..續本文上一頁truly wise and compassionate friend is one who, with understanding and sympathy of heart, is ready to criticize and admonish, to point out one”s faults, to exhort and encourage, perceiving that the final end of such friendship is growth in the Dhamma. The Buddha succinctly expresses the proper response of a disciple to such a good friend in a verse of the Dhammapada: "If one finds a person who points out one”s faults and who reproves one, one should follow such a wise and sagacious counselor as one would a guide to hidden treasure" (Dhp 76). 佛教意義上的善友，其內涵遠甚于結交意氣相投或與之有共同興趣者。實際上它意味著尋找能夠引導與指點自己的智侶。聖友的任務不僅是行道的同伴; 真正的智慧、慈悲之友，乃是一位心懷理解與同情，願意批評、責備、指錯、敦促、鼓勵、視佛法中成長爲友誼之終極目標者。佛陀在《法句經》中簡明扼要地表達了一位弟子對此等善友的態度:“如果找到一位願意指錯、批評者，他應當追隨這位智慧、賢明之士，如緊跟一位寶藏的向導。” (Dhp76)

　　Association with the wise becomes so crucial to spiritual development because the example and advice of a noble-minded counselor is often the decisive factor that awakens and nurtures the unfolding of our own untapped spiritual potential. The uncultivated mind harbors a vast persity of unrealized possibilities, ranging from the depths of selfishness, egotism and aggressivity to the heights of wisdom, self-sacrifice and compassion. The task confronting us, as followers of the Dhamma, is to keep the unwholesome tendencies in check and to foster the growth of the wholesome tendencies, the qualities that lead to awakening, to freedom and purification. However, our internal tendencies do not mature and decline in a vacuum. They are subject to the constant impact of the broader environment, and among the most powerful of these influences is the company we keep, the people we look upon as teachers, advisors and friends. Such people silently speak to the hidden potentials of our own being, potentials that will either unfold or wither under their influence. 親近智者對靈性進步之所以如此重要，是因爲聖者的指點常常是喚醒與培育我們的靈性潛力使之開啓的決定性因素。未修之心具有廣泛多樣的潛在可能性，低至自私、自我中心、侵略性，高至智慧、奉獻與慈悲。作爲法的追隨者，我們面臨的任務，是抑製非善巧的心性，培育善巧的心性，長養那些趨向覺醒、自由、清淨的素質。然而，我們的內在心性並非在真空中成熟或衰退。它們不斷地受著環境的影響，其中最有力者乃是我們的同伴，我們尊爲導師、顧問、朋友者。這些人潛移默化著我們自身隱藏的潛力，使之或者開啓、或者枯敗。

　　In our pursuit of the Dhamma it therefore becomes essential for us to choose as our guides and companions those who represent, at least in part, the noble qualities we seek to internalize by the practice of the Dhamma. This is especially necessary in the early stages of our spiritual development, when our virtuous aspirations are still fresh and tender, vulnerable to being undermined by inward irresolution or by discouragement from acquaintances who do not share our ideals. In this early phase our mind resembles a chameleon, which alters its color according to its background. Just as this remarkable lizard turns green when in the grass and brown when on the ground, so we become fools when we associate with fools and sages when we associate with sages. Internal changes do not generally occur suddenly; but slowly, by increments so slight that we ourselves may not be aware of them, our characters undergo a metamorphosis that in the end may prove to be dramatically significant. 因此在佛法修行之中，選擇那些起碼部分地體現我們希望藉修法而自攝之尊貴素質者作爲向導與同伴，就成爲一個關鍵的問題。這一點在我們靈性發展的早期階段特別有必要，那時我們的求善志向尚爲新生、柔弱，易受內在的不決感與非同道之損友的破壞。在這個早期階段，我們的心如同變色龍，隨著不同的背景變換色彩。正如這只奇異的蜥蜴入草而身綠，著地而色棕，我們在親近愚人時亦會轉愚，親近智者時也將得智。內在的轉化通常非是驟然達成，而是逐漸地以可能不爲自身覺察的微小幅度遞增，我們的品格經曆著一場最終有可能極其顯著的形變。

　　If we associate closely with those who are addicted to the pursuit of sense pleasures, power, riches and fame, we should not imagine that we will remain immune from those addictions: in time our own minds will gradually incline to these same ends. If we associate closely with those who, while not given up to moral recklessness, live their lives comfortably adjusted to mundane routines, we too will remain stuck in the ruts of the commonplace. If we aspire for the highest — for the peaks …

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