道——认识无我之路

Is clinging to the idea of a real self well grounded and sensible? Not so. Ever since birth，we have always had this notion of a self. Now take a look and see if this self truly exists. And how does it exist? If we examine closely, we will discover that it does not exist. But why do we have this compelling sense of a real self? The truth is that it is all just an illusion. Like when running a high fever, one may see hallucinations as real or have strange thoughts popped up in mind. This is because the causes for seeing hallucinations or having twisted thoughts are already formed such that whatever one sees or thinks is nothing but the illusions created by these causes. Similarly, one may also see non-existing objects after taking some herbal medicine. It is not that these objects really exist somewhere in the world, but that the cause for forming such illusion already exists within oneself.

从一出生开始，我们就认为有我的存在，现在回头看看到底我是不是存在的呢？如果是的话，又是怎么样存在的呢？如果我们回头详加观察，就会发现：原来我是不存在的。可是为什么现在又觉得我是存在的呢？这一切都是一种颠倒的幻觉。就像人在生病发高烧时，视线中、脑海里常会出现一些稀奇古怪的景象和念头一样，这是因为内在已经具备了出现这些景象和念头的因，所以不论是眼睛所见，还是心中所想，都只不过是这些因所造成的幻觉而已。又如服用某些中草药以后，也会看见一些本来不存在的东西，并不是外在真正存在这些东西，而是我们内在已经具有形成这些幻觉的因而已。

To practice after understanding the reality of existence, one will be able to see clearly that the self does not exist. The process from the beginning of practice to realization of not-self is the Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. However, at the outset of the path, the power of practice is not immediately apparent. Often enough, during meditation, one may experience deeply the non-existence of self. But in post-meditation period, one is still keenly aware of the need for food and clothing, for making a living，and the anger when being provoked. In the chapter Wisdom of The Way of the Bodhisattva, it explains that this situation is not because realization of emptiness is ineffective，but that one’s own realization is still relatively weak and unstable. That is why we must maintain regular practice and keep enhancing its overall effectiveness. Once our practice has gathered enough momentum, the situation will change for the better. This is very important to note.

知道这一切的真相后再去修炼，就会清楚地了知我是不存在的。从开始修炼到认知无我的这一系列过程，就是道谛。刚开始修道谛时，修行的力量不是很明显，在打坐观想时会深深体会到无我的存在，但出定后仍然要吃、要穿、要生活，别人骂自己时仍然会懊恼。对此，《入行论》的智慧品中也讲过，并不是证悟空性起不到作用，而是其目前的能力很微弱的缘故，所以必须要使其不断地发展、增长，一旦这个能力足够强大的时候，情况就会改观，这一点极为重要。