On Suffering and the End of Suffering

by Sharon Salzberg

A friend of mine once had to explain to her four-year-old son that the woman who had been providing child care for him since he was born was going to move away. Because her child was very attached to this person, my friend carefully told him about this step-by-step, making sure to say that the caregiver loved him, that they could write and talk on the phone and visit, but that she was going to move away and go live with her sister. The little boy listened carefully, then said to his mother, “Mommy, tell me that story again but with a different ending.”

There are times in our lives when we too wish we could change the ending of the story. Sometimes we lose what we care about, we are separated from those we love, our bodies fail us as we get older, we feel helpless or hurt, or our lives just seem to be slipping away. These are all aspects of dukkha, one of the principal teachings of the Buddha. Dukkha means suffering, discontent, unsatisfactoriness, hollowness, change.

It’s often said that the Buddha simply taught about “suffering and the end of suffering.” Suffering in his teaching does not necessarily mean grave physical pain, but rather the mental suffering we undergo when our tendency to hold onto pleasure encounters the fleeting nature of life, and our experiences become unsatisfying and ungovernable.

When I was first in India and heard the Buddha’s teaching on suffering, I felt as though I was being handed a precious gift. Finally, someone was speaking openly about how things really are. Suffering does exist. While there is great pleasure in this world, there is also a great deal of pain. There are wonderful times of coming together, and there are also partings and losses. There is birth and also death. I felt like I was hearing the truth for the first time, a truth that no one else had wanted to talk about.

When any of us tries to close the door on this truth, we create suffering. In our society the door is often shut because we are taught that suffering is shameful. We may close the door ourselves because we do not want to see our own suffering or reveal it to others.

This denial of suffering often occurs in family life. Sometimes there is great suffering in a family — discord, conflict, insecurity, violence — and in an effort to shield children from the truth, a great silence descends: the silence of denial, and of avoidance. If it is ever talked about, the suffering is repackaged and manipulated to look like something else. When talking about painful situations with children, skill and appropriate communication is called for, yet it is often the case that they are already well aware of what is actually going on. But without external affirmation of what a child feels to be true, a split arises within — a conflict between what the child is told and what they know intuitively to be true. Children learn not to trust themselves, let alone trust their parents. Because of patterns like this, acknowledging the truth of suffering is an enormous liberation for all involved.

But the Buddha did not just teach suffering, he taught the end of suffering. A friend of mine once commented that this is not one, but two teachings. From one point of view they are clearly two — either we are suffering or we are free. We know the difference in our bodies, in our hearts, in the marrow of our bones. However, when we look deeper into this teaching, we begin to unfold its integrity. For in any experience, even a painful one, we can find the end of suffering right in the heart of the moment.

Yet when we are face to face with suffering and can’t change “the end of the story,” then how does suffering end? This is one of the most difficult situations we can encounter in our lives. We begin by not denying the pain, by acknowledging the truth of suffering. We do not become resigned to it or apathetic; we look at the suffering and discover the immense capacity of our hearts to include all aspects of life in our awareness. When we experience this immensity of heart, we recognise that it is not actually the pain itself, but the loneliness of feeling alone in the pain that is unnatural and cruel.

When we open ourselves to this fully, it becomes possible to touch an essential truth about life itself: suffering of one kind or another is a natural part of existence. Knowing this truth gives our lives wholeness and peace, as it frees us from the exhausting postures of pretence and denial. Sometimes when we open to suffering and see the roots of it, we also see clearly the actions we might take to ease the suffering. For instance, my friend’s young son suffered much less because of his mother’s care and support. In this way, the path to the end of suffering includes clearly seeing the pain and replacing denial with awareness and compassion.

Countless times when I was with my teacher U Pandita, I said to him, “Things are really bad. My knees hurt, my back hurts, my mind is all over the place; I can’t practice.” So many times he listened and then simply responded, “This is dukkha, isn’t it?” Over and over I sat before him, looking at him with enormous expectation, waiting for him to suggest the magic solution—anything that would make the difficulties all go away. As I waited, all my hope and fear evident, he just repeated, “This is dukkha, isn’t it?”

While disappointing at first, U Pandita’s response eventually became very liberating. Nothing I could do or change was going to compare to the power and freedom of first open heartedly recognising, “This is dukkha” Essentially, U Pandita’s words led me to the understanding that my difficulties weren’t just a personal drama, but an opening into one true aspect of life. Suffering must be seen and acknowledged, not for the sake of immersing in it, or getting lost in it, but in order to be more fully open to the truth, and to all beings.

There are times when we cannot change “the end of the story” and make all the suffering go away. But the end naturally changes as we relate to the truth before us with awareness and compassion. This is the teaching of the Buddha: the truth of suffering is also the path to the end of suffering.

The most important step in spiritual growth is the decision to avoid evil and cultivate goodness within your stream of being. On the basis of this fundamental discipline, every spiritual quality becomes possible, even the eventual perfection of Buddhahood.

-- Ling Rinpoche

做任何事情都要善用其心

梦参老和尚

诸位菩萨慈悲，诸位道友慈悲。凡是发心的到了这个法会，大家都是菩萨，发菩提心，行菩萨道。本来在讲《占察善恶业报经》的时间，有的道友要求授个三皈，我们今天定的是授三皈的时间。但是受三皈道友又要求没受三皈之前，给大家讲解讲解，就简单的谈谈心，谈几句话。我也满足大家的要求，没想到今天法会这么殊胜，这么多道友参加。

在学佛的弟子当中，我们现在大家都是佛弟子，对于当前我们生活当中，这个环境，这个形式，在我们自己所感受到的不是好的，灾难频繁。我们这些佛弟子求佛菩萨加被的，应该怎么样对于这一切当前苦难的众生做贡献呢？这个贡献的意思，就是我们要替大家受苦受难。我刚才上来称大家都是菩萨，菩萨就是大道心众生；印度话叫菩提萨埵，翻我们中国话叫觉有情；让一切受苦受难的众生得到安乐、得到愉快。

首先我们这些佛弟子应当发菩提心，来使他们免除痛苦厄难。我们都是依着佛的教导，在文殊师利菩萨教导我们，在这一切灾难面前，在一个痛苦的末法的时间，灾难频繁，怎么样救度他们呢？文殊师利菩萨在《大方广佛华严经》净行品里头说善用其心，我今天想给大家讲的就是善用其心。

我们学佛的弟子们都懂得心生万法、万法唯心，我们当前生活当中，你所看见的，所听到的，乃至所想到的，这个苦难当中是怎么来的？自作自受，自己造业，自己受报。现在当前最大的问题是经济问题，经济问题就是自作自受。这个详细我不讲，我不是经济学家，我只是按佛教的因果律来讲。人说善有善报、恶有恶报，没有报的时候还没到，哪个地方造业重的，哪个受报就深。我们台湾的诸位道友可以想一下，想想什么呢？对比一下。怎么样对比呢？想想这个地球上，现在受生计困难最大的不是我们台湾，其他的欧美、非洲，乃至于澳洲，都比我们亚洲严重，亚洲当中我们台湾也不是严重的。我们毕竟受这个经济不景气冲击的痛苦，我们佛弟子应该祈祷求佛菩萨加持，让他们转变这种情况。

我们应该怎么样做？文殊菩萨教授我们善用其心。因为这一个灾难性的都是众生心造的，由于他心发之他于身口，心里头贪瞋痴发出的身的杀盗淫妄，口里头妄言、绮语、两舌、恶口，十恶业遍布整个地球。不论你到什么地方去。现在在我们这个法会当中，我感觉我们诸位道友都是善良的，都是发菩萨心的，虽然我们自己没有身受，看见众生身受，把众生的苦当成我们自己身受的一样。因此我们学习文殊师利菩萨在《大方广佛华严经》净行品里头，教我们转变这种恶心恶行，要修清净心、清净行。教授我们四个字，就包括了净行品，也可以说包括一部《大方广佛华严经》。

哪四个字呢？善用其心。我们这个心是不停的在起作用，不停的想，不停的在思惟，你要引导它善用，先从自己转化，而后转化你的周边人。同时把你这个力量放诸于四海，让它产生一定力度。在这个净行品当中，智首菩萨问了一百一十种，这个其中就包括了咱们现在众生所受这个厄难，不止经济了，杀盗淫妄。所有这些个灾难之心，我们要想把它免除，应该怎么样做才能把这些灾难免除？文殊师利菩萨教授善用其心。善用的方法，就让你在日常生活当中，思想思念当中，时时念念不离开三宝，就是佛法僧，假佛法僧清净的力量加持，一切社会现象让它转变。

所以在佛经上讲心生种种法生，心灭种种法灭，心生诸法。我们现在这个会中有两三千道友，你一个人去转化十个人，那十个人再去转化十个人，这个转变的力量就大了。诸法由心生，诸法由心灭，例如大家说贪这个字，善用其心就是要你不贪；如果不贪的话，现在这个世界所有物资养活这个世界人民还没问题了。天上的四时风雨雲孕育众生，地下生长的粮食孕育众生，中间被些个恶人垄断，所以不能普遍，这边没粮食，那边囤积的无量粮食。这个饿的问题如何理解呢？有些个灾难好像是天灾人祸，天灾其实是人为的，人不造业，天地灾害就没有，这个地区的人造业很恶劣，天必降灾难。

这个道理我们佛弟子完全都懂得的，你造什么业就有什么报。我们假使能够让人人都善用其心，不造业了，不造恶业，净是善业，在你这样用心，天道好还，善心必有善报。可惜现在这个心太少了，要想找吗？只能在佛弟子当中找。大家不信，你看看你的周围周边，看看你住那个市，乃至于大点，扩到你那个省，乃至于扩大到整个的台湾，这善用其心的人多了，都能够用觉悟之心。上来我称大家都是菩萨，菩萨是行菩萨道的，把一切幸福布施给人民，把一切灾难菩萨自己承当，说他心量大，又称为大道心众生。假使我们台湾人都能够这样子，以我们两千多万人口转变世界上几十亿人口，人人都向善，世界灾难没有了。

可惜这个问题做不到，为什么？我们连我们本身的自心自身的台湾的这个国土，这里人民我们都不能使他人人向善，我们又怎能够转变世界呢？同时我们每位道友想，在你的六亲眷属，你所认识的人，你所有接触人，你都让他们行十善业，能做得到吗？我们尽量的从我们的周边人做起，都使他们善用其心，把我们这个心用在尽是利益别人的身上，这叫行菩萨道，使我们这个心经常想的是别人的幸福。在我们经典里这样教授很多了，我们这些佛弟子都懂得了，不为自己求安乐，但愿众生得幸福，这个话我想我们每位佛道友都会说的。

但是这不是一句话，要付诸实施，付诸实施要做实在的事情。有的道友或是想我能做得到吗？让你整个的把这世界都化了是做不到的，你可以从周围一点点做，它能普遍的影响所及。例如我们丢个石头到海里头，那个水纹一波一波一波往外转，愈转愈远，愈转愈大，就这个含义影响所及。你把你的心能够经常这样想，这就叫善用其心，就叫菩萨道。乃至于从你自己善用其心，直至成佛。

善用其心要详细解释，包括四无量慈悲喜舍，再扩大要布施、持戒、忍辱、禅定、智慧，这个六度万行你行起来都是你的心，心生万法。如果我们现在会中这两三千人没得贪瞋痴了，我们一个人影响一二十个人，不要要求太多了，我们这二千人影响多少万人，我们是辗转相续向外散，都用这种心影响其他的人，那愈影响愈大。

这个心的力量再发之于身口，身的杀、盗、淫，口里的妄言、绮语、两舌、恶口，加个不字，不妄言、不绮语、不恶口、不两舌，不起贪瞋痴念，不做杀盗淫的事，这叫十善。如果影响所及，我们台湾所有的道友，都能这样子影响台湾两千多万，两千多万就影响大陆十三亿，十三亿再扩大一点，可以遍全世界了。全世界人口很少的，在我们佛经上讲无量亿，这还是少数的。这种用心就叫善用其心，这是一种，以各种的方式应用，就是这十善业。

十善业是行菩萨道的根本，十善业行菩萨道，你以这个无量的大悲心行使，无量的大慈心行使，无量的大喜，无量的大舍，总结起来就是善用其心。行菩萨道的道友们，不是让我们自己坐在经堂里头念上几部经，在经堂里打几次坐，我在那修观想入入禅定，菩萨不是这样子的。菩萨是时时念念以一切众生为根本，行菩萨道，没有自己，念念不离开众生。我们诸位道友在家在你佛堂念经时候，你的观想力能够观想我周边的人，乃至观想我所居住这个村镇县，乃至扩大到一个省，看你心力能达到好大，你能用到好大把你心扩散到好大，你把你那个心力扩散到全世界，那这个世界影响到无边无量的世界。信吗？有事实。

为什么大家都念《阿弥陀经》，都念阿弥陀佛？阿弥陀佛离我们这个世界好远，中间隔着娑婆世界，到极乐世界中间隔着无量世界，每个世界都有无量众生，那极乐世界都影响到我们。从这个意义上讲，只要我们诸位道友发心，心真，你发愿是恳切的，心真愿切就会变成事实。

因为我们的心有很多的惑，对于甚深的道理你还不能信得进去。我曾问过很多道友，我说：你是未来的佛。他瞪眼睛反对我，他说我胡说，他说我挖苦他。我明明赞叹他，真心是这样子事情。乃至于我们讲《占察善恶业报经》，人家认为《占察善恶业报经》是小乘。现在我们讲到地藏王菩萨的《占察善恶业报经》下半部，大家听听，那叫心地法门。就是你的心你能善用，善用就是会用，你把用的大一点、扩散一点，时时念念的想到众生得安乐，没有想到自己。

什么叫菩萨？大道心众生。当你善用其心，把这个心这样用的时候，你会得到神通。我想我们诸位道友都想得神通，什么叫神呢？就是心，自然的心。我们每位道友具足的心，那心量大得很，可惜没用上，把它都迷掉了。神就是心，通就是性。神名天心，就是你原来本具的自然的心。通名慧性，通就是自然的心生长无量智慧，慧能解决一切，就叫神通。就是你本具的真心慧性，这叫心性，心性就是神通。

因为我们现在修行不够力量，不够那么大，你就加力的修，说我想救度这个世界六七十亿人口，让他们都得到快乐。你天天念经，坐那参禅，你都这样想，你想的是他人，一切众生。这种意义都是华严意义，不是自己想得一个什么定，想得个什么慧，想成就个什么，不是的。是什么呢？让一切众生都得到成就，没有自己。所以菩萨的大道心就是这样子，这是最高境界了。我们从现在开始起，就是你善用其心。

咱们再说局限一点，当你做什么事，你把这个事情做好，完了把这个事情做好的功德，自己不贪恋、不执着，回向给众生，让他们得幸福。当然让我们这个心一下子给全人类全众生类还达不到，先从你周围的六亲眷属起，当他们遇着灾难了，你发愿愿意替他代受。你没这个力量，那你念《地藏经》，让《地藏经》加被你这个力量；或者念普贤菩萨，让普贤菩萨加被你这个力量；念普门品，随便你念哪部经，但是得念的真。我说念的真，大家可能有疑惑，不是照那个文字上念一念，你得加意，口里念，心里要想。不要念望天的经，天天都念熟了，天天念得会背了，心不在焉，这边还做别的事，心里想别的，口里还在念经，这个效果不大。

当你不论念哪一部经的时候，你心里被经所化。我说这个善用其心，就是你的心跟你所念的经，念观世音普门品跟观世音菩萨心一样的，念《地藏经》跟地藏菩萨心一样。当你念的真正的心入进去了，你会在梦中现一切境界相，但是不能对人家说；只能自知，不能对人家讲。不论你求哪一部经得到加持了，不能向外宣传，这不是宣传品，是让你自受。

因为你不知道对方的力量，也不知道对方的善业善根，恐怕说出去影响人家不信，或者人家还说你妖言惑众，你顶好在你内心里蕴酿使它扩散扩大。当你念一部经念到时间很久了，你真心念心跟经成为一体，效果产生了，你自己没求了生死，你生死自然了了；你没求免灾害，此灾害自然免掉了。

善用其心达到深处，现在我们大家试用一下。怎么试用呢？把你的心跟你的身体把它两个分开，心不是身体，身体也不是心。这个观念我们非常严重，把身跟心合成一个就是凡夫了，如果你能把你的心跟你的肉体分开，你渐入圣境。初用时候一年两年效果不大，你用上十年八年，用上三十年五十年，效果就产生了。如《楞严经》上说“有觉觉痛，无痛痛觉”，就告诉我们你有个知觉，感觉哪不舒服、受伤了要痛，但是那个痛痛不到你那个知上，痛不到那个觉上，觉得痛是肉体，那个觉不痛的。如果每位道友你把这个功夫多用一用，当你病苦也好，哪个肢节发生问题也好，最初当然效果不大，等你功夫用久了，效果产生了，痛的不是你，不是你的心，是肉体，你能觉得痛的这个觉不痛。如果你把心用到这个样子，真正达到善用其心。试试能做到不？

我们经常在社会上听到精神变物质，物质也能够变精神，但是一般的通用的是这样讲的，物质跟精神我们看来没关系。我有个亲戚他搞贸易，在一次运到法国的物资一船货，他那心全都注住这船货上了，那是他全部的财产。那这个货物跟他心没关系，跟他身体也没关系。这个货物往中国运的时候，突然间这只船沉了，所有货物全部完了。他才四十多岁，不是很老的了，当这个电报一打给他，他一拿着电报，一看完电报，别人看他怎么不动，一看，他死了，什么病没有。类似这类事情，在历史上很多，这就不会善用其心的了，把心跟物质连在一起。我们这个身体是物质的，心不是物质，人死了肉体消灭了，精神（心）并没有死，它要转世了，要看它的善业重、恶业重，看它转到什么，那不一样了。这就是物质变精神、精神变物质，它会相互变的，那你善用其心。

我说这个主要题目善用其心，就说我们平常修行时候，你不论用哪一法门，你用功力的时候，你应当学会善用其心。文殊师利菩萨用这四个字教授我们，如何使我们所行都是清净的？就是净行品，净行品是由心来的，你善用其心，把你的净行全部变成清净，你口里所说的清净的，身体所行的清净的，心里所想的清净的。从这个清净的净行品，你再进一步修梵行品。《华严经》是有次第的，那个次第非常严谨，如果你净行品没有，想越位去修梵行品，越位了，你得不到，这跟其他的教义有所区别的。但是你得到一个，一门入了，一即一切，一成一切成，如果善用其心你会用了，你就成佛了。佛的心是如何，你可以照着教义上去判断，是觉的，无有不知的，无有不晓的，无有灾难不能免除的。但是得有缘，佛说无缘难度，没有缘的济不上。

根据这个道理，我们每位道友要想跟诸佛菩萨结缘的话，你得先皈依三宝，这是一个根本。你没受三皈，你自己看佛经，怎么样学，学得也很好，你不算佛门弟子。佛门弟子最起码的最开始的，你得先皈依佛、皈依法、皈依僧。一般的用事相三宝，就是我们看见的佛像、经书、僧人，这叫世间的三宝。但是你观想的时候，可不是世间三宝，离开世间三宝；乃至从你次第行信当中到你究竟，三宝是一体的了，一切众生皆是佛，一切法都是心，佛跟法和合就是僧宝，这一心三宝。咱们所有传的三宝叫事相三宝，这个不同的。从你世间三宝入到一心三宝，入到清净三宝，三宝就是一心。

一会儿我们有些个道友要受三皈，受三皈就是皈依佛法僧三宝；完了你学善用其心，把你的心用到跟佛一样就是佛宝，你的心跟佛所说的教法一样就是法宝，心即是法，法即是心，一切法即是心，心跟法和合是寄托在僧人身上就是僧宝；还有你自己自性本来具足三宝，你的本体的体性就是佛宝，你所有的知识运用就是法宝，你身体的形相就是僧宝。但是我们受的是依他受、依师而传，受的事相三宝，根据佛像，根据你受三皈的戒，皈依佛；皈依法的戒本，皈依本就是法宝；师父传就是僧宝。依着事体的三宝，你能够善用其心，把它变为的自体三宝，三宝即是自身，自身即具足三宝，这个就比较着深入一点。

但是皈依的，你每天在行的时候，不论你念任何经起头开始，都是要皈依三宝，就说明了我们皈依三宝不是一次两次，无量次，时时念念皈依三宝。这个是不计着功德相，不计着利益相，又把你自己所受的所得到的把它布施出来，布施给谁呢？布施没有受三皈的那一类众生，你让他们都能得到三宝的加持，都能够皈依三宝。这就是善用其心，这又是一种善用其心的作法。善用其心的方法包括无量无边，看你怎么想。

我经常问我们做贸易弟子，我说：你假三宝加持，你做贸易一定有收获，得到利益。得到了，做什么？正确的答覆，我得到了做什么？第一个念头供养三宝。大的供养没有，起码你要烧上几支香、磕上几个头，或者初一、十五你吃饭的时候，想到佛菩萨，先供养佛，而后再自己用，这就叫善用其心。这个善用其心的范围非常广阔，你的一举一念你都把它用到，得到龙天拥护、三宝加持，你自然吉祥。

每逢哪个地区有灾难，或者有灾害战争，那个地区有我的道友，有我皈依弟子，我一定打电话问问他，我说：我们这三宝弟子受害的多不多，你去考察一下。他后来答覆我，三宝弟子没有。为什么我要去了解这些个？我也想证明一下三宝加持力究竟有多大。但是这个是双方的，不是单方的，天宇虽宽不润无根之草，没有根的他加持不到它。

这个地方恶人很多，恶业很重，那个地方就降雨量很少，这是事实，可以去调查研究的。现在这个社会上的灾难频繁，不论哪个国家都出现有异常，异常者就跟平常不一样，就叫灾难。有的地方根本没有佛弟子，没有三宝，这个我们道友都能理解，在全球跑的道友不少，全球各地灾难频繁的地区，三宝弟子受害的比较少。但是你受了三宝皈依之后，要真正的去做去行，那个加持力就不是你平安的问题，是你成道的问题了。

所以善用其心这句话要分别开来分析太多了，任何事物都包括你是不是善用其心，你怎么用的心。我再重覆一下，最大的善用其心是什么？你怎么样用才算善用其心？你想到的尽是别人的幸福，你的心念就让一切众生怎么样幸福，这个地方很穷苦，很贫乏，灾难很多，我怎么样让这一切众生都能幸福，没得灾难，就没想到自己，这样才真正叫善用其心。我问问在座的佛弟子，我们在座都是佛弟子，都应当想到一切众生的痛苦，不要为自己求安乐，你念经也好，无论你干什么事情都好，想到一切众生的痛苦，想到众生的灾难，这个样子就是善用其心。今天供养大家的，贡献给大家的，就是希望我们诸位道友都能够善用其心。

In my experience, the period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life. . . . Through a difficult period, you can learn, you can develop inner strength, determination, and courage to face the problem. Who gives you this chance? Your enemy.

-- His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Practicing Wisdom and Compassion

by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

In the Sanskrit language, bodhi is the word for “enlightened” and citta means “the heart” or “mind,” and although it has many levels and dimensions, bodhicitta is essentially the experience of limitless compassion and wisdom that we are trying to cultivate through training the mind.

Lojong has two main objectives. The first aim is to generate the relative bodhicitta or compassion which releases us from our cocoon of self-importance. Putting our welfare to one side, we dedicate all our good qualities, talents, and energy to removing the sorrow and pain of all sentient beings. The second aim is to realise the clarity, awareness, and wisdom of ultimate bodhicitta.

It is said that, like the two wings of a bird, wisdom and compassion are both needed in order to fly and these are at the centre of the Lojong practice. Although we make a distinction between them and consider them individually in the text, they are interconnected and one includes the other. As compassion grows with training, we gain more insight into our nature. The clearer our understanding of reality and our true nature, the more compassionate we become.

Relative bodhicitta is based on loving-kindness and the empathy that we already possess and draw on in our relations with other people. It does not demand a radical change in our thinking. Ultimate bodhicitta is less accessible and much more exacting because it involves a deep shift in perspective. It is a realisation. If this understanding is complete, we are enlightened. The mind regains the purity of its pure nature and our viewpoint is transformed, we see things “as they are” without confusion or discrimination.

Experiencing ultimate wisdom is not being transported to some unimaginable, mysterious realm or a higher plane of existence. It is simply being without delusion. Nothing in our material surroundings has changed, nothing is different — except our mind.

ULTIMATE BODHICITTA

The second point of Lojong describes the wisdom of ultimate bodhicitta first in order to give us a sense of how things are in reality and a greater clarity of mind. These slogans prepare us for the later work of relative compassion and the exchange of oneself for others, tonglen, which is the main practice of Mind Training.

“Regard all phenomena as a dream.”

We have all had dreams that feel almost real. In the dream state we are surrounded by things which appear solid, vivid, and alive but as soon as we awaken, they disappear and no trace is left. They only existed in our mind. The whole exercise implied by this slogan is to realise that the objects we encounter and our reactions to them are as transitory and unreal as dreams. Everything we perceive with our mind is dreamlike. The world is “there,” we sense and touch it but it is also “not-there.”

Our reality is constructed by the mind. I look at a tree. Is my eye seeing a tree? No, it is observing leaves, branches, and a trunk and the mind calls these a tree. Tree is a word, a concept. We claim a certain nationality or name but these distinctions are made up by our mind from the bits and pieces of information that we have been given by others. Physically, what we enjoy or dislike is determined by the mind. If something smells nice, the mind likes it and the nose does not matter. Desire and suffering feel intense and powerful when we experience them but it is our grasping which makes them seem real, and the moment we recognise that they too are dreams, we are free of them.

We try to make our world solid and coherent by giving names and qualities to things but when we look closely, we discover that the structure of all phenomena is a combination of complex and relative elements. Objects appear, disappear, and reappear but they have no essential or substantial nature. If we analyse each element, we inevitably reach a point where we can find no unconditional basis for the objects’ existence. It is impossible to detect any solid essence or identity. Everything can be divided into smaller and smaller units until the object itself disappears.

For something to exist, all of its parts must be present and working together. If anything is missing, the conditions for the object to manifest are gone and it ceases to be. For example, we see a rainbow when all the elements are brought together: the sun, water, and an observer. All these elements of the rainbow are interrelated and interdependent. If the sun goes away or the moisture dries up, the rainbow is no longer there. It never existed on its own as a real object apart from the words for the factors which made it visible in the sky. This is a metaphor for anything we experience with our senses. Essentially there is nothing enduring or real in our material surroundings, our relationships, or our mind. They are all empty.

The idea of “emptiness” is so striking that it shatters our habitual way of thinking and cuts straight through our attachment and aversion. If things are basically empty, what is there to be possessive or anxious about? There is nothing to choose or cling to and nothing to fear or hate.

“Examine the unborn nature of mind.”

The understanding of the dreamlike and provisional nature of external reality helps us when we turn to investigate the inner nature of the mind. What is the mind? How is it formed and what are its basic qualities? Can we directly experience the mind? Is it an object or not? We cannot see it but we can feel its awareness and its consciousness. What is consciousness? Consciousness comes from the senses. It is stimulated by touch, taste, sight, and so on but how does our consciousness work? Can we see without our eyes or hear without our ears? We know we can in dreams and imagination. These are the puzzles we are trying to understand.

We have the idea that our mind remains unchanging from birth through childhood to old age. This is not so. The word “unborn” in this slogan counters our tendency to think of the mind in this tangible and permanent way. The true nature of the mind is beyond the conditions of birth or death. It comes from nowhere and it goes nowhere. We cannot find the beginning or the end of mind. There is no mind apart from our awareness of the stream of thoughts flowing through our consciousness. The enormous volume and speed of these thoughts gives the impression of a fixed, continuous, and independent mind. The mind is transient and without categories or qualities. We encounter it, briefly and spontaneously, but only in the present. It arises in a moment for just that moment, then it is gone and only memory remains. It is possible to notice something about the nature of mind in the moment but we never see the whole picture. Like being a tourist in a strange city for the first time, our visit is short and we cannot really get to know it well.

In the meditative state when our mind is quite still, its unborn, pure, and enlightened quality is briefly perceptible. This is a fleeting and inexpressible experience. We have to leave it at that. We rest in the here and now, in the timeless moment between past and future.

“Self-liberate even the antidote and free

yourself from the findings of the meditation.”

Here we are cautioned against growing attached to our meditative experiences. During practice, we might catch a glimpse of the mind’s emptiness but it is important to keep our balance. One glimpse does not mean that we have attained an absolute or ultimate realisation. At this stage our meditation is still only relative and conditional. We have to go further and ask ourselves, “Who is meditating and searching for the mind? What is it that has been found?” If we are not able to identify any independent or separate seeker or truth beyond the impermanent and insubstantial mind, then the findings of our meditation are also illusion.

We should draw no conclusions from our meditation because both the meditator and the meditation are intrinsically empty. There is no substance or insight in emptiness. So how can we search or find anything there? If we understand the experience in this way, there is no longer any need to look for a solution and we remain in a state of no more searching.

“Rest in the nature of alaya.”

Our ordinary consciousness flows from seven senses: these are the five sense organs, the mind, and our sense of self. Beneath this consciousness is alaya, the universal ground of mind. It is the pure and simple state of being and the most subtle level of human awareness. When awakened, it is said to be our Clear light or Buddha-Nature expressed very directly, free of turbulence or distortion.

Alaya is the immediate present. We are not used to staying in the present but there is nowhere else to be. The past has gone and the future is not yet here. It is that simple: only now exists. The present cannot be controlled. If we hold this moment back, it becomes the past. If we try to make the moment last, we are sending it into the future. In Zen Buddhism, there is a saying: “When you eat, you eat. When you sleep, you sleep.” Being in the moment gives us some spaciousness and freedom. The meditation exercise of ultimate bodhicitta is devoted entirely to staying in the present because we so often live in the past or future.

The clarity of alaya is often obscured or concealed. If the mind is clamouring or agitated, we are completely unaware of this level of consciousness. It goes unnoticed in our ordinary thought processes while we are awake but when we are deeply asleep, and our senses are suspended, our perceptions dissolve into alaya for a brief time. While still sleeping, we leave this state as our sensory consciousness reappears in a dream form and submerges the alaya aspect once again.

All meditation methods have the same purpose: to keep us in the present and to introduce us to the mind. We are not trying to stop our thoughts but to feel less trapped by them. The earlier we can catch ourselves from falling in with habitual patterns and getting entangled the better, and one of the most dependable techniques for preventing this is awareness of the breath.

Usually we breathe without taking any notice but in this technique we watch the breath, following it as it flows in and out of the body. We keep calm. We are not trying to accomplish anything. We just allow the mind to use the breath to settle. We do not have to supervise our senses or our thoughts. If something distracts or interrupts us, we let it pass. Staying mildly aware of our breath, we observe it without getting too absorbed by it.

Meditation is like taking a holiday. We have permission to give up planning and worrying. We are off duty. It is time to relax and slow down. Too much effort with our practice makes us tight and that is no use, but allowing the mind to go completely flat is not the answer either. If we are not alert, we will fall asleep or our attention will wander without us knowing it. We are trying to find a balance, neither too tense nor too sluggish. The Buddha gave precise instructions concerning the “seven-point posture” for meditation. Adopting this posture helps to straighten and stabilise the body in support of the mind. The physical position for meditation is important but sitting cross-legged is not absolutely necessary. We can just sit comfortably.

The body is our environment. It reflects our state of mind. We know from reading other people’s thoughts in their faces how much is expressed in our mouth and eyes. The mouth is especially revealing: gritting our teeth or being tight-lipped means we are trying too hard or holding something back. The mind becomes open and quiet by releasing tension in the face and neck. When we are not wound up or straying between the past and the future, the meditation gradually brings us into the present moment — grounded in our body.

It is a good idea to start a meditation period by breathing twenty-one times. Breathe in, hold the breath for a short while, and breathe out. This helps to quiet the mind and bring it back to the body. We place our hands on our lap, thumbs touching to balance the shoulders and prevent ourselves from leaning to one side or another. This is important because if the body bends and the spine is not straight, certain negative emotions are intensified.

The chest is expanded for deep breathing. We tilt the neck slightly forward with the chin tucked down. The teeth and jaw are held loosely and the mouth is relaxed with the tongue touching the upper palate. The eyes are focused at a distance. In the Tibetan tradition, we keep the eyes slightly open, looking down at first but, after a while, it may help to close the eyes briefly or to gaze into the distance so that we do not become too withdrawn. This physical arrangement gives our meditation practice a secure support. There is a suppleness and a feeling of peace. It is effortless. We imagine ourselves like a bundle of hay, cut loose. These lines describe a simple approach to meditation:

Rest without going into the past.

Do not follow past thoughts

or gather up thoughts of the future.

Stay in the present.

Let your senses be open

and let the thoughts flow by.

Remain in alaya.

Our everyday mind is often extreme. Either we are excited and overflowing with ideas or we feel bored and tired. If we rest in the alaya state during meditation, our thoughts and feelings are less turbulent and the mind stays collected but alert.

The Postmeditative Stage of Ultimate Bodhicitta

Buddhist meditation has two phases: the activity itself when we are doing our practice and the period following, when we apply our meditation experience to ordinary life. All the slogans up to this point have given us advice and guidance for the actual process of meditation but the post meditative stage is about putting the effects of the training into action in the outside world.

“In postmeditation, view everything as illusion.”

The awareness of alaya influences our everyday lives. Knowing everything to be impermanent and insubstantial, we are not so deluded by the objects that attract us. We do not fix on to things so passionately. We can afford to relax and be more tranquil about our situation. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, one of the great teachers who brought Tibetan Buddhism to the West after 1959, describes this viewpoint as, “be like a child of illusion.” Treating everything as an illusion allows us to be playful and spontaneous. Through this slogan we rediscover the simplicity that children still have.

RELATIVE BODHICITTA

The instructions that we have received about the ultimate level come to our aid as we proceed to the relative practice of bodhicitta. They ensure that we do not falter or lose momentum and find excuses for giving up. They also encourage us in the contest with our most intimidating opponent, the ego.

Attachment and aversion are often alternate aspects of the same emotional sequence. We feel aversion when our desire is frustrated. Anticipating loss or defeat, we attach ourselves to something comforting for protection. Our aversion creates the compensating attachment. Tonglen provides us with a unique method to break this cycle.

Tonglen Meditation

This is the heart of Mind Training. The Tibetan word tonglen means “giving and taking,” and this simple and short exchange is essential for releasing us from suffering and generating compassion.

Both our fear and our desire are directly provoked by the tonglen meditation and it is an especially direct and effective way of dealing with aversion. We deliberately face all the things we dislike and dread. This takes courage. We imagine taking in and eliminating the hardship and pain that we have previously fought against and tried to run away from. The pleasures of wealth, power, and health that we wished for ourselves we now send to others. This totally counteracts our normal behaviour and puts us on a collision course with the ego. Accepting and enduring negative things and daring to let them happen to us dispel both their harmful effects and our own anger and hatred. It makes adversity less frightening. We do not cause suffering or seek it out. We take up whatever suffering is around us, transforming it in the “giving and taking” exercise so that no one else will be injured by it and the negativity which already exists in the world is reduced. Thinking of our family and friends, the people we love — both alive and dead — our acquaintances, strangers, and even our enemies, we resolve to work on conquering all their misery and bad karma.

It would not be possible to give out such positive energy unless we felt positive ourselves and the more we exchange good things for bad, the better we feel. We are the source of healing and happiness. Our generosity and concern pacify every negative situation. As we send out kindness, we grow accustomed to being strong and kind. In this way, our positive feelings are constantly renewed and can never be exhausted.

Perhaps you know the story about the man who arrived in heaven and when asked by God where he wanted to go replied that he wanted to see both heaven and hell. First, he went to hell. There was a large table with all the inhabitants of hell sitting around it. The centre of the table was full of delicious food. Each person had two very long chopsticks.They could reach the food but they could not get it into their mouths because their chopsticks were too long. They were miserable. No one was eating and everyone went hungry. Next he was taken to visit heaven. All the inhabitants of heaven were also sitting around a big table full of delicious food but they were happy. They too had very long chopsticks but they were eating and enjoying themselves. They used the chopsticks to feed each other across the table. The people in heaven had discovered that it was in their interest to collaborate unselfishly.

Tonglen subdues our fear. What frightens us most is the thought of being afraid. That is the greatest fear. Nothing puts us in more danger than our own mind and when what we are frightened of actually happens, it is never as bad as we imagined. There is no protection against fear. Even when we think that we have found some safety, we still wonder if our defences are reliable and this uncertainty destroys our

security. We create fear and we can uncreate it. It is a habit that can be broken. A good remedy against fear is to actively provoke it. Instead of feeling helpless we confront our worst fear. If you are frightened of losing something, give it away. If heights scare you, climb to a high place. If you are terrified of speaking in public, stand before an audience. This is the simplest way of mastering fear.

“Train in taking and sending.

These two should ride the breath.”

The exchange we make between ourselves and others is based on the breath. As we exhale we send out all our good fortune and well-being into the world around us. Breathing in again we absorb all the suffering of others, taking every sad and uncomfortable aspect of life upon ourselves.

All the negativity in the world is visualised either as a cloud of dust or black smoke, almost as a form of pollution. This enters our body through the nose and settles in our heart. It purifies and eats away all our own fear, aversion, and ignorance instantly. Like the sun coming out, our alaya nature arises as bright, radiant light. Healing and purifying us from within, it totally erases every trace of negativity. Breathing out, positive energy, joy, wisdom, and purity stream from our heart as light towards all beings. It touches them and they are well, happy, and free.

Our first attempts to practice tonglen may go better if we hold in our mind someone who has been very loving towards us. They feel so dear to us that we willingly take on their negativity and pain. Drawing their sorrows in and sending back to them our peaceful and protective qualities, we remove all their suffering. During the meditation it is important to breathe normally and it is not necessary to make the exchange with each and every breath.

Negativity is an illusion and a symptom of our mistaken view of things, so taking on negativity cannot possibly harm us or put us at any risk. We are the cause of healing. Our focus is not on suffering but on creating complete freedom from suffering. Tonglen does not threaten anything except our ego. The anxiety that we may be injured by the exchange only develops because our aversion is intensified by the meditation. Remember that the greatest source of suffering is our aversion to suffering and when we take on this aversion fearlessly, meeting it in an inclusive way, it becomes a friend and an ally.

The Postmeditative Stage of Relative Bodhicitta

“Three objects, three poisons, three roots.”

Our typical reaction to our material surroundings takes three forms: attachment, aversion, and indifference. These habitual responses produce desire, hatred, and ignorance, which are called the three mind poisons. We admire and desire certain objects, others we dislike, and the rest we ignore. In our relationships, we cling to friends and loved ones, we hate and feel anger against our enemies, and disregard everyone else as of little interest.

There was a very famous and scholarly lama in Tibet called Patrul Rinpoche. He lived as a nomad and had no possessions or attachments. Many people gathered to hear him teach when he was in their area. One day another lama came to visit him and Patrul inquired about the meditation practices this lama had been doing. The visitor replied, “I have been meditating on passion and now I never, ever feel either hatred or anger.” Patrul decided to put this to the test so he turned to his attendant and whispered, “This person has given up his anger but his hands are not clean.” Such a comment in those times implied that the man was a thief and word got around the crowd that people should hide their belongings from him. Eventually, the lama overheard what was being said and became furious at the false accusation. He was determined to discover who was spreading this lie about him. When he found out that Patrul had started the gossip he marched into his tent to complain. He banged the table, shouting furiously and protesting at being slandered. Patrul laughed and replied, “I thought you said you never felt anger anymore?”

Anger is the most negative and irrational of the three poisons. Its effects are costly and always destructive. It is worse than a million attachments. It can be difficult to control because it is like fire, flaring up suddenly then dying down, but this also makes it easier to work with than desire or attachment. The first sensation of anger is often natural and spontaneous and if we let it go, it will quickly burn out. The anger that we cling to after the reason for it is over stays with us and turns into a consuming hatred which is bad for everyone. Both anger and compassion can originate from the same impulse, a basic sense of injustice. When we feel a situation is unfair and should not be happening, we have a choice. We can either focus our anger on the person who is doing wrong or we can use our compassion to understand the problem and do something about it.

Attachment or desire is the most difficult emotion for human beings to control because it is the basic characteristic of human nature. Desire is very complex. It causes trouble because it gives rise to so many other negative emotions. It is often at the root of our aversion, fear, and anxiety, but it is not impossible to give up. Although many obstacles are produced by desire and attachment, not all of them are unfavourable. Desire can sometimes motivate us to do good. For instance, a bodhisattva is someone who has vowed to reach the enlightened state of mind for themselves and for all sentient beings. They feel a strong attachment to saving others from suffering and wanting freedom and happiness for everyone. This noble intention is a positive desire.

Ignorance is less destructive than hatred or desire but it is unyielding and extremely difficult to give up. By definition, we are unaware of it. We do not realise how ignorant we are. We can only make very slow progress working on ignorance because it is so much in the background. It is a lack of clarity and understanding which is not very obvious, dramatic, or overwhelming.

The antidotes against the mind poisons are the three roots: loving-kindness, equanimity, and compassion. When anger or desire occupies our thoughts, we use our compassion to dissolve these painful emotions for the sake of all beings. Avoiding one-sidedness and partiality, we maintain our equanimity so that neither good or bad excites us. We dedicate our loving and happy feelings to others. Our offering seems small in terms of the immense suffering all around us but each act of generosity has a significant and cumulative effect.

“Cultivate a compassionate attitude

by enlisting the slogans.”

Our understanding grows deeper by using the slogans as reminders. They are like a mantra we say out loud to underline our positive intentions. Repeating them helps the training seep through our conditioned habits and defences. In all of our activities we call to mind our compassion and the “giving and taking” meditation, accepting the bad and wishing only good to others. This affirms our undertaking to take on suffering and makes it completely sincere and genuine. Approaching everything as an opportunity to train the mind gives our lives a real purpose and direction.

“Begin the sequence with yourself.”

People have different capabilities and this advice is about working with our limitations and making progress from where we actually are. If we feel apprehensive or reluctant to take on suffering, even in our imagination, it may be best to do tonglen with ourself first because of this insecurity. Thinking of all the harsh or unhelpful influences of our past and the adversity which may await us in the future, we substitute our mercy and goodwill. We can also give and take between the negative and positive tendencies of our personality, replacing our disagreeable characteristics or faults with virtue, forgiveness, and patience. A more traditional Buddhist approach is to imagine our spiritual teacher at our heart centre and give all our negativity to him while he radiates wisdom and compassion back to us. This is less personal so it might be easier.

We absorb and purify the negativity without becoming too intent on it. As we bring it in on the breath, we are comfortable and happy. It feels positive because we are undoing so much suffering. There is no pain left anywhere in the world as our healing joy is sent back. This is what we are trying to accomplish.

If you don’t reflect on death and impermanence, there’ll be no way to practise Dharma purely. Practice will remain an aspiration, one that is constantly postponed. And you may feel regret the day that death comes, but by then it’s too late!

-- His Holiness Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche

佛教是反科学的吗：佛教与科学各美其美

智宗法师

佛教与科学的关系，看似复杂，实则微妙。试简述之。

其实，纯粹从认识论的角度上来分析，不管佛教与科学——甚或其它的学科门类，矛盾不矛盾、有多少矛盾，佛教都有充分的理由泰然自处、坦然面对，完全无惧于来自任何一方的挑战。

比方说，针对来自佛教外部的，如政治、经济、科学……甚至其它宗教的理论上的质疑与诘难，我们完全可以从容地，用《镜面王经》中“瞎子摸象”的经典比喻来个一言以蔽之：人人都是在瞎子摸象，何必自以为是，相互攻讦！人生没有旁观者。在生活里，每个人都是活生生的参与者和经历者，都能够“实践出真知”，当这些“真知”偶然相遇，并发现彼此面貌相异时，我们真正需要的，不是贸然地否定与批判，而是耐心地倾听与尊重——事实上，如果我们想要对真相了解得更多，也必须要对所谓的异端首先予以相当的尊重与倾听，只有尊重，才会带来自由的对话与交流，不愿意尊重，不想去倾听，最终引发的，只会是对抗，是暴力。即使在多次的对话与交流之后，我们得出的最终结论，如同《江边对话》所得出的一样：我不能证明我真，但你也不能证明我伪。这也绝对无妨于我们“信仰上相互尊重，政治上团结合作”，无伤于我们“各美其美，美人之美，美美与共，天下大同”（费孝通语）。这应当是佛陀讲说寓言“瞎子摸象”，最为求真务实的启示了。

而对于来自佛教内部的理论见解上的不一与矛盾，我们除了以“瞎子摸象”的启示，照旧对异说兼容并蓄外，实际上，还有一个更为重要的方法论，也可供我们面对冲突时巧加化解，此即“对机施设”法。《景德传灯录》上不是有这样一则公案——有个居士问西堂智藏禅师：有天堂吗？有地狱吗？有佛法僧三宝吗？一连串地问下来，禅师一概全答：有。这个居士就起了疑心，神色有些异样。智藏禅师注意到了，就问他：你是不是见过其它的法师啊？居士答：是，曾见过径山的国一大师，可人家说，所有的都是无——没有。你们的回答截然相反，针锋相对，差距也太大了！这究竟是怎么回事？智藏禅师反问道：你有老婆吗？（有）国一大师有老婆吗？（无）这不就得了，不同的人有不同的情况啊！的确，正因为不同的人有不同的情况，所以面对相同的问题，佛经的说法、法师的解法就难免会有些相异或相反之处，这是极为正常的。

然而，如果在现实的实践论上来研究，佛教为因应科学理论的飞速发展而带来的挑战，所采取的态度与行动，就难说是否能一如上面所谈的这样镇定与淡然。此说何据？

一、因为我们的认识有局限。

无论是出家在家，在思维还没有达到一定的成熟高度时，我们在认识事物发展规律的过程中，其实都特别容易犯两个突出的错误：以偏概全和从众心理。比如说，“宗教与科学是一对本质上绝不可调和的矛盾”、“自然科学的每一次进步，都意味着宗教影响的无奈退后”……诸如此类的宗教与科学关系的认识，究竟对不对？当然对！但这个“当然”却有一个绝对不容忽视的必然：这是在研究中世纪的基督教历史发展情况的基础上得出的结论！且不说这个结论对今天变化了的基督教而言，是否有刻舟求剑的嫌疑，单是只用一段时间内一种宗教的历史论证就作出对所有宗教的思想定论，显然也是颇有些以偏概全，实在不够“科学”。当然这同时也就意味着对佛教不公平、不公正，因为佛教的发展史中不仅对科学研究没有横加干涉，粗暴打击，而且，出于弘法的需要，出家人中还涌现了众多的科学工作者，着名的，如研究自然科学的，世界上第一个测出子午线长度的一行法师；研究人文科学的，编制完善汉语三十六字母的守温法师等。况且，就佛教与科学的发展事实而言，众所周知，科学的核心是怀疑精神，它拒绝不容置疑的信仰主义，而佛教，特别是禅宗，“不疑不悟、小疑小悟、大疑大悟”的修行要则，二者简直就是不谋而合、如出一辙！这难道不是佛教与科学最大的相通之处？只可惜，众口烁金，积毁销骨，当大家习以为常地以为宗教与科学是不可调和的矛盾时，即使是欧阳渐大师发出过“佛教非宗教非哲学”的呐喊，最终也不过是被喧嚣的声浪淹没，无人理会。不能不令人慨叹：在认识领域里，能够独立思考，不人云亦云，确实是一件非常艰难的事！可以说，此非智者所能为也！说到这里，我倒记起国家宗教事务局网站和《中国宗教》上曾登载过的一篇文章，是中科院世界宗教研究所所长卓新平老师写的，题目叫《讲透“社会主义的宗教论”需要新思想》，立意公允，观点独特，非常具有开创性、启发性，特别有助于人们树立有关宗教的正确认识。建议没读过的朋友们一定要学习学习。

二、因为出家人的知识有缺陷。

北京大学出版社出版的，方广锠老师编的那本《中国佛教文化大观》中，在“传教与科学”部分，特别强调：“任何宗教，都想把自己的教义向广大民众传播。教义要能让民众听懂，就需要百方解说，这就需要传教者有广博的知识。一个传教者要能得到人们的信任，广博的知识也是一个必要条件。他的知识和教义可能没有直接联系，但人们因为他的知识而尊重他、信任他，也会相信他所说的教义。在这里，知识作了教义传播的先导。早期在中国传教的僧人，许多都有广博的知识，其中包括科学的知识。”真是诚哉斯言、透骨之论！可惜的是，如今繁华似锦俱往矣。在这个知识爆炸的今天，我们教内至今常提的是朴老的名言：“当前佛教最严峻的问题，第一是培养人才，第二是培养人才，第三还是培养人才。”而教外振聋发聩的，则是叶小文局长的“在佛教领域，时代也呼唤僧才，呼唤大师。”这反复引用、多次强调，目的何在？其实却是真真切切的反证出，当今的佛教界实在是僧才稀缺，大师凋零！不要看现在动辄是这儿开光、那儿升座，这儿大佛越来越高、那儿寺庙越修越大，实际愈是如此，便愈是泡沫经济虚假繁荣，仍然没有跳出“收钱修庙——修庙收钱”的轮回怪圈！香火再旺，它肥的只是庙。而在此基础上，只有大力发展知识文化，才能真正兴教！以前有广告词说：“唯有高处相等，方可坐而论道。”可对弘法而言，却就不仅是一个高处相等的问题，而是，“只有高屋建瓴，才能心悦诚服”，这少了知识，欠缺了文化，如何能行？

譬如说这宗教与科学的关系问题，即使我们对佛经中“瞎子摸象”、“对机施设”的智慧领悟得不多，不足以对治它，但假如看过人大李申老师写的那篇精炼的《科学与宗教简论》，其中说，“分析历史上宗教和科学的关系，可以看到，宗教，主要是人为宗教，所从事的科学工作，仅是科学中的一部分，仅是与该教教义有关的那一小部分。因此，与宗教发生冲突的，也只是科学中的一部分，而不是全部科学。与宗教教义无关、因而也不与教义相冲突的领域，仍是科学得以比较自由发展的场所。作为人为宗教，它不追求对自然界的一切都作出解释，甚至可以根本不追求对自然界作出说明，而只把精力关注于社会问题。那么，宗教与科学也会像不同社会制度国家之间的关系一样，和平共处下去。当今的世界，大体上就是这样一种情境。”这样的客观精辟并具有高度预见性，难道不能给我们一些宝贵的启迪和轻松的释然么？我们佛教确实不是为解决科学问题而来，而是为解决人的问题而来，或者，甚至也可以这样简单地说，我们佛教对治的不是科学问题，而是科学家的烦恼问题！科学家也是人，也有人所固有的贪瞋痴慢疑，如果能用佛教的办法铲除它，我想，这好像也应该是科学家所乐而为之的吧。佛教，当然能够与科学长期共舞。

再如佛教最易受现代人怀疑的生命轮回说，虽然在弘法中我们可以从哲学化的角度，将六道轮回阐释成六种心态的轮回（义解法），使之变得易于理解些，但若是拈起科学界的能量守恒与转化定律，用以补充说明，不管其内里差距如何，起码在形式上，好像更为现代人所乐意接受。而这些，显然都需要对知识文化的广泛涉猎与灵活运用。

诚然，造成这一代人文化残缺、知识片面，有着历史时代的种种原因，但个人以为，这些都不能成为个体不努力的借口。我听不少法师介绍说，济群法师在家好像不过是小学毕业，进入佛门后，也没有到这大学那大学的进修考博，完全是依靠坚韧不拔的毅力，苦苦自修积累，如今成就斐然，连历来对佛教法师刁钻严苛的台湾学者江灿腾老师都对他赞不绝口！还有太姥山的界诠法师，就讲戒律，也没有钱，而他的平兴寺一住就是几百人，根本不怕人跑！我想这样的法师多了，才能真正成就中国佛教的脊梁。

三、因为时代的政治有底线。

任何一种正信的宗教都是讲爱与奉献的。但是，“当基督教变成了罗马官方思想且在中世纪与政治权力结合之后，基督教的仁爱和同情心逐渐为野蛮和蒙昧所取代，于是有了中世纪后期基督教对异端的迫害和科学家的摧残。”（北大徐爱国语）以至于留下了宗教与科学是不可调和矛盾的阴影，至今阴魂不散。而佛教呢？个别宗派在个别地区政教合一之后，美丽的“香格里拉”，也只成为少数人的天堂，绝大多数人的人间地狱，使整个社会的发展凝滞落后，直到新中国成立，竟然还是奴隶社会时期。这样的环境，连基本的人权都不会存在，哪里还会有科学的进步发展！历史是惨痛的，教训是深刻的，宗教与政治，这对过去历史上一直纠缠不清的欢喜冤家，在现代文明的演进中，确实要让他们永远分离下去了。然而，当我们经历过并认识到，仁慈的宗教在成为政治的亲密爱人之后，就变得蛮横粗暴，不可理喻，从而给人类带来深重的灾难时，我们有理由追问：谁还会成为政治的下一个女友？或者说，哪一个还会迫不及待地趁势向政治投怀送抱，想做他的女友？若是如此的话，我们更需要警惕：在民主政治尚未根本完善的现实进程中，他是否同样会因为权力的骄纵、暴力的支持而飞扬跋扈、目空一切？此一问题值得思索。

还是在《科学与宗教简论》中，李申老师指出：“对宗教和科学关系的特别关注，开始于中世纪基督教会对新派科学家的迫害。在那时及其以前，宗教是社会的统治意识，一切其它社会现象都要以宗教为参照来决定自身的价值；现在情况不同了，科学的社会地位升到了宗教之上，宗教的存在也要以它对科学的态度来决定自身的价值。”我不知道李申老师的这个结论是如何得出的，但放眼当前，却不能不承认，科学凌驾在一切学科之上，好像还真的有些嫌疑，尤其是，在我国重新迎来科学的春天，确立了“科学技术是第一生产力”的国策之后。我们承认，科学技术所迸发的创造力远超于宗教，其创新发展的速度与力度用“日新月异”和“惊天动地”来形容，也丝毫不觉得夸张。科学的确是极大地改变了我们的生活，也渗透进我们的生活，使我们在生活变得越来越方便快捷的同时，越来越依赖它，离不开它。然而，纵是如此，这也绝不意味着，当科学（家）可以任性地对其它学科文化发表否定性的讲话时，它就代表着“政治正确”，它就不容置疑，比如说，以科学的名义取消中医，以科学的名义唱衰宗教等等。这种并不多么严谨的讲话，表面看来，只是科学家的事，但不能不防，有否与恃政治之宠而骄且纵紧密相关。当然幸运的是，我们的政治显然是清醒而智慧的，就像特别借神七飞天的壮举，谈一谈中药的巨大作用——此一细节果真是巧妙至极，值得活泼的科学家们严肃对待并科学起来。

所以，再回顾一下上文所述。对于科学，我们佛教尽管可以在战略理论上宽容它，平视它，但在战术实践上，很显然，我们是不能不重视它。学好科学，提高文化，增进修养，这是时代政治的大势所趋，更是佛教飞跃发展的当务之急。我想，这也就是胡总书记曾多次提出的，要打造一支“政治上靠得住、学识上有造诣、品德上能服众”的宗教教职人员队伍的重要任务之一。

There are six realms of transmigration where beings take birth. They are the realms of gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell. You take birth in those realms because of superior, middling, and evil karmas.

-- The Buddha

Loving Kindness and Compassion in the Dzogchen Tradition

by Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Please listen to the teachings having generated the altruistic mind of bodhicitta: the wish to attain full enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Now we are at the stage of the path. There are two aspects to the path: absolute bodhicitta and relative bodhicitta. Within relative bodhicitta there are the two aspects of bodhicitta of aspiration and bodhicitta of application. Now we will study the aspect of bodhicitta of aspiration. In relation to this, there is what is called the four boundlessnesses: boundless love, boundless compassion, boundless joy, and boundless equanimity.

We will start with love or loving kindness. In this context, we talk about the essence of love, the function of love and the immeasurability of love or the boundlessness of love. What is the essence of love? The essence of love is that type of aspiration or wish that one’s self and all other beings may find happiness and the causes of happiness. However, without the experience of joy or well being, there cannot be an experience of love, and without this there cannot be the action or function of love. Then, also, there is no boundlessness to love. So, we have to start with the experience of well being.

We have to feel well being or happiness. We have to experience it in our bodies, in our minds, in our perceptions. As we come close to Buddha nature, there is that sense of well being, of natural happiness, which is not related to an object that produces it. It is not dependent on causes or conditions. It’s not some kind of intoxication. It’s just a very simple sense of well being. Once we identify it because we have experienced it, we can wish to attain this happiness for ourselves and also for all other beings.

For this basic love, or basic loving kindness to be experienced, we should avoid that which goes against it, and we should try to attain the conditions that may enhance it. So, the conditions that go against this are very much related with feelings or sensations. Within Buddhism we talk about the five aggregates or skandhas. These are the aggregates of form, of feelings or sensation, of evaluation, of impulse, and finally of consciousness. Love is a feeling, and as a feeling is connected with the aggregate of feeling, which according to the Vajrayana system is connected to the subtle body. This subtle body is composed of the tsa, lung, and tigle, the channels, energies, and seeds of energy. Tsa in Tibetan is called nadi in Sanskrit and translates into English as channels. The Tibetan word lung is prana in Sanskrit and translates as energies or winds in English. Tigle is bindu in Sanskrit or “seeds of energy” in English. Within the subtle body there are different levels of subtlety. The channels are kind of gross, the energies are more subtle, and finally the seeds of energy are more subtle again.

According to the Vajrayana, properly functioning tigle (seeds of energy), which are not dried up, are the basis for love, for happiness, for compassion, and for bodhicitta. When the subtle body is in balance, the energy circulates properly through the channels, and the tigle, the seeds of energy, are circulated along with the energy throughout the body. Since the mind rides on these energies, if the tigle are not dried up but circulating throughout the body, the mind has the basis to experience well being and happiness.

Due to our modern lifestyles, our subtle body is usually quite disturbed, as it is very much subjected to situations of hope and fear, which result in some imbalances in the subtle body. Actually, when children are born, if there is no strong karma or no genetic problem, usually they are quite healthy, but as they grow, children become more influenced by the different thoughts and concepts that start to proliferate within their minds. Situations start to happen in which there is lot of hope and fear, particularly fear. Due to this fear the subtle body becomes disturbed. The energies start to circulate when they should not circulate. Sometimes the energies are blocked, sometimes they go in the wrong direction and at a physical or energetic level they start to speed up.

When there is speed or the energies are blocked in many places, the tigle are not spread throughout the body and are not moving with the full sensation of the subtle body. They are stuck in one place and don’t move around. The tigle then start to diminish. When they diminish or dry up, our minds start to feel a sense of depression. Everything is a little bit grey, we’re easily scared. It’s like the opposite of courage and the opposite of bodhicitta. We become chicken-hearted. This is not a completely mental problem; it’s connected to the constitution. As far as I understand, a lot of modern problems are connected to this area. I think depression is somewhere here and unhappiness and anxiety.

What we have to do is to revive the tigle. There are many methods to do this. One is through intellectual conviction. For example, maybe you are feeling a little bit down, but deep down in your mind you trust the Dharma and the blessings of your teacher and the lineage teachers. You still feel a little bit lousy, but your conceptual belief is quite strong. With this you make supplications to the teachers and receive their spiritual influence. These blessings affect the state of your subtle body. The result of this is you start to experience well being. The four empowerment are also connected to this approach. When you feel a lot of trust in your teacher and you receive the empowerment of enlightened body, enlightened speech, enlightened mind, and the wisdom empowerment, this also influences and improves your constitution. Another method is practising the Six Yogas of Naropa and there are many, many other methods.

The main method we are going to focus on here is the practice of meditation, the state of samadhi. Through practising shamatha and vipassana, we revive the state of the tigle, and we start to generate the experience of well being or happiness. In the beginning, it’s difficult to address the tigle directly, so we start by working with our minds, which are usually full of thoughts of all kinds. When there are a lot of thoughts that also can dry up the strength of the tigle. Therefore, through the practice of the four applications of mindfulness, we train our minds to calm down and to become more relaxed and to remain still. This automatically rejuvenates the tigle, which results in turn in the experience of well being.

The four mindfulnesses are mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of sensation, mindfulness of the mind, and mindfulness of meditation. Basically, they are four forms of shamatha applied to four different objects: our bodies, our sensations, our mind, and our meditation practice. Of these four, the most important here is mindfulness of the meditation state. Through this our minds find a state of calmness, stillness, and openness, within which that experience of well being, which is the basis of genuine love, starts to happen. However, for mindfulness of the meditation state to be properly developed, we have to depend on the first three.

Mindfulness of the body basically means our minds do not follow thoughts of the past or anticipate thoughts of the future. The mind rests in the present moment without getting involved in all the thoughts of hope and fear related to the present moment. It just rests within the body, with a sense of mind and body being inseparable. It is said that the body rests on the meditation cushion and the mind rests on the body.

Mindfulness of sensations or feelings depends on the energies within the subtle body. When we practice mindfulness of sensations or feelings, we have to somehow deal with those energies. In this case, it’s quite applicable to do a practice called jam lung, which is soft breathing; it’s also a practice of the subtle body. Speed is produced in our constitution at the energetic level. It results in an experience in our minds of worries, anxiety and so forth. Speed itself can go in a positive way or a negative way, but usually it drives our minds in a negative way. This affects our whole system and when this energy comes into the heart, people can become quite depressed.

The practice of jam lung is very simple, there are three aspects: consciousness, the speedy energy, and the breath. First we relax and take a long in-breath. The body rests loose and then in that state we breathe out very slowly and long, and again breathe in very slowly and long. While breathing in that way, the mind is examining where the speed is. We find the points where there is tension and tightness, as that is the speed. The moment the mind notices where speed is, it’s already making a relationship with that speed. We recognise the speed energy and by recognising it we are uniting with it at the level of consciousness. Then, with the breath we bring it down below the navel. It is very important that there is collaboration between the mind and the speedy energy. Otherwise we might do the whole exercise of bringing the breathing below the navel, but our minds continue to be speedy. In the beginning we need to rely on the breathing, but at some point, once we’ve become quite proficient at this, just by mere attention we can bring down the speed down below the navel. In post meditation it is good to keep about 10% of the energy below the navel. We breathe normally, our minds function normally, and we can get on with whatever we’re doing but about 10% of the energy remains below the navel due to a slight muscle pressure. This helps to keep the energy down and enables us to function well in the world.

The third application of mindfulness is mindfulness of the mind. Our attention is focused directly on the mind: where does it arise from, where does it stay, where does it disappear to. We observe the mind and through mindfulness and knowing bring it to a state of stillness, just by being aware of whatever happens in the mind and recognizing it as such. From that state of stillness, which is the state of shamatha, the fourth application of mindfulness, which is the mindfulness of the meditative state, starts to arise. From there, we can enter the true nature of reality, that state of emptiness which is beyond all kinds of conceptual limitations. This is vipassana. On the basis of the fourth mindfulness, we reach a state of calmness and a natural state of well being starts to arise.

Through the practice of the four mindfulnesses, we become mindful of our body, our feelings and our mental processes. Through these practices we find a state of harmony between the body, the energy, the consciousness, and the feelings. We find there is no more conflict between all these and all our misunderstandings about them are cleared up. We reach a state of calmness and stillness of mind where a natural feeling of well being arises, which is the essence of unconditional love. Once we have found this unconditional love, we have to nurture it and extend it. There is no use finding this and keeping it for ourselves. We have to extend this love. This is the function of love.

Genuine, unconditional love forms the basis for experiencing and developing immeasurable compassion, joy, and equanimity. Though the four immeasurable are explained separately, in our experience they arise interconnectedly. For instance, when we experience this unconditional love, we have a sense of joy and appreciation. At the same time, we realise all other beings have not found this type of unconditional love, and they are still tormented by all types of suffering. Within our experience the feeling of compassion arises, the feeling of ‘Oh how great it would be if all other beings were free from their suffering and the causes that result in the suffering.’ At the same time we start to experience great joy and also equanimity as we are not making any partial distinctions. As we practice, all four of the immeasurable start to come to one point. The starting point is to first develop and experience that genuine unconditional love.

“So, the main point is to try to find that state of basic unconditional love or well being, which is not a thought, not a mood, not an emotion. It is that state of love or well being which does not fall into desire, attachment, or lust; it is an experience of well being beyond any of these extremes. It is a basic flow of well being on top of which thoughts or moods may arise, but they do not affect the continuity of that well being. Find that and rest with that, and when thoughts and moods come, welcome them but don’t change the basic flow. This is the practice. When that well being starts to remain and be sustained, it’s possible to experience love and loving-kindness and all the different qualities that come with it.”

Oh, noble child, everything is severing the mind. As for the mind, it is severing pride. There is nothing whatsoever that is not included in pride. If one simply understands that it is merely the production of pride, then, for example, one is like a thief in an empty house: by simply recognising [the situation], grasping is impossible. Having correctly understood, there is no practice with an intentional objective. Because it crushes any hesitations (mi phod), it is explained as Chöd.

-- Machig Labdrön