菩提尊者-归依佛陀

歸依佛陀

[作者] 約翰-布列特
[中譯]良稹
Refuge in the Buddha
by Bhikkhu Bodhi

The first step in entering the Buddhist path is going for refuge to the Triple Gem, and the first of the three gems that we approach as refuge is the Buddha, the Enlightened One. Because the act of going for refuge to the Buddha marks the beginning of a new chapter in our life, it is worth our while to repeatedly pause and reflect upon the significance of this momentous step. Too often we are prone to take our first steps for granted. Yet it is only if we review these steps from time to time in a deepening awareness of their implications that we can be sure the following steps we take will bring us closer to our desired destination.	踏上佛教之道的第一步，乃是歸依三寶，而我們前往歸依的三寶之首，即是佛陀，覺悟者。由於歸依佛陀之舉標志著生命新一章的開啓，它值得我們反複地靜下來觀想這一重大步驟的意義。我們太傾向於想當然地看待自己的起步。只有以漸進的理解，時時回顧這些足迹的意涵，我們才能夠確保後繼的步程將帶領我們趨近欲達之終點。
The going for refuge to the Buddha is not a single action which occurs only once and is then completed with absolute finality. It is, or should be, a continually evolving process which matures in tandem with our practice and understanding of the Dhamma. To go for refuge does not imply that at the outset we already possess a clear grasp of the dangers that make a refuge necessary or of the goal toward which we aspire. Comprehension of these matters grows gradually over time. But to the extent that we have actually gone for refuge with sincere intent, we should make an earnest effort to sharpen and deepen our understanding of the objects to which we have turned as the basis for our deliverance.	歸依佛陀並非是一次性徹底完成的單一事件。它是，或者說應該是一個隨著我們對佛法的修持與領悟的成熟而連續進化的過程。歸依並不意味著我們對使歸依成爲必要的危險或者對期望達到的目標一開始就有了明確的領悟。對這些事的理解與時俱增。不過，我們應當作出相應於歸依之誠意的認真努力，對自己視爲解脫之根本依靠的對象，獲得明確與深入的了解。
In going for refuge to the Buddha it is most essential at the outset to clarify our conception of what a Buddha is and how he functions as a refuge. If such clarification is lacking, our sense of refuge can easily become tainted by erroneous views. We may ascribe to the Buddha a status he never claimed for himself, as when we regard him as the incarnation of a god, as the emanation of the Absolute, or as a personal savior. On the other hand, we may detract from the exalted status to which the Buddha is properly entitled, as when we regard him simply as a benevolent sage, as an unusually astute Asiatic philosopher, or as a genius of meditative technology.	在歸依佛陀的初端，從概念上澄清何爲佛陀、他如何起歸依的作用，是極其重要的。缺乏這樣的澄清，我們的歸依感很容易沾染妄見。我們也許會賦予佛陀某種他自己從未承認的位格，比如把他視爲一尊神祗的化身、絕對終極的體現、或者一位個人的救主。另一方面，我們也許會對佛陀正當擁有的崇高地位加以貶低，比如把他僅僅視爲一位慈藹的智者、一位異常敏銳的亞洲哲學家、或者一位掌握禪定技術的天才。
A correct view of the Buddha's nature would see him in terms of the title he assigned to himself: as a Fully Self-Enlightened One (samma sambuddha). He is self-enlightened because he has awakened to the essential truths of existence entirely on his own, without a teacher or guide. He is fully enlightened because he has comprehended these truths completely, in all their ramifications and implications. And as a Buddha he has not only fathomed these truths himself, but has also taught them to the world so that others may awaken from the long sleep of ignorance and attain the fruits of liberation.	對於佛陀本質的正確見解，乃是以他本人賦予自己的名號來看待他: 一位正自覺者 (samma sambuddha, 徹底自我覺醒者)。之所以稱他爲自覺者，是因爲他對生存的基本真相的覺醒，無師尊、向導，全憑自力成就。之所以稱他爲正自覺者，是因爲他對這些真相的一切細節與寓意，已達成全知。作爲一位佛陀，他不僅本人領悟了這些真相，而且還把它們傳給了世界，使得他人也有可能從無明的長眠中醒過來，證得解脫之果。
Taking refuge in the Buddha is an act anchored in a particular historical individual: the recluse Gotama, the scion of the Sakyan clan, who lived and taught in the Ganges valley in the fifth century B.C. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we rely upon this historical individual and the body of instruction that stems from him. It is important to stress this point in view of the fashionable notion that taking refuge in the Buddha means that we take refuge in "the Buddha-mind within ourselves" or in "the universal principle of enlightenment." Such ideas, allowed to go unchecked, can lead to the belief that anything we contrive in the flights of our imagination can qualify as true Dhamma. To the contrary, the Buddhist tradition insists that when we go for refuge to the Buddha, we place ourselves under the guidance of one who is distinctly different from ourselves, one who has scaled heights that we have barely begun to glimpse.	歸依佛陀，指的是對一位特定曆史人物的歸依: 即隱者喬達摩，生活於公元前五世紀、傳法於恒河流域的釋迦族太子。我們歸依這位佛陀時，是在歸依這位曆史人物與他的教誡。面對現今流行的歸依觀念——所謂歸依佛陀意味著歸依“我們自己內在的佛性”或者“開悟之普遍原則” ——強調這一點是十分重要的。聽任那些想法自由發展，可以引向但凡想象力馳騁所及皆可作爲真法的地步。與之相反，佛教傳統堅持認爲，當我們歸依佛陀時，是在把自己置於那位卓然獨立者的指導之下，他所成就的高度我們只開始獲得遙遙的一瞥。
But when we rely upon the recluse Gotama as our refuge, we do not apprehend him merely as a particular individual, a wise and sensible sage. We apprehend him rather as a Buddha. It is his Buddhahood — his possession of the full range of excellent qualities that come with perfect enlightenment — that makes the recluse Gotama a refuge. In any cosmic epoch, a Buddha is that being who first breaks through the dark mass of ignorance encompassing the world and rediscovers the lost path to Nibbana, the cessation of suffering. He is the pioneer, the trailblazer, who discovers the path and proclaims the path so that others, by following his tracks, may extinguish their ignorance, arrive at true wisdom, and break the fetters that tie them to the round of repeated birth and death.	不過，當我們依止隱者喬達摩作爲自己的庇護時，並不把他僅僅理解爲一位智慧賢明的個人。我們把他理解爲一位佛陀。正是他的佛陀位格——隨著圓滿覺悟而來的、對一切殊勝品質的擁有——使得隱者喬達摩成爲一個歸依處。在任何一個宇宙紀元之中，佛陀是那位率先突破籠罩世界的無明黑暗、重新發現失卻的滅苦涅槃之道者。他是一位先驅者、開拓者，他重新發現古道、宣講古道，使得其他人跟隨他的足迹，也能夠滅盡自己的無明，證得真智，突破把他們綁束在反複生死輪回之中的諸種結縛。
For the refuge in the Buddha to be genuine, it must be accompanied by a commitment to the Buddha as an incomparable teacher, as unexcelled and unsurpassed. Strictly speaking, the historical Buddha is not unique since there have been earlier Fully Enlightened Ones who have arisen in past epochs and there will be others who will arise in future epochs as well. But in any one world system it is impossible for a second Buddha to arise while the teaching of another Buddha is still extant, and thus in terms of human history we are justified in regarding the Buddha as a unique teacher, unequalled by any other spiritual teacher known to humanity. It is this readiness to recognize the Buddha as "the unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, the teacher of gods and humans" that is the hallmark of an authentic act of taking refuge in the Buddha.	爲了真正地歸依佛陀，必須伴隨著把佛陀尊爲一位無可倫比的導師、一位至勝無上者的承諾。嚴格地說，曆史上的佛陀並非獨一無二，因爲徹底的覺醒者在過去紀元中曾經出現過，在未來紀元中還將會升起。但是在任一世界系統中，在一位佛陀的教導尚存時，不可能升起第二個佛陀，因此就人類曆史來說，我們有理由把佛陀視爲獨一無二的導師，不可與人類任何其它精神導師同日而語。正是願意承認佛陀爲“無上調禦者，天人之導師”，成爲對佛陀的真正歸依的標志。
The Buddha serves as a refuge by teaching the Dhamma. The actual and final refuge, embedded within the Dhamma as refuge, is Nibbana, "the deathless element free from clinging, the sorrowless state that is void of stain" (Itiv. 51). The Dhamma as refuge comprises the final goal, the path that leads to that goal, and the body of teachings that explain the practice of the path. The Buddha as refuge has no capacity to grant us liberation by an act of will. He proclaims the path to be traveled and the principles to be understood. The actual work of walking the path is then left to us, his disciples.	佛陀的歸依作用是藉著傳法進行的。真正而終極的歸依，蘊涵在作爲歸依的法之中，也就是涅槃——“無執取的不死元素，無垢染的無憂狀態”(Itiv. 51,如是語)。作爲歸依的法，包括的是終極目標、趨向目標的道路、以及解說此修行道的教導體系。憑借願力，並不能使作爲歸依的佛陀把解脫施予給我們。他宣說了必須行走之道，解說了必須領悟的原理。接下來，實際的修行道，得由我們這些弟子去走。
The proper response to the Buddha as refuge is trust and confidence. Trust is required because the doctrine taught by the Buddha runs counter to our innate understanding of ourselves and our natural orientation toward the world. To accept this teaching thus tends to arouse an inner resistance, even to provoke a rebellion against the changes it requires us to make in the way we lead our lives. But when we place trust in the Buddha we open ourselves to his guidance. By going to him for refuge we show that we are prepared to recognize that our inherent tendencies to self-affirmation and grasping are in truth the cause of our suffering. And we are ready to accept his counsel that to become free from suffering, these tendencies must be controlled and eliminated.	把佛陀作爲歸依的正確態度，是信任與信心。之所以必須付諸信任，是因爲我們對自身的內在了解以及對世界的自然趨向與佛陀所傳的教義是背道而馳的。接受這套教導因此傾向於觸發內在的抵制，甚至對它要求的生活方式的轉變激起抗拒。不過，當我們對佛陀寄予信任時，便對他的教導敞開了自己的心靈之門。我們藉著歸依佛陀，表示自己准備承認，對自我的肯定與執取的內在傾向確實是我們的苦因。我們准備接受他的教誡，也就是，爲了滅苦，這些傾向必須加以控制與遣除。
Confidence in the Buddha as our refuge is initially awakened when we contemplate his sublime virtues and his excellent teaching. It grows through our undertaking of the training. At first our confidence in the Buddha may be hesitant, punctured by doubts and perplexity. But as we apply ourselves to the practice of his path, we find that our defilements gradually lessen, that wholesome qualities increase, and with this comes a growing sense of freedom, peace and joy. This experience confirms our initial trust, disposing us to advance a few steps further. When at last we see the truth of the Dhamma for ourselves, the refuge in the Buddha becomes inviolable. Confidence then becomes conviction, the conviction that the Blessed One is "the speaker, the proclaimer, the bringer of the good, the giver of the Deathless, the lord of the Dhamma, the Tathagata."	把佛陀作爲歸依的信心，在我們觀想他的崇高品德與他的殊勝教導時被初次喚醒，透過修持開始增長。我們對佛陀的信心一開始也許帶著猶豫、遲疑，但隨著修持我們發現，自己的雜染逐漸減少，善巧的素質在擴展，隨之而來的是一種愈增的自由、平靜、喜樂之感。這個體驗證實了我們最初的信任，使我們傾向於繼續進步。等到我們最終親見法的真相時，對佛陀的歸依成爲不可動搖。信心於是轉爲確信，確信“佛陀是善的演說者、宣示者、帶來者、是不死的給予者、法的尊主、如來。”

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最近訂正 1-6-2008