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《人生中不可不想的事》第七章 野心
2008/12/21 16:10

  只有当一切的竞争都除去时,才会产生一个和平的社会,大家才能过得快乐而又有创造力。

  我们已经讨论过心中有爱是多么重要,我们也看见了爱是不能被获取或被买卖的。我们希望得到一个没有剥削或极权的完美社会,但是缺少了爱,这个理想就一点意义也没有了。我认为在我们年轻时,了解这件事是非常重要的。
  不论一个人走到世上任何地方,他都会发现社会永远处在冲突的情况中。世上永远有那些具有权势、财富,日子过得优越的人,还有过着另一种生活的劳苦大众。每个人都充满嫉妒、互相竞争,每个人都希望有更高的地位、更大的权力、更高的名望。这就是世界的情况,所以世上永远有各式各样的战争。
  如果我们想要为社会带来全面的革新,首先必须了解的就是人类获取权力的本能。大部分的人都用不同的形式求取权力。我们知道运用财富和权力,我们就可以旅行,与重要人物交往,并且成名,或者我们梦想如此就能带来完美的社会。我们认为运用权力可以获得更好的东西,可是追求权力的本身,包括追求自我的权力、追求国家的权力、追求理念的权力,这一切的追求都是恶的,都是具有毁灭性的,因为它不可避免地制造了与其相抗衡的权力,因此永远有冲突产生。
  教育是否应该在你成长的时候帮助你认识到,促成一个内外都没有冲突的世界有多么重要?在这样的世界里,你不可能和你的邻居或任何其他人冲突,因为追求地位与权力的野心已经完全停息了。创造一个内外都没有冲突的社会是否可能实现?所谓社会就是你我之间的关系,如果你我的关系是建筑在野心之上的,我们每个人都想要比别人更有权力,显然,我们将一直处在冲突之中。那么我们是否可以去掉造成冲突的原因?我们是否可以教育自己不再竞争,不再和别人比较,不再希求这个东西或那份地位。简而言之,我们是否可以一点野心都没有?
  你和父母走出校园以后,在你阅读报纸或与人谈话时,你一定会注意到,几乎每个人都想为这个世界带来改善,但你是否注意到,这些人永远都在为了一些小事——譬如,观念、财产、种族、阶级或宗教等——彼此冲突?
  你的父母、邻居、牧师和官僚们,他们是否都野心勃勃地想获得更高的地位,因此他们永远和别人有冲突?显然,只有当一切的竞争都除去时,才会产生一个和平的社会,大家才能过得快乐而又有创造力。那么这个理想如何才能达成?是通过规范、立法?还是训练你的脑子不再有野心?这些方法是否可以去除野心?你可能表面上被训练得没有野心;社交上你也许会停止与人相比;但是在内心里,你还是野心勃勃,不是吗?那么到底有没有可能完全祛除这个带给人类诸多不幸的野心?
  也许你从来没想过这件事,因为没有人如此对你说过,但是,现在有人问你是否想知道如何在世上活得丰富、充实、快乐,有创意,而又没有破坏倾向的野心,不带竞争心?你是否想知道如何才不会破坏别人的生活,不在别人的道途上撒下阴影?
  你知道吗? 人们总认为这是乌托邦式的梦想,我们认为这是永远也不可能实现的,但是我并不是在讨论乌托邦,那是没有意义的。我和你,我们这些简单、平凡的人类,我们是否可能拥有创造力,而不展现在追求权力、地位等方面的野心?如果你深爱你所做的事,你就能找到正确的答案。
  如果你做工程师只因为你必须赚钱谋生,或因为你的父亲及社会希望你这么做,这就是另一种形式的强迫。任何形式的强迫都将制造冲突、矛盾。可是如果你真的爱当一名工程师、或是科学家,或者你希望种树、画画、写诗,不为了赢得别人的认可,只因为你爱做这些事,你将发现你永远不会和任何人竞争。我想这就是解决这个问题的真正线索——爱你所做的事。
  但是当你年轻时,要弄清楚自己到底爱做什么是很困难的,因为你想做的事有那么多。你想做工程师、火车司机、翱翔蓝天的飞行员或是有名的演说家、政治家。你也许想做艺术家、化学家、诗人或木匠。你也许想用头脑或用双手工作。你如何能弄清楚到底这些事是你真正爱做的,还是在社会的压力下造成的反应?
  教育不正是该帮助你去弄清楚这些事,那么当你长大时,你就可以用你的全心、全意、全身去做你真正爱做的事?
  发现你真正爱做什么需要很大的智慧,如果你害怕不能赚钱谋生,或不能适应这个腐败的社会,那么你永远也不会弄清楚到底你爱什么。如果你无所惧,如果你拒绝被父母、老师推向传统的模式,你也不愿意被社会上肤浅的需求所影响,你就可能清楚自己真正爱做的是什么。如果你想要弄清楚,你就不能害怕自己无法谋生。
  但是我们大部分人都害怕无法谋生,我们说:“如果我不听从父母、不适应社会,我不知道将来会怎么样。”因为恐惧,所以我们总是做别人要我们做的事,在这种情况下,是没有爱、只有冲突的,这种内在的冲突就是导致具有破坏性野心的原因之一。
  所以教育的基本意义之一,就是帮助你弄清楚自己真正爱做的是什么事,然后你就可以贡献自己的全心全意,因为爱就能带来人性的尊严,它能扫除平庸琐碎的中产阶级心态。
  因此,有一位开明的老师以及健康的教育气氛是非常重要的,然后你才能随着展现于你所做的事情上的爱,慢慢成长。少了这份爱,你的考试成绩、知识、内容、地位、财产都是没有分量的,没有意义的。缺少了这份爱,你的所作所为将带来更多的战争、仇恨、欺骗及毁灭。
  我所说的一切可能对你来说都是没有意义的,因为外表上,你仍然非常年轻,但是我希望我说的话对你的老师能够有意义,同时在你的内心某处,也产生一点意义。

  问:你为什么感觉害羞?

  克:你知道,生活中有一件不平凡的事,就是做个默默无闻的人,既没有名,也不伟大;不是非常有学问,也不是惊人的改革者或革命家,只是一个无名氏。忽然之间,有一大堆好奇的人把你包围住,使你产生一丝退隐之心。只不过就是这么一回事罢了。

  问:我们如何在日常生活中领悟真理?

  克:你认为真理是一回事,你的日常生活又是另一回事,因此在你的日常生活中,你想要了解你心目中所谓的真理。但是真理与日常生活是分开的吗?
  你长大以后必须赚钱谋生,不是吗?毕竟这是你通过多项考试的目的,你为的就是替自己储备谋生的能力。但是,许多人根本不在乎自己从事的是什么行业,只要能赚钱就好。只要他们能得到一份工作,不论是军人、警察、律师或是奸商都可以。
  你必须了解正当谋生的意义,这是很重要的,因为真相就在你的生活中,它不在生活之外。你如何说话,你说什么话,你如何微笑,你是如何在欺骗或玩弄别人,这些都是你生活中的真相。
  因此,在你成为一名军人、警察、律师或精明的商人之前,你是否应该明察这些行业的真相?显然,除非你看见自己所作所为的真相,并且被真相带领,否则你的生命就会混乱可怕。
  让我们来研究一下“你是否应该做一个军人”这个问题。 我们选择这个题目,是因为其他行业都比较复杂。除了外界对军人生活的宣传及一般人对军人的看法外,军人这份职业的真相到底是什么?
  假定一个人做了军人,这代表着他必须为捍卫国家而战,他必须训练自己的头脑不去思想而服从。他必须准备去杀人而且被杀。为什么?因为在一些大人物或小人物的观念中,认为这是对的。所以你做军人就是为了牺牲自己并且杀害别人。那么,这算是一个正当的行为吗?
  不要去问别人,你必须自己弄清楚事情的真相。别人告诉你,杀人是为了美好的、未来的乌托邦,他们如些告诉你,就像他们能够预知未来的一切。你认为杀人是正当的行业吗?不论是为了你的国家或一些组织化的宗教团体?杀人从来都是正当的吗?所以,如果你想在人生这个极为重要的过程中发现真理和真相,你就必须深入去探索这些事情,你必须把你的全心全意放进去。你必须独立地、清楚地、没有偏见地思考,因为真理不在生活之外,它就在你每天生活的每个行动之中。

  问:难道那些宗教的形象、心灵导师和圣人不能帮助我们正确的静坐冥想?

  克:你知道什么是静坐与冥想?你是否想自己去弄清楚这件事的真相?如果你只是全盘接受权威人士告诉你什么是正确的打坐与冥想,你能弄清楚这件事的真相吗?这是一个很艰巨的问题。你只有了解了自己不寻常的思考过程的所有深度与广度,才能弄清楚静坐与冥想的艺术。如果你接受某个权威人士指示你静坐冥想的方法,那么你只是一个侍从,一个盲目追随理念或制度的仆人。
  如果你接受权威的目的只是希望得到一个结果,那么这根本就不是静坐冥想。

  问:学生的责任是什么?

  克:“责任”这个字眼是什么意思?对“什么”的责任?是不是依照父母的希望而尽孝道?他们会告诉你照着他们的看法去做就是你的责任,而他们的看法却总是局限在自己的背景、传统等当中。
  什么是学生?一个男孩或女孩去上学,读几本书,以便通过一些考试,他是否就是学生了?或者一个人每时每刻都在学习,他的学习是永无止境的,他才是真正的学生?显然,那种只知道读某种科目,通过考试,然后就把它丢在一边的人,绝不是学生。真正的学生是要去学习、研究、探索、发问的,他不是在20或25岁就结束学习,而是终其一生都在学习。做一个学生是永远都在学习的,只要你在学习,你就没有老师,不是吗?如果你是个学生,就没有特定的人教导你,因为万事万物都是你的老师。风中飞舞的叶片、河水的喃喃细语、空中翱翔的鸟儿、一个肩负重担从旁走过的可怜人、那些自以为通晓万事的人,以上所说的这一切都是你学习的对象。所以你没有老师,你也不是一个跟随别人的人。因此学生的责任只是学习而已。
  从前在西班牙有位叫戈雅(Goya)的名画家,他是最伟大的画家之一。当他很老的时候,他在一幅画的下方写着“我还在学习”。你可以从书本上学习,但是那对你的帮助不大。一本书只能告诉你作者要说的话。但是培养自知之明的学习是没有止境的,因为培养自知之明的学习是去学习如何倾听、观察,因此你是从万物上学习的。你从音乐、从别人说话以及说话的方式,从愤怒、贪婪和野心中学习。
  这个地球是我们大家的,我们要活在快乐、丰富及和谐之中。可是这种生命的丰富、快乐,这种“这个地球是我们大家的”感觉,是不能以强制或法律带来的,它必须从我们的内心实现。因为我们爱这个地球,因此我们爱其中的一切,这就是学习的境界。

  问:尊敬与爱的区别在那里?

  克:你可以从字典中去查尊敬及爱的解说。这是不是你想要知道的?你想知道表面的意思,还是它们背后的真谛?
  如果有名望的人,譬如传教士或州长在你的周围出现,你可曾注意过大家是如何向他致敬的?你认为这是尊敬,不是吗?但是这种尊敬是假的,因为它的背后藏有恐惧及贪婪。你想从那个可怜的穷人身上得点东西,所以你在他脖子上套个花圈,但花圈不代表尊敬,它只是一个你在市场上买卖所用的铜板。你不会对佣人或乡下人表示尊敬,你只尊敬那些你希望从他们身上获得什么的人。这种尊敬其实是恐惧,根本不是尊敬,是没有意义的。但是如果你心中真的有爱,那么不论是州长、老师、仆人或乡下人,你都一视同仁,你对他们是同样的尊敬、同样的关切,因为爱是不要求任何回报的。


THIS MATTER OF CULTURE CHAPTER 7

WE HAVE BEEN discussing how essential it is to have love, and we saw that one cannot acquire or buy it; yet without love, all our plans for a perfect social order in which there is no exploitation, no regimentation, will have no meaning at all, and I think it is very important to understand this while we are young.
     Wherever one goes in the world, it does not matter where, one finds that society is in a perpetual state of conflict. There are always the powerful, the rich, the well-to-do on the one hand, and the labourers on the other; and each one is enviously competing, each one wants a higher position, a bigger salary, more power, greater prestige. That is the state of the world, and so there is always war going on both within and without.
     Now, if you and I want to bring about a complete revolution in the social order, the first thing we have to understand is this instinct for the acquisition of power. Most of us want power in one form or another. We see that through wealth and power we shall be able to travel, associate with important people and become famous; or we dream of bringing about a perfect society. We think we shall achieve that which is good through power; but the very pursuit of power - power for ourselves, power for our country, power for an ideology - is evil, destructive, because it inevitably creates opposing powers, and so there is always conflict.
     Is it not right, then, that education should help you, as you grow up to perceive the importance of bringing about a world in which there is no conflict either within or without, a world in which you are not in conflict with your neighbour or with any group of people because the drive of ambition, which is the desire for position and power, has utterly ceased? And is it possible to create a society in which there will be no inward or out- ward conflict? Society is the relationship between you and me; and if our relationship is based on ambition each one of us wanting to be more powerful than the other, then obviously we shall always be in conflict. So, can this cause of conflict be removed? Can we all educate ourselves not to be competitive, not to compare ourselves with somebody else, not to want this or that position - in a word, not to be ambitious at all?
     When you go outside the school with you parents, when you read the newspapers or talk to people, you must have noticed that almost everybody wants to bring about a change in the world. And have you not also noticed that these very people are always in conflict with each other over something or other - over ideas, property, race, caste or religion? Your parents, your neighbours, the ministers and bureaucrats - are they not all ambitious, struggling for a better position, and therefore always in conflict with somebody? Surely, it is only when all this competitiveness is removed that there will be a peaceful society in which all of us can live happily, creatively.
     Now, how is this to be done? Can regulation, legislation, or the training of your mind not to be ambitious, do away with ambition? Outwardly you may be trained not to be ambitious, socially you may cease to compete with others; but inwardly you will still be ambitious, will you not? And is it possible to sweep away completely this ambition, which is bringing so much misery to human beings? Probably you have not thought about it before, because nobody has talked to you like this; but now that somebody is talking to you about it, don't you want to find out if it is possible to live in this world richly, fully, happily, creatively, without the destructive drive of ambition, without competition? Don't you want to know how to live so that your life will not destroy another or cast a shadow across his path?
     You see, we think this is a Utopian dream which can never be brought about in fact; but I am not talking about Utopia, that would be nonsense. Can you and I, who are simple, ordinary people, live creatively in this world without the drive of ambition which shows itself in various ways as the desire for power, position? You will find the right answer when you love what you are doing. If you are an engineer merely because you must earn a livelihood, or because your father or society expects it of you, that is another form of compulsion; and compulsion in any form creates a contradiction, conflict. Whereas, if you really love to be an engineer, or a scientist or if you can plant a tree, or paint a picture, or write a poem, not to gain recognition but just because you love to do it, then you will find that you never compete with another. I think this is the real key: to love what you do.
     But when you are young it is often very difficult to know what you love to do, because you want to do so many things. You want to be an engineer, a locomotive driver, an airplane pilot zooming along in the blue skies; or perhaps you want to be a famous orator or politician. You may want to be an artist, a chemist, a poet or a carpenter. You may want to work with your head, or do something with your hands. Is any of these things what you really love to do, or is your interest in them merely a reaction to social pressures? How can you find out? And is not the true purpose of education to help you to find out, so that as you grow up you can begin to give your whole mind, heart and body to that which you really love to do?
     To find out what you love to do demands a great deal of intelligence; because, if you are afraid of not being able to earn a livelihood, or of not fitting into this rotten society, then you will never find. But,if you are not frightened, if you refuse to be pushed into the groove of tradition by your parents, by your teachers, by the superficial demands of society, then there is a possibility of discovering what it is you really love to do. So, to discover, there must be no fear of not surviving.
     But most of us are afraid of not surviving, we say, "What will happen to me if I don't do as my parents say, if I don't fit into this society?" Being frightened, we do as we are told, and in that there is no love, there is only contradiction; and this inner contradiction is one of the factors that bring about destructive ambition.
     So, it is a basic function of education to help you to find out what you really love to do, so that you can give your whole mind and heart to it, because that creates human dignity, that sweeps away mediocrity, the petty bourgeois mentality. That is why it is very important to have the right teachers, the right atmosphere so that you will grow up with the love which expresses itself in what you are doing. Without this love your examinations, your knowledge, your capacities your position and possessions are just ashes, they have no meaning; without this love your actions are going to bring more wars, more hatred, more mischief and destruction.
     All this may mean nothing to you, because outwardly you are still very young, but I hope it will mean something to your teachers - and also to you, somewhere inside.
     Questioner: Why do you feel shy?
     Krishnamurti: You know, it is an extraordinary thing in life to be anonymous - not to be famous or great, not to be very learned, not to be a tremendous reformer or revolutionary, just to be nobody; and when one really feels that way, to be suddenly surrounded by a lot of curious people creates a sense of withdrawal. That is all.
     Questioner: How can we realize truth in our daily life?
     Krishnamurti: You think that truth is one thing and your daily life is something else, and in your daily life you want to realize what you call truth. But is truth apart from daily life? When you grow up you will have to earn a livelihood, will you not? After all, that is what you are passing your examinations for: to prepare yourself to earn a livelihood. But many people don't care what field of work they enter as long as they are earning some money. As long as they get a job it does not matter to them if it means being a soldier, a policeman, a lawyer, or some kind of crooked business man.
     Now, to find the truth of what constitutes a right means of livelihood is important, is it not? Because truth is in your life, not away from it. How you talk, what you say, how you smile, whether you are deceitful, playing up to people - all that is the truth in your daily life. So, before you become a soldier, a policeman, a lawyer or a sharp business man, must you not perceive the truth of these professions? Surely, unless you see the truth of what you do and are guided by that truth, your life becomes a hideous mess.
     Let us look at the question of whether you should become a soldier, because the other professions are a little more complex. Apart from propaganda and what other people say, what is the truth concerning the profession of a soldier? If a man becomes a soldier it means that he must fight to protect his country, he must discipline his mind not to think but to obey. He must be prepared to kill or be killed - for what? For an idea that certain people, great or petty, have said is right. So you become a soldier in order to sacrifice yourself and to kill others. Is that a right profession? Don't ask somebody else, but find out for yourself the truth of the matter. You are told to kill for the sake of a marvellous Utopia in the future - as if the man who tells you knew all about the future! Do you think that killing is a right profession, whether it be for your country or for some organized religion? Is killing ever right at all?
     So, if you want to discover the truth in that vital process which is your own life, you will have to inquire deeply into all these things; you will have to give your mind and heart to it. You will have to think independently, clearly, without prejudice; for truth is not away from life, it is in the very movement of your daily living.
     Questioner: Don't images, Masters and saints help us to meditate rightly?
     Krishnamurti: Do you know what right meditation is? Don't you want to discover for yourself the truth of the matter? And will you ever discover that truth if you accept on authority what right meditation is?
     This is an immense question. To discover the art of meditation you must know the whole depth and breadth of this extraordinary process called thinking. If you accept some authority who says, "Meditate along these lines", you are merely a follower, the blind servant of a system or an idea. Your acceptance of authority is based on the hope of gaining a result, and that is not meditation. Questioner: What are the duties of a student?
     Krishnamurti: What does the word `duty' mean? Duty to what? Duty to your country according to a politician? Duty to your father and mother according to their wishes? They will say it is your duty to do as they tell you; and what they tell you is conditioned by their background, their tradition, and so on. And what is a student? Is it a boy or a girl who goes to school and reads a few books in order to pass some examination? Or is only he a student who is learning all the time and for whom there is therefore no end to learning? Surely, the person who merely reads up on a subject, passes an examination, and then drops it, is not a student. The real student is studying, learning, inquiring, exploring, not just until he is twenty or twenty-five, but throughout life.
     To be a student is to learn all the time; and as long as you are learning, there is no teacher, is there? The moment you are a student there is no one in particular to teach you, because you are learning from everything. The leaf that is blown by the wind, the murmur of the waters on the banks of a river, the flight of a bird high in the air, the poor man as he walks by with a heavy load, the people who think they know everything about life - you are learning from them all, therefore there is no teacher and you are not a follower.
     So the duty of a student is just to learn. There was once a famous painter in Spain whose name was Goya. He was one of the greatest, and when he was a very old man he wrote under one of his paintings, "I am still learning". You can learn from books, but that does not take you very far. A book can give you only what the author has to tell. But the learning that comes through self-knowledge has no limit, because to learn through your own self-knowledge is to know how to listen, how to observe, and therefore you learn from everything: from music, from what people say and the way they say it, from anger, greed, ambition.
     This earth is ours, it does not belong to the communists, the socialists, or the capitalists; it is yours and mine, to be lived on happily, richly, without conflict. But that richness of life, that happiness, that feeling, "This earth is ours", cannot be brought about by enforcement, by law. It must come from within because we love the earth and all the things thereof; and that is the state of learning.
     Questioner: What is the difference between respect and love?
     Krishnamurti: You can look up `respect' and `love' in a dictionary and find the answer. Is that what you want to know? Do you want to know the superficial meaning of those words, or the significance behind them?
     When a prominent man comes around, a minister or a governor, have you noticed how everybody salutes him? You call that respect, don't you? But such respect is phony, because behind it there is fear, greed. You want something out of the poor devil, so you put a garland around his neck. That is not respect, it is merely the coin with which you buy and sell in the market. You don't feel respect for your servant or the villager, but only for those from whom you hope to get something. That kind of respect is really fear; it is not respect at all, it has no meaning. But if you really have love in your heart, then to you the governor, the teacher, your servant and the villager are all the same; then you have respect, a feeling for them all, because love does not ask anything in return.

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