..續本文上一頁秒多次的變化、生起與流逝之中。一種心理狀態相對同質的連續性——比如憂郁癥——可能會持續數秒甚至數分鍾，但那種情緒流是由意識的不連續脈沖構成——中間每一個脈沖是有限持續的。人類心靈中沒有什麼是靜態的，盡管習慣可以在生命曆程中深深紮根。
A second discrepancy between appearances and reality is that certain mental states, such as joy and elation, may appear to be intrinsically satisfying, but upon more careful examination are found to be misleading. No mental state that arises from moment to moment in dependence upon sensory or intellectual stimuli is inherently satisfying. Every aff ective state is experienced as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral only in relation to a complex of attitudes and desires. When these affective states of mind are passively observed from the wider perspective of the space of awareness, without identifying with them, they have no absolute, independent attributes of either pleasure or pain.
表象與現實之間的第二種差異在于，特定的心理狀態比如快樂與得意可能産生于內在的滿足，但基于更多細致的檢驗發現這是誤導的。依賴感官或理智刺激的及時反饋生起的心理狀態並非本來就是令人滿意的。每一種情感狀態只是經曆涉及態度與欲求複合體的愉悅、不快或中性。當這些心智的情感狀態是從對意識空間的廣闊覺知而來的被動觀測，而不認同它們，那麼它們就失去了或愉快或痛苦的絕對的、獨立的屬性特征。
A third disparity between mental appearances and reality pertains to the fact that thoughts, emotions, and other mental phenomena seem to have an inherent personal quality. When strong identification with these processes occurs, one may feel that one”s very identity has become fused with them, and momentarily have the sense “I am angry, “ or “I am elated.” But with some skill in observing the contents of the mind, one fi nds that thoughts and mental images arise by themselves, with no voluntary intervention or control by a separate agent or self. Psychophysiological causes and conditions come together to generate these mental events, but there is no evidence that a separate “I” is among those causal infl uences. To be sure, some thoughts and desires do appear to be under the control of an autonomous self, but as expertise is gained in this practice, this illusion fades away, and everything that arises in the mind is seen to be a natural event, dependent upon impersonal causes and conditions, like everything else in nature.
意識顯現與現實的第叁個區別是有關這樣的事實：思考，情緒或者其他精神現象似乎擁有一個內在個人素質。當這些過程特征明顯發生時，人們就會感覺到自己已與這些精神現象融于一體，暫時會感到“我很高興”、“我很開心”。但是通過某些技巧來觀察意識的內容，人們會發現思考和意識的顯現是它們自己産生的，並沒有單獨的一個代理或者自我來有意識地幹預或者控製。心理生理原因和條件聚合，就會産生這些精神事件，但沒有證據說明有一個單獨的“我”存在這些隨機的影響中。確切地說，一些思考與欲求確實似乎在一個隱藏的“我”的控製之下，但在這領域的專業知識判斷，這樣的錯覺會最終消失。任何從意識中産生的東西被認爲和自然界中的其他事物一樣是一個自然事件，取決于非人爲的原因和條件。
As noted previously, all usual kinds of experience, both sensory and introspective, are structured by memories, language, beliefs, and expectations, which cause us to assimilate even novel experiences, whether we want to or not. One of the names for the meditative practice I am describing here is “settling the mind in its natural state,” which implies a radical deconstruction of the ways we habitually classify, evaluate, and interpret experience. The Buddhist hypothesis in this regard is that it is possible to so profoundly settle the mind that virtually all thoughts and other mental constructs eventually become dormant. The result is not a trancelike, vegetative, or comatose state. On the contrary, it is a luminous, discerningly intelligent awareness in which the physical senses are withdrawn and the normal activities of the mind have subsided.17
正如前面所說，各種常有的體驗(感官的或者內省的)都是由記憶、語言、信仰、和期望構成，其導致我們不管願不願意都會吸收更新奇的體驗。對于我這裏描述的冥想訓練，其中有一個說法叫做“使意識處于其自然的狀態”。其含義是指對我們通常歸類、評價和理解的經曆進行激烈的分解。對此，佛教認爲讓意識所産生的思考或者其他意識活動最終處于休眠狀態是有可能的。其結果不是一種恍惚、呆板或者昏沈的狀態。相反，它是一種澄明、能分辨的智力覺知，在這樣的狀態中，身體的感覺已經隱沒了，意識的正常活動也隱沒。
The culmination of this meditative process is the experience of the substrate consciousness (ālaya-vij.āna), which is characterized by three essential traits: bliss, luminosity, and nonconceptuality. The quality of bliss does not arise in response to any sensory stimulus, for the physical senses are dormant, as if one were deep asleep. No…
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