Two Bad Bricks -- By Ajahn Brahm

 “I did see those bricks. But I also saw the 998 good ones that surrounded it.” Ajahn Brahm -- the abbot of Buddhist monastery in Australia. 

Many years ago, Ajahn Brahm and his fellow monks bought land in Australia to create their monastery. The land was vast, the resources plentiful, but there were no structures or buildings. Being a group of Buddhists – and having just spent quite a lot on land – they didn’t have enough money to simply pay for the construction. In lieu of that, they had supplies donated and set to work building their new homes.

Ajahn Brahm, who had studied Theoretical Physics in college, was now put to the task of bricklaying. He was in charge of constructing walls. For those of you who have never laid brick, it is a tedious process that most people want to do perfectly. I mean, you’re building a wall – you don’t want cracks, holes, or ugly deformities.

So he would lay bricks and, if one of them went askew, he would scrape the mortar, fill in the crooked area, and adjust the problem to perfection. This was a painstaking process that took days, but at the end of his project, he looked at what he had created. Stepping back, the first thing he noticed was that there were two bricks near the center of the wall that were off-kilter. There were two bad bricks.

He tried to scrape the mortar, but it had dried. He went to the leaders of the monastery and asked if he could destroy the wall and start over. “Do we have a bulldozer? Dynamite?” But they simply said there was not enough money and he would have to leave the wall is it was.  This tormented Ajahn Brahm. For several months, he dwelled on the fact that the ugliest wall in the monastery was the one that he had built. If people came to the grounds for a tour, he often volunteered to lead them – just so he could skip going past that wall!

One day, though, he saw a group coming back from a tour with another monk. One of the visitors raved about the quaintness of the buildings and made a comment about a singular wall that he particularly adored. Naturally, it was Ajahn Brahm’s. The monk looked at the guest and said, “Are you serious? Are you blind? What are you talking about? Couldn’t you see the two bad bricks?”

What the man said next puts the inherent nature of depression and obsession into perspective.  He said, “I did see those bricks. But I also saw the 998 good ones that surrounded it.”

Too often in life, we focus on the two bad bricks instead of looking at the many wonderful things around us. It’s incredible when you focus on the tiny faulty parts in our life, and forget about the many fantastic things, the wholeness of our life. We focus on the one or two bad bricks and conclude that our life must be miserable.

This is absurd! When put into proper perspective, our problems are all, in some way, temporary. There is nothing so consuming – even our own illnesses! – that we cannot appreciate the “good” we have. I once heard someone say, “If you are alive, then more is right with you than wrong.” Think about that – it’s true.

Years later, when Ajahn Brahm told this story to an audience, a man came to him afterward and said, “Don’t worry, I do construction and make mistakes all the time. Only in my line of work, when we screw up, we just call it a ‘feature’ and let people know it costs more!”

So from now on, when things go badly in your life, try to think of them as “features,” things that make you more valuable. And don’t forget to pay attention to all of the parts of your body that don’t have cancer, all of the people in your life who do love you, and all of the things you can experience now that don’t cost money. Because they far outweigh the two bad bricks.

The moral of the story is about how the ego used to be our fault finder in life. It Always looks for the negative side of life.  Life can never be perfect anyway, it is a coin of two sides. Rather than indulge with the negativity of life, which make us suffer as well as others, why not just simply enjoy the other bright side of life. Isn't this a win-win situation? Relaxed, don't take life so serious, be happy!

Next time be mindful of life situation! Don't be misled by the  cunning and tricky little ego! When ignorance overwhelms you, the ego is your very intimate enemy within. Be careful! 

This story, told by Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm

This Is Your Dharma

There was once a holy man sitting under a tree meditating. He had his hands open and a female mouse fell into his hands. A bird had apparently dropped the mouse. He felt sorry for the little mouse and because he was a great siddhi, a being of great powers from his years of meditation, he turned the mouse into a lovely young girl, and took the girl home to his house. His wife was enthralled with this. She was unable to have children, and she was so happy to have this little girl. They both loved her very much, and brought her up to be a fine young lady.

One day the wife said to the husband, "Husband it's time for our daughter to get married. Where can we find a suitable husband for her?" And the holy man said, I know, I'll ask the sun. So he went outside and he called the sun and he said, "Mr. Sun, our daughter is of the marrying age and we're looking for a suitable husband. Can you help us?" The sun said, "Certainly, I will marry her myself." How would you like to get married to the sun? The husband was thrilled and he said, Oh great joy has come over me that the sun would pick my daughter to be married to. And he ran in and he told his wife and he told his daughter. And the daughter said, "No Dad, I don't want to marry the sun. There's too much light, I'll be burned. Find me a different husband."

So the holy man went outside, he spoke to the sun again, he said, "Mr. Sun, our daughter does not wish to marry you because she will be burned with your light. Can you think of anyone else more powerful than you, that can marry her?" So the sun thought about it, and then he said, "Ask Mr. Cloud. The cloud will give you an answer. The cloud is mightier than I am because many times the clouds hide me, and I do not appear, and I can do nothing about it. So the cloud is mightier than I am. Ask the cloud." The holy man beseeched the cloud and said, "Mr. Cloud, I have a daughter that is of the marrying age and I'm looking for a suitable husband for her. Can you help out? Do you know of anyone who should marry her?" And Mr. cloud said, "I will. I'll marry your daughter." And again the holy man became overjoyed with this. Imagine a cloud marrying my daughter. This was a good thing. He ran in the house, told his wife and then told his daughter. The wife and the husband were so happy, but the daughter said, "Chill out, Dad. I don't want to marry that cloud. For when it rains, I'll get soaked. Get me a better husband."

So again the holy man went out to the cloud and told him the story, what the daughter said. "Can you think of anyone else?" And the cloud said, "Well, how about Mr. Mountain? This is a great mountain here that is mightier than I am, because when I flow around the mountain, I can't go through it. I have to flow around it. And there's nothing I can do about it. So the mountain is very powerful." The holy man beseeched the mountain, "Mr. Mountain, can you think of someone that can marry my daughter?" And the mountain also said, "I will." So again the holy man was very happy about this. A mountain marrying his daughter, what could be better? He ran into the house, told the wife, she was overjoyed. And he told the daughter. Again she didn't want to marry the mountain. She said, "Come on, Dad, I can't marry this mountain. The mountain has cactus growing all over it. When we embrace, I'll be pinched with cactus. Think of someone else."

So the holy man went back to the mountain and told him the story, and said, Can you think of anybody else for my daughter? The mountain said, "Well, the only one I can think of that is more powerful than me is this little mouse that lives in the bottom of me, because he bores holes and has a nest inside of me, and I can do nothing about it. And since he bores holes in me, he must be more powerful than I am. Ask the mouse."

So the holy man went to the mouse and said, Mr. Mouse, I have a daughter of the marrying age, I'm looking for a suitable husband, can you help me?" And the mouse said, "Yes, I will marry her myself." He was overjoyed. Imagine, a mouse marrying his daughter. He ran and told his wife, and they both went and told the daughter. The daughter thought about this and she said, "Yes, I will marry the mouse. The mouse is very cute. I will marry the mouse. But father can you do something for me? Can you please turn me into a little mouse also?

So the holy man turned her into a little mouse. And they both got married and they lived happily ever after, in the mountain. Now what is the moral of this story?

This story tries to bring home the fact that your dharma is what you have to live out. If you try to change it, years will pass, and you will make all kinds of mistakes, and go through all kinds of problems. This means if you change your environment, or if you change the condition, the samskaras and the conditioning that you have inside of you will just put you back in that kind of a position with different people, different environment, because you have not risen from that condition yet. Therefore you have to experience the same things over, and over, and over, and over again.

Whatever your dharma is, has been presented to you by karma. Therefore do not fight it. Bless it.

From Robert Adams Talk -- This is your Dharma

Know Thyself Is To Hold the Attention On Itself

The ego exists say the scriptures due to non-inquiry. This non-inquiry is sustained and strengthened by ignorance. Consciousness is pure attention alone. 

When the attention is held unmoved, there is no place for ego or non-attention. To hold the attention on itself, to dissolve or transform non-attention into total attention, total consciousness, the quest, "Who Am I?" is the vital process. 

To turn one's attention on oneself is the essence of true knowledge.

Such self attention is the key to open the mystery gates of the immeasurable treasure, knowing the knower. The knower known there is none else, nothing else to be known. 

To turn one's attention from the details or activities to the source of activity is called introspection. This turning inward is the beginning of spiritual effort called sadhana. 

To remain as pure consciousness is the secret in meaning of "Know Thyself."

From Robert Adams Talk -- Beliefs And Predetermination

Mooji : Staying in the State of No Mind

PAPAJI : Wake Up From The Dream

Mooji: Fear - Bluff of the Mind

楊定一 : 讀書會 有沒有什麼東西是真實的? (No 52 of Part 2)

楊定一 : 真實，讓你自由 楊定一從《真原醫》

楊定一：放過一切、放過自己、放過別人，找回真正的大快樂

楊定一 : 讀書會 有沒有什麼東西是真實? (No.52 of Part 1)

楊定一 : 時間的陷阱

仔細想，把注意力集中在已經過去的一切，或煩惱未來的規劃，其實無法為我們帶來任何改變，最多只是增加煩惱。可惜的是，許多朋友，哪怕在修行或瑜伽的領域投入了很久，一談起過去，還是憤怒，還是失落。所有的糾結，都離不開過去。過去，就像一個墓地，我們每個人都離不開。我們都忘了，就是因為把自己投入相對，才會有那麼多煩惱和痛心。如果我們不斷回想過去，想透過頭腦找出一個解決方案，這本身已經把所有可能限縮在人間很窄的範圍內……

新書《時間的陷阱》分享

楊定一：回歸生命的真實，找回真實的「自己」

楊定一《靜坐的科學、醫學與心靈之旅》

楊定一 : 好像變了一個「我」

問：我依著楊博士教的方法，練習至今。念頭來了，念頭走了，念頭越來越少。情緒來了，情緒走了，不舒服的情緒消失地越來越快。好像有另一個「我」像旁觀者似的，看著自己和人的喜怒哀樂，不再隨之起舞，不再像以前跟著狀況打轉，而且心裡時不時會湧現一股很愉悅的感覺。我, 好喜歡這樣的自己。可是，最近腦中偶爾會有―你怎麼了？這樣是正確的嗎？一種質疑的聲音跑出來。所以我想問：這樣的狀況ＯＫ的嗎？不會是什麼人格分裂之類的問題吧？

答：你可以一路做下去，我還是要恭喜你。只要做，就對了。腦帶來一種質疑，這是正常的。你這樣想，我們從出生到現在，全部都是腦在運作，在作主。它怎麼可能會輕鬆的放棄？放棄什麼？放棄自己。它絕對會抗議，會想著各式各樣的方法來質疑。甚至，你偶爾會有噩夢，就是過去業力浮出來，而且加快浮出來，帶來對自己更多一層的質疑，或顧慮。這是難免的，都是好現象。懂了這些，最多只是往前走，不斷地往前走。會發現―走到哪裡，無所謂。對不對？就交給生命。臣服，不就是把全部自己交給生命嗎？

新書《十字路口》

楊定一 : 這就是醒覺

對我們一般人來說，生命就是一個停不下來的強迫思考。反而，要找到全部的你，要知道，這個念頭的世界只是我們整體的一小部分。並進一步要知道，在念頭前面，還有一個知覺。這個知覺是最直接、最原初的，倒不需要任何「動作」，就可以取得。只要透過這個知覺，讓一切存在。包括這個念頭的世界，也都讓它存在―這就是醒覺。最不可思議的是，這個最源頭、最根本的知覺，跟我們的感官不相關。假如沒有感官，它會透過其他的管道來傳達。它從來沒有生過，沒有死過。它本身就是存在。用人類的語言，也只能用「存在」來描述這個知覺、這個意識。只要我們輕輕鬆鬆存在，也就自然把這個意識帶回來了。

《神聖的你》卷六　更多的路標

楊定一 : 最好的禱告

最好的禱告，或最有效的祈禱，本來就是把自己交出來，完全的交出來，徹底的交出來―給生命，給自己的一體、內心、「在」、上帝、佛陀、佛性。全部交出來。同時做個感恩的功課。....... 這個祈禱好像是―用心，是心跟心在共鳴。

心，交給心。

心，完全轉出來。

是透過心，在做禱告。

而且，心不可能要求任何東西。要相信生命自然會聽到。聽到什麼？聽到我們的心。對我們的心帶來一個解答。

《插對頭.....還是接對頭？》新書分享

楊定一 : 快速的步調 缺失的注意力

現代人其實隨時處在注意力渙散的狀態。我們仔細觀察，現代資訊技術的突破，讓我們每個人都同時在在做好幾件事。無論在講話、走路、寫字、吃飯，不是看著手機，就是在搜尋資訊或用訊息軟體和別人交流。頭腦的運作，一刻都沒有停過……

儘管我們每個人都認為有點跟不上，卻又同時期待步調可不可以更快，有沒有什麼方法可以達到更高的效率。就連看電視，一個畫面上都同時有好幾條跑馬燈，就好像把一個瞬間切割成好幾個，才配得上我們對快步調的期待。這本身，自然會讓我們把無常和變化視為生活的主成分，而同時讓我們在現實中建立一個個虛構的架構，而每一個架構都彷彿有獨立的生命。

我在《真原醫》和「全部生命系列」曾經多次表達——這種快還要更快的步調，本身就是現代人最大的危機。讓我們不快樂，總是感覺到壓力或是不知哪裡來的沉重感，好像隨時背著一種負擔。這種不快樂的現象，甚至蔓延到年輕的一代，即使很年輕的孩子都有注意力缺乏和躁鬱症的問題。這種更快的步調，其實是相當近代的產物，人類演化多年來的架構沒辦法適應。畢竟，種種快步調的反應，當初只是為了生存而留下的「打或逃」本能，本來只是短期的應對。沒想到人類發展到現在，這種快步調的反應，反而變成我們隨時的常態。步調快，還不是主要的問題。問題在於，它同時帶來念頭快速的轉變，以搭配感官在世界運作所收到的資訊。透過念頭，頭腦隨時創出一個虛的現實。這些不斷在動的印象，頭腦來不及處理，本身也就不斷的帶來壓力。

我在之前的作品，也用相當多篇幅來表達——頭腦受到壓力或危機，自然轉到肉體上，帶來不安，帶來萎縮。所以，讓注意力集中而專注，是我們最需要的一堂功課。對忙碌的現代人而言，守住的感官愈多，通常愈能幫助守住注意力。

其實一般所談的「定」的功夫，都離不開時－空，更離不開感官。「定」或「專注」的功夫，是透過感官才可以運作。再說清楚一點，一般所談的「定」或專注，是透過感官的運作或「動」來捕捉資訊，而進入一個「不動」、寧靜或合一，才有「定」好談。懂了這些，自然可以把感官當作一個專注的門戶。如果我們懂得從多重感官著手，例如同時耳朵聽，加上眼睛觀想、鼻子聞、口腔的體會、皮膚的觸覺，反而更容易達到專一。重點是，不要同時產生念頭。

透過重複的朗誦，不容易產生念頭。讀經可以讓孩子接觸大聖人的觀念，而讓這些大智慧落到腦海。此外，由於讀經同時運用多重感官來集中注意力，對腦部發展的活化，有不可思議的作用。透過朗誦，其實是教孩子學會掌握耳根的聽、嘴巴的發聲、眼睛閱讀的觀、集體共振的觸覺，把注意力守住。

楊定一 : 回到「心」，就是最高、最完整的「定」

                                                                              

這個人間，是「我」投射出來的。我們一切的痛苦，也都是「我」製造出來的。只要有「我」，就自然有因－果，也自然有時－空。有了時－空，接下來有世界，有宇宙，有生命。所以，只要還有「我」，我們當然還受因－果的作用。也因為這樣子，還有一個「不動」、「在」、「一體」甚至「定」或是「法」好談的。只要「我」被看穿，我們自然會發現本來一切都安靜，根本就沒有什麼好特別叫做「定」的。本來就只有定，也就是說——一體本來就在定中。

因為一體，意思本來就是沒有二體或其他獨立的體。一體包括一切，而「定」最多只是反映它無所不知、無所不能、無所不在的功能。如此一來，沒有另外一個「不定」好談。也不用在一體頭上再加一個「定」。

這些話，可能用邏輯很難懂，甚至在腦的層面，帶來一個沒辦法解答的悖論，造出表面上的矛盾。但是，站在心的層面，這些話就能聽懂。別忘了，頭腦的邏輯和一體站在兩個不同的軌道，一個是有限，一個無限；一個相對，一個絕對。想從相對看到絕對的一體，必須站在相對、又同時跳出二元對立的邏輯範圍，這本身就是不可能的。我才會說，停留在「心」。一切，回到「心」。接下來，最多只有「心」。本身是最高、最完整的定。它本身就是定到底，沒有其他地方可以再定下去。

也因為這樣子，我才需要再重複一次——一體本來就是全在，是無所不在；全知，而無所不知；全能，而無所不能。根本沒有一個「我」，可以獨立於一體之外存在。「我」本身就含著一體，沒有地方、沒有角落不含著一體。

這一點，是我們一般用頭腦最難理解的。因為我們是站在一個局限的邏輯（finite）， 來看著無限（infinite）。透過頭腦，不可能跳脫這個局限。前面說「修行只要面對『我』」，其實，就連這句話本身都是多餘的表達。因為只有一體才真正存在，其他即使不說是虛幻，最多也只能說是不成比例，而且無常。在一體的角度來看，我們的人間只是眾多可能性中相當渺小的一個。沒想到，我們卻把所有的精神都投入在這一小點。

然而，只要把頭腦的架構挪開，不再讓它成為一個阻礙，自然會發現——一體從來沒有離開過。也就自然像陽光一樣照出來，而你我也就自然在定中。

更多內容 看《定》