英文原文
The Buddha encouraged us to find out for ourselves whether what he was saying was true. I say the same. Feel free to find what is true for you. The Buddha invented a rite of passage to adult age. He said that we need to accept impermanence. This makes us adult. As long as we refuse impermanence, we are still children. Impermanence is a polite word for failure, illness, decay, loss, death and all the challenges life throws at us. During the years 50s and 60s teenagers lived a rite of passage to adult age consisting in racing on the edge of a cliff, possibly to death (see film Rebel Without a Cause). They thought that it's better to die than to live your entire life as a never-grown child. Society abolished rites of passage to adult age. Every time we accept impermanence we make our adult self-image stronger. Every time we accept discomfort, failure, mistakes, illness, decay, suffering, pain, loss and death we make ourselves invincible. The base of this rite is that what we accept helps us, what we refuse kills us. This is a psychological law. Every time we decide to accept impermanence we are Enlightened. Impermanence is not the key here, acceptance is. What do you think? What's the core of Buddha's teachings? The Buddha maintained the importance of recognizing impermanence right up into his very last words. It doesn't seem to be enough to formulate your own definition of impermanence, but to see how, in your direct experience, it shows its full authentic nature. The three marks of existence are key: impermanence, suffering and not-self. One should not focus entirely one one domain. Buddha had taught one to see all the three domains concurrently. This is the height of the wisdom he brings out in others from his own wisdom. Your point about becoming an adult is valid. In one sense, Enlightenment is attainment of the Universal Adulthood. However, accepting impermanence is not sufficient to get there. The state of adulthood, unlike that of a child, is characterized by independence -- the strength and wisdom to determine one's life instead of having others determine it for you. Adulthood is a state of self-realization, of being fully and truly oneself. In Buddhism the obstacles to independence are recognized to be of two kinds: emotional and cognitive. Emotional obstacles are automatic reactions that make us slaves to our emotional neediness, our avoidance of discomfort, and our impulsive irritability and anger. Cognitive obstacles are the ones that make us slaves to our biases, stereotypes, overgeneralizations, jumping to conclusions and other perceptual mistakes. The complete liberation from both leads to a subjective state that is characterized by a clear understanding of How Things Work, a deep emotional Peace and a sense of Freedom to act according to one's own sound judgement. The Buddhist path is a gradual training that takes an immature sentient being and sets it on the course of figuring out and getting rid of the emotional and cognitive obstacles to Universal Adulthood, until one attains the state of clarity, peace and freedom.
中文翻译
佛陀鼓励我们自己去验证他所说的是否真实。我也这么说。请自由寻找对你而言真实的东西。佛陀发明了一种通往成年的仪式。他说我们需要接受无常。这使我们成为成年人。只要我们拒绝无常，我们就还是孩子。无常是对失败、疾病、衰老、失去、死亡以及生活抛给我们所有挑战的礼貌说法。在50年代和60年代，青少年通过悬崖边缘的赛车来经历成年仪式，可能面临死亡（参见电影《无因的反叛》）。他们认为宁愿死去，也不愿一生都像个永远长不大的孩子。社会废除了通往成年的仪式。每当我们接受无常，我们就使自己的成年自我形象更加强大。每当我们接受不适、失败、错误、疾病、衰老、痛苦、疼痛、失去和死亡，我们就使自己变得无敌。这个仪式的基础是：我们接受的东西帮助我们，我们拒绝的东西杀死我们。这是一条心理法则。每当我们决定接受无常，我们就是开悟的。无常不是关键，接受才是。你怎么看？佛陀教义的核心是什么？佛陀直到临终前都强调认识无常的重要性。仅仅制定自己对无常的定义似乎不够，而是要在直接经验中看到它如何展现其完整的真实本质。存在的三个标志是关键：无常、苦和无我。不应完全专注于一个领域。佛陀教导人们同时看到所有三个领域。这是他用自己的智慧在他人身上激发出的最高智慧。你关于成为成年人的观点是有效的。在某种意义上，开悟就是达到普遍的成年状态。然而，接受无常并不足以达到那里。成年状态与儿童状态不同，其特征是独立——决定自己生活的力量和智慧，而不是让别人为你决定。成年是一种自我实现的状态，是完全真实的自己。在佛教中，独立的障碍被认识到有两种：情感的和认知的。情感障碍是自动反应，使我们成为情感需求、避免不适以及冲动易怒和愤怒的奴隶。认知障碍是使我们成为偏见、刻板印象、过度概括、草率结论和其他感知错误的奴隶的障碍。从两者中完全解脱会导致一种主观状态，其特征是对事物如何运作的清晰理解、深刻的情感平静以及根据自己的健全判断行动的自由感。佛教道路是一种渐进的训练，将一个不成熟的众生置于找出并摆脱通往普遍成年的情感和认知障碍的轨道上，直到达到清晰、平静和自由的状态。
文章概要
本文探讨了接纳无常作为通往成年仪式的佛教观点，特别针对中年成年人。文章认为，佛陀教导接受无常是成熟的关键标志，拒绝无常则意味着停留在儿童状态。无常涵盖了生活中的各种挑战，如失败、疾病和死亡。通过接受这些无常现象，个体可以增强自我形象，达到一种无敌的状态。文章进一步讨论了佛教中成年的概念，将其与开悟联系起来，强调独立、自我实现以及克服情感和认知障碍的重要性。最终，佛教道路被视为一种渐进训练，旨在帮助众生达到清晰、平静和自由的普遍成年状态。
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
想象一下，佛陀就像一位超级智慧的老师，他告诉我们：长大成人的秘密就是学会接受“无常”。无常是什么意思呢？就是生活中所有会变化的事情，比如考试没考好、生病了、玩具坏了，甚至人都会变老。如果我们总是拒绝这些变化，就像个不想长大的小孩；但如果我们勇敢接受，就会变得更强大，像个真正的成年人。佛陀说，每当我们接受无常，我们就在变得更聪明、更自由。这就像玩一个游戏，接受挑战让你升级，拒绝挑战就会失败。所以，关键不是害怕变化，而是学会接受它，这样我们就能在生活中变得更厉害！
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，本文触及了佛教核心教义，但各宗派有不同侧重。小乘佛教强调个人解脱，通过观察无常来减少执着，达到涅槃；大乘佛教如禅宗和净土宗，则更注重慈悲和利他，将无常视为培养菩提心的机会。显宗如天台宗和华严宗，通过经典研习和禅修来理解无常的深层含义。密宗如藏传佛教，运用观想和咒语来转化无常体验为智慧能量。
特别地，从《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角，本文的观点可以进一步深化。该经典强调显密圆融，认为无常不仅是现象观察，更是心性修持的契机。它教导通过准提法等密法修持，将无常的体验直接转化为觉悟的动力。对于中年成年人，这意味著在生活挑战中实践准提法，以咒语和观想稳定心念，从而在无常中见常，在变化中觅不变的自性。这种圆通视角超越了单纯的接受，而是主动利用无常来加速成佛进程，体现了大乘佛教的积极进取精神。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题
基于本文内容，修行实践上可以应用准提法等大乘法门，解决人们的十个问题：1. 对衰老的恐惧，通过观想无常培养平和心态；2. 工作压力，用准提咒语减压增慧；3. 家庭关系紧张，以慈悲心接纳变化；4. 健康问题，借病痛修持增强韧性；5. 财务不稳定，视得失为修心机会；6. 孤独感，在无常中体悟互联性；7. 未来焦虑，专注当下修持；8. 自我怀疑，通过接受提升自信；9. 生活无聊，以无常激发新鲜感；10. 死亡恐惧，用佛教智慧看透生死。准提法的优点在于其简便易行，适合忙碌的中年成年人，能快速转化负面情绪为正能量，促进显密圆融的修行成就。