5. Balance
5. 平衡

When looking at the world with the eyes of the seer, we shall see that people who are called wise and people who are called foolish are much nearer to each other than they are ordinarily thought to be: because of their unbalanced state their different occupations are much nearer to each other than they usually appear. The person who sees the good in others will see more and more good. The person with a fault-finding tendency will see so many faults that at last even the good seems bad in his eyes; the eyes themselves are bad.

以有洞見者的眼光看世界，我們會發現，那些被稱為明智的人與被稱為愚昧的人，彼此其實比一般所想的更接近；由於他們都處在失衡之中，那些看似迥異的所作所為，實際上的距離也沒有表面上那麼遠。一個看見他人善好之處的人，會看見愈來愈多的善好；一個慣於挑剔的人，則會看見愈來愈多的過錯，到最後，連好的事物在他眼中也成了壞的。問題其實出在他的眼光本身。

There is much more chance of a fall for a person who is running than for one who is walking. The activity itself brings about a fall; the activity tends to grow more and more, and by this balance is lost. Sometimes a person has no balance in telling the truth. He says, “I tell the truth”, and he is regardless of whether it is harmonious with his surroundings, whether people are prepared to receive it. He says, “I tell the truth, and I want to fight with everybody because I tell the truth!” Therefore the lesson of repose is the most important one to be learned.

奔跑的人比走路的人更容易跌倒。活動本身就可能使人跌倒；一旦活動起來，它的勢頭往往愈來愈強，平衡也就因此失去。有時，一個人在說真話這件事上也會失去平衡。他說：「我說的是真話。」卻不顧這話是否與周遭和諧，也不顧別人是否已準備好接受。他說：「我說的是真話，正因為我說真話，所以我要跟所有人爭到底！」因此，學會靜歇，是最重要的一課。

Philosophy itself- the greatest, the highest thing in the world, the knowledge of God – has often been lost through lack of balance. This is why in the Bible, in the Vedanta, in the Quran the truth, told so plainly, is nevertheless told in a veiled manner. If the prophets, the masters had spoken the truth in plain words, the world would have gone to the left instead of to the right. It has been my own experience that philosophy, when plainly expressed, is understood quite differently than when it is expressed in a veiled manner.

就連哲學——世上最高、最偉大的事，也就是對神的認識——也常因缺乏平衡而失落。正因如此，在《聖經》、《吠檀多》與《古蘭經》中，真理雖說得十分明白，卻仍以有所遮蔽的方式表達。倘若先知與大師都用毫無遮掩的話直說真理，世界反而會向左走，而不是向右走。依我自己的經驗，哲理若直接明說，人們所理解的，往往與它以含蓄遮蔽的方式表達時截然不同。

When we speak we become inclined to speak more and more, and we become so fond of speaking that we speak regardless of whether anyone wishes to listen. We say what we do not really wish to say; afterwards we think, “Why did I insult that person? Why did I tell my secret to somebody else?” Saadi the great Persian poet, says, “O, intelligent one, of what use is thine intelligence, if afterwards thou repentest?”

當我們開口說話，往往會愈說愈多；我們變得如此喜歡說話，以至於不再顧及是否有人想聽。我們說出了其實並不想說的話，事後才想：「我為什麼要侮辱那個人？我為什麼把自己的祕密告訴了別人？」波斯大詩人薩迪（Saadi）說：「有覺知的人啊，若你事後仍要懊悔，這份覺知又有何用？」

Whatever we do, whether good or bad, increases in us more and more. If one day a person thinks about music for five minutes, the next day that thought will continue for half an hour. If one day he thinks about poetry for ten minutes, the next day that thought will continue for an hour. If a person has a little thought of bitterness, unconsciously the thought will grow until his mind is full of bitterness. Every sin comes about in this way. Zarathustra distinguishes three kinds of sin: the sin of thought, the sin of speech and the sin of action. To have a thought of bitterness, the thought of evil, is like doing evil; to speak evil is like doing evil, and when a person commits an evil action, then the evil is concrete.

無論我們做的是好是壞，它都會在我們之中愈來愈增強。如果有一天，一個人花五分鐘想著音樂，第二天這個念頭可能延續半小時；如果有一天，他花十分鐘想著詩，第二天這個念頭可能延續一小時。若心中生起一點苦澀的念頭，它會在不知不覺中增長，直到整個頭腦都充滿苦澀。每一種罪都是這樣形成的。瑣羅亞斯德（Zarathustra）區分三種罪：思想之罪、言語之罪與行動之罪。心懷苦澀、心生惡念，就如同作惡；口出惡言，也如同作惡；而當一個人真正做出惡行時，惡便成為具體的事實。

We have balance of thought, when we can see things not only from our own point of view, with the ideas and the feelings in which we are trained, but from all sides. The one-sided person has no balance.

當我們不只從自己的觀點，不只透過自己所受薰陶而形成的思想與感受來看事情，而能從各個面向去看時，思想便有了平衡。只從單一面向看事情的人，是沒有平衡的。

Suppose you are very patriotic and see everything from the point of view of patriotism, and you go to an ironmonger and demand that he should sell you some things at a certain price. But the ironmonger is a poor man and, even for a patriotic purpose, he cannot sell the things at that price. After all he is an ironmonger and he thinks of his trade; he cannot be expected to see with your patriotic eyes. One person thinks only of patriotism; another says, “God save the trade.” A third, who is a musician, says, “They are mad, crazy! Music is the only thing that matters.” The poet says, “Poetry is the only thing in the world.” Each thinks only of that in which he is active. A pious person exaggerates his piety so much that there is nothing in him but piety, which at last becomes hypocrisy.

假設你非常愛國，凡事都從愛國的角度來看。你走進一家五金店，要求店主以某個價格把東西賣給你。但這位五金商並不富裕，即使是為了愛國的目的，他也無法用那個價格出售。畢竟他是個商人，他得顧自己的生意；我們不能要求他也用你的愛國眼光看事情。一個人心裡只有愛國；另一個人則說：「願神保佑生意。」第三個人是音樂家，他說：「他們都瘋了！只有音樂才重要。」詩人則說：「世上只有詩才重要。」每個人都只想到自己所投入的事。一個虔敬的人若把自己的虔敬推到極端，最後他裡面便只剩下虔敬，而這虔敬終究會變成虛偽。

One will ask: What is balance, and how can we achieve it? First there is the balance of activity and repose, of sleeping and waking. If a person thinks that by sleeping very much he will become great and so sleeps very much, he will become a monster instead of a man, because the body, which is given in order to experience the world, is not used. If one does not sleep at all, in a few days one will have a nervous breakdown. If one fasts very much, certainly one will become very ethereal, one will see into the other world, into the other planes; if one has learned the way of inspiration, inspiration will come. But this body, these senses will become weak, so that one will not be able to experience the world for which they were given. Extremity is undesirable in everything, whether good or evil. The madzubs in India are those mystics who go to the extreme of spirituality. Their external self is so much forgotten that they leave the experience of the world altogether.

有人會問：什麼是平衡？我們又要如何達到平衡？首先，是活動與靜歇之間、睡眠與清醒之間的平衡。如果一個人以為多睡覺就能變得偉大，於是睡個不停，他最後會成為怪物，而不是一個人，因為這副為了經驗世界而賦予我們的身體，根本沒有得到運用。相反地，如果完全不睡，幾天之內神經就會崩潰。如果一個人過度禁食，他確實會變得非常輕靈，能看見另一個世界、其他的層面；如果他已經學會接收靈感的方法，靈感也會到來。然而，這副身體與這些感官會因此衰弱，以至於無法經驗它們原本受賦予來經驗的世界。無論好壞，任何事情走到極端都是不可取的。印度的神攝者（madzubs）就是那些在靈性上走到極端的祕士。他們如此忘卻外在的自己，以至於完全離開了世間的經驗。

To sleep and wake, to eat and fast, to be active and to be still, to speak and to be silent – that is to have balance. The Sufi teaches control of the activity of the body, the balance of the body, by pose, posture and movements, which include namaz, wazifa and zikr. He teaches the balance of the mind by concentration. To sit at home and close the eyes is not concentration. Though the eyes are closed, the thoughts go on. The right object of concentration must be chosen.

能睡也能醒，能進食也能禁食，能活動也能靜止，能說話也能沉默——這就是平衡。蘇菲透過各種姿勢、體位與動作來教導我們掌握身體的活動，使身體保持平衡，其中包括禮拜、聲修法與 Zikr；而頭腦的平衡，則透過專注來培養。坐在家裡閉上眼睛，並不就是專注。眼睛雖然閉著，念頭仍會繼續運轉。必須為專注選擇適當的對象。

[譯註] Zikr 是一種傳統的修習方式，透過反覆誦念配合呼吸、節奏與專注，為心調頻。

By concentration and meditation a person experiences ecstasy, the greatest happiness and bliss. Guidance of the Murshid is needed for this, otherwise the balance will be lost.

藉由專注與靜心，我們會體驗到忘我之境，那是最大的幸福與至福。這需要穆希德（Murshid）的指引，否則便可能失去平衡。

[譯註] 穆希德（Murshid）：蘇菲傳統中指引門徒靈性修習的老師。

A disciple was taught a practice by the Prophet Muhammed through which he experienced ecstasy. After some days he came bringing fruit and flowers which he offered to the Prophet, thanking him greatly and saying, “The lesson that you taught me has been of such great value to me; it has brought me such joy. My prayers, which used to last a few minutes, now last all day.” The Prophet said, “I am glad that you liked the lesson but, please, from to-day leave it.”

有一位門徒曾從先知穆罕默德（Prophet Muhammed）那裡學到一項修習，並藉此體驗到忘我之境。幾天後，他帶著水果與花來獻給先知，滿懷感激地說：「您教我的這項修習對我實在太有價值了，它為我帶來如此大的喜悅。從前我的祈禱只持續幾分鐘，如今卻可以持續一整天。」先知說：「我很高興你喜歡這項修習，不過從今天起，請停止修習它。」

By control of the self a person experiences the higher plane in which all beings are one. The guidance of the teacher, the Murshid, is needed; no one can accomplish this by himself. And if anyone could, he would become so much interested in what he experienced there, that he would become absent from this world; absent-mindedness, even lunacy and many other evil consequences would result.

藉由掌握自己，我們會體驗到一個較高的層面，在那裡，一切眾生是一。這需要老師，也就是穆希德的指引；沒有人能單憑自己完成這件事。即使有人能做到，他也可能對在那個層面所經驗的一切過度著迷，以至於不再臨在於這個世界；於是可能出現心不在焉，甚至精神失常，以及許多其他不良後果。

Ecstasy is the greatest happiness, the greatest bliss. A person always thinks, “I am this which I see; this small amount of flesh and blood, bones and skin is I.” By ecstasy the consciousness is freed from this body, from this confinement; it experiences its true existence above all sorrow, pain and trouble. That is the greatest joy. To experience it, and to keep control of the body and the senses through which we experience all the life of this world – that is to have balance. That is the highest state.

忘我之境是最大的幸福、最大的至福。我們總以為：「我就是眼前看見的這個東西；這一小副血肉、骨骼與皮膚，就是我。」在忘我之境中，意識從這副身體、從這個侷限中得到釋放，體驗到自身真正的存在，那存在超越一切悲傷、痛苦與煩惱。這是最大的喜悅。能夠體驗這一切，同時仍掌握著身體與感官——我們正是透過它們來經驗這個世界的一切生命——這就是平衡。這是最高的狀態。

It is not only strength or nervous energy that enables man to stand on the earth; besides muscular strength and nervous energy there is balance. It is balance which enables man to stand and walk without falling. In the absence of balance man will not be able to stand or walk in spite of his muscular strength and nervous energy.

使我們能站立在大地上的，不只是力量或神經能量；除了肌肉的力量與神經能量之外，還有平衡。正是平衡，使我們能站立、行走而不致跌倒。若沒有平衡，無論肌肉多麼有力、神經能量多麼充沛，我們都無法站立或行走。

When we think of the mind – is it reasoning, is it far reaching imagination which makes man thoughtful? No, it is balance. There are many whose imagination reaches so far that they can float in the air for hours together, and there are others whose reason is so powerful that they can go round and round and round, and end nowhere. If there is anything that makes man thoughtful, it is not great reasoning or far-reaching imagination: it is balance.

談到頭腦，是推理使人深思，還是遠大的想像力使人深思？都不是，而是平衡。有些人的想像力延伸得如此之遠，彷彿可以一連數小時飄浮在空中；另一些人的推理能力如此強大，卻只是不斷繞圈，最後什麼地方也到不了。真正使人深思的，不是強大的推理，也不是遠大的想像力，而是平衡。

Is it the deep feeling of the heart, or is it living in a spiritual ecstasy that makes a person illuminated? No, neither of these things. A person can be in ecstasy, see visions, phenomena, and yet he may not be called spiritual. A person may have religious ideas, he may live a pious life, have lofty ideals, and even then he may not be called an illuminated soul. This shows that in order to make the body as it ought to be, to keep the mind in order, and to maintain it to that pitch, it is balance that is necessary.

那麼，是心中深刻的感受使一個人受到啟明，還是活在靈性的忘我之境中使他受到啟明？兩者都不是。一個人可以進入忘我之境，看見異象與神異現象，卻仍不能因此稱為一個靈性的人。一個人也可能抱持宗教理念，過著虔敬的生活，懷有崇高的理想，卻仍未必能稱為受啟明的靈魂。這顯示，要使身體保持它應有的狀態，使頭腦井然有序，並維持在應有的程度，所需要的正是平衡。

When we study nature, we find that the growth of plants and the life of trees all depend upon balance. And when we think of the cosmos and study the condition of the stars and planets, the main thing we realize is that the one holds the other, thereby producing balance. All destruction caused in nature, such as volcanic eruptions, floods, earthquakes,…comes from lack of balance. As long as nature holds its balance, the abyss in the heart of the earth can remain as it is; people can walk over it without any damage. Storms and famine, all the difficult conditions caused by nature, show that balance is missing; all the different plagues that come to mankind are caused by the lack of that balance which is the security of the health of humanity.

當我們研究自然，便會發現植物的生長與樹木的生命，全都有賴於平衡。當我們思考宇宙，觀察星辰與行星的狀態時，最主要的領會便是：一者牽持著另一者，由此形成平衡。自然界中的一切破壞，例如火山爆發、洪水、地震……都來自平衡的缺失。只要自然維持著它的平衡，地心深處的深淵便能安然保持原狀，人們可以走在它上方而不受傷害。暴風、饑荒，以及自然所造成的種種艱難狀況，都顯示平衡已經缺失；所有降臨人類的不同瘟疫，也都源於這份平衡的缺失，而正是這份平衡保障著人類的健康。

What we call art also comes from a balanced sense of line and color, and what we call genius in science comes from the balance between perception and conception.

我們所稱的藝術，也來自對線條與色彩的平衡感；而我們所稱的科學天才，則來自感知與構想之間的平衡。

What do we learn from all this? That the secret of the existence of the individual as well as of the whole cosmos lies in one thing, and that is balance. lt would not be exaggerated if I said that success and failure are caused by balance and by the lack of it. Progress and lack of progress can be explained as coming from balance and lack of balance.

我們從這一切之中學到什麼？無論個體的存在，還是整個宇宙的存在，其祕密都在於同一件事，那就是平衡。若我說成功與失敗都源於平衡以及平衡的缺失，並不算誇張。進展與停滯，同樣可以從是否具有平衡來理解。

There is another idea connected with what we call balance. Life is movement, balance is something that controls it, but perfect balance controls movement too much, bringing it to the pitch of inertia. For instance, if the strength of the right hand were equal to the strength of the left hand, if the right leg and the left leg were equal, man would not be able to work or to walk. If each of the two eyes had the same power of sight, a person would not be able to see. In this way balance controls everything, but too much balance destroys it, because too much balance brings stillness. The ordinary balance, which is not complete, brings about success.

我們所說的平衡，還牽涉另一層意思。生命就是運動，而平衡是調節運動的力量；但完全的平衡會把運動調節得過度，使它走向靜止不動。譬如，假使右手與左手的力量完全相等，右腿與左腿也完全相等，我們便無法工作，也無法行走；假使兩隻眼睛各自具有完全相同的視力，我們也無法看見。平衡就是以這種方式調節一切；然而平衡若過度，反而會破壞事物，因為過度的平衡會帶來靜止。一般的平衡並不完全，卻正是這樣的平衡帶來成功。

Now the main idea is to know how balance is to be obtained and to be retained. In answer to the first question, how balance is to be attained, I would say that balance is naturally there, so there is no need to attain it. The question is only how to maintain balance and not how to attain it. The influence of our way of life in this active world always puts us off balance. No matter what direction we take in life, no matter what our occupation, our business in life, there is always difficulty in maintaining balance.

現在，主要的問題在於如何獲得平衡，又如何保持平衡。對於第一個問題——如何達到平衡——我要說，平衡原本就在那裡，因此並不需要去獲得它。真正的問題不是如何得到平衡，而是如何維持它。我們在這個充滿活動的世界中的生活方式，總是不斷使我們偏離平衡。無論我們選擇人生的哪個方向，無論從事什麼工作、承擔什麼事務，維持平衡總是一件困難的事。

The Sufis therefore have found a key to it, and that key is to isolate oneself within, and thereby to gain a complete balance within oneself. I have already said that perfect balance means destruction of action, but when we think that from morning till evening our life is nothing but action, we naturally cannot keep that balance. By keeping a few minutes for a process of meditation, of silence, we can touch that complete balance for a moment, and then, naturally, in our active life a balance is maintained. Very often people make the mistake of thinking that by the help of meditation or silence they can bring about success in activity. If it brings about a successful result, it is only because complete balance in meditation makes one capable of maintaining the balance necessary for activity.

因此，蘇菲找到了其中的鑰匙：把自己從外界收回內在，藉此在自身之中獲得完整的平衡。我已經說過，完全的平衡意味著活動的止息；然而從早到晚，我們的生活幾乎無一不是活動，因此自然不可能一直維持那種完整的平衡。可是，只要每天留下幾分鐘進入靜心與靜默，我們便能在片刻間觸及那完整的平衡，而後在日常的活動之中，自然也較能維持所需的平衡。人們常犯的一個錯誤，是以為透過靜心或靜默本身就能使行動獲得成功。即使它確實帶來成功，也只是因為靜心中的完整平衡，使我們有能力在行動之中維持必要的平衡。

Success, failure, progress, standstill, one’s state of being, it all comes from the condition that a person is experiencing within himself. A man of common sense will say, “For this reason or for that reason you have met with success or failure.” A person who is clairvoyant will say, “Because a spirit or a ghost has said this or that, the conditions must be worse or better.” The astrologer will say, “Because this star is in its house or not in its house, you are experiencing such or such conditions.” But according to the Sufi idea the condition of life around one depends absolutely on the condition of one’s inner self. So what is needed to change the conditions in outer life, or to tune oneself, is to work with one’s inner self in order to bring about the necessary balance.

成功、失敗、進展、停滯，以及一個人的存在狀態，全都來自他在自己內在所經歷的狀況。一個有常識的人會說：「你因為這個原因或那個原因，所以成功了或失敗了。」具有靈視能力的人會說：「因為某個靈體或鬼魂說了這個或那個，所以情況才會變好或變壞。」占星家會說：「因為這顆星是否在它自己的宮位裡，所以你才經歷這樣或那樣的處境。」然而依蘇菲的觀點，我們周遭的生活狀況，完全取決於自身的內在狀態。因此，若要改變外在生活的處境，或使自己重新調和，所需要的就是從自己的內在著手，建立所需的平衡。

Once balance is lost, it is very difficult to bring it about again. In the first place it is often difficult to keep balance in everyday life, and once it is lost there is little hope of success, of happiness, or of progress. It is just like a clock getting out of order; it cannot work as long as it is not brought into a proper balance again – and the same is true for the condition of the soul. If a person has lost his wealth, has become a spendthrift, has become thoughtless, all these things are signs of his loss of balance. To be too sad, to be too busy, to be too lazy, all these things are signs of lack of balance. All that can be called too much, is always out of balance.

平衡一旦失去，要重新建立就十分困難。首先，在日常生活中維持平衡本來就不容易；一旦失去平衡，成功、幸福或進展的希望便會變得很小。這就像時鐘一旦失調，只要沒有重新調準，就無法正常運作；靈魂的狀態也是如此。一個人若散失了財富，變得揮霍，變得欠缺思慮，這些都是失去平衡的徵象。過度悲傷、過度忙碌、過度懶散，也都是缺乏平衡的徵象。凡是到了「過度」的程度，便一定已經失去平衡。

Balance is the security of life, not only in our outward life, but even in maintaining meditation and contemplation. People in the East have always considered balance to be the principal thing to maintain in life. All different exercises they have prescribed, whether in the form of religion or in the form of devotion, whether in the philosophical or in the psychical realm, are all meant to maintain balance.

平衡是生命的保障；不只外在生活如此，連靜心與觀想能否維持，也有賴於平衡。東方人向來把平衡視為生命中首要維持之事。他們所傳下的種種修習，無論採取宗教或虔敬的形式，無論屬於哲學還是心靈能力的領域，其目的都是為了維持平衡。

Balance must be maintained between what is physical and what is eternal by being conscious of both. One must not dive so deep into eternity that one does not know what time it is, nor be so immersed in the physical that one is unaware of immortality. As there is night and day, so there is the change of consciousness from the physical to the spiritual, and from the spiritual to the physical. By keeping a balance between these two conditions a person leads a complete life.

我們必須同時意識到物質性的一面與永恆的一面，並在兩者之間維持平衡。我們不可深潛於永恆，以至於連現在幾點都不知道；也不可如此沉浸於物質層面，以至於忘卻不朽的存在。正如晝夜交替，意識也會從物質轉向靈性，再從靈性回到物質。能在這兩種狀態之間維持平衡，我們才能活出完整的人生。

Balance is something which is as rarely found among mystics as among others. When we become interested in something, it is our nature to want more and more of it, whether it is spirituality or something material. If we become very spiritual and are not material [enough], we lose the world. If we were not meant to live in this world, we would not have been sent here.

平衡在祕士之中，也和在其他人之中一樣罕見。當我們對某件事產生興趣，人的天性往往會想要愈來愈多，無論那是靈性的事物，還是物質的事物。如果我們變得過度偏向靈性，而在物質層面卻不夠，我們便會失去這個世界。倘若我們本不該活在這個世界，就不會被送到這裡來。

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