英文原文
Ageing: the Great Adventure - A Buddhist Guide It was the shock of witnessing sickness, old age and death at first hand that moved the youthful Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha, to search for a way out of suffering. Those of us who are no longer young are faced with the same challenge more directly. How can we best respond to it? Ageing is the supreme challenge of our life. Physically we begin to deteriorate. Socially we may now find ourselves discounted and patronised in various subtle and not so subtle ways. Ageism is the last and most difficult of the discriminations to be rooted out. These physical and social discomfitures combine to threaten and undermine our self-image and how we value ourselves. Commonly old age is viewed as a time when the best of life is behind us. What remains is to enjoy the “compensations” of old age, and even these are customarily presented in a sentimental and patronising light. I offer here a very different perspective, a Buddhist perspective, together with some practical proposals about how to embody it. Ageing can be the culminating adventure of our lives, up to which the earlier years may be seen as a preparation. I do not refer here to the promise of perpetual youth peddled by golden oldie consumerism. That is more evasion than adventure. The adventure of ageing is nothing less than the opportunity to transcend the self which has lived its life up to now, and hence to transcend the decrepitude and death of that self. At its simplest that grand word “transcendence” is about being totally at ease with ourselves, and hence at ease with others. Freed from self preoccupations and anxieties we can wholeheartedly serve others. The essence of an adventure, however, is that it is scary and unpredictable, a venture into the unknown which demands courage and risking ourselves. The more we resort to safety-nets, diversions and evasions the less of an adventure it becomes. We sell ourselves short. Moreover, an adventure requires training, skill and practice. So if we are to make an art of growing old and dying we need a practice, a way of cultivation, not as a part-time hobby, but with all our heart all our time. What I shall offer here is a number of perspectives and practices which readers can adapt to their own situations and needs. They will be around four themes: ageing, physical embodiment, dying, and celebration.
中文翻译
衰老：伟大的冒险——佛教指南 正是亲眼目睹疾病、衰老和死亡的震撼，促使年轻的悉达多·乔达摩王子——未来的佛陀——寻找解脱痛苦之道。我们这些不再年轻的人更直接地面临着同样的挑战。我们该如何最好地应对它？ 衰老是我们生命中的至高挑战。身体上，我们开始衰退。社会上，我们可能会发现自己以各种微妙或不那么微妙的方式被轻视和居高临下地对待。年龄歧视是最后且最难根除的歧视。这些身体和社会上的不适结合起来，威胁并削弱我们的自我形象和自我价值感。通常，老年被视为生命中最美好的时光已经过去的时期。剩下的就是享受老年的“补偿”，甚至这些补偿也通常以感伤和居高临下的方式呈现。 我在此提供一个非常不同的视角，一个佛教的视角，以及一些关于如何体现它的实用建议。衰老可以是我们生命中的终极冒险，之前的岁月可以被视为为此做准备。我在这里指的不是金色老年消费主义所兜售的永葆青春的承诺。那更像是逃避而非冒险。衰老的冒险正是超越迄今为止生活的自我，从而超越那个自我的衰老和死亡的机会。简单来说，“超越”这个宏大的词是关于完全自在，从而与他人自在。从自我关注和焦虑中解脱出来，我们可以全心全意地服务他人。 然而，冒险的本质是它令人恐惧且不可预测，是进入未知的冒险，需要勇气和冒险精神。我们越是求助于安全网、转移注意力和逃避，它就越不像冒险。我们低估了自己。 此外，冒险需要训练、技能和实践。因此，如果我们要将变老和死亡变成一门艺术，我们需要一种修行，一种培养的方式，不是作为兼职爱好，而是全心全意、全时投入。我将在此提供一些视角和实践，读者可以根据自己的情况和需求进行调整。它们将围绕四个主题：衰老、身体体现、死亡和庆祝。
文章概要
本文从佛教视角探讨衰老，将其视为一场伟大的冒险，而非衰退。文章指出，衰老是超越自我、实现自在的机会，需要勇气和实践。作者提出了四个主题：衰老、身体体现、死亡和庆祝，强调通过修行（如正念）来面对衰老的挑战，从而获得智慧和解放。文章结合佛教艺术和象征，如佛陀的教导和禅宗智慧，鼓励读者以积极态度拥抱老年，将其视为生命的高潮。
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：这篇文章就像在说，变老不是坏事，而是一次超级大冒险！就像玩游戏一样，你需要勇气去面对未知，而不是躲起来。佛教告诉我们，通过练习正念（就是专心感受当下），我们可以变得更自在，帮助别人，让老年变得有意义。它说衰老是超越自我的机会，让我们不再害怕变老和死亡。
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：从显宗视角，本文强调通过正念修行超越自我，契合大乘佛教的慈悲与智慧。密宗如准提法，注重即身成佛，本文的“超越衰老”可视为密宗修行中转化烦恼为菩提的体现。《显密圆通成佛心要集》融合显密，本文的实践建议——如通过正念面对痛苦——可视为显密圆通的入门，准提法的优点在于快速净化业障，帮助修行者在老年阶段加速觉悟。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题：1. 减少对衰老的恐惧，通过正念练习接受变化。2. 提升自我价值感，从服务他人中找到意义。3. 缓解孤独感，通过修行连接内在智慧。4. 管理身体疼痛，将不适转化为修行助力。5. 克服年龄歧视，以智慧展现老年价值。6. 处理死亡焦虑，培养“不知之心”面对未知。7. 增强心理韧性，用佛教视角看待生命起伏。8. 促进家庭和谐，以慈悲态度对待亲人。9. 提升生活质量，将老年视为庆祝而非衰退。10. 加速灵性成长，利用老年时间专注修行，准提法可快速积累功德。