少眠

　　Limiting Sleep

　　偶爾偷得閑暇，得以翻閱別人送我的《頂果欽則法王傳》，其中一段描述道：“仁波切每天總是在4點半就起床。用好幾個小時禅定和祈禱。然後一連串的活動就開始一直到深夜。仁波切每天都得完成極其繁重的工作量。”看到這裏，令我慚愧萬分。

　　By chance I had a little spare time that allowed me to browse through a book given to me, The Biography of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. A passage in it says: “Dilgo Rinpoche gets up every day at 4:30 a.m. He then dedicates a few hours to meditation and prayers. This is followed by a series of activities all day long until midnight. Rinpoche has a tremendous workload to finish every day.” Reading it, I was overcome with embarrassment.

　　最近幾個月，常常以身體爲借口，舍棄了以前早起的習慣。有時日起叁竿，仍在被窩裏打滾。看到仁波切幾十年如一日，從不給自己任何借口，始終保持少睡的習慣，真是令我汗顔。

　　These past few months I have forsaken my habit of early rising on the grounds of health. Sometimes I still lingered in bed when it was already late in the morning. The fact that Dilgo Rinpoche managed to maintain his habit of sleeping very little over decades, never giving in to any excuse, really makes me feel deeply ashamed.

　　作爲一名發願利衆的修行人，我必須珍惜時光，減少睡眠，精勤修習自利利他之善法。

　　As a practitioner who has vowed to serve all beings, I must value time, limit my sleep, and diligently practice the path that brings true benefit both to myself and to others.

　　佛經雲：“勤者不多睡，而常習醒法，棄惰谄悅戲，色欲及飾身。”“他人放逸時，賢者不放逸，他睡自己醒，如良馬超劣。”也就是要減少睡眠及一切無義之事，常行警醒覺悟之法。當他人昏睡時，唯有賢者獨醒。宛如良馬奔馳，能遠遠地超勝劣馬一般，毫不懈怠，常保清醒的賢者，也能首先達到目的地。

　　The scripture says: “Great sages sleep less and constantly engage in ways of awakening, they give up indolence, entertainment, earthly desires, and physical adornment.” And: “While others are indulging in pleasures, the wise remains diligent. Staying awake while others are slumbering, the wise like a fine steed overtakes those who are inferior.” In other words, we should cut down on sleep, eliminate meaningless pursuits, and practice vigilantly toward the unsurpassed Awakening. While others are in oblivious slumber, the wise are wide-awake. Like a fine steed galloping way ahead of lesser horses, a practitioner who never slacks off and always stays fresh will be the first one to reach the finish line.

　　世間雲：“一切事情即模仿，模仿之中能生巧。” 雖然我是一名凡夫，賢者的其他勝績我不能模仿，但少睡的精神應該是可以效法的。我不應該丟棄少眠的習慣。

　　It is commonly said: “Everything is imitation; he who does best imitates best.” As an ordinary person, although I am unable to emulate the many other sublime activities of the sages, but at least I can follow their example of sleeping less. I shouldn”t drop my habit of sleeping sparingly.

　　壬午年五月初十于米亞羅

　　2002年6月20日 　

　　10th of May, Year of RenWu, at Miyaluo

　　June 20, 2002