Europe Trip-Part 2

走在意大利街道上，感覺優閒，自在，亳無約束的穿梭古香古色的小巷。生活中，好久沒有這種感覺了。喜歡觀賞古蹟，古典教堂，只要走在Venice任何地方，街頭巷尾，比比皆是。喜歡買精緻的玻璃小品，這裡是天堂！小姐們，可盡情的買吧！要看帥哥美女嗎？邊走邊看那從歐洲各國湧來的熱情豪放，活潑可愛的年輕旅客，他們盡情享樂。

啊，別忘了，這就是歐洲的意大利；熱情紛飛是他們的特色！百年的古香古色街道和古典式的教堂，與那開放，性感，手拿iPod，iPhone的現代化俊男美女，和這個千年古典城市混合在一起，也算是旅遊景點吧。而況也使這個城市增加活力，美感。所謂古今相會，也令人大開眼界！光是閒逛在街道上，就令人迷失在時光隧道中， 回到古代，但走在街道上又有現代美女相陪。哈，人生如夢， 還是夢如人生？

河道上川流的船隻，就像其他大都市，來來往往的巴士那樣，方便的運送旅客，從一景點到另一個景點。這是另一類城市的交通工具，乘坐方便，又寫意，讓人感覺清閒，心曠神怡，也使人愛上這個城市。

好啦，走到累死了，也該休息了。找家精緻，古典的小吃店，享受那道道地地的意大利麵吧！唉，人生有几何，難得有今日！惜福，惜福...

甚麼是活在當下？

要了解活在當下的含意真是一件不容易的事。

“當下”的意思是時時刻刻知道自己的起心動念。有可能吗? 我想在日常生活中只要能注意甚什念頭會影響身心，波動情緒，也算是活在当下了。 如果經常观注由心升起的念頭，的碓能減少很多不必要的煩惱所造成的情緒波動。那麼静观内心起伏的雜念又與情緒波動有何關係？

內心的反省當然要從深一層次的心靈去了解，體會，才能𨸏我領悟。這種深入內心，自我求證，靜心觀察，都是在當下心情起伏時進行的，而非事後再來思考，分析或研究。那是做學問而不是觀心。觀念的了解好比觀察別人的過失而去學習別人的經歷。這還是不夠的。如果能從外在的觀察，去了解自己內心的感受，體會心升起的喜怒哀樂對身心的打擊，痛苦。進一步了解其中的因果關係。這種從內心的觀察而體會的經驗，能使我們更深一層了解自己，進而改善生活的素質。這樣的改變是深層次的心靈改革。

只要肯細心的觀看內心世界的起起伏伏，就會了解這顆心是多麽容易受到外界的影响。喜怒哀樂是心對外界的自然反應。活在當下能夠給我們看清楚喜怒哀樂如何影響曰常生活的情緒。當心按於當下時， 我們己經給自己機會去了解，觀看外界對內心起的反應，是如何影響情緒的波動。當我們活在當下時，可以體會到生活本來是很簡單的，心本來是平靜的。因為無法了解心的本質，內心才充滿無明。

所謂無明，是因為無法了解心靈的因果關係，妄念就跟隨而來，結果看不到心平靜的一面。而妄念卻造心亂，苦悶，不安，憂慮及各種各樣的煩惱，所以感受到生活很複雜，又痛苦。為了逃避眼前的煩惱，心常常排徊於過去和未來。 時時刻刻我們都在娛樂自己， 這就是最佳逃避現實所面對的憂慮，苦悶。久而久之，成了習慣。我們都不喜歡，也不習慣活在現在。因為活在當下，面對壓力，太多煩惱了。唯一的逃避就是做白曰夣，想未來或者活在過去。這樣我們能暫時逃避現實所面對的苦悶及痛苦。越是沈迷於未來和過去，越給它機會自造妄念，所以煩惱和憂慮也跟着而來。平靜的心也離我們越遠。

當我們接受當下時，心感覺平靜，生活也筒単。就像沉淀的湖水在平静的状態時，清浙見底，𨸏然的，一切問題都會看得清楚。也許這方法能為我們打開一道門，去深入了解那顆不為人所觀注的心。生命及人生的奥妙就在那顆心。

The 'Natural State' is acausal; it just happens - UG

UG

1. Why should life have any meaning? Why should there be any purpose to living? Living itself is all that is there. Your search for spiritual meaning has made a problem out of living.
2. To be yourself requires extraordinary intelligence. You are blessed with that intelligence; nobody need give it to you; nobody can take it away from you. He who lets that express itself in its own way is a 'Natural Man'.
3. You are not one thing and the life another. It is one unitary movement. Anything I say about it is misleading and confusing.
4. We are using the neurons, our memory, constantly to maintain our identity. Whether you are awake or asleep or dreaming, this process is carried on. But it is wearing you out. That is why I say that the tragedy that is facing mankind is not Aids or cancer but Alzheimer's disease.
5. The so called self-realization is the discovery for yourself and by yourself that there is no self to discover. That will be a very shocking thing because it’s going to blast every nerve, every cell, even the cells in the marrow of your bones.
6. All I am saying is that the peace you are seeking is already inside you, in the harmonious functioning of the body.

Europe Trip-Part 1

長期把心身放在工作，生活在同樣的空間，會覺得生活環境太狹小，苦悶。雖然工作的需要，也常有機會居住國外，那是帶有任務，責任在身，缺少那份閒情，自在的感覺。真正旅行，是要放下一切，心無他念，要有閒情，能靜下心，沒有壓力下，也不趕時間的盡情玩樂。

深愛旅行是因為它可以適度的調劑人生，帶來美好的生活。重要的是它能把生活的單調，工作的苦悶，從這些束縛中解放出來。每當在气候宜人，風景迷人的地方度假旅遊時，真是生活中的大樂趣。旅行像愛情那樣，專心專意的亨受過程；不在乎天長地久，而在乎，享受當下擁有。像有些地方，也許這一生就到這麼一次的到訪。

巴黎，其實是一個很方便旅遊，很友善的城市。坐地鐵是很省時又省錢的交通工具。記得初次到達時，當時已天黑，問路時，遇到好心的路人，親自引導我到最近的地鐵站，還幫我買票呢。當時地鐵人員已經下班了，但可以用信用卡在機器部來買票。與倫敦的地鐵來比較，巴黎地鐵既方便，更便宜，又有效率。一張地鐵的地圖在手中，那你就是老巴黎了。

可惜，第一次上車就下錯站，結果多花了一個多小時，才找到事前預定的旅店，那時巳半夜了。其實下對車站的話，只要走一分鐘就到旅店。我住在Montmartre區，是巴黎出名的夜生活觀光區。如Monlin Rouge (Wind mill 的意思，看1st pix)，是世界有名歌舞表演的Cabaret。午夜後，排排的歌舞艷女，出來召喚客人，跳can-can舞。這種舞也算是法國文化的特產吧，對當地人是見怪不怪。

“Can you speak English? Come inside..." 哇，在街頭拉客，好熱鬧呀！五光十色的夜景，艷舞，艷歌，花般的艷姿女郎，迷漫了這個不夜城。性愛用的奇形怪狀的玩具(sex toy)，像賣孩子玩具那樣，到處可見，到處可買！真是色不迷人，人自迷。哦，巴黎真是個浪漫，開放，熱情的好地方！

住在Montmartre是很便利的區域，離開巴黎中心很近。從地鐵站到巴黎景點，如凱旋門，Effel Tower(巴黎鐵塔），都不到十分鍾的車程。從凱旋門走到巴黎鐵塔也很方便。在巴黎逛街，漫步，細心的觀察街景，停停走走，是一種樂趣。看來來往往的路人，到青翠的公園，看老Y打太極拳，練氣功，在Reine河道上散步，在凱旋門看一群的年輕人跳Hip Hop，哦，好逸樂，悠閒。喜歡名牌貨的女生，逛凱旋門就像在逛天堂！一排排的名牌店，任君選購。LV，就是其中的熱門店。很貴哦！別把信用卡刷爆了！

巴黎，久仰大名，果然名不虛傳，後會有期！何曰君再來？Coming soon...

I have no message for mankind - UG

1. The plain fact is that if you don't have a problem, you create one. If you don't have a problem you don't feel that you are living.
2. Thought is something dead and can never touch anything living. It cannot capture life, contain it, and give expression to it. The moment it tries to touch life it is destroyed by the quality of life.
3. The only way for any one who is interested in finding out what this is all about is to watch how this separation is occurring, how you are separating yourself from the things that are happening around you and inside you.
4. That messy thing called 'mind' has created many destructive things. By far the most destructive of them all is God.
5. Consciousness is so pure that whatever you are doing in the direction of purifying that consciousness is adding impurity to it.

本來無一物 何處惹麈埃 - 惠能

身如菩提樹

心如明鏡台

時時勤拂拭

勿使惹塵埃

菩提本無樹

明鏡亦非台

本來無一物

何處惹麈埃

Can You Control Life?

Can life be controlled? Sometimes yes. But observe deeper, life is a game of conditioning, it is merely a chain of mental reactions. We call it destiny or the natural flow of life.

Remember that we are our emotions, our thoughts that activate our physical sensations. These sensations or mood dictate our actions. That is what we call life. We cannot separate our life from our physical sensations. Most of the time we live life with either good or bad mood. We follow and dance with the tune of emotions, sometimes up, sometimes down. Sometimes is happy, most of the time is sad and depressed. We attach to good mood, get away with bad mood, all the time.

Until one day, through close observation inwardly, we realize that these sensations, emotions, and thoughts, there are the natural 'by products' or reactions of this mind and body. Just like a machine, it works by itself. No one in control. It has its own life. And it is not you.

If we play a role of an observer, without interfering, then the mental process goes its own natural way, like river or waterfall flows naturally. If we try to interfere, that means the interruption creates energy, change the natural flow process. Therefore, it affects the natural peace, and creates ripple for mind and body.

By this understanding, then we less and less involve or attach to our own emotion when it arises. We realize that all these emotions and thoughts are parts of the mental system, and that is how this mind and body works. Because by attaching or rejecting to our emotion or mood, is the main factor that prevents peace and happiness from arising.

Without this understanding we blindly follow our emotions that create a lot of suffering, to ourselves and to others. Until one fine day, we may ask ourselves, why let these 'by products' affect our life? Why let our emotions dictate our well being and happiness? Why not just be an observer, simply watching the mental movie, without involvement?

Until this day, we realize that peace and happiness is always there when we are not looking for it. It is not a matter of outside or inside, within or without, but once we look or search for it, we will never find it.