IT WAS AN enchanting walk. The path from the house lay through the vineyard, and the grapes were just beginning to ripen; they were rich and full, and would yield a great deal of red wine. The vineyard was well-tended, and there were no weeds. Next came the beautifully-kept tobacco patch, long and wide. After the rain, the plants were beginning to blossom with pink flowers, neat and tidy; their faint smell of fresh tobacco, so different from the sickening smell of burnt tobacco, would become stronger in the hot sun. The long stem on which the flowers grew would presently be cut off to make the pale, silvery-green tobacco leaves, already quite large, grow still larger and richer by the time they were picked. Then they would be gathered together, classified, tied on long strings, and strung up in the long building behind the house, to dry evenly where the sun wouldn’t touch them, but where there would be the evening breeze. Men with oxen were working in that tobacco patch even then, drawing a furrow between the long, straight rows of plants, to destroy the weeds. The soil had been carefully prepared and heavily manured, and weeds grew in it as richly as did the tobacco plants; but after all those weeks, there was not a single weed to be seen.
这是一次迷人的散步。 经过屋旁的小路，穿过葡萄园，葡萄刚刚开始成熟。 它们丰富而饱满，会产出大量的红酒。 葡萄园打理得很好，没有杂草。 然后来到了养护得很漂亮的烟草园，叶片又长又宽。 雨后，植株开出粉红色的花朵，雅致而整洁； 它们淡淡的新鲜烟草气味，与烧焦的烟叶的令人作呕的气味是多么的不同， 在炎热的阳光下变得更加强烈。 花朵生长的长茎将会被切断， 以便于已经长得相当宽大的、苍白的、银绿色的烟草叶 在采摘时变得更大、更丰富。 然后，它们会被收集在一起，分类，绑在长绳上， 然后串在房子后面的长长的建筑物里，在阴凉处晾干 —— 要放在太阳不会晒到它们，晚上却有微风的地方。 即使在那个时候，人与牛还在烟草田里工作， 在长而笔挺的植物之间犁出一条沟痕，以摧毁杂草。 土壤经过精心准备和大量地施肥， 杂草和烟草一样丰富。 但经过这么多星期的劳作，看不到一根杂草。
The path went on through an orchard of peach, pear, plum, greengage, nectarine and other trees, all laden with ripening fruit. In the evening there was a sweet scent in the air, and during the day, the hum of many bees. Beyond the orchard, the path led down a long slope, deep into thick, sheltering woods. Here the earth was soft under the feet with the dead leaves of many summers. It was very cool under the trees, for the sun had little chance to penetrate their thick foliage; the soil was always damp and sweet smelling, giving off the scent of rich humus. There were quantities of mushrooms, most of them the inedible variety. Here and there could be found the kind that can be eaten, but you had to look for them; they were more retiring, generally hidden under a leaf of the same colour. The peasants would come early to pick them for the market, or for their own use.
这条小路穿过一片桃园、梨园、李子园、绿松园、油桃园 以及其它树的果园，都挂满了成熟的果实。 晚上，空气中弥漫着甜美的香味，白天，有许多蜜蜂的嗡嗡声。 在果园之外，小路沿着一条长长的斜坡向下延伸，深入茂密的树林。 在这里，脚下的泥土很柔软，有许多夏天的枯叶。 树下非常凉爽，因为太阳几乎没有机会穿透它们茂密的树叶。 土壤总有潮湿而甜美的气味，散发出浓郁的腐殖质的香味。 蘑菇的数量很多，其中大多数是不可食用的品种。 到处都可以找到可以吃的那种，但你必须寻找它们； 它们更加隐蔽，通常隐藏在相同颜色的叶子下。 农民会早早地来采摘它们，供市场或自己食用。
There were hardly any birds in those woods, which spread for miles over the gently rolling hills. It was very quiet; there was not even the stirring of a breeze among the leaves. But there was always a movement of some kind in those woods, and that movement was part of the immense silence; it was not disturbing, and it seemed to add to the stillness of the mind. The trees, the insects, the spreading ferns, were not separate, something seen from the outside; they were part of that quietude, within and without. Even the muffled roar of a distant train was contained in that quietness. There was complete absence of resistance, and the bark of a dog, insistent and penetrating, seemed to heighten the stillness.
那是几乎没有鸟类的树林， 它们在连绵起伏的丘陵中，绵延数英里。 非常安静；树叶之间甚至没有微风的扰动。 但是，在那些树林里总有某种运动， 这种运动是巨大的寂寥的一部分。 它并不令人不安，它似乎增加了头脑的寂静。 树木、昆虫、蔓延的蕨类植物，都不是分开的、外面的东西； 它们是这个安静的一部分，无论内在还是外在。 就连远处火车那声沉闷的吼叫声，也包含在那种寂静之中。 这里完全没有阻碍， 一只狗在吠叫，迫切的、穿透性的叫声，似乎加剧了这种寂静。
Beyond the woods was the lovely, curving river. It was not too wide or impressive, but wide enough to give space for the keen eye to see people on the opposite bank. All along both banks there were trees, mostly poplars, tall and stately, with their leaves aquiver in the breeze. The water was deep and cool, and always flowing. It was a beautiful thing to watch, so alive and rich. A lonely fisherman was sitting on a stool with a picnic basket beside him and a newspaper on his knee. The river brought contentment and peace, though the fish seemed to avoid the bait. The river would always be there, though there would be wars and men would die; it would always be nourishing the earth and men. Far away were the snow-covered mountains, and on a clear evening, when the setting sun was upon them, their lofty peaks could be seen like sunlit clouds.
树林外是一条可爱弯曲的河流。 它不是太宽或太令人印象深刻， 但足够宽，难以让敏锐的眼睛看到对岸的人。 沿着河流的两岸都是树， 主要是杨树，高大而庄严，它们的叶子在微风中颤抖。 水很深，很凉爽，总是在流动。 观看它是一种美，如此活泼和充沛。 一个孤独的渔夫坐在凳子上， 旁边放着一个野餐篮，膝盖上放着一张报纸。 这条河带来了满足与和平，尽管鱼似乎避开了诱饵。 河流将永远存在，尽管会有战争，人们会死去。 它将永远滋养地球和人类。 远处是白雪皑皑的山脉， 在晴朗的傍晚，当夕阳降临在它们身上时， 可以看到它们高耸的山峰，如同阳光普照的云彩。
Three or four of us were in the room, and just beyond the window was a wide, sparkling lawn. The sky was pale blue, with heavy, billowy clouds. “Is it ever really possible,” asked the man, “for the mind to free itself from its conditioning? If so, what is the state of a mind that has unconditioned itself? I have heard your talks over a period of several years, and have given a great deal of thought to the matter, yet my mind doesn’t seem able to break away from the traditions and ideas that were implanted during childhood. I know that I am as conditioned as any other person. From childhood we are taught to conform – taught brutally, or with affection and gentle suggestions – until conforming becomes instinctive, and the mind is afraid of the insecurity of not conforming.
我们三四个人在房间里，窗外是一片宽阔、闪闪发光的草坪。 天空淡蓝色，云层厚重，飘忽不定。 “这真的有可能吗，” 那人问道，“头脑能从它的局限中解脱出来吗？ 如果是这样，一个没有限制的头脑的状态是什么？ 几年来，我听过你们的讲话， 对这个问题进行了大量思考， 但我的头脑似乎无法摆脱童年时期植入的传统和思想。 我知道我和其他人一样受限。 从童年开始，我们就被教导要顺从 —— 残酷地教导，或者以爱和温柔的建议 —— 直到顺从成为本能， 头脑害怕不顺从而引发的不安全感。
“I have a friend who grew up in a Catholic environment,” he went on, “and of course she was told of sin, hellfire, the comforting joys of heaven, and all the rest of it. Upon reaching maturity, and after a great deal of reflection, she threw off the Catholic structure of thought; yet even now, in middle life, she finds herself influenced by the idea of hell, with its contagious fears. Though my background is superficially quite different, I, like her, am also afraid of not conforming. I see the absurdity of conforming, but I can’t shake it off; and even if I could, I should probably be doing the same thing in another way – merely comforting to a new pattern.”
“我有一个朋友，她在天主教的环境中长大，”他接着说， “当然，她被告知有罪、地狱之火、天堂舒适的欢乐，以及所有其他的。 在达到成年时，经过大量的反思， 她抛弃了天主教的思想结构；然而，即使是现在，在生命的中期， 她发现自己受到地狱概念的影响，以及那具有传染性的恐惧。 虽然我的背景表面上完全不同， 但我和她一样，也害怕不顺从。 我看到顺从的荒谬，但我无法摆脱它； 即使我可以，我可能也会以另一种方式做同样的事情 —— 只是去顺从一种新的模式。
“That’s also my difficulty,” added one of the ladies. “I see very clearly the many ways in which I am bound by tradition; but can I break away from my present bondage without being caught in a new one? There are people who drift from one religious organization to another, always seeking, never satisfied; and when at last they are satisfied, they become frightful bores. That’s probably what will happen to me if I try to break away from my present conditioning: without knowing it, I shall be dragged into another pattern of life.”
“这也是我的困难，” 其中一位女士补充道。 “我非常清楚地看到我被传统束缚的多种方式； 但是我能摆脱我现在的束缚而不陷入新的束缚中吗？ 有些人从一个宗教组织漂流到另一个宗教组织，总是寻求，从不满足； 当他们终于满意时，他们就变得可怕的无聊。 如果我试图摆脱我现在的制约，这可能就会发生在我的身上： 在不知不觉中，我将被拖入另一种生活模式。”
“As a matter of fact,” went on the man, “most of us have never thought very deeply about how our mind is almost entirely shaped by the society and the culture in which we have grown up. We are unaware of our conditioning and just carry on, struggling, achieving, or being frustrated within the pattern of a given society. That’s the lot of almost all of us, including the political and religious leaders. Unfortunately for me, perhaps, I came to hear several of your talks, and then the pain of questioning began. For some time I did not think about this matter very deeply, but suddenly I find myself becoming serious. I have been experimenting, and am now aware of many things in myself which I had never noticed before. If I may continue without everyone feeling that I am talking too much, I would like to go into this question of conditioning a little further.”
“事实上，” 该男子继续说， “我们大多数人从未深入思考过 我们的头脑几乎完全是由我们成长的社会和文化塑造的。 我们没有意识到我们的局限， 只是在特定社会的模式中继续前进、挣扎、达成或受挫。 这就是我们几乎所有人的命运，包括政治和宗教领袖。 不幸的是，也许，我来听了你们的几次讲话，然后质疑的痛苦开始了。 有一段时间，我没有深入思考这件事， 但突然间，我发现自己变得严肃起来。 我一直在实验， 现在我意识到自己身上的许多东西，我以前从未注意到。 如果我能继续，而没有人觉得我说得太多， 我想进一步讨论这种受限的问题。”
When the others had assured him that they too were deeply interested in this subject, he went on. “After having heard or read most of the things you have said, I realized how conditioned I am; and I likewise saw that one must be free from conditioning – not only from the conditioning of the superficial mind, but also from that of the unconscious. I perceived the absolute necessity of it. But what is actually taking place is this: the conditioning I received in my youth continues, and at the same time there is a strong desire to uncondition myself. So my mind is caught in this conflict between the conditioning of which I am aware, and the urge to be free from it. That’s my actual position right now. How shall I proceed from there?”
当其他人向他保证，他们也对这个话题非常感兴趣时， 他继续说下去。“在听到或读过你说过的大部分话之后， 我意识到我是多么地受限。 我同样看到，一个人必须摆脱限制 —— 不仅是从肤浅的头脑的制约中解脱， 而且从无意识的制约中解脱。我意识到它的绝对必要性。 但实际上正在发生的是： 我在年轻时受到的制约仍在继续， 同时有一种强烈的欲望想瓦解我自己。 因此，我的头脑陷入了这种冲突 —— 我所意识到的制约和想从其中解脱的冲动之间的冲突。 这就是我现在的实际立场。 我在那儿该怎么走呢？”
Does not the urge of the mind to free itself from its conditioning set going another pattern of resistance and conditioning? Having become aware of the pattern or mould in which you have grown up, you want to be free from it; but will not this desire to be free condition the mind again in a different manner? The old pattern insists that you conform to authority, and now you are developing a new one which maintains that you must not conform; so you have two patterns, one in conflict with the other. As long as there is this inner contradiction, further conditioning takes place.
头脑想从其限制中解脱出来的冲动 难道不是引发了另一种抵抗和限制的模式吗？ 在意识到你成长的模式或模具之后， 你想从中解脱； 但是，这种摆脱限制的欲望，难道不会再次以不同的方式限制头脑吗？ 旧的模式坚持使你服从权威， 现在你正在开发一个新的模式，它坚持认为你不能服从； 所以你有两种模式，一种与另一种相冲突。 只要存在这种内在的矛盾，就会发生进一步的制约。
“I know that the old pattern is quite absurd and dead, and that there must be freedom from it, otherwise my mind will go on in the same stupid way.”
“我知道旧的模式是相当荒谬和僵死， 必须有摆脱它的自由，否则我的头脑会以同样愚蠢的方式继续下去。”
Let’s be patient and go into it more. The old pattern has told you to conform, and for various reasons – fear of insecurity, and so on – you have conformed. Now, for reasons of a different kind, but in which there is still fear and the desire for security, you feel you must not conform. That’s so, isn’t it? “Yes, that’s so more or less. But the old is stupid, and I must be free from stupidity.”
让我们耐心一点，更深入一些。 旧模式告诉你要顺从，并且由于各种原因 —— 害怕不安全等等 —— 你已经顺从了。 现在，由于另一种原因， 但仍然有恐惧和对安全的欲望，你觉得你一定不能顺从。 就是这样，不是吗？ “是的，这或多或少是如此。但旧的是愚蠢的，我必须从愚蠢中解脱。”
May I point out, sir, that you are not listening. You go on insisting that the old is bad, and you must have the new. But having the new is not the problem at all. “That’s my problem, sir.”
先生，请允许我指出，你没有在听。 你继续坚持认为旧的是坏的，你必须拥有新的。 但拥有新的根本不是问题。 “那就是我的问题，先生。”
Is it? You think so, but let’s see. please don’t carry on with your own thoughts about the problem, but just listen, will you? “I will try.”
是吗？你这么认为，但让我们来看。 请不要继续保有对这个问题的想法，只是听，你会吗？ “我会尝试的。”
One conforms instinctively for various reasons: out of attachment, fear, the desire for reward, and so on. That is one’s first response. Then somebody comes along and says that one must be free from conditioning, and there arises the urge not to conform. Do you follow?
一个人出于各种原因，本能地顺从： 出于依恋、恐惧、对奖励的渴望，等等。这是一个人的第一回应。 然后有人走过来，说一个人必须摆脱限制， 并产生了不顺从的冲动。你跟上了吗？
“Yes sir, that’s clear.”
“是的，先生，这很清楚。”
Now, is there any essential difference between the desire to conform, and the craving to be free of conformity? “It seems as if there should be, but I really don’t know. What do you say, sir?”
现在，顺从的欲望和渴望摆脱顺从的欲望之间 有什么本质的区别吗？ “似乎应该有，但我真的不知道。你怎么说，先生？”
It is not for me to tell you, and for you to accept. Must you not find out for yourself whether there is any fundamental difference between these two seemingly opposing desires?
这不是我要告诉你，也不是你要接受。 你难道不能亲自找出 这两种看似对立的欲望之间，是否存在根本上的区别？
“How am I to find out?”
“我怎么找？”
By neither condemning the one nor eagerly pursuing the other. What is the state of the mind that is hungering after freedom from conformity, and rejecting conformity? please don’t answer me, but feel it out, actually experience that state. Words are necessary for communication, but the word is not the actual experience. Unless you really experience and understand that state, your efforts to be free will only bring about the formation of other patterns. Isn’t that so?
既不谴责一方，也不热切地追求另一方。 渴切摆脱顺从、拒绝顺从的头脑的状态是什么？ 请不要回答我，但要感觉到它，真实地体验到那种状态。 言语是沟通的必要条件，但文字不是实际体验。 除非你真正体验和理解这种状态， 否则你争取自由的努力，只会带来其他模式的成型。 难道不是这样吗？
“I don’t quite understand.”
“我不太理解。”
Surely, not to put an end completely to the mechanism that produces patterns, moulds, whether positive or negative, is to continue in a modified pattern or conditioning. “I can understand this verbally, but I don’t really feel it.”
当然了，别去完全地断定产生模式、模具的工作机制， 无论是积极的还是消极的， 任何一个定论，都是被修改之后的模式或局限的接班人。 “我能从口头上理解这一点，但我没有真正地感觉到。”
To a hungry man, the mere description of food is valueless; he wants to eat.
对一个饥饿的人来说，仅仅描述食物是毫无价值的。他想吃。
There is the urge that makes for conformity, and the urge to be free. However dissimilar these two urges may seem to be, are they not fundamentally similar? And if they are fundamentally similar, then your pursuit of freedom is vain for you will only move from one pattern to another, endlessly. There is no noble or better conditioning; all conditioning is pain. The desire to be, or not to be, breeds conditioning, and it is this desire that has to be understood.
有一种冲动使人顺从，也有渴望自由的冲动。 无论这两种冲动看起来有多么地不同，它们本质上不是相似吗？ 如果它们在根本上是相似的，那么你对自由的追求就是徒劳的， 因为你只会从一种模式无休止地转移到另一种模式。 没有高尚的或更好的局限；所有的局限都是痛苦。 ‘成为’或‘不成为’的欲望滋生了局限， 而正是这种欲望必须被理解。