回想自己的成長歷程，與宗教的緣份一直很深。小學我就讀一所天主教學校，跟著學校裡的修女一起祈禱。從小學一直到大學，每次大考前一天晚上，我都會跟耶穌祈禱，祈禱他讓我心情平靜、正常發揮，不會寫的是我自己不夠努力，但至少會寫的不要砸鍋。而很神奇地，我在大考時也幾乎都不太會緊張，因為心裡有一種穩定的信心與力量。
大學時參加海外服務，接觸到藏傳佛教，又讓我開了眼界，開始探索藏傳佛教的世界。當時適逢生涯抉擇的困惑，New Age 的身心靈書籍也一本接一本地啃。再加上家人與佛教的緣份，從小常聽外婆在講慈濟，客廳裡總有一尊觀世音菩薩像……等等。
也許就是在這樣的宗教大雜匯環境下，當我遇見蘇菲 (Sufism)，這個「宗教中的宗教」，我立刻就知道，這就是我尋找已久的教導。蘇菲要的是宗教的本質核心，而不要那些教條或儀式。甚至，連「蘇菲」這個標籤都丟掉，回到「心」，因為「心」每個人都有，「心」就在我們自己之內。
宗教與信仰的議題總是格外敏感，談論靈性教導，難免會碰觸宗教議題。我想慢慢地來與大家分享蘇菲導師 Hazrat Inayat Khan 對於一些不同宗教靈性教導的討論，如果您覺得這樣的討論觸犯了您的信仰，歡迎左轉離開，或者，也歡迎理性討論。
（好長的鋪墊……哈哈）
最近讀到 HIK 講基督精神，非常觸動。其實也是因為這篇文章，才讓我決定試試看跨出我原本自己立下的「不碰宗教話題」的界線，來翻譯此文與大家分享。
也正好是這樣的時節，空氣中瀰漫著這樣的氛圍（嗅嗅），若您也準備好了，不妨找個溫暖舒適的角落窩好，慢慢地享用這篇文章。
< The Christ Spirit >
by Hazrat Inayat Khan
在聖經裡基督說「我是 Alpha 與 Omega。」這個意思是「我是開始與終結。」這難道是意味著「我只有在我被稱作耶穌的時候，來到地球，我給出了訊息，然後我就永遠不會再來了。」這樣嗎？如果這就是「我是 Alpha 與 Omega。」的意思，那就沒有意義了。這句話真正的意思是：「我曾是，我現在是，且我將是。」
現在，那些愛追根究柢的頭腦就會接著問了：「那麼這個 Alpha 和 Omega 可能是誰？在耶穌基督來之前，他是什麼？他在耶穌基督的時代過去後，他又會成為什麼？」對那些把海水放在壺裡的人來說，壺裡的水是從大海而來，但其實大海還是大海。那些分屬於不同教派，有著不同形式的儀式、教義的人會說：「這是基督的教誨。」是的，這是真的，但是這不是基督教導的全部。這就如同我們指著壺裡的水說「這是大海」一樣真。這是真的，但還是有一個大海在那裡。
這顯示出，那個稱作耶穌基督的軀殼帶來了這個訊息。叫做耶穌的是這個軀殼。這就是那個 Alpha 與 Omega 基督精神的秘密。如果我們能夠去看到那個精神被隱藏在不同的軀殼之下，那我們就能夠一直看到基督的顯現。
- 在一個純真孩童的笑容中，有基督。
- 在一位母親從心底給孩子的溫暖中，隱藏著基督。
- 在一位無私的、自我犧牲的父親的愛中，基督顯現他自身。
- 在一位朋友和善親愛的態度中，我們可以看到基督精神。
- 有什麼具有美、溫柔、和善等特質的事物，不具有基督精神呢？
對於那些不讓基督接近自己的人，基督很遙遠，但實際上是他們遮蔽了自己的雙眼。這不是基督的錯，而是他們自己的錯。基督在幾世紀以來透過所有智者的輕聲呢喃來說話。他也透過那些先知的大聲疾呼來說話，他們是古往今來的敲警鐘者。雖然有時他現身，有時隱藏，但他一直是同樣的他。人類的多疑和懷疑論讓我們自己看不見他。當基督以耶穌的形式來到，那些看見他的人並沒有認出他。
另一方面我們要考慮的，是關於奇蹟只能發生在基督這個人身上的這個想法。實際上所有智者都能看出來基督最大的奇蹟，就是他活生生的心。不是他行使了什麼神蹟，而是他本身就是為這個世界帶來一位活著的神。這是明亮的信心，讓黑暗消失的光，而不是那些後來出現的教條、教義、或理論。他去到漁夫那兒，跟他們說：「來到我這兒，我會使你們成為人的漁夫。」這是什麼意思？難道「人的漁夫」意思是去獲取錢財？不是的，他的意思是「讓愛在你們心中成為活生生的，這樣一來整個世界都會成為你們的顧客。」
如果你去分析耶穌說的話，他所教導的其實非常單純。那不是繁複的文字或複雜的理論，也沒有任何厲害的文學技巧。那是什麼？那是那些箭所來之處。他的教導是從他所存在的最深處射出的箭。在聖經中提到天啟以火焰般的舌頭到來。這是什麼意思？如果心在熾烈燃燒，從之而來的話語，即為火焰。
神在哪裡？神在人的心裡。當神的聲音在人的心中生起，那就是神聖的話語。基督所說的話，是燃燒著火焰的舌頭，能刺穿人心。基督所謂的「人的漁夫」並不是讓你變得聰明，而能去佔人便宜。不是聰明，反而相反的，基督的訊息是那簡單的、真實的、溫柔的、純真的，不但超越且更重要的，是他證明了心的純淨。
在東方，基督特質被稱作 mansumiat, 純真。他與我們一般人看待事物的角度不同，看到了純真的價值與力量。每個人誕生在地球上時，都是一個純真的靈魂。我們在這個世界學習到經驗，越來越塵世。當我們變得越世俗，那些屬於天使特質的美與力量，就越被屬於塵世的複雜知識所掩蓋。而當我們成長，我們更是去試著學習更多，而把那純真的精神儘可能地深埋，直到連基督精神也都整個被覆蓋。我們所知道的是我們在這個會死亡的、虛假的生命中學到的。而虛假的知識能帶來什麼？還是虛假。大部分的人都在尋找虛假，並得到虛假。這可以從一個簡單的事實看出來：那些披著人造衣裝的人在社會上很受歡迎。這顯示出人們無法忍受赤裸的真實。
在過去這些時代中到來的先知們，究竟是什麼？他們帶來的是誰的訊息？是基督的訊息；基督精神（基督之靈）透過他們來說話。這些訊息從來沒有被廣告，它也從來沒被公開宣揚。他們為這條路上所有反對他們的人獻出自己的生命。先知之路，是一條會不斷遇到困難的路。如果先知所傳達的道理，是基督的話語，為什麼他們現在不說，或者未來不說呢？事實上，一直以來，都只有一個聲音在呼喚著，是人們自己關上了心門（所以聽不到）。
先知是藝術家。就像畫家描繪自然，把自然的美，以一種人們所能忍受、能欣賞的形式帶到人們面前，先知的工作也是一樣的，把人們所無法忍受的、那赤裸裸的真實，以一種人們可以忍受可以欣賞的方式帶給人們。不過人們是否能聽懂，那就是另一回事了。
先知的另一個工作是，對所有的人來說，他就是那所有一切，但對個別不同的人，他會因材施教。沒有什麼「世界性的訊息」，不會有這樣的訊息。「世界性的訊息」有是有，但只存在於精神的（譯註：無形的、未顯的）層次，而不在有形的、已顯的層次。在有形的層次，對不同的個人、國家、種族，都有各自的特定訊息。雖然不同宗教的人都把他們的先知當成自己的，但這就跟限制了天空並宣稱天空是自己國家的一樣荒謬，好比瑞士說他有一個特別的天空，或英國、法國也說自己有一個天空一樣。我們怎麼能夠去限制天空？地球可以被限制（譯註：即劃地為國），但天空是無法被限制的。
穆斯林、猶太人、或基督徒能夠去限制基督嗎？他們能夠說基督是屬於東方的，不是西方的嗎？或者，西方人能夠去限制基督，就像他們說基督是西方之主嗎？這意味著去限制那個給所有一切帶來祝福的那個基督精神。那個「限制」是在那掩蓋住基督精神的盾甲當中，而不是在基督本身。同樣的，當人們說基督精神只在某特定一本書中被提到時，也限制了他。某本書擁有基督精神，就像前述把海水裝到壺裡的比喻，若我們說基督精神只在那本書，就像說大海只在那個壺裡，而沒有其他大海存在一樣。
無疑地，在世界的每個角落，只要你呼喚基督，他就會到來。無論你看向哪裡，只要你的眼睛是打開的，基督就在你面前。如果你的一切緊閉著，你無法知道基督，基督也無法知道你。這顯示出，在人與基督之間，聳立著一座高牆，裡裡外外都把人與基督分隔開。這也表示著，如果我們在內在找到基督，我們向外也會找到。那些關上心門的人，就算苦苦哀求基督到來，等上一千年也等不到他來的。
如果我們不先在自己的「心」裡認出基督，我們怎麼會認出他的到來？世上的一切都必須先在心中被辨認出來。珍珠，對豬來說就只是小石頭而已。豬沒有眼睛嗎？他們有眼睛，但是他們的「心之眼」沒有認出珍珠來。我們可以認出珍珠，將珍珠與小石頭做區分，是因為在內在我們已經先認出它，並與小石頭做出區分。不要以為人與人之間就沒有像人與豬之間那樣的天壤之別！人可以表現得比動物更糟，人可以做出比惡魔更可怕的行為。所謂惡魔只是人類邪惡之處的縮影，就如同天使是人類偉大之處的縮影一般。那成為基督而受人崇敬的是人類，那被描繪為撒旦形象的也是人類。因此，人與人之間存在著一個多大的鴻溝啊！
要想除去那隔在人與基督之間的覆蓋物，需要一個過程。這個過程就像把汙漬與線條從紙上用橡皮擦擦去一樣。這個過程叫做 “safa”，這就是蘇菲 Sufi 的字源。Safa 的意思是去清理、洗滌、或擦去，如此一來靈魂就能夠變得純淨。這顯示出蘇菲的任務，以及蘇菲組織（譯註：the Sufi Order，為 HIK 所創立的組織）的工作。冥想及專注的每一個過程，都是在洗滌靈魂上那些，來自於地球塵世經驗的汙漬。
不管是任何的鍛鍊或實修，他們真正的用處在於讓基督的聲音可以被聽見、基督的光能被顯現。當一個人已經聽過基督的話語、看過基督的光之後，你覺得他還能聽到或看到任何其他的東西嗎？不，一旦他在自己的「心」中找到基督，他的耳朵就奉獻給了基督。
蘇菲最主要的教導，就是「人的心是神的聖殿」，我們可以在自己的心中找到神，可以感受到祂的存在、祂的臨在、祂的善、祂的仁德、以及各種各樣的美。
我們必須記得的是，我們所生活在其中的一切，都是虛妄的。你看得越多、體驗得越多，你就越能理解他是如何地虛妄，以及這是一個多麼大的醒悟。要克服虛妄，唯一的辦法，就是去點燃黑暗夜晚中的燈火，一切就能被照亮看清。
生命的祕密就是，在我們自己之內產生「美」。當我們的心中有美，那些所有讓我們心碎的事物即消散，然後，整個宇宙便成為讓我們能夠去看見神的壯麗宏偉之美的獨特視野（即，無論我們看向哪裡，看到的都是神的壯麗宏偉之美）。
附上原文供參：
The words of Christ in the Bible are, “I am alpha and omega,” which means, “I am first and last.” Would this then mean, “I came on earth only when I was called Jesus, I gave the message and then never came again”? If that were the meaning of “I am alpha and omega,” it would have no meaning. Really the meaning is, “I was, am, and shall be.”
Now about the question that arises in the inquiring mind, “Who may this alpha and omega be? What was he before Jesus Christ? What would he be like after the time of Jesus Christ?” For those who put the water of the ocean in a pitcher, that water is from the ocean; but really the ocean is the ocean. Those of different creeds who have different forms of worship and dogmas say, “This is the teaching of Christ.” Yes, it is true, but it is not all the teaching of Christ. It is as true as to say, “This is the ocean,” if one brought water from the ocean in a pitcher. It is true, but there still is an ocean.
This shows that a shield called Jesus Christ brought the message. It was the shield that was Jesus. This is the secret of that alpha and omega spirit of Christ. If one could only see that spirit hidden behind different shields, one would be constantly in the vision of Christ.
- In the smile of the innocent child, there is Christ.
- In the warmth of the mother’s heart for her child, Christ is hidden.
- In the unselfish, self-sacrificing love of the father, Christ shows himself.
- In the kindly attitude of a friend you can see the spirit of Christ.
- What is there which has beauty, tenderness, or gentleness which has not the spirit of Christ?
From those who keep Christ away from them he is far, but in reality they themselves have covered their eyes. It is not the fault of Christ, it is their own fault. Christ speaks in the whisper of the wise people of all centuries. He speaks aloud in the voice of the prophet, the warner who comes now and then. Though he comes out sometimes and sometimes hides himself, he is the same always. Man’s doubt and skepticism prevent his seeing him. When Christ came in the form of Jesus, those who saw him did not recognize him.
Another side to consider is that the idea of miracles is attached to the person of Christ. In reality the greatest miracle of Christ that any wise man can see is the miracle of Christ’s living heart; not wonderworking, but the living God presented to the world. This was the lighted faith which helped the darkness to vanish, not dogmas, doctrines, or theories which all came afterwards. He went to fishermen and said to them, “Come hither, I will make you fishers of men.” What does it mean? Does “fishers of men” mean fishers of money? No, he meant by this, “Let love be alive in your hearts, that the whole world may become your customers.”
If you analyze what he said, what he taught was very simple. It was not elaborate words and theories; there was not any great literary skill. What was it? It was where the arrow came from. The word was an arrow from the depth of his being. In the Bible it is often said that revelation came with a fiery tongue. What does it mean? If the heart is burning the word comes in a flame.
Where is God? God is in the heart of man. When it is the voice of God that rises in the heart of man it is a divine word. The words of Christ are a tongue of fire that pierces the heart of men. Christ’s saying “fishers of men” does not mean making you clever that you may take advantage of man. It is not cleverness; on the contrary, the message of Christ is that simplicity, sincerity, gentleness, and innocence beyond and above all prove the purity of the heart.
In the East the Christ attribute is called mansumiat, innocence. It takes a different point of view from the ordinary one to see the value and power of innocence. Every person is born on earth an innocent soul. He gets the experience of the world and becomes worldly. Then the more worldly he becomes, the more the beauty and power and angelic attributes are covered by the knowledge of the complications of the world. As he develops he tries to learn still more and to bury the spirit of innocence as deep as possible, until the Christ spirit is altogether covered. What he knows is what he has learned in this mortal and false life. What can the knowledge of falsehood bring? Falsehood. The generality is seeking for falsehood and gets falsehood. This can be seen by the simple fact that the man clad with artificial clothes is welcome in society. This shows that man cannot stand the bare truth.
What were the prophets who came in all ages? Whose message did they bring? It was the message of Christ; the Christ spirit spoke through them. The message has never been advertised. It has never been made an object of publicity. They sacrificed their lives to all the opposition on their path. The path of the prophet is the path of constant trouble. If it was the voice of Christ in the words of the prophet why cannot he speak now or why will he not speak in the future? It is only one voice calling all the time, but man closes the door of his heart.
The prophet is the artist. As the artist draws the picture of nature and brings its beauty before man in a form that man can tolerate and admire, so it is the work of the prophet to bring before men that bare truth, that man cannot tolerate, in a form that he can tolerate and can admire. Whether man understands it or not, that is another question.
Another work of the prophet is that he is all things to all men, and for each one he has a special message. There is no world message; there cannot be a world message. A world message, yes, in the spirit, but not in manifestation. In manifestation, to every individual, nation, and race, there is a special message. Although the people of every sect have made the prophet their own, yet that is as absurd as to limit the sky to one’s own country, as if Switzerland had a special sky, or if there were a special sky for England, and one for France. How can one limit the sky? The earth can be limited, not the sky.
Can the Muslims, the Jews, or the Christians limit Christ? Can they say Christ was of the East, not of the West? Could the West limit Christ, as they say Christ was the master of the West? This means limiting the spirit which was for the blessing of all. Limitation is in the shield that hides the spirit, not in the Christ self. In the same way people limit the spirit of Christ by saying it is only spoken of in one particular book. In the book it is kept as water from the ocean can be kept in a pitcher, but to say that it is only there means that the ocean is only in the pitcher, and there exists no other ocean.
No doubt from everywhere in the world the answer of Christ will come if you call him. If you look above or below, Christ is before you if your eyes are opened. If everything is closed, you do not know Christ, nor does Christ know you. This shows there is a wall covering and separating man from Christ externally and inwardly. That means that if a person finds him within he will find him without. Those with closed hearts will implore Christ to come and will wait thousands of years, and he will not come.
How will they recognize him if they do not recognize Christ in their own hearts first? Everything is recognized first in the heart. Pearls are pebbles before swine. Have they no eyes? They have, but the eyes of the heart have not recognized the pearls. Man recognizes the pearls and distinguishes them from pebbles because inwardly he has first recognized them and distinguished the pearls from pebbles. Do not think that there is not a gulf between man and man as between the swine and man! Man can prove worse than the animal, man can act worse than the devil. The devil is a miniature of man’s wickedness, as the angel is the miniature of man’s greatness. It was the human being which was honored by being Christ; it is the human being who is pictured in the form of Satan. Think what a gulf there is between man and man!
To take off the cover separating man from Christ, a process is necessary. This process is the same which takes away stains and lines from paper by rubbing. The process is safa, from which comes Sufi. Safa means to clean, to wash, or to erase, and by this the soul is purified. This shows the mission of Sufism, and the work of the Sufi Order. Every process of meditation and concentration is to wash the soul of the stains of earthly experiences.
The real use of any exercise or practice is that the Christ voice may become audible and that the light may manifest. Once a person has heard this voice, once he has seen this light, do you think that he hears or sees anything else afterwards? No, the ears are dedicated to Christ when once one has found Christ in one’s own heart.
The principal teaching of Sufism is that the heart of man is the shrine of God, and one can recognize God in one’s own heart, feel His existence, presence, virtue, goodness, and all manner of beauty.
It must be remembered that the whole of life around us is a life of falsehood. The more you see and experience, the more you see how very false it is and how much disillusionment there is. The only way of getting over it is to light the lamp in the darkness of night, and all will be cleared.
The secret of life is this, to produce beauty in ourselves. When beauty is produced in the heart, then all that breaks the heart vanishes, and the whole universe becomes one single vision of the sublimity of God.