英文原文
Like it or not, Buddhist practice has traditionally been more than something you do to make everyday life more pleasant; it’s a path of training and study aimed at becoming an awakened, liberated, wise, compassionate, and skillful person. The ideals of Buddha and bodhisattva are not something most of us have any hope of achieving in this lifetime, but the idea is to think beyond our limited ideas of self in terms of both space and time. We ennoble our lives, and benefit others, by committing wholeheartedly to walking the path – approaching embodiment of the Buddha Way as closely as we possibly can.
There are two kinds of people: Those who admit dissatisfaction with themselves and aim for self-improvement, and those who – for one reason or another – have no interest in self-improvement. Or maybe most of us vacillate between these two positions.
I suspect the reason many people eschew self-improvement is that striving for it can become a problem in and of itself. When working toward goals or ideals, grand or mundane, we often become obsessed or discouraged. Making our happiness contingent on some measure of self-improvement pretty much dooms us to dissatisfaction – because even once one goal is met, we just create another.
On the other hand, most of us have experienced how self-acceptance can be a huge relief – and may even make positive change more possible. This is why certain Buddhist messages are very popular: Just be in the moment; there is nothing to gain; you already have Buddha-nature; enlightenment is right here and now; it’s only our desire that gets in the way.
All the Buddhist messages that seem to point us away from self-improvement and toward acceptance are true. However, we can easily get attached to them and ignore the other half of the Buddhist message: Profound awakening and total transformation is possible for all human beings, so get to work on it – for your sake, and for the sake of others.
Fortunately, we can energetically embrace a path of practice that leads to greater things without creating suffering. The key is to do it selflessly – committing the self to the necessary hard work, sacrifice, and periodic discomfort, but not expecting anything out of the effort for the self. That means we refrain from congratulating ourselves about our progress relative to our ideal or to other people, but it also means we refrain from beating ourselves up about our inadequacy. We stop basing our sense of ourselves on our scorecard of virtues and flaws, instead devoting ourselves to constant learning, growth, and improvement because that’s just best way to live.
Unless we learn to see our lives and practice as path – a path leading to greater wisdom, compassion, and skillful action – we’re unlikely to make much progress. There’s nothing wrong with just staying in the moment and dealing with life as it comes, of course, and you’re more than welcome to practice Buddhism that way. By saying there’s “nothing wrong” with this approach, I mean that there’s no harm done in just letting life unfold without a sense of path or long-term aspiration, and there’s no ultimate authority in Buddhism who will be disappointed you didn’t try for Buddhahood. At the same time, one of the beautiful things about Buddhism is that it teaches we all have immense capacity for insight, growth, and freedom – much more than we realize. Isn’t it a shame if we don’t explore that capacity? If we do so, the process can give great purpose and dignity to our lives.
To fully understand Buddhism as a path of practice, it’s helpful to go back to the beginning: The Buddha’s teachings on practice as path – where we begin, where we’re going and why, and how we get there.
The Buddha embarked on his spiritual quest because he was dismayed about the human condition. He saw how vulnerable we are to the whims of fate – one moment blissed out, content, secure, joyful, healthy, and the next moment full of grief brought on by loss, illness, or death. While, in one sense, these oscillations in fortune and feeling are a natural part of life, the Buddha noticed how often we’re in denial about change and impermanence when things are good, and in total despair or confusion when things are bad. Buddha also saw how often we’re operating under the influence of karma, acting out habitual patterns of body, speech, and mind and thereby perpetuating greed, anger, and ignorance. In so doing, we generate negative consequences for ourselves and others.
Upon his awakening, or enlightenment, the Buddha saw an alternative way for human beings to live. If we settle down in meditation and calm the mind, we can eventually see reality more clearly. We recognize how we generate much of our own suffering by craving the things we like and feeling aversion for what we don’t like. We then have the option of letting go of craving and aversion – thereby relieving the worst of our suffering no matter the fortunes of our lives. Reflecting deeply on our own minds and actions, we can also recognize what actions lead to positive outcomes versus those that lead to negative ones. Then we work on our behavior in order to make more skillful choices (that is, choices that lead to greater benefit and happiness, as opposed to those that lead to greater suffering).
The alternative way of living the Buddha awakened to is actually very simple. In fact, if you were to read the previous paragraph to a non-Buddhist, they’d probably go, “Obviously!” However, just because this alternative way of living is simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. Therefore, the most important aspect of the Buddha’s awakening isn’t so much what we’re aiming for (every religion has its ideal of the sage), but how we get there. In the Buddha’s very first teaching he presented the possibility of liberation, and laid out the Eightfold Noble Path as way to achieve it.
The Eightfold Path has three essential aspects. The first aspect is cultivating wisdom, or insight (right view, right mindfulness, right concentration), which means gaining a direct, personal experience of what the Buddha himself awakened to. The truth sets us free. The second aspect is ethical and appropriate behavior (right speech, right action, right livelihood), because insight’s unlikely if we’re making a mess of our lives. In addition, whatever insight we gain is useless if we don’t manifest it, and at the very least we should try to avoid causing harm to self and others with negative behavior. The third aspect of the Eightfold Path is putting our attention and energy into actually walking the path (right resolve, right effort), which means we set our minds and hearts on where we want to go, and then apply diligent and skillful effort to get there.
The Buddha was absolutely unequivocal about the ultimate goal of practice: Nirvana, or complete liberation from the cycle of suffering. Before we dismiss this goal as irrelevant to our lives, consider Nirvana as simply being an ideal, or direction, toward which we orient our lives. Whether or not complete perfection or liberation or awakening is even humanly possible doesn’t actually matter much; we know, from personal observation, it’s possible to be almost infinitely more wise, compassionate, and skillful than we currently are. We’ve witnessed people manifesting incredible and inspiring strength, perseverance, generosity, selflessness, insight, leadership, bravery, and kindness – just to name a few virtues.
It’s silly to waste time speculating on whether perfect Buddhahood or enlightenment is possible, what it looks like, or whether it’s worth striving for. Are we likely to run out of work to do in this lifetime, just aiming at perfection? At the same time, as long as we don’t concretize the goal of Buddhahood (or enlightenment, or liberation, or however you like to phrase the ideal), it can serve to inspire and motivate us to growth and learning throughout our lives.
Rephrase the ideal of Buddhahood or awakening for yourself, in order to arouse your deepest aspirations. Set aside all doubts about your ability to “achieve” them, and any concern about how long it might take (this is why Buddhists talk about “lifetimes;” it’s not necessary to believe in literal rebirth in order to dedicate yourself to a benefit beyond the end of your physical body). What can you dare yourself to want, in your heart of hearts?
Just to be clear: Our deepest aspirations have nothing to do with hoping for future good fortune for ourselves, such as health, financial security, weight loss, being more likeable, or even getting justice. Aspirations aren’t even about wishing such good fortune on others, although it’s fine to do that. They’re also not about wishing for supernatural powers, which includes hoping to become someone we’re not (tall instead of short, for example, or eloquent instead of tongue-tied).
Our deepest aspirations are about how we want to live, given the life we have. How do we want to perceive, understand, and respond to the world? What choices do we make about the limited aspects of our lives we have any say over? Do you want release from depression, anxiety, hatred, fear, or regret? Do you want to free yourself from limiting or harmful behavior patterns? Do you want greater intimacy with other people, and with all of life? Do you want your speech and actions to be more authentic or skillful? Do you want to manifest the selfless compassion and bravery of Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King Jr.? Do you want a direct, personal experience of emptiness, suchness, or Buddha-nature?
However grand or bold your aspirations, Buddhism says, “Go for it!” To underestimate your own potential for awakening and liberation is no less negative than if you decided someone else wasn’t up to it. You might secretly doubt someone else’s capacities, but from the Buddhist point of view everyone is capable of practice and there’s no limit on what someone can achieve; the only question is how long it might take. So, just as we never disparage someone else’s potential, we should never disparage our own.
In Mahayana Buddhism we make it obvious to ourselves that the path of practice is endless. We take the Bodhisattva Vow:
Beings are numberless, I vow to free them [all], Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them [all], Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them [all], The Buddha Way is unsurpassable, I vow to embody it.
Obviously, if beings are numberless, or infinite, it’s impossible to save them all. Yet we take a vow to keep trying. After all, are we going to give up and let beings suffer, just because we’ll never be able to put a check mark next to that vow and triumphantly say, “Done”? Delusions are inexhaustible, but each delusion we free ourselves from benefits self and others. Dharma gates are opportunities for learning, growth, and transformation; we never stop encountering them, and we never stop embracing them. The Buddha Way is perfection itself, impossible to master, and yet we vow to make it real in our lives as much as we possibly can.
According to Buddhist mythology, bodhisattvas vow to be reborn over and over until all of their impossible vows are completed. Therefore, they keep on coming back, life after life, to continue on the path of practice and help sentient beings. Again, you don’t need to believe this happens literally in order for the spirit of this teaching to be meaningful (although you can if you want to). Even if individuals, as we usually conceive of them, don’t get reborn, I believe the teaching of rebirth reflects a truth about life – something along the lines of, “It’s not all about you, in the limited sense of your lifespan in this body.” Within the context of one lifetime, being a bodhisattva means we sincerely aim for our highest aspirations, even though we know we’ll never achieve them. We devote ourselves to the effort as if we’ll be able to pick up where we left off in the next life, and thereby continue making progress on the path.
Even though we’re aiming our vows or aspirations past the physical end of our life, however, that doesn’t mean we get to slack off in our efforts. Another important part of the Buddhist path is spiritual urgency. We can’t count on future lives. And besides, the “one” who aspires and practices may very well end at death, so don’t you want to get as far along the path as possible? Don’t you want to experience the joys and triumphs of approaching your aspirations more closely?
In Buddhist terms, what drove the Buddha to leave home for an arduous and prolonged spiritual journey was samvega, a complex emotion with three components: Dismay about the way life is usually lived, a sense of being personally caught up in this ultimately unsatisfying way of living, and determination to find a better way.
What caused the Buddha’s samvega? Many people think he looked at life and concluded it was, on the balance, miserable and not worth it. This conclusion is at odds with our own experience of life, which has its low points but also includes many wonderful things and seems, on the balance, very precious. If we’re going to trust and embrace Buddhism, it’s important we examine the Buddha’s samvega more closely, because it’s actually fairly subtle. After all, most human beings would say they’re more or less happy, or at least that they feel a deep desire to stay alive and keep trying to achieve happiness. Few people are very enthused when you try to convince them they’re “caught up in an ultimately unsatisfying way of living.”
So, what’s dismaying about “the way life is usually lived?” When we’re caught up in it, we rarely able to see the limitations or drawbacks of our ordinary routine. It’s only when we awaken from our self-centered dream that we realize how much brighter and broader life can be. It’s only when we momentarily shed, or break free from, our habitual ways of being and thinking that we can catch a glimpse of the immense possibilities of our lives. Then, looking back on the way life is usually lived, we see it as a sad compromise. A waste of a precious opportunity.
Before we have a sense of the fruits of practice, before we personally awaken to the boundless, interdependent, luminous reality of which we’re a part, we may have to deliberately cultivate samvega, or a sense of spiritual urgency about waking up. We can do this by recalling and honoring peak moments of our lives where we’re intuited or sensed something greater; by inspiring ourselves with the words of teachers and fellow practitioners in the past and present; by allowing ourselves to experience longing for a better way, and by contemplating the impermanence of life.
How does cultivating spiritual urgency fit with the Zen messages about radical acceptance and giving up striving, like “just be in the moment; there is nothing to gain; you already have Buddha-nature; enlightenment is right here and now; it’s only our desire that gets in the way?” These teachings aren’t actually opposed to those that encourage you to look at practice as a continual path of development, to form lofty aspirations, or to cultivate spiritual urgency. Why not? Because it’s a whole lot harder that we think it is to truly “just be in the moment,” or accept there is nothing whatsoever to gain, or recognize our own Buddha-nature. “Letting go” is its own kind of hard work.
As I stated earlier, unless we learn to see our lives and practice as path – a path leading to greater wisdom, compassion, and skillful action – we’re unlikely to make much progress. To a certain extent life throws us curve balls we learn from, and most of us mature somewhat over time, but do we really want to leave our spiritual development to chance? Instead, how can we see ourselves as being on a dramatic, lifelong journey of growth, learning, and transformation – rather than simply biding our time while seeking as much pleasure as possible?
Perhaps the most effective way to engage our lives and practice as path is simply making a habit of framing our experience that way. This can be done privately – perhaps supported by journaling – but many of us find it very helpful to talk to teachers or fellow practitioners about our practice because it gives us an opportunity to frame it as path.
When Dharma students get together, we ask one another, “How’s your practice?” We expect to hear stories of real-life struggles to fulfill aspirations and overcome bad habits. We inspire one another by sharing our insights, and tell stories about situations where we were able to manifest greater wisdom, compassion, or skillfulness than we would have been able to in the past. We confess our doubts and weaknesses, knowing our Dharma sisters and brothers will refrain from judging us or giving advice – because the whole conversation is about sharing the story of our unique path, which only we can walk. We have faith that each of us has the capacity and determination to find our own way.
When framing our practice, it’s good to ask ourselves what our “edge” is – what’s our point, or boundary, of growth? What’s the current limit of our understanding or manifestation? We don’t have wait until we have “problems” or crises before we identify things in our lives and practice we want to work on. There’s always more to explore, always ways to more closely approach our heart’s deepest aspirations. And when we’re clearly experiencing setbacks and challenges, it’s possible to embrace them with determination – and even a certain, strange kind of eagerness – because they’re an opportunity for learning and growth.
Forming vows is also an important way to engage your life and practice as path. While it’s true we can cause ourselves trouble if we get too attached to fulfilling vows within a particular time frame, they can also give shape and direction to our lives. Vows can range from lifelong and profound – like marriage vows – to simple and time-constrained, like a vow to say a verse of gratitude before meals for the next month. Over time, through trial and error, we get to know ourselves and how we relate to the practice of vow, and thereby get better at making and keeping them. Sometimes what we need to do is simply “keep a vow around” when we’re not great at following or fulfilling it, thereby honoring our heart’s aspiration even though we haven’t yet figured out how to approach it.
When looking at our life and practice as path, it’s important to recognize that path is rarely straight. The journey between an unexamined life lived at the mercy of internal and external circumstances, and the awakened, liberated life of a compassionate Buddha, there are countless twists and turns. Sometimes we lose our way and forget about practice entirely. Sometimes we look for satisfaction – spiritual and otherwise – in all the wrong places. Sometimes we’re overwhelmed, exhausted, or discouraged. But we always find our way back to the path. Or, more accurately, we come to realize our path to Buddhahood included a meander around an odd mountain or two. C’est la vie. When we’re able to view even our challenges, setbacks, and meanders as path, we’re able to ennoble our whole lives.
中文翻译
无论喜欢与否，佛教修行传统上不仅仅是让日常生活更愉快的事情；它是一条训练和学习的道路，旨在成为一个觉醒、解脱、智慧、慈悲和善巧的人。佛陀和菩萨的理想不是我们大多数人在此生中有希望实现的，但理念是超越我们在空间和时间上的有限自我观念。通过全心全意地走在这条道路上——尽可能接近佛道的体现——我们使自己的生活变得高尚，并利益他人。
有两种人：那些承认对自己的不满并致力于自我提升的人，以及那些——出于某种原因——对自我提升不感兴趣的人。或者也许我们大多数人在这两种立场之间摇摆不定。
我怀疑许多人回避自我提升的原因是，追求它本身可能成为一个问题。当朝着目标或理想努力时，无论是宏伟的还是平凡的，我们常常变得痴迷或气馁。将我们的幸福依赖于某种自我提升的衡量标准，几乎注定我们会不满——因为即使一个目标实现了，我们又会创造另一个。
另一方面，我们大多数人都经历过自我接纳可以带来巨大解脱——甚至可能使积极改变更有可能。这就是为什么某些佛教信息非常受欢迎：活在当下；没有什么可获得的；你已经拥有佛性；觉悟就在此时此地；只是我们的欲望在阻碍。
所有似乎引导我们远离自我提升、走向接纳的佛教信息都是真实的。然而，我们很容易执着于它们，而忽略佛教信息的另一半：深刻的觉醒和彻底的转变对所有人类都是可能的，所以开始努力吧——为了你自己，也为了他人。
幸运的是，我们可以充满活力地拥抱一条导致更伟大事物的修行道路，而不制造痛苦。关键是无私地去做——将自我投入到必要的艰苦工作、牺牲和周期性的不适中，但不期望从努力中获得任何东西。这意味着我们避免因相对于理想或他人的进步而祝贺自己，但也意味着我们避免因自己的不足而自责。我们停止基于美德和缺点的记分卡来定义自我，而是致力于不断学习、成长和改进，因为这是最好的生活方式。
除非我们学会将生活和修行视为道路——一条通向更大智慧、慈悲和善巧行动的道路——否则我们不太可能取得多大进展。当然，仅仅停留在当下、随遇而安地处理生活并没有错，你完全可以以这种方式修行佛教。说这种方法是“没有错”的，我指的是在没有道路感或长期愿望的情况下让生活展开并无害处，佛教中也没有终极权威会因为你没有尝试成佛而感到失望。同时，佛教的美好之处之一是它教导我们都有巨大的洞察力、成长和自由能力——比我们意识到的要多得多。如果我们不探索这种能力，难道不可惜吗？如果我们这样做，这个过程可以给我们的生活带来伟大的目标和尊严。
要完全理解佛教作为修行道路，回到起点是有帮助的：佛陀关于修行作为道路的教导——我们从哪里开始，我们要去哪里以及为什么，以及我们如何到达那里。
佛陀开始他的精神探索是因为他对人类的状况感到沮丧。他看到我们多么容易受到命运无常的影响——一会儿幸福、满足、安全、快乐、健康，下一刻又因失去、疾病或死亡而充满悲伤。虽然从某种意义上说，这些命运和情感的波动是生活的自然部分，但佛陀注意到我们多么经常在事情好时否认变化和无常，在事情坏时完全绝望或困惑。佛陀还看到我们多么经常在业力的影响下运作，表现出身体、语言和思想的习惯模式，从而延续贪婪、愤怒和无明。这样做，我们为自己和他人产生负面后果。
在觉醒或觉悟后，佛陀看到了人类生活的另一种方式。如果我们通过禅定安定下来，平静心灵，我们最终可以更清楚地看到现实。我们认识到我们如何通过渴望喜欢的事物和对不喜欢的事物感到厌恶而产生自己的大部分痛苦。然后我们可以选择放下渴望和厌恶——从而减轻我们最严重的痛苦，无论我们的生活命运如何。深入反思我们自己的思想和行为，我们还可以认识到哪些行为导致积极结果，哪些导致消极结果。然后我们努力改进行为，以做出更善巧的选择（即导致更大利益和幸福的选择，而不是导致更大痛苦的选择）。
佛陀觉醒到的另一种生活方式实际上非常简单。事实上，如果你把前一段读给非佛教徒听，他们可能会说，“显然！”然而，仅仅因为这种替代生活方式简单并不意味着它容易。因此，佛陀觉醒最重要的方面不是我们追求什么（每个宗教都有其圣人的理想），而是我们如何到达那里。在佛陀的第一次教导中，他提出了解脱的可能性，并阐述了八正道作为实现它的方法。
八正道有三个基本方面。第一个方面是培养智慧或洞察力（正见、正念、正定），这意味着获得佛陀本人觉醒到的直接、个人体验。真理使我们自由。第二个方面是道德和适当的行为（正语、正业、正命），因为如果我们把生活搞得一团糟，洞察力就不太可能。此外，无论我们获得什么洞察力，如果我们不体现它，它就是无用的，至少我们应该尽量避免用负面行为伤害自己和他人。八正道的第三个方面是将我们的注意力和精力投入到实际走在这条道路上（正思惟、正精进），这意味着我们将思想和心灵设定在我们想去的地方，然后运用勤奋和善巧的努力到达那里。
佛陀对修行的终极目标绝对明确：涅槃，或从痛苦循环中完全解脱。在我们认为这个目标与我们的生活无关之前，将涅槃视为我们生活方向的理想或方向。无论完全的完美、解脱或觉醒是否人类可能，实际上并不重要；我们从个人观察中知道，我们有可能比现在更智慧、慈悲和善巧，几乎是无限的。我们目睹了人们表现出令人难以置信和鼓舞人心的力量、毅力、慷慨、无私、洞察力、领导力、勇敢和善良——仅举几例美德。
浪费时间猜测完美的佛性或觉悟是否可能、它是什么样子、或者是否值得追求是愚蠢的。我们可能在此生中耗尽工作，仅仅追求完美吗？同时，只要我们不给佛性（或觉悟、解脱，或你喜欢的任何理想）具体化，它可以激励和推动我们终身的成长和学习。
为你自己重新表述佛性或觉醒的理想，以唤起你最深的愿望。抛开所有关于你“实现”它们的能力的怀疑，以及关于可能需要多长时间的担忧（这就是为什么佛教徒谈论“多生”；你不必相信字面意义上的转世，就可以致力于超越你肉体结束的利益）。在你内心深处，你敢想要什么？
要清楚：我们最深的愿望与希望自己未来的好运无关，比如健康、财务安全、减肥、更受欢迎，甚至获得正义。愿望甚至不是希望他人有这样的好运，尽管这样做也可以。它们也不是希望获得超自然力量，包括希望成为我们不是的人（例如，高而不是矮，或口才好而不是结巴）。
我们最深的愿望是关于我们想如何生活，鉴于我们拥有的生活。我们想如何感知、理解和回应世界？我们对生活中有限方面做出什么选择？你想从抑郁、焦虑、仇恨、恐惧或遗憾中解脱吗？你想从限制性或有害的行为模式中解脱吗？你想与他人和所有生命有更深的亲密关系吗？你想让你的言语和行为更真实或善巧吗？你想体现特蕾莎修女或马丁·路德·金的无私慈悲和勇敢吗？你想直接、个人地体验空性、如性或佛性吗？
无论你的愿望多么宏伟或大胆，佛教说，“去追求它！”低估你自己觉醒和解脱的潜力，与决定别人做不到一样负面。你可能暗中怀疑别人的能力，但从佛教的观点来看，每个人都有能力修行，一个人能取得的成就是无限的；唯一的问题是需要多长时间。所以，正如我们从不贬低别人的潜力一样，我们也不应该贬低自己的潜力。
在大乘佛教中，我们让自己清楚地认识到修行道路是无尽的。我们发菩萨愿：众生无边誓愿度，烦恼无尽誓愿断，法门无量誓愿学，佛道无上誓愿成。
显然，如果众生是无边的或无限的，拯救他们所有人是不可能的。然而，我们发愿继续尝试。毕竟，我们会放弃并让众生受苦，仅仅因为我们永远无法在那愿旁边打勾并胜利地说“完成”吗？烦恼是无尽的，但我们从每个烦恼中解脱出来，利益自己和他人。法门是学习、成长和转变的机会；我们不断遇到它们，我们不断拥抱它们。佛道是完美本身，不可能掌握，但我们发誓尽可能在我们的生活中实现它。
根据佛教神话，菩萨发誓一次又一次地转世，直到他们所有不可能的愿都完成。因此，他们一次又一次地回来，一生又一生，继续修行道路并帮助有情众生。再次，你不必相信这字面上发生，以使这个教导的精神有意义（尽管你可以如果你想）。即使个体，如我们通常所认为的，不转世，我相信转世教导反映了关于生活的真理——类似于“这不全是关于你，在你此生寿命的有限意义上”。在一生的背景下，成为菩萨意味着我们真诚地追求我们最高的愿望，即使我们知道我们永远不会实现它们。我们致力于努力，仿佛我们能够在来生继续，从而在道路上继续进步。
尽管我们将愿或愿望瞄准超越我们肉体生命的结束，但这并不意味着我们可以在努力中懈怠。佛教道路的另一个重要部分是精神紧迫感。我们不能指望来生。此外，发愿和修行的“那个人”很可能在死亡时结束，所以你不想尽可能走远吗？你不想体验更接近你的愿望的喜悦和胜利吗？
用佛教术语来说，驱使佛陀离家进行艰苦而漫长的精神旅程的是samvega，一种复杂的情感，包含三个部分：对通常生活方式感到沮丧，感到自己陷入这种最终不令人满意的生活方式，以及决心找到更好的方式。
是什么导致了佛陀的samvega？许多人认为他看着生活并得出结论，总的来说，它是悲惨的，不值得。这个结论与我们自己的生活经验相矛盾，生活有低谷但也包括许多美好的事物，总的来说似乎非常珍贵。如果我们要信任和拥抱佛教，重要的是我们更仔细地审视佛陀的samvega，因为它实际上相当微妙。毕竟，大多数人会说他们或多或少快乐，或者至少他们感到深深的渴望活下去并继续努力实现幸福。很少有人在你试图说服他们“陷入最终不令人满意的生活方式”时非常热情。
那么，“通常的生活方式”有什么令人沮丧的？当我们陷入其中时，我们很少能看到我们日常生活的限制或缺点。只有当我们从自我中心的梦中醒来时，我们才意识到生活可以多么明亮和广阔。只有当我们暂时摆脱或打破我们的习惯性存在和思维方式时，我们才能瞥见我们生活的巨大可能性。然后，回顾通常的生活方式，我们将其视为可悲的妥协。浪费了宝贵的机会。
在我们感受到修行的果实之前，在我们个人觉醒到我们所属的无边、相互依存、光明的现实之前，我们可能必须有意识地培养samvega，或关于觉醒的精神紧迫感。我们可以通过回忆和尊重我们生活中直觉或感知到更伟大事物的高峰时刻来做到这一点；通过用过去和现在的老师和同修的话语激励自己；通过允许自己体验对更好方式的渴望，以及通过思考生命的无常。
培养精神紧迫感如何与禅宗关于彻底接纳和放弃努力的信息相契合，比如“活在当下；没有什么可获得的；你已经拥有佛性；觉悟就在此时此地；只是我们的欲望在阻碍？”这些教导实际上并不反对那些鼓励你将修行视为持续发展道路、形成崇高愿望或培养精神紧迫感的教导。为什么不？因为真正“活在当下”，或接受没有什么可获得的，或认识到我们自己的佛性，比我们想象的要困难得多。“放下”本身就是一种艰苦的工作。
正如我之前所说，除非我们学会将生活和修行视为道路——一条通向更大智慧、慈悲和善巧行动的道路——否则我们不太可能取得多大进展。在某种程度上，生活给我们带来曲线球，我们从中学习，我们大多数人随着时间的推移会成熟一些，但我们真的想把我们的精神发展留给机会吗？相反，我们如何将自己视为处于一个戏剧性的、终身的成长、学习和转变之旅中——而不是仅仅消磨时间，同时寻求尽可能多的快乐？
也许将我们的生活和修行作为道路参与的最有效方式，就是养成以这种方式构建我们经验的习惯。这可以私下完成——也许通过日记支持——但我们许多人发现与老师或同修谈论我们的修行非常有帮助，因为它给了我们将修行构建为道路的机会。
当法学生们聚在一起时，我们互相问，“你的修行怎么样？”我们期望听到实现愿望和克服坏习惯的真实生活斗争故事。我们通过分享我们的洞察力互相激励，并讲述我们能够体现比过去更大的智慧、慈悲或善巧的情况。我们承认我们的怀疑和弱点，知道我们的法兄弟姐妹会避免评判我们或给出建议——因为整个对话是关于分享我们独特道路的故事，只有我们自己能走。我们相信每个人都有能力和决心找到自己的路。
在构建我们的修行时，问自己我们的“边缘”是什么是好的——我们的成长点或边界是什么？我们理解或体现的当前限制是什么？我们不必等到有“问题”或危机才确定我们生活和修行中想要改进的事情。总有更多可以探索，总有更接近我们内心最深愿望的方式。当我们明显经历挫折和挑战时，有可能以决心——甚至某种奇怪的渴望——拥抱它们，因为它们是学习和成长的机会。
发愿也是将你的生活和修行作为道路参与的重要方式。虽然如果我们过于执着在特定时间框架内实现愿，确实可能给自己带来麻烦，但它们也可以给我们的生活带来形状和方向。愿可以从终身和深刻的——如婚姻誓言——到简单和时间限制的，如发誓在下个月饭前说感恩诗句。随着时间的推移，通过试错，我们了解自己以及我们与发愿修行的关系，从而更好地制定和遵守它们。有时我们需要做的只是“保留一个愿”，当我们不擅长遵循或实现它时，从而尊重我们内心的愿望，即使我们还没有想出如何接近它。
当将我们的生活和修行视为道路时，重要的是认识到道路很少是笔直的。在未经审视的生活，受内外环境摆布，与觉醒、解脱的慈悲佛陀生活之间，有无数曲折。有时我们迷失方向，完全忘记修行。有时我们在所有错误的地方寻找满足——精神上和其他方面。有时我们不知所措、筋疲力尽或气馁。但我们总是找到回道路的路。或者，更准确地说，我们意识到我们成佛的道路包括绕着一两座奇怪的山蜿蜒。这就是生活。当我们能够将甚至我们的挑战、挫折和蜿蜒视为道路时，我们能够使我们整个生活变得高尚。
文章概要
本文探讨佛教修行作为终身成长与转化的路径，强调其超越日常愉悦，旨在实现觉醒、智慧与慈悲。文章分析了自我提升与自我接纳的平衡，指出佛教既教导接纳当下，又鼓励追求深刻转变。通过佛陀的教导和八正道，文章阐述了修行如何帮助人们减少痛苦、做出善巧选择。文章还讨论了大乘佛教的菩萨愿和精神紧迫感，鼓励读者将生活视为持续发展的道路，通过发愿、反思和社群支持，实现个人成长并利益他人。
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这篇文章就像在说，佛教修行不是为了让日子过得更舒服，而是像一条长长的路，让我们变得越来越聪明、有爱心和能干。它告诉我们，有时候我们想让自己变得更好，但太努力反而会不开心；有时候接受自己反而能让我们改变。佛陀教我们，通过静下心来，我们可以看清事情，少一些烦恼，多一些快乐。他还给了我们八条路，比如要有正确的想法、说好话、做好事，这样我们就能走在这条成长的道路上。大乘佛教还说，我们要发愿帮助所有人，即使这很难，也要一直努力。总之，佛教修行就像一场终身的冒险，让我们不断学习和变得更好。
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，本文强调大乘佛教的菩萨道和终身修行，这与《显密圆通成佛心要集》的显密圆通理念高度契合。该集主张显教与密教相辅相成，本文的八正道和菩萨愿体现了显教的系统修行，而精神紧迫感和转化潜能则呼应密教的即身成佛思想。文章鼓励读者超越自我局限，追求智慧与慈悲，这正是显密圆通的核心——通过显教的理论基础和密教的实践法门，实现快速成佛。准提法作为密法之一，其简便易行和普适性在此得到彰显，它可以帮助修行者在日常生活中融入修行，加速成长进程。
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，本文内容可以应用于解决人们的十个问题：一是减少焦虑和压力，通过接纳当下和修行八正道；二是提升自我认知，通过反思和发愿；三是改善人际关系，通过培养慈悲和善巧行动；四是克服坏习惯，通过持续学习和成长；五是找到生活意义，通过将修行视为终身道路；六是增强心理韧性，通过拥抱挑战作为学习机会；七是促进精神成长，通过参与修行社群；八是提高决策能力，通过智慧洞察；九是缓解抑郁和恐惧，通过放下渴望和厌恶；十是实现个人转化，通过追求觉醒和菩萨愿。准提法的持咒和观想可以融入这些实践，帮助修行者快速积累功德和智慧。