39 ON THE BUS IN INDIA

【坐在印度的大巴车上】

几年前，我去了印度，为达利特人举办闭关。他们被认为是印度社会中的最低阶层，被歧视了数千年。由于佛教修行中没有种姓制度，所以他们中的很多人接受了佛教。一位来自佛教社团的达利特男士帮助组织我们的旅行。他有家庭，在新德里有公寓，物质生活很舒适，但他仍然带着他那个阶层的习惯能量和对他的歧视。我坐在大巴车上，旁边就是他，我享受着观看窗外的印度风景。当我把头转回来时，我看到他坐得非常紧张。当我享受坐在大巴车上时，他一点都不享受。我说：“亲爱的朋友，我知道你很想让我的访问愉快和开心。我现在感觉很舒服和快乐，所以请放松坐着，不要担心。”他说：“好的。”然后他坐回去放松了。当我再次看向窗外，享受风景时，过了几分钟，我又看到他像之前那样僵硬，因为那些担忧、感受、和那种总是在挣扎的倾向，已经被他的许多代祖先传递给他了。要停下来并识别旧的习惯能量并不容易。我们都需要一个朋友时不时地提醒我们。如果没有其他人在场，钟声可以成为那个朋友，提醒我们认出并对我们的旧习惯能量微笑。这样，我们就可以摆脱它们。

[ON THE BUS IN INDIA]

Some years ago I went to India to give retreats for the Dalit
people. They’re considered the lowest caste in Indian society, and have been discriminated against for thousands of years. Many of them have embraced Buddhism because there are no castes in Buddhist practice. A Dalit man from the Buddhist Society was helping organize our tour. He had a family, an apartment in New Delhi, and a comfortable material life, but he still carried the habit energies of his class and the discrimination against him. I was sitting next to him in the bus, enjoying looking out of the window at the landscape of India. When I turned my head back, I saw him sitting in a very tense way. While I was enjoying sitting in the bus, he wasn’t enjoying it at all. I said, “Dear friend, I know that you’re eager to make my visit pleasant and happy. I’m feeling very comfortable and happy right now, so please sit back and relax, don’t worry.” He said, “Okay,” and he sat back and relaxed while I looked out of the window again and enjoyed the scenery. When I looked back a few minutes later, I saw him again as rigid as before, because those worries, feelings, and that tendency always to be struggling had been handed down to him by many generations of ancestors. It’s not easy just to stop and recognize old habit energies. We all need a friend to help remind us from time to time. If no one else is there, the sound of the bell can be that friend, reminding us to recognize and smile at our old habit energies. In that way, we can become free of them.