17至25歲青年的第二大死因是自殺。
在我看來，自殺或許是對當今精神抑鬱的最強烈表示。如果財富等於幸福，為什麼在世界上最富庶的國家，年輕人理應處處洋溢著快樂的氣息，而實際情形正好相反？這一族群的第一大死因是「意外事故」，專家稱之為「具有高度風險的行動」，往往以死亡告終。現在有許多因素都與這一現象關聯，都顯示出廣泛瀰漫的「精神危機」，也就是在生活的核心中，有某種東西出了差錯。它們表明內心心理上的不安、空虛。
我想這主要是因為將市場經濟的價值觀及目的，作為現在人生活的重心，使其成為我們的「宗教」所造成的。
這些結果都是從佛教模型可以預料到的：縱欲、生活以欲為中心，追求財富、享受、權利（「市場經濟道德」的全部）都是苦的起因。經濟系統在創造出龐大的財富產品時，也產生了廣泛的疾病、隔閡、焦慮、陌生、恐懼、深刻的空虛、失落、不安的問題。
結束時我想指出，佛教另譬途徑，為市場經濟的世界觀提供了實用可行的改變方案。佛教並非一套信仰上的教條，任何人抓住它就可以「得救」的。它徹底改變了我們觀看世界的角度，和生活的方式。它有微妙系統的自我修行方式，要求我們深化正念，觀照的層次。其結果是，我們在生存的三個基本方面都獲得自由，充滿了善。這三個方面包括：我們與自然的關係，與他人的關係（社會），與自己的關係（心理）。或許這可以解釋為什麼佛教在西方會迅速成長，為什麼佛教是在美國成長最快的東方宗教。
我想講到此為止。我本想深入討論佛教的方法論，而不花這麼多時間來清理資本主義。可我一上車打開收音機，就痛苦地感受到市場經濟影響的氾濫。所以我想清理一下資本主義，並不是浪廢功夫。我們在經濟活動中沉淪太久了，已很難完全注意到它消磨我們的力量。中國有句話：「入鮑魚之肆，久而不聞其臭。」我希望今天會後，我們都能夠敏銳地覺察到「可以怎樣，過去曾怎樣」，而不要只是接受現狀。佛教說「迴光返照」，或許答案就在這裡。
以下這段《老子清靜經》文字今天沒時間解釋，我將它留下。你們會發現它與今天的討論密切相關：
「夫人神好清而心擾之。人心好靜而欲牽之。常能遣其欲而心自靜。澄其心而神自清。自然六欲不生，三毒消滅。……既有妄心，即驚其神。既驚其神，即著萬物。既著萬物，即生貪求。既生貪求，即是煩惱。煩惱妄想，憂苦身心，便遭濁辱。流浪生死，常沉苦海，永失眞道。眞常之道，悟者自得。得悟道者，常清靜矣。」
（全文完）
上人語錄
※不愛不憎為中道。修道，修什麼道？就是修這個中道，對誰都是平等相待，慈悲為懷，但要謹慎行事，不可落在情愛樊籠。
|
|
The second leading cause of death among 17 to 25 year olds is suicide.
Suicide, to me is perhaps the most significant indicator of malaise at the core, the sickness of the spirit. Why is it that in the most affluent, well-to-do, country in the world, where if happiness is equated with wealth, you would expect to see widespread joie de vivre among the young and a healthy will to live, you find the opposite? The leading cause of death for this group is "accidental," defined by experts as high-risk-taking behavior that flirts with death, and often tragically ends in the same. Now, while there are many factors contributing to these phenomena, they all point to a widespread "spiritual crisis," i.e. something missing or amiss at the very core of life. They suggest a hollowing-out of the inner or psychological dimension: a spiritual disturbance. I would suggest that much of this is the predictable result of placing the values and aims of the market economy at the center of modern life; making it our "religion" if you will.
All of this is what one would expect from the Buddhist model: desires unchecked, greed made central to our lives, the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, power (all the "virtues" of the market economy") are the cause of suffering. While this economic system has produced vast amounts of wealth (but for only a few as we have seen), and huge quantities of things, it also has engendered a lot of disease, disconnectedness, anxiety, alienation, fear, and a profound sense of emptiness, loss, and drift.
Let me close by suggesting that Buddhism offers an alternative, quite practical and accessible, to the market-driven worldview. Buddhism is not simply a set of beliefs or doctrines that one holds to and thereby is "saved." It is a whole reorientation of the way we look at things, and the manner in which we live our lives. It involves a detailed and systematic method of self-cultivation, with deepening levels of mindfulness, insight, and consequent freedom and wholeness in our three basic dimensions of existence: our relationship with nature (natural), our relationships with each other (social), and our relationship with ourselves (psychological). It is perhaps this prospect that explains the immense and growing interest in Buddhism in the West, making it the fastest growing eastern religion in America now.
I will stop here as time is up. I would have liked to have gone further into the Buddhist methodology, instead of spending so much of the hour bashing capitalism. Yet, as soon as I get in my car and turn on the radio, I will be painfully reminded of how pervasive is the influence of the market; and so I don't feel the bashing a waste, or at all redundant. We are so immersed in economic activity that we hardly notice its all-consuming power over us. I am reminded of a Chinese saying: "Been in the fish market so long, I can no longer smell the odor of fish." So I hope through this meeting today we are all keeping alive a keen sense of what could be, what may have once been, and not just benignly accept what is. As we say in Buddhism, "return the light, illumine within." Perhaps therein lies the answer.
I will leave you with a passage of text I didn't have time to explore, but which I think you may find relevant to today's discussion.
Classic of Purity and Stillness
The human spirit tends toward purity,
but the mind disturbs it;
The human mind tends toward stillness,
but desires entice it away.
If you can control desire, then the mind will be still;
If you can clear your mind, then the spirit will be pure.
Cravings will vanish, the three poisons disappear...
But when the mind is wild,
the spirit is disturbed,
When the spirit is disturbed,
it attaches to the ten thousand things;
When the ten thousand things are sought,
craving and desire emerge,
Because of craving and desire, stress and anxiety rise
and the body and mind are afflicted by tensions—
You live in disappointment and anxiety,
and sink into an ocean of suffering
and forever stray from the True Way.
If you can see intuitively,
you will live the true and natural way.
If you understand the Way intuitively,
you will always be pure and still.
(The End)
Venerable Master's Dharma Words
Neither loving nor hating anything is the Middle Way. We speak of cultivating the Way, but what is this Way that we cultivate? It is the Middle Way-treating everyone with equanimity, kindness and compassion. |
