..續本文上一頁s some point to it. Since, at this stage, you have realized that most of our thinking is really pointless anyway, that it gets you nowhere, only giving you many headaches, you gladly and easily spend much time in inner quiet.
若我們能抛棄內部的講話，並長時間安住於當下的默然覺知上，直至能體會到個中的樂趣，這會是我們極棒的成就。靜默遠比思維活動更能生出智慧和清明。當你體會到內心靜了下來時是如何地更寫意和更寶貴，那麼你便會覺得靜默變得更具吸引力和更重要了。內部靜默成爲心向往之事，心經常會選擇靜默，心甚至會在覺得真的有需要、真的應該時，才會去思想。時至此階段，你已體會到你的大部份思想活動實在都是無謂的、沒有助益，只會經常令你頭痛，你於是便會高興地、很容易地放很多時間於內部的甯靜中。
The second stage of this meditation, then, is ”silent awareness of the present moment”. You may spend the majority of your time just developing these two stages because if you can get this far then you have gone a long way indeed in your meditation. In that silent awareness of” Just Now” you will experience much peace, joy and consequent wisdom.
因此，此初階禅法的第二階段便是當下的默然覺知。你或許要用上你大部份時間來開發這兩個階段，因爲若能達至這地步，可說是在禅修上已走了一段很長的路了。在此種對「此刻」的默然覺知中，你會經驗到很多的平靜、樂趣和隨之而來的智慧。
If you want to go further, then instead of being silently aware of whatever comes into the mind, you choose silent present moment awareness of just ONE THING. That ONE THING can be the experience of breathing, the idea of loving kindness (Metta), a coloured circle visualised in the mind (Kasina) or several other, less common, focal points for awareness. Here we will describe the silent present moment awareness of the breath, the third stage of the meditation.
若你想更深入，那便不用對任何走進心內的對象都作默然覺知，你可選擇僅是默然地覺知著當下的「一個對象」。這「一個對象」可以是呼吸的體驗、可以是慈愛 (mettŒ) 的心念，也可以是於心內觀想的一只色碟 (kasiöa)，或其他幾種比較少用的覺知聚焦對象。在此我們會談談當下對呼吸的默然覺知。
Choosing to fix one”s attention on one thing is letting go of persity and moving to its opposite, unity. As the mind begins to unity, sustaining attention on just one thing, the experience of peace, bliss and power increases significantly. You discover here that the persity of consciousness, attending to six different senses-like having six telephones on one”s desk ringing at the same time-is such a burden. Letting go of this persity only permitting one telephone, a private line at that, on one”s desk-is such a relief it generates bliss. The understanding that persity is a burden is crucial to being able to settle on the breath.
選擇將注意力固定於一個對象上，是舍棄多樣對象，轉向與其相反之統一。當心開始收攝統一，持續地注意著僅一個對象，其時所體驗到的平靜、妙樂和力量便會激增。此時你發覺到意識的多樣化，注意著六個不同的根門——有如有六個電話在你桌面上同時響起一樣——真是一種負擔，而放下此種多樣化——如桌上只留有一個電話、一條私人線——是多麼的如釋重負，這會産生妙樂。當你體會到這種多樣性是一種負擔，你便很容易安定於呼吸上。
If you have developed silent awareness of the present moment carefully for long periods of time, then you will find it quite easy to turn that awareness on to the breath and follow that breath from moment to moment without interruption. This is because the two major obstacles to breath meditation have already been subdued. The first of these two obstacles is the mind”s tendency to go off into the past or future, and the second obstacle is the inner speech. This is why I teach the two preliminary stages of present moment awareness and silent awareness of the present moment as a solid preparation for deeper meditation on the breath.
如果你已用了很長時間很精心地發展出當下的默然覺知，那你便會發覺很容易把那種覺知轉移到呼吸上，並能刹那複刹那地跟隨著呼吸，沒有中斷，這是因爲觀呼吸禅法的兩個主要障礙經已被壓止了。這兩個障礙的第一個便是心會很容易走失，跑到過去或未來去，第二個則是內部的講話。這便是爲何我在教觀呼吸禅法之前，總會先教當下的覺知和當下的默然覺知，以作爲進入更深層禅定所需的紮實准備功夫的原因了。
It often happens that meditators start breath meditation when their mind is still jumping around between past and future, and when awareness is being drowned by the inner commentary. With no preparation they find breath meditation so difficult, even impossible, and give up in frustration. They give up because they did not start at the right place. They did not perform the preparatory work before taking up the breath as a focus of their attention. However, if your mind has been well prepared by completing these first two stages then you will find when you turn to the breath, you can sustai…
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