英文原文
Three Buddhist Practices to Shape Intentions | Dawn Mauricio
Although I often struggle with winter—Montreal winters can feel endlessly long–I love this time of year, particularly because of the possibility and promise to start anew. I didn’t always feel this way, but I’ve learned to embrace this season–not for setting resolutions in the spirit of a “New Year, new me”–but as an opportunity to deepen my commitment to make my whole life a living prayer, as Thanissara beautifully said at our November Spirit Rock retreat.
The mainstream practice of New Year’s resolutions makes me think of the Buddha’s teachings on intention. I imagine these three Buddhist practices—samma sankappa or Wise Intention, adhiṭṭhāna or determination, and cetāna or volition—as a kind of funnel, each feeding into the next.
At the top of this funnel is samma sankappa, or Wise Intention. What makes this intention “wise” is that it’s cultivated in the service of freedom—not necessarily in the service of self-improvement or “to do something better.” In Buddhist teachings, as part of the Eightfold Path, samma sankappa is defined by the intention having the wholesome qualities of nekhamma (renunciation), mettā (loving-kindness), and karuṇā (compassion).
In my mind, this foundation of Wise Intention feeds into the next layer, adhiṭṭhāna, often translated as determination or resolve. The mainstream use of “intention setting” actually refers to adhiṭṭhāna; resolving to cultivate a certain quality or bring something to life. When practiced in combination with samma sankappa (Wise Intention), the intentions we make to shape our day, week, month, or life can be linked back to those wholesome qualities of nekhamma (renunciation), mettā (loving-kindness), and/or karuṇā (compassion). Thus they are in service of freedom from suffering, for ourselves and others, now and in the future.
I often hear people feeling pressure to create “perfect” intentions.Two things help me approach this differently:
* Remembering, like everything else, intentions are impermanent. They can change and evolve as we do., * Adding “What if...?” to the beginning of an intention. For example “What if I am a refuge for others?” or “What if I lead with loving-kindness?” This is more of a somatic practice, but prefacing an intention with “What if” helps to create a feeling of spaciousness and allowing, rather than a feeling of “locked in”-ness.,
A simple yet poignant example of an intention with samma sankappa (Wise Intention) and its root and in the spirit of adhiṭṭhāna (determination or resolve) could be “May I be loving and kind” or “What if I was loving and kind?
Finally, these two broader intentions flow into the most immediate layer, cetāna, often defined as volition or directionality. In my experience, cetāna is how the earlier layers of intention—samma sankappa (Wise Intention) and adhiṭṭhāna (determination)—manifest in the moment.
For example, imagine you're at the grocery store and you arrive at the checkout line at the same time as another person. The line is long so there will be some sort of volitional urge (cetāna) around how to respond. You could either try to assert yourself and cut the other person off because you've had a full day and are ready to go home, or there might be a moment of pause where you invite the other person to go in front of you. Your volitional urge (cetāna) might be very different because you've set the intention, "What if I was loving and kind?
This is a simple example, but when we apply this to broader practices like samma sankappa (Wise Intention) and adhiṭṭhāna (determination), we can start to wake up to the fact that every (re)action has energy behind it. This, then, begs the question, if every action has energy behind it, what energy am I bringing? Is the energy in line with these teachings and my intention?
While we can’t catch every reaction in real time, we can begin to notice patterns and tease apart habitual responses, and slowly start the process of making our whole life a living prayer.
We are called and invited to begin with intending to be kind, to be open-hearted, to be gentle in our lives. And in a world marked by extremes, it’s inevitable that we will fail, but without this initial intention for kindness, we risk never cultivating it at all.
This perspective reminds us that even in challenging times, there is potential for transformation and renewal. And that’s why we practice.
中文翻译
三种佛教修行法塑造意图 | 道恩·莫里西奥
虽然我常常与冬天抗争——蒙特利尔的冬天感觉漫长无尽——但我热爱每年的这个时候，特别是因为它带来了重新开始的可能性和承诺。我并非一直有这种感觉，但我学会了拥抱这个季节——不是为了以“新年新我”的精神设定决心——而是作为一个机会，深化我的承诺，使我的整个生命成为活生生的祈祷，正如塔尼萨拉在我们十一月灵岩山静修会上美妙地说的那样。
主流的新年决心实践让我想起了佛陀关于意图的教导。我将这三种佛教修行法——正思（samma sankappa）或明智意图、决意（adhiṭṭhāna）或决心、以及思业（cetāna）或意志——想象成一种漏斗，每一层都流入下一层。
在这个漏斗的顶部是正思，或明智意图。使这个意图“明智”的是，它是在为自由服务中培养的——不一定是为了自我提升或“做得更好”。在佛教教义中，作为八正道的一部分，正思被定义为具有离欲（nekhamma）、慈（mettā）和悲（karuṇā）这些善品质的意图。
在我看来，这种明智意图的基础流入下一层，决意，通常被翻译为决心或决断。主流使用的“意图设定”实际上指的是决意；决心培养某种品质或将某物带入生活。当与正思（明智意图）结合实践时，我们为塑造一天、一周、一个月或一生所做的意图可以追溯到离欲（离欲）、慈（慈爱）和/或悲（慈悲）这些善品质。因此，它们是为我们自己和他人在现在和未来从痛苦中解脱而服务的。
我经常听到人们感到创造“完美”意图的压力。有两件事帮助我以不同的方式处理这个问题：
* 记住，像其他一切一样，意图是无常的。它们可以随着我们的变化而改变和演化。* 在意图开头加上“如果……会怎样？”。例如“如果我成为他人的庇护所会怎样？”或“如果我以慈爱为先会怎样？”这更像是一种身体实践，但在意图前加上“如果”有助于创造一种宽敞和允许的感觉，而不是一种“被锁定”的感觉。
一个简单而深刻的例子，结合了正思（明智意图）及其根源和决意（决心或决断）精神的意图，可以是“愿我充满爱与仁慈”或“如果我充满爱与仁慈会怎样？”
最后，这两种更广泛的意图流入最直接的一层，思业，通常被定义为意志或方向性。根据我的经验，思业是意图的早期层次——正思（明智意图）和决意（决心）——在当下显现的方式。
例如，想象你在杂货店，你和另一个人同时到达收银台。队伍很长，所以会有某种意志冲动（思业）围绕如何回应。你可以试图坚持自己并插队，因为你度过了充实的一天准备回家，或者可能会有片刻的停顿，你邀请另一个人排在你前面。你的意志冲动（思业）可能非常不同，因为你设定了意图，“如果我充满爱与仁慈会怎样？”
这是一个简单的例子，但当我们将其应用于更广泛的实践，如正思（明智意图）和决意（决心）时，我们可以开始意识到每个（反）行动背后都有能量。这引出了一个问题，如果每个行动背后都有能量，我带来了什么能量？这种能量是否符合这些教义和我的意图？
虽然我们无法实时捕捉每一个反应，但我们可以开始注意到模式并梳理习惯性回应，并慢慢开始使我们的整个生命成为活生生的祈祷的过程。
我们被召唤和邀请以意图开始，在我们的生活中变得仁慈、开放心胸、温柔。在一个以极端为标志的世界里，我们不可避免地会失败，但如果没有这种最初的仁慈意图，我们可能永远无法培养它。
这种视角提醒我们，即使在充满挑战的时期，也有转变和更新的潜力。这就是我们修行的原因。
文章概要
本文围绕关键词“中年意图设定的佛教仪式”，介绍了三种佛教修行法来塑造意图：正思（明智意图）、决意（决心）和思业（意志）。文章以新年决心为切入点，强调意图应服务于自由而非自我提升，并详细阐述了这三种实践如何像漏斗一样层层递进，从宏观的明智意图到具体的意志冲动，帮助人们在日常生活中培养离欲、慈爱和慈悲，最终使整个生命成为活生生的祈祷。作者提供了实用建议，如接受意图的无常性和使用“如果”前缀来减轻压力，并以购物排队为例说明思业的应用。文章鼓励读者以仁慈意图开始，即使在失败中也能实现转变和更新。
高德明老师的评价
第一角度，用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：这篇文章就像教我们怎么用三个超级好用的工具来让我们的想法变得更棒！第一个工具叫“正思”，就是让我们想事情的时候要聪明一点，别光想着让自己变厉害，而是要想怎么帮助别人和让自己自由快乐。第二个工具叫“决意”，就是下定决心去做这些聪明的事情，比如决定每天对别人好一点。第三个工具叫“思业”，就是我们的行动要跟着这些好想法走，比如在超市排队时让让别人。这样，我们的生活就会像一直在祈祷一样美好！
第二角度，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，本文所述正思、决意、思业三法，契合大乘显宗修行次第，尤以《显密圆通成佛心要集》观之，此三法实为“心要”之具体展现。正思对应“发菩提心”，以离欲、慈、悲为基，正是大乘菩萨道之起点；决意如“坚固愿力”，确保修行不退转；思业则似“现行妙用”，将愿力落实于日常。准提法作为显密圆融之典范，强调“三密相应”，本文之思业即身密之行持，正思为意密之观照，决意乃语密之誓愿，三者圆融无碍，恰显准提法“即事而真”之妙义。相较于小乘重个人解脱，此三法以大悲为本，利他为先，彰显大乘“不为自己求安乐，但愿众生得离苦”之精神，而密宗更以“即身成佛”为旨，本文之“活生生的祈祷”正暗合此意，使修行贯穿生活每一刻。
第三角度，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，这三种方法能帮助我们解决许多常见问题。第一，解决目标迷茫问题，通过正思明确以自由和利他为方向。第二，缓解压力焦虑，用“如果”前缀让意图更灵活。第三，改善人际关系，以慈爱意图促进和谐。第四，提升自我觉察，通过思业观察行动背后的能量。第五，增强意志力，决意帮助坚持善行。第六，应对无常变化，接受意图的演化性。第七，培养慈悲心，将悲悯融入日常决定。第八，减少自私倾向，以离欲导向放下执着。第九，促进生活平衡，使修行与工作家庭结合。第十，实现生命转化，让整个存在成为祈祷。准提法于此尤显优势，其简捷仪轨便于中年行者每日持诵，将三法融于准提咒修持中，以“嗡折隶主隶准提梭哈”之音声贯通身口意，迅速净化业力，圆满福慧，正是中年意图设定的妙法良方。