介绍:
The Alchemist 原文 （52）
He rose, and made his way back toward the palm trees. Once again, he perceived the many languages in the things about him: this time, the desert was safe, and it was the oasis that had become dangerous.
The camel driver was seated at the base of a palm tree, observing the sunset. He saw the boy appear from the other side of the dunes.
"An army is coming," the boy said. "I had a vision."
"The desert fills men's hearts with visions," the camel driver answered.
But the boy told him about the hawks: that he had been watching their flight and had suddenly felt himself to have plunged to the Soul of the World.
The camel driver understood what the boy was saying. He knew that any given thing on the face of the earth could reveal the history of all things. One could open a book to any page, or look at a person's hand; one could turn a card, or watch the flight of the birds… whatever the thing observed, one could find a connection with his experience of the moment. Actually, it wasn't that those things, in themselves, revealed anything at all; it was just that people, looking at what was occurring around them, could find a means of penetration to the Soul of the World.
The desert was full of men who earned their living based on the ease with which they could penetrate to the Soul of the World. They were known as seers, and they were held in fear by women and the elderly. Tribesmen were also wary of consulting them, because it would be impossible to be effective in battle if one knew that he was fated to die. The tribesmen preferred the taste of battle, and the thrill of not knowing what the outcome would be; the future was already written by Allah, and what he had written was always for the good of man. So the tribesmen lived only for the present, because the present was full of surprises, and they had to be aware of many things: Where was the enemy's sword? Where was his horse? What kind of blow should one deliver next in order to remain alive? The camel driver was not a fighter, and he had consult with seers. Many of them had been right about what they said, while some had been wrong. Then, one day, the oldest seer he had ever sought out (and the one most to be feared) had asked why the camel driver was so interested in the future.
"Well… so I can do things," he had responded. "And so I can change those things that I don't want to happen."
"But then they wouldn't be a part of your future," the seer had said.
"Well, maybe I just want to know the future so I can prepare myself for what's coming."
"If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise," said the seer. "If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur."
"I want to know about the future because I'm a man," the camel driver had said to the seer. "And men always live their lives based on the future."
The seer was a specialist in the casting of twigs; he threw them on the ground, and made interpretations based on how they fell. That day, he didn't make a cast. He wrapped the twigs in a piece of cloth and put them back in his bag.
"I make my living forecasting the future for people," he said. "I know the science of the twigs, and I know how to use them to penetrate to the place where all is written. There, I can read the past, discover what has already been forgotten, and understand the omens that are here in the present.
"When people consult me, it's not that I'm reading the future; I am guessing at the future. The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances. How do I guess at the future? Based on the omens of the present. The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity."
The Alchemist 译文 （52）
他站起来，走回枣椰树的方向。他再次知觉到周遭一切景物正在告诉他：沙漠很安全，可是绿洲陷入险境了。
那位骆驼夫坐在一棵棕榈树下，欣赏着日落。他看见男孩从沙丘的另一边走回来。
“军队要来了，”男孩说，“我看见了幻象。”
“沙漠会让人的心里充满了幻象。”骆驼夫回答。
可是男孩告诉他关于老鹰的事。他才刚看着它们飞行，接着却接收到宇宙之语的讯息。
那个骆驼夫能理解男孩说的话。他知道地球表面上发生的任何事都可以揭露出天地万物的来龙去脉。人们可以通过翻开书本的任何一页，或者看任何人的手；或者翻过一张牌，或者观察老鹰的飞行……不管观察什么，人们都可以将自己的经验和当下所见联结在一起。事实上，并不是所观察到的那些事物本身能泄露什么，而是当人在观察身边一切时，本来就有能力洞悉天地之道。
沙漠中很多人都有洞悉天地之道的能力，因为他们是用一种自在的态度过日子。有人称他们预言家、先知，妇女老人怕他们，部落战士也不敢去找他们商谈。设想，如果大家事先知道了自己注定会死在战场上，还有谁愿意上战场呢？大家宁可尝试战争的滋味，宁可不知道结果而去冲锋陷阵；未来早就被阿拉一手注写，不管他写的是什么，一定都是为了人类好；部落战士都只活在当下这一刻，因为当下就已经有够多意外的了，而且他们必须时时刻刻注意许多事：像是敌人的剑会从哪一个方向刺过来？他的马在哪里？下一招必须出什么才能存活下来？骆驼夫自己并不是一个战士，所以他会去问先知意见。有一些先知所说的常常是正确的，也有一些预言是错的。曾经有一次，他所认识最老的预言家（也是最被敬畏的那位）问他，他为什么对于未来这么好奇？
“呃……这样我才好做事。”他回答。“而且我才能避免那些我不想发生的事。”
“但这么一来，他们就不会是你的未来了。”老预言家说。
“好吧，那也许我应该只要去知道未来会发生的事，好预做准备。”
“如果是一件好事，那么它就会是个令人愉悦的惊喜，不是吗？”预言家说，“而如果是个灾祸，事先知道不就让你提早受苦了吗？”
“我希望能知道未来是因为我是一个人，”骆驼夫对预言家说，“而人总是活在对未来的展望里。”
那位先知特别擅长于用树枝占卜；他会把树枝掷在地上，看它们掉落的样子来诠释未来。但是那一天，他并未用树枝帮骆驼夫占卜，他用一块布把树枝捆起，放回他的袋子里。
“我是靠占卜维生的，”他说，“我擅于观察树枝所显示出来的事，而且我知道怎么靠它来洞悉命定的一切。因为我能够解读出过去、发觉出早已被遗忘的事，也能明了当下显示出来的预兆。
当人们来问我的时候，我并不是去解读出未来，而是用猜的。未来是属于神的，只有他才能揭露未来，而且通常是在某种特别的情境下才能揭露。而我要靠什么去猜测未来？就靠着现在看见的预兆。所以，未来的秘密就是现在。如果你专注于现在，就必定能改善现在。而如果你能改善现在，未来一定会更好。忘记未来吧，只要依照神的教诲去过每一天，要相信神会眷顾他的子民。每一天，都有着它自己的永恒。”
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