TED演讲 谈上帝与海啸(5)

 In the end, we have to say, I don't know.  最后，我们不得不说，我不知道。

If we knew, God would not be God.  如果我们知道，上帝就不是上帝了。

To have faith in this God would be more like trusting an essential benevolence¹ in the universe,  相信这个上帝应该更象是相信宇宙中的原善，

and less like believing a system of doctrinal statements.  而不是相信一套教义的陈述。

Isn't it ironic² that Christians³ who claim to believe in an infinite, unknowable being then tie God down in closed systems and rigid⁴ doctrines⁵?  基督徒声称相信一个无限的、不可知的存在，然后又把上帝束缚在一套封闭的、僵化的教条之中，难道不可笑吗？

How could one practice such a faith?  怎么能实践这样一种信仰？

By seeking the God within. By cultivating my own inwardness.  通过发自内心地寻求上帝；通过培养自己的内在灵性，

In silence, in meditation⁶, in my inner space, in the me that remains⁷ when I gently put aside my passing emotions and ideas and preoccupations. 在静默中，在冥想中，在我的内心世界中，在我轻轻放下暂时的情绪、想法和成见之后依然存在的这个本我中，

In awareness⁸ of the inner conversation.  在内省的意识中。

And how would we live such a faith? How would I live such a faith?  我们如何活出这样一种信仰？我自己怎样才能活出这样一种信仰？

By seeking intimate connection with your inwardness.  这需要通过寻求与你的内在灵性的密切关系，

The kind of relationships when deep speaks to deep.  那是一种推心置腹交谈时毫不遮掩的关系。

If God is in all people, then there is a meeting place where my relationship with you becomes a three-way encounter.  如果上帝存在于所有人之中，那么在我与你之间就有一个我们三方能彼此相遇的一个地方。

There is an Indian greeting, which I'm sure some of you know:  印度有一句问候语，肯定你们当中有些人知道：

Namaste, accompanied by a respectful bow,  那马斯特，伴随一个恭敬的鞠躬。

which, roughly translated means,  其大致的意思是

That which is of God in me greets that which of God is in you.  我内在的上帝问候你内在的上帝。

Namaste.  那马斯特。

And how would one deepen such a faith?  那么我们如何深化这种信仰？

By seeking the inwardness which is in all things.  这需要通过寻求在所有事物中的内在灵性。

In music and poetry, in the natural world of beauty and in the small ordinary things of life,  在音乐和诗歌中，在自然界的美丽中，在平凡的生活琐事中，

there is a deep, indwelling presence that makes them extraordinary.  都有一个深刻的、内在的存在使这些东西不平常。

It needs a profound attentiveness⁹ and a patient waiting,  它需要一种深邃的注意力和耐心的等待，

a contemplative attitude and a generosity¹⁰ and openness to those whose experience is different from my own. 一个沉思的态度，以及对与自己的经历不同的人的慷慨大方和开放包容。

When I stood up to speak to my people about God and the tsunami,  当我站起来向我们教会的人讲述上帝和海啸时，

I had no answers to offer them.  我无法为他们提供答案。

No neat packages of faith, with Bible references to prove them.  圣经没有提供一套现成的套路和说词来证明，

Only doubts and questioning and uncertainty¹¹.  只有怀疑、质问和不确定。

I had some suggestions to make possible new ways of thinking about God. 我提出了一些建议，一些关于上帝的可能的新思路，

Ways that might allow us to go on, down a new and uncharted road.  这些思路或许能使我们沿着一条新的未知的道路继续走下去。

But in the end, the only thing I could say for sure was, I don't know,  但最后，我唯一可以肯定说的是，我不知道。

and that just might be the most profoundly religious statement of all.  这也许正是最深刻虔诚的声明。

Thank you.  谢谢。

1 benevolence   

n.慈悲，捐助

参考例句：

• We definitely do not apply a policy of benevolence to the reactionaries.我们对反动派决不施仁政。
• He did it out of pure benevolence. 他做那件事完全出于善意。

2 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

5 doctrines   

n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明

参考例句：

• To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看，这样的教义显得苛刻，甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

9 attentiveness   

[医]注意

参考例句：

• They all helped one another with humourous attentiveness. 他们带着近于滑稽的殷勤互相周旋。 来自辞典例句
• Is not attentiveness the nature of, even the function of, Conscious? 专注不正是大我意识的本质甚或活动吗？ 来自互联网

10 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。