雙語哲理散文:In The Beginning 在起點
In the beginning, all things are hopeful. We prepare ourselves to start anew. Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in the first moment: our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.
在起點，所有的一切都充滿希望。我們準備從頭開始。儘管我們把注意力放在前方奇妙的旅途上，但開始那一刻的信心、觀念、決心及率真已經決定了我們前方旅途的一切。
In order to start, we must make a decision. The decision is a commitment to daily self-cultivation. We must make a strong connection to our inner selves. Outside matters are superfluous. Alone and naked, we negotiate all of life’s travails. Therefore, we alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments for experiencing the deepest spiritual essence of life.
爲了這一時刻，我們必須先做一個決定。這個決定在我們日常的自我修養中早已形成。我們必須把它和自己內心深處建立一種緊密的聯繫。外部的一切都是多餘的。我們勞其一生，最終依然是孤身赤裸裸歸於塵土。因此，我們必須做點什麼，引導我們自己去經歷生活最深層的精神實質。
Once we make our decision, all things will come too us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate to the sound of our decision.
一旦我們下定決心，一切都接踵而來了。吉兆的出現不是迷信，而是肯定。他們是對決心的迴應。據說如果有人選擇矢志不移的對岩石祈禱，那麼岩石也會變得有生命。同樣，如果我們選擇堅定自己的精神旅途，即使高山和峽谷也會對我們的決心做出迴應。
