不要等，現在就修行！
蒂帕嬷(DipaMa)：一個禅修成就者的修行開示－－台灣學佛網
修行竅訣海按：Dipa Ma 是南傳佛教一位傳奇的大成就者。她以居士之身中年開始修行，很短時間內得到了很大的成就；她按師父指示按《清淨道論》修行神通，並如實地證到了五種神通的驚人成就，例如她可以分身、穿牆、預知。。。而後她又不再修習神通，因為她覺得對證道有障礙。她為西方弟子傳法並獲得了世界級的聲譽。她的開示與漢藏大德異曲同工，末學受益匪淺，以下是她的修行開示。
Meditate all the time
（隨時隨地禅修）
Practice now.
Don't think you will do more later.
現在就去修行。
不要以為你將來有的是時間
Dipa Ma stated firmly that if you want peace, you must practice regularly. She insisted that students find time for formal meditation practice every day, even if only for five minutes. If that proved impossible, she advised, At least when you are in bed at night, notice just one in-breath and one out-breath before you fall asleep. （蒂帕嬷堅決地說，如果你想平靜你就得經常地修習。她堅持認為學生應該每天找時間去進行正式的禅修，哪怕五分鐘也好。如果連這都不可能做到，她建議道： “至少，你可以在晚上入睡之躺在床上去注意一呼一吸”。）
More importantly, in addition to formal sitting on the cushion, Dipa Ma urged students to make every moment of their lives a meditation. Some of us are busy people who find it difficult to set aside any time at all. If you are busy, then busyness is the meditation, she tells us. Meditation is to know what you are doing. When you do calculations, know that you are doing calculations. If you are rushing to the office, then you should be mindful of rushing. When you are eating, putting on your shoes, your socks, your clothes, you must be mindful. It is all meditation!
（除了坐墊上的正式打坐，更重要的是，蒂帕嬷勸誡學生要將生活中的每個時刻都要成為禅修的時間。我們當中的一些大忙人覺得為禅修留出一點兒的時間都很困難。“如果你忙，那麼工作就是禅修”。她告訴我們，“禅修是了知你所正在做的事情。當你在計算，了知你正在計算。當你匆匆忙忙趕去上班，你應該對匆忙的行為保持正念。你在吃東西的時候，穿鞋子、襪子、衣服的時候，你一定要保持正念。這些都是禅修！”）
For Dipa Ma, mindfulness wasn't something she did, it was who she was-all the time. Dipa Ma made it clear that there is nothing wrong with lapses of mindfulness, with the mind wandering. It happens to everyone. It is not a permanent problem. （保持正念不是蒂帕嬷“要去做的事情”，正念一直與她溶為一體。蒂帕嬷很清楚，心念散亂、正念流失並非過錯。“每個人都會碰到這樣的情況。（但）這問題不是恆常的”。）
There is nothing ultimately to cling to in this world, Dipa Ma taught, but we can make good use of everything in it. Life is not to be rejected. It is here. And as long as it is here and we are here, we can make the best use of it. （“最終而言，世界上沒有什麼東西可執著的”，蒂帕嬷如此教導，“但我們可以善用一切東西。我們不應該拒絕生活。生活就在我們眼前，只要它在我們眼前，我們就要善用它”。）
Choose one meditation practice and stick with it （選好一個法門然後堅定不移地修習）
If you want to progress in meditation, stay with one technique. （“如果你想在禅修上取得進步，就要堅守一個法門” ）
For those beginning the spiritual journey, Dipa Ma was adamant about commitment to one of meditation. Don't give up, and don't jump around from practice to practice. Find a technique that suits you, and keep going until you find your edge, the point where difficulties start to arise. （對於那些心靈旅程的啟步者，蒂帕嬷堅決認為要堅守一種禅修法門。不要放棄，也不要在這個和那個法門之間跳來跳去。去找一個適合你的法門，然後堅持修習，一直到發現你的“邊緣”——也就是困難開始出現的地方。）
A common mistake many Western spiritual seekers make is to interpret difficulties as a problem with a particular practice. From the vantage point of that uncomfortable edge, some other practice always looks better. Maybe I should do Tibetan chanting . . . or Sufi dancing. In fact, difficulties usually are a reliable sign that the practice is working. （西方求道者普遍所犯的一個錯誤是把特定的一個修行法門的困難當作問題。那個一個法門的“邊緣”令人感到不舒服，所以另外一些法門看起來總是更好。“也許我應該去試試藏傳佛教的唱頌……或者蘇非舞”。事實上，困難通常是修習起作用的可靠跡象。）
Take Dipa Ma's advice to heart. Stick with the practice you've chosen through difficulty and doubt, through inspiration and stagnation, through the inevitable ups and downs. If you can stay committed to your practice through the darkest of times, wisdom will dawn. （將蒂帕嬷的忠告銘記於心吧。堅守你所選擇的法門，穿越困難和懷疑，穿越激越和停滯，穿越那不可避免的起起落落吧。如果你能堅持修行，能度過最黑暗的時光，智慧的黎明就會來臨。）
Practice patience （忍辱）
Patience is one of the most important virtues for developing mindfulness and concentration. （“忍辱是培養正念和專注的最重要的美德之一” ）
Patience is forged by constantly meeting the edge. In the most challenging situations, merely showing up, being present, may be all that is possible-and it may be enough. （忍辱是通過不斷地與“邊緣”相遇而鑄成的。在最富挑戰性的情景中，僅僅去面對而不退卻，就是我們所能做到的全部了——而這就已經足夠了。）
One student recounts the effects of this kind of patience in Dipa Ma's life She had seen her mind go through every kind of suffering and was able to sit through it. Later, when she came out of that fire, there was something very determined, almost frightening about how she could look at you, because she had seen herself. There was nowhere to hide. She exemplified that you can't just sit around thinking about getting enlightened. You have to take hold of these truths at the deepest level of your heart. （一位學生詳細地敘述過在蒂帕嬷一生中，這種耐性的效果：“她已經了知其內心經受每種磨難並且能夠堅持到底。後來，當她從那團火走出來的時候，因為她已經了知自我，所以她能夠用一種怎樣的目光看著你啊！——那是如此的堅定，而又幾乎令人震驚。任何東西都不能將其隱藏。她以此說明，你不能坐等開悟——你一定要在內心最深處經受這些事實。” ）
Patience is a lifetime practice, to be developed and refined over time. Cultivating patience is a large part of maturing the mind, which, according to Dipa Ma, is the highest vocation of all. （忍辱需要終生去實踐，需要不斷地去開發，不斷地去改善。忍辱是心智成熟的最重要的內容——如蒂帕嬷所說，是最高的“使命”。）
Free your mind （放開你的心）
Your mind is all stories. “你的頭腦是你所有的故事”
Dipa Ma did not say that the mind is mostly stories; she said that there is nothing in the mind but stories. These are the personal dramas that create and maintain the sense of individual identity who we are, what we do, what we are and are not capable of.
Without our being aware of it, the endless series of such thoughts drives and limits our lives - and yet those stories are without substance. （蒂帕嬷不是說頭腦是你的大部分故事，她說的是頭腦中除了故事，別無它物。這些故事都是個人所上演的戲，它創造出和維持著個體認同感——我們是誰，我們所做的是什麼，我們更夠或不能夠做什麼。如果我們對這些故事沒有覺知，無盡的思想之流就會驅使並限制著我們的生活，而且那些故事將變得不具實質。）
Dipa Ma challenged studentsbelief in and attachment to their stories. When someone said, I can't do that, she would ask, Are you sure or Who says or Why not She encouraged students to observe the stories, to see their emptiness, and to go beyond the limitations they impose. Let go of thinking, she urged. Meditation is not about thinking. （蒂帕嬷挑戰那些信任並且執著他們的故事的學生。當有人說：“我辦不到”，她會問：“你肯定嗎？”或“誰說的？”或“為什麼不能呢？”她鼓勵學生去觀察他們的故事，去了知其空性，以及去超越他們施諸其上的限制。“離開思想”她如此勸誡，“禅修與思想無關”。）
At the same time, Dipa Ma taught that the mind is not an enemy to be gotten rid of. Rather, in the process of befriending the mind, in getting to know and accept it, it ceases to be a problem. （同時，蒂帕嬷教導我們：心不是要去除掉的敵人；在將心當作朋友的過程中，在了解、接受它的過程中，它不再是問題。）
Cool the fire of emotions
（冷卻情緒之火）
Anger is a fire.（“惱怒是火” ）
When someone came to visit Dipa Ma, it didn't matter who it was, or what emotional state they were embroiled in, or what the circumstances were. In every instance, Dipa Ma saw each person as someone to be loved. Can we offer the same acceptance to the emotions that arise in us, treating them as visitors to be treated with lovingkindness Can we simply allow them to come and go, without reacting in ways that might be harmful （不論來訪者是誰，不論他們處在何種情緒狀態、何種境況，蒂帕嬷總是充滿慈愛地接見他們中的每一位。我們能夠對自己的情緒同樣發出接納之心嗎？我們能夠像對待訪客那樣慈愛地對待它嗎？我們是否能夠允許他們來來去去而不以可能有害的方式去反應嗎？）
A lot of incidents happen in daily life which are undesirable, Dipa Ma said. Sometimes I experience some irritation, but my mind remains cool. Irritation comes and passes. My mind isn't disturbed by this. Anger is a fire. But I don't feel any heat. It comes and it dies right out. （“許多在日常生活中發生的事件都不如人意”，蒂帕嬷說道，“有時候，我經歷著一些惱怒，但我的心仍然著保持冷靜。惱怒來了又走。我的心並不受它的干擾。惱怒是火，但我沒有感到熱。它是如此清楚地生起和滅去”。）
Sylvia Boorstein, a meditation teacher who hosted Dipa Ma in her home in 1980, said that her husband once challenged Dipa Ma on this point. Dipa Ma was talking about the importance of maintaining tranquillity and equanimity and non-anger, and my husband asked her, would you do that What if someone were in some way to jeopardize Rishi [Dipa Ma's grandson], to threaten him （Sylvia Boorstein 是位禅修教師，1980年她在家中接待了蒂帕嬷。她說有一次他的丈夫向蒂帕嬷質疑這一點。“蒂帕嬷在談論保持平靜、平等心、不發怒的重要性，我的丈夫問她，如果有人傷害、威脅Rishi（蒂帕嬷的孫子），你會這樣嗎？” ）
I would stop him, of course, Dipa Ma replied, but without anger. （“‘當然，我會阻止他’,蒂帕嬷說道，‘但不會發怒’”。）
Simplify （簡單生活）
Live simply. A very simple life is good for everything. Too much luxury is a hindrance to practice. （“過簡單的生活。簡單的生活對什麼東西來說都是有益的。過於閒適的生活對於修行是個障礙”。）
In every way, Dipa Ma lived in the greatest simplicity. She refrained from socializing. She did not engage in unnecessary talk. She didn't involve herself in other people's concerns, especially complaints. Her guideline for herself and her students was to live honestly and never blame others. （蒂帕嬷在各個方面都過著簡單的生活。她對社交保持節制。她不會去談論不必要的東西。她不會引起別人的關注，更不會引起別人的抱怨。她要求自己以及學生的守則是，做人誠實，永不責人。）
Often Dipa Ma simply rested in silence. Whenever I get time alone, I always turn my mind inward, she said. She did not spend time at any activity that was unnecessary to her life. （蒂帕嬷經常在靜默中簡單地休息。“獨自一人的時候，我總是返觀內心”，她如此說道。她不會把時間花費在對生活沒有必要的事情上。）
Just as in meditation, where we practice giving our full attention to one thing at a time, Dipa Ma did each thing completely without worrying about the next. Thoughts of the past and future, she said, spoil your time. In whatever she did, she was fully present, with ease, stillness, and simplicity. （蒂帕嬷做每一件事都不會為下一件事憂心，正如禅修中我們練習在某個時段中把全部的注意力放在一個事物上一樣。“去想過去和將來的事情”，她說道，“會毀掉屬於你的時間”。無論什麼事情，她總是全神貫注，從容，平靜，簡單地去做。）
Cultivate the spirit of blessing
（祝福他人）
If you bless those around you, this will inspire you to be attentive in every moment. （“祝福你身邊的人，會讓你在每時每刻保持全神貫注” ）
Dipa Ma continuously offered blessings. She blessed people from head to toe, blowing on them, chanting over them, stroking their hair. Her blessings were not reserved
exclusively for people. Before boarding an airplane she would bestow a blessing upon it. Riding in a car was an opportunity to offer a blessing not only to the vehicle but also to the driver and to the men who pumped the gas. （蒂帕嬷不斷地祝福。她細致入微地祝福別人——誇獎別人，贊歎別人，撫摸別人的頭發……她的祝福對象不局限於人。在登上飛機前，她會為它祝福。坐進一輛汽車，對她而言也是一個發出祝福的機會，她祝福那輛車，也祝福司機和加油的人。）
Practicing this spirit of blessing throughout the day can make the ordinary become something special. It's a way of encountering grace moment after moment. （隨時實踐這種祝福精神，一個平凡的人也會變得有些特別。這是一種時時與優雅相遇的方式。） ... See more
