§11. One's self-training as a meditator has to be in keeping with one's temperament.

十一、做为一个禅思者的自我训练，必须保持其特质

A famous horse-trainer once approached the Lord Buddha and asked him how he trained his disciples. The Buddha responded by asking the trainer how he trained horses. The trainer replied that there were four kinds of horses: (1) those easy to tame, (2) those of an intermediate sort, (3) those genuinely hard to tame, and (4) those that couldn't be tamed at all, and had to be killed. The Buddha replied, 'So it is with me.' (1) Those easy to tame, i.e., those whose minds gather easily, should eat enough food to nourish the body. (2) Those of an intermediate sort, i.e., those whose minds have some trouble settling down, should not be allowed to eat much — only a little food. (3) Those genuinely hard to tame, i.e., those who really have trouble getting their minds to settle down, shouldn't eat at all, but they have to be attannu They have to know their own strength and exactly how much they will be able to endure. (4) As for those who couldn't be tamed and had to be killed — i.e., those termed padaparama who couldn't subdue their minds at all — the Buddha would withdraw the bridge. In other words, he wouldn't teach them, which was tantamount to killing them.

　　一个著名的驯马师曾经去见佛陀，并问他如何调教他的弟子们，佛陀反问他如何调教他的马匹。那个驯马师回答说有四种马：容易驯服的马，普通的马，真正难驯的马，毕竟无法驯服的马，只得杀掉它。佛陀回答说：‘我也是如此。’那些容易驯服的，也就是那些心意容易集中的，就可以吃足够的食物来滋养身体。普通的，也就是那些心意存在著某些烦恼的，就不容许吃太多，只能吃一点点。那些真正难驯的，也就是那些心意充塞著烦恼的，就全然不能吃东西，但它们必须有自知之明，它们必须知道自己的体力，还有它们到底能忍受多久。至于那些无法驯服而要杀掉的，也就是那些被称为padaparama '文句戏论者’，全然不能克制自己心意的—佛陀就会撤除沟通的桥梁。换言之，他不会教导他们，那就等于杀了他们。