你最大的敌人是你自己
In “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, Friedrich Nietzsche said, “you yourself will always be theworst enemy you can encounter; you yourself lie in wait for yourself in caves and forests.”
尼采在《查拉图斯特拉如是说》中说：“你自己永远是你能遇到的最坏的敌人，你自己在洞穴和森林里埋伏着等待你自己。”
Student: I want to be an acrobat and walk the tightrope, but I’m afraid. I’m afraid about making a living, and I’m afraid about what the people close to me will think. I know they’ll judge me. They won’t respect me. They’ll make me feel small and foolish for joining the circus, but I feel the wire calling to me. What do I do?
学生: 我想当走钢丝的杂技演员，但我害怕。我害怕谋生，也害怕身边的人会怎么想。我知道他们会对我评头论足。他们不会尊重我的。他们会让我觉得自己渺小和愚蠢，但我觉得“走钢丝”在呼唤我，我该怎么办？
Acrobat: You will always be your own worst enemy.
杂技演员:你永远是自己最大的敌人。
Student: How? Don’t you see? I wanna be a great acrobat like you, but society doesn’t value artists. How will I make a living? And on top of that, my family and friends will judge me for doing what they don’t consider to be real work. I feel like everyone is holding me back.
学生:怎么会?你难道不明白我想像你一样成为一个伟大的杂技演员，但社会不重视艺术家。我将如何谋生?最重要的是，我的家人和朋友会批评我做了不正经的工作。我觉得所有人都在设法阻止我。
Acrobat: No one’s holding you back. What’s holding you back is your own fear. You fear society not valuing you, and you fear the disapproval of your loved ones. Is that right?
杂技演员:没有人阻止你。阻碍你前进的是你自己的恐惧。你害怕社会不重视你，你害怕所爱的人不赞成。是这样吗？
Student: I guess you’re right, but what can I do? They’re the ones causing my fears.
学生:我想你是对的，但我能做什么呢？他们是引起我恐惧的人。
Acrobat: They’re not the ones causing your fears. Your fears arise from your thoughts. You think that if you become an acrobat, no one will pay. And if no one pays you, you fear ending up on the streets. Is that right?
杂技演员:并不是他们引起了你的恐惧。你的恐惧源于你的想法。你以为当了杂技演员就没人给钱了。如果没人给你钱你就害怕流落街头，是这样吗？
Student: Right.
学生:是的。
Acrobat: You think if you become an acrobat, your family and friends won’t respect you. So you fear being disrespected. Is that correct?
杂技演员：你认为如果你成为杂技演员，你的家人和朋友不会尊重你。所以你害怕的是不被尊重。对吗？
Student: That’s correct. And I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I do.
学生：对，我知道我不应该有这种感觉，但我有。
Acrobat: There’s no value in judging how you feel. Your feelings are always valid. But let’s keep looking deeper into it. So your fears arise from your thoughts. Do you agree?
杂技演员：判断你的感觉没有任何价值。你的感觉总在那儿。还是让我们谈的更深入一些。所以你的恐惧来自你的思想。你同意吗？
Student: I agree.
学生：我同意。
Acrobat: So where do your thoughts arise from?
杂技演员：那你的想法是从哪里来的？
Student: I’m not sure.
学生：我不确定。
Acrobat: They arise from your desires.
杂技演员：它们源于你的欲望。
Student: What do you mean?
学生：什么意思？
Acrobat: Well, you’re thinking right now. You just used thought to ask me a question. And what was the source of that thought? It was your desire to get clarification, wasn’t it?
杂技演员：嗯，你现在就在思考。你刚才通过想法问了我一个问题。这个想法的源头是什么？是你想要得到澄清，对吧?
Student: Yeah, I guess that’s right.
学生：我想是的。
Acrobat: So you agree, thought arises from desire. Let’s look into your desires. You want society to value artists more because you believe that will help you get paid. Is that right?
杂技演员：所以你同意，思想源于欲望。让我们来看看你的欲望。你希望社会更重视艺术家，因为你相信这将有助于你获得报酬。是这样吗？
Student: Right.
学生：对啊。
Acrobat: And you want everyone to respect you for your career. Is that right?
杂技演员：你希望每个人都尊重你的事业，对吗？
Student: Right.
学生：对啊。
Acrobat: OK, now I need you to listen very carefully. So your desire leads to thought, and your thought leads to fear. So if your desire goes away, the thought goes away, and if the thought goes away, so does the fear. And when the fear drops away, you get out of your own way. You stop being an enemy to yourself. Do you understand?
杂技演员：好的，现在我需要你仔细听着。你的欲望导致想法，而想法导致恐惧。所以，如果你的欲望消失了，想法也就消失了；如果想法消失，恐惧也会消失。当恐惧消失时，你就走出了自己的路。你不再是自己的敌人。你明白吗？
Student: I get it now. But how do I drop desire?
学生：我现在明白了，但是我怎么才能放弃欲望呢？
Acrobat: See that’s the trap: you can’t drop desire. Wanting to drop desire is itself a desire. Fighting fire with fire only produces more fire. But desires fall away on their own through understanding. So let’s look at your own understanding of the world.
杂技演员：瞧，这就是陷阱：你不能放弃欲望。想要放下欲望本身就是一种欲望。以毒攻毒只会产生更多的火。但是欲望会随着理解而自行消失。所以我们来看看你自己对世界的理解。
Student: OK.
学生：好的。
Acrobat: So you believe that society doesn’t value artists, and if society doesn’t value artists, that means you’ll never make any money. Is that right?
杂技演员：所以你认为社会不重视艺术家，如果社会不看重艺术家，就意味着你永远赚不到钱。是这样吗？
Student: That’s right.
学生：是的。
Acrobat: Well, let’s examine that. If you sell water in a desert, does it matter what people think of you?
杂技演员：好吧，让我们检查一下。如果你在沙漠里卖水，别人怎么看你很重要吗？
Student: I guess not.
学生：我想没有。
Acrobat: So why does it matter if society values artists or not? People value anything they perceive as an absolute necessity. If something is a necessity for you, you better believe it will be a necessity for someone else, too. And if the things you create are a necessity for someone, they will pay you for it.
杂技演员：那么，社会是否重视艺术家又有什么关系呢？人们重视任何他们认为绝对必要的东西。如果某样东西对你来说是必需品，你最好相信它对别人也是必需品。如果你创造的东西是某人的必需品，他们会付钱给你。
Student: That makes sense.
学生：有道理。
Acrobat: Now, you also believe that if you have everyone’s respect, you’ll be happy. Is that right?
杂技演员：现在，你也相信如果你得到大家的尊重，你就会快乐，是这样吗？
Student: Right.
学生：对啊。
Acrobat: People respect you when you live according to their values. But if you live according to someone else’s values, you’ll never respect yourself. You’ll become resentful, and you’ll regret not living out your dreams. But if you live according to your own values, not everyone is going to respect you. The truth is: it’s impossible to have everyone’s respect while also respecting yourself. But if you live according to your own values, you at least have the chance of attracting people into your life who respect you for who you are.
杂技演员：当你按照人们的价值观生活时，他们尊重你。但是如果你按照别人的价值观去生活，你永远不会尊重自己。你会变得怨恨，你会后悔没有实现你的梦想。但如果你按照自己的价值观生活，不是所有人都会尊重你。事实是：不可能在得到所有人尊重的同时也尊重自己。但如果你按照自己的价值观生活，你至少有机会吸引那些尊重你的人进入你的生活。
Student: You’re completely right. Thank you for talking me through this. I feel different.
学生：你说得很对，谢谢你跟我说，我感觉不一样了。
Acrobat: Are you still afraid?
杂技演员：你还怕吗？
Student: I have no reason to be. If I create something of absolute necessity, people will pay me no matter what my career is. And you’re right, if I don’t do this, I will become resentful, and I’ll always wonder “what-if”. I’d rather follow my own values and attract the right people into my life rather than trying to earn the respect of people I don’t agree with.
学生：没有理由怕了。如果我创造了绝对必要的东西，无论我的职业是什么，人们都会给我报酬。你是对的，如果我不这样做，我会变得愤愤不平，而且我会一直想“假如-会怎么样”.我宁愿遵循自己的价值观，吸引契合的人进入我的生活，而不是试图赢得我不认同的人的尊重。
Acrobat: Now that your fears are gone, what’s stopping you from acting?
杂技演员：现在你的恐惧消失了，是什么阻止你表演？
Student: Nothing.
学生：没有了。
英文部分摘自《英语巴士》
