FROM THEN ON I ACCELERATED MY EFFORTS. It was at that time that I began sitting in meditation all night long, from dusk until dawn. While sitting one night I started focusing inward as usual. Because it had already developed a good, strong foundation, the citta easily entered into samadhi. So long as the citta rested there calmly, it remained unaware of external bodily feelings. But when I withdrew from samadhi many hours later I began to experience them in full. Eventually, my body was so racked by severe pain that I could hardly cope. The citta was suddenly unnerved, and its good, strong foundation completely collapsed. The entire body was filled with such excruciating pain that it quivered all over.
从那时起我加紧用功，也在那个时候我开始坐通宵，从傍晚至黎明。有一晚开始时我一如既往向内专注，由于它已建立起良好、坚强的基础，心轻易地进入三摩地。只要心在定中休息，它就不会觉知外在身体的感受，当我在定中数个小时之后退出来，我可以充分地感觉到它。不久，我的身体剧烈疼痛起来，到令我难以忍受的地步。心突然失去力量，它那良好，坚强的基础全面崩塌，整个身体疼痛得颤抖起来。
Thus began the bout of hand-to-hand combat that gave me insight into an important meditation technique. Until the unexpected appearance that night of such severe pain, I had not thought of trying to sit all night. I had never made a resolution of that kind. I was simply practicing seated meditation as I normally did, but when the pain began to overwhelm me, I thought: “Hey, what”s going on here
I must make every effort to figure out this pain tonight.” So I made the solemn resolve that no matter what happened I would not get up from my seat until dawn of the next day. I was determined to investigate the nature of pain until I understood it clearly and distinctly. I would have to dig deep. But, if need be, I was willing to die in order to find out the truth about pain.
结果，这开始了一场肉搏斗，并且最终让我洞见一项重要的禅修技巧。在发生出乎意料之剧痛的那一夜之前，我不曾想过要坐通宵，也从不曾发过类似的愿。我只是像往常一样坐禅，可是当被疼痛淹没时，我想到：“嘿，到底怎么了？我今晚一定要尽全力搞清楚这疼痛。”我遂发了一个庄重的愿：无论发生什么，不到隔天破晓我绝不下座。我下定决心要检查清楚并明白疼痛的本质，我会深深地挖掘，如有需要，我愿意为找出疼痛的真相而献出生命。
Wisdom began to tackle this problem in earnest. Before I found myself cornered like that with no way out, I never imagined that wisdom could be so sharp and incisive. It went to work, relentlessly whirling around as it probed into the source of the pain with the determination of a warrior who never retreats or accepts defeat. This experience convinced me that in moments of real crisis wisdom arises to meet the challenge. We are not fated to be ignorant forever—when truly backed into a corner we are bound to be able to find a way to help ourselves. It happened to me that night. When I was cornered and overwhelmed by severe pain, mindfulness and wisdom just dug into the painful feelings.
智慧开始真诚地应对这个问题。在这之前我发现自己已被逼入绝路，没想到智慧会那么锋利尖锐。一开始工作，智慧就像个绝不放弃、不投降的战士般，坚定不休止地朝疼痛的根源不断回旋探查。这一次的经验让我深信，遇到真正的危机时，智慧会挺身而出面对挑战，我们不是命中注定要永远愚痴的——真正被逼入绝境时，我们有能力寻找解决的方法。那天晚上，这情形发生在我身上，被剧痛淹没逼入绝境时，念住和智慧钻入痛觉中。
The pain began as hot flashes along the backs of my hands and feet, but that was really quite mild. When it arose in full force, the entire body was ablaze with pain. All the bones, and the joints connecting them, were like fuel feeding the fire that engulfed the body. It felt as though every bone in my body was breaking apart; as though my neck would snap and my head drop to the floor. When all parts of the body hurt at once, the pain is so intense that one doesn”t know how to begin stemming the tide long enough just to breathe.
开始时我手脚背疼痛得像电灼般，不过这实在算是轻度的了。疼痛到达极端时，四肢百骸像在熊熊烈火里那般的痛，所有的骨头、关节好像被浇燃料遭烈火吞噬般。身体里面的每一根骨头似乎都断裂粉碎了，我的颈项好像折断而头掉到地面上了，身体的每一部分同时遭受剧痛，疼痛剧烈到连耐着喘口气都不行。
This crisis left mindfulness and wisdom with no alternative but to dig down into the pain, searching for the exact spot where it felt most severe. Mindfulness and wisdom probed and investigated right where the pain was greatest, trying to isolate it so as to see it clearly. “Where does this pain originate
Who suffers the pain
” They asked these qu…
《PART 1 - 从那时起我加紧用功 FROM THEN ON I ACCELERATED MY EFFORTS》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…