17. Sufi Mysticism, III: Preparing the Heart for the Path of Love
17. 蘇菲神祕主義（3）：為愛之道預備心

In the first place one asks, “What is the heart? Where is the heart?” One is accustomed to saying that the heart is in the breast. Yes, that is true. There is a nerve center in the breast of everyone which has so much to do with the feelings that the heart is always pictured in the breast, that center which is most sensitive to our feelings. When a person is feeling great joy, in that center one feels something light up, and by the lighting up of that center the whole person seems light. The person feels as if he or she flew, there is a great joy in his or her life. Likewise, if depression or despair comes into one’s life, this has an effect upon the center. One feels one’s throat choked and one’s breath is heavy with a load; again it is that center that feels.

首先我們會問：「心是什麼？心在哪裡？」我們習慣說，心在胸口。是的，這是真的。每個人的胸口都有一個神經中心，與我們的感受有極密切的關聯，因此心總被描繪在胸口；這個中心對我們的感受最為敏銳。當一個人感到極大的喜悅時，會覺得那個中心彷彿亮了起來；而隨著那個中心被點亮，整個人也彷彿都明亮起來。他感覺自己像要飛起來，生命充滿了巨大的喜悅。同樣地，當沮喪或絕望進入生命時，也會影響這個中心。我們會覺得喉嚨哽住，呼吸沉重得像壓著一個重擔；感受到這一切的，仍是這個中心。

But it is not that only which is the heart. It is as if a mirror were standing before the heart, focused on the heart, and every feeling is reflected in this mirror in the physical being of each person. Since people are ignorant of their soul, they know not where their heart is, nor where the center is where their feelings are reflected.

然而，心並不只是這個中心。彷彿有一面鏡子立在心前，對準著心；每一種感受都映照在這面鏡子裡，顯現在每個人的身體之中。由於我們不了解自己的靈魂，因此不知道心究竟在哪裡，也不知道感受所映照的那個中心究竟在何處。

This fact is known by the scientists as well — that it is the heart which is the beginning of the formation of a child. In the mystic’s conception, it is the heart, which is the beginning of form, which is also the beginning of the spirit which makes each one individual. The depth of that spirit is in reality what we call the heart. By this we understand that there is some such thing as a heart which is the deepest depth of one’s being. One first knows something of it from the impression which one receives in this nerve center in the breast of one, and therefore one calls it the heart.

科學家也知道這一點——胎兒的形成，是從心開始的。在祕士的理解中，心既是形體形成的起點，也是那使每一個人成為獨特個體之靈的起點。而那個靈的最深處，實際上就是我們所稱的心。由此我們明白，確實有一個可稱為「心」的所在，是我們存在的最深處。我們最初對它有所覺察，是透過胸口這個神經中心所接收到的印象，因此我們便稱它為心。

In these days people give less importance to sentiment; they rely more upon the intellect. The reason is that when they meet two sorts of people, the intellectual and the sentimental, they find in an intellectual person greater balance than in the one with sentiment. This is no doubt true, but the lack of balance is for the very reason that there is a greater power than the intellect, which is the sentiment. The earth is fruitful and creative, but not so living and powerful as the water. The intellect is creative, yet not so powerful as the heart and the sentiment. In reality, the intellectual person in the end will prove unbalanced too, if there is no sentimental side attached to it.

如今，人們較不重視情感，而更依賴理智。原因是，當我們遇見兩類人——偏重理智的人與偏重情感的人——往往會發現前者比後者更為平衡。這無疑是真的；然而，情感之所以容易失去平衡，恰恰是因為它具有一種比理智更強大的力量。土地豐饒而富有創造力，卻不像水那樣充滿生命與力量。理智富有創造力，卻不如心與情感那樣有力量。事實上，若缺少情感這一面，偏重理智的人到最後也會顯得失衡。

Are there not many people of whom their associates say: “I like him, love him, and admire him, but he closes his heart”? The ones who close their hearts neither fully love others, nor allow others to love them fully. Besides, the person who is only intellectual in time becomes skeptical, doubting, unbelieving, and destructive, as there is no power of the heart to balance it.

難道我們不常聽見有人這樣形容一個人：「我喜歡他、愛他、欣賞他，可是他把心關起來了。」把心關起來的人，既無法充分去愛別人，也不讓別人充分地愛他。此外，只依靠理智的人，久而久之會變得懷疑、多疑、不再相信，甚至具有破壞性，因為缺少心的力量與理智相平衡。

The Sufi considers devotion of the heart the best thing to cultivate for spiritual realization. It might seem quite different from what many think, but the ones who close their hearts to others, close their hearts to God. Jesus Christ did not say, “God is the intellect.” He said, “God is love.” If, therefore, there is a piece of God that can be found anywhere, it is not in any church on the earth, nor in Heaven above; it is in the heart of each person. The best place where you are sure to find God is in the loving heart of a kind person.

蘇菲認為，要達到靈性上的證悟，最值得培養的是心的虔敬。這或許與許多人的想法很不一樣；然而，對他人關閉心門的人，也是在對神關閉心門。耶穌基督並沒有說：「神是理智。」他說：「神是愛。」因此，如果我們能在任何地方找到神的一部分，那並不在地上的任何教堂裡，也不在上方的天堂，而在每一個人的心裡。最能確信找到神的地方，就是善良之人那顆充滿愛的心。

It may be that by the help of reason one will act according to a certain standard of morals, but that does not make a person good. If one is good or righteous, one is artificially made good. All the prisoners in the jail can be righteous. But if natural goodness and righteousness can be found anywhere, it is in the spring of the heart from which life rises, a spring of virtue, and every drop of this is a living virtue. That proves that goodness is not person-made, it is one’s very being. If one lacks goodness, it is not the lack of training; it is because one has not yet found him or herself.

藉著理性，我們或許能依循某種道德標準行事，但這並不會使一個人成為真正善良的人。即使表現得善良或正直，那也只是人為塑造出來的善良。即使監獄裡的囚犯，也都可以表現得正直。但若有自然生發的善與正直可被找到，那就在心的泉源裡；生命從那裡湧出，那是一眼美德的泉，每一滴都是活生生的美德。這證明了善並不是人為造就的，它就是我們的本性。若一個人缺少善，並不是因為缺少訓練，而是因為他還沒有找到自己。

Goodness is natural. For a normal person it is necessary to be good. No one needs teaching to live a good or a righteous life. If love is the torch on one’s path, it shows one what fairness means: the honor of the word, charity of the heart, and righteousness. Do we not sometimes see a young man who, with all his boisterous tendencies, finds a woman whom he begins to love, and if he really loves her, he begins to show a difference in his life. He becomes gentle for he must train for her sake; he leaves off things he was never before willing to leave off.

善是自然的。對一個正常的人而言，善良是必要的。沒有人需要別人教導，才能過善良正直的生活。若愛是我們道路上的火炬，它會讓我們明白何謂公正：信守承諾、心懷仁愛，以及正直。有時我們不是會看見一個年輕人，原本性情粗放不羈，後來遇見一位女子並開始愛她；若他真的愛她，他的生活便開始有所改變。他變得溫和，因為為了她，他必須學著調整自己；過去從來不願放下的事，也開始放下。

In the same way, forgiveness, where there is love, is not a very difficult thing. A child comes before his mother, having offended her a thousand times, and asks her forgiveness. There is no other to go to. It does not take a moment for the heart of the mother to forgive. Forgiveness was waiting there to be manifested. One cannot help being kind when there is feeling. A person whose feeling goes out to another strikes a note of sympathy in every person; the person finds the point of contact in every soul they meet, because they have love.

同樣地，有愛的地方，寬恕並不是多麼困難的事。一個孩子即使冒犯母親千百次，仍會走到她面前請求原諒，因為他沒有別處可去。母親的心不需片刻便能寬恕。寬恕原本就在那裡，等著顯現。心中有真切的感受時，我們自然會待人仁慈。當一個人的感受能向另一個人流去，他便能在每個人心中喚起同理的共鳴；他能在每一個相遇的靈魂裡找到相通之處，因為他有愛。

There are people who say, “But is it not unwise to give oneself in outgoing tenderness to everyone, because people are not trustworthy?” I should say, “If a person is good and kind, this goodness ought to be manifested to everyone; the doors of the heart should not be closed.”

有人會說：「把自己的溫柔敞開給每一個人，難道不是不明智嗎？畢竟人並不都值得信任。」我會說：「如果一個人善良仁慈，這份善與仁慈就應向每一個人顯現；心門不應關閉。」

A mystic like Jesus Christ said, “Love your friend,” and he went so far as to say, “Love your enemy.” The Sufi treads the same path. In charity of heart to one’s neighbors, the Sufi considers it the love of God; and in showing love to everyone, the Sufi considers this as love to God. In this, the method of the Sufi and the Yogi differ. The Yogi is not unkind. The yogi says, “I love you all, but I had better keep away from you, for your souls are always groping in darkness, and my soul is in the light. With your friendship I shall spoil my soul, so I had better keep away and love you from a distance.”

像耶穌基督這樣的祕士說：「愛你的朋友。」甚至進一步說：「愛你的敵人。」蘇菲所走的也是同一條道路。蘇菲以仁愛之心對待身邊的人，視此為對神的愛；向每一個人展現愛，也視為是在愛神。在這一點上，蘇菲與瑜伽士的方法有所不同。瑜伽士並非不仁慈。瑜伽士會說：「我愛你們所有人，但我最好還是與你們保持距離，因為你們的靈魂總在黑暗中摸索，而我的靈魂在光中。與你們交往會損害我的靈魂，因此我最好離你們遠一點，從遠處愛你們。」

The Sufi says, “It is a trial, but it is to be tried. I shall take up my everyday duties as they come to me.” Knowing how unimportant the things of the world are and not giving them too much value, still Sufis are attentive to their duties towards those who love them, like them, depend upon them, and follow them. Sufis try for the best way of meeting those who dislike and despise them. They live In the world and yet are not of the world. In this way the Sufis consider loving each person as the main principle in the fulfillment of the purpose of one’s life.

蘇菲則說：「這是一場考驗，但值得一試。我會承擔每天來到面前的責任。」蘇菲知道世間之事並沒有那麼重要，也不賦予它們過多的價值；然而，對那些愛他們、喜歡他們、依賴他們、跟隨他們的人，他們仍盡心履行自己的責任。面對不喜歡甚至輕視他們的人，蘇菲也努力尋找最好的相處方式。他們活在世上，卻不屬於這世界。因此，蘇菲把愛每一個人視為實現人生目的的首要原則。

How true it is that the life of those who love their enemies and yet lack patience is like a burning lantern with little oil. It cannot endure; in the end the flame becomes faded. The oil in love is patience. In addition to this, in the path of love, what is the oil? From beginning to end: unselfishness and self-sacrifice. Those who say “give and take” do not know love, they know business. One says, “I have loved dearly once, but I was disappointed,” as if a man would say, “I dug in the earth, but when the mud came I was disappointed.” It was true that mud came, but with patience one would have reached the water one day. Only patience can endure. Only endurance makes great. It is endurance which makes things valuable and people great.

愛自己的敵人，卻缺少耐心的人，其生命確實就像一盞油所剩無幾的燈。它無法持久，最後火焰便逐漸黯淡。愛裡的油，就是耐心。除此之外，在愛之道上，還有什麼是燈油？從開始到終點，就是無私，以及犧牲自己。說「有給有取」的人不懂愛，他們懂的是交易。有人說：「我曾深深愛過一次，卻失望了。」這就像有人說：「我往土裡挖，可是挖到泥巴時，我就失望了。」泥巴確實出現了；但若有耐心，總有一天會挖到水。唯有耐心才能持久。唯有堅忍使人偉大。正是堅忍，使事物變得珍貴，也使人成為偉大的人。

The imitation of gold can be as beautiful as real gold; the imitation of the diamond as bright as a real diamond. The difference is that one fails in the test of endurance, and the other can stand it. Yet one must not be compared to objects. People have something divine in themselves, and they can prove this by their endurance in the path of love.

金子的仿製品可以如真金一般美麗，鑽石的仿製品也可以如真鑽一般明亮。差別在於，一個禁不起持久的考驗，另一個卻能承受。然而，人不能與物品相比。我們內在有某種神性的東西，而我們可以藉由在愛之道上的堅忍來證明它。

Now whom should one love, how should one love? Whatever one loves — whether duty, human beings, art, friends, an ideal, or one’s fellow-creatures — one has certainly opened that door through which to pass in order to reach that love which is God. The beginning of love is an excuse; it leads to that ideal of love which is God alone.

那麼，我們應該愛誰？又該如何去愛？無論我們所愛的是責任、人、藝術、朋友、一個理想，或身邊的其他人——只要有所愛，就已經打開了一扇門；穿過這扇門，我們便能走向那就是神的愛。愛之初，所愛的對象只是一個契機；它引領我們走向愛的理想，而那理想唯有神。

Many say, “I can love God, but not human beings.” It would be the same if we said to God, “I love you, but not your image.” Can one hate the human creatures in which God’s image is to be found and yet claim love of God? If one is not tolerant and not willing to sacrifice, can one claim the love of the Lord?

許多人說：「我可以愛神，卻無法愛人。」這就像我們對神說：「我愛你，卻不愛你的形象。」我們怎能憎恨那些身上可見神之形象的人，卻又聲稱自己愛神？如果我們不能寬容，也不願意犧牲，又怎能說自己愛主？

The first thing to teach is the broadness of the heart; the awakening of the heart is the inner feeling. If there is a sign of saintliness it is not the power of words, not high position, either spiritual or intellectual, and not magnetism. The proof of the saintly spirit is only expressed in the love of creatures. It is the continuous spring of love from that divine fountain situated in the heart of each person.

首先要培養的，是心的寬廣；心的覺醒，則是內在感受的甦醒。若要看一個人是否具有聖者的精神，徵象並不在於言語的力量，不在於崇高的地位——無論是靈性上或智識上的地位——也不在於個人的磁性。聖者精神的證明，只會顯現在對眾人的愛中。那是持續湧出的愛，來自每一個人心中那眼神聖的泉源。

Once that fountain is open, it purifies the heart; it makes the heart transparent to see the outer and the inner world. The heart becomes the vehicle for the soul to see all within and without. One not only communicates with another person, but also with God.

一旦那泉源開啟，它便淨化心，使心變得澄澈透明，得以看見外在與內在的世界。心成為靈魂觀看的媒介，使靈魂得以看見內在與外在的一切。我們不只與另一個人相通，也與神相通。

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