时间：06/14/2025 06/15/2025
地点：星湖禅修中心
主讲：龙示林
佛法知识
什么是禅
“禅”这个词，在现代语境中常被赋予许多浪漫或神秘的想象。有的人把禅理解为宁静的状态，有的人把禅当作一种哲学思想，也有人认为禅是一种高深莫测、只属于少数人的境界。然而，若回到禅的本来精神，便会发现：禅并不是一种抽象的概念，也不是某种特殊体验，而是一种直接而朴素的觉知方式。
从根本上说，禅指向的是对当下实相的直接体认。它不是通过推理、分析或观念建构来理解世界，而是透过亲身经验，直观地看见身心正在发生什么。禅并不否定语言与思想，但它清楚地指出：再精妙的概念，也无法取代直接的觉知。当人执着于解释时，往往离经验越来越远；而当人回到当下，禅便自然显现。
禅的核心精神，是不依赖外在形式。禅并不局限于特定姿势、仪式或环境。坐着可以是禅，走路可以是禅，说话可以是禅，沉默也可以是禅。关键不在于做什么，而在于是否清楚地知道正在做什么。当觉知与当下经验不分离时，禅便不再是某种状态，而成为一种活着的方式。
许多关于禅的误解，源于对“无念”“空”“顿悟”等词语的片面理解。有人以为禅就是让头脑一片空白，或是彻底停止念头。事实上，禅并不要求念头消失，而是看清念头的来去。念头生起时知道它生起，念头消失时知道它消失，不被念头牵着走，这本身就是禅的训练。禅不是压制心，而是解放心。
禅也并非远离烦恼。相反，禅修行常常让人更清楚地看到烦恼。愤怒、焦虑、执着、恐惧，并不会因为“学禅”而自动消失，但通过禅的觉照，人开始看见这些心行的运作方式。当烦恼被看见，而不是被认同或逃避，它们对心的控制力便逐渐减弱。禅并不是制造一个没有问题的心，而是让问题不再主宰心。
在禅中，“当下”并不是一个抽象的时间点，而是正在发生的一切经验。呼吸的起伏、身体的感受、情绪的流动、念头的出现与消散，都是当下的一部分。禅不是抓住某一个片段，而是完整地与这一切同在。当心不再游走于过去的回忆或未来的担忧，而能够安住于此刻，禅便自然展开。
禅的修行，并不强调累积什么，而强调放下什么。放下对固定自我的执着，放下对经验的抓取，放下对“我是否修得好”的评判。当这些紧抓逐渐松动，心便显露出本有的清明与自在。禅并不是要成为另一个人，而是停止误认自己是谁。
在日常生活中，禅并不表现为特殊的举止或超然的态度，而是一种朴实的清醒。吃饭时知道在吃饭，工作时知道在工作，面对冲突时知道内心正在反应。禅不要求生活变得完美，而是要求对不完美保持觉知。正是在这些看似平凡的时刻，禅的力量才真正落地。
随着对禅的体会加深，人会发现，禅并不是一种可以被占有的东西。越想抓住禅，禅越难显现；越愿意放松控制、如实面对，禅反而越清楚。禅不属于某个身份、某种体系或某种境界，它只在当下被真实地活出来。
因此，什么是禅？禅不是远方的目标，不是高深的学问，也不是特殊的状态。禅，是在每一个当下，如实地看、如实地知、如实地活。当心不再分裂于经验之外，当生命不再被概念遮蔽，禅，便是此时此刻正在展开的真实。
Date: 06/14/2025 06/15/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Dharma Knowledge
What Is Zen
The word “Zen” is often surrounded by romantic or mystical associations in modern contexts. Some take Zen to mean a state of calm, others see it as a philosophy, and some regard it as an esoteric attainment reserved for a few. Yet when we return to the original spirit of Zen, it becomes clear that Zen is neither an abstract concept nor a special experience. It is a direct and simple way of awareness.
At its core, Zen points to the immediate realization of present reality. It does not approach life through reasoning, analysis, or conceptual construction, but through direct experience—seeing for oneself what is happening in body and mind. Zen does not reject language or thought, but it recognizes their limits. No matter how refined a concept may be, it cannot replace direct knowing. The more one clings to explanation, the further one drifts from experience; when one returns to immediacy, Zen naturally reveals itself.
The essential spirit of Zen is non-dependence on form. Zen is not confined to specific postures, rituals, or environments. Sitting can be Zen, walking can be Zen, speaking can be Zen, and silence can be Zen. What matters is not what one is doing, but whether one clearly knows what is being done. When awareness and present experience are not separated, Zen is no longer a state to enter, but a way of living.
Many misunderstandings about Zen arise from partial interpretations of terms such as “no-thought,” “emptiness,” or “sudden awakening.” Some believe Zen requires the mind to become blank or free of all thoughts. In fact, Zen does not demand the disappearance of thought, but clarity about thought. When a thought arises, one knows it has arisen; when it fades, one knows it has faded. Not being carried away by thought is itself the training of Zen. Zen does not suppress the mind; it liberates it.
Zen is also not a path that avoids affliction. On the contrary, Zen practice often makes affliction more visible. Anger, anxiety, attachment, and fear do not automatically vanish through “doing Zen,” but through Zen awareness one begins to see how these mental states operate. When afflictions are seen rather than identified with or avoided, their power over the mind gradually weakens. Zen does not create a problem-free mind; it frees the mind from being dominated by problems.
In Zen, the “present moment” is not an abstract point in time, but the totality of experience that is unfolding now. The rhythm of the breath, bodily sensations, emotional movement, and the arising and passing of thoughts are all aspects of the present. Zen does not isolate a single fragment of experience, but abides fully with the whole of it. When the mind is no longer lost in memories of the past or projections of the future, Zen naturally manifests.
Zen practice does not emphasize accumulation, but release. It is a process of letting go—letting go of fixation on a solid self, letting go of grasping at experience, letting go of judgment about “how well I am practicing.” As these clenchings soften, the mind’s inherent clarity and ease become apparent. Zen is not about becoming someone else, but about ceasing to misunderstand who one is.
In everyday life, Zen does not appear as unusual behavior or an aloof attitude. It appears as simple wakefulness. Knowing that one is eating while eating, knowing that one is working while working, knowing the inner reaction while facing conflict—this is Zen in action. Zen does not require life to be perfect; it requires awareness of imperfection. It is precisely in ordinary moments that Zen becomes real.
As understanding deepens, one discovers that Zen is not something that can be possessed. The more one tries to grasp it, the more elusive it becomes. The more one relaxes control and meets experience honestly, the clearer Zen appears. Zen does not belong to an identity, a system, or a level of attainment. It exists only where the present moment is truly lived.
So what is Zen? Zen is not a distant goal, not a complex doctrine, and not a special state. Zen is seeing as things are, knowing as things are, and living as things are in each moment. When the mind is no longer divided from experience, and life is no longer obscured by concepts, Zen is simply the reality unfolding here and now.
