So this is a very complex problem of our life—why we are so shallow, empty, filled with other people’s knowledge and with books; why we are not independent, free human beings to find out; why we are slaves. This is not a rhetorical question; it is a question each one of us must ask. In the very asking and doubting, there comes freedom. And without freedom there is no sense of truth.

所以說這是我們的生活中一個非常復(fù)雜的問題——我們?yōu)槭裁慈绱藴\薄、如此空虛，塞滿了別人的知識和書本的知識；我們?yōu)槭裁床荒塥毩?、自由地去探究；我們?yōu)槭裁词桥`。這并不是夸大其詞的問題，而是我們每個人都必須提出的問題。在這種提問和質(zhì)疑當中，自由就會到來，而沒有自由就沒有對真理的感知。

When you see something greatly beautiful like a mountain full of snow against the blue sky, what actually takes place? When you see something extraordinarily alive, beautiful, majestic, for a moment, for a second, the very majesty of that mountain, the immensity of it drives away, puts aside all self-concern, all problems. At that second there is no ‘me’ watching it. The very greatness of the mountain drives away for a second all my self-concern. Surely one must have noticed this. Have you noticed a child with a toy? He has been naughty all day long—which is right—and you give him a toy, and then for the next hour, until he breaks it, he is extraordinarily quiet. The toy has absorbed his naughtiness, has taken him over.

當你看到一樣極其美麗的事物，比如藍天掩映下白雪覆蓋的高山，實際上會發(fā)生什么？當你看到了一件無比鮮活、美麗而又莊嚴的事物，在那一刻、那一秒鐘，那高山的偉岸和無限驅(qū)散了、消除了所有的自私、所有的問題。那一秒鐘并沒有一個“我”在看著它。高山的偉岸本身就短暫地驅(qū)散了我所有的自私自利。你肯定曾經(jīng)留意到了這一點。你有沒有注意過一個有了玩具的孩子？他一整天都很淘氣——這也沒什么不好——而當你給了他一個玩具，然后在接下來的一個小時里他都非常安靜，直到他把玩具弄壞。玩具消除了他的頑皮，完全占據(jù)了他。

Similarly, when we see something extraordinarily beautiful, that very beauty absorbs us. That is, there is beauty when there is no self, no self-interest, no travail of the self. Without being absorbed or shaken by something extraordinarily beautiful like a mountain or a valley in deep shadow, without being taken over by the mountain, is it possible to understand beauty that is without the self? Because where there is the self there is no beauty, where there is self-interest there is no love. So love and beauty go together; they are not separate.

同樣，當我們看到極其美麗的事物，那美本身就完全吸引了我們。也就是說，當自我、自私自利、自我的痛楚不存在時，美就出現(xiàn)了。如果沒有被極其美麗的事物，比如一座山或者幽深的峽谷所吸引、所震撼，沒有被高山所占據(jù)，我們有可能理解沒有自我的美嗎？因為有自我就沒有美，有自私自利就沒有愛。所以愛和美是并肩而行的，它們不是分開的。

We have also to talk over together what is death. That is one certain thing that we all have to face. Whether we are rich or poor, ignorant or full of erudition, death is certain for every human being; we are all going to die. And we have never been able to understand the nature of death. We are always frightened of dying, aren’t we? And we hope for continuity after death. So we are going to find out for ourselves what is death, because we are going to face it whether we are young or old. And to understand death, we must also inquire into what is living, what is our life.

我們也必須一起來談?wù)勊劳鍪鞘裁础＿@是一件我們都必須面對的事情。無論我們富有還是貧窮，愚昧無知還是學(xué)富五車，死亡對每個人來說都是必然發(fā)生的事情，我們都會死。而我們從來都沒能了解死亡的本質(zhì)。我們總是害怕死亡，不是嗎？我們希望死后生命能夠延續(xù)。所以我們要自己去弄清楚死亡是什么，因為無論我們年輕還是年老，我們都要面對它。而若要了解死亡，我們也必須探詢什么是活著，我們的生命是什么。