THE WIND WAS blowing fresh and cool. It was not the dry air of the surrounding semi-desert, but came from the mountains far away. Those mountains were among the highest in the world, a great chain of them running from north-west to south-east. They were massive and sublime, an incredible sight when you saw them in the early morning, before the sun was on the sleeping land. Their towering peaks, glowing a delicate rose, were startlingly clear against the pale blue sky. As the sun climbed higher the plains were covered with long shadows. Soon those mysterious peaks would disappear in the clouds, but before they withdrew, they would leave their blessing on the valleys, the rivers and the towns. Though you could no longer see them, you could feel that they were there, silent, immense and timeless.
风带来了清新和凉爽。 它不是周围半沙漠的干燥空气，而是从远处的高山上传来的。 这些山脉是世界上最高的山脉之一， 其中有一脉从西北延伸到东南。 它们巨大而高峻，难以置信的壮丽， 在清晨，太阳还没有从沉睡的大升起之前，你就看到了它们。 它们高耸的山峰，散发出一种精美的玫瑰色， 在淡蓝色的天空下，出奇地清晰。 当太阳爬得更高时，平原上覆盖着长长的阴影。 很快，那些神秘的山峰就会消失在云层中， 但在它们消退之前， 它们会把祝福留在山谷、河流和城镇上。 虽然你再也看不到它们， 但你可以感觉到它们在那里，沉默，巨大而永恒。
A beggar was coming down the road, singing; he was blind, and a child was leading him. people passed him by, and occasionally someone would drop a coin or two into the tin he was holding in one hand; but he went on with his song, heedless of the rattle of the coins. A servant came out of a big house, dropped a coin in the tin, muttered something, and went back again, shutting the gate behind him. The parrots were off for the day in their crazy and noisy flight. They would go to the fields and the woods, but towards evening they would return for the night to the trees along the road; it was safer there, though the street-lights were almost among the leaves. Many other birds seemed to remain all day in the town and on a big lawn some of them were trying to catch the sleepy worms. A boy went by, playing his flute. He was lean and barefooted; there was a swagger in his walk, and his feet didn’t seem to mind where they trod. He was the flute, and the song was in his eyes. Walking behind him, you felt that he was the first boy with a flute in all the world. And, in a way, he was; for he paid no attention to the car that rushed past, nor to the policeman standing at the corner, heavy with sleep, nor to the woman with a bundle on her head. He was lost to the world but his song went on.
一个乞丐正沿路走来，唱着歌。 他是个瞎子，一个孩子在引导他。 人们从他身边经过， 偶尔会有人把一两枚硬币扔进他手上拿着的锡罐里。 但他继续他的歌声，没有注意到硬币的咯嘣声。 一个仆人从一个大房子里出来，把一枚硬币扔进罐里， 喃喃地说了些什么，然后又回去，关上了身后的大门。 鹦鹉在疯狂而嘈杂的飞行中开始了一天的工作。 他们会去田野和树林， 但到了晚上，他们会回到路旁的树上过夜。 那里更安全，尽管路灯几乎在树叶之间。 许多其他鸟类似乎整天呆在镇上， 在一个大草坪上，其中一些试图捕捉昏昏欲睡的虫子。 一个男孩走过来，吹着他的长笛。他瘦削，光脚丫。 他的走路的动作摇摆不定，他的脚似乎并不介意他们踩在哪里。 他就是长笛，这首曲子在他的眼中。 走在他身后，你觉得他是全世界第一的吹长笛的男孩。 而且，在某种程度上，他是； 因为他没有注意冲过去的那辆车， 也没有注意站在拐角处的警察在打瞌睡， 也没有注意头上顶着一捆东西的女人。 他从世界上消失了，但他的曲子还在继续。
And now the day had begun.
现在，这一天开始了。
The room was not very large, and the few who had come rather crowded it. They were of all ages. There was an old man with his very young daughter, a married couple, and a college student. They evidently didn’t know each other, and each was eager to talk about his own problem, but without wanting to interfere with the others. The little girl sat beside her father, shy and very quiet; she must have been about ten. She had on fresh clothes, and there was a flower in her hair. We all sat for awhile without saying a word. The college student waited for age to speak, but the old man preferred to let others speak first. At last, rather nervously, the young man began.
房间不是很大，来的几个人使它显得相当拥挤。 他们是所有年龄段的人。 有一个老人带着他非常年幼的女儿， 一对已婚夫妇和一个大学生。 他们显然彼此不认识， 每个人都渴望谈论自己的问题， 但又不想干涉其他人。 小女孩坐在父亲旁边，害羞，非常安静。她一定是十岁左右。 她穿了新衣服，头发上有一朵花。 我们都坐了一会儿，一言不发。 大学生等待着长者说话， 但老人更愿意让别人先说话。 最后，相当紧张地，年轻人开始了。
“I am now in my last year at college, where I have been studying engineering, but somehow I don’t seem to be interested in any particular career. I simply don’t know what I want to do. My father, who is a lawyer, doesn’t care what I do as long as I do something of course, since I am studying engineering, he would like me to be an engineer; but I have no real interest in it. I have told him this, but he says the interest will come when once I get working at it for a livelihood. I have several friends who studied for different careers, and who are now earning their own way; but most of them are already becoming dull and weary, and what they will be like a few years hence, God only knows. I don’t want to be like that – and I’m sure I will be, if I become an engineer. It isn’t that I’m afraid of the exams, I can pass them easily enough, and I’m not boasting. I just don’t want to be an engineer, and nothing else seems to interest me either. I have done a spot of writing, and have dabbled in painting but that kind of thing doesn’t carry very far. My father is only concerned with pushing me into a job, and he could get me a good one; but I know what will happen to me, if I accept it. I feel like throwing up everything and leaving college without waiting to take the final exams.”
“我现在是大学的最后一年，我一直在学工程学， 但不知何故，我似乎对任何特定的职业都不感兴趣。 我根本不知道我想做什么。 我的父亲是一名律师，只要我有得做，他就不在乎我做什么， 当然，因为我学工程学，他希望我成为一名工程师； 但我对它没有真正的兴趣。我已经告诉过他这一点， 但他说，一旦我为生计而工作，就会有兴趣。 我有几个朋友，他们学习不同的专业， 他们现在正在以自己的方式赚钱； 但是他们中的大多数人已经变得沉闷和疲惫， 几年后他们会是什么样子，只有上帝知道。 我不想成为那样的人 —— 我敢肯定我会变成那样，如果我成为一名工程师。 这并不是说我害怕考试，我可以很容易地通过考试，我不是在吹牛。 我只是不想成为一名工程师，似乎也没有其他任何东西让我感兴趣。 我做过一些写作，也涉足过绘画， 但这些事情并没有走得太远。 我父亲只关心推动我去工作，他能给我找一份好工作。 但我知道如果我接受了它，会发生什么。 我想抛弃一切，离开大学， 不想等待期末考试。”
That would be rather silly wouldn’t it? After all you are nearly through college; why not finish it? There’s no harm in that, is there? “I suppose not. But what am I to do then?”
那将是相当愚蠢的，不是吗？ 毕竟你快要大学毕业了。为什么不完成它？ 那没有坏处，不是吗？ “我想没有。但是我该怎么办？”
Apart from the usual careers, what would you really like to do? You must have some interest, however vague it may be. Somewhere, deep down, you know what it is, don’t you?
除了平常的职业，你真正想做什么？ 你必定有一些兴趣，无论它可能多么地模糊。 在某个地方，在内心深处，你知道它是什么，不是吗？
“You see, I don’t want to become rich; I have no interest in raising a family, and I don’t want to be a slave to a routine. Most of my friends who have jobs, or who have embarked upon a career, are tied to the office from morning till night; and what do they get out of it? A house, a wife some children – and boredom. To me, this is really a frightening prospect, and I don’t want to be caught in it; but I still don’t know what to do.”
“你看，我不想变得富有； 我对养家糊口没有兴趣，我不想成为例行公事的奴隶。 我的大多数有工作或已经开启职业生涯的朋友们， 从早到晚都与办公室联系在一起。 他们从中得到什么？ 一个房子、一个妻子和一些孩子 —— 以及无聊。 对我来说，这真的是一个可怕的前景，我不想被卷入其中； 但我仍然不知道该怎么办。”
Since you have thought so much about all this, haven’t you tried to find out where your real interest lies? What does your mother say? “She doesn’t care what I do as long as I am safe, which means being securely married and tied down; so she backs father up. On my walks I have thought a great deal about what I would really like to do, and I have talked it over with friends. But most of my friends are bent on some career or other, and it’s no good talking to them. Once they are caught in a career, whatever it may be, they think it’s the right thing to do – duty, responsibility, and all the rest of it. I just don’t want to get caught in a similar treadmill that’s all. But what is it I would really like to do? I wish I knew.”
既然你对这一切想了很多， 难道你没有试图找出你真正的兴趣吗？ 妈妈怎么说？ “只要我安全，她就不在乎我做什么， 这意味着要安全地结婚并被绑起来； 所以她支持父亲。 在我的散步中，我思考了我真正想做的事情， 并且我已经和朋友讨论了这个问题。 但是我的大多数朋友都执着于某种职业或其他职业， 与他们交谈并不好。 一旦他们陷入了职业生涯，无论它是什么， 他们都认为这是正确的做法 —— 义务、责任以及所有其他事情。 我只是不想被困在类似的跑步机上。 但是我真正想做什么呢？我希望我知道。”
Do you like people? “In a vague sort of way, Why do you ask?”
你喜欢人吗？ “以一种模糊的方式，你为什么问？”
Perhaps you might like to do something along the line of social work. “Curious you should say that. I have thought of doing social work, and for a time I went around with some of those who have given their lives to it. Generally speaking, they are a dry, frustrated lot, frightfully concerned about the poor, and ceaselessly active in trying to improve social conditions but unhappy inside. I know one young woman who would give her right eye to get married and lead a family life, but her idealism is destroying her. She’s caught in the routine of doing good works, and has become dreadfully cheerful about her boredom. It’s all idealism without flare, without inward joy.”
也许你可能想沿着社会工作的路线做一些事情。 “好奇，你应该这么说。我曾想过做社会工作， 有一段时间我和一些为此献出生命的人一起四处奔走。 一般来说，他们是一群干巴巴的、受挫的群体， 严重地关心穷人， 不停地积极地试图改善社会条件，但内心却不快乐。 我认识一个年轻女人，她本来可以结婚并过上一种家庭生活， 但她的理想主义正在摧毁她。 她陷入了做善事的例行公事中， 并且对自己的无聊很是高兴。 这些都是没有点燃的理想主义，没有内在的欢乐。”
I suppose religion, in the accepted sense, means nothing to you? “As a boy I often used to go with my mother to the temple, with its priests, prayers and ceremonies, but I haven’t been there for years.”
我想宗教，在公认的意义上，对你来说毫无意义？ “小时候，我经常和母亲一起去寺庙， 那里有祭司、祈祷和仪式，但我已经很多年没有去了。”
That too becomes a routine, a repetitious sensation, a living on words and explanations. Religion is something much more than all that. Are you adventurous? “Not in the usual meaning of that word – mountain climbing, polar exploration, deep-sea diving, and so on. I’m not being superior, but to me there’s something rather immature about all that. I could no more climb mountains than hunt whales.”
那也变成了一种例行公事，一种重复的感觉，一种靠言语和解释的谋生手段。 宗教远不止于此。你喜欢冒险吗？ “不是这个词的通常含义 —— 登山、极地探险、深海潜水等。 我不是蔑视，但对我来说，这一切都有一些相当不成熟的东西。 我想爬山还不如捕鲸呢。”
What about politics? “The ordinary political game doesn’t interest me. I have some Communist friends, and have read some of their stuff, and at one time I thought of joining the party; but I can’t stomach their double talk, their violence and tyranny. These are the things they actually stand for, whatever may be their official ideology and their talk of peace. I went through that phase quickly.”
那么政治呢？ “普通的政治游戏对我不感兴趣。 我有一些共产党朋友，读过他们的一些东西， 有一次我想过入党。 但我无法忍受他们的双重言论，他们的暴力和暴政。 这些是代表着他们真正的东西， 无论他们的官方意识形态和他们的和平言论是什么。 我很快就经历了那段时期。”
We have eliminated a great deal, haven’t we? If you don’t want to do any of these things, then what’s left?
我们已经淘汰了很多，不是吗？ 如果你不想做任何这些事情，那么还剩下什么呢？
“I don’t know. Am I still too young to know?”
“我不知道。我是不是还太年轻，不知道？”
It’s not a matter of age, is it? Discontent is part of existence, but we generally find a way to tame it, whether through a career through marriage, through belief, or through idealism and good works. One way or another, most of us manage to smother this flame of discontent don’t we? After successfully smothering it, we think at last we are happy – and we may be, at least for the time being. Now, instead of smothering this flame of discontent through some form of satisfaction, is it possible to keep it always burning? And is it then discontent?
它不是年龄问题，不是吗？ 不满是存在的一部分，但我们通常会找到一种方法来驯服它， 无论是通过婚姻，通过信仰， 还是通过理想主义和善行。 不管怎样，我们大多数人都设法扼杀了这种不满的火焰，不是吗？ 在成功扼杀它之后，我们认为我们终于快乐了 —— 至少目前我们可能是快乐的。 现在，与其通过某种形式的满足来扼杀这种不满的火焰， 是否有可能让它一直燃烧下去？ 那么，是不满吗？
“Do you mean I should remain as I am, dissatisfied with everything about me and within myself, and not seek some satisfying occupation that will let this fire burn out? Is that what you mean?”
“你的意思是我应该保持我这个样子， 对我和我自己内心的一切不满， 而不寻求一些令人满意的职业，让这把火烧起来吗？ 那是你的意思吗？”
We are discontented because we think we should be contented; the idea that we should be at peace with ourselves makes discontentment painful. You think you ought to be something, don’t you? – a responsible person, a useful citizen, and all the rest of it. With the understanding of discontent, you may be these things and much more. But you want to do something satisfying, something which will occupy your mind and so put an end to this inner disturbance; isn’t that so?
我们感到不满，因为我们认为：我们应该满足； 我们想让自己保持平和，这个想法使不满变成了痛苦。 你认为你应该成为某种人物，不是吗？ —— 一个负责任的人、一个有用的公民，以及所有其他类似的。 当去理解不满的时候，你可能会成为这些人物，甚至更多。 但是你想做一些令人满意的事情， 一些会占据你头脑的事情，从而结束这种内在的扰动； 难道不是那样吗？
“It is in a way, but I now see what such occupation leads to.”
“在某种方式上看，是的；但我现在看到了这种占据会导致什么。”
The occupied mind is a dull, routine mind; in essence, it’s mediocre. Because it’s established in habit, in belief, in a respectable and profitable routine, the mind feels secure, both inwardly and outwardly; therefore it ceases to be disturbed. This is so isn’t it? “In general, yes. But what am I to do?”
被占据的头脑是一个沉闷的、例行公事的头脑； 从本质上讲，它是平庸的。 因为它是建立在习惯、信仰、一种尊敬的和有利可图的习俗中， 头脑在内在和外在都感到安全； 因此，它不再被干扰。 就是这样，不是吗？ “总的来说，是的。但是我该怎么办呢？”
You may discover the solution if you go further into this feeling of discontent. Don’t think about it in terms of being contented. Find out why it exists, and whether it shouldn’t be kept burning. After all, you are not particularly concerned about earning a livelihood, are you?
如果你进一步进入这种不满的感受，你可能会发现解决方案。 不要从满足的角度来考虑它。 找出它存在的原因，以及它是否不应该继续燃烧。 毕竟，你并不是特别关心谋生，对吧？
“Quite bluntly, I am not. One can always live somehow or other.”
“坦率地说，我不是。一个人总是可以以某种方式生活。”
So that’s not your problem at all. But you don’t want to be caught in a routine, in the wheel of mediocrity; isn’t that what you are concerned about? “It looks like it, sir.”
所以那根本不是你的问题。 但你不想被困在一个例行公事中，陷入平庸的车轮； 那难道不是你所关心的吗？ “看起来，好像是它，先生。”
Not to be thus caught demands hard work, incessant watching, it means coming to no conclusions from which to continue further thinking; for to think from a conclusion is not to think at all. It’s because the mind starts from a conclusion, from a belief, from experience, from knowledge, that it gets caught in routine, in the net of habit, and then the fire of discontent is smothered.
不被那些东西困住，需要艰苦地工作，不断地观察， 它意味着进入到没有结论可以继续进一步地思考； 因为从一个结论开始的思考就是根本不是思考。 这是因为 头脑从一个结论、一个信念、体验、知识开始， 它就陷入了常规，掉进了习惯的网罟， 那么，不满的火焰就被扼杀。
“I see that you are perfectly right, and I now understand what it is that has really been on my mind. I don’t want to be like those whose life is routine and boredom, and I say this without any sense of superiority. Losing oneself in various forms of adventure is equally meaningless; and I don’t want to be merely contented either. I have begun to see, however vaguely, in a direction which I never knew even existed. Is this new direction what you were referring to the other day in your talk when you spoke of a state, or a movement, which is timeless and ever creative?”
“我看到你完全正确， 我现在理解我真正想到的是什么。 我不想像那些生活在常规和无聊的人一样， 我这样说没有任何优越感。 在各种形式的冒险中迷失自我，同样是毫无意义的； 我也不想仅仅满足。 我开始看到，无论多么模糊，一个我甚至从来不知道存在的方向上。 这个新方向是你前几天在演讲中提到的吗？ 你当时谈到一种状态或运动，是非时间的，永远有创造力的。”
Perhaps. Religion is not a matter of churches, temples, rituals and beliefs; it’s the moment-by moment discovery of that movement, which may have any name, or no name. “I’m afraid I have taken more than my share of the available time,” he said, turning to the others. “I hope you don’t mind.” “On the contrary,” replied the old man. “I for one have listened very attentively, and have profited a great deal; I, too, have seen something beyond my problem. In listening quietly to the troubles of another, our own burdens are sometimes lightened.”
也许。宗教是与教会、寺庙、仪式和信仰无关的事情 它是瞬间到瞬间的发现运动，它可能有任何名称，或者没有名称。 “恐怕我占用的时间超过了我那份可用的时间，” 他说，转向其他人。“我希望你们不介意。” “恰恰相反，” 老人回答说， “我一个人听得很用心，赚了很多钱。 我也看到了超越我的问题的东西。 在静静地听他人的烦恼时，我们自己的负担有时也会减轻。”
He was silent for a minute or two, as if considering how to express what he wanted to say. “Personally, I have reached an age,” he went on, “when I no longer ask what I am going to do; instead, I look back and consider what I have done with my life. I too went to college, but I was not as thoughtful as our young friend here. Upon graduating from college, I went in search of work, and once having found a job, I spent the next forty years and more in earning a livelihood and maintaining a rather large family. During all that time I was caught in the office routine to which you have referred, and in the habits of family life, and I know its pleasures and tribulations, its tears and passing joys. I have grown old with struggle and weariness, and in recent years there has been a fast decline. Looking back on all that, I now ask myself, ‘What have you done with your life? Apart from your family and your job, what have you actually accomplished?”
他沉默了一两分钟，仿佛在考虑如何表达他想说的话。 “就我个人而言，我已经到了一个年龄，” 他接着说， “当我不再问我要做什么的时候； 相反，我回头看和想：我用我的生命做了什么事情。 我也上过大学，但我不像我们在这里的年轻朋友那样想得周到。 大学毕业后，我去寻找工作， 一旦找到了工作， 我就在接下来的四十年甚至更长的时间里谋生， 维持一个相当大的家庭。 在那段时间里，我陷入了你所提到的办公室的例行公事 和家庭生活的习惯中， 我知道它的快乐和磨难，它的眼泪和逝去的快乐。 我随着挣扎和疲惫而变老，近年来在迅速地下降。 回想起这一切，我现在问自己， '你用你的生命做了什么？ 除了你的家庭和工作，你到底完成了什么？”
The old man paused before answering his own question. “Over the years, I joined various associations for the improvement of this and that; I belonged to several different religious groups, and left one for another; and I hopefully read the literature of the extreme left, only to find that their organization is as tyrannically authoritarian as the church. Now that I have retired, I can see that I have been living on the surface of life; I have merely drifted. Though I struggled a little against the strong current of society, in the end I was pulled along by it. But don’t misunderstand me. I’m not shedding tears over the past; I don’t bemoan the things that have been. I am concerned with the few years that I still have left. Between now and the fast-approaching day of my death, how am I to meet this thing called life? That is my problem.”
老人停顿了一下，然后回答了自己的问题。 “多年来，我加入了各种协会，以改善这个和那个； 我属于几个不同的宗教团体，离开了一个，转向另一个； 我满怀希望地阅读极左派的文献， 却发现他们的组织与教会一样专制。 现在我已经退休了， 我可以看到，我一直生活在生命的表面；我只是在流浪。 虽然我与社会的强势潮流斗争了一下， 但最终我被它拉下水了。但不要误解我。 我不是在为过去流泪；我不哀叹过去的事情。 我对我还剩下的几年感到担忧。 从现在到我死亡的那一天， 我该如何面对这个叫做生命的东西呢？那是我的问题。”
What we are is made up of what we have been; and what we have been also shapes the future, without definitely giving line and substance to every thought and action. The present is a movement of the past to the future. “What has been my past? practically nothing at all. There have been no great sins, no towering ambition, no overwhelming sorrow no degrading violence. My life has been that of the average man, neither hot nor cold; it has been an even flow, a thoroughly mediocre life. I have built up a past in which there’s nothing to be either proud or ashamed of. My whole existence has been dull and empty, without much meaning. It would have been the same, had I lived in a palace, or in a village hut. How easy it is to slip into the current of mediocrity! Now, my question is, can I stem in myself this current of mediocrity? Is it possible to break away from my pettily enlarging past?”
我们是什么，是由我们曾经的样子组成的； 而我们曾经的样子也塑造了未来， 而没有明确的界线和物质来区别每一个想法和行动。 现在是‘过去’到‘未来’的运动。 “我的过去是什么？实际上根本没有。 没有大罪，没有高耸的野心， 没有压倒性的悲伤，没有有辱人格的暴力。 我的生活是普通人的生活，既不热也不冷； 这是一种均匀的流动，一种彻底平庸的生活。 我建设了一个过去，在这个过去里，没有什么值得骄傲或羞愧的。 我的整个存在都是沉闷而空虚的，没有太多意义。 如果我住在宫殿里，或者住在村里的小屋里，情况也会一样。 跌入平庸的潮流是多么地容易！ 现在，我的问题是，我能阻止自己这种平庸的潮流吗？ 有没有可能摆脱我这种琐碎的、正在扩张的过去呢？
What is the past? When you use the word ‘past’, what does it signify? “It seems to me that the past is chiefly a matter of association and memory.”
过去是什么？当你使用‘过去’这个词时，它意味着什么？ “在我看来，过去主要是一个联想和记忆的问题。”
Do you mean the totality of memory, or just the memory of everyday incidents? Incidents that have no psychological significance, while they may be remembered, do not take root in the soil of the mind. They come and go; they do not occupy or burden the mind. Only those remain which have psychological significance. So what do you mean by the past? Is there a past that remains solid, immovable, from which you can cleanly and sharply break away?
你是指记忆的整体，还是只是对日常事件的记忆？ 没有心理意义的事件， 虽然它们可能被记住，但不会在头脑的土壤中扎根。 它们来来去去；它们不占据或烦扰头脑。 只有那些留下的，才有心理上的意义。 那么，你说的‘过去’是什么意思？ 是否存在着一个过去，它是坚实的，不可移动的， 是你可以干净利落地从中脱离出来的东西？
“My past is made up of a multitude of little things put together, and its roots are shallow. A good shock like a strong wind, could blow it away.”
“我的过去是由许多小东西拼凑在一起的，它的根源是浅薄的。 像强风一样的冲击，就可以把它吹走。”
And you are waiting for the wind. Is that your problem? “I’m not waiting for anything. But must I go on like this for the rest of my days? Can I not break away from the past?”
而你正在等待风。那是你的问题吗？ “我不是在等待任何事情。 但是，我必须在余下的日子里继续这样下去吗？ 我能不能脱离过去？”
Again, what is the past from which you want to break away? Is the past static, or is it a living thing? If it’s a living thing, how does it get its life? Through what means does it revive itself? If it’s a living thing, can you break away from it? And who is the ‘you’ that wants to break away?
再说一遍，你想摆脱的过去是什么？ 过去是静止的，还是活生生的？ 如果它是一个生物，它是如何获得生命的？ 它是通过什么手段复活自己的？ 如果它是一个生物，你能摆脱它吗？ 那个想要脱离的‘你’，是谁？
“Now I’m getting confused,” he complained. “I have asked a simple question, and you counter it by asking several more complicated ones. Would you kindly explain what you mean?”
“现在我感到困惑，” 他抱怨道。 “我问了一个简单的问题， 你通过问几个更复杂的问题来反驳它。 你能解释一下你的意思吗？”
You say, sir, that you want to be free from the past. What is this past? “It consists of experiences and the memories one has of them.”
你说，先生，你想从过去中解脱。那这个‘过去’是什么呢？ “它包括体验和对它们的记忆。”
Now, these memories, you say, are on the surface, they are not deep-rooted. But may not some of them have roots deep in the unconscious?
现在，这些记忆，你说，在表面上，它们并不是根深蒂固。 但是，它们中的一些有可能在无意识深处扎根吗？
“I don’t think I have any deep-rooted memories. Tradition and belief have deep roots in many people, but I follow them only as a matter of social convenience. They don’t play a very significant part in my life.”
“我不认为我有任何根深蒂固的记忆。 传统和信仰在许多人中根深蒂固， 但我只是为了方便而遵循它们。 它们在我的生活中并没有扮演非常重要的角色。”
If the past is to be dismissed so easily, there’s no problem; if only the outer husk of the past remains, which can be brushed off at any time, then you have already broken away. But there’s more to the problem than that isn’t there? How are you to break through your mediocre life? How are you to shatter the pettiness of the mind? Isn’t this also your problem, sir? And surely, the ‘how’ in this case is a furtherance of inquiry, not the demand for a method. It’s the practising of a method, based on the desire to succeed, with its fear and authority, that has brought about pettiness in the first place.
如果过去要如此轻易地被解散，那就没有问题了。 如果只剩下过去的外壳，随时可以刷掉， 那么你已经摆脱了。 但是，问题远不止那些，不是吗？ 你如何突破平庸的生活？ 你如何粉碎头脑的琐碎？ 这不也是你的问题吗，先生？ 当然， 在这种情况下，‘如何’是调查的进一步，而不是对方法的需求。 实践一种方法， 而方法是基于对成功的欲望，以及它的恐惧和权威， 这样就第一次带来了琐碎。
“I came with the intention of dispelling my past, which is without much significance, but I am being confronted with another problem.”
“我来这里的目的是消除我的过去，它没有多大的意义， 但我面临着另一个问题。”
Why do you say that your past is without much significance? “I have drifted on the surface of life, and when you drift, you can’t have deep roots, even in your family. I see that to me life hasn’t meant very much; I have done nothing with it. Only a few years are now left to me, and I want to stop drifting, I want to make something of what remains of my life. Is this at all possible?”
为什么你说你的过去没有多大意义？ “我漂泊在人生的表面上， 当你漂泊的时候，你不可能有深厚的根基，甚至在你的家庭里。 我看到生活对我来说意义不大。我没有对它做任何事情。 现在只剩下几年了， 我想停止漂泊， 我想在生命中剩下的时光里，做一些事情。这是可能的吗？”
What do you want to make of your life? Doesn’t the pattern of what you want to be, evolve from what you have been? Surely, your pattern is a reaction from what has been; it is an outcome of the past. “Then how am I to make anything of life?”
你想在你的生活中做些什么？ 你想成为的模样，是从你的过去演变而来的，难道不是吗？ 当然，模样的制造模式是来自过去的反应； 它是过去的产物。 “那么，在生命中，我能做点什么呢？”
What do you mean by life? Can you act upon it? Or is life incalculable, and not to be held within the boundaries of the mind? Life is everything, isn’t it? Jealousy, vanity, inspiration and despair; social morality, and the virtue which is outside the realm of cultivated righteousness; knowledge gathered through the centuries; character, which is the meeting of the past with the present; organized beliefs, called religions, and the truth that lies beyond them; hate and affection; love and compassion which are not within the field of the mind all this and more is life, is it not? And you want to do something with it, you want to give it shape, direction, significance. Now, who is the ‘you’ that wants to do all this? Are you different from that which you seek to change?
你说的生命是什么意思？ 你能采取行动吗？还是生命是不可估量的， 而不能被控制在头脑的边界内？ 生命即是一切，不是吗？ 嫉妒、虚荣、灵感和绝望； 社会道德，以及在培养出来的正义范畴之外的美德； 几个世纪以来收集的知识； 性格，也就是过去与现在的交汇； 有组织的信仰，称之为宗教，以及超越它们的真理； 仇恨和感情； 不在头脑的领域内的爱和慈， 这一切，甚至更多，都是生命，不是吗？ 你想用它做点什么， 你想给它形状、方向、意义。 现在，想要做这一切的‘你’是谁？ 你与你寻求改变的东西不同吗？
“Are you suggesting that one should just go on drifting?”
“你是在暗示一个人应该继续漂流吗？”
When you want to direct, to shape life, your pattern can only be a cording to the past; or, being unable to shape it, your reaction is drift. But the understanding of the totality of life brings about its own action, in which there is neither drifting nor the imposition of a pattern. This totality is to be understood from moment to moment. There must be the death of the past moment. “But am I capable of understanding the totality of life?” he ask anxiously.
当你想要引导、塑造生命时，你的模式只不过是过去的准绳； 或者，由于无法塑造它，你的反应是漂流。 但是，对生命整体性的理解带来了它自己的行动， 在这种行动中，既没有漂流，也没有模式的强迫。 这种整体，是每时每刻对它的理解。 过去的每一刻，必须死亡。 “但是我有能力去理解生命的整体性吗？” 他焦急地问道。
If you do not understand it, no one else can understand it for you. You cannot learn it from another. “How shall I proceed?”
如果你不理解它，没有人能帮你理解它。 你不能从别人那里学到它。“我该怎么走？”
Through self-knowledge; for the totality, the whole treasure of life, lies within yourself. “What do you mean by self-knowledge?”
通过自我认识； 因为这个整体，生命的全部宝藏，就在你自己里面。 “你说的自我认识是什么意思？”
It is to perceive the ways of your own mind; it is to learn about your cravings, your desires, your urges and pursuits, the hidden as well as the open. There is no learning where there is the accumulation of knowledge. With self-knowledge, the mind is free to be still. Only then is there the coming into being of that which is beyond the measure of the mind.
它是感知你自己头脑的方式； 它是学习 你的渴望、你的欲望、你的冲动和追求，包含了隐藏的和开放的。 如果出现对知识的积累，就不存在学习。 有了自我认识，头脑就可以自由地处于静止的状态。 只有这样，才有超越头脑测量的东西的呈现。
The married couple had been listening the whole time; they had been awaiting their turn, but never interrupted, and only now the husband spoke up. “Our problem was that of jealousy, but after listening to what has already been said here, I think we may be capable of resolving it. perhaps we have understood more deeply by quietly listening than we would have by asking questions.”
这对已婚夫妇一直在听。 他们一直在等待轮到他们，但从未打断过， 直到现在丈夫才开口说话。 “我们的问题是嫉妒， 但在听了这里已经说过的话之后， 我想我们可能有能力解决这个问题。 也许我们通过静静地听 比通过提问，更能深刻地理解。”