Chapter 21: Enduring Happiness

As revealed to to God’s Messenger Marshall Vian Summers on April 9, 1988 in Los Angeles, CA
1988年4月9日，在加州洛杉矶(Los Angeles, CA)，向上帝的信使马歇尔・维安・萨默斯(Marshall Vian Summers)揭示

There are many different pursuits of happiness. There is such a great investment in trying to avoid pain and achieve happiness. When you think about it, there are so many occupations, interests, hobbies and pursuits aimed at achieving happiness that it seems like a very big subject. But it really isn’t. Achieving happiness is very simple and very specific, but you have to think about it a little differently.

对幸福有许多不同的追求。在试图避免痛苦和获得幸福方面有如此大的投资。当你想一想，有这么多旨在实现幸福的职业、兴趣、爱好和追求，这似乎是一个非常大的主题。但它真的不是。实现幸福是非常简单和非常特定的，但你必须以一种不同的方式来思考它。

There are two kinds of happiness available to you in this world. The first kind of happiness towards which all of these interests and pursuits are oriented is a very temporary happiness; it is momentary and carefree. People do all manner of things to experience this kind of happiness, and when they are experiencing it, it seems like a true refuge from pain and conflict. Indeed, it seems to be a desirable state to attempt to achieve at all costs. You remember the time you were so happy and you want to feel that way again, so you try to recreate the same circumstances, follow the same course of action or have the same kinds of stimulation to recapture that wonderful moment.

在这个世界上，有两种幸福可供你选择。所有这些兴趣和追求所指向的第一种幸福是一种非常暂时的幸福；它是瞬间的、无忧无虑的。人们做各种事情来经历这种幸福，当他们经历到这种幸福时，它似乎是一个真正的避开痛苦和冲突的地方。事实上，它似乎是一种不惜一切代价试图实现的理想状态。你记得你曾如此快乐，你想再次感受到这种感觉，所以你试图重新创造同样的环境，遵循同样的行动路线，或有同样种类的刺激，以重拾那个美妙的时刻。

The first kind of happiness is momentary happiness, and it can be good, but We are going to talk about enduring happiness—happiness that endures. It is not quite so gleeful. It does not always possess the kind of self-abandonment that temporary or momentary happiness does. It is not the kind of happiness where you go around laughing all day, not thinking of any concern or responsibility in life. It is a happiness that is far more pervasive, has greater depth and is more difficult to lose. It is not based upon stimulation from visible objects, and its wellspring is within you.

第一种幸福是瞬间的幸福，它可能是好的，但我们要谈的是持久的幸福——持续的幸福。它并不那么令人高兴。它并不总是拥有暂时或瞬间的幸福所具有的那种自我放弃的感觉。它不是那种你整日欢笑，不考虑生活中任何关切或责任的幸福。它是一种更普遍的幸福，有更大的深度，更难失去。它不是基于来自可见世界的刺激，它的源泉在你内心。

Now enduring happiness is not the greatest happiness, but it is the road to the greatest happiness. We cannot talk about the greatest happiness here because you do not have the capacity for this. No one in the world has the capacity for the greatest happiness, but you do have the capacity for enduring happiness, which leads to greater and greater happiness as your capacity, vision, clarity of mind and purpose become strengthened and deepened. But there must be a starting point. Ultimate happiness is so far beyond this world, so all-inclusive in life, that it is almost without any kind of reference point in your worldly experience. It is incomprehensible to you now, but it is your true destination.

现在，持久的幸福不是最大的幸福，但它是通往最大幸福的道路。我们不能在这里谈论最大的幸福，因为你没有这样的能力。世界上没有人有能力获得最大的幸福，但是你有能力获得持久的幸福，随着你的能力、视野、心智的清晰度和目标的加强和深化，这将导致越来越大的幸福。但是必须有一个起点。终极幸福是如此远远超越这个世界，如此包罗万象的生命，以至于它在你的世俗经历中几乎没有任何一种参考点。它现在对你来说是不可理解的，但它是你真正的目的地。

Therefore, enduring happiness is the happiness We would like to talk about because it is available to you now. We would like to talk about it in terms of purpose, meaning and direction in life. Happiness, you see, is often thought of as an emotion or an emotional state. “I am very happy because I am laughing.” Enduring happiness is not like that. It has more to do with satisfaction and fulfillment, which come from a deeper resource, a deeper wellspring within you. It is not a momentary relief from the burden and strain of being in the world. Therefore, enduring happiness must be very comprehensive. It is not an emotion. It does not mean that you wear a big smile all day. It is something that you can carry with you into any situation. It can abide with any emotional environment in which you find yourself. It is completely adaptable to the world. It permeates everything.

因此，持久的幸福是我们想要谈论的幸福，因为它现在就在你身边。我们想从人生的目的、意义和方向方面来谈论它。你看，幸福常常被认为是一种情绪或情感状态。”我非常高兴，因为我在笑”。持久的幸福不是这样的。它更多地与满意度和满足感有关，它来自更深的泉源，来自你内心更深的泉源。它不是对存在于世界上的负担和压力的一时缓解。因此，持久的幸福必须是非常全面的。它不是一种情绪。它并不意味着你整天都带着灿烂的笑容。它是一种你可以在任何情况下携带的东西。它可以与你发现自己所处的任何情绪环境相适应。它完全可以适应这个世界。它渗透到一切。

You see, ultimate happiness is incomprehensible here because it is so different, and yet it is your goal ultimately because it is natural to you. To comprehend the contrast between your true happiness and your life in the world you must understand profoundly why you are in this world and what the world really is. This must come through realization. Though Our words can perhaps be helpful as a framework, they are merely controversial until they are fully experienced and realized.

你看，终极幸福在这里是不可理解的，因为它是如此不同，但它最终是你的目标，因为它对你来说是自然的。要理解你真实的幸福和你在这个世界上的生命之间的对比，你必须深刻地理解你为什么在这个世界上，以及这个世界真正是什么。这必须通过领悟来实现。尽管我们的话也许可以作为一个框架有所帮助，但在充分经历和实现之前，它们只是有争议的。

Enduring happiness is something you bring with you into the world. The world cannot give it to you. Perhaps you have heard this before, for it is a spiritual truth that has been restated in many ways with many references, stories, parables and so forth. Enduring happiness is something you bring to the world. To accept this means you must have come from someplace where there is a great deal of this kind of happiness. You brought it with you, and you have come here for a purpose to give it to the world and to discover it for yourself while you are in the world.

持久的幸福是你带入世界的礼物。世界不能把它给你。也许你以前听过这句话，因为这是一个被以多种方式重申的精神真理，有很多参考资料、故事、寓言等等。持久的幸福是你带给世界的礼物。接受这一点意味着你必须来自有大量这种幸福的地方。你把它带来了，你来这里的目的是把它给世界，并当你在这个世界上时为自己发现它。

You can be fully present and find temporary escape from your worldly burdens and conflicts. But difficulties will continue. That is not the problem. Trying to have a life without problems is not the goal. Trying to discover what you have brought with you is the goal because it is greater than your problems. It is greater than the world’s dilemmas. It restores your true value to yourself and teaches you the meaning of relationship because happiness is something you find with others and not alone. In the pursuit of momentary happiness—in which there is great investment here—people attempt to join and establish relationships to achieve this purpose. However, you can also join in relationship to establish enduring happiness as well.

你可以完全在场，并从你的世俗负担和冲突中找到暂时的逃避。但困难将继续存在。这不是问题所在。试图拥有一个没有问题的生活不是目标。试图发现你所带来的礼物才是目标，因为它比你的问题更大。它比世界上的困境更大。它恢复了你对自己的真实价值，并教会你关系的意义，因为幸福是你与他人一起找到的，而不是孤独。为了追求一时的幸福——这里有很大的投资——人们试图加入和建立关系以达到这个目的。然而，你也可以通过加入关系来建立持久的幸福。

Enduring happiness is very quiet. One of its qualities is stillness. It has a calming effect on you because it relieves you of fear. It has a calming effect on others as well. It brings ease into the world, but it brings far more than this. It brings with it Knowledge and memory, for together they are the true redemptive force in the world. It is because of your origin and your purpose in being in the world that this is the case. This is not the kind of memory where you try to remember something. It is simply a memory that comes to you when your mind is opened—a sense of relationship and a sense of purpose. The amnesia of being in the world has worn off temporarily and you have a sense of continuity in life. This produces enduring happiness.

持久的幸福是非常安静的。它的品质之一是静心。它对你有镇定的作用，因为它使你摆脱了恐惧。它对其他人也有镇定的作用。它给世界带来轻松，但它带来的远不止这些。它带来了内识和记忆，因为它们一起是世界上真正的救赎力量。这是因为你的起源和你存在于这个世界上的目的，才会如此。这不是那种你试图记住什么的记忆。它只是当你的心智被打开时出现的一种记忆——关系感和目的感。在这个世界上的失忆症暂时消失了，你有一种与生命连续性的感觉。这就产生了持久的幸福。

Enduring happiness is very relevant to your interests. You cannot escape the fact that happiness is a natural radiant aspect of who you are. You will keep trying to reclaim this for yourself. When you truly give this up at any time in life, you will begin to die. The possibility for success will be over, and you will begin to leave the world, slowly perhaps, but you will begin to die. As long as you are not preparing to die then, you are still seeking for enduring happiness—for yourself and for others.

持久的幸福与你的兴趣非常相关。你无法逃避这样一个事实，即幸福是你是谁的一个自然的辐射方面。你会不断尝试为自己夺回这一点。当你在生活中的任何时候真正放弃了这一点，你将开始死亡。成功的可能性将结束，你将开始离开这个世界，也许很慢，但你将开始死亡。只要你不准备在那时死去，你仍然在寻求持久的幸福——为你自己和他人。

Happiness seems like an emotion because that is how everyone is used to thinking of it—lots of laughter. But We are speaking of something that is an abiding sense of purpose, meaning and direction in life. It gives you a sense of satisfaction and makes it possible for you to truly relax.

幸福似乎是一种情绪，因为每个人都习惯于这样去想它——大量的笑声。但我们说的是一种持久的目的感、意义和生命方向。它给你一种满足感，使你有可能真正放松。

Therefore, let Us talk about purpose, meaning and direction. Meaning is born of the fact that the world is a place for something to be done, and you are part of the effort in doing it. You came here for a purpose. You came from someplace else and you are going someplace else. You must entertain this possibility to be able to embrace the ideas We are giving you and even to accept Our presence because We have come from where you have come from. That is why We are so much alike. Yet We are more like you than you are because We have nothing added at this point. We added everything like you, and then We subtracted everything. You have added but have not subtracted very much, so you are yourself with all the additions—everything you think you must be, everything you think that you are, everything you think others are and everything you think the world is or should be. It sounds like a great deal, does it not? It is a lot of extra baggage, but there is the belief that without all these things you would be nothing. “What would I be? Does not my purpose, meaning and direction derive from all these things I strive for? As a person, do I not derive my value from who I think I am and what I think I do and what I think I have done? What would I be without this?”

因此，让我们谈谈目的、意义和方向。意义源于这样一个事实：世界是一个做事的地方，而你是参与其中的一部分。你来到这里是有目的的。你来自别的地方，你将去往别的地方。你必须考虑到这个可能性，才能接受我们给你的想法，甚至接受我们的存在，因为我们来自你来自的地方。这就是为什么我们如此相像。然而，我们更像你，因为我们此刻什么都没有添加。我们像你一样添加了一切，然后又减去了一切。你也添加了一些东西，但没有减去很多，所以你仍然是你自己，带着所有的附加物——你认为自己必须是的一切，你认为自己是的一切，你认为别人是的一切，以及你认为世界是或应该是的一切。这听起来是个大问题，不是吗？这是一个很大的额外包袱，但有一个信念，即如果没有所有这些东西，你将一无所有。”我将会是什么？我的目的、意义和方向难道不是来自我努力争取的所有这些事物吗？作为一个人，我不是从我认为自己是谁、我认为自己在做什么以及我认为自己已经做过什么中获得我的价值的吗？如果没有这些，我会是什么？”

It takes a little bit of faith to accept that there is actually something there when all these things are taken away, even for a moment. We of course do not want to take away anything from you that you want, and because you live in the world, you are free to try to have whatever you want. You can pretend you are anyone you want to be. You can pretend you are the person you have been calling yourself all these years or you can pretend you are someone else, and most people believe you unless you take a position that is untenable. Then no one can believe you and they lock you up! If it gets too outrageous, people become uncomfortable with you. It is fun to masquerade unless you cannot take off the mask. Then it becomes grave and serious, and you feel trapped and burdened.

当所有这些东西被剥夺时，即使只是一瞬间，接受实际上存在着某种存在需要一点信仰。当然，我们并不想从你那里拿走你想要的任何东西，因为你生活在这个世界上，你可以自由地努力获得你想要的任何东西。你可以假装成任何你想成为的人。你可以假装成这些年来一直称呼自己的那个人，或者你可以假装成别人，而大多数人会相信你，除非你持有一个站不住脚的立场。然后没有人会相信你，他们会把你关起来！如果变得太离谱，人们会对你感到不舒服。伪装是有趣的，除非你无法摘下面具。然后情况就变得严重了，你感到被困和负担重重。

Yet you have cause for enduring happiness because your identity in the world is only a temporary expedient. It actually has value, but only in relation to your true purpose in coming here. You see, if you did not have a mask, you would look like Us, and how many of you can see Us? We are as much here as you are, but We are like a naked person. We have passed through the training of the world, as all true Teachers have done, and that is why We are Teachers for the world. All true Teachers have added everything the world has to offer, and they have subtracted it as well. If you can become your true Self while you are in the world, you will graduate from the world. Until you do this, you will need to come back and do this again and again. As you become more aware of this, you recognize that it is really very burdensome to do that. Your desire to reveal yourself and to contribute your gifts now begins to become greater than your desire for separation, refuge and hiding.

然而你有理由获得持久的幸福，因为你在世界的身份只是暂时的权宜之计。它实际上有价值，但只与你来到这里的真实目的有关。你看，如果你没有面具，你会看起来像我们，而你们中有多少人能够看到我们？我们和你们一样在这里，但我们就像一个裸体的人。我们已经通过了世界的训练，就像所有真实的老师所做的那样，这就是为什么我们是世界的老师。所有真实的老师都加入了世界所提供的一切，他们也做了减法。如果你在这个世界上时能成为你的真我，你将从这个世界上毕业。在你做到这一点之前，你将需要一次又一次地回来做这件事。当你更多地意识到这一点时，你就会认识到，这样做确实是非常累赘的。你揭示自己和贡献你的礼物的愿望现在开始变得比你对分离、避难和躲藏的愿望更大。

Enduring happiness is a quality of your entire life. It is not an add-on feature. You do not put on a happy face or a spiritual face or any face now. Happiness is merely beginning to radiate from you like heat from a radiator. You are feeling it, and others are feeling it because you are feeling it. You are the first recipient always. You are the first student of your own training.

持久的幸福是你整个生命的一种品质。它不是一个附加的功能。你现在不要装出一张快乐的脸或精神的脸或任何脸。幸福只是开始从你身上散发出来，就像散热器的热量。你正在感受它，其他人也在感受它，因为你正在感受它。你永远是第一个接受者。你是你自己训练的第一个学生。

Because you have a purpose, you have meaning, for meaning in this world is related to purpose. Anything that has meaning has purpose. Purpose is its meaning. Ultimately, this is not true, but in the world of tangible objects, in the world of time, this is actually the equation that generates meaning. Objects in the room around you have meaning because they have purpose. If there were something in the room that had no purpose, it would be meaningless and you would probably want to get rid of it. You would not want it around if it did not have a purpose. So purpose in the world is meaning. Beyond the world, purpose is also meaning, but it is a little different there.

因为你有一个目的，你有意义，因为这个世界的意义与目的有关。任何有意义的东西都有目的。目的就是它的意义。归根结底，这不是真的，但在有形物体的世界里，在时间的世界里，这实际上是产生意义的方程式。你周围房间里的物体有意义，因为它们有目的。如果房间里有一些没有目的的东西，它将是毫无意义的，你可能会想把它扔掉。如果它没有目的，你就不会希望它在你身边。所以世界上的目的就是意义。在世界之外，目的也是意义，但它在那里有点不同。

You see, God has to be a God in action to be meaningful in the world. God has to move because you are moving. In the world you see, there is nothing staying still. Everything is moving, dynamically. So if something is not moving, you will not be able to experience it. Can you experience anything that is not moving? Even the stars are moving, rapidly. Everything in the room is moving, rapidly. The only thing in life that is not moving is God. That is why you cannot see God. Your eyes were not made to see something that does not move. Even with the refinement of your vision, which will give you a greater sense of Presence and the ability to discern that which is moving less than you are, you still will not see that which does not move.

你看，上帝必须是一个行动中的上帝，才能在这个世界上有意义。上帝必须移动，因为你在移动。在你看到的世界上，没有什么东西是静止的。一切都在移动，动态地移动。因此，如果某样东西不动，你将无法经历它。你能经历到任何不运动的东西吗？甚至星星也在移动，迅速地移动。房间里的一切都在移动，迅速地移动。生命中唯一不动的是上帝。这就是为什么你不能看到上帝。你的眼睛不是为了看不动的上帝而造的。即使你的视力提高了，这将使你有更大的临在感，并有能力辨别比你移动得更少的存在，你仍然看不到不移动的上帝。

God does not move because God does not need to go anywhere because God is everywhere, so there is no movement. But God’s Presence and Thought generate movement in the world of moving things. This is a very important idea for you to think about. It is a little mysterious, but it allows you to have a sense of abiding Presence with you wherever you go. When you are out in the world or even at home, you are interacting with moving objects—people, objects, things. Even your thoughts are moving. If you think about it, did you ever have a thought that did not move? Those of you who are practicing meditation, have you ever engaged with a thought that did not move, that did not change to something else or was not dynamic? A thought that does not move is pure Knowledge. It is the most powerful thought in the world. It is the thought that gave birth to the world. Only those who are very advanced can be fully aware of this thought. This sounds incredible, but after all this is all incredible.

上帝不移动是因为上帝不需要去任何地方，因为上帝无处不在，所以没有移动。但上帝的存在和思想在动态世界中产生了运动。这是一个非常重要的想法，供你思考。它有点神秘，但它使你无论走到哪里都能有一种持续临在的感觉。当你在外面的世界，甚至在家里，你都在与移动的物体互动——人、物、事。甚至你的思想也在移动。如果你想一想，你有没有过一个不移动的想法？你们这些正在练习冥想的人，你们是否曾经与一个不移动、不改变为其他东西或不动态的思想打交道？一个不动的思想是纯粹的内识。它是世界上最强大的思想。它是孕育世界的思想。只有那些非常高级的人才能完全意识到这种思想。这听起来不可思议，但毕竟这都是不可思议的。

Therefore, your purpose and meaning are the same. You do have true purpose in the world, but you have to become a mature human being to discover it. Until you find your true purpose, you are living with the purposes that you have created. You have adopted them because you cannot live without purpose because purpose is meaning, and you cannot live without meaning. Without meaning, you would end your life. Because life in the world is temporary, it must have meaning and purpose. Because it is all moving, it must also have direction.

因此，你的目的和意义都是一样的。你在这个世界上确实有真正的目的，但你必须成为一个成熟的人去发现它。在你找到你的真正目的之前，你是带着你所创造的目的生活。你采用它们是因为你不能没有目的，因为目的就是意义，你不能没有意义地生活。没有意义，你会结束你的生命。因为世界上的生命是暂时的，它必须有意义和目的。因为它都是流动的，所以它也必须有方向。

The reason you are unhappy is because you are not experiencing purpose, meaning and direction. These are what give value to everything. God is moving things, like a great gravitational pull, moving things, often imperceptibly—a great attraction. You are free in this world to not follow this attraction, but you cannot eradicate it from your life. That is why people are afraid of letting go of things and having a little openness or emptiness in their lives. It is that attraction of God. Something may be very painful for you, but you still hold onto it. Why? This is a very important question.

你不快乐的原因是你没有经历到目的、意义和方向。这些是赋予一切的价值。上帝在移动事物，就像一个巨大的引力，移动事物，往往是不易察觉的——一个巨大的吸引力。在这个世界上，你可以自由地不跟随这种吸引力，但你不能从你的生命中根除它。这就是为什么人们害怕放下想法，害怕在生活中有一点开放或空虚的感觉。这就是上帝的那种吸引力。有些想法可能对你来说是非常痛苦的，但你仍然坚持它。为什么？这是一个非常重要的问题。

We want you to consider happiness in terms of enduring happiness, where you experience purpose, meaning and direction. Definitions are inadequate. You do not need definitions. You need experience. You experience your purpose, meaning and direction. Then, an abiding sense of well-being begins to generate within you. This does not mean you do not have bad times and are not afraid or upset or angry. It is something that is growing within you. You have a sense that you are not alone now. It does not matter if you are in relationship or not. You can discover enduring happiness in any circumstance. Often the worst circumstances are the best for this because they challenge you to escape your own thinking and deal with life directly.

我们希望你从持久幸福的角度考虑幸福，在那里你经历到目的、意义和方向。定义是不充分的。你不需要定义。你需要经历。你经历你的目的、意义和方向。然后，一种持久的幸福感开始在你体内产生。这并不意味着你没有坏的时候，没有恐惧、不安或愤怒。这是在你内心深处成长的幸福。你有一种感觉，你现在并不孤单。无论你是否有关系，这都不重要。你可以在任何情况下发现持久的幸福。通常情况下，最糟糕的环境是最好的，因为它们挑战你摆脱自己的思维，直接处理生命问题。

The problem with momentary happiness is that you are always losing it, and you cannot control life to create those perfect circumstances to give you that wonderful experience again. And so, the relentless pursuit of momentary happiness produces the misery you see around you—the addictive circumstances and the addictive substances.

瞬间幸福的问题是，你总是在失去它，你无法控制生命来创造那些完美的环境，让你再次获得那种美妙的经历。于是，对瞬间幸福的不懈追求产生了你周围看到的痛苦——成瘾的环境和成瘾的物质。

We are primarily concerned with engaging you with your true happiness, which is engaging you with your purpose in being here, your meaning in being here and the direction which you must follow now. You have the capacity in your mind to respond to what is real and true because you have a true mind. It is not the mind that you made. It is the mind that you brought with you from your Ancient Home. It is the real you. It is very great, but it is quite hidden. It will not emerge within you until a way has been made for it, until you desire it. Because its effect on you is so powerful, you must be truly present for it. Momentary happiness only reaches you at the very surface of yourself, but enduring happiness engages all of you—parts of you, you are aware of and parts of you, you have not yet reclaimed.

我们主要关注的是让你参与到你真实的幸福中去，也就是让你参与到你在这里的目的，你在这里的意义以及你现在必须遵循的方向。你有能力在你的心智中对真实的幸福作出回应，因为你有一个真实的心智。这不是你制造的心智。它是你从你的古老家园带来的心智。它是真正的你。它非常伟大，但它是相当隐藏的。它不会在你体内出现，直到为它开辟一条道路，直到你渴望它。因为它对你的影响是如此强大，你必须为它真正在场。瞬间的幸福只到达你自己的表面，但持久的幸福涉及到你的全部——你意识到的你的部分和你尚未收回的你的部分。

The pursuit of true happiness, or enduring happiness, requires true preparation. One of the qualities of this preparation is simplicity. You see, human beings are very simple, extremely simple. They pride themselves on being complex because being simple seems to be stupid. Being simple is like being an idiot, not a very interesting person. Only people who are very complex seem interesting. But it is not like that. You are very simple. Your nature is very discernible, and your true inclinations are very direct. In your true nature, there is nothing clever or sly about you. You are childlike, but you are also powerful because with simplicity comes power and Presence. As your mind becomes more simplified and directed, it is more powerful. Therefore, with simplicity come power and true ability. With these also come the necessary requirements of understanding your limitations and having humility.

追求真实的幸福，或持久的幸福，需要真实的准备。这种准备的品质之一是简单。你看，人类是非常简单的，极其简单。他们为自己的复杂而自豪，因为简单似乎是愚蠢的。简单就像一个白痴，不是一个非常有趣的人。只有那些非常复杂的人看起来才有趣。但事实并非如此。你是非常简单的。你的本性是非常可辨的，你的真实倾向是非常直接的。在你的真实本性中，你没有任何聪明或狡猾之处。你是个孩子，但你也是强大的，因为简单就有力量和存在。当你的心智变得更加简化和直接时，它就会更加强大。因此，有了简单就有了力量和真实的能力。有了这些也就有了必要的要求，即理解你的局限性和拥有谦逊。

In this day and age in which you live, there is a great deal of spiritual psychology and spiritual philosophy. Some of you have been exposed to a great deal of it. There are many different ways of looking at this issue of happiness, God, purpose, meaning and direction. Because people think they are wonderfully complex, they are afraid to take a position. The way is really simple, but it does mean that you have to let go of those things in yourself that are non-essential to your purpose. This is maturity. With this comes enduring happiness because purpose, meaning and direction are already built in. You do not need to add them to yourself. You do not need to make up a wonderful purpose for your life and then try to live it out. It is a process of reduction, not addition.

在你所处的这个时代，有大量的精神心理学和精神哲学。你们中的一些人已经接触了大量的哲学。有许多不同的方式来看待幸福、上帝、目的、意义和方向这个问题。因为人们认为它们奇妙而复杂，所以他们不敢表态。方法其实很简单，但它确实意味着你必须放下自己身上那些对你的目的非必要的东西。这就是成熟。有了这一点，就有了持久的幸福，因为目的、意义和方向已经建立起来了。你不需要把它们加到自己身上。你不需要为你的生命编造一个美妙的目的，然后努力去实现它。这是一个减少而不是增加的过程。

You are very burdened with your own mind and with the troubles of the world because of all you have added. We are talking about reduction—losing weight. It does not mean that you become an ascetic and give up all things. That is ridiculous. That is only for very specialized individuals. It just means that you allow your life to become oriented towards those things that are truly meaningful to you.

由于你所增加的一切，你对自己的心智和世界的烦恼感到非常沉重。我们谈论的是减少-减重。这并不意味着你成为一个苦行者，放弃所有的东西。那是荒谬的。那只是针对非常专业的人。它只是意味着你允许你的生命面向那些对你真正有意义的东西。

When you leave this world, you also leave all you have added to yourself. It is very useless in the beyond. When you go back to your Spiritual Family, what do you do with all this? It has no place there, no context. After all, if you do not have a body, there is not much to do, is there? It is lots of fun not having a body. It seems terrifying to you because the body is such a refuge, but being without it is marvelous! You can still make appearances, you know, but you do not have this heavy sack to carry around night and day. You have to feed it all the time, make it beautiful and keep it comfortable. It is like caring for an infant that never grows up. Anyway, you will all find out what We mean at some point.

当你离开这个世界时，你也离开了所有你加在自己身上的东西。这在世界之外是非常无用的。当你回到你的精神家庭时，你如何处理这一切？它在那里没有位置，没有背景。毕竟，如果你没有身体，就没有什么可做的，不是吗？没有身体是很有趣的。对你来说，这似乎很可怕，因为身体是这样一个避难所，但是没有身体是很奇妙的！你仍然可以做样子，你知道吗？你仍然可以露面，你知道，但你没有这个沉重的麻袋要日夜携带。你必须一直喂养它，让它变得美丽，让它保持舒适。这就像照顾一个永远不会长大的婴儿。总之，你们都会在某个时候发现我们的意思。

In The Greater Community Way of Knowledge, people begin to discern their Knowledge, to the extent to which they are aware of it, from other motivating factors in their mind and in their environment. This process takes a great deal of time, but the results are very immediate. Here you are able to make very intelligent decisions at the outset which reflect your Knowledge. The only difficulty is when your Knowledge is in conflict with what you want. Then Knowledge must wait.

在大社区内识之路中，人们开始辨别他们的内识，在他们意识到的范围内，从他们心智和环境中的其他动机因素中辨别出来。这个过程需要大量的时间，但结果却非常直接。在这里，你能够在一开始就做出非常明智的决定，反映你的内识。唯一的困难是当你的内识与你想要的东西发生冲突时。那么内识必须等待。

You still feel that you must have what you want in order to find out if you really want it. It is very confusing to have what you want if it is not in true alignment with your Knowledge. It produces great discomfort. As you begin to have experiences of Knowledge, you will begin to see how uncomfortable it is to want things without Knowledge. This contrast between being at home in yourself and being estranged from yourself is very, very important because it illustrates everything We are speaking of purely within the realm of your own experience. It is so obvious. In time, you will see that your happiness increases as you come closer to Knowledge and decreases as you go away from it. Then naturally you will want to be closer to it increasingly.

你仍然觉得你必须拥有你想要的东西，才能发现你是否真的想要它。如果你想要的东西与你的内识不一致，那么拥有它是非常令人困惑的。它产生了巨大的不适感。当你开始有内识的经历时，你会开始看到在没有内识的情况下想要的东西是多么的不舒服。在自己的家里和与自己疏远之间的这种对比是非常、非常重要的，因为它说明了我们所讲的一切，纯粹是在你自己的经历领域。这是非常明显的。随着时间的推移，你会看到你的幸福感随着你接近内识而增加，随着你远离它而减少。那么你自然会越来越想接近它。

Knowledge is your true mind. It makes decisions, important ones. It moves you to do things. It does not think like your personal mind thinks. It is very quiet. When you become quiet, you will be able to experience its greatness. All intelligent beings in physical life, both here and in other worlds, possess Knowledge. When Knowledge and relationships begin to make sense to you, you will not engage with others out of ambition or for temporary happiness. You will allow your natural alignment with others to occur. You will become engaged with each other very, very naturally, and you will have relationships of an enduring quality and depth that reflect the kind of happiness of which We are speaking.

内识是你真正的心智。它做出决定，重要的决定。它推动你去做事情。它不像你的个人心智那样思考。它是非常安静的。当你变得安静时，你将能够经历到它的伟大。在物质生活中的所有智慧生命，无论是在这里还是在其他世界，都拥有内识。当内识和关系开始对你有意义时，你就不会因为野心或暂时的快乐而与他人交往。你将允许你与他人的自然协调发生。你们将非常、非常自然地与对方交往，你们将拥有具有持久质量和深度的关系，反映出我们所说的那种幸福。

The pursuit of that which endures is very different from the pursuit of that which merely stimulates or excites. As you seek for that which endures, you realize that you endure with it, and the fear of death begins to leave you. You begin to value different things. You seek intimacy. You seek quiet. You seek inspiration. You seek companionship. You seek community and family. You seek health.

对持久性的追求与对仅仅刺激或兴奋的追求是非常不同的。当你寻求持久的幸福时，你会意识到你和它一起持久，对死亡的恐惧开始离开你。你开始重视不同的东西。你寻求亲密的关系。你寻求安静。你寻求灵感。你寻求伴侣关系。你寻求社区和家庭。你寻求健康。

Anything of value will require a lot from you. You cannot want it casually. If what you seek is something of real significance and substance, you cannot want it one day of the week only and have any hope of success.

任何有价值的东西都会要求你付出很多。你不能随意地想要它。如果你所寻求的是真正有意义和实质的东西，你不能只在一周中的某一天想要它，并有任何成功的希望。

Students of Knowledge who are in the process of reclaiming Knowledge realize over time that it is the only thing of value because it is the source of their true relationships. It is their source of inspiration and the source of their sense of purpose, direction and well-being. It is a gift that gives continuously.

在重新获得内识的过程中，内识的学生随着时间的推移认识到，它是唯一有价值的东西，因为它是他们真实关系的来源。它是他们的灵感之源，是他们的目的感、方向感和幸福感的来源。它是一个不断给予的礼物。

Now students of Knowledge often think, “Knowledge is something you only use when you make important decisions, so I have to remember to use my Knowledge.” And so, they try to do that. “Must use my Knowledge! Important decision at hand. Let’s see, what do I know about this?” There is a great deal of effort to know the truth and then they finally give up. Then they can know the truth.

现在，学习内识的学生经常想，”内识是你在做重要决定时才会用到的东西，所以我必须记住使用我的内识。于是，他们试图这样做。”必须使用我的内识!重要的决定就在眼前。让我看看，我对这个问题了解多少？”有大量的努力来了解真相，然后他们终于放弃了。然后他们就可以知道真理了。

Knowledge is not something you simply use when an important decision is coming around. Knowledge is an abiding Presence within you. It can counsel you every five seconds. It abides with you. If you are not a religious person, well, you can just say, “I feel very good.” And if you are a religious person, you can say, “Well, I feel God is with me or Christ is with me or Buddha is with me or the Presence is with me.” It does not matter if you are religious or not. God does not care. God does not understand religion. God did not create religion. God only knows God. And because God only knows God, then God attracts you because you are part of God.

内识不是你在重要的决定到来时简单使用的东西。内识是你内心深处的一种持久存在。它可以每五秒钟给你提供咨询。它与你同在。如果你不是一个宗教人士，那么，你可以说，”我感觉很好”。如果你是一个宗教人士，你可以说，”嗯，我觉得上帝与我同在，基督与我同在，佛陀与我同在，或临在与我同在。”你是否有宗教信仰并不重要。上帝并不关心。上帝不理解宗教。上帝并没有创造宗教。上帝只认识上帝。因为上帝只知道上帝，所以上帝吸引你，因为你是上帝的一部分。

This enduring happiness We speak of leads to greater and greater happiness. If there is more room in your life for happiness, there is more happiness. You cannot put happiness on top of a life that is filled to the brim with old things, like a closet that is filled to the ceiling. You cannot get any more in there. Your mind is like an old closet full of old things. “This might be useful someday. I shouldn’t throw this one away. I need this one for sure!”

我们所说的这种持久的幸福会导致越来越大的幸福。如果你的生命中有更多的幸福空间，就会有更多的幸福。你不能把幸福放在一个被旧事物填满的生命之上，就像一个被填满的壁橱。你无法在那里得到更多。你的心智就像一个装满旧东西的壁橱。”这也许有一天会有用。我不应该把这个扔掉。我肯定需要这一个！”

Our teaching is very compassionate because We ask only one thing. It is the one thing that brings all goodness with it and sets you on your true path. When you are not on your true path, you are not really going anywhere. You are simply standing by the side of the road entertaining other things. But when you are moving with Knowledge, you have direction. You know you have purpose, even if you cannot define it. And you do not have to wonder if you have value because life will be demonstrating to you that you do.

我们的教学是非常有同情心的，因为我们只要求一件事。这是一件能带来所有善的事情，让你走上真实的道路。当你不在你真正的道路上时，你并没有真正去任何地方。你只是站在路边娱乐其他东西。但是当你与内识同行时，你就有了方向。你知道你有目标，即使你无法定义它。你不必怀疑你是否有价值，因为生命会向你证明你有价值。

It is up to other people to show you your worth. They are the witnesses to it. It is not enough to love yourself, as people often think. “Well, I must love myself or I cannot love another.” It is watching other people love you that makes the real difference. Then you will know what is happening. That is what melts down fear and shame. You watch someone else loving you, and you know they know how fallible you are. They do not care, so your being fallible must not be too important.

要由其他人来向你展示你的价值。他们是价值的见证者。仅仅爱自己是不够的，就像人们常想的那样。”好吧，我必须爱我自己，否则我不能爱别人。”看着其他人爱你才是真正的不同。然后你会知道正在发生什么。这就是融化恐惧和羞耻的原因。你看着别人爱你，你知道他们知道你是多么容易犯错。他们并不关心，所以你的易变性一定不是太重要。

Our teaching is very simple. It takes time, it has many steps, but it is very unified. You can always come back to it. It is like an old friend who waits for you while you stop by the side of the road to ponder and think and imagine and dream. Then you come back and say, “Okay, let’s go on together.” And you go on together.

我们的教导非常简单。它需要时间，它有许多步骤，但它是非常统一的。你总是可以回到它身边。它就像一个老朋友，当你在路边停下来思索，思考，想象和梦想时，他在等着你。然后你回来说，”好吧，让我们一起走下去”。然后你们一起继续前进。

All you can do in life is move with the purpose of your life or hesitate. Hesitation is unpleasant if it is prolonged, but Knowledge waits very patiently. When We say that you must wait for Knowledge, think how much Knowledge must wait for you! But because Knowledge is not trying to become anything, it can afford to wait.

你在生命中能做的就是随着你的生命目的前进，或者犹豫不决。如果犹豫不决的时间过长，就会令人不快，但内识会非常耐心地等待。当我们说你必须等待内识时，请想一想，内识必须为你等待多少！但是，因为内识并不试图成为一个人，所以它是一个人。但是，因为内识并不试图成为任何东西，它可以承受等待。

Your purpose here is to discover Knowledge and to allow it to guide your life. That is one way of saying it. Knowledge contains your true identity and your specific function in the world—what you are really here to do. It contains the wisdom and the love that you have brought with you. It is not the wisdom you can personally claim for yourself because it is not only for you. It is for others, and it is hidden deep within you.

你在这里的目的是发现内识，让它指导你的生命。这是一种说法。内识包含你的真实身份和你在这个世界上的特定功能——你在这里真正要做的事情。它包含了你所带来的智慧和爱。它不是你个人可以为自己要求的智慧，因为它不仅仅是为你自己。它是为其他人准备的，而且它隐藏在你的内心深处。

You cannot find Knowledge yourself. You cannot misuse it. You cannot discover it prematurely. Knowledge arises when you are ready, and it arises gradually so that you have time to learn about it and to distinguish it from the other aspects of yourself which you have acquired. You learn to give it, to receive it, to abide with it and to accept it. It is a burden until it is recognized for what it truly is. Knowledge has the assurance of your True Home. It is not frantic. It is not intimidated by the world or disappointed by the world. That is what makes enduring happiness possible. No matter what happens, Knowledge is still there.

你自己无法找到内识。你不能滥用它。你不能过早地发现它。内识是在你准备好的时候出现的，而且是逐渐出现的，这样你就有时间了解它，并将它与你所获得的其他方面区分开来。你要学会给予它，接受它，与它共存并接受它。它是一种负担，直到认识到它的真实面目。内识有你真实家园的保证。它不是疯狂的。它不会被世界所吓倒，也不会对世界感到失望。这就是使持久的幸福成为可能的原因。无论发生什么，内识仍然在那里。