The old monk¹ often took the young monk to the hill outside the temple to recite the lection.

One day the young monk said to the old monk,"How slowly the time goes!"The old monk said,"You can have a try like this---in the morning sit to the west to read; and in the afternoon sit to the east to read."At the master's advice, the young monk recited the lection against the sun. By and by he neglected² the passage of time.

The next day he told the old monk ,"Master, you're so masterly that I forget time with a switch of direction and absorb myself in the lection."The old monk said,"Whatever you do, only you leave time behind you can you focus on it selflessly."老和尚经常带着小和尚到寺院外面的山坡上诵读经文。

有一天，小和尚对老和尚说：“时间过得真慢呀！”

老和尚说：“你这样试试。上午，你面朝西边坐着读；下午，你面朝东边坐着读。”

小和尚照老和尚的话去做，背对着太阳诵读经文。渐渐的他就忽略了时间的快慢。

第二天，他对老和尚说，“师傅真高明，这一转换方向，我就忘记了时间，整个心思都浸在这经文里了。”

老和尚说：“无论做什么事，只有把时间放在身后，才能做到全神贯注，达到一种忘我的境界。”