25. Belief and Faith
25. 信念與信心

August 3, 1926

1926 年 8 月 3 日

Belief and Faith
信念與信心

Beloved Ones of God,

神所摯愛的人們：

This evening I would like to speak on the question of belief and faith. Very often we confuse the word “belief” with “faith.” Belief is a settled thought; as long as thought is wavering, it is not belief. When a person says, “I wonder, is it so or is it not so?”, that does not mean belief. He may appear to believe but he does not believe. Belief means the thought has settled in the mind and it is difficult to root it out. And yet belief is not necessarily faith, because faith is the culmination of belief. Faith is that belief which is no longer settled thought, but is in the very being of the person. Although we use the words faith and belief for the same thing in our everyday life, when we come to analyze and understand them from the metaphysical point of view, belief and faith are quite different.

今晚我想談談信念與信心這個問題。我們常常把「信念」與「信心」混為一談。信念是一個已經安定下來的思想；只要思想仍在搖擺，就還不能稱為信念。當一個人說：「我不知道，究竟是這樣，還是不是這樣？」這並不表示他有信念。他看起來也許相信，實際上卻並未真正相信。信念意味著一個思想已在頭腦中安定下來，而且很難將它連根拔除。然而，信念未必就是信心，因為信心是信念的最高完成。信心，就是那個不再只是安定下來的思想，而已存在於一個人整個生命存在之中的信念。 雖然在日常生活裡，我們常把「信心」與「信念」當作同一回事，但當我們從形而上的觀點加以分析與理解時，信念與信心其實十分不同。

People have used the word “faith” for a person’s religion, but that is another thing. It is very good to say that one has a Christian faith, another a Muslim faith, and another a Jewish faith. If a Christian has a Christian faith, if a Muslim has a Muslim faith, if a Jew has a Jewish faith, what more do you want? Because faith is no longer Christian or Muslim or Jewish; once a person has reached faith, he no longer needs a faith; he is above all religions.

人們也會用 faith 這個字來指一個人所信奉的宗教，但那又是另一回事。說一個人信奉基督宗教，另一個人信奉伊斯蘭教，另一個人信奉猶太教，這樣說很好。一個基督徒若有基督宗教的信仰，一個穆斯林若有伊斯蘭教的信仰，一個猶太人若有猶太教的信仰，你還能要求什麼呢？因為真正的信心已不再是基督宗教的、伊斯蘭教的，或猶太教的；一旦一個人抵達了信心，他就不再需要某一種宗教信仰；他已超越一切宗教。

In the Eastern languages, in the Hindustani language, they separate the word “faith” which is used in everyday language, from the other word, which is used in connection with one’s spiritual evolution. That faith is called iman. Yaqin is a settled belief; iman is the culmination of faith.

在東方語言中，在印度斯坦語裡，人們會把日常語言中所說的「信」與另一個用來指涉靈性進化的詞區分開來。後者稱為 iman。Yaqin 是已經安定下來的信念；iman 則是信心的最高完成。

When you say, “It is so,” that means belief. But when you say, “It cannot be otherwise,” that means faith. And when you say, “I wonder,” it is imagination.

當你說：「事情就是如此。」那是信念。可是當你說：「事情不可能不是如此。」那就是信心。而當你說：「我不知道是不是如此。」那則是想像。

Stages Between Belief and Faith
信念與信心之間的階段

There are four stages of iman, which means four stages between belief and faith.

Iman 有四個階段，也就是信念與信心之間的四個階段。

1. The first stage is called by Sufis iman mujmal, which means faith of the crowd. Where there are ten persons standing, the eleventh person goes and stands with them also, and if there are fifty persons waiting for an airplane, waiting to come from the South, there may be nothing in that airplane, but because there are fifty persons standing, there will be a hundred in fifty minutes’ time. They only have to make up their mind: there is something coming and we should wait for it, and then you will see a thousand persons standing by their side, not knowing whether it is coming or not coming. But because there are fifty persons standing looking at the sky, that is quite enough. That is the psychology of the crowd, and so the crowd is attracted and so the crowd is led.
   
   第一個階段，蘇菲稱為 iman mujmal，意思是群眾的信。只要有十個人站在那裡，第十一個人也會走過去和他們站在一起。如果有五十個人在等待一架從南方飛來的飛機，那架飛機上也許根本沒有什麼特別的東西，可是只因為已有五十個人站在那裡，五十分鐘後就會變成一百個人。他們只需要認定：「有什麼東西要來了，我們應該等著。」接著你就會看到一千個人站在他們旁邊，甚至不知道那東西究竟會不會來。可是，只要有五十個人站在那裡望著天空，就已經足夠了。這就是群眾心理；群眾就是這樣被吸引，也是這樣被帶領的。

And when it comes to spiritual things, it is therefore that success before the crowd is not always the sign of spiritual progress. Besides, what is approved by the crowd as something beautiful is not necessarily beautiful. What is approved by the crowd to be something valuable, may not be so valuable. If it is considered by the crowd that it is something good, it may not be good. Or what is considered great by the crowd, it may not be great and yet it has the appearance of being great, because the crowd calls it great; but what the crowd holds does not remain longer.

因此，談到靈性的事，在群眾面前獲得成功，並不總是靈性進步的標誌。此外，群眾認定為美的事物，不一定真的美；群眾認為有價值的事物，也未必真有那麼大的價值。群眾認為是好的，未必真好；群眾認為是偉大的，也未必真偉大。只是因為群眾稱它為偉大，它便顯得偉大；然而群眾所擁護的事物，並不會長久維持。

Remember that day when Kaiser was esteemed high. Can you imagine the belief of the people that day? Numberless souls were ready to give their lives for him. Before the Tsar was dethroned, every shop in Russia had Tsar and Tsarina’s picture. And the day when he went away, they made a crown and hammered it in the street and people looked at it and laughed. What was President Wilson one day in America? It did not take long for everyone to turn their backs to him.

想想當年德皇備受尊崇的時候。你能想像當時人們對他的信念有多強嗎？無數人願意為他犧牲生命。沙皇被廢黜之前，俄羅斯每一家商店裡都掛著沙皇與皇后的照片。然而到了他離去的那一天，人們做了一頂王冠，把它丟在街上敲打，旁人看著發笑。威爾遜總統在美國也曾是何等的人物？可是沒過多久，所有人便都背棄了他。

What was once praised was blamed at the other time. That is the crowd. It does not take them long to raise a person, it does not take them time to throw a person. Because it is not faith. They call it faith in the church, but the faith of the crowd is not faith.

一度受到讚美的，到了另一個時候便受到責難。這就是群眾。群眾不需要多久就能把一個人捧高，也不需要多久就能把一個人摔下來。因為這不是真正的信心。在教會裡，人們把它稱為信仰；可是群眾的信，並不是真正的信心。

2. And then there is a second step. The second step in belief is belief in authority. They do not say, “Because this person says this, and that person says that, therefore I believe it;” or, “Some scripture in which I have trust, in that scripture it is written and therefore I believe it.” Among these people there has come a division. There is one kind of people who will believe anything that history, geography, mathematics, or any book in the library of the university tells them. But they will not believe anything that tradition tells them, that religion tells them, that a priest tells them, that a prophet has told. They do not see the reason in one thing and they do see the reason in the other. This shows that today the authority has changed. The material authority is considered to be something, but a spiritual authority is not recognized by the intelligent.
   
   接著是第二個階段。信念的第二個階段，是相信權威。人會說：「因為這個人這麼說，那個人那麼說，所以我相信。」或者：「某部我所信任的經典裡是這樣寫的，所以我相信。」而在這樣的人當中，又出現了分化。有一種人，凡是歷史、地理、數學，或大學圖書館裡任何一本書告訴他的，他都願意相信；可是傳統告訴他的、宗教告訴他的、祭司告訴他的，或先知曾經說過的，他卻一概不信。他們在一者之中看不出道理，卻在另一者之中看見道理。這顯示今日的權威已經改變了。物質層面的權威被認為具有分量，而靈性的權威卻不再為自認聰明的人所承認。
   
3. And now coming to the third stage of belief. That belief is that it is not because someone says so, nor is it because the crowd says so, but, “I think so, that is why I believe it.” That is a wonderful belief. But if a person who is simple and unevolved thinks that what he believes or what he reasons is the right thing, and does not believe in the authority or in the crowd, instead of going upwards he will be going downwards. And very often it happens that a simple one is more fixed in his ideas than a person who is reasoning.
   
   現在來到信念的第三個階段。這種信念不是因為某個人這麼說，也不是因為群眾這麼說，而是：「我自己這樣想，所以我相信。」這是一種很了不起的信念。然而，如果一個單純而尚未成熟的人認為自己所相信、所推理出來的就是正確的，既不相信權威，也不理會群眾，那麼他非但沒有向上，反而會向下走。很多時候，思想單純的人反而比真正會推理的人更固執於自己的觀念。

Very often a simple person has no reason, and he is fixed on his idea; and you may bring before him any reason, and yet he will not listen to it. He says, “That is what I believe; what the crowd believes, I do not care. If it is written in the scriptures, in history, if professors, doctors, scientists, priests, or clergy say it, I do not believe it.” That becomes a kind of illusion, a kind of madness, because a person who believes in his reason independently of the crowd and of the authorities must be ready to understand the reason of another and must be simple enough to give up his reasoning when another person’s reasoning appeals to him.

一個思想單純的人常常沒有什麼道理可言，卻牢牢執著於自己的想法；你無論提出什麼理由，他都不肯聽。他會說：「我就是這樣相信；群眾相信什麼，我不在乎。即使經典裡這麼寫，歷史這麼說，教授、醫生、科學家、祭司或神職人員這麼說，我也不相信。」這就會變成一種幻覺、一種瘋狂。因為一個不依附群眾與權威，而相信自己理性的人，也必須準備好去理解別人的道理；當別人的推理能夠說服他時，他也必須足夠單純，願意放下自己原先的推理。

Very often reasoning becomes rigid in the case of the simpleton, because he covers the reasoning with his personality. He calls his reason his own reason and the reason of another is another person’s reason, and there is no relation between another person and himself. He thinks another person’s reason is his property, his own reason is his property, and therefore he is not ready to understand.

對愚昧的人而言，推理常常會變得僵化，因為他把自己的個性覆蓋在推理之上。他把自己的道理看成「我的道理」，把別人的道理看成「那個人的道理」，彷彿自己與他人毫無關係。他認為別人的道理屬於別人，自己的道理屬於自己，因此他沒有準備好去理解。

And then we come to reason. Reason is as a cover, a cover behind which there is another cover. And if we go on penetrating one cover after another, there are numberless covers we can penetrate, and yet there will be another reason behind it.

接著我們來看理性本身。理性就像一層覆蓋，而這層覆蓋後面還有另一層。當我們一層又一層地穿透下去，可以穿透無數層覆蓋，而每一層之後，仍會有另一個理由。

4. And now coming to the fourth belief, which is called inul iman, the perfect belief. This belief is as good as if one has seen something with one’s eyes and one cannot deny it. When someone sees that this is a table, he cannot say, “This is not a table.” And when he begins to see the truth from the inner eye, he cannot deny it; he sees it. But even that iman, that belief, culminates into a belief where you do not have to hold a belief; you yourself become truth. Truth becomes your being. Your belief is no longer your idea, your belief is your own self. That is the perfection of belief. It is that which is called faith and it is those who have reached that stage who are called faithful in the spiritual sense of the word.
   
   現在來到第四種信念，稱為 inul iman，也就是圓滿的信念。這種信念，就像一個人親眼看見了某件事，因此再也無法否認它。當一個人看見眼前是一張桌子，他就不能說：「這不是一張桌子。」而當一個人開始以內在之眼看見真理時，他同樣無法否認；因為他已經看見了。然而，即使這樣的 iman、這樣的信念，最終仍會臻至另一種境地：你不再需要持守某個信念，因為你自己已成為真理。真理成為你的存在。你的信念不再只是你的觀念；你的信念就是你自己。這就是信念的圓滿。這才稱為信心；而那些抵達這個階段的人，在靈性的意義上，才是真正有信心的人。

Attitude Toward Clergy, Teacher & Prophet
對神職人員、老師與先知的態度

Now I would like to speak about what attitude one has to have towards the teacher on the spiritual path, towards the clergy on the spiritual path, and towards the prophet on the spiritual path. Because there are these three directions: the priest is one direction, the initiator is another direction, and the prophet is another direction. And towards these three the attitude must be distinct, peculiar, and different.

現在我想談談，在靈性道路上，我們應當以什麼態度對待老師、神職人員，以及先知。因為這裡有三個不同的方向：祭司代表一個方向，啟蒙者代表另一個方向，先知又代表另一個方向。因此，對這三者所抱持的態度，必須各自分明，具有其獨特之處，也彼此不同。

Attitude Toward the Priest
對祭司的態度

Towards the priest there ought to be an attitude of respect, not only respecting the person, but respecting what is taught, the direction that is given by the priest. By this I do not mean to say the priest of this particular religion or that particular religion. I am especially telling you of these three different persons who come into one’s life. One is the authority of religion, the other is the authority of esotericism, and the third is the prophet.

對祭司應當抱持尊敬的態度；不只是尊敬這個人，也尊敬他所教導的內容，以及祭司所給予的引導。我這裡並不是特別指某一宗教或另一宗教的祭司。我所要說的，是生命中可能出現的這三種不同人物：一種代表宗教的權威，一種代表祕傳修行的權威，第三種則是先知。

Only, when on the spiritual path what one has to be careful of is this, that too much conventionality and rule and direction may bury a soul. Very often when people regard the rigid rules and conventionalities they become so narrow and so external that everything must be just like this, and if it is not like this then it is a sin. Hands must be washed at a certain time, feet must be washed at a certain time, clothes must be in this way, one must stand in that way, look in that way, act in a certain way. And if it is not done, then it is not right, it is a sin. And in all parts of the world you will see the minister with his whip raised when a person has not done things that he ought to do rightly in his life.

然而，在靈性道路上，有一件事必須特別留意：過多的慣例、規矩與指示，可能會把一個靈魂埋沒。人一旦過度看重僵硬的規則與慣例，往往就會變得非常狹隘，只在意外在形式，認為一切都必須完全照某種方式進行；只要不是如此，就是罪。手必須在某個時候洗，腳必須在某個時候洗，衣服必須這樣穿，人必須那樣站、那樣看、那樣行動；若沒有照做，就是不對，就是罪。在世界各地，你都會看見宗教人士彷彿舉起鞭子，只因一個人沒有照他認為人生中應當遵循的方式行事。

But when there is an insolence and a contempt and a prejudice towards a religious authority, it means that this person is not respecting that which is something spiritual. It is a step higher. And if one has no respect for it, it only means the person is going downhill. The soul who is guided from within will always find instinctively a desire to respect a religious man, no matter what religion he belongs to, be he a rabbi, a Catholic priest, or a clergyman from the Protestant Church. No matter what religion he is, you cannot but feel respect towards that person when intuitively there is a leaning towards religion.

但若一個人對宗教權威抱持傲慢、蔑視與偏見，那就表示他對其中所承載的靈性之物缺乏尊重。宗教本身仍代表著較高一步的層次；若一個人對此毫無尊重，只表示他正在走下坡。一個受到內在引導的靈魂，總會本能地想要尊敬宗教人士，無論那個人屬於哪一種宗教，不論他是拉比、天主教神父，或新教的牧師。無論他信奉什麼宗教，只要一個人內在本能地傾向宗教，就很難不對這樣的人產生敬意。

And if we have to criticize them, of course there are many faults, but have we not great faults ourselves? Can a human being be perfect? God alone is perfect. If we look at their faults we gain nothing, except the fruits which we have looked at, we collect them. But we can just as well look at the good side of it.

如果我們一定要批評他們，當然可以找出許多缺點；可是我們自己難道沒有很大的缺點嗎？人怎麼可能完美？唯有神是完美的。若我們只看他們的缺點，我們什麼也得不到；我們所注視的果實，反而會由自己收下。我們同樣也可以選擇看見其中美好的一面。

Besides, in respecting a religious man, it need not be that we are respecting every belief or dogma or idea he has to teach. Is it not enough to think of religion as something sacred, and have a respectful attitude towards every person who is doing the work of religion?

此外，尊敬一位宗教人士，並不表示我們必須認同他所教導的每一個信念、教條或觀念。只要我們把宗教本身視為神聖之事，並對每一位從事宗教工作的人抱持尊敬的態度，難道還不夠嗎？

It is also necessary to think of those in our Sufi Movement who are made Cherags and Sirajs. If we ourselves will not respect them and will not appreciate their devotion to the Cause and their service towards it, we are just like a child who is not inclined to respect the elder ones in his own family. It is for the dignity of the Cause, it is for the honor of the Message, of the Movement, that those who are ordained as Cherags and those who are made Sirajs be given due consideration. There is no pleasure in not doing it, but in doing it there is a great pleasure.

我們也必須想到蘇菲運動中被任命為契拉格（Cherag）與西拉吉（Siraj）的人。如果連我們自己都不尊敬他們，也不珍視他們對這份志業的奉獻與服務，我們就像一個不願尊敬自己家中長輩的孩子。為了這份志業的尊嚴，為了神聖訊息與蘇菲運動的榮譽，那些被按立為契拉格，以及被任命為西拉吉的人，都應當得到應有的尊重。不這樣做，並不會帶來任何喜悅；而這樣做，卻能帶來很大的喜悅。

[譯註] 契拉格（Cherag）在 Hazrat Inayat Khan 所建立的蘇菲運動中，指經過按立、可主持 Universal Worship（普世禮拜）等宗教儀式的宗教職銜；原義帶有「燈、光明」之意。

[譯註] 西拉吉（Siraj）在蘇菲運動中，是高於 Cherag 的宗教職銜，承擔更進一步的宗教服務與帶領職責；siraj 原義亦與「燈、明燈」相關。

I will tell you my own experiences of childhood. In the different kingdoms of India, the Orientals especially have more conventionality, more bowing and bending and greeting. And with new ideas in my head, I thought, “Is it necessary?” It was a question. But at the same time one cannot help it; where there is a conventionality so much spread one cannot keep from it. But the moment I began to greet people in that conventional way I began to enjoy it. The more I did it the more I enjoyed it, because it brought joy to another, but to yourself just the same. For by the very fact that you give joy to another, you get it back ten times. It is automatic. That proudness, that conceit, that hardness, that rigidness of “Oh no, I shall not respect him, I shall not bow or bend before anyone,” only makes him as a brick: he is turned into a rock, more rigid every time.

我可以告訴你們我童年的親身經驗。在印度不同的邦國裡，東方人尤其重視禮俗，有更多鞠躬、俯身與問候的禮節。那時我腦中有許多新觀念，便想：「這有必要嗎？」這對我而言曾是一個疑問。但另一方面，人也很難完全避開這些禮節；當一種禮俗普遍存在於整個社會，就不可能完全置身事外。然而，當我開始按照這些傳統禮節向人致意時，我漸漸開始享受其中的喜悅。我越這麼做，就越覺得喜悅，因為它不只帶給別人喜悅，也同樣帶給自己喜悅。你只要帶給別人喜悅，那份喜悅便會十倍回到自己身上。這是自然發生的。而那種驕傲、自負、僵硬與頑固——「喔，不，我才不要尊敬他，我絕不向任何人低頭或彎腰」——只會使一個人像磚塊一樣；他會逐漸變成岩石，而且一次比一次更加僵硬。

Attitude Toward the Initiator
對啟蒙者的態度

And now coming to the question of what attitude one must have towards one’s initiator. If a person will not stand like a child before his initiator, he will not derive benefit out of his teaching. The one who comes before his initiator with a thought that, “I have brought before him certain knowledge which I already had, and now I want more to be added,” is wrong; it should be thrown away. The one who comes to his initiator with the thought that he must find out if it is right or wrong or he must find out what will happen, he is wasting his time and fooling himself; he will never gain by it. He could just as well have gone and done some business and got some money.

現在談到一個人對自己的啟蒙者應當抱持什麼態度。若一個人在自己的啟蒙者面前不能像孩子一樣，他便無法從其教導中獲益。若一個人來到啟蒙者面前，心裡想著：「我已經帶著自己原有的知識來了，現在只想再增加一些。」這種態度是錯的；原有的東西應該先放下。若一個人來到啟蒙者面前，只想弄清楚這究竟對不對，或只想看看接下來會發生什麼，那麼他只是在浪費時間，也是在愚弄自己；他永遠不會真正有所獲得。他還不如去做生意，賺些錢回來。

What the initiator gives as an instruction, as an exercise, must be taken just like the prescription of the doctor. And if one says, “No, I will not do it today, I am tired now and I do not know how it can do me any good,” one’s mind is not in the right place. One should not have taken the trouble of going to the initiator and having given him the trouble. And if a person does the practices and has no faith in them, nor in the initiator, then he will not receive benefit just the same.

啟蒙者所給予的指導與練習，應當像醫生開出的處方一樣接受。如果一個人說：「不，我今天不想做。我現在累了，而且我不知道這對我到底有什麼好處。」那表示他的頭腦並不在正確的位置。既然如此，他原本就不必費事去找啟蒙者，也不必讓啟蒙者為他費心。而如果一個人雖然做了這些練習，卻對這些練習、也對啟蒙者沒有信心，那麼他同樣無法從中獲益。

It is very easy to say, “I know this,” but it is very difficult to say, “I know nothing.” And the moment one says, “I know nothing,” that is the moment one begins to learn and to know what is worth knowing. Never go to your initiator therefore with knowledge. No matter how much knowledge you have, it is of no use, it is not wanted there. It is not the path that requires knowledge to be taken to the initiator. The best thing is to keep it away and go like an empty cup that may be filled. The cup that is already full with something will not be filled.

說「這個我知道」很容易；要說「我什麼都不知道」卻很困難。而一個人說出「我什麼都不知道」的那一刻，正是他開始學習，並開始知道什麼才真正值得知道的時候。因此，不要帶著知識去見你的啟蒙者。無論你擁有多少知識，在那裡都派不上用場，那裡並不需要它。這條道路並不是要你把知識帶到啟蒙者面前。最好的方式，是把那些知識先放在一旁，像一只空杯前去，好讓它能被注滿。已經裝滿東西的杯子，是無法再被注滿的。

And one might ask, “Are they not all initiated in the Sufi Order, whoever comes? Are they examined, are they tested, are they tried before their coming, that they come without anything?” It must be known that the method of the Sufi Order is different. The method of the Sufi Order is that the first initiation is to welcome, to admit. But after that every step one takes is examined more. One does not know it, but it is so.

有人也許會問：「難道任何來到蘇菲教團的人，不都會接受啟蒙嗎？他們來之前難道經過考察、測試或試煉，好讓他們能空著手前來嗎？」必須了解，蘇菲教團的方法不同。蘇菲教團的方式是：第一次啟蒙，是歡迎，是接納；可是從那之後，一個人所走的每一步，都會受到更進一步的考察。本人也許不知道，但事實確實如此。

Besides that, it must be understood that what you can take from the initiator by sympathy you cannot take by discussion. It is your sympathy which draws out the sympathy of your initiator, and what comes through that is the real knowledge. The spiritual knowledge is never taught. Even the initiator cannot teach it in words; it is imparted, and that comes without words. It comes by a current of sympathy from the teacher to the pupil.

此外，必須明白：你能透過同理從啟蒙者那裡獲得的，無法透過討論來獲得。是你的同理，引出了啟蒙者對你的同理；而真正的知識，正是透過這一點傳遞而來。靈性知識從來不是被「教」出來的。即使啟蒙者也無法用言語教導它；它是被傳遞的，而且這種傳遞不透過言語。它藉著一股同理的流動，從老師傳向學生。

Those who understand the real meaning of esoteric teaching, the initiator and the pupil, know that this is the most blessed friendship that there is. A friendship in the path of God, in the path of light, in the path of truth. And besides that, every worldly point of view must be kept away in connection with your initiator. One must know that what comes to one from the initiator cannot be valued, it cannot be priced, it cannot be made limited. And therefore there must not be a thought of reckoning, of give and take.

真正理解祕傳教導意義的人——無論是啟蒙者或學生——都知道，這是世上最受祝福的一種友誼：是在神的道路上、光的道路上、真理的道路上的友誼。此外，在與啟蒙者的關係中，一切世俗的觀點都必須放在一旁。一個人必須明白，從啟蒙者那裡得到的東西無法衡量，無法定價，也不能加以限制。因此，其中不應存在計較，也不應有你給我、我給你的交易心態。

Attitude Toward the Prophet
對先知的態度

And there is an attitude that one can have towards the prophet. The attitude towards the prophet must be so sacred that you cannot put it into words, an idea which you cannot express before another person. As soon as you express your idea before another person and put it into words, you only limit it.

至於對先知，則又有另一種態度。對先知的態度必須神聖到無法用言語表達；那是一個甚至無法在另一個人面前說明的觀念。只要你把這個觀念向別人說出來，一旦把它放進言語裡，你就已經限制了它。

For instance, a Buddhist who, in order to convince a Hindu says, “Lord Buddha was the World Teacher,” do you think he is raising Buddha? No, he is pulling him down. What is the world? The universe is greater than the world. One cannot raise the prophet high enough. And as soon as one makes efforts by words — if a Muslim says that Muhammad was one of the many great prophets, only he was a little greater than the others — he brings him lower in the listener’s estimation.

例如，一個佛教徒若為了說服一個印度教徒而說：「佛陀是世界導師。」你認為他是在提升佛陀嗎？不是，他反而把佛陀降低了。世界算什麼？宇宙比世界更廣大。人永遠無法把先知放得夠高。而只要一個人試圖用言語去界定——例如一個穆斯林說，穆罕默德是眾多偉大先知之一，只不過比其他先知稍微偉大一點——那麼在聽者心中，他反而把穆罕默德降低了。

Why compare? Comparison is not necessary. Our mouth is too small to compare the Great Ones. We are not entitled to fix them as so and so, saying that there are four masters coming, or ten masters coming, or eight masters in the world, and that to each master we assign an area on the map of the world. It is all insolence.

為什麼要比較？比較並沒有必要。我們的口太小，根本不足以衡量那些偉大者。我們沒有資格替他們劃定位置，說有四位聖師將要到來，或十位聖師將要到來，或世界上有八位聖師，然後再把世界地圖上的某個區域分配給每一位聖師。這一切都是傲慢無禮。

At all times, whenever the Message was given, the thoughtful have always refrained from limiting their prophet by words. And if there ever came a question of comparison of one teacher with another, they have always said, “Is it not one Soul, not one Spirit, the Spirit of Guidance?” No matter in how many names and in how many forms the Spirit of Guidance comes, it is the same. Why compare the outward appearances? And what are we to compare with our limited knowledge? Those who happen to live in the time when the prophetic message is given and those who are brought into the presence of the prophet to listen to the living words, if they will not seal their lips, who should seal them?

在任何時代，每當神聖訊息被帶來，有思考力的人總會避免以言語限制自己的先知。而當人們想要比較一位老師與另一位老師時，他們總會說：「難道不是同一個靈魂、同一個靈，也就是啟示之靈嗎？」無論啟示之靈以多少不同的名字、多少不同的形式出現，它始終是同一個。何必比較外在的形貌？而憑我們有限的知識，又能拿什麼來比較呢？那些恰好生在先知訊息被帶來的時代，並有幸被帶到先知面前、親自聆聽活生生話語的人，如果連他們都不知道閉口不言，那麼還有誰應當閉口呢？

Hafiz says, “Think of the shell in the sea. No sooner the dewdrop from Heaven falls into it, then it closes its lips. And what comes out of it after a time? A pearl, which is most valuable!”

哈菲茲說：「想想海中的貝殼吧。天上的露珠一落入其中，它便立刻閉起雙唇。過了一段時間，從中出現的是什麼？是一顆極其珍貴的珍珠！」

God Bless You.

願神祝福你們。

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