1. History of the Sufis
1. 蘇菲的歷史

Sufism has never had a first exponent or a historical origin. It existed from the beginning, because man has always possessed the light which is his second nature; and light in its higher aspect may be called the knowledge of God, the divine wisdom – in fact, Sufism. Sufism has always been practiced and its messengers have been people of the heart; thus it belonged to the masters as well as to others.

蘇菲從來沒有一位最初的倡導者，也沒有一個可追溯的歷史起源。它從一開始便已存在，因為人始終擁有光，而光正是人的第二天性；當光展現於更高的層面時，可以稱為對神的認識、神性智慧——事實上，也就是蘇菲。蘇菲之道自古以來便有人實踐，而傳遞它的人都是心靈之人；因此，它既屬於大師，也屬於其他人。

Tradition states that Adam was the first prophet, which shows that wisdom was already the property of the first man. There have always been some among the human race who have desired wisdom. These sought out spiritual beings in their solitude, serving them with reverence and devotion, and learning wisdom from them. Only a few could understand those spiritual beings, but many were attracted by their great personalities. They said, ‘We will follow you, we will serve you, we will believe in you, we will never follow any other’, and the holy ones said to them, ‘My children, we bless you. Do this; do that. This is the best way to live.’ And they gave their followers precepts and principles, such as might produce in them meekness and humility. In this way the religions were formed.

傳統上說，亞當是第一位先知，這顯示智慧在最初的人類身上便已存在。人類之中，始終有人渴望智慧。他們尋訪那些隱居獨處的靈性人物，以敬重與奉獻侍奉他們，並向他們學習智慧。只有少數人能夠理解這些靈性人物，但許多人都受到他們偉大人格的吸引。他們說：「我們要跟隨你、侍奉你、信從你，絕不再追隨別人。」那些聖者便對他們說：「我的孩子們，我們祝福你們。去做這件事，去做那件事；這是最好的生活方式。」於是，他們給予追隨者種種教誨與準則，使其培養出溫順與謙卑。宗教就是以這樣的方式形成的。

But in the course of time the truth was lost. The tendency to dominate arose, and with it the patriotism of the community and prejudice against others; and thus wisdom was gradually lost. Religion was accepted, though with difficulty, but the evolution of the world at that time was not such as could understand the Sufis. They were mocked at, ill-treated, ridiculed; they were obliged to hide themselves from the world in the caves of the mountains and in the solitude.

然而，隨著時間流逝，真理逐漸失落。支配他人的傾向興起，隨之而來的，是對自身群體的偏愛以及對其他群體的成見；智慧也就這樣逐漸消失了。宗教雖然歷經困難，仍能為人所接受；但當時世界的發展程度，還不足以理解蘇菲。他們受到嘲弄、虐待與譏諷，不得不避開世人，藏身於山間洞穴與僻靜之地。

At the time of Christ there were Sufis among the first of those who gave heed to him, and in the time of Muhammad the Sufis on Mount Zafah were the first to respond to his cry. One of the explanations of the term Sufi is this association with Mount Zafah. Muhammad was the first to open the way for them in Arabia, and they had many followers, among them Siddiq and Ali.

在基督的時代，最早聽從他的人之中便有蘇菲；到了穆罕默德的時代，扎法山上的蘇菲也是最早回應他召喚的人。對於「Sufi」一詞的來源，其中一種解釋便與扎法山的這段淵源有關。穆罕默德是第一位在阿拉伯為他們開闢道路的人，而他們也有許多追隨者，其中包括西迪克與阿里。

Sufism then spread to Persia. But whenever the Sufis expressed their free thought, they were attacked by the established religions, and so Sufism found its outlet in poetry and music. Thus it happened that the great Sufi poets, such as Hafiz, Rumi, Shams-i Tabriz, Sadi, Omar Khayyam, Nizami, Farid, Jami, and others, gave the wisdom of Sufism to the world. Rumi’s work is so great that if one has read and understood it one has learnt every philosophy there is. His poems are sung in the sacred assemblies of the Sufis as part of their worship. The lives of the Sufis were marvelous in their piety, in their humanity.

之後，蘇菲傳入波斯。然而，每當蘇菲表達自由的思想時，便會受到既有宗教勢力的攻擊，因此蘇菲轉而在詩歌與音樂中找到表達的出口。於是，哈菲茲、魯米、沙姆斯‧塔布里茲、薩迪、歐瑪‧開儼、尼扎米、法里德、賈米等偉大的蘇菲詩人，便藉此將蘇菲的智慧帶給世界。魯米的著作如此博大，一個人若能讀懂並真正理解他的作品，也就等於學習了世間所有的哲學。他的詩在蘇菲的神聖聚會中被吟唱，成為敬拜的一部分。蘇菲的一生，無論在虔敬或人性上，都令人讚歎。

It was in India that the art of Sufism was brought to perfection: India has been a spiritual land for a very long time. Mysticism was a science to the Indians and their first object in life. This was so in the time of Mahadeva, and later in the time of Krishna. When Sufism had found this soil in which to sow the seed it reached perfection, and many highly talented people became followers, amongst them Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Music played an important part in their lives and training. In these Sufis the art of devotion, of idealization, reached its highest development, and their consciousness attained freedom from the external plane.

蘇菲修行的藝術，是在印度臻於圓熟的。印度長久以來一直是一片靈性的土地。對印度人而言，神祕主義是一門科學，也是人生首要追求的目標。早在摩訶提婆的時代如此，後來克里希納的時代亦是如此。當蘇菲找到這片適合播下種子的土壤時，它便發展至圓熟之境，許多才華卓越的人也成為它的追隨者，其中包括霍賈‧莫因丁‧奇什蒂 (Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti)。音樂在他們的生活與修持中占有重要地位。在這些蘇菲身上，奉獻與理想化的藝術發展到了最高境界，而他們的意識也從外在層面的束縛中獲得了自由。

The translators and readers of the Persian poets, while admiring and praising them highly, have often made the mistake of not giving credit where it was due. They have spoken of the poets as if they had produced everything out of themselves, and inherited nothing from the lore of the past. But Persia, lying between Greece, Egypt, Arabia, and India, came under the influence of Plato and Socrates, of Hinduism and Buddhism, and especially of their poetry and philosophy. Everything in the world is influenced in some way by other things, so it cannot be said that Sufism was born in Persia and that it did not exist before; it is an undeniable fact that Sufis existed in the time of Muhammad and even previously, and that Muhammad liked to converse with them and advise them. Thus Sufism in the course of time absorbed the influence of many religions; and in its turn also influenced many other religions. Though very little of the ancient writings survives, and though that little has lost much through wrong interpretation, yet traces of this ancient Sufism can still be found.

波斯詩人的翻譯者與讀者雖然十分欣賞並高度讚揚這些詩人，卻常犯下一個錯誤，就是沒有將應有的功勞歸於其真正的來源。他們談論這些詩人時，彷彿一切都是詩人憑自己創造出來的，完全沒有承襲過往流傳下來的智慧。然而，波斯位於希臘、埃及、阿拉伯與印度之間，因此受到柏拉圖與蘇格拉底、印度教與佛教的影響，尤其深受其詩歌與哲學的薰陶。世間萬物都以某種方式彼此影響，因此不能說蘇菲誕生於波斯，在此之前並不存在。無可否認的是，早在穆罕默德的時代，甚至更早以前，就已有蘇菲存在；穆罕默德也喜歡與他們交談，並給予他們勸導。就這樣，蘇菲在歷史發展的過程中吸收了許多宗教的影響，同時也反過來影響了許多其他宗教。雖然古代文獻保存下來的極少，而僅存的部分又因錯誤的詮釋而失去了許多原意，我們仍然可以找到這種古老蘇菲傳統留下的痕跡。

In very ancient times the Safa was founded, the Brotherhood of Purity. Its doctrine was: Know thyself and thou wilt know God. These students of the self were Sufis, for Sufism is the study of the self.

在極為久遠的時代，Safa，也就是「純潔兄弟會」，便已成立。它的教義是：「認識你自己，你便會認識神。」這些探究自我的人就是蘇菲，因為蘇菲之道所探究的正是自我。

Sufis and Yogis can respect each other, as the only difference between the Yogi and the Sufi is that the Yogi cares more for spirituality and the Sufi more for humanity. The Yogi thinks that it is better to be God; the Sufi thinks that it is better to be man, because if one is only spiritual, there is always the danger of a fall; our body has the tendency to fall down. The Sufi says that as all the needs and desires of this body and its senses exist, one should satisfy them; he says that we should have whatever we can have, but if we cannot have it, we should not care. Yet there is no inner difference between the Sufi and the Yogi. In wisdom there is no difference; if there seems to be any it is only a difference of form.

蘇菲與瑜伽行者可以彼此尊重，因為瑜伽行者與蘇菲唯一的差別，在於瑜伽行者較重視靈性，而蘇菲較重視人性。瑜伽行者認為成為神比較好；蘇菲則認為成為人比較好，因為一個人若只有靈性，始終會有墜落的危險；我們的身體本就有向下墜落的傾向。蘇菲說，既然身體及其感官確實存在各種需要與欲望，就應當適當滿足它們；凡是我們能夠擁有的，就可以擁有，但若無法得到，也不必在意。然而，在內在本質上，蘇菲與瑜伽行者並沒有差別。在智慧上也沒有差別；即使看似有所不同，那也只是形式上的差異。

Joy is in union; neither in the spiritual nor in the material realm alone, but in both. Why does one join one’s hands? Because where there are two the joy is in meeting. The eyes are two; when they are closed there is a joy. When the breath goes through both nostrils the mystic feels an ecstasy. Why do people shake hands? Why do people enjoy it when they embrace? Why do people seek the society of a scientist or a sage? Because a soul is attracted to and united with another soul. The joy is not in spirituality alone, but in the union of the spiritual and the material.

喜悅存在於結合之中；它既不單獨存在於靈性的領域，也不單獨存在於物質的領域，而在於兩者的結合。人為什麼要合起雙手？因為只要有二者，喜悅就在二者的相遇之中。雙眼有兩隻，閉合時便產生一種喜悅。當呼吸同時流經兩個鼻孔時，祕士會感受到狂喜。人為什麼彼此握手？為什麼擁抱會令人感到喜悅？為什麼人們會尋求與科學家或聖哲相伴？因為一個靈魂會受到另一個靈魂吸引，並與之結合。喜悅不只存在於靈性之中，而存在於靈性與物質的結合之中。

To be all animal is not good; and to be all angel is not good either, because we are made with an animal body which needs to eat, drink, and sleep, and whose senses have a thousand needs. We should keep those animal attributes that are harmless, and give up those that are harmful. To eat is not bad and to drink is not bad, but to snatch the food from another’s plate when we already have food on our own, that is a bad thing.

完全活得像動物並不好，完全活得像天使也同樣不好，因為我們具有一個動物性的身體，它需要吃、喝、睡眠，而它的感官更有千百種需求。我們應保留那些無害的動物性特質，而捨棄有害的部分。吃東西不是壞事，喝東西也不是壞事；但是當自己的盤中已經有食物，卻還要去搶別人盤中的食物，那就是壞事。

The central theme of the Sufi’s life is the freedom of the soul. As the great Persian Sufi poet Rumi says, ‘The soul on earth is in a prison, and it remains there as long as it lives on earth’. Man may or may not realize it, but there is a deep yearning in every soul to rise above this imprisonment, to escape from this captivity; and the answer to this yearning is spiritual attainment.

蘇菲生命的核心主題，是靈魂的自由。正如偉大的波斯蘇菲詩人魯米所說：「靈魂在世間猶如身陷牢獄，只要它活在世上，就仍身處其中。」人或許意識得到，也或許沒有意識到，但每個靈魂深處都有一種渴望，想要超越這座牢獄，脫離這種囚禁；而回應這份渴望的，正是靈性成就。

There are two aspects of Sufis: one is called Rind and the other Salik. The aspect which is called Rind is very well expressed in Fitzgerald’s translation of Omar Khayyam: ‘O my Beloved, fill the cup that clears today of past regrets and future fears. Why, tomorrow I may be myself, with yesterday’s sev’n thousand years!’ By this he means: Make the best of this moment; it is now that you can clearly see eternity, if you live in this moment. But if you keep the world of the past or the world of the future before you, you do not live in eternity but in a limited world. In other words, live neither in the past nor in the future, but in eternity. It is now that we should try to discover that happiness which is to be found in the freedom of the soul.

蘇菲有兩種面向：一種稱為曠達者（Rind），另一種稱為循道者（Salik）。曠達者的面向，在費茲傑羅翻譯的歐瑪‧開儼詩句中表達得十分傳神：「啊，我的摯愛，斟滿此杯吧，讓今日洗去往昔的悔恨與未來的恐懼。誰知道呢，明日的我，或許已與昨日七千年的歲月同在！」他的意思是：把握此刻，使此刻發揮最大的價值；只要真正活在這一刻，你便能在當下清楚看見永恆。但如果你始終把過去的世界或未來的世界擺在眼前，你所活的便不是永恆，而是一個有限的世界。換句話說，不要活在過去，也不要活在未來，而要活在永恆之中。就在此刻，我們應當去發現那份存在於靈魂自由之中的幸福。

This is the central theme of all great poets who may be called Rind. Their lives are not bound by so-called principles, such as those known to the orthodox. They are free from every kind of bigotry, dogma, and principle urged upon mankind. At the same time they are men of high ideals and great morals, deep thoughts, and very advanced realization. They live a life of freedom in this world of imprisonment where every being is a captive.

這也是所有可稱為曠達者的偉大詩人共同的核心主題。他們的生命不受所謂的規條束縛，也不受正統人士奉行的那些規範限制。他們擺脫了一切偏執、教條，以及強加在人身上的種種規條；然而與此同時，他們又具有崇高的理想、高尚的品德、深邃的思想，以及極高的領悟。他們在這個人人皆如囚徒般受困的世界裡，活出自由的人生。

Then there are the Salik among the Sufis, who study and meditate and ponder upon ethics, living according to certain principles. Life teaches them and guides them on the right path, and they live a life of piety and renunciation. The way of the Salik is to understand whatever religion a person may have, and to follow it from his own point of view. The Salik makes use of religious terminology as the orthodox do, and he attends the same ceremonies; but to him their meaning is different. Thus every line of the sacred scriptures has a particular meaning for a Salik, for he sees it in a special light.

此外，蘇菲之中還有循道者。他們學習、冥想、思索倫理，並依循一定的準則生活。生命教導他們，引領他們走上正確的道路，而他們所過的是虔敬與捨離的生活。循道者的道路，是去理解一個人所信奉的任何宗教，並從自己的觀點遵循它。循道者使用與正統信徒相同的宗教用語，也參與相同的儀式；但對他而言，其中的意義卻有所不同。因此，神聖經典中的每一句話，對循道者都有其特殊的意義，因為他是在一種不同的光照之下看見它。

Higher and more subtle thoughts about God and man and life can be understood only according to the evolution of man; and therefore it is natural that those Sufis who are called Salik accept the religious form first in order to be in harmony with other people; and then they interpret the true wisdom found in that religion.

對於神、人與生命更高深、更微妙的思想，只能隨著一個人的發展程度而逐漸理解。因此，那些被稱為循道者的蘇菲，首先接受宗教的外在形式，以便與周圍的人保持和諧，這是很自然的；之後，他們再進一步詮釋蘊藏於該宗教之中的真正智慧。

Most of the Sufi literature is written in such a way that to someone who does not know the inner, underlying meaning it will be very surprising. If we take the poems of Hafiz, we notice that the name of God is scarcely mentioned in any of them. If we take the poems of Omar Khayyam, which are so much appreciated in the Western world, we shall see that he is always speaking of wine, of the beloved, of the goblet, of the solitude. A person might say, ‘What kind of spirituality is this? He speaks of nothing but wine and the goblet! If this were spirituality it would be a great pity for humanity!’ Indeed, in these poems these is little devotional expression. In the poems of Jami there is no expression of devotion at all; nor in those of a hundred other Sufi poets who are considered great sages and mystics. They feared that if once they got the name of being spiritual, they would always have to appear as a spiritual person, look like a spiritual person, speak like a spiritual person; and they feared that in this way their freedom would be lost and they would be considered hypocritical.

大多數蘇菲文學都是以這樣的方式寫成的：對不了解其中內在深意的人而言，讀起來會非常令人驚訝。以哈菲茲的詩為例，我們會發現其中幾乎很少提到神的名字。再看西方世界如此推崇的歐瑪‧開儼，他總是在談酒、愛人、酒杯與獨處。有人或許會說：「這算是什麼靈性？他談來談去不外乎酒和酒杯！如果這就是靈性，那對人類可真是一件可悲的事！」的確，這些詩中很少有直接表達奉獻的文字。賈米的詩中甚至完全沒有奉獻的表達；其他上百位被視為偉大聖哲與祕士的蘇菲詩人也是如此。他們擔心，一旦背上了「靈性人物」的名聲，就必須時時表現得像一個靈性人物，看起來像一個靈性人物，說起話來也得像一個靈性人物；他們害怕如此一來便會失去自由，也會因此顯得虛偽。

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