紀伯倫《先知》孩子、給予、飲食三篇簡介

小鹿上次有介紹過紀伯倫《先知》的第一篇船來了，今天讓我們繼續來聊聊這本黎巴嫩詩人的詩集吧~
《先知》是紀伯倫以英文書寫的一本對生命的頌詩，至今譯成超50種語言，也是一本暢銷的散文詩籍，書中，紀伯倫化身為先知阿穆斯塔法，以28篇詩篇道出他對愛、婚姻、工作、死亡、自由等人生課題的洞見，其中他對生命的禮讚、豁達與慈悲，與其對上帝的領會是小鹿感動的原因，小鹿也曾用先知中的數篇文章與讀書會的成員分享過，建議大家有興趣可以去搜索原文或譯文來欣賞唷~

那今天就來看其中的三篇的部分詩篇吧!

孩子
On Children

你的孩子不是你的孩子，
他們是「生命」的子女，是生命自身的渴望。
他們經你而生，但非源自於你，
他們雖然和你在一起，卻不屬於你。
你可以給他們愛，但別把你的思想也給他們，
因為他們有自己的思想。

你的房子可以供他們安身，但無法讓他們的靈魂安住，
因為他們的靈魂住在明日之屋，
那裡你去不了，哪怕是在夢中。

你可以勉強自己變得像他們，但不要想讓他們變得像你。
因為生命不會倒退，也不會駐足於昨日。

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

你像是弓，孩子是從你身上射出的生命之箭。
弓箭手看見無窮路徑上的標靶，
於是祂大力拉彎你這把弓，好讓祂的箭飛馳得又快又遠。

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends
you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

欣然屈服在上帝的手中吧，
因為祂既愛那疾飛的箭，
也愛那穩定的弓。

Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

孩子可以說是先知這本書中最被人廣知也最多人介紹的一篇，也是一篇父母與子女各自唸來都有其感觸的一篇，小鹿很喜歡其中那對等與延續、依戀並成全的愛，尤其是最後的”Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness;For even as He loves the arrow that flies,so He loves also the bow that is stable.”這一段有許多的翻譯選擇，但絕對都傳達出上帝對我們的愛與支持，一種只要我們願意感受，就絕不落空的慈愛。

給予
On Giving

你們獻出財產時，其實給得微不足道。
你們奉獻自己時，才是真正的給予。

You give but little when you give of your possesions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

…有些人擁有的很多，卻給得很少--他們不過是為得到讚賞而施與，而這隱藏的念，使他們的饋贈不成為美。
也有人，他們擁有甚少，卻全部付出。
他們相信生命，相信生命的慷慨大度，他們的儲櫃從不匱乏。
有些人快樂地付出，這快樂就是他們的獎賞。
有些人痛苦地付出，這痛苦就是他們的洗禮。
還有一些人，給予時並不覺得痛苦，也不尋求快樂，或布善施德；
他們給予，就像遠處山谷的桃金孃散發芳香。
上帝通過這些人之手施教，透過他們的雙眸向大地微笑。

…There are those who give little of the much which they have—and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and the joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in givings, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue.
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes he smiles upon the earth.

你有什麼不能捨棄的呢？
總有一天，你所有的一切都將拱手讓人；
所以現在就饋贈吧，把奉獻的時機留給你自己，而非後人。

All you have shall some day be given.
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.

除了小鹿節錄的這段外，個人也很喜歡其中的”財產是什麼？不就是唯恐明天需要而保存與守護的東西嗎？” For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?我們認為便宜所囤積的，自己認為划算所搶購的是否只是需求匱乏呢？“若水已滿溢於井仍恐懼口渴，這渴豈能消除？” Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?
以前曾經看過一句話說” 人在天堂，錢在銀行” ，是啊...，我們兩手空蕩蕩的來，最終也將兩手空蕩蕩的走，與其死後還要讓別人花時間去丟自己花心血買與蒐集來的物品，不如，我們從現在開始不累積....，關於這點還有一個恐怖到讓小鹿有心靈創傷的故事，下次有機會再跟大家說....。

飲食
On Eating and Drinking

…多希望你們能靠大地的芬芳而活，
如空氣中的植物靠陽光便足以維生。
但既然你們不得不殺生為食，從初生羔犢口中搶奪它們母親的乳汁以解乾渴，
那就讓這成為一種敬拜的儀式吧。
在你們的案俎上立起一座祭壇，將那些林野間純真無邪的生命，
獻給更純真無邪的人心。

Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.
But since you must kill to eat, and rob the young of its mother's milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an cat of worship.
And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man.

當你們宰殺畜禽，在心中對它說：
「現在屠宰你的力量也將屠宰我，我同樣也會被吞食。」
「因為把你送到我手中的那一規律也將把我送到更強者的手中。」
「你我的血都不過是滋養天國之樹的汁液。」
當你們用牙齒咀嚼蘋果，在心中對它說：
「你的種子將活在我的身體，」
「你明日的花蕾將在我心中綻放，」
「你的芬芳化為我的氣息，」
「你我將帶著歡欣共度所有季節。」

When you kill a beast say to him in your heart,
“By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed.
For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.
And when you crush an apple with you teeth,say to it in your heart, “Your seeds shall live in my body,
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”

小鹿吃素(這其實不用特別說，鹿咩)，但個人是覺得飲食的取向是個人選擇啦，小鹿不干涉，但我對自己的要求是：不要忘記，當我開口食用任何東西時，我是靠此維生的，最低的要求是不浪費，不玩弄食物，尊重且愛惜它們，若能做得更好，那就讓它們的犧牲得到更好的成就，或是讚美食物的美味與營養，或是對整個世界有所助益。
這是小鹿對自己的要求，大家對食物的看法又是什麼呢？