..续本文上一页 and awesome... Reaching, here you have done a great deal. You have let go of the first burden which stops deep meditation.” But having achieved so much, one should go further into the even more beautiful and truthful silence of the mind.
本书三部曲中的第一部点出这种初阶禅法的目标，便是要使心达至美妙的静默、静止和清明的状态，以孕育出最深睿的智慧，然後指出有如一条不断的线贯通著所有禅定般的根本主题——对物质和心灵上负担的舍弃，而在最後部份则用了很多篇幅来描述能达至我所称为「这种初阶禅法第一阶段」的修习方法，还说明禅修者若能舒服地、长时间不间断地安住於当下，便能证得此第一阶段。正如前文中提到：「当下的实相是很非凡、很令人惊叹的…………… 你达到这一步，已是做了很多了，你已摆脱掉妨碍进入深层禅定的第一重障碍。」但纵使有如此成就，你仍须再进一步，达至更美妙、更真实的心灵静默。
It is helpful, here, to clarify the difference between silent awareness of the present moment and thinking about it. The simile of watching a tennis match on TV is informative. When watching such a match, you may notice that, in fact, there are two matches occurring simultaneously-there is the match that you see on the screen, and there is the match that you hear described by the commentator. Indeed, if an Australian is playing a New Zealander, then the commentary from the Australian or New Zealand presenter is likely to be much different from what actually occurred! Commentary is often biased. In this simile, watching the screen with no commentary stands for silent awareness in meditation, paying attention to the commentary stands for thinking about it. You should realize that you are much closer to Truth when you observe without commentary, when you experience just the silent awareness of the present moment.
在此有需要分辨清楚对当下的默然觉知和对当下的想像两者之分别。以看电视上的网球比赛作譬喻可说明这点，当观看这样的比赛时，你或会注意到，事实上有两场比赛在同时进行：一场在萤幕上看到的，另一场则是你所听到的评述员所讲述的比赛。真的，如果一个澳洲球员与一个新西兰球员对垒，那么澳洲评述员或新西兰评述员所作的评论便很可能跟真正的比赛有很大的分别。评论往往是有偏差的，在这个譬喻中，纯粹观看著萤幕而没有评论表示在禅修中的默然觉知，同时听著评述员讲解则表示用思维来想像。你要明白，当你不理会评论而只是纯粹观察、当你只是经验著当下的默然觉知，你便更接近真理。
Sometimes it is through the inner commentary that we think we know the world. Actually, that inner speech does not know the world at all! It is the inner speech that weaves the delusions that cause suffering. It is the inner speech that causes us to be angry with those we make our enemies, and to have dangerous attachments to those we make our loved ones. Inner speech causes all of life”s problems. It constructs fear and guilt. It creates anxiety and depression. It builds these illusions as surely as the skilful commentator on TV can manipulate an audience to create anger or tears. So if you seek for Truth, you should value silent awareness, considering it more important, when meditating, than any thought whatsoever.
有时候，我们以为我们知道这世界，但其实那只是依仗我们内部的评论来认知这世界。事实上，那种内部讲话对世界一无所知！正是内部的讲话编造出惑乱来，因而产生痛苦；正是内部的讲话令到我们对被我们认为是敌人的人生起愤怒、对被我们认为是至爱的人怀有危险的执著。内部的讲话产生生命中的所有问题，它建造出恐惧和内咎、制造出忧虑和抑郁。它确实建立出这些幻象，这就有如电视中巧妙的评述员肯定可把观众弄至生气或流泪一样。因此，若要寻找真理，便应重视默然的觉知，在禅修时把它看成比任何心念思想都更为重要。
It is the high value that one gives to one”s thoughts that is the major obstacle to silent awareness. Carefully removing the importance one gives to one”s thinking and realizing the value and truthfulness of silent awareness, is the insight that makes this second stage-silent awareness of the present moment-possible.
发展默然觉知的主要障碍是因为你高度评价你的心念思想。仔细地消除你认为心念思想是至高无上的想法，明白到默然觉知的价值和真实性，这都是令到这第二阶段——当下的默然觉知——得以成就的智慧。
One of the beautiful ways of overcoming the inner commentary is to develop such refined present moment awareness, that you are watching every moment so closely that you simply do not have the time to comment about what has just happened. A thought is often an opinion on what has just happened, e.g. ”That was good”, ”That was gross”, ”What was that
”. All of these comments are about an experience that has just passed by. When you are noting, making a comment about an experience that has just passed, then you are not paying attention to the experience that has just arrived. You are dealing with old visitors and neglecting the new visitors coming now!
克服内部评论的一个巧妙方法便是把当下觉知发展至更幼细，你是那么紧密地看著每一个刹那，你根本不会有…
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