..续本文上一页irect the effort. All thoughts of progress or decline were put aside. I would let happen whatever was going to happen. I was determined not to indulge in my old thought patterns: thinking about the past—when my practice was progressing nicely—and of how it collapsed; then thinking of the future, hoping that, somehow, through a strong desire to succeed, my previous sense of contentment would return on its own. All the while, I had failed to create the condition that would bring the desired results. I merely wished to see improvement, only to be disappointed when it failed to materialize. For, in truth, desire for success does not bring success; only mindful effort will.
我被迫重新开始修行。这一次首先打下一个坚固的桩，不管发生什么都紧紧抓着它，那个桩是“佛陀”——忆念佛。我把念诵词“佛陀”当作唯一的专注对象，我强迫内心重复持念“佛陀”，把一切排除在外。“佛陀”成了我唯一的禅修对象，同时我也确保念住一直引导着修行。把那些关于进步或退步的想法全都放在一旁，该发生什么就让它发生。我坚决不沉迷在旧有的思维模式里：回想过去——我的修行进展那么顺利——及其怎样崩溃；再幻想未来，期望通过强烈的意愿能成功，找回过去的满足感。一直以来我只是期望达到目标，却没有去创造实现目标的条件，结果当期望的目标无法实现时就感到失望。事实上，期望本身并不会带来成果，只有保持念住修行才会得到成果。
This time I resolved that, no matter what occurred, I should just let it happen. Fretting about progress and decline was a source of agitation, distracting me from the present moment and the work at hand. Only the mindful repetition of buddho could prevent fluctuations in my meditation. It was paramount that I center the mind on awareness of the immediate present. Discursive thinking could not be allowed to disrupt concentration.
这次我坚定地发愿，无论发生什么，我都不去管。担心进步退步正是烦燥的根源，它使我不能专注于当下和眼前的工作。只有保持念住重复“佛陀”才可以防止修行的波动。把心集中在觉知当下是我的当务之急，我决不再允许妄想妨碍禅修。
To practice meditation earnestly to attain an end to all suffering, you must be totally committed to the work at each successive stage of the path. Nothing less than total commitment will succeed. To experience the deepest levels of samadhi and achieve the most profound levels of wisdom, you cannot afford to be halfhearted and listless, forever wavering because you lack firm principles to guide your practice. Meditators without a firm commitment to the principles of practice can meditate their entire lives without gaining the proper results. In the initial stages of practice, you must find a stable object of meditation with which to anchor your mind. Don”t just focus casually on an ambiguous object, like awareness that is always present as the mind”s intrinsic nature. Without a specific object of attention to hold your mind, it will be almost impossible to keep your attention from wandering. This is a recipe for failure. In the end, you”ll become disappointed and give up trying.
诚心要熄灭一切苦而禅修，你必须在修行的每一阶段都全心全意地投入，要有所成就的话就必须竭尽所能而不可有丝毫的保留。要体验最高的三摩地、证得最深的智慧，你不能满不在乎或无精打采，没有捉紧修行原则将永远摇摆不定。不痛下决心修行的话你即使修一辈子也将一无所获。在开始阶段，选择一个适合的禅修专注对象，作为锚拴住你的心。不要只是随意地专注于不清晰的对象，比如内心一直存在的觉知。没有特定的专注对象来拴住心，你几乎不可能阻止心到处游荡，这是失败的祸根。最后，你会因失望而放弃修行。
When mindfulness loses its focus, the kilesas rush in to drag your thoughts to a past long gone, or a future yet to come. The mind becomes unstable and strays aimlessly over the mental landscape, never remaining still or contented for a moment. This is how meditators lose ground while watching their meditation practice collapse. The only antidote is a single, uncomplicated focal point of attention; such as a meditation-word or the breath. Choose one that seems most appropriate to you, and focus steadfastly on that one object to the exclusion of everything else. Total commitment is essential to the task.
念住一失去焦点，烦恼就会冲进来，把你的心不是拖向远古之前，就是未到的将来。心会变得不稳定，漫无目标地游荡在妄想梦境里，没完没了一刻也不能知足或安住下来。这是修行者眼睁睁看着自己的修行崩溃时的情形。唯一的对治法是用一个简单、可以专注的中心，比如念诵词或呼吸，选择一个看来最适合你的，然后排除一切，坚定地专注在这个对象上。重点是你必须竭尽全力地修。
If you choose the breath as your focal point, make yourself fully aware of each in-breath and each out-breath. Notice the sensation created by the breath”s movement and fix your attention on the point where that feeling is most prominent; where the sensation of the breath is felt most acutely: for example, the tip of the nose. Make sure you know when the breath comes in and when it goes out, but don”t follow its course—simply focus on the spot where it passes through. If you find it helpful, combine your breathing with a silent repetition of buddho, thinking bud on the point of inhalation and dho on the point of exhalation. Don”t allow errant thoughts to interfere with the work you are doing. This is an exercise in awareness of the present-moment; so remain alert and fully attentive.
假设你选择呼吸作为专注的对象，那就全然地觉知每一吸气和呼气，注意呼吸经过时产生的感觉，然后把注意力集中在感觉最明显的那一点，也就是感觉呼吸最敏锐的地方，例如在鼻尖。确保你觉知呼吸何时进与出，但不要跟随着它的过程——只是专注于它经过的那个点。假使你觉得有帮助，可以把呼吸与重复默念“佛陀”结合在一起，吸气时默念“佛”，呼气时默念“陀”。不要让妄想扰乱你的修行，这是觉知当下的修行，所以保持警觉和完全的专注。
As mindfulness gradually establishes itself, the mind will stop paying attention to harmful thoughts and emotions. It will lose interest in its usual preoccupations. Undistracted, it will settle further and further into calm and stillness. At the same time, the breath—which is coarse when you first begin focusing on it—gradually becomes more and more refined. It may even reach the stage where it completely disappears from your conscious awareness. It becomes so subtle and refined that it fades and disappears. There is no breath at that time—only the mind”s essential knowing nature remains.
念住慢慢建立起来之后，心就不再注意有害的念头和情绪，它会对之前的妄想失去兴趣，不受干扰地一步一步地在宁静中安定下来。同时，呼吸——开始专注时它是粗的——也逐渐转为细，甚至可能会微细到完全从你的意识中消失。它变得那么微细以至淡化消失，这时呼吸就停下来——只剩下意识知道的根本特性。
《PART 1 - 阿罗汉向：灭苦正道 The Direct Route to the End of All Suffering》全文阅读结束。