觀月樓

以下譯自梁乃崇教授講述之 "探究真心".

翻譯：黃寧靜

The text below was translated from the lectures gaved by professor Lian, "Discover Your True Heart", and translated by Serena Huang.

The Meaning of True Heart
    What is the “true heart”? The true heart is our original appearance; or, simply put, it is our “true self”. You may ask: “what or who is ‘true self’”? The answer is: Anything, including people, animals, things, emotions, etc., that you know, you feel, you sense, you perceive, is perceivable. Since there are things that are perceivable, there must exist a subject that is able to perceive those perceivable. The subject which is able to perceive is called the “perceiver”, and the “ultimate perceiver” is your true self. In other words, the subject that is able to perceive but can never be perceived, is your true self.

True Heart and Turn Back
    There is an old Chinese motto that is familiar to all of us: “Turn back and be saved”. We all know it means to stop going further in the wrong direction or stop doing bad things so that you can be saved. But actually, the motto has a more profound meaning. When we are thinking or doing bad things (as well as “good” things), our heart is in a condition of chasing things of the outside world. If we want to find our true heart, we must stop chasing outwardly, we must turn back. This is what Buddhism teaches us.
The question is how to “turn back”? Since our mind has been so used to operating outwardly instead of inwardly, how can we “turn back”? Even just to make a simple expression, to speak a word, can be “chasing outwardly”: how can we “turn back”?

The Category of Perceivable
  Now let us clarify the term “perceivable”. Whenever you see something, or hear, or think or even just feel something, those things are “perceivable”, aren’t they? Even your own body and your own limbs, are perceived by “you”, aren’t they? So, aren’t they “perceivable”? Moreover, please check your mind. Is there any thought, word, image, emotion, or signal in your mind? Aren’t they perceived by “you”? Aren’t they perceivable?
As I have explained that anything you can perceive is not your true self, and that true self is the ultimate perceiver, therefore, whenever one thing is perceived by you, it is not your true self, including your limbs, your body, your thoughts, your emotions, etc.
Let us try another way to comprehend the concept. Think about it: Whenever there is something you see, you hear, you touch, or you feel, “who” is actually seeing, hearing, touching, or feeling it? If there is a thought in your mind, then, “who” is thinking the thought? If there is a feeling in your mind, then, “who” is feeling it?

To be continued.
(Translated by Serena Huang.)