參禅的境界

　　The State of Chan Meditation

　　坐禅，坐到內無身心，外無世界。

　　Sit in meditation until "Inside you have no body and mind, and outside there is no world."

　　坐禅，坐到內無身心，外無世界，遠無其物的時候，就能無我相、無人相、無衆生相、無壽者相。這就是「過去心不可得，現在心不可得，未來心不可得。」到這種境界，並不是得到真功夫，怎麼樣了不起了。你或者坐一個鍾頭，或者坐十個鍾頭，或者能坐一個月，甚至能坐十個月，這不過是功夫有點相應的現象，得到一點輕安的境界而已。經過輕安境界之後，繼續參禅，便到初禅的境界。

　　If you can sit in meditation until your state is such that "inside you have no body and mind," outside you have no world, and afar there are no objects," then you can realize the state of "no trace of self, no trace of others, no trace of living beings, and no trace of life spans." This state is also described as, "Thoughts of the past cannot be obtained, thoughts of the present cannot be obtained, and thoughts of the future cannot be obtained." Even if you reach this level of attainment, it still cannot be considered actual skill; it”s not really very special. Suppose you can sit still for one hour, ten hours, one month, or ten months. That”s only a sign that you have had a bit of response in your work, that you”ve attained a state of "lightness and ease." You must keep up your practice of meditation continuously, past the stage of "lightness and ease," to actually reach the level of the First Dhyana concentration.

　　初禅天名叫「離生喜樂地」，就是離開衆生所喜歡的境界。在離生喜樂地打坐時，很快入定，在定中，呼吸停止，不入不出，不來不去。好像烏龜在冬季的時節，把頭縮回殼內，外邊停止呼吸，可是內部呼吸活動起來，這是冬眠現象。參禅的人，在定中停止呼吸，出定時照常呼吸。各位注意，如果到這種境界的時候，不可以打妄想：「哦！沒有呼吸了！」這個妄念一生，馬上恢複呼吸，所以不可不慎；否則失去機會，必須再重來。

　　The Heaven of the First Dhyana is known as "the stage of happiness that leaves living beings behind." It means that you have reached a stage of happiness beyond that which living beings enjoy. When you are at this stage in your meditation, you quickly enter samadhi-concentration. In this samadhi, your breathing stops, and you no longer inhale nor exhale; the breath neither comes nor goes. You”re like a turtle hibernating in the winter, with its head drawn back into its shell. The external breathing come to rest, while the internal breathing comes alive; this is a phenomenon experienced by creatures in winter hibernation. When Chan meditators enter samadhi, their breath stops, but as soon as they leave samadhi, their breathing returns to normal. Please attend to this point, everyone! When you reach this stage, you cannot have the false thought, "Oh! I believe my breath has stopped!" As soon as that thought occurs to you, your breath starts right up again, immediately. You can”t be careless, or else you”ll lose your chance and have to start all over again.

　　由初禅天精進修禅定，進入二禅天的境界。二禅天名叫「定生喜樂地」，就是常在定中生出一種快樂，這種快樂無法形容，所謂「禅悅爲食，法喜充滿」的境界。在定生喜樂地坐禅時，在定中不但呼吸停止，而且脈搏也停止。要注意，停止不是斷絕，出定時，又會恢複正常。

　　From the stage of the First Dhyana, if you can make vigorous progress, you enter into the stage of the Second Dhyana Heaven. This stage is known as "the stage of happiness that brings concentration." When one is constantly in this samadhi, it brings along a quality of happiness which is completely unparalleled and indescribable. It”s known as "taking the joy of Chan as your food, and being filled with the bliss of the Dharma." When you meditate at the stage of the Second Dhyana, "the stage of happiness that brings concentration," not only does your breathing stop, but your pulse stops as well. Please note that "stop" does not mean it”s cut off for good,; when you leave this state of concentration, the pulse returns to normal.

　　由二禅天精進修禅定，進入叁禅天的境界。叁禅天名叫「離喜妙樂地」，就是離開粗的歡喜，尚有細的歡喜，得到微妙的快樂。在離喜妙樂地坐禅時，在定中不但呼吸和脈搏停止，而且心念也停止，真像死人一樣。這時念停止了，沒有一切妄想。

　　If you continue to vigorously cultivate Chan concentration past the Second Dhyana, then you may enter the stage of the Third Dhyana Heaven. This is known as "the stage of bliss beyond happiness." That is to say, you leave coarse happiness behind and reach a level of subtle bliss that is most wonderful. In this …

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