断除妄想亦能健康长寿

Getting Rid of False Thinking Leads to Health and Longevity

百岁高僧离欲上人遗著

An instructional talk by the late eminent Chan Master Liyu (Apart from Desire), who lived to be over 100 years old

先师离欲上人，为禅门宗匠，一生建寺弘法，化度甚众。住锡四川乐至报国 寺，前后达五十余年。于一九九二年四月十七日，预知时至，安详坐化，世寿一百五十岁。师平时教人，以消除妄念为学佛要领。诚以妄念一断，大之可以明悟自 心，彻见本性；小之亦能却病延年，健康长寿，乃真语实语。观师年逾期颐，而神清气朗，目光炯炯，视听聪明，步履轻健，岂偶然所致。整理遗稿，得此短篇，用 特刊出，以飨读者。

Our late teacher, the Venerable Liyu, was a great master of the Chan sect. He dedicated his life to erecting monasteries and propagating the Buddhadharma, and he saved and influenced many people. He spent over fifty years of his life at Baoguo Monastery in Lezhi County, Sichuan Province. On April 17, 1992, he knew in advance that his time had come, and he peacefully left the world sitting in full lotus posture. He was 150 years old. The Master often taught people that the key to Buddhist practice is to eliminate “false” thoughts.* When one does this to a great degree, he will be enlightened to his own mind and clearly see his own nature; if he does so to a lesser degree, he will live a long and healthy life and be free of illness. This is indeed true. Even when he was over a hundred years old, our teacher was always vigorous and clear-minded; his eyes were bright and lively, his stride light and nimble, and his vision and hearing sharp. This is no coincidence. While sorting through the writings left by the Master, we came across this short article and hope it can be

妙首释昌臻识

一九九五年四月十五日于四川乐至报国寺

published as a present to the readers.
Recorded by Miaoshou, aka Shi Changzhen
April 15, 1995
Baoguo Monastery, Lezhi County, Sichuan Province

古来，我佛度人，无非就是断除妄念。自我披剃出家以来，时时都是坚决根除妄念。发勇猛心，不随妄想习气转；在 一切时中，不分行住坐卧，动静一相，本自如如。妄念不生，自然疾病减少，并能健康长寿。古德说：「若能识得心，大地无寸土」。全部佛法归结到一点，即是断 除妄念。妄念，又称为「妄想」。例如，我们早晨睁眼，脑筋里不断想事情，种种念头，种种幻想，公事私事，人我是非，八百年前的往事，都像电影一幕一幕地过 去，又像奔流不息的瀑布，没有一分一秒停止。这个常常想事的心，就是「妄心」。断妄心实在不容易。古人说：「断妄念如断四十里流」，谈何容易！

In ancient times, the Buddha had no other means for saving people than teaching them get rid of false thoughts. Ever since I left the home-life, I have worked persistently to get rid of my false thoughts in every moment. I have brought forth a vigorous resolve and refused to be affected by false thoughts and bad habits. At all times, whether I am moving or still, sleeping or awake, I have tried to remain in a state of unmoving thusness. When one is free of false thoughts, one will naturally be healthy and long-lived and not get sick as often. The virtuous ones of old said, “Once the mind is recognized, the earth no longer exists.” All of the Buddha’s teachings go back to the basic principle of eliminating false thoughts, that is, fanciful thoughts. From the time we open our eyes in the morning, thoughts, ideas, and fantasies race nonstop through our minds; we think of public affairs, private matters, gossip, and even things that happened 800 years ago. Scene after scene flashes onto our mental movie screens. Our minds are like flowing waterfalls that don’t stop for a second. This ceaselessly thinking mind is the false mind, and it’s no easy task to stop it. The ancients said, “Stopping the false mind would be like damming up a river for forty miles.” It’s easier said than done.

我们每天从早到晚，一切动作与思维，都离不开妄念；妄念是分别心、第六识。如眼之于色，耳之于声，鼻之于香， 舌之于味，身之于触，意之于想，皆是识的作用。内有眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意、六根，外有色、声、香、味、触、法、六尘；六根和六尘一接触，就产生六识。此 六识因为受了第七末那识「执我」之影响，一切语言行为，莫不为自己打算，以我为本位，因而发生人我是非，种种烦恼。此「执我」之一念，即是根本无明。由此 无明，便造种种业，受种种报，以致流转生死，永无止息。我们想拔除生死之本，对于永无休歇的六识心浪，必须予以停止，相续不断的意识便不起作用；此时的心 理状态是动静如如，湛寂常照，灵明不眛，不思维过去、现在、未来一切事物，故称之为「无念」。如能永远维持此心之寂静，那么，健康长寿，永保青春，不过是 随之而来的副产物而已。

From dawn till dusk each day, our movements and thoughts are inseparable from the false mind. The false mind is the discriminating mind, the sixth consciousness. It is functioning of the consciousnesses that enables the eyes to perceive forms, the ears to perceive sounds, the nose to perceive smells, the tongue to perceive flavors, the body to perceive contact, and the mind to perceive thoughts. When the six internal sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) come into contact with the six kinds of external sense data (forms, sounds, smells, flavors, contact, and dharmas), the six consciousnesses are brought into being. Because the sixth consciousness is influenced by the seventh consciousness with its attachment to a self, all speech and actions are based on the self and motivated by the wish to benefit the self. This leads to discriminations between self and others and to all kinds of afflictions. That one thought of “attachment to self” is none other than our fundamental ignorance. Based on ignorance, we create various kinds of karma and incur various sorts of retribution, so that we must undergo endless rounds of birth and death. Should we want to uproot the foundation of birth and death, we must calm the restless waves of the conscious mind and interrupt its continuous functioning. At that time the mind will be in a state of perpetual thusness, profoundly still and eternally illuminating, spiritually bright and unconfused, not thinking of anything in the past, present or future. That is called “having no thought.” If one can maintain that peaceful state of mind, then health, longevity, and eternal youth will come as natural by-products.

此种无念真心，是绝诸对待，没有大小、方圆、长短、善恶、是非、垢净、增减、生灭、来去等相；一尘不染，空空 洞洞，什么都比不上。这是禅宗所求的终极目标––明心见性，也就是祖师的指标，在二六时中，不分行、住、坐、卧、动、静，一相本自如如；妄念不生，何患长 寿不了？若不如此，总是忙忙碌碌，从朝至暮，从生到死，空过光阴；在修持上固然是劳而无功，在身上也永远不得安定。这样，和健康长寿也是背道而驰的。

The true mind which is free of thought is absolute; it precludes all dualities. There are no distinctions of great or small, round or square, long or short, good or evil, right or wrong, pure or defiled, increasing or decreasing, production or extinction, coming or going. Undefiled by a single speck of dust, it is empty and beyond compare. That is the ultimate goal sought for in the Chan sect—understanding the mind and seeing the nature. It is also what the patriarchs pointed to. At all times, whether one is moving or still, sleeping or awake, the One Mark is originally thus. If one has no false thoughts, how can one worry about not attaining long life? On the other hand, if we are busy and hectic from morning to night, from birth until death, then we are letting the time go by in vain. Not only will we fail in our cultivation, but we will also be unable to find peace and calm. We will be running in the opposite direction from health and longevity.

因此，我们应当知道，妄念对于人生实在是关系太大，必须以真对治。

Therefore, we should realize what a tremendous influence false thinking has upon our lives. We must use a true method to deal with.