Thieves in Your Heart

　　心中之贼

The purpose of meditation is to raise things up and put them to the test, to understand their essence. For example, we see the body as something fine and beautiful, whereas the Buddha tells us it is unclean, impermanent, and prone to suffering. Which view accords with the truth?

　　禅坐的目的是将事情提出来，然後将它们放入分析中，以明了它们的本质。例如：我们认为身体是细致、美丽的，然而，佛陀却告诉我们它是不净的、无常的，而且倾向苦。到底哪一个见解才是与真理一致呢?

We are like visitors to a foreign country; not knowing the language, we cannot enjoy ourselves. But once we have learned the language, we can laugh and joke with others. Or we are like children who have to grow up before we can understand what the grownups are saying.

　　我们就好像一个到异国的旅客，不懂他们的语言，所以不能尽兴。但是一旦我们学会了语言，便可以和他们谈天说笑了。抑或，我们如同小孩般，必须长大後，方能明白大人们所说的话。

The normal view is that the elements of our life, beginning with the body, are stable. One child plays with his balloon until it catches on a branch or a thorn and bursts, leaving him in tears. Another child, smarter than the first, knows that his balloon can burst easily and is not upset when it does. People go through life blindly, ignoring the fact of death like gourmets feasting on fine foods, never thinking they will have to excrete. Then nature calls, but having made no provision, they do not know where to go.

　　一般的见解是，我们的生命元素──从身体开始，是稳固的。一个小孩在跟气球玩，直到气球卡在树枝上成一根刺上而破了，小孩因而泣不成声。另一个小孩比前者聪明，他知道他的气球很容易就会被，所以当它破时，他并不因此而伤心。人类盲目地过活，对於死亡真相的无知就如同美食者享用佳肴般，从没想到他们势必要上厕所。後来，内急一来，却没有丝毫准备，不知何去何从。

There is danger in the world-danger from the elements, danger from thieves. These dangers have their counterpart in the temples too. The Buddha taught us to investigate these dangers and gave the name bhikkhu to one who ordains. Bhikkhu has two meanings: one who begs and one who sees danger in the round of samsara, of grasping. Beings experience greed, hatred, and delusion. Succumbing to these defilements, they reap the results, increase their bad habits, make yet more karma, and again succumb to defilements.

　　世上是有危险存在的──元素的危险、盗贼的危险。在寺院里也有相似的危险。佛陀教导我们要去审视这些危险，所以给出家人名“比丘”。“比丘”有两个意思：乞士和彻见轮回和执著的危险之人。众生经验了贪、嗔和痴，而屈服於这些烦恼(杂染)，於是得其後果，并增长了他们的恶习，制造更多的业，然後又再屈服於烦恼。

Why can't you get rid of greed, hatred, and delusion? If your thinking is wrong, you will suffer; if you understand correctly, you can end suffering.

　　你为何无法去除贪、嗔、痴呢?如果你的思想错误的话，你会受苦;如果你了解得正确，你便能够断除苦。

Know the workings of karma, of cause and effect. Attachment to pleasure brings suffering in its wake. You gorge yourself on good food, but stomach trouble and intestinal discomfort follow. Or you steal something and are happy with it, but later the police come around to arrest you. When you watch, you can learn how to act, you can learn to end grasping and sorrow. The Buddha, seeing this, wanted to escape from the real dangers of the world, which we have to overcome within ourselves. External dangers are not as frightening as the dangers within: What are the elements of this inner danger?

　　认识业和因果的作用。执著愉悦会带来清醒後的痛苦。你让自己狼吞虎咽，但是接踵而来的便是肠胃的不舒服。抑或，你对你偷的东西感到满意，後来，警察便来逮捕你了。当你观照时，你可以学习如何去行为，也可以学习去断除执取和悲伤。佛陀看到了这点，所以想要脱离这个世间的危险，然而这是必须对治自己内心的。外在危险，不比内在危险的令人骇惧。什么是内在危险的元素呢?

Wind. Things come at the senses, causing compulsion, lust, anger, and ignorance to arise, destroying what is good in us. Normally, we see the wind only as that which blows the leaves about, not seeing the wind of our senses, which, unwatched, can cause the storms of desire.

　　“风”──外尘接触感官，造成贪、嗔、痴的生起，并摧毁我们内在的良善。通常，我们只看到会吹动树叶的风，却没看到我们的感官之风，而如果没观照的话，会造成欲望的风暴。

Fire. Our temple may never have been struck by fire, but greed, hatred, and delusion burn us constantly. Lust and aversion cause us to speak and do wrong; delusion leads us to see good as bad, bad as good, .the ugly as beautiful, the valueless as valuable. But one who does not meditate does not see this and is overcome by these fires.

　　“火”──我们的寺院也许永远不会被大人所袭击，但是，贪、嗔、痴却会不断地焚烧我们。贪和嗔会造成我们说错或做错，痴会导引我们将好的视为坏的，将坏的视为好的：丑的视为美的，美的视为丑的。但是，没有禅坐的人是看不到这点的，而且被这些人所征服。

Water. Here the danger is the flood of defilement in our hearts submerging our true nature.

　　“水”──这里的危险指的是内心的烦恼(杂染)之流，淹没了我们的真性。

Thieves. The real thieves do not exist outside us. Our monastery has seen thieves only once in twenty years, but inwardly the five gangs of attachment, the aggregates, are ever robbing, beating, and destroying us. What are these five aggregates?

　　“贼”──真正的贼并不在我们的外面。我们的专院二十年来只遭过一次小偷，但是，内在的五个执著──五蕴，一直在剥夺、攻击和摧毁我们。五蕴是哪五蕴呢?

1.    Body. It is a prey to illness and pain; when it does not accord with our wishes, we have grief and sorrow. Not understanding the natural aging and decay of the body, we suffer. We feel attraction or repulsion toward the bodies of others and are robbed of true peace.

　　一、“色”──它是病痛的受害者，当它与我们的意愿相违时，我们便会忧虑和悲伤。不明了自然的老化和身体的腐败，会痛苦。我们对他人的身体感到吸引，而剥夺了真正的平静。

2.   Feelings. When pain and pleasure arise, we forget that they are impermanent, suffering, not self; we identify with our emotions and are thus tortured by our wrong understanding.

　　二、“受”──当痛苦和愉悦生起时，我们忘记它们是无常、苦和无我的。我们认同我们的情绪，因而受到妄见的折磨。

3.   Memories and perceptions. Identifying with what we recognize and remember gives rise to greed, hatred, and delusion. Our wrong understanding becomes habitual, stored in the subconscious.

　　三、“想”──认同我们所认知与记得的事物只会引发贪、嗔和痴。我们的妄见变成了惯性，贮藏在潜意识中。

4.   Volitions and other elements of mind. Not understanding the nature of mental states, we react, and thoughts and feelings, likes and dislikes, happiness and sorrow arise. Forgetting that they are impermanent, suffering, and selfless, we cling to them.

　　四、“行”──不明了心理状态的本然的话，我们会产生反应，而念头、感觉、喜、恶、悲、欣便生起。我们忘却它们是无常、苦和无我的，所以去执著它们。

5.   Consciousness. We grasp that which knows the other aggregates. We think, "I know, I am, I feel," and are bound by this illusion of self, of separation.

　　五、“识”──我们执著那个认知其他四蕴的。我们认为：“我知道、我是、我觉得”而被这个自我的幻觉和分别所束缚。

All these thieves, this wrong understanding, leads to wrong action. The Buddha had no desire for this; he saw that there was no true happiness to be found here. Thus, he gave the name bhikkhu to those who also see this danger and seek a way out.

　　这五个贼都是妄见，都会导致错误的行为。佛陀对这个并没有欲望，他看到在这根本找不到真正的快乐。因此，他给那些也看到这点并寻求出离之道的人取名作“比丘”。

The Buddha taught his monks the true nature of the five aggregates and how to let go of them without clinging to them as me or mine. When we understand them, we will see that they have potential for great harm or great value, but they do not disappear. They are simply no longer grasped as our own. After his enlightenment, the Buddha still had physical ills, had feelings of pain and pleasure, had memories, thoughts, and consciousness. But he did not cling to them as being self, as being me or mine. He knew them as they were, and the one who knew was also not I, not self.

　　佛陀教导他的弟子五蕴的真实本然和如何去放下它们，不执著它们为我或我的。当我们明了时，我们会看到它们有很大的伤害与价值的可能性，但它们不曾消失，它们只是不再被执著为我们自己的罢了。佛陀在他觉悟之後，仍然有生理上的病痛，有愉快和疼痛的感觉，有记忆(想)、有念头(行)、有意识，但他却没有执取它们为自我、我或我的。他知道它们的本然，而那个知道的，也不是我、自我。

Separating the five aggregates from the defilements and from clinging is like clearing the brush in the forest without destroying the trees. There is just a constant arising and falling away; defilement cannot gain a foothold. We are simply being born and dying with the aggregates; they just come and go, according to their nature.

　　要将五蕴从烦恼(杂染)和执著中分隔开来，就好像要在森林中清除树丛而不砍树一样。一切都只是不断地生起与消逝罢了──烦恼并无立足之地。我们不过是跟五蕴生、死而已了──它们只是依著它们的本然来、去罢了。

If someone curses us and we have no feelings of self, the incident ends with the spoken words, and we do not suffer. If unpleasant feelings arise, we should let them stop there, realizing that the feelings are not us. " He hates me, he troubles me, he is my enemy." A bhikkhu does not think like this, nor does he hold views of pride or comparison. If we do not stand up in the line of fire, we do not get shot; if there is no one to receive it, the letter is sent back. Moving gracefully through the world not caught in evaluating each event, a bikkhu becomes serene. This is the way of NirVana, empty and free.

　　如果有人咒骂我们，而我们却没有自我的感觉的话，事情就会停在话语上，而不受苦。如果不悦的感觉生起，我们应该让它停在那里，觉知感觉并不是我们。“他恨我、他找我麻烦、他是我的敌人。”一位比丘并不会做如此想，也不会执取自负或比较的见解。如果我们不去站在战火线上，我们是不会被射击到的；如果信没人接的话，就会被退回去的。优雅地走过世间而不执著於事相的分别，比丘会变得平静详和。这就是涅槃、空和解脱之道。

Investigate the five aggregates, then; make a clean forest. You will be a different person. Those who understand emptiness and practice accordingly are few, but they come to know the greatest joy. Why not try it? You can abolish the thieves in your heart and set everything right.

　　审视五蕴吧!创造一个清净的森林。你将会是一个不一样的人。真正明了“空”而且依此修行的人很少，但是，他们将体会到最大的喜悦。为何不试一试呢?你可以铲除你心中之贼，然後把每一件事都安置好。