[迷信是囚牢]

Superstition Is Prison

接下来要谈另一种人们沉迷于其中的囚牢，叫做 saiyasatr (注一)。 所有迷信的仪式及信仰都是 saiyasatr 。 愈是无明的人，愈缺乏知见，就被迷信的囚牢禁锢得愈严重。现今，教育和科学的进展，使我们更加认清自然的真理及事物的真相，但仍有许多人被禁锢在迷信的囚牢中。这因人而异，有些人迷信得较深，有些人没有那么严重，但都还是被禁锢在 saiyasatr 的囚牢中，只是迷信的程度和方式不同罢了。

For the next prison, we want to mention being deceived by the thing known as "saiyasatr". All the superstitious formalities and beliefs are saiyasatr. The more ignorance there is, the more one lacks correct knowledge, then the more trapped one is in superstitious prisons. Now, education and science (vidayasatr) have improved, which has led to a better understanding of natural truths, and of all things. Still, there remains too much entrapment in superstitious prisons. It's a personal thing. Some people are caught very much and others not so much. People are caught in different degrees and ways, but we can say that there are still people caught in the prison of saiyasatr, trapped by superstition.

虽然科学的进步已破除大量的迷信，但寺院或教堂中仍存有相当多的迷信。请容我这么说：在教堂、寺院或其他类似的处所，是我们能找到最多迷信的地方。只要有祭坛、有人鞠躬膜拜神圣事物的地方，便存留著「睡眠者的科学”( science of the sleeper )。 saiyasatr 只提供给心灵处于昏昧状态，或是无明而缺乏正见的人。例如在我们还年幼无法以理知判断时，便被灌输的许多迷信观念。假如你仍相信“十三”是不吉祥的数字，那就是 saiyasatr ，表示你还在昏昧状态中。 此外，还有许多迷信的例子，但最好不要一一点破它们，这类的事情都是囚牢，为什么不仔细地把它们看个清楚？竟然让“十三”这样的数字也变成一座囚牢！

Although in general superstition has diminished greatly due to the progress of science, there is still quite a bit of saiyasatr left in the temples and churches. Please forgive us for saying so, but the place we can find superstition the most is in churches, in the temples, and in those kinds of places. Although superstition has lessened in general, there's a lot remaining in such places. Wherever there are altars, wherever people bow down and worship so-called sacred and holy things, there is the place where the "science of the sleeper" persists. Superstition, saiyasatr, is for people who are asleep. It's for those who don't understand correctly, who are ignorant. We are taught these things as children, before we have the intelligence and ability to reason about them. Children believe whatever they're told, and so "adults" teach them many superstitious things. If you still feel that thirteen is an unlucky number, that's saiyasatr. You're still sleeping. There are many other examples of superstition, but we'd better not name them. Some people might get offended. These kinds of things are prisons. Why not look carefully enough to see them as such. Even the number "13" becomes a prison when we're foolish.