27. Faith and Doubt
27. 信心與懷疑

August 17, 1926

1926 年 8 月 17 日

Beloved Ones of God,

神所摯愛的人們：

Faith and doubt are as the light and the darkness. The moments of faith are like the moments of the day, and the moments of doubt are like the moments of the night. And as day and night both come in life, so the hours of faith and hours of darkness also come. And yet it is the seeking of the soul to reach that stage where it feels faith, and it is the nature of the soul to gather around itself doubts. Therefore the soul attracts both faith and doubt. If it happens to attract doubts more, then more doubts will be gathered. If it attracts faith, then more and more faith will come.

信心與懷疑，就如光明與黑暗。有信心的時刻如同白晝，懷疑的時刻如同黑夜。正如生命中白晝與黑夜都會來臨，信心的時刻與黑暗的時刻也同樣會來臨。然而，靈魂所尋求的是達到一個能感受到信心的境界，而靈魂的本性卻也會在自己周圍聚集懷疑。因此，靈魂既吸引信心，也吸引懷疑。如果它較多地吸引懷疑，便會聚集更多懷疑；如果它吸引信心，那麼信心就會愈來愈多。

Doubts are likened to the clouds. If there is one cloud, it will attract more clouds; and if there are clouds gathered together, still more clouds will be attracted to join them. And if there is one current of the sun shooting through the clouds it will scatter them. Once they are scattered, they will be scattered more and more, and more and more light will manifest to view. Doubts cover faith, but faith breaks doubts. Therefore faith is more dependable, and doubts only come and go.

懷疑好比雲。如果有一朵雲，它會吸引更多的雲；如果許多雲已聚集在一起，還會吸引更多的雲加入。然而，只要有一道陽光穿透雲層，就會將它們驅散。一旦開始散去，雲便會愈來愈散，而愈來愈多的光也會顯現出來。懷疑遮蔽信心，而信心能破除懷疑。因此，信心更為可靠；懷疑則只是來來去去。

It would not be an exaggeration if I said that doubt is a disease, a disease which takes away faith. It would be more appropriate to say that doubt is the rust that eats the iron-like faith. It is very easy to allow doubts to work, and it is difficult to keep faith. However much a person may be evolved, there comes a time when doubts take hold of him. And the moments when the person is in doubt the light of intelligence disappears.

如果我說懷疑是一種疾病，一種會奪去信心的疾病，並不算誇張。或者更恰當地說，懷疑就像鏽，會侵蝕如鐵一般的信心。讓懷疑發揮作用很容易，要守住信心卻很難。無論一個人進化到多高的程度，總會有被懷疑攫住的時候。而人在懷疑的那些時刻，智慧之光便消失了。

Therefore there is a constant conflict between doubt and faith. If there was not this enemy who always fought with faith, man could have done great things, wonderful things; every man would have done miracles, every man would have been perfect. But that shows that the greater your faith, the greater a person you are; the more deeply rooted your faith, the higher you reach.

因此，懷疑與信心之間始終存在著衝突。如果沒有這個總是與信心交戰的敵人，人原本可以成就偉大的事、奇妙的事；每個人都能行奇蹟，每個人都能達到圓滿。但這也顯示出：你的信心愈大，你就愈能成為偉大的人；你的信心扎根愈深，你所能達到的境界就愈高。

One might ask: is it possible to develop faith? Is it possible to find faith? Yes. In every person there is a spark of faith somewhere hidden. But sometimes it is so covered and clouded and buried that it needs digging out. And what is it buried with? With the sand of doubts. As soon as the sand is removed, then faith, like water, springs up.

有人也許會問：信心可以培養嗎？信心可以找到嗎？可以。每個人的內在某處，都隱藏著一點信心的火花。但有時它被遮得太深、被雲霧籠罩、被埋藏起來，以至於需要把它挖掘出來。它被什麼埋住了？被懷疑的沙所掩埋。一旦沙被移開，信心便如泉水般湧出。

One can study this principle in a child; a child is born with faith. When you say, “This is water; this is bread; this is father; this is mother,” the child does not refuse, the child does not say, “This is not so.” The child at once takes it that it is so. It is afterwards that doubts begin to come, when the infant is grown up and hears a story and says, “But is it real?” Then doubts begin. Very often worldly knowledge gives more and more doubts; the experiences of worldly life make one doubt more and more. And when doubt becomes predominant in a person’s nature, then he doubts everything and everyone.

我們可以從孩子身上觀察這個原則；孩子生來便有信心。當你說：「這是水；這是麵包；這是父親；這是母親。」孩子不會拒絕，也不會說：「不是這樣。」孩子立刻便接受事情就是如此。懷疑是後來才開始出現的。當幼兒漸漸長大，聽到一個故事而問：「但這是真的嗎？」懷疑便開始了。世俗的知識往往帶來愈來愈多的懷疑；世俗生活的經驗也使人愈來愈懷疑。而當懷疑在人本性中占了主導地位，他便會懷疑一切，也懷疑每一個人。

He doubts those who should not be doubted and he doubts those who can be doubted: there is always a doubt before his eyes. No sooner does he cast his glance upon a person than the cloud of doubt stands between them. In this way inspiration is lost, power is lost, personality is lost; man has become a machine, a mechanism.

他懷疑那些不該懷疑的人，也懷疑那些可以懷疑的人；他的眼前始終有一層懷疑。他的目光才一落到一個人身上，懷疑的雲便立刻橫在兩人之間。如此一來，靈感失去了，力量失去了，人的個性也失去了；人變成了一部機器、一套機械裝置。

In the business world, in the world of industry, a person does not care what your feelings are, what your being is, how much you are evolved, how deeply you feel, what your principles are, what your thoughts are. What he is concerned with is if you will sign the paper, if you will stamp that paper at once, and if there are two witnesses who see it at the same time!

在商業世界、工業世界裡，人並不在意你的感受是什麼、你是怎樣的一個人、你進化到什麼程度、你的感受有多深、你的原則是什麼、你的思想是什麼。他所關心的是：你會不會在文件上簽名，會不會立刻在文件上蓋章，以及是不是有兩名證人同時在場見證！

It does not matter what you are, who you are, as long as the paper is perfect. We are coming to mechanical perfection. Worldly, earthly perfection is what we seek after. Five hundred years ago (this shows how gradually the world has changed) a Hindustani poet wrote, “Those days have passed when there was a value attached to man’s personality.” And that is so. It has been going downwards for some centuries. It seems that man has no trust, no faith in another man. What he trusts is the written word.

你是什麼樣的人、你是誰，都不重要，只要文件完美無缺就行了。我們正在走向機械式的完美。我們追求的是世俗的、塵世的完美。五百年前——這顯示世界是多麼逐漸地改變——一位印度斯坦詩人寫道：「重視人的個性價值的那些日子已經過去了。」而事實確實如此。幾個世紀以來，這情形一直在走下坡。人似乎不再信任另一個人，對另一個人也沒有信心。他所信任的是白紙黑字。

In the Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice there is a beautiful teaching on this subject. The first part of the story is that Orpheus loved Eurydice, who was among the degenerated people. This shows that love even tried to raise a soul thrown down so deep in the depth of the earth. And then Orpheus knew that Eurydice was taken to the other world, and he began to sing a song by the power of which he won the gods of the lower worlds. And that shows us what power the word has, what power sound has, and how it appeals to cosmic forces.

在希臘的奧菲斯與尤麗狄絲故事中，有一個關於這個主題的美麗教導。故事的第一部分說，奧菲斯愛著尤麗狄絲，而她身處在墮落的人群之中。這顯示，即使一個靈魂已墜落到大地如此深的深處，愛仍試圖將它提升起來。後來奧菲斯得知尤麗狄絲被帶到了另一個世界，於是開始歌唱；憑藉歌聲的力量，他贏得了冥界眾神的允許。這向我們顯示了語詞具有怎樣的力量，聲音具有怎樣的力量，以及它如何能觸動宇宙的力量。

The gods of the lower world were the cosmic forces, planetary influences, the conditions which were destined, the spirits, the powers that held in their hands the rein of the destiny. Orpheus in Arabic means “the knower,” “the one who has the knowledge of life.” In Arabic the knowledge of life is called “Arifat,” and the knower is called “Arif.” This also shows us that the real knowledge is the knowledge of sound, the knowledge of rhythm, the knowledge of word and of note. It is this knowledge which gives mastery in the higher or mystical or psychological music. As Wagner says, “Who has the knowledge of sound knows everything.” Orpheus pleased the gods of the lower world, and they gave him the promise, “Eurydice will follow you, she follows you. The condition is that you will not look back.”

冥界眾神代表的是宇宙力量、行星的影響、命定的境況、眾靈，以及那些將命運韁繩掌握在手中的力量。Orpheus 在阿拉伯語中意為「知者」，也就是「具有生命知識的人」。在阿拉伯語中，生命的知識稱為「Arifat」，知者則稱為「Arif」。這也向我們顯示，真正的知識是對聲音的知識、對節奏的知識、對語詞與音符的知識。正是這樣的知識，使人得以精通更高層次的、神祕的或心理層面的音樂。正如華格納所說：「知曉聲音的人，便知曉一切。」奧菲斯取悅了冥界眾神，他們向他承諾：「尤麗狄絲會跟著你，她就在你身後。條件是你不可回頭。」

Now this is the point which is concerned with the subject: that faith should be continued to the end. And there is another point: that one may have faith when climbing a hundred steps. One may go with faith ninety-five steps, and one may lose it at that time. With four steps still to be climbed one may lose faith, doubt may come, and the whole journey may be spoiled. And it very often happens in the lives of so many people that they are face to face with their success, and yet they fail. They have just approached what they wanted and then they lose.

這正是與我們這個主題相關的重點：信心必須持續到最後。還有另一點：一個人在攀登一百階的階梯時，可能一直懷著信心。他也許帶著信心走了九十五階，卻在那時失去信心。只剩四階要爬時，他可能失去信心，懷疑可能出現，於是整段旅程都被毀了。許多人的生命中常常發生這樣的事：成功明明就在眼前，他們卻仍然失敗。他們才剛接近自己所想要的事物，接著便失去了它。

In nearly every person’s life you see it, and the greater the person the more you see this. Because the greater the person the more powerful his faith, and therefore he is able to see the value of faith. And at the same time it is just like sending a kite so far, and before it reached further it drops. And that enemy which causes this is doubt. As Orpheus went by the power of faith, Eurydice was drawn; his faith was drawing Eurydice. As he went forward in faith, so Eurydice was coming, following him. He could have gone to the other side of the world and Eurydice would have followed him. As much faith he had, so far Eurydice followed him. And there came doubt, the worst enemy of man, and said, “Look if she is really there.” As soon as he turned back Mercury was there to lift her up and take her away.

幾乎每個人的生命中都能看見這種情形，而且一個人愈偉大，便愈能看見這一點。因為一個人愈偉大，他的信心也愈有力量，因此他愈能看見信心的價值。然而，這同時也像把風箏放得很遠，眼看就要飛得更高時，卻突然墜落。而造成這一切的敵人就是懷疑。當奧菲斯憑著信心的力量前行時，尤麗狄絲便受到吸引；是他的信心吸引著尤麗狄絲。他帶著信心向前走，尤麗狄絲便隨之而來，跟在他身後。他即使走到世界的另一端，尤麗狄絲也會跟隨他。他有多少信心，尤麗狄絲便能跟隨他多遠。然而這時，懷疑——人最可怕的敵人——來了，對他說：「回頭看看她究竟在不在。」他一回頭，墨丘利便立即出現，把她提起並帶走了。

One might do something for his whole life and accomplish it to a great extent. And by the lack of a little more faith one would lose it, and all that was done might be spoiled in a moment’s time. How long does it take for a house to be built, and how long does it take to destroy it? How long does it take to make a business really prosperous, and how long does it take to fail? One moment. When one learns this principle and thinks on it, one begins to see that the whole world, with all that we hear and see and touch and feel, all this is illusion in the face of faith. Faith alone is reality; and compared with faith all else is unreal. But since we do not see faith with our own eyes, it is very difficult to call faith real and all else unreal. Because we don’t see faith, our eyes cannot see it and we don’t know where it is.

一個人也許用了一生去做一件事，而且已經完成了很大一部分；卻只因少了那麼一點點信心，就失去它，而過去所做的一切可能在一瞬間被毀掉。蓋一棟房子需要多久？摧毀它又需要多久？要讓一門生意真正興盛，需要多久？而失敗又需要多久？只要一瞬間。當一個人理解這個原則並加以思索，便開始看見：整個世界，包括我們所聽見、看見、觸摸和感受到的一切，在信心面前全都是幻象。唯有信心是真實的；與信心相比，其餘一切都是不真實的。然而，由於我們無法親眼看見信心，所以要說信心是真實的，而其他一切都是不真實的，實在非常困難。因為我們看不見信心；我們的眼睛無法看見它，我們也不知道它在哪裡。

Developing Faith
培養信心

And now a question: how can one find faith in oneself, how can one develop faith?

現在有一個問題：一個人如何在自己內在找到信心？又如何培養信心？

1. One can find faith by practicing self-confidence as the first thing, having self confidence even in the smallest thing. And today most of us have the habit, especially here, to say with everything, “perhaps.” It seems that a new word has come, and in French it is most used. For everything they say “perhaps,” “perhaps it will happen.” It is a kind of polite word, or a word of refined people, to show themselves pessimistic. I can see their reason, because they think that it is fanatical, it is presumptuous and it is simple to say, “It will be,” or, “It will come,” or, “It will be accomplished,” or, “It will be fulfilled.”
   
   要找到信心，第一件事就是練習自信，即使在最微小的事情上也要有自信。如今我們大多數人，尤其是在這裡，已經養成一種習慣，凡事都說：「也許。」彷彿出現了一個新的詞，而法語中尤其常用。什麼事都說「也許」：「也許會發生。」它似乎成了一種禮貌的說法，或是有教養的人用來顯示自己悲觀的說法。我可以理解他們的理由，因為他們認為，若直接說「事情會如此」，或「它會來」，或「它會完成」，或「它會實現」，似乎顯得狂熱、自負，而且太過單純。

But to say “perhaps” makes us free from responsibility, of having committed ourselves. The more pessimistic a person, the more “perhapses” he uses. And this “perhaps” has gone so deep in souls today that they cannot find faith.

但說「也許」，卻使我們免除了作出承諾所帶來的責任。一個人愈悲觀，他使用的「也許」就愈多。如今這個「也許」已經如此深入人的靈魂，以至於人找不到信心。

2. And after one’s self-confidence is developed, the second thing is to trust another with closed eyes. And one might think that this is not always practical, and one might think that it might lead one to great loss. But at the same time, even that loss will be a gain, and even a thousand gains compared with the loss of faith will be as nothing. A person is richer if he has trusted someone and lost something than if he had not trusted someone and had something preserved that will one day be taken away from him. He could just as well have given it up.
   
   當一個人的自信發展起來之後，第二件事就是閉著眼睛信任另一個人。有人也許會認為，這並不總是實際可行，也可能認為這會使人蒙受巨大的損失。然而，即使是那樣的損失，也會成為一種收穫；而與失去信心相比，即使有一千種所得，也算不了什麼。一個人若因信任別人而失去了一些東西，他仍比那個因為不信任別人而保住某樣東西的人更加富有，因為他所保住的東西，終有一天還是會被拿走。那麼，他原本也大可以把它捨出去。

But you might say that every person who is simple is inclined to trust another. Yes. But the difference between the wise person who trusts bravely and the simple person who trusts readily is a great difference. The wise person who trusts, if he is influenced by another person saying, “You may not or you must not trust a certain person,” or even if he had a certain proof, even then that habit of trusting would remain with him. But that simple person, as soon as you say, “Oh, but what are you doing? You are trusting somebody who is not trustworthy,” his trust will change. That is the difference between the wise person and the foolish person. The foolish person trusts because he does not know better; the wise person trusts because he knows that to trust is the best.

但你也許會說，每一個單純的人本來就容易信任別人。是的。然而，一位勇敢地信任他人的智者，與一個輕易相信別人的單純之人，兩者之間有很大的差別。一位選擇信任的智者，即使受到別人的影響，聽人對他說：「你不可以信任某個人」或「你絕對不能信任某個人」，甚至即使他已經得到某種證據，他信任的習性仍會留在他身上。但那個單純的人，只要你對他說：「喔，你在做什麼？你竟然相信一個不值得信任的人。」他的信任便會改變。這就是智者與愚者之間的差別。愚者之所以信任，是因為他不懂得更多；智者之所以信任，是因為他知道，選擇信任才是最好的。

3. And the third step toward the development of faith is trust in the unseen, which is called trust in God. That when you do not see before you any sign of something that should happen and yet you think, “Yes, it must happen, it will happen, it certainly must happen,” and you have no doubt, then your trust is in God.
   
   培養信心的第三步，是信賴那不可見的，而這就稱為對神的信賴。當你眼前看不見任何跡象，顯示某件應當發生的事情將會發生，但你仍然想著：「是的，它必定會發生，它會發生，它一定會發生。」並且心中毫無懷疑，那麼你的信賴便是在神之中。

The first principle of the Sufi Message is faith. It is not occult study only, it is not scientific analysis, nor is it psychic phenomena. The first lesson of the Message is faith. And it is with faith that the Message will be spread. And we shall each work in our own way in serving, in spreading the Message. And it is with faith that the Message of God will be fulfilled.

蘇菲神聖訊息的第一原則就是信心。它不僅是祕學研究，不是科學分析，也不是通靈現象。神聖訊息的第一課就是信心。神聖訊息將藉由信心而傳播。我們每個人也都會以自己的方式服務，以自己的方式傳播神聖訊息。而神的神聖訊息，也將藉由信心得以實現。

God Bless You.

願神祝福你們。

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