2. Through Meditation We May Find Freedom
2. 透過冥想，我們可以找到自由

The great obstacle to be overcome in meditation is the false ego or Nafs. What is it that prevents us from concentrating our thoughts and feelings on God? It is the Nafs.

在冥想中必須克服的一大障礙，就是虛假的自我，也就是納夫斯（Nafs）。是什麼阻止我們將思想與感受集中於神？就是納夫斯。

In the Hebrew religion there is the Shma cry, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” And there is the answer to the cry, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.” And these directions should be considered as a unity, for the light of the soul shines in the heart and is reflected in the mind.

在希伯來宗教中，有示瑪（Shma）的呼喚：「以色列啊，你要聽，主是我們的神，主是獨一的。」而對這呼喚的回應是：「你要盡心、盡性、盡意愛主你的神。」這些指示應當被視為一個整體，因為靈魂之光在心中照耀，並映照在頭腦之中。

Plato wrote that we live in a shadow world, where we confuse the shadow of ourselves with reality. This is the Nafs, the false ego, which stands in the light before God, causing, so to speak, a spiritual eclipse. In meditation, one does not have to hold such a thought, for this false self is overcome through meditating upon the true self, which in reality is God.

柏拉圖寫道，我們生活在一個影子的世界裡，在那裡，我們把自己的影子與實相混為一談。這就是納夫斯，也就是虛假的自我；它擋在神的光前，可以說造成了一場靈性的日蝕。在冥想中，我們不必一直持有這樣的思想，因為藉由冥想真正的自我，這個虛假的自我便會被克服，而真正的自我在實相中就是神。

The modern devotee may repeat the Invocation, “Toward the One,” etc., instead of the Shma, and it will produce the same effect. There is no difference between them in the language of the heart and soul; the forms in words may be different, but the acts, thoughts, feelings, and results are the same.

現代的奉獻者可以誦念祈請文中的「朝向一體」等句，來取代示瑪，而它會產生相同的作用。在心與靈魂的語言中，兩者並沒有差別；文字的形式也許不同，但行動、思想、感受與結果都是相同的。

Whenever the Nafs seems to hold us in its sway, it is through meditation we may find freedom. To the Sufi, pure meditation includes more than going into one’s room only; any act of life which is done with dependence upon Allah or which makes us aware of Him, whether in reading or studying or working or contemplation or prayer or meditation or any duty of everyday life, all may become part of a universal meditation which marks every breath and every heartbeat in life. The momentary obstacle which may have appeared like a great cliff becomes as a tiny step through our growth and understanding, and by taking this step, what was once a hindrance becomes an aid to our development.

每當納夫斯似乎支配著我們時，我們可以藉由冥想找到自由。對蘇菲祕士而言，純粹的冥想不只是走進自己的房間；生命中的任何行動，只要是在依靠阿拉之中進行，或使我們覺知祂，無論是閱讀、學習、工作、觀想、祈禱、冥想，或日常生活中的任何責任，都可能成為一種普遍性冥想的一部分，貫穿生命中的每一次呼吸與每一次心跳。眼前一時的障礙，原本也許看起來像一面巨大的峭壁，隨著我們的成長與理解，便成為一個小小的台階；而踏上這個台階之後，曾經的阻礙便成為幫助我們成長的力量。

The Nafs turns us from the One to the many, enticing us with the things of this world. Then man attaches himself to one thing after another, which brings, at best, momentary satisfaction. Through his spiritual practices the Sufi learns to chain the Nafs, to perceive that it is only a shadow of reality; and finding the sun of truth within his being, looking upon it, one is no longer aware of the shadow.

納夫斯使我們從一體轉向眾多，以這個世界的種種事物誘惑我們。於是，人依附於一樣又一樣的事物，而它們至多只能帶來片刻的滿足。透過靈性修持，蘇菲祕士學會約束納夫斯，看見它只不過是實相的一道影子；當我們在自己的存在中找到真理之日，並凝視著它，就不再覺察那道影子。

Then the Nafs is not destroyed, but harnessed. The whole of man’s being is attuned to God and everything within him serves God. This is the work of all on the path of illumination, of whatever school they may be. There is no other obstacle than this false self, and there is no better means of controlling it than by meditation and by practicing the presence of Allah.

這時，納夫斯並未被摧毀，而是受到駕馭。人的整個存在都與神相調，而他內在的一切都為神服務。無論屬於哪一個學派，這都是所有走在光啟之路上的人所做的功課。除了這個虛假的自我之外，沒有別的障礙；而要控制它，沒有比冥想以及對阿拉之臨在的修持更好的方法。

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