神龛 The Spirit Shrine

　　1-2-2. THE SPIRIT SHRINE神龛

　　When I spend the rains retreat in Bangkok, a soldier ordained and lived with me. He told me that at home there was a spirit shrine and his parents revered it. I taught him what convention is and that ghosts don't have an essence. If you want to be afraid, it's better to be afraid of people because people are able to beat and harm you, whereas ghosts are not. If they were really good, they should be able to build their own house and find their own food, but they can't do it. Instead they are people who build a shrine for the spirits and give them food to eat, people guard over the ghosts. We're stupid to believe what our ancesters tell us.

　　当我在曼谷夏安居的时候，一位剃了度的士兵和我住在一起。他说他家中有一座神龛，他的父母对它很恭敬。我跟他说明这些世间习俗是怎么回事，并且告诉他鬼没有实体不可怕，要怕还不如怕人，因为人可以打你、伤害你而鬼不能，如果他们真的这么有本事，他们应该就能为自己盖房子和找食物了，但是他们不能，相反的，是人们为鬼神建神龛，并且还给他们食物吃，是人们在守护鬼神，可是，我们笨到去相信祖先告诉我们的这些鬼话。

　　The soldier understood and having disrobed told his parents and urged them to demolish the shrine but they wouldn't have it. One day, .a grandchild was sick, the parents figured it was because the spirits had been wronged and a pig's head should be offered. Especially the mother wouldn't listen to reason, so what can you do ? That day, when mother offered the sacrifice of the pig's head to the spirits, the son watched ; she bowed to the spirithouse many times and something, I don't know what, fell on mother's head which hurt a lot and made her scream out. The son grabbed a hammer and pounded the shrine to bits saying : 'My mother bows down and gets you a pig's head to eat, and you hit her on the head' !!! Mother didn't try to stop her son because she was in pain. So that was the end of the shrine.

　　那士兵了解之后就还俗了，他向父母说明道理，力劝他们毁掉那神龛，但他们不听。有一天，一个孙子生病了，他父母说是因为他触犯侮辱了鬼神，必须要供奉一个猪头。尤其是他母亲根本不讲道理，你能拿她怎么办呢？那天，当他母亲供奉猪头牲品给鬼神的时候，他儿子在一旁看着；他母亲向神龛不停地礼拜，突然间！不知道什么东西，直落在他母亲的头上，痛得她大叫起来。她儿子逮住这个机会，赶快拿起铁锤一锤！把那神龛打得粉碎，然后说：“我母亲跟你礼拜还奉上猪头给你吃，你竟然还打她的头”！！他母亲并没有阻止儿子，因为她痛得没时间去管。瞧！这就是那座神龛的结局，他自身都难保，如何守护人？

　　The most important thing is that the mind likes to cling to things that don't have an essence.

　　我要说的最重要一件事就是：我们的心喜欢去执取一些虚幻不实的东西。