A Sense of Light Ease

一种轻安的感觉

When you investigate the meditation topic, “Who is mindful of the Buddha?” to the ultimate point, eventually you will become enlightened. Enlightenment is understanding what you did not understand and knowing what you did not know in the past. Before realizing enlightenment, you should harbor doubt. It is said, “Great doubt results in great enlightenment, and small doubt results in small enlightenment.” Enlightenment also means to understand principle. It is not really a special state. There are the first dhyana, the second dhyana, the third dhyana and the fourth dhyana stages in Chan meditation. In the first dhyana, there is this feeling of light ease. You will feel comfortable, free, and benefited. This kind of comfort is called bliss in the Dharma. You will experience the state of blissfulness. You will not feel hungry even if you do not eat, nor tired if you do not sleep, nor cold if you are not wearing enough clothes. It will be as there is no self when sitting, and no self when walking. One does not know where one’s “self” is. This feeling of light ease is the beginning of cultivation. After this state, you will enter the samadhi of the first dhyana; it is like your self is empty and you feel that your pulse has stopped.

你参话头「念佛是谁」，参到极点，就会豁然开悟。开悟，是明白以前所不明白的事，以前所不知道的现在都知道了。在开悟之前，要有疑情；这个疑情一生出来，大疑就有大悟，小疑就有小悟。所以开悟就是明白道理，并不是什么一个很特别的境界。坐禅有初禅、有二禅、有三禅，有四禅。初禅之前，先有一种轻安的境界；这种轻安是觉得身上很舒服、很自在、很受用的，这种舒服自在，叫做「法喜」。你得到法喜充满的境界，你不吃也不饿，不睡也不困，甚至于你不穿衣服也不冷；人坐着好像是没有自己似的，走路也好像没有自己似的，不知自己在什么地方，这就是修行开始的一种轻安的感觉。在轻安的境界以后，就会入初禅的定；那时候自己像空了似的，觉得脉搏也停了。