Introduction
T
H E FOLLOWIN G SERIES of talks was given in
Boulder, Colorado
in the fall of 1970 and the spring of 1971.
下面一系列的演講，是於一九七○年秋及一九七一年春在美國科羅拉多州博德（Boulder）市發表的。 At that time we were just
forming Karma Dzong, our meditation center
in Boulder. Although
most of my students were sincere in their
aspiration to walk on the spiritual
path, they brought to it a great deal of
confusion, misunderstanding,
and expectation. 當時我們正在籌組博德市的禪修中心噶瑪藏（Karma Dzong）。我的學生雖大多熱望修道，但對修道一事也滿懷惶惑、誤解和期盼。 Therefore, I found it necessary to present to my students
an overview of the path and some warnings
as to the dangers
along that path. 因此，我覺得有必要向我的學生概括說明「道」是什麼，以及提出一些警告，教他們預防修道途中可能發生的危險。
It now seems that publishing these talks
may be helpful to those who
have become interested in spiritual
disciplines. Walking the spiritual path
properly is a very subtle process; it is
not something to jump into naively. 如今看來，出版這一系列的演講，似乎有助於那些對修道已感興趣的人。正確修道，是一個非常細密的過程，不是天真地投入即可有成。
There are numerous sidetracks which lead to
a distorted, egocentered
version of spirituality; 歧途甚多，曲解道心和以自我為中心來解釋道心的情形，都可能因誤入歧途而發生；we can deceive ourselves into thinking
we are developing spiritually when instead
we are strengthening our
egocentricity through spiritual techniques.
This fundamental distortion
These talks first discuss the various ways
in which people involve
themselves with spiritual materialism, the
many forms of self-deception
into which aspirants may fall. 這一系列的演講，先談修道者涉入唯物的各種方式，以及有志於道者的多種自欺。After this tour of the sidetracks along the
way, we discuss the broad outlines of the
true spiritual path. 走過這些歧途之後，我們再討論正道的輪廓。
The approach presented here is a classical
Buddhist one—not in a
formal sense, but in the sense of
presenting the heart of the Buddhist
approach to spirituality. 我們在此所提出的修法，是正統的佛教修法，不是就形式而言，而是就佛法入道的心要而言。Although the Buddhist way is not theistic, it
does not contradict the theistic
disciplines. Rather the differences between
the ways are a matter of emphasis and
method. 佛法雖是無神論，但不與有神論的修行相違，二者的分別毋寧說是在於重點與方法。The
basic problems
of spiritual materialism are common to all
spiritual disciplines. 修道上的唯物，是所有宗教在修行上共同遭遇的難題。The
Buddhist approach begins with our confusion
and suffering and works
toward the unraveling of their origin. The
theistic approach begins with
the richness of God and works toward
raising consciousness so as to experience
God's presence. 佛教的修法是從我們的惑與苦著手，力求弄清惑與苦的來源；有神論的修法則是從神的豐足著手，力求提高有神存在的感受。 But since the obstacles to relating with God are
our confusions and negativities, the
theistic approach must also deal with
them. 但那阻礙我們與神相通的即是我們的惑與不善，所以有神論也須對付惑與不善。Spiritual pride, for example, is as much a problem in theistic
disciplines
as in Buddhism. 例如，修道上的我慢，對有神論和佛教，都同樣是個難題。
According to the Buddhist tradition, the
spiritual path is the process
of cutting through our confusion, of
uncovering the awakened state of
mind. 依佛教的傳統，修道是突破迷惑及揭露心之覺境的過程。When the awakened state of mind is crowded in by ego and its
attendant paranoia, it takes on the
character of an underlying instinct. 當心之置境被「我」及隨「我」而來的偏執圍困時，它就呈現出潛在本能的特性。So
it is not a matter of building up the
awakened state of mind, but rather
of burning out the confusions which
obstruct it. 所以我們不是要建立心之覺境，而是要把障礙心之覺境的迷惑燒光。 In the
process of burning
out these confusions, we discover
enlightenment. 在此燒光的過程當中，我們便會發現覺境。If the process were
otherwise, the awakened state of mind would
be a product, dependent
upon cause and effect and therefore liable
to dissolution. Anything which
is created must, sooner or later, die. 過程若非如此，心之覺境便是因果所生，也就難免異滅——有生者早晚會死。 I f enlightenment were created in
such a way, there would always be the
possibility of ego reasserting itself,
causing a return to the confused state. 如果覺境是這樣生起的，「我」將隨時有肯定自己的可能，以致又回到惑境。 Enlightenment is permanent
because we have not produced it; we have
merely discovered it. 覺境不是我們所造，故為永恆；我們只不過是發現它。In the
Buddhist tradition the analogy of the sun
appearing from behind the
clouds is often used to explain the
discovery of enlightenment. 佛教傳統上是用雲破日出說明覺境的發現。
In meditation
practice we clear away the confusion of ego
in order to glimpse
the awakened state. 禪修時，我們清除我惑，以便能瞥見覺境。The absence of ignorance, of being crowded in, of
paranoia, opens up a tremendous view of
life. One discovers a different
way of being. 若無無明、不被圍困、沒有偏執，我們的人生觀便會大大擴展，令我們得以發現一種不同的生存之道。
The heart of the confusion is that man has
a sense of self which seems
to him to be continuous and solid. When a
thought or emotion or event
occurs, there is a sense of someone being
conscious of what is happening. 迷惑的核心是人的有「我」之感；此「我」對人來說，似乎是持續不絕和實實在在的。起念、動情或出事時，人便會覺得有一知者曉得發生了什麼。
You sense that you are reading these words.
This sense of self is actually
a transitory, discontinuous event, which in
our confusion seems to
be quite solid and continuous. 你感到自己在讀這些字。這種「我」感其實是虛幻無常、不相連貫的，但在我們迷惑之時卻顯得十分實在和持續不絕。 Since we take our confused view as being
real, we struggle to maintain and enhance
this solid self. 由於把自己的迷惑之見當真，我們乃力圖維持和提升這個被誤認為實在的「我」。We try
to feed
it pleasures and shield it from pain. 我們盡力讓此「我」享樂，不讓此「我」受苦。Experience continually threatens to
reveal our transitoriness to us, so we
continually struggle to cover up
any possibility of discovering our real
condition. 同時，實際的經驗卻始終在威脅我們，要揭發我們的虛幻無常，所以我們就不斷努力掩飾，以免有任何看出自身真相的可能。"But," we might ask,
"i f our real condition is an awakened
state, why are we so busy trying
to avoid becoming aware of it?"
我們也許會問：「但是，如果我們的真相是覺境，那麼我們又何必急著想要避免知道自己的真相呢？」It is because we have become so absorbed in our confused view of the
world, that we consider it real, the
only possible world. 這是因為我們太專注在自己對世間的迷惑之見，以致誤認世間為實，誤認世間為唯一可能有的世間。This struggle to maintain the sense of a solid, continuous
self is the action of ego. 這種為了維持有一實在、持續之我的感覺而作的努力，是「我」所為。
Ego, however, is only partially successful
in shielding us from pain. 不過，「我」在維護自己免於受苦方面，只是部分成功。It
is the dissatisfaction which accompanies
ego's struggle that inspires us
to examine what we are doing. 讓我們對自己所為生起檢討之心的，是那隨「我」之奮鬥而來的不滿。Since there are always gaps in our selfconsciousness,
some insight is possible. 由於我們的有「我」之感永遠是間斷的，慧見乃有乘隙出現的可能。
An interesting metaphor used in Tibetan
Buddhism to describe the
of form," the "lord of
speech," and the "lord of mind." In the discussion
of the three lords which follows, the words
"materialism" and "neurotic"
refer to the action of ego. 「身王」、「語王」、「意王」。下面討論「三王」時所說的「唯物」和「神經質」，都是指「我」的行為。
The lord of form refers to the neurotic
pursuit of physical comfort,
security, and pleasure. 身王所指的是神經質地追求身體的舒適、安全和快樂。 Our highly organized and technological society
reflects our preoccupation with
manipulating physical surroundings so
as to shield ourselves from the irritations
of the raw, rugged, unpredictable
aspects of life. 我們組織嚴密、崇尚科技的社會，反映出我們心裡只想操縱自然環境以保護自己，讓自己不為粗陋、冷酷、不可預測的人生面所煩擾。 Push-button elevators, pre-packaged meat, air conditioning,
flush toilets, private funerals, retirement
programs, mass
production, weather satellites, bulldozers,
fluorescent lighting, nine-tofive
jobs, television—all are attempts to create
a manageable, safe, predictable,
pleasurable world. 按鈕操作的電梯、售前包好的肉品、空調設備、抽水馬桶、退休計畫、大量生產、氣象衛星、推土機、日光燈、朝九晚五的工作、電視，無一不是為了要創造一個控制得住、安全可靠、能先測知的快樂世間。
The lord of form does not signify the
physically rich and secure lifesituations
we create per se. 身王並非指我們本身所創有形的富足安定的生活狀況，Rather it refers to the neurotic preoccupation
that drives us to create them, to try to
control nature. 而是指使得我們如是去做、使得我們想要控制自然的那種偏執。It is ego's
ambition
to secure and entertain itself, trying to
avoid all irritation. 「我」的野心是想使自己獲得安全與享受，而免除一切煩擾，So we cling to
our pleasures and possessions; we fear
change or force change; 所以我們執著享受和財產，我們害怕改變而又強求改變， we try to
create a nest or playground. 我們企圖創造一個窩或玩樂之處。
The lord of speech refers to the use of
intellect in relating to our
world. 語王是指對世間運用智能。We
adopt sets of categories which serve as handles, as ways of
managing phenomena. 我們採用一套一套的類目作為把手或管理各種現象的方法。The most fully developed products of this tendency
are ideologies, the systems of ideas that
rationalize, justify, and
sanctify our lives. 這種性向最成熟的產品是意識形態，也就是使人生有理、令人生神聖的各種思想體系。 Nationalism, communism, existentialism, Christianity,
Buddhism—all provide us with identities,
rules of action, and interpretations
Again, the use of intellect is not in
itself the lord of speech. 智能的運用，其本身並非語王。The
lord
of speech refers to the inclination on the
part of ego to interpret anything
that is threatening or irritating in such a
way as to neutralize the threat
or turn it into something
"positive" from ego's point of view. 語王是指「我」之傾向於把任何威脅「我」或煩擾「我」者，都用狡辯化解掉或轉化為在「我」看來是「正面」的東西。 The lord
of speech refers to the use of concepts as
filters to screen us from a direct
perception o f what is. 語王是指以概念為過濾器來遮蔽我們的視線，不讓我們直見實相。The concepts are taken too seriously; they are
things exists, then "I" as one o
f the nameable things exists as well. 由可命名的萬物構成的世間如果存在，則「我」這個可命名的萬物之一也是存在的。
We wish not to leave any room for
threatening doubt, uncertainty, or
confusion. 我們不願留任何餘地給那威脅我們存在的疑惑和不安。
The lord of mind refers to the effort of
consciousness to maintain
awareness of itself. 意王是指意識為保持有「我」之感所作的努力。The lord of mind rules when we use spiritual and
psychological disciplines as the means of
maintaining our self-consciousness,
o f holding on to our sense of self. 當我們利用修道或心理訓練來保持或抓住有「我」之感時，意王就掌握主權了。Drugs, yoga, prayer, meditation,
trances, various psychotherapies—all can be
used in this way. 麻藥、瑜伽、祈禱、禪修、催眠狀態、各種心理療法，都可如是利用。
Ego is able to convert everything to its
own use, even spirituality. 「我」能把一切事物轉為己用，連道心也包括在內。
For example, if you have learned of a
particularly beneficial meditation
technique of spiritual practice, then ego's
attitude is, first to regard it as
seemingly solid and cannot really absorb
anything, it can only mimic. 最後，由於「我」似乎堅實，不能真正吸收什麼，所以只能模仿罷了。
Thus ego tries to examine and imitate the
practice of meditation and the
meditative way of life. 如此一來，「我」便想要細看和模仿禪修及有禪味的生活方式。When we have learned all the tricks and answers
of the spiritual game, we automatically try
to imitate spirituality, since
real involvement would require the complete
elimination of ego, and
actually the last thing we want to do is to
give up the ego completely. 當我們學到了修行遊戲所有的訣竅和解答時，我們自會想要模仿道心而不真修，因為真修必須無我，而實際上我們最不想做的就是把「我」完全放棄。
However, we cannot experience that which we
are trying to imitate;
we can only find some area within the
bounds of ego that seems to be
the same thing.
但我們並不能切身體驗到我們想要模仿的；我們僅能在「我」的範圍內找到與我們模仿的對象似乎相同者。Ego translates everything in terms of its own state of
and excitement at having been able to
create such a pattern. 對於自己能創造這樣的一個模式，「我」感到極有成就和興奮。At
last it has created a tangible
accomplishment, a confirmation of its own
individuality. 「我」終於創造了一個有形的成就，確認了自己的獨立存在。
If we become successful at maintaining our
self-consciousness
through spiritual techniques, then genuine
spiritual development is
highly unlikely. 如果我們在以修道之法保持有「我」之感方面成功了的話，那麼我們在修道上就很不可能有真正的進展了。Our mental habits become so strong as to be hard to
penetrate. We may even go so far as to
achieve the totally demonic state
of complete "Egohood." 我們這種保持有「我」之感的習氣會堅固得難以穿透，我們甚至會達到完全「唯我」、徹底入魔的地步。
Even though the lord of mind is the most
powerful in subverting
spirituality, still the other two lords can
also rule the spiritual practice. 意王在顛覆道心上雖是主力，但其餘二王也能操縱修道。
Retreat to nature, isolation, simplicity,
quiet, high people—all can be
ways of shielding oneself from irritation,
all can be expressions of the
lord of form. 回歸自然、離群索居，以及做個單純、寧靜、高尚之人，都能成為保護自己、免受煩擾之道，都可能是身王的表現。Or perhaps religion may provide us with a rationalization
for creating a secure nest, a simple but
comfortable home, for acquiring
an amiable mate, and a stable, easy job. 或許宗教也能提供我們合理的解釋，讓我們理直氣壯地創造一個安全的窩或簡單、舒適的家，找個親切的伴侶和安定、容易的工作。
The lord of speech is involved in spiritual
practice as well. In following
a spiritual path we may substitute a new
religious ideology for our
former beliefs, but continue to use it in
the old neurotic way. 語王也涉入修道。在修道時，我們以新的宗教理念代替過去的信仰，但在運用上還是舊有的那套歪法。Regardless
of how sublime our ideas may be, if we take
them too seriously and use
them to maintain our ego, 不管我們的理念有多麼崇高，如果我們對這些理念過分認真，如果我們用這些理念來保持我們的有「我」之感，we are still being ruled by the lord of speech. 我們就仍在語王的統治之下。
are ruled by one or more of the three
lords. 如果我們仔細觀察自己的行為，我們大多會承認自己至少被三王之一所統治。"But,"
we might ask, "so
what? This is simply a description of the
human condition. 我們也許會問：「但那又怎樣呢？這完全是人生的寫照。 Yes, we know
that our technology cannot shield us from
war, crime, illness, economic
insecurity, laborious work, old age, and
death; nor can our ideologies
shield us from doubt, uncertainty,
confusion, and disorientation; 不錯，我們的科技無法讓我們免於戰爭、犯罪、疾病、經濟不安定、苦工、衰老和死亡我們的理念不壟讓我們免於懷疑、不安、迷惑和失去方向；nor can
our therapies protect us from the
dissolution of the high states of consciousness
that we may temporarily achieve and the
disillusionment and
anguish that follow. 我們的療法也無法讓我們可能暫時達到的崇高意境不致消失，以及讓我們沒有隨之而來的幻滅感和苦悶。But what else are we to do? The three lords seem
too powerful to overthrow, and we don't
know what to replace them
with." 但是我們又能如何呢？三王似乎強得難以打倒，同時我們也不知道用什麼取而代之。」
The Buddha, troubled by these questions,
examined the process by
which the three lords rule. He questioned
why our minds follow them
and whether there is another way. 昔時曾為這些問題而煩惱的佛，仔細觀察三王統治的方法。佛探究為何我們的心跟著三王走，以及有沒有別的路可行。 He discovered that the three lords
seduce us by creating a fundamental myth:
that we are solid beings. 佛發現三王誘惑我們的方法是從根本上創造一個神話：我們是實存者。But
ultimately the myth is false, a huge hoax,
a gigantic fraud, and it is the
root of our suffering. 但神話究竟是假的、是大騙局、是我們的苦難之根。 In order to make this discovery he had to break
through very elaborate defenses erected by
the three lords to prevent
their subjects from discovering the
fundamental deception which is the
source of their power. 為了有此發現，佛必須突破三王嚴密的防禦設施，這些設施旨在令其臣民無法發現那項根本上的欺騙，亦即無法發現其權力的來源。We cannot in any way free ourselves from the
domination of the three lords unless we too
cut through, layer by layer,
the elaborate
defenses of these lords. 除非我們也能層層突破三王嚴密的防禦設施，否則我們就絕無可能脫離三王的統治。
The lords' defenses are created out of the
material of our minds. 三王的防禦設施是以我們的心為材料而建造的，This
material of mind is used by the lords in
such a way as to maintain the
basic myth of solidity. 三王用此心材來維持那妄言人為實存的根本神話。In order to see for ourselves how this process
works we must examine our own experience. 要想親見這個過程如同進行，我們必須仔細觀察自身的經驗。 "But how," we might ask,
"are we to conduct the examination?
What method or tool are we to
use?" 我們也許會問：「可是我們要如何作此觀察？我們該用什麼方法或工具？」 The method that the Buddha discovered is meditation. He discovered
that struggling to find answers did not
work. It was only when there
were gaps in his struggle that insights
came to him. 佛所發現的方法是禪修；佛發現努力找答案沒用，只有當努力之中出現空隙時才能起慧見。He
began to realize
that there was a sane, awake quality within
him which manifested itself
only in the absence of struggle. 佛開始明白自己內心具有清醒的素質，而此素質僅在不費力時才顯現出來。So the practice of meditation involves
"letting be." 所以禪修中含有「聽其自然」的成分。
There have been a number of misconceptions
regarding meditation.
Some people regard it as a trancelike state
of mind. 關於禪修，一直存在著若干誤解——某些人認為禪修是一種類似催眠的狀態；Others think of it in
terms of training, in the sense of mental
gymnastics. 還有些人把禪修看作一種訓練，像是頭腦體操。But meditation is
neither of these, although it does involve
dealing with neurotic states of
mind. 但此二者皆非禪修，儘管禪修的確能對治神經質的心態。 The neurotic state of mind is not difficult or impossible to deal
with. 對治神經質的心態並不困難，更非不可能。
It has energy, speed, and a certain pattern. The practice of meditation
involves letting be—trying to go with the
pattern, trying to go with
the energy and the speed. 神經質的心態有其活力、速度和某種固定模式。禪修包括「聽其自然」——盡力隨順那種模式、活力和速度。In this way we learn now to
deal with these
factors, how to relate with them, not in
the sense of causing them to
mature in the way we would like, but in the
sense of knowing them for
what they are and working with their
pattern. 這樣，我們便能學到如何對付這些因素，如何與其發生關係，不是說要讓它們按照我們的意思成熟，而是說我們要如實了知它們的本來面目並配合它們的模式去做。
There is a story regarding the Buddha which
recounts how he once
gave teaching to a famous sitar player who
wanted to study meditation. 有一個關於佛的故事，講到佛有一次開示一位想要學佛的西他（sitar，印度樂器名）名手。
The musician asked, "Should I control
my mind or should I completely
how you would tune the strings of your
instrument." 佛回答他：「你既然是一位樂師，那麼就請告訴我你怎樣調樂器之弦。」 The
musician said,
" I would make them not too tight and
not too loose." 樂師說：「我要把弦調得既不太緊，也不太鬆。」"Likewise,"
said
the Buddha, "in your meditation
practice you should not impose anything
too forcefully on your mind, nor should you
let it wander." 於是佛說：「同樣的，你修禪時，既不應過分強要自心如何，也不該讓自心散亂。」That
is the teaching of letting the mind be in a
very open way, of feeling the
flow of energy without trying to subdue it
and without letting it get out
of control, of going with the energy
pattern of mind. This is meditation
practice. 此一法教是要我們任心逍遙自在；要我們體會活力的流動，既不加以抑制，也不讓它失控；要我們隨順心的活動模式而行——這就是禪修。
Such practice is necessary generally
because our thinking pattern, our
conceptualized way of conducting our life in
the world, is either too manipulative,
imposing itself upon the world, or else
runs completely wild
and uncontrolled. 一般而言，這種修法是必要的，因為我們的思想模式或概念化的處世方式，不是管得太多，把自己的想法強加於世，就是徹底放浪不羈。Therefore, our meditation practice must begin with
ego's outermost layer, the discursive
thoughts which continually run
through our minds, our mental gossip. 因此，我們的禪修必須從「我」的表層開始，也就是從我們心中不斷生起的雜念或閒言閒語開始。The lords use discursive thought
as their first line of defense, as the
pawns in their effort to deceive us. 三王以雜念為其第一道防線，為其欺騙我們的尖兵。
The more we generate thoughts, the busier
we are mentally and the
more convinced we are of our existence. 我們生起的雜念越多，我們頭腦的活動越忙，我們就越會相信自己的存在。 So the lords are constantly trying
to activate these thoughts, trying to
create a constant overlapping of
thoughts so that nothing can be seen beyond
them. 所以三王一直在企圖激起這些雜念，企圖讓雜念老是陳陳相因、重重疊疊，以致雜念之外別無可見。 In true meditation
there is no ambition to stir up thoughts,
nor is there an ambition to
precision and the clarity of the awakened
state of mind. 表現出心之覺境所能有的精確和清明。
If the strategy of continually creating
overlapping thoughts is penetrated,
then the lords stir up emotions to distract
us. 不斷製造重重疊疊的雜念這一招若被識破，三王就激起我們的情緒來分散我們的心。The exciting, colorful,
dramatic quality of the emotions captures
our attention as if we were
watching an absorbing film show. 情緒那種令人興奮、多采多姿、富於變化的特性，抓住我們的注意，使我們覺得好像在觀賞一部扣人心弦的電影。 In the practice of meditation we neither
encourage emotions nor repress them. By
seeing them clearly, by
allowing them to be as they are, we no
longer permit them to serve as
a means of entertaining and distracting us.
在禪修時，我們既不助長情緒，也不壓抑情緒，看清情緒，聽其自然，我們便能不再讓情緒成為娛樂我們和迷惑我們的工具。 Thus they become the inexhaustible
energy which fulfills egoless action. 如此一來，情緒即可轉化為實踐無我行的無窮活力。
In the absence of thoughts and emotions the
lords bring up a still
more powerful weapon, concepts. 若無雜念或情緒可用，三王便拿出更有力的武器，那就是概念。Labeling phenomena creates a feeling
of a solid definite world of
"things." 為各種現象命名，會令我們覺得確實有一「萬物」構成的世間。Such a solid
world reassures us that
we are a solid, continuous thing as well.
The world exists, therefore I ,
the perceiver of the world, exist. 這樣的一個實在世間教我們放心，讓我們再度肯定自己也是實實在在、續存無間之物——世間存在，故能見世間之我存在。Meditation involves seeing
the transparency
of concepts, so that labeling no longer
serves as a way of solidifying
our world and our image of self. 禪修包括透視概念，致使命名不再具有令世間及我們的自我形象堅實化的作用；Labeling becomes simply the act
of discrimination. 命名變成只是區分的行為。 The lords have still further defense mechanisms, but
it would be too
complicated to discuss them in this context. 三王還有別的防禦策略，但太複雜，不宜在此討論。
By the examination of his own thoughts,
emotions, concepts, and the
other activities of mind, the Buddha
discovered that there is no need to
struggle to prove our existence, 佛觀自心中的雜念、情緒、概念及其它活動，發現我們無須努力證明自己的存在 that we need not be subject to the rule
of the three lords of materialism. ，也無須受「唯物三王」的統治。 There is no need to struggle to be free;
of buddhahood. 解脫無須用力，不用力即是解脫；達此無我境地便是成佛。The process of transforming the material of
mind from expressions of ego's ambition
into expressions of basic sanity
and enlightenment through the practice of
meditation—this might be
said to be the
true spiritual path. 能將心材從表現「我」的野心轉變為表現根本智和根本覺的禪修過程，可以說是真正的修心之道。
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