10. The Purpose of Life
10. 生命的目的

It may be asked whether there is a perfection in meditation, and the answer may be yes or no, or both yes and no, and still neither yes nor no. For the perfection in meditation is the perfecting of all perfections.

有人也許會問，冥想中是否有一種圓滿，而答案可以是「是」，也可以是「不是」，也可以同時是「是」與「不是」，甚至既不是「是」也不是「不是」。因為冥想中的圓滿，就是使一切圓滿臻於圓滿。

Through right meditation, one becomes attuned to God and so to all creation, including humanity. There are many grades and steps in spiritual devotion, wherein one becomes attuned to his teacher, to the world teacher, to the Prophets of God, and to Allah himself. Even after one reaches the last stages it is only a beginning, for then man ceases to be and God lives truly in and through him. This is called Baqby the Sufis. Of this condition, Christ has said, “Many are called but few are chosen,” and Krishna taught that very few realized his being and of these only a few sustained that realization.

透過正確的冥想，我們與神相調，也因此與一切受造之物，包括人類相調。靈性奉獻中有許多不同的階段與層次，在其中，一個人逐漸與自己的老師、世界導師、神的眾先知，以及阿拉本身相調。即使到達最後的階段，那也只是一個開始；因為到了那時，人不再存在，而神真正活在他裡面，也透過他而活。蘇菲祕士稱這種狀態為巴卡（Baqa）。基督談到這種狀態時曾說：「被召的人多，被選上的人少。」克里希納也教導說，只有極少數人證悟他的存在，而在這些人之中，又只有少數能持續維持那份證悟。

The true work of the Sufi is not only to attain to God-consciousness but to make this realization absorb more and more of life. In that condition, one never loses sight of Allah for an instant, day or night, asleep or awake. This may truly be called the purpose of life, the fulfillment of the inner life.

蘇菲祕士真正的工作，不只是達到神的意識，也要使這份證悟逐漸涵攝生命中越來越多的部分。在那種狀態中，無論白天或黑夜、睡著或清醒，我們沒有一瞬間失去對阿拉的覺知。這才真正可以稱為生命的目的、內在生命的圓滿實現。

But progress does not cease there. In that state, called Fana-fi-Allah, when the soul is absorbed in God, one loses the false sense of being and finds the true reality. Then one finally experiences what is termed Baqa-i-Fan, where the false ego is annihilated and merged into the true personality, which is really God expressing Himself in some wondrous ways. This is the same also as Nirvana, where the true reality of life is experienced and expressed. This means that the true life is in God, the only Being, and through God-realization man finds his true self.

然而，進展並不在那裡停止。在稱為「消融於神」（Fana-fi-Allah）的狀態中，當靈魂消融於神時，我們失去那種虛假的存在感，並找到真正的實相。最後，我們會經驗到所謂的巴卡・伊・法納（Baqa-i-Fana），在其中，虛假的自我被消融，並融入真正的人格，而那真正的人格其實就是神以某些奇妙的方式表達祂自己。這也就是涅槃，在其中，生命真正的實相被經驗，也被表達。這表示，真正的生命存在於神——唯一的存在——之中，而透過神之證悟，人找到自己真正的自我。

Initiation is the beginning and perfection is the end, the making complete. But where is the beginning and where is the end? They are both in silence, in God. In the silence we were born, and to it we return.

啟蒙是開始，圓滿是終點，是使之完整。然而，開始在哪裡，終點又在哪裡？兩者都在寂靜之中，在神之中。我們誕生於寂靜，也回歸寂靜。

Therefore, the perfection of meditation is meditation. It is the perfected souls who continue ever in meditation, being absorbed in meditation, creating from their meditation, and living in that meditation. The spiritual life is the drawing of sustenance through the breath from God. It is a life of praise, yet of sobriety and balance, a life of fullness and emptiness both, being empty of self and filled with God. This is the true purpose of initiation and spiritual training, from the moment the mureed takes bayat until the eternity of eternities, time without ending.

因此，冥想的圓滿就是冥想。那些已臻圓滿的靈魂永遠持續在冥想之中，消融於冥想，從冥想中創造，也活在那冥想之中。靈性生活，就是透過呼吸從神那裡汲取滋養。那是一種讚頌的生命，同時也是清醒而平衡的生命；既充盈又空無，空掉自我，而充滿神。這就是啟蒙與靈性訓練真正的目的，從門徒接受拜阿特（Bayat）的那一刻開始，直到永恆中的永恆，直到無盡的時間。

---