Can You Handle Not Sleeping

　　不睡覺受得了嗎？

　　Q: I have meditated well today. My back and legs do not really ache and time has passed so quickly. It seems that in an instant, the sit has ended.

　　A: What is so good about that

　　 You are simply sleeping there and not knowing anything!

　　Q: If we meditate every day without sleeping, how can we handle it

　　A: “Meditation” can also be “sleeping.” Lots of people sit for long periods and never lie down to sleep at all; they can sleep while sitting. There are advantages to this. If you are not cultivating, it may be good to sleep. If you are cultivating, then meditate. It is good to sleep in a sitting posture. At

　　most, you will have a bad dream; you will not have other false thoughts.

　　Q: When I sit for too long, my legs ache so badly that they shake. Isn”t this too much

　　A: Is climbing a mountain difficult

　　 When I say climbing, I do not mean riding in a vehicle to the peak of the mountain. I mean walking step by step from the foot of the mountain to the peak. Such a journey is long and hard. Isn”t it difficult to climb a mountain

　　 To participate in a Chan Session requires even more energy! Especially when you are not used to sitting in meditation for so long, and not used to running around, such hardship and tough conditions are unavoidable.

　　問：我今天坐的很好，腿也沒痛，腰也沒酸，覺得一瞬間就開靜了。

　　答：那有什麼好？你在那兒睡著了，當然什麼也不知道嘛！

　　問：每天靜坐，沒有睡覺受得了嗎？

　　答：靜坐一樣可以睡覺。有很多長坐不臥的，都是坐在那兒睡覺。各有各的好處，你不修行，睡覺也好；要修行，就靜坐。坐著睡覺也好，頂多做個惡夢，也不會打其他的妄想。

　　問：坐太久，腿都痛得發抖，這是不是太辛苦了？

　　答：那爬山辛苦不辛苦呢？我說的爬山不是坐車到山頂上去，而是從山底下往上爬，爬到山頂；那個山是很陡很陡、很難上的，想要上去會不會費力？打禅七比那個還更費力，尤其你以前沒有坐過那麼久，沒有跑那麼多，辛苦是在所難免的。