*Vesak Day (卫塞节）*

26 May 2021

*开示 - 1 - 学佛*

俩个 徒弟跪在祖师面前。

祖师问徒弟 1 - 你为何要学佛？

徒弟 1 说 - 我的师父要我向你学佛。

祖师用手上戒尺打徒弟 1 手臂。

祖师再问徒弟 1 - 你自己没主见吗？

徒弟 1 又说 - 我自己要学佛。

祖师又用手上戒尺再打徒弟 1 手臂。

徒弟 1 很无辜的看着祖师 - 但没有跑掉。

祖师点头说 - 很好 - 打你也不跑。我收你学佛。

祖师问徒弟 达摩 - 你为何要学佛？

达摩 说 - 我学佛之心非常坚定。无论任何障碍， 我也不会动摇。

祖师点头说 - 很好 - 我收你为徒。

Discourse 2 - Mindfulness (Staying at the present moment) （活在当下）

My Son - Got distracted and thought he did not pay for his meal - while I say you have already paid.

I say - Did you not practice Mindfulness meditaion? If you have you will be mindful - and will stay at the present moment)（活在当下）. 

Then you will be very focus in every thought, speech and action (staying at the present moment) - and will not get distracted - and you will do no wrong --- because you are mindful at every moment.

My Son say - I did not see progress when observing my breath in and breath out in meditation, that is why I feel discouraged. 

(My Son is an engineer and want scientific method to measure his progress).

I say - Then I will teach you a scientific method to practise your meditation (Anapanasati meditation - Mindfulness meditation of the breath and Satipathana meditation - 4 Foundation Mindfulness)

1. Observe your breath in and breath out --- then Count 1.

2. Continue counting until 10. (Breath meditation)

3. If you get distracted by stray thoughts, sounds, pain etc --- draw your mindfulness of the phenomenon - and then pull back to your breath and continue counting).

4. If you successfully count group of 10 say 50 times in 15 minutes meditation or group of 10 say 100 times in 30 minutes in meditation.

Then you have "very good mindfulness and concentration in meditation".

5. Next meditation if your group of 10 count increase to say 51 times in 15 minutes meditation --- then you have progress in Mindfulness and Concentration.

6. This is a scientific method to measure your progress in meditation.

7. Resolve in meditation for 15 minutes or 30 minutes every day --- is a measure of determination (like need to eat lunch and dinner everyday).

8. Scientific measurement of progress in meditaiton - is by how many group of 10 count in breath meditation.

9. Breath meditation is (Staying at the present moment) （活在当下）.

My Son say - I will use this "Scientific method" - to measure my progress in meditation.

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内观法 （4  观禅）

观身不净。

观受是苦。

观心无常。

观法无我。