The antidote to the three poisons is none other than “Morality (Precepts), Concentration and Wisdom”. It all starts with practising self-discipline. A self-disciplined mind can be settled, allowing you to advance along the path of cultivation. There will come a day when you can become awakened and see the true nature of things – this is the time when you gain wisdom, and the poisons will no longer be an issue.
对付三毒的法宝没有别的，“戒定慧”是关键，就是先克制自己，克制了，心就安定就能继续修行，终有一天能看开看破，这就是得了智慧，从而此毒就不再为毒。
Nevertheless, in the subsequent phases, the three poisons may just manifest in the form of other temptations. Just when you are able to let go of wealth, you may be faced with the temptation of status. Once you have seen the illusory nature of status, you may be enticed with lust. Once you have realised that the body is nothing but mortal flesh, there comes the temptation of fame – and the list goes on.
再下一个阶段，也许三毒又以其它的诱惑出现，看破了财富，又有了地位的诱惑，看破了地位的虚无缥缈，又有了女色的诱惑，看破了臭皮囊，又来了名声的诱惑等等不一而足。
In addition to the temptations, each individual in this world must grapple with their own set of life’s troubles – from the household to the nation and to the world at large, all of it bringing us great worry. But a worried mind remains drifting and restless. Entangled by all kinds of things, how are you going to cultivate your mind?
不单是诱惑，人生在世各有各的烦恼，家事国事天下事，事事忧心，心忧则浮而飘，被诸事牵扯，谈何修心。
As long as we live in this world, it is inevitable that we need to interact with other people. Although self-discipline may help to restrain us from forming negative karmic affinities with others, we cannot expect those people around us to do the same. If others form negative karmic affinities with us, that is when we are being hurled with insults, unfairly treated, or misunderstood. Under such circumstances, the practice of “forbearance and diligence” is the proper approach in order to maintain the purity of our state of mind.
人生在这个世间，就不可避免地和其他人发生关系，我们可以自律不生恶缘，却不能让周围的人也都不生恶缘，如果别人对我们生起恶缘，也就是我们遭遇不公、不平、误解、甚至辱骂的时候，“忍辱精进”就是保持我们心灵纯净的方式。
Exercising forbearance when being insulted is not an expression of cowardice, but a golden practice that saves us from the establishment of negative karmic affinities. The moment we take offence or bear a grudge when someone takes a shot at us, a thread of karmic relationship inevitably sticks – and this is the moment when negative karma is formed.
忍辱不是懦夫的表现，而是唯一的不“接”恶缘的法宝。别人向我射出一根恶缘的尘丝，我们一生气心中一恨，则尘丝就沾在我们身上，从这一刻起，恶缘的因果就形成了。
Only by practising forbearance can we reject this “negative energy” and in so doing prevent negative karmic affinities from taking root. Forbearance is merely an external appearance. What we truly want to attain is a state of mind that is impervious to external influences – one that regards insults as nothing. When it comes to the cultivation of the mind, this is what “let mind not be swayed by the changing external circumstances” is all about.
只有忍辱而不接这口“恶气”，才能使恶缘不落地生根，忍辱是表相，真正要求的是心不起波澜视外辱如无物，也就是修心中的“境转心不转”。
Another thing we must remove from our minds is attachment. This applies to attachment to the self or attachment to others, as they are both forms of prejudice stemming from our incomplete understanding of things. Since our life experiences and our perception of life differ, we develop prejudices that we think are correct.
另外要从心中剔除的还有一个“执”，无论是“我执”还是“他执”，都是因为理解事物不全面而造成的一种偏见。由于每个人的经历和在生活中获得的感受都不一样，所以形成这种自己认为正确的偏见。
Understandably, it is this attachment that causes us to be biased in our understanding of what we have experienced. However, the problem is that we fail to realise that our views are biased, so we continue to be deceived by the illusions that we believe to be true.
可想而知是由于“执”的存在，我们在认识事物和道理上会有这样那样的偏差。但困难之处在于，自己不自知不觉察其为偏见，那么就会被这种假相的真理所欺骗而坚持下去。
The fundamental solution lies in removing the notion of “self”. We should not see Buddhism from “our own understanding and our point of view”. In other words, we should learn to look at problems analytically and comprehensively, combining it with our practical experiences in life to come to understand Buddhism.
解决的根本是去除“我”，不以“我知我见”来认识佛法，也就是我们常说的学会“辩证地全面地”看问题，结合生活实际理解佛法。
Our minds need to be cleansed every now and then – our negative karma needs to be eliminated to prevent worries and temptations from afflicting us. Only then can a pure mind be achieved. The objective of purifying the mind is to reveal our inherent nature.
心要时时地擦拭，消孽障，让忧愁诱惑等尘埃不着落，从而得“心净”，心灵的纯净，目的是显露本性。
When the purity within us reaches a certain level, our inherent nature will become prominent and not easily tainted or blinded by defilements. At this juncture, we need to take great care of the mind, nurturing it and allowing it to thrive, and ensuring it will not become lost once again. This is considered the starting point of learning Buddhism.
净到一定程度后，本性就显露出大部分，不再容易被污垢遮掩，这时候我们就需要小心呵护着它，培养它壮大它，让它不要再迷失，这才是学佛的入门之时。
Is renouncing the world the only way to achieve purity of the mind? Paradoxically, this mundane world is the best place for cultivating the mind. If the mind is not pure, even if you were to retreat to a mountain-top, you would still be unable to let go of attachment.
那是不是只有脱离尘世才能心净呢？尘世间是最好的修心地，心不净躲在深山也还是放不下。
Achieving purity of the mind isn’t a matter of letting go of everything including one’s karmic affinities. Nor does it mean that you should no longer socialise with others in order to avoid forming karmic affinities. “Purity” in this context is about being clean, pure and untainted by defiled predispositions and negative affinities. It is a state achieved through cultivation, not merely through the act of evading.
求心净，并不是要求大家放下一切，放下缘分，甚至为了躲避缘分而不与人交往，这里的“净”讲的是干净，纯洁，不沾染污秽的习气和恶缘分；所以心的干净是修出来的而不是躲出来的。
发表于 2021-12-6 12:37:17
