6. Seeing
6. 看見

One can see, one can look, and one can observe. These three words denote the same action, yet each word suggests something different. By observing we understand something about what we see; by seeing we take full notice of it; but by looking we glance at it without necessarily understanding it or taking notice of it. And so there are three conditions: looking at the surface of a thing, looking at a thing properly, and looking at a thing with real observation and understanding it at the same time.

人可以看見，可以看，也可以觀察。這三個詞所指的是同一種行為，然而每一個詞所表達的意思並不相同。藉由觀察，我們對所看見的事物有所理解；當我們真正看見時，會充分注意到它；但只是看的時候，我們不過是目光掠過它，未必理解，也未必真正注意到它。因此有三種情況：只看到事物的表面，真正看清一件事，以及帶著實際的觀察去看，並同時理解它。

Everyone notices things in one of these three ways. That which interests a man most, he observes most keenly; that which attracts his mind, he sees and takes notice of; and that upon which his glance happens to fall, he only looks at. And there are, therefore, three different effects made upon man by all he sees: a deeper effect of that which he has observed fully, a clear effect of that which he has seen, and a passing effect of that which had just caught his glance. This is the reason why there are seers, thinkers, and those who have only their two eyes.

每個人都是以這三種方式之一來注意事物。最令一個人感興趣的事物，他會最敏銳地觀察；吸引他頭腦的事物，他會看見並加以注意；至於只是偶然落入他目光中的，他便只是看了一眼。因此，我們所見的一切，會在人身上留下三種不同程度的影響：充分觀察過的事物留下較深的影響；真正看見的事物留下清楚的影響；而只是目光偶然掠過的事物，只留下短暫的影響。這就是為什麼世上有得見者 (seer)、有思想者，也有只是長著一雙眼睛的人。

There is another side to this question: a person who is walking gains a certain kind of impression of the route he takes; one who drives the same way in a motorcar has a different kind of experience, and the experience of the one who flies in an aeroplane is different again. Perhaps the one who was walking was not able to reach his goal as quickly as the one in the motorcar or the one in the aeroplane, but the observations that he was able to make, the sights that he saw, and all the experiences that he had there, were far beyond those of the other two. And in just the same way our mind works. There is one man whose mind works at the rate of an aeroplane; there is another man whose mind works like an automobile; and there is a third whose mind works at the speed of a man walking. The one whose mind, is working at that speed will not perhaps react as quickly as the others, but what he thinks he will think thoroughly; what he sees he will see thoroughly. It is he who will have insight into things, it is he who will understand the hidden law behind things, because the activity of his mind is normal. Thinking does not always depend upon quickness of the mind; sometimes it is the quality of the mind which is more important.

這個問題還有另一面。一個步行的人，對自己所走的路會得到一種印象；開著汽車走過同一條路的人，會有另一種經驗；搭飛機經過的人，其經驗又有所不同。步行的人也許無法像開車或搭飛機的人那麼快抵達目的地，但是他沿途所能做的觀察、所看見的景象，以及一路上獲得的種種經驗，都遠遠超過另外兩人。我們的頭腦也是如此運作。有些人的頭腦像飛機一樣快速；有些人的頭腦像汽車；還有一些人的頭腦，以步行者的速度運作。頭腦以這種速度運作的人，也許不會像其他人反應得那麼快，但他所想的，會想得徹底；他所看的，也會看得透徹。這樣的人才會對事物產生洞見，才會理解事物背後隱藏的法則，因為他的頭腦活動處於正常的節奏。思考並不總是取決於頭腦有多快；有時，頭腦本身的品質更加重要。

An intelligent person thinks swiftly too, but that is another thing. There can be a great difference between two stones, for instance between a diamond and a pebble. They are both stones, but one is precious and the other dull. In the same way there are two different qualities of mind: one man thinks quickly and intelligently, the other thinks quickly but is very often mistaken. He is mistaken because he thinks quickly, while in the other case it is the quality of mind which even in quick thinking makes that person think rightly. Nevertheless the rhythm of thinking has a great deal to do with one’s life. When the three who have traveled the same way on foot, in the car and by aeroplane, meet together and speak of their experiences, we shall find a great difference in what they tell; and this explains why people who have gone through the same life, who have lived under the same sun, who have been born on the same earth, are yet so different in their mentality. The reason is that their minds have traveled at different speeds. Their experiences are quite different though they have traveled the same way.

一個聰慧的人同樣可以思考得很快，但那是另一回事。兩塊石頭之間可能有極大的差別，例如鑽石與普通石頭。兩者都是石頭，但一個珍貴，一個黯淡無光。同樣地，頭腦也有兩種不同的品質：有一種人既思考快速，又思考得明智；另一種人雖然想得很快，卻經常出錯。他之所以出錯，正是因為想得太快；至於前一種人，即使思考快速，頭腦本身的品質仍使他能夠正確地思考。然而，思考的節奏確實與一個人的生命有很大的關係。當徒步、開車和搭飛機走過同一條路的三個人聚在一起，談起各自的經歷時，我們會發現他們所說的內容有很大的差異。這也解釋了，為什麼人們經歷著同樣的人生，生活在同一個太陽之下，出生於同一片大地，心智卻有如此大的不同。原因就在於，他們的頭腦以不同的速度走過人生。即使走的是同一條路，他們所獲得的經驗卻截然不同。

A seer is the one who has not only looked, but who has seen. And how has he seen? By controlling the impulse of walking too quickly, by resisting the temptation of going to the right or to the left, by going steadily towards the object that he wants to reach. All these things help to make one a seer.

所謂「得見者」，就是不只是觀看，而能真正看見的人。他是如何做到真正看見的呢？藉由克制走得太快的衝動，抵抗向左或向右偏離的誘惑，穩定地朝著自己想要抵達的目標前進。這一切，都有助於使一個人成為得見者。

The seer sees more than for instance the astrologer; much more. There is no comparison. But the seer does not speak about what he sees; if he did he would become just like the astrologer. To the seer every person’s soul is just like an open letter; but if he were to divulge its secrets his sight would become dimmer every day because it is a trust given to him by God. Spiritual trust is given to those who can keep that trust and who are able to keep a secret.

得見者所看見的，比方說，比占星家所看見的多得多，兩者根本無法相比。然而，得見者不會談論自己所看見的事；如果他這麼做，他就會變得和占星家一樣。對得見者而言，每個人的靈魂都像一封攤開的信；可是，如果他洩露其中的祕密，他的眼光就會一天比一天黯淡，因為這是神交託給他的信任。靈性的信任，只會交給那些守得住這份信任、也能守住祕密的人。

There are many wrong interpretations of the word seer. Sometimes people think that a seer is a clairvoyant or a spiritist, but that is a different kind of person and not a seer. The seer need not see the unseen world; there is so much to be seen here in the visible world! There is so much that man could see in this objective world, but which is hidden from his eyes, that if he were to concentrate all his life upon seeing all that is to be seen he would find more than enough to think about. It is childish curiosity on the part of some people when they want to see something that they think no one has seen before. It is also vanity, for the sake of telling that they see something which others do not see. But the world seen and the world unseen are one and the same; and they are both here. And when we cannot see the world unseen, it is not because it hides itself from our eyes, it is because we close our eyes to it.

人們對 seer 這個詞有許多錯誤的理解。有時，人們以為得見者就是有靈視能力的人，或通靈者，但那是另一類人，並不是得見者。得見者並不需要看見不可見的世界；光是在這個可見的世界裡，就已經有太多東西值得看見！在這個客觀世界中，有太多事物原本是人可以看見的，卻被遮蔽在他的眼前。假如一個人用一生專注於看見一切可以被看見的事物，他所發現的，就已經多得足以讓他思索不盡。有些人想要看見某些他們以為從來沒有人見過的東西，這是一種幼稚的好奇心；同時也是一種虛榮，為的是能夠告訴別人：自己看得見別人看不見的東西。然而，可見的世界與不可見的世界其實是一體的，而且兩者都在此處。當我們看不見不可見的世界時，並不是因為它把自己藏了起來，而是因為我們對它閉上了眼睛。

Then there is long sight and short sight and medium sight.

此外，還有遠視、近視與中等視野之別。

• There are some who can see far beyond, or long before events,
  
  有些人能夠看得非常遠，或在事件發生很久以前便已看見；

• and there is the person who only sees what is immediately before him and what is next to him; he sees nothing of what is behind him. His influence reaches only as far as the thing that is just beside him, and it is that which influences him.
  
  有些人只看得見眼前以及身旁的事物，看不見身後的一切。他的影響力只能延伸到身旁最近的事物，而真正影響他的，也只有那些就在他身邊的事物。

• But there is another person who reasons about what he sees; his can be called medium sight. He reasons about it as far as his reason allows. He cannot see beyond his reasoning; he goes so far and no further.
  
  還有另一種人，會對自己所見的事物加以推理；這可以稱為中等視野。他能推論到哪裡，取決於他的理性允許他走多遠。他無法看見超出其推理範圍之外的事物；他只能走到那裡，不能再更進一步。

Naturally if these three persons meet and speak together, each has his own language. It is not surprising if one does not understand the point of view of the other, because each one has his own vision according to which he looks at things. No one can give his own sight to another person in order to make him see differently.

自然地，當這三種人相遇並交談時，每一個人都有自己的語言。如果彼此無法理解對方的觀點，也不足為奇，因為每個人都有自己的視野，並依照這個視野觀看事物。沒有人能把自己的眼光交給另一個人，使他因此以不同的方式看見。

If the spiritual people of all ages taught faith, it was not because they wished that no one should think for himself but should accept everything in faith which was taught him. If they had had that intention they would not have been spiritual people. Nevertheless, however clever a person may be, however devoted and enthusiastic, if he is without faith the spiritual souls cannot impart their knowledge to him, for there is no such thing as spiritual knowledge in the sense of learning. If there is anything spiritual that can be imparted to the pupil, it is the point of view, the outlook on life. If a person already has that outlook on life, he does not need spiritual guidance; but if he has not, then words of explanation will not explain anything to him, for it is a point of view and it cannot be explained in words.

歷代的靈性人物之所以教導信心，並不是因為他們希望人們不要自行思考，只要憑著信心接受一切被教導的內容。如果他們抱持這種意圖，就不會是靈性人物了。然而，一個人無論多麼聰明、多麼虔誠熱切，如果缺乏信心，那些具有靈性的靈魂便無法把他們的知識傳授給他，因為所謂靈性知識，並不是一般學習意義上的知識。如果真有什麼靈性的東西能夠傳遞給學生，那就是一種觀點、一種看待生命的眼光。如果一個人已經具有這樣的生命觀，他就不需要靈性的引導；但如果他還沒有，那麼再多言語的解說也無法真正向他說明什麼，因為那是一種觀看的角度，而這種角度無法用語言加以解釋。

However much a person may try to describe the light that he saw when he was on top of a mountain to the man who has never climbed that mountain, that man may refuse to believe all that the other says; but perhaps, if he trusts him, he will begin to listen to his guidance. He may not see it, but he will listen, and he will benefit by the experience of the one who has seen the light from the top of the mountain. But the one who goes to the top of the mountain will have the same experience himself.

無論一個人如何努力向一個從未登上那座山的人描述自己在山頂所看見的光，對方都可能拒絕相信他所說的一切。然而，如果那個人信任他，也許就會開始聽從他的引導。他自己雖然尚未看見，卻會願意聆聽，並從那位曾在山頂看見光的人之經驗中受益。但真正登上山頂的人，終究會親自獲得同樣的經驗。

There is still another side to this question, and that is from which height one looks at life.

這個問題還有另一個面向，那就是：一個人是站在什麼高度觀看生命。

• There is one view when a person looks at life standing on the ground;
  
  當一個人站在地面上看生命時，他有一種視野；

• it is different when he is climbing the mountain,
  
  當他正在攀登山峰時，所見便不同；

• and it is a different outlook again when he has reached the top.
  
  當他抵達山頂時，又會有另一種截然不同的視野。

And what are these degrees? They are degrees of consciousness.

那麼，這些不同的層次是什麼？它們就是意識的不同層次。

• When a person is looking at life and says, ‘I and all else’, that is one point of view;
  
  當一個人觀看生命時，說的是「我，以及其他一切」，這是一種觀點；

• when a person sees all else and forgets ‘I’, that is another point of view;
  
  當一個人看見其他一切，而忘卻了「我」，這是另一種觀點；

• and when a person sees all and identifies it with ‘I’, that is another point of view again.
  
  當一個人看見一切，並認出這一切與「我」為一，這又是另一種觀點。

And the difference these points of view make in a person’s outlook is so vast that words can never explain it.

而這些不同觀點所造成的生命視野之差異，是如此巨大，永遠無法以言語充分說明。

Reaching the top of the mountain means entering what is called Nirvana, cosmic consciousness; the idea of communicating with God is symbolized by a person who has climbed a part of the mountain, and who therefore already has a less clearly defined idea of I and you, and of he, she, and it than the one who is standing on the ground.

抵達山頂，意味著進入所謂的涅槃、宇宙意識；而與神交流的概念，則由一個已經攀上山腰的人來象徵。因此，相較於仍站在地面上的人，他對「我與你」，以及「他、她、它」之間的界線，已經不再劃分得那麼清楚。

Spiritual progress is expansion of the soul. It is not always desirable to live on the top of the mountain, because the ground also is made for man. What is desirable is to have one’s feet on the ground and one’s head as high as the top of the mountain. A person who can observe life from all sides, from all angles, will have a different experience from each angle; and every side he looks at will give him new knowledge, a different knowledge from that which he had before.

靈性的進展，就是靈魂的擴展。一直住在山頂並不一定是理想的，因為大地也是為人而造。真正值得追求的，是雙腳踏在地面上，而頭能高及山頂。一個能從各個方向、各個角度觀察生命的人，會從每一個角度獲得不同的經驗；而他每換一個方向觀看，都會得到新的知識，得到不同於先前的理解。

Finally there is the question of seeing and not seeing. This is understood by the mystics as being able to see at will, and also being able to overlook. It is not easy for a person to overlook, it is something one must learn. There is much that man is able to see and that he must see; and there is much that he should not see, that it is better he does not see. If we cannot see, that is a disadvantage; but there is no disadvantage in not seeing something that we should not see. There are so many things that can be seen that we may just as well avoid seeing those we should not.

最後，還有一個關於看見與不看的問題。祕士所理解的，是一個人既能隨自己的意願看見，也能選擇忽略不看。要做到忽略不看並不容易，這是必須學習的能力。有許多事物是人能夠看見、也必須看見的；同時也有許多事物是他不該去看，最好不要看見的。如果我們沒有看見的能力，那是一種缺憾；但是對於那些本來就不該看的事物，不去看並沒有任何損失。可以看的事物已經如此之多，我們大可以避開那些不該看的東西。

The one who is held by what he sees lacks mastery. Although he does not want to see it, he cannot help seeing it; but the one who has his sight under control, sees what he wants to see, and what he does not want to see he does not see. That is mastery. And as it is true of the eyes, that we see what is before us and we do not see what is behind us, so it is true of the mind: what is before it, it sees and what is behind it, it does not see. Naturally, therefore, if this objective world is before a person’s eyes, the other world is hidden from his sight, because he sees what is before him and not what is behind him. And as it is true that what is behind us we can only see by turning our head, so also it is true that what the mind does not see can only be seen when the mind is turned the other way. What is learned in esotericism and in mysticism is the turning of the mind from the outer vision to the inner vision.

被自己所見之物牽制的人，缺乏自我掌握。即使他不想看，也忍不住去看；但能夠掌握自己眼光的人，只看自己想看的，不想看的便不去看。這就是自我掌握。正如我們的雙眼只能看見面前的事物，而看不見身後的事物，頭腦也是如此：在它面前的，它看得見；在它背後的，它便看不見。因此，自然地，如果這個客觀世界正擺在一個人的眼前，另一個世界就會隱藏在他的視野之外，因為他看見的是面前的，而不是身後的。正如我們只有轉過頭去，才能看見身後的東西；頭腦原本看不見的事物，也只有當頭腦轉向另一個方向時，才有可能看見。在秘傳教導與神祕主義中所學習的，就是讓頭腦從外在的觀看轉向內在的觀看。

One might ask, what profit do we derive from this? If it is profitable to rest at night after a whole day’s work, so it is profitable to turn one’s mind from this world of variety in order to rest it and to give it another experience which belongs to it, which is its own and which it needs. It is this experience which is attained by the meditative process. A person who is able to think but not able to forget, a person who is able to speak but not able to keep silent, a person who is able to move but not able to keep still, a person who is able to cry but not able to laugh – that person does not know mastery. It is like having one hand, it is like standing on one foot. To have complete experience of life one must be able to act and to be still, one must be able to talk and to keep silent.

有人也許會問：這樣做對我們有什麼益處？如果一整天工作之後，在夜裡休息對我們有益，那麼讓頭腦從這個千變萬化的世界轉開，使它得到休息，並給予它另一種本來就屬於它、是它自身所需要的經驗，同樣也是有益的。這正是透過冥想的過程所獲得的經驗。一個人能夠思考卻不能忘懷，能夠說話卻不能保持沉默，能夠活動卻不能靜止，能夠哭泣卻不能歡笑——這樣的人還不知道什麼是自我掌握。這就像只有一隻手，又像只用一隻腳站立。若要完整地體驗生命，一個人既要能行動，也要能靜止；既要能說話，也要能保持沉默。

There are many precious things in nature and art, things that are beyond value, yet there is nothing in this world that is more precious than sight; and the most precious of all is insight, to be able to see, to be able to understand, to be able to learn, to be able to know. That is the greatest gift that God can give, and all other things in life are small compared with it. If there is anything that one can do to enrich one’s knowledge, to raise one’s soul to higher spheres, to allow one’s consciousness to expand to perfection, it is to do everything one possibly can to open one’s sight, which is the sign of God in man. It is the opening of the sight which is called the soul’s unfoldment.

自然與藝術之中有許多珍貴的事物，有些甚至無法衡量其價值；然而，在這世上，沒有什麼比看見的能力更加珍貴。而其中最珍貴的，就是洞見：能夠看見、能夠理解、能夠學習、能夠知曉。這是神所能賜予的最偉大恩賜；與它相比，生命中的其他一切都顯得微小。如果有什麼是人能夠去做，以豐富自己的知識、將靈魂提升至更高的境界，並使自己的意識擴展直至圓滿，那就是竭盡所能地開啟自己的眼光——因為這正是神在人之中的印記。所謂靈魂的開展，就是眼光的開啟。

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