Find Thyself

 

 

The only problem ¹⁾unconsciously assumed by all Chinese ²⁾philosophers to be of any importance is: How shall we enjoy life, and who can best enjoy life? No ³⁾perfectionism, no ⁴⁾straining after the ⁵⁾unattainable, no ⁶⁾postulating of the unknowable; but taking poor, ⁷⁾mortal human nature as it is, how shall we organize our life so that we can work peacefully, endure ⁸⁾nobly and live happily?

Who are we? That is the first question. It is a question almost impossible to answer. But we all agree that the busy self occupied in our daily activities is not quite the real self. We are quite sure we have lost something in the ⁹⁾mere¹ pursuit of living. When we watch a person running about looking for something in a field, the wise man can set a puzzle for all the ¹⁰⁾spectators to solve: what has that person lost? Some one thinks it is a watch; another thinks it is a diamond ¹¹⁾brooch; and others will ¹²⁾essay other guesses. After all the guesses have failed, the wise man who really doesn”t know what the person is seeking after, tells the company: “l’ll tell you. He has ¹³⁾lost some breath.” And no one can deny that he is right. So we often forget our true self in the pursuit of living, like a bird forgetting its own danger in pursuit of a ¹⁴⁾mantis², which again forgets its own danger in pursuit of another ¹⁵⁾prey³, as is so beautifully expressed in a ¹⁶⁾parable by Chuangtse. CE

01、发现自己

 

一切中国的哲学家在不知不觉中认为唯一重要的问题是∶我们要怎样享受人生？谁最会享受人生？我们不追求十全十美的理想，我们不寻找那些得不到的东西，我们不要求知道那些不得而知的东西；我们只认识不完美的、会死的人类的本性，那么我们要怎样调整我们的人生，使我们可以和平地工作着，旷达地忍耐着，幸福地生活着呢？

我们是谁呢？这是第一个问题。这个问题几乎是无法答复的。可是我们都承认在我们日常活动中那么忙碌的自我，并不完全是真正的自我。我们相信我们在生活的追求中已经失掉了一些东西。当我们看见一个人在一片田野里跑来跑去在寻找东西时，智者可以弄出一个难题给一切旁观者去解答：那个人失掉了什么东西呢？有的猜一只表；有的猜一支钻石胸针；其他的人则作其他的猜测。智者委实也不知道那个人在寻找什么东西；可是当大家都猜不中的时候，他会对大家说：“我告诉你们吧。他失掉了一些气息了。”没有人会否认他的话是对的。所以我们在生活的追求中常常忘掉了真正的自我，像庄子在一个美妙的譬喻里所讲的那只鸟那样，为了要捕捉一只螳螂而忘掉自身的危险，而那只螳螂又为了要捕捉一只蝉而忘掉自身的危险。CE

 

1)       unconsciously [Qn5kCnFEsli] adv. 不知不觉

2)       philosopher [fi5lCsEfEr] n. 哲学家 

3)  perfectionism [pE5fekFEnizEm] n. 十全十美主义

4)  strain after 竭力追求，拼命争取   

5)  unattainable [QnE5teinEbl] a. 难到达的，做不到的。the unattainable指做不到的事情。

6)  postulate⁵ [5pCstjuleit] v. 要求

7)  mortal [5mC:tEl] a. 终有一死的

8)  nobly [5nEubli] adv. 高贵地，崇高地

9)  mere [miE] a. 仅仅的，纯粹的

10) spectator [spek5teitEr] n. 观众 

11) brooch [brEutF] n. 胸针，领针

12) essay [5esei] v. 试着想出来

13) lost some breath 是个文字游戏，暗含两个意思：字面意是“失去一些气息”，做为词组也指“上气不接下气，喘不过气来”。

14) mantis [5mAntis] n. 螳螂

15) prey [prei] n. 被捕食的动物，牺牲品

16) parable⁴ [5pArEbEl] n. 寓言，比喻

 

 

 

 

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 mantis   

n.螳螂

参考例句：

• Praying mantis has two powerful claws like sharp knives.螳螂有一对强壮的爪子，它们像锋利的刀。
• In her mind,it was a female mantis,devouring her mates.她的意识中，是一只雌螳螂正吞咽她的配偶。

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。

5 postulate   

n.假定，基本条件；vt.要求，假定

参考例句：

• Let's postulate that she is a cook.我们假定她是一位厨师。
• Freud postulated that we all have a death instinct as well as a life instinct.弗洛伊德曾假定我们所有人都有生存本能和死亡本能。