Chapter 1: The Greater Religion

As revealed to God’s Messenger Marshall Vian Summers on June 6, 1986 in the USA
1986年6月6日，在美国(USA)，向上帝的信使马歇尔・维安・萨默斯(Marshall Vian Summers)揭示

To begin, We shall be discussing the Greater Religion, a matter of great importance. Developing Knowledge is a major theme in this Teaching. Knowledge, relationships and communication permeate all true activity, true development and true progress. They give rise to your spiritual nature and destiny. They call upon your relationship with God, though there are also many practical aspects of life to which they must be continually applied.

首先，我们将讨论更大的宗教，这是一个非常重要的问题。发展内识是本教学的一个主要主题。内识、关系和交流渗透于一切真实的活动、真实的发展和真实的进步。它们产生了你的精神自性和命运。它们呼唤着你与上帝的关系，尽管也有许多生活的实际方面，它们必须不断地被应用到其中。

Because you have been sent here for a purpose and not only for your own development, your contribution to the world is a primary factor. As you receive, you must give, and this continues within this world and beyond. This procedure is occurring in all worlds, not just this one. Therefore, the Plan of God must account for the needs of many different kinds of beings in many different kinds of environments. How does the Greater Religion relate to you, who are preoccupied with human affairs and this one world? It is directly relevant for three reasons.

因为你被送到这里是有目的的，而不仅仅是为了你自己的发展，你对世界的贡献是一个主要因素。当你接受的时候，你必须给予，这在这个世界和其他地方都在继续。这个过程发生在所有的世界，而不仅仅是这个世界。因此，上帝的计划必须考虑到许多不同种类的生命在许多不同环境中的需求。全神贯注于人类事务和这个世界的你，大宗教与你有什么关系？它与此直接相关，原因有三。

First, you are not entirely human. You have not made your major developments only in this world. What you have accumulated in Knowledge accounts not only for your human existence, but for your non-human existence as well. Therefore, to reclaim Knowledge is to reclaim these vital memories. They are not memories of personal traumas or historical events. They are memories of relationships that have been established in truth. Therefore, if you are to reclaim what your Knowledge actually is, then you must be prepared to experience this aspect of yourself, or you will never be able to integrate what you are experiencing into human life. Otherwise, your reclamation of Knowledge will be increasingly alienating to you. You will feel increasing estrangement from the world, and this is not Our purpose.

首先，你不完全是人类。你的主要发展并不只在这个世界上进行。你在内识中所积累的关系不仅是你人类存在的原因，也是你非人类存在的原因。因此，重新获得内识就是重新获得这些重要的记忆。它们不是个人创伤或历史事件的记忆。它们是已经在真理中建立起来的关系的记忆。因此，如果你要收回你的内识实际上是记忆，那么你必须准备好经历自己的这一方面，否则你将永远无法将你所经历的关系融入人类生活。否则，你对内识的开垦将越来越疏远你。你会感到与世界越来越疏远，而这不是我们的目的。

Therefore, you must accept your humanity, and you must accept your place in the greater order as well. Only in this way can you fully integrate yourself here, serving this world in its own needs and yet maintaining a greater perspective, which is lacking here.

因此，你必须接受你的人性，你也必须接受你在更大秩序中的位置。只有这样，你才能在这里完全融入自己，为这个世界的需要服务，但又保持一个更大的视角，而这是在这里所缺乏的。

The second reason that the Greater Religion is relevant to you is that your world is emerging into the Greater Community of worlds. This is the great transition. It is such a great transition that you cannot imagine its consequences or how much it will affect your thinking and your worldly activities.

大宗教与你有关的第二个原因是，你们的世界正在出现在世界的大社区中。这就是重大的过渡。它是一段巨大的转变，你无法想象它的后果，也无法想象它将对你的思维和你的世俗活动产生多大的影响。

The third reason is that you need a larger perspective to comprehend the work of God. God is not human. God does not think like a human. God is not made in your image. God has no image. The Source of all life accounts for all life. Think not that God is preoccupied with your life to the exclusion of other life. To begin to approach the Wisdom of God, which is the Knowledge of God, of which you maintain a small but vital part, you must begin to have a larger perspective of life itself.

第三个原因是，你需要一个更大的视角来理解上帝的工作。上帝不是人类。上帝不像人类那样思考。上帝也不是按照你们的形象而创造的。上帝没有形象。所有生命的源头说明了所有的生命。不要认为上帝只关注你们的生命而忽略了其他生命。要开始接近上帝的智慧，也就是上帝的内识，你在其中保持着一个微小但重要的部分，你必须开始对生命本身有一个更大的视角。

The evolution of humanity is only one aspect of life itself. You cannot know the whole from an aspect only. Human life does not mirror all life, and yet the reflection of all life is within you. Therefore, religion, which in reality is the experience of the presence of God and your relationship with God, must account for the greater aspects of life.

人类的进化只是生命本身的一方面。仅从一个方面无法知道整体。人类的生命并不反映所有的生命，然而所有生命的反映就在你的体内。因此，宗教，实际上是对上帝的存在和你与上帝的关系的经历，必须说明生命的更大方面。

This is so important for your being human as well, for to be really human, you must have this perspective. You cannot have perspective if being human is all that you are. Being human is very contradictory in many aspects. It is a very self-absorbed and adolescent state. If you are to understand and appreciate the nature of those whom God has sent to help you, then in time you will begin to share their perspective and see what evolution means on a larger scale. Then you will begin to understand your duties and know what growth means here on Earth.

这对你作为人类来说也是非常重要的，因为要成为真正的人类，你必须有这种视角。如果人类存在是你的全部，你就不可能有视角。人类存在在许多方面是非常矛盾的。它是一种非常自我陶醉和青春期的状态。如果你要理解和欣赏上帝派来帮助你存在的自性，那么随着时间的推移，你将开始分享他们的观点，看到进化在更大范围内的意义。然后你将开始理解你的职责，知道成长在地球上意味着什么。

People have so often set ultimate goals for their spiritual growth and have attempted to live by them. Very presumptuous and damaging this is, for failure is inevitable. It is not in God’s Plan that you should fail by overshooting your true goals in life.

人们常常为自己的精神成长设定终极目标，并试图按照这些目标生活。这是非常自以为是和有害的，因为失败是不可避免的。在上帝的计划中，你不应该因为过度追求你真实生命的目标而失败。

Many of you have felt a desire for union with the Divine, as well as a desire to serve a greater purpose. This is commendable, of course, yet if you wish to serve a greater purpose and experience a greater source, then you must learn what this means. You cannot define the way.

你们中的许多人都感到渴望与上帝结合，以及渴望为更伟大的宗旨服务。这当然是值得赞扬的，然而如果你希望服务于更伟大的目的，经历到更伟大的源泉，那么你必须学习这意味着什么。你不能定义方式。

People attempt perfection because they are convinced of error, but they do not know perfection. You cannot know perfection from error. You can only know error. Perfection is not erasing error. It is gaining wisdom, compassion, ability, capacity and love. Stamping out error does not produce perfection. If you could see evolution on a larger scale, you would most certainly adjust your expectations of yourself.

人们试图追求完美，因为他们坚信错误，但他们不知道完美。你不能从错误中知道完美。你只能知道错误。完美不是抹去错误。它是获得智慧、同情心、能力、职责和爱。消除错误并不能产生完美。如果你能在更大的范围内看到进化，你肯定会调整你对自己的期望。

Upon leaving this life, those few individuals who attained seeming perfection find themselves at a new beginning. Yet they need not be here any longer. Instead of transcending their humanity, they must now encounter the identities of the universe. For this, they will need great assistance.

离开此生后，那些看似完美的少数人发现自己处于一个新的开始。然而他们不需要再留在这里了。他们现在必须面对宇宙的身份，而不是超越他们的人性。为此，他们需要很大的帮助。

Their destiny and their way are not your concern. Your concern is your immediate life, your ability to make decisions and to act upon them, your ability to be discerning and your sense of purpose and identity.

他们的命运和他们的方式不是你关心的。你关心的是你眼前的生命，你做决定和采取行动的能力，你的辨别能力以及你的目的和身份感。

People often ask, “Why do I need Inner Teachers?” The answer is very simple. It is because you do not know anything. Yes, you believe many, many things, but your Knowledge is only a small light. You believe that by perfecting your personality or body you will attain great heights, yet We assure you, you will attain great frustration. A perfect personality may have no more Knowledge than an imperfect one. Indeed, your great teachers in the world have been very notorious—not perfect personalities. That is not the emphasis, though there are adjustments to make in your behavior and thinking, of course.

人们经常问，”为什么我需要内在的老师？”答案非常简单。它是因为你什么都不知道。是的，你相信很多很多东西，但你的内识只是一盏小灯。你相信通过完善你的人格或身体，你将达到巨大的高度，然而我们向你保证，你将遇到巨大的挫折。一个完美的人格可能并不比一个不完美的人格拥有更多的内识。事实上，在你们世界上的伟大老师都是非常有名的——不是完美的人格。这并不是重点，当然，在你的行为和思维方面也要做出调整。

Perfecting your behavior to meet your standards is not the Path of Knowledge. Knowledge is not ideas. It is experience. It is relationship. It is God. God is relationship. It is the attraction between like and like, between the same and the same. That is God in a practical definition.

完善你的行为以达到你的标准并不是内识之路。内识不是想法。它是经历。它是关系。它是上帝。上帝是关系。它是同类和同类之间的吸引力，是相同和相同之间的吸引力。这就是实际定义中的上帝。

Therefore, here We have this idea of the Greater Religion. Why is it greater? Greater does not mean better. It is only greater because it accounts for a larger reality. You must understand the evolution of life, not just the evolution of people. You cannot understand this intellectually, for it is far too vast and inclusive, but you can experience it, and you can know what it means in your daily life.

因此，在这里，我们有大宗教这个概念。为什么它是大的？大并不意味着更好。它之所以大，只是因为它占了一个更大的现实。你必须理解生命的进化，而不仅仅是人的进化。你不能从理智上理解这一点，因为它太庞大与包容，但你可以经历它，你可以知道它在你的日常生活中意味着什么。

Human beings are not sent here to achieve ultimate reality. That is not your purpose. Your purpose in being here is to complete being here. Do you think that you can go from Earth to Heaven and miss all the steps in between? Hopefully, if your progress is true, you will expand your capacity and embrace a larger experience of life, so much larger that being human would be too confining. Why? Because you will be involved in too many relationships.

人类被送到这里不是为了实现最终的现实。那不是你的目的。你在这里的目的是为了完成在这里的存在。你认为你可以从地球到天国而错过中间的所有步骤吗？如果希望你的进步是真实的，你会扩大你的能力，拥抱更大的生命经历，大到作为人类存在会过于局限。为什么？因为你将参与到太多的关系中。

Your world is about to outgrow its fascination with itself, a necessary stage of maturation. Therefore, a greater experience of religion, or shall We say a religion of many worlds, is appropriate. It is appropriate not only for a greater perspective; it is also appropriate to understand those beings you will be meeting from the Greater Community. They do not think like you necessarily. Not all of them are friendly. You are as strange to them as they are to you. You must see them with Knowledge. This is the perspective.

你们的世界即将摆脱对它自身的迷恋，它是成熟的必要阶段。因此，对宗教的更大经历，或者我们应该说是一个多世界的宗教，是合适的。它不仅适合于更大的视角；它也适合于理解你将会遇到来自大社区的那些生命。他们的思考不一定和你一样。不是所有的生命都是友好的。你对他们来说是陌生的，就像他们对你一样。你必须用内识来看待他们。这就是视角。

We said earlier that people need Inner Teachers because they do not know anything. Some people need Inner Teachers but would never allow their presence to be known. For others, it would be best if their Teachers were never known. Yet all have Inner Teachers. You can barely generate enough energy to get through life let alone elevate yourself within it. You must have assistance. Accepting this fact is so important and will give you such a sense of support, grace and appreciation. It also means that you have a purpose that is important and that you do not know everything.

我们之前说过，人们需要内在老师，因为他们什么都不知道。有些人需要内在老师，但绝不会让他们的存在被他们知道。对其他人来说，如果他们的老师永远不被知道，那是最好的。然而，所有人都有内在老师。你几乎无法产生足够的能量来度过生命，更不用说在生命中提升自己了。你必须有帮助。接受这个事实是非常重要的，会给你带来支持、恩典和赞赏的感觉。这也意味着你有一个重要的目的，你并不知道一切。

It is true that Knowledge must be gained through experience. An intellectual pursuit it is not. Your intellect was not created to comprehend the universe. It was created to negotiate the particulars of your physical life, in which it has become fairly sophisticated. Yet it cannot appreciate what is felt and what is known. Therefore, do not use this intellectual capacity inappropriately. It has its true application, and a useful one at that. Yet you must seek a different approach.

诚然，内识必须通过经验获得。它不是一种智力追求。你的智力不是为了理解宇宙而创造的。它被创造出来是为了处理你身体生活的细节，在这方面它已经变得相当复杂。然而，它不能体会到什么是感受到的，什么是已知的。因此，不要不适当地使用这种智力的能力。它有其真实的应用，而且是一个有用的应用。然而，你必须寻求一种不同的方法。

Our work then is religious in nature because it deals with God. It deals with a greater life. In this world, you cannot approach the greatest life; you can only approach a greater life. You must go through the stages of evolution. You cannot skip them all. You cannot.

那么我们的工作在性质上是宗教性的，因为它涉及到上帝。它涉及到一个更伟大的生命。在这个世界上，你无法接近最伟大的生命；你只能接近一个更伟大的生命。你必须经历进化的各个阶段。你不能全部跳过它们。你不能。

If this can be comprehended now, then you will be able to recognize what needs to be done, what can be done and what cannot be done. You will see your true involvement and your true requirements, without placing impossible burdens upon your shoulders. This is very important. With impossible burdens, you will not even recognize what is essential, and that will produce failure, which will compound your agony. We do not expect perfect behavior. But We cannot help you very effectively if you are insisting on absolutely ridiculous accomplishments of yourself. There are greater beings than you to run the universe.

如果现在能够理解这一点，那么你将能够认出什么需要做，什么可以做，什么不能做。你将看到你真实的参与和你真实的需求，而不会把不可能的负担放在你的肩上。这一点非常重要。有了不可能的负担，你甚至不会认识到什么是必要的，这将产生失败，这将加重你的痛苦。我们并不期待完美的行为。但如果你坚持对自己进行绝对荒谬的成就，我们就不能非常有效地帮助你。有比你更伟大的存在来管理宇宙。

Therefore, the work to come for you will deal with experiencing God’s work within the present religious traditions, both here and in the Greater Community. Why is this important? It is not merely fascinating to the mind. It is important because it stimulates contact with your Spiritual Family, both here and in the Greater Community. It regenerates ancient memories that are so essential to your experience of continuance, wholeness and inclusion in life.

因此，对你来说，未来的工作将涉及在目前的宗教传统中经历上帝的工作，包括在这里和在大社区。为什么这很重要？它不仅仅是对心灵的吸引。它之所以重要，是因为它刺激了与你的精神家庭的联系，无论是在这里还是在大社区。它使古老的记忆再生，这些记忆对你在生命中的延续、完整和包容的经历是如此重要。

People are always seeking their Spiritual Family. They seek it in personal relationships. They seek it in political causes and in religious causes. They seek it in peace, and they seek it in war. They do not know what they are seeking, but to be alone in this world is a terrible destiny.

人们总是在寻找他们的精神家庭。他们在个人关系中寻求它。他们在政治事业和宗教事业中寻求它。他们在和平中寻求它，也在战争中寻求它。他们不知道自己在寻找什么，但在这个世界上孤独是一种可怕的命运。

Yet you are not alone. Before you came into this world, you were not alone, and those who were with you then are with you now. To regain this memory is to regain consciousness of life in the visible and life beyond. Then the barriers of illusions begin to fall away. Then you can begin to comprehend spiritual presence rather than feel it only. Then your perception becomes refined. If you were not in this world, it would be so much easier to make proper decisions. But you are here. You have taken on the natural inhabitancy of this world in a physical body, but the possibility of true perception still exists.

然而你并不孤单。在你来到这个世界之前，你并不孤独，那些当时与你在一起的人现在也与你在一起。重新获得这些记忆就是重新获得对可见的生命和生命之外的意识。然后幻觉的障碍开始消失。然后你可以开始理解精神的存在，而不是仅仅感觉到它。然后你的感知就会变得精致。如果你不在这个世界上，要做出正确的决定会容易得多。但是你在这里。你已经在这个世界上采取了自然居住的身体，但真实感知的可能性仍然存在。

In preparation for the events to come in the next one hundred and fifty years and in preparation of the religions to come in the next one to three thousand years, the Greater Community practices will be shared for your own development. They are not shared philosophically but given as practices. They are not generated only through intellectual speculation. They are initiatory for you to experience Knowledge, spiritual presence and contact. These practices are ancient. Their purpose is to enable you to regain your ancient memories and to regain awareness of your true friends here in this world and your true friends elsewhere as well. From this will spring a much greater sense of purpose, and it is for this reason that these practices are shared.

为了准备未来150年的事件和为未来一到三千年的宗教做准备，大社区实践将被分享给你们自己的发展。它们不是在哲学上的分享，而是作为实践给出。它们不是仅仅通过智力推测产生的。它们是为你经历内识、精神存在与接触的启动。这些实践是古老的。它们的目的是使你能够恢复你古老的记忆，重新认识你在这个世界上的真实朋友们和你在其他世界的真实朋友们。从此将产生一种更伟大的目的感，正因为如此，这些做法才得以分享。

This is religious experience. Religious experience evolves and necessitates a growing point of view. If you read the history of your religions and known history, as brief as it is, you will see a development. You will begin to see a definite expansion, and thus it continues.

这就是宗教经历。宗教经历是不断发展的，需要一个不断增长的观点。如果你阅读你们宗教的历史和已知的历史，虽然很简短，但你会看到一个发展。你将开始看到一个明确的扩展，因此它将继续下去。

The purpose of this is Knowledge. There is no one to idolize. There are no heroes here. We remain invisible. You cannot worship Us. In time, you will understand the wisdom of this and why it is so essential in order for Us to be effective. Even the great ones in your world who have gone so far and who contributed their Knowledge did not seek to become idols of worship. It is their Knowledge that has been neglected. People are afraid of Knowledge, yet Knowledge is the purpose.

这样做的目的是内识。没有人是可以崇拜的。这里没有英雄。我们仍然是无形的。你不能崇拜我们。随着时间的推移，你会理解这其中的智慧，以及为什么为了让我们有效，这一点是如此重要。即使是你们世界上那些走得很远、贡献了他们内识的伟大人物，也没有寻求成为崇拜的偶像。正是因为他们的内识被忽视了。人们害怕内识，然而内识是目的。

If you yearn for Knowledge, seek it. You cannot define it. You cannot predict the outcome. You seek it because it is natural for you to do so. For your Knowledge contains the memory of your Creator, of your help and of your meaning in this world.

如果你渴望内识，就去寻求它。你无法定义它。你无法预测结果。你寻求它，因为你这样做是自然的。因为你的内识包含了对你创造的记忆，对你的帮助和你在这个世界上的意义的记忆。