故鄉

　　Sweet Hometown

　　人人都眷戀、贊美自己的故鄉。漂泊海外的遊子盼望葉落歸根；學有所成的成功者期待衣錦還鄉；即使毫無建樹的普通凡人，無顔見江東父老的失敗者，也會癡心不改地對故鄉吟唱著：“只有風兒，捎去我的一片深情。”無論與故鄉間隔千山萬水，蟄伏的鄉戀情結，始終揮之不去。

　　People tend to praise and have sentimental attachments to their hometowns. A person drifting abroad for many years would like to return to his native land; those who have succeeded in a special field look forward to a glorious homecoming. Even commoners with nothing to show or losers who feel shameful about facing folks back home still declare an infatuation for their homeland, saying, “Gentle breezes, only you can deliver my deep love.” The hidden nostalgic feeling toward one”s native place will always linger on, no matter how far one is separated from it.

　　一想起生養我的宗塔草原，我的心中就會泛起陣陣漣漪。故鄉的山山水水，恰似“遮不住的青山隱隱，流不斷的碧水悠悠”，總會將我帶向悠遠、缥缈、無法言傳的世界。

　　For me, the mere thought of the Zong Ta prairie that had given me life and nourishment is enough to cause my heart to ripple. Its running streams and green mountains—just like the poem “blue as the water in ever-flowing rivers, blue as the distant hills shrouded in mist”—never fail to invoke in me a subtle and indescribable reverie.

　　對于修行人而言，這種情結恰恰是必須斬斷的。無垢光尊者提醒後人：“故鄉是最究竟的監獄，要斷除對它的執著。”對故鄉的貪執就是永處輪回的因，一切痛苦的源泉。“人生要識本來面，莫把他鄉作故鄉。”此生的故鄉，只不過是寄居肉體的客棧，輪回長路的驿站。具有遠見卓識的人，決不會被故鄉的山水，擋住尋求解脫的雙眼。

　　For people on the spiritual path, however, it is exactly such sentiment that has to be cut off. Longchepa once reminded future generations: “The hometown is the holding prison; you must sever attachments to it.” Clinging to one”s hometown propels the perpetual cycling in samsara and brings about all sufferings. The adage says: “In our lifetime, we should recognize our true nature; do not take an alien land as our hometown.” Our hometown of this life is only a temporary lodging for our body, a stopover on our long journey in samsara. For a man with foresight and sagacity, his vision in search of ultimate liberation will not be blocked by the landscape of his hometown.

　　“月是故鄉明”，但對修行人而言，這個“故鄉”不是指地理版圖上的故鄉，而是究竟的故鄉、家園——心的本來歸宿，本來面目。

　　“The moon is the brightest in one”s hometown,” so it says in a poem. But to a practitioner, this “hometown” refers not to the geographic one located on the map; rather, it means the absolute hearth and home—our mind”s true destiny, our mind as it is.

　　我們已找到回鄉的路，何時才能回到真正的故鄉呢？

　　Now that we have found the path to this ultimate hometown, when will we get there

　　壬午年七月二十日 　

　　2002年8月28日 　

　　20th of July, Year of RenWu

　　August 28, 2002