Carlos Castanea
The Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts about Life, Death and the Universe
2010/07/02 Fri, sunny, outdoor 38-33°C The Wheel of Time:Introduction (1)
來摘讀沒有中譯本的卡斯塔尼達《時間之輪:古墨西哥薩滿對生死、宇宙之觀點》(The Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts about Life, Death and the Universe),多一個宇宙觀,不然就可以稱之為古墨西哥薩滿生死書了。這部分是導論。
In the most effective manner he could afford, don Juan Matus ushered me into his World, which was, naturally, the world of those shamans of antiquity. Don Juan was, therefore, in a key position. He knew about the existence of another realm of reality, a realm which was neither illusory, nor the product of outbursts of fantasy. (p. 1)
(唐望以他所能提供的最有效方式,引領我進入他的世界——這自然是那些古薩滿人的世界,因此,唐望至為關鍵。他知道另個現實場域的存在,這個場域既非幻覺,亦非幻想投射的產物。)
這跟大圓滿噶拉多傑《三句擊要》第一要「上師直指」是類似的,上師直接引導弟子進入相同狀態與境界,不過通常只有利根弟子才能當下成功。「他知道其他實相場域的存在,這個場域既非幻覺,亦非幻想投射的產物。」說的好像是本尊壇城一樣,淨土一詞英文也用 realm,其實是實際的其他層面,reality 也可說現實 。
2020:基本上我想應該是文字上說明的關係,顯宗講的十法界我不是很懂,但閱讀南開師取出夢伏藏的龍薩教法系列(這些都是內部書),常常跟隨幾位「斥侯」帕莫哈到某些聖眾的地處聽受教法,甚至那些地方也有著奇怪的眾生,有翅膀會飛或頭是動物的頭,這樣講起來跟《星際大戰》頗為類似。
I realized that the quotations by themselves were imbued with an extraordinary impetus. They revealed a covert train of thought that had never been evident to me before. They were pointing out the direction that don Juan's explanations had taken over the thirteen years in which he guided me as an apprentice. (p. 2)
(我瞭解到這些引述本身就充滿了非凡的推動力。它們揭示了一種我之前從未注意過的秘密思想。它們指出了唐望的解釋,在指導我十三年學徒生涯中所採取的方向。)
卡氏說他跟唐望花了十三年,才使其解釋與教誨深化成為自己的認知系統,並指出明確的方向。所以我們這些小學徒一年兩年就不耐煩,好像也不是個學習的正確態度。
2020:通常我們受限於既定的認知體系,而自動排除一些不合邏輯的事物。有研究指出當真有奇蹟發生時,都遭大多數人自動過濾掉了,也就是不予認知。此外,諸多上師堪布們都說,密宗或密法之所以稱密,不是為了保密,而是因為那種知識對我們而言是秘密,因為我們無法去發現與實證,所以才是秘密。
Don Juan Matus's line of action was his intentional attempt to pull me into what he said was another cognitive system. By cognitive system, he meant the standard definition of cognition: "the processes responsible for the awareness of everyday life, processes which include memory, experience, perception, and the expert use of any given syntax." (p. 2)
(唐望用他的一連串列動,刻意把我拉進他所說的另一種認知系統。對認知系統而言,他指的是認知的標準定義:負責日常生活覺知的過程,包括記憶、經驗、感知,及任何既有語言系統的熟練使用。 )
當然言下之意,對於另個認知系統也具有同樣定義。
(2020:從世俗諦過渡到勝義諦,也是需要有個熟練的過程,而不是修著修著,某天突然勝義諦來敲門。當然一開始要用聞思的方式奠定基礎,再配合修來驗證。)
This maneuver pushed me into a very strange state: a state of quasi-distrust in the otherwise implicit acceptance of the cognitive processes of our daily world. (p. 3)
(這種作法將我推向一個非常奇怪的狀態:對日常生活的認知過程似乎不太信任,又有點接受的狀態。)
當具有另個認知體系的經驗,很自然會懷疑原先普通人類認知體系的合理性或適用性,因為這並非放諸「四海」(指其他層面)皆準的。就好像看《星際爭霸戰》每個星球都具有跟地球同樣的地新引力和空氣與地質,每種外星人都類人形和講英文,這也是不可能的事。
When he felt that he had overcome my worst resistance, don Juan drove his point as far and as deep as he could into me, and I had to admit, without reservations, that in the world of shamans, shaman practitioners judged the world from points of view which were indescribable to our conceptualization devices. For instance, they perceived energy as it flowed freely in the universe, energy free from the bindings of socialization and syntax, pure vibratory energy. They called this act seeing. (pp. 3-4)
(當唐望覺得他已經克服了我最大的抗拒時,他便將自己的觀點盡其所能地深植於我。我不得不毫無保留地承認,在薩滿的世界中,薩滿行者使用對我們概念化的頭腦無法描述的觀點,來評斷這個世界。例如,他們感知到能量在宇宙中自由流動,能量不受社會化的語法的束縛,純粹振動的能量。他們稱此行動為『看見』 )
我所理解的能量為振動,也並非南開師所說秘密層聲音的定義,能量振動或光波都是我們社會化的一種指稱,syntax 我記得我的書《心靈探索周記》有翻譯過。
(2020:南開師講到三種聲音,一種是耳朵聽得到的外在聲音,二者是屬於振動能量的內在聲音,三者是秘密聲音,這涉及到實相以及顯現的源頭,同樣秘密在這裡也跟上述理由一樣。)
Don Juan's prime objective was to help me to perceive energy as it flows in the universe. In the world of shamans, to perceive energy in such a manner is the first mandatory step toward a more engulfing, freer view of a different cognitive system. In order to elicit a seeing response in me. don Juan utilized other foreign units of cognition. (p. 4)
(唐望的主要目的是幫助我感知宇宙中流動的能量。在薩滿的世界中,以這種方式感知能量,是朝向一個不同認知系統更並包、更自由之觀點,必要的第一步。為了讓我引出『看見』的反應,唐望使用到其他的外來認知單元。)
我勉強翻譯啦,我不知道在講什麼,這個外來認知單元隨後講的是生命回顧(recapitulation),為何「外來」我也不清楚。
(2020:顯宗到密宗到大圓滿,以南開師常用的解釋來說,顯宗著重在身體的戒律(可以或不可以做的事)等,密宗著重在能量層面,以咒語來說就是一種能量形式,大圓滿則更高一層,而不只是能量層面。但要從一般學理進階到更高階的直指心性這類教法時,確實需要用能量層面的修法來訓練,但是感受這種東西,還是不要過於著相。)