THE SUN HAD just set behind the trees and the clouds, and the golden glow came through a window of the large room, which was filled with people listening to the music of an eight-stringed instrument accompanied by a small drum. Almost everyone in that audience was following the music with complete absorption, especially a girl in a bright dress, who sat like a statue, her hand keeping perfect time as it gently beat out the rhythm on her thigh. That was the only movement she made; with head erect and eyes glued on the man with the instrument, she was oblivious to everything else about her. Several others in the audience were keeping time with their hands or their heads. They were all in raptures, and the world of wars, politicians, worries, had ceased to exist.
太阳刚落在树木和云层后面， 金色的光芒从大房间的窗户里进来， 房间里挤满了人 他们来听八弦乐伴着小鼓的音乐。 观众中几乎每个人都完全沉浸在音乐中， 尤其是一个穿着鲜艳连衣裙的女孩，她像雕像一样坐着， 她的手保持着完美的节拍，跟随这旋律，轻轻地敲打在她的大腿上。 这是她唯一的动作； 她的头直立，眼睛盯着那个拿着乐器的男人， 她忘记了关于她的其他一切。 观众席上的其他几个人正用手或头来打节拍。 他们都在处于狂喜之中， 而那个有着战争、政治家们、忧虑的世界，已经不复存在了。
Outside the light was fading, and the flowers that shone with bright colours only a few minutes before had disappeared in the gathering darkness. The birds were quiet now, and one of those small owls was beginning to call. Someone was shouting from a house across the way; through the trees one or two stars could be seen, and a lizard on the white garden wall was just visible as it stealthily crawled towards an insect. But the music held the audience. It was pure and subtle music, with great depth of beauty and feeling. Suddenly the stringed instrument stopped, and the little drum took over; it spoke with a clarity and precision that were really quite incredible. The hands were astonishingly gentle and swift as they struck both sides of the little drum, whose sound said more than the wild chattering of men. That drum, if asked, could send out passionate messages with vigour and emphasis; but now it was speaking quietly of many things, and the mind rode upon the waves of its sound.
外面的光芒正在消退， 几分钟前闪耀着明艳的色彩的花朵 已经消失在聚集的黑暗中。 鸟儿现在很安静，其中一只小猫头鹰开始叫唤。 有人在对面的房子里喊叫。 透过树林可以看到一两颗星星， 正好可以看见白色花园墙上的一只蜥蜴 正悄悄地爬向一只昆虫。 但音乐抓住了观众。 这是纯粹而微妙的音乐，具有极深的美丽和感觉。 突然，弦乐器停了下来，小鼓接了上去。 它以清晰和精确的方式说话，这真的令人难以置信。 当他们敲击小鼓的两边时，手非常温柔和迅捷， 小鼓的声音比人们狂野的喋喋不休更有说服力。 那鼓，如果被问到，可以发出充满激情的信息，充满着活力和重点； 但现在，它正安静地述说许多事情， 头脑骑在它声音的波浪上。
When the mind is on the flight of discovery, imagination is a dangerous thing. Imagination has no place in understanding; it destroys understanding as surely as does speculation. Speculation and imagination are the enemies of attentions But the mind was aware of this, and so there was no flight from which it had to be recalled. The mind was perfectly still – yet how rapid it was! It had moved to the ends of the earth and was back again even before it had started on its journey. It was faster than the fastest, and yet it could be slow – so slow that no detail escaped it. The music, the audience, the lizard, were only a brief movement within it. It was perfectly still, and because it was still, it was alone. Its stillness was not the stillness of death, nor was it a thing put together by thought, coerced and brought into being by the vanity of man. It was a movement beyond the measure of man, a movement which was not of time, which had no going and coming, but which was still with the unknown depths of creation.
当头脑在飞行中发现时，想象是一个危险的东西。 想象在理解中没有地位； 它破坏了理解，就像推理一样。 推理和想像是注意的敌人们， 但头脑意识到这一点，所以没有飞行，必须被召回。 头脑完全静止 —— 但它多么地迅速！ 它已经移动到地球的尽头， 甚至在开始它的旅程之前，又回来了。 它比最快的要快，但它可能很慢 —— 太慢了，以至于没有细节能逃脱它。 音乐、观众、蜥蜴，只是其中的一个短暂的动作。 它完全静止，因为它静止，所以它自在。 它的静止不是死亡的静止， 也不是一个由思想拼凑起来的， 被人的虚荣所强迫和创造出来的东西。 它是一个超越人类衡量的移动， 它与时间无关，没有去，没有来， 却与那无量深的造物者静居。
In his late forties, and rather plump, he had been educated abroad; and quietly, in a roundabout way, he conveyed that he knew all the important people. He made his living by writing for the newspapers about serious subjects, and giving talks all over the country; and he also had some other source of income. He appeared to be well-read, and was interested in religion – as most people are, he added.
他四十多岁，身材圆胖，在国外接受过教育。 他悄悄地，以一种迂回的方式，传达出他认识所有重要的人物。 他为报纸撰写有关严肃主题的文章， 并在全国各地发表演讲，以此来谋生。 他还有其他一些收入来源。 他似乎读得很广博，对宗教很感兴趣 —— 他补充说，就像大多数人一样。
“I have a guru of my own and I go to him as regularly as possible, but I am not one of those blind followers. As I travel a good bit, I have met many teachers, from the far north to the southernmost tip of the country. Some are obviously fakes, with a smattering of book knowledge cleverly disguised as their own experience. There are others who have done years of meditation, who practise various forms of yoga, and so on. A few of these are very advanced, but the majority of them are as superficial as any other set of specialists. They know their limited subject, and are satisfied with it. There are ashramas whose spiritual teachers are efficient, capable, assertive and completely autocratic, full of their own sublimated ego. I am telling you all this, not as gossip, but to indicate that I am serious in my search for truth, and that I am capable of discernment. I have attended some of your talks, when time has allowed; and while I have to write for a living, and can’t give all my time to the religious life, I am entirely serious about it.”
“我自己有一个上师，我尽可能经常地去找他， 但我不是那些盲目的追随者之一。 当我旅行时，我遇到了许多老师， 从最北端到最南端。 有些显然是假的， 用一些书籍知识巧妙地伪装成他们自己的体验。 还有一些人做过多年的冥想， 练习各种形式的瑜伽，等等。 其中一些非常先进， 但其中的大多数都是肤浅的，像任何其他专家们一样。 他们知道自己有限的主题，并对此感到满意。 有些静修处的灵性导师是高效的、有能力的、 自信的、完全专制的，充满了他们自己升华的自我。 我告诉你们这一切，不是闲谈，而是表明 我认真地寻求真理，我有能力辨别。 在时间允许的情况下，我参加了你们的一些会谈。 虽然我必须以写作为生， 不能把所有的时间都花在宗教生活中，但我完全认真地对待它。”
If one may ask, what significance do you give to that word ‘serious’? “I do not trifle with religious matters, and I really want to lead a religious life. I set apart a certain hour of the day to meditate, and I give as much time as I can to deepening my inner life. I am very serious about it.”
如果有人可以问，你用‘认真’这个词，表达了什么意思？ “我不是零碎地对待宗教事务，我真的想过宗教生活。 我安排一天中的某个时间进行冥想， 并尽可能多地花时间沉浸，去加深我的内在生活。我对此非常认真。”
Most people are serious about something, are they not? They are serious about their problems, about the fulfilment of their desires, about their position in society, about their looks, their amusements, their money, and so on.
大多数人都认真对待某件事，不是吗？ 他们认真对待自己的问题，认真对待自己欲望的满足， 认真对待自己在社会中的地位、自己的外表、自己的娱乐、自己的钱，等等。
“Why do you compare me with others?” he asked, rather offended.
“你为什么要拿我与别人比较？” 他问到，相当地生气。
I am not belittling your seriousness, but each one of us is serious where his particular interests are concerned. A vain man is serious in his self-esteem; the powerful are serious about their importance and influence. “But I am sober in my activities, and very earnest in my endeavour to lead a religious life.”
我不是在贬低你认真的态度， 但我们每个人都是认真的，因为关系他的特别利益。 一个虚荣的人对他的自尊很认真；强者认真对待他们的重要性和影响力。 “但我在活动中是清醒的，在努力过宗教生活时非常地认真。”
Does the desire for something make for seriousness? If it does, then practically everyone is serious, from the cunning politician to the most exalted saint. The object of desire may be worldly or otherwise; but everyone is serious who is after something, isn’t he?
对某个东西的欲求，会带来认真吗？ 如果是这样，那么几乎每个人都是认真的， 从狡猾的政治家到最崇高的圣人。 欲望的对象可能是世俗的，也可能是其他的； 但每个人都很认真地追求他想要的东西，不是吗？
“Surely there is a difference,” he replied with some irritation, “between the seriousness of the politician or the money-maker, and that of a religious man. The seriousness of a religious man has a quality which is wholly different.”
“在政治家或贪财者的认真与宗教人士的认真之间，” 他有些恼怒地回答, “当然是有区别的。 一个宗教人士的认真，具有完全不同的品质。”
Has it? What do you mean by a religious man? “The man who is seeking God. The hermit or sannyasi who has renounced the world in order to find God, I would call truly serious. The seriousness of the others, including the artist and the reformer, is in a different category altogether.”
有吗？你说的宗教人士是什么意思？ “寻求上帝的人。 为了找到上帝而放弃世界的隐士或桑雅生， 我会说这是真正地认真。 其他人的认真，包括艺术家和改革者， 完全属于不同的级别。”
Is the man who is seeking God really religious? How can he seek God if he does not know Him? And if he knows the God he seeks, what he knows is only what he has been told, or what he has read; or else it is based on his personal experience, which again is shaped by tradition, and by his own desire to find security in another world. “Aren’t you being a little too logical?”
寻求上帝的人真的是宗教性的吗？ 如果他不认识上帝，他怎么去找呢？ 如果他知道他所寻求的上帝， 他所知道的只是他被告知的，或者他所读到的。 或者是基于他的个人体验， 而那又是由传统和他自己想在下一世找到安全的欲望所塑造的。 “你是不是有点太合乎逻辑了？”
Surely one must understand the myth-making mechanism of the mind before there can be the experiencing of that which is beyond the measure of the mind. There must be freedom from the known for the unknown to be. The unknown is not to be pursued or sought after. Is he serious who pursues a projection of his own mind, even when that projection is called God? “If you put it that way, none of us are serious.”
当然了，一个人必须理解头脑的神话编造机制， 才可能体验到超出头脑测量的东西。 必须从已知的事物中解放出来，才能出现未知。 未知是不可追求或追捧的。 一个追求自己头脑的投射物， 即使这种投影被称为‘上帝’，是认真的吗？ “如果你那样说，我们谁都不是认真的。”
We are serious in pursuing what is pleasant, satisfying. “What’s wrong with that?”
在追求幸福，令人满意的东西时，我们是认真的。 “那有什么不对？”
It’s neither right nor wrong, but simply a matter of fact. Is this not what is actually taking place with each one of us? “I can only speak for myself, and I do not think that I am seeking God for my own gratification. I am denying myself many things, which isn’t exactly a pleasure.”
它既不是对也不是错，而是一个简单的事实。 这难道不是我们每个人实际正在发生的事情吗？ “对于我自己， 我不认为我寻求上帝是为了使自己满意。 我拒绝了很多东西，这些东西并不完全是一种乐趣。”
You deny yourself certain things for the sake of a greater satisfaction, don’t you? “But to seek God is not a matter of gratification,” he insisted.
你自己为了更大的满意而否定了某些东西，不是吗？ “但寻求上帝不是满意的问题，” 他坚持说。
One may see the foolishness of pursuing worldly things, or be frustrated in the effort to achieve them, or be put off by the pain and strife which such achievement involves; and so one’s mind turns to otherworldliness, to the pursuit of a joy or a bliss which is called God. In the very process of self-denial is its gratification. After all, you are seeking some form of permanency, aren’t you?
人可能会看到追求世俗之物的愚蠢， 或者在获取它们的努力中受到挫折， 或者在获取途中，被所涉及的痛苦和冲突所阻碍； 因此，一个人的头脑转向非世俗的东西， 去追求一种被称为‘上帝’的至乐或祝福。 这种自我否定的过程，就是它的满意。 毕竟，你是在寻求某种形式的永恒，你不是吗？
“We all are; that’s the nature of man.”
“我们都是；那就是人的本性。”
So you are not seeking God, or the unknown, that which is above and beyond the transient, beyond strife and sorrow. What you are really seeking is a permanent state of undisturbed satisfaction. “To put it so baldly sounds terrible.”
因此，你不是在寻求上帝，也不是在寻求未知， 那个跳出并远离短暂、冲突和悲伤的东西。 你真正寻求的是一种不受干扰的永久性的满意。 “这么说出来，感觉它是如此地糟糕。”
But that is the actual fact, is it not? It is in the hope of attaining total gratification that we go from one teacher to another, from one religion to another, from one system to another. About that we are very serious.
但那是事实，它不是吗？ 正是为了获取完全满意的感受， 我们从一个老师到另一个老师，从一个宗教到另一个宗教，从一个系统到另一个系统。 对于那个东西，我们非常地认真。
“Conceded,” he said without conviction.
“承认了，” 他迟疑地说道。
Sir, this is not a matter of concession, or of verbal agreement. It is a fact that we are all serious in our search for contentment, deep satisfaction, however much the manner of achieving it may vary. You may discipline yourself in order to acquire power and position in this world, whereas I may rigorously practise certain methods in the hope of attaining a so-called spiritual state, but the motivation in each case is essentially the same. One pursuit may not be as socially harmful as the other, but both of us are seeking gratification, the continuation of that centre which is ever wanting to succeed, to be or become something.
先生，这不是一种让步或口头上的同意。 它是一个事实，我们都认真地寻求满足、深刻的满意， 无论实现它的方式如何变化。 为了在这个世界上获得权力和地位，你可以约束自己， 而我可能会严格地练习某些方法， 希望达到所谓的灵性状态， 但各种情景下的动机，在本质上都是一样的。 一个人的追求可能不像另一人的追求那样对社会有害， 但我们俩都在寻求满意， 都在延续那个总是想要成功、想处于某种地位或成为某种人物的中心。
“Am I really seeking to be something?”
“我真的想变成某个人物吗？”
Aren’t you? “I don’t care about being known as a writer, but I do want the ideas or principles of which I write to be accepted by the important people.”
你不是吗？ “我不在乎以作家的身份出名， 但我确实希望 我所写的理念或原则，被重要的人物所接受。”
Aren’t you identifying yourself with those ideas? “I suppose I am. One tends, in spite of oneself, to use ideas as a means to fame.”
你没有认同这些理念吗？ “我想我认同。 一个人倾向于，可能是自己的一厢情愿，用理念作为一种成名的手段。”
That’s just it sir. If we can think simply and directly about it, the situation will be clarified. Most of us are concerned, both outwardly and inwardly, with our own advancement. But to perceive the facts about oneself as they are, and not as one would like them to be, is quite arduous; it demands an unbiased perception, without the recognizing memory of right and wrong. “You are surely not totally condemning ambition, are you?”
就是那个东西，先生。 如果我们能够简单地、直接地思考它，情况就会得以澄清。 我们大多数人，在外在和内在，都关心我们自己的进步。 但是，去感知关于自己真实的样子， 而不是人所期盼的样子，是相当艰难的； 它需要一种不偏不倚的感知，不带着基于记忆而分辨出的对错。 “你肯定不是完全地谴责雄心，对吧？”
To examine what is, is neither to condemn nor to justify. Self-fulfilment in any form is obviously the perpetuation of this centre that is striving to be or become something. You may want to become famous through your writing, and I may want to achieve what I call God or reality, which has its own conscious or unconscious benefits. Your pursuit is called worldly, and mine is called religious or spiritual; but apart from the labels is there so very much difference between them? The aim of desire may vary but the underlying motive is the same. Ambition to fulfil, or to become something, has always within it the seed of frustration, fear and sorrow. This self-centred activity is the very nature of egotism, is it not?
对现状的检测，既不是谴责也不是辩护。 任何形式的自我实现，显然，就是永久化这个中心， —— 在持续地、努力地坚持或变成某种人物。 你可能想通过你的写作出名， 我可能想实现我所说的‘上帝’或‘真理’， 那里面，有它自己有意或无意的好处。 你的追求被称之为‘世俗的’，我的追求被称之为‘宗教的’或‘灵性的’。 但是抛开这些标签，它们之间有那么大的差异吗？ 欲望的目的可能有所不同，但潜在的动机是相同的。 实现或成为某个人物的雄心， 里面始终包含着挫折、恐惧和悲伤的种子。 这个自我中心的活动，正是利己主义的本性，不是吗？
“Good heavens, you are stripping me of everything: of my vanities, my desire to be famous, even of my drive to put across some worthwhile ideas. What shall I do when all this is gone?”
“天哪，你剥夺了我的一切： 我的虚荣心，我对出名的欲求， 甚至我提出的一些有价值的理念的驱动力。 当这一切消失时，我该做什么？”
Your question indicates that nothing is gone, doesn’t it? No one can take away from you, inwardly, what you don’t want to give up. You will continue on your way to fame, which is the way of sorrow, frustration, fear. “Sometimes I do want to chuck the whole rotten business, but the pull is strong.” His tone had become anxious and earnest. “What will stop me from taking that path?”
你提出的问题表明，你什么都没有丢掉，难道不是吗？ 没有人能从你那里，从你的内在拿走你不想放弃的东西。 你将继续走向成名，继续这条悲伤、挫折、恐惧的路。 “有时候我确实想把整个烂摊子砸掉，但这种吸引力很强。” 他的语气变得焦虑和郑重。 “什么能阻止我走那条路？”
Are you asking this question seriously? “I think I am. Sorrow, I suppose?”
你是在认真地问这个问题吗？ “我想我是。悲伤，我想？”
Is sorrow the way of understanding? Or does sorrow exist because there’s no understanding? If you examined the whole urge to become something, and the path of fulfilment, not just intellectually, but deeply, then intelligence, understanding, would come into being and destroy the root of sorrow. But sorrow does not bring understanding. “How is that, sir?”
悲伤是理解的路吗？ 或者，悲伤之所以存在，是因为没有理解？ 如果你检视了整个成为某种人物的冲动，以及通往成功的道路， 不仅仅是在智力上，而是深刻的， 那么，智慧，那种理解，就会形成并毁灭悲伤的根源。 但悲伤并不能带来理解。 “那是如何发生的，先生？”
Sorrow is the result of a shock, it is the temporary shaking up of a mind that has settled down, that has accepted the routine of life. Something happens – a death, the loss of a job, the questioning of a cherished belief – and the mind is disturbed. But what does a disturbed mind do? It finds a way to be undisturbed again; it takes refuge in another belief, in a more secure job, in a new relationship. Again the wave of life comes along and shatters its safeguards, but the mind soon finds still further defence; and so it goes on. This is not the way of intelligence, is it?
悲伤是震惊的结果， 是一个短暂的震动，发源于安定的头脑 那个头脑已经接受了生活的常规习作。 某个事情发生了 —— 一种死亡、失业、珍贵的信仰被质疑 —— 头脑被打扰了。 但是，一个不安的头脑会做什么？ 它找到了一种再次不受干扰的方法； 它跑去避难，可能进入另一种信仰、一份更安全的工作、一段新的关系。 生命的浪潮再次出现，打碎了它的避难所， 但头脑很快就找到了进一步的防御；事情就这样继续着。 这不是智慧的方式，是吗？
“Then what is the way of intelligence?”
“那么，智慧的方式是什么？”
Why are you asking another? Don’t you want to find out for yourself? If I were to give you an answer, you would either refute or accept it, which again would impede intelligence, understanding. “I see what you have said about sorrow to be perfectly true. That’s exactly what we all do. But how is one to get out of this trap?”
你为什么问另一个人？ 您不想自己找出答案吗？ 如果我给你一个答案，你要么反驳，要么接受它， 这又会成为智慧和理解的障碍。 “我看到你所说的悲伤是完全正确的。 那正是我们所有人所做的。 但是，如何才能跳出这个陷阱？”
No form of external or inward compulsion will help, will it? All compulsion, however subtle, is the outcome of ignorance; it is born of the desire for reward or the fear of punishment. To understand the whole nature of the trap is to be free of it; no person, no system, no belief, can set you free. The truth of this is the only liberating factor – but you have to see it for yourself, and not merely be persuaded. You have to take the voyage on an uncharted sea.
任何形式的外在或内在的强迫，都无济于事，不是吗？ 所有的强迫，无论多么微妙，都是无知的产物。 它诞生于对奖励的渴望或对惩罚的恐惧。 理解陷阱的整个本性，就是从中跳出； 没有人，没有制度，没有信仰，可以让你自由。 这个事实，是唯一的解放因子 —— 但你们必须亲眼看到它，而不仅仅是被说服。 你必须在未被探索的海洋上航行。