归依

 

[作者]坦尼沙罗尊者

[中译]良稹

GoingforRefuge

byVen.ThanissaroBhikkhu

 

TheactofgoingforrefugemarksthepointwhereonecommitsoneselftotakingtheDhamma,ortheBuddha\'steaching,astheprimaryguidetoone\'slife.Tounderstandwhythiscommitmentiscalleda\"refuge,\"it\'shelpfultolookatthehistoryofthecustom.归依之举，标志着一个人作出承诺，把佛法或者说佛陀的教导作为自己生活的主要指南。为了理解这项承诺何以被称为”归依”，审视该传统的历史渊源是有益的。

 

Inpre-BuddhistIndia,goingforrefugemeantproclaimingone\'sallegiancetoapatron—apowerfulpersonorgod—submittingtothepatron\'sdirectivesinhopesofreceivingprotectionfromdangerinreturn.IntheearlyyearsoftheBuddha\'steachingcareer,hisnewfollowersadoptedthiscustomtoexpresstheirallegiancetotheBuddha,Dhamma,andSangha,butintheBuddhistcontextthiscustomtookonanewmeaning.在佛教出现之前的印度，“归依”意味着对某位保护者——当权者或者神明——宣示忠诚，服从该保护者的指示，以期换得远离危险的安稳庇护。在佛陀传法生涯的早期，他的新弟子们沿袭了这个传统，以表达自己对佛、法、僧的忠诚，不过在佛教语境之中，该传统有其新意。 

 

Buddhismisnotatheisticreligion—theBuddhaisnotagod—andsoapersontakingrefugeintheBuddhistsenseisnotaskingfortheBuddhapersonallytointervenetoprovideprotection.Still,oneoftheBuddha\'scentralteachingsisthathumanlifeisfraughtwithdangers—fromgreed,anger,anddelusion—andsotheconceptofrefugeiscentraltothepathofpractice,inthatthepracticeisaimedatgainingreleasefromthosedangers.Becausethemindisthesourcebothofthedangersandofrelease,thereisaneedfortwolevelsofrefuge:externalrefuges,whichprovidemodelsandguidelinessothatwecanidentifywhichqualitiesinthemindleadtodangerandwhichtorelease;andinternalrefuges,i.e.,thequalitiesleadingtoreleasethatwedevelopinourownmindinimitationofourexternalmodels.Theinternalleveliswheretruerefugeisfound.佛教不是一个奉神的宗教——佛陀不是一位神祗——因此一个人归依，在佛教意义上，并非是请求佛陀亲自介入，提供庇护。虽如此，佛陀的一条核心教导是，人生布满了危险——指来自贪、嗔、痴的危险——故此，归依的概念对修证之道具有根本的重要性，因为修持的目的正是为了脱离这些危险。由于心既是危险的来源，又是解脱的来源，我们需要在两个层次上归依:外在层次的归依为我们提供榜样与指南，我们得以认清心的哪些素质引生危险，哪些素质引生解脱;内在层次的归依，则是效仿我们的外在榜样，在自己内心培育起来的趋向解脱的素质。这个内在层次才是归依的真正实现处。 

 

Althoughthetraditionofgoingtorefugeisanancientpractice,itisstillrelevantforourownpracticetoday,forwearefacedwiththesameinternaldangersthatfacedpeopleintheBuddha\'stime.Westillneedthesameprotectionasthey.WhenaBuddhisttakesrefuge,itisessentiallyanactoftakingrefugeinthedoctrineofkarma:It\'sanactofsubmissioninthatoneiscommittedtolivinginlinewiththeprinciplethatactionsbasedonskillfulintentionsleadtohappiness,whileactionsbasedonunskillfulintentionsleadtosuffering;it\'sanactofclaimingprotectioninthat,byfollowingtheteaching,onehopestoavoidthemisfortunesthatbadkarmaengenders.Totakerefugeinthiswayultimatelymeanstotakerefugeinthequalityofourownintentions,forthat\'swheretheessenceofkarmalies.尽管归依的传统古已有之，今日它对我们自己的修行仍具相关性，因为我们面临着与佛陀时代的人们同样的内在危险。我们仍然需要同样的庇护。当一位佛教徒归依时，基本上这是对业力法则的一种归依:之所以为遵奉，因为他承诺在人生中遵奉善业[以善巧动机为基础的行为]趋向幸福，不善业趋向苦痛的原则。之所以为庇护，因为借着服从教导，他希望避开恶业招致的不幸。以这种方式作归依，终究意味着归依我们自己的动机的质量，因为那就是业的精髓。 

 

TherefugesinBuddhism—bothontheinternalandontheexternallevels—aretheBuddha,Dhamma,andSangha,alsoknownastheTripleGem.Theyarecalledgemsbothbecausetheyarevaluableandbecause,inancienttimes,gemswerebelievedtohaveprotectivepowers.TheTripleGemoutdoesothergemsinthisrespectbecauseitsprotectivepowerscanbeputtothetestandcanleadfurtherthanthoseofanyphysicalgem,allthewaytoabsolutefreedomfromtheuncertaintiesoftherealmofaging,illness,anddeath.佛教的归依——内在、外在两个层次上——都是指佛、法、僧，亦称三宝。之所以被称为宝，既因为它们有价值，也因为在古代，人们相信宝石具有种种护佑力量。三宝于此处胜于诸宝，因其保护力可被验证，并且功效之远为矿物宝石所不及，它能把我们一直带到彻底脱离老、病、死之不安稳的自由境界。

 

TheBuddha,ontheexternallevel,referstoSiddhatthaGotama,theIndianprincewhorenouncedhisroyaltitlesandwentintotheforest,meditatinguntilheultimatelygainedAwakening.TotakerefugeintheBuddhameans,nottakingrefugeinhimasaperson,buttakingrefugeinthefactofhisAwakening:placingtrustinthebeliefthathedidawakentothetruth,thathedidsobydevelopingqualitiesthatwetoocandevelop,andthatthetruthstowhichheawokeprovidethebestperspectivefortheconductofourlife.佛陀，在外在层次上，指的是悉达多-乔达摩，那位舍弃了王族头衔，进入丛林禅修，最终证得觉醒的印度王子。归依佛陀，并非意味着把他作为个人而归依，而是对他的觉醒的归依，也就是置信于:他的确觉悟真相、他的觉醒是借着培育我们亦可培育的诸种素质、他所悟得的真谛为我们的人生行动提供了最佳视野。

 

TheDhamma,ontheexternallevel,referstothepathofpracticetheBuddhataughttothisfollowers.This,inturn,isdividedintothreelevels:thewordsofhisteachings,theactofputtingthoseteachingsintopractice,andtheattainmentofAwakeningastheresultofthatpractice.Thisthree-waydivisionoftheword\"Dhamma\"actsasamapshowinghowtotaketheexternalrefugesandmaketheminternal:learningabouttheteachings,usingthemtodevelopthequalitiesthattheBuddhahimselfusedtoattainAwakening,andthenrealizingthesamereleasefromdangerthathefoundinthequalityofDeathlessnessthatwecantouchwithin.法，在外在层次上，指的是佛陀传给弟子们的修证之道。它又分为三层:他的教言、依此教言的实修、修成的觉醒体证。对“法”一词作此三部区分[1]，如一幅地图，指明了从外在归依出发，将其内在化的转变方式:即，学习教言，把它们应用于培育佛陀本人藉之证悟的诸种素质，接下来，在由他发现的、我们亦能从内心触及的不死素质之中，同样地实现解脱，远离危险。

 

ThewordSangha,ontheexternallevel,hastwosenses:conventionalandideal.Initsidealsense,theSanghaconsistsofallpeople,layorordained,whohavepracticedtheDhammatothepointofgainingatleastaglimpseoftheDeathless.Inaconventionalsense,Sanghadenotesthecommunitiesofordainedmonksandnuns.Thetwomeaningsoverlapbutarenotnecessarilyidentical.SomemembersoftheidealSanghaarenotordained;somemonksandnunshaveyettotouchtheDeathless.AllthosewhotakerefugeintheBuddha,Dhamma,andSanghabecomemembersoftheBuddha\'sfour-foldassembly(parisa)offollowers:monks,nuns,malelaydevotees,andfemalelaydevotees.Althoughthere\'sawidespreadbeliefthatallBuddhistfollowersaremembersoftheSangha,thisisnotthecase.OnlythosewhoareordainedaremembersoftheconventionalSangha;onlythosewhohaveglimpsedtheDeathlessaremembersoftheidealSangha.Nevertheless,anyfollowerswhodon\'tbelongtotheSanghaineithersenseofthewordstillcountasgenuineBuddhistsinthattheyaremembersoftheBuddha\'sparisa.僧伽一词，在外在层次上有常规与理想两种意义。在理想意义上，僧伽由所有修练到至少瞥见不死之法者构成，不论在家、出家。在常规意义上，僧伽指出家的比丘与比丘尼组成的团体。这两种意义有重迭，但不一定等同。有的理想僧伽的成员并未出家;有的比丘与比丘尼尚未触及不死。所有归依佛、法、僧者，皆属于佛教四众弟子(parisa)的成员:比丘、比丘尼、优婆塞(男居士)、优婆夷(女居士)。尽管有一种流行说法认为所有佛教徒都是僧伽的一分子，其实不然。只有出家者，才是常规僧伽的成员;只有已瞥见不死者，才是理想僧伽的成员。不过，上述两种僧伽以外的信众，作为佛陀的四众成员，仍都是真正的佛弟子。

 

WhentakingrefugeintheexternalSangha,onetakesrefugeinbothsensesoftheSangha,butthetwosensesprovidedifferentlevelsofrefuge.TheconventionalSanghahashelpedkeeptheteachingaliveformorethan2,500years.Withoutthem,wewouldneverhavelearnedwhattheBuddhataught.However,notallmembersoftheconventionalSanghaarereliablemodelsofbehavior.Sowhenlookingforguidanceintheconductofourlives,wemustlooktothelivingandrecordedexamplesprovidedbytheidealSangha.Withouttheirexample,wewouldnotknow(1)thatAwakeningisavailabletoall,andnotjusttotheBuddha;and(2)howAwakeningexpressesitselfinreallife.当一个人归依外在的僧伽时，他归依的是两种意义上的僧伽，但这两种意义提供了不同层次的归依。常规僧伽协助延续着教言的生命力，长达两千五百多年。没有他们，我们不可能了解佛陀教导的是什么。然而，并非常规僧伽的所有成员都是可靠的行为楷模。因此，当我们寻找人生的操行指南时，必须以在世的和记载中的理想僧伽作为楷模。没有他们作出的典范，我们不会了解(1)觉醒不仅只有佛陀才能成就，而是对人人开放;(2)觉醒在真实生活中如何体现。

 

Ontheinternallevel,theBuddha,Dhamma,andSanghaaretheskillfulqualitieswedevelopinourownmindsinimitationofourexternalmodels.Forinstance,theBuddhawasapersonofwisdom,purity,andcompassion.Whenwedevelopwisdom,purity,andcompassioninourownminds,theyformourrefugeonaninternallevel.TheBuddhatastedAwakeningbydevelopingconviction,persistence,mindfulness,concentration,anddiscernment.WhenwedevelopthesesamequalitiestothepointofattainingAwakeningtoo,thatAwakeningisourultimaterefuge.ThisisthepointwherethethreeaspectsoftheTripleGembecomeone:beyondthereachofgreed,anger,anddelusion,andthustotallysecure.在内在层次上，佛、法、僧是我们效仿外在的榜样，在自己的内心培育起来的善巧素质。譬如，佛陀是一位智慧、清净、慈悲者。当我们在自己的内心培育起智慧、清净、慈悲时，它们就构成了我们在内在层次上的归依。佛陀借着培育信念，精进、念住、定力、明辨，尝得觉悟之果。当我们培育同样这些素质、达到同样的觉醒时，该觉醒就是我们的终极归依。就在此处三宝的三侧面合而为一:超越了贪、嗔、痴之所及，故此彻底安稳。

 

 

(本文来自原作者解说三归依的文集《归依》首篇。)

 

[1]中译注:“法”一词的三部区分,指pariyatti,patipatti,pativedha,即,教理、实践、证得;或学法、修法、证法。

 

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/refuge.html