SHE HAD COME with three of her friends; they were all earnest and had the dignity of intelligence. One was quick to grasp, another was impatient in his quickness, and the third was eager, but the eagerness was not sustained. They made a good group, for they all shared the problem of their friend, and no one offered advice or weighty opinions. They all wanted to help her do whatever she thought was the right thing, and not merely act according to tradition, public opinion or personal inclination. The difficulty was, what was the right thing to do? She herself was not sure, she felt disturbed and confused. But there was much pressure for immediate action; a decision had to be made, and she could not postpone it any longer. It was a question of freedom from a particular relationship. She wanted to be free, and she repeated this several times.
她同她的三个朋友一起来了。 他们都很勤奋，有聪明的自尊心。 其中一个人反应快，另一个人对他的敏捷性不耐烦， 第三个人很热切，但这种热切并不持久。 他们组成了一个很好的团队，因为他们都分享着她的问题， 没有人提供建议或有份量的观点。 他们都想帮助她，让她去做任何她认为是正确的事情， 而不仅仅是按照传统、公众舆论或私人倾向去行事。 困难在于，做什么才是正确的？ 她自己也不确定，她感到不安与困惑。 但是，需要立即行动的压力很大。 必须做一个决定，她不能再拖延了。 这是一个摆脱特定关系的自由问题。 她想要自由，她重复了好几次。
There was quietness in the room; the nervous agitation had subsided, and they were all eager to go into the problem without expecting a result, a definition of the right thing to do. The right action would emerge, naturally and fully, as the problem was exposed. The discovery of the content of the problem was important, and not the end result; for any answer would only be another conclusion, another opinion, another piece of advice, which would in no way solve the problem. The problem itself had to be understood, and not how to respond to the problem or what to do about it. The right approach to the problem was important, because the problem itself held the right action.
房间里很安静； 紧张的躁动已经消退， 他们都渴望进入问题， 没有期待一个结果，一个正确做法的定义。 随着问题的暴露，正确的行动将自然地、充分地浮出。 重要的是发现这个问题的内容，而不是最终的结果； 因为任何一个答案，都只是另一个结论、另一个观点、另一条建议， 却总不能解决这个问题。 问题本身必须被理解， 而不是如何应对问题或如何处理它。 解决问题的着手方法很重要， 因为问题本身，就蕴藏着正确的行动。
The waters of the river were dancing, for the sun had made on them a path of light. A white sail crossed the path, but the dance was not disturbed. It was a dance of pure delight. The trees were full of birds, scolding, preening, flying away only to come back again. Several monkeys were tearing off the tender leaves and stuffing them in their mouths; their weight bent the delicate branches into long curves, yet they held on lightly and were unafraid. With what ease they moved from branch to branch; though they jumped, it was a flow, the taking off and the landing were one movement. They would sit with their tails hanging and reach for the leaves. They were high up, and took no notice of the people passing below. As darkness approached, the parrots came by the hundred to settle down for the night among the thick leaves. One saw them come and disappear into the foliage. The new moon was just visible. Far away a train whistled as it was crossing the long bridge around the curve of the river. This river was sacred, and people came from far distances to bathe in it, that their sins might be washed away. Every river is lovely and sacred, and the beauty of this one was its wide, sweeping curve and the islands of sand between deep stretches of water; and those silent white sails that went up and down the river every day.
河水在跳舞，因为太阳在它们身上射出了一条光之路。 一叶白帆穿过光路，但舞蹈没有被打扰。 它是一个纯洁的、欢快的舞蹈。 树上到处都是鸟儿，骂着，装扮着，飞走了，又飞回来了。 几只猴子正在撕扯嫩叶，把它们塞进嘴里。 他们的重量将柔软的树枝弯曲成长长的曲线， 但他们轻轻地抓着，毫不畏惧。 他们轻松地从一条枝桠移动到另条枝桠； 虽然他们跳跃，却是一种流动，起跳和降落是一个动作。 他们会悬挂着尾巴坐着，伸手去抓树叶。 他们高高在上，没有注意到下面经过的人。 随着夜幕临近， 数百只鹦鹉飞来，在浓密的树叶中安顿下来过夜。 一个人看到他们来了，消失在树叶中。 新月刚好可见。 远处，一列火车在跨越蜿蜒的河流的长桥时，吹起了口哨。 这条河是神圣的，人们从很远的地方过来，在里面洗澡， 好叫他们的罪孽被洗清。 每一条河流，都是可爱和神圣的， 这条河的美丽之处在于它宽阔而挥洒的曲线 和深水之间的沙岛。 还有那些每天在河面上下起伏的安静的白帆。
“I want to be free from a particular relationship,” she said.
系中解脱，”她说。
What do you mean by wanting to be free? When you say, “I want to be free,” you imply that you are not free. In what way are you not free? “I am free physically; I am free to come and go, because physically I am no longer the wife. But I want to be completely free; I do not want to have anything to do with that particular person.”
你说的解脱是什么意思？ 当你说“我想解脱”时，你是在暗示：你不自由。 你以什么方式不自由？ “我的身体是自由的；我可以自由地来来去去， 因为在身体上，我不再是妻子。 但我想完全地自由； 我不想和那个人有任何关系。”
In what way are you related to that person, if you are already physically free? Are you related to him in any other way?
如果你的身体自由了， 你和那个人有什么联系吗？ 你和他有其他的关系吗？
“I do not know, but I have great resentment against him. I do not want to have anything to do with him.”
“我不知道， 但我对他有很大的怨恨。 我不想与他有任何的关联。”
You want to be free, and yet you have resentment against him? Then you are not free of him. Why have you this resentment against him? “I have recently discovered what he is: his meanness, his real lack of love, his complete selfishness. I cannot tell you what a horror I have discovered in him. To think that I was jealous of him, that I idolized him, that I submitted to him! Finding him to be stupid and cunning when I thought him an ideal husband, loving and kind, has made me resentful of him. To think I had anything to do with him makes me feel unclean. I want to be completely free from him.”
你想解脱，可你却对他有怨恨？ 那么你就没有从他那里解脱。 你为什么对他有这种怨恨？ “我最近发现了他是什么： 他卑鄙，他缺乏真正的爱，他完全自私。 我无法告诉你我在他身上所发现的恐怖。 而我曾经却羡慕他，崇拜他，服从他！ 当我认为他是一个理想的丈夫，充满了爱心和善良时， 却发现他愚蠢而狡猾，这让我对他感到怨恨。 想到我与他的任何关系，我就感到不干净。 我想完全地摆脱他。”
You may be physically free from him, but as long as you have resentment against him, you are not free. If you hate him, you are tied to him; if you are ashamed of him, you are still enslaved by him. Are you angry with him, or with yourself? He is what he is, and why be angry with him? Is your resentment really against him? Or, having seen what is, are you ashamed of yourself for having been associated with it? Surely, you are resentful, not of him, but of your own judgment, of your own actions. You are ashamed of yourself. Being unwilling to see this, you blame him for what he is. When you realize that your resentment against him is an escape from your own romantic idolization, then he is out of the picture. You are not ashamed of him, but of yourself for being associated with him. It is with yourself that you are angry, and not with him.
你可能在肉体上从他那里解脱了， 但只要你对他有怨恨，你就不自由。 如果你恨他，你就与他相关联。 如果你因他而感到羞愧，你就依然被他奴役。 你是在生他的气，还是在生你自己的气？ 他就是那样，为什么要对他生气呢？ 你的怨恨，真的是针对他的吗？ 或者，在看到现状的时候， 你为自己与他的关系而感到羞耻？ 当然了，你所怨恨的人不是他， 而是你自己的判断，你自己的行为。 你为自己感到羞愧。 不愿意去看这一点，你责怪他的样子。 当你意识到 你对他的怨恨，是在逃避你自己的浪漫的偶像崇拜时， 那么他就在画面之外了。 你不是为他而感到羞耻，而是为自己与他的交往而感到羞耻。 你是在对自己生气，而不是对他生气。
“Yes, that is so.”
If you really see this, experience it as a fact, then you are free of him. He is no longer the object of your enmity. Hate binds as love does. “But how am I to be free from my own shame, from my own stupidity? I see very clearly that he is what he is, and is not to be blamed; but how am I to be free of this shame, this resentment which has been slowly ripening in me and has come to fullness in this crisis? How am I to wipe out the past?”
如果你真正地看到这一点，体验到这个事实， 那么你就摆脱了他。 他不再是你攻击的对象。仇恨就像爱情一样，具有粘连性。 “但是，我怎样才能从自己的羞耻中解脱，从自己的愚蠢中解脱呢？ 我非常清楚地看到，他就是那样的人，不应该被责骂。 但是，我怎样才能摆脱这种羞耻，这种怨恨， 它已经在我心中慢慢成熟，并在这场危机中丰满； 我该如何抹除过去呢？”
Why you desire to wipe out the past is of more significance than knowing how to wipe it out. The intention with which you approach the problem is more important than knowing what to do about it. Why do you want to wipe out the memory of that association. “I dislike the memory of all those years. It has left a very bad taste in my mouth. Is that not a good enough reason?”
‘你为什么想抹掉过去’比‘如何抹掉它’，更为重要。 你的这个意图 你着手问题的意图，比‘如何解决它’更重要。 你为什么要抹掉那些相关的记忆。 “我不喜欢那些年的记忆。它在我的嘴里留下了非常糟糕的味道。 那难道不是一个足够好的理由吗？”
Not quite, is it? Why do you want to wipe out those past memories? Surely, not because they leave a bad taste in your mouth. Even if you were able through some means to wipe out the past, you might again be caught in actions that you would be ashamed of. Merely wiping out the unpleasant memories does not solve the problem, does it?
不够好，不是吗？你为什么要抹掉那些过去的记忆？ 当然，不是因为它们在你的嘴里留下了不好的味道。 即使你能够通过某种手段抹杀过去， 你也可能再次陷入那种会使你感到羞耻的行为中。 仅仅抹掉不愉快的记忆，并不能解决问题，不是吗？
“I thought it did; but what is the problem then? Are you not making it unnecessarily complex? It is already complex enough, at least my life is. Why add another burden to it?”
“我想是的；但是问题出在哪里？ 你不是把它变得不必要地复杂吗？ 它已经足够复杂了，至少我的生活是这样。为什么要给它加上另一个包袱呢？”
Are we adding a further burden, or are we trying to understand what is and be free of it? Please have a little patience. What is the urge that is prompting you to wipe out the past? It may be unpleasant, but why do you want to wipe it out? You have a certain idea or picture of yourself which these memories contradict, and so you want to get rid of them. You have a certain estimation of yourself, have you not?
我们是在增加更多的包袱，还是在试图理解它并从中解脱？ 请耐心一点。 是什么冲动促使你想抹掉过去？ 它可能令人不快，但你为什么要把它消灭？ 你对自己抱有某种想法或愿景，与那些记忆相矛盾， 所以你想抹除它们。 你对自己有一个评判的标准，你没有吗？
“Of course, otherwise...”
We all place ourselves at various levels, and we are constantly falling from these heights. It is the falls we are ashamed of. Self-esteem is the cause of our shame, of our fall. It is this self-esteem that must be understood, and not the fall. If there is no pedestal on which you have put yourself, how can there be any fall? Why have you put yourself on a pedestal called self-esteem, human dignity, the ideal, and so on? If you can understand this, then there will be no shame of the past; it will have completely gone. You will be what you are without the pedestal. If the pedestal is not there, the height that makes you look down or look up, then you are what you have always avoided. It is this avoidance of what is, of what you are, that brings about confusion and antagonism, shame and resentment. You do not have to tell me or another what you are, but be aware of what you are, whatever it is, pleasant or unpleasant: live with it without justifying or resisting it. Live with it without naming it; for the very term is a condemnation or an identification. Live with it without fear, for fear prevents communion, and without communion you cannot live with it. To be in communion is to love. Without love, you cannot wipe out the past; with love, there is no past. Love, and time is not.
我们都把自己放在各个层面上，我们不断地从这些高度堕落。 对于这种堕落，我们感到羞耻。 自尊是我们羞耻、堕落的起因。 必须理解的是这种自尊，而不是堕落。 如果没有你把自己放在基座上，怎么会跌倒？ 你为什么把自己放在一个叫做自尊、人的尊严、理想等等的基座上？ 如果你能理解这一点，那么就不会对过去感到羞辱； 它将完全地消失。你将是没有基座的你。 如果基座不在那里，那个让你低头或抬头的高度， 那么你就是你一直在逃避的样子。 正是这种对现状、对你自身的逃避， 带来了困惑、敌对、羞愧和怨恨。 你不必告诉我或别人‘你是什么样的人’， 但要意识到你是什么，不管它是什么样子，令人愉快或不愉快的： 与它一起生活，而不去评判或抗拒它。 与它一起生活，而不去命名它； 因为这个名词本身，就是一种谴责或一种认同。 与它一起生活，而不去恐惧， 因为恐惧会阻止共融，没有共融，你就无法与它共同生活。 共融就是爱。没有爱，你无法抹除过去； 有了爱，就没有过去。爱，时间就消失了。