內容: ( Person 4 )
Outside the walls of the Ashram is a small village. It’s a poor place, with one dirt street, one temple, a few
shops, and a lot of cows. Inside the Ashram, it’s gardens, flowers, birdsong, and beautiful trees. The building
are nice, but simple. There’s a dining hall, a big library of spiritual writing from the world’s different religions,
a few temples, and two dark rooms for meditation. There’s an outdoor room where yoga classes are held in the
morning and a park with a path around it where students can run for exercise.
Some people are paid to work at the Ashram, but most of the work here is done by the students. It’s not a
hotel or a vacation place. It’s more like a university. You cannot come here unless you have been studying yoga
for a long time, and you have to stay for one month. ( I’ve decided to stay for six weeks, and then to travel
around India on my own. )
Ashram life is tough. Days begin at 3 a.m. and end at 9 p.m., and you spend hours and hours a day in silent
meditation, with little to take you away from the workings of your own mind. You live close together with
people you don’t know, in the Indian countryside. Sometimes it rains hard for weeks, sometimes it is
impossibly hot even before breakfast. Things can get deeply real around here, very fast.
My Guru always says that only one thing will happen when you come to the Ashram – that you will
discover who you really are.
I have only one day to find my way around the Ashram, and then it is already New Year’s Eve. After
dinner, people come and sit outside. The Indian women are dressed in their best saris and gold bracelets, and we
are going to chant until midnight, until the year changes. I’m tired from my journey, but the music and the
singing carry me along. We sit cross-legged on the ground in the warm dark night, our bodies moving from side
to side in time with the chanting. Then, at 11.30, the music gets faster, lifting the chant into happiness.
Beautifully dressed women are dancing, and it feels like we are pulling the year 2004 toward us.
This is the first New Year’s Eve I can ever remember in my life where I haven’t known any of the people I
am with. In all this dancing and singing, there is no one for me to hug at midnight. But I wouldn’t say that
anything about this night has been lonely. No, I would not say that at all.
We are all given work here, and my job is to clean the temple floors. It’s tiring work, but those hours spent
cleaning are much easier than my hours of meditation. The truth is , I don’t think I’m good at meditation.
People say that prayer is talking to GOD, and meditation is listening. Well, I can talk to GOD all day about my
problems, but when I try to be silent and listen, my mind quickly turns bored, angry, depressed, worried, or all
of these. One of my many, many problem with meditation is that the mantra I have been given – Om Namab
Shivaya – doesn’t sit comfortably in my head. I love the sound of it and the meaning of it, but it does not help
me meditation.
This morning, I arrive on time for the 4 a.m. meditation which always starts the day here. We have to sit
for an hour in silence, but I count every minute, and by minute fourteen, my knees are hurting and I’m mad at
myself. I fight against my mind, but it wins, my eyes fly open and I’m in tears. This is too much for me. I can’t
do it. My mind will not stop talking to itself, and I wonder how I’m ever going to control that machine in my
head.
Dinnertime. I’m sitting alone, trying to eat slowly. My Guru always tells us to be strong with ourselves
about food. She tells us to eat little and slowly. ( MY Guru, I’m pretty sure, has never been to Naples. ) So
I’m sitting at the dinner table trying to hold back my fork when Richard from Texas walks over. He’s got a cool,
no-big-hurry kind of walk. He’s in his fifties, with white hair and a white beard, wide shoulders and big hands,
but a completely relaxed face. He’s not a guy who worries about a lot of things. But I am, and that’s why I soon
come to love him. His great confidence calms down all my worries and reminds me that everything really is
going to be OK. ( And if not OK, then at least funny. ) “Me and Groceries, we’re laughin’ the whole time,” says
Richard.
翻譯:
靜修處的牆外面有一個小小的村莊,那是個貧窮的地方,有一條滿是塵土的路、一間廟、少數的店家
和很多的乳牛。在靜修處裡面，有一個充滿著鮮花、鳥鳴和漂亮的樹的庭園。建築物都簡單但美好，這
裡有一個食堂、一個有著全世界不同信仰心靈記載的大圖書館、一些寺廟和作為沉思的兩個黑暗房間。
這裡的戶外教室，早上會有瑜珈的課程，而圍繞著公園的圓環道則讓學生能在這兒跑步運動。
有些人是付錢請來靜修處工作的，但大部分這裡的工作是學生完成的。這裡並不是飯店或度假勝地，
更像是一所大學。除非你是學習瑜珈很久了，而且能待在這裡一個月，否則是不能進來的。（我打算在
這裡待六個月，然後自己去印度到處遊玩。）
靜修處的生活是很嚴格的，每天從早上三點開始到晚上九點結束，然後你每天會在寂靜的冥想渡過
很多很多小時，它會有一點帶著你離開自己的思緒。在印度的鄉間，這使得你和那些你不知道的人能更
親近。有時候幾個禮拜一直下著傾盆大雨，有時候這裡即使在早餐前也會異常地炎熱。事物是真實地深
深地在這裡很快的發生。
我的導師常說，你來到靜修處唯一會發生的事，就是你會發現你真正ㄉ自己。
我只剩一天在靜修處找出自己的方向，接著新年夜便來到了。晚餐後，人們來到了外面便坐了下來。
印度的女人們穿著她們最好的莎麗和金手鐲，然後我們一起歌頌直到凌晨，直到下一年來到。在自己的
旅程中感到疲累，就只有音樂和歌聲帶領著我。我們在溫暖的黑夜裡，盤腿坐在地上，我們的身體隨著
歌頌聲動作。之後到了 11:30，音樂輕快了起來，歌聲中帶著快樂，穿著漂亮服裝的女人們跳起舞來，
感覺好像我們朝著 2014 年邁進。
這是我一生中記得第一個和完全不認識人一起過的新年夜。在舞蹈和歌聲中，這深夜裡沒有人能讓
我擁抱，但我不覺得關於這晚的事是寂寞。不，我一點不會。
我們在這裡被分配(賦予)了工作，而我的工作是清理寺廟的地板。這是一個很累的工作，但是比起將時
間花在冥想上，清理地板倒是簡單多了。真相是,我覺得我並不擅長(適合)冥想。人們說祈禱是和上帝
在說話，而冥想則是在聆聽。這個嘛~我可以和上帝說上我的煩惱一整天，但當我試著靜止下來聆聽時，
我的思緒很快地變得厭煩、氣惱、沮喪、擔心、或者是全部。很多很多的冥想問題之一是我一直在考慮
– Om Namab Shivaya – 的咒語，不舒服地坐落在我的腦袋。我喜歡它的聲音和它的意義，但它並不
能幫助我的冥想。
今天早上，我總是 4 點準時到達、開始打坐冥想，在這裡開始今天的日子。我們要在寂靜中坐一個
小時，但我算每一分鐘，並到 14 分鐘，我的膝蓋開始疼痛，對自己生氣。我對抗自己的意志，但它贏
了，我的眼睛睜開，我流淚了。這對我來說太困難了。我無法做到。我的心不會停止自言自話，而我想
知道我要如何去控制這台機器在我的腦海。
晚飯時間我獨自坐著，嘗試慢慢吃。我的導師總是告訴我們自己要堅強。她告訴我們，少少的吃，慢
慢地吃。 （我的導師，我非常肯定他絕對從來沒有去過那不勒斯。）所以，我坐在飯桌上拿起我的叉
子時，Richard 從 Texas 面前走過。他有一個很酷、慢條斯理的方式走路。他 50 多歲，白頭髮和白鬍子，
寬肩膀和大手，而是一個完全放鬆的臉。他並不是會擔心很多事情的那種人。但我是，這就是為什麼我
會很快就愛上他的原因。他的信心平靜下來我所有的疑慮，並提醒我一切都會好的。 （如果不 OK 的話，
那至少會很有趣。）“我和 Groceries，我們會一直嘲笑你們”“Richard 說
單字:
1. dirt
2.
3.
4.
5.
n. loose earth or soil 泥；土
例: Wash that dirt off your hands . 把你手上的髒東西洗掉。
spiritual adj. of the spirit or soul 精神上的
例: the modern world ' s pursuit of material ends to the neglect to fits spiritual needs
當今世界追求物質目標而忽視精神需要
religion n. belief in and worship of GOD or gods 宗教
例: Buddhism is the religion founded by Buddha in North India .
佛教是佛陀創始於印度北部之宗教。
meditation n. deep thought or quiet contemplation 沈思；冥想；打坐
例: I ' m sorry to interrupt your meditations . 我很抱歉，打斷你思考問題了。
unless conj. except if 除非；若不
例: I won ' t apologize unless she apologizes first . 除非她先道歉，否則我不道歉。
6. tough adj. strong and hard；different to chew；not tender 堅硬的；堅韌的
例: This material is as tough as leather . 這料子像皮革般堅韌。
7. Guru n. a religious leader in India；a mentor 印度教的領袖；導師、宗師
例: Mr. Smithis one of the leading gurus of modern political thought
史密斯先生是現代政治思想的主要宗師之一。
8. bracelet n. an ornamental band or chain for the wrist or arm 手鐲、臂鐲
例: She wore huge bracelets on her wrists .
9. chant v. recite；sing 朗誦；唱
她手腕上戴著大手鐲
例: The chant of the crowd was " Work for all " . 群眾反覆有節奏地呼喊的是"給大家工作"。
10. cross-legged adj. with one leg placed over the other 兩腿交叉的
例: She sat cross-legged on the floor playing with his child. 他兩腿交叉的坐在地上跟他的孩子玩耍
休閒二甲
4A2B0082
李思瑩 ( P34 ~ P37 )