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2024國際書展-書籍館

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Liberated in Stillness and Motion 動靜皆自在(英文版)

作者:聖嚴法師

出版社:法鼓文化

出版日期:2016年05月01日

語言:英文

系列別:法鼓全集英譯禪修

規格:平裝 / 22.8x15.2 cm / 180頁 / 單色印刷

商品編號:1123610031

ISBN:9789575987084

定價:NT$360

會員價:NT$281 (78折)

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Chan and Mental Health

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Material Comforts are Unreliable
Material comforts cannot bring lasting peace and fulfillment to spirit and mind, yet people still pursue them for security, to have something to rely on. The pursuit is all about clothing, food, shelter, transportation, intimate feelings between man and woman, and so on. Yet the more people pursue these comforts the more troubled and perplexed they are. It’s like drinking sea water to quench your thirst; the more you drink the thirstier you get. Most people do not drink sea water but it is true that people feel insecure and unsatisfied in life.
One of my followers has two estates, and before he bought them he was happy; now he is very worried, since the real estate market is in decline. He wants to sell the estates at a loss but is loath to part with them; yet if he does not sell, the burden of the loans is too heavy. Therefore, he worries about the gains and losses, and his mind is very unsettled, with no sense of security. As a result, for him, pursuing material comforts is definitely unreliable and not the ultimate goal of life.

The Difficulty of Spiritual Pursuit
If instead, we emphasized the spiritual aspect of life, then we will feel like we have something to rely on and a focus in life. However, it is not always easy to find safety and security in the spiritual realm. For example, some people are very devoted to their religion, and some firmly believe in their philosophy of life. With this kind of spiritual reliance and trust, they feel secure and settled in life and stay mentally and physically healthy. Someone who is accomplished in their career or artistic field should feel secure and fulfilled. However, if the world does not recognize their accomplishments, will they still feel that their life is very meaningful? It’s doubtful. I know an artist who is very talented and hard-working but his paintings are poorly received. I say to him, “You paint quite well. Perhaps right now people don’t know how to appreciate your work; do not feel discouraged.”
He says in dismay, “I don’t know if my artistic work will ever be valued by others in the future.”
I said: “Don’t worry, after you pass away, perhaps someone will appreciate your paintings. It isn’t bad to be like Van Gogh.
He said: “It would be a pity to be like Van Gogh. He was unable to make a fortune himself, while people in later generations made a fortune from his art.”
Apparently this artist does not affirm his own efforts, so when he encounters difficulties, he has doubts about his life.

The Method of Chan is the Method of Settling the Mind
Chan provides the methods and concepts to help people settle their minds. In his youth Shakyamuni Buddha witnessed the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, but did not know how to gain liberation from these things. So, leaving home to practice, he became enlightened to the way of settling the mind. Then, he taught the Dharma for 49 years, all with the intent to help human beings settle their minds. He told us that though the body requires material aid and medical care, the mind needs the salvation of Buddhadharma. Physical health is important, but if the mind is unhealthy, even if one appears physically healthy, one is still a sick person. Many people think themselves physically healthy who wouldn’t even know if they were sick; if they don’t feel discomfort they think they are healthy. But there are few people who think that their minds are completely healthy, free of problems, and normal.
To be physically healthy exercise is required, but for mental health it is the opposite; one requires sufficient stillness in the mind. It is better for the body to exercise every day, but for the mind it is better to be still sometimes. People have the habit of exercising every day, but very few have the habit of stilling the mind every day for a period of time. In Chan, mental therapy consists in practicing methods for settling the mind and includes two aspects: relaxing the body and mind, and letting go of all worries. It would be useless to know about the methods and not practice them, so practice is necessary. However, this kind of relaxing and letting go is not permanent because ordinary people cannot forever let go of their worries in one attempt. They may be able to do it for a few minutes, but no longer than that. But even this temporary letting go is so that one will ultimately let go for good. In other words, letting go of one’s worries permanently usually starts with letting them go temporarily.
In Chan there is the gradual approach to enlightenment and there is also the sudden approach. “Gradual” means practicing the methods to make the mind healthier, and “sudden” means not using any specific method, and putting down vexations all at once to achieve sudden enlightenment. Therefore, many people like sudden enlightenment. Sudden enlightenment without practice is possible but very rare, and afterwards people usually still need to practice in everyday life. This means finding periods of time in a day, or when there are problems in the mind, to help oneself by relaxing the body and the mind.

Stories about Settling the Mind in Chan
Sudden enlightenment is not easily achieved but the idea is very appealing. Once a person is enlightened, he or she will be mentally healthy. There are many famous stories about sudden enlightenment in the Chan School. One time a monk asked for guidance from the second patriarch of the Caodong Sect, Master Caoshan Benji (840-901). The monk said, “I am full of illness; will the master please cure me?”
Caoshan said: “I won’t cure you.”
“Why won’t you cure me?” the monk asked.
Caoshan said: “I want you to be unable to gain life while seeking life, and unable to meet death while seeking death.”
Upon hearing this, the monk became enlightened. The meaning of this story is that a mind that seeks life and death results in having life and death, which are two extremes. If one sought neither life nor death, then what illness is there to be cured?
Yunmen Wenyan (864-949) was the first patriarch of the Yunmen Sect, one of the five Sects of the Chan School. Before he became enlightened, his mind was very agitated. One day, he visited his teacher Master Muzhou Daoming, seeking his assistance. However, when Yunmen knocked on the door, Daoming opened the door, saw Yunmen, and immediately shut the door. The same situation happened for two days. On the third day Yunmen got smart, and when Daoming opened the door, Yunmen put one foot inside the master’s chamber. Daoming grabbed hold of him and said, “Speak! Speak!” Yunmen did not know what to say, so Daoming pushed him away. Yunmen refused to leave, so Daoming forced the door shut, and accidentally broke Yunmen’s foot. At that moment, all the questions in Yunmen’s mind were resolved.
This may appear to be very easy, getting enlightened when your foot is broken as the door is slammed shut. Actually, Yunmen originally had a lot of questions and for a long time, was unable to find the answers. When he asked the Master Daoming for help, the master pushed the question back to him to solve it himself, thereby making Yunmen realize that it is not necessary to seek a method to settle the mind.
The monk got enlightened not because his foot was broken, but had the foot not been broken, he probably would not have gotten enlightened. Was Yunmen’s enlightenment gradual or sudden? Some say gradual, some say sudden. Both are correct. From the facts in the story, he was suddenly enlightened. However, the questions in his mind already existed for a long time even before he was born. He sought help from masters everywhere because he had these questions. It is not until he met Daoming that his problems were solved. Therefore, we also cannot say this is not gradual enlightenment.