你能听到山涧之声吗

有个禅师和他的一名弟子正静默地走在一条山路上。到了一株古老的松树下，他们坐下来吃了一些简单的米饭和蔬菜。饭后，这名弟子，一名尚未掌握禅意之秘关键的年轻和尚，打破了沉寂而问禅师：“师父，我如何进入禅呢？”

当然，他是在问，如何进入意识的状态——就是所谓的禅。

禅师保持沉默。这名弟子焦急地等待着答案。五分钟过去了，他正要张口再问的时候，师父突然开口了：“你听到山间的溪流声了吗？”

这名弟子根本不知道有山间溪流，他太忙碌于思考禅的意义了。现在，当他开始去聆听这个声音的时候，他嘈杂的脑子终于安静下来。起先，他还是听不到什么。然后，他的思想沉寂了，一个更高的警觉状态出现，突然他真的听到了远方一个很小的溪流发出了几乎听不见的呢喃声。

“是的，我现在可以听到了。”他说。

禅师举起了他的手指，眼睛流露出既严肃又温柔的神采，说：“从那里进入禅。”

这名弟子瞠目结舌。这是他的第一次“顿悟”(satori)，一瞬之间的开悟。他终于知道，禅就是“不知其知”！（不知道他所知道的是什么!）

他们继续静默的旅程。这名弟子对于他周围景物的鲜活感到极其讶异。他感觉好像是第一次经历到这些事物一样。然后，逐渐地，他的思想又开始了。那个警觉的定静又被他心智的噪音遮盖住了，没多久，他又有一个问题：“师父，“他问，“我一直在想，如果我告诉你我无法听到那个山间小溪的话，你会说什么？”禅师停下来，看着他，举起手指说：

“从那里进入禅!”

CAN YOU HEAR THE MOUNTAIN STREAM?

A Zen Master was walking in silence with one of his disciples along a mountain trail. When they came to an ancient cedar tree, they sat down under it for a simple meal of some rice and vegetables. After the meal, the disciple, a young monk who had not yet found the key to the mystery of Zen, broke the silence by asking the Master, “Master, how do I enter Zen?”

He was, of course, inquiring how to enter the state of consciousness which is Zen.

The Master remained silent. Almost five minutes passed while the disciple anxiously waited for an answer. He was about to ask another question when the Master suddenly spoke. “Do you hear the sound of that mountain stream?”

The disciple had not been aware of any mountain stream. He had been too busy thinking about the meaning of Zen. Now as he began to listen for the sound, his noisy mind subsided. At first he heard nothing. Then, his thinking gave way to heightened alertness, and suddenly he did hear the hardly perceptible murmur of a small stream in the far distance.

“Yes, I can hear it now,” he said.

The master raised his finger and, with a look in his eyes that in some way was both fierce and gentle, said, “Enter Zen from there.”

The disciple was stunned. It was his first satori – a flash of enlightenment. He knew what Zen was without knowing what it was that he knew!

They continued on their journey in silence. The disciple was amazed at the aliveness of the world around him. He experienced everything as if for the first time. Gradually, however, he stated thinking again. The alert stillness became covered up again by mental noise, and before long he had another question. “Master,” he said, “I have been thinking. What would you

have said if I hadn't been able to hear the mountain stream?” The master stopped, looked at him, raised his finger and said, “Enter Zen from there.”