给学校的信 - 根本的自由
Without responsibility there is no freedom没有责任便没有自由
Freedom is one of the most important factors in life. Man has fought politically for freedom all over the world. Religions have promised freedom, not in this world but in another. In the capitalist countries, individual freedom exists to some degree, and in the communist world it has been denied. From ancient times freedom has meant a great deal to man, and there have been its opponents, not only political but religious—through the Inquisition, by excommunication, tortures and banishments, and the total denial of man's search for freedom. There have been wars and counter-wars fought for freedom. This has been the pattern of man's endeavours for freedom throughout history.
自由是生命中最重要的因素之一。全世界的人们都曾在政治上为自由而战。各种宗教也许诺自由，不过不是在这里，而是在另一个世界。在资本主义国家，个人有着某种程度的自由，而在共产主义国家里，它是被否定的。从古代开始，自由对于人们的意义便非比寻常，并且也便有了它的反对派，不只有政治上的还有宗教上的——通过宗教裁判所，经由逐出教会,酷刑和流放，以及对人类寻求自由的彻底否定。曾经有为自由而战的战争和反战。这便是历史上人们为自由进行努力的模式。
Freedom of self-expression and freedom of speech and thought exists in some parts of the world, but in others it does not. Those who have been conditioned revolt against their backgrounds, and react in immature ways. This reaction, which takes different forms, is called "freedom". The reaction to politics is often to shun the field of politics. One economic reaction is to form small communities based on some ideology or under the leadership of some one person, in which authority is denied and an attempt is made to be self-supporting, but these generally disintegrate. The religious reaction against established organizations of belief is to revolt, either by joining other religious organizations or by following some guru or leader or by joining some cult. Or one denies the whole religious endeavour. Don't all these indicate mere outward movements toward freedom?
在世界的某些地方，自我表达的自由，演讲和思考的自由是存在的，而在另一些地方却没有。那些被制约的人抗拒他们的背景，用不成熟的方式做出反应。这种反应，采取各不相同的方式，被称为“自由”。政治上的反应经常是避开政界。经济上的一种反应就是基于某些意识形态或在某个人的领导下形成小的社区，在那里权威被否定，并试图做到自给自足，不过这些社区一般都会瓦解。对于已有的信仰组织的宗教上的反应便是反叛，或是参加另一个宗教组织，或是追随某个古鲁或领袖，或者是参加一个类似宗教的组织。又或者是否定整个的宗教所为。所有这些不都是人们向往自由的外在运动吗？
One thinks of freedom only as freedom of movement, either physical or the movements of thought. It appears one always seeks freedom on the surface, the right to go from here to there, to think what one likes, to do what one likes, to choose, and to seek wider experiences. Surely this is a rather limited freedom, involving a great deal of conflict, wars and violence. Inner freedom is something entirely different. When there is deep, fundamental freedom, which has its roots not in the idea of freedom but in the reality of freedom, then that freedom covers all movement, all the endeavours of man. Without this freedom, life will always be an activity within the limited circle of time and conflict.
我们把自由看成只是活动的自由，身体的活动或思想的活动。我们似乎一直在追求表面上的自由，从这到那的权利，想所欲想，为所欲为的权利，去选择，去追求更广阔的体验的权利。毫无疑问，这只是非常有限的自由，带着大量的冲突，战争和暴力。内在的自由是完全不同的东西。当有了深刻的，根本上的自由的时候，它扎根于自由的真实而非自由的观念，那个自由便会遍及人们所有的活动，所有的努力。没有这种自由，生活便始终都只是局限于时间和冲突的小圈子里的活动。
So when we talk of freedom we are talking of the fundamental issue. It is not freedom from something, but the quality of a mind and heart that are free, and in which direction does not exist. Freedom from something is only a modified continuity of what has been, and therefore it is not freedom. When there is direction, and therefore choice, freedom cannot exist; for direction is division and hence choice and conflict.
所以当我们谈论自由时，我们谈论的是一个根本的话题。它不是从某样东西里解脱，而是自由的头脑和心灵的一种品质，在那里不存在方向。从什么中解脱出来只是对“已然”的一种调整后的延续，因此它不是自由。如果有方向和选择，自由便不会存在；因为方向就是分割，因此也便有了选择和冲突。
There is no such thing as individual freedom, but only freedom. The word individual in its very meaning implies indivisible, not an entity opposed to the collective. But we have made a concept of individuality with its peculiar characteristics, tendencies, and so on, which are the response of conditioning, and we oppose it to the collective. This conditioning is part of the culture—economic, social, and so on—in which the mind is educated. Freedom lies beyond this conditioning, not within the field of consciousness with the content that makes up consciousness. The responsibility that lies beyond conditioning is different from the responsibility of so-called freedom.
个人的自由这个东西是不存在的，只有自由。“个人”这个词从根本上来说是不可再分的意思，而不是与集体相对的一个实体。但我们创造了个性这个概念，带着它特别的属性，倾向等等，这是人们的制约的反应，我们将它置于集体的对立面。这个制约就是文化的一部分——经济的，社会的等等——心灵所受的教育也来源于此。自由是超越于这个制约之外的，它不在意识以及它的内容的范围里。超越于制约之外的责任与所谓自由的责任是完全不同的。
The responsibility of a conditioned mind is irresponsibility, which can be perceived in the present cultures of society, whether of the East or of the West. This irresponsibility is shown in education, in social injustice, in national divisions with different ideologies leading to competition, wars, starvation, affluence and poverty. The irresponsibility of organized religions is shown in their support and maintenance of these cultures. These religions preach morality, but sustain corruption. They are at war with each other, asserting that they alone have the truth, that their gods and saviours are the real. This irresponsibility is shown when an intermediary is placed between the real and the human. This irresponsibility is shown when temples, mosques and churches become a power in the land.
从当代社会的文化里，无论是东方的还是西方的，我们会发现一个被制约的心灵的责任是毫无责任可言的。这种不负责表现在教育里，表现在社会的不公正里，同时也表现为国家被不同的意识形态所分裂，从而导致了竞争，战争，饥荒，富有和贫穷。有组织的宗教的不负责表现为他们对于这种文化的支持和维护。这些宗教宣扬道德，却维系腐败。宗教间彼此对立，都宣称只有他们自己才掌握真理，也只有他们的神和救主才是真的。这种不负责表现为在人与真实之间被放置了一个代言人。这种不负责表现为庙宇，清真寺和教堂成为世上的一种权力。
Responsibility has quite a different meaning when there is freedom. Responsibility does not deny freedom: they go together. When there is the deep fundamental reality of freedom, responsibility is concerned with the whole of life and not with one fragment of life; it is concerned with the whole movement and not with some particular movement; it is concerned with the whole activity of the mind and the heart and not with one particular activity or direction. Freedom is the total harmony in which responsibility is as natural as the flower in the field. That response is not induced or imposed; it is the natural outcome of freedom. Without responsibility there is no freedom. To respond to every challenge out of freedom is responsibility. It is the inadequate response that is irresponsibility. The mind that is dependent in attachment becomes irresponsible to the whole.
有了自由，责任的意义就会完全不同。责任不会否定自由：它们是相伴相随的。当有了深刻的，根本上的，真实的自由的时候，责任所关注的便是整个生命，而非其中的一小块儿；它所关注的便是整个活动，而非某种特殊的活动；它所关注的便是头脑和心灵的整个行动，而非某个特殊的行动或方向。自由就是完全的和谐，责任自然会在其中出现，就像田野里的花朵。而那个回应不是被引诱或强迫的；它是自由的自然表露。没有责任就没有自由。从自由中对每一个挑战作出回应，就是责任。而不充分的回应就是不负责任。一个在因贪恋而依赖的心灵会变得对整体不负责任。
So freedom is love, which in its very nature is responsible to the flower by the roadside, and to the neighbour whether the neighbour is next door or a thousand miles away.
Compassion is the very essence of freedom.
所以自由就是爱，出于其本质，它会对路边的花负责，会对邻居负责，无论那个邻居是住在隔壁还是千里之外。
慈悲就是自由的真正本质。
绿草园翻译工作室
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