少林铁砂掌：心外无物，悟道修行 | Shaolin Iron Palm

释延嘉是少林寺的一名僧人，来寺中已经三年多了。提到来少林寺的原因，他笑着说，“以前胆子会比较小一点，做什么都比较害羞，练了功夫能够壮胆，所以当时父母决定让我来少林寺学习功夫，在里面会有更好的进修。”

Shi Yanjia has lived in the Shaolin Temple for more than three years. When asked about his motivation, he smiled and said: "I was timid before, always shy. People said practicing kung fu can make one brave. Then my parents decided to send me to the Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu from the best."

释延嘉，少林寺僧人。Shi Yanjia is a monk in the Shaolin Temple. /CGTN Photo

什么是少林寺？是电视里面的那个样子吗？刚来少林寺时，释延嘉心里面充满了好奇。通过观察，他发现，寺中每个人都在通过自己的方式进行禅修，于是他也便跟着师父学起了铁砂掌。铁砂掌，顾名思义，通过反复击打沙袋里的铁珠，来提升掌力。刚开始练习功夫时，需要用手去击打铁珠，对此他的内心还是有些抵触。“肯定怕，意识里面那个东西是铁的，用手去击打肯定怕，当时就不敢下掌”。所以刚开始练习的是身体，但最主要的还是练心。

What is Shaolin Temple? Is it like what you see on television? Shi Yanjia was full of curiosity when he first came here. He noticed that everyone in the temple was meditating in their own way. Later he learned the Iron Palm fist with his master. Iron Palm, as the name suggests, requires hitting iron beads in the sandbag over and over again to improve the palm strength. At the start, he was reluctant to hit the beads. "Of course, I was afraid. I knew they were made of iron. I was scared of doing this with my bare hands. I didn't dare to do it." You start by training the body, but more importantly, you train the spirit.

铁砂掌掌力惊人，可单手击碎瓦片。Using the powerful Iron Palm could break tiles with a single hand. /CGTN Photo

功夫是坚持，是水滴石穿，尊重过程中的每一个当下。在练习铁砂掌的过程中，释延嘉曾有过懈怠。他说：“人都有惰性，这个惰性来的时候，它如影随形，时时刻刻都跟着你。”因此，练习铁砂掌最关键就是要有一颗恒心，不断磨炼我们自己，不停地战胜自己。

Kung fu requires perseverance. "Little strokes fell great oaks." One has to respect every moment in the process. During practice, Shi Yanjia had been sloppy. "Laziness is in human nature," he says. "It emerges once in a while and follows you everywhere." Therefore, the key to practicing Iron Palm is to be persistent; to train and overcome ourselves constantly.

 “刚开始练习铁砂掌的时候，并没有什么特殊的原因，但实际上无论做什么事情，当它到达一定阶段的时候，你总会发现你需要一种答案否则你就会一直痛下去，没有办法前进。” 

"There wasn't a particular reason for practicing Iron Palm. In fact, no matter what you do, when you find yourself at a certain stage, you'd need an answer. Otherwise you can only feel the pain, and there is no way to move forward," says Shi Yanjia.

练习铁砂掌最关键就是要有一颗恒心。The key to practicing Iron Palm is to be persistent. /CGTN Photo

答案就在“禅”中。少林有三宝，第一宝就是禅，而武是入禅的一种途径。少林寺有一种修禅叫问禅，师父会一直问你为什么，因为什么而来，又为什么而修，为什么而问，直到你顿悟。释延嘉也经常会被问道，“你练功的初心是什么？” 

The answer lies in Zen. Shaolin has three unique treasures, with Zen being the first. Practicing martial arts is a way to access Zen. There is a method called "Zen inquiries" in the Shaolin Temple. The master keeps questioning why you are here, why you practice and why you ask, until you are enlightened. Shi Yanjia is often asked about why he started. 

武是入禅的一种途径。Practicing martial arts is a way to access Zen. /CGTN Photo

练功的目的是除魔，而所有的魔都在你心里，心外无魔，那些烦恼、动摇之心等等都需要你去将它们斩断，禅武终究要合一。拳本身不是功夫，而是一种工具。释延嘉就是要在这功夫中一掌一掌拍断自己的心魔。

The purpose of practicing is to remove evil. Evil resides within the heart, there is no evil outside of it, when your mind is annoyed or shaken, you need to cut off the temptation. It's about the unity of Zen and martial arts. Martial arts itself is not kung fu, but a kind of tool. Shi Yanjia is determined to break off the evil in his heart through practicing the Iron Palm.

释延嘉，少林寺僧人。Shi Yanjia is a monk in the Shaolin Temple. /CGTN Photo

少林寺里面练武所求是什么？每个人心中都有每个人的答案，而每个人的答案又不尽相同。其实，只要你心住当下，寺庙之外我们每个人也是在修行，就像一层一层关卡，突破即是成功。

What do the practitioners in the Shaolin Temple ask for? Everyone has his own answer, which varies a lot. In fact, as long as you live in the present, everyone outside the temple is also practicing something. Just like different levels in a game, you succeed when you break through them.

往期链接：

Suggestions and Cooperation

请读者广提建议，您的建议很重要

投稿与合作：

[e-mail]