英文原文
Bob Thurman may be the best-known American Buddhist living today. A long-time professor of Buddhist studies at Columbia, he was the first Westerner ever to be ordained a Buddhist monk by the Dalai Lama. He has also published a series of popular books on Buddhism; I first became aware of him with the publication of Inner Revolution, which just had its 25th anniversary. Thurman will tell you that Buddhism is not so much a religion as it is a way of thinking. He puts it this way: “You don’t have to be a Buddhist to benefit from Buddhism.” The lessons that can be culled from Buddhism can make you “a better Christian, or Jew, or secularist” or, in other words, a better person. The basic goal of Buddhism is to achieve a state of enlightenment and free one’s self from suffering. As a CUNY website explains, “an enlightened state is one in which the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched.” The inner stormy waters have been calmed. Thurman writes that the positive results of achieving enlightenment are vast: You engage in your world joyously. When you wake up in this way, you effectively help everyone you encounter come to the very same bliss, which you see they already have deep within themselves. All beings possess this same ability to wake up and become enlightened. Bob Thurman is now 80 years old, a wise elder. His newly published book is called Wisdom is Bliss and he packs into it his vast knowledge of Buddhism. Thurman talks to concepts like the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path, which he admits could be “a whole curriculum of a university.” (And can make for some dense reading.) Fortunately, later in the book Thurman riffs on what it means to be a Buddhist. It is this material that I have turned into a simple 8-point guide. The thoughts that follow are mostly Thurman’s though I have added my own interpretation of a few points, hopefully staying true to the author’s intent. An 8-Point Buddhist Guide to Being a Better Person: Strive to achieve enlightenment. This is the bliss that comes from awareness of your true self, the essence of who you are beyond your cravings. You become aware of the reality of the world around you, good and bad. This awakening connects you to life, even its more difficult aspects, without getting overwhelmed by it. When you achieve enlightenment, “you won’t have just temporary relief or pleasure from some external event. The pleasure will come from within.” Your main effort should be to answer the questions “What am I, where am I, what should I do here and now?” To uncover the answers, use your own good sense and your own inner intuitive experience. See if your answers contain “compassion, generosity, and gratitude.” (Paul Dunion.) By knowing your own true nature, yourself within, you can be free of suffering. Remember, it’s not all about you. The cause of our own un-enlightenment is often self-centeredness. If you believe the world revolves around you, you separate yourself from others. But in reality, all others are equal to you. Act that way with each person you encounter. Only do that which will change your life and your mind for the better. What you do verbally and mentally will change the manner of your life. Associate yourself with good causes and reduce your connection to negative ones. Try to increase the good exponentially. Always choose the positive, even if it’s the tiniest thing. Speech should only be truthful, only peacemaking. What you say should be gentle, meaningful and kind. Harsh talk, or making people enemies with each other, is a negative action and sadly very powerful. Flip the switch on negative thoughts. Get a clicker for your mind. Don’t be a victim of your thoughts following your mind everywhere it leads you. Learn to interfere with the thoughts that are going in the wrong direction and cut them off. Empower thoughts that are going in the right direction. Have a dialogue inside yourself. It’s not a sign of dementia, it’s a sign of waking up. Don’t work in a profession, or for a company, where you’re causing harm to people. Work in a job that benefits others. Do good. Do something about your life in your mind. No one else can do it for you, you have to do it yourself. Faith alone will not make you enlightened. Understanding makes you enlightened. As Jesus said, “He who has known himself has achieved knowledge about the depth of all things.” Or to paraphrase Omar Itani, “The quality of your thoughts creates the quality of your life.”
中文翻译
鲍勃·瑟曼可能是当今最著名的美国佛教徒。作为哥伦比亚大学长期教授佛学的教授，他是第一位被达赖喇嘛授予佛教僧侣身份的西方人。他还出版了一系列关于佛教的畅销书；我第一次注意到他是在《内在革命》出版时，这本书刚刚迎来25周年纪念。瑟曼会告诉你，佛教与其说是一种宗教，不如说是一种思维方式。他这样说：“你不必成为佛教徒也能从佛教中受益。”从佛教中汲取的教训可以让你成为“更好的基督徒、犹太人、世俗主义者”，或者换句话说，成为一个更好的人。佛教的基本目标是达到觉悟状态，从痛苦中解脱出来。正如纽约市立大学网站所解释的，“觉悟状态是贪婪、憎恨和无明的火焰已被熄灭的状态。”内心的汹涌波涛已经平静下来。瑟曼写道，达到觉悟的积极结果是巨大的：你快乐地参与你的世界。当你以这种方式醒来时，你有效地帮助遇到的每个人达到同样的极乐，你看到他们内心深处已经拥有这种极乐。所有众生都拥有同样的觉醒和觉悟能力。鲍勃·瑟曼现在80岁了，是一位智慧的长者。他新出版的书名为《智慧即极乐》，书中包含了他对佛教的广博知识。瑟曼谈到了四圣谛和八正道等概念，他承认这些可能是“整个大学的课程”。（并且可能读起来有些艰深。）幸运的是，在书的后面部分，瑟曼即兴阐述了成为佛教徒意味着什么。正是这些材料，我将其转化为一个简单的八步指南。以下想法主要是瑟曼的，尽管我对几点加入了自己的解释，希望能忠实于作者的意图。成为更好的人的八步佛教指南：努力达到觉悟。这是来自觉知真实自我的极乐，超越欲望的你的本质。你意识到周围世界的现实，无论是好是坏。这种觉醒将你与生活连接起来，即使是其更困难的方面，也不会被其压倒。当你达到觉悟时，“你不会仅仅从某些外部事件中获得暂时的缓解或快乐。快乐将来自内心。”你的主要努力应该是回答“我是谁，我在哪里，此时此地我应该做什么？”为了揭示答案，运用你自己的良好判断力和内在直觉经验。看看你的答案是否包含“慈悲、慷慨和感恩”。（保罗·杜尼翁。）通过了解自己的真实本性，内在的自我，你可以从痛苦中解脱。记住，这不全是关于你。我们自己不觉悟的原因往往是自我中心。如果你认为世界围绕你转，你就将自己与他人分离。但实际上，所有其他人都与你平等。以这种方式对待你遇到的每个人。只做那些能让你的生活和心态变得更好的事情。你在言语和精神上所做的将改变你的生活方式。将自己与善因联系起来，减少与负面因素的关联。尝试以指数方式增加善行。总是选择积极的一面，即使是最微小的事情。言语应该只说实话，只促进和平。你所说的话应该温和、有意义且友善。刻薄的言辞，或使人们彼此为敌，是一种负面行为，且可悲地非常强大。翻转负面思想的开关。为你的思想准备一个点击器。不要成为思想的受害者，跟随你的思想到处走。学会干预那些走向错误方向的思想并切断它们。增强那些走向正确方向的思想。与自己内心对话。这不是痴呆的迹象，而是觉醒的迹象。不要从事伤害他人的职业，或为伤害他人的公司工作。从事有益于他人的工作。行善。在你的思想中为你的生活做些什么。没有其他人能为你做这件事，你必须自己去做。仅凭信仰不会让你觉悟。理解让你觉悟。正如耶稣所说，“认识自己的人已经获得了关于万物深度的知识。”或者用奥马尔·伊塔尼的话来说，“你思想的质量创造了你生活的质量。”
文章概要
本文基于美国著名佛教徒鲍勃·瑟曼的见解，提供了一个八步佛教指南，旨在帮助人们成为更好的人，特别适用于中年时期提升直觉力。文章首先介绍了瑟曼的背景和佛教作为思维方式的观点，强调佛教的普适性。核心内容围绕八点指南展开，包括追求觉悟、自我认知、超越自我中心、选择积极行动、诚实和平的言语、管理负面思想、从事有益工作以及自我内在努力。这些步骤旨在通过佛教实践，如培养慈悲、慷慨和感恩，来增强内在直觉，实现从痛苦中解脱，达到觉悟状态，从而在中年阶段更好地应对生活挑战，提升生活质量。
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：这篇文章就像一本教你变得更棒的小手册！它说，佛教不是让你必须信什么神，而是一种思考方式，能帮你成为更好的人。比如，要努力认识真正的自己，别总想着自己，多关心别人，说话要温柔诚实，别让坏想法控制你，做对别人好的工作，还要自己动脑筋让生活变好。这样，你就能更快乐，像从心里找到宝藏一样！
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，本文指南体现了大乘佛教的利他精神和显宗修行基础。八点指南强调觉悟、慈悲和行动，这与显宗如禅宗、净土宗注重心性修养和日常实践相契合。特别是《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角，它融合显密教法，强调“心要”即核心修行。本文的指南可视为显宗层面的“心要”实践，如追求觉悟对应“成佛”目标，自我认知和言语管理对应“心”的调伏。准提法作为密宗法门，在此视角下，其优点在于快速净化业障、增强直觉力，中年修行者可通过准提咒等实践，直接应用本文指南，提升内在觉知，加速觉悟进程，实现显密圆通。
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，本文指南可应用于日常，帮助解决人们常见问题。例如，通过追求觉悟，解决中年迷茫和方向感缺失；通过自我认知，缓解身份焦虑和自我怀疑；通过超越自我中心，改善人际关系和孤独感；通过选择积极行动，克服拖延和消极心态；通过诚实和平言语，减少冲突和沟通障碍；通过管理负面思想，应对压力和情绪波动；通过从事有益工作，提升职业满足感和意义感；通过自我内在努力，增强自信和内在力量。准提法的优点在于其简便高效，修行者可结合准提咒修持，快速净化心念，增强直觉力，直接支持这些实践，例如在管理负面思想时持咒静心，在追求觉悟时深化禅定，从而更有效地解决这些问题，促进整体生命质量的提升。