1. The Alchemy of Happiness
幸福的煉金術
The soul in Sanskrit, in the terms of the Vedanta, is called Atman, which means happiness or bliss itself. It is not that happiness belongs to the soul; it is that the soul itself is happiness.
在梵文中，依照吠檀多的用語，靈魂被稱為 Atman，意思就是幸福或至福本身。這並不是說幸福屬於靈魂；而是說，靈魂本身就是幸福。
Today we often confuse happiness with pleasure; but pleasure is only an illusion, a shadow of happiness; and in this delusion man may pass his whole life, seeking after pleasure and never finding satisfaction. There is a Hindu saying that man looks for pleasure and finds pain. Every pleasure seems happiness in outward appearance; it promises happiness, for it is the shadow of happiness, but just as the shadow of a person is not the person though representing his form, so pleasure represents happiness but is not happiness in reality.
今日我們常常把幸福與愉悅感混為一談；但愉悅感只是一種幻象，是幸福的影子；而人在這種迷惑之中，可能耗盡一生去追逐愉悅感，卻始終找不到滿足。印度有一句話說，人尋找愉悅感，找到的卻是痛苦。每一種愉悅感在外表上看來都像是幸福；它向人許諾幸福，因為它是幸福的影子；但正如一個人的影子雖然呈現出那人的形體，卻並不是那個人，同樣地，愉悅感呈現了幸福，卻並不是真正的幸福。
According to this idea one rarely finds souls in this world who know what happiness is; they are constantly disappointed in one thing after another. That is the nature of life in the world; it is so deluding that if man were disappointed a thousand times he would still take the same path, for he knows no other.
依照這個看法，世間鮮少有靈魂知道什麼是真正的幸福；人們在一個接一個的事物中不斷感到幻滅。這就是世間生命的本質；它是如此令人迷惑，以致即使人們失望了一千次，仍會走上同樣的道路，因為他並不知道有別的路。
The more we study life, the more we realize how rarely there is a soul who can honestly say, “I am happy.” Almost every soul, whatever his position in life, will say he is unhappy in some way or another; and if you ask him why, he will probably say that it is because he cannot attain to the position, power, property, possessions, or rank for which he has worked for years. Perhaps he is craving for money and does not realize that possessions give no satisfaction; perhaps he says he has enemies, or that those whom he loves do not love him; there are a thousand excuses for unhappiness that the reasoning mind will make.
我們對人生研究得愈多，就愈會明白，能誠實地說出「我是幸福的」這句話的靈魂，是多麼少見。幾乎每一個靈魂，不論他在人生中處於什麼地位，都會說自己在某方面或另一方面是不快樂的；若你問他為什麼，他大概會說，那是因為他無法得到自己多年來辛苦追求的地位、權力、財產、擁有物，或名望。也許他渴望金錢，卻沒有明白擁有並不能帶來滿足；也許他說自己有敵人，或是他所愛的人並不愛他；理性的頭腦總能為不幸找出千百種藉口。
But is even one of these excuses ever entirely correct? Do you think that if these people gained their desires they would be happy? If they possessed all, would that suffice? No, they would still find some excuse for unhappiness; all these excuses are only like covers over a man’s eyes, for deep within is the yearning for the true happiness which none of these things can give. He who is really happy is happy everywhere, in a palace or in a cottage, in riches or in poverty, for he has discovered the fountain of happiness which is situated in his own heart; as long as a person has not found that fountain, nothing will give him real happiness.
可是，這些藉口之中，有任何一個真的是完全正確的嗎？你認為，如果這些人得到了自己所渴望的東西，他們就會幸福嗎？若他們擁有了一切，那就足夠了嗎？不，他們仍然會找到某種不幸福的理由；這一切藉口都不過像是遮在一個人眼前的蒙眼布，因為在他內心深處，真正渴望的是那些事物全都無法給予的真實幸福。真正幸福的人，無論身在宮殿或茅舍，富有或貧窮，都同樣幸福，因為他已經發現那座位於自己心中的幸福泉源；只要一個人還未找到那泉源，就沒有任何事物能給他真正的幸福。
The man who does not know the secret of happiness often develops avarice. He wants thousands, and when he gets them they do not satisfy him and he wants millions, and still he is not satisfied; he wants more and more. If you give him your sympathy and service he is still unhappy; even all you possess is not enough, even your love does not help him, for he is seeking in a wrong direction, and life itself becomes a tragedy.
一個不知道幸福祕密的人，往往會產生貪婪。他想要成千，得到之後卻不滿足，便又想要成百萬；即使如此，他仍然不滿足；他想要的愈來愈多。即使你給他你的同理心與服務，他依然不快樂；甚至你所擁有的一切都不夠，連你的愛也幫不了他，因為他是在錯誤的方向上尋求，而生命本身也因此成了一場悲劇。
Happiness cannot be bought or sold, nor can you give it to a person who has not got it. Happiness is your own being, your own self, that self that is the most precious thing in life. All religions, all philosophical systems, have in different forms taught man how to find it by the religious path or the mystical way; and all the wise ones have in some form or another given a method by which the individual can find that happiness for which the soul is seeking.
幸福不能被買賣，你也無法把它給予一個並未擁有它的人。幸福就是你自己的存在本質、你自己的真我，那個真我是生命中最珍貴的事物。一切宗教、一切哲學體系，都以不同的形式教導人，如何藉由宗教的道路或祕修之道找到它；而所有智者，也都以某種形式給出了方法，使個人能找到靈魂所追尋的那份幸福。
Sages and mystics have called this process alchemy. The stories of the Arabian Nights which symbolize mystical ideas are full of the belief that there is a philosopher’s stone which will turn metals into gold by a chemical process. No doubt this symbolic idea has deluded men both in the East and West; many have thought that a process exists by which gold can be produced. But this is not the idea of the wise; the pursuit of gold is for those who as yet are only children. For those who have the consciousness of reality, gold stands for light or spiritual inspiration. Gold represents the color of light, and therefore an unconscious pursuit after light has made man seek for gold.
聖賢與祕士把這個過程稱為煉金術。《一千零一夜》中那些象徵秘修思想的故事，深深地相信有一種賢者之石，能藉由化學過程把金屬變成黃金。毫無疑問地，這種象徵性的觀念在東西方都造成誤導；許多人以為，確實存在著一種能製造黃金的過程。但這並不是智者的意思；追逐黃金的是那些尚且只是孩童般的人。對於意識到究竟真實的人而言，黃金象徵的是光，或靈性啟示。黃金代表光的色彩，因此，對光的無意識追求使得人去尋找黃金。
But there is a great difference between real gold and false. It is the longing for true gold that makes man collect the imitation gold, ignorant that the real gold is within. He satisfies the craving of his soul in this way, as a child satisfies itself by playing with dolls. This realization is not a matter of age. One man may have reached an advanced age and still be playing with dolls, his soul may be involved in the search for this imitation gold.
但真金與假金之間有極大的差別。正是對真金的渴望，使人去搜集仿製的黃金，卻不知道真正的黃金就在內在。他用這種方式滿足靈魂的渴求，正如孩子藉由玩洋娃娃來滿足自己。這種體悟無關乎其年齡，有些人或許已到了高齡，卻仍然在玩洋娃娃；他的靈魂仍然深陷於對這種假金的追尋之中。
A person may follow a religion and yet not come to the realization of truth; but of what use is his religion to him if he is not happy? Religion does not mean depression and sadness. The spirit of religion should give happiness. God is happy. He is the perfection of love, harmony, and beauty. A religious person should be happier than one who is not religious. If a person who professes religion is always melancholy, his religion is disgraced; the form has been kept, but the spirit lost. If the study of religion and mysticism does not lead to real joy and happiness, it may just as well not exist, for then it does not help to fulfill the purpose of life.
一個人也許跟隨了宗教，卻未體悟真理；但若他並不幸福，那麼他的宗教對他又有什麼用呢？宗教並不意味著沮喪與悲傷。宗教精神應當帶來幸福。神是幸福的。祂是愛、和諧與美的圓滿境界。一個有篤信宗教的人，理應比沒有宗教信仰的人更幸福。若一個自稱有宗教信仰的人總是憂鬱不樂，那麼他的宗教便蒙羞了；形式雖被保留，精神卻已失落。若對宗教與秘修的學習，不能引向真實的喜樂與幸福，那還不如不要它，因為它並不能幫助人們達成生命的目的。
The world today is sad and suffering as the result of terrible wars; the religion which answers the demand of life today is one which invigorates and gives life to souls, which illuminates the heart of man with the divine light which is already there; not necessarily by any outer form, though for some a form may be helpful, but by showing that happiness which is the desire of every soul.
今日的世界因可怕的戰爭而憂傷受苦；能回應現今生命需求的宗教，乃是那種能振奮並賦予靈魂生命的宗教，能以已然存在於人們心中的神聖之光照亮人心的宗教；雖然對某些人而言，形式也許有所幫助，但這不一定要依附於任何外在的形式，而是要展現出每個靈魂都渴望的那份幸福。
As for the question of how this method of alchemy is practiced, the whole process was explained by the alchemists in a symbolical way. They said gold is made out of mercury:
至於這種煉金術的方法該如何實踐，整個過程曾被煉金術士以象徵性的方式解說過。他們說，黃金是由水銀製成的：
1. The nature of mercury is to be ever-moving, but by a certain process the mercury is first stilled,
水銀的本性是動個不停的，但要先透過某種過程，使水銀靜止下來，
2. and once stilled it becomes silver;
而一旦靜止了，它就變成銀；
3. then the silver has to be melted,
然後銀必須被熔化，
4. and the juice of a herb is poured on to the molten silver,
接著把某種藥草汁液注入熔化的銀，
5. which is thereby turned into gold.
銀便轉化成黃金。
This of course gives only an outline, but one can find detailed explanations of the whole process. Many childlike souls have tried to make gold by stilling mercury and melting silver, and they have tried to find the herb; but they were deluded, and they had better have worked and earned money.
這當然只是一個大概，但人們可以找到對整個過程的詳細說明。許多幼稚的靈魂曾試圖藉由使水銀靜止、熔化銀、尋找那種藥草，來製造黃金；但他們其實是被迷惑了，與其如此，還不如去工作賺錢。
The real interpretation of this process is that mercury represents the nature of the ever-restless mind. Especially when he tries to concentrate does a person realize that the mind is ever restless. The mind is like a restive horse: when it is ridden it is more restive than when it is in the stable. Such is the nature of mind: it becomes more restless when one desires to control it; it is like mercury, constantly moving.
這個過程真正的詮釋是：水銀象徵那永不安歇的頭腦本性。尤其當一個人試圖專注時，他才會意識到頭腦是何等地永遠躁動。頭腦就像一匹難以駕馭的馬：當有人騎上去時，牠會比待在馬廄裡更躁動倔強。頭腦的本質正是如此：當我們想要控制它時，它會變得更加躁動；它就像水銀一樣，不停地動著。
When by a method of concentration one has mastered the mind, one has taken the first step in the accomplishment of a sacred task. Prayer is concentration, reading is concentration, sitting and relaxing and thinking on one subject are all concentration. All artists, thinkers, and inventors have practiced concentration in some form; they have given their minds to one thing, and by focusing on one object have developed the faculty of concentration; but for stilling the mind a special method is necessary which is taught by the mystic, just as a singer is taught by the teacher of voice-production.
當人們藉由專注掌控了頭腦，他便已踏出了完成一項神聖工作之第一步。祈禱是專注，閱讀是專注，坐著、放鬆、並專心思考一件事，也都是專注。一切藝術家、思想家與發明家，都曾以某種形式實踐過專注；他們把自己的頭腦投注於一件事上，並藉由聚焦在一個對象之上，發展出專注的能力；但若要使頭腦真正靜止，便需要一種特殊的方法，而這方法是由祕士所教導的，正如歌者需由發聲老師來教導一樣。
The secret of this is to be learnt in the science of breath. Breath is the essence of life, the center of life, and the mind may be controlled by a knowledge of the proper method of breathing. For this, instruction from a teacher is a necessity; for since the mystical cult of the East has become known in the West books have been published, and teaching which had been kept as sacred as religion has been discussed in words; but these can never truly explain the mystery of that which is the center of man’s very being.
這其中的奧秘必須在呼吸的科學中學習。呼吸是生命的本質、是生命的中心，而頭腦可以藉由了解適當的呼吸方法而受到控制。為此，源自老師的指導是必要的；因為自從東方的秘修傳統被西方所知之後，書籍便被出版，那些曾如宗教一般被神聖保存的教導開始被人們以文字討論；但這些書面文字永遠無法真正解釋那實是人之存在中心的奧祕。
People read these books and begin to play with breath, and often instead of benefiting they injure both mind and body; there are also those who make a business of teaching breathing exercises for money, thus degrading a sacred thing. The science of breath is the greatest mystery there is, and for thousands of years it has been kept as a sacred trust in the schools of the mystics.
人們讀了這些書便開始玩弄呼吸，而結果往往不是得益，反倒傷害了心智與身體；也有些人把教授呼吸練習當作賺錢的生意，因此貶抑了一件神聖之事。呼吸的科學是古往今來最偉大的奧祕，數千年來它一直作為一種神聖的託付，被保存在祕士的學校中。
When the mind is under perfect control and no longer restless, one can hold a thought at will as long as one wishes. This is the beginning of phenomena. Some abuse these privileges and by dissipating the power thus obtained they destroy the silver before turning it into gold. The silver must be heated before it can melt, and with what?
當頭腦受到完全的掌握，不再躁動時，人便能隨心所欲地把持住一個念頭，想持續多久就多久。這就是非凡奇蹟的開端。有些人濫用這些特權，並因為消耗散盡了其所獲得的力量，而在銀尚未化為黃金之前，就先把銀毀掉了。銀在熔化之前，必須先被加熱；那麼，是用什麼來加熱呢？
With that warmth which is the divine essence in the heart of man, which comes forth as love, tolerance, sympathy, service, humility, unselfishness, in a stream which rises and fails in a thousand drops, each drop of which could be called a virtue, all coming from that one stream hidden in the heart of man: the love element; and when it glows in the heart, then the actions, the movements, the tone of the voice, the expression, all show that the heart is warm. The moment this happens a man really lives; he has unsealed the spring of happiness which overcomes all that is jarring and inharmonious, and the spring has established itself as a divine stream.
是用那份在人們心中的神聖本質，也就是「溫暖」來加熱；溫暖湧現為愛、寬容、同理心、服務、謙卑、無私，如同一座噴湧又灑落成千百滴的泉流，而其中每一滴都可以被稱為一種德行；這一切都來自那隱藏在人心中的同一股泉流：「愛」的元素；當它在心中發光發熱時，一個人的行動、姿態、聲音的語調、表情，都會顯示出那顆心是溫暖的。當一刻發生時，人才算是真正活著；他已解開那幸福之泉的封印，那湧泉克服了一切衝突與不和諧之物，而這泉源自身亦為一道神性之流。
After the heart is warmed by the divine element, which is love, the next stage is the herb, which is the love of God. But the love of God alone is not sufficient; knowledge of God is also necessary. It is the absence of the knowledge of God which makes a man leave his religion, for there is a limit to man’s patience. Knowledge of God strengthens man’s belief in God, throws light on the individual and on life. Things become clear; every leaf on a tree becomes as a page of a holy book to one whose eyes are open to the knowledge of God.
當心被那神性的元素，也就是愛，所溫暖之後，下一個階段便是藥草，那就是對神的愛。但只有對神的愛仍不夠；對神的認識是同樣必要的。正是因為缺乏對神的認識，人們才會離開自己的宗教，因為人們的耐心是有限的。對神的認識會強固人對神的信念，並把光投照在個人以及生命之上。萬事萬物都變得清晰；對那些已向對神的認識張開雙眼的人，樹上的每一片葉子都變得像是聖典中的書頁。
When the juice of the herb of divine love is poured on the heart, warmed by the love of his fellow-men, then that heart becomes the heart of gold, the heart that expresses what God would express. Man has not seen God, but man has then seen God in man, and when this happens, then verily everything that comes from such a man comes from God Himself.
當那神性之愛的藥草汁液，被傾注在一顆已被對同胞之愛所溫暖的心上時，那顆心便成了「黃金之心」，也就是一顆表達神之所欲表達之物的心。人們未曾見過神，但此時人們在他身上看見了神；而當這件事發生時，誠然，凡是從這樣一個人所給出的一切，都來自神本身。