Gautama Buddha’s Liberation Path

A Progressive Curriculum of Study and Practice 喬達摩佛陀的解脫之道 —— 次第漸進的修學課程

A mandala of awakening: four concentric rings depict the progressive curriculum of liberation—Saṃsāra, Nibbidā, Virāga, and Vimutti. At the radiant core shines Nibbāna-dhātu, the blissful, permanent and deathless realm.

Introduction: Why the Buddha Renounced the World

引言：佛陀為何捨棄世間

Gautama Buddha renounced worldly life not for luxury or despair, but to seek a solution to the most universal and inescapable problem: aging and death. Every being born into this world—human, animal, deva, or brahmā—remains bound by these laws. Siddhattha Gautama, stirred by compassion and by the realization that no worldly power, pleasure, or philosophy could solve this dilemma, set out on a quest for the deathless state.

喬達摩佛陀捨棄世間生活，不是因為厭惡或絕望，而是為了徹底解決人類與一切眾生所面臨的最普遍、最無法逃避的問題：老與死。一切出生於此世間的生命——無論是人、畜、天或梵——都受此規律所拘束。悉達多太子因深切的悲憫與智慧而覺醒：世間的權力、享樂或哲學均不能解決此問題，因此毅然出家，踏上尋求不死境界的旅程。

He succeeded. Beneath the Bodhi tree, through profound meditative absorption (jhāna) and supreme wisdom (paññā), he realized Nibbāna-dhātu, the deathless, timeless, unconditioned realm beyond all worlds. He did not keep this realization to himself. Out of compassion, he opened a path of liberation—accessible, verifiable, and universal—for all beings willing to walk it.

他成功了。在菩提樹下，透過深邃的禪定（samādi）與無上的智慧（paññā），他證得了涅槃界 Nibbāna-dhātu，超越所有世間、不生不滅之界。他沒有獨享此證悟，而是因大悲心而開示了一條解脫之道——為此界人類皆可親證、普遍適用的修行之路。

The Noble Eightfold Path as Curriculum

八正道作為修行課程

The Buddha’s path of liberation unfolds progressively through the Noble Eightfold Path. Far from being a mere ethical code or meditation technique, it is a curriculum of transformation. Each step strengthens and prepares the practitioner for the next, guiding the citta (mind) from ignorance and bondage to wisdom and release.

佛陀的解脫之道，透過八正道次第展開。這並不僅僅是一套道德規範或禪修技巧，而是一個心靈轉化的課程。每一階段都為下一階段作準備，引導心（citta）從無明與束縛走向智慧與解脫。

This transformation is summarized in three great inner shifts:

此轉變可歸納為三大內在關鍵階段：

Nibbidā (出离 / Disenchantment): seeing the world’s impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self nature.
對世間現象生起厭離心，認清其無常、苦、非我的本質。
Virāga (离欲 / Dispassion): cooling down of craving, aversion, and ignorance; letting go of worldly intoxication.
愛染與瞋恚自然淡薄，無明逐漸消退，內心清淨。
Vimutti (解脫 / Liberation): the citta’s full release from saṃsāra, entering the Nibbāna-dhātu, the realm beyond all worlds with aging and death.
心完全從輪迴束縛中解脫，超越內含老與死的世間，證入涅槃界。

Stage One: Nibbidā — Disenchantment

第一階段：出离

The beginning of liberation is not mystical but existential: seeing things as they really are. The Buddha declared that all worldly conditioned phenomena (saṅkhārā) are:

Impermanent (anicca) 無常
Unsatisfactory (dukkha) 苦
Not-self (anattā) 非我

Through direct contemplation of the five aggregates—form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), formations (saṅkhāra), and consciousness (viññāṇa)—the practitioner realizes that clinging to them only results in being bound to this world with aging, suffering and death.

解脫的開始並非神秘，而是如實知見世間本質。佛陀宣說，世間的一切現象, 即一切行（saṅkhārā）皆是：無常（anicca）、苦（dukkha）、非我（anattā）。

對五蘊（色、受、想、行、識）的如實觀照，讓行者體會到：執取它們只會帶來將自己綁定在具老、苦和死的世間。

This realization does not bring despair, but nibbidā—a serene disillusionment that loosens worldly enchantment. Just as a child outgrows fascination with toys, the practitioner outgrows attachment to transient pleasures.

這樣的覺悟並不導致絕望，而是出离心（nibbidā）——一種平靜的覺醒，鬆開了對世間幻象的迷醉。正如孩童長大後不再迷戀玩具，修行者也能超越對短暫享樂的執著。

Stage Two: Virāga — Dispassion

第二階段：离欲

With disenchantment comes cooling. The fires of rāga (worldly attachment), dosa (negative mental states), and moha (ignorance and delusion) begin to fade. This is the heart of purification. The practitioner experiences:

Less intoxication with sensuality
Fading of hostility, fear, and anger
Clarity about the nature of Nibbāna-dhātu as possible and real

隨著厭離，內心逐漸冷卻貪（rāga）、瞋（dosa）、癡（moha）三毒之火。這是清淨心的核心。行者會體驗到：

對感官欲樂的迷醉減弱
負面心理、恐懼與憤怒逐漸消散
對涅槃界的真實性與可能性生起信解

Virāga is not suppression, but natural release. When one sees the futility of grasping, the hand of craving opens effortlessly.

离欲並非壓抑，而是自然的放下。當人真正體會到執取的無益時，貪愛之手自然鬆開。

Stage Three: Vimutti — Liberation

第三階段：解脫

Finally, when all defilements are abandoned, the mind (citta)—luminous, knowing, and free—enters the state of vimutti, liberation.

The Buddha emphasized that this is not annihilation but release from all worldly conditions. Just as a bird escapes a cage, the citta escapes saṃsāra’s prison. It is not going to reborn in the world, because there is no clinging to the world left to generate such rebirth in the world.

最終，當一切染污徹底滅盡時，光明覺知的心（citta）進入解脫（vimutti）的狀態。

佛陀強調，這不是消滅，而是從一切有為束縛中解脫。如鳥兒脫離籠子，心脫離輪迴的監牢。由於沒有世間的執取，便不再有世間的再生。

This is entry into Nibbāna-dhātu—the blissful, deathless, permanent realm of existence.

這就是證入涅槃界（Nibbāna-dhātu）——不死、極樂和永恆的真實之界。

Scriptural Witness: The Fire Sermon

經典見證：《火經》

In the Ādittapariyāya Sutta (SN 35.28), the Buddha describes all senses and experiences as “burning” with rāga, dosa, and moha. When the thousand monks listening realized this truth, their minds were immediately liberated:

“And while this discourse was being spoken, the minds (citta) of the thousand bhikkhus were liberated from the taints by nonclinging to the worldly.”

在《火經》(Ādittapariyāya Sutta, SN 35.28) 中，佛陀說明六根六境皆在燃燒著貪、瞋、癡之火。當一千位比丘深刻體悟此真理時，他們的心（citta）便立刻因不執著世間而徹底解脫。

This sutta encapsulates the curriculum: seeing clearly → disenchantment → dispassion → liberation.

此經完整總結了解脫課程：如實觀 → 出离 → 离欲 → 解脫。

From Saṃsāra to Nibbāna-dhātu: The path of Nibbidā (disenchantment), Virāga (dispassion), and Vimutti (liberation). A golden thread of Gautama’s Dhamma connects all stages, guiding the citta from bondage to the deathless.

Nibbāna: Beyond All Worlds

涅槃：超越一切世間

The Buddha was clear: liberation is not improvement within saṃsāra, but its end. Nibbāna is not annihilation, not heavens in the world, and not mere peace of mind. It is:

Unconditioned by the world (asaṅkhata) 不依世界為因緣
Permanent (dhuva) 永恆
Deathless (amata) 無死
Pure (suddhi) 清淨
Freedom (mutti) 自由

For more details about the realm of Nibbāna, 詳見：《增支部4.41波罗延经》（AN 4.41 Pārāyana）《相应部43.44经》（SN 43.44）

佛陀明確指出：解脫不是在輪迴中的改善，而是輪迴的徹底終止。涅槃不是消滅，什麼都沒有，也不是天界或心靈安慰。它是：

無為（asaṅkhata）
永恆（dhuva）
不死（amata）
清淨（suddhi）
自由（mutti）

Why Practice This Path?

為何要修此解脫道？

Because nothing else solves aging and death. No medicine, no science, no technology can end the cycle of saṃsāra. The Buddha’s path alone addresses the root: rāga, dosa, and moha.

因為除此之外，沒有任何方法能解決老與死。沒有藥物、沒有科學、沒有科技能終止輪迴。唯有佛陀的解脫道直指根源：貪、瞋、癡。

This is why the Buddha proclaimed:

“Just as the great ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt, so too my vinaya and teaching has but one taste, the taste of liberation.” (Udāna 5.5)

佛陀因此宣說：

“如同大海唯有一味，即鹹味；我的律和法亦唯有一味，即解脫味。”（《自說經》Udāna 5.5）

A Progressive Curriculum for Modern Practitioners

為現代行者設計的漸進課程

Our retreats and study programs are designed as a curriculum of liberation, reflecting the Eightfold Path’s progressive nature. It is structured into stages:

我們的課程與禪修營，正是依照八正道的次第，設計為一個解脫課程，分為以下階段：

Foundations of Sīla (Ethics) – establishing virtue and sense-restraint.
持戒基礎——建立道德與護根。
Training in Samādhi (Concentration) – cultivating mindfulness, jhāna, and inner clarity.
禪定訓練——培養正念、禪那與心的專注。
Development of Paññā (Wisdom) – insight into Nibbidā (Disenchantment from the World), Virāga (Dispassion from Worldly Defilements), and Vimutti (Liberation from the World).
智慧發展——觀照出离（对世间的厌离）、离欲（对世间烦恼的离欲）、解脫（从世间解脱）。
Culmination in Nibbāna-dhātu – liberation beyond this universe.
證入涅槃界——超越此宇宙，達到究竟解脫。

This curriculum is not about belief, but practice. It invites each practitioner to walk the path, heal the mind, and transcend the world.

此課程不依賴信仰，而是依靠實修。它邀請每位行者：踏上正道，淨化內心，超越世間。

Conclusion

結語

Gautama Buddha’s Liberation Path is humanity’s greatest heritage: a practical way to overcome the tragedy of birth, aging, and death. It is a progressive curriculum that guides us step by step—from ethical living, through concentration, into wisdom, and finally to liberation beyond all worlds.

喬達摩佛陀的解脫之道，是人類最偉大的遺產：一條真實可行的道路，幫助我們超越生老死的悲劇。它是一個次第漸進的課程，從道德生活到專注心定，從智慧觀照到究竟解脫，帶領我們走向超越世間的自由。

☸️ Walk the path.
🧘 Heal the mind.
💫 Transcend the world.

☸️ 踏上正道
🧘 淨化內心
💫 超越世間

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📖 Further Reading / 更多閱讀: Our Practice – Gautama Buddha’s Liberation Path

A lone meditator rises from worldly shadows through disenchantment and dispassion, dissolving into luminous freedom. Beyond the stars lies Nibbāna-dhātu—the realm beyond all worlds.