7. The Difference between Will, Wish and Desire
7. 意志、願望與欲望之間的差別

Will is a developed wish
意志是發展成熟的願望

Will is the development of the wish. When one says, “It was the divine will” it means that it was a command, a wish that developed into action. When the wish becomes action it becomes will, it becomes a command. One may think it is only one’s wish, but it is a wish as long as it is still. It is there, it has not sprung up, it is inactive, just like a seed in the ground: it is wish. But the moment the seed is coming out of the ground as a seedling and is in the process of becoming a plant, then it is a will. Therefore these two different names, wish and will, are names of one and the same thing: in its undeveloped state and in its process of development.

意志是願望的發展。當一個人說：「這是神聖的意志。」意思是，那是一道命令，是一個已經發展為行動的願望。當願望化為行動，它就成為意志，成為一道命令。人或許以為那只不過是自己的願望；然而，只要它仍然靜止不動，它就仍是願望。它存在著，卻尚未萌發，仍處於不活動的狀態，就像埋在土裡的種子：這就是願望。但是，當種子破土而出，成為幼苗，並開始長成一株植物時，它便成為意志。因此，「願望」與「意志」這兩個不同的名稱，其實指的是同一件事：一個是它尚未發展的狀態，一個是它正在發展的過程。

Desire is a weaker or primitive stage of the wish. When an idea, a thought, is not yet made clear in one’s own mind and one’s own mind has not taken a decision: “It must be so, I would like it to be so” – then it is a desire, it is a fancy. It comes and it goes, and one does not care. But when that desire is a little more developed then it is a wish. Then it stays there, it does not fade away like clouds, it is tangible, it is there. Yet it is not fulfilled, because for fulfillment it must develop.

欲望是願望較微弱、較原初的階段。當一個想法、一個念頭，在自己的頭腦中尚未變得清楚，頭腦也還沒有作出決定：「事情必須如此，我希望它如此。」那麼它就只是一個欲望，一個一時的遐想。它來了又去，而人也不甚在意。但當這個欲望再發展一些，它就成為願望。這時它會停留在那裡，不再像雲一樣消散；它變得具體，確實存在著。然而，它仍未實現，因為若要實現，它還必須繼續發展。

There are some people in this world who say, “All my life I had bad luck. The bad luck was that never in my life my wish was granted.” They can very easily imagine that a spirit was against them, or God was against them, or the stars, or that something was keeping back their wish. But it is not always so.

世上有些人會說：「我一生都運氣不好。我的不幸就在於，這一輩子從來沒有一個願望得以實現。」他們很容易想像，是某個靈在與他們作對，或是神與他們作對，或是星辰在作祟，又或者有某種力量阻礙著他們的願望。但事情並不總是如此。

In the first place God wishes the same that we wish; if God wished differently from our wish we could not worship that God who was always against us. It is not so!

首先，神所願的與我們所願的是一致的；如果神的願望總是與我們的願望相反，我們便不可能敬拜一位永遠與我們作對的神。事情並非如此！

Besides, there is no benefit in opposing the wish of man; to God there is no advantage in doing so. No doubt there are planetary reasons, reasons of the universe at work, reasons of the cosmos that oppose the wish. As it is said, “Man proposes, God disposes.” The name “God” is put in the place of the cosmic forces, but God with His mercy and compassion never has a desire to oppose anyone’s wish.

此外，阻撓人的願望並沒有任何益處；對神而言，這樣做也沒有任何好處。毫無疑問，確實有行星的因素、宇宙中運作的因素、宇宙秩序的因素，可能與人的願望相抵觸。正如人們所說：「謀事在人，成事在神。」這裡以「神」之名代指宇宙力量；然而，充滿慈悲與憐憫的神，絕不會有意去反對任何人的願望。

God apart, a good-hearted man would never like to oppose anybody’s wish; he would do everything possible to make anybody’s wish complete, to make a person’s wish come true. A kindly person would do it.

即使撇開神不談，一個心地善良的人也不會喜歡阻礙別人的願望；他會盡一切可能幫助別人的願望圓滿，使一個人的願望成真。一個仁慈的人自然會如此行。

The Enemy of Desire
欲望的敵人

But what mostly happens is that man proves to be the worst enemy of his own desire, for many reasons.

然而，最常發生的情形是：由於種種原因，人最後證明自己才是自身欲望最大的敵人。

One reason is that he is never sure what he desires. Out of a hundred persons you will find one who knows what he desires, but ninety-nine say, “Do I desire, or do I not desire; I don’t know. I think I desire, but I do not know if it is so.” Ninety-nine percent among men is in this condition; they really do not know if they desire. One day they say, “Yes, I do,” another day they say, “No, I don’t think I desire.” Therefore their desire is decomposed in the unclearness of the mind.

第一個原因是，他從來不確定自己究竟想要什麼。在一百個人當中，你或許只能找到一個真正知道自己欲求什麼的人；其餘九十九個人會說：「我到底想不想要？我不知道。我想我是想要的，但我也不知道是不是真的。」百分之九十九的人都處於這種狀態；他們其實並不知道自己是否真正有所欲求。今天他們說：「是的，我想要。」隔天又說：「不，我想我其實並不想要。」因此，他們的欲望就在頭腦的模糊不清之中逐漸瓦解。

Then there are others who analyze their desire, and they analyze it till they have broken it to pieces. There are many analytical people who have all through life destroyed their desires by analyzing them.

還有另一種人，會不斷分析自己的欲望，一直分析到把它拆解得支離破碎。有許多擅長分析的人，一生都在用分析摧毀自己的欲望。

There is a third kind of people: those who have adopted a passive attitude. They say it is a sin to desire. Yet they cannot be without desire, and in this passive attitude they say, “Well, I will not desire.” They have crossed the desire that was there.

第三種人採取的是消極被動的態度。他們說，有欲望是一種罪。然而，他們又不可能沒有欲望，於是在這種消極的態度下，他們告訴自己：「好吧，我不要有欲望。」就這樣把原本存在的欲望壓了下去。

And there is a fourth kind of person who desires something, but by lack of concentration cannot turn his desire into a wish. Therefore the desire stays in its primitive stage all the time.

第四種人有所欲求，卻因缺乏專注力，無法把欲望轉化為願望。因此，他的欲望始終停留在原初的階段。

A fifth kind of person develops desire into a wish; he goes so far and no further. But the wish must be developed into will. So the desire is not carried through, so to speak, and never comes to its culmination.

第五種人能把欲望發展成願望，但到了這一步便停住，不再向前。然而，願望還必須繼續發展成意志。因此，可以說，他的欲望沒有貫徹到底，也永遠無法達到它的圓滿。

Now this is a subject which is of the greatest importance in the life of every person in the world. No one can exist in the world without wishing for something, and if there is a person who has no wish he need not stay in the world. He must go somewhere out of the crowd; he cannot exist there. He must go out in the mountains and even there he should turn into a tree or into a rock in order to exist, because to be a living being without a wish is not possible.

這是世上每一個人的生命中極為重要的課題。沒有人能活在世上而不對任何事有所願望；如果真有一個人完全沒有願望，他便沒有必要留在這個世界。他必須離開人群，因為在人群之中他無法如此生存。他得走入深山；甚至到了那裡，若要如此存在，他也只得變成一棵樹或一塊岩石，因為一個有生命的存在不可能完全沒有願望。

The difference between persons — high and low — is according to the wish they have. One wishes for the earth, the other wishes for heaven. The desire of one takes him to the heights of spiritual progress, the desire of the other takes him to the depth of the earth.

人與人之間境界的高低，取決於他們所懷抱的願望。一個人所願的是塵世，另一個人所願的是天堂。一個人的欲望將他帶向靈性成長的高峰，另一個人的欲望則將他帶入大地的深處。

Man is great or small, man is wise or foolish, man is on the right road or on the wrong road according to the desire he has.

一個人是偉大或渺小，是智慧或愚昧，是走在正道或歧途，都取決於他所懷抱的欲望。

The Universal Will
宇宙意志

Now coming to the question of the opposing forces: according to the Sufis there are Qaher and Qadr. Qaher is the universal Will, universal power; Qadr is the individual will and the individual power. No doubt the individual power in comparison with the universal power is like a drop compared with the sea. It cannot stand against the sweeping waves of the sea that come and destroy it. Nevertheless, the drop, being from the same source as the sea, has also a certain amount of strength, and the individual will also has a certain strength if it wills to hold against opposing forces.

現在來談與我們相抗衡的力量。依蘇菲的說法，有 Qaher 與 Qadr。Qaher 是宇宙意志、宇宙力量；Qadr 則是個體意志與個體力量。毫無疑問，個體力量與宇宙力量相比，就像一滴水與大海相比。它無法抵擋大海席捲而來、足以將它吞沒的巨浪。然而，這滴水既然與大海同出一源，本身也具有一定程度的力量；同樣地，個體意志若決意抵抗與它相反的力量，也具有某種程度的力量。

If we want to make the individual will and the universal will more clear, it is in small things that we can do so. When a person is walking in the street and says, “I feel hungry, I should like to go to a restaurant and have a meal” that is individual will. Another person goes in the street and sees a poor man, and says, “Ah, this man — he seems to be poor, he must have something; can I not do something for him? I want to see him looking happier.” As soon as he thinks of the good of another person, at once his will becomes the universal will.

如果要更清楚地理解個體意志與宇宙意志之間的差別，可以從一些小事來看。一個人走在街上，說：「我餓了，我想去餐廳吃一頓飯。」這就是個體意志。另一個人走在街上，看見一位窮人，便說：「啊，這個人看來很貧困，他一定需要些什麼；我不能為他做點什麼嗎？我希望看到他變得快樂一些。」就在他開始為另一個人的福祉著想時，他的意志立刻成為宇宙意志。

The reason is that the boundary that limits the will of an individual is the thought of the self. As soon as one has forgotten the thought of self, as soon as one thinks of another, that boundary breaks down and the will becomes stronger. The masters of humanity, those who have been able to do great things in the world, where did they get their will from? It was their own will which was extended by the breaking down of the boundaries of the thought of self. It does not mean that one should give up the thought of self, that one must never think of oneself, never think of one’s lunch and dinner. The self is there, one has to think about it. But at the same time in order to expand, in order to let the will grow, the more one forgets oneself the more one is helped.

原因在於，限制個體意志的那條界線，就是對自我的念頭。一旦一個人忘卻對自我的念頭，一旦他開始想到另一個人，這條界線便被打破，而意志也因此變得更強。那些人類的大師，那些曾在世上成就偉大事業的人，他們的意志從何而來？那仍然是他們自己的意志，只是當對自我的念頭所形成的界線被打破之後，這個意志便擴展開來。這並不是說人應該完全放棄對自己的考量，永遠不再想到自己，甚至連自己的午餐、晚餐都不必顧及。自我確實存在，我們必須照顧它。然而與此同時，若要擴展自己，若要讓意志成長，一個人愈能忘卻自己，所獲得的助力便愈大。

Resignation
順受

There are some who take the path of resignation, neither doing good to themselves nor to another. It is a kind of attitude they have taken to say, “It will come from somewhere. Somebody will do it. If I am hungry somebody will come and feed me, ” or, “If another person is in need, somebody will come and help him.” Their wish is inactive, they do not let their wish become a will, they remain where they are, they are passive. No doubt, an intelligent passiveness and resignation can also bring about a wonderful result, but many of these people do it unintelligently.

有些人走上順受的道路，既不為自己做有益的事，也不為別人做。他們採取一種這樣的態度：「事情總會從某個地方得到解決。總會有人來做。如果我餓了，自然會有人來餵我。」或者：「如果別人有需要，自然會有人去幫他。」他們的願望是不活動的；他們不讓願望發展成意志，只停留在原地，消極被動。毫無疑問，有智慧的被動與順受，也能帶來奇妙的結果；但許多人卻是在毫無智慧的情況下如此行事。

The quality of the saints is to be resigned to all that comes-but then they do not even form a wish. They take all that comes, flowers or thorns; everything that comes, they take it. They look into thorns and see that they are flowers. With praise and with blame they are contented. They are contented with rise and fall; they take all that comes, they take life as it is. That is the intelligent way of doing it. The unintelligent way is to say of anything that is difficult, “Somebody will come and do it.” This is a kind of laziness. They may think it is passiveness, but it is laziness to think, if one has to do something, “Somebody will come who will do it.”

聖者的特質，是順受一切來到他面前的事物——然而，他甚至不會形成一個願望。無論來的是花朵還是荊棘，他都接受；凡是到來的，他都接受。他凝視荊棘，卻看見它們也是花朵。無論讚美或責難，他都安然接受；無論升起或跌落，他都知足。他接受一切來臨之事，如其所是地接受生命。這才是有智慧的方式。沒有智慧的方式則是，每當遇到困難的事情便說：「總會有人來做。」這其實是一種懶惰。他也許以為這是被動，但當一件事明明需要自己去做，卻想著「總會有人來替我做」，那就是懶惰。

In India it is told that a man was lying under a cherry tree and some ripe cherries were falling near him. But he was just lying there. A man came from a distance to whom he called out, “Please come here, will you please put this cherry in my mouth?”

印度有一個故事，說有個人躺在一棵櫻桃樹下，一些成熟的櫻桃落在他的身旁，但他只是躺著不動。遠處有一個人走來，他便向那人喊道：「請你過來一下，好不好幫我把這顆櫻桃放進嘴裡？」

There are many to be found like this who out of a feeling of helplessness, of laziness, give in, who have no enthusiasm, no courage. In this way their willpower is broken down and in the end they are helpless. There is no comparison between the saintly spirit and the spirit of the helpless. Although both become resigned, the latter is not truly resigned: he would like to have the cherry in his mouth, but another person must give it to him. The saint does not care if he eats it or if he does not eat it; it is just the same to him. In that case it is allowable.

像這樣的人並不少見。他們因為感到無能為力、因為懶惰而放棄，沒有熱忱，也沒有勇氣。如此一來，他們的意志力逐漸崩解，到最後真的變得無能為力。聖者的精神與無助者的精神完全不可相提並論。兩者雖然都呈現順受的樣子，後者卻不是真正的順受：他其實很想把櫻桃吃進嘴裡，只是非得由別人送到他嘴邊不可。聖者則根本不在意自己吃不吃那顆櫻桃；對他而言，兩者完全一樣。在這種情況下，順受才是可以成立的。

Over-anxious
過度焦慮

Then there are others who are over-anxious for their wish to come true; it destroys their wish because the strength, the pressure they put upon their wish is too great. It is just like guarding a plant against the sun and against water; if one guards the plant against the very things that should help it to grow, then it cannot grow. It is the same with the wish; if a person says, “This is my wish and it must come true, no one must think about it, no one must look at it,” he is always afraid that perhaps this wish will not come true. He is eager, he is thinking with doubt, fear and suspicion and therefore he will destroy his own wish.

還有一些人，對自己的願望能否實現過度焦慮；這反而會摧毀願望，因為他加諸於願望之上的力量與壓力太大了。這就像把一株植物嚴密保護起來，不讓它接觸陽光，也不讓它接觸水；如果人把植物與那些原本應該幫助它生長的事物隔絕開來，它自然無法生長。願望也是一樣。如果一個人說：「這是我的願望，它一定要成真，誰也不能去想它，誰也不能碰它。」那麼他其實始終害怕這個願望可能不會實現。他急切不安，帶著懷疑、恐懼與猜忌去想它，結果反而摧毀了自己的願望。

Again there is a person who is willing to sacrifice anything, or to persevere as much as it requires for even a small wish which he does not value very much when it comes to value. Yet he gives it every thought and he does everything in his power to make that wish come true. That person is taking the same path as the path of the masters. He must have success, and it is success which brings success. If once a person is successful, his success attracts success. Once a person fails then this failure attracts failure; for the same reason that, if a person is on the path of accomplishment, each accomplishment gives him a greater power to go forward, and when he is on the path that goes downward then every step leads him downward.

另一方面，有一種人，即使只是一個價值並不算高的小願望，也願意為它作任何必要的犧牲，並堅持到底。他把全部心思放在這個願望上，盡自己一切所能使它實現。這樣的人所走的，正是大師們所走的道路。他必然會成功，而成功又會帶來成功。一旦一個人成功了，他的成功便會吸引更多成功；一旦一個人失敗了，這份失敗也會吸引更多失敗。道理就在於：當一個人走在成就的道路上，每一次成就都會賦予他更大的力量繼續前進；而當他走在向下的道路上，每一步也都會帶著他繼續向下。

Discrimination
辨別力

Now arises the question which desire and wish one must give up and which one must rear. One must have discrimination. If there is no discrimination one will take a wrong way; it may lead to success, but it will be a success in a wrong way. If one rears every desire and wish, and thinks, “This must be accomplished,” then sometimes it may be right and sometimes wrong. Discrimination must first be developed in order to understand what leads one to happiness, a lasting happiness, a greater peace, a higher attainment.

現在便產生一個問題：什麼樣的欲望與願望應該放下，什麼樣的又應該培育？一個人必須具有辨別力。如果沒有辨別力，就可能走上錯誤的道路；那條路或許也會帶來成功，但卻是在錯誤方向上的成功。如果一個人培育每一個欲望、每一個願望，並對自己說：「這一定要實現。」那麼有時可能是對的，有時卻可能是錯的。因此，首先必須培養辨別力，才能明白什麼會帶領自己走向幸福——持久的幸福、更深的安寧，以及更高的成就。

But once a person has discrimination and has chosen a wish, then he should not analyze it too much. Many have formed a habit of analyzing everything every day. If a person holds a wish for ten years and every day analyses it in his mind he acts against it. Every day he looks at it from a new point-of-view, he tries to find the wrong points of his own wish and so he tries to crush it in every way possible. In ten years’ time his wish would have come true, and instead it is broken to pieces. There are many intellectual people, many people who doubt, many analytical persons who are the greatest enemies of their wish.

然而，一旦一個人已經具有辨別力，也選定了一個願望，就不應再對它作過度分析。許多人養成了每天分析一切事物的習慣。如果一個人懷抱一個願望十年，卻每天都在頭腦中分析它，那麼他其實是在與自己的願望作對。每天，他都換一個新的角度審視它，試圖找出自己願望中不對的地方，用一切可能的方式把它壓碎。原本十年之後，他的願望或許早已實現，結果卻反而被拆解得支離破碎。有許多知識分子、許多充滿懷疑的人、許多習慣分析的人，正是自己願望最大的敵人。

Praying for the wish
為願望祈禱

And now comes the question whether it is wrong if a person expresses his wish in prayer, for many people say, “God knows everything, so why should we tell God that such and such a thing should be done. God knows the secret of every heart. Besides, is it not selfish to bring our wish before God? If it is a good wish, it must come true of itself.”

現在又有一個問題：一個人在祈禱中表達自己的願望，是否是不對的？許多人會說：「神知道一切，那麼我們為什麼還要告訴神，希望某件事如何如何？神知道每一顆心中的祕密。再說，把自己的願望帶到神面前，難道不是自私嗎？如果這是一個好的願望，它自然就應該實現。」

The answer is that prayer is a reminder to God, prayer is a song sung before God who enjoys it, who hears it, who is reminded about something. But one thinks, “How can our prayer, our little voice reach God?” It reaches God through our ears. God is within us. If our soul can hear our voice, God can hear it too. Prayer is the best way, because the wish is beautifully expressed, which harmonizes us with God, which brings about a greater relationship between man and God.

答案是，祈禱是對神的一種提醒；祈禱是在神面前唱出的一首歌，神欣然聆聽，也因此被提醒了某件事。但人會想：「我們的祈禱，我們這麼微小的聲音，怎麼可能到達神那裡？」它透過我們自己的耳朵到達神。神就在我們之內。如果我們的靈魂能聽見自己的聲音，神也能聽見。祈禱是最好的方式，因為願望在祈禱中得到美好的表達，使我們與神和諧，並使人與神之間產生更深的連結。

Cherishing the wish
珍重並護持願望

Then one may ask whether it is good to think about the wish one has. One can never think too many times of the wish one has. Dream about it, think about it and imagine it, keep it in mind, retain it in mind and do everything possible towards its fulfillment, but with poise, with tranquillity, with patience, with confidence, with ease, and not by thinking hard about it.

那麼，人或許會問：經常想著自己的願望是不是一件好事？對自己真正懷抱的願望，想再多次也不為過。夢想它、思念它、想像它，把它放在心上，讓它一直留在心中，並盡一切可能朝它的實現前進；然而，要以沉著、安寧、耐心、信心與從容來做，而不是緊繃地用力想著它。

The one who thinks hard about his wish destroys it, for it is just like overheating, or giving too much water to a plant: the very thing that should help it, destroys it. If a person worries about his wish he certainly either has no patience, or he has some fear or some doubt; all these things destroy the wish.

一個過度用力去想自己願望的人，反而會摧毀它。這就像讓植物過熱，或給植物澆太多水：原本應該幫助它成長的東西，反而摧毀了它。如果一個人為自己的願望憂心，他必然不是缺乏耐心，就是心中存有某種恐懼或懷疑；而這一切都會摧毀願望。

The wish must be cherished easily, with comfort, with hope, with confidence and with patience. Doubt is like rust, it eats into it; fear is still worse, it destroys it.

願望必須以從容的方式珍護，以安然、希望、信心與耐心來培育。懷疑就像鏽蝕，會一點一點侵蝕它；恐懼則更加糟糕，會直接摧毀它。

When a person has no discrimination and is not sure whether it is a right wish or a wrong one, whether it should come true or not, one day he says, “I should so much like it to come true”; another day he says, “I do not care if it comes true.” After a week he says anew, “I so much wish it to come true,” and after a month, “Oh, I do not care now.” It is just like making a fire and then putting it out, then making the fire again and again putting it out. Every time he extinguishes the fire it is gone, he will have to make it anew. And so, if a person has formed a wish and cherished it for ten years, each time it is broken he has to make it anew.

當一個人缺乏辨別力，不確定自己的願望究竟是對是錯，也不知道它究竟應不應該實現時，今天他會說：「我真的非常希望它成真。」隔天卻又說：「它成不成真，我其實無所謂。」一週之後，他又說：「我真的非常希望它成真。」一個月後卻又說：「哦，我現在不在乎了。」這就像點起一團火，然後又把它熄滅；接著再點燃，再把它熄滅。每一次把火熄滅，火就消失了，之後只能重新點起。同樣地，如果一個人形成了一個願望，珍護了十年，但中間每一次又親手把它打斷，他就必須一次又一次重新開始。

What wish is desirable
什麼樣的願望值得追求

And now comes the question what wish is the most desirable. This depends upon one’s own stage of evolution. A person who is only so much evolved that he can make no greater wish than for the need of his daily life, let him do it. He must not think, “Because it is only the need of daily life it is nothing, I must wish for something higher.” He must not think that. If his heart is inclined to the need of daily life, he must think of it first. But if his heart thinks, “No, I cannot wish for this, I can think of something much higher” then he must take the consequences. The consequences will be that he will have to go through tests and trials, and if he does not mind this, so much the better.

現在便來到另一個問題：什麼樣的願望最值得追求？這取決於一個人自身的成長階段。如果一個人的成長程度，使他還無法懷抱比日常生活所需更高的願望，那就讓他先為日常所需而願。他不應該想：「這只不過是日常生活的需要，根本算不了什麼；我應該去願一個更高的東西。」他不應如此想。如果他的心所傾向的就是日常生活的需要，那麼他就應該先想到這些。但如果他的心說：「不，我無法以這些為願，我能想到更高的事物。」那麼他就必須承擔隨之而來的結果。這個結果就是，他將不得不經歷考驗與磨難；而如果他並不介意，那就更好了。

There are many things in this world which we want and which we need, and yet we do not necessarily think about them. If they come it is all right, and if they do not come we feel uncomfortable for a time, but that feeling passes. We cannot put our mind and thought upon them if we are evolved, because then we think of something else, of something higher; our thought is involved in something much higher and greater than what we need in everyday life. We do not pay attention to what we need and that slips from our grasp.

世上有許多東西是我們想要、也是我們需要的，然而我們未必會把心思放在它們上面。它們若來了，很好；若沒有來，我們也許會暫時感到不便，但那種感覺很快就會過去。當一個人的成長已達到某種程度，他便無法把自己的頭腦與思想投注在這些事情上，因為他已在思考別的事，思考更高的事物；他的思想已投入遠比日常生活所需更高、更廣大的事物。因此，他不再留意日常所需，而那些東西也就從他的掌握中溜走了。

It is therefore that great poets, thinkers and sages were very often hard up for things that one could get in everyday life. With all their power they could command gold to come to their house — and the gold would come, they only had to command it. If they commanded that an army was to come into their power it would come — the army and anything they would command. Yet they could not give their mind to it, they could only wish for something which was equal to their particular evolution.

正因如此，偉大的詩人、思想家與聖哲，往往反而缺乏一般人在日常生活中輕易就能獲得的東西。以他們所有的力量，他們甚至可以命令黃金來到自己的家中——黃金真的會來，他們只需要下令即可。如果他們命令一支軍隊歸於自己的掌握，那支軍隊也會來；任何他們所命令的事物都可能到來。然而，他們無法把自己的頭腦真正投注在那些事情上；他們只能真心願求與自身成長境界相稱的事物。

So each person can only wish for something equal to his evolution, he cannot properly wish for something which is beneath his evolution, even if he was told to do so. Very often in order to help a person in a certain situation I have said to him, “Now think of this particular object.” But being much more evolved than that he thought with his brain, his heart was somewhere else, and so it never came true. One can give one’s heart and mind and whole being to something which is equal to one’s evolution. If it is not equal one cannot give one’s whole being to it. Maybe a person gives his thought to it, but what is thought? Thought without feeling is no power. If the soul and the spirit are not at the back of it, there is no power.

因此，每一個人真正能夠願求的，只能是與自身成長程度相稱的事物；即使有人要求他這麼做，他也無法真正願求低於自己成長程度的東西。很多時候，為了幫助一個人處理某種處境，我會對他說：「現在，把心思放在這個特定的目標上。」然而，由於他的成長境界早已超過那個層次，他雖然用頭腦去想，心卻在別處，所以那件事始終沒有實現。一個人只能把自己的心、頭腦與整個存在，真正投注在與自己成長程度相稱的事物上。若兩者並不相稱，他就無法把整個存在交付其中。或許他能把思想放在那件事上，可是思想本身算什麼呢？沒有感受的思想並不具有力量。如果背後沒有靈魂與精神的支持，就沒有力量。

So this must be understood: that our wish must be different from what we need in everyday life. Never mix it! Always think that what we need in everyday life is one thing: something practical. Though if that be our wish, then it is all right. And then we are to cherish, to maintain our wish as something sacred, something given to us by God to cherish, to bring to fulfillment for it is in the fulfillment of one’s highest and best and deepest wish that lies the purpose of life.

因此，我們必須明白：我們的願望應當與日常生活中的需要有所區別。絕不要把兩者混為一談！要始終明白，日常生活所需是一回事，那是實際層面的事。當然，如果那本身就是我們真正的願望，也完全沒有問題。而對於真正的願望，我們則應當將它視為神聖之物來珍護、維持，把它看作神交付給我們、要我們好好珍護並使之圓滿實現的事物；因為生命的目的，就存在於一個人最高、最好、最深的願望得到實現之中。

Questions and answers
問與答

Question: Is there any way of finding out beforehand if a wish will be good for us?

Answer: That is the most difficult thing to say. It can only be done by training oneself, and that training is: always to have a good thought for everyone, a kind thought for everybody, to develop a consciousness of Justice within oneself, to have sympathy, to have goodwill for everyone in the world. If a person keeps this as a principle in his everyday life then every wish that will come to him will be productive of good results.

問：有沒有什麼方法，可以事先知道一個願望對我們而言是不是好的？

答：這是最難回答的事情。唯一的方法是訓練自己，而這項訓練就是：始終對每個人懷抱善意的念頭，對所有人抱持仁厚的心念，在自己之內培養公正的意識，對人具有體恤，並對世上每一個人懷有善意。如果一個人能把這些作為日常生活的原則，那麼凡是在他心中生起的願望，都會帶來良好的結果。

Question: Can we feel the accomplishment of a wish beforehand?

Answer: if one can feel the accomplishment of a wish beforehand it means that the wish is secure, that the wish is surely to be fulfilled. If with the wish you have got a feeling that this wish will come true, then it must come true. There is no doubt about it, because when you have that feeling it shows that you have no doubt, that there is nothing opposing it. Therefore that wish of yours is a promise at the same time.

問：我們能不能事先感受到一個願望將會實現？

答：如果一個人能預先感受到願望已經實現，那就表示這個願望是穩固的，它必然會得到實現。如果在懷抱願望的同時，你內在有一種感覺，知道這個願望一定會成真，那麼它必然會成真。這一點無庸置疑，因為當你具有這樣的感受時，就表示你心中沒有懷疑，也沒有任何與它相抗衡的力量。因此，你的這個願望同時也是一項應許。

Question: When Buddha said that we should have no desire, did he mean that we should have the attitude of a saint?

Answer: The Buddha never said that you should have no desire. The Buddha spoke of “the man who has no desire.” it never was the principle of Buddha that you must not have a desire; Buddha was too wise to commit himself like this. What is meant is that we must develop so that one day we may reach to that stage where naturally we shall have no desires. But if we have a desire and say, “Because Buddha has said that we must have no desire, therefore we must throw it away,” it is working against ourselves.

問：當佛陀說我們應當沒有欲望時，他的意思是不是說，我們應該採取聖者的態度？

答：佛陀從來沒有說過你「應該沒有欲望」。佛陀談的是「無欲之人」。佛陀的教導從來不是要求人「不得有欲望」；佛陀太有智慧，不會作出這樣的斷言。真正的意思是，我們必須逐漸成長，直到有一天自然抵達一個不再有欲望的階段。但是，如果我們明明仍有欲望，卻說：「因為佛陀說我們不應該有欲望，所以我必須把它丟掉。」那就是在與自己作對。

It is just like a man who, having heard that a saint had lived without food for a very, very long time and had experienced exaltation, would say, “Well, I shall give up my lunch every day if I can become spiritual by it.” He may just as well have his lunch because he feels hungry. The one who went without food was not hungry, he had risen above it. We must have principles according to our stage of evolution, and never take principles higher than our stage of evolution, forcing ourselves to abide by them.

這就像一個人聽說某位聖者曾經極長時間不進食，並因此體驗到崇高的靈性境界，於是便說：「好吧，如果這樣可以讓我變得更有靈性，那麼我每天都不要吃午餐。」其實他還是應該去吃午餐，因為他明明感到飢餓。那位不進食的人並不感到飢餓，他已經超越了這種需要。我們所遵循的原則必須與自己的成長階段相稱，絕不可採取高於自身成長階段的原則，再強迫自己去遵守。

Question: Does it matter if one has several wishes at the same time?

Answer: Suppose one did salt and sweet and savory and pepper all together in the mouth, how would the taste be? It would come to nothing. And so each wish destroys the other. You may have five best wishes at the same time, but one wish will destroy the other; therefore there is not one wish that you will enjoy. Besides, it is only to one wish that you can give your greatest power.

問：同時懷有好幾個願望，會有影響嗎？

答：假設一個人把鹹的、甜的、鮮香的、辛辣的味道全部同時放進嘴裡，那會是什麼滋味？最後什麼味道也品嘗不出來。同樣地，每一個願望都會彼此削弱。你或許同時擁有五個最美好的願望，但一個願望會破壞另一個願望；結果沒有任何一個願望能讓你真正享受到它的成果。更何況，你最大的力量只能投注在一個願望上。

Question: The other day you said, “The one who turns his back to the world – the whole world runs after him.” How is this to be understood?

Answer: This can be understood by seeing two persons bargaining. For instance a peddler at the dock of Alexandria comes with an object, and you say, “How beautiful. I like it. How much will you take for it?” As soon as you have said this he wants you to give as high a price as he wishes to get from you. As soon as you turn your back and say, “I do not care for it”, he comes after you and says, “Will you take it for half the price?” If you go still further and still turn your back, he will give it to you for the quarter of it. Exactly the same is the nature of this world; it is a greedy world. You follow it, it runs from you; you turn your back to it, it comes after you.

問：前幾天你說：「一個人若轉身背向世界，整個世界反而會追著他而來。」這句話應該如何理解？

答：看看兩個人討價還價，就能理解這一點。比如說，在亞歷山卓港口，一個小販拿著一件東西走過來，你說：「真漂亮，我很喜歡。你要賣多少錢？」你一說出這句話，他立刻就會希望你付出他所能開出的最高價格。但只要你轉過身去說：「我不在乎這東西。」他便會追上來問：「半價賣給你，要不要？」如果你繼續往前走，仍然背對著他，他甚至會用四分之一的價格賣給你。這個世界的本性正是如此；這是一個貪求的世界。你追逐它，它便逃離你；你轉身背向它，它反而追著你而來。

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