pingu的家

這條正道是一個需要持續不斷認真修持的過程。突如其來的進展可能會發生，但那是努力不懈的結果。
我們必須要按部就班地練習；然而，每向前邁進一步，其利益都是立刻可見的。我們並不是心存期盼地
走上這條道路，寄望累積一些只有來世才可享用的福德；或是渴望死後能進到人們所想像的天堂。
修持的利益應該是具體、清晰、有助於己、而且可以在當下體驗的。

最重要的是，這種教導必須靠實修。僅僅對佛陀或是他的教導充滿信心，是不能夠幫助我們從
痛苦中解脫的。對這條正道只有知性上的了解，也同樣無濟於事。只有當信心與知性上的了解，
能激勵我們開始走上實修之路時，它們才有意義。唯有實佛陀的教導，才會有具體的結果，
才能改善我們的生活。佛陀曾說：

有人也許能背誦許多經文，但是如果他不去實踐那些教導，這樣一個只說不做的人，就好像一個
牧童，只是去數別人養了幾頭牛一樣：他無法享受到追尋真理的回饋。

有人也許只記得經文中的隻字片語，但是如果他過著如法的生活，從起點至終點，他都在正道上
步步前進，那麼他就能享受到追尋真理的回饋。

這條正道一定要去實踐，佛陀的教導一定要去落實，否則就只是一種毫無意義的表面工夫。

要實修佛陀的教導，並不是非得稱自己為佛教徒不可。稱呼無關緊要。痛苦人人皆有，
並沒有什麼不同；因此，痛苦的有效解藥，必須能夠適用於每一個人。這個實踐的方法，
也不是僅限於遠離紅塵、歸隱山林的修行人。誠然，要讓自己專心一意地學會如何去練習，
是需要投注一段時間；但是一但學會了這個方法，就一定要將其運用在日常生活當中。
一個為了追尋正道而出家、卸下俗世責任的人，有機會更精進地修持、更深入地徹底了解
這教導，因而可以有較快的進展。相對地，一個過著世俗生活的人，周旋於眾多的責任之間，
只能夠以有限的時間來練習。但是無論出家或在家，我們一定要懂得運用正法。

只有實際被運用的正法，才有效用。如果這真是一條從痛苦走向安樂的道路，那麼隨著我們
不斷精進練習，我們在日常生活中，應該會變得越來越快樂、和諧、對自己無所求。同時，
我們和他人的關係，應該會變得越來越安詳和諧。我們不儘不會增加社會的不安，反而應該
能夠產生正面的作用，促進眾人的快樂和福祉。要步上解脫之道，我們必須過正法的生活，
過真理、清淨的生活。這才是實踐佛陀教導的最佳方法。當正法被正確地實踐時，它就是生活的藝術。

The Search 6

The path is also a path of purification. We investigate the truth about
ourselves not out of idle intellectual curiosity but rather with a
definite purpose. By observing ourselves we become aware for the
first time of the conditioned reactions, the prejudices that cloud
our mental vision, that hide reality from us and produce suffering.
We recognize the accumulated inner tensions that keep us agitated,
miserable, and we realize they can be removed. Gradually we learn
how to allow them to dissolve, and our minds become pure, peaceful, and happy.

The path is a process requiring continual application. Sudden breakthroughs
may come, but they are the result of sustained efforts. It is necessary to
work step by step; with every step, however, the benefits are immediate.
We do not follow the path in the hope of accruing benefits to be enjoyed
only in the future, of attaining after death a heaven that is known here
only by conjecture. The benefits must be concrete, vivid, personal,
experienced here and now.

Above all, it is a teaching to be practiced. Simply having faith in the
Buddha or his teachings will not help to free us from suffering; neither
will a merely intellectual understanding of the path. Both of these are
of value only if they inspire us to put the teachings into practice.
Only the actual practice of what the Buddha taught will give concrete
results and change our lives for the better. The Buddha said,

Someone may recite much of the texts, but if he does not practice them,
such a heedless person is like a herdsman who only counts the cows
of others: he does not enjoy the rewards of the life of a truth-seeker.
Another may be able to recite only a few words from the texts, but if
he lives the life of Dhamma, taking steps on the path from its beginning
to the goal, then he enjoys the rewards of the life of a truth-seeker.

The path must be followed, the teaching must be implemented; otherwise
it is a meaningless exercise.

It is not necessary to call oneself a Buddhist in order to practice this
teaching. Labels are irrelevant. Suffering makes no distinctions,
but is common to all. Neither is the practice reserved only for
recluses who are divorced from ordinary life. Certainly a
period must be given in which to devote oneself exclusively to
the task of learning how to practice, but having done so one must
apply the teaching in daily life. Someone who forsakes home and
worldly responsibilities in order to follow the path has the opportunity
to work more intensively, to assimilate the teaching more deeply,
and therefore to progress more quickly. On the other hand, someone
involved in worldly life, juggling the claims of many different
responsibilities, can give only limited time to the practice.
But whether homeless or householder, one must apply Dhamma.

It is only applied Dhamma that gives results. If this is truly
a way from suffering to peach, then as we progress in the practice
we should become more happy in our daily lives, more harmonious,
more at peace with ourselves. At the same time our relations with
others should become more peaceful and harmonious. Instead of adding
to the tensions of society, we should be able to make a positive
contribution that will increase the happiness and welfare of all.
To follow the path we must live the life of Dhamma, of truth, of purity.
This is the proper way to implement the teaching. Dhamma, practiced correctly,
is the art of living.