〖石头〗

放下和「以空心修行」的教导是最令人不解，也是最和自己的观念冲突的教法。当我们以世俗的语言来理解这两种教法时，我们会迷糊地认为我们可以为所欲为，然而它真正的涵意是：如果我们背负著一颗沉重的石头，不久以后，我们开始感到石头的沉重，但是我们却不知道如何去放下它，所以我们一直都在承受这个沉重的负担。如果有人叫我们把石头抛开，我们会说：「如果我把它给扔掉，我将一无所有！」如果有人告诉我们，放下石头后将能获得的一切利益时，我们不但不会相信他们，反而会固执地认为：「如果我丢了它，我将一无所有！」因此，我们继续背负这颗重石，直到石头重得难以忍受，我们也虚弱不堪且筋疲力竭时，只好放下它。

放下它之后，才突然间体会到放下的益处，我们立即觉得较舒适，也较轻松，并且明白背负著一颗石头是个多么沉重的负担啊！而在我们放下这颗石头之前，我们不可能了解放下的益处。我们也许又会再度扛起这个包袱，但现在我们已经知道这样做将会有什么后果，因此我们能更轻易的放下它。「背负著沉重包袱是没用的，相反地，放下，将带来舒适与轻安」这样的理解，是一个能够逐渐了解我们自己的好例子。

我们的自尊，我们所仰赖的自我意识，就如同一颗沉重的石头。如果我们考虑要放下自我时，我们会惧怕没有了它之后，将会一无所有。然而，当我们终于放下它时，我们将觉悟到不执著自我的轻安和自在。

Rock

The teaching that people least understand and which conflicts most with their own opinions is the teaching of letting go or working with the empty mind. When we conceive this in worldly terms, we become confused and think that we can do anything we want. It can be interpreted in this way, but its real meaning is closer to this: It's as if we were carrying a heavy rock. After a while we begin to feel its weight, but we don't know how to let go. So we endure this heavy burden all the time. If someone tells us to throw it away, we say, "If I throw it away, I won't have anything left!" If told of all the benefits to be gained by throwing it away, we would not believe it, but would keep on thinking, "If I throw my rock away, I will have nothing." So we keep on carrying this heavy rock until it becomes so unbearably heavy, and we become so weak and exhausted, that we just have to drop it. Having dropped it, we suddenly experience the benefits of letting go. We immediately feel better and lighter and we know for ourselves how much of a burden carrying a rock can be. Before we let go of the rock, we couldn't possibly know the benefits of letting go. Later on we may start carrying burdens again, but now we know what the results will be, so we can now let go more easily. This understanding - that it's useless carrying burdens around and that letting go brings ease and lightness - is an example of knowing ourselves. Our pride, our sense of self that we depend on, is the same as that heavy rock. Like that rock, if we think about letting go of self, we are afraid that without it there would be nothing left. But when we can finally let it go we realize for ourselves the ease and comfort of not clinging.