12. What is Wanted in Life?
12. 人生所求為何？

If this question were asked of several people each would perhaps make out a list of not less than a thousand things that he wanted in life. And yet even after writing them all down one rarely knows what one really wants. What one apparently wants in life is not what one really wants, for the nature of the outer life is illusion. As soon as one feels that one wants this or that, then the world of illusion will answer, “Yes, you want me, this is the particular thing you want in life”, but when a person thinks he lacks something in life he only sees the outer lack; he does not find the lack which is within himself.

如果把這個問題問幾個人，每個人也許都能列出至少一千樣自己在人生中想要的東西。然而，即使把它們全都寫下來，我們仍很少真正知道自己究竟想要什麼。我們表面上在人生中想要的，並不是真正想要的，因為外在生活的本質就是幻象。一旦我們覺得自己想要這個、想要那個，幻象的世界便會回答：「對，你要的就是我；這正是你在人生中想要的東西。」然而，當我們覺得人生中缺少某樣東西時，看見的只是外在的缺失，卻沒有發現自己內在的欠缺。

There is no doubt that what we lack most in life is to be tuned with the infinite and to be in rhythm with the finite; in other words to be in rhythm with the conditions of life and to be in tune with the source of our existence.

毫無疑問，我們人生中最欠缺的，是與無限調諧，並與有限保持同一節奏；換句話說，就是與人生的境遇同節奏，並與我們存在的源頭調諧。

Our perpetual complaints against all things in life come from our not being in rhythm with the diverse conditions of Life that we have to face. And then we think that if these conditions would only change into something that we wish, it would make our Life easier; but that is an inexperienced expectation. If we were placed in the very conditions that we had just desired, believing them to be the best, we would not even then say that we were quite satisfied; we would surely find something lacking in that condition also. For with all the errors and mistakes and shortcomings we find in our external life, we see a perfect hand working behind it all. And if we looked at Life a little more closely than we generally do we would certainly find that all the lacks and errors and mistakes and faults add up to something, making life as complete as the wise hand which is working behind it wishes it to be.

我們之所以不斷抱怨生活中的種種事情，是因為沒有與自己必須面對的各種人生境遇保持同一節奏。於是我們以為，只要這些境遇能變成自己所希望的樣子，生活就會容易一些；但那只是缺乏經驗的期待。即使我們真的置身於自己剛才所渴望、也認為最好的境遇裡，依然不會覺得完全滿足；我們必定還會在其中發現某些欠缺。儘管我們在外在生活中看見種種錯誤、失誤與不足，仍能看見一隻完美的手在這一切背後運作。若我們比平常更仔細地看待生命，就必定會發現，所有的欠缺、錯誤、失誤與缺陷，最終共同構成了某種完整，使生命成為那隻在背後運作的智慧之手所希望它成為的樣子。

There is a Persian saying, “The Gardener of this garden of the world knows best which plant to rear and which to remove.”

有一句波斯諺語說：「這世界花園的園丁，最知道哪一株植物該培育，哪一株又該移除。」

One might say that this comes close to fatalism, but I do not wish to take you further in that direction; we come now into the sphere of action. No doubt man has it in his power to improve his life’s conditions greatly if only he does not lose patience before a desirable condition is brought about, if his courage has not been exhausted, and if his hope has endured.

有人或許會說，這已經很接近宿命論了；但我不想再帶你們往那個方向走，現在我們要進入行動的領域。毫無疑問，我們有很大的能力改善自己的人生境遇，只要在理想的境遇尚未形成之前不失去耐心，只要勇氣尚未耗盡，希望仍能持續。

And now the question is how can one become at one with the rhythm of life, in other words with the conditions of life? One’s condition of life and one’s own desire are generally two conflicting things. If desire gives in to the condition, then the condition gets the upper hand; and if the condition is mastered, then no doubt desire has the upper hand.

現在的問題是，我們如何能與生命的節奏合而為一，換句話說，如何與人生的境遇合而為一？人生的境遇與自己的欲望通常是彼此衝突的。若欲望向境遇讓步，境遇便占了上風；若境遇被掌握，那麼無疑是欲望占了上風。

But the condition is not always master when there is a conflict, a struggle; only one needs caution in fighting a condition in life. If harmony can be established peacefully it is better to avoid battling, though it is a fact that those who complain most about life and those who are most disappointed and troubled with life are the ones who struggle most with life’s conditions. Therefore in achieving atone-ment with the conditions of life one need not always use a weapon; one should first try to harmonize with a particular condition of life.

然而，即使出現衝突與鬥爭，境遇也不總是主宰一切；只是與人生的境遇抗爭時，需要謹慎。如果能以和平的方式建立和諧，就最好避免爭鬥。事實上，那些最常抱怨人生、對人生最失望也最受困擾的人，往往正是與人生境遇抗爭得最厲害的人。因此，要與人生的境遇達到合一，並不需要總是拿起武器；我們首先應該試著與眼前的境遇和諧相處。

The great heroes who have really fought through life and gained life’s victory in the real sense of the word, have not been those who have fought against conditions; they made peace with the conditions of life. The secret of the lives of the great Sufis, in whatever part of the world they have been, was that they met conditions, whether favorable or unfavorable, with the aim of becoming at one with the rhythm of life.

那些真正一路走過人生的奮戰，並在真正意義上贏得人生勝利的偉大人物，並不是與境遇作戰的人；他們與人生的境遇和平相處。那些偉大的蘇菲，無論身處世界何地，他們一生的祕密都在於：無論遇上有利或不利的境遇，都以與生命的節奏合而為一為目標來面對。

A desire is sometimes our friend and sometimes our own enemy. Sometimes in unfavorable conditions desire becomes agitated and loses its patience, and wishes to break the condition; and instead of breaking the conditions it breaks itself. The great souls have extended their hand first to their worst enemy, because the one who makes his enemy his friend will make a friend of his own self. A condition as bitter as poison will be turned into nectar if we can get into rhythm with that condition, if we can understand it, if we will endure that condition with patience, with courage, with hope.

欲望有時是我們的朋友，有時卻是自己的敵人。在不利的境遇中，欲望有時會變得焦躁、失去耐心，想要打破眼前的境遇；結果非但沒有打破境遇，反而毀了自己。偉大的靈魂總是先向自己最惡劣的敵人伸出手，因為能把敵人變成朋友的人，也會讓自己成為自己的朋友。即使境遇苦如毒藥，只要我們能與它取得同一節奏，能理解它，並以耐心、勇氣與希望承受它，它也會化為甘露。

When there is a favorable condition we are very often afraid that it may pass, but when there is an adverse condition we do not generally think that it will pass; we think that it will last for ever. This comes from fear, from agitation, from the desire to get out of this condition, and thus we lose even hope, the only source that keeps us alive. When we see the nature of life, and how from morning till evening everything changes, why should we not keep the hope that an unfavorable condition will change and turn into a favorable condition?

當境遇有利時，我們常常害怕它會過去；但當境遇不利時，我們通常不會想到它也會過去，反而覺得它會永遠持續下去。這來自恐懼、焦躁，以及想要擺脫眼前境遇的欲望，於是我們甚至失去了希望——那使我們得以活下去的唯一泉源。當我們看見生命的本質，看見從早到晚一切都在改變，為什麼不能仍然懷抱希望，相信不利的境遇也會改變，轉為有利的境遇？

A person gets into the habit of expecting the worst. He who has had some bad experiences in his life always thinks that whatever comes to him will not be good; that nothing good will come to him because he has once gone through bad times. He thinks anybody else can have a better time than he because he is born under an unfavorable star.

我們會養成總是預期最壞結果的習慣。一個在人生中有過一些不愉快經驗的人，總會認為之後發生在自己身上的事都不會是好的；因為曾經經歷過艱難的日子，便覺得再也不會有好事來到自己身上。他會認為別人都可能過得比自己好，因為自己出生在一顆不吉利的星辰之下。

In the same way there are many imaginative and intelligent people who day after day read the newspapers and always come to the conclusion that there will be a war. Every insignificant struggle they read about gives them the idea that the world must go to pieces. There are other people interested in astrology who have gone further and are expecting the end of the world year after year, month after month. It gives people a topic to speak about at the dinner table, and at the same time it gives a shock to those who wish to live a little longer than the world’s end. Many such threats of the world’s destruction have passed, but the prophecy and expectation still remain and will continue.

同樣地，有許多富有想像力又聰明的人，日復一日地讀報紙，最後總會得出結論：戰爭就要來了。他們每讀到一場微不足道的衝突，就會覺得世界一定要四分五裂了。另一些對占星學感興趣的人則走得更遠，年復一年、月復一月地等待世界末日。這給了人們一個在餐桌上談論的話題，同時也讓那些還希望活得比「世界末日」久一點的人嚇一跳。許多這類世界毀滅的威脅都已經過去了，但這樣的預言與預期仍然存在，而且還會繼續下去。

Therefore the best thing is to go through every condition that life presents with patience, with understanding, with open eyes, and so try to rise above it with every little effort we can make.

因此，最好的方式，就是以耐心、理解與清醒的眼光走過人生帶來的每一種境遇，並以我們所能做出的每一點努力，設法超越它。

Tuning ourselves to the infinite is achieved by the way of silence, by the way of meditation, by the way of thinking of something which is beyond and above all things of this mortal world; by giving some moments of our life to the thought of getting in tune with that which is the source and goal of all of us, realizing that in that source alone is the secret of our happiness and peace.

要使自己與無限調諧，可以透過靜默、透過冥想，也可以讓心念轉向那超越這個必朽世界一切事物之上的存在；在人生中留出一些片刻，將心念放在與那個我們共同的源頭與目標調諧，並體認到：唯有在那個源頭之中，才藏著我們幸福與安寧的祕密。

The nature of being in tune with the infinite is this: comparing our soul to a string of an instrument, it is tied at both ends; one is the infinite, and the other is the finite. When a person is conscious all the time of the finite then he is tuned to the finite, while the one who is conscious of the infinite is tuned to the infinite. Being in tune with the former makes us limited, weak, hopeless, and powerless; but by being in tune with the latter we obtain the power and strength that will pull us through life in whatever adverse conditions may arise.

與無限調諧的本質可以這樣理解：如果把我們的靈魂比作樂器的一根弦，它的兩端各繫在一處；一端是無限，另一端是有限。當我們的意識始終停留在有限上，就會與有限調諧；而意識到無限的人，則與無限調諧。與前者調諧，會使我們變得受限、軟弱、失去希望而無力；與後者調諧，則使我們獲得力量與強韌，無論遭遇什麼不利的境遇，都能支持我們走過人生。

The work that a Sufi considers to be his sacred task has nothing to do with any particular creed, nor has it to do with any particular religion; it is only this simple thing: to be in rhythm with life’s conditions and to be in tune with the infinite. And when one asks how one can arrive at being in accord with life instead of being frightened by life’s conditions, the answer is: by meeting it and observing it keenly, and then by trying to harmonize oneself for the time being with that condition, while the next effort is to rise above it if it is an adverse one.

蘇菲視為神聖任務的工作，與任何特定的信條無關，也與任何特定的宗教無關；它只是這樣一件簡單的事：與人生的境遇同節奏，並與無限調諧。若問我們如何才能與人生相協調，而不是被人生的境遇嚇倒，答案是：去面對它，敏銳地觀察它，然後暫且試著讓自己與眼前的境遇和諧；若那是不利的境遇，下一步便是努力超越它。

Once a young Arab was sleeping in a field and a serpent happened to crawl over his palm, and in his sleep he held the serpent with all his might. The serpent was helpless and could not bite, but as soon as the young man awoke from his sleep he was frightened at the sight of a snake in his hand and at once let it go. And when the serpent was out of his hand the first thing it did was to bite.

有一次，一個年輕的阿拉伯人睡在田野裡，一條蛇碰巧爬過他的手掌；他在睡夢中用盡全力抓住了那條蛇。蛇動彈不得，也無法咬他。但年輕人一從睡夢中醒來，看見手裡有一條蛇，立刻嚇得放開了牠。而蛇一離開他的手，第一件事就是咬他。

One can manage a condition better when it is in one’s hand than when it has been lost; then the situation is out of one’s hand. For instance, if a person is cross, if he has lost his temper, the natural tendency is to pay him back in the same coin that he deals out. The outcome is a struggle, which will culminate in disappointment. But when a person is cross and has lost his temper, then he is the weak one, and that is the time that you can manage him. That is the time that the situation is in your hand, when he is weak and you are strong.

當境遇仍在自己掌握之中時，總比失去掌握之後更容易應對；一旦失去，局勢就不再在自己手中了。例如，一個人惱怒、失去脾氣時，我們自然會傾向以同樣的方式回敬他。結果便是一場爭鬥，最後以失望收場。然而，當一個人惱怒而失去脾氣時，他其實正是較弱的一方，而那正是你能應對他的時候。那時局勢正掌握在你手中：他弱，而你強。

In our life in this world we are dependent on one another, and wealth, however powerful it seems to be, is in the end not so powerful as it appears. Its power is limited and it does not always take away the dependence of one person upon another. The point is to meet one’s condition with understanding and with complete resignation. Thus the first thing is to meet the condition as it is and the second is to better the condition. The more one can avoid conflict the better; at the same time we cannot always avoid a conflict, and we must not turn our back on it if it comes to us. After all, life is a struggle and we must be ready to struggle. Only, struggle must not make us drunk so that we lose the way of peace which is the first thing to consider. We must not be like a boxer who is always looking for another person to box with.

我們生活在這個世界上，彼此相依；而財富無論看起來多麼有力量，到頭來其實並不像表面上那麼強大。它的力量有限，也不能總是消除人與人之間的依存。關鍵在於，以理解與全然接受來面對自己的境遇。因此，第一件事是如實面對眼前的境遇，第二件事才是改善它。能避免多少衝突，就盡量避免多少；但同時，我們不可能永遠避開衝突，如果衝突來到面前，也不能轉身逃避。畢竟，人生是一場奮戰，我們必須準備好去面對。然而，我們不能醉於爭鬥，以致失去和平之道，而和平才是首先需要考量的。我們不應像一名拳擊手，總是在尋找下一個可以交手的人。

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