THE COW WAS in labour, and the two or three people who regularly attended to her milking, feeding and cleaning were with her now. She was watching them, and if one went away for any reason, she would gently call. At this critical time she wanted all her friends about her; they had come and she was content, but she was labouring heavily. The little calf was born and it was a beauty, a heifer. The mother got up and went round and round her new baby, nudging her gently from time to time; she was so joyous that she would push us aside. She kept this up for a long time till she finally got tired. We held the baby to suckle, but the mother was too excited. At last she calmed down, and then she wouldn’t let us go. One of the ladies sat on the ground, and the new mother lay down and put her head in her lap. She had suddenly lost interest in her calf, and her friends were more to her now. It had been very cold, but at last the sun was coming up behind the hills, and it was getting warmer.
奶牛正在分娩， 经常照看她，给她挤奶、喂养和清洁的两三个人现在和她在一起。 她瞧着他们，如果有人因为任何原因离开，她会轻轻地呼唤。 在这个关键时刻，她想让她所有的朋友都相信她。 他们来了，她很满足，但她辛苦地生产。 小牛出生了，它是一只美丽的小母牛。 母亲站起来，绕着她的新宝宝走来走去，不时地温柔地推她。 她非常欢乐，她会把我们推到一边。 她兴奋了很长一段时间，直到她终于疲倦。 我们把宝宝抱过去吃奶，但牛妈妈太兴奋了。 最后她冷静下来，接着她不让我们走。 其中一位女士坐在地上，新妈妈躺下，把她的头放在她的膝盖上。 她突然对她的小牛仔失去了兴趣，她的朋友现在比她更感兴趣。 天气一直很冷， 终于太阳从山后升起，越来越暖和了。
He was a member of the government and was shyly aware of his importance. He talked of his responsibility to his people; he explained how his party was superior to and could do things better than the opposition, how they were trying to put an end to corruption and the black market, but how difficult it was to find incorruptible and yet efficient people, and how easy it was for outsiders to criticize and blame the government for the things that were not being done. He went on to say that when people reached his age they should take things more easily; but most people were greedy for power, even the inefficient. Deep down we were all unhappy and out for ourselves, though some of us were clever at hiding our unhappiness and our craving for power. Why was there this urge to power?
他是一位政府官员，害羞地意识到自己的重要性。 他谈到了他对人民的责任； 他解释了他的政党如何比反对派优越，并且可以做得更好， 他们如何试图结束腐败和黑市， 但要找到廉洁而高效的人是多么地困难， 以及外界批评和指责政府没有做事情是多么地容易。 他接着说，当人们达到他这个的年龄时，他们应该更容易地处理事情； 但大多数人都贪婪于权力，即使是效率低下的人。 在内心深处，我们都不快乐，为此而向外奔忙， 尽管我们中的一些人聪明地隐藏了我们的不快乐和对权力的渴望。 为什么会有这种对权力的冲动呢？
What do we mean by power? Every individual and group is after power: power for oneself, for the party, or the ideology. The party and the ideology are an extension of oneself. The ascetic seeks power through abnegation, and so does the mother through her child. There is the power of efficiency with its ruthlessness, and the power of the machine in the hands of a few; there is the domination of one individual by another, the exploitation of the stupid by the clever, the power of money, the power of name and word, and the power of mind over matter. We all want some kind of power, whether over ourselves or over others. This urge to power brings a kind of happiness, a gratification that is not too transient. The power of renunciation is as the power of wealth. It is the craving for gratification for happiness, that drives us to seek power. And how easily we are satisfied! The ease of achieving some form of satisfaction blinds us. All gratifications blinding. Why do we seek this power?
我们所说的权力是什么意思？ 每一个个人和团体都在追求权力： 为自己、为党或为意识形态而获取权力。 党和意识形态是自我的延伸。 苦行僧通过放弃来寻求权力，母亲也通过她的孩子来寻求权力。 权力的高效，伴生出无情， 机器的权力掌握在少数人手中； 有一个人对另一个人的支配权， 聪明人剥削愚蠢的人，金钱的权力， 命名权和话语权，以及头脑对物质的控制权。 我们都想要某种权力，无论是凌驾于自己之上，还是凌驾于他人之上。 这种对权力的冲动，带来了一种快乐，一种不太短暂的满意。 放弃的权力和财富的权力是一样的。 正是对快乐，对满足的渴望，驱使我们寻求权力。 我们是多么容易满意！ 轻易地获得某种形式的满足，使我们视而不见。 所有的满足都使人瞎眼。 我们为什么要寻求这种权力？
“I suppose primarily because it gives us physical comforts, a social position, and respectability along recognized channels.”
“我想，主要是因为它给了我们身体上的舒适，一种社会地位， 以及沿着公认的各种渠道上的尊重。”
Is the craving for power at only one level of our being? Do we not seek it inwardly as well as outwardly? Why? Why do we worship authority, whether of a book, of a person, of the State, or of a belief? Why is there this urge to cling to a person or to an idea? It was once the authority of the priest that held us, and now it is the authority of the expert, the specialist. Have you not noticed how you treat a man with a title, a man of position, the powerful executive? power in some form seems to dominate our lives: the power of one over many, the using of one by another, or mutual use.
对权力的渴望是否只存在于我们的某个层面上？ 难道我们不是在内在和外在寻求它吗？为什么？ 我们为什么崇拜权威，无论它是一本书、一个人、国家，或一种信仰？ 为什么会有这种依附于一个人或一种理念的冲动？ 曾经，牧师的权威控制着我们， 而现在是专家、教授的权威。 你有没有注意到，你是如何对待一个有头衔的人、一个有地位的人、一个有权势的高管？ 某种形式的权力似乎主宰着我们的生活： 一个人的权力高于许多人，一个人利用别人，或者相互利用。
“What do you mean by using another?”
“你说的‘利用别人’是什么意思？”
This is fairly simple, is it not? We use each other for mutual gratification. The present structure of society, which is our relationship with each other, is based on need and usage. You need votes to get you into power; you use people to get what you want, and they need what you promise. The woman needs the man, and the man the woman. Our present relationship is based on need and use. Such a relationship is inherently violent, and that is why the very basis of our society is violence. As long as the social structure is based on mutual need and use, it is bound to be violent and disruptive; as long as I use another for my personal gratification, or for the fulfilment of an ideology with which I am identified, there can only be fear, distrust and opposition. Relationship is then a process of self-isolation and disintegration. This is all painfully obvious in the life of the individual and in world affairs.
这相当简单，不是吗？ 我们互相利用彼此来寻求满足。 目前的社会结构，即我们彼此之间的关系，是基于需求和利用。 你需要选票才能让你掌权； 你利用人们来获得你想要的，而他们需要你所承诺的。 女人需要男人，男人需要女人。 我们目前的关系，基于需求和利用。 这种关系生来就是暴力性的， 这就是为什么我们社会的基础是暴力。 只要社会结构是建立在相互需要和利用的基础上， 就必然是暴力性和破坏性的； 只要我用另一个来满足我个人， 或者满足一种我所认同的意识形态， 就只能是恐惧、不信任和反对。 然后，关系成了一个自我孤立和残害的过程。 这在个人的生活中和世界事务中，都是显而易见的。
“But it is impossible to live without mutual need!”
“但是，没有相互需要的生活是不可能的！”
I need the postman, but if I use him to satisfy some inner urge, then the social need becomes a psychological necessity and our relationship has undergone a radical change. It is this psychological need and usage of another that makes for violence and misery. Psychological need creates the search for power, and power is used for gratification at different levels of our being. The man who is ambitious for himself or for his party, or who wants to achieve an ideal, is obviously a disintegrating factor in society.
我需要邮递员， 但是，如果我用他来满足某种内心的冲动， 那么社会需求就变成了一种心理上的必然， 我们的关系经历了根本性的变化。 正是这种心理上的需要和对另一个人的利用，导致了暴力与痛苦。 心理需求创造了对权力的追求， 而权力则用于满足我们在不同层次的需求。 对自己或党有雄心的人， 或者想要实现理想的人，在社会上，显然是一个分裂因素。
“Is not ambition inevitable?”
“雄心难道不是不可避免的吗？”
It is inevitable only as long as there is no fundamental transformation in the individual. Why should we accept it as inevitable? Is the cruelty of man to man inevitable? Don’t you want to put an end to it? Does not accepting it as inevitable indicate utter thoughtlessness? “If you are not cruel to others, someone else will be cruel to you, so you have to be on top.”
只有当个人没有根本的转变时，它才是不可避免的。 我们为什么要接受它是不可避免的呢？ 人对人的残酷是不可避免的吗？ 难道你不想结束它吗？ 接受它是不可避免的，这难道不是意味着极大的轻率吗？ “如果你对别人不残忍，别人也会对你残忍， 所以你要站在高处。”
To be on top is what every individual, every group, every ideology is trying to do, and so sustaining cruelty, violence. There can be creation only in peace; and how can there be peace if there is mutual usage? To talk of peace is utter nonsense as long as our relationship with the one or with the many is based on need and use. The need and use of another must inevitably lead to power and dominance. The power of an idea and the power of the sword are similar; both are destructive. Idea and belief set man against man, just as the sword does. Idea and belief are the very antithesis of love.
站在顶端是每个人，每个群体，每个意识形态都正在努力的事情， 因此维持着残忍、暴力。 只有在和平中才能有创造；如果相互利用，怎么会有和平？ 谈论和平，完全是无稽之谈， 只要我们与一方或与众人的关系是基于需要和利用的。 对另一个人的需要和利用必然导致权力和支配。 观念的权力和刀剑的权力是相似的；两者都是破坏性的。 观念和信仰使人与人产生对立，就像剑一样。 观念和信仰正好与爱相悖。
“Then why are we consciously or unconsciously consumed with this desire for power?”
“那我们为什么有意或无意地被这种对权力的渴望所吞噬呢？”
Is not the pursuit of power one of the recognized and respectable escapes from ourselves, from what is? Everyone tries to escape from his own insufficiency, from his inner poverty, loneliness, isolation. The actual is unpleasant, but the escape is glamorous and inviting. Consider what would happen if you were about to be stripped of your power, your position, your hard earned wealth. You would resist it, would you not? You consider yourself essential to the welfare of society, so you would resist with violence, or with rational and cunning argumentation. If you were able voluntarily to set aside all your many acquisitions at different levels, you would be as nothing, would you not?
对权力的追求 难道不是一种逃离我们自己，逃离现状的、公认而体面的方式吗？ 每个人都试图逃避自己的不足， 逃避内心的贫穷、孤单、隔绝。 实际情况令人不快，但逃跑是迷人而令人向往的。 想想看， 如果你即将被剥夺你的权力、你的地位、你辛苦赚来的财富，会发生什么。 你会抗拒它，不是吗？ 你认为自己对社会的繁荣至关重要， 所以你会用暴力或理性和狡猾的论证来抗拒。 如果你能够自愿地把你所有的不同层面上的获取物都放在一旁， 你就什么都没有了，不是吗？
“I suppose I would – which is very depressing. Of course I don’t want to be as nothing.”
“我想是这样的 —— 这是非常令人沮丧的。 当然了，我不想什么都没有。”
So you have all the outer show without the inner substance, the incorruptible inward treasure. You want your outward show, and so does another, and from this conflict arise hate and fear, violence and decay. You with your ideology are as insufficient as the opposition, and so you are destroying each other in the name of peace, sufficiency, adequate employment, or in the name of God. As almost everyone craves to be on top, we have built a society of violence, conflict and enmity.
所以你拥有所有的外在表现，没有内在的实质，不朽的内在宝藏。 你想要你的外在表现，别人也是如此， 从这场冲突中，产生了仇恨和恐惧、暴力和腐败。 你们的意识形态和反对派一样，都是不充足的， 所以你们以和平、自给自足、充分的就业或上帝的名义互相诋毁。 由于几乎每个人都渴望登上顶峰， 因此我们建立了一个充满暴力、冲突和敌对的社会。
“But how is one to eradicate all this?”
“但是，如何根除这一切呢？”
By not being ambitious, greedy for power, for name, for position; by being what you are, simple and a nobody. Negative thinking is the highest form of intelligence. “But the cruelty and violence of the world cannot be stopped by my individual effort. And would it not take infinite time for all individuals to change?”
通过不雄心勃勃、不贪婪权力、名声、地位； 通过处于你本来的样子，简单而无名。 被动性地思考，是智慧的最高形式。 “但是，我个人的努力无法阻止世界的残酷和暴力。 难道不是所有个人都需要无限的时间才能改变吗？”
The other is you. This question springs from the desire to avoid your own immediate transformation, does it not? You are saying, in effect, “What is the good of my changing if everyone else does not change?” One must begin near to go far. But you really do not want to change; you want things to go on as they are, especially if you are on top, and so you say it will take infinite time to transform the world through individual transformation. The world is you; you are the problem; the problem is not separate from you; the world is the projection of yourself. The world cannot be transformed till you are. Happiness is in transformation and not in acquisition.
别人就是你。 这个问题源于避免自己立即转变的欲望，不是吗？ 你实际上是在说， “如果别人不改变，我改变有什么好处？” 一个人必须从近处开始，才能走得远。 但你真的不想改变； 你希望事情按原样继续下去，特别是如果你处在顶端， 所以你说通过个人的转变来改变世界，需要无限的时间。 世界就是你；你就是问题所在；问题没有与你分开； 世界是你自己的投射。 除非你转变，否则世界无法改变。 快乐在于转变，而不在获取。
“But I am moderately happy. Of course there are many things in myself which I don’t like, but I haven’t the time or the inclination to go after them.”
“但是我还是蛮快乐的。 当然，我自己身上有很多我不喜欢的地方， 但我没有时间或倾向去追踪它们。”
Only a happy man can bring about a new social order; but he is not happy who is identified with an ideology or a belief, or who is lost in any social or individual activity. Happiness is not an end in itself. It comes with the understanding of what is. Only when the mind is free from its own projections can there be happiness. Happiness that is bought is merely gratification; happiness through action, through power, is only sensation; and as sensation soon withers, there is craving for more and more. As long as the more is a means to happiness, the end is always dissatisfaction, conflict and misery. Happiness is not a remembrance; it is that state which comes into being with truth, ever new, never continuous.
只有快乐的人才能带来新的社会秩序 但是，如果与某种意识形态或信仰相认同， 或者在任何社会或个人活动中迷失方向，他就不高兴。 快乐本身并不是目的。它随着对现状的理解的出现。 只有当头脑从自己的投射中解脱出来时，才能有快乐。 买来的快乐只是满意； 通过行动，通过权力获得快乐，只是感觉； 随着感觉的逐渐消失，人们渴望越来越多的感觉。 只要‘更多’是快乐的手段， 结果总是不满、冲突和痛苦。 快乐不是一种回忆； 它是那种伴随着真理而形成的状态，永远是新的，绝不是连续性的。