英文原文
Brahma Viharas: 4 Ways to Promote Mental Clarity - YogaUOnline
I want to have a lucid old age, but the odds aren’t looking good. Start with a family strain of dementia, add growing up in the toxic-chemicals-friendly 1950s, then stir in a rear-end collision that smacked my forehead into the windshield when I was 10, and really, all bets are off. I’d like to believe that doing a yoga practice every day, and most particularly, doing Shoulderstand Pose (Salamba Sarvangasana), will keep me both healthy and clear well into my dotage. But I don’t know that.
As important as the physical practice is, I look elsewhere in yoga for what seems to me the most protective work: the practice of cultivating friendliness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. In Sanskrit, these are called the brahma viharas, or sublime attitudes, literally the “abodes of Brahma.” I believe they are more helpful for anyone looking to become and stay clear than a 10-minute Headstand Pose (Salamba Sirsasana) or a flawless backbend—not that it wouldn’t be better to do both.
The brahma viharas are one of the many ideas that yoga philosophy shares with Buddhism, which is also known as The Four Divine Emotions, The Four Immeasurables, and The Four Divine Abodes. They appear in the Yoga Sutras at 1.33, the first in a long line of practices Patanjali gives for making the mind quiet. Here are a few translations:
By cultivating an attitude of friendship toward those who are happy, compassion toward those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, and equanimity toward those who are nonvirtuous, lucidity arises in the mind. — The Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali, Edwin F. Bryant, Through the cultivation of friendliness, compassion, joy, and indifference to pleasure and pain, virtue and vice, respectively, the consciousness becomes favorably disposed, serene, and benevolent. — Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar, The tranquility of thought comes through the cultivation of friendship, compassion, joy, and impartiality, in spheres of pleasure or pain, virtue or vice. — Yoga, Discipline of Freedom, The Yoga Sutra Attributed to Pantanjali, by Barbara Stoler Miller,
So how do the brahma viharas help keep us lucid? Let’s keep the counting of the ways to four, in honor of the four divine emotions, and the Buddha’s love of lists.
They tell us that our attitude is a matter of choice. Living in a constant attitude of friendliness, compassion, joy, and equanimity is a tall order, and no one can manage it all of the time. But taking it on as a practice means we stay conscious of choosing to feel the way we do and conscious that we can make a different choice. This, in itself, is a stunning piece of clarity., They create a friendlier world, internally and externally. Friendliness directed to others most often brings friendliness in return. Better still, you can’t begin to practice being friendly and compassionate to others without turning the same attitudes inward. There is a real sense in which “love your neighbor as yourself” is more of a description of how humanity operates than a prescription of how to act. We can’t really summon more love or compassion for our neighbors than we are capable of showing ourselves., They quiet our minds. Friendly, happy exchanges with other people do not need to be parsed over later, looking for the cutting remark you wish you’d said. When we’re at peace with the outside world, the inner turmoil that keeps our chattering minds busy is remarkably reduced., A quiet mind is not only able to see more clearly, but it is also physically healthier. Stress, the opposite of the serenity cultivated by the brahma viharas, is now believed to physically damage the brain. Studies have shown that people who report feeling stressed are at greater risk for dementia.,
Recently, scientists at UC Irvine published a study showing that that young mice injected with stress hormones for just seven days showed a 60 percent increase in protein beta-amyloid, the main constituent of the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
That last fact alone is enough to nudge me into a more systematic practice, looking at what comes less readily, trying to improve those of the Divine Emotions that I struggle to feel.
中文翻译
梵住四法：促进心智清明的四种方式 - YogaUOnline
我希望拥有一个清醒的晚年，但前景似乎并不乐观。从家族性痴呆症开始，加上在有毒化学品盛行的1950年代成长，然后再加上10岁时一次追尾事故，我的额头撞到了挡风玻璃，真的，所有赌注都落空了。我愿意相信每天练习瑜伽，尤其是肩倒立式（Salamba Sarvangasana），能让我在老年时保持健康和清醒。但我不知道是否如此。
尽管身体练习很重要，但我在瑜伽中寻找对我来说最具保护性的工作：培养友善、慈悲、喜悦和平等心。在梵语中，这些被称为brahma viharas，或崇高态度，字面意思是“梵天的居所”。我相信，对于任何想要变得并保持清醒的人来说，它们比10分钟的头倒立式（Salamba Sirsasana）或完美的后弯更有帮助——当然，两者都做会更好。
梵住四法是瑜伽哲学与佛教共享的众多理念之一，也被称为四无量心、四梵住和四神圣居所。它们出现在《瑜伽经》1.33中，是帕坦伽利给出的使心灵平静的一系列实践中的第一个。以下是几个翻译：
通过对快乐者培养友善态度，对痛苦者培养慈悲，对善者培养喜悦，对不善者培养平等心，心智中会产生清明。——《帕坦伽利瑜伽经》，埃德温·F·布莱恩特，通过培养友善、慈悲、喜悦以及对苦乐、善恶的漠不关心，意识变得有利、宁静和仁慈。——《帕坦伽利瑜伽经之光》，B.K.S.艾扬格，思想的宁静来自于培养友善、慈悲、喜悦和公正，在苦乐或善恶的领域中。——《瑜伽，自由的纪律》，芭芭拉·斯托勒·米勒，
那么，梵住四法如何帮助我们保持清醒？让我们将方式保持在四种，以纪念四无量心和佛陀对列表的喜爱。
它们告诉我们，我们的态度是一种选择。生活在持续的友善、慈悲、喜悦和平等心态度中是一项艰巨的任务，没有人能一直做到。但将其作为实践意味着我们保持意识到选择感受的方式，并意识到我们可以做出不同的选择。这本身就是一个惊人的清晰点。它们创造一个更友好的世界，内部和外部。对他人表达的友善通常会带来友善的回报。更好的是，你无法开始练习对他人友善和慈悲，而不将同样的态度转向内心。有一种真实的感觉，“爱邻如己”更像是描述人类如何运作，而不是如何行动的处方。我们无法真正为邻居召唤出比我们能够展示给自己的更多的爱或慈悲。它们使我们的心灵平静。与他人友好、快乐的交流不需要事后解析，寻找你希望说过的尖刻言论。当我们与外部世界和平时，使我们喋喋不休的心灵忙碌的内在骚动显著减少。平静的心灵不仅能够更清晰地看到事物，而且在身体上更健康。压力，与梵住四法培养的宁静相反，现在被认为会物理损伤大脑。研究表明，报告感到压力的人患痴呆症的风险更大。
最近，加州大学欧文分校的科学家发表了一项研究，显示注射应激激素仅七天的年轻小鼠，其β-淀粉样蛋白增加了60%，这是阿尔茨海默病标志性淀粉样斑块的主要成分。
仅最后这个事实就足以促使我进行更系统的实践，审视那些不太容易到来的东西，努力改善那些我难以感受到的神圣情感。
文章概要
本文探讨了梵住四法（友善、慈悲、喜悦、平等心）如何应用于中年情绪健康，以促进心智清明。文章从个人经历出发，强调这些崇高态度比瑜伽体式更能帮助保持清醒，并引用《瑜伽经》和佛教理念说明其重要性。文章详细解释了梵住四法通过选择态度、创造友好世界、平静心灵和改善大脑健康四种方式提升情绪健康，最后以科学研究支持压力对大脑的损害，鼓励系统实践以应对中年挑战。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：这篇文章就像在教我们怎么用四个超级好的心情朋友来让自己开心和聪明。这四个朋友叫友善、慈悲、喜悦和平等心。友善就是对别人好，慈悲就是心疼别人难过，喜悦就是为别人的好事高兴，平等心就是不管别人好坏都保持平静。作者说，如果我们经常和这四个朋友玩，我们的脑子会更清楚，不容易生气或忘记事情，就像给大脑做运动一样。特别是当我们长大变中年时，用这些方法可以帮助我们感觉更好，减少压力，让生活更轻松。
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：从佛学视角看，梵住四法与大乘佛教的四无量心（慈、悲、喜、舍）高度契合，体现了菩萨道的利他精神。在显宗中，这属于修心法门，强调通过培养这些品质来净化心灵、积累福德。从《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角，梵住四法可视为显教修心的基础，与准提法相结合时，能更快速成就。准提法作为密法，注重咒语和观想，但若缺乏慈悲心等基础，修行易流于形式。因此，梵住四法为密法修行提供了心性支撑，确保修行者内外兼修。文章强调这些态度对心智健康的益处，符合大乘佛教自利利他的宗旨，尤其适合中年修行者在生活中实践，以应对情绪波动。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题：1. 情绪波动问题：通过培养平等心，减少对顺逆境的执着，稳定情绪。2. 人际关系紧张：运用友善态度，改善沟通，化解冲突。3. 压力过大：实践慈悲心，减轻自我苛责，降低焦虑。4. 孤独感：以喜悦心参与社交，增强连接感。5. 认知衰退：平静心灵提升专注力，延缓大脑老化。6. 自我怀疑：通过选择态度增强自信，明确人生方向。7. 生活无意义感：以利他心服务他人，找到价值。8. 睡眠障碍：减少内心纷扰，促进放松入睡。9. 健康问题：降低压力相关疾病风险，改善整体福祉。10. 灵性成长：为基础修行铺路，加速成佛进程。准提法的优点在于其简便高效，结合梵住四法可快速净化业障，适合忙碌的中年人日常修持。