The Bodhisatta's Search

9．菩萨的探索

Alara and Uddaha were renowed as teachers among the Brahmans,
and there was no one in those days who surpassed them
in learning and philosophical knowledge. [1]

阿罗蓝和乌陀迦是婆罗门中很有名气的老师，那时，在学问和哲学知识方面没有其他人可以超越他们。 1
The Bodhisatta went to them and sat at their feet.
He listened to their doctrines of the atman or self,
which is the ego of the mind and the doer of all doings.
He learned their views of the transmigration of souls and the law of karma;
how the souls of bad men had to suffer
by being reborn in men of low caste, in animals, or in hell,
while those who purified themselves by libations, by sacrifices, and by self-mortification
would become kings, or Brahmans, or devas,
so as to rise higher in the grades of existence.
He studied their incantations and offerings
and the methods by which they attained deliverance of the ego
from material existence in states of ecstacy. [2]

菩萨去他们那里坐到他们脚下。他聆听他们关于灵魂或自己，即心灵的自我和一切行为之施行者的教义。他了解了他们关于灵魂轮回的观点和因果报应的理论；坏人的灵魂如何不得不转生在社会地位低下之人、动物、地狱之人身上，而那些靠祭酒、供奉、禁欲来洁净自身的人将成为国王、婆罗门或者提婆，以至在存在的等级中越来越高。他还研究了他们的咒语和祭品，以及他们在出神状态中将自我从肉体中解脱出来的途径。 2

Alara said:
"What is that self
which perceives the actions of the five roots of mind,
touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing?
What is that which is active in the two ways of motion,
in the hands and in the feet?
The problem of the soul appears in the expressions 'I say,'
'I know and perceive,'
'I come,' and 'I go'
or 'I will stay here.'
The soul is not thy body;
it is not thy eye, not thy ear, not thy nose,
not thy tongue, nor is it thy mind.
The I is the one who feels the touch in thy body.
The I is the smeller in the nose, the taster in the tongue,
the seer in the eye, the hearer in the ear, and the thinker in the mind.
The I moves thy hands and thy feet.
The I is thy soul.
Doubt in the existence of the soul is irreligious,
and without discerning this truth there is no way of salvation.
Deep speculation will easily involve the mind;
it leads to confusion and unbelief;
but a purification of the soul leads to the way of escape.
True deliverance is reached by removing from the croud and leading a hermit's life,
depending entirely on alms for food.
Putting away all desire and clearly recognizing the non-existence of matter,
we reach a state of perfect emptiness.
Here we find the condition of immaterial life.
As the munja grass when freed from its horny case,
as a sword when drawn from its scabbard,
or as the wild bird escaped from its prison,
so the ego, liberating itself from all limitations, finds perfect release.
This is true deliverance, but those only who will have deep faith will learn." [3]

阿罗蓝说：“自我感受到了心智五根，即触觉、嗅觉、味觉、视觉和听觉的所为，那自我又是什么？在运动的两种方式中、在手和脚中起作用的是什么？灵魂问题是以表达‘我说’，‘我知道我感觉’，‘我来’，‘我去’，或者‘我将待在这里’的方式显现的。灵魂不是你的身体，它不是你的眼睛，不是你的耳朵，不是你的鼻子，不是你的舌头，也不是你的思想。能感觉你身体触觉的就是我。我是鼻子中的嗅者，舌头中的尝者，眼睛中的视者，耳朵中的听者，思想中的思者。我移动了你的手和脚。我就是你的灵魂。怀疑灵魂的存在是无宗教信仰的，不辨别这一真理便找不到拯救之道。深思很容易使思想变得复杂，导致困惑和不信，但是灵魂的洁净则通向解脱之道。远离人群，过隐士生活，完全依赖施舍为生，才能得到真正的解脱。抛开所有的欲望，清楚地认识到物质的非存在，我们便达到一种完美的空虚状态。这里我们可以发现精神生活的条件。就像慕林雅草从它的硬壳中破壳而出，宝剑从剑鞘中被拔出来，或者像野鸟从笼中展翅飞出，自我从所有的限制中解放它自己，得到了完美的解脱。这是真正的解脱，但只有那些有深厚信仰的人才会知晓这一真理。” 3

The Bodhisatta found no satisfaction in these teachings.
He replied: "People are in bondage,
because they have not yet removed the idea of the ego. [4]

菩萨不满意这些教义。他回答说：“人们在束缚之中，因为他们还没有从自我的观念中走出来。 4

"The thing and its quality are different in our thought, but not in reality.
Heat is different from fire in our thought,
but you cannot remove heat from fire in reality.
You say that you can remove the qualities and leave the thing,
but if you think your theory to the end,
you will find that this is not so. [5]

“在我们的思想中，事物与其性质是不同的，但在现实中并非如此。在我们的思想中热与火不同，但在现实中你不能把热从火中分离开。你说你能将性质分离出而将事物留下，但是如果你将你的理论思考到底，你将发现实际并不如此。 5

"Is not man an organism of many aggregates?
Are we not composed of various attributes?
Man consists of the material form, of sensation,
of thought, of dispositions, and, lastly, of understanding.
That which men call the ego when they say 'I am'
is not an entity behind the attributes;
it originates by their co-operation.
There is mind; there is sensation and thought,
and there is truth;
and truth is mind when it walks in the path of righteousness.
But there is no separate ego-soul outside of behind the thought of man.
He who believes that the ego is a distinct being has no correct conception of things.
The very search for the atman is wrong;
it is a wrong start and it will lead you in a false direction. [6]

“人不是许多聚合物的有机体吗？我们不是由不同的属性构成的吗？人是由物质的外形、感觉、思想、性情，最后，还有理解力构成的。当人们说‘我是’的时候，他们所称的自我并不是指这些属性之后的一个实体，它源自于这些属性的联合。有思想，有感觉和想法，就有了真理，当思想走上正义之路时，真理就是思想。但是在人的思想之外或之后，没有单独的自我—灵魂。凡相信自我是独特之物的人，他对事物没有正确的概念。对自我的特别探究是错误的，它是错误的开始，而且将把你引到错误的方向。 6

"How much confusion of thought comes from our interest in self,
and from our vanity when thinking 'I am so great,'
or 'I have done this wonderful deed?'
The thought of thine ego stands between thy rational nature and truth;
banish it, and then wilt thou see things as they are.
He who thinks correctly will rid himself of ignorance and acquire wisdom.
The ideas 'I am' and 'I shall be' or 'I shall not be'
do not occur to a clear thinker. [7]

“当人们想到‘我是如此伟大’或者‘我做了这美妙的事情’时，我们那来自对自我的兴趣和虚荣心的思想有多少混乱？你的自我之思想位于你的推理本性和真理之间，抛开这种思想，那么你就会看到事物的真实面貌。正确思想的人将会摆脱愚昧并获得智慧。一个明智的思考者不会有“我是”和“我将是”或者“我将不是”的概念。 7

"Moreover, if our ego remains, how can we attain true deliverance?
If the ego is to be reborn in any of the three worlds,
be it in hell, upon earth, or be it in heaven,
we shall meet again and again the same inevitable doom of sorrow.
We shall remain chained to the wheel of individuality
and shall be implicated in egotism and wrong. [8]

“而且，如果我们的自我仍在，我们怎么能得到真正的解脱？如果自我能在三个世界中的任何一个中得到转生，它可以在地狱中，在尘世上甚至在天堂里转生，我们将一次又一次地遭遇这同样不可避免的悲伤厄运。我们仍将束缚在个体的车轮中，仍将纠结在自我中心和错误之中。 8

"All combinations is subject to separation,
and we cannot escape birth, disease, old age, and death.
Is this a final escape?" [9]

“所有的聚合之物都必要消散，我们不能逃脱生、病、老和死。这是最后的逃脱吗？” 9

Said Uddaka: "Consider the unity of things.
Things are not their parts, yet they exist.
The members and organs of thy body are not thine ego,
but thine ego possesses all these parts.
What, for instance, is the Ganges?
Is the sand the Ganges?
Is the water the Ganges?
Is the hither bank the Ganges?
Is the farther bank the Ganges?
The Ganges is a mighty river and it possesses all these several qualities.
Exactly so is our ego." [10]

乌陀迦说：“要看到事物的整体。事物不是它们的部分，然而它们都存在。你身体的部分和器官都不是你的自我，但是你的自我拥有所有这些部分。例如，恒河是什么？恒河是沙子吗？恒河是水吗？恒河是这里的堤岸吗？恒河是远处的堤岸吗？恒河是巨大的河流，它拥有这几种性质的全部。我们的自我也正如此。” 10

But the Bodhisatta replied: "Not so, sir!
If we except the water, the sand, the hither bank and the farther bank,
where can we find any Ganges?
In the same way I observe the activities of man in their harmonious union,
but there is no ground for an ego outside it parts." [11]

然而菩萨回答说：“先生，不是这样。假如我们把沙子、水、这里的堤岸和远处的堤岸除外，我们在哪里能找到恒河？我以同样的方式观察人们在和谐的身体内所做的行为，但是在身体的部分之外，没有一个自我存在的基础。” 11

The Brahman sage, however, insisted on the existence of the ego, saying:
"The ego is the doer of our deeds.
How can there be karma without a self as its performer?
Do we not see around us the effects of karma?
What makes men different in character, station, possessions, and fate?
It is their karma, and karma includes merit and demerit.
The transmigration of the soul is subject to its karma.
We inherit from former existences the evil effects of our evil deeds
and the good effects of our good deeds.
If that were not so, how could we be different?" [12]

但是婆罗门的哲人坚持自我的存在，他说：“自我是我们行为的做出者。没有自我去作执行者，怎么会有因果报应呢？难道我们没有看到周围因果报应的后果吗？什么使得人们在性格、地位、财产和命运上有所不同呢？是因果报应，因果报应包括了他们的优点和缺点。灵魂的轮回受它的因果报应支配。我们从前世存在者那里继承了我们恶行为的恶后果，也继承了善行为的善后果。如果不是那样，我们怎么能有不同呢?” 12

The Tathagata meditated deeply on the problems of transmigration and karma,
and found the truth that lies in them. [13]

如来在轮回和因果问题上陷入了沉思，接着他发现了其中的真理。 13

"The doctrine of karma," he said, "is undeniable,
but thy theory of the ego has no foundation. [14]

他说：“因果报应的学说是不能否认的，但是你关于自我的理论没有根据。 14

"Like everything else in nature,
the life of man is subject to the law of cause and effect.
The present reaps what the past has sown,
and the future is the product of the present.
But there is no evidence of the existence of an immutable ego-being,
of a self which remains the same and migrates from body to body.
There is rebirth but no transmigration. [15]

“人的生命像自然界里的其他所有事物一样受因果法则支配。现在的果是过去的因所致，未来则是现在的因引起的。但是没有证据能证明一个永恒的自我的存在，也没有证据能表明一个自我能保持不变并从一个身体转移到另一个身体。有转生但没有轮回。 15

"Is not this individuality of mine a combination, material as well as mental?
Is it not made up of qualities that sprang into being by a gradual evolution?
The five roots of sense-perception in this organism
have come from ancestors who performed these functions.
The ideas which I think, came to me partly from others who thought them,
and partly they rise from combinations of the ideas in my mind.
Those who have used the same sense-organs, and have thought the same ideas
before I was composed into this individuality of mine are my previous existences;
they are my ancestors as much as the I of yesterday is the father of the I of to-day,
and the karma of my past deeds conditions the fate of my present existence. [16]

“我的个体不是一个肉体和精神的聚合体吗？它不是由各种属性构成，逐渐发展演化成存在物的吗？在这个有机体中，感观—知觉的五根来自体验过这些功能的前人。我思考的这些观念，部分来自于思考过它们的他人那里，部分源自于我自己思想中各种观念的聚合物。在我被构成我的个体之前，那些利用过同样感觉器官并思考过同样观念的人是我之前的存在。他们是我的前人，如同昨日之我是今日之我的前辈，我过去所做之行为的因果报应决定了我现在生存的命运。 16

"Supposing that were an atman that performs the actions of the senses,
then if the door of sight were torn down and the eye plucked out,
that atman would be able to peep through the larger aperture
and see the forms of its surroundings better and more clearly than before.
it would be able to hear sounds better if the ears were torn away;
smell better if the nose were cut off;
taste better if the tongue were pulled out;
and feel better if the body were destroyed. [17]

“假定有一个自我能履行感觉的功能，那么，如果视觉之门被毁、眼睛被摘除，和过去相比，自我应该能够通过更大的缝隙更好地、更清楚地看清它周围的各种形态；如果耳朵被撕去，它应该能更好地听到响声；如果鼻子被割走，它能更好地闻到气味；如果舌头被拔出，它能更好地品尝食物；如果身体被伤害，它能更好地感受触觉。 17

"I observe the preservation and transmission of character;
I perceive the truth of karma,
but see no atman whom your doctrine makes the doer of your deeds.
There is rebirth without the transmigration of a self.
For this atman, this self, this ego in the 'I say' and in the 'I will' is an illusion.
If this self were a reality, how could there be an escape from selfhood?
The terror of hell would be infinite, and no release could be granted.
The evils of existence would not be due to our ignorance and wrong-doing,
but would constitute the very nature of our being." [18]

“我观察到事物性质的持续和转移，我认识到因果报应的真理，但没有看到你教义中行为的实施者自我。有转生，但无需自我的轮回。因为在“我说”和“我将”中的这一自我、自己、我是一种幻相。如果这个自我是一种现实，怎样才能从自我状态中逃脱呢？地狱的恐怖将是无尽的，人们得不到解脱。存在的诸种罪恶不是因我们的无知和错误行为造成的，但却构成了我们人的特殊本性。” 18

And the Bodhisatta went to the priests officiating in the temples.
But the gentle mind of the Sakyamuni was offended
at the unnecessary cruelty performed on the altars of the gods.
He said: [19]

接着菩萨去往主持庙宇的祭祀处。但是当看到祭献诸神的祭坛上不必要的残忍作法，释迦牟尼的温和情绪被激怒了。他说： 19

"Ignorance only can make these men prepare festivals
and hold vast meetings for sacrifices.
Far better to revere the truth than try to appease the gods by shedding blood. [20]

“无知只能使这些人为祭品准备欢宴并举行盛大的集会。尊重真理远比靠流血取悦诸神好得多。 20

"What love can a man possess
who believes that the destruction of life will atone for evil deeds?
Can a new wrong expiate old wrongs?
And can the slaughter of an innocent victim blot out the evil deeds of mankind?
This is practising religion by the neglect of moral conduct. [21]

“相信毁灭生命能弥补罪恶行为的人能有什么爱？一个新错误能赎掉旧的错误吗？屠杀一个无辜的牺牲品能遮掩住人类的罪恶行径吗？这是忽略道德行为的实践性宗教。 21

"Purify your hearts and cease to kill,
that is true religion. [22]

“洁净你们的心灵，停止杀戮，才是真正的宗教。 22

"Rituals have no efficacy;
prayers are vain repetitions;
and incantations have no saving power.
But to abandon covetousness and lust,
to become free from evil passions,
and to give up all hatred and ill-will,
that is the right sacrifice and the true worship." [23]

“仪式是无效的，祈祷是徒劳无益的重复，咒语没有拯救的力量。抛弃贪婪和欲望，消除对罪的热情，舍去所有仇恨和恶意，才是正确的献祭和真正的崇拜。” 23