31. What is Wanted in Life?
31. 人生所求為何？

If this question were asked of several people each would perhaps make out a list of not less than one thousand things that one wants in life. And after writing one thousand things that one wants in life, one rarely knows what one really wants. What one apparently wants in life is not what one really wants in life because the nature of the outer life is illusion. As soon as one feels, “I want this in life,” then the world of illusion answers, “Yes, you want me in life; this is the particular thing you want in life.” When a person finds a lack in life, they only find the outer lack; they do not find the lack which is within themselves.

如果把這個問題問幾個人，每個人也許都能列出至少一千樣自己在人生中想要的東西。然而，即使寫下了一千樣我們想要的東西，仍很少真正知道自己究竟想要什麼。我們表面上在人生中想要的，並不是真正想要的，因為外在生活的本質就是幻象。一旦我們覺得：「我這一生想要的是這個」，幻象的世界便會回答：「對，你要的就是我；這正是你在人生中想要的東西。」當我們覺得人生中有所欠缺時，看見的只是外在的缺失，卻沒有發現自己內在的欠缺。

Coming to the central theme I would say that if there is anything that we can all be in accord with, it is that what we lack in life is to be tuned with the Infinite and to be in rhythm with the finite. In simple words, to be in rhythm with the conditions of life and to be in tune with the source of our existence.

說到核心的主題，我想，如果有一件事是我們都能認同的，那就是：人生中我們所欠缺的，是與無限調諧，並與有限保持同一節奏。簡單地說，就是與人生的境遇同節奏，並與我們存在的源頭調諧。

I should like to explain more plainly what I mean by being in rhythm with the conditions of life. Our perpetual complaint against all things in life comes from our not being in rhythm with the diverse conditions of life that we have to face. We think that if these conditions change into something that we wish, it would make life easier. But that is an inexperienced expectation. If we were placed in the same condition that we just now desired as best, we would not say we are quite satisfied; we would then find lacks in that condition also.

我想更清楚地說明，所謂與人生的境遇保持同一節奏，究竟是什麼意思。我們之所以不斷抱怨生活中的種種事情，是因為沒有與自己必須面對的各種人生境遇保持同一節奏。我們以為，只要這些境遇能變成自己所希望的樣子，生活就會容易一些。但那只是缺乏經驗的期待。即使我們真的置身於自己剛才所渴望、認為最好的境遇裡，也不會覺得完全滿足；我們還是會在那個境遇中發現有所欠缺。

With all errors and mistakes and lacks which we find in our external life, we see a perfect hand working behind it all. And if we looked at life a little further than we look at it generally, we would certainly find that all the lacks and errors and mistakes and faults sum up into something, making life as complete as the wise hands which are working behind it wish it to be.

儘管我們在外在生活中看見種種錯誤、失誤與欠缺，仍能看見一隻完美的手在這一切背後運作。若我們看待生命時能比平常再深入一些，就必定會發現，所有的欠缺、錯誤、失誤與缺陷，最終共同構成了某種完整，使生命成為那在背後運作的智慧之手所希望它成為的樣子。

There is a Persian saying: “The gardener of this garden of the world knows best which plant to rear and which to remove.”

有一句波斯諺語說：「這世界花園的園丁，最知道哪一株植物該培育，哪一株又該移除。」

One might say that involves too much of what they call fatalism. No, I do not wish to take you further into fatalism. Now I want to bring you into the sphere of action. In this place what I wanted to do was touch the bounds of fatalism and now come to the sphere of action. There is a great deal in the hand of each person to improve his or her life’s condition, if only one does not lose one’s patience before a desirable condition is brought about and if one’s courage and hope have not been exhausted.

有人或許會說，這未免太接近他們所謂的宿命論了。不，我不想帶你們更深入宿命論。現在，我想帶你們進入行動的領域。剛才我只是想觸及宿命論的邊界，現在則要進入行動的領域。每個人其實都有很大的能力改善自己的人生境遇，只要在理想的境遇尚未形成之前不失去耐心，只要勇氣與希望尚未耗盡。

Now the question is, how can one come into at-one-ment with the rhythm of life, in other words, with the conditions of life? A condition of life and one’s own desire are two conflicting things; if not always conflicting, mostly they are conflicting. If desire gives in to the condition, then condition gets the upper hand, and if the condition is master then no doubt desire has the upper hand. But the condition is not always mastered by a conflict or by a struggle. There is always caution needed in fighting a condition in life.

現在的問題是，我們如何能與生命的節奏達到合一，換句話說，如何與人生的境遇達到合一？人生的境遇與自己的欲望是兩件彼此衝突的事；即使並非總是如此，大多數時候也是彼此衝突的。若欲望向境遇讓步，境遇便占了上風；若境遇是主宰，那麼毫無疑問，欲望便占了上風。然而，境遇並不總是能透過衝突或鬥爭來掌握。與人生的境遇抗爭時，總是需要謹慎。

If by peace a harmony can be established, it is better to avoid battling. If one can harmonize with a condition in life without struggling, it is better than to harmonize by struggling with it. Be not surprised if I say that those who complain most about life and those who are very disappointed and very much troubled with life are the ones who struggle most with the conditions of life.

如果能以和平的方式建立和諧，就最好避免爭鬥。若能不經由抗爭便與人生的某種境遇和諧相處，就比透過抗爭來達成和諧更好。如果我說，那些最常抱怨人生、對人生最失望也最受困擾的人，正是與人生境遇抗爭得最厲害的人，請不要感到驚訝。

Therefore in coming into at-one-ment with the conditions of life one need not always use a weapon; one must first try to harmonize with a particular condition of life. The great heroes who have really fought through life and gained life’s victory in the real sense of the word, have not been those who fought with conditions, but those who made peace with the conditions of life. The secret in the lives of great Sufis in whichever part of the world they have been has been that they met conditions-favorable or unfavorable with a view toward coming into at-one-ment with the rhythm of life.

因此，要與人生的境遇達到合一，並不需要總是拿起武器；我們首先必須試著與眼前的境遇和諧相處。那些真正一路走過人生的奮戰，並在真正意義上贏得人生勝利的偉大人物，並不是與境遇作戰的人，而是與人生的境遇和平相處的人。那些偉大的蘇菲，無論身處世界何地，他們一生的祕密都在於：無論遇上有利或不利的境遇，都以與生命的節奏達到合一為目標來面對。

The desire is sometimes our friend and sometimes our enemy. In unfavorable conditions desire becomes agitated and loses its patience, and desire wishes to break the condition. Instead of breaking conditions, it breaks itself. The great souls have given their hands first to their worst enemy, because the ones who make their enemy their friend will make their friend their own self. A condition as bitter as poison will be turned into nectar if you will get into rhythm with that condition, understand that condition, and sustain that condition with patience, courage, and hope.

欲望有時是我們的朋友，有時也是我們的敵人。在不利的境遇中，欲望會變得焦躁、失去耐心，想要打破眼前的境遇；結果非但沒有打破境遇，反而毀了自己。偉大的靈魂總是先向自己最惡劣的敵人伸出手，因為能把敵人變成朋友的人，也會把朋友視同自己。即使境遇苦如毒藥，只要我們能與它取得同一節奏，理解它，並以耐心、勇氣與希望承受它，它也會化為甘露。

When conditions are favorable, a person is very often afraid that this might pass, but when conditions are adverse, one does not generally say that it will pass: one thinks that it will last forever. What does it come from? It comes from fear of the condition; it comes from agitation and the desire to get out of it, so that one even loses hope, the only source that keeps us alive.

當境遇有利時，我們常常害怕它會過去；但當境遇不利時，我們通常不會想到它也會過去，反而認為它會永遠持續下去。這是從哪裡來的？它來自對境遇的恐懼，來自焦躁以及想要擺脫它的欲望，以致我們甚至失去了希望——那使我們得以活下去的唯一泉源。

We see the nature of life: morning till evening everything in life changes. Why, therefore, should we not hope that an unfavorable condition will change and a favorable condition will come? A person gets into a habit of expecting the worst. A person who has some bad experiences through life always thinks that whatever comes cannot be good; “Nothing good will come to me because I have gone through bad circumstances.” One thinks, “Anyone else can have a better time than me because I was born with that unfavorable star, and I have that unfortunate condition to go through in my life.”

我們看見生命的本質：從早到晚，生活中的一切都在改變。那麼，為什麼我們不能懷抱希望，相信不利的境遇會改變，有利的境遇將會來臨？我們會養成總是預期最壞結果的習慣。一個一生中有過一些不好經歷的人，總會覺得接下來發生的事都不可能是好的：「因為我曾經歷過艱難的處境，所以不會有好事來到我身上。」我們會想：「別人都可能過得比我好，因為我出生在一顆不吉利的星辰之下，而這就是我這一生必須經歷的不幸境遇。」

There are many imaginative and intelligent people who, day after day, read the newspapers and draw the conclusion that there must be a war. Every little struggle they read about gives them the idea that the world is going to pieces. Other people interested in astrology, who have gone further than ordinary astrology, expect the end of the world year after year, month after month. It gives people a topic to speak about at the dinner table, and at the same time it gives a shock to those who wish to live a little longer than the world’s end. Many such dangers of world destruction have passed, but the prophecy and expectation still remain and it will continue. What I mean to say is that the best thing is to go through every condition that life presents with patience, understanding, open eyes, and to try to rise above it with every little effort one can make.

有許多富有想像力又聰明的人，日復一日地讀報紙，最後總會得出結論：一定會有戰爭。每讀到一場小小的衝突，就會讓他們覺得世界就要四分五裂了。另一些對占星學感興趣，而且比一般占星學走得更遠的人，年復一年、月復一月地等待世界末日。這給了人們一個在餐桌上談論的話題，同時也讓那些還希望活得比「世界末日」久一點的人嚇一跳。許多這類世界毀滅的危險都已經過去了，但這樣的預言與預期仍然存在，而且還會繼續下去。我的意思是，最好的方式，就是以耐心、理解與清醒的眼光走過人生帶來的每一種境遇，並以我們所能做出的每一點努力，設法超越它。

Now coming to the other side of the subject, how can one be in tune with the infinite? The nature of being in tune with the infinite can be seen by comparing one’s soul to the string of an instrument. It is tied at both sides: one is the infinite and the other is the finite. When a person is conscious all the time of the finite then he or she is tuned with the finite, and the one who is conscious of the infinite is tuned with the infinite. Being in tune with one makes us limited, weak, hopeless, and powerless: by being in tune with the other we obtain the power and strength to pull through life under all adverse conditions.

現在來看這個主題的另一面：我們如何能與無限調諧？要理解與無限調諧的本質，可以把我們的靈魂比作樂器的一根弦。這根弦的兩端各繫在一處：一端是無限，另一端是有限。當我們的意識始終停留在有限上，就會與有限調諧；而意識到無限的人，則與無限調諧。與前者調諧，會使我們變得受限、軟弱、失去希望而無力；與後者調諧，則使我們獲得力量與強韌，無論遭遇什麼不利的境遇，都能支持我們走過人生。

The work that a Sufi considers his or her sacred work has nothing to do with any particular creed nor with any particular religion; it is only this simple thing which I have just said: to be in rhythm with life’s conditions and to be in tune with the infinite.

蘇菲視為神聖工作的事，與任何特定的信條無關，也與任何特定的宗教無關；它只是我剛才所說的這件簡單的事：與人生的境遇同節奏，並與無限調諧。

How can you act in accord with life? Instead of being frightened by life’s condition, meet it and observe it keenly and then try to harmonize for that time with that condition. The next effort is to rise above it, if it is adverse. For instance, a young Arab was sleeping in the field and a serpent happened to walk over his palm and he in his sleep unknowingly held the serpent with all his might. Therefore the serpent was helpless and could not bite. As soon as he awoke from his sleep he was frightened at the sight of the snake in his hand, and he at once let it go. As soon as the serpent was out of his hand, the first thing it did was sting.

我們如何能以與人生相協調的方式行動？不要被人生的境遇嚇倒，而是去面對它，敏銳地觀察它，然後在當下試著與那個境遇和諧相處。若那是不利的境遇，下一步便是努力超越它。例如，有一個年輕的阿拉伯人睡在田野裡，一條蛇碰巧爬過他的手掌；他在睡夢中不知不覺地用盡全力抓住了那條蛇。於是蛇動彈不得，也無法咬他。他一從睡夢中醒來，看見自己手裡有一條蛇，立刻嚇得放開了牠。蛇一離開他的手，第一件事就是螫他。

One can manage a condition better when it is in one’s hand than when the condition has been lost; then the situation is out of one’s hand. For instance, if a person is cross or has lost his or her temper, the natural tendency is to give the person back the same as they gave. The outcome is a struggle; it culminates in disappointment. But when the person is cross and has lost his or her temper, he or she is the weak one at that time, and that is the time that you can manage the person. That is the time that the situation is in your hand. That person is weak, you are strong.

當境遇仍在自己掌握之中時，總比失去掌握之後更容易應對；一旦失去，局勢就不再在自己手中了。例如，一個人惱怒或失去脾氣時，我們自然會傾向以對方對待我們的方式回敬他。結果便是一場爭鬥，最後以失望收場。然而，一個人惱怒而失去脾氣時，他其實正是較弱的一方，而那正是你能應對他的時候。那時局勢掌握在你手中。他弱，而你強。

If one wishes to improve one’s position in life, and everything depends upon others, does one not run the risk of creating by this same action a worse situation for those near one, particularly those for whom one has affection? For example, someone wishes to become very rich, and if he or she becomes extremely rich, everyone is in a sort of slavery towards him or her. This slavery will weigh very heavily upon one. Our life in this world is dependent upon one another, and wealth, however powerful it seems to be, in the end is not so powerful as it appears to be. Its power is limited and it does not always take away that dependence that a person has upon another.

如果我們希望改善自己在人生中的處境，而一切又都彼此相依，那麼這樣的行動，是否也可能使身邊的人，尤其是我們所關愛的人，陷入更糟的境況？例如，有人希望變得非常富有；如果他真的變得極其富有，所有人對他便會處於某種奴役般的關係之中。這種奴役也會成為他沉重的負擔。我們生活在這個世界上，彼此相依；而財富無論看起來多麼有力量，到頭來其實並不像表面上那麼強大。它的力量有限，也不能總是消除人與人之間的依存。

The whole thing is to meet one’s condition with understanding and with complete resignation that one shall not improve one’s condition. No, the first thing is to meet the condition as it is, and the second thing is to better the condition. The less conflict one can use in it the better; the more one can avoid the conflict, the better it is. For instance, you are travelling through the wilderness and you meet a robber who says. “I am going to take your life unless you give me your purse.” I say that in order to meet this situation the first thing you can do is reason with the person and get out of the danger without having to kill him or her. We cannot always avoid conflict and we must not turn our backs if it comes to conflict. After all, life is a struggle, and we must be ready to struggle, only struggle must not make us drunk so that we lose the way of peace which is the first consideration. We must not be like a boxer who is always looking for another person with whom to box.

整件事就在於，以理解和全然接受來面對自己的境遇，接受自己不會去改善這個境遇。不，第一件事是如實面對眼前的境遇，第二件事才是改善它。能少一些衝突就更好；能避免多少衝突，就盡量避免多少。例如，你正穿越荒野，遇到一名強盜，他說：「如果你不把錢包交給我，我就要你的命。」我要說的是，面對這種情況，第一件能做的事，是試著與對方講理，在不必殺死他的情況下脫離危險。我們不可能永遠避開衝突，而當衝突來到面前時，也不能轉身逃避。畢竟，人生是一場奮戰，我們必須準備好去面對；只是不能醉於爭鬥，以致失去和平之道，而和平才是首先需要考量的。我們不應像一名拳擊手，總是在尋找下一個可以交手的人。

What is the other way? The way of tuning oneself to the infinite. That way is by the way of silence and meditation. It is by thinking something which is beyond and above all things of this mortal world and giving some moments of our life to that which is the source and goal of all of us, in the thought of getting in tune with that source. In that source alone is the secret of our happiness and peace.

另一條道路是什麼？就是使自己與無限調諧的道路。這條道路是透過靜默與冥想而來；讓心念轉向那超越這個必朽世界一切事物之上的存在，並在人生中留出一些片刻，將心念放在那個我們共同的源頭與目標上，使自己與那個源頭調諧。唯有在那個源頭之中，才藏著我們幸福與安寧的祕密。

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