加拿大覺友 Rebecca Poon - (2014年6月1日) 

When I signed up for this class, I didn’t know much about meditation. All I knew was that it helps dealing with stress and it improves one’s health. Having skipped the orientation, I was in for a surprise when I started hearing my classmates talking about involuntary body movements triggered as a result of his/her meditation not long after our class started. Being somebody who does not have much experience in this area, I was initially sceptical, but when a close friend of mine started experiencing the same, I was a convert.

We were all taught from a young age ‘no pain, no gain’. A car needs regular maintenance for it to run smoothly; our rice paddy needs proper irrigation for the rice to grow. It strikes me the same applies to our health; our body needs us to invest time so that it can have a chance to heal itself.

I have had allergies all my life since I was a small kid. It has gotten worse since I immigrated to Canada and over the years, I react to a longer list of allergens than ever before. Like many sufferers, I take medication, I use nasal spray and I try acupuncture. All these help to a certain extent but none of them cures my allergies.

At the time I am writing this, I have not had noticeable improvement. Nevertheless, I am committed to giving my body a chance. I remain hopeful and optimistic that one day I will get my break.

當我報名時，我對靜坐的認識不深。我只知道靜坐有助於減輕壓力，並可以改善我們的身體健康。由於我沒有出席介紹會，開課後不久，當我開始聽到同學描述靜坐時所觸發起的自發性身體動作時，我非常驚愕。因為我對這方面的認識不多，我最初都抱懷疑的態度，但當我的好友開始有同樣的經歷，我的觀點就開始有所改變。

中國人有諺語‘一分耕耘，一分收獲’。汽車需要定期保養才能流暢運行；稻田需要適當的灌溉大米才能生長。我們的身體需要時間才能有機會自行痊癒。

我從小患有鼻過敏症。移民到加拿大後，情況變得更糟。像許多患者，我吃藥，我用噴鼻劑，我嘗試針灸。這些在一定程度上是有幫助，但我的鼻過敏症從沒有痊癒。

在我寫這篇文章時，我鼻過敏的情況還沒有明顯改善。但我樂觀地希望靜坐終有一天能幫我痊癒。