Mindfulness is an extremely difficult concept to define in words -- not
because it is complex, but because it is too simple and open. The same
problem crops up in every area of human experience. The most basic concept
is always the most difficult to pin down. Look at a dictionary and you
will see a clear example. Long words generally have concise definitions,
but for short basic words like 'the' and 'is', definitions can be a page
long. And in physics, the most difficult functions to describe are the most
basic--those that deal with the most fundamental realities of quantum
mechanics. Mindfulness is a pre-symbolic function. You can play with word
symbols all day long and you will never pin it down completely. We can never
fully express what it is. However, we can say what it does.

正念很难藉文字来定义它，这不是因为它复杂，而是由於它过於单纯而无隐。这类问
题亦常存在於我们的经验中，往往最基本的的概念最难澄清。我们可以在英文字典中
看到一个典型的例子：长的字通常具有明确的定义，而某些很短的字却需整页的说明
。在物理学上，最难以解释的就是最基本的、处理最基础本质的量子力学。正念之难
以用文字描述，即使你用文字说明一整天也无法解释清楚。我们无法将之完整地描述
，但我们可以解释它的作用。

                                                        ～待续～