29. Spirituality, the Tuning of the Heart
29. 靈性：心的調諧

1. Spirit-consciousness
對靈的覺知

Before speaking of spirituality I must first explain what I mean by it. There are people who consider spirituality as orthodoxy or piety: to be religious, to be a priest, a monk, a hermit, to fast, or to live a life of a certain discipline, to adopt a certain form of worship. A person may have all these outer forms without being spiritual, and a person may have nothing of these and be spiritual. Those who seek spirituality in such outer forms are mistaken, for it is more than that: real spirituality is spirit-consciousness.

在談靈性之前，我必須先說明，我所說的靈性是什麼。有些人認為，靈性就是恪守宗教教義或虔誠：信奉宗教、成為神職人員、修士或隱士、禁食、過著遵循某種戒律的生活，或採取某種敬拜形式。然而，我們可能具備所有這些外在形式，卻沒有靈性；也可能全然沒有這些形式，卻具有靈性。從這些外在形式中尋找靈性，是找錯了方向，因為靈性遠不止於此：真正的靈性，是對靈的覺知。

To be spiritual means to be conscious of spirit, just as a material person means a person who is conscious of matter. So it is not religion, orthodoxy, outer forms, or a certain kind of life which means spiritual life: it is to be conscious of the spirit that makes one spiritual.

具有靈性，意味著覺知到靈，正如重物質的人所覺知的是物質。因此，靈性生活並不取決於宗教、對教義的恪守、外在形式，或某一種生活方式；是對靈的覺知，使我們具有靈性。

• There are others who think that those who perform phenomena, miracles, who work wonders are spiritual. It is not so. Many who are capable of performing phenomena are not different from a magician.
  
  另有些人認為，能展現神異現象、行奇蹟、創造不可思議之事的人，就具有靈性。其實並非如此。許多能展現神異現象的人，與魔術師並沒有什麼不同。

• Then others say that to be spiritual means to tell fortunes, or to be clairvoyant, to see wonderful things. It is not necessary to do or to see wonderful things in order to be spiritual.
  
  還有些人說，具有靈性就是能算命、具有靈視能力，或能看見奇異的事物。然而，要具有靈性，並不需要行奇異之事，也不需要看見奇異的事物。

• Others imagine that to be spiritual means sitting in the caves of mountains, or roaming about in forests, or to appear and disappear. All these things are but fancies of the imaginative.
  
  有些人則想像，具有靈性就是坐在山洞裡、遊走於森林中，或能忽然現身、忽然消失。這些都不過是富於想像者的幻想。

To be spiritual means to be one’s self, to be one’s natural self.

具有靈性，意味著成為我們本來的自己，成為自然本真的自己。

How many of us are our self? If we were our self we would all be spiritual. We are not our self, we are far from it! A great Indian poet expresses this idea in this way, “Apart from accomplishing things, for man to be a man is the most difficult thing.” It means that for a human being to be human is the greatest difficulty. He is born a human being; yet the first thing he ought to be is what he is not, he is anything but a human being. He is willing to be a solicitor, a doctor, a professor, but to be a human being-that is the thing he thinks of last, and mostly he does not even think of it at all.

我們之中，有多少人活出了本來的自己？如果我們是本來的自己，就都具有靈性了。我們還不是本來的自己，甚至相距甚遠！一位偉大的印度詩人這樣表達：「姑且不論成就什麼事，做人最難的，就是成為一個真正的人。」意思是，對一個生而為人的人而言，最困難的，正是活出人的本質。他生來就是人，卻偏偏沒有成為自己最先應當成為的樣子；他可以是各種身分，卻還不是一個真正的人。他願意成為律師、醫師、教授，至於成為一個真正的人，卻是他最後才想到的事，而且大多數時候，他根本沒有想過。

People say that nowadays there is a great tendency in the world to discover spiritual truth, that there is an inner spiritual awakening. Yes, I admit it, but what direction does it take? Very often it takes wrong directions. Those searching after truth often think that the best way to find belief in the spirit and the hereafter is mediumship: to become a medium themselves, or to go to a medium and when they have found proof – to communicate with the dead. Then they think they have found proof of the spiritual. They wreck their nervous system, many go out of balance. In this manner the way that would lead to spirituality leads to destruction.

有人說，今日世上有一股強烈的趨勢，想要發現靈性真理，內在的靈性正在覺醒。是的，我承認如此，但它朝向哪裡？它往往走錯了方向。追尋真理的人常以為，要相信靈與死後的生命，最好的方法就是通靈：自己成為靈媒，或去找靈媒，藉由與亡者溝通來取得證據。於是，他們認為自己找到了靈性存在的證明。他們損害了自己的神經系統，許多人因此失去平衡。如此一來，原本應當通向靈性的道路，反而通向了毀壞。

There are others who wish to pursue the spiritual in the same way as a person in a university or college. They want to read all things in a book. They think, “If there is anything like spiritual attainment one book must tell us about it.” If they go to the library and read throughout their whole life all the books there are, they cannot touch spirituality, because it does not come from books. Reading helps one sometimes to awake; yet every person does not know how to read. What is happening today is that there are thousands and thousands of people who read one book, then another and still another, until their mind is so confused that they do not know what to believe and what not to believe. Among them there are many who think that the best way is the intellectual way. But what is intellectual? Is reading really intellectual? Are all books the same? Many times they only confuse a person. Very often books with ten errors on the same line puzzle a person’s mind so much that he does not know where he is.

還有些人希望像在大學裡求學那樣追求靈性，想從書中讀到一切。他們認為：「如果真有靈性成就這回事，一定有一本書會告訴我們。」然而，即使他們到圖書館，花上一生讀遍那裡所有的書，也未必能觸及靈性，因為靈性不是從書本而來的。閱讀有時能幫助我們醒來，但並不是每個人都懂得如何閱讀。今日的情形是，成千上萬的人讀了一本書，又讀另一本，再讀下一本，直到頭腦混亂，不知道該相信什麼、不該相信什麼。其中許多人認為，最好的途徑是理智的途徑。但什麼叫作運用理智？閱讀就真的等於運用理智嗎？所有的書都一樣嗎？書往往只是使我們更加困惑。有些書甚至同一行裡就有十個錯誤，把我們的頭腦弄得如此迷亂，以至於不知自己身在何處。

Often people come to me and tell me – in order to help me – to have confidence in them, because for ten years they have been reading my books. Instead of having confidence I have to guide them on the path and to erase what they have learned first. Perhaps they are not willing to erase; they think that they have gained this knowledge by reading a hundred books. What knowledge? Is it spiritual?

常有人來找我，想要幫助我，便告訴我可以信任他們，因為他們已經讀了十年的我的書。然而，我非但不能就此放心，反而必須引導他們走上道路，先讓他們放下已學的東西。他們也許不願意放下，認為自己讀了一百本書，已經獲得這些知識。但那是什麼知識？是靈性的知識嗎？

Besides, very often intellectual pursuit gives them the idea that there are such masters and such mahatmas and saints in the Himalayas, in the caves of the mountains. They never think that such a person can be in the crowds. It interests them most when he is in a place where nobody can reach him. They think he cannot be in a restaurant taking his dinner; he must be in a cave of the mountain. Imagine! Why was this world created? Why are we born in this world, in the midst of this world, if this world were not a school to develop the soul and to arrive at the stage which is life’s purpose? Man has lost confidence in his fellowmen. He expects spirituality from the dead, from the trees – not from men. He has no confidence in his brothers.

此外，理智上的追尋常使他們產生一種想法：那些大師、偉大的靈魂與聖者，都住在喜馬拉雅山的山洞裡。他們從未想到，這樣的人也可能就在群眾之中。越是住在無人能接近的地方，就越能引起他們的興趣。他們認為，這樣的人不可能在餐館裡吃晚餐，一定得在山洞裡。想想看！這個世界為何被創造？如果這個世界不是一所培育靈魂、使我們抵達生命目的所在階段的學校，我們為何會出生在這裡，生活在這世界之中？我們已失去對同胞的信任。我們期待從亡者、從樹木那裡找到靈性，卻不期待從活人身上找到。我們不再信任自己的手足。

Others are interested in the meaning of symbology: this particular symbol means this, another gives a great revelation, another is a great mystery. Where is spirituality to be found? Is it not in the heart of man? Instead of in their own heart people want to look in different places, or in certain symbols. Yes, symbols are expressive of it, but the direct way is within oneself.

另有些人對象徵的含義感興趣：這個符號代表什麼，另一個符號帶來重大的啟示，又有一個符號蘊藏深奧的奧祕。但靈性究竟在哪裡？不就在我們的心中嗎？我們不在自己的心裡尋找，卻想去各種地方，或某些符號中尋找。是的，符號可以表達靈性，但直接的道路就在我們自身之內。

I had an amusing experience one day. Travelling in England near Bournemouth I was brought to a place where they said I should speak. They said it was an important place; so I went there. The man who brought me there said, “Now here in this corner – you can feel that here is the secret.” Imagine, in that place was spirituality, not in man!

有一天，我有個有趣的經驗。我在英國伯恩茅斯（Bournemouth）附近旅行時，有人帶我去一個地方，說我應當在那裡演講。他們說那是個重要的地方，於是我就去了。帶我去的人說：「就在這個角落，你可以感覺到，奧祕就在這裡。」想想看，彷彿靈性存在於那個地方，卻不存在於我們自身之中！

Those who make their occupation of spirituality take advantage of people’s ignorance. They cater for them, they feed them, they say to every person, “You are a medium.” So those who take this as a profession tell everyone, “Come along. Be more fanciful, more imaginative, more superstitious.” They feed curiosity. Does it lead anywhere? In this way people get lost and will never be spiritual. This is to be found everywhere.

有些以靈性為業的人，利用大家的無知。他們迎合人們，餵養那些想法，對每個人都說：「你是個靈媒。」於是，這些以此為職業的人對大家說：「來吧，再多一點幻想，再多一點想像，再多一點迷信。」他們餵養的是好奇心。這能把我們帶到哪裡？如此一來，我們只會迷失，始終無法活出靈性。這種情形到處可見。

2. Spirit and Matter
靈與物質

Now coming to the actual subject, the difference between spirit and matter.

現在來談真正的問題：靈與物質之間的差別。

Once a young Italian who did not believe in God or soul was travelling with me in the same ship, and he thought that perhaps I was a priest. He asked, “Do you believe in anything?” “Yes” I said. “What is your belief?” I answered, “It cannot be said.” Since he was antagonistic he said, “I do not believe in anything. If there is anything in which I believe, it is in eternal matter.” I replied, “My belief is not far from yours. What you call eternal matter I call eternal spirit. What you have named matter I have named spirit.”

有一次，一位不相信神與靈魂的義大利青年，和我搭乘同一艘船旅行。他以為我也許是個神職人員，便問：「你相信什麼嗎？」我說：「是的。」「你的信仰是什麼？」我回答：「無法用言語說出來。」他帶著對立的態度說：「我什麼都不相信。如果有什麼是我相信的，那就是永恆的物質。」我回答：「我的信仰與你的並不遠。你稱為永恆物質的，我稱為永恆的靈。你命名為物質的，我命名為靈。」

It is a dispute over words, the understanding is the same. The difference has come by disputing over words. What is spirit is fine matter and what is matter is dense spirit. In other words, there are two names and there is one subject: call it water, call it snow. When it is crystallized it is snow, and if you do not like to call it water, call it snow. If you wish to distinguish you may call it by two names, there is no objection to it, it is a question of choice. If you choose that there is no matter, as Christian Science also says, then matter is spirit just the same. And if you choose to call spirit matter, then spirit is matter just the same. If you say both things that is right too. Truth is in understanding, not in expression.

這只是用詞上的爭論，理解其實相同。差異是從對詞語的爭執而來的。靈是精微的物質，物質則是凝密的靈。換句話說，名稱有兩個，所指卻是同一樣東西：你可以叫它水，也可以叫它雪。當它結晶時，就是雪；如果你不喜歡稱它為水，就稱它為雪。如果你想加以區分，可以使用兩個名稱，這沒有什麼不可，只是選擇的問題。如果你選擇認為物質並不存在，如同基督教科學派（Christian Science）所說的那樣，那麼物質仍然就是靈。如果你選擇把靈稱為物質，那麼靈也仍然就是物質。如果你同時使用這兩個說法，也沒有錯。真理在於理解，不在於表述。

[譯註] 基督教科學派是十九世紀興起的宗教運動；此處的 Christian Science 是該教派名稱，不是泛指基督教與科學。

People have strengthened their truth, they have taught and fought and arrived at nothing. Very often those who do not understand a subject argue for the reason that they want to know about it, but they do not honestly want to know about it. Their way is to argue; then they know the other’s idea also. They oppose the other to hear what he has to say; it is a kind of robbery. They have a thirst for argument. He who will not understand will never understand, however much it is true. He who understands-you tell him and he will understand. It is a matter of evolution.

大家不斷強化各自認定的真理，教導它、為它爭鬥，到頭來卻一無所獲。不了解某個問題的人，常以想要了解為由而爭辯，但他們並不是真心想了解。他們的方法就是爭辯，藉此也探知對方的想法。他們反對對方，好聽聽對方會說什麼；這是一種掠奪。他們渴望的是爭辯。不願理解的人，無論所說的多麼真實，都不會理解；能夠理解的人，你一說，他就明白。這與內在的發展有關。

Besides, there is a tendency in everyone to think, “The other one must look at things as I do. If it is a friend, if it is a wife, a husband, a brother, a sister, or a companion, they must understand things as I do.” But that is impossible. May be they are at different stages of evolution, they cannot understand. Leave them alone! For some it is good to sleep, for others it is good to awake. It is no virtue to awake everybody; it is the greatest crime to awake those who ought to sleep. To make everyone spiritual is not a right mission.

此外，我們每個人都有一種傾向，認為：「對方必須像我一樣看事情。無論是朋友、妻子、丈夫、兄弟、姊妹或同伴，都必須像我一樣理解事情。」但這是不可能的。他們也許處於不同的發展階段，還無法理解。就讓他們如此吧！對有些人而言，沉睡是好的；對另一些人而言，醒來是好的。把所有人都喚醒，並不是美德；喚醒那些此刻應當沉睡的人，反而是極大的過錯。使每個人都變得有靈性，並不是恰當的使命。

The best thing is to help a person wherever he is and not to try to bring him to a certain pitch. He will come naturally; to put him on the right track is enough. Often people who are interested in spirituality urge it on those in their surroundings. They are mistaken; those urged are sometimes more spiritual. Man is a great mystery and we know so little about it.

最好的做法，是依照對方所在的階段幫助他，而不是設法把他提升到某個調性。他會自然地抵達；幫助他走上正確的道路，就已足夠。對靈性感興趣的人，常催促身邊的人也去追求靈性。他們弄錯了；那些被催促的人，有時反而更具有靈性。我們自身是個深奧的奧祕，而我們對它所知甚少。

3. An Ordinary Person
平凡的人

I have traveled in India for nine years in the pursuit of the illuminated ones, the living wise men of the East. You would be surprised to know how various illuminated souls live under the guise of an ordinary person, so that no one can ever distinguish them as different from others. Many of them bear themselves in the same way as everybody does, sitting in the same places, saying the same things that anyone else would say; neither do they show any difference in outward appearance, in speech or claims. At the same time – if you could see behind those great beings – they are as different from others as the sky is different from the earth.

我曾在印度旅行九年，尋訪那些內在受光照耀的人，那些仍在世的東方智者。你若知道，許多受光照耀的靈魂竟以平凡人的樣貌生活，誰也無法看出他們與旁人有何不同，一定會感到驚訝。他們許多人的舉止與大家一樣，坐在相同的地方，說著任何人都會說的話；無論外貌、言談或自我宣稱，都不顯出什麼特別。然而，如果你能看見這些偉大生命外表之後的內在，就會發現，他們與旁人的差別，如同天與地一般。

I will tell you something about my own teacher. Once I met a learned man, a doctor of philosophy with a great many degrees. I spoke to him on the deeper side of life and he became so interested in me that he thought much of me. So I thought, If I were to tell him about my teacher, how much more interesting that would be for him. If I make such an impression upon this man, how much more my teacher will be for him, and how much will he appreciate my teacher” and I told him, “There is a wonderful man in this city, he has no comparison in the whole world.” “Yes?” said he, “Are there such people? I would so much like to see him. Where does he live?” I told him, in such and such a part of the city. He said, “I live there too. Where is his house. I know all the people there. What is his name?” So I told him, and he said, “For twenty years I have known this man, and you are telling me about him!” I thought, “In a hundred years you would not have been able to know him.” He was not ready to know him.

我來說一件關於我老師的事。有一次，我遇見一位學識淵博的人，他是哲學博士，擁有許多學位。我與他談生命的深層面向，他對我產生濃厚的興趣，也十分看重我。於是我想，如果告訴他我老師的事，他一定會更加感興趣。既然我能給他這樣的印象，我的老師又會給他多麼深刻的印象，他又會多麼欣賞我的老師！我便對他說：「這座城市裡有一位非凡的人，全世界都無人能與他相比。」他說：「真的嗎？竟有這樣的人？我非常想見見他。他住在哪裡？」我告訴他，在城裡某個地方。他說：「我也住在那裡。他家在哪裡？那裡的人我都認識。他叫什麼名字？」於是我告訴了他。他說：「我已經認識這個人二十年了，你竟然還向我介紹他！」我心想：「即使再過一百年，你也未必能真正認識他。」他還沒有準備好認識我的老師。

If people are not evolved enough they cannot appreciate persons, they cannot understand them, they cannot understand the greatest souls. They sit with them, they talk with them, there is a contact of the whole life, but they do not see. Another person in one moment, if he is ready to understand, makes a benefit out of it. Imagine, the learned man had known my teacher for twenty years and did not know him. I saw him once, and became his pupil for ever. One might ask, “Was this man not learned, not intellectual?” Yes, he was. Then what was lacking? He saw my teacher with his brain, I saw him with my heart.

如果內在的發展還不夠，我們便無法欣賞、理解他人，也無法理解那些最偉大的靈魂。我們可能與他們同坐、交談，甚至往來一生，卻仍看不見。另一個人，如果已準備好理解，即使只在片刻之間，也能從中受益。想想看，那位學者認識我的老師二十年，卻並不真正認識他。我只見了他一次，就成為他一生的學生。有人可能問：「那個人難道沒有學問，沒有理智嗎？」是的，他都有。那麼，他缺少的是什麼？他用頭腦看我的老師，我則用心看他。

People pursue spirituality with their brain: that is where they are mistaken. Spirituality is attained through the heart.

我們用頭腦追求靈性，錯就錯在這裡。靈性是透過心而達成的。

4. The Heart
心

What do I mean by the heart? Is it the nervous center in the midst of the breast, the small piece of flesh that doctors call the heart? No, the definition of the heart is that it is the depth of the mind, the mind being the surface of the heart. That in us which feels is the heart, that which thinks is the mind. It is the same thing which thinks and feels, but the direction is different: feeling comes from the depth, thought from the surface. When thought is not linked with feeling it is just like a plant rising up from the earth, the root of which has not gone deep. A thought without feeling is a powerless thought; it is just like a plant without a deep root. A tree the root of which has gone deep into the earth is stronger, more reliable, and so the thought deeply rooted in the heart has greater power. The heart therefore is the factor through which spirits and spirituality are to be attained.

我所說的心是什麼？是胸部中央的神經中樞，是醫師稱為心臟的那一小塊血肉嗎？不是。心的定義是：心是頭腦的深處，頭腦則是心的表面。我們內在能感受的是心，能思考的是頭腦。思考與感受其實來自同一個存在，只是方向不同：感受來自深處，思想來自表面。當思想沒有與感受相連，就像一株從地裡長出來、根卻沒有深入土壤的植物。沒有感受的思想，是沒有力量的思想，就像一株沒有深根的植物。樹根深入大地，樹就更強健、更穩固；同樣地，深深扎根於心的思想，也具有更大的力量。因此，心是我們體認靈、達成靈性的途徑。

In man’s being three aspects can be distinguished: body, heart and soul. The heart is a globe over the soul and the body a cover over the heart. One might ask: Is the soul so small as to be covered by the heart and is the heart so small as to be covered by the body? It is not so. The soul is within and without. For instance, a light is covered by a globe and the globe by another cover-and yet, is the light covered? It shines out just the same. The light is not under the cover; it seems to be under the cover, but it shines out. Such is the soul. The globe does not shine out, but the light takes the color of the globe. It is the soul that is larger; at the same time the light is within the globe and the soul within the body. It is exactly like the light within the globe and the globe within the cover. The light is outside the cover, and the power of the globe shines outside the cover. So the power of the heart is greater than the power of the body, and the power of the soul is greater still. As long as one is ignorant of this, one does not realize truth.

在我們的存在中，可以分辨出三個面向：身體、心與靈魂。心如同包覆靈魂的球形燈罩，身體則是包覆心的外罩。有人可能問：靈魂如此渺小，小到可以被心包住嗎？心又如此渺小，小到可以被身體包住嗎？並非如此。靈魂既在內，也在外。譬如，一盞燈罩著球形燈罩，燈罩外面又有另一層罩子；但光真的被罩住了嗎？它仍然向外照耀。光並不局限於罩子之內；它看起來在裡面，卻照耀到外面。靈魂也是如此。球形燈罩本身不會向外發光，但光會帶上燈罩的顏色。更廣大的是靈魂；同時，正如光在燈罩裡，靈魂也在身體裡。這恰如光在球形燈罩裡，球形燈罩又在外罩裡。光照耀到外罩之外，球形燈罩的作用也隨之顯現在外。因此，心的力量大於身體的力量，靈魂的力量又更大。只要我們對此仍一無所知，就還無法證悟真理。

Imagine what a power the heart quality has. The little hen, when it is with its young ones and a horse comes or an elephant, is ready to fight them. Otherwise it would run away, but with its young ones it is ready to fight with the elephant. The heart quality is blooming at that time, it is feeling; at that time its power is so great that the little hen is ready to fight with anyone. In India a hunter’s story is told about a she-deer that was pursued by a hunter and ran far away into the woods. When she came near her young ones who were waiting for her she did not run further, she forgot the hunter. As soon as the heart quality was awakened in the presence of her little ones she had no fear.

想想看，心的特質具有多大的力量。一隻小母雞與小雞在一起時，即使有馬或大象走來，也準備與牠們搏鬥。若不是與小雞在一起，牠早就逃走了；但有小雞在身邊，牠連大象也敢迎戰。此時，心的特質正盛開著，那就是感受；它的力量如此強大，使小母雞敢與任何對手搏鬥。印度有個獵人的故事，說一隻母鹿被獵人追趕，逃進了遠處的森林。當牠來到等候牠的小鹿身旁，便不再逃跑，連獵人也忘了。小鹿一出現在眼前，牠心的特質就被喚醒，恐懼也隨之消失。

There is nothing one will not sacrifice, accomplish, or face when the heart quality is awakened. All cowardice and weakness, misery and wretchedness come when the heart quality is covered and man begins to live in his brain. Lions turn into rabbits when they are not lion-hearted. Very few understand the power of the heart. Once the heart is awakened there is nothing that one does not accomplish. Besides inspiration and illumination it gives all the force and power one needs to attain anything one wants.

當心的特質被喚醒，便沒有什麼是我們不願犧牲、不能成就，或不敢面對的。一切怯懦與軟弱、痛苦與困頓，都在心的特質被遮蔽、我們開始只活在頭腦裡時出現。獅子若失去了獅子的心，也會變成兔子。很少有人理解心的力量。一旦心醒來，就沒有什麼是我們無法成就的。除了靈感與內在的光照，心也給予我們實現所願所需的一切力量。

One might ask: Is it not natural to attain spirituality? Does it not come without any effort on our part? And if it is not natural, then what is the use of attaining spirituality? These are right arguments, and my answer is that spirituality is not only for human beings, but also for the lower creation, for every being: not spirituality in the sense we understand, but in that of being tuned to one’s natural pitch.

有人可能問：達成靈性，不是自然的事嗎？它不是不需要我們付出任何努力，就會到來嗎？如果它並不自然，那麼追求靈性又有什麼用？這些都是合理的疑問。我的回答是，靈性不只屬於人類，也屬於較低等的受造生命，屬於每一個生命。這裡所說的，並不是我們通常理解的靈性，而是調諧到自身自然調性的狀態。

Even birds have their moments of exaltation. At the setting and rising of the sun, the breaking of dawn, in the moonlight, there come times when birds and animals feel exalted. They sing and dance, they sit on the branches of the trees in exaltation. Every day they feel this exquisite joy. If we go still further and have eyes to see life in those forms in which others do not see it, in the rock, in the tree, we find that there are times when even the trees are in a complete state of ecstasy. Those who move in nature, who open the doors of their heart, whose soul comes in contact with nature, find nature singing, nature dancing and communicating.

連鳥兒也有心靈昂揚的時刻。在日落、日出、黎明初現，或月光照耀之時，鳥獸也會感到心靈昂揚。牠們歌唱、舞動，懷著昂揚的喜悅停棲在樹枝上。牠們每天都感受到這份美妙的喜悅。如果我們再往深處看，能在別人看不見生命的形態中，在岩石與樹木之中，看見生命，就會發現，甚至樹木也有完全沉浸於狂喜的時刻。行走於自然之中、敞開心門，讓靈魂與自然相接的人，會發現自然正在歌唱、舞動，也正在與我們交流。

It is not only a legend, a story of the past, that saints used to speak with trees. It is an actual fact, and it is the same today as in the past. Souls are of the same nature, they are the same. The only difference is that we have become unbelievers, we have no confidence in life, we have become material, we have closed our eyes to what comes before us. Today souls can become saints and sages just as before. Are the stars not as before? They communicate also today with the one who is able to respond to nature. But we have turned our back to nature, we live in an artificial world; there is no self-confidence in us, no belief. Naturally we have not only become materialistic, we have become matter! Therefore those who ever have attained to spirituality have attained by awakening the quality of heart.

聖者曾與樹木交談，這不只是傳說，也不只是過去的故事，而是實際發生的事；今日與往昔並無不同。靈魂的本性相同，始終如此。唯一的差別是，我們變得不再相信，對生命失去了信任，變得只重物質，對眼前出現的一切閉上了眼睛。今日的靈魂仍可以成為聖者與聖哲，如同往昔。星辰不也與往昔一樣嗎？今日，它們仍與能回應自然的人交流。然而，我們背離了自然，生活在一個人造的世界裡；我們不信任自己，也沒有信念。於是，我們不僅變得重物質，簡直成了物質！因此，凡曾達成靈性的人，都是藉由喚醒心的特質而達成的。

Sufis in all ages, mystics of India, Persia, and Egypt have considered the awakening of the heart quality to be the principal thing in life. For all the virtues that the priest can teach and prescribe, the virtues that one is told to practice in life, come naturally when the heart opens. Then one need not learn virtue, virtue becomes one’s own. All virtues as taught by people — how long do they last? If there is any virtue it must come by itself. spirituality is natural. And if animals and birds can feel spiritual exaltation, why not we? But we do not live a natural life. We have tried in our civilization, in our life, to be as far removed from nature and natural life as possible, breathing an artificial atmosphere to withstand climatic influences, eating food that we have prepared and improvised, turning it into something quite different from what nature had made and given us.

歷代的蘇菲，以及印度、波斯與埃及的祕士，都把喚醒心的特質視為生命中最主要的事。因為，神職人員所能教導與規定的一切美德，那些我們被告知應在生活中實踐的美德，都會在心敞開時自然到來。那時，我們不必再學習美德，美德已成為我們自身的一部分。由別人教導而來的美德，能維持多久呢？真正的美德，必須自然生起。靈性是自然的。既然鳥獸也能感受到靈性的昂揚，我們為何不能？但我們並沒有過自然的生活。在文明與日常生活中，我們盡可能遠離自然與自然的生活，呼吸著為抵禦氣候影響而營造的人造空氣，吃著自行調製、加工的食物，把它變成與自然原本創造、給予我們的樣子截然不同的東西。

Besides that, the deeper we go into the life of the community, the more we find that we are not on the track as we ought to be. We seem to have lost our individuality. We have called it progress, a progress towards a certain condition. And there we begin to feel that we are in a maze. Now has come the time — and more and more so every day — that thoughtful people, wise people who are just and honest realize, “We are not progressing, we are in a maze and we are looking for the door.” I spoke with a great scientist, and in spite of all his knowledge what did he say? “We do not know where we are. We have made inventions, but we do not know how to control them to the best advantage of life.”

此外，越深入群體生活，我們越發現自己並沒有走在應當走的道路上。我們似乎失去了自己的獨特性。我們把這稱為進步，認為自己正朝某種狀態前進，卻開始感覺自己身在迷宮之中。如今，那些深思熟慮、有智慧、公正而誠實的人，已逐漸體認到：「我們並沒有前進，我們身在迷宮裡，正在尋找出口。」這樣的體認也一天比一天更多。我曾與一位偉大的科學家交談；儘管他擁有那麼多知識，他說了什麼呢？「我們不知道自己身在何處。我們做出了種種發明，卻不知道如何駕馭它們，使生命獲得最大的益處。」

Invention apart, the first question is how to make the best of our life, how to make the best of this opportunity which is passing us by. Every moment lost is incomparably more valuable than the loss of money. As man will realize this he will more and more come to the conclusion that he has gone on and on thinking he was progressing, but that he has been moving around in the same maze. If only he found the door, that door which is called by the wise spiritual attainment! However well educated one may be, however much progress one has made, however much one has collected or accomplished, however much power and position one has gained, only one thing is everlasting and that is spiritual attainment. Without this there will always be dissatisfaction, an uncomfortable feeling. No knowledge, power, position or wealth can give that satisfaction which spiritual attainment can give.

姑且不談發明，首要的問題是，如何充分活出我們的生命，如何善用這個正在流逝的機會。失去的每一刻，其價值都遠遠超過失去的金錢。當我們體認到這一點，就會越來越明白：我們一路走來，自以為正在前進，其實始終在同一座迷宮裡繞圈。要是能找到那扇門就好了，那扇被智者稱為「靈性成就」的門！無論我們受過多好的教育，取得多少進步，積累或成就了多少事物，獲得多少權力與地位，只有一件事是永恆的，那就是靈性成就。沒有它，總會有不滿足，總會有一種不安。知識、權力、地位與財富，都無法給予靈性成就所能帶來的滿足。

There is nothing easier and nothing more difficult in the world: difficult because we have made it difficult, easy because it is the easiest thing possible. All other things we have to buy and pay for-even water. For spiritual attainment we do not need to pay a tax, it is ours, it is our self, it is discovering our self, finding our self. Yet what one values is what one gets with difficulty. Man loves complexity so much! He makes a thing big and says, “This is valuable.” If it is simple he says, “It has no value.” That is why the ancient people, knowing human nature, told a person when he said he wanted spiritual attainment, “Very well; for ten years go around the temple, walk around it a hundred times in the morning and in the evening. Go to the Ganges, take pitchers full of water during twenty or fifty years, then you will get inspiration.” That is what must be done with people who will not be satisfied with a simple explanation of the truth, who want complexity.

世上沒有比這更容易的事，也沒有比這更困難的事。困難，是因為我們把它弄得困難；容易，是因為它本來就是最容易的事。其他一切都得花錢購買，連水也是如此。但要達成靈性，我們不必繳稅；它本就屬於我們，它就是我們自身，是發現自身、尋回自身。然而，我們看重的，往往是那些艱難取得的東西。我們多麼喜愛複雜！把一件事弄得龐大，便說：「這很有價值。」如果它很簡單，就說：「這沒有價值。」所以，古人深知人的本性，當有人說想要獲得靈性成就時，就告訴他：「很好。去繞著寺廟走十年，每天早晚各走一百圈。再去恆河，挑滿罐的水，挑上二十年或五十年，然後你就會得到靈感。」對於不滿足於真理的簡單說明、非要複雜不可的人，就只能這樣做。

Often having been asked, “Show us a tangible truth” I asked myself how it would be if I wrote TRUTH on a little brick and gave it to people saying, “Hold it fast. Here is tangible truth.” Fine people, when they write a letter, expect their friend to read between the lines. Even subtle feelings of the human heart cannot be expressed in words. How then can anyone expect truth to be spoken in words? That which is spoken in words can never be truth. People do not distinguish between the meaning of fact and of truth; they always muddle truth with fact.

常有人要求：「給我們看一個摸得著的真理。」我便想，如果我在一塊小磚頭上寫上「真理」，交給他們，說：「拿穩了，這就是摸得著的真理。」那會怎麼樣？心思細膩的人寫信時，會期待朋友讀出字裡行間的意思。連我們心中細微的感受，都無法用言語表達，又怎能期待真理可以用言語說出來？用言語說出的，永遠不會是真理本身。我們沒有分辨事實與真理的含義，總把真理與事實混為一談。

Often the greatest error is made when a person who has a crude or insolent nature or a brain of stone says, “What do I care how anybody takes it? I simply tell the truth. It does not matter whether a person is hurt.” But truth is the finest thing and most beautiful. If one tells the truth must it hurt? If it hurts anybody can it be truth? Truth must raise a person, must illuminate him, it must be the most beautiful thing on earth, harmonizing, uplifting, inspiring, it cannot be hurtful. If it is truth it is the greatest healing there is. But people interpret truth in the form of facts, and muddle truth with fact, just as they confuse pleasure with happiness.

最嚴重的錯誤，往往出現在性情粗魯、傲慢，或頭腦如石頭般僵硬的人說：「我何必在乎別人怎麼接受？我只是說實話。別人受不受傷，並不重要。」然而，真理是最精微、最美的事物。說出真理，就一定要傷人嗎？如果它傷害了誰，還能是真理嗎？真理必然提升我們、照亮我們；它必然是世上最美的事物，帶來和諧、提升與啟發，不會傷人。如果是真理，它就是最深的療癒。然而，我們把真理解作事實，把真理與事實混淆，就像把愉悅與幸福混淆一樣。

When people are pleased they say, “I am happy” and when they are happy they say, “I am pleased.” But pleasure is far from happiness. A small thing can give pleasure, but in order to be happy one ought to arrive at that pitch where there is everlasting happiness. Pleasure comes and goes; it is the shadow of happiness, it is not happiness.

感到愉悅時，我們說：「我很幸福。」感到幸福時，又說：「我很愉快。」但愉悅與幸福相距甚遠。一件小事就能帶來愉悅，但要有幸福，我們必須抵達那個有永恆幸福的調性。愉悅來了又去；它是幸福的影子，並不是幸福本身。

In the same way people muddle cleverness with wisdom. Of a wise person they say, “What a clever man and of a clever man they say, “How wise is he.” A worldly person is not wise, he is clever, and a wise man is not necessarily clever, although he is perfect wisdom. Cleverness is a shadow of wisdom. Wisdom is light.

同樣地，我們也把聰明與智慧混淆。看見有智慧的人，便說：「他多麼聰明。」看見聰明的人，又說：「他多麼有智慧。」熟諳世故的人不一定有智慧，他只是聰明；有智慧的人也不一定顯得聰明，即使他已具足智慧。聰明是智慧的影子，智慧則是光。

In the East no doubt seekers after truth in all ages have sought the direction of those who had already acquainted themselves with the path, in order to tread the path under their guidance. Today a man comes and says, “I do not wish to follow any guidance or advice. If a book can tell me something I shall read it. Tell me just now what I should do, and I shall do it.” Imagine! In order to develop your voice you go to a teacher of voice-culture and do a thousand practices with open mouth and make a thousand kinds of grimaces you would never like to make. In order to develop the voice you have to do a thousand things which sound foolish in order to sing one day. What comparison is there between spiritual attainment and singing? If singing rightly takes so many years’ practice and so much concentration and discipline under the orders of a teacher, how can a spiritual teacher tell at the dinner table what spirituality means? People ask, “Would you tell us in one word how we can attain spirituality?” Is it such a simple thing?

在東方，歷代追尋真理的人，確實都曾向已熟悉這條道路的人尋求指引，好在他們的引導下踏上道路。今日卻有人來說：「我不想接受任何指引或勸告。如果有本書能告訴我什麼，我就讀它。現在就告訴我該做什麼，我會去做。」想想看！為了鍛鍊嗓音，你會去找聲樂老師，張著嘴做上千次練習，擺出上千種自己平常絕不願意擺出的怪表情。為了有一天能夠歌唱，你得做上千件聽來愚蠢的事，來練好自己的嗓音。而歌唱又怎能與靈性成就相比？如果要唱得好，都需要在老師的指導下，經過這麼多年的練習，付出這麼多專注與紀律，靈性老師又怎能在餐桌上就把靈性的含義說明白？有人問：「你能不能用一句話告訴我們，如何達成靈性？」這會是如此簡單的事嗎？

Who then can tell it and how can it be told? It is something to discover for oneself. The teacher can only put one on the track to attain to that realization which is called spirituality. No doubt according to the idea of the people of the East the responsibility of the spiritual teacher is still greater than that of parents towards their children. From the time of his birth the parents’ thought is centered on the well-being of the child. Even when he is grown-up the child is the same in the heart of the parents; they are interested in everything he does. The child may not care for them, but they will understand. He may be far away, yet from a distance the heart of the mother will always be craving for the welfare of her child. So it is with the teacher. The spiritual teacher under whose guidance a pupil places himself will fulfill to him the place of both father and mother, and even more. His welfare is the teacher’s religion, it is his spiritual responsibility; for the spiritual teacher there is no other religion. He is not necessarily a priest; all the duty he has is to be anxious about the welfare and well-being of those who sought his guidance, who come under his direction.

那麼，誰能說出它，又該如何說出來？這是我們必須親自發現的事。老師只能引導我們走上道路，去達成那個稱為靈性的證悟。依照東方人的觀念，靈性老師所承擔的責任，確實比父母對孩子的責任還大。從孩子出生起，父母的心思就繫於孩子的安好。即使孩子已經長大，在父母心中仍是同一個孩子；他所做的一切，他們都關心。孩子也許不關心父母，但他們仍會理解。他也許身在遠方，但即使相隔遙遠，母親的心仍時時盼望孩子安好。老師也是如此。當學生將自己交付於靈性老師的引導，老師就會為他承擔父親與母親的角色，甚至更多。學生的福祉就是老師的宗教，是他的靈性責任；對靈性老師而言，沒有其他宗教。他不一定是神職人員；他的全部職責，就是關切那些尋求他指引、接受他引導之人的福祉與安好。

It is therefore that the service of the great ones such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, Moses, Muhammad, or any others who came from time to time to serve humanity in a small or in a great way, has been a service of love and affection in order to raise humanity by their own example, their own ideas, their own love. What they have taught is not so important as what was given beyond words as love and light. That is the sacrament in the church, the same in the form of love and wisdom. What has come in words, or from the lips, is very little, so simple.

因此，耶穌基督（Jesus Christ）、佛陀（Buddha）、摩西（Moses）、穆罕默德（Muhammad），以及歷代以或小或大的方式來服務人類的偉大生命，他們的服務都是愛與關懷的服務，藉由自身的榜樣、思想與愛來提升人類。他們所教導的，還不如他們在言語之外給予的愛與光那麼重要。那就是教會中的聖禮，同樣以愛與智慧的形式傳遞。透過言語、透過雙唇所傳達的，反而很少，也很簡單。

There is no comparison between the Bible or any such spiritual book and a writer of today, because the value of the book is not in the capability of the writer; its value lies in the personality of the teacher. The wonderful souls who from time to time served humanity helping it to progress, whether known or unknown, whether mankind has forgotten them or still holds them, have done their duty and always do so. Those who take such an opportunity of benefiting by their teaching, by their thought, are blessed ones.

《聖經》或這類靈性典籍，與今日作家的作品不能相提並論，因為書的價值不在作者的寫作能力，而在於老師的人格風範。那些歷代服務人類、幫助人類前進的非凡靈魂，無論為人所知或不為人所知，無論已被人類遺忘或仍受到尊崇，都已履行了自己的職責，也始終如此。能把握機會，從他們的教導與思想中受益的人，是有福的。

Spirituality is not necessarily intellectuality, nor is it orthodoxy or asceticism. Orthodox, ascetic or intellectual pursuit after truth — all these are the ways people have taken in order to reach a spiritual goal, but the way is not the goal. If there is a definition of spirituality it is the tuning of the heart.

靈性不一定是理智上的造詣，也不是恪守宗教教義或苦行。透過宗教教義、苦行或理智來追尋真理，都是我們為抵達靈性目標而採取的道路；但道路並不是目標。如果要為靈性下一個定義，那就是心的調諧。

In this material age of ours the heart quality is totally forgotten and great importance is given to reason and logic. When we argue with a person, he says, “Argue with reason, be logical.” Sentiment and idealism have no place; it is therefore that humanity is getting further and further from spiritual attainment. The main quality, the best in man, is ignored and by ignoring that quality it becomes dead. For instance, if a poet happens to live in a village where no one understands poetry, if an artist lives in a town where no one cares for his pictures, if an inventive genius has no opportunity of bringing out his inventions, these faculties become blunted and in the end they die. So it is with the heart quality: if it is not taken notice of, if it has no opportunity to develop, if it is ignored, then this quality becomes blunted and in the end it dies. As it is said in a song, “The light of life dies when love is gone.”

在我們這個重物質的時代，心的特質完全被遺忘，理性與邏輯卻受到極大的重視。當我們與人爭辯時，對方說：「要講道理，要合乎邏輯。」情感與理想沒有容身之處，因此，人類離靈性成就越來越遠。我們最主要、最美好的特質被忽略，而在這樣的忽略中，它逐漸失去了生命。譬如，一位詩人住在沒有人懂詩的村子，一位畫家住在沒有人在意他畫作的城鎮，或一位發明天才沒有機會實現自己的發明，這些才能就會逐漸鈍化，最終死去。心的特質也是如此：如果它不被留意，沒有發展的機會，始終受到忽略，就會漸漸鈍化，最終死去。正如一首歌所說：「愛離去時，生命之光也熄滅了。」

When, feeling has become blunted then what remains? Nothing. Then there is no sign of life. What remains is intellectuality expressing itself by the power of egoism. It is difficult to live in the world because selfishness is ever on the increase. Business and industry apart, even in friendship, in relationship the give-and-take has the greatest importance, worldly interest takes part in it. There is a certain fineness that belongs to human nature, a certain nobleness, a certain independence, there is a certain ideal, a certain delicacy, a certain manner that belong to human nature, and all these become blunted when the heart quality is left undeveloped.

當感受變得遲鈍，還剩下什麼？什麼也沒有。那時，已沒有生命的跡象。剩下的只是理智，藉由自我中心的力量表現自己。這個世界越來越難以生活，因為自私不斷增加。姑且不談商業與工業，就連友誼與關係，也以相互交換為最重要的事，世俗的利益摻雜其中。我們的本性原有一份細膩、一份高貴、一份獨立，也有理想、敏銳與風度；當心的特質未被培育，這一切都會變得遲鈍。

I have been travelling for many years seeing people busy in the pursuit of truth and to my very great disappointment I have found many of them, although interested in higher things, yet arguing, discussing, “Do you believe what I believe,” or “Perhaps my belief is better than yours.” Always that intellectual side. They said, “We have so many things connected with our life in the world in which we can use our intellect: business, industry, domestic affairs. In seeking God, in attaining spirituality we do not need to use so much intellect, because this does not come by the intellect: it comes by the tuning of the heart.”

多年來，我四處旅行，看見許多人忙於追尋真理。然而，令我非常失望的是，他們之中許多人雖然對更高的事物感興趣，卻仍在爭辯、討論：「你相信我所相信的嗎？」或「也許我的信仰比你的更好。」始終停留在理智的那一面。他們說：「我們在世上的生活，有那麼多事情可以運用理智：商業、工業、家庭事務。在尋求神、達成靈性時，我們不需要運用那麼多理智，因為靈性不是由理智而來，而是由心的調諧而來。」

People will say, “Yes, but all the same there are emotional persons, affectionate and loving people.” But I do not always call emotional people loving people. They may be so outwardly, but very often the more emotional they are the less loving, for one day their love is on the rise, next day it is on the fall, one day very loving, next day just moved with emotions like clouds. One day the sky is clear, next day it is covered. One cannot depend upon emotions, they are not love. It is the feeling nature that is to be developed, the sympathetic nature.

有人會說：「是的，但總還是有情緒豐富、親切而有愛的人。」然而，我並不總把情緒豐富的人稱為有愛的人。他們外表或許如此，但往往越容易受情緒左右，愛反而越少。今天他們的愛高漲，明天又低落；今天充滿愛，明天卻只是隨著情緒飄移，如同雲朵。一天晴空萬里，另一天又被雲遮蔽。情緒不能作為依靠，它並不就是愛。真正需要培育的，是感受的本性，是同理的本性。

Besides, there exists, especially in the Western world, a false conception of the strength of personality. May be many have understood it wrongly; under the guise of strength they want to harden their hearts. For instance, many men think that for a man to be touched or moved by anything is not natural or normal. On the contrary! If a man is not touched or moved it is not natural; he is still in the mineral kingdom and not yet in the human kingdom. To be human and not be touched or moved by something touching or appealing only means that the eyes of the heart are closed, its ears blocked. This heart is not living. It is a wrong understanding of a high principle. The principle is that man must be feeling and at the same time so strong that as much feeling he has, so much strength he must have to cover it. It does not mean he must not be feeling; man without feeling is without life. Those who are afraid of feeling think that the right, the normal thing to do is to keep away from feeling. However much they study psychology, theoretically and methodically, they will not attain to spirituality. Spirituality does not belong to intellectuality, it has nothing to do with it. In connection with spirituality intellectuality is in so far useful that an intellectual person can best express spiritual inspiration.

此外，尤其在西方世界，對人格風範的力量存在一種錯誤的觀念。許多人也許誤解了它，以堅強為名，想把自己的心變得堅硬。譬如，許多男性認為，男人被什麼觸動或感動，是不自然、不正常的。恰好相反！如果一個男人不會被觸動或感動，那才是不自然；他還停留在礦物的世界，尚未進入人的世界。身為人，面對動人或令人心有所感的事物卻毫無觸動，只表示心的眼睛閉上了，心的耳朵堵住了。這顆心並沒有活著。這是對一項崇高原則的誤解。那項原則是：我們必須有感受，同時也必須強健；有多少感受，就要有多少力量來承載它。這並不意味著我們不應有感受；沒有感受，就沒有生命。害怕感受的人，以為遠離感受才是正確、正常的做法。然而，無論他們如何從理論與方法上研究心理學，都無法因此達成靈性。靈性不屬於理智的範疇，與理智並無關聯。就靈性而言，理智的用處在於：具備理智素養的人，能更好地表達靈性的啟發。

Many people say, “I had a deep feeling, but that feeling is all gone, it is lost. Now I have no more feeling.” That means that something in them has died. They do not know it, but something of great importance has died, for they were affectionate, loving, kind. Perhaps they have met with the disappointing qualities of human nature and have become disappointed, and so the feeling heart has taken the bowl of poison and died. Or perhaps some began to dig the ground in order to find water, but before they could reach water they saw mud. Having no patience to go on digging still they became disappointed with the mud and lost their enthusiasm to dig. There are others who, out of self-righteousness or keen perception of human defects or out of their critical tendency, begin to hate before they can love someone, and so hate comes first giving no chance to love.

許多人說：「我曾有很深的感受，但那些感受全都消失了，失去了。現在我再也沒有感受。」這意味著，他們內在有某個部分死去了。他們並不知道，但某個極為重要的部分已經死去，因為他們原本親切、有愛而仁慈。也許他們遇見了人性中令人失望的特質，因而感到失望，那顆能感受的心便喝下毒藥，死去了。也許有些人開始挖地尋找水源，但還沒挖到水，就先看見泥。他們沒有耐心繼續挖，對泥感到失望，也失去了挖掘的熱忱。另有些人出於自以為是，或因敏銳地察覺他人的缺點，或出於批判的傾向，還沒有機會愛一個人，就先開始厭惡他；於是，厭惡先來，愛便沒有了機會。

What is necessary is to develop a sympathetic nature and to sustain its gradual growth. As it is difficult for the student of voice-culture to practice his voice and not to let it be spoiled – for even practice may spoil it – so it is with the sympathetic person: while developing the faculty of sympathy there is a chance of spoiling it. In other words, the more loving a person, the more chance he has to be disappointed. The greater the love, the finer the fragility and the more susceptible to everything; therefore the greater the love, the more fragile the heart – at any moment it can break. The one who walks in the path of sympathy therefore must take great care that his way may not be blocked. It is his own perseverance that will keep him from everything that is trying to block his way.

我們需要培育同理的本性，並維持它逐漸成長。聲樂學生要練習發聲，又不傷害嗓音，並不容易，因為連練習本身都可能傷害嗓音。同理心豐富的人也是如此：在培養同理能力的過程中，它也可能受到損傷。換句話說，越有愛，就越可能失望。愛越深，那份脆弱便越細膩，也越容易受到一切的影響；因此，愛越深，心就越脆弱，隨時都可能破碎。所以，走在同理之路上的人，必須十分謹慎，不讓自己的道路被阻斷。唯有自身的堅持，能使他不被那些企圖阻擋他道路的事物攔住。

There is one principle to be remembered in the path of sympathy: we must do all we can with regard to the pleasure of those whom we love and whom we meet, but we must not expect the best from those whom we love and meet, for we must know that the world is as it is. We cannot change it, but we can change ourselves. The one who wants others to do what he wishes them to do will always be disappointed. That is the complaining soul; all day long, every day of the month, that soul is complaining. He is never without a complaint; if not about a human being, then it is the climate; if not about the climate then about the conditions; if not about someone else then about himself. Something is hurting that person all the time.

在同理的道路上，有一項原則必須記得：對於我們所愛、所遇見的人，我們應盡己所能使他們愉快，卻不應期待他們總以最好的方式回應我們，因為我們必須明白，世界就是如此。我們無法改變它，卻可以改變自己。想要別人凡事照自己意願行事的人，總會失望。那是個抱怨的靈魂，整天、每天都在抱怨。他始終有事可抱怨；不是抱怨某個人，就是抱怨氣候；不是抱怨氣候，就是抱怨處境；不是抱怨別人，就是抱怨自己。總有什麼使他感到受傷。

He must remember that self-pity is the worst poverty. The person who takes life in this way, saying, “My poor self, crinkled, forgotten, forsaken, ill treated by everybody, by the planets, even by God” – that person has no hope; he is an exile from the Garden of Eden. But when one says, “I know what human nature is, I cannot expect any better, I must only try and appreciate what little good comes from it, I must be thankful for it and try and give the best I can to others” – that is the only attitude that will enable man to develop his sympathetic nature. The one who keeps justice on the foreground is always blinded by it; he is always talking about justice, but never knows it. As to the one who keeps justice in the background, the light of justice falls on his way and he only uses justice for himself. When he has not done right to others he takes himself to task, but if others do not do right towards him he says that this is justice also. For the just person all is just, for the unjust everything is unjust. Remember that the one who talks too much of justice is far from justice; that is why he is talking about it.

他必須記得，自憐是最深的貧乏。如果我們這樣看待生命，說：「可憐的我，皺巴巴的、被遺忘、被拋棄，人人都苛待我，星辰也苛待我，連神都如此。」那便沒有希望了；我們成了被放逐出伊甸園的人。但若我們說：「我知道人性是什麼，不能期待它更好。我只能試著欣賞其中流露的一點善，為此感謝，並盡己所能把最好的給予他人。」唯有這樣的態度，才能使我們培育同理的本性。把公正擺在眼前的人，總被它遮蔽；他不停談論公正，卻從未真正了解它。至於把公正放在身後的人，公正的光便照在他的道路上，他只以公正要求自己。當他沒有善待他人，就責問自己；但別人沒有善待他時，他說，這也有其公正。對公正的人而言，一切都是公正的；對不公正的人而言，一切都不公正。要記得，過度談論公正的人，離公正還很遠；正因如此，他才不停談論它。

One may think, “Is there any reward in sympathy if it leads only to disappointment?” I shall answer, “Life’s reward is life itself.” A person may suffer from illness or disease, be most unhappy and sad, but ask him, “Shall I turn you into a rock?” and he will say, “No, let me live and suffer.” Therefore life’s reward is life; the reward of love is love itself. Loving is living, and the heart that closes itself to everyone closes itself to its own self.

我們也許會想：「如果同理只帶來失望，它還有什麼回報？」我會回答：「生命的回報，就是生命本身。」一個人可能飽受病痛，極其不幸、悲傷；但如果你問他：「要不要讓我把你變成一塊石頭？」他會說：「不要，讓我活著，讓我承受痛苦。」因此，生命的回報就是生命；愛的回報就是愛本身。愛，就是活著。對所有人關閉的心，也對自身關閉了。

The difference between human love and divine love is like that between drill and war. One has to drill in order to prepare for war. One has to know the phenomenon of love on this plane in order to prepare to love God who alone deserves love. The one who says, “I hate human beings, but I love God,” does not know what love means; he has not drilled, he is of no use in war. A loving person, whether he loves a human being or whether he loves God, shows no trace of hatred, and the one who has hatred in him loves neither man nor God, for hatred is the sign that the doors of his heart are closed.

人間之愛與神聖之愛的差別，就像操練與作戰的差別。我們必須先操練，才能為作戰做好準備。同樣地，我們必須先認識這個層面上的愛，才能準備好去愛那唯一真正值得愛的神。說「我憎恨人類，但我愛神」的人，並不懂愛是什麼；他沒有經過操練，在戰場上也派不上用場。有愛的人，無論愛的是某個人還是神，都不會顯露憎恨。內在懷有憎恨的人，既不愛人，也不愛神，因為憎恨正是心門關閉的徵象。

Is it not a great pity that we see today among the most civilized nations one nation working against the other, lack of trust between nations and this fear of war? It is dreadful to think that humanity which appears to be progressing so much is at the same time going backward to such an extent that never in the history of the world such bloodshed has been caused as during the last war. Are we evolving or going backward?

今日，我們看見那些最文明的國家彼此對抗，國與國之間缺乏信任，又籠罩在戰爭的恐懼之中，這豈不是極其令人惋惜？想到人類看似取得如此大的進步，卻同時倒退到這種地步，實在令人驚懼：世界歷史上，從未有過像上一場戰爭那樣的流血。我們究竟正在進化，還是在倒退？

[譯註] 本演講年份為 1926，因此「上一場戰爭」指第一次世界大戰。

What is missing is not intellectuality, for people are capable of inventing things and imagining governments every day better and better. Then what is missing? It is the heart quality. It seems it is being buried more and more today. Therefore the real man is being destroyed and the false part of his being is continuing. A better condition can be brought about by the individual who will realize that the development of the heart and nothing else brings about better conditions.

所缺少的並不是理智的能力，因為我們能發明種種事物，也能設想一天比一天更好的政府。那麼，缺少的是什麼？是心的特質。今日，它似乎正被埋得越來越深。因此，真正的人的本質正在遭到毀壞，虛假的部分卻持續存在。唯有當我們各自體認到，能帶來更好處境的是心的培育，而不是其他事物，更好的處境才可能出現。

The other day I lectured in Paris and after my lecture a very able man came to me and said, “Have you got a scheme?” I said, “What scheme?” “Of bettering conditions. ” I replied that I had not made such a scheme, and he said, “I have a scheme, I will show it to you.” He opened his box and brought out a very large paper with mathematics on it and showed it to me saying, “This is the economic scheme that will make the condition of the world better: everyone will have the same share.” I said, “We should practice that economic scheme first on tuning our piano: instead of saying D, E, F, we should tune them all to one note and play that music and see how interesting that would be — all sounding the same, no individuality, no distinction, nothing.” And I added, “Economy is not a plan for construction, but it is a plan for destruction. It is economics which have brought us to destruction. It is the heart quality, it is the spiritual outlook which will change the world.”

前些日子，我在巴黎演講。演講結束後，一位很有能力的人來問我：「你有方案嗎？」我問：「什麼方案？」「改善現況的方案。」我回答，我沒有擬定這樣的方案。他說：「我有一個，我拿給你看。」他打開箱子，取出一張很大的紙，上面寫著數學計算。他把紙給我看，說：「這就是能讓世界變得更好的經濟方案：每個人都分得相同的一份。」我說：「我們應該先把這個經濟方案用在鋼琴調音上：不要再有 D、E、F，而是把所有琴鍵都調成同一個音，再彈出那樣的音樂，看看會多麼有趣——所有聲音都一樣，沒有獨特性，沒有差別，什麼也沒有。」我又說：「經濟並不是建設的方案，而是毀壞的方案。正是經濟把我們帶向了毀壞。能改變世界的，是心的特質，是靈性的眼光。」

Very often people coming to hear me say afterwards, “Yes, all you say is very interesting, very beautiful, and I wish too that the world was changed. But how many think like you? How can you do it? How can it be done?” They come with that pessimistic remark, and I tell them, “One person comes into a country with a little cold or influenza and it spreads. If such a bad thing can spread, can not an elevated thought of love, kindness and goodwill towards all men spread? See then that there are finer germs, germs of goodwill, of love, kindness, and feeling, germs of brotherhood, of the desire for spiritual evolution, which can have greater results than the other ones. If we all have that optimistic view, if we all work in our little way, we can accomplish a great deal.”

來聽我演講的人，常在之後說：「是的，你說的一切都很有意思、很美，我也希望世界能改變。但有多少人像你這樣想？你怎麼做得到？這怎麼可能做到？」他們帶著這樣悲觀的話來，我便告訴他們：「一個人帶著輕微的感冒或流感進入一個國家，疾病就傳播開了。如果這樣不好的東西都能傳播，那麼，對所有人懷抱愛、仁慈與善意的高尚思想，難道不能傳播嗎？要看見，還有更精微的種子：善意的種子，愛、仁慈與感受的種子，手足情誼的種子，以及渴望靈性進化的種子；它們所能帶來的影響，比那些病菌更大。如果我們都抱持這樣樂觀的眼光，各自在小小的範圍裡努力，就能成就許多事。」

There are many good, loving and kind people whose heart goes out to every person they meet, but are they spiritual? It is an important question to understand. My answer is that they are just close to spiritual attainment, but unconsciously spiritual. They are not spirit-conscious. Often we meet a mother, a father or a child in whom we see a deep loving tendency; love is pouring out from them, they have become fountains of love. They do not know one word of psychology, of mysticism, but that does not matter. After all what are these names? Nothing but nets for fishes to be caught in, which remain in those nets for years. Sometimes these are big names with little meaning to them, of which much is made by those who want to commercialize the finer things. Very often it is a catering on the part of so-called spiritual workers to satisfy human curiosity and to create sensation even in the spiritual world. But truth is simple. The more simple you are and the more you seek for simplicity, the nearer you come to truth.

有許多善良、有愛而仁慈的人，他們的心向每個遇見的人敞開；但他們具有靈性嗎？這是個需要理解的重要問題。我的回答是，他們已接近靈性成就，但尚未自覺地活出靈性。他們還沒有對靈的覺知。我們常遇見一位母親、父親或孩子，從他們身上看見深厚的愛；愛不斷從他們流出，他們已成為愛的泉源。他們對心理學或祕學也許一無所知，但那並不重要。說到底，這些名稱是什麼？不過是捕魚的網，魚被捕住，就在網裡待上好多年。有時，這些是響亮卻沒有多少內涵的名稱，被那些想把精微事物商品化的人大肆宣揚。所謂的靈性工作者，往往只是迎合人們的好奇，滿足它，甚至在靈性的世界裡製造轟動。但真理是簡單的。我們越單純，越追求簡單，就越接近真理。

The devotional quality needs a little direction; that direction allows it to expand. The loving quality is Just like water. The tendency of water is to expand, to spread, and so the loving quality spreads. But if a person is not well directed, or if he does not know how to direct himself then – if instead of deepening, that quality flows – it is without root and it becomes limited. The love quality must be deepened first before it spreads out. If not, what generally happens is that those who set out to love all human beings end in hating all human beings. Because they did not first deepen themselves enough they did not have all the strength to draw more.

虔敬的特質需要一點引導，有了方向，它才能擴展。愛的特質就像水。水的傾向是擴展、流布，愛的特質也如此。然而，如果我們沒有得到適當的引導，也不知道如何引導自己，那麼，這份特質若未先向深處發展，就開始向外流去，便沒有根，也會受到限制。愛的特質必須先深化，再向外擴展。否則，常見的情形是，那些一開始想愛全人類的人，最後卻憎恨全人類。因為他們沒有先讓自身充分深化，也就沒有足夠的力量，從內在汲取更多。

The Sufis have therefore considered the development of the heart quality as a spiritual culture, and have called it the culture of the heart. It consists of the tuning of the heart. Tuning means changing the pitch of the vibrations. Tuning the heart means changing the vibrations, bringing them to a certain pitch which is the natural one where you feel the joy and ecstasy of life, which enables you to give pleasure to others even by your presence because you are tuned. When an instrument is properly tuned you need not play music on it; just by striking it you will feel a great magnetism coming from it. If an instrument well-tuned can have that magnetism, how much greater should be the magnetism of hearts that are tuned.

因此，蘇菲把心的特質的發展視為一種靈性的培育，稱之為「心的培育」。它就在於心的調諧。調諧意味著改變振動的調性。調諧心，就是改變心的振動，使它回到某個自然的調性；在那裡，我們感受到生命的喜悅與狂喜。因為心已經調諧，甚至只是在場，就能帶給他人愉悅。一件樂器如果調音得當，不必用它演奏樂曲，只要輕輕敲響，就能感受到它散發出強大的吸引力。連調好音的樂器都能有這樣的吸引力，那麼，調諧的心所具有的吸引力，又該大多少呢？

Rumi says, “Whether you have loved a human being or whether you have loved God, if you have loved enough you will be brought in the end into the presence of the supreme Love itself.”

賈拉魯丁・魯米（Jelal-ud-Din Rumi）說：「無論你愛過的是人，還是神，只要你愛得足夠深，最終都會被帶到至高之愛本身的面前。」

Question: Is there a science of culture of the heart?

問：心的培育有一套學理嗎？

Answer: The science of the Sufis teaches that in the mind and in the body a blockage is produced by the lack of development of the sympathetic nature. In the physical body are some nervous centers which are awakened by sympathetic development and by lack of sympathy they are closed. It is therefore that a butcher is less intuitive: everything that keeps man away from sympathy robs him of intuition, because sympathy develops a life in the finer centers, the nervous centers, and the absence of sympathy takes away that life.

答：蘇菲的學理教導我們，同理的本性若未得到發展，就會在頭腦與身體中形成阻塞。身體裡有某些神經中樞，會隨著同理心的發展而被喚醒，也會因缺乏同理心而關閉。因此，屠夫的直覺較不敏銳：凡使我們遠離同理心的事物，都會奪去我們的直覺，因為同理心會使那些精微的中樞、那些神經中樞生發活力；缺乏同理心，則會使它們失去這份活力。

So it is in the mind; when the heart is not sympathetic something is missing in the mentality of man, and it is sympathy which opens it. Sufis have the medicine for this disease: it is the practice of a certain art which in our language is called zikr or mantram. By practicing that particular art in the right way one works with vibrations on these fine centers. It is a process of vibrations by the help of certain mystically prescribed words; by the repetition of these mystical words the centers begin to vibrate. Very often after six weeks’ practice a person feels quite different. Then with that vibration a thought is held in the mind and so concentration is developed at the same time. It helps the love nature or sympathetic nature to be deepened and centralized in the person.

頭腦也是如此；當心缺乏同理，心智中就缺少了某個部分，而同理心能使它敞開。蘇菲有治療這種病的藥方：修習一種特定的技藝，在我們的語言中稱為 Zikr 或真言（mantram）。以正確的方式修習這種技藝，就能藉由振動作用於這些精微的中樞。這是一個振動的過程，藉助修習中所指定的某些神祕語詞，透過反覆誦念，使那些中樞開始振動。往往練習六週之後，我們就會感到很大的不同。隨著這份振動，我們也在頭腦中持守一個意念，因此同時培養了專注。它能幫助愛的本性或同理的本性，在我們內在深化，並凝聚於中心。

[譯註] Zikr 源於阿拉伯語 dhikr，意為「憶念、記念」；在蘇菲傳統中，指透過反覆誦念聖名或神聖語句，使心持續憶念神的修習。此處 mantram 指修習中反覆誦念的神聖語句，譯為「真言」。

As the love nature develops it begins to flow out, and its outflowing creates an atmosphere, a spiritual atmosphere. That is why in the East you will always find that the presence of a Sufi is sought by Hindus and Muslims, by people of all different creeds, because the Sufi is all. He is not solely a Hindu or a Muslim, he has not any other religion, he is all, and this comes from the development of feeling.

隨著愛的本性發展，它開始向外流出，而這份流出會形成一種氛圍，一種靈性的氛圍。因此，在東方，你總會看見印度教徒、穆斯林，以及各種信仰的人，都想親近蘇菲祕士，因為蘇菲涵容一切。他不只是印度教徒，也不只是穆斯林；他也不另屬某個宗教，而是涵容一切。這來自感受的發展。

During my pilgrimage to the holy men of India I have seen some whose presence could illuminate you more than reading books for your whole life, or than disputing over any problems a thousand times. They do not need to speak, they become living lights, fountains of love. And if there is infection in disease so there is also infection in spiritual attainment. It is infectious, a person feels uplifted, he feels full of joy, ecstasy, happiness, enlightenment. Of course the one is more impressed than the other; upon one the influence is much greater than upon another. It all depends upon the person.

我在印度尋訪聖者的旅途中，曾見過一些人，僅僅與他們同在，所帶來的光，就勝過讀一輩子的書，或對任何問題爭辯一千次。他們不需要說話；他們成了活生生的光，成了愛的泉源。如果疾病能傳染，靈性成就也能感染他人。它具有感染力，使我們感到被提升，充滿喜悅、狂喜、幸福與內在的明悟。當然，有些人受到的觸動比另一些人深；對某個人的影響，可能遠大於對另一個人的影響。一切都取決於各自的狀態。

I will tell you an amusing instance. I remember a lady telling me, “Since you have come my husband is very, very nice.” I said, “Yes.” But eight days after I had left that town she wrote to me that the man was just where he had been before.

我來說個有趣的例子。我記得有位女士告訴我：「自從你來了，我先生變得非常、非常好。」我說：「是的。」但在我離開那座城鎮八天後，她寫信告訴我，他又回到原來的樣子了。

The effect of influence is very different, because it is just like the effect of fire. The effect of fire on stone, on iron, on wax, on paper, on cloth, on cotton, upon every object, is different. So on every person the effect of a spiritual personality is different.

這份影響所產生的作用各不相同，就像火的作用一樣。火對石頭、鐵、蠟、紙、布、棉花，對每一種物品的作用都不同。同樣地，一位具有靈性風範的人，對每個人所產生的作用也各不相同。

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