29. The Prophetic Life
29. 先知的生命

September 7, 1926

1926 年 9 月 7 日

Buddha
佛陀

Beloved Ones of God,

神所摯愛的眾人：

I will speak this evening on the subject of the prophetic life. There have been many great teachers who have been sent on earth to serve God and help humanity, and their lives are different from one another. Yet behind their lives there is a plan, a plan which is quite similar in the life of them all. For instance, God’s plan was carried out in the nursery. It was quite unusual for the kings of India to have their crown princes kept in the house, in the palace, till they were young men, and not to bring them in touch with the world. It has never happened before nor has it happened afterwards.

今晚我要談的是先知的生命。曾有許多偉大的老師被差遣到世上，為神服務、幫助人類，而他們的生命彼此各不相同。然而，在他們的生命背後都有一項計畫，而這項計畫在他們每一個人的生命中都相當相似。譬如，神的計畫是在佛陀受養育的過程中實現的。印度的國王讓王儲一直留在家中、留在王宮裡，直到長大成人，而不讓他接觸外面的世界，這是非常不尋常的。此前從未發生過，此後也未再發生。

It was God’s plan that was working through the mind of Buddha’s father, prescribing for Buddha this solitude. This way of purification, which went on for a long time, from his early childhood to the age when he was a grown-up man, was because the spirit that was going to find the remedy for the freedom of the soul needed that rest, that solitude, and that silence for his great heart to mature. One might think it would be cruel on the part of the parents to even think of such a thing, but it proved to be most kind on the part of the parents. It was because it was meant that it should be so.

是神的計畫透過佛陀父親的頭腦運作，為佛陀安排了這樣的獨處。這條淨化之路持續了很長一段時間，從他年幼時一直到成年，因為那個將要為靈魂的自由找出解方的靈，需要這份休息、這份獨處與這份寂靜，使他偉大的心能夠成熟。人也許會認為，父母竟然想到要這樣做，未免太殘酷了；但事實證明，這卻是父母對他最大的慈愛。因為事情本來就註定要如此發生。

Rama
羅摩

Then we come to the life of Rama. Young Rama came from the abode of Vashista, his teacher. He lived with him in the forest, in the solitude, and saw little of the palace life of his father. No sooner was he married, according to the custom of Hindus to marry early in their lives, then he was sent to vanuasa; which means “the sacred exile” of twelve years, away from home. In the tradition of the Hindus we do not read of such a thing happening before or afterwards. It was only in the case of Rama. It is not true that there was a custom of the Hindus and especially of the kings that the prince should be sent to vanuasa for twelve years.

接著，我們來看羅摩的一生。年輕的羅摩從他的老師瓦希斯塔的住所回來。他與老師住在森林中，在獨處中生活，很少接觸父親王宮裡的生活。依照印度教徒早婚的習俗，他才剛結婚，就被送去「瓦納瓦薩」，意思是離家十二年的「神聖流放」。在印度教的傳統中，我們並沒有讀到此前或此後曾發生過這樣的事。只有羅摩是如此。說印度教徒、尤其是王室有一項習俗，要把王子送去流放十二年，並不正確。

By this I wish to explain to you how destiny has from the beginning taken in hand souls who were going to be the servants of God. One can imagine: a child who was a son of a king and who was sent first to the holy man Vashista in his simple abode in solitude, where he lived the most simple life till he was grown up. In his early youth, no sooner was he married than he was sent to the forest. The difficulties of forest life were not enough. To add to those difficulties Sita was sent with him and then was taken away by Ravana to make the trouble complete, that there should not remain one little possibility of pain that he did not experience. For a prince it would have been quite enough to be in the forest, to live on leaves and flowers and fruits and to wander about without a roof over his head in the sun and storm and rain. But it was meant that the test should be complete.

藉此，我想向你們說明：命運如何從一開始，就親自接手那些將要成為神之僕人的靈魂。可以想像，一個身為國王之子的孩子，先被送到聖者瓦希斯塔那裡，在他簡樸而僻靜的住所中生活，一直到成年，過著最簡單的生活。才剛進入青年時期，一結婚便又被送到森林。森林生活的艱難還不夠；為了再增添這些困難，悉多隨他同行，後來又被羅波那擄走，使苦難變得完整，不留下一絲他尚未經歷過的痛苦。對一位王子而言，僅僅身處森林，以樹葉、花朵和果實維生，在烈日、暴風與雨水中四處漂泊、無片瓦遮身，本來就已經足夠艱苦了。然而，這場考驗註定要徹底完成。

Krishna
克里希納

Then we come to the life of Krishna. From his early childhood he was given into the hands of Yashoda, a milkmaid; he was brought up in the house of a peasant, with his princely soul and kingly spirit. And there again we see how with that unique spirit that was born in Krishna he moved about and played and was friendly with the girls and boys of the peasants living in Brindavan, how they became attracted to him, how they were most devoted to him, how they loved him in his childhood. Krishna became in that peasant life and that frame the light and life of Brindavan. He had not given a message at that time, nor had he spoken of philosophies. On the contrary, there are many stories, sometimes even exaggerated, of his playfulness, which proved him to be more playful than the little boys of Brindavan. But that did not make any difference. The light was there, the life was there, the spirit that was going to shine was proving its origin from that time.

接著，我們來看克里希納的一生。他從年幼時便被交到牧牛女雅首達手中；他有著王子的靈魂與王者的精神，卻在農家中長大。在這裡，我們再次看見，那生於克里希納之中的獨特的靈，如何使他在布林達文的農家男孩女孩之間來往、遊戲，與他們成為朋友；他們如何受到他的吸引，如何全心奉獻於他，又如何在他童年時便深深愛著他。在那樣的農村生活與環境中，克里希納成了布林達文的光與生命。那時，他尚未帶來任何訊息，也還沒有談論任何哲學。相反地，有許多關於他頑皮嬉戲的故事，有些甚至頗為誇張，顯得他比布林達文的小男孩們還要調皮。但這並沒有任何影響。光已經在那裡，生命已經在那裡，而那將要綻放光芒的靈，從那時起就已顯示出它的源頭。

For the poetry and for the music of Hindus, Krishna is the central theme. Krishna is the beloved character upon whom are built many songs, songs of love and quarrel and conflict and doubt. And all these songs are sung by singers and heard by people with love and adoration and admiration. Not one person judges the different little shades, the light and shade of words and of meaning, expressed by poets in connection with Krishna’s life, with his virtuous principles. The poems, the songs of Krishna’s life are so beautiful and so charming, so winning, that most righteous and virtuous people forget for one moment their high principles and begin to hear and enjoy the love lyrics of young Krishna.

在印度教徒的詩歌與音樂中，克里希納是核心主題。克里希納是人們摯愛的人物，許多歌曲都以他為中心而寫，其中有愛情、有爭執、有衝突，也有懷疑。歌者唱著這些歌曲，人們則懷著愛、敬拜與欣賞來聆聽。沒有人會拿克里希納所秉持的德行原則，去評斷詩人描寫他生命時，在文字與意義中表現出的各種細微明暗與層次。描寫克里希納生命的詩與歌如此美麗、如此迷人、如此令人心醉，以至於即使是最正直、最有德行的人，也會暫時忘記自己那些崇高的原則，開始聆聽並享受年輕克里希納的愛情詩歌。

Moses
摩西

And then we come to the Near East, beginning with Moses found in the water and taken by the princess. That in itself shows an unusual life and an unusual plan that destiny had made. Moses showed spirit and will as he grew, and through all difficulties he maintained his conviction till it became fruitful.

接著，我們來到近東，從摩西說起。他在水中被人發現，後來由公主收養。這件事本身，就顯示了命運為他安排了一段不尋常的生命，以及一項不尋常的計畫。摩西在成長的過程中展現出精神與意志；經歷所有困難，他始終堅守自己的信念，直到這信念結出果實。

Jesus
耶穌

And we come to the life of Jesus Christ, born in the wilderness and opposed from birth by the king, whose opposition continued. We see how, before he could speak, his movements, his glance inspired and blessed those who came in contact with the master. At an early age he spoke with the religious people and they lost their word.

接著，我們來看耶穌基督的一生。他出生於荒野之中，從出生起便遭到國王反對，而這份敵意一直持續。我們看見，在他尚未能言語之前，他的一舉一動、他的目光，就已啟發並祝福那些與這位聖師接觸的人。他年紀很小時便與宗教人士交談，使他們啞口無言。

Muhammad
穆罕默德

Now we come to the Prophet Muhammad. His father, Abdullah, had died before the birth of the Prophet. He did not see his son, and the child was left with the mother. And even the mother had to be taken away soon in his life in order to make him understand what the life of an orphan is. He was being prepared to sympathize when he grew up to be the Prophet, so that from his childhood he must experience the absence of the father and then absence of the mother. It shows how the masters were made lame first, in order to take heavenly feet; their earthly feet were taken away and heavenly feet were given to them so they could stand on earth again, and stand more firmly. Because their struggle was great, their task was great, and the opposition and tests that they had to go through were great. If they had not heavenly feet they could not stand against all the difficulties of life.

現在，我們來看先知穆罕默德。他的父親阿卜杜拉在先知出生前便已去世，未能見到自己的兒子，因此孩子只留下來與母親相依。然而，他生命中不久之後，母親也被帶走了，為的是使他明白孤兒的生活是什麼。他正在被預備，好讓自己長大成為先知時能夠心懷同理，因此從童年起，他就必須先經歷父親的缺席，而後再經歷母親的缺席。這顯示出，聖師們先是被弄得跛足，為的是得到天上的雙足；他們世上的雙足被取走，而天上的雙足被賜給他們，使他們能重新站立於大地之上，並且站得更加穩固。因為他們所面對的奮鬥是巨大的，任務是巨大的，他們必須經歷的反對與考驗也是巨大的。若沒有天上的雙足，他們便無法在生命的一切困難中站立得住。

Buddha
佛陀

Now we come to the manner of inspiration, how it came. In that also one has a resemblance to the other. The inspiration of Buddha came at that moment when he was sent into the world and looked at the world with his matured spirit. The first glance of Buddha falling upon the woes of the world took away his interest from the palace and grandeur and earthly success and earthly gain. Everywhere, wherever he looked, he saw pain. He saw pain behind pleasure, he saw pain covered by joy, he saw pain hiding behind what is called happiness. He looked at pain that was uncovered, he looked at pain that was hiding itself from the eyes of everyone, and he saw where all this pain comes from.

現在，我們來看啟示以什麼方式降臨。這一點，他們彼此之間也有相似之處。佛陀的啟示，是在他被送入世間、以成熟的靈觀看世界的那一刻來臨的。佛陀第一眼看見世間的苦難，便失去了對王宮、榮華、世俗成功與世俗所得的興趣。無論走到哪裡、無論看向何處，他都看見痛苦。他看見歡愉背後的痛苦，看見被喜悅掩蓋的痛苦，也看見藏在所謂幸福背後的痛苦。他看見赤裸顯現的痛苦，也看見躲過眾人目光的痛苦，並且看見這一切痛苦從何而來。

It comes from man’s limitations. And there he saw that no matter what you give him — wealth, power, position, all manner of pleasure and happiness — still man will remain in pain, in trouble; still he will have sorrow. If there is a way of coming out of it, it is only one way, and that way is the way of perfection. Therefore, instead of finding thousands of ways of helping humanity, he stuck to one way: to help man towards spiritual perfection, to help man find his power, his inspiration, his happiness, his peace, not outside, but within himself.

它來自人的侷限。於是佛陀看見，無論你給一個人什麼——財富、權力、地位、各式各樣的享樂與幸福——人仍然會留在痛苦與困境之中，仍然會有悲傷。如果有一條路能從其中走出來，那就只有一條，而那條路就是圓滿之路。因此，他沒有去尋找成千上萬種幫助人類的方法，而是堅持一條路：幫助人朝向靈性的圓滿，幫助人找到自己的力量、啟示、幸福與平安，不是在外界尋找，而是在自己內在找到。

Rama
羅摩

And then we come to Rama. All that he had gone through was a lesson for him. Now he acted through different situations and showed practical philosophy. The way of war and the way of peace, the way of ruling his people justly, the way of sympathizing with them, the way of serving them, the way of lifting them up, the way of raising humanity, all these different ways of Rama have been an example for ages. One who studies the Ramayana will see that the legend of Rama, all how he went through, how he took it, and how he reacted, is all a lesson. Not a lesson only for a king or a chief; it is a lesson for every man, because every man has a kingdom of his own. However insignificant a man may be, he has his own kingdom in this world, and he has his duty, his responsibility towards his kingdom. And the way Rama went through test and warfare all shows the manner to use with one’s own kingdom.

接著，我們來看羅摩。他所經歷的一切，都成了他的功課。此後，他在不同的情境中採取行動，展現出實踐的哲學。戰爭之道、和平之道，公正治理人民之道、以同理待他們之道、服務他們之道、扶持他們之道、提升人類之道——羅摩所展現的這些不同道路，歷世歷代都成為人們的典範。研讀《羅摩衍那》的人會看見，羅摩的傳說，他如何經歷一切、如何承受，又如何回應，一切都是功課。這不只是給國王或領袖的功課，也是給每一個人的功課，因為每一個人都有自己的王國。無論一個人多麼微不足道，他在這世界上都有自己的王國，也對自己的王國負有職責與責任。而羅摩經歷考驗與戰爭的方式，都顯示出人應當如何對待自己的王國。

Krishna
克里希納

And when we come to Krishna, in spite of all the love and lyric that is connected with his life, in spite of all the beauty and joy and color that his life gives, making a beautiful picture of his youth, he had to face a tremendous problem. And that was to defend the five brothers, the Pandavas, who were exiled from their kingdom. One might ask what had a mystic, a prophet, a teacher, to do with this problem? But this problem was a means, a means to bring out the message that was meant for Krishna to give. And this message was an all-sided philosophy. It is not the philosophy of one particular pitch, but it is a philosophy which contains all the notes of the music of life. If one reads that little book, the Bhagavad Gita, one finds that it is a phenomenon, that everything is dealt with: pride and honor and bravery and courage and fight and harmony and peace and love and surrender. Imagine!

當我們來看克里希納時，儘管他的生命與如此多的愛與抒情詩歌相連，儘管他的生命帶來如此多的美、喜悅與色彩，描繪出一幅美麗的青春圖景，他仍然必須面對一個極其巨大的問題。那就是保護被逐出自己王國的般度五兄弟。人也許會問：一位祕士、一位先知、一位老師，與這個問題有什麼關係？然而，這個問題正是一個媒介，一個使克里希納原本要帶來的訊息得以展現的媒介。而這個訊息是一種涵蓋各個面向的哲學。它不是只落在某一個音高上的哲學，而是一種包含生命音樂中所有音符的哲學。若讀那本小小的《薄伽梵歌》，便會發現它實在是一個奇蹟：一切都談到了——自尊、榮譽、勇武、勇氣、戰鬥、和諧、和平、愛與順受。試想看看！

It shows how everything in life has its meaning and its place, if you can only know how to use it for its best advantage. Krishna has shown that war has its meaning and peace has its meaning and power has its meaning and resignation has its meaning. It is not wise to consider a few things of life of no use and the things which one considers of great importance as the only useful things. One must see life as a whole, and that everything that is in life has its meaning. And if one can utilize everything of life towards its own purpose, then the purpose of life is fulfilled.

這顯示出，生命中的每一件事都有它的意義與位置，只要你懂得如何將它運用到最恰當之處。克里希納顯示了：戰爭有戰爭的意義，和平有和平的意義，力量有力量的意義，順受也有順受的意義。若把生命中的某些事物視為毫無用處，而只把自己認為極其重要的事物看成唯一有用的東西，那並不明智。人必須把生命視為一個整體，並看見生命中的一切都有它的意義。而如果一個人能使生命中的每一樣事物都朝向它自身的目的來運用，那麼生命的目的便得以成就。

Moses
摩西

When we come to Moses we hear of the communication that Moses received from God on Mount Sinai. This gives us the lesson that Mount Sinai means the highest point the consciousness can reach. And it is by the consciousness touching the highest point that one receives the message of God. Climbing on Mount Sinai means climbing that height that bridges the distance between the imperfect and the perfect one. Imperfection is at the bottom of the mountain of life; perfection is at the top of it. The one who can climb this mountain and reach the top, for him it is easy to communicate with God. It only means that the heart that can reach the plane of the Absolute Being and still have individual consciousness will be able to communicate from there.

當我們來到摩西時，便聽見摩西在西奈山上領受神的傳達。這帶給我們一項教導：西奈山象徵意識所能到達的最高點。正是當意識觸及那最高點時，人便領受到神的訊息。登上西奈山，意味著攀上那座連接不圓滿者與圓滿者之間距離的高處。不圓滿在生命之山的山腳，圓滿則在山頂。能攀上這座山並到達頂峰的人，便很容易與神溝通。這只是意味著：一顆能夠到達絕對存在的層次，同時仍保有個體意識的心，就能從那裡與神溝通。

There is one teaching of Moses which is known as the Kabbala, which is known only to mystics. The mystic teaching of Moses was handed down for ages to mystics, and they named it Ilme Zafar (“science of Zafar”).

摩西有一項教導稱為「卡巴拉」，只有祕士知曉。摩西的祕傳教導歷代在祕士之間傳承，而他們稱之為「伊爾姆・扎法爾」，意即「扎法爾之學」。

Jesus
耶穌

And then we come to the life of Christ. You read in the Bible every answer that the Master gave to his disciples. Some came with their doubts, some with their reasons, some with their confusions, some with perplexity, some with faith and without sense, some with sense but without faith, some with devotion only, and others with curiosity. All asked questions to examine, sometimes to be wise before the Master, sometimes for curiosity, sometimes to learn. You can see the compassion of the Master with all of them, the same with friends and foes. And in simple words such answers were given that one may remember them for his whole life, and each word will prove to be a torch on the path. If it was not for the life of Christ, if we did not have all the legends with their mystery and their meaning, we could not have gotten this wisdom. Besides, the birth of Christ, the crucifixion and resurrection, all have a meaning. And that meaning shows the way.

接著，我們來到基督的一生。在《聖經》中，你可以讀到聖師給門徒的每一個回答。有人帶著懷疑而來，有人帶著自己的道理，有人心中混亂，有人困惑不解；有人有信心卻缺少理智，有人有理智卻沒有信心；有人只有奉獻，也有人只是出於好奇。他們都提出問題來探問，有時想在聖師面前顯得聰明，有時出於好奇，有時則是真心想學習。你可以看見聖師對所有人的慈悲，無論對朋友還是敵人都一樣。他用如此簡單的話語給出回答，使人一生都能記得，而每一句話都會成為道路上的火炬。若不是因為基督的一生，若我們沒有那些蘊含奧祕與意義的傳說，我們便無法得到這份智慧。此外，基督的誕生、受難與復活，也都有其意義。而那意義指明了道路。

Muhammad
穆罕默德

When we come to the story of the Prophet Muhammad — who was three times exiled by the people — nothing could take away his faith and conviction in the mission for which he was sent. He faced insolence and mockery from all sides; even his relatives would not join him. His uncle, who was the nearest relative, only stood for him because he was his nephew, but not because of his teachings. Under all these conditions he kept giving the message. And as Moses received the message on the Mount Sinai, the Prophet went on the Mount of Hira. In the same way as Buddha had the problem of finding the remedy for humanity, there was a problem for the Prophet: before him the ignorance of humanity was standing like a rocky mountain. It was to break that mountain, to remove that mountain, that the strength and power of a soldier were given to the Prophet.

當我們來到先知穆罕默德的故事時——他曾三度被人們放逐——沒有任何事能奪走他對自己受差遣之使命的信心與信念。他面對來自四面八方的無禮與嘲弄；甚至連親人也不願加入他。他的叔父是最親近的親屬，只因他是自己的姪子而支持他，並不是因為認同他的教導。在所有這些處境之下，他仍持續傳遞訊息。正如摩西在西奈山上領受訊息，先知也登上希拉山。如同佛陀面對的是為人類尋找解方的課題，先知也面對著一個課題：在他面前，人類的無知像一座岩石般的高山屹立著。正是為了擊碎那座山、移除那座山，先知才被賦予戰士的力量與能力。

And the moment that the Prophet began to receive the message of God, do you think that it came only from one side? It came from everywhere! The voice from within was so strong that the Prophet heard its resonance in the wind, in the fluttering of the leaves, in the running of the water, in the sky, and on the ground. The whole atmosphere was full of the resonance of words that came to the Prophet from within. It seemed as if the absolute was speaking, as if the moon was speaking, as if the air was speaking, as if there was nothing in space except the living word that began to come, that he began to hear. No doubt if he had been an ordinary man he would have been bewildered. But Muhammad saw that he could not for one moment have been able to withstand the strain on his nerves, on his mentality, on his spirit. Only the spirit of the Prophet was meant to hear the voice of God that he heard.

而當先知開始領受神的訊息時，你們以為那訊息只從一個方向而來嗎？它從四面八方而來！內在的聲音如此強烈，以至於先知在風中、在樹葉的顫動中、在流水中、在天空裡，也在大地上，都聽見它的迴響。整個氛圍都充滿了那些從先知內在而來之話語的迴響。彷彿絕對者正在說話，彷彿月亮正在說話，彷彿空氣正在說話；彷彿整個空間中什麼也沒有，只有那活生生的話語開始來臨，而他開始聽見。毫無疑問，若他只是一個普通人，必定會陷入迷亂。然而，穆罕默德看見，若不是先知之靈，他連片刻都無法承受那加諸神經、頭腦與靈的巨大壓力。只有先知之靈，才是為了聽見他所聽見的神之聲而預備的。

And what was the consequence? The consequence was that everything went wrong, and yet the faith stood right. Everything in life — circumstances, consequences — would push him back, and he alone would push himself forward. In this way the prophet has advanced through life. That shows what power the message of God has behind it, that it is in itself love and wisdom and blessing and beauty and harmony and peace, and at the same time the power of the Almighty. God Bless You.

結果是什麼？結果是，一切事情都走向不利，而信心卻始終站立得住。生命中的一切——處境、後果——都把他往後推，而只有他自己不斷把自己往前推。先知就是以這樣的方式在人生中前進。這顯示了神的訊息背後蘊含何等的力量：它本身就是愛、智慧、祝福、美、和諧與平安，同時也是全能者的力量。願神祝福你們。

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