托爾斯泰說：「以上帝之名，先暫停一下，放下工作，看看周遭。」

智慧之語
列夫．托爾斯泰（素食者）著作《生活之路》第一冊〈靈魂〉摘錄（二集之一）
2020-12-07
用語：English

摘要
「每個人都想改變世界，但沒有人想改變自己。」如此真知灼見出自列夫‧托爾斯泰，是提醒我們應內省的金玉良言。這位十九世紀的俄羅斯名作家也建議，我們應捫心自問：上帝要我們做什麼。托爾斯泰說：「以上帝之名，先暫停一下，放下工作，看看周遭。」清海無上師曾於一九九七年七月，在美國洛杉磯與世界會會員共修時，談到托爾斯泰。「因為托爾斯泰有修行。所以你們看他的故事，幾乎都是談論靈修、上帝，非常快樂、非常肯定。看他的書很愉快，如果你們還沒看過，試試看。可以多讀一些，對你們非常好。」我們要分享托爾斯泰的著作，有關宗教、生死等哲學思想的合集，《生活之路》第一冊，〈靈魂〉的精闢摘錄。「那無形的、不可見的、未露形跡的、賦予萬物生命者，我們稱之為上帝。同樣的無形、不可見的、未露形跡的、被身體與其他一切事物分開，我們視為自我，稱之為靈魂。」「一個人步入老年，歷經歲月滄桑：原是待哺嬰兒，緊接著小孩，成人，乃至於耄耋老人。但無論如何改變，他總是稱自己為『我』。這個『我』一直維持不變。這個『我』從嬰兒期、成熟期、直到老年始終如一。這個不變的『我』，我們稱之為靈魂。」「假使一個人無自覺內在靈魂，不能說他沒有靈魂，只能表示他尚未意識到內在靈魂。我們意識內在之前，汲取無法理解的東西有何益處？若無法領悟自我，何能理解外在世界？在家是盲者，出外豈能重見光明？正如無火源，將無從點燃燭火，人缺乏靈性生命，將無法生存。靈性存在眾人中，並非人人能領悟。能領悟此事之人，生命充滿喜樂，不能領悟此事之人，生命怏怏不樂。」「世間萬物皆屬物質，我們無法得知其本質。唯有內在的靈性，我們能全然明瞭，無需依賴感覺或思惟，即能意識到。」Words of Wisdom
Selections from "The Pathway of Life" by Leo Tolstoy (vegetarian): Volume 1 – The Soul, Part 1 of 2
2020-12-07
Language：English
Details
“Everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks of changing himself.” This insightful saying by Leo Tolstoy is a valuable reminder for all of us to reflect inwardly. The renowned 19th-century Russian author suggested that we ask ourselves what God really wants us to do. As Leo Tolstoy said, “In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” Supreme Master Ching Hai once spoke of Tolstoy in a group meditation session with our Association members in July, 1997 in Los Angeles, USA. “Because Tolstoy was a practitioner. That's why when you read his stories, most stories are about spiritual things, about God, and very happy and very positive. It's very good to read him, to read his books. You try. If you haven't, you try. You can read more. Such things are very good for you.” We would like to share an insightful excerpt of Volume 1: The Soul from “The Pathway of Life,” a collection of Tolstoy’s philosophies on religion, life, death and more. “The intangible, invisible, incorporeal something, which gives life to all that is living, we call God. The same intangible, invisible, incorporeal principle, which is separated by the body from all else, and of which we are conscious as self, we call the soul.” “A man who has attained old age has passed through many vicissitudes: he was first an infant, then a child, an adult, an old man. But no matter how he has changed, he always calls himself ‘I.’ This ‘I’ has always remained the same. This ‘I’ was the same in his infancy, in his period of maturity, in his old age. This unchanging ‘I’ we call the soul.” “If a man is not conscious of the soul within himself, it does not prove that he has no soul, but only that he has not yet learned to be aware of the soul within himself. Until we have realized what is within us, what good is it to us to know what is beyond us? And is it possible to know the world without knowing ourselves? Can he who is blind at home, possess sight when he is abroad? Just as a candle cannot burn without a fire, man cannot live without a spiritual life. The spirit dwells in all men, but not all men are aware of this. Happy is the life of him who knows this, and unhappy his life who does not know it.” “All that is material in this world, we cannot know the true nature thereof. Only the spiritual that is within us is fully known to us, namely that of which we are conscious, and which does not depend upon our feelings or our thoughts.”