THE SMALL STREAM was flowing very gently beside the path that wound round the rice fields, and it was crowded with lotuses; they were dark violet with golden hearts, and they were clear of the water. Their scent remained close to them, and they were very beautiful. The sky was overcast; it was beginning to drizzle, and there was thunder among the clouds. The lightning was still far away, but it was coming towards the tree under which we were sheltering. It began to rain heavily, and the lotus leaves were collecting drops of water; when the drops became too large, they slipped off the leaves, only to form again. The lightning was now above the tree, and the cattle were frightened and straining at their ropes. A black calf, wet and shivering, was calling piteously; it broke its rope and ran towards a nearby hut. The lotuses were closing themselves tightly, shutting their heats against the gathering darkness; one would have had to tear the violet petals to get at the golden hearts. They would remain tightly closed till the coming of the sun. Even in their sleep they were beautiful. The lightning was moving towards the town; it was now quite dark, and one could just hear the murmur of the stream.
小溪沿着稻田边弯曲的小路，非常温柔地流淌着， 里面挤满了荷花。 它们是深紫色的，有金黄色的花蕊，在水上，它们清晰可见。 它们的香味依然离它们很近，它们非常漂亮。 天空阴沉；开始下起了毛毛雨，云层之间有雷鸣。 闪电还很遥远，但它正朝着我们避难的这棵树而来。 雨开始下大了，荷叶正在收集水滴； 当水滴变得太大时，它们从叶子上滑落，然后再一次形成。 闪电已经到了树的上方，牛群被吓坏了，拉扯着绳子。 一头黑色的小牛犊，湿漉漉的颤抖着，可怜地叫着； 它扯断了绳子，跑向附近的一间小屋。 荷花紧紧地闭合，关住了它们的花蕊，以抗拒聚集的黑暗。 一个人不得不撕开紫罗兰色的花瓣，才能抓住金黄色的花心。 它们将保持紧闭，直到太阳的到来。 即使在睡眠中，它们也很漂亮。 闪电正朝着城镇移动； 现在已经很黑了，一个人可以听到这条小溪的低语。
The path led past the village to the road which took us back to the noisy town.
带回了嘈杂的镇上。
He was a young man, in his twenties; he was well fed, had travelled a little and been to college. He was nervous and there was anxiety in his eyes. It was late, but he wanted to talk; he wanted someone to explore his mind for him. He exposed himself very simply, without any hesitation or pretension. His problem was clear, but not to him; he went groping about.
他是一个年轻人，二十多岁。 他受到良好的抚养，去过一些地方，上过大学。 他很紧张，眼里有焦虑。 天色已晚，但他想谈谈。 他想找个人帮他，以曝露他的头脑。 他非常简单地暴露他自己，没有任何犹豫或自命不凡。 他的问题是清楚的，但对他却不清楚； 他在到处摸索。
We do not listen and discover what is; we foist our ideas and opinions on another, trying to force the other into the frame of our thought. Our own thoughts and judgments are so much more important to us than to find out what is. The what is is always simple; it is we who are complex. We make the simple, the what is, complex, and we get lost in it. We listen only to the increasing noise of our own confusion. To listen, we must be free. It is not that there must be no distractions, for thinking itself is a form of distraction. We must be free to be silent, and only then is it possible to hear.
我们不听、不探索现状； 我们把我们自己的想法和意见强加给另一个， 试图强迫他进入我们思想的条框里。 对我们来说，我们所抱持的想法与判断，比寻找现状更为重要。 这个现状总是简单的；复杂的是我们。 我们把这个简单的现状复杂化，并迷失在它里面。 迷茫的我们只听见持续增长的噪音。 要听，我们必须得自由。 这并不是说‘一定不能分心’， 因为思考本身就是一种分心的形式。 我们得有自由，以便于安静，唯有如此，才有可能听。
He was saying that just as he was going off to sleep he would sit up with a start of naked fear. Then the room would lose its proportions; the walls would go flat, there would be no roof, and the floor would disappear. He would be frightened and sweating. This had been going on for many years.
他说， 就在他要入睡的时候，他会坐起来，伴生出一种赤裸的恐惧。 那时，房间会失去它的比例； 墙壁会变平，屋顶不见了，地板也消失了。 他会感到恐怖和冒冷汗。 这种情况已经持续了很多年。
What are you frightened of? “I don’t know; but when I wake up with fear, I go to my sister, or to my father and mother, and talk with them for some time to calm myself, and then go off to sleep. They understand, but I am in my twenties and it is getting rather silly.”
你在恐惧什么？ “我不知道；但当我因恐惧而醒来时，我就去找我的妹妹， 或者我的父亲和母亲，和他们聊一会儿，以使自己平静， 然后去睡觉。他们理解， 但我都二十岁了，它看起来相当地傻。”
Are you anxious about the future? “Yes, somewhat. Though we have money, I am still rather anxious about it.”
你对未来感到焦虑吗？ “是的，有点。虽然我们有钱，但我仍然对它感到焦虑。”
Why? “I want to marry and provide comfort for my future wife.”
为我未来的妻子提供舒适。”
Why be anxious about the future? You are quite young, and you can work and give her what is necessary. Why be so preoccupied with this? Are you afraid of losing your social position?
为什么对未来感到焦虑？ 你还很年轻，你可以工作，给她必要的东西。 为什么如此一门心思地专注于此？ 你害怕失去你的社会地位吗？
“Partly. We have a car, some property and reputation. Naturally I don’t want to lose all this, which may be the cause of my fear. But it isn’t quite this. It is the fear of not being. When I wake up with fear, I feel I am lost, that I am nobody, that I am falling to pieces.”
“有一点。我们有一辆车，一些财产和声誉。 当然，我不想失去这一切，这可能是我恐惧的原因。 但事实并非如此。它是对不存在的恐惧。 当我因恐惧而醒来时，我感到迷茫，我什么都不是，我正在崩塌。”
After all, a new government may come in and you may lose your property, your holdings; but you are quite young, and you can always work. Millions are losing their worldly goods, and you too may have to face that. Besides, the things of the world are to be shared and not to be exclusively possessed. At your age, why be so conservative, so afraid of losing?
毕竟，一个新政府可能会来到，你可能会失去你的财产，你拥有的东西； 但你很年轻，你总是可以工作。 数以百万计的人正在失去他们的在世间的东西，你可能也不得不面对这一点。 此外，世界上的东西是要分享的，而不是被完全占有。 在你这个年纪，为什么那么保守，那么害怕失去？
“You see, I want to marry a particular girl, and I am anxious that nothing should stop it. Nothing is likely to stop it, but I miss her and she misses me, and this may be another cause of my fear.”
“你看，我想娶一个特定的女孩，我担心没有什么能阻止它。 似乎没有什么能阻止它， 但我想念她，她想念我，这可能是我恐惧的另一个原因。”
Is that the cause of your fear? You say that nothing out of the ordinary is likely to happen to prevent your marrying her, so why this fear? “Yes, it is true that we can marry whenever we decide to, so that cannot be the cause of my fear, at least not now. I think I am really frightened of not being, of losing my identity, my name.”
那是你恐惧的原因吗？ 你说，没有什么不寻常的事情可能发生，来阻止你娶她， 那为什么有这种恐惧？ “是的，我们确实可以在我们决定的时候结婚， 所以那不能成为我恐惧的原因，至少不是现在。 我想我真的很害怕不存在、害怕失去我的身份、害怕我的名誉。”
Even if you did not care about your name, but had your property and so on, would you not still be afraid? What do we mean by identity? It is to be identified with a name, with property, with a person, with ideas; it is to be associated with something, to be recognized as this or that, to be labelled as belonging to a particular group or country, and so on. You are afraid of losing your label, is that it?
即使你不在乎你自己的名誉， 却拥有你的财产等等，你难道就不会害怕吗？ 我们所说的身份是什么意思？ 它是与一种名誉、一份财产、一个人、一套观念相认同； 它是与某个东西的关联，作为这个或那个而被认可， 被贴上属于特定群体或国家的标签，等等。 你害怕失去你的标签，是吗？
“Yes. Otherwise, what am I? Yes, that is it.”
么？是的，就是那个。”
So you are your possessions. Your name and reputation, your car and other property, the girl you are going to marry, the ambitions that you have – you are these things. These things, together with certain characteristics and values, go to make up what you call “I; you are the sum total of all this, and you are afraid of losing it. As with everyone else, there is always the possibility of loss; a war may come, there may be a revolution or a change in government towards the left. Something may happen to deprive you of these things, now or tomorrow. But why be afraid of insecurity? Is not insecurity the very nature of all things? Against this insecurity you are building walls that will protect you; but these walls can be and are being broken down. You may escape from it for a time, but the danger of insecurity is always there. That which is, you cannot avoid; insecurity is there, whether you like it or not. This does not mean that you must resign yourself to it, or that you must accept or deny it; but you are young, and why be afraid of insecurity?
所以你就是你的占有物。 你的名誉和声望、你的汽车和其他财产， 你要娶的女孩，你拥有的雄心 —— 你就是这些东西。 这些东西，连同某些特征和价值， 构成了你所说的‘我’； 你是这一切的总和，你害怕失去它。 与其他人一样，总是有失去的可能性； 战争可能会来临，政府可能会发生革命或改变，转向左派。 现在或明天，可能会发生一些事情而剥夺了你的这些东西。 但为什么要恐惧这种不安全呢？不安全不就是一切东西的本性吗？ 抵抗这个不安，你就在建造保护你的墙； 但这些墙能够并且正在被毁坏。 你可能会暂时性地避免它，但不安的危险总在那里。 而那，是你无法避免的； 不安就在那里，不管你喜欢与否。 这并不意味着你必须屈服于它， 或者你必须接受或拒绝它； 但你还年轻，为什么要害怕不安呢？
“Now that you put it this way, I don’t think I am afraid of insecurity. I really don’t mind working; I work over eight hours a day at my job, and though I don’t particularly like it, I can carry on. No, I am not afraid of losing property, the car, and so on; and my fiancé and I can marry whenever we want to. I see now that it is none of this that is making me fearful. Then what is it?”
“既然你这样说，我不认为我害怕不安全。 我真的不介意劳作；我每天工作八个多小时， 虽然我不是特别喜欢它，但我可以继续下去。 不，我不怕失去财产、汽车等等； 我和我的未婚夫人可以随时结婚。 我现在明白了，这一切都不是使我恐惧的东西。 那它是什么呢？”
Let us find out together. I might be able to tell you, but it would not be your discovery; it would only be on the verbal level, and so utterly useless. The finding of it will be your own experiencing of it, and it is this that is really important. Discovering is experiencing; we will discover it together.
让我们一起找出答案。 我也许能告诉你，但它不会是你的发现； 它只会在口头的层面上，所以完全没有用。 去发现它，将是你自己对它的体验，那才是真正重要的。 发现就是体验；我们将一起发现它。
If it is none of these things that you are frightened of losing, if you are not afraid of being insecure outwardly, then of what are you anxious? Don’t answer right away; just listen, be watchful to find out. Are you quite sure it is not physical insecurity that you are frightened of? As far as one can be sure of such things, you say that you are not frightened of it. If you are sure that this is not a mere verbal assertion, then of what are you afraid?
如果你不害怕失去这些东西， 如果你不害怕外在的不安，那么你焦虑的是什么？ 不要马上回答；只是听，在警觉中寻找。 你很确定你恐惧的不是物质上的不安全吗？ 只要一个人能确定这些东西，你说，你对它不恐惧。 如果你确定，不只是口头上的断言，那么你在害怕什么？
“I am quite sure I am not frightened of being physically insecure; we can marry and have what we need. It is something more than the mere loss of things that I am afraid of. But what is it?”
“我很确定我对物质上的不安没有恐惧； 我们可以结婚，拥有我们需要的东西。 我害怕的东西比物质上的失去更严重。但它是什么？”
We will find out, but let us consider it quietly. You really want to find out, don’t you? “Of course I do, especially now that we have gone as far as this. What is it that I am frightened of?”
我们会找出，但让我们安静地考虑它。 你真的想找出来，不是吗？ “我当然想，特别是现在，我们已经走了这么远。 我所恐惧的东西是什么？”
To find out we must be quiet, watchful, but not pressing. If you are not frightened of physical insecurity, are you frightened of being inwardly insecure, of being unable to achieve the end which you have set for yourself? Don’t answer, just listen. Do you feel incapable of becoming somebody? Probably you have a religious ideal; and do you feel you have not the capacity to live up to or achieve it? Do you feel a sense of hopelessness about it, a sense of guilt or frustration?
要去寻找，我们必须安静、警惕，而不紧张。 如果你不害怕身体上的不安全， 你是否害怕内心的不安全， 害怕无法达到你为自己设定的目的？ 不要回答，只是听。 你觉得自己没有能力成为某种人物吗？ 也许你有一个宗教性的理想； 你觉得你没有能力去实现它吗？ 你是否对此感到绝望、内疚或沮丧？
“You are perfectly right. Ever since I heard you some years ago as a boy, it has been my ideal, if I may say so, to be like you. It’s in our blood to be religious, and I have felt I could be like that; but there has always been a deep fear of never coming near it.”
“你是完全正确的。 几年前，当我还是小孩子的时候，听到了你的讲话， 如果我可以这么说的话，我的理想就是像你一样。 虔诚在我们的血液中，我觉得我可以像那样。 但一直有一种很深的恐惧，害怕永远不能靠近它。”
Let us go slowly. Though you are not frightened of being outwardly insecure, you are frightened of being insecure inwardly. Another man makes himself secure outwardly with a reputation, with fame, with money, and so on, while you want to be secure inwardly with an ideal; and you feel you have no capacity to become that ideal. Why do you want to become or achieve an ideal? Isn’t it only to be secure, to feel safe? This refuge you call an ideal; but actually you want to be safe, protected. Is that it?
让我们缓慢地深入。 虽然你不害怕外在的不安， 但你害怕内在的不安。 另一个人用声望、名气、金钱等等，使得他自己获得了外在的安全， 而你想用一个理想，来获取内在的安全； 你觉得你没有能力达成那个理想。 你为什么想成为或实现一个理想？ 它不就是想拥有安全，感到安全吗？ 这个避难所，你称之为‘一个理想’； 但实际上你想要安全，被保护。是那样吗？
“Now that you point it out, that is exactly it.”
是那样。”
You have discovered this now, have you not? But let us proceed further. You see the obvious shallowness of outward security; but do you also see the falseness of seeking inward security through becoming the ideal? The ideal is your refuge, instead of money. Do you really see this? “Yes, I really do.”
你现在已经发现了这一点，你没有吗？ 但是，让我们进一步展开。 你看到：外在的安全显然是肤浅的； 但你是否也看到了：通过达成这个理想，以寻求内在的安全 —— 这也是虚假的？ 这个理想，就是你的避难所，是金钱的替代品。 你真的看到这一点了吗？ “是的，我确实看到了。”
Then be what you are. When you see the falseness of the ideal, it drops away from you. You are what is. From there proceed to understand what is – but not towards any particular end, for the end, the goal is always away from what is. The what is is yourself, not at any particular period or in any given mood, but yourself as you are from moment to moment. Do not condemn yourself or become resigned to what you see, but be watchful without interpreting the movement of what is. This will & arduous, but there is delight in it. Only to the free is there happiness, and freedom comes with the truth of what is.
那么，意识到你自身。 当你看到理想的虚假时，它就会从你身上消失。 你就是这样。从那里开始，去理解现状 —— 但不是朝向任何一个特定的目的，不是为了这个目的， 目标总是远离现状。 现状就是你自己，不在任何一个特定的阶段或任何一种指定的情绪中， 而在你自己的每时每刻里。 不要谴责你自己，或者对你所看到的东西感到无奈， 而要警醒，别去解析现状的这个运动。 这将是艰巨的，但它里面有乐趣。 只有自由，才有快乐， 随着现状的真实，自由光临。