报的功德庄严，往生净土的殊胜利益，往生的正因和违缘，西方净土的不共优点，修持净土的方法，阿弥陀佛的大愿海，弥陀名号的功德等等，都要由多闻才能了解。多闻之后，又要多思惟忆念。如果由思惟圣教和正理引发了定解，那就能引生往生净土坚定的信念和切愿。在真信切愿推动下，身心投入修持，修一分就是一分净土正因，步步切实，决定成功，可以说“往生净土，万牛莫挽”。以这个原因，蕅益大师说：“ 往生与否，全凭信愿之有无。”

所以先由闻思引生定解，这是最初的关键。在定解的摄持下，所有的修行下至一点一滴都能成为净土资粮，而且是纯乎其纯的资粮，由此开始踏上了往生净土的真实之道。 而且，修的效果非常好，因为整个心和阿弥陀佛相应，功德不可思议。按这样发展，虽然还身处娑婆世界，其实已成为极乐国的人。

一、没有闻思而修净土的过患

相反，若没有闻思净土的经论，对净土没有生起真信切愿，则修持净土容易沦为影子之道。不闻思是怎样造成修持的不得力和不相应的呢？（此处，“闻”不只是听闻，十法行中的书写、阅读、讽诵、开演等都归属在内。）比如，没有听闻思惟过阿弥陀佛的功德和恩德，就不会去忆念，也就无从生起对佛的信心和感恩心。或者，闻思得不够，观察和忆念未到量，则信心和感恩心就很难猛利、恒常。如是即便修一点，与法相应的程度也很差，效果也不明显。

或者没有闻思，就不会了知阿弥陀佛的智悲力不可思议、四十八愿宏深广大，也就不能由衷地发起对佛的皈依心，这样即便形象上向阿弥陀佛合掌、礼拜，但和以猛利皈依心礼拜相比，功德相去甚远。

或者，不知道依仗佛力超越生死远比单凭自力容易，就不能死心依止佛力，决志求生净土。

或者，没有闻思，就不能真正观察到娑婆世界纯粹是苦性，遇到世间的顺逆境，仍会耽著不舍，无法投注心力修持净土。比如，一个人对苦谛思惟得深彻，出离心坚固， 他就能放下世间，一心修净土。而另一人不知轮回是苦，根本没有出离心，虽然口中念佛，心中追求世间的念头不断。两人念佛的效果肯定相差悬殊。

或者，不闻思，就不知道净土不可思议的利益，不会缘此观察串习，也就难以生起欣求极乐的心，更不能让欣求心达到强烈，以及持续到行住坐卧的一切威仪中。无法深刻了解《阿弥陀经》所说的“无有诸苦，但受诸乐”极乐世界“乐”的内涵，也就发不起求生的心力。

再比如，若没有对因果深入闻思，就无法引生对因果的信心，这样正知正念不容易坚固，平常起心动念，恶念多善念少，念佛的功效也差。印光大师说：“心地上了不起恶，全体是善，其念佛也，功德胜于常人百千万倍。”所以，有没有深信因果的正见，在念佛的效果上相差甚远。当然，此处闻思业果是指如理如量的闻思，而且能以法为镜反省自己。走马观花般的闻思或者不得要领的闻思，起不到大的或者，如果没有闻思最基础的暇满、无常、恶趣苦等涵义， 就不知道怎么珍惜时间修习净土，怎么让心专一。

二、若有闻思而得胜解，则念佛必定相应

相反，对此等若获得了定解，则一提正念，就能很快让心转入修行。

印光大师开示：“至谓欲心不贪外事，专念佛。不能专，要他专。不能念，要他念。不能一心，要他一心等。亦无奇特奥妙法则，但将一个死字，贴到额上，挂到眉毛上。心常念曰：ʻ我某人从无始来，直至今生，所作恶业，无量无边。假使恶业有体相者，十方虚空，不能容受。宿生何幸，今得人身，又闻佛法，若不一心念佛求生西方，一气不来，定向地狱镬汤、炉炭、剑树、刀山里受苦，不知经几多劫……ʼ能如是念，如上所求，当下成办。”这是将无常和恶趣苦显示为实修教授。若想强有力地生起这一正念，基础仍是闻思无常和恶趣苦。如果闻思获得定解又数数串习，那就能让怖畏心越来越强，由此一提正念，就有力量让心转入念佛。

可见闻思，对修持净土有多么重要。

If one falls ill, it's best to use your mind to engage in various Dharma practices which do naturally help with healing such as taking and giving (tonglen) while also taking (appropriate) Western medical treatments. I think that this combined approach is best.

-- Ribur Rinpoche

Advice on Spiritual Practice

by His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje

The practice of dharma involves certain possibilities. How these potentials evolve into actual situations for the practitioner, and how much is possible within these situations depends on the capacity of individual beings. It depends upon the level of teachings that one is able to relate to, such as Mahayana or Hinayana. At this particular time in our lives, the practice of Mahayana teaching is possible. It is absolutely precious and absolutely rare. Our concern for development and our sense of responsibility has placed us in a position to integrate the preciousness and rarity of the Mahayana teaching into our lives. Through it there is the possibility of the experience of no-returning back to Samsara and the experience of ultimate bliss that is self-knowing and in which there are no doubts.

In the midst of the wanderings of our minds, we might sometimes fall into thinking that whether one practice or not, the Dharma will always be available. If you have that kind of notion, it is a very serious mistake. Any brief moment, any time at all that one could use as an opportunity for Dharma practice, one must use. If one does not take this responsibility and offer sincere respect to the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings, there is a definite possibility of causing harm to oneself as well as to those spiritual friends to whom one is linked. A lack of attention to the responsibilities of the Mahayana path constitutes a breaking of the Samaya principles, therefore, in whatever way one can hold to the teachings, one must sincerely do so.

If you think that the teaching is negligible, such a reality will manifest because of your attitude, to your great loss. The fact is that the teaching is very much hidden from you, so you cannot really make speculations about it. On the other hand, the validity of the teaching has been witnessed by its ageless effectiveness from the time of the Buddha to this day. This is something to dwell upon. You must sincerely realise the sacredness of the teachings, to the extent of understanding that there is actually nothing more important than the practice of the Dharma within this lifetime, and in lifetimes to come. In a simple mundane life situation, in the field of 'business' we know that the businessman develops a plan for a project, he knows what it will cost him, perhaps one million dollars, and every detail of the project is regarded with the utmost care. Absolute importance is attached to such a project in the business world, and a great deal of energy is put into bringing it to a successful conclusion. The point is if one is going to expend such effort for a result of such a temporary nature, why not put at least as much effort into a project that is going to cause one's temporary as well as an ultimate benefit? Whether you are receiving empowerment or an explanation, if you are able to have or develop that sense of importance about the Dharma, then there is purpose in your relationship with the Mahayana teachings and there is going to be fulfilment, too. If there is a genuine commitment to the teaching, you will be able to develop direct and meaningful trust and confidence in the teachings and sincere compassion towards beings. A true understanding of the universality of the working of karma, the nature of cause and effect, will occur.

The Bodhisattva's aspiration and actions are powerful because from the very beginning when bodhisattva embarks on the journey of the bodhi path he aspires to work for the benefit and liberation of all sentient beings with a very determined, definite and powerful intention. Because of the sincere resolve that is within this aspiration, whatever actions need to be performed to benefit and liberate beings are performed with great power and tirelessness. Having undertaken such a profound journey by virtue of the aspiration to help beings, as the different stages of the Bodhisattva are experienced, one finds oneself increasingly capable of benefiting countless beings. That is how the Bodhisattva first treads upon the path.

When the bodhisattvas work for the benefit of all beings with such appropriate aspirations and actions there is total fulfilment. The fulfilment is appropriate in the sense that there is no selfishness involved in the way of expectations, doubts, hopes, attachment or aversion regarding gains and losses of any kind. The Bodhisattva is completely pure and spotless, working incessantly and wholeheartedly for the benefit of beings. Not for a moment is there any hesitation or doubt, as these obstacles have been transcended. The ways of a Bodhisattva are gentle since all harmful actions and indulgences have been abandoned. Not only are harmful deeds themselves eliminated in a Bodhisattva's life, but also the creation of causes of future harmful situations. Work is done solely for the benefit of other beings, not only in direct deeds but in laying the foundations for future benefits to accrue. When these bodhisattvas initiate work, then, they are able to cause immeasurable benefit towards beings, and they do so by manifesting fearless generosity without doubts or expectations, like the great Bodhisattva of Boundless Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, or the Bodhisattva of Boundless Power, Vajrapani, and so on.

All who comprise the great assemblage of Bodhisattvas are equally powerful and equally beneficial to countless beings so that all things seem to be at their command. Sometimes beautiful lotuses and lotus trees are caused by them to grow from the middle of the ocean, or a teardrop is transformed into an ocean. Everything in nature is at the Bodhisattva's call. Fire can appear as water; water can appear as fire. It is all because of the strength of the Bodhisattva's attitude, the aspiration and action. For us, this says that the practice of compassion must be given full consideration and it must at all times be in our awareness and at all times performed.

If one is going to attempt to do meditation, for example, on emptiness, Sunyata, one must never fail to relate to the enlightened objects of the Refuge on one hand and to consistently generate genuine compassion towards beings on the other hand. The true nature of emptiness is compassion. Without the experience of the fullness of compassion, even if one claims to have realised emptiness, Sunyata, it does not have any significance.

At this particular point, you have the opportunity to receive the teachings. There are teachers, there are facilities. You have been receiving many levels of teaching, and it is important that you don't miss the point in terms of putting into practice what is taught. It is absolutely important. I am emphasising today something you must have heard many times. And yet there is always the need for complete integration, for mindfulness and respect, for the treasuring of what one has understood, what one has received. There is a need of working towards the fulfilment of the teachings and the complete realisation of the meaning. And toward that end, the most important factor, once again, is the practice of bodhicitta, the Enlightened Mind, by which you will gradually tread the Vajrayana path. At every turn bodhicitta is indispensable. Unless the profound techniques of the Vajrayana are being supported by bodhicitta one will not necessarily make meaningful realisations. So, you see, everything is actually rooted in the practice of bodhicitta, and to pursue with sincerity whatever enhances and supports the practice of bodhicitta creates favourable situations for its development.

An example of a means to develop bodhicitta is Pratimoksa. In the Pratimoksa tradition, there are seven families or levels of Pratimoksa, or self-discipline. These are known as the precepts or vows. Refuge is the most important prerequisite to enter into the practice of discipline. After taking refuge, you take whatever other precepts you can. Keeping them strengthens your practice of bodhicitta, and enables you to tread on the path of Buddhadharma more simply, sincerely and sanely. The importance of the application of self-discipline, the precepts, must not be neglected. Strongly ingrained are the patterns of the three poisons: aggression, attachment and ignorance. If one is to uproot these patterns and to apply the proper antidote for these poisons, the practices of discipline as outlined in the Pratimoksa are necessary tools.

Then we have the Mahayana principles. We must practice living the Mahayana ideals which we have been talking about: the development of the Enlightened Attitude, a concern for the benefit and liberation of all beings. From the material point of view, this country is very rich, which means life is busier for everyone than in other places in the world, and people are occupied by all kinds of mundane demands. Because of the overwhelming material concerns that surround one, the speed of life activity increases. One busy situation leads to another, and on and on. You are constantly busy. The truth of cyclic existence is very well manifested in your lives. To remedy this state of affairs one first needs to calm down the mind. Do not be completely absorbed by your surroundings. Develop some degree of stillness. Cultivate simple control of mind, tranquillity. At least some openness of the mind needs to be developed. No matter who you are, everyone needs first to relate to basic meditation practices, meditation practices that are specifically designed to bring about the calmness of the minds of beings who are occupied in such constant, busy involvement. This is the first step in the practice of the Dharma, the Dharma that is so very important for oneself and for others.

If you could see and appreciate the truth of the Dharma, and in the light of that appreciation continue to practice, there is no doubt about your being of tremendous benefit to the people you encounter and to this country especially. There would be no doubt about your ability to save beings from countless problems and conflicts. So the practice of the Dharma must be taken very seriously and done very sincerely. It plays a crucial part in shaping of one's life, and not this life alone but all lifetimes to come. If one is to have temporary as well as ultimate fulfilment of happiness, the incomparable and the only reliable connection is the practice of the Dharma. The notion of perception and perceiver has existed from beginningless time, and it is part of the pattern of clinging. From beginningless time our shortcoming has been to fall back into Samsara. In the past, in the future and in the present, the mind has been in many ways very playful. But where the true nature of the mind is concerned, neither the colour nor the shape nor the location of the mind nor its consciousness can be pinpointed.

The nature of mind goes beyond all such substantialities. This being so, in the meditation practice it is important neither to invite the future nor recollect the past, but to remain in the state of nowness. The nowness of the mind is the practice which should be developed by you all.

Since everything is an illusory display, it is possible to attain enlightenment. 

-- Aryadeva

参禅与抚琴

文｜汪文中

“禅”是梵文禅那的音译，原是静虑或思考。一是以修定为目标的一种方法，其原意，是用修行禅观等方法，达到心力集中和身体内 外统一的境地。佛教小乘有四禅，大乘则有九种大禅：自性禅、一切禅、难禅、一切门禅、善入 禅、一切行禅、除烦恼禅、此世他世乐禅、清净禅。而释迦牟尼佛所证定境则更为高超，四禅之上，又有五个境界，即空无边处、识无边处、无所有处、非想非非想处、灭尽一切想与受处。至于禅的体性，不同的经典中略有不同：《梵网经》称心地，《般若经》称菩提或涅槃，《华严经》称为法界，《楞伽经》称如来藏等，正果法师在其著作《禅宗大意》中指出“若见性悟心， 诸名尽晓，迷昧自性，诸名皆滞。” 

真正提出“参禅”的概念的是禅宗。拈花微笑的公案是禅宗所说的禅的起源。参禅也称为思维修，其重点在于思维，但形式上以禅定为主。修禅之法需静坐，佛教认为，在行住坐卧四威仪中，以端身静坐最容易定身息心，静坐要居静处，且要调和五事，即：调食、调睡眠、调身、调息、调 心。可以看出，无论从静坐的仪式上还是方法上，都是要让个体进入静心不燥且安详宁静的状态，达到了这种状态就已然“定”了。但禅宗之禅不仅仅是“四禅八定”、“禅那波罗蜜”的禅，禅定之后就要进入“参”的境界。 

禅宗又称佛心宗，心当指两层含义，首先是四祖禅法所提到的念佛的心，即想要得到觉悟获得解脱自在的初心；再者也指事物被剥离法相后所显现出的最本质、最核心的部分，或者说是法性。禅宗常以“牧牛”打比方来说明“无心是道”，“一回入草去，便把鼻拽来”。所谓“无心”实指内照反省，目的是要摒弃无明烦恼，如 《心经》中所云：“远离颠倒梦想，究竟涅槃”。佛教认为，人之所以会造业增添烦恼，是因为“无明”所致，“无明”就是无知，参禅就是如何把无知变成有知的过程，因为有知，所以便通晓世间万法本性，无论其如何千变万化，也都可以离相见性，知其实相实则无形无相，以无相而证性，明了无智亦无得，方成阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。 

参禅重在实践，所谓真参实悟就是要注重细节处作功，不落言诠、寻思、拟议，而后悟在无所得处。若要破参，可任取一法而行，如沩山灵祐禅师所言“实际理地，不受一尘；佛事门中，不舍一法”。比如：若要进得一个厅堂，首先要从门而入，怎样开门并不是固定一法，可任意选择，当入得厅堂，则舍弃开门之法，入得厅堂之时，能所双亡，物我双忘，而后感悟到，自己所处空间浑然一体，这就是实悟后的感触。若要真参实物，首先要确定自己的“心”，按照禅宗“即心即佛”的说法，“心”即是觉悟之心，初心就是佛心，因此要坚持自己的自性本心， 如《信心铭》中僧璨所言“圆同太虚，无欠无余，自由取舍，所以不如”。所以，参禅实则重在“观心”，《华严经》载“若人欲了知，三世一切佛，应观法界性，一切唯心造”。心的作用实在是不可思议的，《宗镜录》说“心能作佛，心作众生，心作天堂，心作地狱。心异则千差竞起，心平则法界坦然，心凡则三毒萦缠，心圣则六通自在。心空则一道清净，心有则万境纵横”，观心即是要明了“心作心是”的道理。 

随着程朱理学的产生，与之相对应的就是“天理”、“人欲”之辩，进而演变成“存天理、灭人欲”，这无疑是对人心的一种压抑。然而政治上宣扬的“天理”，并没有直接泯灭掉“人欲”，虽然时代背景下，无法直接表达自我的情感，文人们却剑走偏锋，在艺术生活领域，将他们的“人欲”发挥的淋漓尽致。借着统治阶层所推崇的佛教，禅意生活直接影响了文人的艺术审美。 

禅就是要放弃一切的世俗性因素，放弃一切和精神意识无关的外界因素，做到绝对的寻求最本质的真理。艺术是人类思想的抽象表现方式，直接传达着人类的情感，传达着个体的自我精神。禅宗认为，艺术创造的过程，往往是压抑人心的过程，因为创作的过程，总要求人们一定要按照某种特定的形式、规律来进行，这本身就是一种“执”与禅宗所宣扬的自由观冲突，因此，在禅宗的引导下，艺术发生了质的飞跃。这种飞跃表现在艺术作品不再以大道教化、政治渲染、彰显国力等与个人精神无关的方面为主，而是直接性、个化性的表现出个体意识。 

在禅宗思想的影响下，文人们宁心静性的观照万法，识得万法空性，艺术的变现方式逐渐由绚丽多彩的金装银裹，变得简约质朴而又雅制精巧。宋代禅宗兴盛，禅僧是文人化程度很深的释子，弹琴就如写诗、作画、参禅一样，是他们生活中的一项重要内容。两宋时期，弹琴的僧人多以禅僧为主，这些禅僧不仅文化程度很高，而且还都是在佛学方面有很高造诣的高僧，他们的诗文也冠绝一时。 

重显禅师，因为后来长期住雪窦山资深寺，遂被称“雪窦重显”、“雪窦”。他是禅宗云门宗的创派祖师文偃的第三代弟子，历来被视为云门宗的高僧。他作有颂古一百则吗，不仅是禅僧的必读书，还被文人所推崇，他甚至将颂古之风推向了高峰。他是儒士化很深的禅僧，且常与其他琴僧郊游，而作《赠琴赋》：“太古清音发指端，月当松顶夜堂寒。悲风流水多呜咽，不听希声不用弹。” 

道潜禅师，初名昙潜，后来在杭州由苏轼为他改为道潜，号参寥子。苏轼在《参寥子真赞》中评价道：“维参寥子，身寒而道富。辩于文而讷于口。外柔而中健武。与人无竞，而好刺讥朋友之过。枯形灰心，而喜为感时玩物不能忘情之语。” 苏轼对道潜的评价很高，说他虽然穷苦但知识渊博，不善于口辩却善于文论。杭州的天竺寺僧人慧照，常与他交流琴学，听琴后，写下了《听天竺慧照师琴》：“太古淳音久已亏，多君妙指善医治。高山流水意虽在，白雪阳春和者谁。不放惊飙侵涧户，只容明月侍帘帷。满堂宾客俱倾耳，共失芙蓉漏转时。”如果说重显禅师的琴音清韵绝佳，那么道潜已然更进一步，音淳而入心。音清代表与世无争的清净心，音淳则是参佛入道的自在心了。 

印素禅师是临济法系的第十三代法嗣，号普安，因此多被称为普庵禅师。从他的诗文来看，应该是抚琴的能手，他与其他弹琴的禅僧不同，与士大夫气息很浓的琴僧相比，他更多了些 佛家气息，弹琴是他修行证道的方式之一，如他的《金刚随机无尽颂·叹仰流通》：“绿绮霜前奏，妙音无不透。凡夫入耳通，禅家为有漏。焦琴月下听。露柱却知音。世人应不会。侧耳立松音。”普庵禅师已经认识到了音以通心的妙用， 无法表达和形容的事物，可以通过声音获得最好的诠释，因为其“无不透”。普安禅师精通梵文，曾以梵文拼音为咒，即是《普庵咒》，《普庵咒》又名《释谈章》，“释谈”为“悉昙”的音译，意思是“成就”，《普庵咒》到了明代，被能琴者根据其诵读的音调编成了琴曲，最早出现在张德新所编写的《三教同声》中。 

宋代能琴的禅师不胜枚举，因考据有限，主要 介绍了三个自认为比较有影响力的禅师琴僧。

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Compassion Without Calculation

by Norman Fischer

Sila Paramita is the paramita of ethical conduct, of purification, of moral discipline. It is cleaning up your act, straightening out your behaviour, so you can practice effectively. In the Judeo–Christian tradition, moral discipline is obedience to a God who requires you to be good and not bad and rewards and punishes accordingly. This idea, without humane interpretation, can create a feeling of coercion leading to guilt and all sorts of moral confusion, including attraction to the forbidden, and immorality perpetrated as rebellion. In contrast, sila paramita recognises moral discipline as, on one hand, the goal of practice — to so harmonise with awakened reality that your conduct is naturally beautiful and compassionate — and, on the other hand, a practical necessity for going on with practice, because wrong conduct unsettles the mind and heart, and a settled and focused mind and heart is necessary for awakening.

There is an observable connection between meditation practice and ethical conduct. In meditation practice, you begin to notice the connection between your fidgeting body and mind, your various emotional and physical painfulnesses, and your conduct.

You see that the more straightforward your everyday conduct, the easier, more focused, and more calm your sitting practice becomes. In long sesshins (intensive Zen sitting retreats), you sometimes experience this dramatically, feeling your physical pain on the cushion suddenly resolving into a heartbreaking sense of remorse for something you did or failed to do in the past.

You see how a mind and body full of resentment, anger, and reactivity, caused by emotional responses to what’s happened in your life, can’t sit still without misery. And when your mind calms down and you are more accepting and patient with yourself and others, you sit with more happiness. Any shoddy or unthoughtful conduct of body, speech, or mind makes shadows in your heart that, as soon as you sit down and begin to practice, you won’t be able to avoid. In this way, sila paramita is a natural outgrowth of your sitting practice.

In classical Buddhism, there are three main practices, each a prerequisite to the next: sila, dhyana (meditation), prajna (wisdom). Wisdom — specifically the wisdom that sees impermanence and the nature of reality — immediately leads to awakening, the end of suffering, which, as I’ve said, naturally leads to Buddha-like conduct.

In Zen, we practice these three at the same time, understanding them as inseparable.

Sitting practice makes you more aware; it sensitises you to the little nicks and bruises that the heart is subject to. Hurtful things you used to say and do, painful things said and done to you that you formerly brushed off or hardly noticed, you now see as painful. It pains you to say, even to think, hurtful things, and you notice even more — though you probably noticed before — when such things are said or done to you. The more you are familiar with all this in your own mind, the twists and turns of which increasingly come into view as you go on practising, the more it dawns on you that others are like this too. You see you are not unique — there’s a human pattern here. The human mind is a swirl of activity mostly centred around self-preservation and self-justification (which can, oddly, sometimes take the form of self-recrimination) and all sorts of scheming to get one’s own way. After some initial dismay, you realise this is normal. You are a mess, and so is everyone else. And when you don’t take the mess into account, when you insist on pretending that it doesn’t exist, that it is reasonable to take all the hurts and slights and confusion seriously and thrash around in them — you make things much worse. But appreciate the mess, know that it is a shared mess, and even have a sense of humour about it, and you can be much more forgiving and generous with yourself and others. So naturally, your thoughts, words, and deeds in relation to others will be more relaxed, generous, and kind.

Usually, we think of moral discipline as uptight. A person is vigilant all the time about the way they think and speak, austere and overly cautious in personal habits. This might not be such a bad thing. To be concerned about your speaking and thinking, your consumption, your habits, is not so bad — not to be small-minded and crabby about it, but thoughtful. The older you get, the more this makes sense. A little bit of overindulging goes a long way after a certain age. And at some point, it begins to seem silly to get into arguments and fights; you are less likely to be slighted by a comment or a look. Who has time for that? Keeping regular habits becomes more comfortable, easier.

Some ethical restraint is good when you are younger, too. The cultivation of mindfulness implies that you are naturally paying attention all the time to your life and that you come to know what’s good for you and what isn’t, and that without much trouble you choose the former. Not getting in your own way makes practice much easier.

But morality is more about others than it is about you. Mostly, the sphere of ethical conduct has to do with how you interact with others. Some people think that meditation makes an already self-concerned person hyper self-aware, thereby increasing causes for worry and upset. There might be some truth to this. But, mostly, meditation practice has the opposite effect: it makes much more vivid the feeling that you are living in a world with other people whose lives, hearts, needs, and pains matter as much as yours do. Meditation increases empathy. It makes you quite loath to hurt anyone — you see that hurting someone is the same as hurting yourself. In fact, it is worse. You would rather hurt yourself than hurt someone else. If you hurt yourself, you can deal with it, somehow. But if you hurt someone else, you can’t necessarily help them deal with it. They are stuck with the effects of what you have done to them. And so are you. You have to live with it. Morality comes out of this sensitivity and empathy. Kindness toward others and one’s self is what morality is fundamentally about. Not a set of rules.

In Zen, the sixteen bodhisattva precepts describe the practice of sila. The first three — the triple refuge in Buddha, dharma, and sangha — express the profound principle on which all morality is based: faith in essential human goodness. The recognition that getting what we need and desire, protecting ourselves and our family, our clan, fending off enemies, and trying to accumulate wealth aren’t what make a human life noble and worthwhile. It’s not that doing all that is bad. It’s just that as fully conscious, more or less whole human beings, we feel that something more is required of us. This isn’t particular to Zen or Buddhism: every religion teaches this. We have to be good, pursue truth, and be responsible and caring for one another — not just our family, those who care for us and protect us, but everyone. We have to develop love. This is why the refuges of Buddha, dharma, and sangha are also the first three precepts. Refuge does not merely express fealty to a teacher, a teaching, and a community; at its most profound, refuge in the triple treasure is the recognition of our transcendent human obligation to truth, love, and understanding: to wisdom and awakening (Buddha), to living a path of wisdom and awakening (dharma), and to doing so in loving concert with all beings (sangha).

The next three precepts are called the Pure Precepts. They express the big picture of moral conduct. The first is to refrain from causing harm. Since we are all more or less whole — that is, not completely whole — we all have impulses of selfishness, self-protection, greed, and all sorts of grabbiness and nastiness. We sit down in meditation and we see this. So the practice of sila begins with restraint of those impulses.

The second pure precept is the other side of the coin — to expansively do good. To take delight in doing good. Doing good means doing what we generally think of as good: kind deeds and words, charity, supporting and helping others.

But doing good also means taking delight in religious and ritual acts, which can be more satisfying and engaging than going to bars or parties. Religious activities are good, they condition the mind in positive directions, and they have the effect of opening the mind and heart rather than numbing, distracting, or merely entertaining them. The second pure precept is asking us to extend and strengthen our love for and delight in goodness — we can even actually take delight in restraint, once we understand it. Restraining oneself from doing harm to oneself or others can feel like a pleasure rather than a deprivation.

The third pure precept is to benefit others. This means that when you follow the first two pure precepts, you do so with the motivation of benefiting others. In the bodhisattva path, the practice of sila completely overlaps with the spirit of love and compassion, which pervades all six paramitas. This is because prajnaparamita, the wisdom that cognizes emptiness, pervades all six, and emptiness is freedom, boundlessness, and love.

The bodhisattva path begins with bodhicitta — a sudden or gradual certainty that the only thing that makes sense in this life is to be of benefit, to love, to be loved, and to express that love through all your actions. Bodhicitta completely reorients your life and opens up the path. Whereas before you had been seeking relief from your suffering or instruction in what you thought of as transcendent enlightenment, now you see that enlightenment, is, in fact, love and compassion and that this is itself relief from suffering.

The question then becomes, how can I achieve this? What do I need to do to express, develop, and sustain compassion? And the answer is, to practice the six practices: generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom. That’s the way to develop compassion.

For bodhisattvas, sila paramita is serene, loving conduct. It’s speaking, acting, and thinking out of love and the desire to be of service, a practice that helps you to further develop love for others, which causes others to love you. There are many teachings about how others will be drawn to you, and be cooperative with you when you practice sila paramita. To benefit others is to influence them for the good, drawing them to kindness and goodness, and serving as an example of that. But this is done innocently and without intentionality. Bodhisattvas are without calculation.

So one side of sila paramita is the practice of loving and being loved, cultivating love. The other side reminds us to pay attention that we don’t get carried away, that we maintain a sense of mindfulness and watchfulness, so we don’t end up causing harm in our enthusiasm.

The ten precepts in Zen give a sketch of the kind of conduct from which we want to refrain — but also the kind we want to promote. They are, in effect, a fuller version of the first two pure precepts. In Zen, traditionally the ten precepts are given as don’ts — don’t kill, steal, and so on. But there’s a version attributed to the late Kobun Chino Roshi called the Ten Clear Minds, stated in both positive and negative formulations.

I vow to cherish life, not to kill.

I vow to accept gifts, not to steal.

I vow to respect others, not to misuse sexuality.

I vow to practice truthfulness, not to lie.

I vow to practice clarity, not to intoxicate mind or body of self or others.

I vow to speak with kindness, not to slander.

I vow to practice modesty, not to praise self at the expense of others.

I vow to practice generosity, not to be possessive of anything.

I vow to practice love, not to harbour ill will.

I vow to cherish and polish the Three Treasures.

It’s clear that these precepts express broad aspirations for conduct. Exactly how they are applied in specific situations can sometimes seem unclear, and since precepts are not exactly rules to be adhered to, practitioners never accuse one another of breaking precepts, though they may question the wisdom of this or that action on the part of another. But a person might themselves come to feel that they have broken a precept. Discernment of one’s conduct is an ongoing process. And since sometimes precepts ought to be broken in the service of greater goods — like loving, protecting, and promoting the welfare of others — practising precepts can be a great challenge.

When we extend the practice of precepts beyond the personal and the interpersonal, to our social and global responsibility, discernment becomes even more difficult. What is “not stealing” in a world that is full of institutional theft? What is “not harbouring ill will” in a world where sometimes strong oppositional energy is needed to overturn social ills? The practice of sila is, on the one hand, simple and clear: we know the difference between acting selfishly and acting with goodwill for others. And the more we practice, the clearer this difference seems. But we are faced with many moral dilemmas. Sometimes the question is, what is the least bad thing to do? It seems to me that in this world, we are all compromised; none of us can claim moral purity. In an unjust world, everyone bears responsibility, except maybe the deeply oppressed.

Still, practising sila does not leave us morally paralysed. The three refuges and three pure precepts are clear enough. As long as we are working every day on developing our moral clarity and our kindness and love for others, we can have confidence that we can decide what to do based on what seems best to us from our present viewpoint. If it turns out to be wrong — and we will often be wrong — we know we can apologise, practice regret and repentance, and go on to the next choice we have to make.

Regret and repentance are key part of sila practice. We assume we will make, and have made, many mistakes. Seeing them, we feel regret and remorse. These are positive feelings that we cultivate. We want to feel terrible when we’ve hurt someone, even if we didn’t mean to. The feeling of regret helps keep us honest. It leads to repentance, that is, to apology, to making amends, and committing not to do the same thing again. Mistakes are part of the process, and without regret, we can’t learn from our mistakes.

There is a big difference, though, between regret for a harmful action we have done and taking the completely unsupportable step of thinking, with deep shame, that we are somehow inherently bad people who do bad things. In Buddhist practice, there is no such thing as a fixed person, let alone an inherently bad or inadequate person. This is one of Buddha’s foundational insights — there are no persons, there is just what happens. We take responsibility for what happens because it is good for us and others to do so. But there is no one to blame.

As I’ve said, sila paramita, like all the paramitas, is pervaded with prajnaparamita, the Buddha’s most profound insight into the nature of things — that, being empty of “own-being,” things don’t exist in the way we think they do. As the Diamond Sutra, a key emptiness sutra says, there is no giver, no gift, and no recipient; dana paramita, the paramita of generosity, is empty of generosity. So also there is no hurting, no one to hurt, no one to be hurt.

Fundamentally, there is no morality and no immorality. Saying this may sound scary, as if anything goes and we can, once we appreciate emptiness, commit as many sins as we want. But this isn’t the case. Seeing that there are no actual persons, that everything is only the flow of love, that that’s what being is, makes us much more passionate about doing good and not doing harm. Insight into emptiness doesn’t erase our moral sense; it makes it more flexible, joyous, open, and forgiving. We know we can never condemn anyone, neither ourselves nor anyone else. Everyone is doing what they can, as are we. Sometimes self-restraint or retraining another is necessary. But such restraint is understood as an act of kindness, not punishment based on moral superiority.

In the end, sila paramita is really sila prajnaparamita. There is no hint of moral intolerance, no hint of arrogance, no sense of moral purity or impurity. Only love and forgiveness and the widest possible appreciation for everything.

In our modern times, if people are asked what the essence of life is, we often hear, "To go to school, to get a job, to buy a house, to get married, to have children, and to have a long, healthy, and prosperous life."

Even though these aspirations are usually motivated by the desire for constant happiness, we instead often experience transitory happiness and unsatisfactoriness.

Knowing that we can't take any family, friends, or possessions with us when we die, and given the rare opportunity that we have, is this all that we would like to achieve while we still have our precious human life?

Knowing that we've experienced problems and suffering before, can we be certain that we won't experience something similar, or something even worse after we die?

If we really contemplate all of this, we begin to look for something that we can put into practice that will prevent us from experiencing future suffering. And that is exactly what the Dharma is for.

-- Chamtrul Rinpoche

行善要及时，精进也要及时

达照法师

佛经云：昔有愚人，将会宾客，欲集牛乳，以拟供设，而作是念：我今若豫于日日中毂取牛乳，牛乳渐多，卒无安处，或复酢败。不如即就牛腹盛之，待临会时当顿毂取。作是念已，便捉牸牛母子各系异处。却后一月，尔乃设会迎置宾客，方牵牛来欲毂取乳。而此牛乳即干无有，时为众宾或瞋或笑。愚人亦尔。欲修布施，方言：待我大有之时，然后顿施。未及聚顷，或为县官水火盗贼之所侵夺，或卒命终不及时施。彼亦如是。

用现代的话说：过去有个很愚蠢的人，将要请宾客们来家里聚会，想要收集许多牛乳拟作供养宾客之用，而做了计划：我现在如果预先于每日当中都挤取牛奶，牛奶就会逐渐增多，多了可能就没地方存放，或者有可能会发酸腐败了。那还不如就直接用牛肚子来盛之，等到聚会的时候一下子全部取出来，岂不更好！他做了这样的设想和计划之后，于是就牵着母牛和小牛犊，把它们俩分开捆缚在两个地方，不让小牛犊吃了母牛的奶水。

等过了一个月之后，就设宴把宾客都迎请到家中，这才去把奶牛牵来要挤取牛奶，但是母牛的牛乳已经干瘪得挤不出牛奶了，当时众多的宾客中有些非常生气，有些则讥笑他。愚蠢的人也是如此，内心想要修行布施的时候，也会说：等我的财富广大富有的时候，那时就做一次性大的布施。但还没来得及等到聚集很多财富的时候，这些财富可能就被官府、水、火、盗贼们所侵占掠夺，或者自己寿命结束了，也来不及布施，跟那个愚人集牛乳于牛腹的故事一样啊！

这个故事是用比喻说明了行善要及时，精进也要及时的道理，行善积德如果不及时完成，到以后有可能连行善积德的机会也都没有了。因为在自己手上拥有的钱财和权力等等，都是无常变幻的，等到失去了后再想以这些便利去做好事就不太可能了。谚语说：有权不用，过期作废。有权有钱都是同样的道理，只有用来利益更多的人群时，才是用对了地方，否则就是把拥有的财富白白浪费在得失之间，毫无裨益。

佛经里面说我们所拥有的财富，往往自己只有五分之一的拥有权。这五份就是官府、水、火、盗贼、自己，在这五份当中自己只有一份的机会。如果掌握了恰当的时机可能会得到很好的运用，全部都利用起来。但是如果没有很好地把握机会，如果被其他四份的主人拥有了，那最后甚至连自己那一份也会失去，比如官府没收，被水灾冲走，被大火所烧，被盗贼侵占等等。因此，行善最要及时，不要等到手中的钱财都没有了，才想起来要布施，甚至后悔当初拥有的时候为什么不能早点多修布施啊！

另外精进修行和成就事业也需要及时，莫待老来方学道，孤坟多是少年人。

If one is interested in those things and falls into the two extremes because it is the root of cycling in the cycle of samsara, look, what is the mountain of the mind that is the root of everything?

-- Mahasiddha Virupa

My Daily Practices

by Thrangu Rinpoche

In order to pray for peace in the world and happiness for sentient 

beings, I recite some aspirations including the Aspiration for the 

Well-Being of Tibet, The Aspiration of the Mahamudra 

of Definitive Meaning, and Aspiration for Birth in the Pure 

Realm of Sukhavati.

In the Kagyu lineage, there is the practice of the three roots: the lama, the yidam, and the dharma protector. Therefore, my practice and daily schedule are based on the practice of the three roots.

When I awake in the morning, I pray to the lama by supplicat­ing the lineage of Karmapas through reciting The Four-Session Guru Yoga. Oftentimes, we unknowingly commit non-virtues, so I recite The Sutra in Three Sections (Confession to the  Thirty-five Buddhas). Next, I do the yidam practice, which is the practice of the White Tara Sadhana, instructed by the Sixteenth Karmapa. After the practice, I have my breakfast.

After breakfast, I meet with people who have requested an audience. Some of them come to meet me looking for blessings, others request the refuge vows, and so forth. After the audiences are over, sometimes I teach, give empowerment, or work on my writings, depending on the schedule for the day.

I take a short nap in the afternoon. In the evening, I do the dharma protector practice. After that, I pray for peace in the world and happiness for sentient beings. I recite some aspirations including the Aspiration for the Well-Being of Tibet, The Aspiration of the Maha­mudra of Definitive Meaning, and Aspiration for Birth in the Pure Realm of Sukhavati. Sometimes, I also recite other prayers for specific purposes, for example, to liberate the deceased and for the well-be­ing of the sick.

Recently, I underwent knee surgery in Canada. Afterwards, the doctor told me that his responsibility was to carry out the surgery, which went successfully. However, the rehabilitation to follow the surgery would be in my own hands.

Now that the duty of rehabilitation has fallen upon me, I need to carry out the physical therapist’s instructions on a daily basis. The doctor told me that my knees will not heal if I don’t rehabilitate properly, so I do various things like taking strolls, massages, and acupuncture treatments daily.

I am a person who really likes to read books, so I spend all my free time reading. Just like the English expression “to have your nose in a book,” I bury my nose inside books all day long. I have a strong fondness and appreciation for books of all types and genres.

I remember how challenging the conditions were at Buxa when we had just arrived in India from Tibet. It was difficult to find the texts we needed to conduct rituals and hold classes. There were around a hundred monks at that time, but we only had one set of texts. We took turns reading. Each person was only able to read one page a day.

It was extremely difficult to find Buddhist texts at that time. Eventually, books printed from carved wood blocks gradually appeared. Nowadays, we have beautifully printed books along with electronic books. These published eBooks are well-crafted and easy to read. Aren’t we fortunate just to be able to read them?

When wishes are few, the heart is happy. 

When craving ends, there is peace.

-- The Buddha

I was away in India and not able to post. 

Back now so would like to share some photos taken when I was in India.

學佛的重點

慧律法師

必須了解理事不二，修行有事相上的生滅及理體上的不生不滅。所謂“不識本心，學法無益。”學佛就兩個字，‘悟’與‘迷’，重點在有沒有‘悟’。修行一定要悟，而‘悟’就是“發菩提心，提起正念。”時時刻刻提起正念，大用現前。開悟的人悟到無念。無念不是沒有念，而是有念，有清淨的念。我們的本性是無常嗎?不對!本性若是無常，我們永遠不能成佛。

一般而言，皆認為本性是常，是不生不滅而非生滅的。我們的本性是不生不滅嗎?錯!我們的本性是無常。為什麼?因為大用現前，既然要起作用，而起作用就是無常。如果我已開悟，跟大家說話即是本性在作用，現在就是無常，無常就是常，覺性當下現前。

我們一般都以觀念在學佛，教育往往落入文字的游戲，書本拿來就一直在教義、教理上研究，從未契入空性的道理，所以談到不生不滅，就透過主觀的意識，將之觀想為一種永恆的東西。有人說：“永恆如同虛空一樣。”如果永恆是一種死寂的東西，那麼，佛性就沒有作用，成了一潭死水。所以，佛性是‘常’還是‘無常’?佛性，你講‘常’，不對，它要起作用——“依體起用，攝用歸體。”說佛性是‘無常’也不對，因為無常是生滅法。對立法，乃凡夫之見，著無常則不能成道。接著，我們來討論佛性是什麼?‘佛性是常’因為它不生不滅;‘佛性是無常’因為它大用現前。

所以，簡單講，悟道就是你講什麼都對也都不對。你講“無常”不對，因為空性不是無常，《楞嚴經》講：你可曾見過虛空壞掉、爛掉?我們這個色身會爛會壞，凡是有相的東西皆會爛會壞，但無相的虛空會爛會壞嗎?我們的覺性亦復如此，所以，說“常”不對，說“無常”亦不對。說“無常”對，何以故?因為“作用”。說“常”對，為什麼?因為“不生不滅”。難就難在這地方。說常、無常、生滅、不生不滅都對，也都不對。

要先認識佛，才能成佛。我們以正思惟來探討，何者為‘佛’?泥塑紙繪，被供奉的是佛嗎?那只是佛像而已。什麼是佛?清淨心就是佛。

事相上悟到絕對的空性，名為開悟。

覺悟到這顆本自具足的清淨心就是佛。那麼，清淨心是什麼東西?它不是有形相的事物，無法用言語形容，亦無法以筆墨描繪，但處處起作用。我現在講話就是，你們聽課也是——起作用，此系就事相上而言。

佛性就是理，但不離事用，不壞事相。因此，就理體來講，是絕對的;就事相上來講則千差萬別。開悟即是在一切的事相上，悟到絕對的空性。古時候，有人打破碗、打破杯子、打個香板就開悟。為什麼?在事相上體悟到這不生不滅的絕對理體，就叫做開悟。他就身心自在，萬緣放下。泰國高僧阿姜·查說：“放下一切執著，是我們修行人一生一世的功課。”

何謂做功課?去掉那份執著，放下那份假相，名為‘做功課’。《楞嚴經》雲：‘想像為塵，納想為垢。’我們用文字來教育，會栽培一些學者，但不能造就成佛道者。雖然看很多經典，但拼命著相，沒有正思惟，因此無從得到法益。由於執著自己的角度，在文字裡面作文章，所以煩惱斷不了。例如看到毛巾，我們曉得這是因緣生因緣滅的假相。

理相上知道，但平常觀照的功夫不夠，無法突破。譬如說，你看到一個俊男，知道這是緣起性空，可是卻斷不了愛著之想，分手後念頭仍萦繞不停。‘緣起性空’的道理你很清楚，但就是斷不了，這是‘習氣’使之然也。

至於‘納想為垢’，就像我們每天都用同一個杯子泡茶，即使有一天，你把它洗干淨，杯裡依然有茶的味道。所以說‘修行容易，習氣難斷。’就是這樣。因此，在一個團體裡面，能有一個好的環境修行，是很有福報的。

Listen great being: do not create duality from the unique state.

Happiness and misery are one in pure and total presence.

Buddhas and beings are one in the nature of mind.

Appearances and beings, the environment and its inhabitants are one in reality.

Even the duality of truth and falsehood are the same in reality.

Do not latch onto happiness; do not eliminate misery.

Thereby everything is accomplished.

Attachment to pleasure brings misery.

Total clarity, being non-conceptual,

Is self-refreshing pristine awareness.

-- Longchenpa

How I Stopped My Panic Attacks

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

I suffered terrible anxiety in my childhood. I desperately wanted to run away from it or fight it off. I don’t know exactly what the true cause of my panic was, but it manifested in many ways.

I was terrified of snowstorms. In my hometown in the Himalayas, winter brings many snowstorms. I remember one in particular. The wind was so intense it shook the house, and my mother found me holding fast to the house’s central beam. “What are you doing?” she asked. I said, “I have to save us from this wind!” Mom found this very funny.

I found no relief in the summer, either, with its rainstorms full of thunder and lightning. Sometimes, too, we would go down to Kathmandu Valley, and I was really scared of the public transportation there. We would ride the bus, and with each bump, my heart would be bumping too. The sound of fireworks going off was a nightmare for me.

I tried so many ways to deal with my anxiety: running, playing, and escaping into the nearby caves to hide. But nothing worked. In fact, I learned that aversion only makes anxiety bigger, stronger, and more solid.

Knowing how I struggled, my father, a famed meditation teacher, advised me to welcome my panic. So I dutifully began to greet each panic episode with, “Oh, hello, anxiety, welcome!” It did help somewhat, but because my motivation hadn’t actually changed, I was not handling it much differently. My basic attitude was still aversion. Now I was just trying to outsmart the fear, thinking that if I welcomed the panic it would go away and not come back. You could almost say I was faking it. Even this fake welcoming helped somewhat, but it didn’t resolve the issue. I was still going in circles — experiencing anxiety and being anxious to be rid of it, which would in turn reinforce it.

At thirteen, I started a three-year retreat at Sherab Ling Monastery, which was the main seat of one of my most important teachers, Tai Situ Rinpoche. I was hoping that in this structured environment, I could escape my laziness, but after a good start, it began to creep back in. Eventually, even in the structured meditations, my mind was all over the place. Then my panic returned, and got even worse — my laziness and my panic got together and became good friends!

The worse I felt about this, the stronger the panic got. Daily we met together in the great hall, sometimes doing traditional ritual practices with drums and the long, loud horns called dungchens. My throat would tighten, I couldn’t breathe, I’d get dizzy. I would have to leave in the middle of the prayers. And I had two more years to go!

“What should I do?” I asked myself. “Spend another two miserable years like this? Or should I truly welcome my panic?” I decided to really let go of wanting to block, get rid of, or fight it. I would finally learn how to live with it, and to use it as support for my meditation and awareness. I welcomed it for real.

What began to happen was that the panic was suspended in awareness. On the surface level was panic, but beneath it was awareness, holding it. This is because the vital first step to breaking the cycle of the anxious mind is to connect to awareness.

In meditation, we have different ways to achieve this. One of the most basic and essential steps is to bring our awareness to the breath. Just gently rest our attention on the inhale and exhale, without trying to change it in any way. And here are three other meditations you can do to work with feelings of anxiety, fear, or panic.

MEDITATE ON SOUND

Begin by sitting in a comfortable posture, letting the body be relaxed and at ease. Take a few moments to let awareness settle in the body, just noticing any sensations that are present.

Next, be aware of any sounds that are present. These might be pleasant, like birds singing outside; something we ordinarily think of as “noise,” like a neighbour’s dog barking; or sounds we find neutral. But whatever sounds you hear, just be with them. Notice how sounds arise, remain for a moment, and then disappear. There is no need to try to hang on to any specific sounds or disregard others. Simply embrace the sounds with a gentle touch of awareness.

When images, thoughts, or emotions occur in the mind, there is no need to block them; instead, allow them to accompany the sound, noticing how they can be present in awareness along with the sounds.

There is no need to focus strongly on a particular sound, but simply know that you are hearing — the knowing is meditation. Notice how awareness can accommodate any sound, without your having to do anything.

It is normal for your mind to wander off. Whenever you get lost, simply come back to being aware of the sounds in your surroundings.

Before ending the practice, take a moment to appreciate that you are capable of hearing. Appreciate that you have awareness and that you are taking time to familiarise yourself with this ever-present awareness.

CHANGE THE CHANNEL 

Ordinarily, the anxious mind focuses on the negative and magnifies it. We can “change the channel” by doing the opposite. We can bring our awareness to the positive instead, perhaps by having gratitude and appreciation for the various types of good fortune we enjoy.

Traditionally in Buddhism, we rejoice in having been born into a human body, in having the five senses, in being born in that place of freedom. And of course, everybody has awareness, love, compassion, and wisdom. These are some simple things about being alive that we might appreciate.

Something else we should understand is that an anxious mind is always talking. Blah blah blah! Yadda yadda yadda! Yet, it is not the essential self that is anxious — it is merely the mind, having a lot of opinions. You are not your thoughts. This is a very important perspective to remember.

BREAK YOUR ANXIETY INTO PIECES

We can bring awareness to any tactile sensations we’re experiencing in the body that are associated with anxiety. Once we tune in to the many sensations we are experiencing, we realise that anxiety has many facets or pieces.

Without trying to change anything, observe all those pieces of your experience. In doing so, you will find that you have physical sensations — for instance, the pulse racing, or a feeling of constriction. There will be an audio component if nothing else the sound of your own breath. There will be visual images inside the mind.

And there will be beliefs, or what is traditionally called view. “Oh, this is right, this is wrong, this is dangerous.” Especially nowadays, in a world with so many competing views and forces bombarding us with projections and labels, we have all internalized specific views.

Now notice that what you were thinking of as one thing — anxiety — is actually made of four pieces. This multiplicity of pieces is always changing — there is nothing permanent there. At the same time, they’re all dependent on one another to create this experience of panic: without sensation, images, sound, and beliefs, there’s no anxiety. All of these parts are interdependent, impermanent, and changing, going up and down, up and down.

Once you break it down this way, panic loses its power. When you look at the deeper level of each piece and see there is nothing solid there, nothing permanent, the anxious mind loses power over you. At that moment, there’s openness.

Awareness is there, yet there is no grasping. Rest with that.

When we are out in the world living our lives, we should practice appreciation consistently. Be aware of all the gifts you have.

No matter what our circumstances are, there is always much to be grateful for. If you begin to feel fear, remember it is merely thought, just a bunch of opinions. And if a powerfully anxious mind arises, recall that in reality there are many different pieces of this experience and that they are all changing, all interdependent. There is nothing singular, solid, or permanent about anxiety. Let the mind rest in this awareness.

Our minds are usually half asleep, and even though it seems as though we’re always thinking a lot and we’re very vital and present, in fact, we are almost somnolent and robotic in our reactions. The whole point of meditation is to learn how to wake up, to develop greater clarity, to be more aware and more absolutely in the moment. It is to be conscious in the moment without all our usual projections, opinions, ideas and mental chatter going on. At a fundamental level, we are awareness.

-- Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

佛护与清辨对于论理法运用的论争

演培法师

一 绪说

龙树的中观学，在佛法的思想系上，有他卓越而超群，特异而崇高的价值，佛法的研究者，要想认识大乘佛法的真面目，不得不探究龙树的中观大乘。大乘虽不自龙树始，但自龙树高举大乘的旗帜，佛教的面目才焕然一新！所以龙树出现后，因崇敬龙树而研究中观学的，真是不知凡几。可是，由于各人见解的不能尽同，于是龙树以下的中观学者，其见解也就不能一致，这在中观论的各种注解中，可以明白看出。且以印度来说，大约在西历六七世纪，龙树的阵营中，有着佛护、月称与清辨两大派的对抗。作为这导火线的，是清辨注释中论的般若灯论。在这论中，一开始就对佛护的中观论释，作种种的论难，施无情的攻击。后起的月称论师，比对两方的论说，觉得佛护的理论，不特没有清辨所指的过失，反而清辨的解说，却有种种不合龙树本意之处，因而月称在他的中论释中，在第一章的缘的考察中，特别为佛护辩护，指出清辨的非是。现在就将他们关于“缘的考察”所论争的部分，简单的论述如下。

龙树的中观论，是一部抉择性空深理的伟大作品，全论二十七品，虽则是广说缘起正观，但论的中心主题，就是开头所说有名的八不缘起。八不缘起，是“不生、不灭、不断、不常、不一、不异、不来、不去，戏论寂灭，吉祥缘起”。把一切论题，归纳为生灭、断常、一异、来去的相互矛盾对立的四对概念。由于批判否定生灭等的实有自性，而显示诸法的无自性空。八不四对，固可破一切的戏论，就是举出八不中的任何一不，只要能够正确的理解，都可破除一切戏论。因此，标宗后的显义，首先就是破生，而此生的批判与否定，是“观因缘品”所给予的一课题。

宇宙万有的诸法，他的存在，如说是从自己而生起的，依中观的正见看，不管是什么时候，不论在什么地方，绝对是没有的。自生的不可能，当知从他生、从共生、从无因生，同样是做不到的。所以龙树在中论的开头，以两颂敬礼了世尊，紧接着对诸法存在的生成生起的方法加以考察时，就以“诸法不自生，亦不从他生，不共不无因，是故知无生”的四种见解予以遮遣。一切生既都不可能，生的实有性当然就被否定。月称对于此欲解说为：“从自生的诸存在，不管在什么地方，不论是什么东西，都是没有的”。像这样的说法，对其他的三种见解，同样的可以适用，所以从他生等也是没有。“从他生的诸存在，不管在什么地方，不论是什么东西，绝对都是没有的”。这样而说不生，在为开显空中，先从自生说起，自生就不得不被否定。否定自生的方法，由各人观点不同，清辨与月称，就展开了热烈的论争。不过，讲到自生的否定，不可光是终于自生的否定，是要藉生的否定而显示一切空。因而，关于自生否定方法的论争，就是关于开显空之方法的论争，所以由这必然牵涉到“空与论理”的问题。

二 清辨与佛护月称关于不自生的不同解释

自生，就是法的自体能够生起，不须假藉其他的助力，这在印度讲生的学派中，是以主张因果是一的数论为代表的，因他认为一切的存在，都是从自生的，所以现在对自生说的批判，其主要的对象，是指数论派的因中有果说。这派学者，将宇宙万有，分为两大类：一是精神方面的，叫做神我；一是物质方面的，称为非变异，或原质、胜因。因而他们取二元论的思想，说物质是以精神为机缘而转变出一切，既从二元产生一切的存在，可见果是在自己之内含着的，所以他被称为因中有果论者。又二元论的思想，既把一切的存在，作为自己的内含，那从他的生起，不能不说是自生的。自生说，在数论派，或自以为是很对的，但在理论上，实是矛盾不通的，因为“自即不生，生即不自”。所以自生说，在佛法中，就成为所破的对象。龙树对自生说的否定直捷了当的说为“如诸法自性，不在于缘中”，所以决没有自己从自己生起的道理。可是，后来的中观学者，如清辨及佛护、月称他们，各各欲从自己所得的论法，以否定自生说，因而就产生不同的意见。佛护对自生的否定，是这样的：

一切存在，不从自生。自生，不特生事无用，又多过失随从。因由自体而现存者，实无再生必要。若存在而仍生，则不论于何时，都不可说无生。

月称继承佛护的方法，而遮遣自生说：“的确，因为这个东西，所以这个东西的生起，什么实用都没有，而且既然是生着的，再生是就完全不合理了”。如前念如此生，后念也如此生，如是生生不已，就成为无穷生。对这自生否定所预想的反驳，更标举出：“从自生的东西完全没有，从他生，那岂不要堕于没有希望的结果”？反破这个说：“不然！不会堕于没有希望之结果的。为什么？因这否定，意味着绝对否定，所以从他生也就被否定掉了”。

其次，清辨在般若灯论说：

释曰：非自者，彼聚安立诸起法者，竟无体故，如一一次第应知。自者我义故，彼一切体，何义故遮？所谓遮者，最胜义故。

先明“非自”与“遮”的意义，次就“不自生”说：

复次，不自起者，谓不自起如是体故，此正领解；若异此领解，而言不从自体起者，此义有过。

对比“正领解”与“有过领解”，论证不自生义。

第一义中，诸内入等，无自起义；世所不行以有故，譬如思。

清辨立论证式，是完备宗(主张、命题)、因(理由)、喻(例喻)的三支。依这论证式，清辨的否定，是从最胜义(第一义或真谛)的“自体”之否定。自体如没有，所谓从自体起，当然也就没有，因为要有自体，而后才可说从自体生。自生是这样的论证，当知他生等，也是同样的。如此，清辨自生的否定，与其说是生的否定，毋宁认为是能生自体的否定。所以，一承认有实在的自体，那“不从自体起”的解释，在清辨看来，是就“有过”，他说明此过，“非唯有他起过，及有自他共起过故”。这样，清辨把“不从自体起”的解释，由上说的理由而予以破斥。

总之，由于以上清辨与佛护、月称两者自生否定的方法，明显的可以理解不同的所在。佛护与月称，随于清辨的表现，取“不从自体起”的解释，或承认自体的存在，以在上面否定自生，且这时的否定，是绝对的否定，不容一切可能的主张随从。对这，清辨把不生的自体那东西，从最胜义的立场予以否定，拟遮一切的生起。这样的自生之否定，不单是自生的否定就算了事，而是必须含着一切之否定的。在这点上，确实是有两者抗争的核心。这否定方法的对立，是两者不同解释的根本，且是中观派有着两派对立的根据。

三 清辨佛护论难的中心点

作为清辨、月称论争的契机，而清辨、佛护论难的中心点，究竟在于什么？在清辨看来，佛护的自生否定，是不合论理的，为什么？约有三个理由：一、因为没有说因与喻；二、从他所指摘的反难，没有能给予合理解答；三、更因没有过于应成论法。颠倒所论定的意义，明示那所颠倒的意义之主张及其因。诸存在从他生，生是必要的，生因为灭，所以与不生的定说矛盾。这虽是月称所引用的清辨对于佛护的论难，但如日人宫本博士所指出的，在清辨自身的般若灯论，亦能发现与这完全一致的记述。因而这个论难，得认为是清辨自身的。

这个论难，从上所示，明白知道，是从三点所构成的。其中第一难，先引用了佛护的自生否定，没有能完备宗因喻的论证形式，这可说是关于形式的一点。清辨为自生否定，显示了自己的论证式。一切的理论，具备宗因喻的形式，认为是根据独立推论式来的。论证式，一般由能立的一语所表现的，为“悟他”而说“为他的推论”(他比量、为他比量)，这虽是对为“自悟”而说“为自己的推论”，可是在这里，附加“独立”的限定，清辨的独自立场，是被表明出来了。即后月称所说的应成论法，“随顺于对方的主张”，对于欲立论的，清辨无关于彼，而也欲说独立推论式的。于此，是有他的立场的。原来中观破斥外道小乘，有时用“应成”的破斥法，有时用“自续”的破斥法。应成破者，如外道说自生，诸法果真都是由于自生的，自己既然可生，理当生而又生，生生不已，应成无穷过。自续破者，续是立的意思，就是破斥外小，不唯指出他们的过失，可以破除他们的妄执，必须自立正确理论，举事实以说明，取譬喻以证成，然后方可推翻敌者的立论。佛护作中观释，破斥外小时，唯取应成的破斥法，所以就成为应成派。后清辨出，认为佛护唯以应成破敌，不足以伏敌论，乃取自续的破斥法，于是就别成自续派。到了月称造显句论时，赞同佛护而反对清辨，说清辨不懂佛护破可破除的道理。这样一来，应成、自续的两大派，就截然的对立起来。这一对立，可说完全是关于所运用的论理方式不同的对立。

其次，清辨认为佛护不对的地方，就是他对“数论所指摘的反难”，没有给予圆满的答覆。我们知道，不管什么宗教学说思想理论，站在本身的立场，给予对方的批判，虽自以为是很对的，但对方未必就承认他人的指摘，在可能范围内，一定要找出很多理由，向敌者反攻过来，论者对其反攻如不能直加驳斥，而提出自己的正当理论，那不能说是已推翻他人的主张。如数论派听了佛护的问难，不特不承认自己的过失，且反转来对中观流的自生之否定，加以反驳说：“你(佛护)所主张的，其意义究是什么？所谓不从自生的从自，是从果的自体？抑从因的自体？且在那两种中，究有怎样的过失？如说是从果自体，那已成为确定承认了的事情；若说是从因自体，那无异是自家撞着自己。为什么？因为因的自体现实存在着，是要有生的一切，才有生起的可能性”。照理，佛护对此应该予以解答，可是事实上没有这样做，因而清辨不以此为然。

第三，对于佛护的论法，清辨觉得“有很多的过失随着”，不能粉碎敌者的主张。关于应成论法，后面自会说到，现在暂且不说。要之，基于对空论理限界的自觉，自己绝对不立自己的主张，只是一味的指摘对方理论的过失，就算完成了破斥的能事，是为应成派独自的论法。虽说这样，也是持有他的根据，但因自己完全不立主张，所以在唯拒自生时，结果，很有可能堕于承认他生的危险！为了避免这个危险，清辨特提出此一问难。

从清辨所加于佛护的这些论难，于是就成为清辨、月称论争的焦点。问题虽有三个，主要关于论理，从上说明可知。他们双方立场的不同，完全在于否定的方法，这是我们所已理解了的。同时要知道的，就是那否定，不是部分的否定，而是全体的绝对的否定，至于自生的否定，不唯自生的本身，且必含着对一切生的否定。为此，清辨于“最胜义”而说“自体”的否定，月称则主张“绝对否定”。否定一切生，也就是否定一切见，才能开显诸法毕竟空义。如彻底的说，依照文字否定了一切，那否定的自身，也必须要否定。然而，怎样才是可能的？如何可说一切空？这“空与论理”的问题，对清辨、佛护的论难，藉月称的答破，说明如下。

四 月称为佛护答辩

答破第一难

数论派所以主张自生说，因他认为一切法先有体性，而后从体性中发展出生诸法，所以他说的从自生，就是从因自体而生，这征于“从他所指摘的反难”可知。因此，以因为从自生，其自必须先因存在。然而就算以此为因，那既是现存着的自，再生是就没有意义。为什么？因彼既已先有，还要再生做什么？有了还要再生，那就如同头上安头，成为无用的东西。再说，如承认有已复生，那就生而又生，生就成为无穷，这怎合乎道理？这点，我们如果把握得住，就可了知佛护自生说的论难所在。对这佛护自生说的否定，清辨说：“光是由于这个征问，因数论派没有承服，所以进一步的取因与喻以证成他，那是很有他的效果的”。由于这个因缘，所以没有说因与喻的这一过失，就加到佛护的头上。佛护只是指摘数论派自己主张的矛盾，并未建立自己的理论；清辨则完备宗因喻的三支，主张应立独立的推论式。月称深不以清辨所见为然，乃起为佛护辩说。月称的意思，如自家撞着，即使被所责难，对方也不屈服，那又怎办？假定说由缺乏因与喻的关系，致使对方不肯承认自己的过失，必须要为其找出事实的根据，比喻的说明，然后才得使其首肯，如真由此可使对方屈服，确乎也有他的价值，但若对方厚颜无耻，不管你举出多少强有力的理由，拿出好些真确的事实，而他仍然不承认失败，试问你又能奈他何？月称以此论驳之锋，反转来针对着清辨自身而发，认为清辨论师暴露了独立推论式的偏执，欲由此导入推论，不独不得其处，且由中观派建立自己进步的独立推论，那是不合理的。为什么？因不承认反对的主张。说因与喻，在清辨或以为是可以的，但在暴露独立推论式偏执的月称，是不欲建立自己主张的。如清辨以独立推论式而破自生时，必然要变为承认“反对的主张”。这样说来，论理的立场，终于可说不得超越相对领域的理解。然而一切无余，欲由遮遣而显证空性的中观派，是不承认止于这相对立场的，所以说“建立自己进步的独立推论，是不合理的”。于此，对于空之论理的界限，明确而自觉的被表明出来。论理对于空持有界限，于此“欲导入推论式”的清辨尝试，不能不说是“不得其处”，月称以如上的论说，不特答覆了第一难，且破斥了清辨说，以显示中观的正观。

答破第二难

中观派的根本论典｜中论，就是中道的方法论，拿现在的话说，就是论理学。唯识家的因明与中观家的中观，虽同为论理方法的运用，但一主张自己树立独立的推论式，而一不承认用独立推论式的方法，是为二者根本的不同点。月称答破第一难的论据，就在不许说有独立的推论式。思想理论的辩论，会不会被人推倒，问题就看论者持不持有什么主张。持有何等主张的人，不论你以有、无、亦有亦无、非有非无，或者其他什么理论，都不能难倒对方，暴露他的过失，但是你用同样方法，如对什么主张都不建立的人，不管你横说竖说，都将失去效力。月称对于第二难的答破，就是用的这一武器，从数论派的反难看，不立自己主张的佛护，似乎是不对的，建立独立推论式的清辨，反而是确当的。如说：“第一义中诸内入等无自起义(宗)：世所不行以有故(因)；譬如思(喻)”(般若灯论释卷第一)。所以这样的主张，其旨欲将数论派的反难，转嫁于清辨的身上。因为用“以有故”的因，就必须答覆“确定被承认了的事情”与“自家撞着自己”的二种反难。如数论派反难说：你所立的，究竟立的什么意义？换言之，你之所谓从自，是从果自体的意思呢？是从因自体的意思呢？假定说是以果体为自，那是我(数论派)所承认的主张；假定说是以因体为自，那就与所立义相违，因为因中体是有的，如是一切有起，应名为生，怎可说为无自起义？清辨对此责难虽曾加以“此语无义”的反击，但在月称论师看来，这确是一个有力的攻势。因而不管什么，都不可说“不从自生，以有故”的这话，由于月称理解数论派的反难所在，觉得不说“以有故”之因的佛护，实没有答覆这反难的必要。然清辨怎样答覆这问难？如般若灯论释卷第一说：“论者(清辨)言：此语无义，汝不知耶？起分遮故，谓因自性起及他性起，此等悉遮，汝不正思惟，出此言者惑故，无过有异”。数论派唯把握自生的否定加以反难；可是不唯自生如此，就是他生也要遮除的，所以此难不完全确当！

于此我们所应注意的，就是“起分遮故”的一语。如上所说，清辨欲由独立推论式而起否定，于是对任何一个主张，都必立一否定的推论式，如为否定自生，就得立一否定自生的推论式；如为否定他生，同样也得立一否定他生的推论式。这就是“起分遮故”一语的诠说。总之，一切的主张，必由独立推论式而论说，可说是清辨立场的必然结果。同时，他的否定，与其说是生的否定，毋宁说是体的否定。而且，这时的否定，是一切的否定，既然分遮，则又必须继续于无限，而真正的成为无穷。立于论理的立场，以一切为一切，明白的否定这些，岂不是本来不可能的？不随于这论理的形式，单由指摘对方的过误，暴露论理立场的相对性，以求直证于空，应成派的确是有他的立场的。如何可能做到这点，第三难的答破，会为我们作清楚的解答。

答破第三难

中观派的学者，因不具备宗因喻，不说独立推论式，所以不能成立否定自生主张的意义。又由基于事实，承认敌对两者的推论，要想论破一方的主张，大概也是不可能的。论证对方主张的矛盾，自己所立的宗因喻，没有一点错误，以据自己的宗等推论式去难破他，才能发生相当的力量。因破斥对方的主张，如自己没有具备精确的论理，不特不能破他，且很可能反转来为他所破，所以破他的论理须要正当，这是最要紧的一着！

然我们还得知道的，就是否定论破的对象，并不在于一个主张，一个命题，可能是一切的主张或命题，在这种情形下，又当是怎样呢？否定的对象，作为论理立场那东西的，还有上面的论难，是不是真能荷担正当性？这样翻来转去的推寻，始得反省支配论理领域的法则。对于自己的主张，只要坚定的承认，并给予事实证明，对方自也会得承认。佛教的这个论理学，是为一般所承认的法则。

陈那因明正理门论中说：“宗法，唯取立论及敌论之决定同许”。为使悟他的推论式，在他比量的宗因喻中，因，必须是“立敌共许”。月称说明这个论执是这样的：“确认何为对象者，如彼自身判断，对方自也希望产生判断。故欲各为论证，由彼理解自己对象，其同一论证，在对方必须也要能够说明”。认识自己，理解对象，在把他人也欲被承认时，亦即是欲悟他时，自己理解对象的那个理由，即使在对方，也许被说示。

然这在中观派说：“因为没有因与喻，所以唯随顺于对方的主张，而叙述自家主张意义的理由，因为许无论证的命题，所以这在自己自身的矛盾，不给予对方的判断。自己的主张或意义，不作事实的说明，这才是对于对方最残酷的论驳，对这而说反对的推论，什么也没有”。在为他的推论(他比量)中，以证明为必要，虽为月称自己所承认的，但于此因说“许无论证(及有因与喻)的命题”，所以在中观派，欲超越那论理的轨范，可说是很明白的。唯这时候所谓论理，可注意的，就是直接指那为他的推论。应成派的自生否定，由于不用推论式的论证，因而诸法毕竟空理，也就不由推论式而论证。在这意义下，可认为是对空论理界限的自觉。欲完全否定一切时，不用说，那是不止于论理的立场。

然而超越论理，如何可以说空？欲解答这问题，无过应成论法。以否定一切为意图，而任何立场都不取的中观派，首先所给予的现实，就是“唯随顺于对方的主张”，暂不另外取自己的立场。且暂所承认的，那正是假设，是方便。以这假设的立场，拟否定对方的自生说。然这立场，因为是取“唯随顺于对方的主张”，所以否定对方的那立场，实是被否定的对方立场的那东西，也就是指出对方主张的矛盾，假设而不另外否定自身的立场。像这样的否定，是据于自身的否定。假设方便所承认的论理，同样由于论理而被否定。因此被认为“于自己自身的矛盾，不给予对方的判断”。这表现，正可表明从论理的超越。

在佛教论理，推论(比量)，虽可分为自己的推论(推理)与为他的推论(论证)，但“论理限界的自觉”之论理，无过参于为他的推论。唯这时的论理，不独止于那个，为自己的推论，实是也含有的。一切合理的思惟，正被认为是论理那东西的意义。因合理的思惟，不是没有其他矛盾的判断。不自生或一切空，不独不能由推论式被论证，且那已是一个判断也没有。因为不是基于推理的判断，所以认为不能论证。这样，由于“于自己自身的矛盾，不给予对方的判断”。由于否定一切言说论理，所以忘言绝虑的空，就在否定方面被显证。像这样超越一切论轨的制约，是可遮断一切从他的论难。这是月称所说的应成论法，也是开显空理方法的否定。

五 结 说

诸法的毕竟空性，经由论理的否定为媒介，而后才得被显证。但能显证空性的论理，必须是依于即空的缘起法的论理法，否则，那还是不能用以论究真理，不能破邪显正。关于这道理，龙树在中观论的观五阴品中说得很明白：“若人有问者，离空而欲答；是则不成答，俱同于彼疑”。“若人有难问，离空说其过；是不成难问，俱同于彼疑”。中观论对这有很好的解释说：“离了法性本空，即不能理解无性的缘起，这在答覆他宗和难破他宗时，即不能成为正确的答覆和真正的破除。怎样成立自己，他人也可以照样的成立他；用某种方法去破斥他人，他人也可以使用此同一理由来反问自己，也就无法成立了。同一的认识以及大致共同的方法，是会遭遇同一命运的：：：所以唯有能了达诸法是即空的缘起，本着诸法本性空寂的见地，展开缘起的论法，这才能彻底难破，彻底的答覆别人。这样，才能真正破除他人的错误，真正的显示真理”。所以空，不是光从论理的超越而成立的，而是以论理为根据，为假设方便，在否定自己而显证空的方面，却是有他的意义和价值的。原来所谓空，一方面是超越论理，一方面又以论理为基础，而显证于空性。所以真正的中观学者，是可不必自家立量的。清辨论师要以自立量的方法与敌者论争，实没有佛护、月称所用中道论法的善巧。近代，邪说横行，思想纷歧，理论斗争有增无已，我们要在思想界立一据点，还得运用圣龙树及佛护、月称二大论师所遗留给我们的武器，不然，恐怕会在思想战上遭遇败北！至于如何运用，敬请从圣龙树的论典学起。