4. The Five Inclinations
4. 五種傾向

Every man has five inclinations hidden in the depths of his heart. Being absorbed in the life of the world he may forget that ultimate purpose, but at the same time there is a continual inclination towards it. That shows that the ultimate purpose of the life of all is one and the same.

每個人的心靈深處，都隱藏著五種傾向。當我們沉浸於世間生活時，也許會忘記那個終極目的；然而與此同時，內在始終有一種持續朝向它的傾向。這顯示出，所有生命的終極目的其實都是同一個。

1. The Love of Knowledge
對知識的熱愛

The first of these five inclinations is the love of knowledge. It is not only intellectual and intelligent beings who seek after knowledge. Even an infant wishes to know what every little noise is. Every child seeing a beautiful color or line in a picture inquires about it. And therefore in greater or less degree every individual is striving after knowledge. No doubt in life as it is today many are placed in a situation where they never have a moment in which to gain that knowledge which they seek after. From morning till evening they have their duty to perform; they are so absorbed in it that after some time that hunger for knowledge is lost and their mind becomes blunted. There are many thousands of people whom life has placed in a situation where they cannot help but concentrate on some particular work and never have time to think about things that they would like to think about, that they would like to know. We have made this life. We call it progress, freedom, but it is not freedom of mind. The mind is imprisoned in a limited horizon and we call it a sphere.

這五種傾向中的第一種，是對知識的熱愛。尋求知識的，並不只是有學識、有智慧的人。即使是嬰兒，也想知道每一個細微聲響是什麼。每個孩子看到圖畫中美麗的色彩或線條，也都會詢問。因此，每個人都或多或少地在追求知識。毫無疑問，在今日的生活中，許多人身處的情境，使他們連片刻時間都沒有，去獲得自己所尋求的知識。從早到晚，他們都有必須履行的職責；他們如此全神貫注其中，以至於過了一段時間，對知識的渴望消失了，頭腦也變得遲鈍。有成千上萬的人，被生活置於一種境況之中，使他們不得不專注於某一項特定工作，而從來沒有時間去思考自己想思考的事，也沒有時間去了解自己想知道的事。這樣的生活是我們自己造就的。我們稱它為進步、自由，但它並不是頭腦的自由。頭腦被囚禁在有限的視野之內，而我們卻把這稱為它的天地。

If all thought, all life, consists in studying something only in order to earn one’s bread and butter, then when can one give one’s thought and mind to what one’s soul is seeking after? Among those who have a little freedom in life, who have time to think about gaining some knowledge, there are many who seek only after novelty. They think that to learn means only to get to know something they did not know before. There are very few seekers who discover that from every idea, however simple, a revelation comes when they give their mind to it, and that it then begins to teach them more and more things which they had never known. I have experienced this myself. There was a couplet of a Persian verse I had known for twelve years. I liked it, it was a simple everyday conception, but after twelve years one day a glimpse of inspiration came and that very couplet became a revelation. It seemed as if there had been a seed and then a seedling sprang from it and turned into a plant which produced fruit and flowers.

如果我們所有的思想、整個生活，都只是為了謀生而學習某種東西，那麼我們什麼時候才能把自己的思想與頭腦，放在靈魂所尋求的事物上？在那些生活中稍有一些自由、有時間思考並獲取知識的人當中，也有許多人只追求新奇。他們以為，學習只不過是知道一些自己以前不知道的事。很少有尋求者會發現，無論一個觀念多麼簡單，只要把頭腦專注於它，其中便會生出啟示；而它也會開始教導我們愈來愈多從未知道的事。我自己就有過這樣的經驗。有一首波斯詩中的兩行詩句，我已經知道了十二年。我很喜歡它，那原本只是一個簡單而日常的觀念；然而十二年後的某一天，一道靈感忽然閃現，同樣的兩行詩便成了一個啟示。彷彿原先有一粒種子，後來從中萌出幼苗，長成一株植物，並開花結果。

The difficulty that so-called truth-seeking people experience is that when they have a little time to look for truth they are restless. One thing does not satisfy them and so they go from one thing to another. Thus instead of coming to the real notion of truth, they only get into confusion.

那些所謂尋求真理的人所面臨的困難是：當他們終於有一點時間尋找真理時，內心卻躁動不安。一件事無法使他們滿足，於是他們從這一件轉向另一件。結果，他們非但沒有真正理解真理，反而只是陷入混亂。

Someone asked an artist if he could make a really new picture. “Yes,” he said, “I can.” He put two horns and two wings on the body of a fish, and people said, “How wonderful, this is something no one has ever seen!” Everyone has seen wings on birds and horns on beasts; but there are many souls who need a novelty of that kind. Many admire it, and few think, like Solomon, that there is nothing new under the sun, especially when we come to the domain of wisdom, of knowledge. For one does not arrive at concentration, contemplation, or meditation by studying many things, nor by going from one idea to another.

有人問一位藝術家，他能不能畫出一幅真正全新的畫。「可以，」他說，「我能。」於是他在一條魚的身體上畫了兩隻角和兩隻翅膀，人們便說：「多麼奇妙，這是從來沒有人見過的東西！」每個人都見過鳥的翅膀，也見過獸的角；然而有許多靈魂所需要的，正是這一類的新奇。許多人為之讚嘆，卻很少有人像所羅門那樣想到：日光之下並無新事，尤其當我們進入智慧與知識的領域時更是如此。因為我們並不會藉著研究許多事物，或不斷從一個觀念轉向另一個觀念，而達到專注、沉思或冥想。

2. The Love of Life
對生命的熱愛

The next inclination is the love of life, and not only in human beings for even little insects escape if one tries to touch them; their life is dear to them. What does this show? It shows that every being wishes to live, however unhappy he may be, however difficult life may seem. Perhaps in the sadness of the moment a person might wish to commit suicide, but if he were in his normal condition he would never think of leaving this world. Not because the world is so dear to him, but because the soul’s inclination is to live.

第二種傾向，是對生命的熱愛，而這並不只存在於人類之中。即使是微小的昆蟲，當有人試圖碰觸牠時，也會逃開；牠珍愛自己的生命。這說明了什麼？它說明每一個生命都想活下去，無論它多麼不快樂，無論生命看起來多麼艱難。也許在一時的悲傷中，一個人可能會想結束自己的生命；但若處於正常狀態，他絕不會想到要離開這個世界。這並不是因為這個世界對他如此可愛，而是因為靈魂的傾向就是活著。

It is said in the Gayan, “Life lives, death dies.” Since life lives, life longs to live, and nobody wishes for one moment that death should ever take him. The great prophets, masters, saints, sages, philosophers, mystics, what was their striving? Their striving was to find some remedy to cure man of mortality. But is his mortality his conception or his condition? It is a condition when seen outwardly; in reality it is a conception. The soul keeps the physical body as its garb only until its purpose is fulfilled and it wishes to leave this garb. For no one wishes always to carry his heavy coat. Even the king feels more comfortable when the crown is put in the cupboard.

《伽言》（Gayan）中說：「生命活著，死亡死去。」既然生命活著，生命便渴望活下去，沒有人會有哪怕一刻希望死亡來將自己帶走。偉大的先知、大師、聖者、聖哲、哲學家與祕士，他們一直在追求什麼？他們所追求的，是找到某種方法，使人從必死性之中得到解脫。然而，人的必死性究竟是一種觀念，還是一種狀態？從外在看來，它是一種狀態；實際上，它是一種觀念。靈魂只在其目的尚未完成時，把肉身當作自己的衣裳；當目的完成，它便想脫下這件衣裳。因為沒有人願意永遠穿著沉重的大衣。即使是國王，把王冠收進櫥櫃時，也會感到更加自在。

The soul’s happiness comes when it is freed from its physical burden; it can only be happy when it can be itself. As long as man thinks he is his body, so long is he mortal, being only conscious of his mortal existence. But this, intellectually understood, will not help. The soul must see itself, the soul must realize itself. How does the soul do this? In the scriptures it is said, “Die before death.” What is this dying? This dying is playing at death. The mystics have all through their life on earth practiced playing at death; by playing at it they were able to see what death is. Then it was not only intellectual knowledge; they actually saw that the soul stands independently of this physical garb. Buddha has called it Jnana, which means realization. The absence of it is called Ajnana, the lack of realization.

當靈魂從肉身的重負中得到自由時，它的幸福便來臨了；只有當靈魂能夠成為它自己時，它才能真正幸福。只要我們認為自己就是身體，我們便仍是必死的，因為所意識到的只是自己必死的存在。然而，只在理智上理解這一點並沒有幫助。靈魂必須看見自己，靈魂必須體悟自己。靈魂如何做到這一點？經典中說：「在死亡之前先死去。」這種死是什麼？這種死，就是練習死亡。祕士在世的一生中，都在練習死亡；藉著這樣的練習，他們得以看見死亡究竟是什麼。於是這便不再只是理智上的知識；他們實際看見，靈魂能夠獨立於這件肉身的衣裳而存在。佛陀稱之為 Jnana，也就是「體悟」。缺少這種體悟則稱為 Ajnana，也就是未能體悟。

Every thoughtful person, when he thinks of the day when he will have to depart from this earth where he has his friends whom he loves and his treasure, feels very sad. Not only that, but it makes him sadder still to feel that once he is gone he will be gone for ever, for life does not wish to become death; life wants to live. But this shows ignorance and a false conception of life, a conception gained by the senses, by experience through the senses. The one who has realized life and things through the senses does not know life. Life can be very different from this.

每一個會深思的人，當想到有一天自己必須離開這個世界，離開所愛的朋友與珍視的一切，都會感到十分悲傷。不僅如此，如果他認為自己一旦離去，便永遠消失了，那會使他更加悲傷，因為生命不願成為死亡；生命想要活著。然而，這顯示的是無知，以及對生命錯誤的理解——一種由感官、由透過感官所得的經驗而形成的理解。只藉著感官來認識生命與萬物的人，其實並不知道生命。生命可以與我們所想的非常不同。

3. Gaining Power
獲得力量

The third inclination man shows is to gain power in any way whatever. Every person strives throughout life to gain power. The reason is that the soul strives to exist against the invasion of life, because life’s conditions seem to sweep away everything that has no strength. When the leaf has lost its strength it falls from the tree; when the flower has lost its strength it is thrown away. Naturally the soul wishes to keep its strength; therefore every individual seeks for power. But the mistake lies in the fact that however much power a man may have, it is limited. With the increase of power there comes a time when the man sees that another power can be greater than the one he possesses. This limitation makes man suffer; he becomes disappointed. Besides when one looks at the power that man possesses, the power of the world, what is it? Powerful nations which were built thousands of years ago can be crushed in a very short time; then what is their power? If there is any power it is the hidden power, the almighty power. And by getting in touch with that power one begins to draw from it all the power that is needed.

人所表現出的第三種傾向，是以各種方式獲得力量。每個人一生都在努力獲得力量。這是因為靈魂努力在生命的侵襲之中維持自身的存在，因為生命的種種境況，似乎會把一切沒有力量的事物席捲而去。當葉子失去力量時，它便從樹上落下；當花朵失去力量時，它便被丟棄。靈魂自然希望保有自己的力量，因此每個人都在尋求力量。然而錯誤之處在於，無論一個人擁有多大的力量，那力量終究是有限的。隨著力量增長，總有一天，他會看見還有另一種力量，比自己所擁有的更強大。這種限制使人受苦，使人失望。此外，當我們看看人所擁有的力量，看看世間的力量，它究竟算得了什麼？數千年前建立起來的強大國家，也可能在很短的時間內被摧毀；那麼，它們的力量又算什麼？如果真有一種力量，那便是隱藏的力量、全能的力量。而當我們與那力量接觸時，便開始能從其中汲取自己所需要的一切力量。

The secret of all the miracles and phenomena of the sages and masters is to be seen in the power that they are able to draw from within. There are faqirs and dervishes who practice jumping into the fire or cutting their body and healing it instantly. But there exists a power even greater than that. Those who can really do such things do not do them openly; but at the same time there is this power which gives proof that spirit has power over matter, though spirit may be buried under matter for some time — which makes one powerless.

聖哲與大師所展現的一切奇蹟與非凡現象，其祕密就在於他們能夠從內在汲取的力量。有些法基爾（faqirs）和蘇菲行者（dervishes）會練習跳入火中，或割傷自己的身體，再使傷口立刻癒合。然而，還存在著比這更大的力量。真正能做到這些事的人，並不會公開展示；但這種力量確實存在，而它證明了靈能夠勝過物質，儘管靈有時會被埋藏在物質之下，而使人顯得無力。

[譯註] 法基爾（faqirs）阿拉伯語原義為「貧者」，在蘇菲傳統中指實踐靈性貧乏（faqr）的人，即放下對自身與世俗所有的依恃，而全然仰賴神；有時亦指過著苦修或乞行生活的蘇菲修行者。

[譯註] Dervish 源自波斯語 darvīsh，原有「貧者、乞行者」之意。在蘇菲傳統中，通常指走在蘇菲道路上的修行者，常帶有靈性貧乏、簡樸生活與捨棄世俗依附的含義，也可指某一蘇菲教團的成員。此處依上下文譯為「蘇菲行者」。

4. Being Happy
追求幸福

The fourth inclination man shows is to be happy. Man seeks happiness in pleasure, in joy, but these are only shadows of happiness. The real happiness is in the heart of man. But man does not look for it. In order to find happiness, he seeks pleasure. Anything that is passing and anything that results in unhappiness is not happiness. Happiness is the very being of man. Vedantists have called the human soul Ananda, happiness, because the soul itself is happiness; that is why it seeks happiness. And because the soul cannot find itself it is always looking for something that will make it happy; but what it finds can never make it really happy, perfectly happy.

人所表現出的第四種傾向，是想要幸福。我們在愉悅與歡樂中尋找幸福，但這些都只是幸福的影子。真正的幸福在人自己的心中，可是我們並不向那裡尋找。為了找到幸福，我們反而去追求愉悅。任何會消逝的東西，以及任何最終帶來不幸的東西，都不是幸福。幸福就是人的本質。吠檀多的思想家稱人的靈魂為 Ananda，也就是幸福，因為靈魂本身就是幸福；正因如此，靈魂才會尋求幸福。而由於靈魂找不到自己，它便始終在外尋找某種能使自己幸福的東西；然而，它所找到的任何事物，都永遠無法使它真正幸福、完全幸福。

Sin and virtue, good and bad, right and wrong, can be distinguished and determined on this principle. Virtue is what brings real happiness. What is called right is that which leads to happiness. What is good is good because it gives happiness; and if it does not do so it cannot be good, it cannot be virtue, it cannot be right. Whenever man has found virtue in unhappiness he has been mistaken; whenever he was wrong he has been unhappy. Happiness is the being of man; that is why he craves for it.

罪與德、善與惡、對與錯，都可以依照這個原則來辨別與判定。美德就是能帶來真正幸福的事。所謂正確，就是能引向幸福的事。善之所以是善，是因為它帶來幸福；如果它不能如此，那麼它便不能稱為善，不能稱為德，也不能稱為正確。每當我們把美德看成是不幸時，我們便弄錯了；每當我們行於錯誤之中，我們便會不幸福。幸福就是人的本質；正因如此，我們才如此渴望它。

5. Peace
安寧

The fifth inclination man shows is for peace. It is not rest or comfort or solitude which can give peace. It is an art which must be learnt, the art of the mystics, by which one comes to experience peace. One may ask why, if it is natural for the soul to experience peace, one must strive for peace by practice, by meditation, by contemplation. The answer is that it is natural to experience peace, but life in the world is not natural. Animals and birds all experience peace, but not mankind, for man is the robber of his own peace. He has made his life so artificial that he can never imagine how far he is removed from what may be called a normal, natural life for him to live. It is for this reason that we need the art of discovering peace within us. We shall not experience peace by improving outside conditions. Man has always longed for peace and he has always brought about wars; at the same time every individual says he is seeking for peace. Then where does war come from? It comes because the meaning of peace has not been fully understood. Man lives in a continual turmoil, in a restless condition, and in order to seek for peace he seeks war; if this goes on we shall not have peace till every individual begins to seek peace within himself first.

人所表現出的第五種傾向，是對安寧的渴望。能帶來安寧的，並不是休息、舒適或獨處。安寧是一門必須學習的藝術，是祕士的藝術，藉著它，我們才能體驗安寧。有人也許會問：如果靈魂體驗安寧原本就是自然的，那麼為什麼還必須透過修習、冥想與沉思來努力獲得安寧？答案是：體驗安寧原本是自然的，但我們在世間的生活卻不是自然的。動物和鳥類都能體驗安寧，人類卻不能，因為人正是自己安寧的掠奪者。我們把生活變得如此人為，以至於甚至無法想像，自己已經離那種可稱為正常而自然的生活有多麼遙遠。正因如此，我們需要學習在自己內在發現安寧的藝術。改善外在條件並不能使我們體驗安寧。人類一直渴望安寧，卻也一直造成戰爭；與此同時，每一個人又都說自己在尋求安寧。那麼，戰爭究竟從何而來？它之所以產生，是因為安寧的真正含義並未被充分理解。人生活在持續的紛擾與不安之中，竟為了尋求安寧而去尋求戰爭；如果情形繼續如此，那麼除非每一個人都先開始在自己內在尋找安寧，否則我們永遠不會得到安寧。

What is peace? Peace is the natural condition of the soul. The soul which has lost its natural condition becomes restless. The normal condition of mind is tranquillity, yet at the same time the mind is anything but tranquil; the soul experiences anything but peace.

什麼是安寧？安寧是靈魂的自然狀態。失去自然狀態的靈魂便會變得不安。頭腦正常的狀態本來是寧靜，然而實際上，頭腦卻一點也不寧靜；靈魂所體驗的，也恰恰不是安寧。

The question which arises in the mind of every thoughtful person is, what was the reason, what was the purpose of the creation of this world? The answer is, to break the monotony. Call it God, call it the only Being, call it the source and goal of all; being alone, He wished that there should be something for Him to know. The Hindus say that the creation is the dream of Brahma. One may call it a dream, but it is the main purpose. The Sufis explain it thus: that God, the Lover, wanted to know his own nature; and that therefore through manifestation the Beloved was created, in order that love might manifest. And when we look at it in this light, then all that we see is the Beloved. As Rumi, the greatest writer of Persia says, “The Beloved is all in all, the lover only veils Him; the Beloved is all that lives, the lover a dead thing.’

每一個會深思的人，心中都會浮現一個問題：這個世界為什麼被創造？創造它的目的是什麼？答案是：為了打破單調。稱祂為神也好，稱祂為唯一的存在也好，稱祂為萬有的源頭與終點也好；當祂獨自存在時，祂希望有某種事物可以讓祂認識。印度教徒說，創造是梵天（Brahma）的一場夢。我們可以稱它為夢，但這正是其中主要的目的。蘇菲如此解釋：神，這位愛者，想要認識祂自己的本性；因此，藉著顯現，摯愛者被創造出來，使愛得以顯現。當我們從這個角度來看時，我們所看見的一切，都是摯愛者。正如波斯最偉大的詩人魯米（Rumi）所說：「摯愛者是一切中的一切，愛者只是遮蔽了祂；摯愛者是一切活著的，愛者則是一個死物。」

Sufis have therefore called God the Beloved. And they have seen the Beloved in all beings. They did not think that God was in heaven, apart, away from all beings. In everything, in all forms, they have seen the beauty of God. And in this realization the main purpose and the ultimate purpose of life is fulfilled. As it is said in the ancient scriptures, when God asked Adam, “Who is thy Lord?” he said, “Thou art my Lord.” This means that the purpose of creation was that every soul might recognize his source and goal, and surrender to it and attribute to it all beauty and wisdom and power, so that by doing so he might perfect himself. As the Bible says, “Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.’

因此，蘇菲把神稱為「摯愛者」。他們也在一切眾生之中看見摯愛者。他們並不認為神在天上，與一切眾生分離，遙不可及。在每一件事物、每一種形相之中，他們都看見神的美。而在這樣的體悟之中，生命主要的目的與終極的目的便得以完成。正如古老經典中所說，當神問亞當：「誰是你的主？」他回答：「祢是我的主。」這意味著，創造的目的，是讓每一個靈魂都能認出自己的源頭與終點，向祂臣服，並將一切美、智慧與力量都歸於祂；如此，他便能使自己臻於圓滿。正如《聖經》所說：「你們要完全，像你們在天上的父完全一樣。」

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