实践宗教：呼吸与冥想
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中文
实践宗教：调息与冥想
每个人对实践宗教的理解，皆取决于他对「实践」二字的界定，以及他所立足的出发点。有行动之道，有礼拜之法，有智识之途。
哲学家认为……束缚与自由之间的差别，唯由知与无知所引起。对他而言，智识是最终目标，他的实践性在于获得那智识。……虔信者的实践宗教，是爱与奉献的力量。行动者的实践宗教，在于行善。于是，如同在其他一切事物上一样，我们总是试图忽视他人的标准，试图将整个世界束缚于我们自己的标准之下。
对于满怀爱心的人来说，帮助同胞是他的实践宗教。若旁人不帮助建造医院，他便认为他们根本没有宗教。然而并无理由要求每个人都这样做。哲学家同样可能谴责每一个没有智识的人。人们或许建造了两万所医院，而哲学家宣称他们不过是……诸神的役畜。虔信者有其自己的理念与标准：无法爱真主的人，无论做什么事，都毫无价值。「瑜伽修士信奉」对心灵「的掌控以及」对「内在」自然的征服。「你在这方面取得了多少进展？你对感官的控制有多少，对身体的控制有多少？」——这就是瑜伽修士所追问的一切。如我们所说，每个人皆以自己的标准评判他人。人们或许已捐出了百万美元，并喂养了老鼠与猫咪，如同印度某些人所做的那样。他们说，人可以自行照顾自己，但可怜的动物却不能。这便是他们的理念。然而对于瑜伽修士而言，目标是征服「内在」自然，他以此标准衡量人……
我们总是空谈「实践性宗教」，但它必须以我们自己的方式来加以实践。尤其是「在西方国家」，新教徒的理想是行善。他们并不十分在乎奉献与哲学。他们认为那些没有多大意义。「你的智识有什么用！」「他们说，」「人必须做些什么！」……一点人道主义罢了！各教会日夜抨击冷漠的不可知论，然而他们自己似乎也正在迅速向那方向偏去。冷漠的奴隶！功利性的宗教！这便是当今的精神气候。这也是为何某些佛教思想在西方如此盛行。人们不知道是否有真主，是否有灵魂。「他们认为：」这个世界充满苦难，尽力帮助这个世界吧。
我们正在讲授的瑜伽（Yoga）学说，并非从那种立场出发。「它教导」确实存在灵魂，而在这灵魂之内蕴藏着一切力量，它已然在那里，若我们能掌握这具身体，一切力量便将展开。一切知识皆在灵魂之中。人们为何在挣扎？为了减少苦难……一切不幸福，皆因我们对身体没有掌控能力而起……我们都在倒本置末……就以行动体系为例。我们通过……抚慰穷苦来试图行善。我们没有触及制造苦难的根源，不过是用一只桶去舀干大海，而「更多」的水仍不断涌来。瑜伽修士看透了这一切皆是无稽之谈。「他说，」走出苦难之道，是首先了解苦难的根源。……我们试图尽力行善，是为了什么？若有一种无法治愈的疾病，我们为何要挣扎着照顾自己？若功利主义者说：「不要操心灵魂和真主！」这对瑜伽修士意味着什么，对世界又意味着什么？世界从「这种态度」中得不到任何益处。苦难一直在不断增加……
瑜伽修士说，你要追溯这一切的根源。世间为何存在苦难？他回答：「一切不过是我们自己的愚昧，没有对自身身体进行适当的掌控，仅此而已。」他提供了可以「克服」这苦难的方法。若你能如此掌控身体，世间一切苦难便将消散。每一所医院都在祈愿越来越多的病人来到那里。每当你想到做什么善事，你就想到会有某个乞丐来接受你的善施。若你说：「啊，主啊，愿世界充满慷慨之人！」——你的意思是，愿世界充满乞丐。让世界充满善行——便是让世界充满苦难。这是彻头彻尾的奴性！
……瑜伽修士说，若你知道苦难为何存在，宗教便是实践性的。世间一切苦难皆在感官之中。日月星辰有什么病苦吗？同一团火，为你烹饪膳食，也灼伤了孩童。这是火的过错吗？赞美那火！赞美这电！它给予光明……你能将责任归于何处？不在诸元素。世界既非善，也非恶；世界就是世界，火就是火。若你将手指烧伤，你是个蠢人。若你「烹饪膳食用以满足饥腹，」你是个智者。区别仅此而已。环境永远不能是善的或恶的，只有个体的人才能是善的或恶的。所谓世界的善与恶是什么意思？苦难与幸福只能属于感官性的个体之人。
瑜伽修士说，自然是被享受者，灵魂是享受者。一切苦难与幸福——在哪里？在感官之中。正是感官的触碰带来了苦乐、冷热。若我们能控制感官，规定它们应当感受什么——不让它们像现在这样支配我们——若它们能听命于我们，成为我们的仆从，问题便迎刃而解。我们被感官所束缚，它们玩弄我们，时时令我们出丑。
这里有一股难闻的气味，当它触碰我的鼻子时，便会带给我不幸福。我是鼻子的奴隶。若我不是它的奴隶，我便无所谓。一个人辱骂我，他的辱骂进入我的耳朵，留存在我的心灵与身体之中。若我是主人，我会说：「让这些事情过去吧，对我毫无影响。我并不痛苦，我不在意。」这是直截了当、纯粹、简单、清晰的真理。
另一个有待解决的问题是——它是实践性的吗？人能否达到掌控身体的能力？……瑜伽说它是实践性的……退一步设想，若并非如此——假设你心中有疑惑，你还是必须去尝试。除此之外别无他路……
你或许终其一生都在行善。尽管如此，你仍将是感官的奴隶，你将会悲苦不幸。你或许研读过每一种宗教的哲学。这个国家的人背负着成堆成堆的书籍。他们不过是学者，是感官的奴隶，因此时而幸福时而不幸。他们读了两千本书，这固然很好，但一旦一丝苦难降临，他们便忧虑焦急……你们自称人！你们站起来……建造医院。你们是蠢人！
人与动物之间有何区别？……「饮食「与」睡眠，物种的繁衍以及恐惧，这些与动物共有。只有一个区别：人能够控制这一切，成为真主，成为主人。」动物无法做到这一点。动物也能做慈善的工作，蚂蚁做到了，狗也做到了。那么区别在何处？人能够成为自己的主人，能够抵御对任何事物的反应……动物不能抵御任何事物，它处处被自然的线绳所牵控。这便是唯一的区别。一方是自然的主人，另一方是自然的奴隶。什么是自然？五种感官……
「征服内在自然」是唯一的出路，瑜伽如是说。……对真主的渴求就是宗教……善行与其他一切「不过」使心灵稍稍平静下来。要修习这一道——要臻于圆满——一切皆取决于我们的过去。我一生都在研习「瑜伽」，进展甚微。然而我已获得足够的「成果」来相信这是唯一真正的道路。终有一天，我将成为自己的主人。若非在今生，「则在另一生」。我将不断奋斗，决不放弃。任何努力都不会失去，若我此刻离世，我过去所有的奋斗「都将来帮助我」。你们难道没有见过，是什么造就了人与人之间的差别吗？是他们的过去。过去的习性使一人成为天才，另一人成为愚者。你或许拥有过去的力量，能在五分钟内取得成功。没有人能预测那时刻的到来。我们所有人都必须在某一时刻达到「圆满」。
瑜伽修士给予我们的大部分实践性教训，在于心灵层面，在于专注与冥想的力量。……我们已变得如此唯物主义，当我们想到自己，我们只找到肉身。肉身已成为理想，别无他物。因此，一些身体层面的帮助是必要的……
首先，要以一种能够长时间静坐的姿势坐好。所有正在运作的神经电流皆沿脊柱运行。脊柱并非为了支撑身体的重量而设。因此，姿势必须使身体的重量不压迫脊柱，让它不受任何压迫，保持自由。
还有一些其他的初步事项，包括饮食与锻炼的重要问题。……
饮食应当简单，每日分多次进食，而非一两次。绝不要让自己过度饥饿。「进食过多者不能成为瑜伽修士，过度禁食者亦不能成为瑜伽修士，睡眠过多者不能成为瑜伽修士，过度不眠者亦然。」不做任何工作者与过度劳作者皆无法成功。适当的饮食、适当的锻炼、适当的睡眠、适当的清醒——这些对任何方面的成功都是必要的。
什么是适当的饮食，何种类型，我们必须自行决定，无人能替我们决定。一般而言，我们须回避刺激性的食物。……我们不知道如何依照自己的职业来调整饮食。我们总是忘记，正是食物构成了我们所拥有的一切。因此，我们所需要的能量的数量与种类，必须由饮食来决定……
激烈的锻炼并非必要的。……若你想要肌肉发达，瑜伽不适合你。你必须培养一种比你现有的更为精微的有机体。激烈的锻炼是有害的。……与那些不过度锻炼的人为伍。若不进行激烈锻炼，你会活得更长。你不想把灯油烧在肌肉上！用脑工作的人是最长寿的人。……不要快速燃尽那盏灯，让它缓慢而温和地燃烧。……每一种焦虑，每一种激烈的锻炼——无论身体的还是心灵的——「都意味着」你在燃烧那盏灯。
适当的饮食，总的来说，就是简单地不吃高度辛辣的食物。瑜伽修士说，心灵有三种类型，与自然的诸元素相应。一种是迟钝的心灵，它遮蔽了灵魂的光明。其次是使人变得活跃的心灵，最后是使人平静安宁的心灵。
有些人天生就有整天昏睡的倾向，他们的口味偏向于腐烂的食物——那种爬满东西的奶酪。他们会吃那种几乎从桌上蹦跳而起的奶酪，这是他们的自然倾向。
活跃性的人喜好一切辛辣热烈的食物，喜爱烈性酒精……
悦性（Sattva）的人是极为深思熟虑的、安静而有耐心的，他们少量进食，从不吃任何不良的食物。
我常被问到这个问题：「我应当戒肉吗？」我的上师说：「你为何要舍弃任何东西？它自然会舍弃你。」不要刻意舍弃自然中的任何事物，让自然变得足够令人厌恶，它自然会舍弃你。终有一天，你将不可能再吃肉，只消见到肉食便会感到厌恶。终有一天，许多你现在奋力戒除的事物将会令人反感，令人感到切实的厌恶。
其次，还有各种调息（Pranayama）练习。其中一种由三个部分组成：吸气、持气——屏住呼吸，不吸不呼——以及呼气。「某些调息练习」相当困难，若不配合适当的饮食，某些复杂的练习会带来很大的危险。我不建议你们修习这些练习，只修习最简单的那些即可。
深吸一口气，充满肺部，然后缓缓呼出。用一个鼻孔吸气，充满肺部，然后缓缓从另一个鼻孔呼出。我们中有些人呼吸不够深沉，另一些人无法充分充满肺部。这些呼吸练习将大大改善这一状况。早晨半小时，傍晚半小时，将使你脱胎换骨。这种调息练习绝无危险。其他练习应极为缓慢地修习，衡量自己的力量——若十分钟令你精疲力竭，就只练五分钟。
瑜伽修士被期望保持自身身体的健康。这些各种调息练习在调节身体各部分方面大有裨益。所有不同的部分皆被气息所灌溉，正是通过气息，我们得以掌控它们全体。身体各部分的不和谐，通过增加流向那些部分的神经电流来加以调节。瑜伽修士必须能够判断，身体某处的疼痛，究竟是由于活力不足还是过盛所致，他必须将其调和均衡……
「在瑜伽修行中取得成功的」另一条件是梵行（chastity），它是一切修行的基石。无论已婚或未婚——皆须做到完全的梵行。这当然是一个宏大的课题，然而我想说：公开讨论这一课题并不符合这个国家的风俗。这些西方国家充斥着那些以导师之名披着外皮的最堕落的存在，他们教导男男女女，若保持梵行清净便会受到身体上的伤害。他们是从哪里得出这一切的？……每年有成千上万的人带着这一问题来找我。有人告诉他们，若保持梵行与清净，便会在身体上受到伤害……这些导师是如何知晓的？他们自己持守梵行了吗？那些不洁、不纯、充满欲念的蠢人，那些贪恋欲望的卑劣之辈，竟要将整个世界拉低到他们的「境地」！……
唯有经由牺牲，方能有所得……我们人类意识中最神圣的机能，最崇高的功能，不要让它变得不洁！不要让它堕落到野兽的层次……让自己成为正人君子！……保持梵行与清净！……别无他途。基督找到了其他的出路吗？……若你能保存并善加运用那能量，它将引领你归向真主。若颠倒运用，它便是地狱本身……
要对任何事物在外在层面上有所作为都要容易得多，然而世上最伟大的征服者，当他试图控制自己的心灵时，发现自己不过是个孩童。这才是他必须征服的世界——那更宏大、更为艰难的世界。不要绝望！奋起，觉醒，不达目标，誓不停步！……
注释
English
Everyone's idea of practical religion is according to his theory of practicality and the standpoint he starts from. There is work. There is the system of worship. There is knowledge.
The philosopher thinks ... the difference between bondage and freedom is only caused by knowledge and ignorance. To him, knowledge is the goal, and his practicality is gaining that knowledge.... The worshipper's practical religion is the power of love and devotion. The worker's practical religion consists in doing good works. And so, as in every other thing, we are always trying to ignore the standard of another, trying to bind the whole world to our standard.
Doing good to his fellow-beings is the practical religion of the man full of love. If men do not help to build hospitals, he thinks that they have no religion at all. But there is no reason why everyone should do that. The philosopher, in the same way, may denounce every man who does not have knowledge. People may build twenty thousand hospitals, and the philosopher declares they are but ... the beasts of burden of the gods. The worshipper has his own idea and standard: Men who cannot love God are no good, whatever work they do. The [Yogi believes in] psychic [control and] the conquest of [internal] nature. "How much have you gained towards that? How much control over your senses, over your body?"— that is all the Yogi asks. And, as we said, each one judges the others by his own standard. Men may have given millions of dollars and fed rats and cats, as some do in India. They say that men can take care of themselves, but the poor animals cannot. That is their idea. But to the Yogi the goal is conquest of [internal] nature, and he judges man by that standard....
We are always talking [about] practical religion. But it must be practical in our sense. Especially [so] in the Western countries. The Protestants' ideal is good works. They do not care much for devotion and philosophy. They think there is not much in it. "What is your knowledge!" [they say]. "Man has to do something!" ... A little humanitarianism! The churches rail day and night against callous agnosticism. Yet they seem to be veering rapidly towards just that. Callous slaves! Religion of utility! That is the spirit just now. And that is why some Buddhists have become so popular in the West. People do not know whether there is a God or not, whether there is a soul or not. [They think :] This world is full of misery. Try to help this world.
The Yoga doctrine, which we are having our lecture on, is not from that standpoint. [It teaches that] there is the soul, and inside this soul is all power. It is already there, and if we can master this body, all the power will be unfolded. All knowledge is in the soul. Why are people struggling? To lessen the misery.... All unhappiness is caused by our not having mastery over the body.... We are all putting the cart before the horse.... Take the system of work, for instance. We are trying to do good by ... comforting the poor. We do not get to the cause which created the misery. It is like taking a bucket to empty out the ocean, and more [water] comes all the time. The Yogi sees that this is nonsense. [He says that] the way out of misery is to know the cause of misery first.... We try to do the good we can. What for? If there is an incurable disease, why should we struggle and take care of ourselves? If the utilitarians say: "Do not bother about soul and God!" what is that to the Yogi and what is it to the world? The world does not derive any good [from such an attitude]. More and more misery is going on all the time....
The Yogi says you are to go to the root of all this. Why is there misery in the world? He answers: "It is all our own foolishness, not having proper mastery of our own bodies. That is all." He advises the means by which this misery can be [overcome]. If you can thus get mastery of your body, all the misery of the world will vanish. Every hospital is praying that more and more sick people will come there. Every time you think of doing some charity, you think there is some beggar to take your charity. If you say, "O Lord, let the world be full of charitable people!" — you mean, let the world be full of beggars also. Let the world be full of good works - let the world be full of misery. This is out-and-out slavishness!
... The Yogi says, religion is practical if you know first why misery exists. All the misery in the world is in the senses. Is there any ailment in the sun, moon, and stars? The same fire that cooks your meal burns the child. Is it the fault of the fire? Blessed be the fire! Blessed be this electricity! It gives light.... Where can you lay the blame? Not on the elements. The world is neither good nor bad; the world is the world. The fire is the fire. If you burn your finger in it, you are a fool. If you [cook your meal and with it satisfy your hunger,] you are a wise man. That is all the difference. Circumstances can never be good or bad. Only the individual man can be good or bad. What is meant by the world being good or bad? Misery and happiness can only belong to the sensuous individual man.
The Yogis say that nature is the enjoyed; the soul is the enjoyer. All misery and happiness — where is it? In the senses. It is the touch of the senses that causes pleasure and pain, heat and cold. If we can control the senses and order what they shall feel — not let them order us about as they are doing now — if they can obey our commands, become our servants, the problem is solved at once. We are bound by the senses; they play upon us, make fools of us all the time.
Here is a bad odour. It will bring me unhappiness as soon as it touches my nose. I am the slave of my nose. If I am not its slave, I do not care. A man curses me. His curses enter my ears and are retained in my mind and body. If I am the master, I shall say: "Let these things go; they are nothing to me. I am not miserable. I do not bother." This is the outright, pure, simple, clear-cut truth.
The other problem to be solved is — is it practical? Can man attain to the power of mastery of the body? ... Yoga says it is practical .... Supposing it is not — suppose there are doubts in your mind. You have got to try it. There is no other way out....
You may do good works all the time. All the same, you will be the slave of your senses, you will be miserable and unhappy. You may study the philosophy of every religion. Men in this country carry loads and loads of books on their backs. They are mere scholars, slaves of the senses, and therefore happy and unhappy. They read two thousand books, and that is all right; but as soon as a little misery comes, they are worried, anxious.... You call yourselves men! You stand up ... and build hospitals. You are fools!
What is the difference between men and animals? ... "Food and [sleep], procreation of the species, and fear exist in common with the animals. There is one difference: Man can control all these and become God, the master." Animals cannot do it. Animals can do charitable work. Ants do it. Dogs do it. What is the difference then? Men can be masters of themselves. They can resist the reaction to anything.... The animal cannot resist anything. He is held ... by the string of nature everywhere. That is all the distinction. One is the master of nature, the other the slave of nature. What is nature? The five senses....
[The conquest of internal nature] is the only way out, according to Yoga.... The thirst for God is religion.... Good works and all that [merely] make the mind a little quiet. To practice this — to be perfect — all depends upon our past. I have been studying [Yoga] all my life and have made very little progress yet. But I have got enough [result] to believe that this is the only true way. The day will come when I will be master of myself. If not in this life, [in another life]. I will struggle and never let go. Nothing is lost. If I die this moment, all my past struggles [will come to my help]. Have you not seen what makes the difference between one man and another? It is their past. The past habits make one man a genius and another man a fool. You may have the power of the past and can succeed in five minutes. None can predict the moment of time. We all have to attain [perfection] some time or other.
The greater part of the practical lessons which the Yogi gives us is in the mind, the power of concentration and meditation.... We have become so materialistic. When we think of ourselves, we find only the body. The body has become the ideal, nothing else. Therefore a little physical help is necessary....
First, to sit in the posture In which you can sit still for a long time. All the nerve currents which are working pass along the spine. The spine is not intended to support the weight of the body. Therefore the posture must be such that the weight of the body is not on the spine. Let it be free from all pressure.
There are some other preliminary things. There is the great question of food and exercise....
The food must be simple and taken several times [a day] instead of once or twice. Never get very hungry. "He who eats too much cannot be a Yogi. He who fasts too much cannot be a Yogi. He who sleeps too much cannot be a Yogi, nor he who keeps awake too much." He who does not do any work and he who works too hard cannot succeed. Proper food, proper exercise, proper sleep, proper wakefulness — these are necessary for any success.
What the proper food is, what kind, we have to determine ourselves. Nobody can determine that [for us]. As a general practice, we have to shun exciting food.... We do not know how to vary our diet with our occupation. We always forget that it is the food out of which we manufacture everything we have. So the amount and kind of energy that we want, the food must determine....
Violent exercises are not all necessary.... If you want to be muscular, Yoga is not for you. You have to manufacture a finer organism than you have now. Violent exercises are positively hurtful.... Live amongst those who do not take too much exercise. If you do not take violent exercise, you will live longer. You do not want to burn out your lamp in muscles! People who work with their brains are the longest-lived people.... Do not burn the lamp quickly. Let it bum slowly and gently.... Every anxiety, every violent exercise — physical and mental — [means] you are burning the lamp.
The proper diet means, generally, simply do not eat highly spiced foods. There are three sorts of mind, says the Yogi, according to the elements of nature. One is the dull mind, which covers the luminosity of the soul. Then there is that which makes people active, and lastly, that which makes them calm and peaceful.
Now there are persons born with the tendency to sleep all the time. Their taste will be towards that type of food which is rotting — crawling cheese. They will eat cheese that fairly jumps off the table. It is a natural tendency with them.
Then active people. Their taste is for everything hot and pungent, strong alcohol....
Sâttvika people are very thoughtful, quiet, and patient. They take food in small quantities, and never anything bad.
I am always asked the question: "Shall I give up meat?" My Master said, "Why should you give up anything? It will give you up." Do not give up anything in nature. Make it so hot for nature that she will give you up. There will come a time when you cannot possibly eat meat. The very sight of it will disgust you. There will come a time when many things you are struggling to give up will be distasteful, positively loathsome.
Then there are various sorts of breathing exercises. One consists of three parts: the drawing in of the breath, the holding of the breath — stopping still without breathing — and throwing the breath out. [Some breathing exercises] are rather difficult, and some of the complicated ones are attended with great danger if done without proper diet. I would not advise you to go through any one of these except the very simple ones.
Take a deep breath and fill the lungs. Slowly throw the breath out. Take it through one nostril and fill the lungs, and throw it out slowly through the other nostril. Some of us do not breathe deeply enough. Others cannot fill the lungs enough. These breathings will correct that very much. Half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening will make you another person. This sort of breathing is never dangerous. The other exercises should be practiced very slowly. And measure your strength. If ten minutes are a drain, only take five.
The Yogi is expected to keep his own body well. These various breathing exercises are a great help in regulating the different parts of the body. All the different parts are inundated with breath. It is through breath that we gain control of them all. Disharmony in parts of the body is controlled by more flow of the nerve currents towards them. The Yogi ought to be able to tell when in any part pain is caused by less vitality or more. He has to equalise that....
Another condition [for success in Yoga] is chastity. It is the corner-stone of all practice. Married or unmarried — perfect chastity. It is a long subject, of course, but I want to tell you: Public discussions of this subject are not to the taste of this country. These Western countries are full of the most degraded beings in the shape of teachers who teach men and women that if they are chaste they will be hurt. How do they gather all this? ... People come to me — thousands come every year — with this one question. Someone has told them that if they are chaste and pure they will be hurt physically.... How do these teachers know it? Have they been chaste? Those unchaste, impure fools, lustful creatures, want to drag the whole world down to their [level]! ...
Nothing is gained except by sacrifice.... The holiest function of our human consciousness, the noblest, do not make it unclean! Do not degrade it to the level of the brutes.... Make yourselves decent men! ... Be chaste and pure! ... There is no other way. Did Christ find any other way? ... If you can conserve and use the energy properly, it leads you to God. Inverted, it is hell itself ....
It is much easier to do anything upon the external plane, but the greatest conqueror in the world finds himself a mere child when he tries to control his own mind. This is the world he has to conquer — the greater and more difficult world to conquer. Do not despair! Awake, arise, and stop not until the goal is reached!...
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文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。