6. Divine Love
6. 神聖之愛

1. Grades of Love
愛的層次

Love is directed by the intelligence; therefore each person chooses his object of love according to his evolution. That appears to him most deserving of love which is in accordance with the grade of his evolution. There is a saying in the East. “As the soul is, so are its angels.” The donkey would prefer thistles to roses.

愛受智慧所引導；因此，每個人都依照自身的進化程度，選擇他所愛的對象。與他的進化層次相應的，對他而言便最值得愛。東方有一句話：「靈魂如何，它的天使也如何。」驢子寧可選擇薊草，而不是玫瑰。

The consciousness which is awakened to the material world has its object of love only in earthly beauties. The consciousness active through the mind finds its object in thought and among the thoughtful. The consciousness awakened through the heart loves love and the loving ones. And the consciousness awakened in the soul loves the spirit and the spiritual.

覺醒於物質世界的意識，只在世間的美之中找到它所愛的對象。透過頭腦活動的意識，在思想以及有思想的人之中找到它所愛的對象。透過心而覺醒的意識，愛的是愛本身以及有愛的人。而在靈魂中覺醒的意識，所愛的是靈與靈性的事物。

Silent love, which is the divine essence in man, becomes active, living, on seeing the vision of beauty. Beauty may be explained as perfection, perfection in every aspect of beauty. Not love alone is God or the essence of God, but beauty also, even in its limited aspects, shows itself as glimpses of the perfect Being.

寂靜的愛，是人內在的神聖本質；當它看見美的景象時，便活躍起來，成為有生命的力量。美可以理解為完美，是美的每一個面向所呈現的完美。不只是愛本身是神，或是神的本質；美也是如此。即使在有限的形式中，美仍顯露出那完美存有的一瞥。

• The mineral kingdom develops into gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, showing perfection in it;
• the fruit and flower, their sweetness and fragrance, show perfection in the vegetable kingdom;
• form, figure, and youth show perfection in the animal kingdom; and
• it is the beauty of personality which is significant of perfection in the human being.

• 礦物界發展出黃金、白銀、鑽石、紅寶石與祖母綠，在其中顯示出完美；
• 果實與花朵，以及它們的甘美與芬芳，顯示出植物界的完美；
• 形態、體態與青春，顯示出動物界的完美；
• 而在人類身上，顯示其完美的則是人的風範之美。

• There are some people in this world whose life is absorbed in the pursuit of gold and silver, gems and jewels; they would sacrifice anything or anybody to acquire the object of their love.
• There are others whose life is engaged in the beautiful vision of fruits, flowers, flower-beds, and gardens; perhaps they have no other interest besides.
• There are some who are absorbed in the admiration of the youth and beauty of the opposite sex, and nothing else seems to them worth more.
• There are others who are won by the beauty of someone’s personality, and have entirely devoted to the one they love both their here and their hereafter.

• 世上有些人，一生都沉浸在追求金銀、寶石與珠寶之中；為了獲得自己所愛的對象，他們甚至願意犧牲任何事物或任何人。
• 另一些人的生命則完全投入於果實、花朵、花圃與庭園的美景；也許除此之外，他們再沒有別的興趣。
• 有些人沉浸於對異性青春與美貌的欣賞，在他們看來，沒有什麼比這更值得珍視。
• 另一些人則被某個人的風範之美所吸引，將自己的今生與來世全都奉獻給所愛的人。

Everyone has his object of love according to his standard of beauty, and at the same time each one loves the perfection of the divine Being in a certain aspect. When the seer sees this no one, wise or foolish, sinner or virtuous, remains blameworthy in his sight. He sees in every heart the needle of the compass that turns to one and the same Being. “God is beautiful and He loves beauty”, as it is said in the Hadith.

每個人都依照自己對美的尺度，而有其所愛的對象；同時，每個人所愛的，其實都是神聖存有某一面向的完美。當明見者看見這一點時，在他眼中，無論智者或愚者、有罪之人或有德之人，都不再是可以責難的。他在每一顆心中都看見一枚羅盤的指針，始終轉向同一個存有。正如聖訓（Hadith）所說：「神是美的，祂愛美。」

Man is never capable of loving God in heaven when his sympathy has not even been awakened to the beauty of the earth.

如果一個人的同理之心甚至還沒有因世間之美而甦醒，他便不可能去愛天上的神。

A village maiden was on her way to see her beloved. She passed by a Mullah who was saying prayers. In her ignorance she walked in front of him, which is forbidden by the religious law. The Mullah was very angry, and when she, returning, again passed near him, he scolded her for her mistake. He said, “How sinful, O girl, on your part to cross in front of me while I was offering my prayer.”

一位鄉村少女正在前往探望摯愛者的路上。她經過一位正在禮拜的毛拉（Mullah）身旁。由於不懂宗教規矩，她從他面前走了過去，而這是宗教律法所禁止的。毛拉非常生氣；當少女回程再次經過他附近時，他便責罵她的過錯。他說：「姑娘啊，我正在禮拜時，妳竟從我面前走過，這是多麼有罪的行為！」

She said, “What does prayer mean?” He said, “I was thinking of God, the Lord of the heavens and of the earth.” She said, “I am sorry. I don’t know yet of God and His prayers, but I was on my way to my beloved, and, thinking of my beloved, I did not see you praying. I wonder how you who were in the thought of God could see me?” Her words so much impressed the Mullah that he said to her, “From this moment, O maiden, you are my teacher. It is I who should learn from you.”

她問：「禱告是什麼意思？」他說：「我當時正在想著神，天地的主。」她說：「很抱歉，我還不懂神，也不懂向祂禱告；但我那時正在去見我的摯愛者，一心想著他，因此根本沒有看見你正在禮拜。我只是奇怪，你既然一心想著神，怎麼還能看見我呢？」她的話深深觸動了毛拉，他對她說：「從這一刻起，姑娘，妳就是我的老師。應當向妳學習的人是我。」

Someone once came to Jami and asked to be his mureed. Jami said, “Have you ever loved anyone in life?” He said, “No.” Jami said, “Then go, and love someone, and then come to me.”

有一次，有人來到賈米（Jami）面前，請求成為他的門徒（mureed）。賈米問：「你這一生曾經愛過任何人嗎？」他回答：「沒有。」賈米說：「那麼先去愛一個人，再回來找我。」

It is for this reason that great teachers and masters have often had difficulty in awakening the love of God in the average man. Parents give their child a doll so that the child may know how to dress it, how to be kind to it, how to look after it, how to love and admire it, which trains the child to become a loving mother in the future. Without this training the later course would be difficult. Divine love would be as strange to the average person as the cares of motherhood to a girl who has not yet played enough with dolls.

正因如此，偉大的老師與大師往往發現，要在一般人心中喚醒對神的愛並不容易。父母給孩子一個洋娃娃，讓孩子學會怎樣替它穿衣、怎樣溫柔待它、怎樣照顧它、怎樣愛它並欣賞它；這是在培養孩子，使她日後能成為一位有愛的母親。若沒有這樣的練習，往後的歷程便會困難得多。對一般人而言，神聖之愛也同樣陌生，就如同母親的照料，對一個還沒有充分玩過洋娃娃的女孩而言那樣陌生。

A mureed had been a long time in the service of a spiritual guide, but he could make no progress and was not inspired. He went to the teacher and said, “I have seen very many mureeds being inspired, but it is my misfortune that I cannot advance at all, and now I must give up hope and leave you.” The teacher advised him to spend the last days of his stay in a house near the Khankah, and every day he sent him very good food and told him to cease the spiritual practices and to lead a comfortable and restful life.

有一位門徒長久侍奉在一位靈性導師身邊，卻始終沒有進展，也沒有得到靈感。他去見老師，說：「我看過許多門徒都得到了靈感，可是我的不幸是，我一點也無法前進。現在我只好放棄希望，離開您了。」老師勸他在離去前的最後幾天，住進蘇菲修院（Khankah）附近的一所房子；每天都送很好的食物給他，又要他暫停所有靈性修習，只過舒適而安閒的生活。

[譯註] Khankah 蘇菲修院：蘇菲傳統中的修行與聚會場所，通常由導師與門徒共同生活、禮拜、修習或接待旅人。

On the last day he sent the mureed a basket of fruit by a fair damsel. She set the tray down and immediately went away, though he wished to detain her. Her beauty and charm were so great, and he was now so much disposed to admire and was so much won by them, that he could think of nothing else. Every hour and every minute he longed only to see her again. His longing increased every moment. He forgot to eat, he was full of tears and sighs, finding his heart now warmed and melted by the fire of love. After some time, when the teacher visited the disciple, with one glance he inspired him.

最後一天，老師讓一位美麗的少女送一籃水果給這位門徒。少女放下果盤，立刻轉身離去，儘管他很想留住她。她的美貌與魅力如此動人，而此時他的心又如此容易欣賞、如此深深為之吸引，以至於再也無法想別的事。每一個小時、每一分鐘，他都只盼望能再見到她。他的渴望一刻比一刻強烈。他忘了吃飯，滿是淚水與嘆息，發現自己的心如今已被愛之火溫熱、熔化。過了一段時間，老師前來探望這名弟子，只需一眼，便使他得到靈感。

“Even steel can be molded if it be heated in the fire”, and so it is with the heart which is melted by the fire of love.

「即使是鋼，只要在火中燒熱，也能被塑造成形。」被愛之火熔化的心，也是如此。

It is love’s wine which is called Sherab-i Kotathar, the wine found in the heavens. When the intoxication of love increases in man, people call him blindly in love or madly in love, because people wide-awake to the illusion of the surface consider themselves to be the only ones wide-awake; but their wakefulness is to the delusion, not to reality. Although the lover is called crazy, his craze for one object of the world of illusion makes him gradually free from all delusion around him. If he succeeds in attaining to this he enjoys his union with the beloved in his happy vision. Then no time is needed to lift from his sight the veil of the one object which he loved.

這愛之酒，被稱為 Sherab-i Kouthar，也就是天堂之酒。當愛的陶醉在人心中愈來愈深，人們便說他是盲目地愛、瘋狂地愛；因為那些對表象幻象十分清醒的人，自以為只有自己才是真正清醒的。然而，他們所清醒面對的是幻象，而非實相。雖然愛者被稱作瘋狂，但他對幻象世界中某一個對象的癡迷，卻使他漸漸從周遭一切幻象中解脫出來。若他成功抵達這一步，他便在幸福的異象中享受與摯愛者的合一。此時，那個曾經作為他所愛之對象的帷幕，無須多久便會從他的眼前揭開。

[譯註] Sherab-i Kouthar：波斯語形式，意為「考薩爾之酒」。Kawthar 源自《古蘭經》108章，後來在伊斯蘭與蘇菲傳統中常與天堂之泉、天堂之飲相聯繫。此處以「愛之酒」象徵神聖之愛所帶來的陶醉。

As is said in the Qur’an, “We will lift the veil from thine eyes and thy sight will be keen.”

正如《古蘭經》所說：「我們將從你的眼前揭去帷幕，你的眼光便會變得銳利。」

It is natural for a lover to become infatuated with someone whom he admires, with whom he desires union; but no one object in the world is so perfect as fully to satisfy the aspiration of the loving heart. This is the stumbling-block that causes every beginner in love to fail. The successful travellers on the path of love are those whose love is so beautiful that it provides all the beauty that their ideal lacks. The lover by doing this in time rises above the changeable and limited beauty of the beloved, but begins to see into the beloved’s inner being; in other words, the exterior of the beloved was only a means of drawing the love out of the heart of the lover, but the love led him from the external to the innermost being of the ideal of his love. When in the ideal the lover has realized the unlimited and perfect Being, whether he loves man or God, he is in Fact in either case a blissful lover.

愛者迷戀自己所欣賞、渴望與之合一的人，本是自然之事；然而，世上沒有任何一個對象完美到足以完全滿足一顆有愛之心的渴望。這正是每一個初入愛之道的人容易跌倒之處。那些能成功走過愛之道路的旅人，他們的愛本身如此美麗，以至於能補足其理想對象所欠缺的一切美。如此經過一段時間，愛者便超越了摯愛者那會改變而有限的外在之美，開始看見摯愛者的內在存有。換句話說，摯愛者的外在只是一種媒介，把愛從愛者的心中引出來；而愛本身又帶領他，從外在進入他所愛之理想最深處的存有。當愛者在自己的理想之中體認到那無限而完美的存有時，無論他愛的是人還是神，他實際上都已成為一位充滿至福的愛者。

In this the journey through the path of idealism is ended and a journey through the divine ideal is begun, for the God-ideal is necessary for the attainment of life’s perfection. Man then seeks for a perfect object of love, idealizing God, the whole Being, the Infinite, who is above all the world’s lights and shades, good and ill, who is pure from all limitations, births or deaths, unchangeable, inseparable from us, all-pervading, present always before the vision of his lover.

至此，穿越理想之道的旅程告一段落，而通往神聖理想的旅程由此開始；因為要達到生命的圓滿，神的理想是不可或缺的。於是，人開始尋求一個完美的愛之對象，把神作為自己的理想——那完整的存有、那無限者；祂超越世間一切光明與陰影、善與惡，不受任何限制，不受生死所限，永恆不變，與我們不可分離，遍在一切之中，永遠呈現在愛祂之人的眼前。

When love is true it takes away selfishness, for this is the only solution to wipe off the ego. The English phrase “to fall in love” conveys the idea of the true nature of love. It is a fall indeed from the pedestal of the ego to the ground of nothingness, but at the same time it is this fall which leads to a rise, for as low as the lover falls so high he rises in the end. The lover falls in love as a seed is thrown in the ground. Both appear to be destroyed, but both in time spring up and flourish and bear fruit for the ever-hungry world.

當愛是真實的，它便會帶走自私，因為這是消除自我的唯一方法。英語的「fall in love」（墜入愛中）恰好表達了愛的真正本質。那的確是一場墜落——從自我的高臺，墜落到無我的地面；然而也正是這場墜落帶來了上升。愛者墜得多深，最終便升得多高。愛者墜入愛中，就如一顆種子被投入土裡。兩者看來都像是被毀滅了，然而經過一段時間，兩者都會萌芽、茁壯，並為這個永遠飢渴的世界結出果實。

Man’s greatest enemy in the world is his ego, the thought of self. This is the germ From which springs all evil in man. Even the virtues of the egoist turn into sin, and his small sins into great crimes. All religions and philosophies teach man to crush it, and there is nothing that can crush it better than love. The growth of love is the decay of the ego. Love in its perfection entirely frees the lover from all selfishness, for love may be called in other words annihilation.

人在世上最大的敵人，是他的自我，也就是關於自己的念頭。這正是一切人性之惡萌生的種子。甚至自我中心之人的美德也會轉變成罪，而他細小的罪也會成為重大的過錯。所有宗教與哲學都教導人要粉碎這個自我，而沒有什麼比愛更能做到這件事。愛的成長，就是自我的衰退。當愛達到圓滿時，它使愛者徹底脫離一切自私；因此，換一個說法，愛也可以稱為消融。

“Whoever enters the school of lovers, the first lesson he learns is not to be.”

「凡進入愛者學堂的人，所學的第一課，就是不再成為『我』。」

Unity is impossible without love, for it is love only which can unite. Each expression of love signifies the attainment of union as its object, and two things cannot unite unless one of them becomes nothing. No one knows this secret of life except the lover.

沒有愛，合一是不可能的，因為只有愛能使事物合一。愛的每一種表現，都以達到合一為目的；而兩樣事物若要合一，其中一方便必須成為無。除了愛者之外，沒有人知道這個生命的祕密。

Iraqi says in his verse, “When I, without having loved, went to Ka’ba and knocked at the gate, a voice came: “What didst thou accomplish in thy home that thou hast come forth?” And when I went, having lost myself in love, and knocked at the gate of Ka’ba, a voice said: “Come, Come, O Iraqi, thou art ours.””

伊拉基（Iraqi）在詩中說：「當我尚未愛過，便前往卡巴（Ka’ba）敲門時，一個聲音傳來：『你在自己家中完成了什麼，竟走到這裡來？』而當我在愛中失去了自己，再次前往卡巴敲門時，一個聲音說：『進來吧，進來吧，伊拉基啊，你是屬於我們的。』」

If there is anything that works against the vanity of the ego, it is love. The nature of love is to surrender; there is no one in the world who does not surrender. The world of variety, which has divided life into limited parts, naturally causes every lesser one to surrender to the greater. And, again, for every greater one there is another still greater in relation to whom he is smaller, and for every smaller one there is another still smaller, in relation to whom he is greater. And as every soul is by its nature compelled to surrender to perfection in all its grades, the only thing that matters is whether it be a willing surrender or an unwilling surrender. The former comes by love, the latter is made through helplessness, which makes life wretched.

若有任何力量能與自我的虛榮相抗衡，那就是愛。愛的本性就是臣服；世上沒有人不曾臣服。這個多樣性的世界把生命分割成有限的部分，因此較小者自然會向較大者臣服。而對每一個較大者而言，又有另一個更大的，相較之下他自己便成了較小者；同樣地，對每一個較小者而言，也總有另一個更小的，相較之下他自己又成了較大者。由於每一個靈魂按其本性，都必然要向各個層次的完美臣服，因此真正重要的，只在於這份臣服是出於自願，還是出於不情願。前者源於愛；後者則出於無可奈何，而這使生命變得悲苦。

It moves the Sufi when he reads in the Qur’an that the perfect Being asked the imperfect souls, the children of Adam, “Who is thy Lord? They, conscious of their imperfections, said humbly, “Thou art our Lord.”

當蘇菲讀到《古蘭經》中，那完美的存有向不完美的靈魂——亞當的子孫——問道：「誰是你們的主？」而他們意識到自己的不完美，謙卑地回答：「祢是我們的主。」這段話深深觸動他的心。

Surrender is a curse when, with coldness and helplessness, one is forced to surrender; but the same becomes the greatest joy when it is made with love and all willingness.

當一個人在冷漠與無能為力之中被迫臣服時，臣服是一種詛咒；然而，同樣的臣服若出於愛與全然自願，便會成為最大的喜悅。

Love is the practice of the moral of Suluk, the way of beneficence. The lover’s pleasure is in the pleasure of the beloved. The lover is satisfied when the beloved is fed. The lover is vain when the beloved is adorned. “Who in life blesses the one who curses him? Who in life admires the one who hates him? Who in life proves faithful to the one who is faithless? No other than a lover.” And in the end the lover’s self is lost from his vision and only the beloved’s image, the desired vision, is before him for ever.

愛就是實踐蘇魯克（Suluk）的倫理，也就是行善之道。愛者的喜悅，在於摯愛者的喜悅；摯愛者得到食物，愛者便滿足；摯愛者受到妝點，愛者便引以為榮。「在生命中，誰會祝福那咒罵自己的人？誰會欣賞那憎恨自己的人？誰會對那不忠於自己的人依然忠誠？除了愛者，還有誰呢？」到最後，愛者的自我從他的視野中消失，只剩摯愛者的形象——那渴望已久的景象——永遠在他眼前。

[譯註] Suluk：阿拉伯語，原義有「行走、循道而行」之意；在蘇菲傳統中指靈性道路上的修習與行旅。

Love is the essence of all religion, mysticism, and philosophy, and for the one who has learnt this love fulfills the purpose of religion, ethics, and philosophy, and the lover is raised above all diversities of faiths and beliefs.

愛是一切宗教、神祕主義與哲學的本質。對於已學會這份愛的人而言，愛本身便實現了宗教、倫理與哲學的目的，而愛者也因此超越一切不同的信仰與信念。

Moses once begged the Lord God of Israel on Sinai, “O Lord, Thou hast so greatly honored me in making me Thy messenger, if there could be any greater honor I should think it this, that Thou shouldest come to my humble abode and break bread at my table.” The answer came, “Moses, with great pleasure We shall come to thy abode.” Moses prepared a great feast and was waiting eagerly for God to come. There happened to pass by his door a beggar, and he said to Moses, “Moses, I am ill and weary, and I have had no food for three days and am at the point of death. Pray give me a slice of bread and save my life.”

有一次，摩西在西奈山向以色列的主神懇求：「主啊，祢使我成為祢的使者，已賜給我如此大的榮耀；若還有比這更大的榮耀，我想，那便是祢願意來到我卑微的居所，與我同桌擘餅。」回答傳來：「摩西，我們非常樂意到你的住所。」摩西於是準備了一桌盛宴，滿懷期待地等候神來臨。這時，恰巧有一名乞丐經過門前，對摩西說：「摩西，我又病又疲憊，已經三天沒有吃東西，眼看就要死了。求你給我一片麵包，救救我的命。」

Moses, in his eagerness, expecting every moment a visit from God, said to the beggar, “Wait, O man, thou shalt have more than a slice, plentiful and delicious dishes. I am waiting for a guest who is expected this evening, when he is gone, then all that remains I will give to thee that thou mayest take it home.” The man went away, time passed on, God did not come, and Moses was disappointed.

摩西急切地等待神隨時來訪，便對乞丐說：「等一等吧，你得到的不只是一片麵包，而會有豐盛美味的菜餚。我正在等候一位今晚要來的客人；等他離去之後，所有剩下的食物，我都會給你帶回家。」那人於是離開了。時間一點一點過去，神始終沒有來，摩西十分失望。

Moses went the next day to Sinai and grieved bitterly, saying, “My Lord, I know Thou doest not break Thy promise, but what sin have I, Thy stave, committed that Thou didst not come as Thou hadst promised?” God said to Moses, “We came, O Moses, but alas, thou didst not recognize Us. Who was the beggar at thy door? Was he other than We? It is We who in all guises live and move in the world and yet are remote in Our eternal heavens.”

第二天，摩西到了西奈山，悲痛地說：「我的主啊，我知道祢不會違背承諾；可是我，祢的僕人，究竟犯了什麼罪，使祢沒有照所應許的前來？」神對摩西說：「我們來過了，摩西啊，可惜你沒有認出我們。你門前的那個乞丐是誰？難道不是我們嗎？正是我們，以一切不同的形貌活著、行走於世間，同時又遠居於我們永恆的諸天之中。」

Whatever diversity may exist among religions, the motive of all has been one: to cultivate and prepare the human heart for divine love. Sometimes the Spirit of Guidance drew the attention of mankind to see and admire the beauty of God in the firmament, sometimes in the trees and rocks, making them sacred trees, holy mountains, and purifying streams. Sometimes it has guided men’s attention to see the immanence of the Lord among the beasts and birds, calling them holy animals, sacred birds. When man realized that there is no one in creation higher than himself he gave up his worship of the lower creation, recognizing the divine light most manifest in man. Thus by degrees the world evolved to see God in man, especially in the holy man who is God-conscious.

無論各種宗教之間存在多少差異，它們的動機始終只有一個：培養並預備人的心，使之能夠接受神聖之愛。有時，引導之靈使人類把目光投向天空，在蒼穹中看見並讚歎神的美；有時則引導他們在樹木與岩石中看見祂，因此有了神聖之樹、聖山與具有淨化力量的溪流。有時，它又引導人們看見主內在於走獸與飛鳥之中，因此稱牠們為神聖的動物、神聖的鳥。當人意識到，在受造界中沒有比人更高的存在時，他便逐漸放棄對較低受造物的崇拜，並認識到神聖之光在人身上顯現得最為充分。於是，世界漸漸發展到能在人身上看見神，尤其是在具有神之意識的聖者身上。

Man, with his limited self, cannot see God, the perfect Being, and if he ever can picture Him, he can best picture Him as man; for how can he imagine what he has never known? “We have created man in Our own image.” Krishna to the Hindus, Buddha to the Buddhists, was God in man. Angels are never pictured in any other image than that of man. Even the worshippers of the formless God have idealized God with the perfection of human attributes, although this is only a ladder to reach the love of the perfect God, to which by degrees one attains.

人以自己有限的自我，無法看見神——那完美的存有；而如果他能為神形成一個形象，他最容易將祂想像成人的形象，因為一個人又怎能想像自己從未認識過的事物？「我們依照自己的形象創造了人。」對印度教徒而言，克里希納是神顯現於人；對佛教徒而言，佛陀也是如此。天使也從未被描繪成不同於人的形象。即使崇拜無形之神的人，也會以人性屬性的完美來理想化神；然而，這仍只是一座階梯，使人逐步抵達對那完美之神的愛。

This is explained very clearly in a story of the past. Moses once passed by a farm and saw a peasant boy talking to himself, saying, “O Lord, Thou art so good and kind that I feel if Thou were here by me I would take good care of Thee, more than of all my sheep, more than of all my fowls. In the rain I would keep Thee under the roof of my grass-shed, when it is cold I would cover Thee with my blanket, and in the heat of the sun I would take Thee to bathe in the brook. I would put Thee to sleep with Thy head on my lap, and would fan Thee with my hat, and would always watch Thee and guard Thee from wolves. I would give Thee bread of manna and would give Thee buttermilk to drink, and to entertain Thee I would sing and dance and play my flute. O Lord my God, if Thou wouldst only listen to this and come and see how I would tend Thee.”

從古老的一則故事，可以很清楚地說明這一點。有一次，摩西經過一座農場，看見一個牧童自言自語地說：「主啊，祢是這麼良善、這麼仁慈。我覺得，如果祢現在就在我身邊，我一定會好好照顧祢，比照顧我所有的羊群和家禽更加用心。下雨時，我會讓祢躲在草棚的屋頂下；天冷時，我會用自己的毯子蓋住祢；烈日炎炎時，我會帶祢到溪裡洗澡。我會讓祢把頭枕在我的腿上入睡，用帽子替祢搧風，時時守著祢，不讓狼靠近。我會給祢吃嗎哪的餅，給祢喝酪乳；為了使祢開心，我還會為祢唱歌、跳舞、吹笛子。我的主、我的神啊，只要祢願意聽見這些話，來看看我會怎樣照料祢就好了。」

Moses was amused to listen to all this, and, as the deliverer of the divine message, he said, “How impertinent on thy part, O boy, to limit the unlimited One, God, the Lord of hosts, who is beyond form and color and the perception and comprehension of man.” The boy became disheartened and full of fear at what he had done. But immediately a revelation came to Moses: “We are not pleased with this, O Moses, for We have sent thee to unite Our separated ones with Us, not to disunite. Speak to everyone according to his evolution.”

摩西聽見這一切，覺得十分可笑。身為神聖訊息的傳遞者，他說：「孩子啊，你竟如此無禮，把那無限者——神、萬軍之主——限制成這般模樣！祂超越一切形體與色彩，也超越人的感知與理解。」牧童聽了十分沮喪，也因自己所做的事而充滿恐懼。然而就在此時，一則啟示立即臨到摩西：「摩西啊，我們並不喜悅你這樣做。我們派你來，是要使那些與我們分離的人重新與我們合一，而不是使他們更加分離。要按照每一個人的進化程度與他說話。」

2. Friendship
友誼

Life on earth is full of needs, but among all the different needs, the need of a friend is the greatest. There is no greater misery than being friendless. This earth would turn into heaven if one had a desired friend in life, and heaven, with all the bliss it offers, would become hell in the absence of the friend one loves.

世上的生命充滿各種需要，但在所有不同的需要之中，對朋友的需要是最大的。沒有比沒有朋友更加悲苦的事。如果生命中有一位自己渴望的朋友，這個世界也會變成天堂；而天堂無論提供多少至福，若少了自己所愛的朋友，也會變成地獄。

A thoughtful soul always seeks a friendship that lasts long. The wise prefers a friend who will go with him through the greater part of his life’s journey. The miniature of our life’s journey may be seen in our ordinary travelling. If, when we are going to Switzerland, we make friends with someone who is booked for Paris, his company will last only so far, and, after that, all the rest of the journey we shall have to go alone. Every friendship on earth will go so far and then will stop.

一個善於思索的靈魂，總會尋求能夠長久的友誼。有智慧的人，寧可選擇一位能陪伴自己走過生命大部分旅程的朋友。我們平常的旅行，就是生命旅程的一個縮影。假如我們要前往瑞士，途中卻與一位只買了到巴黎車票的人結為朋友，那麼他的陪伴只能到那裡為止；之後剩下的旅程，我們仍必須獨自走完。世上的每一段友誼，都只能同行到某一處，然後便會停下來。

Our journey being through death, if there is any friendship that will last, it is only the friendship with God, which is unchangeable and unending. But if we do not see and cannot perceive His Being, it becomes impossible to be friends with someone of whom we are quite unaware. But God being the only friend and friendship with Him the only friendship that is worth while, the wise first seek the friendship of someone on earth who can guide them to the divine Beloved, just as a lover would first find someone belonging to the household or among the acquaintances of the fair one with whom he desires friendship.

既然我們的旅程必須穿越死亡，那麼若有任何一份友誼能夠持續下去，就只有與神的友誼，因為它永不改變、永無止境。然而，如果我們看不見祂，也無法感知祂的存有，要與一位自己全然無所覺察的存在成為朋友，便是不可能的。但既然神是唯一真正的朋友，而與祂的友誼是唯一真正值得追求的友誼，有智慧的人便先在世上尋找一位能引導自己走向神聖摯愛者的人；就像一位愛者，若渴望與某位美麗的人建立關係，會先去尋找她家中的人，或她的熟人。

3. Fana
消融

Among Sufis many attain to the God-ideal through Rasul, the ideal man; and one reaches the door of Rasul through Shaikh, the spiritual guide, whose soul owing to devotion is focused on the spirit of Rasul and so is impressed with his qualities. This graduated way becomes clear to the traveller on the path of the attainment of the divine Beloved.

在蘇菲之中，許多人透過使者（Rasul）——那理想之人——抵達神的理想；而人則透過謝赫（Shaikh），也就是靈性導師，抵達使者之門。由於虔敬，謝赫的靈魂專注於使者之靈，因此也承載了使者的特質。對於走在通往神聖摯愛者之路上的旅人而言，這條循序漸進的道路會逐漸變得清晰。

[譯註] Shaikh：阿拉伯語，字面有「長者」之意，在蘇菲傳統中常指靈性導師或修行道路上的師長。此處為保留 Fana-fi-Shaikh 這一專門階段的名稱，譯作「謝赫」。

The friendship with Shaikh has no other motive than guidance in seeking God. As long as your individuality lasts it will last, as long as you are seeking God it will last, as long as a guidance is needed it will last. The friendship with Shaikh is called Fana-fi-Shaikh, and it then merges into the friendship with Rasul. When the mureed realizes the existence of the spiritual qualities beyond the earthly being of the murshid, that is the time when he is ready for Fana-fi-Rasul.

與謝赫的友誼沒有其他目的，只是為了在尋求神的道路上得到引導。只要你的個體性仍然存在，這份友誼便會存在；只要你仍在尋求神，它便會存在；只要你仍需要引導，它便會存在。與謝赫的這份友誼稱為 Fana-fi-Shaikh，也就是「消融於謝赫」；之後，它會融入與使者的友誼。當門徒體認到，在穆希德（murshid）的世間存在之外，還有靈性的特質存在時，他便已準備好進入 Fana-fi-Rasul，也就是「消融於使者」。

The friendship with the Shaikh is friendship with a form, and the form may disappear. A person may say, “I had a father, but now he is no more.” In fact, the impression of the father whom he has idealized remains in his mind. The devotion to Rasul is like this; his name and qualities remain though the earthly form is no more on earth. Rasul is the personification of the light of guidance, which a mureed, according to his evolution, idealizes. Whenever the devotee remembers him, on the earth, in the air, at the bottom of the sea, he is with him. Devotion to Rasul is a stage that cannot be omitted in the attainment of divine love. This stage is called Fana-fi-Rasul.

與謝赫的友誼，是與一個形體的友誼，而這個形體可能會消失。一個人也許會說：「我曾經有父親，但如今他已經不在了。」然而事實上，那位被他理想化的父親所留下的印象，仍然存在於他的頭腦之中。對使者的虔敬也是如此；雖然他的世間形體已不再存在於地上，他的名字與特質卻仍然留存。使者是引導之光的人格化呈現，門徒會依照自己的進化程度，將這道光理想化。無論虔敬者身在陸地、空中，或海底，只要憶念使者，使者便與他同在。對使者的虔敬，是達到神聖之愛時不能略過的一個階段。這個階段稱為 Fana-fi-Rasul，也就是「消融於使者」。

After this comes Fana-fi-Allah, when the love of Rasul merges in the love of Allah. Rasul is the Master who is idealized for his lovable attributes, his kindness, goodness, holiness, mercy; his merits are intelligible; his form is not known, only the name which constitutes his qualities; but Allah is the name given to that ideal of perfection where all limitation ceases, and in Allah the ideal ends.

接下來是 Fana-fi-Allah，也就是「消融於神」；在這個階段，對使者的愛融入對神（Allah）的愛。使者是因其可愛的屬性——仁慈、良善、神聖與憐憫——而受到理想化的大師；他的美德是人所能理解的。人並不知道他的形體，所知道的只是那個承載其特質的名字。然而，「神」這個名稱，指的是一切限制都止息之處的完美理想；到了神，一切理想便抵達終點。

A person does not lose the friendship with the Pir nor with Rasul, but he beholds Pir in Rasul and Rasul in Allah. Then for guidance, for advice, he looks to Allah alone.

一個人並不會失去與導師（Pir）的友誼，也不會失去與使者的友誼；而是在使者之中看見導師，在神之中看見使者。從此，無論尋求引導或建議，他都只仰望神。

There is a story of Rabia, the great Sufi, that once she beheld Mohammed in a vision and he asked her, “O Rabia, whom dost thou love?” She answered, “Allah.” He said, “Not His Rasul?” She said, “O blessed Master, who in the world could know thee and not love thee? But now my heart is so occupied with Allah alone that I can see no one but Him.”

有一則關於偉大蘇菲聖者拉比亞（Rabia）的故事。有一次，她在異象中看見穆罕默德；穆罕默德問她：「拉比亞啊，妳愛的是誰？」她回答：「神。」他問：「不愛祂的使者嗎？」她說：「蒙福的大師啊，世上有誰認識了你，卻不愛你呢？只是如今我的心完全被神占滿了，除了祂之外，我再也看不見任何人。」

From those who see Allah, Rasul and Shaikh disappear. They see only Allah in the Pir and Rasul. They see everything as Allah and see nothing else.

對那些看見神的人而言，使者與謝赫都消失了。他們在導師與使者之中所看見的只有神。他們看一切都是神，除此之外再也看不見任何別的存在。

A mureed by devotion to the murshid learns the manner of love, standing with childlike humility, seeing in the face of every being on earth his Pir’s blessed image reflected.

門徒透過對穆希德的虔敬，學習愛的方式；他以孩子般的謙卑站立，並在世上每一個人的面容中，看見自己導師蒙福形象的映照。

When Rasul is idealized he sees all that is beautiful reflected in the unseen ideal of Rasul. Then he becomes independent even of merit, which also has an opposite pole, and in reality does not exist, for it is comparison that makes one thing appear better than the other, and he loves only Allah, the perfect ideal, who is free from all comparison, beyond all merits and attributes.

當使者成為他的理想時，他便在那不可見的使者理想中，看見一切美的映照。接著，他甚至超越了對美德的依賴，因為美德本身也有它的對立面，而從究竟而言並不存在；只是由於比較，我們才會覺得一件事比另一件事更好。此時，他只愛神——那完美的理想，祂超越一切比較，也超越一切美德與屬性。

But when a mureed has risen beyond this ideal, then he himself becomes love, and the work of love has been accomplished. Then the lover himself becomes the source of love, the origin of love, and he lives the life of Allah, which is called Baqi bi-Allah. His personality becomes divine personality. Then his thought is the thought of God, his word the word of God, his action the action of God, and he himself becomes love, lover, and beloved.

然而，當門徒超越了這個理想，他自己便成為愛，而愛的工作也就完成了。此時，愛者自身成為愛的泉源、愛的根源，並活出神的生命；這稱為 Baqi bi-Allah，也就是「存續於神」。他的整個人格風範成為神聖的風範。於是，他的思想是神的思想，他的言語是神的言語，他的行動是神的行動，而他自己則成為愛、愛者與摯愛者。

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