The Cultivation of the Soul—XVIII
請問師父：修行時，如果心亂至極而難過，萬不能忍受時該如何？
答云：修行自然有所考驗，當念人臨命終時，如活龜脫殼，不知是如何的痛苦，如此皆由我先不制心、不修行故。又當思維，來生受苦緣於今世不修，我今移未來之苦，於今日先消業除障，可謂便宜行事如此勝道，如此狂心剎那頓息。只一轉念，當下空寂。
凡人習氣，潛伏根內不易覺察，如平地不見有草，難以拔除，反要其出生，然後除根，切不可不拔。此精進用功之時，運境修心正可藉以制心。
修在二六時中，無雜用心，方是真精進。而「無雜」，非不用心，人事往來，不能免也，須常用智慧察照，只是不被無言無益之事所困，時時凜覺。
雜緣莫攀，了達一切性空，心無懸戀，即不受污染，雜心、狂心，則自頓息。
福田心耕 與眾共勉
資料來源：心靈甘露(四)，隆門圓通法師著。英文翻譯：張惠平。
The Cultivation of the Soul—XVIII
Q: When my heart is too disconcerted to tolerate during the cultivation, what should I do?
A: There are naturally tests for you during the cultivation. You should bear in mind that people are very painful when they are about to die, like the exuviating turtle. This results from the fact that they do not subdue their hearts and do not cultivate beforehand. Also think about the fact that the sufferings in the next lifetime result from not cultivating in this lifetime. Now you can get rid of karmic hindrances to prevent the sufferings in the next lifetime from happening, which can be called skillful convenience. Fantasies may suddenly cease. As long as you give something a second thought, it will become empty and silent at once.
The habitual tendencies of ordinary people are difficult to notice, like the rare weeds on a flat land that are hard to pull up. But if you force them to grow and then wait to pull up the roots, you have no choice but to pull them. During the time when you are diligently cultivating, you can subdue your mind via operating the situations and cultivating your mind.
Cultivating day and night without distracting thoughts is real diligence. Having no distracting thoughts does not mean that you are not working hard. People and matters come and go and are inevitable, so you should often observe and reflect with your wisdom without being bothered by helpless, unnecessary things. Always keep alert.
Do not seek miscellaneous affinities. Know that the nature of everything is empty and bear no suspense in mind, then you won’t be polluted, and the distracting thoughts and fantasies will suddenly cease.
Cultivate the blessing field with the heart. Let us encourage each other with this article.
Source: Sweet Dew for the Soul (Vol. IV), Written by Master Shih Longmen Yuantong. Translated by Huei Ping Chang.