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　　(The Dhamma well-expounded by the Blessed One is visible here and now, timeless, inviting all to come and see, leading inward, to be seen by the wise for themselves.)

　　Then showing respect with body, speech, and mind, pay homage to the virtues of the Dhamma, saying, "I now ask to pay homage through practice to the virtues of the three forms of the Dhamma: doctrine, practice, and the attainment that appeared in the Buddha. I ask to pay homage through practice in thought, word and deed, without being negligent, as far as my alertness and abilities will allow, now and in the time to come. May the virtues of the Dhamma appear in my life and heart: Dhammam jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami — I go to the Dhamma as life and refuge until reaching nibbana." (bow down).

　　The Recollection of the Virtues of the Sangha: Repeat the following passage from the Canon, at the same time nurturing a sense of conviction:

　　Supatipanno bhagavato savaka-sangho,

　　uju-patipanno bhagavato savaka-sangho,

　　ñaya-patipanno bhagavato savaka-sangho,

　　samici-patipanno bhagavato savaka-sangho,

　　yadidam cattari purisa-yugani attha

　　purisa-puggala, esa bhagavato savaka-sangho,

　　ahuneyyo pahuneyyo dakkhineyyo añjali-karaniyo,

　　anuttaram puññakkhettam lokassati

　　(The community of the Blessed One”s disciples who have practiced well... who have practiced uprightly... who have practiced methodically... who have practiced masterfully — the four pairs, the eight types of Noble Ones: That is the community of the Blessed One”s disciples, worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of heartfelt respect, the incomparable field of merit for the world.)

　　"I now ask to pay homage through practice to the virtues of the Sangha — eight when counted inpidually, four when counted in pairs — in whomever they have arisen. I ask to pay homage through practice in thought, word and deed, without being negligent, as far as my alertness and abilities will allow, now and in the time to come. May the virtues of the Sangha appear in my life and heart: Sangham jivitam yava nibbanam saranam gacchami — I go to the Sangha as life and refuge until reaching nibbana." (bow down).

　　Now sit down, place your hands palm-to-palm in front of your heart, steady your thoughts, and develop the four Sublime Attitudes: good will, compassion, appreciation, and equanimity. To spread these thoughts to all living beings without distinction is called the immeasurable Sublime Attitude. A short Pali formula, for those who have trouble memorizing, is:

　　"Metta" — thoughts of good will

　　"Karuna" — thoughts of compassion

　　"Mudita" — thoughts of appreciation

　　"Upekkha" — thoughts of equanimity

　　This finished, sit in a half-lotus position, right leg on top of the left, with your hands placed palm-up on your lap, right hand on top of the left. Keep your body straight and your mind on the task before you. Raise your hands in respect, palm-to-palm in front of the heart, and think of the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha: Buddho me natho, dhammo me natho, sangho me natho (The Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha are my mainstay). Then repeat, Buddho buddho, dhammo dhammo, sangho sangho. Return your hands to your lap and repeat one word — Buddho — over and over in your mind, at the same time making yourself conscious of your in-and-out breath.

　　This is the beginning step in practicing concentration. If you”re steady and persistent, the desired results will appear in your heart. For people who are really intent, even just this is enough to start seeing results. But by and large, most meditators want to know the results before they”ve assembled the causes. Yet even if you know about the results in this way, they”re nothing more than concepts or names, and so there”s nothing extraordinary about them. So at this point I”ve given just the preliminary steps. Discussions have been saved for the following sections. If they were included in this section, beginners would be overwhelmed and wouldn”t be able to pick out what they needed. Thus people who are intent on practicing should make a note of just this much to begin with. Then if anything arises in the course of your practice, you can refer to the discussions given below.

《The Craft of the Heart - How To Practice Concentration》全文阅读结束。