The Miracle of Mindfulness｜一行禅师《正念的奇迹》

Washing the dishes to wash the dishes 

洗碗就是洗碗

Thirty years ago, when I was still a novice at Tu Hieu Pagoda, washing the dishes was hardly a pleasant task. 

三十年前，当我还是慈孝寺的沙弥时，洗碗可不是一件惬意的差事。

During the Season of Retreat when all the monks returned to the monastery, two novices had to do all the cooking and wash the dishes for sometimes well over one hundred monks.

结夏安居时，所有比丘都回到寺庙，有时甚至有两百多位，所有煮饭，洗碗的工作，全靠我们两个沙弥。

There was no soap. We had only ashes, rice husks, and coconut husks, and that was all. 

庙里没有肥皂，只有草灰、稻壳、椰子壳，就只有这些。

Cleaning such a high stack of bowls was a chore, especially during the winter when the water was freezing cold. Then you had to heat up a big pot of water before you could do any scrubbing.

清洗堆积如山的碗盆可真是一件苦差事，特别是在冬天，水冻得像冰一样，你必须在洗碗前先热好一大壶水。

Nowadays one stands in a kitchen equipped with liquid soap, special scrubpads, and even running hot water which makes it all the more agreeable. 

如今厨房都有洗涤剂，专用的菜瓜布，甚至一开就来的热水，洗碗变得轻松多了。

It is easier to enjoy washing the dishes now. Anyone can wash them in a hurry, then sit down and enjoy a cup of tea afterwards. 

人们现在比较能够享受洗碗这件事，任何人都可以很容易地洗好碗，然后坐下来喝杯茶。

I can see a machine for washing clothes, altough I wash my own things out by hand, but a dishwashing machine is going just a little too far!

我可以接受用洗衣机洗衣服，虽然我自己还是用手洗，但是用机器洗碗就有点过了。

While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes.

洗碗时，人们就应该只是洗碗，也就是说，洗碗时，应该对“正在洗碗”这个事实保持全然的觉知。

At first glance, that might seem a little silly：why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point.

乍一看，这似乎有点傻——为什么要强调如此简单的事呢？其实，这正是关键。

The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. 

“我正站在这里洗碗”这个事实，是不可思议的实相。

I'm being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. 

当下，我是完完全全的自己，随顺自己的呼吸，觉照到我的存在，觉照到我的心念与动作。

There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.

我不会像个被浪花左拍右击的瓶子一般，毫无觉知地被抛来抛去。

The cup in your hands

你手中的杯子

In the United States, I have a close friend named Jim Forest.

我在美国有一个叫吉姆·佛斯特的密友。

When I first met him eight years ago, he was working with the Catholic Peace Fellowship.

八年前我第一次遇见他时，他在天主教和平联合会工作。

Last winter, Jim came to visit.

去年冬天，吉姆来看我。

I usually wash the dishes after we've finished the evening meal, before sitting down and drinking tea with everyone else.

每次晚饭过后，我通常都会先洗碗，再坐下来和大家喝杯茶。

One night, Jim asked if he might do the dishes.

有一天晚上，吉姆问，可不可以让他来洗。

I said, "Go ahead, but if you wash the dishes you must know the way to wash them." 

我说：“好，但是如果你要洗碗，你得知道洗碗的方法。”

Jim replied, "Come on, you think I don't know how to wash the dishes?"

吉姆说：“得了吧，你以为我不知道怎么洗碗吗？”

I answered, "There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes." 

我回答他：“洗碗的方法有两种，第一种是为了把碗洗干净而洗碗，第二种是为了洗碗而洗碗。”

Jim was delighted and said, "I choose the second way-to wash the dishes to wash the dishes." 

吉姆很高兴地说：“我选第二种，为了洗碗而洗碗。”

From then on, Jim knew how to wash the dishes. 

从那时起，吉姆就知道怎样洗碗了。

I transferred the "responsibility" to him for an entire week.

整整一个星期，我都把洗碗的“重任”交给他。

If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were  a nuisance, then we are not "washing the dishes to wash the dishes."

如果洗碗时，我们只想着接下来要喝的那一杯茶，并因此急急忙忙地把碗洗完，就好像它们很令人厌恶似的，那么我们就不是为了洗碗而洗碗。

What's more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. 

更进一步来说，洗碗时我们并没有活在当下。

In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. 

事实上，我们站在洗碗池边，完全体会不到生命的奇迹。

If we can't wash the dishes, the chances are we won't be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. 

如果我们不懂得洗碗，很可能我们也不懂得喝茶：喝茶时，我们会只想着其他事，几乎觉察不到自己手中的这杯茶。

Thus we are sucked away into the future and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.

就这样，我们被未来吸走了——无法实实在在地活着，甚至连一分钟都做不到。

——An extract from 《The Miracle of Mindfulness 》

by 

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

——节选自

一行禅师《正念的奇迹》