10. The Attitude
10. 態度

1. The Wrong Attitude
錯誤的態度

It is very often the attitude of mind which makes right and wrong; at the same time it is the attitude of mind which draws friends to one or gives one a repelling influence; also, it is the attitude of mind which brings happiness or unhappiness. It is true that there is the influence of time; there is a certain time in our life which has an influence for good or bad, for rise or fall, for happiness or unhappiness; yet it is our attitude which either controls it or is controlled by it. If our attitude is controlled by it, then the situation at that time conquers us; but if our attitude is under control then there is a chance of conquering the situation.

很多時候，使事情走向正確或錯誤的，正是我們的心態；同樣，也是心態使朋友受我們吸引，或使我們帶有令人疏遠的影響力；帶來幸福或不幸的，也是心態。時間的確有其影響；生命中有些時期，會對好壞、盛衰、幸福與不幸產生影響。然而，是我們的態度駕馭這股影響，或反過來受它支配。如果我們的態度受它支配，當時的情勢便會勝過我們；但如果我們能掌握自己的態度，就有可能勝過情勢。

Mostly our failure, our unhappiness, and our disagreements with friends come from a wrong attitude. When a person starts an enterprise and doubts whether he will have success or not, doubts whether his partners in business will help him or not, his attitude will create in that situation all that he imagines. His partners in business will act wrongly and perhaps unjustly towards him, and the situation will follow the attitude; for the attitude is the current which molds the situation. Therefore however promising a business or a work may be, if our attitude is not right it must go wrong; it cannot come right. It is a hidden influence, and yet a most powerful influence underlying all circumstances of life.

我們的失敗、不幸福，以及與朋友之間的不和，多半來自錯誤的態度。當一個人開始一項事業，懷疑自己是否會成功，又懷疑生意夥伴是否會幫助他，他的態度就會在情勢中形成他所想像的一切。他的夥伴會對他行事不當，甚至可能不公，而情勢也會隨著他的態度發展；因為態度就像一股流，塑造著情勢。因此，無論一項事業或工作看來多麼有希望，如果我們的態度不正確，事情就必然走向錯誤，不可能順利發展。這是一股隱而不見的影響力，卻又是存在於生命一切處境之下、極其強大的影響力。

It is the same with our attitude towards our friends. Whether we feel that our friend will prove to be kind and faithful and constant, or whether we think, “I doubt if I can hold his friendship; I feel this friend will one day deceive me; I think he will disappoint me one day”, in either case we are creating that thought in the friend, we are inspiring him; and the friend without knowing it will act accordingly. In any enterprise or in anything we wish to accomplish, what is most wanted is the right attitude.

我們對朋友的態度也是如此。不論我們相信朋友會證明自己善良、忠實而始終如一，還是心想：「我不知道能不能維持這份友誼；我覺得這個朋友有一天會欺騙我；我想有一天他會讓我失望。」無論是哪一種情形，我們其實都在朋友心中形成那個念頭，對他產生影響；而朋友自己並不知道，卻會相應地行動。無論我們從事什麼事業，或想完成什麼事情，最需要的都是正確的態度。

If a person thinks, “Everything I touch and everything I do and everywhere I look, it is all wrong”, certainly it is wrong, there is no doubt about it; but it is his attitude that is wrong, and therefore whatever he does is wrong. It is just like taking a red lantern and throwing its light upon everything: every object in that light will appear red, and one will become frightened oneself and see danger everywhere. But the danger is in one’s own hand; it is the red lantern.

如果一個人心想：「我碰到的每一件事、做的每一件事、看見的每一處，全都不對。」那麼事情當然會變得不對，這毫無疑問；但真正不對的是他的態度，因此他無論做什麼，都會出問題。這就像提著一盞紅燈籠，用它的光照向所有東西：光中的每一樣東西看起來都是紅的，自己也會因此害怕，處處都看見危險。然而，所謂的危險其實就在自己手中——就是那盞紅燈籠。

Sometimes a person gets into a wrong attitude out of humbleness. By correcting oneself one can arrive at correcting too much, and then one calls oneself wrong. With every move such a person then makes he thinks that he has done something wrong, something dangerous, and that may result in a great danger too.

有時，我們會因為謙卑而落入錯誤的態度。在修正自己的過程中，我們可能走得太過頭，進而認定自己本身就是錯的。這樣的人每做一件事，都會覺得自己做錯了什麼、做了什麼危險的事，而這也可能真的招致很大的危險。

Very often people do not progress in their lives because of their attitude towards life. They are their own enemies, and they themselves are the hindrance to their progress. They might think that that one thing or another is the reason: lack of money, unkindness of friends, lack of acquaintances, a thousand things. They may say that the planets are against them; but what is most against them is themselves. They cannot progress. Once one has analyzed and understood attitude, and has controlled oneself so as to be able to take any attitude one wishes, then the latent influence in man naturally begins to manifest.

很多時候，我們之所以無法在生命中有所進展，是因為自己對生命的態度。我們成了自己的敵人，也成了阻礙自己前進的人。我們可能以為原因在這件事或那件事：缺少金錢、朋友不夠友善、缺少熟識的人，還有千百種別的原因。我們也許會說，是星象與自己作對；然而，最與我們作對的，其實是自己，因此無法有所進展。一旦我們分析並理解了態度，也能掌握自己，使自己可以選擇想採取的態度，那麼我們內在潛藏的影響力，自然就會開始顯現。

There are three gifts of God given to some in this world, and these gifts are greater than jewels, gems, wealth, or anything else in the world, and nothing can buy them. One may be born with them, yet not know it.

神賜給世上一些人三種恩賜。這些恩賜勝過珠寶、寶石、財富，以及世上的任何事物，而且沒有任何東西能買到它們。我們可能與生俱來就擁有這些恩賜，自己卻並不知道。

• One gift is the influence to progress,
  
  一種恩賜，是使人進展的影響力；

• another gift is the influence to attract, and
  
  另一種，是吸引的影響力；

• the third gift is the influence to make difficult situations easy.
  
  第三種，是使困難情勢變得容易的影響力。

2. The Gift of Progress
進展的恩賜

Nothing in the world can keep back a soul who has the gift of progress, in other words of flourishing, of prospering.

世上沒有任何事物能阻擋一個擁有進展恩賜的靈魂；換句話說，也就是擁有興盛與昌隆的恩賜。

There is a story about a poor man whose job was to sell empty bottles in Bombay. He came to a merchant and asked a certain salary to do this work for him, and from the day the merchant engaged him the merchant steadily became more prosperous. So one day he thought, “I have worked for twenty years in this shop, and it is only since this young man has come that I have prospered.” He did not tell this to the young man, but the next day he made him a partner in his business; and from that time he began to flourish a hundred times more. After six months he was flourishing and prospering in every way, and in the end, as he had no children, he gave his business to this young man, who in time became the wealthiest man in the whole country.

有一個故事，說的是孟買一名以販賣空瓶為生的窮人。他去找一位商人，表示願意以一定的薪資替他做這份工作。商人從雇用他的那一天起，便愈來愈興盛。有一天，商人心想：「我在這家店裡工作了二十年，卻是從這個年輕人來了以後，我才開始興旺起來。」他沒有把這件事告訴年輕人，卻在第二天讓他成為自己的生意夥伴；從那時起，他的事業比以前興盛了百倍。六個月後，各方面都蒸蒸日上；最後，因為他沒有子女，便把生意交給了這個年輕人。後來，這個年輕人成了全國最富有的人。

This is not a spiritual influence, and yet it is the influence of spirit, there is no doubt about it. It cannot be a material influence, as influence is never material. An influence that works from within and works towards perfection, in whatever form, is a wonderful influence. Whether people like the man in the story act alone or whether they act with someone else, in whatever they do there is progress. It cannot be helped; whatever they touch flourishes.

這並不是一種靈性上的影響力，然而毫無疑問，它仍是來自靈的影響力。它不可能是一種物質的影響力，因為影響力從來不是物質的。無論採取什麼形式，一股從內在運作、朝向圓滿發揮作用的影響力，都是奇妙的。像故事中這樣的人，無論獨自行動，還是與別人一起做事，所做之事都會有所進展。事情自然而然如此；凡是他們碰觸的，都會興盛起來。

3. The Gift of Attraction
吸引的恩賜

The effect of the next influence is that a person will never be without friends. If he left the whole of humanity and went to live among lions, tigers, bears, and rhinoceroses, they would be his friends. Let him go among the educated, illiterate, wise, or foolish, wherever this person goes he will attract friends. He will never be alone, in riches, in poverty, in health, in sickness; at all times he will attract friends from every side. This person is born with that gift. Other people may have perhaps three or four or five or six relations or friends, but when a person possesses this influence, every man is his friend.

第二種影響力所帶來的結果，是一個人永遠不會沒有朋友。即使他離開所有人群，去和獅子、老虎、熊與犀牛一起生活，牠們也會成為他的朋友。無論他走進有學問的人、沒有受過教育的人、智慧者或愚者之中，所到之處都會吸引朋友。無論富有或貧窮、健康或生病，他都不會孤單；無論何時，四面八方都會有朋友受到他的吸引。這樣的人生來就帶著這份恩賜。別人也許只有三、四、五、六位親人或朋友，但當一個人擁有這種影響力時，人人都會成為他的朋友。

Not only human beings, but even animals such as cats, dogs, wolves, or foxes will all come to him. Very often dervishes without one penny, wandering here and there, have that influence; and if they sit in a place, in the desert, in a forest, or somewhere in the country, people are attracted to them. Maybe at first after having been away for six months or one year or two years only the animals of the country know such a man, only the birds recognize him; but then the time comes when human beings begin to come, when they too are attracted.

不只是人類，就連貓、狗、狼或狐狸這些動物，也都會來到他身邊。許多身無分文、四處行走的蘇菲行者（dervishes），往往就具有這種影響力；當他們在某個地方坐下來，無論是在沙漠、森林，或鄉野中的某一處，人們都會受到吸引而前來。也許起初，在他離群生活半年、一年或兩年之後，只有當地的動物知道這樣一個人，只有鳥兒認得他；但後來，人們也會開始前來，同樣受到他的吸引。

[譯註] dervishes：蘇菲傳統中的修行者，常帶有離俗、清貧、遊行修持等意涵；此處譯為「蘇菲行者」。

Sometimes people say that a certain place has an attraction because of its beautiful nature, splendid mountains, rivers, seashores, forests; but man has a greater influence than all these places. The Prophet Mohammed was born in Mecca, a place in the Hejaz of no special interest. There was no industry, there were no gold-mines, there was no coal and no oil; even nature was not beautiful, there was nothing to be had from that country, no art, no science, no literature; there was nothing. There was only a soul which was interesting — a soul which was a magnet and attracted the people of the whole world. And after the Prophet had passed away, then the tomb of the Prophet attracted. It attracted millions. In his lifetime thousands were attracted and after his death millions, to this same spot without any interest.

有時人們說，某個地方之所以具有吸引力，是因為那裡有美麗的自然景色、壯麗的山岳、河流、海岸與森林；然而，一個人所具有的影響力，比這些地方都更強。先知穆罕默德出生於麥加，那是希賈茲（Hejaz）一個並沒有什麼特別引人之處的地方。那裡沒有工業，沒有金礦，沒有煤礦，也沒有石油；就連自然景色也不美，從那片土地上得不到什麼，沒有藝術、沒有科學、沒有文學，什麼都沒有。那裡唯一引人注目的，只有一個靈魂——一個如磁石般的靈魂，吸引了全世界的人。先知去世之後，他的墓也產生了吸引力，吸引了數百萬人。他在世時，有成千上萬的人受到吸引；去世之後，則有數百萬人被吸引到這個本身並無特別之處的同一地方。

[譯註] 原文此處存在地理上的矛盾：前文所指的是穆罕默德出生地麥加，但穆罕默德去世後葬於麥地那（Medina），其墓亦在麥地那，而非麥加；因此原文將「the tomb of the Prophet」接續為「this same spot」，在地理上並不一致。此處依底本原義保留。

4. The Gift of Ease
化難為易的恩賜

Then there is a third influence, and through this influence, however difficult a situation may be, when a certain person handles it, it becomes easy. For instance there may be a strike going on of thousands of miners and workmen, and after everyone has tried to make peace without success one man comes along who has some of that influence given to him by God; it is neither intellect, nor knowledge, nor psychology, but with this influence he goes among them and puts everything right.

接著是第三種影響力。透過這種影響力，無論情勢多麼困難，只要由具有這種影響力的人來處理，就會變得容易。譬如，數千名礦工與工人正在罷工，眾人都試過調停，卻沒有成功；這時有一個人來了，他具有一些神所賜的這種影響力。這既不是理智，不是知識，也不是心理學；但他帶著這股影響力走進眾人之中，便使一切歸於妥當。

If one wanted to develop this influence one could not do it; it is God’s gift. A man who has it is called “the man of the day.” That man may be in politics or in industry or business, it does not matter in what form of activity; the influence is there.

如果我們想靠自己培養出這種影響力，是做不到的；這是神的恩賜。擁有它的人，可稱為「當世的傑出人物」（the man of the day）。這個人可能身在政治界，也可能從事工業或商業；無論他的活動採取什麼形式，這股影響力都在那裡。

But no doubt any of these three great gifts may belong to a person, and yet if his attitude is not right it is just like a lantern which is burning dimly. It could burn much better if the attitude were right.

毫無疑問，一個人可能擁有這三大恩賜中的任何一種；然而，如果他的態度不正確，就像一盞只能發出微弱光芒的燈。如果態度正確，這盞燈原本可以燃燒得明亮得多。

There are many examples of those who are born with this influence; the gift is there for anyone to see and yet they never use it, they do not know they possess it. The reason may be that their attitude is wrong; a person may have the greatest opportunities to progress in life and to flourish, and yet in spite of this and in spite of having all the power to make things easy for himself, he may fail because of his wrong attitude.

有許多人天生就帶著這種影響力。那份恩賜明明存在，人人都看得出來，他們卻從未運用它，也不知道自己擁有它。原因也許就在於他們的態度不正確。一個人可能擁有生命中最好的進展與興盛機會，也具有使事情對自己變得容易的一切力量，卻仍可能因為錯誤的態度而失敗。

5. The Right Attitude
正確的態度

One might wonder what is meant by the right attitude, and how it can be acquired. One can have the right attitude by right thinking, and by keeping one’s mind focused on what is just and true. Wrong always attracts wrong, and right always attracts right. What is right and what is wrong? What you think to be right at the moment is right for you; and what you think to be wrong at the moment is wrong for you. It does not mean that what another person says is wrong for you is wrong, or that what another person says is right for you is right; the real basis is what you are thinking yourself at the moment. Never for one moment think that those who do wrong believe it to be right. It is not true; they do not believe it. They know it is wrong and yet they do it, out of weakness, lack of power, or lack of discrimination. They are not clear in their minds. There are not many who do wrong thinking that it is right. But the one who thinks that it is right today, may tomorrow think that it is wrong. Well then, tomorrow it will be wrong, though it is right today.

我們也許會問，所謂正確的態度是什麼，又要如何獲得。透過正確的思考，並讓頭腦專注於公正與真實之上，我們便能具有正確的態度。錯誤總會招來錯誤，正確也總會招來正確。那麼，什麼是正確，什麼又是錯誤？你當下認為正確的，對你而言就是正確；你當下認為錯誤的，對你而言就是錯誤。這並不是說，別人說某件事對你是錯的，它就真的對你是錯；也不是別人說它對你是對的，它就對你是對。真正的基礎，在於你自己當下所想的是什麼。千萬不要以為，那些做錯事的人是因為相信那是對的。事情並非如此；他們並不相信那是對的。他們知道那是錯的，卻仍然去做，或因為軟弱、缺乏力量，或缺乏辨別力。他們的頭腦並不清楚。真正把錯事當成對的而去做的人並不多。然而，一個今天認為某件事是對的人，明天也可能認為它是錯的。那麼到了明天，它對他而言就是錯的，儘管今天它仍是對的。

All one says, does, and thinks comes from an impulse; one end of it is in one’s own mind and the other end is in the mind of God. Therefore whatever people think about it, whether they think it right or wrong, one end of every impulse is in the heart of God. It is the spark that manifests in the heart of God first; then it manifests outwardly.

我們所說、所做、所想的一切，都來自一股驅力；它的一端在我們自己的頭腦中，另一端則在神的頭腦中。因此，不論人們如何看待它，認為它是對或錯，每一股驅力都有一端在神的心中。那火花最初在神的心中顯現，然後才向外顯現。

One might say, “God cannot guide a person wrongly, because God is just and good and perfect.” God’s justice and goodness and perfection cannot be compared with what we consider just and good and right. It may be that God’s justice and what is considered right and perfect by God is thought imperfect and unjust by man, for the horizon of his vision is very narrow. He cannot imagine what God means by every action that takes place.

我們也許會說：「神不可能把人引向錯誤，因為神是公正、良善而完美的。」神的公正、良善與完美，不能和我們所認為的公正、良善與正確相提並論。神的公正，以及神所視為正確、完美的事，在我們看來，也可能是不完美、不公正的，因為我們的視野極其狹窄。我們無法想像，每一件發生的事情，在神那裡意味著什麼。

In the Qur’an it is said that there is not one atom that moves without the command of God.

《古蘭經》中說，沒有一個原子的運動，不出於神的命令。

All things are wrong or right, perfect or imperfect from our point of view. But our point of view is a narrow, small, limited point of view; we see and hear according to our eyes and ears; our ears cannot hear more than they can, our eyes cannot see farther than they can. If from our limited point of view we judge God’s right and wrong, it is the greatest pity. On the other hand we cannot say that we should let everything happen as it does because everything happens according to God’s right point of view; as individuals we have a certain responsibility, towards ourselves and towards others. And since the idea of justice and of what is right is given to us, we are responsible for acting in accordance with that idea. It may be that tomorrow there will be a greater light given to us so that we shall act still better; and in this way, by acting thus every day, we shall prove a better instrument for the work of God.

一切事物之所以被看作錯或對、完美或不完美，都是從我們的觀點而言。但我們的觀點狹窄、微小而有限；我們只能透過自己的眼睛去看、透過自己的耳朵去聽。耳朵只能聽見它所能聽見的，眼睛也只能看見它所能看見的範圍。若以我們有限的觀點來判斷神所認為的是非，實在可惜至極。另一方面，我們也不能說，既然一切都依神所見的正確方式發生，就任由一切自行發生；作為個人，我們對自己與他人都負有一定的責任。既然公正與正確的觀念已被賦予我們，我們便有責任依照這個觀念行動。也許到了明天，會有更大的光賜給我們，使我們能做得更好；就這樣日復一日地行動，我們會逐漸成為神工作中更合用的工具。

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