1-3-4. SET OUT TO WORK RIGHTLY, BY YOURSELF以自为依‧如法而行(自依‧法依)

In making our minds peaceful of this nature, we cannot rely on anybody to help out. You can't 'depend on ghosts or angels. Ghosts and angels can't help to make our minds peaceful and still, but we ourselves must set out to work. This is in conformity with the principle of ATTAHI ATTANO NATHO - self is the refuge of self. Developing awareness is the method to make the mind reach the state of equanimity. The mind in neutrality is like a weight that holds one back from excessive anger or too much greed, which could easily kill one.

In this sense, it is also destroying delusion, at the same time. It is delusion that concocts up greed and aversion, which are the culprits that make people go wrong. The Buddha stressed that people should have awareness, concentration and wisdom.

要让我们的心达到这种本来的寂静安祥是不能靠其他任何人帮忙的。你不能靠鬼魅或神祇。鬼魅和神祇不能帮我们使心安祥与寂静，我们必须自己去做才行。这与Attahi Attano Natho(自己是自己的庇护)的原则是一致的。培养觉性是能使心达到寂静状态的方法。中道心如同砝码，可以让我们平衡而不致太过生气或贪婪，那是能轻易毁掉一个人的。就这点来说，它也同时破除了无明，因为就是无明才会生起人们造恶的元凶——贪与瞋，所以佛陀强调我们必须要有觉、定、慧。

Coming to concentration ; there tend to be teachers who teach to sit with the eyes closed and make the mind peaceful. But in reality, the Buddha teaches concentration by determining to work punctually and straight regarding one's duties. This is not the same as the teachers these days.

I'm talking with right view and so it is necessary to speak straightforwardly. The main teachings of Buddhism emphasize awareness and wisdom, as for concentration: we don't need to talk about it, especially the kind of concentration that is taught. Real concentration is to establish the mind, to be determined to work. Awareness is recollection, before acting, speaking and thinking. As for wisdom, it is thorough understanding.This is how the Buddha teaches.

说到定，一般老师都倾向于教人闭着眼睛坐禅来使心平静下来，但实际上，佛陀是要我们在平日下决心准时正常上班以及正视自己职责等来教导禅定(亦即在生活中要不怠惰、不轻忽...等，而随时保持正念)，这是不同于今日一般老师的教导。我要依正知见来谈，因此必须直接了当的说：佛陀主要的教导是强调觉与慧，至于「定」就不需谈论了，尤其是一般老师教导的那种定。真正的定是要坚定我们的心，是要坚定地去工作(而不怠惰，意即坚定而不为物所转的心)。觉是在身、口、意造作前能保持正念(中译注：recollection的巴利文是anussati，中文是随念，即常常忆念佛法僧戒…等的意思，简言之即随时保持正念)。至于慧则是从了解(真相)而来的，这是佛陀教导的方法。

I would like to emphasize once more that the Buddha didn't teach to sit with the eyes closed because doing so yields no results. Suppose we're sitting with the eyes closed in a mosquito net and we have gold at home ; if we're absorbed having the eyes closed, a thief will cone and take away the gold and we don't know or see it. Another example is a true story : A policeman came to see me and told me he wanted to do meditation, he said he had been doing it for 7 years but the mind didn't get peaceful. So I asked him : 'How have you been doing it ?'. He said : 'Sitting with closed eyes'. He was wearing glasses so I made him take his glasses off and do sitting meditation with eyes closed. As soon as he sat with his eyes closed, I picked up his glasses and hid them. Then I told him to open his eyes and asked : 'While sitting with eyes closed your things have disappeared, did you know that ?'. He said no. 'Having stuff disappearing, is it good or bad ?'. He answered : 'It is bad'. This example shows that somebody who thinks he knows a lot and has a degree might believe something that is wrong, taught by a foolish person. So from now on, whoever comes to teach anything, listen to it but don't believe it straight away! We are Buddhists and should really know and consider, reasoning whether things are in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha or not - even when not, just listen to it. There is a lot of wrong teaching going on these days. Nowadays, whenever I give a talk anywhere, I try to tell people about this.

我要再强调一次，佛陀没有教我们闭着眼睛坐禅，因为这样做不会有什么结果。假设我们家里有黄金又在蚊帐内闭眼坐禅，如果我们闭着眼睛而入了定，这时小偷来拿走黄金我们就不能知道或看到。再举个真实的例子：有位警察来看我，他想学禅修，他说他坐禅七年但心还是不能平静。于是我就问他：“你怎么修的呢？”他说：“闭着眼睛坐着。”他戴着眼镜，于是我叫他拿掉眼镜然后闭着眼睛坐禅。当他闭眼坐下之后，我把他的眼镜藏起来，然后再叫他张开眼睛，并且问他：“当你闭着眼坐禅时东西不见了，你知道吗？”他说：“不知道。”我再问：“东西不见了，是好还是不好？”，他说：“不好。”这例子显示出：那些认为自己懂得很多又有身份地位的人有可能相信一个愚痴者错误的教导。因此从现在开始，任何人来教导任何东西，你们应该倾听但不应立即轻易相信！我们是佛教徒，凡事必须明确了知并善加思考，判断它是否符合佛陀的教导？如果不符合，那听听就好。今天这个时代有太多错误的教导。我现在每次去到任何地方演讲，都会告诉人们这个道理。

As far as I've observed, people's intelligence can be divided or compared with 3 types of rice : the first kind are the full, fat and faultless rice-grains, that, having been planted, sprout and grow big, quickly, and when husked, they turn into excellent rice, the grains are beautiful and make a good price, everybody wants it. The second type of rice has small, thin grains, when planted they might sprout but not as well as the first type. As for the third type : It is blighted rice, it doesn't grow when planted, it can only be used as chaff.

You, who have come here,. may you be as intelligent as the first kind of rice, determine to listen well and having listened, practice so that results will arise that are truly satisfactory.

就我的观察，人们的智慧可以用稻子来比喻而分为三种：第一种是丰满、肥大又没有瑕疵的稻谷，它们从播种、萌芽到变大成长快速，经过去皮之后便成了优质的白米，米粒漂亮又有好价钱，每个人都想要这种米。第二种是瘦小的稻谷，它们播种之后也发芽变大但没有第一种那么好。至于第三种，这种是坏了的谷子，种下去之后不会长大，只能拿来当做粗糠。在座的各位，希望你们都像第一种的谷子那样有丰满的智慧，要下决心好好地听，而且听了之后要自己修行，这样就一定会得到真实满意的成果。