做事之前的观察与思考

摘要：做事之前反复练习正见、正思维、正语、正行这四个可行性步骤，我们的身心世界就会趣向主动、安稳。

我们做一件事情常常处于被动，目的、方向不明确，思维混乱，言语、作为都容易伤害自己、伤害他人。其主要原因在于我们做事之前缺乏三到五分钟的观察与思考，也就是说，我们需要一个正见作为起步；有了正见，才会有正思维、正语、正行。

啥叫正见呢？比如说“原本清净”是个正见，依止着这个正见，我思维一下，在本净的法界中，我要做些什么呢？本来清净——就像在一张白纸上，我要画什么呢？思维一下，我要画个房子、草坪等等，别人问起，你要画什么，你很清晰地能回答上来，因为你在这样想，这样做的就很主动、很次序。

每次做事之前，过一遍正见、正思维、正语、正行这四个可行性的步骤，就像每次都能回到一张白纸上，好画，好写。

我们的痛苦往往来自什么呢？我们不在白纸上，总在过去画得乱七八糟的基础上去画东西，会很烦，一动念就烦！一动念就会想到很多不好的记忆，就开始有“我”了，开始乱了——思维乱，言行作为都跟着乱了，就落入了自我烦恼的习惯之中了。

所以，做事之前一定要反复练习这四个可行性步骤：正见、正思维、正语、正行。这样，我们的身心世界就会趣向主动、安稳。  

Observation and Thinking Beforehand

While doing something, we often fall into a passive position. If our aims or directions are not clear, our thoughts confused, then our words or actions are very likely to hurt ourselves or others. The main reason is that we are short of three to five minutes observation or thinking beforehand. For example, we need to have a right view to start with, for only if we have the right view, can we have the right thinking, the right speech and the right action.

What is right view? For example, the inherent purity is a right view. I should think based upon the right view about what I should do in this inherently pure realm. Inherent purity means a blank sheet of paper. Then what shall I draw on it? Imagine you want to draw a house, a lawn or something else. When someone asks you what you want to draw, you can tell him very clearly. That is because you have had the idea how to do it before you take actions. Thus you can take the initiative and put your actions in good order.

Each time before you do something, you should go through these four feasible steps: right view, right thinking, right speech and right action. Just like for each painting, you draw on a blank sheet rather than on a sketch. It’s easier and more effective.

Where do our sufferings come from? We always draw, not on the blank sheet, but on a splashed sheet of paper which we have been drawing on. Thus we are bound to get annoyed. Similarly, we will get annoyed once an idea arises, because we have many bad memories. Thus we begin to have egos and begin to be confused. And confused thinking leads to confused words and actions, thus we are thrown into the habit of self-annoyance.

Therefore before doing anything, we should practice repeatedly these four feasible steps: right view, right thinking, right speech and right action. Only by doing so can our physical and mental world approach initiative and peace.      

【Editor’s Note from Robin】
While following our Master Cifa and learning Buddhism from him, very often I cannot help being moved by his targeted instructions and benefit a lot from them. Now, with a sincerely offering heart for you my fellow practitioners, I’d like to try as much as I can to share his instructions with all of you that I have recorded and sorted out. They each mainly are about how to observe some problem we notice from a specific angle in our everyday life, and I hope that we can learn by analog to observe and enlighten our whole life, so as, according to dharma, to arouse us to start using the inherent pure Buddha-nature as our wonderful arising condition, and make our life to be more beautiful, richer and more colorful.