26. The Inner Life
26. 內在的生命

There is one aspect of life which is known to us, our everyday life in which we are conscious of all that we do, and this aspect may be called the outer life. There is another part of our life of which we are very often unconscious and which may be called the inner life. To be without inner life is like being without an arm or a leg or an eye or an ear; but even that does not really illustrate the idea of the inner life. The reason is that the inner life is much greater and nobler and much more powerful than the outer life. Man gives great importance to the outer life, being absorbed in it from morning till evening and not being conscious of the other aspect. Thus all that matters to man is what happens to him in his outer life, and the occupations of his outer life keep him so absorbed that he has hardly a moment to think of the inner life.

生命有一個我們熟悉的面向，就是我們的日常生活；在其中，我們知道自己所做的一切。這個面向可以稱為外在生命。我們的生命還有另一個部分，我們往往並未意識到它，可以稱為內在生命。沒有內在生命，就像少了一隻手、一條腿、一隻眼睛或一隻耳朵；然而，即使這樣的比喻，也不足以真正說明內在生命。因為內在生命比外在生命廣大得多、高貴得多，也更有力量。我們非常看重外在生命，從早到晚沉浸其中，幾乎沒有意識到生命的另一個面向。因此，我們所關心的往往只是外在生命中發生在自己身上的事；外在生活的種種事務如此占據著我們，使我們幾乎沒有片刻想到內在生命。

The disadvantage of not being conscious of the inner life is incomparably greater than all the advantages that one can gain by being conscious of the outer life, for the inner life makes one richer, the outer life poorer. With all the riches and treasures that the earth can offer man is poor; and very often the richer he seems the poorer he is, for the greater the riches, the more limitation he finds in his life. The inner life makes one powerful, whereas the consciousness of the outer life makes one weak because it is the consciousness of limitation. The consciousness of the inner life makes one powerful because it is the consciousness of perfection. The outer life keeps one confused; however intellectual or learned a person may be, his mind will never be clear, for his knowledge is based upon reasons which in turn are rounded upon the outer things that are liable to change and destruction. That is why, however wise this person may seem to be, his wisdom has limitations.

沒有意識到內在生命所帶來的損失，遠遠超過意識到外在生命所能得到的一切益處；因為內在生命使我們富足，外在生命卻使我們貧乏。即使擁有大地所能給予的一切財富與珍寶，我們仍然可能是貧乏的；而且常常是看起來越富有，實際上越貧乏，因為擁有得越多，越容易在生命中感受到限制。內在生命使我們有力量，而只意識到外在生命卻使我們軟弱，因為那是一種對限制的意識。意識到內在生命則使我們有力量，因為那是對圓滿的意識。外在生命使我們陷於混亂；無論一個人多麼有才智、多麼博學，他的頭腦仍不會真正清明，因為他的知識建立在種種推理之上，而那些推理又建立在會變動、會毀壞的外在事物之上。因此，無論這個人看起來多麼有智慧，他的智慧仍有其限制。

The inner life makes the mind clear, for it is that part of one’s being which may be called divine, the essence of life, the pure intelligence; and wherever the light of pure intelligence is thrown things become clear. Absorption in the outer life, without that which the inner life can give, makes one blind; all that one says, thinks, or does is based upon outer experiences; and one cannot realize to what extent the power gained by the inner life enables one to see through life. There is such a thing as belief in a third eye; in reality the third eye is the inner eye, the eye that is opened by one’s awakening to the inner life.

內在生命使頭腦清明，因為它是我們存在中那個可稱為神性的部分，是生命的精髓，是純粹的覺知；純粹覺知的光照到哪裡，事物便在哪裡變得清楚。如果只是沉浸於外在生命，而缺少內在生命所能給予的東西，我們就會變得盲目；我們所說、所想、所做的一切，都只建立在外在經驗之上，也無法體會內在生命所帶來的力量，究竟能使我們把生命看得多麼透徹。有人相信有「第三眼」；其實第三眼就是內在之眼，是當我們對內在生命覺醒時所開啟的眼睛。

Inner life may also be called spiritual life. One can see it in the forest where it is the rain from above that makes the forest beautiful; this means that the forest alone does not have all that it needs, but that it needs something that comes from above: the light and the rain. It is the sun and the rain that make the forest complete. In the desert there is no rain, and therefore it is incomplete; there is the earth, but there is no water nor is there water from above. The water that gives life to the forest is not to be found in the desert. The desert is unhappy, and the man in the desert is unhappy too, looking for shade from the hot sun; for the desert is longing, and the man in the desert is longing too for something he cannot find; whereas in the deep forest there is joy, there is inspiration, the heart is lifted up because the forest is a picture of the inner life — not just the earth, not just the trees and plants, but because something which it needs has been sent down to it.

內在生命也可以稱為靈性生命。我們可以從森林看見它的象徵：使森林美麗的，是從上而降的雨。這表示森林本身並不具備它所需要的一切，它還需要某些從上而來的東西——光與雨。正是陽光和雨水使森林完整。沙漠沒有雨，因此是不完整的；那裡有土地，卻沒有水，也沒有水從上而降。使森林充滿生命的水，在沙漠裡找不到。沙漠是不快樂的，身處沙漠的人也不快樂，在烈日下四處尋找陰影；因為沙漠在渴望，那身處其中的人也在渴望某種他找不到的東西。深邃的森林裡卻有喜悅、有靈感，心也隨之振奮，因為森林正是內在生命的一幅圖景——不只是土地，不只是樹木花草，而是它所需要的某種東西已經從上方降臨。

And so it is with man: man who is solely occupied with the things of the world is in the midst of the world, but he is in the desert. It is the inner life which produces in him, not artificial virtues and man-made qualifies, but those virtues which can only arise from the inner life, and also the insight which makes the eyes see more than mortal eyes can see.

我們也是如此。若只忙於世間之事，即使身處世界之中，其實仍像身在沙漠。內在生命在我們之中生出的，不是刻意造作的德行，也不是人為培養出來的品格，而是唯有從內在生命才能自然生起的德性，以及一種洞見，使我們的眼睛能看見超越肉眼所能看見的事物。

The question is, how are we to be sure that there is an inner life, what proof is there? And the answer is that there is not one moment in our life when we do not see the proof of the inner life; only, we do not look for it. All the different means of communication such as telegraphy and telephone and radio, all the new machines and inventions which make people marvel at what mankind has accomplished are, if man would only realize it, nothing but a poor imitation of what this human body is! Man is the center of joy, of happiness, of peace, of power, of life, and of light. Man is a phenomenon far greater than any other mechanism, if only he had the patience and perseverance to explore himself. But what we do is to explore others. We think it is very important to analyze things, and the analysis of human nature we call psychology. Man analyses everyone except himself, and therefore true psychology is never reached; because the real psychology is to analyze oneself first, and when one’s self is analyzed, then one is able to analyze others.

問題是：我們如何確定內在生命確實存在？有什麼證明？答案是，在我們的生命中，沒有一刻不是在看見內在生命的證明；只是我們從未去尋找它。電報、電話、無線電等各種通訊方式，以及種種令人驚嘆人類成就的新機器與新發明——如果我們真正明白，就會知道這一切都只是對人類這副身體極其粗淺的模仿！我們本身就是喜悅、幸福、安寧、力量、生命與光的中心。只要有耐心和毅力去探索自己，就會發現人本身是遠比任何機械更奇妙的存在。然而，我們所做的卻是探索別人。我們認為分析事物非常重要，並把對人性的分析稱為心理學。我們分析所有人，唯獨不分析自己，因此始終無法抵達真正的心理學；因為真正的心理學，是先認識、分析自己，當我們能看清自己，才有能力真正理解別人。

If man only knew that besides what he says or does or thinks, and the effects which are manifest to him, there is another kind of action which also creates things in a person’s life and which makes his world! And perhaps in a week or in a month, or perhaps in a year or ten years, that which he has thus created one day comes before him as a world, as a world created by him. Such is the phenomenon of life.

如果我們知道，除了自己所說、所做、所想，以及那些已經顯現在眼前的結果之外，還有另一種作用也正在生命中創造事物，正在塑造我們的世界，那會是何等不同！或許一星期、一個月之後，或許一年、十年之後，我們曾經如此創造出來的東西，有一天會以一整個世界的形式出現在眼前——一個由自己所創造的世界。生命的奧妙正是如此。

How insignificant a human being appears to be, just like a drop in the sea, yet what effects does he create by every thought, by every feeling, by every act! And what influence they spread, what influence they have on the lives of others! If one only realized this one would find that the results of all one thinks, says, or does in the outer life are incomparably smaller than the results produced by what one thinks, says, or does in the inner life.

一個人看起來何其渺小，就像大海中的一滴水；然而，我們的每一個念頭、每一份感受、每一個行動，卻都會產生影響！這些影響向外擴散，又會對別人的生命造成何等作用！如果我們真正明白這一點，就會發現：我們在外在生命中所想、所說、所做的一切，其結果遠遠小於我們在內在生命中所想、所說、所做所產生的結果。

Thus the consciousness of the inner life makes man more responsible than that of the outer life. The responsibilities of the outer life, compared with the responsibilities of the inner life, are much smaller. For the moment they might appear to be heavy burdens, but they are nothing compared with the responsibilities one has in one’s inner life.

因此，對內在生命有所意識，使我們承擔的責任遠比只意識到外在生命時更大。與內在生命的責任相比，外在生活中的責任要小得多。眼前看來，外在的責任或許已是沉重的負擔，但和我們在內在生命中所負有的責任相比，仍算不了什麼。

If one sees what one creates, the responsibility becomes much greater. There is a saying in the East that the donkey seems to be much happier than the Chakor, which is supposed to be the most intelligent bird. Man seems quite pleased in outer life, because his responsibilities are less, his outlook small, his horizon narrow, and what he sees of the world is very little; but when the horizon is opened up, when the heart has penetrated through the barrier that divides the here and the hereafter, when he begins to see behind the veil and all that appears on the surface becomes a screen behind which something else is hidden, then he experiences life quite differently.

當我們看見自己正在創造什麼，責任也就變得大得多。東方有一種說法：驢子似乎比查科爾鳥（Chakor）快樂得多，而查科爾被認為是極有靈性的鳥。我們在外在生命中似乎頗為自得，因為責任較少，眼界較小，視野狹窄，看見的世界也十分有限；然而，當視野敞開，當心穿透分隔此世與彼岸的屏障，當我們開始看見帷幕背後的事物，發現一切浮現在表面的東西其實只是一面屏障，其後還隱藏著別的事物時，對生命的體驗便會完全不同。

The view of the one who stands on top of the mountain is quite different from the view of the one who stands at its foot. Both are human beings, both have the same eyes, but their horizons are different. Inner life, therefore, means the widening of the horizon and the change in direction of seeing. A mystic is often called a seer; and a great Yogi has said, “In order to see what is before you, you must first see within yourself.”

站在山頂的人所看見的景象，與站在山腳下的人截然不同。兩者同樣是人，也有同樣的眼睛，但他們的視野不同。因此，內在生命意味著視野的拓展，也意味著觀看方向的轉變。祕士往往被稱為「洞見者」；一位偉大的瑜伽士曾說：「若要看清眼前之物，你必須先看見自己的內在。」

This means that within oneself there is a mirror, and it is that mirror which may be called the inner world, the inner life. It is in this mirror that all that is before one is reflected. When the eyes are looking outward one turns one’s back to the mirror which is inside; but when the eyes are turned inward then one sees reflected in this mirror all that is outside. By this process all seeing becomes so clear and manifests to such fullness that compared with it the outer vision is a blurred or confused vision.

這意思是，在我們內在有一面鏡子，而這面鏡子就是所謂的內在世界、內在生命。眼前的一切，都映照在這面鏡子裡。當雙眼向外看時，我們便背對著內在的鏡子；但當目光轉向內在，就會在這面鏡子中看見外在一切事物的映照。透過這個過程，我們的觀看變得如此清楚，事物也如此完整地顯現，以至於相比之下，肉眼所見反而顯得模糊而混亂。

Two persons may live together for twenty-five years, for forty or for fifty years, and may still not be able to understand one another because of the lack of inner life; yet the inner life would enable them to understand one another in a moment. When it is said that the twelve Apostles began to understand the language of all nations, did they learn the grammar of all nations at that moment? No, they learned the language of the heart. The language of the heart speaks more loudly than words can speak. If the ears of the heart were open to hear that language, outer words would not be necessary.

兩個人可能共同生活二十五年、四十年，甚至五十年，卻仍因缺乏內在生命而無法真正理解彼此；而內在生命卻能使他們在一瞬間彼此了解。當人們說十二使徒開始聽懂萬國的語言時，難道他們是在那一刻學會了所有語言的文法嗎？不是。他們學會的是心的語言。心的語言比言語說得更響亮。如果心的耳朵能夠敞開，聽見這種語言，外在的言語便不再是必要的。

Humanity, in spite of all its progress, is still most limited; and the more one sees the limits of this progress the more one finds that it is because of the absence of inner life. When one reads in stories and histories of the past how many thieves and robbers and highwaymen there used to be, and how many murders were committed, one feels that it was a dreadful time. And yet when one thinks more deeply about it one sees that the situation at present is much worse and that the days of robbers and highwaymen were much milder. Then one or two persons in a village were murdered; now towns and countries are swept away. War has swept away a large part of humanity. Imagine if another war comes what will be the result? They say people have progressed, that they are more thoughtful, but with all this thoughtfulness they seem only to have progressed in order to cause destruction and disasters to a much greater degree. Does it mean that humanity is not progressing? It is progressing, but in which direction? Downward.

儘管人類已經有了種種進步，仍然受到極大的限制；而我們越看清這種進步的侷限，就越會發現其中的原因，是內在生命的缺席。當我們從故事與歷史中讀到，從前有多少竊賊、強盜和攔路劫匪，又發生過多少殺人事件，會覺得那真是一個可怕的時代。然而再深入想一想，就會看到當下的情況其實更加嚴重，而強盜與攔路劫匪橫行的年代反而溫和得多。從前也許一個村落裡有一兩個人遭到殺害，如今卻可以有整座城市、整個國家被摧毀。戰爭已奪走人類很大一部分的生命。試想，如果再有一場戰爭，結果會如何？人們說人類進步了，變得更有思想；然而，所有這些思想似乎只使人類更加進步到能造成更大規模的毀滅與災難。這是不是表示人類沒有進步？人類確實在進步——但朝著哪個方向？向下。

It is a condition of taking the path of the inner life that one should first be free. If the feet are pinned and the hands are nailed by beliefs, by preconceived ideas, by one’s thoughts, then one stands still; one may have every desire to go on, but one is not going on, because one is holding on to something. When a person is holding on to certain beliefs, he is not going forward. And with many good qualities and high ideals, with religious tendencies, with a devotional temperament, with all the spiritual qualities that one may have, yet one can still remain standing in the same place. Either these ideas are holding the feet as if with nails, or the hands are somewhere holding on to the rafting and not letting one go further.

要走上內在生命的道路，有一個條件：首先必須是自由的。如果我們的腳被信念、先入為主的觀念和自己的想法釘住，手也被它們牢牢固定，就只能停在原地；即使再怎麼想向前，也無法前進，因為仍緊抓著某些東西不放。當我們執著於某些信念時，就沒有在向前走。一個人即使具有許多良好的品質、崇高的理想、宗教傾向、虔敬的性情，以及種種靈性上的特質，仍然可能一直站在原地。不是那些觀念像釘子一樣釘住雙腳，就是雙手仍抓著某處不放，使自己無法繼續前行。

What the inner life requires first is freedom to proceed. The old meaning of freedom is very little understood, although everyone is seeking freedom. So much is said about freedom, but one can be free of everything except one thing, and that is the self-the last thing one thinks about. The conception of freedom is quite different at this time, and although seeking freedom man is anything but free because he is caught in the trap of his own self. This is the greatest captivity there is; there he remains like the jinn in the bottle.

內在生命首先需要的，是能夠自由地向前。雖然人人都在追求自由，卻很少有人理解自由原本更深的含義。人們如此頻繁地談論自由，卻可能擺脫了一切，唯獨沒有擺脫一樣東西——自己的有限自我，而這恰恰是我們最後才會想到的。今日人們對自由的理解已大不相同；我們雖在追求自由，卻一點也不自由，因為仍困在自己的有限自我所設下的陷阱裡。這是最大的囚禁；我們就像瓶中的精靈，被困在其中。

The inner life also requires sacrifice. Man considers that his learning, his qualifications, everything in his life, are there in order that he may gain everything he can in the world–power, possessions, wealth, anything–and believing that sacrifice is quite contrary to gain, he thus develops in himself a nature for gaining instead of sacrificing. Besides sacrifice requires a large mind, it requires deep sympathies, great love; sacrifice is the most difficult thing. Inner life is something which is within oneself; it has been called a chamber of divine light in one’s heart. The door remains closed until an effort is made to open it, and that effort is sacrifice. The Bible speaks of self-denial; but this is often misinterpreted. Self-denial according to general belief means denying oneself all that is good and beautiful, all that is worth attaining; but in reality self-denial does not mean denying oneself all that is good and beautiful, it means denying the self; and that is the last thing one wishes to deny. And the automatic action of this denial is to open the door to the inner life.

內在生命也需要犧牲。我們往往認為，自己的學識、能力，以及生命中所擁有的一切，都是為了讓自己能從世界取得盡可能多的東西——權力、財物、財富，或任何其他事物；又因為相信犧牲與獲得完全相反，於是在自己裡面培養出的，是一種不斷取得的傾向，而不是願意付出的傾向。此外，犧牲需要寬廣的心胸、深厚的同理與偉大的愛；犧牲是最困難的事。內在生命就在我們自己裡面；它曾被稱為心中一間充滿神性之光的密室。那扇門始終關閉，直到我們努力去開啟它，而這份努力就是犧牲。《聖經》談到「捨己」，但這個詞常被誤解。一般人以為「捨己」是讓自己放棄一切美好、美麗和值得追求的事物；然而，真正的「捨己」並不是否定那些美好與美麗的事物，而是否定那個有限的自我——而這恰恰是我們最不願意否定的東西。當這個自我被放下時，內在生命的門便自然開啟。

The sages who have realized the inner life have realized it by contemplative means. Man from his infancy is unaware of that something in him which is more than a faculty. By experiencing life only through the outer sense this faculty, which is the faculty of inner life, becomes closed through not being used, and this is just as if the door of a chamber of joy and light and life were closed. And as from infancy one has not experienced the joy and life and light of this chamber, which may be called a celestial chamber in the heart of man, one remains unaware of it.

那些證悟內在生命的聖哲，是透過觀想而證得它的。從幼年開始，我們便沒有意識到自己裡面有某種東西，它甚至不只是一般所謂的一種能力。當我們只透過外在感官體驗生命時，這份屬於內在生命的能力因為長久未被使用，便逐漸封閉起來，就像一間充滿喜悅、光與生命的房間，其門被關上了。由於從小從未經驗過這間內在密室中的喜悅、生命與光——這可以稱為我們心中的天上密室——因此也始終不知道它的存在。

Nevertheless one may sometimes have this feeling unconsciously; and sometimes when one is deeply touched, when one has suffered deeply, when life has shown its hideous side, or after an illness, or by the help of meditation, this feeling which is unconsciously working as a longing to unfold itself, becomes manifest. In what way?

然而，我們有時仍會在無意識中感受到它。有時，當我們深受觸動，經歷深刻的痛苦，生命向我們顯露出它可怕的一面，或是在一場疾病之後，又或藉由冥想的幫助，那份一直在無意識中運作、渴望得以開展的感受，就會開始顯現。它會以什麼方式顯現呢？

• In love of solitude,
  
  表現在對獨處的喜愛；

• in sympathy for others,
  
  表現在對他人的同理；

• in a tendency towards sincerity,
  
  表現在越來越傾向於真誠；

• in the form of inspiration coming from all that is good and beautiful.
  
  表現在從一切良善與美麗的事物中得到靈感；

• It may manifest in the form of emotion, love, affection,
  
  它也可能以情感、愛與深情的形式顯現；

• in the form of inspiration, of a revelation, of a vision,
  
  以靈感、啟示或異象的形式顯現；

• or as art, poetry, or music.
  
  或以藝術、詩歌或音樂的形式顯現。

In whatever form one allows it to express itself, or with whatever one happens to be occupied, it begins to manifest in that form. Everything becomes spiritual once this door of the chamber of the heart is open.

無論我們容許它以什麼形式表達，或我們當下正在從事什麼，它便會透過那種形式開始顯現。一旦心中這間密室的門開啟，一切都會具有靈性的性質。

• If a man is a musician, then his music is celestial;
  
  如果他是一位音樂家，他的音樂便宛若天籟；

• if he is a poet, then his poetry is spiritual;
  
  如果他是一位詩人，他的詩便具有靈性；

• if he is an artist, then his art is a spiritual work;
  
  如果他是一位藝術家，他的藝術便成為靈性的作品；

• whatever he may do in life that divine spirit manifests.
  
  無論他在生命中從事什麼，那神性的靈都會從中顯現。

He need not be a religious person, he need not be a philosopher, he need not be a mystic. It is simply that what was hidden in him and thereby was keeping his life incomplete begins to manifest to view, and that makes his life perfect; that enables a man to express life in its fullness. Every attempt made today to better the condition of humanity through politics, education, social reconstruction, and many other ways, all these, however excellently planned, can only be fulfilled if this something which was missing is added to them; but in the absence of this, all the efforts of many, many years will prove to be futile.

他不必是一個宗教人士，不必是一位哲學家，也不必是一位祕士。只是原先隱藏在他裡面、因其隱而未顯而使生命有所欠缺的東西，如今開始顯現出來；這使他的生命趨於完整，也使他能夠充分地表達生命。今日，人們試圖藉由政治、教育、社會重建以及許多其他方式改善人類的處境；這些努力無論規畫得多麼完善，都只有在那個原本缺少的部分也被加入其中時，才能真正完成。若缺少了它，多年累積下來的一切努力終究可能徒勞無功。

For this something which is missing is the most essential of all. The world cannot remain a world without rainfall. The world cannot progress without a spiritual stimulus, a spiritual awakening. It need not be the first thing, it is natural that it should not be so; but it should at any rate be the last thing, and if it is not even the last then it is most regrettable.

因為這個缺少的部分，正是一切之中最根本的。沒有雨水，世界無法維持它原有的生命；同樣地，沒有靈性的推動、沒有靈性的覺醒，世界也無法真正前進。它不一定要是最先出現的事，沒有先出現也是自然的；然而，它至少應當在最後到來。如果到了最後連它也沒有出現，那便是最令人惋惜的事。

How are the meditative souls awakened, how do they experience the inner life? In the first place the adept values His object of attaining the inner life more than anything else in life. As long as he does not really value it, so long he remains unable to attain it. That is the first condition: that man should value the inner life more than anything else in the world, more than wealth, power, position, rank, or anything else. It does not mean that in this world he should not pursue the things he needs; it means he should value most something which is really worth while.

那麼，修習靜觀的人如何覺醒，又如何經驗內在生命呢？首先，修習者必須把獲得內在生命這個目標，看得比生命中的任何其他事物都更珍貴。只要他尚未真正珍視它，就無法獲得它。這是第一個條件：我們必須把內在生命看得比世間任何事物都更珍貴，比財富、權力、地位、身分或任何其他東西都更重要。這並不是說我們不應在世上追求生活所需要的事物，而是說，我們最珍視的，應當是真正值得珍視的東西。

The next thing is that when one begins to value something one thinks it is worth while giving time to it; for in the modern world it is said that time is money, and money today means the most valuable thing. So if a person gives his precious time to what he considers most worth while, more so than anything else in the world, then that is certainly the next step towards the inner life. And the third thing is that the condition of his mind should be relieved of that pressure which is always in a person’s heart, when he thinks that he has not done what he ought to have done towards his fellow-men, be it father, mother, child, husband, wife, brother, friend, or whoever it is.

接下來，當我們真正珍視某件事，就會認為值得為它付出時間。現代世界常說「時間就是金錢」，而今日金錢往往被視為最有價值的東西。因此，如果一個人願意把自己寶貴的時間，給予他認為比世上一切都更值得的事，那無疑就是邁向內在生命的下一步。第三，他的頭腦必須卸下那種長久壓在心上的重擔——覺得自己對身邊的人尚未盡到應盡之責，無論那個人是父親、母親、孩子、丈夫、妻子、手足、朋友，或任何人。

If that pressure is troubling the mind, then that mind is not yet ready. A person may give his valuable time to contemplation, to a spiritual life, yet at the same time his mind is disturbed, his heart is not at rest, for he feels he has not done his duty, he has a debt to pay to someone. It is an essential point that the adept takes care that any debt to be paid in life does not remain unpaid. When we look at life, is it not a market-place? The give and take is to be seen in everything, and if one does not pay now the bill will be presented afterwards. And if one thinks that one has gained something without paying, in the end one will realize that one has to pay with added interest.

如果這份壓力仍困擾著頭腦，那麼這個頭腦還沒有準備好。一個人或許願意把珍貴的時間用於觀想、用於靈性生命，但同時頭腦仍受擾動，心也無法安定，因為他覺得自己還沒有盡到責任，仍欠著某個人一筆債。對修習者而言，一個重要的原則，就是不要讓生命中應當償還的債一直未償。看看生命，它不就像一座市場嗎？一切之中都有給與取；如果現在不付帳，帳單日後還是會送到面前。如果我們以為自己得到某樣東西而不必付出什麼，最後就會明白，不但仍須償還，而且還得加上利息。

Man does not know in what form he has to pay, nor in what form he does the taking; very often he does not know when he takes or what he gives; but every moment of his life is occupied in give and take, and all the injustice of the world adjusts itself in the end.

我們不知道自己將以什麼形式償還，也不知道自己又是以什麼形式取得；很多時候，我們甚至不知道何時正在接受，也不知道自己給出了什麼。然而，生命的每一刻都在給與取之中，而世界上一切看似不公的事，終究都在這個過程中重新取得平衡。

A clear understanding of this condition will show that it all balances. If there were no balance the world would not exist. This ever-moving world, turning round and round, what holds it, what makes it stable? It is balance. And not only the world, but everything else too: the whole of life in its own way. Being occupied by our worldly life, we are not aware of that balance, but when the inner eye is open and one sees life clearly, one will find that there is a continual balancing process going on, and that we as particles of one mechanism are constantly busy keeping this balance.

當我們清楚理解這個情況，就會看見一切都在取得平衡。若沒有平衡，這個世界便無法存在。這個不斷運行、旋轉不息的世界，是什麼支撐著它，使它保持穩定？就是平衡。不只是世界如此，其他一切亦然；整個生命都以自己的方式維持著平衡。我們忙於世俗生活時，並未意識到這份平衡；但當內在之眼開啟，能夠清楚看見生命時，就會發現一個持續不斷的平衡過程始終在進行，而我們就像同一部機制中的微小部分，不斷參與著這份平衡的維持。

When once the heart is at rest through the feeling that one has paid, or is paying, one’s debts, then one comes to a balanced condition in life. Then the heart, which is likened to the sea, is no longer restless as it is during the storm, but like calm, undisturbed water; and it is that condition which enables man to experience inner life more fully.

當我們感到自己已經償還、或正在償還生命中所欠的債，心便能安定下來，生命也進入一種平衡的狀態。這時，那顆被比作大海的心，不再像暴風雨中的海面那樣翻騰不安，而如平靜、不受擾動的水。正是這樣的狀態，使我們能更充分地經驗內在生命。

Do we not often notice the disturbing presence of people who have not got that tranquillity, that peace, that calmness? It is a terrible influence upon themselves and a disastrous influence upon others. One can realize this in one’s everyday life. One may be sitting in an office with someone, one may be standing in a certain place, one may be staying in a house where other people are, and one can realize by their atmosphere whether they have reached a state of balance, tranquillity, calm, and peace, or whether they are out of rhythm, unbalanced.

我們不是常常能感受到，有些人因缺少那份寧靜、安寧與平靜，光是他們的存在便讓周遭受到擾動嗎？這對他們自己是一種可怕的影響，對別人也會造成破壞性的影響。在日常生活中，我們很容易體會這一點。或許我們正和某個人一起坐在辦公室裡，或共同站在某個地方，又或住在一間有其他人在的房子裡；從一個人所散發的氛圍中，我們便能感受到他是否已達到平衡、寧靜、平靜與安寧的狀態，或仍失去節奏、失去平衡。

This shows that what we call happiness and unhappiness is a question of a balanced or an unbalanced state. When a person’s mind and heart are in the state in which they ought normally to be, he need not seek for happiness; he is happiness itself, he radiates happiness. When that state is disturbed he is unhappy; it is not that unhappiness comes to him, but that he himself is unhappiness.

這說明，我們所謂的幸福與不幸，其實關係到生命處於平衡還是失衡的狀態。當一個人的頭腦與心處在它們原本應有的狀態時，他不必去尋找幸福；他自己就是幸福，也自然散發出幸福。當這個狀態受到擾動時，他便是不幸福的；並不是不幸從外面來到他身上，而是他自己成了不幸本身。

The Hindu idea is that self means happiness, that the depth of the self is happiness. This means that all this outer structure, the physical body, the breath, the senses of perception, all of which help to make man, are most important; but his inner being can be called by only one name, and that is happiness. It is natural, therefore, that everyone should be seeking for happiness, though not knowing where to get it and always seeking for it outside himself; and instead of finding the happiness which is his own he tries to get the happiness of another; but what happens is that he can neither get happiness from another nor can he give it. By trying to get it from another he causes sorrow to that one, and the sorrow comes back to him.

印度思想認為，真正的本性就是幸福，存在最深處就是幸福。這意思是，我們所有的外在結構——身體、呼吸、感知的種種感官，這些構成人的部分固然都十分重要；但我們的內在存在，卻可以用一個詞來稱呼，那就是幸福。因此，每個人都在尋求幸福，是很自然的；只是我們不知道要到哪裡找到它，於是不斷向自己的外在尋找。與其發現原本就屬於自己的幸福，我們反而想從別人那裡取得幸福；結果卻是，既無法從別人那裡得到幸福，也無法把幸福給予別人。當我們企圖從另一個人身上取得幸福，便使對方感到痛苦，而那份痛苦最後又回到自己身上。

The robbers who go into other people’s houses to steal are few in number, but there are many robbers of happiness, and they seldom know that they are robbing others of their happiness. The robber of happiness is more foolish than the robbers who go after wealth, for when they are successful they at least get something; but the robber of happiness never gets anything. He only gives sorrow to others.

闖進別人家中偷竊的強盜其實不多，然而竊取別人幸福的人卻很多，而且他們很少知道自己正在奪走別人的幸福。竊取幸福的人甚至比搶奪財物的強盜更加愚昧；因為後者若成功，至少還得到了一些東西，而竊取幸福的人最後什麼也得不到，只是把痛苦帶給別人。

Inner life therefore, must not be considered, as many have thought it to be, a life which is spent in the forest or in a cave of the mountain or in retirement. Naturally certain people need to seek solitude — those who prefer to be away from the turmoil of the world, whose inspiration is stimulated and who find themselves by being alone; but it is not a necessity for attaining happiness. One can be in the midst of the world and yet stand above the world. Life has many woes, and the only way to get rid of them is to stand above them all; and this can be attained by one thing and one thing only — by the discovery of the inner life.

因此，我們不應像許多人所想的那樣，把內在生命理解成必須到森林裡、山洞裡，或退隱而居的生活。當然，有些人確實需要尋求獨處——他們喜歡遠離世間的喧擾，在獨處時靈感會被喚起，也更能找到自己；然而，這並不是獲得幸福的必要條件。我們可以身處世界之中，同時又超越世界。生命有許多苦難，而從這些苦難中得到自由的唯一方法，就是超越它們；而這只能藉由一件事達成——發現內在生命。

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