有一次，婆羅奢那婆羅門的一位學生，名叫鬱多羅的少年，來拜訪佛陀，佛陀問他說：

「鬱多羅！你的老師婆羅奢那婆羅門，教你們如何修根了嗎？」

「教了，尊者瞿曇！」

「怎麼教呢？」

「尊者瞿曇！婆羅奢那老師說，不要去看、不要去聽，就是修根。」

「鬱多羅！照這樣說，盲眼人是修根修得最圓滿的了，為什麼呢？因為只有盲人，才能完全做到不去看。」

這時，在佛陀後面執扇搧佛的尊者阿難，不禁接著問：

「鬱多羅！照婆羅奢那的說法，耳聾的人也是修根修得最圓滿的了，為什麼呢？因為只有耳聾的人，才能完全做到不去聽。」

鬱多羅少年被這樣一反問，竟楞在那兒，沮喪得無言以對。

這時，佛陀為了打開僵住了的場面，對尊者阿難說：

「阿難！婆羅奢那婆羅門的教法，與解脫聖者法律中，最上等的修根方式不同。」

把握了這個佛陀引導問法的機會，尊者阿難趕緊問：

「世尊！但願為比丘們教說解脫聖者法律中，最上等的修根方法，讓比丘們依您的教導修學。」

於是，佛陀說：

「阿難！仔細聽！仔細思惟！我來為你們說。

當比丘眼睛看東西；耳朵聽、鼻子聞、舌頭嚐、身體觸、意念識，有了辨別認識後，生起了合意的，或不合意的，或無所謂合意不合意的感受，深知那都是因緣所成的有為法，而即予以捨離，就如一眨眼、一彈指那樣地容易、迅速。阿難！這就是解脫聖者法律中，最上等的修根方法。」

「世尊！那怎樣是解脫聖者法律中，賢聖者的修根方法呢？」尊者阿難繼續問。

「當比丘眼睛看見東西，有了辨別認識後，對合意的提起厭離的正念正智，對不合意的提起不厭惡的正念正智，對無所謂合意不合意的，保持清晰覺察的捨心正念正智，善巧地對治調伏、善巧地關閉、善巧地守護、善巧地攝持、善巧地修習；其他耳、鼻、舌、身、意等諸根的修學也一樣。這就是解脫聖者法律中，賢聖者的修根方法了。」

「世尊！怎樣是解脫聖者法律中，修學者的修根方法呢？」尊者阿難再問。

「比丘眼睛看見了東西，有了辨別認識後，當生起了合意、或不合意，或合意不合意兼有的念頭時，能對這種念頭的生起，感到慚愧、羞恥與厭惡；耳朵聽、鼻子聞、舌頭嚐、身體觸、意念識等也一樣，這就是解脫聖者法律中，修學者的修根方法。」

On one occasion, the Brahmin student Uttara, a pupil of the Brahmin Parasariya came to visit the Buddha, the Buddha asked him:

“Uttra! Dose the Brahmin Parasariya teach his disciples the development of the faculties?

“He does, Master Gotama!”

“How does he teach?”

“Master Gotama! One does not see forms with the eye; one does not hear sounds with the ear; that is how Brahmin Parasariya teaches his disciples the development of the faculties.”

“Uttra! If that is so, then a blind man will have developed faculties most completely. For a blind man does not see forms with the eye.”

At this time, the Venerable Ananda, who stood behind holding a fan fanning the Buddha could not help but asking:

“Uttra! According to what Brahmin Parasariya says, a deaf man will have developed faculties, for a deaf man does not hear sounds with the ear.”

When this was said, the young Uttra sat silent, dismayed, with shoulders drooping and heard down, glum, and without response.

The Buddha, knowing this, for the purpose of smoothing things over, addressed the Venerable Ananda:

“Ananda! The Brahmin Parasariya teaches his disciples the development of the faculties in one way, but in the Noble One’s Discipline the supreme development of the faculties is otherwise.”

Grasping the opportunity of the Buddha’s Dharma guidance inquiry, the Venerable Ananda followed up without delay:

“The World Respected One! Now is the time to teach the supreme development of the faculties in the Noble One’s Discipline, Having heard it from the World Respected One, allowing the bhikkhus practice in accordance with your instructions.”

Then the Buddha said:

“Then listen, Aanada! And attend closely to what I shall say.

When a bhikkhu sees a form with the eye, hearing a sound with his ear, smells odor with the nose, tastes a flavor with the tongue, touches a tangible with the body and cognizes a mind-object with the mind, there arises in him what is agreeable, there arise what is disagreeable, and there arises what is both agreeable and disagreeable. But that is conditioned, gross, dependently arisen, this is peaceful, this is sublime, that is, equanimity. Then he immediately departs from it, just as easy and swift as blinking of the eye, a snap of the fingers. Ananda! This is the Noble One’s Discipline the supreme development of the faculties.”

“The World Respected One! What is the Noble One’s Discipline the development of the faculties for the sage and person of virtuous?”

“When the bhikkhu sees a form with the eye, after differentiation and cognation, arises the right thought and right wisdom of dislike to those agreeable; arises the right thought and right wisdom of non-dislike toward to disagreeable and keeping the right thought and right wisdom of the clear mindful in impartibility, to skillfully correct and sooth, skillfully close, skillfully guard, skillfully uphold, skillfully practice; So also are practicing the faculties of ear, nose, tongue, body and body. It is the Noble One’s Discipline the development of the faculties for the sage and person of virtuous.”

“The World Respected One! What is the Noble One’s Discipline the development of the faculties for the practitioner?”

“Ananda! “When the bhikkhu sees a form with the eye, after differentiation and cognation, there arises in him what is agreeable, there arises what is disagreeable, and there arises what is both agreeable and disagreeable; he is ashamed, humiliated and disgusted by such thoughts. So also are practicing the faculties of ear, nose, tongue, body and body. It is the Noble One’s Discipline the development of the faculties for the practitioner.”

一、本則故事取材自《雜阿含第二八二經》、《中部第一五二根修習經》。

二、根，就是「根門」，即是眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意等，引發各種身心活動的「門戶」、「入口處」，故稱為「根門」，也稱為「入處」。

三、固然不去看、不去聽，有時也能得到貪、瞋、癡煩惱的短暫解決，但因為沒有從煩惱的真正原因（「集」）──貪愛下手，只能算是一種不究竟的暫時對治運用了。

四、佛陀鼓勵我們面對問題、解決問題，所以，不去看、不去聽類似逃避的方法，不會是佛陀所讚歎的。佛陀也鼓勵我們要針對問題，正確地從真正原因（「集」）來解決問題，也就是「四聖諦」的方法，所以，自然不會主張將自己弄瞎、變聾了。

五、對一般常人來說，合意、不合意、無所謂之後，接著展現出的，就是貪、瞋、癡等煩惱了。所謂：「順我則貪，逆我則瞋」，再加上心不在焉，或者不明究理地爆發衝動的癡，都與生死流轉的「我執」密切關連著。所以，從「合不合意與無所謂」的感受或心念，便是我們修學的努力用心處了。

六、經文中，關於佛陀對修根的教說部分，南北傳有不少的差異，個人以為《雜阿含第二八二經》的次第較為合理，但「無上修根」與「賢聖者修根」的部分，很可能是錯置的，這部分《中部第一五二根修習經》顯得較為合理，故事內容就依此取材。

1.This story was derived from Samyuktagama 282th Sutra and Majjhima-nikaya 152nd Sutra.

2. Faculty is “door of the faculty” --the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind--the “door” or “entrance” which initiates activities of the body and mind. Hence called “door of the faculty” or “loci of entrance”.

3. It is true that not to see, not to hear sometimes can achieve a temporary release form the vexation of greed, anger and ignorance, however, because these methods failed to start with the true cause “the origin of suffering”—craving, hence can merely be considered as an incomplete temporary application for soothing.

4. The Buddha encourage us to face the problem and solve the problem, hence, the methods of not to see and not to hear, which analogue to avoidance, will not be praised by the Buddha. The Buddha also encourages us to aim at the problem, corrects from the real cause--“the origin of suffering” to solve the problem, this is the method of “the four noble truth”, hence the Buddha naturally would not advocate blinding and deafen oneself.

5. To the ordinarily people, after the arising in him agreeable, disagreeable or doesn’t matter, what manifests next will be the vexations of greed, anger and ignorance. This is so called “craving for those agreeable and anger at those disagreeable”, adding the act of getting excited through unaware of what exactly happened as the results of absentmindedness or ignorance, which closely link to the “self-attachment” in the course of transmigration of life and death. Therefore, the effort and focus point for our practice should start from the feeling and thoughts that are “agreeable, disagreeable or doesn’t matter”.

6. With regard to the instructions from the Buddha for development of the faculties, texts deviated considerably between the sutras of the southern and northern Buddhism. Personally, I consider the sequence in Samyuktagama 282th Sutra is more reasonable, but the instructions of the Noble One’s Discipline the supreme development of the faculties, and the Noble One’s Discipline the development of the faculties for the sage and person of virtuous stated in the sutra seem to be erroneous. Since the Buddha’s instructions for development of the faculties recorded in Majjhima-nikaya 152nd Sutra appear to be more reasonable, hence were adopted in the gist of this story.