Chapter 17: Mastery

As revealed to God’s Messenger Marshall Vian Summers on January 15, 1988 in San Francisco, CA
1988年1月15日，在加州旧金山(San Francisco, CA)，向上帝的信使马歇尔・维安・萨默斯(Marshall Vian Summers)揭示

I would like to speak about mastery—about learning, preparation and cultivating the experience of Knowledge. Mastery has become a very popular subject. It is promised as the result of many spiritual study programs that are available now, and people have great expectations of themselves, of the educational processes and of their teachers in this regard. This is unfortunate because you approach relationships with teachers with very grandiose ideas about them, and part of your learning is your disappointment when you find out that they are real people like you. Mastery is very relative in this world. It would be wiser to become proficient rather than masterful because a master in the world is a profound beginner, a novice, in the life to come. So, how do you determine who is the master, who is more learned and who has greater skill if mastery in the world makes one a novitiate in the world to come?

我想谈一谈掌握——关于学习、准备和培养内识的经历。掌握已经成为一个非常流行的话题。它被承诺为现在许多精神研究项目的结果，人们在这方面对自己、对教育过程和对他们的老师有很大的期望。这是不幸的，因为你带着对老师非常宏大的想法去接近他们的关系，而当你发现他们是像你一样的真人时，你的部分学习就是你的失望。在这个世界上，掌握是非常相对的。变得熟练而不是掌握更明智，因为世界上的大师在未来的生命中是一个深刻的初学者，一个新手。那么，如果在世间的大师使人在来世成为新手，你如何确定谁是大师，谁更有学问，谁更有技能？

The great gulf between you and God must be filled in with reality. The assumption is always made that there is you and there is God, and you are small and God is great. But between you and God is all of life’s evolution—a vast expanding network of relationships. It is through this network that you must pass. It is within this fabric that you must become entwined. God is not waiting to meet you when you get off the train. “Welcome Home!” It is not like that. It would be more accurate to say that you go on to your next assignment, and yet that sounds too formal. In essence, you simply take the next step. You then begin to comprehend life on a greater scale than you can perceive here, and you have teachers and students along with you to help you accomplish the next tasks.

你和上帝之间的巨大鸿沟必须用现实来填补。人们总是假设，有你就有上帝，你很渺小，上帝很伟大。但在你和上帝之间是所有的生命进化——一个巨大的不断扩展的关系网络。正是通过这个网络，你必须通过。正是在这个网络中，你必须变得纠缠不清。当你下车时，上帝并不在等待迎接你。”欢迎回家！”不是这样的。更准确的说法是，你去完成你的下一个任务，然而这听起来太正式了。在本质上，你只是迈出了下一步。然后你开始在比你在这里所能感知的更大范围内理解生命，你有老师和学生和你一起帮助你完成下一个任务。

So, what does becoming a master mean? Why become a master? Who is more masterful amongst you? These are valid questions. One of our first lessons for you is to learn that there are no masters living in the world. This is very important! There are no masters living in the flesh. There are great students, there are proficient learners, but no masters. Give up the pursuit of mastery. Become proficient. Do not discourage yourself by trying to grasp what is beyond your realm. The world is a place to work, to give and to receive. It is not a context for mastery. Much of the mastery of the world will be useless when you pass beyond, and because this life is preparation for the life beyond, it is important to have this perspective about these things.

那么，成为大师意味着什么？为什么要成为大师？你们中谁更有主见？这些都是有效的问题。我们给你的第一课是学习，世界上没有大师。这一点非常重要!没有生活在肉体中的大师。有伟大的学生，有熟练的学习者，但没有大师。放弃对大师的追求。成为熟练的人。不要因为试图掌握超出你境界的东西而使自己灰心。这个世界是一个工作、给予和接受的地方。它不是一个掌握的环境。当你超越时，对世界的许多掌握将是无用的，因为今生是为超越后的生命做准备，对这些事情有这样的看法很重要。

The pursuit of mastery leads to disappointment. This disappointment can reveal a greater truth or it can discourage one entirely. Since we do not want to discourage you in your pursuit of Knowledge, We wish to make your pursuit more genuine, more compassionate and more kind. We are masterful compared to you, but there are greater masters than we who do not serve this world. They simply have a greater realm of responsibility—that is mastery.

对掌握的追求会导致失望。这种失望可以揭示出更伟大的真理，也可以让人完全灰心。既然我们不想让你在追求内识的过程中灰心丧气，我们希望让你的追求更真诚、更有同情心、更善良。与你们相比，我们是大师，但有比我们更大的大师，他们不为这个世界服务。他们只是有一个更大的责任领域——那就是掌握。

Along with the desire for mastery is the quest for power, the escape from pain and the permanent acquisition of pleasure. You will not master the world, but you can give something to it. What you bring, you bring from beyond this world and what you bring, the world cannot spoil. With your gift to the world, as it finds its expression through you, comes your memory of your life beyond this world, and this begins to free you from fear.

伴随着对掌握的渴望的是对力量的追求，对痛苦的逃避和对快乐的持久获得。你不会掌握这个世界，但你可以给它带来一些东西。你所带来的，是你从这个世界之外带来的，你所带来的，世界无法糟蹋。随着你给世界的礼物，当它通过你找到它的表达方式时，你对你在这个世界之外的生命的记忆也随之而来，这开始使你摆脱恐惧。

This is Knowledge. It is the aspect of mind that you have brought with you from beyond. It has nothing to do with your past lives. It has nothing to do with your memory. It is simply the part of you that has never become separated in life. It is dormant now because it cannot be activated before you reach maturity in this life. Therefore, the primary emphasis for human beings is to become mature enough to build a foundation so that Knowledge can emerge and express itself. That is worth thinking about.

这就是内识。它是你从世界外带来心智的一面。它与你的过去生活无关。它与你的记忆没有关系。它只是你的一部分，在生命中从未分离。它现在处于休眠状态，因为在你今生达到成熟之前它不能被激活。因此，人类的首要重点是变得足够成熟，建立一个基础，以便内识能够出现并表达自己。这是值得思考的问题。

Mastery is not having information about all things and all people. Mastery is not about being completely free of fear. Mastery is not about having no anxiety. Mastery is not about wealth and power. The truly advanced may not appear to have wealth and power. They may not appear to have exemplary behavior. They may not appear to be free from fear. Indeed, they will rarely appear at all! They do not seek glory or confirmation from others.

掌握并不是拥有关于所有事物和所有人的信息。掌握并不是要完全摆脱恐惧。掌握并不是没有焦虑。掌握不是关于财富和权力。真正先进的人可能看起来并不拥有财富和权力。他们可能不会看起来有模范的行为。他们可能不会出现没有恐惧的情况。事实上，他们很少出现!他们不从别人那里寻求荣耀或确认。

We wish to open up this whole issue of mastery because then something important can happen. If you are certain that what you are pursuing in life is mastery, then your first task is to become confused because your objective is not true. Even though you may never have thought of being a master, it is still part of your ambition. You may call it something else. At its core, it is the desire to be God without God, to replicate God’s Kingdom in exile, an exile that you have chosen. This is your intent, but it is not your Knowledge, for your Knowledge has brought the Kingdom here. The world is predominantly a place where people want to be God without God. Yet once Knowledge emerges, all other ambitions simply begin to fade because they are unnecessary and cause conflict. Knowledge is the unifying factor in you. It is God working in your life, and it is you, too.

我们希望打开这整个掌握的问题，因为这样就能发生一些重要的事情。如果你确定你在生命中追求的是掌握，那么你的第一个任务就是变得困惑，因为你的目标不真实。即使你可能从未想过要成为大师，但它仍然是你野心的一部分。你可以称它为别的东西。它的核心是渴望成为没有上帝的上帝，在流亡中复制上帝的王国，一个你选择的流亡。这是你的意图，但这不是你的内识，因为你的内识已经把王国带到了这里。这个世界主要是一个人们想成为没有上帝的地方。然而，一旦内识出现，所有其他的野心就会简单地开始消退，因为它们是不必要的，会引起冲突。内识是你身上统一的愿意。它是上帝在你的生命中工作，它也是你。

Mastery is something that expresses itself through you when you are not trying to do anything with your life. Mastery has its own design and direction and its own time of expression. There are no masterful individuals. Do you see? There are no masters. There are only vehicles of expression. Mastery is something that works through you. Your preparation is to become a vehicle for it, to build a foundation to let Mastery build something upon you and within you. Then there is freedom from perfection. Many people are killing themselves to become perfected, trying to have perfect minds, perfect bodies, perfect affairs, perfect relationships—everything perfect. Not a flaw, nothing to disrupt perfection. These people suffer very much because they live in a world that is very involved in error, is constantly changing and has very gross appearances. Most people don’t give a damn about perfection anyway, so there is very little agreement, and life is always eroding their perfect establishment.

掌握是当你不试图用你的生命做任何事情时，通过你表达自己的生命。掌握有它自己的设计和方向，有它自己的表达时间。没有掌握的个人。你看到了吗？没有大师。只有表达的载体。掌握是通过你来完成的事情。你的准备是成为它的载体，建立一个基础，让掌握在你身上和你里面建立一些东西。然后是摆脱完美的自由。许多人为了成为完美的人而自杀，试图拥有完美的心灵、完美的身体、完美的事务、完美的关系——一切都完美。没有任何缺陷，没有任何事情可以扰乱完美。这些人非常痛苦，因为他们生活在一个非常涉及错误的世界，不断变化，有非常粗暴的表象。反正大多数人对完美不屑一顾，所以很少有共识，生活总是在侵蚀他们的完美建制。

Life is not about becoming perfect. It is about becoming real. It is about stabilizing your mind and affairs and beginning to open yourself to a Greater Reality that wishes to express itself through you. You cannot control the mechanism for doing this. You cannot determine its outcome. You do not know where it is going to take you, who it will bring into your life and who it will send away. It is mysterious, yet with Mystery you will be able to participate in life with such certainty and confirmation. You will be far more certain of this Mystery than of anything you can perceive around you—your society, your economy, your physical health. All of those are so changeable, but the Mystery of which I speak is firm and established. It is in perfect peace because it is not changing. It is only expressing itself in changing conditions. It is without change, and yet it is moving things along. It is not growing. It is not becoming. That is why it is so still and why you must become still to have a direct experience of it.

生活不是为了变得完美。它是关于变得真实。它是关于稳定你的心灵和事务，并开始向希望通过你表达自己的更大现实的开放。你无法控制这样做的机制。你不能决定它的结果。你不知道它将把你带到哪里，它将把谁带入你的生命，又将把谁送走。它是神秘的，然而有了”神秘”，你将能够以这种确定性和确认性参与生命。你对这一神秘的肯定将远远超过你能感知到的你周围的任何事情——你的社会、你的经济、你的身体健康。所有这些都是如此易变，但我所说的神秘是坚定的、既定的。它处于完美的和平之中，因为它没有变化。它只是在不断变化的条件下表达自己。它是没有变化的，但它却在推动事情的发展。它没有成长。它没有成为。这就是为什么它如此静止，以及为什么你必须变得静止才能对它有直接经历。

So, we want to unburden you of mastery and perfection. This clears the way for you to become a truly proficient student of Knowledge and a true contributor in life. You will find that that challenge is quite sufficient. Then you will be able to be a real person in a real world with real feelings and honest communication with others. And your whole basis for condemnation will fall away because, you see, if you do not judge others, you love them. If you have no criteria for judging them, then it is easier to love them. But if you are attempting perfection, then everyone is either passing or failing your assessments.

所以，我们想让你卸下掌握和完美的负担。这为你成为一名真实熟练内识的学生和生命中的真正贡献者扫清了道路。你会发现，这种挑战是很充分的。然后你将能够在一个真实的世界中成为一个真正的人，有真实的感受，并与他人进行诚实的交流。而你的整个谴责的基础将消失，因为，你看，如果你不评判别人，你就爱他们。如果你没有评判他们的标准，那么爱他们就会更容易。但如果你试图追求完美，那么每个人要么通过，要么不通过你的评估。

Your energy is required for preparation, and what you are preparing for is freedom of a very substantial nature. What you are preparing for is contribution and satisfaction. So, let us put mastery aside. Let us not try to become masters. Perhaps one day someone will come up to you and say, “You are our master.” And you will say, “Oh,” uncertain if that is a good thing or not. People will call you a master, but you will not be trying to be one, and you will not be so sure it is a good thing they call you this because of the expectations that go with it.

你的能量是需要准备的，而你所准备的是非常实质性的自由。你所准备的是贡献和满足。所以，让我们把掌握的东西放在一边。让我们不要试图成为大师。也许有一天，有人会走过来对你说，”你是我们的大师”。而你会说，”哦，”不确定这是否是一件好事。人们会称你为大师，但你不会试图成为大师，你也不会很确定他们这样称呼你是件好事，因为有了这样的期望。

Demonstrating power in the world is extremely hazardous. That is why the Wise rarely do it, and if they do, it is only under certain circumstances. If We were to say, “If you achieve greatness, you will have to hide it,” does that discourage you from achieving greatness? If I say, “If you have power, you will have to hide it,” will that discourage you from seeking power? The truly advanced work in the world behind the scenes, drawing as little attention as possible. On occasion, certain of their numbers will become more visible to make specific contributions. They may be in the field of education or politics or any field. They are willing to take the scrutiny of the world and all of its misfortunes because that is their calling. But they are the exception and not the rule.

在世界上展示力量是非常危险的。这就是为什么智者很少这样做，如果他们这样做，也只是在某些情况下。如果我们说：”如果你取得了伟大的成就，你将不得不隐藏它，”这是否会阻止你取得伟大的成就？如果我说，”如果你拥有力量，你将不得不隐藏它，”这是否会阻止你寻求力量？真正先进的人在幕后工作，尽可能不引起注意。偶尔，他们中的某些人将变得更加明显，以做出具体的贡献。他们可能是在教育或政治领域或任何领域。他们愿意接受世界的审视和所有的不幸，因为那是他们的使命。但他们是例外，而不是常规。

At some juncture, whether you agree with my words or not, you will become very confused about why you are doing all this personal growth. You will become very confused because it is not justifiable for the reasons you think. Your life is getting better in some ways and harder in others. It is getting a little harder to tolerate the aggravations of the world because you are more sensitive, and yet you seem more in control of your thoughts and feelings and more tolerant of others. At some point this becomes very confusing, and this is a very important point because here you begin to discern the reality of your pursuit.

在某些时刻，无论你是否同意我的话，你会变得非常困惑，为什么你要做所有这些个人成长。你会变得非常困惑，因为这并不是你认为的合理原因。你的生活在某些方面越来越好，在其他方面却越来越难。因为你更敏感，所以越来越难忍受这个世界的委屈，然而你似乎更能控制自己的思想和感情，更能容忍别人。在某些时候，这变得非常混乱，这是一个非常重要的点，因为在这里你开始辨别你追求的现实。

What is being called for is the activation of Knowledge. That is what everyone is moving towards because it is the escape from pain. It is the escape from ambivalence, which is pain. It is the escape from choice. It is the escape from conflict. Here your life becomes uniform. It has purpose and direction. It has true relationships. It is moving and you can discern its direction and movement. You are a witness to your life rather than attempting to be its master.

所召唤的是内识的激活。这就是每个人都在追求的事情，因为它是对痛苦的逃避。它是对矛盾心理的逃避，而矛盾心理就是痛苦。它是对选择的逃避。它是对冲突的逃避。在这里，你的生命变得统一。它有目的和方向。它有真实的关系。它在运动，你可以辨别它的方向和运动。你是你生命的见证者，而不是试图成为它的主人。

I’ll tell you a story. Long ago, when I was learning to follow, I had to receive a Teacher such as myself, who was not visible to my eyes, in the face of very severe circumstances in the world. My people were fleeing a defeat of our nation, and we were all heading for another land in the Mediterranean area. Yet a Teacher appeared and said, “No. I want you to go back into the heart of those pursuing you.” I thought this was madness. It seemed certain death to me to do this, but I felt I could not deny the Teacher, not only because of my reverence for the Teacher, but because I knew I must follow this. I turned and returned. The pursuing armies did not even see me. I passed through them like a knife passes through water. I was not invisible; I had no magical powers, but I did not expose myself unnecessarily. It was a good thing I turned back, or I would have been destroyed, for those I was fleeing with were caught and executed. No one expected me to return. Therefore, my escape went unnoticed. I returned to my former city and took refuge and allowed things to quiet down. Then I began my preparation with my Teacher. Because I was a doctor, I could practice my craft under the new government with some degree of license and freedom. It was there that I began to teach Knowledge because I was following Knowledge.

我给你讲个故事。很久以前，当我在学习跟随的时候，面对世界上非常严峻的环境，我不得不接受一位像我这样的老师，他在我眼中是看不到的。我的人民正在逃离我们国家的失败，我们都在向地中海地区的另一块土地前进。然而，一位老师出现了，他说：”不，我想让你回到那些追捕你的人的心里去。”我觉得这太疯狂了。对我来说，这样做似乎是必死无疑，但我觉得我不能拒绝老师，不仅是因为我对老师的崇敬，而且因为我知道我必须遵循这个。我转身返回。追击的军队甚至没有看到我。我像刀子穿过水一样穿过他们。我不是隐形的，我没有魔法，但我没有不必要地暴露自己。好在我回头了，否则我将被摧毁，因为和我一起逃亡的人被抓住并被处决。没有人期待我回来。因此，我的逃跑没有被注意到。我回到了我以前的城市，躲避起来，让事情平静下来。然后我开始和我的老师一起准备。因为我是一名医生，我可以在新政府下以某种程度的许可和自由从事我的手艺。就在那里，我开始教授内识，因为我在追随内识。

Who would want to become a master when your land is under submission by harsh rulers? Who would want to show their power and gain recognition? Certainly not me, being a servant of that land. I was able to dwell in that country for a long time before leaving. I departed soon before my new rulers themselves fell to other conquerors because I followed the same Instructor. Why was I selected and called out while others were not? I cannot say. But I was one who could receive, and I did. You see, even my life has Mystery.

当你的土地被严酷的统治者征服时，谁会想成为一个主人？谁会想展示自己的力量并获得认可？当然不是我，我是那片土地的仆人。我在那个国家住了很久才离开。在我的新统治者自己倒向其他征服者之前，我很快就离开了，因为我遵循的是同一个老师。为什么我被选中并被召唤出来，而其他人却没有？我不能说。但我是一个能接受的人，我也接受了。你看，甚至我的生命也有神秘感。

That was long ago, very distant in my mind as well. But my decision to turn and to go gave me something I did not have before—it gave me confidence in an aspect of my own self. It gave me confidence that I had assistance in life, a form of assistance I had not anticipated. I was not a religious man, but I had a natural inclination to recognize and to trust something substantial.

那是很久以前的事了，在我的脑海中也是非常遥远的。但我决定转身和离开，给了我以前没有的信心——给了我对自己的某方面的信心。它给了我信心，我在生命中得到了援助，一种我没有预料到的援助形式。我不是一个宗教人士，但我有一种自然的倾向，即认识和信任一些实质性的东西。

You see, when you leave the world, you do not find out about everything—”Well, this is the way it really is!” You simply have a bigger perspective. The Mystery continues to exist. I am here at the request of the same Instructor. I have grown with my Instructor. She became greater as I followed her. I became greater as I followed her. There was no personal ambition in this matter. It was a matter of wise action. The severity of the circumstances only gave it more credibility.

你看，当你离开这个世界时，你不会发现一切——“好吧，这就是真实的情况！”你只是有一个更大的视角。神秘的东西继续存在。我在这里是应同一个导师的要求。我和我的教员一起成长。我跟随她，她变得更伟大。我跟随她，我也变得更伟大。在这件事上没有个人野心。这是一个明智的行动问题。情况的严重性只是让它更有可信度。

Now let us talk now about proficiency in learning. In The Way of Knowledge, we emphasize the development of Knowledge as the main focal point. We do this because Knowledge is not something you can define or point your finger to and say, “That’s it!” It is the great mystery of your life. However, we can talk about its aspects, which can be directly experienced and witnessed.

现在让我们来谈谈学习的熟练程度。在内识之路中，我们强调将内识的发展作为主要焦点。我们这样做是因为内识不是你可以定义或用手指着说：”就是这样！”它是你生活中的巨大神秘。然而，我们可以谈论它的各个方面，这些方面可以直接经历和见证。

At the most basic level, Knowledge represents your ability to know, without deduction or reasoning of any kind. It represents your ability to recognize the present, to recall the past and to foresee the future, not as a personal skill, but as an immediate necessity. If you think about it, you will realize that your life has been saved great difficulty because you have this capacity. This capacity is the major emphasis, but to conscientiously develop yourself so that Knowledge can emerge within you means that you must begin to address every aspect of your life—everything you are doing that is in violation of your nature and everything that you are doing that is complementary to your nature. It takes a long time to develop Knowledge. You do not take the quick easy course. It takes a lifetime, but to prepare conscientiously means that your life is more perfectly utilized, with greater rewards and greater contribution to others.

在最基本的层面上，内识代表了你的认知能力，不需要任何形式的推理或演绎。它代表你认识现在、回忆过去和预见未来的能力，不是作为一种个人技能，而是作为一种直接需要。如果你想一想，你会发现你的生活因为你有这种能力而得到了很大的拯救。这种能力是主要的重点，但要有意识地发展自己，使内识能在你体内出现，意味着你必须开始解决你生命的每一个方面——你正在做的违反你自性的一切，以及你正在做的与你自性互补的一切。发展内识需要很长的时间。你不会采取快速简单的课程。这需要一生的时间，但有意识地准备意味着你的生命得到了更完美的利用，有更大的回报，对他人有更大的贡献。

Therefore, to prepare yourself for Knowledge, you must follow what you know now against advancing armies, which in your case are primarily your advancing thoughts. Those are your pursuers—your thoughts, your fears and your unquestioned requirements for your happiness. Here you give up no power; you only give up presumptions. You do not follow; you join. There is a difference. Purely following is mindless and without purpose, but joining to follow means that you are participating and cooperating. Here your action is complementary to the action of others. Here your ability is required, acknowledged and strengthened. It is an immediate gain to you.

因此，为了给自己准备内识，你必须遵循你现在所知道的，对抗前进的军队，在你的情况下，这些军队主要是你前进的思想。那些是你的追求者——你的思想、你的恐惧和你对自己幸福的毫无疑问的要求。在这里，你没有放弃力量；你只是放弃了推测。你不是跟随；你是加入。这是有区别的。纯粹的跟随是无意识的，没有目的的，但加入跟随意味着你在参与和合作。在这里，你的行动是对别人的行动的补充。在这里，你的能力被要求，被承认，被加强。这对你来说是一个直接的收获。

So, you do not become perfect; you simply become available and disentangled. Then your life is no longer held back by extenuating circumstances that are in violation to your true purpose. You have reached a place of simplicity. When I was requested to return, I did not sit and think about the consequences. I just did it, and it was a good thing. If I had thought about it, well, there would have been a different outcome. The Teacher appeared. “Go back!” I went back. The Teacher appeared again. “Do this!” I did that. The Teacher appeared again. “Do this!”’ I did that. I did those things not because the Teacher was grand. I knew almost nothing of the Teacher. It was because I responded. It was my heart that said “Yes.” I did not change the winds. I did not bring the rain. I did not black out the sun. I did not destroy my enemies. I was not a master, and so the world left me alone to do my real work.

所以，你并没有变得完美；你只是变得可利用和脱离了。然后，你的生活不再被违反你真正目的的情有可原的情况所束缚。你已经达到了一个简单的地方。当我被要求返回时，我没有坐下来考虑后果。我只是做了，这是件好事。如果我想过了，那么，就会有不同的结果了。老师出现了。”回去吧！”我回去了。老师又出现了。”做这个！”我做了那个。老师又出现了。”做这个！”‘我做了那件事。我做这些事不是因为老师很伟大。我对老师几乎一无所知。而是因为我的回应。是我的心在说”是”。我没有改变风向。我没有带来雨水。我没有遮住太阳。我没有消灭我的敌人。我不是一个大师，所以世界让我独自做我真正的工作。

Being a student of Knowledge means that you learn to become a uniform person, not a whole group of people anymore. You will have one frame of reference within yourself and one true response to that frame of reference. This is entirely natural. There is no imposition of structure upon your true nature. There is only a temporary structure in your external life to help you reclaim this ability. Knowledge re-engages you with life as it really is. It re-engages you with your purpose for coming into the world. It is a new experience of life, truly.

作为内识的学生，意味着你要学会成为一个统一的人，而不是一整群人了。你的内心会有一个参照系，对这个参照系有一个真实的反应。这完全是自然的。在你的真实本性上没有强加任何结构。在你的外部生命中只有一个临时的结构来帮助你重新获得这种能力。内识使你重新参与到生命中，因为它真的是。它让你重新接触到你来到这个世界的目的。这是一种新的生命经历，真的。

Becoming disentangled will take great effort. Here you do not give up everything and go sit on a mountain. No! You simply begin to tell the truth about your life, follow the truth to the best of your ability and allow your life to open. It is not a passive state. Then maybe one day someone will come along and say, “You are a great master!” and you will say, “Oh,” not certain you like the sound of that. You can become a master teacher because you are proficient at speaking or engaging with individuals. You can become a master musician because you are proficient at your instrument. You can become a master athlete or a master this or a master that. That is different. That is simply being proficient with a specialization.

摆脱束缚将需要巨大的努力。在这里，你不会放弃一切，去坐在一座山上。不是的！你只是开始说出关于你的真理。你只是开始说出你生命的真理，尽你的能力遵循真理，让你的生命打开。这不是一个被动的状态。然后也许有一天会有人过来说：”你是一位伟大的大师！”你会说：”哦，”不确定你是否喜欢这个声音。你可以成为一个大师级的教师，因为你精通演讲或与个人接触。你可以成为一位音乐大师，因为你精通你的乐器。你可以成为运动员高手，或成为这个高手，或成为那个高手。那是不同的。这只是精通一个专业。

The primary difficulty here is that people are afraid of their own Knowledge because they have built a life without it and against it in many respects. They do not want to really know. They are afraid their Knowledge will rob them of their happiness, take away their securities, take away their control, their goals and their ambitions and take them into some dangerous and risky situation. It is all fear, fear, fear. It is all the fear of God—that is all it is—but people do not say, “I am unhappy today because I am afraid of God.” You do not say that, do you? “I am depressed. I am afraid of God.”

这里的主要困难是，人们害怕自己的内识，因为他们已经建立了一个没有内识的生命，并且在许多方面与内识相悖。他们不想真正知道。他们害怕自己的内识会夺走他们的幸福，夺走他们的证券，夺走他们的控制权，夺走他们的目标和野心，并把他们带入一些危险和风险的境地。这都是担忧、害怕与恐惧。这都是对上帝的恐惧——这就是它的全部——但是人们不会说，”我今天不快乐，因为我害怕上帝。”你不会这么说，是吗？”我很郁闷。我害怕上帝。”

Knowledge is so graceful. It is so beautiful. It is so pervasive. If you open to it even a little, it will begin to emanate from you like a sweet fragrance. It feeds everyone around you. People come to you, and they do not even know why. You don’t look any different, necessarily. Maybe you stopped wearing those funny shoes, or you fixed yourself up a little bit. You don’t know why they are there. They don’t know why they are there. You are host to something greater. Your life is about that now, not because you planned it to be that way but simply because you allow the space for it to enter.

内识是如此的优雅。它是如此美丽。它是如此的无孔不入。如果你向它敞开哪怕是一点点，它就会像甜美的香味一样开始从你身上散发出来。它哺育着你周围的每个人。人们来找你，他们甚至不知道为什么。你看起来并没有什么不同，一定。也许你不再穿那些滑稽的鞋子，或者你把自己修整了一下。你不知道他们为什么在那里。他们也不知道为什么他们会在那里。你是更伟大东西的宿主。你的生命现在是关于它的，不是因为你计划它是那样的，只是因为你允许它有了进入的空间。

People who are trying to get everything from life may get what they want, but they will not be satisfied. Then, their only means for freedom is disappointment, profound disappointment. Becoming a student is a very great thing. It is very important. There are very few true students around. Lots of people want immediate results. “I want it now!” They don’t know what they want, but they want it immediately. At least they know they do not have it, even if they do not know what it is.

试图从生活中获得一切的人可能会得到他们想要的东西，但他们不会得到满足。那么，他们获得自由的唯一手段就是失望，深刻的失望。成为一名学生是一件非常伟大的事情。它是非常重要的。周围真正的学生非常少。很多人都想立即得到结果。”我现在就想要！”他们不知道自己想要什么，但他们想立即得到它。至少他们知道他们没有，即使他们不知道它是什么。

Becoming a student means that you are willing to follow and be responsible for being a follower and orient yourself towards your preparation. This takes discipline and consistency. It is a commendable state. Your role in your own development is quite small. You only have to follow the preparation as you discover it. When the preparation says, “Turn right here,” you turn right there. And if you open a page and it says, “Better to get out of this situation you are in,” you do it! Not because the preparation is a holy book but simply because within yourself, you know it must be. If Knowledge is exercised, it becomes powerful and pervasive. It is not your Knowledge, however. People say, “Well, I have my knowledge and you have your knowledge.” What they are saying is “I have my interpretation and you have yours.” There is no individual Knowledge.

成为一名学生意味着你愿意跟随，并为成为一位跟随者而负责，为自己的准备工作定位。这需要纪律和一致性。这是一个值得称赞的状态。你在自己的发展中的作用相当小。你只需要在你发现准备工作的时候跟随它。当准备工作说，”在这里转”，你就在那里转。如果你打开一页，它说：”最好摆脱你所处的这种情况”，你就去做！这不是因为准备工作是神圣的，而是因为你的工作。不是因为准备工作是一本神圣的书，而只是因为在你的内心，你知道它必须是。如果内识得到了行使，它就会变得强大和普遍。然而，这并不是你的内识。人们说：”嗯，我有我的内识，你有你的内识”。他们说的是”我有我的解释，你有你的解释”。不存在个人的内识。

The important thing is to learn how to learn. If you can do that, you will graduate from this life with true accomplishment, learning how to learn. Our preparation for students is very specific. It develops essential qualities in the individual and provides guidelines so people will stop hurting themselves habitually. It gives you an opportunity to come into the clear, to become unfettered long enough to value your freedom.

重要的是要学会如何学习。如果你能做到这一点，你将带着真实的成就从这一生毕业，学会如何学习。我们对学生的准备是非常具体的。它培养个人的基本素质，提供指导方针，使人们不再习惯性地伤害自己。它给你一个机会，让你进入清晰的状态，长时间不受约束，以珍惜你的自由。

Your Knowledge is called upon again and again as a resource for you to discover and to develop. Your ability to express Knowledge in the most common situations is encouraged. You have to be a person who is consistent enough to maintain a practice on a daily basis, which has a stabilizing effect on the rest of your life and affairs. You begin to listen instead of talk so much. You begin to look instead of project. You begin to feel instead of think so much. You are presented with relationships of true value, and you are encouraged to take action where action is needed in your life. You learn to lead and you learn to follow, for any leader is a profound follower. There are no leaders in the world, you see. If you follow, you will lead. If you will not follow, you will follow and not know you are following. There is someone pulling you along, and you are pulling someone else along. That is the way of things. You have a great amount of assistance available to you, if you begin to go in the direction your life is intended to go. If you attempt to go in another direction, it will seem like you are doing it alone.

你的内识被反复调用，成为你发现和发展的资源。你在最常见的情况下表达内识的能力受到鼓励。你必须是一个足够稳定的人，每天保持练习，这对你的其他生活和事务有稳定的影响。你开始倾听而不是说那么多。你开始看而不是预测。你开始感受，而不是过多地思考。你得到了真正有价值的关系，你被鼓励在你的生命中需要行动的地方采取行动。你学会了领导，也学会了跟随，因为任何领导者都是一个深刻的跟随者。世界上没有领导者，你看。如果你跟随，你就会领导。如果你不跟随，你就会跟随而不知道你在跟随。有人拉着你走，你也在拉着别人走。这就是事情的方式。如果你开始朝着你的生命所要的方向前进，你有大量的援助可以利用。如果你试图往另一个方向走，就会显得你是在独自做这件事。

There are things you must apply yourself to very specifically because there are two aspects to life: There are concrete accomplishments and there is Mystery. You must approach both. Mystery opens you to a greater assistance than you could provide for yourself and saves you from condemning circumstances. Applying yourself to tangible things enables you to reclaim your self-respect and to build a foundation that is sound and firm. That is what personal growth is for—to build a foundation for Knowledge. What other value does it have? The person you are attempting to improve will be shed like a garment when you leave. As you become stable, then you can represent something greater. Without Knowledge, you are still profoundly confused and subject to miseries. Without purpose, meaning and direction, your life is still a desperate event.

有些事情你必须非常特定地运用自己，因为生活有两个方面。有具体的成就，也有神秘的成就。你必须同时接近这两个方面。神秘使你获得比你自己能提供的更大的帮助，并使你免于受到环境的谴责。把你自己应用于有形的成就，使你能够重新获得自尊，并建立一个健全和牢固的基础。这就是个人成长的目的——为内识打下基础。它还有什么其他价值？当你离开时，你试图改善的人将像衣服一样被脱落。当你变得稳定时，你就可以代表更伟大的生命。没有内识，你仍然是深刻的困惑，受制于苦难。没有目的、意义和方向，你的生活仍然是一个绝望的事件。

When you think of your spiritual preparation, think not of mastery but of proficiency. With proficiency, you are able to function and to be involved in life on a day-to-day basis, whether you are happy or sad, whether circumstances are good or difficult. It is like the difference between a honeymoon and a marriage. When people discover their Inner Teachers, often they go into a kind of honeymoon phase for a long time. It is all about having wonderful experiences and romantic interludes! Of course, the Teachers simply give their blessings on occasion, while the students are enraptured with themselves. But if students persist, they begin to settle down into a true relationship with life and start working together over a long period of time. This is called building a foundation. It is not glamorous, but it is so vital and so invigorating to your life. If you have a foundation, then you can provide a foundation for others because what most people seek is a foundation. Then, upon this foundation something can be built that is not of your own design. You must build the foundation, but what is built upon it, God builds.

当你想到你的精神准备时，不要想到掌握，而是想到熟练。有了熟练度，你就能在日常工作中发挥作用，参与生命，无论你是快乐还是悲伤，无论环境是好还是困难。这就像蜜月和婚姻之间的区别。当人们发现自己的内在老师时，往往会在很长一段时间内进入一种蜜月期。这一切都是为了拥有美妙的经历和浪漫的插曲！这就是所谓的蜜月。当然，老师只是偶尔给予祝福，而学生则是自己陶醉在其中。但如果学生坚持下去，他们就会开始沉淀下来，与生命建立起真正的关系，并开始长期合作。这被称为建立基础。它并不迷人，但它对你的生命是如此重要，如此振奋人心。如果你有一个基础，那么你可以为别人提供一个基础，因为大多数人寻求的是一个基础。然后，在这个基础上可以建立一些不属于你自己设计的东西。你必须建立基础，但建立在基础上的内识是上帝所建立的。

We teach a very practical approach to life and often, even though this is a spiritual training, it is necessary for us to despiritualize people. Your pursuit of God must be built on a successful life in the world. By successful I do not mean that you are rich and famous. It is simply that your life in the world is sufficient, and you build upon this. The Plan of the Teachers calls for the development of students who have a foundation, for they are in a position to give. Their lives are not about attempting to fulfill all of their great needs because there is no fulfillment there. Their needs are met sufficiently, so they are in a position to contribute something greater. As a result, they are in a position to receive something greater.

我们教导的是一种非常实用的生活方法，而且往往，尽管这是一种精神的练习，但我们有必要使人非精神化。你对上帝的追求必须建立在世界的成功生命之上。我所说的成功并不是指你很富有，很出名。只是说你在世上的生命是足够的，而且你在此基础上发展。老师的计划要求培养有基础的学生，因为他们有能力给予。他们的生活不是要试图满足他们所有的巨大需求，因为那里没有满足。他们的需求得到了充分的满足，所以他们有能力做出更大的贡献。因此，他们有能力接受更大的生命。

Now, it is very difficult to approach Knowledge and Mastery from a logical point of view because when you try to be logical about Knowledge, you do not have Knowledge anymore. You have your logic. When you apply a certain perspective to Knowledge, you have your perspective. You individually experience Knowledge according to your perspective, but Knowledge is beyond your perspective. The great turning point in life is when you allow your life to be guided by something that you cannot understand but that you can follow wholeheartedly. That is what renders greatness into the world.

现在，从逻辑的角度接近内识和掌握是非常困难的，因为当你试图对内识进行逻辑分析时，你就不再拥有内识了。你有你的逻辑。当你对内识运用某种观点时，你有你的观点。你根据你的观点单独体验内识，但内识是超越你的观点的。生命的伟大转折点是当你允许你的生命被你无法理解但你可以全心全意地遵循的内识所引导。这就是将伟大带入世界的原因。