Part1 Questing Inward
第一部分 探寻内心
"On my head pour only the sweet waters of serenity. Give me the gift of the Untroubled Mind."
"只在我头上灌注宁静的蜜露,赐予我一份不受干扰的心境。"
Once, as a young man full of exuberant fancy, I undertook to draw up a catalogue of the acknowledged "goods" of life. As other men sometimes tabulate lists of properties they own or would like to own, I set down my inventory of earthly desirables: health, love, beauty, talent, power, riches, and fame.
曾经,当我还是个充满丰富幻想的年轻人时,我着手起草了一份被公认为人生"幸福"的目录。就像别人有时会将他们所拥有或想要拥有的财产列成表,我将世人皆求之物列成表:健康、爱情、美丽、权利、才智、财富和名誉。
When my inventory was completed I proudly showed it to a wise elder who had been the mentor and spiritual model of my youth. Perhaps I was trying to impress him with my precocious wisdom. Anyway, I handed him the list. "This", I told him confidently, "is the sum of mortal goods. Could a man possess them all, he would be as a god."
当我完成清单后,我自豪地将它交给一个睿智的长者,他曾是我少年时代的良师和精神楷模。或许我是想尽力地在他面前展现我早熟的睿智。无论如何,我把单子递给了他,我充满自信地对他说:"这是人类幸福的总和。一个人若能拥有这些,就和神差不多了。"
At the corners of my friend's old eyes, I saw wrinkles of amusement gathering in a patien net. An excellent list," he said, pondering it thoughtfully. "well digested in content and set down in not-unreasonable order. But it appears, my young friend, that you have omitted the most important element of all. You have forgotten the one ingredient, lacking which each possession becomes a hideous torment."
在我朋友沉淀着岁月印记的眼角处,我看到愉悦的皱纹汇聚成一张耐心的网。"是一张出色的表单,"他深思熟虑后说。"内容分类清晰,顺序排列合理。但是,我的年轻朋友,好像你忽略了最重要的一个要素。你忘记了那个要素,如果缺少了它,每一次拥有都变成可怕的折磨。"
"And what,"I asked, peppering my voice with truculence,"is that missing ingredient?
我问道,言语间充满着急躁和不满:"那么,我遗漏的要素是什么?"
" With a pencil stub he crossed out my entire schedule. Then, having demolished my adolescent dream structure at a single stroke, he wrote down three syllables: peace of mind. "This is the gift that God reserves for His special Proteges," he said.
他用一小节铅笔划掉了我的整张表格,一拳击碎了我的少年美梦。紧接着写下了三个字:心之静。"这是上帝为他特别的子民保留的礼物。"他说道。
Talent and beauty He gives to many. Wealth is commonplace, fame not rare. But peace of mind-that is His final guerdon of approval, the fondest insignia of His love. He bestows it charily. Most men are never blessed with it: others wait all their lives-yes, far into advanced age-for this gift to descend upon them."
"上帝赋子许多人才能和美丽。财富司空见惯,名望并非稀有。但心灵的宁静才是他允诺最终赏赐,是他爱的最佳象征。他施予它的时候很谨慎,多数人从未享受过,有些人则等待了一生--是的,一直到暮年,才等到赏赐降临他们身上。"