森林里的一棵树

A Tree in a Forest

阿姜 查

Venerable Ajahn Chah

序言

Introduction

    阿姜查提醒我们佛陀只能指出修行的道路，却不能替我们修行，因为真理是不能用语言文字来说明与奉送的。阿姜查教导：“所有的教导只不过是譬喻，用来帮助心灵看到真理，如果在心里建立起佛陀，那么我们就可以看到一切事物，视一切事物与我们并没有什么差异。”

Ajahn Chah himself reminded us that the Buddha himself could only point out the way and could not do the practice for us, because the truth is something that cannot be put into words or given away. "All the teachings" Ajahn Chah taught, "are merely similes and comparisons, means to help the mind see the truth. If we establish the Buddha within our mind, then we see everything, we contemplate everything, as no different from ourselves.

    许多阿姜查自己用来教导的譬喻来自於他广泛的森林生活经验。他的修行就是注视，同时完全地敞开心胸，觉察所有发生於自己身心内外的一切。他曾说，他的修行并无特殊之处，套一句他说的话，他像森林里的一棵树。“树只是树。”他曾这么说；而阿姜查就只是阿姜查。然而从这“并无特殊之处”中却产生了对他自己以及世界的深刻了解。

Many of the similes that Ajahn Chah himself used to teach came out of his vast experience of living in the forest. His practice was simply to watch, all the while being totally open and aware of everything that was happening both inside and outside himself. He would say that his practice was nothing special. He was, in his own words, like a tree in a forest, "A tree is as it is," he's say. And Ajahn Chah was as he was. But out of such "nothing specialness" came a profound understanding of himself and the world.

    阿姜查经常说：“在任何时刻，佛法一直在示现著，但只有在心灵宁静的时候，我们才能了解佛法所教导的，因为佛法不用语言文字教导。”阿姜查有这种奇异而神秘的能力能接受此非语言文字之法，而用一种新鲜易解，时而幽默、时而诗意盎然的譬喻形式，来把这种真理传播给他的听众，而且总能敲中最易受感动的心灵深处：“我们好像蛆一样啊！生命宛如落叶，心如雨水。”

Ajahn Chah used to say, "The Dhamma is revealing itself in every moment, but only when the mind is quiet can we understand what it is saying, for the Dhamma teaches without words." Ajahn Chah had this uncanny ability to take that wordless Dhamma and convey its truth to his listeners in the form of a simile that was fresh, easy to follow, sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic, but always striking a place in the heart where it would jar or inspire the most: "We are like maggots; life is like a falling leaf; our mind is like rain water."

    阿姜查的教导充满了像这种譬喻及比喻。我们以为把它们搜集成册当成一种灵感的泉源会是一个好点子，对那些想中止世间热恼的人们，他们可以从“森林里的一棵树”下的清凉、茂盛的树阴中得到一些休息。

The teachings of Ajahn Chah teem with similes and comparisons like these. We thought it would be a good idea to collect them all in the form of a book as a source of inspiration for those who may want some respite from the "heat" of the world and seek some rest in the cool and abundant shade of "a tree in the forest".

第一部分

    我们必须藉由譬喻来谈佛法，因为佛法没有一定的形式。它是方的还是圆的？你说不来。唯一的方法就是透过这些譬喻来说明。

Part 1

"We have to talk about the Dhamma like this, using similes, because the Dhamma has no form. Is it square or is it round? You can't say. The only way to talk about it is through similes like these."

——阿姜 查