9. The Development of Personality
9. 人格風範的養成

Any efforts made in developing the personality or in character building must be not for the sake of proving oneself superior to others, but of becoming more agreeable to those around one and to those with whom one comes in contact. Conciliation is not only the moral of the Sufi: it is the sign of the Sufi. This virtue is not learned and practiced easily, for it needs not only goodwill but wisdom. The talent of the diplomat consists in bringing about such results as are desirable with mutual agreement. Disagreement is easy; among the lower creation one sees it so often; it is agreement that is difficult, for it needs a wider outlook which is the true sign of spirituality. Narrowness of outlook makes man’s vision small; the person with a narrow outlook cannot easily agree with another. There is always a meeting ground for two people, however much they differ in thought; but the meeting-ground may be far off, and when that is so a man is not always willing to take the trouble to go so far in order to come to an agreement. Very often this is due to his lack of patience. What generally happens is that each wants the other to meet him at the place where he is standing; there is no desire on either part to move from the spot.

無論是培養自身的風範，或是塑造品格，都不應是為了證明自己比別人優越，而是為了使自己更能與周遭的人相處，也更能與所接觸的人和諧共處。調和不只是蘇菲所持守的道德，也是蘇菲的標誌。這項德行並不容易學會，也不容易實踐，因為它所需要的不只是善意，還需要智慧。外交家的才幹，就在於能以彼此都能接受的方式，達成所期望的結果。意見不合很容易，在較低層次的受造物之中，我們經常可以看到；真正困難的是取得一致，因為這需要更寬廣的眼界，而這正是靈性的真正標誌。眼界狹窄，人的視野也會隨之縮小；眼界狹窄的人，很難與另一個人達成一致。無論兩個人的想法相差多遠，總會有一處可以相遇；只是那個交會之處有時非常遙遠，而人在這種情況下，往往不願費心走那麼遠，只為了與對方取得共識。這往往是因為缺乏耐心。通常的情形是，雙方都希望對方來到自己所站的位置，卻沒有人願意從原地挪動一步。

This does not mean that in order to become a real Sufi one should give up one’s own ideas in order to agree with someone else; and there is no advantage in always being lenient towards every thought that comes from another, nor in erasing one’s own ideas from one’s heart; that is not conciliation. The one who is able to listen to another is the one who will make another listen to him. The one who finds it easy to agree with another will have the power of making another agree easily with him. Therefore in doing so one really gains in spite of the apparent loss which might sometimes occur. When a man is able to see both from his own point of view and from that of another, he has complete vision and a clear insight; he so to speak sees with both eyes.

但這並不表示，為了成為真正的蘇菲，我們就應放棄自己的想法，好去迎合別人；也不是說，對別人提出的每一種想法都一味寬容便有什麼好處，更不是要把自己的想法從心中抹去。那並不是調和。能夠聽別人說話的人，才能使別人也願意聽他說話。容易與別人取得共識的人，也會具有使別人容易與他取得共識的力量。因此，即使有時表面上似乎有所損失，實際上反而有所獲得。當一個人既能從自己的立場看事情，又能從另一個人的立場來看，他便有了完整的視野與清明的洞察；可以說，他是用兩隻眼睛在看。

No doubt friction produces light, but light is the agreement of the atoms. Two people having their own ideas and arguing about them can be a stimulus to thought, and then it does not matter so much; but when a person argues for the sake of argument, the argument becomes his game; he has no satisfaction in conciliation. Words provide the means of disagreement and reasons become the fuel for this fire; but wisdom is found where the intelligence is pliable, where it understands all things, even the wrong of the right and the right of the wrong. The soul who arrives at perfect knowledge has risen above right and wrong. He knows them and yet knows not; he can say much and yet what can he say? Then it becomes easy for him to conciliate each and all.

摩擦固然會產生光，但光卻來自原子彼此的和合。兩個人各有自己的看法，並且彼此辯論，這可以刺激思想，那倒沒有太大的問題；但如果一個人只是為了爭辯而爭辯，爭辯就成了他的遊戲，他便無法從調和之中得到滿足。言語提供了爭執的工具，而種種理由則成了這把火的燃料；然而，智慧存在於能夠柔軟轉化的心智之中，它能理解一切，甚至能看見正確之中的錯誤，也能看見錯誤之中的正確。達到圓滿知識的靈魂，已超越了對錯。他知道對錯，卻又彷彿不知道；他可以說許多話，但他又能說什麼呢？到了那時，要與任何人調和都變得容易。

There is a story of two Sufis who met after many years, having travelled their different ways. They were glad to meet each other after many years of separation as they were both mureeds of the same murshid. One said to the other, “Tell me, please, your life’s experience. After all this time of study and practice of Sufism I have learned one thing: how to conciliate another; and I can do it very well now. Will you please tell me what you have learned?” The other one said, “After all this time of study and practice of Sufism I have learned how to master life; and all that there is in this world is for me, and I am the master. All that happens, happens by my will.” Then came the murshid, whose mureeds both of them were, and they spoke to him of their experience during their journey. The murshid said, “Both of you are right.” In the case of the first it was self-denial, in the right sense of the word, which enabled him to conciliate others; in the case of the second there was no longer any of his will left; if there was any, it was the will of God.

有一個故事，說兩位蘇菲各自走過不同的道路，多年之後再次相遇。他們同為一位穆希德（murshid）的門徒（mureed），多年分別之後重逢，都非常高興。其中一人對另一人說：「請告訴我，你這一生有什麼體會。經過這麼長時間對蘇菲之道的學習與修習，我學會了一件事：如何與別人調和；如今我已經很能做到這一點了。請你也告訴我，你學會了什麼？」另一人說：「經過這麼長時間對蘇菲之道的學習與修習，我學會了如何掌握生命。這世上的一切都為我所有，而我是主人；所發生的一切，都依我的意志而發生。」後來，他們共同的穆希德來了，兩人便把各自在旅程中的體會告訴他。穆希德說：「你們兩個都對。」第一個人，是因為具有真正意義上的捨己，所以能夠與別人調和；第二個人則已不再剩下任何屬於他自己的意志；即使還有意志，那也是神的意志。

In human beings one finds millions of qualities. Every quality has its origin in the heredity and is in reality a mixture of different qualities, a kind of solution. So every person will have different qualities unlike those of others, and every person is unique in his way; in this lies the secret of the oneness of God. Not only is God one, but man is one too.

在人身上可以找到千千萬萬種特質。每一種特質都有其遺傳上的來源，而實際上也都是許多不同特質混合而成的，如同一種溶液。因此，每個人所具有的特質都與別人不同，每個人也都以自己的方式獨一無二；其中便隱藏著神唯一性的奧祕。不只是神是一，人的存在也是獨一無二的。

One should never be discouraged or disappointed in life. Man has the key of his own life in his hand, if he only knew it. It is absurd to say, “I have not got that quality”; there is no quality in the world that man has not got, either good or bad; and the soundest psychology is to say to oneself that one has the quality one thinks most desirable, most attractive; and not that quality which one does not think desirable.

我們在生命中永遠不應灰心或失望。人其實把自己生命的鑰匙握在手中，只是他若能知道這一點就好了。說「我沒有那種特質」是荒謬的；世上沒有任何一種特質是人完全不具有的，無論是好的還是壞的。最健全的心理態度，是告訴自己：自己具有那種最渴望、最欣賞的特質，而不是認定自己具有那種自己並不希望擁有的特質。

There is infinite variety in personality. The law of variety comes from the nature of manifestation; every current taking a different direction becomes different and manifests differently. Variety is also caused by time and space; every personality differs because of time and space. A person born in one year will be different from a person born in another year. A person born in one month or on a certain day will be different from a person born in another month, or on another day. Every moment makes a difference because of the difference in people’s breath. But not only this; the difference of personality comes also through the difference in the direction of one’s thought; one’s personality depends on the direction in which one’s thought goes, and also on one’s action, motive, expression. All these things cause difference in personality.

人的風範有無窮的變化。多樣性的法則來自顯現本身的性質；每一道流動一旦朝不同方向前進，就會變得不同，也會以不同的方式顯現。時間與空間同樣造成了這些差異；每個人的風範都會因時間與空間而有所不同。在某一年出生的人，會不同於另一年出生的人；在某一個月或某一天出生的人，也會不同於另一個月或另一天出生的人。每一個時刻都會造成差異，因為人的呼吸也各不相同。不只是如此，一個人的風範之所以不同，也來自思想方向的不同；我們成為怎樣的人，取決於思想朝向何方，也取決於我們的行動、動機與表達。這一切都會造成人格風範上的差異。

There is a story of a dervish who was standing in the middle of the street when the procession of the king was approaching. First came the pages who ran before the procession and they pushed him and said, “Don’t you see, the king is coming! Go away!” And the dervish smiled and said, “That is why”; and he remained in the same place. Then there came the horsemen, the bodyguards. They said, “Get out of the way, the procession is coming!” The dervish smiled and said, “That is why.” Next the courtiers came and saw the dervish standing there. And instead of telling the dervish to go away, they moved their horses a little away from where he stood. And again the dervish said, “That is why.” Finally came the king, and when the king saw the dervish standing there, he greeted him first; and the dervish in reply said, “That is why.” An intelligent young man asked him, “What is it you mean by this remark?” The dervish answered, “You can see, that is why he is what he is.”

有一個關於蘇菲行者（dervish）的故事。國王的隊伍正要經過時，一位蘇菲行者站在道路中央。最先來的是跑在隊伍前面的侍從，他們推了他一把，說：「你沒看到國王要來了嗎？走開！」蘇菲行者微笑著說：「所以才會這樣。」然後仍站在原處。接著來的是騎馬的衛士，也就是國王的護衛。他們說：「讓開，隊伍來了！」蘇菲行者微笑著說：「所以才會這樣。」再來是朝臣。他們看到蘇菲行者站在那裡，卻沒有叫他離開，反而稍微把馬移開一些，避開他所站的位置。蘇菲行者又說：「所以才會這樣。」最後國王來了。國王看到那位蘇菲行者，首先向他致意；蘇菲行者回禮時仍說：「所以才會這樣。」一個聰明的年輕人問他：「你一直說這句話，到底是什麼意思？」蘇菲行者回答：「你自己看見了。正因如此，他才成為他現在這樣的人。」

This ideal people have wiped away from their minds. Where is democracy? The kingliness of greeting the dervish, that is democracy. But the man who is not evolved, who is pulling the most evolved down to his level, has a wrong conception of democracy; it is going downwards instead of upwards. If lack of manners and consideration can be democracy, it loses its real ideal and true spirit. Democracy is the result of aristocracy. When the spirit of aristocracy has evolved sufficiently, it becomes democracy. Then a person thinks, “I am the equal of any person in the world; there is no person lower than I.” But if a person says, “There is no person higher than I”, that is not democracy.

如今，人們已把這個理想從心中抹去了。民主在哪裡？國王主動向蘇菲行者致意所表現出的王者風範，那才是民主。可是，一個尚未發展成熟的人，若想把發展得最高的人拉低到自己的層次，那是對民主的錯誤理解；那是在向下走，而不是向上提升。如果缺乏禮貌與體諒也能叫作民主，那麼民主就失去了真正的理想與真正的精神。民主是貴族精神發展成熟之後的結果。當貴族精神充分發展，它便成為民主精神。這時，一個人會想：「我與世上的任何人都是平等的；沒有任何人比我低下。」可是，如果一個人說：「沒有任何人比我更高」，那就不是民主。

In Burma one finds Buddhists of a very wonderful kind. It is the only race which for centuries has believed that there is no religion that is not as good as their own. Imagine, today, when the followers of most religions look down upon the followers of another! These people say, “Whatever be the religion, Christian or Muslim or Jewish, it is not worse than ours. Perhaps it is better.” They all had this same thought, and even today they still have this belief. That is something wonderful. But when a person says, “Nobody is better than I am”, it is no democracy; it is sinking lower, because it means closing one’s eyes to what is greater, higher, and better. If one cannot appreciate or see it one cannot rise to it. One can only rise towards that which one values and towards which one aspires.

在緬甸，可以看到一種非常可貴的佛教徒。幾個世紀以來，這個族群一直相信：沒有任何宗教比他們自己的宗教更差。想想今日的情形，大多數宗教的信徒往往看低其他宗教的信徒！但這些人會說：「不論那是什麼宗教，是基督宗教、伊斯蘭教或猶太教，它都不會比我們的宗教差；也許還更好。」他們都抱持著同樣的想法，直到今天仍然如此。這是非常可貴的。但如果一個人說：「沒有人比我更好」，那就不是民主，而是在往下沉，因為這表示他對那些更偉大、更高、更美好的事物閉上了眼睛。如果我們不能欣賞它、不能看見它，就不可能提升到那裡。我們只能朝自己真正珍視、真正嚮往的事物提升。

If I were to speak before the world today about occult power, psychic power, spirit-communication, breathing practices, people would be glad to listen, but if I say simple things like this, it means nothing to them. Yet suppose one did not develop personality, what about spirituality? A person must be a person first, and spiritual afterwards. If he is not a person, then what is the use of being spiritual? It is going back instead of going forward.

如果今天我向世人談神祕力量、心靈能力、與靈溝通，或呼吸練習，人們一定會很樂意聽；可是，如果我只說這些簡單的事情，對他們來說卻似乎毫無意義。然而，如果一個人連自身的風範都沒有養成，又何談靈性？一個人首先必須真正成為一個人，然後才談得上靈性。如果連「人」都還沒有真正成為，那麼成為靈性的人又有什麼用？那是在倒退，而不是前進。

Man is born to fulfil the purpose of his life; he is made to be a man, to prove he is a human being;

人生來是為了完成自己生命的目的；人生來就是要真正成為一個人，證明自己配得上「人」這個名字：

• a man who can be relied upon,
• a man whose word carries authority,
• who uses thought and consideration,
• whom one can trust with one’s secret;
• a man who will not humiliate himself under any conditions,
• who will lose his life rather than humble himself,
• who will not deceive or cheat anybody,
• who will never go back on his word;
• a man who will carry through what he has once undertaken.

• 一個值得依靠的人，
• 一個說話有分量的人，
• 一個懂得思考，也懂得體諒的人，
• 一個可以放心把祕密託付給他的人；
• 一個無論在什麼情況下都不讓自己受辱的人，
• 一個寧可失去生命，也不願卑屈自己的人，
• 一個不欺騙、也不詐取任何人的人，
• 一個絕不背棄自己所說之話的人；
• 一個凡是已經承擔的事，就會貫徹到底的人。

All these qualities make a man a human being. Today our condition is such that we cannot believe in one another’s word. We have to have a stamp on a contract. Why are we in such a condition? Because we are not evolving towards the ideal the ancient people had. That is why we cannot trust each other individually; that is why nations cannot trust one another.

正是這些品質，使一個人成為真正的人。今天，我們的處境已經到了彼此不能相信對方說的話；一份契約必須蓋上印章，我們才肯相信。為什麼會變成這樣？因為我們沒有朝古人所持有的那種理想發展。正因如此，個人與個人之間無法彼此信任，國家與國家之間也無法彼此信任。

Human beings live only from day to day, striving and working for a loaf of bread. That is all. But is that all, to earn a loaf of bread? In that case we do no better than the animals in the forest, and even they appear better than we. Rich and poor, all are wretched, in every walk of life whether it be a business, a profession, or politics, because there is nothing but competition between individuals, nations, parties, and communities. We have made our lives wretched. What are we here for? If we were born only to meditate and to be spiritual, then we had better go into the forest and into the caves of the mountains. Then it would not be necessary to be in the world. If we only had to live as the animals do, we could do as the worldly person is mostly doing today, and accomplish nothing.

人們一天過一天地生活，只為了一口飯而奔波工作，如此而已。但人生真的就只是為了掙得這一口飯嗎？如果只是如此，我們並不比森林裡的動物更好，甚至牠們看起來還比我們好些。不論富人還是窮人，在人生的各個領域——無論商業、專業工作或政治——人人都過得痛苦，因為個人與個人、國家與國家、黨派與黨派、社群與社群之間，除了競爭之外似乎什麼也沒有。我們把自己的生命弄得如此痛苦。我們究竟為何而來？如果我們生來只是為了冥想、為了成為靈性的人，那麼最好乾脆走進森林，住進山洞；如此一來，也就沒有必要生活在世間了。如果我們只需要像動物那樣活著，那麼只要像今日大多數世俗生活中的人那樣過日子，最後什麼也沒有完成，就足夠了。

Therefore the first necessity for those who are seeking after truth is to develop the spirit of personality. Gold and jewels are worthless if one has no personality; nothing is valuable then. Personality is more valuable than wealth. How strange it is that there is such a large population in this world and that there are so few personalities! Think of that Greek philosopher who went about with a lighted lantern in daytime. People asked, “What are you looking for?” He said, “For a human being.’

因此，對尋求真理的人來說，首要之事就是培養出真正的人格風範。若一個人尚未形成自己的風範，黃金與珠寶也毫無價值；那時，沒有什麼真正具有價值。人的風範比財富更加珍貴。這個世界有如此龐大的人口，真正有風範的人卻如此稀少，這是多麼奇怪！想想那位希臘哲人，白天提著點亮的燈籠四處行走。人們問他：「你在找什麼？」他回答：「我在找一個真正的人。」

Very often when I speak of the development of personality, people ask me “What about annihilation?” But it depends on what form of annihilation they mean. One can only be a spendthrift if one has wealth; one cannot annihilate what one does not possess. When an individual has no personality he can annihilate nothing; there must be something first. If a person started in life with self effacement he would never become a self. What would he efface? Effacing comes afterwards. First he must be a self, a real self that is worth being.

我談到培養風範時，人們常常問我：「那麼，消融呢？」但這要看他所說的是哪一種消融。只有先擁有財富，才可能揮霍財富；一個人無法消融自己根本尚未擁有的東西。當一個人連自身的風範都還沒有建立時，他沒有什麼可以消融；首先必須先有某種東西存在。如果一個人一開始就從自我消退著手，他永遠也無法形成真正的自我。他究竟要讓什麼消退呢？自我消退是後來的事。首先，他必須成為一個真正的自我，一個值得成為的自我。

One makes one’s nature by one’s likes and dislikes, by what one favors or disfavors. When a person says, “I don’t like this food”, he has built something into his nature; and then that food, when eaten, will often disagree with him. It is not that it was meant to disagree with him, but he made it disagree by disliking it. By control, bravery, endurance, steadiness, by all such qualities one makes one’s nature either agreeable or disagreeable. Either one makes one’s nature as hard as a rock, a rock that will not allow anything to pass, or one makes one’s nature as pliable as water.

我們藉著自己的喜愛與厭惡、贊同與排斥，一點一點塑造自己的本性。當一個人說：「我不喜歡這種食物」，他就在自己的本性裡建立了某種東西；於是日後吃到這種食物時，往往真的會覺得身體不適。並不是這種食物原本注定要使他不適，而是他藉由自己的厭惡，使它變得與自己不相合。透過自制、勇氣、忍耐、穩定，以及所有這一類的品質，我們會把自己的本性塑造成令人愉悅或令人難以親近的樣子。我們可以把本性變得像岩石一樣堅硬，什麼都無法穿過；也可以把它變得像水一樣柔韌。

One may ask if it is not conceit to try to be better than others. There are many thorns and few flowers. We should not try to become a flower in order to feel ourselves superior to a thorn, but only for the benefit of others. All that trouble and pain and difficulty should be suffered for others; if among so many thorns we turn into a flower, it should be for others. That must be the idea. Besides it is not an easy task to become a flower; it is far easier to become a thorn; for one is naturally born a thorn and one has to become a flower. It is easy to say, “You have hurt me, insulted me, disturbed me, troubled me.” But one does better to ask oneself if one has not harmed or disturbed someone else. One never thinks enough about this. Therefore to develop personality one learns self-effacement. It is an annihilation, a continual unconscious annihilation which turns the self from a thorn into a flower.

有人也許會問，努力使自己比別人更好，難道不是一種自負嗎？世上的刺很多，花卻很少。我們不應為了覺得自己比刺高貴而努力成為一朵花，而只是為了他人的益處。所有的辛苦、痛苦與困難，都應當為他人而承受；如果在眾多荊棘之中，我們能變成一朵花，也應當是為了別人。這才應該是我們的出發點。況且，成為一朵花並不容易；成為一根刺要容易得多。因為人生來自然像一根刺，而必須經過培養，才能成為一朵花。說「你傷害了我、侮辱了我、打擾了我、給我帶來麻煩」很容易；但更好的做法，是問問自己是否也曾傷害或打擾過別人。對這一點，我們總是想得不夠。因此，為了養成真正的風範，我們要學習使自我退居其後。這是一種消融，是持續而不自覺的消融，使自我由一根刺轉變成一朵花。

One may also wonder whether with the development of personality one would not develop self-consciousness. But personality contains all: spirit, mind and thought, and body. A self conscious person is not necessarily one who has developed his personality, although it does sometimes give a tendency to vanity. But vanity is the power which can lead man to either good or bad. It is the living spark of the ego: the soberness of the ego is divine vanity, and the intoxication of the ego is the conceit of man. Conceit is difficult to conquer; it impossible to get rid of. The reason is that wherever there is light there is darkness; wherever there is a form there is shadow.

有人或許還會問，培養自身的風範，是否也會使人變得過度在意自己？然而，一個人的人格風範包含了一切：靈、心智與思想，以及身體。一個很在意自己的人，並不一定就是一個真正養成了自身風範的人，雖然這有時確實會使人傾向於虛榮。可是，虛榮本身是一股力量，既可能把人引向善，也可能引向惡。它是自我的活火花：自我清醒時，表現為神聖的自我榮耀；自我陶醉時，則成為人的自負。自負很難克服，也無法徹底擺脫。原因在於，有光的地方便有黑暗；有形體的地方便有影子。

The word vanity is generally used in a very ordinary sense; there is no really good expression for the higher form of vanity. It is difficult to express this in any other way. The Hindus call it Vairagya, and the Sufis use the word Kibria for divine vanity. It is God’s satisfaction in the manifestation which He wanted to create; but this is not the same as the satisfaction of the ignorant soul in its limitation. When it is in its proper place it is divine virtue; when it is out of its proper place it is a sin.

Vanity （虛榮）這個詞通常只是在很世俗的意義上使用；至於它較高層次的形式，其實沒有真正恰當的詞可以表達，很難以別的方式說明。印度人稱它為 Vairagya，而蘇菲則以 Kibria 來指神聖的自我榮耀。那是神對祂所欲創造的顯現感到滿足；但這並不同於無知的靈魂在自身限制之中所感到的滿足。當它處在正確的位置時，它是一種神聖的德行；一旦離開了正確的位置，它便成為罪。

The understanding of vanity is the most fascinating vision of the phenomenon of life. What the Sufi calls wine is the pleasure he derives from it. When this phenomenon is disclosed to him and he sees what activates all the different lives, it is almost like wine. What Omar Khayyam has called wine is the amusement one gets by looking at the phenomena of life, which lifts one above the worries of life. One will always find that the most evolved sages can be amused; that is why they are pleasant to meet and to speak to. Worrying comes from self-pity and fear; and fear is made of the clouds of ignorance; the light will dissolve it. Humor is the sign of light; when the light from above touches the mind it tickles the mind, and it is the tickling of mind which produces humor.

理解虛榮，是觀看生命現象時最令人著迷的一種視野。蘇菲所說的「酒」，就是他從這種觀看之中所得的愉悅。當這個生命的現象向他揭開，而他看見是什麼力量在推動各種不同的生命時，那種感受幾乎就像酒一般。奧瑪．海亞姆（Omar Khayyam）所稱的「酒」，正是觀看生命種種現象時所得到的樂趣；它能使人超越生命中的憂慮。我們總會發現，發展得最高的聖哲仍然能被逗樂；也正因如此，與他們相處、交談總是令人愉快。憂慮來自自憐與恐懼，而恐懼是由無知的雲霧形成的；光會使它消散。幽默是光的標誌；當來自上方的光觸及心智，它會逗動心智，而正是這種對心智的逗動產生了幽默。

The one who develops his personality enriches and ennobles himself in manner, principle, and ideal. This subject has been much overlooked; it is not that man is not capable of it. Man is more capable of it than ever before because he has to suffer so much. This life as we live it is a most painful life; it crunches and grinds a person and in that way can make him a better man. If he gave his thought to it he would profit by it and become a better person. In ancient times people willingly went through different sufferings, trials, and tests. We today do not need to do so; we have other trials today. We do not need to look for them if we only learn how to profit by them, otherwise this experience is lost. Nowadays man can make use of all the skin and bones and nails of every animal in some way or another, and yet we do not use our own life’s experience which is more precious than anything else.

一個養成自身風範的人，會在舉止、原則與理想上使自己變得更加豐富，也更加高貴。這個主題長久以來受到太多忽略；並不是人沒有這種能力。事實上，今日的人比以往任何時候都更有可能做到，因為人所承受的苦難如此之多。我們現在所過的生活，是一種非常艱難而痛苦的生活；它碾壓人、磨鍊人，而正因如此，也可能使人成為更好的人。如果一個人願意對自己的經驗加以思考，他就能從中受益，成為更好的人。古時候，人們會自願接受各種苦難、試煉與考驗。今天的我們已不必如此，因為我們有屬於今日的種種考驗。如果懂得如何從這些考驗中獲益，我們根本不需要另外尋找；否則，這些生命經驗就全都白白失去了。如今，人甚至懂得以各種方式利用動物的皮、骨與爪甲，卻不知道如何運用自己生命中的經驗，而生命經驗比其他任何東西都更加珍貴。

When people hear of an oil-well or of a gold-mine they are all interested in it; but they are not interested in this gold- and silver-mine, this mine of jewels and gems, the cultivation of which will produce all that can be produced. What is most valuable they do not even think about.

人們一聽到油井或金礦，人人都會感興趣；可是對於自身這座金銀之礦、這座珠寶與寶石之礦，卻毫無興趣。只要懂得開掘它，其中便能產生一切可以產生的珍寶。真正最有價值的東西，人們反而連想都沒有想到。

There is, however, no need to scorn a rich man. Sometimes the rich man is poorer than the poor. With all the money in the bank his condition is sometimes much worse than that of the poor man. It is a mistake to say a person is rich because he has money or high rank; besides the question whether a person is poor or rich has nothing to do with personality. One can develop personality regardless of being rich or poor; neither poverty nor riches necessarily draw one back from spiritual progress, for all that exists in the world is there for our use. If one has it, so much the better; if one does not have it, it is better still.

然而，我們也沒有必要輕視富有的人。有時候，富人反而比窮人更加貧乏。即使銀行裡有許多錢，他的處境有時仍可能比窮人更糟。僅僅因為一個人有錢或地位崇高，就說他富有，這是一種錯誤；況且，一個人究竟貧窮還是富有，與他的風範並沒有關係。無論貧富，都可以養成真正的風範；貧窮與財富本身，都不必然阻礙一個人的靈性進展，因為世上存在的一切，都是供我們運用的。有，那很好；沒有，甚至更好。

The great gurus and teachers of all times have taught that to give one’s thought and mind to the development of personality is of the greatest importance for those who wish to seek for truth.

歷代偉大的古魯與老師都曾教導：對於希望尋求真理的人而言，把自己的思想與心智投注於自身風範的養成，是極其重要的事。

Where does the difference between religious faiths come from? From looking superficially. People argue about things which in essence are the same; the difference is only in words. A keen observation of life in time awakens us to the fact that when once the light is thrown upon life, life begins to reveal itself.

不同宗教信仰之間的差異從何而來？來自只看表面。人們爭論的事情，本質上其實相同，差別只是用詞不同。當我們長久而敏銳地觀察生命，終會醒悟一件事：一旦光照向生命，生命便開始顯露它自己。

As Sa’di has said, “Even the leaves of the tree become as pages of the sacred Book once the eyes of the heart are open.’

正如薩迪（Sa’di）所說：「一旦心的眼睛睜開，就連樹上的葉片，也會化為神聖之書的一頁頁經文。」

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