《美食祈禱和戀愛》Chapter 42 (90):開始禪坐
The following morning, I arrive right on time for the 4:00 AM meditation session which always starts the day here. We are meant to sit for an hour in silence, but I log the minutes as if they are miles—sixty brutal miles that I have to endure. By mile/minute fourteen, my nerves have started to go, my knees are breaking down and I'm overcome with exasperation. Which is understandable, given that the conversations between me and my mind during meditation generally go something like this:
隔天早晨，我準時抵達清晨四點的禪坐，這向來是一天的開始。我們預定靜坐一個小時，可是我卻像計算里程般來計算分秒——我不得不去容忍的三十公里漫漫長路。來到第七公里／分鐘，我的神經開始瓦解，膝蓋撐不下去，喘不過氣來。這不難理解，若考慮到我和自己的頭腦在禪坐期間通常如此進行對話：Me: OK, we're going to meditate now. Let's draw our attention to our breath and focus on the mantra. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shiv...
我：好吧，我們開始禪坐。讓我們關注在呼吸上，集中於咒語。唵南嘛溼婆耶。唵南嘛溼婆耶……Mind: I can help you out with this, you know!
頭腦：我幫得上你的忙，你曉得！
Me: OK, good, because I need your help. Let's go. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namah Shi...
我：很好，因爲我需要你幫忙。來吧。唵南嘛 溼婆耶。唵南嘛溼婆耶……Mind: I can help you think of nice meditative images. Like—hey, here's a good one. Imagine you are a temple. A temple on an island! And the island is in the ocean!
頭腦：我能幫你想出很好的禪修畫面。比方——沒錯，這點子不錯。想象你是一座寺廟，坐落在一座島上！一座海上的島！Me: Oh, that is a nice image.
我：喔，這畫面不賴。Mind: Thanks. I thought of it myself.
頭腦：謝啦。我也這麼覺得。Me: But what ocean are we picturing here?
我：我們想象哪個海？Mind: The Mediterranean. Imagine you're one of those Greek islands, with an old Greek temple on it. No, never mind, that's too touristy. You know what? Forget the ocean. Oceans are too dangerous. Here's a better idea—imagine you're an island in a lake, instead.
頭腦：地中海。想象你是希臘島嶼，島上有座希臘古廟。喔，算了，那兒遊客太多。這樣吧，甭管什麼海了。海太危險。我有更好的主意——把自己想像成湖上的島吧。Me: Can we meditate now, please? Om Namah Shiv...
我：現在能不能開始禪坐，拜託？唵南嘛溼婆耶……Mind: Yes! Definitely! But try not to picture that the lake is covered with . . . what are those things called...
頭腦：好！當然囉！不過，可別想象湖上到處是……怎麼稱呼那些玩意兒……Me: Jet Skis?
我：水上摩托車？Mind: Yes! Jet Skis! Those things consume so much fuel! They're really a menace to the environment. Do you know what else uses a lot of fuel? Leaf blowers. You wouldn't think so, but...
頭腦：對啦！水上摩托車！那些玩意兒消耗太多燃料！對環境造成威脅。你知道什麼東西也消耗很多燃料？吹落葉機。 你不這麼想，可是……Me: OK, but let's MEDITATE now, please? Om Namah...
我：好，好，現在開始禪坐好嗎？唵南嘛溼婆耶……Mind: Right! I definitely want to help you meditate! And that's why we're going to skip the image of an island on a lake or an ocean, because that's obviously not working. So let's imagine that you're an island in . . . a river!
頭腦：沒錯！我確實想幫你禪坐！所以我們就別管湖上或海上的島吧，因爲這顯然行不通。讓我們想象你是……河上的島！
