詹姆斯·艾伦/James Allen

　　Unrest and pain and sorrow are the shadows of life. There is no heart in all the world that has not felt the sting of pain, no mind has not been tossed upon the dark waters of trouble, no eye that has not wept the hot blinding tears of unspeakable anguish……

　　In the strong, and apparently indestructible meshes of evil all are more or less fast caught, and pain, unhappiness, and misfortune wait upon mankind.

　　With the object of escaping, or in some way mitigating this overshadowing gloom, men and women rush blindly into innumerable devices, pathways by which they fondly hope to enter into a happiness which will not pass away.

　　Such are the drunkard and the harlot, who revel in sensual excitements; such is the exclusive aesthete, who shuts himself out from tulle sorrows of the world, and surrounds himself with enervating luxuries; such is he who thirsts for wealth or fame, and subordinates all things to the achievement of that object; and such are they who seek consolation in the performance of religious rites.

　　And to all the happiness sought seems to come, and the soul, for a time, is lulled into a sweet security, and an intoxicating forgetfulness of the existence of evil; but the day of disease comes at last, or some great sorrow, temptation, or misfortune breaks suddenly in on the unfortified soul, and the fabric of its fancied happiness is torn to shreds.

　　The child cries to be a man or woman; the man and woman sigh for the lost felicity of childhood. The poor man chafes under the chains of poverty by which he is bound, and the rich man often lives in fear of poverty, or scours the world in search of an elusive shadow he calls happiness.

　　Sometimes the soul feels that it has found a secure peace and happiness in adopting a certain religion, in embracing an intellectual philosophy, or in building up an intellectual or artistic ideal; but some overpowering temptation proves the religion to be inadequate or insufficient; the theoretical philosophy is found to be a useless prop; or in a moment, the idealistic statue upon which the devotee has for years been laboring, is shattered into fragments at his feet.

　　Is there, then, no way of escape from pain and sorrow? Is permanent happiness, secure prosperity, and abiding peace a foolish dream?

　　No, there is a way, and I speak it with gladness, by which evil can be slain for ever; there is a process by which disease, poverty, or any adverse condition or circumstance can be put on one side never to return; there is a method by which a permanent prosperity can be secured, free from all fear of the rectum of adversity, and there is a practice by which unbroken and unending peace and bliss can be partaken of and realized.

　　And the beginning of the way which leads to this glorious realization is the acquirement of a right understanding of the nature of evil.

　　It is not sufficient to deny or ignore evil; it must be understood. It is not enough to pray to God to remove the evil; you must find out why it is there, and what lesson it has for you.

　　It is of no avail to fret and fume and chafe at the chains which bind you; you must know why and how you are bound. Therefore, reader, you must begin to examine and understand yourself.

　　Evil is not an abstract some thing outside yourself; it is an experience in your own heart, and by patiently examining and rectifying your heart you will be gradually led into the discovery of the origin and nature of evil, which will necessarily be followed by its complete eradication.

　　All evil is corrective and remedial, and is therefore not permanent. It is rooted in ignorance, ignorance of the true nature and relation of things, and so long as we remain in that state of ignorance, we remain subject to evil.

　　Evil has always been symbolized by darkness, and Good by light, and hidden within the symbol is contained the perfect interpretation, the reality; for, just as light always floods the universe, and darkness is only a mere speck or shadow cast by a small body intercepting a few rays of the illimitable light, so the light of the Supreme Good is the positive and life-giving power which floods the universe, and evil the insignificant shadow cast by the self that intercepts and shuts off the illuminating rays which strive for entrance.

　　When night folds the world in its black impenetrable mantle, no matter how dense the darkness, it covers but the small space of half our little planet, while the whole universe is ablaze with living light, and every soul knows that it will awake in the light in the morning.

　　Know, then, that when the dark night of sorrow, pain, or misfortune settles down upon your soul, and you stumble along with weary and uncertain steps, that you are merely intercepting your own personal desires between yourself and the boundless light of joy and bliss, and the dark shadow that covers you is cast by none and nothing but yourself.

　　And just as the darkness without is but a negative shadow, an unreality which comes from nowhere, goes to nowhere, and has no abiding dwelling place, so the darkness within is equally a negative shadow passing over the evolving and Light-born soul.

　　“But,”I fancy I hear someone say, “why pass through the darkness of evil at all?”Because, by ignorance, you have chosen to do so, and because, by doing so, you may understand both good and evil, and may the more appreciate the light by having passed through the darkness.

　　As evil is the direct outcome of ignorance, so, when the lessons of evil are fully learned, ignorance passes away, and wisdom takes its place.

　　He, therefore, who would shake himself free of the evil which encompasses him, must be willing and ready to learn, and must be prepared to undergo that disciplinary process without which no grain of wisdom or abiding happiness and peace can be secured.

　　A man may shut himself up in a dark room, and deny that the light exists, but it is everywhere without, and darkness exists only in his own little room.

　　So you may shut out the light of Truth, or you may begin to pull down the walls of prejudice, self-seeking and error which you have built around yourself, and so let in the glorious and omnipresent Light.

　　By earnest self-examination strive to realize, and not merely hold as a theory, that evil is a passing phase, a self-created shadow; that all your pains, sorrows and misfortunes have come to you by a process of undeviating and absolutely perfect law; have come to you because you deserve and require them, and that by first enduring, and then understanding them, you may be made stronger, wiser, nobler.

　　When you have fully entered into this realization, you will be in a position to mould your own circumstances, to transmute all evil into good and to weave, with a master hand, the fabric of your destiny.

　　不安、疼痛和悲伤如阴影般笼罩着我们的生活。世上没有一颗心不曾感受疼痛的啃噬；没有一种思想不曾尝到烦恼的滋味；没有一双眼睛不曾落过伤心的眼泪……

　　不幸就像一张巨大而不易破坏的网，里面装着多多少少的痛苦、忧愁和灾难，等待着我们每一个人落网。

　　为了逃脱这张网，并在一定程度上减轻不幸带来的阴影，人们摸索并尝试了无数方法，以便让快乐常在、永不消逝。

　　那些醉鬼和妓女，放纵于情色；那些唯美主义者，关上了与这个悲痛世界的联系之门，在他自己的世界里极尽奢华；那些追逐功名利禄的人，为了达到目的而不择手段；那些寻求安慰的人，为了得到平静而念经诵佛。

　　这所有的幸福看起来就在身边，并且能使我们的灵魂暂时沉迷于幸福，从而忘记不幸的存在。但是，当有一天疾病来临，巨大的悲痛、**或不幸突然降临，我们那颗未设防的心连同那美好的幸福都会在瞬间化为乌有。

　　小孩总想长大成人，成年人却为失去的美好童年而叹息。贫困的人因自己的窘迫而发愁，富有的人却怕失去财产而整日忧心。人们为了所谓的“幸福”不停奔走，不知疲倦。

　　有时，人们会把追求幸福和内心的平静寄托在宗教之上，拥有智慧的哲学，或是建立艺术的理想，但无法抗拒的**往往证明宗教远远无法满足我们的需求，而那些哲学理论也毫无用处。唯心主义者在经过多年的找寻之后，理想也在他脚下轰然倒塌。

　　难道世上就没有摆脱痛苦和不幸的方法了吗？难道拥有永远幸福、可靠的财产和持久的安宁就只能是一个梦想吗？

　　不，当然有办法！我可以很高兴地告诉大家，不幸可以永远远离我们。这个方法能使疾病、贫穷和所有的困境一去不复返；这个方法能使财产永固，不必担心灾难的降临，从此尽情享受无尽的幸福和安宁。

　　这个能使我们心想事成的办法就是：正确看待不幸，认清其本质。

　　否认和忽视不幸是行不通的，你必须要懂得：祈求上帝赶走不幸是无济于事的，你需要找出自己为何会陷入不幸，并从中吸取教训。

　　不必为束缚你的事烦恼发怒，这样毫无用处。你要知道的是，你为什么会被束缚。所以，首先你必须要认识自己。

　　不幸不是由你身边的事物造成的，它只是我们内心的感受。如果你能细心分析并调整自己的心态，就会看清不幸的根源和本质，从而拥有摆脱不幸的力量。

　　我们可以改变不幸的命运，要知道它不是永久的。无知是不幸的沃土。如果我们停留在对事物的无知上，那就永远摆脱不了不幸……

　　黑暗往往是不幸的象征，而光明则是幸福的代名词，这两种象征正是对不幸和幸福的完美诠释。幸福，就像一束光芒照亮地球，而黑暗仅仅是一些斑点，或是几缕光芒在一些物体上的投影。所以光明是积极的，充满活力的，它给万物以力量，而不幸则是自私投下的无关紧要的阴影。因此我们要努力冲破黑暗，找到光明的入口。

　　夜晚降临，世界被一片黑暗笼罩。可是，无论夜多黑，它遮住的只是半个地球，整个世界还是闪烁着耀眼的光芒，每个灵魂都知道光明终将随着黎明到来。

　　既然如此，当悲哀、疼痛或不幸这些黑暗降临在我们头上时，当你迈着疲劳而踌躇的脚步蹒跚而行时，你完全可以选择永远快乐、永远幸福，或是选择无尽的黑暗。

　　黑暗不过是消极的阴影，到处徘徊却没有托身之所。所以当黑暗的阴影消散，我们的心灵也会被照亮。

　　“但是，”有人就问了，“为什么我们要经历黑暗的不幸呢？”由于无知，你不知不觉间使自己陷入困境。也正因如此，你才会明白，什么是幸福，什么是不幸，才会更珍惜穿过黑暗而得来的光明。

　　不幸是无知的产物，所以当我们真正了解了不幸时，智慧就会取代无知。

　　如果有谁想摆脱不幸，那么他必须时刻准备学习，并且乐于经历这个磨炼的过程。没有这个过程，就无法得到智慧，幸福不会持久，安全也没有保障。

　　谁都可以把自己关在一个黑暗的小屋里，否认光明的存在。但处处都有光明，黑暗只存在于那个人的小屋。

　　所以你可以把真理之光拒之门外，也可以推倒环绕在自己周围的偏见、自私和错误之墙，让自己置身于无尽的光明中。

　　通过对自我的认真审视来认识，而不仅仅是把它看做是一个理论：不幸只是匆匆过客，只是自私的阴影；你所有的痛苦、悲哀和不幸只是你身边的一种必然的完美法则；它们来到你身边是因为你需要它们，通过最初的磨炼，你可以更好地理解它们，并因此变得更加强大，更加聪明，更加高贵。

　　当你能够真正认识到这些，你就可以改变自己的境况，将所有的不幸化为幸福，用你那双神奇之手，创建美好的未来！

　　心灵小语

　　人生之路皆是福祸相依，不幸也常常会降临在我们头上。然而，不幸带给我们的只是黑暗的痛苦、悲伤的泪水和沉痛的打击吗？不，黑暗让我们懂得争取并珍惜光明，泪水让我们一次次坚强，沉痛的打击激发出我们的潜能。只要我们保持从容的心态，就不会一蹶不振，而能在不幸中更坚强地成长。

　　词汇笔记

　　sorrow [?s?r?u] n. 悲伤；伤心；懊悔

　　例 Shared joy is a double joy;shared sorrow is half sorrow.

　　分享快乐会变成双倍的快乐，分享悲伤会使悲伤减半。

　　indestructible [?indi?str?kt?bl] adj. 不可毁灭的；不能破坏的

　　例 The damn thing is indestructible.

　　这鬼东西是搞不坏的。

　　drunkard [?dr??k?d] n. 酒鬼；醉汉

　　例 A drunkard's purse is a bottle.

　　醉鬼的钱包就是酒瓶。

　　harlot [?hɑ:l?t] n. 娼妓

　　例 It is destructive and greedy as a harlot.

　　它像妓女一样有害而贪婪。

　　小试身手

　　不幸不是由你身边的事物造成的，它只是我们内心的感受。

　　译_______________

　　贫困的人因自己的窘迫而发愁，富有的人又为怕失去财产而整日忧心。

　　译_______________

　　不幸是无知的产物，所以当我们真正了解了不幸时，智慧就会取代无知。

　　译_______________

　　短语家族

　　And to all the happiness sought seems to come……

　　seem to：似乎怎样；似乎做

　　造_______________

　　When you have fully entered into this realization……

　　enter into：讨论；成为……的一部分

　　造_______________