寧靜在說話（第七章：自然）

第七章：自然

Nature

 

We depend on nature not only for our physical survival. We
also need nature to show us the way home, the way out of the prison of our own
minds. We got lost in doing, thinking, remembering, anticipating–lost in a maze
of complexity and a world of problems. 

我們依賴自然，不僅是為了肉體存活的需要，也是為了讓它指引我們走出心智囚籠，回歸本性。我們迷失在不停地做、不停地想、不停地記存、不停地期待中，我們迷失在一個錯綜複雜的迷宮和問題重重的世界之中。

 

We have forgotten what rocks, plants, and animals still
know. We have forgotten how to be–to be still, to be ourselves, to be where
life is: Here and Now. 

我們遺忘了那些岩石、植物、動物都還知道的事。我們忘了任何去“活”--如何寂靜下來；如何做自己；如何回歸生命的本質--就在此地與當下。

 

Whenever you bring your attention to anything natural,
anything that has come into existence without human intervention, you step out
of the prison of conceptualized thinking and, to some extent, participate in
the state of connectedness with Being in which everything natural still
exists. 

每當你把注意力放在任何自然的、非人為造作的事物上時，你就跨出了概念化思考的牢籠；從某種程度來說，你已與依舊存在於這些事物中的生命本質相連接了。

 

To bring your attention to a stone, a tree, or an animal
does not mean to think about it, but simply to perceive it, to hold it in your
awareness. 

把注意力放在一顆石頭、一株大樹，或一隻動物，並不意味著去“思考”它，而是單純地去感受它，把它納入自己的覺性裏。

 

Something of its essence then transmits itself to you. You
can sense how still it is, and in doing so the same stillness arises within
you. You sense how deeply it rests in Being–completely at one with what it is
and where it is. In realizing this, you too come to a place of rest deep within
yourself.  

接著，它本質裏的什麽就將它自己傳達給你，你將感受到它是如此地寂靜，於是，你的內在也將生起同樣的寂靜。你感受到它是如此深沉地安住於本體之中，完全與它自己，與它所在的地方合而為一。明白這一切，你回到自心深處，安住在那裏。

 

When walking or resting in nature, honor that realm by
being there fully. Be still. Look. Listen. See how every animal and every plant
is completely itself. Unlike humans, they have not split themselves in two.
They do not live through mental images of themselves, so they do not need to be
concerned with trying to protect and enhance those images. The deer is itself.
The daffodil is itself. 

在大自然中行走和休息時，以完全融入來禮讚這塊大地吧！寂靜下來，去看、去聽。看看每個動物和每株植物如何全然是它自己，它們和人類不同，沒有將自己一分為二，也不仰賴自己塑造的心理形相而活。所以，他們不需要費心去保護與鞏固這些形象。鹿就是鹿，黃水仙花就是黃水仙花。

 

All things in nature are not only one with themselves but
also one with the totality. They haven't removed themselves from the fabric of
the whole by claiming a separate existence: “me” and the rest of the universe.

自然界的萬物，不隻與自己合而為一，同時也與全體合而為一。它們並未將自己從共同的整體中抽離開來，而宣告宇宙中有“我”這個獨立個體的存在，以相對於宇宙中其他的存在。

 

The contemplation of nature can free you of that “me,” the
great troublemaker.

寂靜下來，深思自然，將使你從那個“我”，那個製造麻煩的高手之中解脫出來。

   

Bring awareness to the many subtle sounds of nature–the
rustling of leaves in the wind, raindrops falling, the humming of an insect,
the first birdsong at dawn. Give yourself completely to the act of listening.
Beyond the sounds there is something greater: a sacredness that cannot be
understood through thought.  

把覺察帶到自然裏那些細微的聲音上--樹葉在風中颯颯作響、滴落的雨聲、昆蟲嗡嗡哼唱、拂曉時第一聲鳥鳴。凝神去傾聽，超越那些聲音之後，有個更偉大的存在：一種無法以思考去理解的神聖。

 

You didn't create your body, nor are you able to control
the body's functions. An intelligence greater than the human mind is at work.
It is the same intelligence that sustains all of nature. You cannot get any
closer to that intelligence than by being aware of your own inner energy
field–by feeling the aliveness, the animating presence within the body.  

你的身體不是你創造的，你也無法控製身體的各種功能，那都是由一個遠比人類心智更大的本智所運作的，這本智也育養著自然界的一切。你無法接近這本智，除非你覺察自己內在的能量場，也就是去感受體內那蓬勃的生氣，以及那生意盎然的“臨在”。

 

The playfulness and joy of a dog, its unconditional love
and readiness to

celebrate life at any moment often contrast sharply with
the inner state of the dog's owner – depressed, anxious, burdened by problems,
lost in thought, not present in the only place and only time there is: Here and
Now. One wonders: living with this person, how does the dog manage to remain so
sane, so joyous?  

狗兒嬉鬧玩耍，充滿喜悅，牠們對愛毫無保留，並隨時準備歡慶生命。而狗主人卻經常是沮喪、焦慮、肩負著種種的問題、迷失在思慮中，更無法“臨在”於此地、此刻。狗與主人彼此鮮明的對比，讓人不禁想問：狗兒與這樣的主人相處，是怎麽把自己保持得這麽正常、這麽喜悅呢？

 

When you perceive nature only through the mind, through
thinking, you cannot sense its aliveness, its beingness. You see the form only
and are unaware of the life within the form – the sacred mystery. Thought
reduces nature to a commodity to be used in the pursuit of profit or knowledge
or some other utilitarian purpose. The ancient forest becomes timber, the bird
a research project, the mountain something to be mined or conquered. 

若你隻是透過心智，透過思考來感受自然，你將無法感受到它的蓬勃生機、它律動的生命。你隻看見外在形體，卻覺察不到表相之內的生命--那神聖的奧妙。思考將自然貶抑為隻是用來追求利潤、知識或其他功利目的的商品，例如古老的森林變成了木材，鳥類變成了研究項目，山丘變成了要被開采或被征服的地方。

 

When you perceive nature, let there be spaces of no
thought, no mind. When you approach nature in this way, it will respond to you
and participate in the evolution of human and planetary consciousness. 

感受自然時，你得讓你的內心成為沒有念頭、沒有思考的空間。當你以這樣的方式接近自然，它將回應你，並且開始參與人類與地球覺識的進化。

 

Notice how present a flower is, how surrendered to
life.  

去觀察一朵花如何“臨在”於當下，如何臣服於生命。

 

The plant that you have in your home–have you ever truly
looked at it? Have you allowed that familiar yet mysterious being we call plant
to teach you its secrets? Have you noticed how deeply peaceful it is? How it is
surrounded by a field of stillness? The moment you become aware of a plant's
emanation of stillness and peace, that plant becomes your teacher.  

你曾經認真地觀察過自己家中的植物嗎？你曾經允許那熟悉卻又神秘，被我們稱為“植物”的生命體來教導你它的秘密嗎？你是否注意到它是多麽地深穩平靜？是如何地被籠罩在一片寂照之中？當你能覺察到一株植物所散發的寂照與平靜，那一刻，這株植物就是你的導師了。

 

Watch an animal, a flower, a tree, and see how it rests in
Being. It is itself. It has enormous dignity, innocence, and holiness. However,
for you to see that, you need to go beyond the mental habit of naming and
labeling. The moment you look beyond mental labels, you feel that ineffable
dimension of nature that cannot be understood by thought or perceived through
the senses. It is a harmony, a sacredness that permeates not only the whole of
nature but is also within you. 

凝視一隻動物、一朵花、一棵樹，觀看它如何安住於本體之中。它“就是”它自己，擁有極大的壯嚴、純真與神聖。然而，若你想看到這一切，就必須超越為自然命名與歸類的心裏習慣，當你跨越貼標簽式的觀看，那一刻，你將感受到自然裏一種難以名狀的層麵，那層麵無法透過思考去了解，也無法通過感觀去感受，它是一種和諧，一種不僅彌漫於整個自然之中，同時也充滿於你內在的神聖。

 

The air that you breathe is nature, as is the breathing
process itself. 

你呼吸的空氣是自然，而呼吸的進行本身也是自然。

 

Bring your attention to your breathing and realize that you
are not doing it. It is the breath of nature. If you had to remember to
breathe, you would soon die, and if you tried to stop breathing, nature would
prevail. 

把你的注意力帶到你的呼吸上，你就會了解，不是你在呼吸，是大自然在呼吸。如果得經由提醒你才記得呼吸，那你很快就會死亡；然而，如果你試著停止呼吸，自然可不會讓你得逞，它將取得最後的勝利。

 

You reconnect with nature in the most intimate and powerful
way by becoming aware of your breathing and learning to hold your attention
there. This is a healing and deeply empowering thing to do. It brings about a
shift in consciousness from the conceptual world of thought to the inner realm
of unconditioned consciousness.

去觀察你的呼吸並專注其上，是與自然重新產生連接最親密、最有力的方法，它也是一件既具有療愈功能又可強力加持的事。它帶來了覺識的轉移，從思維的概念化國度，轉移到內在“不受製約覺識”之境。

 

You need nature as your teacher to help you re-connect with
Being. But not only do you need nature, it also needs you. 

你要以自然為師，以便與本體重新連接。但並非你單方麵需要自然，自然也需要你。

 

You are not separate from nature. We are all part of the One Life that manifests itself in countless forms throughout the universe, forms that are all completely interconnected. When you recognize the sacredness, the beauty, the incredible stillness and dignity in which a flower or a tree exists, you add something to the flower or the tree. Through your recognition, your awareness, nature too comes to know itself. It comes to know its own beauty and sacredness through you!

你與自然並不是分離的，我們全都是宇宙共同生命的一部分，這共同生命體將自己顯化為無以計數的形狀事物，彼此緊密相連。當你認出一朵花、一棵樹是透過如此神聖、美麗，且不可思議的寂照與壯嚴而存在時，你便為這樹、這花增添了些什麽。透過你的認知與你的覺性，自然也慢慢認識它自己。因為你，它開始明白了自己的美麗與神聖。

 

A great silent space holds all of nature in its embrace. It
also holds you.  

一個宏闊的靜寂空間，把自然萬物納於它的懷裏，其中當然也包括了你。

 

Only when you are still inside do you have access to the
realm of stillness that rocks, plants, and animals inhabit. Only when your
noisy mind subsides can you connect with nature at a deep level and go beyond
the sense of separation created by excessive thinking. 

唯有內在寂靜下來，你才可能真正進入岩石、植物、動物所安住的寂照之中；唯有喧鬧的心智沉靜了，你才可能擺脫過度思考所帶來的分離感，並在內心深處與自然真正連接。

 

Thinking is a stage in the evolution of life. Nature exists
in innocent stillness that is prior to the arising of thought. The tree, the
flower, the bird, the rock are unaware of their own beauty and sacredness. When
human beings become still, they go beyond thought. There is an added dimension
of knowing, of awareness, in the stillness that is beyond thought. 

思考是生命演化的一個階段，自然存在於思維生起前的單純寂照之中。那樹、花、鳥、岩石，並未覺察到自己的美麗與神聖。當人寂靜下來，人就超越了思維，就在這超越思維的寂照之中，出現了一個新的境界，一個了悟的、覺知的境界。

 

Nature can bring you to stillness. That is its gift to you.
When you perceive and join with nature in the field of stillness, that field
becomes permeated with your awareness. That is your gift to nature. 

自然可以引你來到寂照之境，那是它送給你的禮物。當你於此寂照中，深刻感受並與自然相結合之後，那裏將充滿了你的覺性，那是你送給自然的禮物。

 

Through you nature becomes aware of itself. Nature has been
waiting for you, as it were, for millions of years.  

透過你，自然覺察到它自己。千萬年來，自然一直在等待著你。