2. The Object of the Journey
2. 旅程的目的

Establish a Relationship with God
與神建立關係

The first and principal thing in the inner life is to establish a relationship with God, making God the object with which we relate ourselves, such as the Creator, Sustainer, Forgiver, Judge, Friend, Father, Mother and Beloved. In every relationship we must place God before us, and become conscious of that relationship so that it will no more remain an imagination; because the first thing a believer does is to imagine.

在內在生命裡，第一件也是最根本的事，就是與神建立一種關係，讓神成為我們所連結、所關係的對象——例如創造者、維繫者、寬恕者、審判者、朋友、父親、母親與摯愛者。在每一種關係裡，我們都必須把神擺在自己面前，對這關係保持覺察，使之不再只是想像；因為一個相信者所做的第一件事，就是去想像。

He imagines that God is the Creator,
and tries to believe that God is the Sustainer,
and he makes an effort to think that God is a Friend,
and an attempt to feel that he loves God.

他想像神是創造者，
並努力去相信神是維繫萬有者，
他費力去把神想成是朋友，
並試著去感覺自己愛神。

But if this imagination is to become a reality, then exactly as one feels for one’s earthly beloved sympathy, love and attachment, so one must feel the same for God. However greatly a person may be pious, good or righteous, yet without this his piety or his goodness is not a reality to him.

但若要讓這種想像成為真實，就必須像人對世間摯愛之人那樣，真實地感受到同理、慈愛與依戀，同樣也要如此感受神。無論一個人多麼虔誠、多麼善良或正直，若沒有這樣的感受，他的虔誠與善良對他自己而言，仍不是真實的。

Make God a Reality
讓神成為真實

The work of the inner life is to make God a reality, so that He is no more an imagination; that this relationship that man has with God may seem to him more real than any other relationship in this world; and when this happens, then all relationships, however near and dear, become less binding.

內在生命的功課，是讓神成為真實，使祂不再只是想像；並使人與神之間的這段關係，在他看來比世上任何其他關係都還要真實；而當這一點成就時，一切其他的關係，不論多親近、多珍愛，對他的束縛力就都變得比較鬆了。

But at the same time, a person does not thus become cold; he becomes more loving. It is the godless man who is cold, impressed by the selfishness and lovelessness of this world, because he partakes of those conditions in which he lives. But the one who is in love with God, the one who has established his relationship with God, his love becomes living; he is no more cold; he fulfills his duties to those related to him in this world much more than does the godless man.

但同時，一個人並不因此而變得冷漠，反而會更加有愛。真正冷漠的是那不信神的人，他對這世界的印象是自私與無愛，因為他參與並陷於自己所生活的那種狀態之中。然而，那位愛著神、並已與神建立關係的人，他的愛變得鮮活，他不再冷漠；他對世上與他有關係之人的責任，比那不信神的人履行得更充分。

Now, as to the way in which man establishes this relationship, which is the most desirable to establish with God, what should he imagine? God as Father, as Creator, as Judge, as Forgiver, as Friend, or as Beloved? The answer is, that in every capacity of life we must give God the place that is demanded by the moment.

那麼，關於人要如何與神建立這樣的關係，也就是說，哪一種關係是與神之間最值得建立的，他應該怎樣去想像？是把神想成父親、創造者、審判者、寬恕者、朋友，還是摯愛者？答案是：在生命中每一種角色與境況裡，我們都要依當下所需，把那個位置讓給神。

The Perfection of Justice
公義的圓滿

When, crushed by the injustice, the coldness of the world, man looks at God, the perfection of Justice, he is no more agitated, his heart is no more disturbed, he consoles himself with the justice of God. He places the just God before him, and by this he learns justice; the sense of justice awakens in his heart, and he sees things in quite a different light.

當人被這世界的不公與冷漠壓得喘不過氣時，他仰望神——那公義圓滿的一位，他不再惶亂不安，心也不再受攪擾，他在神的公義裡得著安慰。他把公義的神擺在自己面前，藉此學習公義；公義的感覺在他心中被喚醒，他看待事物的眼光也因此大為不同。

Mother and Father in God
神裡的母親與父親

When man finds himself in this world motherless or fatherless, then he thinks that there is the mother and father in God; and that, even if he were in the presence of his mother and father, these are only related on the earth. The Motherhood and Fatherhood of God is the only real relationship. The mother and father of the earth only reflect a spark of that motherly and fatherly love which God has in fullness and perfection. Then man finds that God can forgive, as the parents can forgive the child if he was in error; then man feels the goodness, kindness, protection, support, sympathy coming from every side; he learns to feel that it comes from God, the Father-Mother, through all.

當人在這世界上發現自己沒有母親或沒有父親時，他便想到，在神裡面有母親也有父親；而且，即使他身邊有父母，那也只是世上的關係。神作母親、作父親，才是真實的關係。世上的父親和母親，只是映照出神那圓滿、完備的父愛與母愛當中的一縷火花。於是人發現，神會寬恕，就如同父母可以寬恕迷失的孩子；於是人感覺到，從各個方向臨到自己的良善、慈愛、保護、扶持與同情；他逐漸學會感覺：這一切都是藉著萬有，從那作父又作母的神而來。

God as Judge and Forgiver
作為審判者與寬恕者的神

When man pictures God as Forgiver, he finds that there is not only in this world a strict justice, but there is love developed also, there is mercy and compassion, there is that sense of forgiveness; that God is not the servant of law, as is the judge in this world. He is Master of law. He judges when He judges; when He forgives He forgives. He has both powers, He has the power to judge and He has the power to forgive.

當人把神想像成寬恕者時，他便發現，這世界上不僅有嚴格的公義，也同時有愛、有憐憫與慈悲，並且有一種寬恕的意識；他明白，神不像世上的審判官那樣是律法的僕人，受制於法則。祂是律法的主宰。當祂審判時就審判，當祂寬恕時就寬恕。祂同時握有這兩種權能——既有審判的權柄，也有寬恕的權柄。

He is Judge because He does not close His eyes to anything man does; He knows, He weighs, and measures, and He returns what is due to man.And He is Forgiver, because beyond and above His power of justice there is His great power of love and compassion, which is His very being, which is His own nature, and therefore it is more, and in greater proportion, and working with a greater activity than His power of justice.

祂是審判者，因為祂對人所做的一切從不閉眼不看；祂知道、衡量、斟酌，並按著人所當得的歸還給他。而祂也是寬恕者，因為在祂公義的權能之上、又超越其上，有那偉大的愛與慈悲的權能；那正是祂自己，就是祂的本性，因此，比起祂公義的能力，這愛與慈悲更為豐沛、分量更重，也運作得更為活躍。

We, the human beings in this world, if there is a spark of goodness or kindness in our hearts, avoid judging people. We prefer forgiving to judging. Forgiving gives us naturally a greater happiness than taking revenge, unless a man is on quite a different path.

我們這些世上的人，只要心裡還留有一絲善意或慈心，就會避免去論斷他人；我們寧可選擇寬恕，也不願審判。寬恕自然比報復帶給我們更大的喜悅——除非一個人走在完全不同的道路上。

God as Friend
作為朋友的神

The man who realizes God as a friend is never lonely in the world, neither in this world nor in the hereafter. There is always a friend, a friend in the crowd, a friend in the solitude; or while he is asleep, unconscious of this outer world, and when he is awake and conscious of it. In both cases the friend is there in his thought, in his imagination, in his heart, in his soul.

那位體會神為朋友的人，在世上永遠不會孤單，不論在今生或來世。他總是有一位朋友——在人群中有朋友，在獨處時也有朋友；不論他沉睡、對外在世界失去知覺之時，或是清醒、對世界有意識之時，都是如此。在這兩種情況下，這位朋友都在他的思想裡、想像裡、心裡與靈魂裡。

God as Beloved
作為摯愛者的神

And the man who makes God his Beloved, what more does he want? His heart becomes awakened to all the beauty there is within and without. To him all things appeal, everything unfolds itself, and it is beauty to his eyes, because God is all-pervading, in all names and all forms; therefore his Beloved is never absent. How happy therefore is the one whose Beloved is never absent, because the whole tragedy of life is the absence of the beloved.

而那位讓神成為自己摯愛之人的人，還能再求什麼呢？他的心被喚醒，看見內在與外在一切的美。萬事萬物都向他發出吸引，一切都向他展開，在他眼中都成為美麗；因為神無所不在，充滿於一切名稱與一切形相之中，所以他的摯愛從不缺席。因此，那位摯愛從不缺席的人，是多麼有福；因為人生全部的悲劇，都在於所愛之人的缺席。

And to one whose Beloved is always there,

而對於那位摯愛總在身邊的人來說，

when he has closed his eyes the Beloved is within,
when he has opened his eyes the Beloved is without.
His every sense perceives the Beloved;
his eyes see Him, his ears hear His voice.

當他閉上眼睛時，摯愛在裡面；
當他睜開眼睛時，摯愛在外面。
他每一個感官都感知著這位摯愛；
眼睛看見祂，耳朵聽見祂的聲音。

When a person arrives at this realization he, so to speak, lives in the presence of God;

當一個人抵達這樣的體認時，可以說，他是活在神的臨在之中。

then to him the different forms and beliefs, faiths and communities do not count.
To him God is all-in-all;
to him God is everywhere.
If he goes to the Christian church, or to the synagogue, to the Buddhist temple, to the Hindu shrine, or to the mosque of the Muslim, there is God.
In the wilderness, in the forest, in the crowd, everywhere he sees God.

於是對他來說，不同的形式、信條、信仰與宗教團體都不再重要。
在他看來，神是一切中的一切；
對他而言，神無所不在。
無論他走進基督宗教的教堂、猶太人的會堂、佛寺、印度教的聖所，或穆斯林的清真寺，神都在那裡。
在曠野，在森林，在人群之中，他處處看見神。

The Beloved is everywhere
摯愛無所不在

This shows that the inner life does not consist in closing the eyes and looking inward. The inner life is to look outwardly and inwardly, and to find one’s Beloved everywhere.

這顯示出，內在生命並不是閉上眼睛向內看而已。內在生命，是同時向外、向內觀看，並在每個地方都尋見自己的摯愛。

But God cannot be made a Beloved unless the love element is awakened sufficiently.

然而，除非愛的元素已被充分喚醒，否則神不能真正成為人的摯愛。

The one who hates his enemy and loves his friend cannot call God his Beloved, for he does not know God. When love comes to its fullness, then one looks at the friend with affection, on the enemy with forgiveness, on the stranger with sympathy. There is love in all its aspects expressed when love rises to its fullness; and it is the fullness of love which is worth offering to God. It is then that man recognizes in God his Beloved, his Ideal; and by that, although he rises above the narrow affection of this world, he is the one who really knows how to love even his friend. It is the lover of God who knows love when he rises to that stage of the fullness of love.

一個人若憎恨敵人、只愛朋友，他不能稱神為自己的摯愛，因為他尚未認識神。當愛臻於圓滿時，人便以疼惜看待朋友，以寬恕看待敵人，以同情看待陌生人。當愛提升到圓滿之時，愛的每一個面向都被表達出來；而唯有這圓滿的愛，才配得奉獻給神。就在這時，人在人裡認出自己的摯愛、自己的理想形象；藉著這一點，他超越了世間狹隘的情感，卻反而更懂得如何去愛，甚至更懂得如何去愛自己的朋友。當一個愛神之人提升到這個愛的圓滿境界時，他才真正認識何謂愛。

The whole imagery of the Sufi literature in the Persian language, written by great poets, such as Rumi, Hafiz, and Jami, is the relationship between man as the lover and God as the Beloved; and when one reads understanding that, and develops in that affection, then one sees what pictures the mystics have made and to what note their heart has been tuned.

整個蘇菲傳統以波斯語寫成的文學意象——由像 Rumi、Hafiz、Jami 這樣的大詩人所寫——其核心都是人作為「愛者」、神作為「摯愛者」之間的關係。當人帶著這樣的理解去閱讀，並在那樣的愛情裡成長，他就能看見神秘家們所描繪出的圖像，以及他們的心被調和在怎樣的音律之上。

It is not easy to develop in the heart the love of God, because when one does not see or realize the object of love one cannot love.

要在心中培養對神的愛並不容易，因為當人看不見、也尚未實現那愛的對象時，就很難真正去愛。

God must become tangible in order that one may love Him, but once a person has attained to that love he has really entered the journey of the spiritual path.

神必須對人變得可觸、可感，人的愛才能轉向祂；然而，一旦有人達到這樣的愛，他也就真正踏上了靈性道路的旅程。