美食祈祷与恋爱意大利文化 《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 52 (112):修行必不可少

《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 52 (112):修行必不可少  

But when I try to go to the chant
all it does is agitate me. I mean
physically. I don't feel like I'm singing it so much as being dragged behind it. It makes me sweat. This is very odd because I tend to be one of life's chronically cold people
and it's cold in this part of India in January before the sun es up. Everyone else sits in the chant huddled in wool blankets and hats to stay warm
and I'm peeling layers off myself as the hymn drones on
foaming like an overworked farm horse. I e out of the temple after the Gurugita and the sweat rises off my skin in the cold morning air like fog—like horrible
green
stinky fog. The physical reaction is mild pared to the hot waves of emotion that rock me as I try to sing the thing. And I can't even sing it. I can only croak it. Resentfully.
Did I mention that it has 182 verses?
So a few days ago
after a particularly yucky session of chanting
I decided to seek advice from my favorite teacher around here—a monk with a wonderfully long Sanskrit name which translates as "He Who Dwells in the Heart of the Lord Who Dwells Within His Own Heart." This monk is American
in his sixties
smart and educated. He used to be a classical theater professor at NYU
and he still carries himself with a rather venerable dignity. He took his mon-astic vows almost thirty years ago. I like him because he's no-nonsense and funny. In a dark moment of confusion about David
I'd once confided my heartache to this monk. He listened respectfully
offered up the most passionate advice he could find
and then said
"And now I'm kissing my robes." He lifted a corner of his saffron robes and gave a loud smack. Thinking this was probably some super-arcane religious custom
I asked what he was doing. He said
"Same thing I always do whenever anyone es to me for relationship advice. I'm just thanking God I'm a monk and I don't have to deal with this stuff anymore."
几天前，在一次特别讨人厌的吟唱时间过后，我决定征求自己最喜爱的老师给我意见——他是一位僧人，有个长而妙的梵语名字，译为“他住在自己心中的神的心中居住的人”。这位僧人是六十多岁的美国人，一位精明干练的知识分子。他曾是纽约大学的古典戏剧教授，身上仍带有可敬的学者气质。他在三十年前立下修道誓言。他之所以让我喜欢，是因为他既严肃又逗趣。在对大卫感到困惑的黑暗时刻，我曾向这位僧人倾诉痛苦。他郑重其事地听我说，提供所能找到的最慈悲的忠告，而后说：“现在我要亲吻我的道袍。”他掀起姜黄色道袍的一脚，响亮地咂嘴一吻。我以为这可能是某种超神祕的宗教习俗，于是询问他的举动之因。他说：“每当有人来找我做关系咨询，我总是这样做。我只是感谢神让我身为僧人，无须再面对这件事。”
So I knew I could trust him to let me speak frankly about my problems with the Gurugita. We went for a walk in the gardens together one night after dinner
and I told him how much I disliked the thing and asked if he could please excuse me from having to sing it anymore. He immediately started laughing. He said
"You don't have to sing it if you don't want to. Nobody around here is ever going to make you do anything you don't want to do."
"But people say it's a vital spiritual practice."
"It is. But I'm not going to tell you that you're going to go to hell if you don't do it. The only thing I'll tell you is that your Guru has been very clear about this—the Gurugita is the one es-sential text of this Yoga
and maybe the most important practice you can do
next to medita-tion. If you're staying at the Ashram
she expects you to get up for the chant every morning."
"It's not that I mind getting up early in the morning . . ."