马哈希尊者访谈

——采访马哈希尊者

Questions and Answers

The following questions and answers are from the booklet “An Interview with Mahasi Sayadaw,” prepared (in Burmese) by Thamanaykyaw and translated by U Hla Myint.

问答

下面的问答出自小册子《采访马哈希尊者》，由达玛奈觉整理(缅文版)，乌•拉明英译。

Q1: Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, did you have full faith in Satipatthana Vipassana practice when you started it?

问1：尊敬的马哈希尊者，当您开始四念处内观禅修的时候，您具有充分的信心吗？

“No, frankly I didn’t. I did not initially have full faith in it. So, I don’t blame anybody for not having faith in practice before they start it. It is only because they have little or no experience of it. In 1931, when I was in only eighth Vassa (monastic year in terms of seniority), much to my curiosity and confusion, a meditation master called Mingon Zetawin Sayadawji was teaching: Note going when going; note standing when standing; note sitting when sitting; note lying when lying; note bending when bending; note stretching when stretching; note eating when eating. I got confused by the fact that there was no object to observe in ultimate sense, such as mind and body, and their impermanence, suffering and egolessness. But I gave it some consideration and thought: “How strange the way Sayadawji teaches, I’m sure “he is highly learned, and is teaching from his own experience. It may be too early for me to decide whether it is good or bad before I myself practice it.” Thus, I started to practice with him.

坦率地说，没有。开始我并没有充分的信心。我不会因任何人开始禅修前没信心而责怪他们，因为他们没有或者只有极少的禅修经验。在1931年我只有八年戒腊(按出家年数排的资历)，对禅修大师明贡•则达雯尊者的教导很好奇又很迷茫：走时观照走，站时观照站，弯屈时观照弯曲，伸展时观照伸展，躺时观照躺，吃时观照吃。我迷茫是因为并没有究竟意义上的所缘可进行观照，诸如名色及其无常、苦、无我。但我也觉得可以考虑并想：“尊者教导的方法好奇特，我确信他非常有学问并且是根据自身经验在教导，在我亲自修持以前就说它或好或坏都为时过早。”于是我开始跟他禅修。