WE WERE STEADILY climbing, without any perceptible movement. Below us was a vast sea of clouds, white and dazzling, wave upon wave as far as the eye could see. They looked so astonishingly solid and inviting. Occasionally, as we climbed higher in a wide circle there were breaks in this brilliant foam, and far below was the green earth. Above us was the clear blue sky of winter, soft and immeasurable. A massive range of snow-covered mountains stretched from north to south, sparkling in the brilliant sun. These mountains reached an elevation of over fourteen thousand feet, but we had risen above them and were still climbing. They were a familiar range of peaks, and they looked so near and serene. The higher peaks lay to the north, and we shot off to the south, having reached the required altitude of twenty thousand feet.
我们一直在稳步攀升，没有任何可察觉的动静。 我们下面是一片浩瀚的云海，白而耀眼， 一波叠一波地涌动，尽收眼底。 它们看起来如此令人惊讶的坚实和诱人。偶尔， 当我们以一个巨大的弧线爬得更高的时候，这个灿烂的泡沫被刺穿了， 在远处，是绿色的大地。 我们头顶是冬日清澈湛蓝的天空，柔软而无量。 一大片白雪皑皑的山脉从北向南延伸， 在灿烂的阳光下闪闪发光。 这些大山的海拔超过一万四千英尺， 但我们已经升到了它们之上，还在攀升。 它们是一系列熟悉的山峰，它们看起来如此地亲近和安宁。 较高的山峰位于北部，我们往南进发， 已经达到了所需的两万英尺的高度。
The passenger in the next seat was very talkative. He was unfamiliar with those mountains, and had dozed as we climbed; but now he was awake and eager for a talk. It appeared that he was going out on some business for the first time; he seemed to have many interests, and spoke with considerable information about them. The sea was now below us, dark and distant, and a few ships were dotted here and there. There was not a tremor of the wings, and we passed one lighted town after another along the coast. He was saying how difficult it was not to have fear, not particularly of a crash, but of all the accidents of life. He was married and had children, and there was always fear – not of the future alone, but of everything in general. It was a fear that had no particular object, and though he was successful, this fear made his life weary and painful. He had always been rather apprehensive, but now it had become extremely persistent and his dreams were of a frightening nature. His wife knew of his fear, but she was not aware of its seriousness.
隔壁座位的乘客非常健谈。 他不熟悉那些山，在我们爬升的时候打瞌睡了。 但现在他醒了，渴望交谈。 看来他是第一次出去做生意。 他似乎有很多兴趣，并谈到了关于这些兴趣的大量信息。 大海现在在我们脚下，深暗而遥远，几艘船点缀在这里和那里。 机翼没有颤抖，我们沿着海岸线经过了一个又一个灯火通明的城镇。 他说，不产生恐惧，不仅是对车祸的恐惧， 而且是对生活中一切事故的恐惧，是多么地困难。 他已经结婚生子，却总有恐惧 —— 不仅是对未来，而且是对平常事物的恐惧。 它是一种没有特定对象的恐惧， 尽管他是成功人士，但这种恐惧使他的生命疲惫和痛苦。 他一直相当担心， 但现在它变得非常地持久，在他的梦中，都有恐怖的特性。 他的妻子知道他的恐惧，她却没有意识到它的严重性。
Fear can exist only in relation to something. As an abstraction, fear is a mere word, and the word is not the actual fear. Do you know specifically of what you are afraid? “I have never been able to lay my finger on it, and my dreams too are very vague; but threading through them all there is fear. I have talked to friends and doctors about it, but they have either laughed it off or otherwise not been of much help. It has always eluded me, and I want to be free of the beastly thing.”
恐惧只存在于某种事物的关系之中。 作为一个抽象概念，恐惧只是一个词，这个词不是真实的恐惧。 你知道你在恐惧什么吗？ “我从来没有把我的手放在它的上面，我的梦也很模糊； 但是贯穿其中的全是恐惧。我曾与朋友和医生们讨论过这个问题， 但他们要么当成笑话，要么无济于事。 它一直在躲避我，我想摆脱这个野兽般的家伙。”
Do you really want to be free, or is that just a phrase?
只想要一句解释？
“I may sound casual, but I would give a great deal to be rid of this fear. I am not a particularly religious person, but strangely enough I have prayed to have it taken away from me. When I am interested in my work, or in a game, it is often absent; but like some monster it is ever waiting, and soon we are companions again.”
“我可能听起来很随意，但我会付出很多来摆脱这种恐惧。 我不是一个特别虔诚的人， 但奇怪的是，我祈祷它从我身边拿走。 当我对我的工作或游戏感兴趣时，它经常不出现； 可就像某些怪物一样，它一直在等待，很快我们又成为了同伴。”
Have you that fear now? Are you aware now that it is somewhere about? Is the fear conscious or hidden? “I can sense it, but I do not know whether it is conscious or unconscious.”
你现在有这种恐惧吗？ 你现在知道它在某个地方吗？这种恐惧是清醒的，还是潜伏着？ “我能感觉到它，但我不知道它是否有意识。”
Do you sense it as something far away or near – not in space or distance, but as a feeling? “When I am aware of it, it seems to be quite close. But what has that got to do with it?”
你感觉它在远处，还是在附近？ —— 不是在空间或距离上的远近，而是一种感觉。 “当我意识到它时，它似乎非常近。但那又有什么关系呢？”
Fear can come into being only in relation to something. That something may be your family, your work, your preoccupation with the future, with death. Are you afraid of death? “Not particularly, though I would like to have a quick death and not a long-drawn-out one. I don’t think it is my family that I have this anxiety about, nor is it my job.”
在与某个东西有关联的时候，才能产生恐惧。 那个东西可能是你的家庭、你的工作、你对未来、对死亡的关切。 你怕死吗？ “不是特别怕，虽然我想有一个快速的死亡，而不是一个漫长的死亡。 我不认为我担心我的家人，也不担心我的工作。”
Then it must be something deeper than the superficial relationships that is causing this fear. One may be able to point out what it is, but if you can discover it for yourself it will have far greater significance. Why are you not afraid of the superficial relationships? “My wife and I love each other; she wouldn’t think of looking at another man, and I am not attracted to other women. We find completeness in each other. The children are an anxiety, and what one can do, one does; but with all this economic mess in the world, one cannot give them financial security, and they will have to do the best they can. My job is fairly secure, but there is the natural fear of anything happening to my wife.”
那么，一定是比表面关系更深层次的东西导致了这种恐惧。 一个人也许能够指出它是什么， 但如果你能自己发现它，它将具有更大的意义。 你为什么不害怕肤浅的关系？ “我和我的妻子彼此相爱； 她不会想另一个男人，我也不会被其他女人吸引。 我们在彼此身上找到了完整性。 孩子们是一种焦虑，一个人能做什么，就去做； 但是，由于世界上所有的这些经济混乱， 一个人不能给他们财务保障，他们将不得不尽其所能。 我的工作相当安稳，却本能的恐惧我妻子可能发生的任何不测。”
So you are sure of your deeper relationship. Why are you so certain? “I don’t know, but I am. One has to take some things for granted, hasn’t one?”
那么，你确信你们具有更深层次的关系。你为什么这么肯定？ “我不知道，但我确信。一个人必须把一些事情视为理所当然，不是吗？”
That’s not the point. Shall we go into it? What makes you so sure of your intimate relationship? When you say that you and your wife find completeness in each other, what do you mean? “We find happiness in each other: companionship, understanding, and so on. In the deeper sense, we depend on each other. It would be a tremendous blow if anything happened to either of us. We are in that sense dependent.”
那不是重点。我们要么深入进去看看？ 是什么让你如此确信你们之间的亲密关系？ 当你说你和你的妻子在彼此身上找到了完整性时，你是指什么意思？ “我们在彼此身上找到了幸福：陪伴、理解等等。 从更深的意义上说，我们相互依赖。 如果我们中的任何一个人发生了任何不测，那将是一个巨大的打击。 从那个意义上说，我们相互依赖。”
What do you mean by “dependent”? You mean that without her you would be lost, you would feel utterly alone, is that it? She would feel the same; so you are mutually dependent. “But what is wrong with that?”
你说的‘依赖’是什么意思？ 你的意思是，没有她，你会迷失，你会感到完全地独身，是那样吗？ 她也应该是有同样的感觉；所以你们相互依赖。 “可是，那有什么不对吗？”
We are not condemning or judging, but only inquiring. Are you sure you want to go into all this? You are quite sure? All right, then let’s go on.
我们不是在谴责或评判，而只是在调查。 你确定你想进入这一切吗？你很确定吗？好，那我们继续吧。
Without your wife, you would be alone, you would be lost in the deepest sense; so she is essential to you, is she not? You depend on her for your happiness, and this dependence is called love. You are afraid to be alone. She is always there to cover up the fact of your loneliness, as you cover up hers; but the fact is still there, is it not? We use each other to cover up this loneliness; we run away from it in so many ways, in so many different forms of relationship, and each such relationship becomes a dependence. I listen to the radio because music makes me happy, it takes me away from myself; books and knowledge are also a very convenient escape from myself. And on all these things we depend.
没有了你的妻子，你会独身，在深层的感觉上，你可能会迷茫。 所以她对你很重要，不是吗？ 你依靠她来获得幸福，这种依赖被称之为爱。 你害怕独身。 她总是在那里，掩盖着你孤独的事实，就像你掩盖她的孤独一样； 但事实依然如故，它不是吗？我们互相利用，来掩饰这种孤独； 我们用如此多的方式来逃避它，在如此众多的不同形式的关系中， 像这样的每一种关系，都变成一种依赖。 我听收音机，因为音乐让我快乐，它让我远离我自己； 书籍和知识也是一种非常方便的逃避自我的途径。 我们依赖所有这些东西。
“Why should I not escape from myself? I have nothing to be proud of, and by being identified with my wife, who is much better than I am, I get away from myself.”
“我为什么不应该逃避我自己？ 我没有什么值得骄傲的， 通过与我的妻子产生认同，她比我好得多，我摆脱了我自己。”
Of course, the vast majority escape from themselves. But by escaping from yourself, you have become dependent. Dependence grows stronger, escapes more essential, in proportion to the fear of what is. The wife, the book, the radio, become extraordinarily important; escapes come to be all-significant, of the greatest value. I use my wife as a means of running away from myself, so I am attached to her. I must possess her, I must not lose her; and she likes to be possessed, for she is also using me. There is a common need to escape, and mutually we use each other. This usage is called love. You do not like what you are, and so you run away from yourself, from what is.
当然，绝大多数人都在逃避自己。 但是通过逃避你自己，你已经变得依赖。 依赖性越来越强，逃避就更有必要，对现实的恐惧就成比例的增强。 妻子、书、收音机，变得极端地重要； 逃避变得非常重要，具有最大的价值。 我用我的妻子作为逃避我自己的手段，所以我依恋她。 我必须占有她，我不能失去她； 而她喜欢被占有，因为她也在利用我。 我们都有一个共同的需求，以便于逃跑，因此我们互相利用。 这种使用方法，被称之为爱。 你不喜欢你的样子，所以你逃避你自己，逃避现实。
“That is fairly clear. I see something in that, it makes sense. But why does one run away? What is one escaping from?”
“那一点相当清楚了。我从中看到了某些东西，它有些道理。 但是，为什么一个人会逃跑呢？一个人在逃避什么？”
From your own loneliness, your own emptiness, from what you are. If you run away without seeing what is, you obviously cannot understand it; so first you have to stop running, escaping and only then can you watch yourself as you are. But you cannot observe what is if you are always criticizing it, if you like or dislike it. You call it loneliness and run away from it; and the very running away from what is is fear. You are afraid of this loneliness, of this emptiness, and dependence is the covering of it. So fear is constant; it is constant as long as you are running away from what is. To be completely identified with something, with a person or an idea, is not a guarantee of final escape, for this fear is always in the background. It comes through dreams, when there is a break in identification; and there is always a break in identification, unless one is unbalanced.
你自己的孤独、你的空虚、你的现状。 如果你逃跑，不去看现状，很明显，你就不能理解它； 所以首先你必须停止逃跑，停止逃避，唯有如此，你才能看见你的现状。 但是，如果你总是批评它，总在喜欢或不喜欢它，你就无法观察现状。 你把它称之为‘孤独’，然后逃之夭夭； 从现实中逃跑，就是恐惧。 你害怕这种孤独，这种空虚， 而依赖，就是它的遮羞布。 所以恐惧在持续 —— 只要你从现实中逃跑，它就永远存在。 完全认同某个东西、某个人或某个想法， 不能保证最终的逃脱，因为这种恐惧总是在背后。 它随梦而来，当认同断裂的时候； 而且认同总是会被打断，除非一个人是不平衡的。
“Then my fear arises from my own hollowness, my insufficiency. I see that all right, and it is true; but what am I to do about it?”
“那么，我的恐惧源于我自己的空虚、我的匮乏。 我看到了，好吧，它是真的；但是我该怎么处理它？”
You cannot do anything about it. Whatever you do is an activity of escape. That is the most essential thing to realize. Then you will see that you are not different or separate from that hollowness. You are that insufficiency. The observer is the observed emptiness. Then if you proceed further, there is no longer calling it loneliness; the terming of it has ceased. If you proceed still further, which is rather arduous, the thing known as loneliness is not; there is a complete cessation of loneliness, emptiness, of the thinker as the thought. This alone puts an end to fear.
你无能为力。无论你做什么，都是一种逃避的活动。 意识到这一点，是最重要的。 然后你会看到：你与那个空虚没有什么不同或区别。 你就是那个匮乏。 观看者即是看到的那个空虚。 然后，如果你继续往前走， 就不再有对‘孤独’的命名了；对它的称呼已经消逝。 如果你走得更远，这是相当艰巨的，那么所谓的‘孤独’就不见了。 孤独、空虚、在思考的思想者，完全地消亡。 如此自在，结束了恐惧。
“Then what is love?”
Love is not identification; it is not thought about the loved. You do not think about love when it is there; you think about it only when it is absent, when there is distance between you and the object of your love. When there is direct communion, there is no thought, no image, no revival of memory; it is when the communion breaks, at any level, that the process of thought, of imagination, begins. Love is not of the mind. The mind makes the smoke of envy, of holding, of missing, of recalling the past, of longing for tomorrow, of sorrow and worry; and this effectively smothers the flame. When the smoke is not, the flame is. The two cannot exist together; the thought that they exist together is merely a wish. A wish is a projection of thought, and thought is not love.
爱不是认同；它不是念想中的爱。 当爱在这儿，你就不会想它； 只有当它不在时，当你和你所爱的对象之间有距离时，你才会想它。 当有直接的共融，没有思想，没有形象，没有记忆的钩沉； 只有当共融在任何层面上中断时，思想和想象的过程产生了。 爱与头脑无关。 头脑制造出烟雾：嫉妒、拥抱、思念、回忆、期盼明天、悲伤、忧虑； 这些烟雾有效地扼杀火焰。 当烟雾不在，火焰升腾。两者不可共存； 认为他们能共存的想法，只是一个愿望。 愿望是思想的投影，而思想不是爱。