THE SUN HAS gone down and the trees were dark and shapely against the darkening sky. The wide, strong river was peaceful and still. The moon was just visible on the horizon: she was coming up between two great trees, but she was not yet casting shadows.

夕阳西下，在渐暗的天空下，树木黑暗而有形。 宽阔而强劲的河流，平和而安静。 月亮刚从地平线上露出脸： 她正从两棵大树之间走来，但她还没有投下阴影。

We walked up the steep bank of the river and took a path that skirted the green wheat-fields. This path was a very ancient way; many thousands had trodden it, and it was rich in tradition and silence. It wandered among fields and mangoes, tamarinds and deserted shrines. There were large patches of garden, sweet peas deliciously scenting the air. The birds were settling down for the night, and a large pond was beginning to reflect the stars. Nature was not communicative that evening. The trees were aloof; they had withdrawn into their silence and darkness. A few chattering villagers passed by on their bicycles, and once again there was deep silence and that peace which comes when all things are alone.

我们走在陡峭的岸边，路过一条环绕着绿色麦田的小路。 这条路非常古老。 成千上万的人踩踏过它，它有着浓重的传统与寂静。 它蜿蜒在田野和芒果树、罗望子树和荒凉的神庙之中。 有大片的花园，甜豌豆在空气中散发着美妙的香气。 鸟儿们正安顿下来过夜， 一个大池塘开始出现了星星的倒影。 那天晚上，自然没有交流。 树是疏远的；他们已经回退到他们的寂静和黑暗中。 几个聊天的村民们骑着自行车经过， 再一次，万物自在，深邃的寂静与和平降临。

This aloneness is not aching, fearsome loneliness. It is the aloneness of being; it is uncorrupted, rich, complete. That tamarind tree has no existence other than being itself. So is the aloneness. One is alone, like the fire, like the flower, but one is not aware of its purity and of its immensity, One can truly communicate only when there is aloneness. Being alone is not the outcome of denial, of self-enclosure. Aloneness is the purgation of all motives, of all pursuits of desire, of all ends Aloneness is not an end product of the mind. You cannot wish to be alone. Such a wish is merely an escape from the pain of not being able to commune.

这种自在不是痛苦的、可怕的孤独。 它是生命的独立；它清廉、富饶、完整。 那棵罗望子树除了它本身之外，没有其他的存在。如是独立。 一个人是独立的，如火，似花， 却没有意识到它的纯洁和它的浩瀚， 只有独立，一个人才能真正地交流。 独立不是出于否定，不是自我封闭的产物。 独立是净化所有的动机、一切渴望、所有目标， 独立不是这颗头脑的终极产物。 你不能通过祈愿而处于独立的状态。 这样一个愿望，只是一种逃避 —— 逃避无法交流的痛苦。

Loneliness, with its fear and ache, is isolation, the inevitable action of the self. This process of isolation, whether expansive or narrow, is productive of confusion, conflict and sorrow. Isolation can never give birth to aloneness; the one has to cease for the other to be. Aloneness is indivisible and loneliness is separation. That which is alone is pliable and so enduring. Only the alone can commune with that which is causeless, the immeasurable. To the alone, life is eternal; to the alone there is no death. The alone can never cease to be.

孤独，以及它的恐惧和痛苦，就是隔绝，这是自我的必然行径。 这种隔绝的过程， 无论是广大的还是狭隘的，都盛产出困惑、冲突和悲伤。 隔绝永远不会产生独立；一个必须停止，另一个才会出现。 独立是不可分割的，而孤独是分离的。 独立是柔韧的，因而是持久的。 只有这样的独立，才能与那没有原因的、不可估量的，交流。 如是独立，生命永恒； 如是独立，没有死亡， 如是独立，永不消亡。

The moon was just coming over the tree tops, and the shadows were thick and dark. A dog began to bark as we passed the little village and walked back along the river. The river was so still that it caught the stars and the lights of the long bridge among its waters. High up on the bank children were standing and laughing, and a baby was crying. The fishermen were cleaning and coiling their nets. A night-bird flew silently by. Someone began to sing on the other bank of the wide river, and his words were clear and penetrating. Again the all-pervading aloneness of life.

月亮刚从树梢经过，树影深沉而漆黑。 当我们路过这个小村庄，沿着河边往回走的时候，一只狗开始狂叫。 河流如此平静， 以至于它捕捉到星星和长桥的灯光，就在水面上。 在岸边的高处，孩子们站着嬉笑着，一个婴儿在哭泣。 渔民们正在清理和收网。一只夜鸟悄然掠过。 有人开始在宽阔的河岸边歌唱， 他的嗓音清晰而富有穿透性。 再一次，生命洋溢着无所不在的独立。