【中英专栏】消除痛苦最快速、最实用的窍诀

A practice to rid yourself of suffering is to exchange yourself with others

寂天菩萨说：“若想在短时间内获得成就，让自他从苦海中解脱，最为秘密的窍诀，就是修自他相换。”

The great Buddhist master Shantideva says, “Those who wish to protect themselves and other beings should practice the sacred secret: exchange yourself with others.”

常有人对我说：“堪布，请您给我传一个窍诀吧！”

Let us explore what this means. Quite often people would ask me, “Khenpo, please bestow on me a pith instruction!”*

其实，真正的窍诀就是修“自他相换”，把自己的快乐施给他人，他人的痛苦由自己代受，这也是换位思考的一种更深层的修行。

As a matter of fact, the real pith instruction is to practice “exchanging oneself with others” by offering our happiness to others while taking their sufferings upon ourselves. In a way, it is the profound practice of “putting oneself in another’s shoes.”

那么，自他相换该如何修呢？要依靠呼气、吸气进行修持。

How then, is “exchanging oneself with others” done? This practice is supported by our in-breath and out-breath.

呼气时，观想自己的快乐、善根、健康、福报等变成白气，从鼻孔呼出，融入众生的体内，令他们获得圆满的安乐；

When we exhale, imagine that all our happiness, virtue, health, fortune, and so on, turn into white vapor and are emitted along with our out-breath. All of this dissolves into the bodies of sentient beings, bringing them perfect peace and happiness.

吸气时，观想众生所有的痛苦、烦恼、魔障等变成黑气，从鼻孔吸进来，融入自己的身体，由自己来代受这世间的一切不安与痛苦。

When we inhale, imagine that all sentient beings’ pain, agony and demonic influences turn into black vapors and enter our body along with our in-breath. The vapor melts into our body while we take all the afflictions and sufferings of the world upon ourselves.

这不仅是殊胜的大乘修法，也是消除痛苦最快速、最实用的窍诀。

This practice is not only the most exalted Mahayana training but also the most practical and swift instruction to eliminate suffering.

作为凡夫俗子，我们不可能一生中完全一帆风顺，没有任何违缘。有时会不幸患上肺炎、肝炎、癌症等疾病；有时会遭遇到人或非人的魔障侵害；有时心情沮丧，觉得每个人都看不起自己、歧视自己；有时候心中的烦恼特别猖狂……

As ordinary people, we are in no position to always enjoy smooth sailing and be free from obstacles in life. We get sick from pneumonia, hepatitis, cancer, and whatnot. We are attacked by human, nonhuman or demonic forces. At times we are depressed, humiliated and victimized, and at other times our afflictive emotions go on a rampage.

曾有个老人给我打电话：“堪布，我现在非常痛苦，又生病，别人又欺负我，您能不能给我找一个解决的办法呀？”

Once, an elderly person called and asked me, “Khenpo, I am feeling terrible; I have fallen ill and others are bullying me. Could you please tell me what to do to ease my predicament?”

其实不要说是我，就算是诸佛菩萨，除了这个自他相换法以外，也没有别的了。于是我对他说：“你可以观想自他交换，代一切众生受苦。”

Well, I don’t have any other method to offer than this practice of “exchanging oneself with others.” In fact, it’s not just me; even Buddhas or Bodhisattvas would do likewise. Thus, I told him, “Try to visualize exchanging yourself with others and bear the sufferings of all sentient beings.”

那个老人听后回答：“这个办法也对，但我想——嗯，应该还有一个行之有效的方法吧？不然的话，怎么还这么痛苦呢？”

The elder replied, “Uh, this method sounds okay, but I think there must be another effective way. Right?”

我当时想，一方面可能是这个老人的业力现前，另一方面也是由于他没有找到正确的方法来调伏心，总以为从什么地方吃点药、得个加持，依靠某种物质的力量就能消除身心的烦恼。

Sensing his reluctance, I thought perhaps this old man is being pushed around by his karma. In addition, because he has not recognized the correct way to train the mind, he still believes that medicines, blessings, or the power of certain substances will eliminate troubles for him.

其实，当我们身心感到痛苦时，《修心七要》中告诉我们：修自他相换，是上上下下最根本、最唯一的窍诀！

In fact, when we are tormented by mental or physical suffering, the most essential and only effective pith instruction to counter this is revealed in The Seven Points of Mind Training:† “Practice exchanging oneself with others!”

* Pith-instructions are instructions explaining the most profound points of the teachings in a condensed and direct way for the purposes of practice.

† The Seven Points of Mind Training (Lojong Ton Dunma in Tibetan) is the famous instruction on mind training (lojong) taught by Atisha. The practice aims to cultivate compassion by putting oneself in the shoes of others and eventually, to cultivate wisdom.

索达吉堪布《做，才是得到》

Khenpo Sodargye《Achieve by doing 》