前世与今生Past and Present Lives

有一个人来问我关于前世的问题，说他常常在梦里梦见自己的前世，他问我：“前世真的存在吗？”

Someone asked me about the existence of a past life. He said he often dreamt about his past life. “Do we have really a past life？” he asked.

前世真的存在吗？我不能回答。

I wasn’t able to answer his question.

我告诉他：“我可以确定的是，昨天的我是今天的我的前世，明天的我就是今天的我的来生。我们的前世已经来不及参加了，让它去吧！我们希望有什么样的来生，就掌握今天吧！1”

“What I do know is，” I told him， “Yesterday’s me is my past life， and tomorrow’s me is my future life， in the eyes of today’s me. It’s no longer possible for me to participate in any activity in my past life. Let bygones be bygones！ What my future life will be like depends on how I spend today.”

前世或来生看起来遥远而深奥，但我总是相信，一个人只要有很好的领悟力2，就能找到一些过去与未来的消息。

While the idea of a past or future life may seem distant and abstruse， I always believe that as long as we have a well-oiled working mind， we’re able to establish some kind of link to our past and our future.

就好像，我们如果愿意承认自己的坏习惯与坏思想，就会发现自己在过去是走了多么偏斜的道路3。我们如果愿意去测量、去描绘心灵的地图4，也会发现心灵的力量推动我们的未来5。

If we’re ready to acknowledge what’s bad about our old habits and ideas， we’ll discover how far we’ve gone careening off course. If we’re ready to explore our minds and embark on an inner journey， we’ll be able to find what we can tap in our minds to power our future.

因此，一个人只要很努力，就可以预见未来的路，但再大的努力也无法回到过去。

As long as we work hard， we can chart a path to the future. But no amount of effort can bring us back to the past.

所以，真正值得关心的是现在。

So， what really matters is the present.

我对那时常做前世梦的朋友说：“与其把时间浪费在前世的梦，还不如活在真实的眼前。”

“Instead of wasting your time obsessing about what you think happened in your previous life，” I said to the friend who often dreamt about his previous life， “you’d better focus on what’s right in front of you.”

真的，世人很少对今生有恳切的了解，却妄图去了解前世，世人也多不肯依赖眼前的真我，却花许多时间寄托于来世，想来令人遗憾。

Indeed， it’s regrettable that too many of us fail to have a real grasp of what’s confronting us today while going out of the way to inquire about any previous lives， and that too many of us are loath to tap into today’s true selves while setting hopes on future lives.

1“我们希望有什么样的来生，就掌握今天吧！”是指未来取决于今天，因此可以译成“Let’s make the best out of today because that’s what determines tomorrow.”或“What we can hope for in our next life rests in what we do today.”或“What my future life will be like depends on how I spend today.”。  2“很好的领悟力”不宜译成excellent comprehension skills。comprehension一词与语言训练关系更大，与本文无关。这里所谈的“领悟力”不是指通过学习或培训获取的技能，而是指“理解的能力”，我们可以称“很好的领悟力”为perceptive或者a well-oiled working mind。

3“走了多么偏斜的道路”译成how many mistakes we have made in the past问题不大，至少意思还算比较接近，但保留原文的形象更为可取，可以译成how far we have strayed或how far we’ve been off course或how far we’ve gone careening off course。  4“去测量、去描绘心灵的地图”不必按字面译成to measure and draw the map of the mind。虽然mind mapping在英文里是一个正常的术语，但最好别用于这种场合，那是为提高生产力或为类似目的而整理信息、理顺各种关系的手段。这里所谈的无非就是了解自己的内心，那就是explore our minds and navigate our inner journey或者explore our minds and embark on an inner journey。  5“会发现心灵的力量推动我们的未来”不应该译成realize that the spiritual strength is pushing us forward，因为spiritual strength是指精神信仰的力量，特别是宗教信仰的力量，与此处的语境无关。这里所述的“心灵的力量”就是“去测量、去描绘心灵的地图”的结果，完全是字面上的意思，即the power of the mind。整个分句可以译成we can discover the power of the mind in shaping the future或者we’ll be able to find what we can tap in our minds to power our future。