痛苦是暂时的，希望永远存在达照法师

很多人都知道，世间是无常的，一切相皆会变化，我们真正需要的是对此产生自己的看法，而不是说听来的一句话就觉得是自己的。因为听来的只是闻的智慧，还不是思的智慧。你需要通过自己的思考，确认这个世界就是无常的，在心中给予肯定。

就像我们操作完了电脑程序，要点“确认”一样，在佛里叫做“定解”，就是说你对无常的理解一旦确定成为你的人生观，你就确实看到了这个世界的一切相都是无常变化的。只有看到了这一点，我们才了解佛教对世界第一步的看法是什么样的了。

我们常常一想到人生无常，就会伤心落泪。人生几十年，无论你年轻时多么漂亮，都会变老，变丑；无论你有多少财富，有一天都会离开你；无论多么恩爱的亲人，也会和你分离。“夫妻本是同林鸟，大限来时各自飞”，没有一个人能陪你生，也没有一个人能陪你死；即使是一起死，由于业报不同，也会去向不同的地方。

“人生天地间，忽如远行客。”在这个世间，每个人都是独来独往，独生独死，苦乐自受，无能代者。没有人能代替你感受这个世界的快乐和痛苦，所以你很孤独。

因为孤独，所以总想向外去求，想求一个人理解你，求一个人成为自己的知音。其实求到死，也没有人能理解你死亡之前的那种孤独，没有人理解你。

有些人在死亡前被自己的情绪所控制，本身就已经很痛苦了，活着的子女们因为舍不得亲人离开，也被情绪控制着而痛哭流涕，他们如果哭得很伤心，要离开的人因此也就更难过。所以佛法告诉大家，如果家里有人要往生了，我们一定要创造一个好的气氛，不能哭，不能破坏。

我们每个人都是孤独的，周围的人最多只能帮助你一下。在这样的一个变化无常、孤独的世界上生活，想起无常，就会让人很难过、伤心落泪。

但是反过来说，无常是不是真的那么糟糕呢？其实对我们来说，无常也是一件好事，比如说别人欺负你，你心中充满了仇恨，如果你把仇恨早早地忘记掉，那就解脱了。

正是因为无常的缘故，我们所有的缺点还有机会弥补。因为无常，才会有变化。如果没有无常，我们是凡夫就永远只是凡夫，就没有希望改变了。如果是穷人，因为无常，可以通过努力发财成为富人；如果你没有知识、没有智慧，因为无常，你可以变为有知识、有智慧的人。

因为无常的缘故，我们的情绪会开阔很多，我们会对人生以及这个世界充满了希望。痛苦是暂时的，希望永远存在，这是我们对无常的世界最正确的一种认识。

总之，我们首先要看到我们拥有的时间和空间，它本身是一个错觉。在无尽的时间和空间当中，我们的心一旦被时间或者空间束缚住了，就会对这个世界产生错误的看法，就会为外在的物质或内在的精神而奔忙一辈子，无法获得真正的自在。

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Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you wisdom unless you first empty your cup?

— Shunryu Suzuki

Two Roads to an Awakened Heartby Sangeeta Bansal

“People take different roads seeking fulfilment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road does not mean they are lost.” — Dalai Lama

In my personal spiritual journey, I’ve come to understand that the goal of meditative practice is to arrive at a place in daily life where one is unperturbed by the vicissitudes of exhilarating or devastating events, where one is engaged in fulfilling work, and where one can exist in harmonious relationship with others. Accompanying this is a fundamental shift in self-identity and a broadening of perspective, where one no longer sees the self as the centre of the universe and places far less importance on personal thoughts and feelings. Two of my favourite practices along this journey, reviewed here, are mindfulness meditation and kundalini yoga.

WHY PRACTICE EITHER?

Mindfulness meditation, taken directly from the Buddha’s teachings, and kundalini yoga, with its roots in ancient Indian tantric practices, can both be regarded as mental training to raise one’s level of awareness. Notwithstanding considerable differences in methodology, are these practices fundamentally distinct?

In the Buddha’s teachings, it is stated that the essence of being human lies in our incessant craving. This craving is manifested in holding on to things (including ideas and belief systems), grasping and clinging, and not letting go — all of which prevent the aspirant from progressing along the spiritual path. “In common sense, duhkha is a kind of thirsty desire: a sensation of dissatisfaction that always drives you to approach or avoid something based on greed or hatred. In a deep sense, duhkha is emptiness: there is nothing to satisfy you” (Katagiri 2007, 38).

The mindfulness path, then, teaches us how to tap into our minds and bodies in order to identify this thirsty desire — as well as the obstructive and debilitating thoughts that accompany it — and then let it go.

On closer inspection, these destructive emotions that make us grasp and cling are the same hurdles that kundalini yoga refers to as “energy blockages” along the pathways that constitute our subtle body. Our energy matrix comprises conduits that transfer life force (qi or prana) throughout the body. “Holding fears and misconceptions in your consciousness impedes, and even reverses, the flow of energy” (Swami Saradananda 2011, 14).

GROUNDED IN ACTION

A spiritual warrior is a person of action! Both practices are practical instructions, grounded in the principle of doing rather than believing — the idea is to actively participate in the removal of suffering. Both require dedicated efforts based on a solid foundation of sustained attention training.

The quiescence of the meditative mind is accomplished through many hours of sitting and focusing on a chosen object of attention. After a foundation of shamatha or concentration meditation, mindfulness practitioners will go on to vipashyana meditation, which bestows upon them certain “insights” related to the nature of their own minds and also the realities of the universe.

Kundalini practitioners will visualise their chakras and the mandalas associated with each while chanting mantras, working with the body’s subtle energy in order to purify it. They will also gain insights into their own mental blockages by observing “where in the spine do they spend their time” (Selby 1992). Thus, they too will gain precious insights into the workings of their minds.

OVERCOMING SUFFERING

As mentioned, one of the key teachings of mindfulness meditation practice is the understanding and management of desire and craving, since these ultimately lead to addiction and suffering. When craving arises — be it for alcohol, drugs, power, or sexual union — one neither judges it nor indulges in or denies it; one simply observes the raw quality of the emotion that is arising. This form of observation, accompanied by labelling the emotion, has the surprising effect of moderating the impulse to act on the craving.

The aim of kundalini yoga is also to enable the practitioner to let go of cravings. The Sanskrit word for letting go is anahata, which is also the name of the heart chakra in the kundalini yoga teachings. Anahata is to become unstuck, using the practice to balance out obsessive compulsions. Do you find yourself worrying about survival, food, and safety, or do you crave sexual intimacy, intellectual fulfilment, or spiritual enlightenment? Are you besieged by a fear of public speaking? Do you fear relationships? Are you hungry for power and control over your fellow humans? Do you have resentments that stem from early childhood, when your needs were not met by your caregivers? These issues begin to surface as the kundalini yoga practice deepens, just as they might surface at a vipashyana retreat. All these thoughts, stored in the seven chakras or energy vortexes that exist in our body, are painstakingly examined and released.

THOUGHTS VERSUS ENERGY

We may think of the human body as an onion with five layers that go from dense to subtle energy forms. The physical body is the outermost layer, powered by the second layer, the breath. The breath is then powered by the third layer, i.e. the qi or prana — the life force or “inner winds” — while the inner winds are in turn powered by the fourth layer; that of thoughts. The thoughts originate in what Geshe Michael Roach calls “world seeds,” or “vasanas” according to Vedic texts (Roach 2004, 21). Vasanas (the innermost layer) originate from our own deeds and experiences and are recorded in the unconscious mind. To awaken this subconscious, hidden mind and bring it to the front stage is the primary objective of our practice.

Negative vasanas result in negative thoughts, which work their way down to poor physical health. The practices of yoga and meditation both work on all five levels, either from inside out or outside in. We can start with physical hatha yoga and work our way inwards, or start with the purest thoughts of compassion (tonglen meditation) and work our way outwards. It is interesting to note that mindfulness meditation uses the crucible of thoughts to release negative tendencies, whereas kundalini yoga works on the energy system of the body. Both are part of the subtle body, i.e. not seen by the naked eye, but are different planes on which the practitioner is focusing, with the ultimate goal of releasing the hidden tendencies.

LIVING FROM AN AWAKENED HEART

The key to mindfulness meditation is the awakening of compassion in the heart, which then begins to work at all five levels of the body. The practice is also intended to help end a dualistic view of the world, in which “the mind thinks of itself as separate; [whereas] the heart knows better . . . When we touch beneath all the busyness of thought, we discover a sweet, healing silence, an inherent peacefulness in each of us, a goodness of heart, strength, and wholeness that is our birthright. This basic goodness is sometimes called our original nature, or Buddha nature” (Kornfield 1998, 99).

Kundalini practitioners also aim to live from the heart. They seek to activate the heart chakra and, from there, to regulate the flow of energy to the lower chakras (which are rooted in the world of matter, survival, and procreation), as well as to the upper chakras, wherein lies the world of thought, communication, intuition, and enlightenment. “With its unique place in the centre, equidistant from the first and seventh chakra, [the heart chakra] marries the world of matter and spirit, of concrete and abstract, of knowledge and wisdom, of earth and heaven” (Selby 1992, 147).

In conclusion, both practices use different methods but arrive at the same place, namely an awakened heart.

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It is hard to believe that despite all the dangers that we face every day, we tend to take our lives for granted and go on with our daily routines. Therefore, we cannot afford to lose mindfulness and awareness for even a moment.

— Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche

佛法义理虽深妙，却又在我们日用寻常之中太虚大师

佛法的精义甚深难知，不是言语可以说出来的。但他的义理虽然深妙，却又在吾人日用寻常之中，并非离掉吾人日用寻常另外有所谓佛理佛法。只因吾人迷逐幻影不自觉知，将自己本来现成的佛理抛在九霄云外，好像佛是佛人是人，斩然截成两橛，似乎佛法与吾人没甚关涉，一讲到学佛便好像是一件希奇古怪不合人情的事，这就错了！现在分四层来讲：

一　何谓佛教

佛者、梵语佛陀，汉译为觉者。故佛之一字，即指一对于宇宙及人生之迷梦，乃至一切世出世间万法之迷梦，能够澈底打破而得大觉大悟之人。由此大觉悟人说明宇宙万法之真理，并说明此真理人人皆可悟到，又为之创设种种能够悟证真理之方法；由此种种方法是佛所施设之教法，故合称为佛教。吾人若能确信其教法，依教奉行，必有解悟真理实证真理之一日也。

二　佛教之内容

佛是觉悟者之义，其所觉是宇宙万法之真理，而此真理及万法乃人人心中所同具；祗以一向迷却本来，不能调和聚集令其显现了达，故流转生死系于业苦莫能自拔！佛教、即为此一大事而立教者也。其内容，以佛、法、僧三项为主。法者、轨持之义，谓能轨范任持一切事物故。僧者、清净和合众之义，一心照了一切法，一切法集显于一心，相融摄无碍故。又佛者说法化导于僧者也，法者由佛施设于僧者也，僧者依法修行于佛者也。非佛无以有佛教，非法无以成佛教，非僧无以持佛教，故佛教之内容必具佛、法、僧三者。

三　佛教与吾人有何关系

吾人心之自性是灵觉的，若非究竟正觉之佛，无以悟吾人心觉之自性，未免恒为迷失本性之人。又吾人觉性是遍照法界万法的，若非佛法遍明法界一切法，则无以显吾人性觉之相。又觉含法界，万法唯心故。吾人的体用性相，是法界万有调和一如的，若非佛法之僧统理大众一切无碍，则无以全吾人性觉之用。故若非佛教，则吾人便失其为人之真价值，而吾人之体相用一切皆失。以此、可知佛教与吾人关系之深切矣。

四　吾人因何要研究及修持佛教

吾人向来因迷亡其真价值，致体相用一切隐没，不能现前施行自在，而从此迷惑造妄动之业，感牵缚之苦！故吾人欲脱苦须净业，欲净业须破惑，欲破惑须悟得其真价值；明体达相以全其用，此则除佛法莫能为功也。故吾人当研究佛所说之教法而了解其理，由了解其理更进之以修习行持，乃能实现吾人之真价值也。

依此四端，可知学佛为吾人极平常极必要之事。而决非不近人情者也。

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Faring far, wandering alone, bodiless, lying in a cave, is the mind.
Those who subdue it are freed from the bond of Mara.

— The Buddha

Meeting Reality in Hard Timesby Asa Hershoff

We live in a step-down world. We live on a canvas, a projector screen. Our only spiritual problem and spiritual journey are to experience and identify with the paint that creates the pictures on that canvas, whether it is horrific or a thing of beauty. We need to recognise the lights that are projecting this wonderful movie onto the screen of experience, be they terrifying or joyous. We need only recognise the source of this matrix of phenomena — the basis of the personal self, the world around us, other people, atoms, lampshades, cups of coffee, and sunbeams. The more we re-identify with that reality, the more our mundane experience becomes suffused with clarity, vibrancy, and awe. And compassion for the blabs of awareness trapped in a misperception of objects, activities, and identities.

To help us access that non-local non-place, a bridge is a tremendously helpful tool. A portal, some kind of touchstone, that is a pure reflection of original awakeness — bodhi — will do. In Himalayan Buddhism and Hindu tantra, we use a deity as that doorway. Constant repetition of one’s connection to that pure representation, that deity form, sound and mind, habituates our body, speech, and thought to the experience of the manifest world as a playful hologram, emanating from primary purity.

Life takes on a special vibrancy, where every molecule is alive and speaking its unique voice. All are self-liberated, knowing their own origin. The world itself awakens. And at death, the habit of jumping into that portal bears its final reward, and even the bridge can be abandoned as we step into What Is. There is no “dissolution of ego” or any other funny ideas, as there is nothing to dissolve, nor anything that has ever been solid or separate. Then, whether we live in times of pandemic, war or peace, heavens or hells, gods or demons, neither hope nor fear can obstruct the blissful awareness-ground of all.

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Based on the observation of mere cognisance, the non-observation of [outer] referents arises. Based on the non-observation of referents, also the non-observation of mere cognisance arises. Thus, one engages in the characteristic of the nonexistence of both apprehender and apprehended. Therefore, observation is established as the nature of non-observation, because if there is no referent to be observed, an observation [of it] is not suitable. Thus, one should understand observation and non-observation as being equal.

— Vasubandhu

平常心要如何修明海大和尚

“春有百花秋有月，夏有凉风冬有雪，若无闲事挂心头，便是人间好时节。”这首大家熟知的偈子出自宋代无门慧开禅师的《无门关》，颂的是“平常心是道”。

什么样的心态是与道相应的心态，是真正吉祥幸福的心态呢？就是平常心的心态。

“平常心”这个话，原本是赵州禅师的师公马祖道一禅师提出来的，后来赵州禅师在南泉普愿禅师那里请教“如何是道”，南泉普愿禅师也讲“平常心是”。什么是平常心呢？赵州禅师跟着就问：“还可趣向也无？”意思就是说，我们还能够想一个办法到达它吗？南泉禅师说：“拟向即乖。”如果想用你的心去攀缘，去找，或者说去分别这个平常心，那你就已经不是平常心了。

南泉禅师接着说：“道不属知，不属不知。”它是在知和不知之外。“知是妄觉，不知是无记。”我们平时用的知是分别妄想。但是，如果像木头和石头一样，浑然不知，又是无记。道不落在这两边，所以与道相应的平常心，也不落在知和不知这两边。

慧开禅师这四句话，就相当于他用自己的语言去诠释平常心。怎么样来修行我们这个心，这是禅的一个永恒的题目，也是我们所有修行人，所有学佛的诸位，或者说是所有众生生命的核心命题。

要修行平常心，有三种境界是我们必须要经历的：第一种境界就是在平淡处，或者叫枯淡处，来炼这个心；第二种境界，就是要在喧闹处来炼这个心；第三种境界，就是要在困厄处来炼这个心。如果我们能够历经枯淡、喧闹、困厄这三种境界，而内心却是如如不动的，大概这个心就算平常心了。所以，平常心不是我们通常理解的那样简单，在禅的修行层面，平常心有很精准的定向。

第一个枯淡处。这是现代修行人很难通过的一个考验。处在信息化的时代，每天我们的眼耳鼻舌身意都要面对太多的信息，根尘相接，令我们在六根门头，产生很炽盛的分别，白天黑夜念念不间断在进行。

如果在以前，我们的眼根也许只是看到山河大地和身边的景象，但现在我们的眼睛有了很大的延伸， 可以通过摄像、照片、望远镜、网络，看到时间空间跨度更广阔的景象。

我们的六根有一个习性，就是它好像总是在饥饿状态，总想看点什么，听点什么，吃点什么，摸点什么，想点什么。六根的这种状态，就像饥饿时见到食物一样。我们的六根需要接触外面的信息来让它得到满足，我们的分别心也需要法尘的信息，这些信息就像食物一样让它满足。

但是它好像永远不能满足，你要不断地给它喂，给它提供新的信息来刺激它。这就是我们在念念之间，根尘交接的时候，向外去驰求六尘信息，在上面起各种分别。

我们观察这个社会有一种现象，好像很少有一首歌曲一直流行，我们唱一段时间就觉得没味了，要换；好像也很少有明星一直都红，他红过了，会有后面的人把他取代。总是不断地在换，人们视觉疲劳、审美疲劳的频率越来越快。这就是我们现在的众生在根尘交接这一点上的饥饿感。

现在，如果我们把手机丢了，就好像丢掉了身体的一个器官一样，坐卧不宁，因为手机是我们跟外部世界进行根尘连接的一个中转。

枯淡是什么，枯淡是让向外追求根尘信息的习性歇下来。每天你到大殿里面念一样的经，但是你并不乏味，不觉得枯燥，还能够津津有味、法喜充满，这就是一个很大的挑战。就信息本身来说，虽然经文的内涵很深邃，但是从文字、声音上讲，那个经其实是比较单一的，但你能适应，每天坚持念，同时津津有味、法喜充满，这就是枯淡处炼心。

在枯淡处，你的心能够自己相对地独立，能够与经文的内涵相应，并从自己的信仰中生发出一种喜悦，那你就不会说今天念一种，明天换一种。可能有很多道友，都有这种经验，在某个时间段，下决心每天要念《地藏经》，过了一段时间又想再换一下，念《金刚经》，再过一段时间再换一下……

其实也是你的心，好像有一种疲劳了。在一个同样的重复的经文上，你的内心能够深入，能有法喜，这就是在枯淡处我们的心经受了考验。这是以念经来做个例子。

在丛林生活方面，我们每天吃的其实也很枯淡，菜根嘛。但是心定菜根香，如果心有定力，我们的注意力是收摄的，菜根也咬得有滋有味。如果你在吃的时候有心事，想别的事，即使山珍海味，也味同嚼蜡，所以心是如此地重要。

因此我们出家师父要耐得住这个枯淡，耐得住这个寂寞。在这个枯淡、寂寞， 在这个信息很简单的环境里面，我们的心能安定，其实就是信仰的力量。这个力量不是来自于名利的悬赏，不是来自于舆论的赞誉，而是来自于信仰，这是第一个。

第二个，要在喧闹处炼心。现在过年就是个喧闹处，人多、事多，你怎么能够有定力？有时候事情一多，人一多，我们就会不耐烦，脾气就会出来，甚至在佛殿里面对居士着急发火、骂人，这些现象经常有啊。有时候人忙了以后，你的定力就不行了，容易烦。

所以，恰恰要在喧闹中去锻炼怎么保持内心的从容。有的修行人在没有事情的环境里面心态还蛮好，刚有一点点事，心马上就乱了。这就是温室里的花朵，没有经过风雨的历练，不管用。日常生活里的这点喧闹，我们都不能够挺过去， 如果生死大限来临，我们就会方寸大乱，根本就没希望。

在东晋时，曾经有一场战争叫淝水之战，前秦的苻坚带着八十余万大军在淝水北岸，与南岸谢安统领的八万东晋军队对阵。这是中国历史上著名的以少胜多的战役。很多成语与这场战役有关，比如风声鹤唳，就是人听到风声、鹤叫，就以为敌人来了，描述苻坚军队败退时内心的恐惧。

但是在决出胜负以前， 谢安在屋里跟人下围棋，等到有人跑到军帐跟他报告说：我方大胜。他仍然不紧不慢地在那里下棋，说等我把棋下完。这就叫大将风度啊，在胜负未决之际，还能保持那种从容。

相比之下，春节期间，我们很多人很多事就没法比啊。当然过春节我们压力也很大，因为不卖门票，从昨天晚上到今天，估计有几万人次，消防的问题，防盗的问题，各种意想不到的情况。由于人太多，拥挤踩踏的危险都存在。寺院的执事提前开会安排工作，然后还有大量的义工参与服务。在这里要感谢义工们的奉献，他们有的维持秩序，有的看管香火，很辛苦。

在这种喧闹和纷杂中，保持内心的淡定，这也是一个修行人应该经历的。你多经历一点这个场面，你的心量会更大，定力会更足，这样你才有力量去担当佛教更大的责任。

每一代人都有一代人的责任，佛教的担子不会永远在一代人身上。你的力量从哪里来，像温室里的花朵，像脆弱的小草？其实小草倒不脆弱，把它压弯了，它还能直起来。有人就像温室的花朵，经历一点点复杂的事情，心就乱了，没头绪了。这就是一个问题。需要在混乱中修行。如果你在禅堂里有定力，你不妨到大街上去走走，看看定力还在不在。这是第二种炼心的境界。

第三种境界，就是要在困厄中炼心。什么是困厄啊，就是我们人生中遇到的特殊的困难和考验，比如严重的疾病、突然的灾难，或者人事的变动，比如被人冤枉了，或者有牢狱之灾了。当然，人生有个最大的困厄，每个人都不能免，虽然今天是初一，我们学佛的人倒是不怕，不妨谈论一下，这个困厄就是所谓死亡。

面对这种重大的困厄，我们的心怎么样？这个淡定的力量来自于平时的积累，取决于平淡处有没有把法喜修出来，喧闹处有没有把定力修出来。所以，在面对困厄的时候，最容易看出你是不是真正的有道力了。如果没有充沛的道力，困厄来临， 你就会手忙脚乱。

我想在这三个环节，能够让此心如如不动，这大概可以说是平常心的一种体现了。当然，我讲的三个环节，也是有深有浅的。如果要再讲深一点，平常心就是要求你不起分别。要不起分别，那必须要真正认识我们这个心，把我们内心分别的种子，那个根，给它斩断。这就是禅门修行用功最终的宗旨。斩断这个分别心，就像一根木材点着烧火，最后烧尽了变成冷灰，没有力量了；就像一头用石头做的狮子，它会叫吗？它不会哮吼。

在浅处，可以以这三个环节来检验我们。现在八零后、九零后发心出家修行的法师们，非常有必要在这三个地方炼心。

首先是枯淡处。因为八零后、九零后从小成长和教育的环境就有大量的信息刺激，大概都没有体验过什么叫枯淡，没有体验过没有手机、不上网的生活。你不要以为现在信息很多就是一种富有，其实这是一种贫乏。

也要经历喧闹的历练。喧闹的历练，你必须要去发心，要在丛林、在常住里面为大众服务。你要经历一点事，到客堂去待一待，每到过年或者有法会，在客堂的窗口去体验一下，看看待人接物中你的心态有没有起伏。

当然我们也会经历困厄。这个困厄可遇不可求，我们不会去求困厄，但是大概都会遇到。在困厄处逼自己，最后你的心就有力量出现。

最后，借此机会，我衷心地祝愿大家在新的一年，在“修平常心”这个题目上能够有大的收获，真正地做到无门慧开禅偈子里所讲的“春有百花秋有月，夏有凉风冬有雪，若无闲事挂心头，便是人间好时节”。这是我们禅修的根本目的。

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Kindness is a wonderful two-way street: like so many good things, the more we give it away, the more it will grow in us, nourishing our happiness like water that we use to feed the flowers.

— His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, Jigme Pema Wangchen