英文原文
Why is this blog called The Existential Buddhist? Why not something else? After all, there aren’t a lot of references to existential philosophers like Heidegger, Sartre, or Kierkegaard on this site, nor is there a lot of hyphenated existential jargon. So why The Existential Buddhist? For me, Buddhism is a way of living that addresses existential concerns rather than a dogma that addresses religious concerns. I’m not primarily interested in gods, cosmologies, mythologies, devotions, prayers, or rituals. I am interested in existential questions that matter to how we actually live our lives. Questions like: What is one supposed to do with this human life? What does it mean to live authentically? What does it mean to be responsible for one’s life? What is our relationship to the natural world? What is our relationship to our fellow human beings? What does it mean to be ethical in a world without a Creator or Judge? How can one justify one’s actions when religion has lost its authority? We find ourselves thrown into existence in a world shared with others, moving through time towards sickness, old age, and death. What are we supposed to do with this life? Maximize sensual pleasure? Exert power over others and control them? Create aesthetic beauty? Worship and serve God? Demonstrate care and concern for others? Make money? Discover truth? Philosophies and religions squabble and compete in the marketplace of ideas. Which one should we adopt? The one our parents believed in? The one claiming to be the word of God? The one that’s most consistent with science? Is there a meaning inherent in life? Can one dwell in groundlessness? Buddhism offers a way to explore existential issues using an experiential process rather than relying on dogma, creed, or disembodied logic. One feels one’s way through questions by living them out as koans. Meditation deepens our experience of them. We sit silently with questions, listening, feeling, breathing. We might ask "What does it mean to be fully present in this moment?" or "Who is the I that is sitting here with this question?" We watch the ripples and undercurrents in our minds as we inquire. We are not looking for "answers" but to penetrate to the heart of what it means to be an inquiring, wondering being. In doing so we rediscover awareness, our Buddha nature, our place of clear seeing. We discover a process that is the activity of an integrated body/mind/heart without an Imperial Self that controls it. We discover our vibrant connection to things as they are. The Buddha suggested many times that we set aside metaphysical questions and focus on addressing the source of our existential uneasiness and dissatisfaction. He told us to be a lamp unto ourselves. For me, this is the core of Buddhism. For many, maybe most Buddhists, Buddhism is simply a religion with all its rituals, devotions, cosmology, celestial beings, and attempts to earn merit and a better afterlife. I’m not opposed to ritual and devotion, and it can be fun to speculate about cosmology and what happens after death. But that’s not what interests me the most about Buddhism. That’s why this blog is called The Existential Buddhist.
中文翻译
为什么这个博客叫做“存在主义佛教徒”？为什么不叫别的名字？毕竟，这个网站上并没有大量引用海德格尔、萨特或克尔凯郭尔等存在主义哲学家的观点，也没有很多带有连字符的存在主义术语。那么为什么是“存在主义佛教徒”呢？对我来说，佛教是一种解决存在主义关切的生活方式，而不是解决宗教问题的教条。我主要对神、宇宙论、神话、奉献、祈祷或仪式不感兴趣。我感兴趣的是那些真正影响我们如何生活的存在主义问题。比如：一个人应该用这一生做什么？真实地生活意味着什么？对自己的生命负责意味着什么？我们与自然界的关系是什么？我们与同胞的关系是什么？在一个没有造物主或审判者的世界里，道德意味着什么？当宗教失去权威时，一个人如何为自己的行为辩护？我们发现自己被抛入一个与他人共享的世界中，随着时间走向疾病、衰老和死亡。我们应该用这一生做什么？最大化感官愉悦？对他人施加权力并控制他们？创造美学美？崇拜和侍奉上帝？表现出对他人的关心和关怀？赚钱？发现真理？哲学和宗教在思想市场上争吵和竞争。我们应该采用哪一种？我们父母相信的那一种？声称是上帝话语的那一种？与科学最一致的那一种？生活中是否有固有的意义？一个人能否在无根基中安住？佛教提供了一种通过体验过程来探索存在主义问题的方式，而不是依赖教条、信条或脱离身体的逻辑。一个人通过将问题作为公案来生活，从而感受这些问题。冥想加深了我们对这些问题的体验。我们静静地坐着，带着问题，倾听、感受、呼吸。我们可能会问“完全活在当下意味着什么？”或者“坐在这里问这个问题的‘我’是谁？”我们在询问时观察心中的涟漪和暗流。我们不是在寻找“答案”，而是深入探究作为一个询问、好奇的存在意味着什么的核心。通过这样做，我们重新发现觉知、我们的佛性、我们清晰看见的地方。我们发现一个过程，这是一个整合的身/心/心的活动，没有一个控制它的“帝王自我”。我们发现我们与事物如是的鲜活连接。佛陀多次建议我们搁置形而上学的问题，专注于解决我们存在主义不安和不满的根源。他告诉我们要成为自己的灯。对我来说，这是佛教的核心。对许多人，也许是大多数佛教徒来说，佛教只是一种宗教，具有所有的仪式、奉献、宇宙论、天神，以及试图积累功德和获得更好来世的努力。我不反对仪式和奉献，猜测宇宙论和死后发生的事情可能很有趣。但这并不是我对佛教最感兴趣的地方。这就是为什么这个博客叫做“存在主义佛教徒”。
文章概要
本文探讨了佛教哲学如何应对中年存在主义问题，强调佛教作为一种生活方式而非宗教教条，通过体验过程如冥想和公案来探索生命意义、真实性、责任和伦理等存在主义关切。作者指出佛教的核心是解决存在主义不安，而非形而上学问题，并提倡成为自己的灯，这与中年时期对生命意义的深层追问相契合。
高德明老师的评价
1. 用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：这篇文章就像在说，当我们长大到中年，可能会开始想“我这一生到底要干嘛？”或者“怎么才算活得真实？”佛教就像一位智慧的朋友，它不强迫你相信什么神仙或仪式，而是教你通过静坐和思考，自己找到答案。比如，当你安静地坐着，感受呼吸，问自己“现在这一刻我完全在这里吗？”这样你就能慢慢明白生活的意义，就像点亮自己心里的一盏灯，照亮前路。
2. 佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角：从佛学宗派视角看，本文强调的体验过程与大乘显宗的“直指人心，见性成佛”理念相通，尤其是禅宗的公案参究和冥想实践。在《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角下，这种存在主义探索可视为显宗“理入”的体现，通过思维修持破除对自我和世界的执着，而准提法则提供了“事入”的方便，结合咒语和观想来深化觉知。准提法的优点在于它圆融显密，既注重心性觉悟，又通过具体修法快速积累资粮，帮助中年修行者在繁忙生活中应对存在主义焦虑，实现身心整合。
3. 在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题：在修行实践上，本文的体验方法可以应用于解决人们的十个问题：一是中年身份危机，通过冥想重新认识自我；二是生活无意义感，借公案探索生命目的；三是人际关系紧张，以觉知培养慈悲；四是工作压力大，用呼吸法舒缓焦虑；五是健康衰退恐惧，观无常提升接纳力；六是伦理困惑，依佛教智慧建立道德基础；七是孤独感，在修行中连接众生；八是未来迷茫，修当下觉照清晰方向；九是自我怀疑，通过佛性认知增强信心；十是死亡焦虑，以空性观照超越恐惧。准提法在此特别有效，其简便可修的咒语和观想能快速安定心神，结合显宗教理，帮助人们在实际生活中应对这些挑战，促进灵性成长。