前世與今生Past and Present Lives

有一個(gè)人來問我關(guān)于前世的問題，說他常常在夢里夢見自己的前世，他問我：“前世真的存在嗎？”

Someone asked me about the existence of a past life. He said he often dreamt about his past life. “Do we have really a past life？” he asked.

前世真的存在嗎？我不能回答。

I wasn’t able to answer his question.

我告訴他：“我可以確定的是，昨天的我是今天的我的前世，明天的我就是今天的我的來生。我們的前世已經(jīng)來不及參加了，讓它去吧！我們希望有什么樣的來生，就掌握今天吧！1”

“What I do know is，” I told him， “Yesterday’s me is my past life， and tomorrow’s me is my future life， in the eyes of today’s me. It’s no longer possible for me to participate in any activity in my past life. Let bygones be bygones！ What my future life will be like depends on how I spend today.”

前世或來生看起來遙遠(yuǎn)而深?yuàn)W，但我總是相信，一個(gè)人只要有很好的領(lǐng)悟力2，就能找到一些過去與未來的消息。

While the idea of a past or future life may seem distant and abstruse， I always believe that as long as we have a well-oiled working mind， we’re able to establish some kind of link to our past and our future.

就好像，我們?nèi)绻敢獬姓J(rèn)自己的壞習(xí)慣與壞思想，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在過去是走了多么偏斜的道路3。我們?nèi)绻敢馊y量、去描繪心靈的地圖4，也會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)心靈的力量推動(dòng)我們的未來5。

If we’re ready to acknowledge what’s bad about our old habits and ideas， we’ll discover how far we’ve gone careening off course. If we’re ready to explore our minds and embark on an inner journey， we’ll be able to find what we can tap in our minds to power our future.

因此，一個(gè)人只要很努力，就可以預(yù)見未來的路，但再大的努力也無法回到過去。

As long as we work hard， we can chart a path to the future. But no amount of effort can bring us back to the past.

所以，真正值得關(guān)心的是現(xiàn)在。

So， what really matters is the present.

我對那時(shí)常做前世夢的朋友說：“與其把時(shí)間浪費(fèi)在前世的夢，還不如活在真實(shí)的眼前。”

“Instead of wasting your time obsessing about what you think happened in your previous life，” I said to the friend who often dreamt about his previous life， “you’d better focus on what’s right in front of you.”

真的，世人很少對今生有懇切的了解，卻妄圖去了解前世，世人也多不肯依賴眼前的真我，卻花許多時(shí)間寄托于來世，想來令人遺憾。

Indeed， it’s regrettable that too many of us fail to have a real grasp of what’s confronting us today while going out of the way to inquire about any previous lives， and that too many of us are loath to tap into today’s true selves while setting hopes on future lives.

1“我們希望有什么樣的來生，就掌握今天吧！”是指未來取決于今天，因此可以譯成“Let’s make the best out of today because that’s what determines tomorrow.”或“What we can hope for in our next life rests in what we do today.”或“What my future life will be like depends on how I spend today.”。" 2“很好的領(lǐng)悟力”不宜譯成excellent comprehension skills。comprehension一詞與語言訓(xùn)練關(guān)系更大，與本文無關(guān)。這里所談的“領(lǐng)悟力”不是指通過學(xué)習(xí)或培訓(xùn)獲取的技能，而是指“理解的能力”，我們可以稱“很好的領(lǐng)悟力”為perceptive或者a well-oiled working mind。

3“走了多么偏斜的道路”譯成how many mistakes we have made in the past問題不大，至少意思還算比較接近，但保留原文的形象更為可取，可以譯成how far we have strayed或how far we’ve been off course或how far we’ve gone careening off course。" 4“去測量、去描繪心靈的地圖”不必按字面譯成to measure and draw the map of the mind。雖然mind mapping在英文里是一個(gè)正常的術(shù)語，但最好別用于這種場合，那是為提高生產(chǎn)力或?yàn)轭愃颇康亩硇畔ⅰ⒗眄樃鞣N關(guān)系的手段。這里所談的無非就是了解自己的內(nèi)心，那就是explore our minds and navigate our inner journey或者explore our minds and embark on an inner journey。" 5“會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)心靈的力量推動(dòng)我們的未來”不應(yīng)該譯成realize that the spiritual strength is pushing us forward，因?yàn)閟piritual strength是指精神信仰的力量，特別是宗教信仰的力量，與此處的語境無關(guān)。這里所述的“心靈的力量”就是“去測量、去描繪心靈的地圖”的結(jié)果，完全是字面上的意思，即the power of the mind。整個(gè)分句可以譯成we can discover the power of the mind in shaping the future或者we’ll be able to find what we can tap in our minds to power our future。