13. The Christ Spirit
13. 基督精神

The words of Christ in the Bible are, “I am alpha and omega,” which means, “I am first and last.” Would this then mean, “I came on earth only when I was called Jesus, I gave the message and then never came again”? If that were the meaning of “I am alpha and omega,” it would have no meaning. Really the meaning is, “I was, am, and shall be.”

在《聖經》裡，基督說：「我是 Alpha 與 Omega。」這個意思是：「我是起初，也是終末。」這難道意味著：「只有當我被稱作耶穌時，我才來到世上；我給出了訊息，然後就永遠不會再來了」嗎？如果這就是「我是 Alpha 與 Omega」的意思，那這句話就沒有意義了。它真正的意思是：「我曾是，我現在是，且我將是。」

Now about the question that arises in the inquiring mind, “Who may this alpha and omega be? What was he before Jesus Christ? What would he be like after the time of Jesus Christ?” For those who put the water of the ocean in a pitcher, that water is from the ocean; but really the ocean is the ocean. Those of different creeds who have different forms of worship and dogmas say, “This is the teaching of Christ.” Yes, it is true, but it is not all the teaching of Christ. It is as true as to say, “This is the ocean,” if one brought water from the ocean in a pitcher. It is true, but there still is an ocean.

現在，那些愛追根究柢的頭腦就會接著問：「那麼，這個 Alpha 和 Omega 究竟是誰？在耶穌基督之前，他是什麼？在耶穌基督的時代過去之後，他又會是什麼？」對那些把海水裝進壺裡的人來說，壺裡的水確實來自大海；但大海終究還是大海。那些分屬不同教派、有著不同敬拜形式與教義的人會說：「這就是基督的教導。」是的，這是真的，但這並不是基督教導的全部。這就如同我們把海水裝進壺裡，指著壺裡的水說：「這就是大海。」這話確實是真的，但大海仍然在那裡。

This shows that a shield called Jesus Christ brought the message. It was the shield that was Jesus. This is the secret of that alpha and omega spirit of Christ. If one could only see that spirit hidden behind different shields, one would be constantly in the vision of Christ.

這顯示出，是一個名為耶穌基督的外殼帶來了這個訊息；耶穌，就是那個外殼。這就是那個 Alpha 與 Omega、基督精神的祕密。如果我們能夠看見那個精神隱藏在不同的外殼之後，我們就能時時看見基督的顯現。

• In the smile of the innocent child, there is Christ.
  
  在純真孩童的笑容中，有基督。

• In the warmth of the mother’s heart for her child, Christ is hidden.
  
  在一位母親對孩子發自內心的溫暖中，隱藏著基督。

• In the unselfish, self-sacrificing love of the father, Christ shows himself.
  
  在一位父親無私、自我犧牲的愛中，基督顯現他自己。

• In the kindly attitude of a friend you can see the spirit of Christ.
  
  在朋友和善親愛的態度中，我們可以看見基督的精神。

• What is there which has beauty, tenderness, or gentleness which has not the spirit of Christ?
  
  有什麼具有美、柔情或溫柔的事物，其中沒有基督的精神呢？

From those who keep Christ away from them he is far, but in reality they themselves have covered their eyes. It is not the fault of Christ, it is their own fault. Christ speaks in the whisper of the wise people of all centuries. He speaks aloud in the voice of the prophet, the warner who comes now and then. Though he comes out sometimes and sometimes hides himself, he is the same always. Man’s doubt and skepticism prevent his seeing him. When Christ came in the form of Jesus, those who saw him did not recognize him.

對於那些不讓基督接近自己的人，基督很遙遠；但實際上，是他們自己遮蔽了雙眼。這不是基督的錯，而是他們自己的錯。基督透過歷代智者的輕聲低語說話；他也透過先知的聲音高聲說話——先知就是那不時來到世間的示警者。雖然有時他顯現，有時隱藏，但他始終是同一位。人的懷疑與猜疑，使人無法看見他。當基督以耶穌的形式來到時，那些看見他的人卻沒有認出他。

Another side to consider is that the idea of miracles is attached to the person of Christ. In reality the greatest miracle of Christ that any wise man can see is the miracle of Christ’s living heart; not wonderworking, but the living God presented to the world. This was the lighted faith which helped the darkness to vanish, not dogmas, doctrines, or theories which all came afterwards. He went to fishermen and said to them, “Come hither, I will make you fishers of men.” What does it mean? Does “fishers of men” mean fishers of money? No, he meant by this, “Let love be alive in your hearts, that the whole world may become your customers.”

另一方面我們要考慮的，是人們總把神蹟的觀念與基督這個人連結在一起。實際上，任何智者都能看出，基督最大的神蹟，就是他那顆活生生的心；不是施展什麼奇蹟，而是將活生生的神呈現在世人面前。真正使黑暗消散的，是那明亮燃起的信心，而不是那些後來才出現的教條、教義或理論。他來到漁夫那裡，對他們說：「到我這裡來，我要使你們成為得人的漁夫。」這是什麼意思？難道「得人的漁夫」就是去獲取人的錢財嗎？不是。他的意思是：「讓愛在你們心中活起來，使全世界都成為你們的顧客。」

If you analyze what he said, what he taught was very simple. It was not elaborate words and theories; there was not any great literary skill. What was it? It was where the arrow came from. The word was an arrow from the depth of his being. In the Bible it is often said that revelation came with a fiery tongue. What does it mean? If the heart is burning the word comes in a flame.

如果你仔細分析耶穌所說的話，就會發現他的教導其實非常單純。那不是繁複的文字或複雜的理論，也沒有什麼高超的文學技巧。真正重要的是什麼？是那支箭從哪裡射出。他的話語，就是從他存在的最深處射出的一支箭。《聖經》中常說，啟示伴隨著火焰般的舌頭而來。這是什麼意思？如果心正在熾烈燃燒，從心中出來的話語，也就帶著火焰。

Where is God? God is in the heart of man. When it is the voice of God that rises in the heart of man it is a divine word. The words of Christ are a tongue of fire that pierces the heart of men. Christ’s saying “fishers of men” does not mean making you clever that you may take advantage of man. It is not cleverness; on the contrary, the message of Christ is that simplicity, sincerity, gentleness, and innocence beyond and above all prove the purity of the heart.

神在哪裡？神在人的心裡。當神的聲音在人的心中升起，那就是神聖的話語。基督所說的話，就像燃燒的火舌，能夠刺穿人心。基督所謂的「得人的漁夫」，並不是要讓你變得精明，以便去佔人的便宜。這與精明無關；恰恰相反，基督的訊息是：純樸、真誠、溫柔，而尤其最重要的是純真，這些才證明了一顆心的純淨。

In the East the Christ attribute is called mansumiat, innocence. It takes a different point of view from the ordinary one to see the value and power of innocence. Every person is born on earth an innocent soul. He gets the experience of the world and becomes worldly. Then the more worldly he becomes, the more the beauty and power and angelic attributes are covered by the knowledge of the complications of the world. As he develops he tries to learn still more and to bury the spirit of innocence as deep as possible, until the Christ spirit is altogether covered. What he knows is what he has learned in this mortal and false life. What can the knowledge of falsehood bring? Falsehood. The generality is seeking for falsehood and gets falsehood. This can be seen by the simple fact that the man clad with artificial clothes is welcome in society. This shows that man cannot stand the bare truth.

在東方，基督的這種特質被稱作「曼蘇米亞特（mansumiat）」，也就是純真。要看見純真的價值與力量，需要採取一種不同於一般世俗觀點的眼光。每個人誕生在世上時，原本都是一個純真的靈魂。我們經歷這個世界，然後逐漸變得世故。我們愈是世俗，那些美、力量與天使般的特質，就愈被我們對這個複雜世界的種種知識所掩蓋。隨著成長，我們又試著學習更多，並把純真的精神儘可能埋得更深，直到基督的精神完全被遮蔽。我們所知道的，是我們在這個終將死亡而又虛假的生命中所學來的一切。虛假的知識能夠帶來什麼？還是虛假。大多數人尋求的是虛假，得到的也就是虛假。從一個很簡單的事實就能看出這一點：披著人造衣裝的人，在社會中反而受到歡迎。這顯示出，人無法承受赤裸的真實。

What were the prophets who came in all ages? Whose message did they bring? It was the message of Christ; the Christ spirit spoke through them. The message has never been advertised. It has never been made an object of publicity. They sacrificed their lives to all the opposition on their path. The path of the prophet is the path of constant trouble. If it was the voice of Christ in the words of the prophet why cannot he speak now or why will he not speak in the future? It is only one voice calling all the time, but man closes the door of his heart.

歷代來到世間的先知們究竟是什麼？他們帶來的是誰的訊息？那是基督的訊息；基督的靈（精神）透過他們說話。這個訊息從來不是靠廣告宣傳而傳播的，也從來沒有成為公開宣傳的對象。他們面對道路上的種種反對，甚至為此犧牲自己的生命。先知之路，是一條不斷遭遇艱難的道路。如果在先知的話語中說話的是基督的聲音，那麼他為什麼今天不能說話？又為什麼未來不能說話？事實上，始終都只有同一個聲音在呼喚，只是人自己關上了心門。

The prophet is the artist. As the artist draws the picture of nature and brings its beauty before man in a form that man can tolerate and admire, so it is the work of the prophet to bring before men that bare truth, that man cannot tolerate, in a form that he can tolerate and can admire. Whether man understands it or not, that is another question.

先知是藝術家。就像藝術家描繪自然，把自然的美，以一種人們所能接受、能欣賞的形式帶到人們面前；先知的工作也是一樣：把人原本無法承受的赤裸真實，轉化成一種人能夠承受、也能夠欣賞的形式，帶到人們面前。至於人究竟能不能理解，那就是另一回事了。

Another work of the prophet is that he is all things to all men, and for each one he has a special message. There is no world message; there cannot be a world message. A world message, yes, in the spirit, but not in manifestation. In manifestation, to every individual, nation, and race, there is a special message. Although the people of every sect have made the prophet their own, yet that is as absurd as to limit the sky to one’s own country, as if Switzerland had a special sky, or if there were a special sky for England, and one for France. How can one limit the sky? The earth can be limited, not the sky.

先知的另一項工作是：面對不同的人，他能以不同的方式成為他們所需要的一切；對每一個人，他都有一個特別的訊息。世上並沒有一種具體形式上的「世界性訊息」，也不可能有。世界性的訊息確實存在，但它存在於靈的層次，而不在顯現的層次。在顯現的層次中，對每一個人、每一個國家、每一個族群，都有其特別的訊息。雖然每個宗派的人都把先知據為己有，但這就像把天空限制在自己國家的疆界裡一樣荒謬；彷彿瑞士有一片特別屬於自己的天空，英國也有一片，法國也有一片。天空怎麼可能被限制？土地可以被劃分，天空卻無法被劃分。

Can the Muslims, the Jews, or the Christians limit Christ? Can they say Christ was of the East, not of the West? Could the West limit Christ, as they say Christ was the master of the West? This means limiting the spirit which was for the blessing of all. Limitation is in the shield that hides the spirit, not in the Christ self. In the same way people limit the spirit of Christ by saying it is only spoken of in one particular book. In the book it is kept as water from the ocean can be kept in a pitcher, but to say that it is only there means that the ocean is only in the pitcher, and there exists no other ocean.

穆斯林、猶太人或基督徒能夠限制基督嗎？他們能說基督屬於東方，而不屬於西方嗎？或者，西方能夠限制基督，說基督只是西方的聖師嗎？這就等於限制了那個原本為一切眾生帶來祝福的靈。限制存在於遮蔽靈的外殼之中，而不在基督本身。同樣地，當人們說基督的精神只在某一本特定的書中被談到時，也是在限制它。基督的精神確實能被保存在一本書裡，就像海水能被盛在壺裡；但若說它只存在於那本書中，就等於說整片大海都只存在於那只壺裡，而除此之外再沒有其他海洋。

No doubt from everywhere in the world the answer of Christ will come if you call him. If you look above or below, Christ is before you if your eyes are opened. If everything is closed, you do not know Christ, nor does Christ know you. This shows there is a wall covering and separating man from Christ externally and inwardly. That means that if a person finds him within he will find him without. Those with closed hearts will implore Christ to come and will wait thousands of years, and he will not come.

毫無疑問，只要你呼喚基督，基督的回應就會從世界的每一個角落而來。無論你向上看或向下看，只要你的眼睛是打開的，基督就在你面前。如果你的一切都緊閉著，你不認識基督，基督也不認識你。這顯示出，在人與基督之間有一道遮蔽彼此的牆，無論在外在或內在，都把人與基督分隔開來。這也表示，如果一個人在內在找到基督，他也會在外在找到基督。那些關上心門的人，就算苦苦哀求基督到來，等待幾千年，他也不會來。

How will they recognize him if they do not recognize Christ in their own hearts first? Everything is recognized first in the heart. Pearls are pebbles before swine. Have they no eyes? They have, but the eyes of the heart have not recognized the pearls. Man recognizes the pearls and distinguishes them from pebbles because inwardly he has first recognized them and distinguished the pearls from pebbles. Do not think that there is not a gulf between man and man as between the swine and man! Man can prove worse than the animal, man can act worse than the devil. The devil is a miniature of man’s wickedness, as the angel is the miniature of man’s greatness. It was the human being which was honored by being Christ; it is the human being who is pictured in the form of Satan. Think what a gulf there is between man and man!

如果我們不先在自己的心裡認出基督，又怎麼能認出他的到來？一切事物，都必須先在心中被辨認出來。珍珠，對豬來說就只是小石頭而已。豬沒有眼睛嗎？牠們有眼睛，但牠們的「心之眼」沒有認出珍珠。我們之所以能認出珍珠，並把珍珠與小石頭區分開來，是因為在內在，我們已經先認出了珍珠，也已經將它與小石頭區分開來。不要以為人與人之間，就不會存在如同豬與人之間那樣的天壤之別！人可以比動物更糟，也可以做出比魔鬼更可怕的行為。魔鬼只是人類邪惡之處的縮影，正如天使是人類偉大之處的縮影。那因成為基督而受到尊崇的是人；那被描繪為撒旦形象的，也同樣是人。想想看，人與人之間存在著多麼巨大的鴻溝！

To take off the cover separating man from Christ, a process is necessary. This process is the same which takes away stains and lines from paper by rubbing. The process is safa, from which comes Sufi. Safa means to clean, to wash, or to erase, and by this the soul is purified. This shows the mission of Sufism, and the work of the Sufi Order. Every process of meditation and concentration is to wash the soul of the stains of earthly experiences.

要除去那隔在人與基督之間的覆蓋物，需要經過一個過程。這個過程，就像藉由擦拭，把紙上的污漬與線條擦去一樣。這個過程叫做 safa，Sufi 一詞即由此而來。Safa 的意思是清理、洗滌或擦去；藉由這個過程，靈魂得以淨化。這顯示出蘇菲主義的使命，以及蘇菲教團（Sufi Order）的工作。所有冥想與專注的修持過程，都是在洗去靈魂上那些由塵世經驗所留下的污漬。

The real use of any exercise or practice is that the Christ voice may become audible and that the light may manifest. Once a person has heard this voice, once he has seen this light, do you think that he hears or sees anything else afterwards? No, the ears are dedicated to Christ when once one has found Christ in one’s own heart.

任何鍛鍊或實修真正的作用，都在於使基督的聲音能夠被聽見，使那道光能夠顯現。當一個人已經聽見這個聲音、已經看見這道光之後，你覺得他還會聽見或看見別的什麼嗎？不會。一旦一個人在自己的心中找到基督，他的耳朵便奉獻給了基督。

The principal teaching of Sufism is that the heart of man is the shrine of God, and one can recognize God in one’s own heart, feel His existence, presence, virtue, goodness, and all manner of beauty.

蘇菲主義最主要的教導，就是「人的心是神的聖殿」。我們可以在自己的心中認出神，感受到祂的存在、祂的臨在、祂的德性、祂的良善，以及各種各樣的美。

It must be remembered that the whole of life around us is a life of falsehood. The more you see and experience, the more you see how very false it is and how much disillusionment there is. The only way of getting over it is to light the lamp in the darkness of night, and all will be cleared.

我們必須記得，環繞著我們的整個生活，是一種充滿虛假的生活。你看得愈多、體驗得愈多，就愈能看見其中有多麼虛假，又有多少令人幻滅之處。要超越這一切，唯一的方法，就是在黑暗的夜裡點起一盞燈；燈一亮，一切便都清楚了。

The secret of life is this, to produce beauty in ourselves. When beauty is produced in the heart, then all that breaks the heart vanishes, and the whole universe becomes one single vision of the sublimity of God.

生命的祕密就是：在我們自己之內生出「美」。當美在心中生起，一切使我們心碎的事物便會消散，而整個宇宙都化為同一個景象——無論我們看向哪裡，看見的都是神的崇高與莊嚴。

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