All the vexations that people feel are produced because they cling to the “self.” All the conflicts among people originate with the discriminating mind. This is because when you have the discriminating mind, then there is greedy desire, and hatred, and ignorance, and from that there is war and murder and degeneration. Then there is samsara, the cycling through the six planes of existence.
人的许多烦恼，都是因为执著于“我”而产生的。对“我”的执著，我们称之为“我执”，就是认为这个世界上有一个永恒不变的“我”。“我执”还有一个别名，叫做“自私”，就是习惯以“我”为标准，衡量世界上的一切，将所有精力都放在维护“我”和“我的”上面。比如，有的人会为了维护自己的利益而牺牲他人的利益，有的人会为了维护自己家庭的利益而剥夺别的家庭的利益，有的人会为了维护自己国家的利益而侵犯其他国家的利益。“我执”是贪欲的基础，执著于“我”的人觉得，什么都是“我的”，“我”就是世界的主角，所有东西都想拿来为“我”所用，所有事情都以“我”的感受为重。
All the vexations that people feel are produced because they cling to the “self.” Clinging to and being attached to the self we call “selfish clinging.” It means thinking that in this world there is some eternally unchanging “self.” There is another word for “selfish clinging” – it is called “selfishness.” This means being accustomed to taking the “self” as the standard, and measuring everything in the world in terms of the self, and taking all your energy and putting on defending “me” and “mine.” For example, to protect their own interests, some people will sacrifice the interests of other people. Some people, to protect the interests of their own family, will steal from other families. Some people, to protect the interests of their own nation, will attack the interests of other nations. “Selfish clinging” is the foundation for greedy desire. A person who clings to the “self” feels that everything is “mine” and that “I” am the main character in the world, and wants to take everything for “me” to use, and thinks that “my” feelings are what matters most in everything.
举个例子，日本人当年觊觎中国的地大物博，于是发动侵华战争，杀害了许多中国百姓，给许多家庭留下了难以痊愈的创痛。在中国人眼里，这当然是残忍的暴行，但日本的史书却给它抹上了一层悲情且壮烈的色彩。因为，在日本人看来，那场战争是为后世子孙的温饱和生存而发动的，它也是一种爱国热情的产物。再举一个例子，当年成吉思汗对外发动战争，用其他人民的鲜血润湿了战马足下的土地，但这样一个人在今人的眼中，却是那个时代的英雄。这种狭隘的道德观是非常可怕的，因为，崇尚它的人们，在“我的”利益与“他的”利益发生冲突的时候，往往会选择牺牲“他”而维护“我”。这个“我”指的是人们心中的自己，也是与自己最亲密的群体，比如我的国家、我的民族、我的城市、我的家庭、我自己等等。这是一种强烈的分别心，也就是二元对立，在这种巨大的对立中，我们会把“我”与外部世界分得清清楚楚。几乎所有的智慧修炼，都是为了对治分别心。因为人间所有的纷争都源于分别心。因为有了分别心，才有了贪婪，有了仇恨，有了愚痴，进而也有了战争，有了屠杀，有了堕落，也便有了六道轮回。
Let’s take an example. At one time the Japanese coveted China’s vast territory and rich resources, and so they launched a war against China, and killed and injured many Chinese people, and left many families with wounds that were impossible to heal. In the eyes of the Chinese, this of course was atrocious violence, but in the Japanese history books it was painted over in colors of pathos and heroism. This is because, from the Japanese point of view, that war was launched for the economic security and survival of future generations, and it was also a product of patriotic fervor. Take another example. At one time Genghis Khan launched a war against foreign nations, and the land beneath the feet of his cavalry horses was soaked in blood, but in the eyes of people today this kind of man was a hero of his time. Such a narrow moral viewpoint is very much to be feared, because to the people who uphold it, when there is a collision between what benefits “me” and what benefits “them,” they will always choose to sacrifice “them” to protect “me.” What this “me” means is the self in people’s minds, and it also includes the group closest to themselves, like my nation, my ethnic group, my city, my family, I myself, and so on. This is a kind of strong discriminating mind, and it is also dualistic. In this giant dualism, we take the “self” and clearly differentiate it from the external world. Almost all forms of cultivating wisdom are done in order to counteract the discriminating mind. This is because all the conflicts among people have their source in the discriminating mind. This is because when you have the discriminating mind, then there is greedy desire, and hatred, and ignorance, and from that there is war and murder and degeneration. Then there is samsara, the cycling through the six planes of existence.
然而，人们大多不明白这一点，他们任由这种分别心衍生出的狭隘的道德观，占据世界的主流地位，所以，各种恶性竞争才会发生在世界的每个角落，人与人之间的关系才会变得越来越疏离与冷漠。也正因为如此，各种各样的悲剧才会在每个时代、每个国家、每个家庭、每分每秒不断上演：食品、饮料中加入了有毒物质，抢劫、强奸、谋杀、家暴像蚊虫一样滋长，欺诈令退休老人失去了养老的那点财产……
Nevertheless, many people do not clearly understand this point. They give free rein to the narrow moral viewpoint that is derived from this discriminating mind. It occupies the mainstream position in the world, and that is why all kinds of evil conflicts develop in every corner of the world, and relationships among people are becoming more and more estranged and cold. It is precisely because of this that all kinds of tragedies occur in every era, in every nation, in every family, every minute and every second. Something poisonous has been put into the food and drink: robbery, rape, murder, domestic violence increase like a swarm of mosquitos; swindlers make retired elderly people lose the few assets they need to care for themselves in their old age…
我们都知道社会上藏着许多黑暗，也都厌恶那黑暗，但却没多少人愿意融入微弱的大善光明当中。人们甚至不明白自己也是黑暗的一部分。因为大多数人都太过关注个人得失，太爱惜自己心中的“我”，很少考虑自己的言行会给外部世界带来怎样的影响，只觉得一切都理所当然。而所谓的善，就是在考虑自己的同时，多考虑一下别人；大善，更是放下自己的期待，多考虑一下别人。破除不了我执的时候，你就很难真正做到这一点。
We all know that many dark things are hidden in society, and we all detest that darkness, but there are not many people who are willing to fuse with the subtle light of great good. People are even unaware that they themselves are a part of the darkness. This is because the great majority of people are too concerned with individual gain and loss, and too preoccupied with the “self” in their own minds. They rarely think about what kind of influence their own words and deeds are having on the external world, and just feel that everything is as it should be. But so-called good means that, at the same time as you are considering yourself, you should consider others more. Great good is more about letting go of your own expectations, and taking more consideration of others. If you cannot eliminate selfish clinging, then it will be very difficult for you to genuinely do this.
其实，“我”是什么？它只是一个绝妙的假象。
In reality, what is the “self”? It is a fabulous false semblance.
我们的身体不断发生着变化，我们的想法和习惯，也因为各种经历而不断变化着。我们已经不是昨天的那个人，也不是前一秒钟的那个人了，我们或许已经厌倦了去年爱过的东西，甚至厌倦了以前爱过的人，厌倦了曾经享受过的某种生活方式。我们的各种观点更像天上的云朵一样，不断改变着模样。
Our bodies are always changing, and because of our various experiences, our thoughts and habits are also constantly changing. We are already notthat person we were yesterday, and we are not the person we were a second ago. We may have already grown tired of the things we liked last year, and we may even have grown tired of the people we used to love, and we may have grown tired of the styles of living we used to enjoy. Our points of view are even more like clouds in the sky, constantly changing shape.
有个学生告诉过我，她曾经对分手的男朋友说过自己会等他两年，谁知道，一年后那个男孩子真来找她，但她的感觉已经完全改变了。想起这件事的时候，她总是觉得自己做了件蠢事，感到羞愧不已。她不明白，她的愚蠢并不在于做过什么事、说过什么话，而在于她不知道小爱只是一种情绪，语言也是一种情绪。即便她是真诚的，寄托了某种情绪的语言，也总是在说出口的那一刻就结束了，因为情绪不断在变。再者，无论愚蠢还是聪明，都是过去了的事情。事情一旦过去，就变成了回忆，也无需去在意了。好多人就是忘不掉过去的事情，放不下对未来的担忧，才会活得非常痛苦。
A student told me that she had said to a boyfriend who was breaking up with herthat she would wait for him for two years. Who knew that a year later the boyfriend would actually come looking for her, but her own feelings had already changed completely. When she thought of this, she always felt that she had done something foolish, and she felt ashamed. She did not understand that her foolishness was not in anything she had done, or anything she had said, but rather lay in not knowing that personal love is just an emotion, and the words that are said are just emotions. Even if she was sincere, words conveying some kind of emotions would always be finished the moment the words came out of her mouth, because emotions are constantly changing. Furthermore, no matter whether foolish or intelligent, it was all something that had gone by. Once something goes by, then it changes into a memory, and there is no need to be concerned with it. Many people cannot forget about things that have gone by, and cannot let go of their worries about the future, and so they live very painful lives.
其实，执著于自己的愚蠢和过错，也是因为觉得这个世界上有一个永恒的“我”。我聪明吗？我做的事情人家满意吗？人家喜不喜欢我？我能不能获得更多的机遇？我是不是一个优秀的人……我们时常勾勒着一个虚幻的形象，并且把它当成真实的“我”。我们不断要求别人去理解“我”，去接纳“我”，而且，为了得到别人的认可，我们不断调整着自己的观点，甚至做一些自己不愿意去做的事情。为什么？因为我们害怕寂寞，我们需要被爱。虽然也有人敢于拒绝世界，他们有着独立思考的意识和勇气，但是他们又会陷入另一个误区，那就是傲慢。他们认为自己比别人更加优秀，还是在执著那个看起来非常真实的“我”。
In fact, clinging to your own foolishness and mistakes also happens because you feel that there is some eternal “I” in this world. Am I intelligent? Do the things I do satisfy other people? Do other people like me or not? Can I get more opportunities? Am I an excellent person or not? … We are constantly sketching an empty illusory form, and taking it as a real genuine “self.” We are always wanting to have other people understand this “self” and accept this “self.” What’s more, in order to get other people’s approval, we are constantly adjusting our viewpoint, and we even do things that we are unwilling to do. Why? Because we are afraid of being lonely, and we need to be loved. Although there are some people who dare to reject the world, and they have their consciousness and bravery of their own isolated thinking, yet they also fall into another fallacy, and this is arrogance. They think that they are superior to other people, and they still cling to that “self” which seems so very real.
但是，所谓的“我”，只是因缘聚合之物，跟因缘链上任何一个小环一样，都在不断改变着形状：经历多了，想法会变，个性也会变；吃多了，身体会发福，多做运动，又会变瘦；耐得住痛的人，才有可能去美容院整容……世界上怎么会有一个不变的“自我”？既然没有恒常的“自我”，那么建立在这个自我假象之上的一切又如何永恒？
But this so-called “self” is just a product of the coming together of causal conditions, and like any individual link in the chain of causal conditions, it is constantly changing form: with more experience, your way of thinking will change, and your individuality will also change. When you eat more, your body will put on weight, and when you do more exercise, you will get thinner again. People who can endure pain might go have a facelift. … How can there be a “self” that does not change in the world?
我执就像血管中的垃圾，这些垃圾排不走，就会造成血管的阻塞，令人产生各种不舒服的感觉，烦恼由此而生。清除这些垃圾，恢复血液流通的顺畅之后，不舒服的感觉自然会消除。同样的道理，持续地清扫心灵上的污垢，渐渐远离各种执著，让心灵回归一种纯净明朗的状态，了无牵挂，自然能从各种烦恼之中解脱。当然，这一切，还是从你认知真心，发现世界的真相开始的。
Selfish clinging is like trash in your blood vessels. If this trash is not removed, it may form an obstruction in the blood vessels, and give a person all kind of uncomfortable sensations, so that affliction arises from this. After you clear away this trash, and restore the smooth circulation of the blood, the uncomfortable feeling dissolves away. By a similar principle, when you continuously clear away the filth in your mind and spirit, and gradually detach from the various clingings and attachments, and let your mind and spirit return to a state of purity and clarity, with no worries, then you will spontaneously be able to be liberated from all sorts of afflictions. Of course, this all begins with you recognizing the true mind, and discovering the true characteristic of the world.
