我們常常感到被各種限制所束縛，無法實現自己的潛能，以及正確選擇人生的路向。有一個故事揭示了這背後的真相：真正限制、妨礙和埋沒我們的，永遠都是我們自己。
古代有個年僅14歲的小沙彌，千里迢迢來到禪宗三祖面前求道："大師，請教我解脫的法門！” 大師問："誰拿繩子綁住你了？" 小沙彌楞了一下，回答："沒有人拿繩子綁住我啊！" "既然沒人綁住你，那你還求甚麼解脫法門呢？"大師喝道。受這當頭棒喝，小沙彌頓悟了。經過一番修行，這個小沙彌繼承了三祖的衣缽，成為禪宗四祖。
從這個小故事，我們可以看到那條綁住我們的繩子，並領悟解除束縛的方法。
我們常常受限於自己的習慣，在生活中作出錯誤的選擇。不同於與生俱來的天性，習慣是在我們出生後才被培養出來的，是自我的一部份，也是恐懼和焦慮的來源。
這些習慣限制了意識的成長，導致我們以先入為主的觀念面對新世界，在選擇中常常犯錯。但在反思犯錯原因的時候，我們又會覺得錯在沒有嚴守那些規限，於是對自己施加更嚴格的限制，陷入了惡性循環。當意識無法成長，自由就會減少。
實際上那些限制是我們無意識地造成的，全因守著一些舊觀念。如果我們能夠改變這種愚蠢的做法，那些綁住自己手腳的繩子就會立即解開。
執著過去是自我的特性，因為它本身就是習慣的堆積物，不守著習慣會使自我缺乏存在感而不安，感到生活無所依靠。這些感覺也揭示著自我的虛幻本質。它本身是虛幻的，但又讓我們陷入一種固執的狀態，難以面對多變的世界。
其實我們也不斷追求新鮮感，這才是生命的本質，因此自我是與生命背道而馳的，會變成生命的障礙。但只要能夠理解習慣的作用，而不去界定它們的好壞，那麼我們就有機會擺脫所有習慣，讓意識保持新鮮，並擁有一個無我的自由內心世界。
我們所謂的自己，就是那個矇蔽意識的自我，而不是我們生命的本質。尋找真我，就是一個去除自我的過程。我們把習慣一層層地剝去，最終看到那個能夠保護生命的意識。只有這個純粹的意識才是我們真正的自己。
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The path to Tranquility (108) Liberation from Ego-Boundaries
We often feel constrained by various limitations, unable to unleash our potential and choose the right path in life. There is a story that reveals the truth behind this: the one who truly restricts, hinders, and buries us is always ourselves.
In ancient times, a 14-year-old novice traveled a long distance to seek enlightenment from the third patriarch of Zen Buddhism. He asked, "Master, please teach me the path to liberation!" The master asked, "Who has tied you up with ropes?" The young novice hesitated for a moment and replied, "No one has tied me up with ropes!" "Since no one has tied you up, why do you seek the path to liberation?" the master shouted. Startled by this direct admonishment, the young novice had a sudden realization. After a period of practice, he inherited the robes and bowl of the third patriarch and became the fourth patriarch of Zen Buddhism.
From this little story, we can see the rope that tied us and understand the way to untie it.
We are often limited by our own habits, making erroneous choices in life. Unlike inherent nature, habits are cultivated after our birth, forming part of our self and serving as sources of fear and anxiety.
These habits restrict the growth of consciousness, leading us to face the new world with preconceived notions and often making mistakes in our choices. But when we reflect on the reasons for our mistakes, we feel that the mistakes lie in the failure to strictly abide by those rules, so imposing even stricter restrictions on ourselves, and falling into a vicious cycle. When consciousness fails to grow, freedom diminishes.
Actually those limitations are created by us unconsciously, all because of holding on to some old ideas. If we can change this stupid practice, the ropes that bind our hands and feet will immediately untie.
Clutching to the past is a characteristic of the ego, because it itself is the accumulation of habits. Failure to stick to the habits will make the ego lack a sense of existence and feel uneasy, feeling that life has nothing to rely on. These feelings also reveal the illusory nature of the ego. It is illusory in itself, yet it traps us in a stubborn state, difficult to face the changeable world.
In fact, we are also constantly pursuing novelty, which is the essence of life, so the ego runs contrary to life and will become an obstacle to life. But as long as we understand the role of habits, without defining them as good or bad, then we have the opportunity to get rid of all habits, allowing consciousness to remain fresh and possessing a egoless and free inner world.
What we call ourselves is the ego that obscures consciousness, not the essence of our being. Finding the true self is a process of eliminating the ego. We peel back the layers of habit to finally see the consciousness that can protect life. Only this pure consciousness is true ourselves.
On August 24, 2023
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