..續本文上一頁e this experience of meditation in the early life of the Buddha, and later when He renounced the household life and went forth to seek the truth, one of the first disciplines which He tried was again the discipline of mental concentration. We are told that He studied with two foremost teachers of the time, Arada Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra and He learned from these teachers the methods of mental concentration. Last week we said that amongst the discoveries made at Mohenjodaro and Harappa were images of the figures sitting in postures of meditation. We have very good reasons to believe that the methods of mental concentration go as far back as the 3rd Millennium B.C. and it is very likely that these two teachers were exponents of this tradition of mental concentration. Yet we find that the prince left the two teachers because He found that meditation alone could not permanently end suffering. This is important because, although in its emphasis on mental development Buddhism is very much in the tradition of the Indus Valley Civilization, yet the Buddha goes beyond the tradition of mere meditation. This is what distinguishes the Buddha”s teachings from the teachings of many other Indian schools, particularly the teachings of the tradition of Yoga. It is also what distinguishes Buddhism from some of the contemplative traditions of other religions, because in Buddhism meditation by itself is not enough. Meditation is like sharpening a pencil, sharpening the mind so to speak. Just as when we sharpen a pencil we sharpen it for a purpose, so that we can write with it, so in sharpening the mind we have a purpose and that purpose is wisdom. Sometimes this relationship between meditation and wisdom is exemplified by the example of a torch. Suppose we want to see a picture in a darkened room with a torch. If there are many draughts in the room, we will find that the light of the torch will flicker. Similarly, if our hand shakes, the light cast by the torch will be unsteady, and we will be unable to see the image. In the same way, if we want to penetrate into the real nature of things, if our mind is unsteady, distracted, wavers as a result of emotional disturbances, then we will not be able to penetrate into the real nature of things. The Buddha applied this discovery on the night of His enlightenment when we are told that with His mind concentrated, made one-pointed and supple by meditation, He directed it to the understanding of the nature of reality and penetrated the real nature of things. So the Buddha”s enlightenment is the direct result of this combination of meditation and wisdom - concentration and insight.

　　We also find other aspects of wisdom expressed in the life of the Buddha, and one of the more important ones is of course the Middle Way. We do not have time today to discuss all the various levels of the meaning of the Middle Way but suffice it to say that the most basic significance of the Middle Way is the avoidance of the extreme of indulgence in pleasures of the senses and the extreme of tormenting the body. The Middle Way is exemplified in the life of the Buddha by His own experience of a life of luxury as a prince and by the six years of vigorous asceticism which He practised after He left His father”s palace. After realizing the futility of these extremes in His own experiences, He then hit upon the Middle Way which avoids these extremes.

　　There are many other important episodes in the life of the Buddha. But if we can begin to see and understand the life of the Buddha as a lesson and not simply as a biography containing a number of names and places; if we can begin to appreciate the values and qualities that are exemplified in the life of the Buddha, we will have gained greater insight into the real significance of the life of the Buddha.

《Life of the Buddha》全文閱讀結束。