Food for Thought
引人深思的事情
1.We have before us in this study, much food for thought. The subjects touched upon are deep, difficult to understand, and hard to grasp. Careful reading, however, quiet reflection, and a practical application of the sensed truth, and of the intuited idea, will gradually bring enlightenment and lead to acquiescence in the techniques of the soul, and the appropriation of the teaching. (15 – 289).
在开始探索之前，有很多需要深思熟虑的地方。所涉及的主题会很深奥，难以理解和掌握。然而，通过认真学习，安静的反思，以及对所感知到的真理，还有直觉带来的想法进行实践，就会逐渐带来启发，并获得灵魂的技巧，以及，对这些教导的应用。
2. It is not material whether the reader receive the message of these pages as a spiritual appeal in an idealistic setting, a presentation of alleged facts, or a theory evolved by one student and presented for the consideration of fellow students. To each it is offered for whatever of inner response it may evoke, for whatever of inspiration and of light it may bring.
重要的，并不是读者把接收到的这些知识作为理想条件下的灵性诉求，或者是对事实的陈述，抑或由一名学生发展出来的理论呈现给其他学生们去思考。重要的是对每个人来说，提供这些知识的目的是为了触发内在的共鸣，它会带来某种启发或者是光。
In these days of the shattering of old form and the building of the new, adaptability is needed. We must avert the danger of crystallisation, through pliability and expansion. The “old order changeth”, but primarily it is a change of dimension and aspect, and not of material or of foundation. The fundamentals have always been true. To each generation is given the part of conserving the essential features of the old and beloved form, but also of wisely expanding and enriching it. Each cycle must add the gain of further research and scientific endeavour, and subtract that which is worn out and of no value. Each age must build in the product and triumphs of its period, and abstract the accretions of the past that would dim and blur the outline. Above all, to each generation is given the joy of demonstrating the strength of the old foundations, and the opportunity to build upon these foundations a structure that will meet the needs of the inner evolving life. (1 – 2).
在打破旧的范式，建立新范式的这些时日里，需要去调整和适应。我们必须通过韧性和拓展，以免死板化。“旧范式的转变”，主要是指维度和视野的转变，并不是物质组成或者基本原则的转变。基本面向始终是真实不虚的。对于每一代人来说，那些旧的且受人欢迎的旧的范式中的必要特征都得到了保留，但是在此基础上也在明智地进行拓展和丰富。每一个时代，都要增加一些更进一步的经过科学努力的研究成果，并且提取出那些过时和没有价值的东西。每一个时代要建立在这个时代所特有的成果和贡献之上，并且剔除那些让这个框架变得阴暗和模糊的陈旧累积。最重要的是，每一个时代都被赋予了展示这些旧的基础力量的喜悦，以及在这个基础之上构建满足内在进化需求框架的机会。
3. Every religious faith holds out the promise that those who seek with earnestness shall find that which they are seeking; let us, therefore, seek. If by our search we find that all these statements are but visionary dreams, and profit not at all, leading us only into darkness, time will nevertheless not have been lost, for we shall have ascertained where not to look. If by our search, on the other hand, corroboration comes little by little, and the light shines ever more clearly, let us persist until that day dawns when the light which shineth in darkness will have illuminated the heart and the brain, and the seeker will awaken to the realisation that the whole trend of evolution has been to bring him this expansion of consciousness and this illumination, and that the attainment of the initiatory process, and the entrance into the fifth kingdom is no wild chimera or phantasm, but an [Page 3] established fact in the consciousness. This each man must ascertain for himself. Each soul … must find out within himself, remembering ever that the Kingdom of God is within, and that only those facts which are realised within the individual consciousness as truths are of any value. In the meantime, that which many know, and have ascertained within themselves to be truths of an incontrovertible nature for them, may be stated; to the intelligent reader will then arise the opportunity and the responsibility of ascertaining for himself their falsity or truth. .(1 – 26/7).
每一种宗教信仰都有这样的承诺，那些真诚地寻求的人会最终发现他们所寻找的东西。因此，让我们进入这种探索之中。如果通过我们的探索，我们发现这些陈述都是空洞的话，没有给我们带来任何好处，只是把我们带入黑暗，那么，我们花费在探索上的时间并没有浪费，因为我们由此确定了哪些路行不通。然而另一方面，通过我们的探索确凿的证据一点一滴地出现，前进道路上的光变得更加闪耀清晰，让我们坚持下去，直到黎明时分，明亮的光点亮了黑暗，照亮了我们的心和大脑，追寻者会觉醒到这样的觉知之中：进化的趋势是让个体进入这种拓展的意识状态，这种意识之光被点亮，这种启蒙过程的收获，以及进入到第五维度，它不是疯狂的幻相或者幻觉，而是意识中一个既定的事实。就这点而言，每个人都要非常确信。每个灵魂……必须要在内在发现，回想起来，神之国度已经存在于我们的内在了，只有个体意识从事实中所提炼出的真理才具有价值。同时，很多人已经知道，在他们的内在已经拥有着对他们来说是不可争议特质的真理；聪明的人就会给自己创造这样的机会和责任去亲自验明它们的真假。
4. Goodness and altruism grow out of realisation and service, and holiness of character is the outcome of those expansions of consciousness which a man brings about within himself through strenuous effort and endeavour. (1 – 93).
良善和助人的品质来自认知与服务，圣洁的品质，则是一个人通过不懈的努力和尝试对自己内在的意识进行拓展的结果。
5. The moment a man becomes consciously powerful on the mental plane, his power for good is a hundredfold increased. (1 – 172).
当一个人在心智层面有意识地变得有力量的那一刻，他向善的力量就会成百倍地增加。
6. In the use of words comes limitation, and a clouding of the idea; words literally veil or hide thoughts, detract from their clarity, and confuse them by expression. (3 – 150).
在使用词语的时候，会伴随着限制，以及对思想的模糊；文字在字面上掩盖或者隐藏了思想，减少了思想的清晰度，表达的时候，就会出现混淆。
7. The earth is an organism within a greater one, and this fact needs wider recognition. The sons of men upon this planet so often view the whole system as if the earth were in the position of the sun, the centre of the solar organism. (3 – 177).
地球是一个更伟大的整体的有机组成部分，这个事实需要更宽泛的认知。地球上的人们经常在看待状况的时候，就像把自己放在了太阳的视角，仿佛自己是所有一切的中心，太阳才是太阳系这个有机整体的中心。
8. Most men do not as yet distinguish with accuracy between themselves as the thinker, persistent in time and space, and the vehicle through which they think, which is ephemeral and transient. (3 – 419).
大多数人还没有准确地做出这样准确的区分，他们是时空连续体中永久存在的思考者，还是他们是传达思想的载体，这些载具是短暂的且有时效性的。
9. The problem of labour and capital has its roots in the subjective distinction between “equipped and unequipped” Egos, between those units of the human family on earth who have passed out of the Hall of Ignorance, and those who are yet groping in its dark and gloomy corridors. (3 – 826).
劳工和资本问题的根源来自对“有资源和没有资源”定义的主观区分，以及在地球上已经走出无知殿堂的人类和那些仍然在黑暗和阴沉领域摸索的人们的主观区分。
10. If man can be brought to a realisation of the nature of his own being and of his constitution, and can be led to comprehend the rationale of that which can be seen occurring, and if the thinkers of the race can be shown the risks incident upon present happenings in the deva evolution, much danger may be averted. Hence the decision to extend the scope of this book to include more detailed information anent the deva evolution. (Footnote 3 – 908).
如果人们能够意识到他自己存在的本质，以及他组成的本质，而且可以被引导着去理解他们所看到的发生的事情的基本原理，如果可以向这些思考者展示在灵魂元素进化的过程中当前发生的事情所带来的风险，就可以避免很多危险。因此这本书所覆盖的范围将会拓展，包含更详细的信息，以帮助灵魂元素的进化。
11. No man is ever put into circumstances which are insurmountable, once he has reached the point where he has intelligently put himself on the side of evolution, or of God. Prior to that he may, and will, be driven by [Page 4] gales of circumstance; the press of group and racial karma will force him into situations necessary for the process of awakening him to his own innate possibilities. Once he becomes the conscious builder himself, seeking to control the forces and builders of his lower nature, and to construct the Temple of Solomon, then he is no longer subject to the earlier conditions. He becomes a ruler, a builder, and a transmitter, until the time comes when he is one with the solar Angels, and the work of human evolution is accomplished. (3 – 946).
当一个人可以明智地到达进化层面的某一阶段，或者说把自己置于神的那边，他不会遇到不可能克服的困难。不过在这之前，他可能会，并会被外界的环境所驱使；团体的压力或者是集体的业力会迫使他进入这样的境地之中，从而唤醒他与生俱来的可能性。一旦他自己变成了有意识的创造者，并且成长为控制他低等本性的控制力量和创建者，去创建内在神性的圣殿，他就不再会受制于先前的那些条件。他变成了统治者、创建者、传播者，一直至他与自己的天使合而为一，作为人的进化功课就此完成。
12. It takes a seer of vast wisdom and experience to state exactly the stage at which any particular unit of the human family may be. He that is wise always refrains from assertion until he knows. (3 – 968).
具有丰富智慧和经验的先知才可以准确地说出人类整体中的特定成员所处的阶段。那些智者在自己知道之前，会避免断言。
13. Only he who is free can control and utilise those who are prisoners. (3 – 1023).
只有自由之人才可以控制并利用那些受困之人。
14. Just as it is not possible for a man in an early incarnation to conceive of the effects of evolution upon him and to realise the nature of the man upon the Path, so it is not possible for even great systemic existences to conceive (except in the broadest and most general terms) of the nature of the solar Logos, and of the effect evolution will have on Him. (3 – 1152).
正如一个人在早期的转世中不可能去了解进化之路对他的影响，也不可能意识到这条道路上人的特质一样，因此即便是最伟大的存有也很难去构想（除了那些广泛的概念和常用的术语之外）宇宙至道的本质，以及这些对他进化所产生的影响。
15. Those who see a vision that is withheld from those lacking the necessary equipment for its apprehension, are regarded as fanciful, and unreliable. When many see the vision, its possibility is admitted, but when humanity itself has the awakened and open eye, the vision is no longer emphasised, but a fact is stated and a law enunciated. Such has been the history of the past and such will be the process in the future. (4 – 16).
有些人看到了一个愿景，但是这个愿景尚不能被其他人理解，这些人就被认为异想天开，而且不可靠。而当很多人都看到那个愿景时，愿景存在的可能性就被接受了。但是当人类自身发生觉醒，睁开沉睡的眼睛，这个愿景就不需要被过多强调了，而是作为一个陈述的事实、一个被阐明的规律那般存在着。过去的历史就是这样进行的，未来也会有这样的过程。
16. Every step of the way has to be carved out by a man himself, and there is no short or easy road out of darkness into light. (4 – 60).
成长道路上的每一步都必须自己去开辟，从黑暗走向光明，没有捷径可走。
17. The whole secret of success in treading the occult path, depends upon an attitude of mind; when the attitude is one of concrete materialism, of concentration upon form, and a desire for the things of the present moment, little progress can be made in apprehending the higher esoteric truth. (4 – 84).
秘法这条道路上的成功秘诀，在于心态；若是保持一种唯物主义的心态，专注于形式，以及对当下事物的渴望，那么几乎不可能在理解更深奥的真理上取得什么进展。
18. Seek to equip your instrument, learn to function in quietness, fulfill your obligations and do your duty, develop restraint of speech and that calm poise that comes from an unselfish life motive, and forget the selfish satisfaction that might well up in the heart when recognition of faithfulness comes from the watching Hierarchy. (4 – 129).
去装备好自己的工具，学习在安静中发挥作用，履行自己的义务，尽自己的本分，培养对说话的克制，并且去培养自己出于无我的动机时散发处的那份沉着稳定，当识别出来自处于观察中的灵性阶层的对你忠诚的认可时，忘记可能涌上心头的自我满足感。
19. Nothing in heaven or hell, on earth or elsewhere, can prevent the progress of the man who has awakened to the illusion, who has glimpsed [Page 5] the reality beyond the glamour of the astral plane, and who has heard, even if only once, the clarion call of his own soul.(4 – 223).
对于那些已经从幻相中醒来的人说，对于那些看到了超越魅惑的星光层的实相的人来说，对于那些已经听到，哪怕只有一次，自己灵魂呼唤的人来说，不论是在天堂、地狱、地球或是其他地方，没有什么可以阻挡他的进步。
20. The outcome of good is inevitable. It is, however, a question of a slow or a rapid realisation and liberation from the great world illusion, and to this end every aspirant is begged to work strenuously and to lend his aid. Every man who liberates himself, who sees clearly, and who releases himself from the glamour of illusion, aids in the Great Work. (4 – 224).
好结局最终会到来。不过，从这个幻相世界中觉醒和解放，是一个时间上的快慢问题，每一位寻求者都被恳请，去努力的工作，提供帮助。每一个解放了自己的人，每一个可以真正看见的人，每一个从魅惑的幻相中解脱出来的人，都对这项伟大的工作有帮助。
21. That the inner vision may be ours, the eye see clearly the glory of the Lord, and the voice speak only in benediction, and the hands be used only in helpfulness, may well be the prayer of each of us. (4 – 253).
每个人活出内在的愿景，看得清神圣的荣耀，只说出祝福的话语，双手仅用来提供帮助，愿这成为我们每个人的祈祷。
22. In an esoteric sense, all in the future will become lighter, more rarified and more etherealised. (4 – 390).
从深层的奥义上来说，将来所有的一切都会变得更加轻盈、更加纯净、更加空灵。
23. Those who know and who sense the inner guiding hand of the Hierarchy, are aware that the heart of humanity is sound, and that out of the present chaos, and perhaps largely because of it, there will emerge those competent to deal with the situation and adequate to the task of unification and synthesis. (4 – 409).
那些知道而且可以感受到来自灵性阶层指引的人，理解人类的内心是善良的，从当前的混乱之中，也许很大程度上正是因为这些混乱，才会出现那些有能力应付这种局势的人，并可以完成团结与整合。
24. There is never anything static in the creative process; energy which is flowing forth in the pulsation of the one Life, and its rhythmic and cyclic activity – never ending and never resting – must be somewhere utilised, and must find its way in some direction, often (when man fails in his duty) with catastrophic results. (4 – 461).
在创造的过程中，没有什么是静止不动的，在合一的生命之中流动的能量脉动，其韵律和周期性的活动 — 永无止境，永不停息 — 这种能量脉动必须在某处加以使用，在某个方向找到其流动的方式，通常（当人们未能履行他的职责时）会带来灾难性的后果。
25. These intriguing pieces of information, which I at times convey, and which some of the students seem to regard as of vital importance, are of far less importance than the injunction to live kindly, speak words of gentleness and of wisdom, and practice self-forgetfulness. (4 – 466).
我有时候带来的这些有趣的信息，一些学生把这些信息看作至关重要，然而，知识远不如良善的生活，说出柔和而智慧的话语，以及践行忘我重要。
26. Each field of awareness in its boundaries constitute a prison, and … the objective of all work of liberation, is to release the consciousness, and expand its field of contacts. Where there are boundaries of any kind, where a field of influence is circumscribed, and where the radius of contact is limited, there you have a prison. Ponder on this statement for it holds much of truth. (4 – 535).
每个意识领域在其边界处，构成了一个监狱……所有解放工作的目标，就是释放意识，拓展其接触的领域。当存在边界的时候，影响范围就被限定，哪里存在着限定的范围，哪里就存在着监狱。认知思考这句话，因为它包含了很多真理。
27. Persist. Failure never prevents success. Difficulties develop the strength of the soul. The secret of success is ever to stand steady and to be impersonal. (4 – 559).
坚持。失败永远不会阻止成功的到来。困难会培养灵魂的力量。成功的秘诀在于，持之以恒和保持客观。
28. All vaunted freedom or vaunted control, is but the temporary reaction of a humanity which is swept by ideas, controlled by ideals, impulsed by selfishness, impregnated by hates, and yet all the time is struggling to express the higher and better qualities, and to free itself from the thralldom [Page 6] of ancient evil, the slavery of ancient codes, and the curse of ancient habits of thought and living. It is what is happening behind the scenes of mankind as a whole which is of moment; it is the unfoldment of the human consciousness which counts with the Hierarchy. (9 – 25).
所有夸夸其谈的自由或控制，都不过是被思想冲刷、被理想控制、被自私驱动、被仇恨浸染的人类的短暂的反应，同时，人类也在一直努力地去寻求更良善的品德，从而把自己从古老的邪恶奴役、古老诅咒的奴役以及古老的思想和生活习惯的诅咒中解脱出来。全人类舞台背后才是此刻真实上演的，人类意识的拓展是灵性阶层的一部分。
29. The world problem is essentially a religious problem, and behind all strife in every department of world thought today is to be found the religious element. (9 – 35).
世界的问题本质上是宗教的问题，当今世界上不同地区所有纷争的背后，都可以找到宗教因素。
30. The great and fundamental law that “energy follows thought”, always holds good, and one of the conditions which is inducing the present stress and strain, is due to the fact that so many millions of people are beginning to think. (9 – 35).
“能量跟随着思想流动“，这一伟大而基本的定律始终有效，导致当前压力和紧张态势的条件之一，正是因为千百万人开始进行思考，这一事实所造成。
31. Peace will be the result of understanding and sharing, and not the origin of them, as the pacifists so often imply. (9 – 98).
正如和平主义者常暗示的那般，和平是理解和共享的结果，而非起因。
32. The peoples of the world are entering the wilderness experience, and will find in the wilderness how little is required for full living, true experience, and real happiness . . . Freedom from material things carries with it its own beauty and reward, its own joy and glory. Thus he is liberated to live the life of the mind
The selfishness of the people who are desirous of being unselfish, is great. (10 – 75/6).
世界的人民正在进入狂野般的体验，在那种狂野之中，人们会发现，去真正地活着，去体验真实，体验真正的快乐，所需要满足的条件少之又少。从物质解脱的自由，拥有其自身的美感、回报、喜悦和荣耀。他从而可以体验自由的心灵生活。
那些渴望变得无私的自私者，是伟大的。
33. “All men are equal” … It is indeed a statement of fact, but when no allowance is
made for the equally important ideas of evolution, of racial attributes, and of national and religious characteristics, then the basic idea receives only limited application. (10 – 132).
“所有的人都是平等的“…这是对事实的陈述。然而，如果不把进化的思想、种族的特性、以及国家和民族的特征同等重要地去看待，那么这个基本的事实陈述只能得到有限的应用。
34. The cause of all sorrow and woes is desire – desire for that which is material. … “No man liveth unto himself”, and no nation either, and … the goal of all human effort is loving understanding, prompted by a love for the whole. (10 – 166).
所有苦难和悲伤的原因，来自于欲望 — 对物质的欲望 …“没有人为了自己而活着“，国家也是如此，… 人类努力的目标，应该是在对万物之爱的推动下达成的爱之理解（智慧）。
35. As we have been told, there are sixty thousand million units of consciousness, or spirits in the evolving human hierarchy. (2 – 34).
正如我们被告知的，现在六十亿个意识个体，或者说灵性火花，存在于进化的人类阶层之中。
36. It takes a wise disciple always to discriminate between the voice of his real Teacher, and the false whispers of the masquerading one. (2 – 132).
聪明的弟子要区分，他真正的老师的声音，以及那些伪装者的虚假低语。
37. When the pupil recognises practically all the time, that he is not his vehicles, but is indeed the divine Dweller within them, then certain things will be imparted to him. (2 – 157).
当弟子无时无刻地认识到，他不是他的载具，而是居住在载具中的神圣意识，那么一些特定的东西就会传授给他。
38. Two-thirds of humanity … will stand upon the Path at the close of this age, and with that, one-third will be held over for later unfoldment. (14 – xviii).
在这个时代终结之时，三分之二的人类…都将会站在这条神圣之路上，而剩下的三分之一，会在以后再踏上这条路。
39. The majority of true esotericists are found outside, and not within, the bulk of the schools which call themselves esoteric. (14 – 183).
大多数的真正神秘主义者都存在于那些自称为神秘学校的外部，而不是学校内部。
40. In the West, a man has legally one wife, but through his promiscuity and his so-called “romantic” adventures, he really has as many as an African chieftain; and today, women are little better. (14 – 274).
在西方，男人拥有一个合法的妻子，但是通过他的滥交和他所谓的“浪漫“的狩猎，他拥有像非洲酋长一样多的夫人，现今，女性也好不了多少。
(41) Man stands midway between heaven and earth, with his feet deep in the mud of material life, and his head in heaven. In the majority of cases his eyes are closed, and he sees not the beauty of the heavenly vision or they are open, but fixed upon the mud and slime with which his feet are covered. But when his open eyes are lifted for a brief moment, and see the world of reality, and of spiritual values, then the torn and distracted life of the aspirant begins. (14 – 312).
人站立于天地之间，他的双脚深陷物质生活的泥沼之中，他的头在天空之中。在大多数情况下，他的双眼是紧闭的，他看不到美丽的天堂景象，当他睁开双眼时，却紧盯着脚面上覆盖的泥土。但是，当他短暂地把双眼望向天空时，他看到了真实的世界，看到了具有灵性价值的世界时，寻求者的分裂和焦虑的生活，便开始了。
(42) One of the most difficult things with which the Masters are today confronted, is to prove to man that the old and recognised values, and the tangible world of phenomena (emotional and physical), must be relegated to their right place in the background of man’s consciousness, and that the intangible realities, and the world of ideas and causes must be, for him, in the immediate future, the main centre of attraction. When man grasps this, and lives by this knowledge, then the glamour which now holds the world will disappear. (14 – 341).
大师们当今面临的最困难的事情之一，就是向人们证实，旧的和公认的价值观，以及感官世界中的那些现象（情感和物质上的），比如要归纳进入人类意识中的正确的位置。对他来说，那些看不见的实相、思想和因果的世界必须要成为主要的关注中心。当人们掌握了这一点，并把掌握的知识践行在生活中，那么占据在世界中的幻相就会消失。
(43) The standard of happenings varies in importance according to the angle of vision, and what (from the angle of our Earth’s unfoldment in consciousness) may be a factor of prime importance, and of determining value, may (from the angle of the universe) be of trifling moment. The affairs of an individual are, to him, of momentous import; to humanity as a whole, they are of small concern. It all depends upon which unit holds the centre of the stage in the drama of life, and around which central factor the happenings, trivial or important, pursue their cyclic way. (14 – 395).
视角不同，衡量事情重要性的标准也不同，（从地球意识拓展的视角来看）现在相当重要的具有决定性价值的事情，（从整个宇宙的视角来看）可能是微不足道。对个人来说意义重大的事情，对整个人类而言，可能无关紧要。这一切都取决于哪部分占据了生活戏剧舞台的中心，围绕着那个中心，来决定那些循环往复发生的事情是重要还是琐碎。
(44) A mystery only remains a mystery when ignorance and unbelief exist. There is no mystery where there is knowledge and faith. (15 – 280).
当无知和不信任存在时，奥秘才会成为奥秘。当存在知识和信任时，就没有奥秘可言了。
(45) Power selfishly used, exhausts its user, and evokes a display of power antagonistic to him; he is thereby destroyed, because he has destroyed. (15 – 353).
自私地使用权力，会让自己筋疲力尽，还会唤醒对他不利的力量；因此他被摧毁了，因为他的自我毁灭。
(46) Every step forward in evolution and, therefore, towards the spiritual goal, is always at a cost, and through the relinquishing of that which has hitherto been held dear. (15 – 582).
朝着灵性成长的每一步，总是要付出代价，通过不断地放弃那时的自己认为最珍视的东西。
(47) Human beings are innately kind, when their minds are not distorted and their vision impaired by the false teaching of any selfish interest, political propaganda, and racial or religious difficulties. (15 – 655).
当人类的思想不受扭曲，当他们的视野不受虚假自私的教义、不受政治议程以及种族或者宗教的困惑而损害时，人类善良的天性就会体现出来。
(48) Disease and death are essentially conditions inherent in substance; just as long as a man identifies himself with the form aspect, so will he be conditioned by the Law of Dissolution. This law is a fundamental and natural law governing the life of the form in all the kingdoms of nature. When the disciple or initiate is identifying himself with the soul, and when the antahkarana is built by means of the life principle, then the disciple passes out of the control of this universal, natural law, and uses or discards the body at will – at the demand of the spiritual will, or through recognition of the necessities of the Hierarchy or the purposes of Shamballa. (17 – 501).
疾病和死亡是物质所固有的特性；只要一个人把自己认同为外在形态，他就会受制于瓦解法则的制约。这条法则是支配自然界所有形态生命的基本自然法则。当弟子或者启蒙者与灵魂认同，当安塔卡拉纳通过生命法则得以建立时，弟子就会不再受制于该宇宙自然法则的限制，他可以根据自己的意志使用或者丢弃身体 — 在灵性意志的要求之下，或者是来自识别出灵性阶层和香巴拉的需求。
(49) Release from the threefold form is ever regarded by the spiritual man as the greatest possible good, provided it comes to him under law, as the result of his spiritual destiny and of karmic decision; it must not come as an arbitrary act, or as an escape from life and its consequences upon the physical plane, or as self-imposed. (17 – 661).
灵性存有从三重的色相解脱出来，这被视为最大的善行，前提是这是在灵性法则下发生的，是他自己灵性旅程和业力法则共同作用的结果；它不能作为一种任意的行为发生，或者是作为逃避物质层面的生活和其后果，或者是作为自我强加的行为发生。
(50) The habit of goodness, of right reaction, and of instinctual understanding, is distinctive of the trained initiate. He has no need to remember rules, theories, planes or activities. These are as much an established part of his nature as the instinct of self-preservation is an instinctive part of the equipment of a normal human being. Think this out, and endeavour to build up the right spiritual habits. In this way the Master wastes no time on soul or personal plans. He has the habit – based on divine instinctual memory – of right activity, right understanding, and right purpose. He needs not to recollect. (18 – 66).
善良、正确的反应、本能的理解，这些习惯是受训的启蒙者所特有的。他不需要去记住这些规则、理论、面向，或者行动。这是他本性的既定部分，就像自我保护的本能是正常人的本性一样。想清楚这一点，努力地去建立正确的灵性习惯。通过这种方式，大师们就不会在灵魂或者个人的计划上面浪费时间。他拥有这种习惯，恰当的行动、确切的理解和正确的动机 — 基于神圣本能的记忆。他不需要去回忆这些。
(51) Can one take life? I think not. Life IS. Naught in heaven or on earth can touch or affect it. This is a point oft forgotten. Life cannot be taken in the spiritual sense. . . . Life is impregnable; it cannot be taken or destroyed but “passes on” from form to form, form experience to experience, until the perfect will of God is expressed through life. (18 – 125).
一个人可以取走生命吗？我认为不能。生命即如是。在天堂或者地球的任何事物都不能影响生命的本质。这一点常常被遗忘。从灵性的意义来说，生命不能被带走……生命是坚不可摧的，它不能被拿走或者摧毁，而是从一种形式“过度”到另一种形式，从一种体验过度到另一种体验，直至神的完美意志通过生命得以表达出来。
(52) The bulk of human beings are still too hungry, too devastated psychically, too bewildered and distressed, and too unsure of their future, their freedom and their security, to be in any condition to listen to Him. (8 – 110).
大多数的人类仍然处于饥饿的状态，精神太过崩溃，困惑过多，压力过大，对自己的未来、自由和安全，具有不确定性，以至于他们无法拥有一个合适的条件去倾听灵魂的声音。
(53) We are passing through one of the great natural transitional periods at this time. We are laying the foundation for the emergence of a new species of human being – a more highly evolved unit within the human family – hence much of our problem, and much of the present failure to meet the demands of the race, and to measure up to human need for development. (12 – 14).
我们正在经历一个伟大的自然过渡期。我们正在为新人类物种的出现奠定基础 — 这是人类家族中更加进化的种族 — 正因如此，才有了我们现在的大部分问题，才有了为了满足种族的要求、为了满足人类发展需求所遇到的失败。
(54) Your vision is oft distorted by the pain and suffering to which the form is subjected (either your own or that of others, individually or en masse), so that you do not see clearly the purpose and the urgency of the life within the form. (12 – 111).
你的视野经常被外在所经历的痛苦和折磨所扭曲（这些外在苦难或者是自己经历的，或者是其他人经历的，个人层面的，或者集体层面的），这样一来你就无法看清外在形态中生命的目的和紧迫性。
(55) Accidents to individuals are the result, usually, of an explosion of force, and these explosions are caused by the hatreds and the unkind thoughts and the critical words of those involved in the accident. (13 – 62).
对个人而言所发生的事故是力量爆发的结果，这些爆发是由参与事故的个体的仇恨、非友善的想法、以及批判性的言论引起的。
(56) By holding, man loses; by relinquishing, he gains; by seeking to grasp that which he has, it must and will inevitably disappear. (13 – 83).
紧紧抓住，反而会失去；放手，则会得到；去试图抓住他所拥有的东西，这些东西会不可避免地失去。
(57) Be content with your duty and the immediate service which will lead you a step further upon the way to which you are ordained, and this way you can travel rapidly and with eager feet, or slowly and with lagging steps. (13 – 93).
满足于你的职责以及你所进行的服务，这些会带领你在这条既定的道路上更进一步，这样，你就可以饱含热情快速前行，或者是拖着步子缓慢地前进。
(58) A brief period of organised effort and, at the end, death, is of more vital usefulness today, than a futile doing of the things a man feels like doing in a leisurely way, and then meandering feebly down the years. (13 – 382).
经历一段短暂而系统性的努力生活，最终迎来死亡，在今天而言，要比无所事事地悠闲度日，最终虚耗生命要重要得多。
(59) Good must ultimately triumph, but the Hierarchy does not know what the immediate future holds for humanity, because men determine their own destiny. (5 – 74).
良善会取得最终的胜利，但是灵性阶层并不知道人类即将面对的将来是什么，因为人类的命运掌握在他们自己手中。
(60) One of the first lessons which a disciple needs to learn, is that where he thinks he is strongest and where he finds the most satisfaction, is very frequently the point of greatest danger and of weakness. (5 – 77).
弟子需要学习的首要课程之一，就是去认识到，他认为自己强大和最满意之处，经常会成为最危险和柔弱的地方。
(61) I would remind you that the life of the disciple is ever a life of risks and of dangers, entered into willingly and deliberately in the cause of spiritual unfoldment, and the service of humanity. (5 – 88).
我要提醒你，入门弟子的生活是充满挑战和危险的，心甘情愿地参与到灵性发展的事业之中，为全人类服务。
(62) That which appears is not always that which truly is; that which rends and disrupts the personality life is frequently the agent of release, if rightly apprehended; that which will emerge when the Forces of Light have penetrated the world darkness, will demonstrate the nature of the undying human spirit. (5 – 100).
表面上看到的并不总是真实的；打乱和撕碎个人的生活的事情，如果可以被正确的理解，往往是释放的动力所在；那是光明的力量穿透黑暗的世界所出现的东西，会展示出人类不朽的精神本质。
(63) Go your own way with strength and silence, and do that which your soul demands. Let not the lesser voices of the loved and near deflect you from your progress upon the path of service. You belong now to the world, and not to a handful of your fellowmen. (5 – 140).
不要让你的亲人和你身边的人的声音，阻碍你在服务道路上的进展。你属于这个世界，而非你身边的那一小部分人。
(64) The reactions of others are not your responsibility. It is your responsibility to give them strength and detachment. Shoulder not, therefore, responsibilities which are not yours. (5 – 405).
其他人的反应如何不是你的责任。你的责任是给予他人力量和超然的精神。不要去承担不属于你的责任。
(65) How seldom do those who have the time and the leisure serve as do those who have no time or leisure. (5 – 543).
那些有时间和精力去进行服务的人，跟那些与那些没有时间或精力进行服务的人相比，数量稀少。
(66) Be not in any way discouraged, brother of old, if you find the upward way stiff and hard to climb. You are in good company and are not alone. (5 – 599).
如果你发现向上的这条道路陡峭且难以攀爬，请不要气馁，我的兄弟们。很多人在陪伴着你，你并不孤单。
(67) You have much to give, and I would urge you to give it, and in so doing I would also urge you not to become unduly aware of your efficient giving. (5 – 641).
你有很多可以给予，我也会鼓励你去给予，这样做的时候，我也会告诉你，要恰当地去认知到你有效的给予。
(68) Learn to keep the things that concern yourself to yourself. (5 – 662).
学着把自己关心的事情留给自己。
(69) It is effort which counts. The results will be inevitable, and commensurate with the effort. (5 – 727).
努力才是最重要的，最终结果是不可避免的，与你付出的努力相对等。
(70) The cry of the neophyte is: “Tell me. Tell me. Then I will change. I will accept anything that is said, but tell me.” The cry of the disciple is: “Aid the work. Forget yourself. The world needs you.” (5 – 737).
新手的呼声是：“告诉我，告诉我，然后我就会改变，我会接受告诉我的任何事情，但请告诉我。” 大师的子弟的呼声是：“去付出帮助，忘记自我，世界需要你。“
(71) Let your horizon be wide, and your humility great. (6 – 3).
让你的视野变得开阔，你的谦逊变得伟大。
(72) To be truly effective, you must cultivate the attitude of being only a clear unobstructed channel, and you must not block that channel with your ideas, your plans and your physical plane activities. (6 – 443).
让服务变得真正有效，你必须培养自己的态度，成为清晰通畅的通道，不要让个人的想法、个人的计划和物质层面的行动来阻碍这个通道。
(73) Are you co-operating with the Plan, or in reality with your own plans? (6 – 448).
你是与神圣计划在合作，还是跟随着自己的计划行事？
(74) At the centre of a great tornado is a point of peace. Thus does the story go. It can be found. And thus it is with all the storms of life. They lead to peace if you are not a leaf. (6 – 627).
在一场狂暴的龙卷风中心点，存在的是静谧。事情就是这样展开的。你可以去发现它。生活中的暴风雨也是如此。只要你不像一片树叶那般，这最终会带来灵魂的静谧。
(75) Be not afraid of loneliness. The soul that cannot stand alone has naught to give. (6 – 755).
不要害怕孤独。不能承受孤独的灵魂也无法去给予。
回顾：《渊思寂虑》01 一些基本的前提：https://2020portal.org/2021/10/some-basic-assumptions/
以上内容，来自《渊思寂虑 Ponder On This, A Compilation》，是爱丽丝·贝利 (Alice A. Bailey) 和藏族大师迪瓦尔·库尔大师（DJWHAL KHUL）著作的摘录。
翻译：Soluna
原文：https://www.lucistrust.org/books/ponder_on_this/ponder_online/contents
