Month: December 2023

　　　　八七　分　别

大师与他的一羣弟子在河边散步。

他说：「看，这些鱼儿随心所欲地游来游去，这才是真正的快乐。」

一旁的路人听到这话便反唇相激：「你又不是鱼，你怎知鱼快乐与否？」

弟子们惊异地瞪着这鲁莽的家伙。大师却含笑注视这一无所惧地追根究柢的人。

他亲切答复：「我的朋友，你又不是我，你怎么知道我不是鱼？」

弟子们不禁笑了，认为他罪有应得，这位路人却怔在那儿沉思话中深意。

他整天反复咀嚼此言。然后登门造访：「也许你并非如我所想的，与鱼截然不同，而我与你，也非相异过甚。」

DISTINCTION

The Master was strolling with some of his disciples along the bank of a river.

He said. “See how the fish keep darting about when they please. That’s what they
really enjoy.”

A stranger overhearing that remark said. “How do you know what fish enjoy — you‘re
not a fish?”

The disciples gasped at what they took for impudence. The Master smiled at what he
recognized as a fearless spirit of enquiry.

He replied affably. “And you my friend, how do you know I am not a fish — you are
not I?”

The disciples laughed, taking this to be a well-deserved rebuff. Only the stranger was
struck by its depth.

All day he pondered it then came to the monastery to say. “Maybe you are not as
different from the fish as I thought. Or I from you.”

　　　　八六　无　执

大师本身的生活极其纯朴，却从不鄙视他的豪富弟子，门徒们感到有趣。

「成为一个既富又圣的人，虽寥寥可数，并非不可能。」有一天，大师如是说。

「如何才能达到此境？」

「当金钱对你心灵的影响力，一如竹荫拂过天井。」

弟子们转身向庭院望去，竹荫拂过，却未激起一丝尘埃。

DETACHMENT

It intrigued the disciples that the Master who lived so simply would not condemn his
wealthy followers.

“It is rare but not impossible for someone to be rich and holy.” he said one day.
“How?”

“When money has the effect on his heart that the shadow of that bamboo has on the
courtyard.”

The disciples turned to watch the bamboo’s shadow sweep the courtyard without
stirring a single particle of dust.

八五　大梦初醒

大师洒脱自在的风范，令他的弟子们不禁鼓起勇气问：「你能否告诉我们，您开悟后有何所得。您变得更神圣了吗？」

「没有。」

「您变成一位圣人了？」

「没有。」

「那么究竟有何改变？」

「只是醒了。」

SLEEP-WALKING

The Master’s expansive mood emboldened his disciples to say. “Tell us what you got
from Enlightenment. Did you become divine?”

‘No.’

“Did you become a saint?”

No.”

“Then what did you become?”

“Awake.”

八四　觉　醒

「救恩应由行动获得，还是由祈祷？」

「都不是。救恩来自于正见。」

「见什么？」

「看见你所盼望的项链正挂在颈项上；看见你所畏惧的蛇，不过是地上的一根绳子而已。」

AWARENESS

“Is salvation obtained through action or through meditation?”

“Through neither. Salvation comes from seeing.

“Seeing what?”

“That the gold necklace you wish to acquire is hanging round your neck. That the
snake you are so frightened of is only a rope on the ground.”

八三　投　入

「如何才能除去我的恐惧？」
「你怎能除去一样自己紧抓不舍的东西？」
「你是说，是我自己紧抓不舍恐惧？这恕我难以苟同。」

「只要想一想，你的恐惧所能带领你逃避的麻烦，你就会同意我的话了。而且你会看到自己有多蠢！」

INVESTMENT

“How shall I rid myself of fear?”

“How can you rid yourself of what you cling to?”

“You mean I actually cling to my fears? I cannot agree to that. “

“Consider what your fear protects you from and you will agree! And you will see your
folly.”

八二　遥　控　

有个弟子个性怯懦，他想寻回自信心，大师说：「你想由他人的眼神中获得肯定，而且认为这就是自信。」
「难道我不该重视别人的意见？」
「正好相反，重视别人所说的，但不受它的箝制。」
「该如何突破别人的箝制？」

「你该问：如何突破自己的错觉？」

REMOTE CONTROL

To a shy disciple who wanted to become self-confident the Master said, “You look for
certainty in the eyes of others and you think that is self-confidence.”

“Shall I give no weight to the opinion of others then?”

“On the contrary. Weigh everything they say, but do not be controlled by it.”

“How does one break the control?’

“How does one break a delusion?’

八一　错　觉

「开悟的最大阻碍是什么？」
「畏惧。」
「畏惧由何而起？」
「错觉。」
「什么是错觉？」
「把身边的花朶想成毒蛇。」

「我怎能获得悟境？」
「张开眼睛看清楚。」
「看什么？」
「身边一只蛇也没有。」

FANTASY

What is the greatest enemy of enlightenment?
“Fear.”

“And where does fear come from?”
“Delusion.”

“And what is delusion?”

“To think that the flowers around you are poisonous snakes.”

“How shall I attain to enlightenment?” “Open your eyes and see.” “What?”

“That there isn’t a single snake around.”

八０　伦　理

弟子们常常热中探讨对与错的问题。有时答案很明显，有时却擧棋不定。

如果大师凑巧在场，他通常都不表明立场。

一次，大师面对这样的挑战：「如果我杀了一个正想谋害我的人，是对还是错？」

他说：「我怎么知道？」

弟子诧异不已：「那么我们怎能分辨对或错？」

大师说：「当你生时，能死于自我，且彻底地死去。然后随心所欲地去做，一定是对的。」

MORALITY

The disciples would frequently be absorbed in questions of right and wrong.
Sometimes the answer would be evident enough. Sometimes it was elusive.

The Master, if he happened to be present at such discussions, would take no part in
them.

Once he was confronted with this question: “Is it right to kill someone who seeks to
kill me? Or is it wrong?”

He said. “How should I know?”

The shocked disciples answered, “Then how would we tell right from wrong?”

The Master said, “While alive, be dead to yourself, be totally dead-Then act as you
will and your action will be right.”

七九　意识型态

一批活跃的政客，想向大师显示，他们的观念足以改变世界。

大师仔细地听着。

第二天，他说：「一种意识型态的好坏，端赖于它的制造者。难道一百万只狐狸组织起来，推行公义，狐狸尾巴就不见了吗？」

IDEOLOGY

A group of political activists were attempting to show the Master how their ideology
would change the world.

The Master listened carefully.

The following day he said, “An ideology is as good or bad as the people who make
use of it. If a million wolves were to organise for justice would they cease to be a million
wolves?”

七八　激　将

有个一向惬意度日的门徒开始抱怨：他从未经验过大师常论及的宁静。

大师说：「这种宁静常发生在奋发进取的人身上。」

CHALLENGE

An easy-going disciple complained that he had never experienced the silence that the
Master frequently -commended.

Said the Master, “Silence only comes to active people.”