【中英专栏】延年益寿、越老越有智慧的秘诀

有人曾说，孩子初生时大哭，是在控诉轮回的痛苦。

It is said that the loud cry of newborn babies is a complaint against the suf­fering of cyclic existence.

随着岁月的流逝，昔日的婴儿在不断成长，小学、中学、大学、成家立业……

From birth onward, a baby continues to grow: from going to grade school, middle school and college, to holding jobs and raising a family.

韶华之年，他表面上看来青春美满，但实际上生命却在一天天缩短，

In youthful years, life appears robust and perfect, yet one’s lifespan is diminishing day by day.

正在吃喝玩乐、享受生活时，不知不觉就会步入老年，感受衰老的痛苦。

As we amuse ourselves with fine food and other plea­sures of the senses, the suffering of old age slowly and unexpectedly creeps in.

世人虽喜爱青春韶华，却不想暮年这么快就到来，

Worldly people adore the splendor of youth and don’t want to get old any sooner than necessary.

诚如圣天论师在《中观四百论》所言：青春时光刚刚谢落，衰老就会现于眼前，

Buddhist master, Aryadeva, says in the Four Hundred Verse Treatise that right after our youthful years, the signs of aging soon ap­pear.

尽管人人都想青春常在、永远不老，但青春与衰老就像赛跑一样，刹那不停地就流逝了。

While everyone covets everlasting vitality and perpetual youth, life fast-forwards like being in a race. In a blink, youth and old age rush by.

人老了以后，皮肤、头发、骨骼等都会加速退化，

When we age, the degeneration of our skin, hair and bones accelerates.

虽然渴望欲妙受用，怎奈心有余而力不足；

We long for pleasure and enjoyment, yet we no longer have much capacity.

由于身体的风脉衰退，以至于承受力、忍耐力极其薄弱；

As our channels and energies degenerate, our endurance and patience become extremely frail.

行住坐卧、稍稍活动就会气喘吁吁，感到困难重重；

Any small activity of walking, sitting, standing, or lying proves challenging, making us feel out of breath.

做什么事都很费劲，常常感到苦恼、绝望。

Whatever we do is taxing and we are often engulfed by desperation and anguish.

有时我去一些养老院，看到那里的条件不错，但老人们心里很落寞。

I have occasionally visited nursing homes. These places are well equipped, but the old people living there can feel quite lonesome.

如果你不懂何为老苦，到了那里以后，看到老人们睡的地方、吃饭的状况，就会感悟到：“哦，总有一天，我也会变成这样。”

By the way, if you are oblivious to the suffering of old age, just pay a visit to these places.After you have witnessed their daily living conditions—where they sleep or how they eat—the thought will dawn on you, “Alas, I’ll be just like them one of these days.”

有些老年人常夸耀自己年轻时如何漂亮，

Old people like to brag about how beautiful they once looked when they were young.

但现在再怎么讲，脸上也找不到一丝漂亮的痕迹。

But now, not a single trace of that beauty can be found on their faces.

而且，平日里说话吞吞吐吐，走路颠颠倒倒，跟年轻时相比，简直相差悬殊。

Their speech is an unintelligible mumble, and they walk wobbly with an unsteady gait. It’s just the opposite of how they were in their younger days.

不过，面对衰老的来临，修行人与世间人有天壤之别。

However, in the ways of facing old age, there is a huge difference between Buddhist practitioners and ordinary people.

法王如意宝圆寂前两年，已经七十多岁了，但他老人家讲《大圆满前行》《宝性论》时，

Our beloved teacher, H.H. (His Holiness) Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, gave teachings on the Great Perfection Preliminaries and the Uttaratantra Shastra two years before his parinirvana.* He was then in his seventies,

引用佛经、印藏大德的教证滔滔不绝。

yet he was still able to quote freely from many scriptures and commentaries of Tibetan and Indian masters.

不信佛的领导听到后，特别惊讶：“啊，七十多岁的老人，还能背出这么多教证？真是太精彩了！”

Some non-Buddhist officers were particularly astonished. “Oh my! A person in his seventies can still memorize so many quotations from the scriptures? It’s absolutely amazing!”

明朗大师造《三戒论注疏》时也是年过七十了，

Minling Terchen Gyurme Dorje was over seventy when he composed An Explanation of Ascertainment of the Three Types of Vows.

他在此论的结尾中说：“尽管我年纪大了，但智慧却有增无减，越来越炽盛。”

He wrote at the end of this work: “Although I am getting old, my wisdom has not declined; instead, it blazes ever more.”

在藏地，荣索班智达活了119岁，汉地的虚云老和尚圆寂时是120岁。

The great Tibetan master Pandita Rongzom lived to be 119 years old (ac­cording to Mipham Rinpoche), and the eminent Han monk, Xu Yun, was 120 years old when he entered nirvana.

我家乡还有一位老人，从年少起就坚持每天磕100个头，至今也从不间断。

In my hometown there is an old man who has diligently performed one hundred prostrations every day since his teens and has never interrupted the practice to this day.

现在他虽有96岁了，但仍身体硬朗、精神矍铄，上楼梯也不需要人扶。

Now at ninety-six, he is still hale and hearty with an upbeat spirit. He does not need help in going up the stairs.

怕老是根本没有用的。

It’s no use being afraid of getting old.

人的一生，包括少年、中年、老年乃至死亡，其实是很好的修行教材。

The stages of a human’s lifetime—early years, adolescence, middle age and senior years up to death—are in fact excellent material to contemplate.

我们若能对此认真思维，认识到无常是世间不变的规律，

If we reflect on this deeply, we’ll come to see that impermanence is the infallible law of the world.

并对此产生坚定的信解，那在老年的时候，就知道自己该抓紧时间做些什么。

Having gained a firm understanding of this, we will recognize what is the most urgent thing to do during old age.

*Parinirvana refers to nirvana-after-death or nirvana without residue.

索达吉堪布《做，才是得到》

Khenpo Sodargye《Achieve by doing 》