6. Three Aspects of Initiation
6. 啟蒙的三個面向

1. Initiative
主動性

As birds gather in flocks and animals in herds, so there are human beings who move in groups in this or that direction drawn by the power of others; and yet if one asked a person if this is the case with him too, he would say, “No; not with me, but with all others.” It is difficult for anyone to realize to what extent he can unconsciously move with the crowd to the right or the left. And when a person takes a step in a different direction, dissatisfied with being held and swayed by the crowd, by his friends and relations, by those who surround him, then he shows initiative.

如同鳥類成群、動物成群一樣，我們之中也有人受到他人力量的牽引，成群地朝這個方向或那個方向而去。然而，如果問一個人自己是否也是如此，他往往會說：「不，我沒有這樣，是其他人。」我們很難察覺，自己在多大的程度上會無意識地隨著群眾向左或向右。當一個人不再滿足於受群眾、朋友、親人以及周遭之人的牽制與左右，而開始朝不同的方向邁出一步時，他便展現了主動性。

So the real meaning of the word initiation, which is related to initiative, is that a man takes his own direction instead of that in which the crowd is pulling him. And when this happens the religious people will say that he has become a heathen, his friends will say that he has become foolish, and his relations will say that he has gone crazy.

因此，initiation 這個與 initiative 相關的詞，其真正意義就在於：一個人開始走向自己的方向，而不是被群眾拉著走向他們的方向。當這件事發生時，宗教人士可能會說他成了異教徒，朋友會說他變愚蠢了，親人則會說他瘋了。

[譯註] initiation（啟蒙、入門）與 initiative（主動性）具有共同字源，皆可追溯至拉丁文 initiare「開始、使開始」，其根源 initium 意為「開始、進入」。HIK 在此藉兩詞的語源關聯指出：啟蒙不只是接受某種儀式或教導，也意味著一個人開始主動踏出自己的方向，而不再只是隨群眾而行。

Initiation has three different aspects: one is natural initiation, another is advanced initiation, and the third is higher initiation.

啟蒙有三個不同的面向：第一是自然啟蒙，第二是進階啟蒙，第三是高階啟蒙。

2. Natural Initiation
自然啟蒙

The natural initiation may come to a person at any time of his life. It does not come to everyone, but only to some. And for this initiation one need not go to a teacher; it comes when it is time for it to come. It comes in the form of a sudden change of outlook on life; a person feels that he has suddenly awakened to quite another world; although he remains in the same world it has become totally different to him. Things which seemed important become less important; colors pale and the brightness of things disappears. Things show themselves to have different values. The value of everything changes the moment the outlook is changed. It is a change like looking through a telescope; through a telescope one sees things quite differently.

自然啟蒙可能在生命中的任何時刻來臨。它並不會發生在每一個人身上，而只會發生在某些人身上。這樣的啟蒙不需要去尋找老師；當它該來臨的時候，它自然會來。它可能以生命觀突然改變的形式出現；一個人會覺得自己忽然醒來，進入了另一個截然不同的世界。雖然他仍然活在同一個世界裡，這個世界對他而言卻已完全不同。原本顯得重要的事不再那麼重要；色彩變淡了，事物原有的光彩也消失了。每一件事開始顯現出不同的價值。當觀看生命的眼光改變時，一切事物的價值也隨之改變。這就像透過望遠鏡觀看；一旦透過望遠鏡去看，所見的一切便完全不同。

A person may be young and have that experience; it may come at any time in one’s life. To some it comes gradually, but then it is a long process, while to others something suddenly happens in their lives and in the twinkling of an eye the world has become different; everything suddenly has a different value. This is natural initiation.

一個人可能年紀還很輕，就有這樣的經驗；它可以在生命中的任何時刻發生。對某些人而言，它是逐漸來臨的，那便是一個漫長的過程；對另一些人而言，生命中突然發生了某件事，轉眼之間，整個世界便變得不同，一切忽然有了不同的價值。這就是自然啟蒙。

How is this initiation brought about? What is its metaphysical process? The soul is veiled by covers, one cover over the other, and the rending of these covers allows the soul to emerge or to rise higher. Naturally with the next step the horizon of its outlook becomes wider, and the soul reaches further while life becomes more clear. A person may not be conscious of such a change; he may ignore it or not know about it, yet it is there, even though among a hundred people perhaps only one is really conscious of it.

這樣的啟蒙是如何發生的？它背後的形上過程又是什麼？靈魂被一層又一層的遮蔽覆蓋著，而當這些遮蔽被撕開時，靈魂便得以顯露，或升得更高。自然地，隨著下一步的展開，它所能看見的視野會更加寬廣，靈魂能觸及得更遠，生命也變得更加清晰。一個人未必意識得到這樣的改變；他可能忽略它，甚至完全不知道它已經發生，但這改變確實存在。也許一百個人之中，只有一個人真正意識得到它。

At every step forward that the soul takes on the path it naturally comes closer to God, and coming closer to God means inheriting or drawing towards oneself the qualities of God. In other words the soul sees more, hears more, comprehends more, and enjoys more, because it lives a greater, a higher life.

靈魂在道路上每向前邁出一步，自然就更加接近神；而更加接近神，意味著承受神的品質，或將神的品質吸引到自身之中。換句話說，靈魂看得更多、聽得更多、理解得更多，也享受得更多，因為它正活在一個更廣大、更高層次的生命之中。

The teachers and prophets who had to give a message to humanity, who had to render a service to humanity, had such initiations even in their childhood. There is a symbolical story that the heart of the Prophet Mohammed was opened and some substance was taken out of it. People take this literally; but the real meaning is that a cover was torn away, and the soul was allowed to reach upward and go further on the path. There may be many such initiations, perhaps one or two or six or seven according to the state of evolution of the initiate.

那些必須將訊息帶給人類、為人類服務的老師與先知，甚至在童年時便有過這樣的啟蒙。有一則象徵性的故事說，先知穆罕默德的心被打開，其中有某種東西被取了出來。人們往往從字面上理解這個故事；但它真正的意義是，一層遮蔽被撕開了，使靈魂得以向上伸展，在道路上繼續前行。這樣的啟蒙可能發生許多次；依照受啟蒙者的發展程度，也許是一兩次，也許是六、七次。

Life as we live it today is very difficult for a person whose outlook is thus suddenly changed, for the world lives nowadays at a certain pitch and it cannot tolerate someone whose pitch is below or above the ordinary pitch of life. People dislike such a one, they make difficulties for him, they disapprove of him and of his ideas; and if he does not have any friend or guide on the path, then he may linger on in the same plane of thought till nature helps him, for everything else pulls him backwards.

對一個生命觀突然如此改變的人而言，在今日的世界生活是非常困難的。因為這個世界如今運行在某一種特定的調性上，無法容忍一個人的調性低於或高於一般生活的調性。人們不喜歡這樣的人，會給他製造困難，也不認同他以及他的想法。如果他在道路上沒有朋友或引導者，那麼他可能會長久停留在同一個思想層次，直到大自然再次幫助他為止，因為其他一切力量都在把他往回拉。

Some people think that saints, masters, or sages have no need for initiation, but they forget that no soul can go further on the path without initiation.

有些人認為，聖者、大師或聖哲並不需要啟蒙；然而他們忘了，沒有啟蒙，任何靈魂都無法在道路上繼續前行。

What is the result of this natural initiation? Bewilderment, extreme bewilderment. But this bewilderment is not the same as confusion; there is a vast difference between the two. In confusion there is an element of doubt, but when a person is bewildered he says, “How wonderful, how marvelous; words cannot explain it; it is a miracle!” It may appear quite simple to someone else, but to an advanced person it is a miracle. And there may be others who say, “How foolish, I do not see anything in what you have seen!” But what one has perceived is so marvelous that it cannot be explained. Such is life; it is a difference of outlook. One person sees a wonder, a splendor, and another says, “What of it? It is quite simple; it is nothing.”

那麼，自然啟蒙所帶來的結果是什麼？是驚異，是極深的驚異。然而，這種驚異並不等同於困惑；兩者之間有極大的差別。困惑之中帶有懷疑，而當一個人處於驚異之中時，他會說：「多麼奇妙！多麼不可思議！言語根本無法形容，這簡直是一個奇蹟！」在另一個人眼中，這件事可能再普通不過；但對一個已有所發展的人而言，它卻是一個奇蹟。也可能有人說：「真愚蠢，我完全看不出你所看見的東西有什麼特別！」然而，他所感知到的實在太奇妙，以至於無法用言語說明。生命就是如此；差別在於觀看它的眼光。一個人看見的是奇蹟與壯麗，另一個人卻說：「那又怎麼樣？這很普通，根本沒什麼。」

And the one who says this thinks that he is superior because to his mind it is simple, while the one who wonders has the outlook of a child, for a child wonders at everything. No doubt it is childlike, but it is the child’s soul that sees; it sees more than the soul of a grown-up which has become covered by a thousand veils. In infancy the child can see the angelic world, it can talk with unseen entities, it can see wonderful things belonging to the different planes. It is easy to say of something that it is childlike, innocent, or ignorant; yet it is the most wonderful thing to be childlike and to have the innocence of an infant. There is nothing better to wish for, as in this all happiness and beauty are to be found.

而說這些話的人，往往因為一切在他看來如此簡單，便以為自己更高明；反倒是那個會驚嘆的人，具有孩子般的眼光，因為孩子對一切都感到驚奇。這確實是孩子般的，但正是孩子的靈魂在觀看；它所看見的，甚至比那被千百層遮蔽覆蓋的成人靈魂更多。在幼年時，孩子能看見天使的世界，能與不可見的存在交談，也能看見屬於不同層面的奇妙事物。我們很容易說某件事很孩子氣、很天真，或出於無知；然而，能夠像孩子一樣，擁有嬰孩的純真，卻是最美好的事。再沒有比這更值得祈願的了，因為一切幸福與美都可以在其中找到。

This bewilderment produces a kind of pessimism in a person, but a pessimism which cannot be compared with what we ordinarily call pessimism. For we regard pessimism as a kind of wretchedness, but this is something different.

這種驚異會在一個人身上產生某種悲觀，但這種悲觀不能與我們通常所說的悲觀相比。我們一般把悲觀看成一種痛苦消沉的狀態，但這裡所說的卻是另一回事。

A hint of this is to be found in Omar Khayyam’s verse, “O, my Beloved, fill the cup that clears today of past regret and future fears; tomorrow, why, tomorrow I may be myself with yesterday’s sev’n thousand years!”

奧瑪・開儼（Omar Khayyam）的詩句中，隱約透露了這種心境：「啊，我的摯愛者，斟滿那只杯吧，讓今日洗去對過往的悔恨與對未來的恐懼；明日——何必說明日？到了明日，我或許早已與昨日的七千年同在！」

This pessimism comes as an upliftment, it makes a person see life from a different angle. The very life which seemed before to be towering over his head suddenly appears to be beneath his feet.

這種悲觀反而帶來一種提升，使我們從完全不同的角度觀看生命。原本彷彿高高壓在頭頂之上的生命，忽然之間，卻顯得就在自己的腳下。

What is it then? Besides calling it pessimism one could also call it indifference, or independence, and yet it is none of these three things. There is no word for it in English; in Sanskrit it is called Vairagya, an emotion, a feeling quite different from all other ways of looking at life, an outlook which brings one into an entirely different world of thought. The values of things and conditions seem to change completely.

那麼，它究竟是什麼？除了稱它為悲觀，也可以稱它為淡漠，或獨立；然而它其實又不完全是這三者中的任何一種。英語裡沒有一個詞能準確表達它；在梵語中，它被稱為 Vairagya。這是一種情感、一種感受，與其他觀看生命的方式截然不同；這樣的眼光會將我們帶入一個完全不同的思想世界，事物與境遇的價值似乎也徹底改變了。

[譯註] Vairagya（梵語 vairāgya）通常指對世間事物不再執取的狀態，常譯為「離欲」、「超脫」或「不執著」。此處 HIK 特別指出，它不能簡單等同於悲觀、淡漠或獨立，因此正文保留原文。

One might think that it would be an uninteresting life to be indifferent, but that is not so; it is most interesting; it gives one a feeling as if the burden of life was lightened. What a wonderful feeling this is! Think what a little relaxation after a day’s toil can do, when one can just rest for a moment; what upliftment comes, what soothing vibrations, and how the mind feels refreshed! If then the spirit has the same experience, feeling that the load it is continually carrying day and night is lifted, then it too feels widened for a moment. What a blessing this is! It cannot be spoken of in words, but the one who has had even a slight experience of it can comprehend its value.

我們或許會以為，對事物淡漠，生命一定會變得索然無味；但事實並非如此，它反而極其有趣，因為它讓我們感覺生命的重擔彷彿減輕了。那是多麼美好的感受！想想看，一天辛勞之後，只是稍微放鬆一下，能帶來多大的改變；當我們終於能休息片刻時，會感到多麼振奮，感受到多麼撫慰的振動，頭腦也重新恢復清新。同樣地，如果靈也有這樣的經驗，感覺自己日夜不斷背負的重擔忽然被卸下，那麼在那一刻，它也會感到自己變得更加寬廣。這是何等的恩典！它無法用言語說明，但只要曾稍稍體驗過它的人，就能理解其中的價值。

3. Advanced Initiation
進階啟蒙

No doubt there comes a time in a man’s life when even if he were initiated a thousand times by nature he still seeks for a guide walking on earth. Many will say, “Why is God not sufficient? Why must there be someone between God and man? Why must it be a man who is just as limited as we are? Why can we not reach the spirit of God directly?” But in a man who is your enemy and who has tortured you throughout your life, in another who is your greatest friend, and in your teacher who inspires and guides you, in all these is to be seen the hand of God. They have all three guided you on the path of inspiration; they are all three needed in order that you may go further in life.

毫無疑問，生命中會有一個時刻，即使大自然已經啟蒙一個人千百次，他仍然會尋找一位行走於世上的引導者。許多人會說：「為什麼只有神還不夠？為什麼神與我們之間一定要有另一個人？為什麼非得是一個和我們同樣有限的人？為什麼我們不能直接觸及神的靈？」然而，在那個與你為敵、終其一生折磨你的人身上，在另一個成為你最親密朋友的人身上，以及在那位啟發並引導你的老師身上，我們都能看見神的手。這三者都曾在啟發的道路上引導你；若要在生命中繼續前行，三者都是需要的。

• The one who has disappointed you, who has harmed you, is also your initiator, for he has taught you something, he has put you on the road, even if not in the right way.
  
  那個令你失望、傷害過你的人，也是你的啟蒙者，因為他教會了你某些事，也使你踏上了道路，即使他使你上路的方式並不正確。

• And he who is your friend is your initiator too, for he gives you the evidence of truth, the sign of reality; only love can give you a proof that there is something living, something real.
  
  那個成為你朋友的人，同樣也是你的啟蒙者，因為他讓你看見真理的證據、真實的印記；唯有愛能向你證明，確實有某種活生生而真實的東西存在。

• And then there is the inspiring teacher, be he a humble man, an illiterate person, or a meditative soul, a great teacher or a humble one, he is what you think him to be, as everyone is to us what we think them to be.
  
  然後還有那位帶來啟發的老師。無論他是一個謙卑的人、不識字的人、一個沉思的靈魂，是偉大的老師或平凡謙遜的老師，他對你而言是什麼，取決於你如何看待他；正如每一個人對我們而言是什麼，也取決於我們如何看待他們。

If it were not necessary that man should guide his fellow-men, Jesus Christ would not have been placed among those fishermen who could not understand him; and yet he proved to be their guidance. The presence on earth of personalities such as Buddha and all the other teachers — many of them not even known to humanity though they have done so much, but who always are and always will be under whatever name and in whatever guise they may work — gives guidance to individuals and to humanity. God never reaches so directly and so fully as when He reaches through His teachers. The best way for God to reach human beings is through a human being; not through an angel but through man who is subject to birth and death and to all the faults that everyone has.

如果我們並不需要由另一個人來引導，那麼耶穌基督就沒有必要置身於那些無法理解他的漁夫之中；然而，他後來卻成為了他們的引導。像佛陀以及其他老師這樣的人物存在於世上——其中許多人即使為人類做了許多事，卻從未為世人所知；無論他們以什麼名字、什麼形貌工作，他們始終存在，也將始終存在——正是他們的存在，為個人與整個人類帶來引導。當神透過祂的老師來到我們面前時，祂的觸及最為直接，也最為完整。神觸及我們最好的方式，就是透過一個人；不是透過天使，而是透過一個同樣經歷生與死、也具有每個人都有的種種缺點的人。

The way of the teacher with his initiate is strange. The greater the teacher the stranger may be the way. The teacher may test and the teacher may give trials; and the attitude of the teacher can never be understood, for a real teacher never commits himself. Neither his yes nor his no can be understood, for their meaning will be symbolical and very subtle. Perhaps he will speak in parables, perhaps he will teach without teaching, perhaps he will teach more just by a glance than by speaking a hundred words. Perhaps the presence of the teacher is of greater blessing in the life of the pupil than a hundred books he has read. Neither the indifference nor the sympathy of the teacher may be taken for what they appear to be, for in both there is something else. The more one studies the personality of the teacher, the more puzzled one becomes. The teacher is the initiator of life, he is the example of the subtlety of the whole of life.

老師與門徒相處的方式是奇特的；老師愈偉大，他的方式可能愈令人難以理解。老師可能會考驗門徒，也可能給予種種試煉；而老師的態度永遠無法只從表面理解，因為真正的老師從不輕易把自己限定在某一個立場上。他的「是」與「否」都未必能按字面理解，其中的含義往往帶有象徵性，而且極為微妙。他或許以寓言說話，或許不著痕跡地教導；有時，一個眼神所教導的，甚至勝過一百句話。老師的臨在，對學生的生命而言，或許比讀過一百本書帶來更大的祝福。無論老師表現出的淡漠或同理，都不能只照它表面呈現的樣子來理解，因為兩者之中都還有別的含義。我們愈研究老師的風範，就愈可能感到困惑。老師是生命中的啟蒙者；他本身就顯示了整個生命是何等微妙。

Some people affirm that they have been initiated by a teacher on the other side. Well, perhaps they have; but are they not then in two worlds, the teacher in one and the initiate in the other? The initiate neither belongs to the teacher’s world, nor does the teacher belong to his. This surely gives one less trouble than having to regard the pleasure of a living being; it is easier to feel that one has someone at one’s back who is always whispering in one’s ear and who speaks to one in dream or vision. It is not wrong and in some cases it is even true; there are souls, there are teachers who have perhaps not given on earth what they had to give, what they had to impart to others. But that is not the normal process. If it were a normal process then all the teachings would have been sent from the other side, but neither Buddha nor Jesus Christ nor Mohammed gave their teachings from there.

有些人堅稱，自己曾受到彼岸世界某位老師的啟蒙。也許確實如此；但這樣一來，老師與門徒豈不是分處兩個世界嗎？門徒並不屬於老師所在的世界，老師也不屬於門徒所在的世界。當然，這比起必須顧及一個活生生之人的感受容易得多；相信自己身後總有一個人在耳邊低語，在夢境或異象中向自己說話，確實比較容易。這並沒有錯，在某些情況下甚至確實是真的；有些靈魂、有些老師，也許在世時尚未完全給出自己應當給予的、應當傳遞給他人的東西。然而，這並不是通常的過程。如果這才是通常的過程，那麼所有教導都應該從彼岸傳來；但佛陀、耶穌基督與穆罕默德，都不是從彼岸給出他們的教導。

Today the prevailing thought is that no man should guide his fellow-men and that there is no virtue in such guidance. This thought is so widespread that it is preventing people from seeking guidance from someone who is facing the same struggles, the same troubles, and who has the same experiences as everyone else. They go on rejecting such a man, as Jesus Christ was rejected, and at the same time they are looking for someone on the other plane! Many societies and groups have puzzled their heads so much over this subject that they have deprived themselves of that living water which follows its natural course through the world of man.

今天盛行的一種觀念是：我們不應由另一個人來引導，而且這樣的引導本身並沒有什麼價值。這種想法如此普遍，以至於阻礙了我們向那些與所有人一樣面對掙扎、困難，也經歷同樣人生經驗的人尋求引導。我們不斷拒絕這樣的人，就如當年耶穌基督曾遭到拒絕一樣；與此同時，卻又到另一個層面尋找某個人！許多團體與組織在這個問題上反覆思索得太多，反而使自己失去了那道原本自然流經人類世界的活水。

The work of the teacher is most subtle. It is like that of a jeweller who has to melt the gold first in order to make an ornament out of it. It has first to be melted, but once it is melted, once it is not hard metal any more but has become liquid, then it can be made into a crown or a ring or an ornament; then one can make a beautiful thing out of it.

老師的工作極其微妙，就像珠寶匠要用黃金製作飾品時，首先必須將金熔化。它必須先被熔化；一旦熔化，不再是堅硬的金屬，而成為可以流動的狀態，它便能被製成王冠、戒指或其他飾品，成為一件美麗的作品。

4. Higher Initiation
高階啟蒙

And after this there is a further step. When the pupil has received the initiations that the teacher has to give, then the teacher’s task is over, and he sends him on. The teacher does not hold the pupil indefinitely; he has his part to perform during the journey on the path, but then comes the inner initiation. This comes to the disciple who has become meditative, whose interest has become keen, whose outlook has widened, who sees life differently, whose conscience has acquired the habit of reasoning, of expanding.

在此之後，還有更進一步的階段。當學生已經接受老師所能給予的各種啟蒙，老師的工作便完成了，他會讓學生繼續向前。老師不會永遠將學生留在自己身邊；在道路的旅程中，他有自己需要完成的部分，而接下來便是內在的啟蒙。這種啟蒙會來到這樣的門徒身上：他已逐漸進入冥思，內在的關注變得敏銳，視野更加寬廣，開始以不同的眼光觀看生命，而他的良知也逐漸養成了思辨與擴展的能力。

No doubt in this experience also there is always help to be had. As help comes on earth so in the unseen world too that help then comes. It is as if we were in the street in some kind of difficulty; naturally others would come up to see if they could be of any assistance. So as one goes further one attracts the sympathy of beings who are always busy helping humanity from all planes of existence. The sympathy of those who are close to the one who is travelling on the path is attracted, giving him a hand to go forward. It is that giving of a hand which is called initiation. There are so many different initiations: they are all steps by which to go upward.

毫無疑問，在這樣的經驗中也始終會有幫助來臨。正如我們在世上能得到幫助，在不可見的世界中，同樣會有幫助到來。就像我們在街上遇到某種困難時，自然會有人走近，看自己是否能提供協助。同樣地，當我們在道路上繼續向前，便會吸引那些在不同存在層面上始終忙於幫助人類的存在之同理。那些接近道路上行者的存在會受到吸引，向他伸出手，幫助他繼續向前。而這樣的伸手相助，就稱為啟蒙。啟蒙有許多不同的形式；它們都是使我們向上前行的一個個步程。

In conclusion I shall mention what is attained through initiation. What one attains is that realization for which we are born, which is our life’s purpose. Unless we approach life’s purpose, nothing we do will help us sufficiently; it will only help us perhaps in a certain need of ours, but not any further. There is only one thing which gives complete satisfaction, and that is to arrive at self-realization. It is not simple and it needs more than just meditation and concentration, although these are of great help in the attainment of self-realization. And those who believe that by reading a book on Yoga they can get to that realization are mistaken. They are mistaken because it is a phenomenon; and it is by this phenomenon that one proceeds further.

最後，我要談談我們藉由啟蒙究竟能獲得什麼。我們所獲得的，是那個我們為之而生的證悟，也就是我們生命的目的。除非我們逐漸接近生命的目的，否則無論做什麼，都無法真正充分地幫助我們；那些事或許能滿足某一方面的需要，卻不能帶我們走得更遠。只有一件事能帶來完全的滿足，那就是抵達對自身本性的證悟。這並不簡單；除了冥想與專注之外，還需要更多，儘管冥想與專注對於達到對自身本性的證悟確實有很大的幫助。那些以為只要讀一本瑜伽的書，就能獲得這種證悟的人，是有所誤解的。之所以如此，是因為這是一種真實發生的內在現象；而我們正是藉由這樣的內在轉變，才能繼續向前。

Some people think that by straightforward study, by purely scientific study, they can come to realization, but in order to attain self-realization a certain way of life is necessary. Is it the life that religious people teach, that one should live in such and such a way? Is it a life according to certain principles, certain dogmas? No, nothing of that kind. It is the continual process of effacing the self; it is just like grinding something which is very hard; it is a continual grinding of the self. And the more that self is softened, the more highly a person evolves and the greater his personality becomes. No matter what power and inspiration a person may have acquired, if there is no self-effacement nothing is accomplished.

有些人認為，只要透過直接的研究，或純粹科學性的研究，就能抵達證悟；然而，要達到對自身本性的證悟，必須有某種生命的活法。那是宗教人士所教導的、規定我們必須以某種方式生活的那種生活嗎？是按照某些原則、某些教條而生活嗎？不，都不是。它是一個使有限自我持續淡去的過程；就像研磨某種非常堅硬的東西一樣，是不斷地磨去有限自我的堅硬。這個有限自我愈柔軟，我們便發展得愈高，而人格風範也愈加廣大。無論一個人獲得了多大的力量與啟發，如果有限自我沒有逐漸淡去，那麼一切都尚未真正成就。

The result brought about by initiation is self-effacement, and it is self-effacement which is needed in order to arrive at true wisdom.

啟蒙所帶來的結果，就是有限自我的逐漸淡去；而要抵達真正的智慧，所需要的正是這種有限自我的淡去。

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