[六根是囚牢]

The Senses Are Prison

接下来， 要谈一个最有趣、最贴近我们的囚牢， 那就是人人都有的六入( ayatana)或六根──眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意，它们也是囚牢。让我们细细观察，专心聆听，以了解眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意六根如何变成囚牢。

Next, we come to the most amusing prison, the prison that's closest to us. There are these eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind: the six ayatana, the six sense media or bases. They are prisons, too. Take a slow, careful look at them. Listen carefully in order to understand how our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind -- all six of them -- become prisons.

巴利文称六根为 ayatana 。 原义是指和外界相接触、沟通的工具或管道等等，如果大家愿意的话，可以直接用巴利文 ayatana 这个字。这六根全都是囚牢。

In Pali we call them the ayatana. The root of this word literally means "tools or means for communicating with the external world" -- places, mechanisms, means, or whatever, for contacting or communicating with the external world. We call them "ayatana." If you're willing, use this Pali word "ayatana." We aren't sure what to call them in English, maybe "sense media" or "connectors." All six ayatana are prisons.

透过六根，我们得以和外界沟通、接触，产生感受、经验等，导致我们对自身生命产生执取。当执著于六根时，我们便得侍候它们，成为它们的奴隶。为了满足眼睛，我们得侍候眼睛；为了满足耳朵，我们得侍候耳朵；为了满足鼻子，我们得侍候鼻子；为了满足舌头，我们得侍候舌头；为了令皮肤及周身感到舒适，我们就得侍候身体；为了让内心感到平顺、舒畅，我们就得随顺心意。我们的所作所为正都为了取悦六根，因而屈服于它们，沦为它们的奴隶。然后，它们便压榨、控制我们，令我们无法逃脱，这就叫作“陷入六根的囚牢”。

We have upadana towards life, regarding ourselves, which has these six media for sensing, for experiencing, for communicating, or for tasting and receiving sense objects. When there's upadana regarding these six ayatana, we serve them and become their slaves. We serve the eyes to gratify the eyes. We serve the ears to gratify the ears. We serve the nose to satisfy the nose. We serve the tongue to satiate the tongue. We serve the skin and general body sense to make it comfortable. We serve the mind, the mental sense, in order to soothe and comfort it. This means that all our behavior is just for entertaining these ayatana. Everything we do is for the sake of these six ayatana. We surrender to them and become their slaves. Then, they squeeze and control us, there's no avoiding them. We call this "getting caught in the prison of the ayatana."

想想看，你们有谁不正像奴隶般地服侍六根？而且，还很乐意地去服侍它们，不是吗？为了使眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意感到舒适和快乐，总是忍受一切艰苦，并竭尽心力地服侍它们。因此，我们必须承认自己正是奴隶。缺乏智慧的人必然是六根的奴隶，被禁锢在六根的囚牢里，只要能正确圆满地修习出入息念，就可以逃出这囚牢；如果未能正确圆满地修习出入息念，我们将被拘留在囚牢中，而且没有人知道会被关到何时。

Consider whether there is anyone, whether there are any of you, who is not slavishly serving these six ayatana. And you serve them willingly, don't you? You endure hardships and bend over backwards in order to serve them, always looking for ways to make the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind comfortable and happy, in the most bound up way. So we must admit that we are slaves. Those people who lack wisdom will certainly be slaves of the ayatana, will keep getting caught in the prison of ayatana. Through the correct and successful practice of mindfulness with breathing, we can escape from the prison. If we practice anapanasati incorrectly and incompletely, we will remain caught in the ayatana prison for who knows how long.