Page 48 - 加拿大佛教会湛山精舍杂志季刊第60期

法脈摭實
HISTORY OF CHAM SHAN

outright debility, especially when nothing good can slows down and becomes subtle; areas of residual
come of it. tension relax, perhaps after having existed there for
The Relationship Between Mind And Meditation a very long time, and there is no effort. A feeling of
The metaphor of the mirror, often referred to in well-being and ease ensues. Sustained, relaxed con-
Ch’an, is most suitable here in pointing out the most centration of this type easily becomes meditation.
salient aspects of meditation as practiced in this tra- Unfolding naturally, if allowed to continue, it im-
dition. The mirror-mind does not respond at all, and proves one’s health and vitality, as stultified emotions
it is by this lack of agitation that all things are clearly and their physical concomitants give way to healing.
known. This is how the mind is said to be when there The health-enhancing benefits of meditation are now
is no clinging. The mind, to be like a mirror, must be a matter of record, and numerous physicians include
passive, detached, uninterested and quiet. It is a time it in programs for their patients’ recoveries.
of rest, recuperation and of learning to be undefiled in The average person’s mind is in turmoil. He or she is
the midst of what is normally defiling. When there is the product of deep-rooted patterns of thought result-
no perturbation in the mind, just as when there are no ing from karma accumulated since time immemorial,
ripples on the surface of a lake, all things are mirrored as well as being tortured by the illusion of self. To be
clearly, leaving no trace. There are no intentions, and enlightened is to be free of all of that. Concentration
there is no action to be taken or not taken. There is no already reduces the turmoil by limiting one’s atten-
dependence upon anything that you do or do not do. tion to just one thing. Through this practice, the ap-
Meditation just unfolds naturally as the mind grows parent hold that you have on your illusion of self and
tranquil. things gives way until there is meditation. Then, there
is an absence of thought and an absence of words.
Concentration Then, without the stress and the strain of delusion, a
If you make the sun’s rays converge, using a magni- very deep sort of healing takes place.
fying glass, and focus the resulting point of light onto
a sheet of paper, you can easily burn a hole through Meditation And Dhyana
it. Similarly, when you concentrate your thoughts, In Buddhism, the ordinary man is seen as leading a
you are empowered in many ways. A lay Buddhist, life steeped in suffering through the defilements of
Yang Jen San, once found a copy of The Surangama greed, anger and delusion. It is only when he finds
Sutra in an old bookstore. He was overjoyed. It was out, firsthand, that there is, indeed, nothing that he
just what he had been looking for. He sat down and does that is free of defilement and suffering and that
read and read in complete absorption, oblivious to his there is a way out of it all, that he may become suf-
surroundings, until someone called him. Suddenly he ficiently well-motivated to gain that freedom. This is
noticed it had become dark and that if he wanted to traditionally likened to the discovery that the pretty,
continue, he would have to light a lamp. Wondrous colored rope that one has found and treasures is actu-
things must happen in deep concentration, for he ally a very poisonous snake. When that is your experi-
had been reading in the dark! A very famous writer ence, you may have such a profound understanding of
of the Sung Dynasty, Su Dong Pu, recounted a sim- Buddhadharma that your life will turn around radical-
ilar experience in which he was so deeply engrossed ly. You may realize beyond all doubt that, though the
in painting a picture that he was no longer aware of body may be strong and healthy, it still changes and
his person nor of anything else. It is as though where grows old. You may realize deeply, by breaking off
wholehearted application is directed, the whole world attachment to both body and mind, that birth, death,
must step aside. and defilement also no longer exist. In the Ch’an tra-
As your concentration strengthens, your breathing dition, this is discovered through meditation.

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