Heart Sutra 104: 你的"心"在那兒? "心"是什麼?

佛學裡常問道何為"心"? 你的心是什麼?

是思想嗎? 是情感嗎? 還是觀念?

宗喀巴大師在"俱信論" 中引用了"喜金剛二品續"中裡的一段文字: 心的本質是無知覺, 無色, 無聲, 無香, 無味, 無觸覺. 大師更詮釋這段文字的意義為, 心是沒有本俱的, 心是無自性的, 心是沒有自我存在的特質. 也就是說, 心的本質, (mind nature) , 即是空性. 在相對層次的世界裡, "心'' 必須是相互依存而存在的, 心的存在是一種現象.

我們由眼耳鼻舌身接收外在一切訊息, 儲存在意識裡消化। 然而, 我們的意識, 包涵了今世所累積的一切概念, 以及父母, 環境薰陶, 與教育的觀念, 在加上前世累積的記憶, 因此形成了我們的思考意識及淺在意識, 這一些所謂的database, 將主宰著我們對任何狀況的反應। 然而, 這樣子的記憶裡, 存在著許多複雜的情緒, 我們必須超脫的是, 被這些情緒所控制!

"心"是什麼呢? 這種多層的"意識"本身被稱作為"心".

然而, 你的心在那兒找的到呢? 金剛經裡提到, "應無所住, 而生其心'' !

這無所住, 說的是不攀附任何一個觀感上的覺受, 不依著任何一個現象, 不執著於任何一個思想, 觀念, 更不寄宿於任何外在的人或物, 哪麼, 這"心" 的本質才會真正的顯現, 我們才能超越生生世世的痛苦及恐懼!

不攀附任何一個觀感上的覺受; "覺受"是什麼? "覺受"也許是感官上的感覺, 是寒冷的, 酷熱的, 柔軟的, 堅硬的, 清香的, 惡臭的, 或是歡愉的, 刺激的, 痛觸的; 也許是心理上的覺受, 也許是興奮的,快樂的, 受寵的, 羞辱的, 痛苦的, 或是憂傷的. 佛陀說, 這些覺受都不必去加以留戀, 我們內心的本質, 也就是我們的佛性才會顯現, 我們才能從痛苦的輪迴中超脫出來. 在入定的時候, 這個練習是很重要的, 當然, 禪坐時的修練, 更是必須運用在行住坐臥中.

至於, 不依著任何一個現象是什麼? "現象"可能是倍受尊崇的地位, 是平步青雲的優越, 是幸福至極的生活方式, 也可能是懷才不遇的窘態, 是受虐或受誤解的悲憤.... 然而, 佛陀說, 這些現象都是不必要去依附或眷戀的, 因為依附於和合的, 因緣際會之無常態的現象, 到頭來, 都是更痛苦的।

佛陀說的"無所住", 最細微的層面是, 不執著於任何一個思想, 觀念, 概念!

思想是感官察覺後思考的結果, 然而這思考所根據的觀念, 皆是累世或是經年累月, 外在接收的資訊, 教育及環境刺激所形成的, 這是一種自我對某人事物或狀態的想法及看法

例如事業成功的人一定是爭名好利的, 富裕的人家一定是膚淺薄情的...等標籤式的思想概念. 又例如, 台灣民眾就是當年倍受國民黨欺凌的可憐人, 因此臺灣人必要誓死打倒國民黨, 或是打倒一座銅像紀念館. 例如, 佛教徒一定是素食守戒律的, 若某人外表上看來沒有遵守, 便被認為是叛教份子, 或偽善....等. 然而這種想法都僅僅是自我形成的觀念!!

大部分的人, 從來沒有盡心的深入的觀察實相, 便立下了一個虛無飄渺但難以動搖的觀念.

台灣人民真是這樣可憐嗎? 只不過是另一個地方的人民而已. 若是當年臺灣獨立了又如何? 台灣人在沒有資源下, 有能力統治, 建設及保衛嗎? 幾十年來, 統治台灣的政黨若是共產黨呢? 再者, 經濟, 生活, 文化, 資產...的大著眼及考量下, 國民黨做的事及規劃的藍圖, 僅是在如何立足於世界的方向上, 觀念的不同। 有那樣可惡嗎? 況且, 今日國民黨早不是當年二二八的在位的人, 更何況, 當年所發生的事, 誰能知其因緣? 也沒有特定的事實! 另外, 佛教徒真應是這樣嗎? 若真深入佛法, 當然那吃素守戒皆不是本質! 或那人真的是偽善嗎? ....等.

基本上, 在相對的世界裡, 這些都只是極偏頗的, 況且僅是自我單方的看法及觀念. 心胸不夠廣闊, 觀察不夠細微深入. "觀念"本身沒有對或錯, 而是只有在相對的客體上, 單方面對一個特定物的看法. 但是, 觀念卻是一個阻礙自己看清實相的絆腳石! 佛陀說的 "常樂我淨, 寂靜涅盤", 說的便是超脫任何的概念, 便能安住於清淨無染的空間.

Hear Sutra 103 : Forgiveness; inspiration from Spider Man II

"原諒, 寬恕," 說的是解放自己! 卸下自己心中的包袱.....這是最難的.

解放自己所執著的人事物, 解放特定觀念的執著, 解放對別人不滿情緒的執著, 解放加害於人的執著, 或是執著於對於自己的期許, 執著於對別人的期待. 也就是說原諒與寬恕本身, 必須先原諒自己所攀附的情緒, 或許是憤怒, 或受虐, 或是忌妒, 懷疑, 原諒自己的不智, 才有可能做到寬恕別人.

寬恕一辭, 在禪定當中, 我們所經驗的應當是更高階層的狀態।

在入定中. 每當有不同的情緒興起時, 每每歷經的事物, 都有如鶴影飛渡湖面之般, 不必追它, 更不必射殺它, 因飛鶴本身不曾立跡於湖, 也更不曾烙印於心...更不必說是情緒了, 那僅僅是內心裡的陰影所勾起的情緒反應, 而陰影是由六識所經驗而來的. 那是歷經累月的陰影. 哪麼, 情緒本身的來源便是如此的不定, 我們對一人氣憤, 也許常常氣的並不是這一個人, 而是這件事或人或某句話, 引起我從前的特殊情緒所致. 那麼, 對此人不滿的執著抓住不放, 是不智的. 且給自己極大的包袱.

此時, 寬恕在禪定中該是如何呢? 是穿透的能量! 如此才能使一切的因因果果皆化為空性. 穿透的能量在"無我"的狀態下是無可限量的. 無我需要的是極大的心量, 無我需要的暸悟四法印, 白話的說: "一切事物皆是合和現象, 皆無永常; 一切覺受情緒皆苦; 一切事物皆無自性; 涅盤寂靜狀態超越一切的概念। "
所以, 當我們可以不必靠時間的力量, 便能當下寬恕一個人, 我們便更是與"無我"更近一步了!
當然, 倘若, 我們若連"寬恕"一辭都不必思索時, 那才是真正的穿越時空的解放自己!!

Heart Sutra 102: in relation with forgiveness; inspiration from Spider Man

From Heart Sutra: "Here, O Sariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness ; they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness"

Sometimes, in cinema, we could find one splendid sentence that would spin in our head for quite a while। As I walked out from Spider Man's web, these words revolved in my mind trumpeting for the longest time: 　

" Everybody has their own choices; whether being good or bad, right or wrong, it is all their choice."

During meditation, I suddenly realized one thing, feeling touched but relieved -- a real forgiveness is after all nothing to be forgiven, yet empty in the beginning. Why so? Because is there an absolute good or bad person? or a right or wrong deed?

According to Heart Sutra's teaching, the answer is

no,

as " in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness ."

Is the perception of reality as cloudy as it seems we might wonder? In meditation of mind nature practice, one has to contemplate on the importance of one's mind in comparison with one's speech and physical form. If we merely suppose the dominance of mind, we would loose our chance to exam the supper power of our mind, to experience the non-physical existence phenomenon, and so does more in depth understand the concept of Buddha's teaching of emptiness।

How we exam the importance our mind is very similar to how we exam which choices we would make in our life. For instance, when the Sand Man encountered Spiderman's uncle, if he would not act on impulses, if he would consider the consequences of killing , if he can feel the sorrow and suffering of this being killed person's love ones as he loves his daughter, if he would ponder upon the causes and effects on his doing.......Thus, this is not matter of good or bad, right or wrong, but being wit and compassionate. As a result, on our discussion of forgiveness, is there anything to be forgiven? Is he still the same man who killed Spinderman's uncle, whether he repented or not? No, each cell in his body and mind had differed since. Therefore, we should be able to perceive this beyond what had been done, because it is all matter of concept and beyond our daily perception।

It is all about WISDON　and COMPASSION。　

When we meditate on the subject of the importance of mind, we sometimes experience the feeling of loosing forms, loosing self-awareness, and loosing the grasping power of concreteness for couple minutes।

to be continued...

Heart Sutra 101: in relation with Meditation Practice

from Heart Sutra:

"Avalokita, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond.
He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps, and He saw that in their own-being they were empty.
Here, O Sariputra,

form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form ;

emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form,

the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness."

Do we merely understand these lines in terms of knowledge, sutras and readings? If we do not truly realize and actually believe in what those lines meant, nothing will enlighten us from the suffering of samsara.

During our meditation practice and after experienced the settlement of calming peaceful stage of consciousness, we had once came into a split second of emptiness which Buddha realized, sustained and transcended two thousand and five hundred years ago. In addtion, the split second of emptiness of no time, no space, no attachment, no subject and object relations and no self has all manifested itself from our own nature of mind during our mindfulness stage of consciousness.

If we have once touched the nature of mind, we can be sure there is the light of truth of the universe that exists beyond the relative reality. However, the question is how do we "be" in the split second of emptiness? Thus, meditation brings the light on the path, leads us aspiration for awakening, and bestows us an inspirational possibility of "being" in the status of empitiness, which describes the truth of universe.