海外文化:英美民俗 通靈術

【英文原文】

摘要：研究通靈術的人認爲死人與活人能夠通過某種方式進行交流。他們相信人由靈、魂、體三者組成，靈寓於魂之中，而靈與魂又寓於體之中。人死後，靈與魂依然存活，故能與活人溝通。

Spiritualism is the belief that spirits of the dead can communicate with the living. Spiritualists believe that human beings are made up of body, soul, and spirit. At death, the body ceases to exist, but the spirit continues to exist because it is encased in the soul. According to spiritualists, communication between the physical and spiritual world does not end with physical death.

Modern spiritualism arose in the 19th century. In the United States spiritualism developed around Margaret and Kate Fox, sisters in New York State who were awakened with the rest of their family by mysterious rapping sounds in their house. The young sisters decided to ask questions with yes, no, or unmerical answers, and they claimed to receive responses in the form of raps. Visitors began to crowd the Fox house to witness this spectacle or prove it a trick, and stories quickly spread that the Fox girls were mediums in touch with spirits. The Fox sisters later showed their ability in New York City to famous people.

To communicate with spirits, spiritualists sometimes meet in small gatherings called séances. During a séance, several persons sit at a table and touch hands. An individual, usually called a medium leads the séance. The medium helps the group concentrate their thoughts on the person they wish to contact, usually a dead friend or relative. The spirit of the dead is supposed to show its presence by making rapping sounds, by moving objects in the room, or by speaking through the medium.

Many people honestly believe in spiritualism. Unfortunately, there have been many professional magicians and others who use trickery to make themselves appear to be mediums. Because of this, anyone who says he or she is a medium is likely suspected of dishonesty. Harry Houdini, the most famous professional magician, distrusted spiritualism so thoroughly that he spent a great deal of time trying to prove that it could not be true.

Although many scientists dispute spiritualist claims, spiritualists defend their beliefs. They claim that communication between the living and the dead has been scientifically verified. Some spiritualists consider themselves in agreement with Christian tradition. But most forms of Christianity do not agree with spiritualism’s main teaching that the spirits of the dead communicate with people on earth.

Serious investigators believed some truth lay behind the reports of mediums. The society for Psychical Research was founded in 1882 by a distinguished group of Cambridge scholars in London, United Kingdom, and a fund was established to investigate reports of possible spirit appearances, to find out if any of them is true. A number of famous people have supported investigations of the field, among them two British writers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge. Several organized bodies of spiritualists exist, with about 600 congregations and a membership of more than 210000 people in the United States in the late 1900s. the larger organizations include the International General Assembly of Spiritualists, with headquarters in Ashtabula, Ohio; the National Spiritual Alliance of the USA in Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts; and the National Spiritualist Association of Churches in Lily Dale, New York.

【中文譯文】

研究通靈術的人認爲死人與活人能夠通過某種方式進行交流。他們相信人由靈、魂、體三者組成，靈寓於魂之中，而靈與魂又寓於體之中。人死後，靈與魂依然存活，故能與活人溝通。

現代通靈術興起於19世紀。它在美國的流行則起源於一個偶然事件。紐約州的瑪格麗特和凱特•福克斯姐妹半夜被神祕的敲擊聲驚醒。這對年輕的姐妹對敲擊者提出一些可以用是與否或數字回答的問題，據她們說敲擊者用敲擊聲一一做了回答。成羣的人們擁向福克斯家看稀罕，也有人認爲這是姐妹倆惡作劇，去尋找破綻，以戳穿她們的把戲。福克斯姐妹能通靈的消息迅速傳開，她們不久就被請到紐約市爲名人們表演通靈術。

爲與死人的靈魂溝通， 通靈術士有時要舉行幾人參加的小規模的降靈會。降靈會由一位稱做靈媒的人主持，與會者坐在一張桌子周圍，手手相觸。靈媒幫助與會者將神思集中於他們想與之溝通的死者身上，然後據說死者的靈魂就會發出敲擊聲，或移動室內的物件，或通過靈媒之口說話。

不少人篤信通靈術。但至今已證實有很多專業魔術師和懂魔術的人藉機裝神弄鬼。因此，自稱靈媒的人往往讓人起疑。美國魔術大師胡迪尼就對通靈術嗤之以鼻，花了很多時間設法證明通靈術士是江湖騙子。

科學家也對通靈術提出質疑，但篤信者稱死者與活人之間的溝通是超自然現象，無法用科學方法證實。有人稱通靈術與基督教不矛盾，但遭到教會的駁斥。

但也有學者認爲通靈術或許有真實的成分。1882年英國劍橋就有一羣學者成立了精神現象研究會研究通靈術，併成立了基金會資助通靈術的研究，以證實其真僞。支持這方面研究的英國名人有《福爾摩斯探案集》的作者柯南道爾以及物理學家洛奇，二人都熱衷通靈術。美國有600個通靈術組織，成員達20餘萬。著名的有國際通靈術代表大會、全美靈學聯合會及美國通靈教團協會。