4. The Realization of the Inner Life
4. 內在生活的體認

The principle of the one who experiences the inner life, is to become all things to all men throughout his life. In every situation, in every capacity, he answers the demand of the moment. Often people think that the spiritual person must be a man with sad looks, with a long face, with a serious expression, and with a melancholy atmosphere. Really speaking, that picture is the exact contrary of the real spiritual person. In all capacities the one who lives the inner life has to act outwardly as he ought in order to fit the occasion; he must act according to the circumstances, and he must speak to everyone in his own language, standing upon the same level, and yet realizing the inner life.

經驗內在生命之人的原則，是在一生之中，對所有人成為一切所需要的樣子。在每一種處境、每一種身分中，他都回應當下的需要。人們常以為，靈性之人必定神情憂傷、愁眉不展、表情嚴肅，周身籠罩著憂鬱的氣息。事實上，這樣的形象恰恰與真正的靈性之人相反。無論處於何種身分，活出內在生命的人，在外在都必須以適合當下情境的方式行事；他隨境而行，站在與每個人相同的層次上，用對方自己的語言與之交談，而同時仍體認著內在生命。

For the knower of truth, the one who has attained spiritual knowledge and who lives the inner life, there is no occupation in life which is too difficult; as a business man, a professional man, a king; as a ruler, a poor man, a worldly man; as a priest or monk, in all aspects he is different from what people know and see of him.

對真理的知者——那已獲得靈性知識並活出內在生命的人——而言，生命中沒有任何身分或職分是他無法承擔的。無論作為商人、專業人士、國王、統治者、窮人、世俗之人、祭司或僧侶，在這一切身分之中，他內在的所是，都不同於人們外在所認識、所看見的他。

To the one who lives the inner life the world is a stage; on this he is the actor who has to act a part in which he has sometimes to be angry and sometimes loving, and in which he has to take part both in tragedy and comedy. So also the one who has realized the inner life acts constantly; and, like the actor who does not feel the emotions he assumes, the spiritual man has to fill fittingly the place in which life has placed him. There he performs everything thoroughly and rightly, in order to fulfill his outer commission in life.

對活出內在生命的人而言，世界是一座舞台；在這舞台上，他是一名演員，必須扮演自己的角色，有時必須表現憤怒，有時必須表現慈愛，也必須同時參與人生的悲劇與喜劇。同樣地，體認內在生命的人，也始終扮演著自己的角色；正如演員並不真正受自己所扮演的情緒支配，靈性之人也必須恰如其分地安住於生命安排給他的位置。在那裡，他完整而正確地做好每一件事，以履行自己在生命中外在的使命。

He is a friend to his friend, a relative to his relatives. With all to whom he is outwardly related he keeps the right relationship with thought, with consideration; and yet in his realization he is above all relationships. He is in the crowd and in the solitude at the same time. He may be very much amused, and at the same time he is very serious. He may seem very sad, and yet there is joy welling up from his heart.

他對朋友就是朋友，對親人就是親人。對所有在外在與他有所關係的人，他都以覺察與體貼維持恰當的關係；然而在他的體認之中，他又超越一切關係。他身在人群之中，同時也在獨處之中。他可以顯得十分愉悅，同時又極為莊重；他也可以看似悲傷，而心中卻有喜悅不斷湧現。

Therefore the one who has realized the inner life is a mystery to everyone; no one can fathom the depth of that person, except that he promises sincerity, he emits love, he commands trust, he spreads goodness, and he gives an impression of God and the truth. For the man who has realized the inner life every act is his meditation; if he is walking in the street it is his meditation; if he is working as a carpenter, as a goldsmith or in any other trade or business, that is his meditation. It does not matter if he is looking at heaven or at the earth, he is looking at the object that he worships. East or west or north or south, upon all sides is his God. In form, in principle, nothing restricts him. He may know things and yet may not speak; for if a man who lives the inner life were to speak of his experiences it would confuse many minds.

因此，體認內在生命的人，對所有人而言都是一個奧祕；沒有人能測度他的深度。人們所能感受到的，只是他顯露真誠、散發愛、使人信任、傳播良善，並令人感受到神與真理。對體認內在生命的人而言，每一個行動都是冥想；走在街上是他的冥想，做木工、做金匠，或從事任何行業與工作，也都是他的冥想。無論他仰望天空或俯視大地，他所看見的都是自己所敬拜的對象。東、西、南、北，四面八方都是他的神。在形式或原則上，沒有任何事物能限制他。他或許知道許多事，卻並不說出來；因為若一個活出內在生命的人談論自己的經驗，可能會使許多人的頭腦陷入混亂。

There are individuals in the world who from morning until evening have their eyes and their ears focused on every dark comer, wanting to listen, or to see what they can find out; and they find out nothing. If someone were to tell such people wonders, he would have a very good occupation, the whole world would seek him. But such is not the work of the self-realized man. He sees, and yet does not look; if he were to look, how much he would see! There is so much to be seen by one whose every glance, wherever it is cast, breaks through every object and discovers its depth and its secret. And if he were to look at things and find out their secrets and depths, where would it end, and of what interest is it to him?

世上有些人，從早到晚都將眼睛和耳朵投注在每一個陰暗的角落，想聽一聽、看一看，究竟能發現些什麼；然而他們什麼也沒有發現。若有人能向這些人講述種種奇事，便會成為一門很好的營生，全世界的人都會來找他。但這並不是自我體悟之人所做的事。他看見，卻不刻意去看；如果他真的要看，又會看見多少！對一個目光無論投向何處，都能穿透事物、發現其深度與祕密的人而言，可看見的實在太多了。若他真的逐一觀看萬事萬物，探究其中的祕密與深處，那又將何時才有盡頭？而這些對他又有什麼意義？

The inner life, therefore, is seeing all things and yet not seeing them; feeling all things and not expressing them, for they cannot be fully expressed; understanding all things and not explaining. How far can such a man explain, and how much can another understand? Each according to the capacity he has, no more. The inner life is not lived by closing the eyes; one need not close one’s eyes from this world in order to live it, one can just as well open them.

因此，內在生命就是：看見一切，卻又不看；感受一切，卻不表達，因為這一切無法被完全表達；理解一切，卻不加以解說。這樣的人能解釋到什麼程度？另一個人又能理解多少？每個人都只能依自己的容量來領受，無法更多。內在生命並不是閉著眼睛而活；要活出內在生命，不必對這個世界閉上雙眼，同樣可以睜著眼睛生活。

The exact meaning of the inner life is not only to live in the body, but also to live in the heart, to live in the soul.

內在生命真正的意義，不只是活在身體裡，也要活在心裡，活在靈魂裡。

Why, then, does not the average man live an inner life when he too has a heart and a soul? It is because he has a heart, and yet is not conscious of it; he has a soul, and knows not what it is. When he lives in the captivity of the body, limited by that body, he can only feel a thing by touching it, he sees only by looking through his eyes, he hears only by hearing with his ears. How much can the ears hear and the eyes see? All this experience obtained by the outer senses is limited. When man lives in this limitation he does not know that another part of his being exists, which is much higher, more wonderful, more living, and more exalted. Once he begins to know this, then the body becomes his tool, for he lives in his heart. And then later he passes on and lives in his soul. He experiences life independently of his body; and that is called the inner life.

那麼，既然一般人也有心、有靈魂，為什麼他卻沒有活出內在生命？因為他雖然有心，卻沒有覺知它；他雖然有靈魂，卻不知道靈魂是什麼。當他活在身體的囚禁之中，受身體所限制時，他只能藉由觸摸來感受事物，只能透過眼睛看見，只能透過耳朵聽見。然而耳朵能聽見多少？眼睛又能看見多少？透過外在感官所得的一切經驗，都是有限的。當人活在這種限制之中，他並不知道自己的存在還有另一個部分，那部分更加崇高、更加奇妙、更有生命，也更為超越。一旦他開始認識到這一點，身體便成為他的工具，因為他開始活在心裡；之後，他更進一步活在靈魂裡。他不依賴身體而經驗生命；這便稱為內在生命。

Once man has experienced the inner life, the fear of death has expired; because he knows death comes to the body, not to his inner being. When once he begins to realize life in his heart and in his soul, then he looks upon his body as a coat. If the coat is old he puts it away and takes a new one, for his being does not depend upon his coat. The fear of death lasts only so long as man has not realized that his real being does not depend upon his body.

一旦人經驗了內在生命，對死亡的恐懼便會消失；因為他知道，死亡臨到的是身體，而不是他的內在存在。當他開始體認心與靈魂之中的生命時，便會將身體視為一件外衣。當外衣破舊了，他便將它放下，換上一件新的，因為他的存在並不依賴這件外衣。對死亡的恐懼，只會持續到人尚未體認：他真正的存在並不依賴身體。

The joy, therefore, of the one who experiences the inner life is beyond comparison greater than that of the average man living only as a captive in his mortal body. Yet the inner life does not necessitate man’s adopting a certain way of living, or living an ascetic or a religious life. Whatever his outer occupation be it does not matter; the man who lives the inner life lives it through all. Man always looks for a spiritual person in a religious person, or perhaps in what he calls a good person, or in someone with a philosophical mind, but that is not necessarily the case. A person may be religious, even philosophical, he may be religious or good, and yet he may not live the inner life.

因此，經驗內在生命之人的喜悅，遠非那只如囚徒般活在必死肉身中的一般人所能相比。然而，內在生命並不要求人採取某種特定的生活方式，也不要求人過禁欲或宗教性的生活。無論他的外在職業是什麼，都沒有關係；活出內在生命的人，能透過一切身分與生活方式活出它。人總是在宗教人士身上尋找靈性之人，或在他所謂的善人身上，或在具有哲學性頭腦的人身上尋找；但事實未必如此。一個人可以很有宗教性，也可以富有哲思；可以虔誠，也可以善良，然而仍未必活出內在生命。

There is no distinct outward appearance which can prove a person to be living the inner life, except one thing. When a child grows towards youth, you can see in the expression of that child a light beaming. out, a certain new consciousness arising, a new knowledge coming which the child has not known before. That is the sign of youth, yet the child does not say so; he cannot say it, even if he wanted to, he cannot explain it. And yet you can see it from every movement that the child makes; from his every expression, you can find that he is realizing life now. And so it is with the soul. When the soul begins to realize the life above and beyond this life, it begins to show; and although the man who realizes this may refrain from purposely showing it, yet from his expression, his movement, his glance, his voice, from every action and from every attitude, the wise can grasp and the others can feel that he is conscious of some mystery.

沒有任何明顯的外在形貌，可以證明一個人正在活出內在生命，只有一點例外。當一個孩子逐漸步入青年時，你可以從他的神情中看見一道光開始透出，一種新的意識正在升起，一種他從前未曾有過的新認知正在到來。這就是青春的徵兆，但孩子自己不會這樣說；即使他想說，也說不出來，更無法解釋。然而從他的每一個動作、每一個表情中，你都可以看出，他如今開始體認生命了。靈魂也是如此。當靈魂開始體認那高於並超越此生的生命時，這份體認便開始顯露出來；即使體認到這一點的人刻意不去顯示它，智者仍能從他的神情、動作、目光、聲音，以及每一個行動與姿態中看出，而其他人也能感受到：他覺知著某種奧祕。

The inner life is a birth of the soul; as Christ said, that unless the soul is born again it cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore the realization of the inner life is entering the kingdom of heaven; and this consciousness when it comes to the human being shows itself as a new birth, and with this new birth there comes the assurance of everlasting life.

內在生命是靈魂的一次新生；正如基督所說，靈魂若不重生，就不能進入天國。因此，體認內在生命，就是進入天國；而當這份意識臨到人時，它便顯現為一次新生，伴隨這新生而來的，是對永恆生命的確信。

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