How to love, according to Rumi - Stephanie Honchell Smith

翻译人员: Jiarong Wang 校对人员: Sue Lu

“A candle is made to become entirely flame.

“蜡烛生来就是为了 尽情燃烧。

In that annihilating moment it has no shadow.”

在那个毁灭的时刻 它没有影子。”

According to legend, the renowned scholar, Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi,

相传，著名学者 贾拉鲁丁·穆罕默德·鲁米正在讲课，

was giving a lecture when an older, disheveled man approached

一位衣衫不整的长者走近，

and asked him the meaning of his academic books.

问他所著学术书籍的意义。

Rumi didn’t know it yet, but this question and this man

鲁米不知道这个问题和这个人

would change his life.

将改变他的人生。

Annoyed at the interruption, Rumi snapped,

他因被打断倍感恼火，厉声喝道：

“They are something that you do not understand!”

“这是你无法理解的东西！”

Suddenly, the books caught fire.

突然，这些书就着火了，

The man looked back at the astounded Rumi and simply replied:

那人转头看着震惊的鲁米，回道：

“You couldn’t possibly understand.”

“你是不可能明白的。”

The mysterious figure was Shams of Tabriz,

这位神秘人物就是大不里士的沙姆斯，

a charismatic Sufi mystic who would transform Rumi's worldview.

一位具有超凡魅力的苏菲派神秘主义者， 他将改变鲁米的世界观。

Rumi, inspired by Shams’ teachings,

鲁米受到沙姆斯教义的启发，

would go on to become one of the world’s most celebrated poets

成为举世闻名的诗人和神秘哲学家之一，

and mystical philosophers,

whose cultural legacy looms large across Türkiye and the Persian-speaking world.

他的文化遗产在土耳其 和波斯语世界中都占有重要地位。

Rumi was born in 1207 near the Afghan city of Balkh,

鲁米于 1207 年出生在 阿富汗城市巴尔赫附近，

and as a child emigrated to Anatolia, where his father— a preacher and mystic—

童年时移民到了安纳托利亚， 因为他父亲，一位传教士和神秘主义者，

hoped to secure a more prestigious position.

希望在那里获得一个更好的职位。

By the time of Shams’ arrival,

当沙姆斯抵达科尼亚城时，

Rumi was a well-respected scholar of Islamic law in the town of Konya.

鲁米已是那里备受尊敬的伊斯兰法学者。

While he had been exposed to Sufism—

尽管他接触过苏菲主义 ——

the mystical path within Islam, which focuses on experiencing God’s love—

伊斯兰教的神秘之路， 侧重于体验真主的爱——

he’d shown little interest in it.

但并不感兴趣。

But this changed in his late thirties, when Shams came into his life.

在他三十多岁时，一切都改变了， 因为沙姆斯走进了他的生活。

The academic study of law and theology was no longer Rumi's central focus.

法律和神学不再是鲁米的研究重点，

Rather, he saw them as candles guiding the way towards his ultimate goal:

而是如蜡烛般指引他实现最终目标：

the reunification of his soul with God through the experience of divine love.

通过体验神爱，让灵魂与上帝团聚。

He wrote of this tension in his native Persian,

他用母语波斯语写下了这种矛盾，

“Love resides not in learning, not in knowledge, not in pages and books.

“爱不在于学习，知识，或书籍。

Wherever the debates of men may lead, that is not the lover’s path.”

无论争辩指向何处，那都不是爱之路。”

While Sufism had been part of Islamic observance for centuries,

尽管几个世纪以来， 苏菲派一直是伊斯兰仪式一部分，

the practices of some Sufis— from ecstatic dancing to composing poetry—

但一些苏菲派的习俗， 不论是狂喜的舞蹈还是诗歌创作，

were looked down upon by conservative religious elites.

保守的宗教精英们都看不上。

As Rumi increasingly embraced Sufism under Shams’ influence,

沙姆斯的影响令鲁米越来越信奉苏菲派，

many of his earlier followers disapproved.

许多鲁米早期追随者对此持反对意见。

When Shams suddenly disappeared, suspicions arose that he'd been murdered.

当沙姆斯突然失踪时， 人们怀疑他被谋杀了。

Rumi expressed his devastation through poetry:

鲁米通过诗歌道出了他的悲痛：

“He bathed us like a candle in his light; in thin air vanished, left us!”

“他像蜡烛一样照亮了我们； 凭空消失，离我们而去！”

Rather than turning away from Sufism, Rumi became more devoted,

鲁米没有远离苏菲派，反而更加投入。

participating in ritualized dancing and preaching the religion of love

他参与仪式化舞蹈，

through lectures, poetry, and prose.

并通过讲座、诗歌和散文宣扬宗教之爱。

And while Shams would never return, Rumi continued to share his teachings,

尽管沙姆斯永远不会回来， 但鲁米继续分享着他的教义，

seeing himself as the moon reflecting the light of Shams’ sun.

视自己为反射沙姆斯阳光的月亮。

While in his mystical states, he composed the “Divan-i-Shams,”

在神秘的状态下， 他创作了《Divan-i-Shams》。

a sprawling collection of lyrical poems

这是一本庞大的抒情诗集，

that included many of the sayings for which he is famous today.

其中包括许多今天闻名遐迩的箴言。

The work expresses intense feelings of love and longing,

这部作品表达了强烈的爱与渴望，

not only for his vanished mentor, but for the divine creator.

不仅是对他消失的导师， 也是对神圣造物者。

Over time, Rumi's poetry matured.

随着时间的推移，鲁米的诗歌逐渐成熟。

He no longer saw himself as a reflection of Shams,

他不再把自己看作是沙姆斯的影子，

but as a beacon of light on his own.

而是能自发光亮的灯塔。

In his early fifties, Rumi wrote “Masnavi,”

在五十多岁时，鲁米写了《Masnavi》，

which shifts from ecstatic expressions of divine love

从狂喜地表达神爱，

to verses that guide others to discover it for themselves.

转为引导他人自己发现神爱。

The poems are complex and layered,

这些诗歌复杂而层次分明，

incorporating ideas, stories, and quotes from Islamic religious texts,

融合了伊斯兰宗教经文里的 思想、 故事和名言、

阿拉伯和波斯文学、 以及早期苏菲派著作和诗歌。

Arabic and Persian literature, and earlier Sufi writings and poetry.

In one story, he invokes the well-known characters of Layla

他的一个故事援引了家喻户晓的莱拉

and the love-crazed Majnun.

和陷入狂爱的马杰农。

In Rumi’s version, the king,

在鲁米的版本中，

hearing Majnun’s musings on Layla’s unsurpassed beauty,

国王听说马杰农沉沦于莱拉的绝色美貌，

demands to see her.

于是提出要见她。

But when Layla arrives, he’s confused,

但是当看到莱拉时，他感到了困惑，

as her beauty pales in comparison to Majnun's praises.

因其美貌较之马杰农的赞誉大为逊色。

To this, Layla replies, “I am Layla. The problem is you are not Majnun.”

对此，莱拉回答道: “我是莱拉，但你不是马杰农。”

For Rumi, experiencing love meant opening his heart to all of God’s creation—

对鲁米来说，体验爱 意味着向所有上帝的创造物敞开心扉，

looking at everything and everyone like Majnun gazing upon Layla.

就像马杰农凝视莱拉那样 去看待一切的人事物。

In this way, he saw romantic love as an expression—

所以，浪漫的爱情对他来说

on a smaller scale— of divine love.

就是格局小一些的神圣之爱。

Following Rumi’s death, the Mevlevi Sufi order was established around his teachings

鲁米死后，围绕其教义建立的 梅夫列维苏菲教派，

and still exists in Türkiye today.

至今仍存在于土耳其境内。

His poems and other writings were copied and dispersed across the Islamic world,

他的诗歌和著作被复制 并传播遍伊斯兰世界，

inspiring and shaping Persian poetry,

激发、塑造了波斯诗歌，

before being introduced to the West in the 19th century.

并在 19 世纪被引入西方。

For generations, his works have been read and reread,

多年来，他的作品被一读再读、

translated and reinterpreted, drawing admirers from around the world.

翻译和重释，吸引着世界各地的崇拜者。

While Rumi's words reflect his specific historical context and Islamic worldview,

尽管鲁米的言语反映了他特定的 历史背景和伊斯兰世界观，

for many, his message feels universal:

对大众而言，他传达的信息深具普遍性：

“If you have lost heart in the Path of Love,

“如果你在爱之路上迷失了方向，

flee to me without delay:

不要迟疑，逃到我的身边：

I am a fortress invincible.”

我是一座无敌的堡垒。”