譯文按個(gè)人理解稍微調(diào)整過(guò)。form是形相，佛學(xué)里書(shū)說(shuō)的執(zhí)著于形相，對(duì)應(yīng)英文里的便是form。有的地方的翻譯依然得不達(dá)意。哪個(gè)理解更利于自己的便用哪個(gè)理解吧。

When you walk through a forest that has not been tamed and interfered with by man,you will see not only abundant life all around you, but you will also encounter fallen trees and decaying trunk, rotting leaves and decomposing matter at every step. Wherever you look, you will find life as well as death.?

當(dāng)你走進(jìn)一個(gè)沒(méi)有被人類(lèi)馴化或者感染的森林，你不但在你的周遭發(fā)現(xiàn)豐盛的生命，你還會(huì)在每一步遇到傾倒的樹(shù)木、敗壞的樹(shù)干、腐爛的葉子等分解的東西。不管你走到哪里，你都會(huì)看到生命，也會(huì)看到死亡。

Upon closer scrutiny, however, you will discover that the decomposing tree trunk and rotting leaves not only give birth to new life but are full of life themselves. Microorganisms are at work, molecules are rearranging themselves. So death isn't to be found anywhere. There's only the metamorphosis of life forms.?

然而，靠近仔細(xì)觀察，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)正在分解的樹(shù)干和腐爛的樹(shù)葉不但在孕育生命，但它們本身就生機(jī)蓬勃。微生物在忙著，分子也忙著重組自身。因此，死亡無(wú)處可尋。只有各種生命形式的蝶變。

What can you learn from this?

Death is not the opposite of life. Life has no opposite. The opposite of death is birth. Life is eternal.?

Sages and poets throughout the ages have recognised the dreamlike quality of human existence, seemingly so solid and real and yet so fleeting that it could dissolve at any moment. At the hour of your death,the story of your life may indeed appear to you like a dream that is coming to an end. Yet even in a dream, there must be an essence that is real. There must be a consciousness in which the dream happens, otherwise it would not be.?

你從中可以獲悉什么？

死亡不是跟生命相對(duì)應(yīng)。生命沒(méi)跟什么相對(duì)應(yīng)。對(duì)應(yīng)死亡的是出生。生命永恒。

歷代的圣人和詩(shī)人都認(rèn)識(shí)到人類(lèi)造夢(mèng)般的存在狀態(tài)，它看起來(lái)如此堅(jiān)固、真實(shí)和短暫卻又隨時(shí)消融。

在你臨終之際，你的生命故事也許會(huì)像即將結(jié)束的夢(mèng)一樣呈現(xiàn)在你面前。然而，即便在夢(mèng)里，必定有些本質(zhì)是真實(shí)的。夢(mèng)得以發(fā)生的意識(shí)必定存在。否則，夢(mèng)也不發(fā)生。

That consciousness ,does the body create it? Or does consciousness create the dream of body, the dream of somebody? Why did most of those who went through a near death experience lose their fear of death??

這意識(shí)，是肉身創(chuàng)造了它嗎？還是意識(shí)創(chuàng)造了肉身這個(gè)夢(mèng)境、一個(gè)人的夢(mèng)境？為何大多數(shù)有過(guò)瀕死體驗(yàn)的人不再對(duì)死亡心生恐懼？

Reflect upon this.

Of course, you know you're going to die, but that remains a mere mental concept until you meet death in person for the first time. Through a serious illness or an accident that happens to you or someone close to you, or through the passing away of a loved one, death enters your life as the awareness of your own mortality.?

反思這一點(diǎn)。

當(dāng)然，你知道死亡無(wú)可避免，但直到你首次看見(jiàn)別人的死去為止，死亡于你只是頭腦上的一個(gè)概念。通過(guò)疾病纏身、或發(fā)生在你或跟你關(guān)系緊密的人身上的事故、或你所愛(ài)的人去世，隨著你意識(shí)到你終有一天也會(huì)逝去，死亡便來(lái)到你的生命。

Most people turn away from it in fear, but if you do not flinch and face the fact that your body is fleeting and could dissolve at any moment, there is some degree of dis-identification, however, slide from your own physical and psychological form, the me. When you see and accept the impermanent nature of all life forms, the strange sense of peace comes upon you. Through facing death,your consciousness is free to some extent from identification with form. This is why in some Buddhist traditions, the monks regularly visit the mortuary to sit and meditate among the dead bodies.?

大多數(shù)人恐懼地回避死亡，但如果你不退縮，正視你的肉身轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝、隨時(shí)都可能消亡的事實(shí)。然而，對(duì)物質(zhì)和心理的形相的執(zhí)著被剝離后，某種程度的不著相（dis-identification）便會(huì)生起。之所以為何在一些佛學(xué)的傳統(tǒng)里，僧侶們定期去停尸房，在遺體中間坐著冥想。

There is still a widespread denial of death in western culture. Even old people try not to speak or think about, and dead bodies are hidden away. A culture that denies death inevitably becomes shallow and superficial, concerned only with the external form of things. When death is denied, life loses its depths. The possibility of knowing who we are beyond name and form, the dimension of the transcendent, disappears from our lives, because death is the opening into that dimension.

在西方文化里，依然普遍否認(rèn)死亡。即便是年老的人也盡量避免談?wù)摵退伎妓劳?，人的遺體都被藏起來(lái)。否認(rèn)死亡的文化必定會(huì)流于淺薄，只關(guān)心事物的外在形相。當(dāng)死亡被否認(rèn)，生命就失去了深度。除了你的名字和形相之外，知曉“你是誰(shuí)”的和那超越的維度，這些可能性都從我們生命中消失，因?yàn)樗劳鍪沁M(jìn)入那向度的入口。

People tend to be uncomfortable with endings, because every ending is a little death. That's why in many languages, the word for “goodbye” means see you again.

人們往往對(duì)終結(jié)都感到不自在，因?yàn)槊總€(gè)結(jié)束都是一場(chǎng)小小的死去。之所以為何在很多語(yǔ)言里，“道別（goodbye）”這個(gè)詞都是指再見(jiàn)。

?Whenever an experience comes to an end,the gathering of friends, the vacation, your children leaving home, you die a little death. A form that appeared in your consciousness as that experience dissolves. Often this leaves behind a feeling of emptiness that most people try hard not to feel ,not to face. If you can learn to accept and even welcome the endings in your life, you may find that the feeling of emptiness that initially felt uncomfortable turns into a sense of inner spaciousness that is deeply peaceful.?

當(dāng)某些經(jīng)歷即將終結(jié)，如朋友聚會(huì)、假期、子女離開(kāi)家里等，你便經(jīng)歷了一場(chǎng)小小的死去——在你意識(shí)里以那份經(jīng)歷塑造的形相消融了。通常這種消融的感覺(jué)會(huì)留下一種大多數(shù)人都極力抗拒去感知、去正視的空虛感。如果你可以學(xué)會(huì)接受、甚至欣然迎接你生命中的各種終結(jié)，你也許會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)一開(kāi)始讓你感到不自在的空虛感轉(zhuǎn)化為內(nèi)在非常平和的開(kāi)豁感。

By learning to die daily in this way, you open yourself to life.?

Most people feel that their identity, their sense of self, is something incredibly precious that they don't want to lose. That is why they have such fear of death. It seems unimaginable and frightening that “I” could cease to exist, but you confuse that precious”I” with your name and form and a story associated with it. That ”I”?is no more than a temporary formation in the field of consciousness.

在日常生活中以這種方式正視死亡，你便打開(kāi)了自己，面向生命。大多數(shù)人覺(jué)得他們的身份、他們的自我感是他們不想失去的非常珍貴的東西。之所以為何他們?nèi)绱丝謶炙劳??！拔摇笨赡軙?huì)不復(fù)存在——這似乎很可怕，不可想象，但你把珍貴的“我”跟你的名相及與之掛鉤的故事相混淆了。那個(gè)“我”僅僅是意識(shí)場(chǎng)暫時(shí)的形態(tài)。

As long as that form identities is all you know, you are not aware that this preciousness is your own essence, your innermost sense of I am, which is consciousness itself. It is the eternal in you. And that's the only thing you cannot lose.?

只要你所知道的只有那身份認(rèn)同，你便沒(méi)有意識(shí)最珍貴的是你自己的本質(zhì)（essence）。你內(nèi)心深處的“我是”——也就是“意識(shí)”本身——它是你內(nèi)在永恒的唯一不會(huì)失去的東西。

Whenever any kind of deep loss occurs in your life, such as loss of possessions, your home, a close relationship or loss of your reputation, job or physical abilities, something inside you dies. You feel diminished in your sense of who you are. There may also be a certain disorientation. without this. Who am I??

凡是你生活中發(fā)生的重大損失，如失去財(cái)產(chǎn)、家園、親密關(guān)系、名望、工作或某種身體機(jī)能，你內(nèi)在的某些東西死去了。你感到你的自我感被削弱了，還可能感到茫然迷失——沒(méi)有了這些，那我是誰(shuí)？

When a form that you had unconsciously identified with this part of yourself leaves you or dissolves, that can be extremely painful. It leaves a hole, so to speak, in the fabric of your existence. When this happens, don't deny or ignore the pain or the sadness that you feel, except that it is there.?

當(dāng)你無(wú)意識(shí)地認(rèn)同某些形相是你的一部分，這形相離開(kāi)你或消融會(huì)是非常痛苦的事。 可以這么說(shuō)，這種消融感會(huì)在你的存在結(jié)構(gòu)中留下一個(gè)空洞。當(dāng)發(fā)生此事，不要否認(rèn)或無(wú)視你感到的痛苦和悲傷，接受 它們

Beware of your mind's tendency to construct story around that loss in which you are assigned the role of victim, fear, anger, resentment or self-pity are the emotions that go with that role, then become aware of what lies behind those emotions as well as behind the mind-made story, that hole, that empty space. Can you face and accept that strange sense of emptiness? If you do,you may find that it is no longer a fearful place.You may be surprised to find peace emanating from it.

要警覺(jué)你的頭腦圍繞這些喪失來(lái)構(gòu)建故事的傾向。在這些故事里，頭腦會(huì)讓你扮演受者，于是，與受害者角色匹配各種情緒便會(huì)生起，如恐懼、憤怒、怨恨和自憐等。除了覺(jué)察到頭腦編造的故事背后有什么之外，也去覺(jué)察這些情緒背后有什么——是空洞、虛空的空間。你可以正視和接受這奇怪的虛空的感覺(jué)嗎？如果你可接受這種感覺(jué)，你也許會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)它不再讓人感到恐懼，會(huì)驚訝于從那里散發(fā)出來(lái)的平靜。

Whenever death occurs,whenever a life form dissolves, God, the formless and unmanifested, shines through the opening left by the dissolving form. That is why the most sacred thing in life is death. That is why the peace of God can come to you through the contemplation and acceptance of death.?

凡是死亡發(fā)生時(shí)，凡是任何的生命形相消融時(shí)，神，無(wú)形無(wú)相，從消融的形相的開(kāi)口中透出光來(lái)。這就是為何在生命中死亡是最崇敬的事。

How short-lived every human experience is! How fleeting our lives! Is there anything that is not subject to birth and death? Anything that is eternal??

Consider this.

人類(lèi)的各種經(jīng)歷都是多么短暫！我們的生命是多么轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝！是否有什么不受限于出生和死亡？有什么是永恒的？

思考這一點(diǎn)。

If there were only one color, let us say blue, and the entire world and everything in it were blue. Then there would be no blue. There needs to be something that is not blue so that blue can be recognized, otherwise it would not stand out, would not exist.?

如果只有一種顏色，譬如說(shuō)只有藍(lán)色，整個(gè)世界的所有事物都是藍(lán)色，那么，便沒(méi)有藍(lán)色。必須有些非藍(lán)色的東西才可以讓藍(lán)色被辨認(rèn)出來(lái)。不然，藍(lán)色不會(huì)突顯出來(lái)，它不會(huì)存在。

In the same way, does it not require something that is not fleeting and impermanent for the fleeting of all things to be recognised? In other words, if everything, including yourself, were impermanent, would you even know it? Does the fact that you are aware of and can witness the short lived nature of all forms, including your own, not mean that there's something in you that is not subject to decay.?

同理，那不需要一些恒常的東西來(lái)讓轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝的東西被辨認(rèn)出來(lái)嗎？換言之，若一切事物——包括你自己——都是無(wú)常的，你還可以知道（你是無(wú)常的嗎）？

你意識(shí)到或見(jiàn)證了萬(wàn)物形相的轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝（包括你自己），那不就意味著有些東西不受限于衰敗嗎？

When you're 20, you're aware of your body as strong and vigorous. 60 years later, you are aware of your body is weakened and old. Your thinking, too, may have changed from when you were 20. But the awareness that knows that your body is young or old ,or that your thinking has changed, has undergone no change.?

當(dāng)你20歲的時(shí)候，你知道你很強(qiáng)壯，精力充沛。60年之后，你覺(jué)察到你的身體衰老。從你20歲開(kāi)始，你的思想也可能發(fā)生了變化。但覺(jué)察到你的身體年輕或衰老、覺(jué)察到你的思想變了，這“覺(jué)察”從來(lái)沒(méi)變過(guò)。

That awareness is the eternal in your consciousness itself. It is the formless one life.Can you lose it? No, because you are it.?

在你的意識(shí)本身里，這“覺(jué)察”是恒常不朽的。這是無(wú)形無(wú)相的合一生命。你會(huì)失去“祂”嗎？不，因?yàn)槟憔褪恰暗k”。

Some people become deeply peaceful and almost luminous just before they die, as if something is shining through the dissolving form. Sometimes it happens that very ill or old people become almost transparent, so to speak, in the last few weeks, months or even years of their lives. As they look at you, you may see a light shining through their eyes. There's no psychological suffering left. They have surrendered, and so the person, the mind-made egoic me has already dissolved. They have died before they died and found the deep inner peace that is the realization of the deathless within themselves.?

有些人在臨終時(shí)變得非常平靜，幾近像發(fā)光一般，好像有什么東西透過(guò)他們正在消融的形相發(fā)出光來(lái)。有時(shí)重病的人或老人在他們生命最后的幾周、幾個(gè)月或甚至幾年里，可以這么說(shuō)，他們變得幾乎透明。當(dāng)他們看著你，你也許看到他們眼里閃閃發(fā)光。心理上的痛苦已經(jīng)消弭。他們已臣服，所以，頭腦制造的小我已消融。他們?cè)谌怏w死亡前已死去，發(fā)現(xiàn)了內(nèi)在深沉的平靜，也即是意識(shí)到他們的內(nèi)在無(wú)所謂的死亡。

To every accident and disaster,there is a potentially redemptive dimension that we are usually unaware of. The tremendous shock of totally unexpected imminent death can have the effect of forcing your consciousness completely out of identification with form in the last few moments before physical death. And as you die, you then experience yourself as consciousness free of form. Suddenly, there's no more fear, just peace and in knowing that all is well and that death is only a form dissolving. Death is then recognized as ultimately illusory, as illusory as the form you had identified with as yourself.

在每一場(chǎng)意外和災(zāi)難都潛藏著我們通常沒(méi)覺(jué)察到的救贖。突如其來(lái)的死亡帶來(lái)的巨大沖擊會(huì)迫使你的意識(shí)在肉身死亡前的最后一刻完全脫離對(duì)形相的認(rèn)同。隨著死亡，你會(huì)經(jīng)驗(yàn)到自己是一種沒(méi)有形相的意識(shí)。突然間，不再有恐懼，只有和平。知曉一切都安好，死亡只是形相的消融，于是，死亡被認(rèn)出是最終極的幻相，如同你認(rèn)同于那些“你之所以為你”的形相一樣，都是幻相。

Death is not an anomaly or the most dreadful of all events as modern culture would have you believe, but the most natural thing in the world, inseparable from and just as natural as its other polarity earth.

deny your feelings.?

死亡不是異?，F(xiàn)象，也不是像現(xiàn)代文明想讓你相信的那樣——它最可怕的事，而是這個(gè)世界上最自然的事，跟地球的另一個(gè)極性密不可分，也如同地球另一個(gè)極性一樣自然。

Remind yourself of this when you sit with a dying person.It is a great privilege and a sacred act to be present at a person's death as a witness and companion. When you sit with the dying person，do not deny any aspect of that experience, do not deny what is happening, and do not deny what you feel.

當(dāng)你和一個(gè)垂死的人坐在一起時(shí)，提醒自己這一點(diǎn)

作為見(jiàn)證，臨在地陪伴在一個(gè)垂死的人身邊是一種很大的殊榮（殊勝）。

當(dāng)你和一個(gè)垂死的人坐在一起，不要否認(rèn)這段經(jīng)驗(yàn)的任何方面、不要否認(rèn)正在發(fā)生的事情、不要否認(rèn)你的感受。

The recognition that there's nothing you can do may make you feel helpless, sad or angry. Accept what you feel. Then go one step further, accept that there's nothing you can do and accept it completely. You're not in control. Deeply surrendered to every aspect of that experience,

?your feelings, as well as any pain or discomfort to the dying person, may be experiencing. Your surrendered state of consciousness and the stillness that comes with it will greatly assist the dying person and ease their transition. If words are called for, they will come out of the stillness within you, but they will be secondary. With the stillness comes the benediction-peace.

意識(shí)到你的無(wú)能為力，可能會(huì)讓你感到無(wú)助、悲傷或憤怒。接納你的感覺(jué)，然后再往前走一步。接受你無(wú)能為力，全然接受這個(gè)事實(shí)。你無(wú)法控制。深深屈服于那段經(jīng)驗(yàn)的每一個(gè)面向：你的感覺(jué)、以及可能對(duì)垂死的人生起的任何痛苦或不適。你臣服的意識(shí)狀態(tài)和隨之而來(lái)的

寂靜將極大地幫助垂死的人，并緩解他們的轉(zhuǎn)化。

如果有什么需要說(shuō)的，言語(yǔ)會(huì)從你內(nèi)在的寂靜中出來(lái)，但它們都是次要的。伴隨寂靜而來(lái)的是祝?！胶?。