How to love, according to Rumi - Stephanie Honchell Smith

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

“A candle is made to become entirely flame.

「蠟燭的存在是為了 完全燃燒成火焰。

In that annihilating moment it has no shadow.”

在消滅的那一刻，它沒有陰影。」

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

根據傳說，

知名學者賈拉魯丁‧ 穆罕默德‧魯米在進行演講時，

was giving a lecture when an older, disheveled man approached

有位年紀較長、 衣冠不整的男子走向他，

and asked him the meaning of his academic books.

詢問他的學術書籍有什麼意義。

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

魯米當時還不知道，

但這個問題和這名男子

would change his life.

會改變他的人生。

Annoyed at the interruption, Rumi snapped,

魯米因被打斷而感到惱怒，厲聲說：

“They are something that you do not understand!”

「這些書籍不是你能理解的！」

Suddenly, the books caught fire.

突然，書籍起火了。

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

男子回頭看著驚訝的魯米，

簡單地回答：

“You couldn’t possibly understand.”

「你無法理解。」

The mysterious figure was Shams of Tabriz,

這位神秘人物是塔布里茲的沙姆斯，

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

迷人的蘇菲神秘主義者，

他將改變魯米的世界觀。

Rumi, inspired by Shams’ teachings,

魯米受到沙姆斯的教誨所啟發，

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

後來成為世界上最著名的 詩人和神秘哲學家之一，

and mystical philosophers,

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

他的文化遺產深深影響了土耳其

和波斯語世界。

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

魯米生於 1207 年，

出生地在阿富汗的巴爾赫市附近，

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

兒時他移居到安納托利亞，

在那裡，他的父親—— 一位傳教士和神秘主義者——

hoped to secure a more prestigious position.

希望能取得更有聲望的位子。

By the time of Shams’ arrival,

在沙姆斯抵達時，

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

魯米在科尼亞鎮已經成為 受人尊敬的伊斯蘭法律學者。

While he had been exposed to Sufism—

雖然他曾接觸過蘇菲主義，

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

伊斯蘭內的神秘主義道路，

著重於體驗神的愛——

he’d shown little interest in it.

他對蘇菲主義卻興趣缺缺。

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

但當沙姆斯在他快要四十歲時 進入他的人生，這點也改變了。

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

法律和神學的學術研究

不再是魯米的核心焦點。

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

他反而把它們視為蠟燭， 指引他朝他的最終目標前進：

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

透過體驗神聖的愛， 將他的靈魂與神重新結合。

He wrote of this tension in his native Persian,

他用他的母語波斯語 寫下了這種張力：

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

「愛不在於學習，

不在於知識，不在頁面和書籍中。

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

不論人的辯論導向何處，

那都不是愛人者的道路。」

While Sufism had been part of Islamic observance for centuries,

儘管數世紀以來，蘇菲主義 一直是伊斯蘭信仰的一部分，

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

一些蘇菲主義信徒的做法——

從狂喜舞蹈到創作詩——

were looked down upon by conservative religious elites.

都被保守的宗教菁英給看貶。

As Rumi increasingly embraced Sufism under Shams’ influence,

隨著魯米在沙姆斯的影響下 越來越接納蘇菲主義，

many of his earlier followers disapproved.

許多他早期的追隨者都無法贊同。

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

當沙姆斯突然消失時，

有人懷疑他是被謀殺了。

Rumi expressed his devastation through poetry:

魯米透過詩表達了他的悲痛：

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

「他像蠟燭一樣 用他的光芒沐浴我們；

在輕薄的空氣中消失， 離開了我們！」

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

魯米並沒有因此背棄 蘇菲主義，反而更投入，

participating in ritualized dancing and preaching the religion of love

參與儀式舞蹈，宣揚愛的宗教，

through lectures, poetry, and prose.

管道包括講座、詩作，和散文。

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

雖然沙姆斯永遠沒有回來，

魯米仍然繼續分享他的教導，

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

把自己視為月亮，

反射沙姆斯的太陽光。

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

在神秘狀態時，

他創作了「沙姆斯詩集」，

a sprawling collection of lyrical poems

是一部龐大的抒情詩集，

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

詩集中有許多他的金句， 在現代都廣為人知。

The work expresses intense feelings of love and longing,

這部作品表達出 愛與渴望的強烈感受，

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

對象不僅是他那位消失的導師， 還有神聖的造物主。

Over time, Rumi's poetry matured.

隨時間，魯米的詩歌逐漸成熟。

He no longer saw himself as a reflection of Shams,

他不再將自己視為 沙姆斯的反射倒影，

but as a beacon of light on his own.

他自己就是一盞明燈。

In his early fifties, Rumi wrote “Masnavi,”

五十多歲時，

魯米寫了《瑪斯納維》，

which shifts from ecstatic expressions of divine love

從狂喜地表達神聖的愛轉變為

to verses that guide others to discover it for themselves.

引導他人自行去發現它的詩文。

The poems are complex and layered,

這些詩很複雜且多層次，

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

整合了想法、故事，

以及各種引文， 出自伊斯蘭宗教文本、

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

阿拉伯和波斯文學，

以及早期的蘇菲著作和詩集。

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

在一個故事中， 他請出了著名的角色：

萊拉和為愛瘋狂的馬吉姆。

and the love-crazed Majnun.

In Rumi’s version, the king,

在魯米的版本中，

國王聽到馬吉姆冥想著 萊拉無與倫比的美麗，

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

demands to see her.

因此要求要見她。

But when Layla arrives, he’s confused,

但當萊拉抵達時，他十分困惑，

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

因為她的美貌和馬吉姆 所稱讚的實在落差太大。

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

對此，萊拉的回覆是：

「我就是萊拉。問題 在於你不是馬吉姆。」

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

對於魯米來說，體驗愛就意味著 對神所創造的一切都打開心——

looking at everything and everyone like Majnun gazing upon Layla.

去看每樣東西和每個人，

就像馬吉姆凝視著萊拉。

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

從這個角度，他將愛情 視為是神聖的愛的

on a smaller scale— of divine love.

一種表現方式——只是規模較小。

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

魯米死後，

根據他的教導， 梅夫拉維蘇菲教派成立了。

and still exists in Türkiye today.

現今仍然存在於土耳其。

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

他的詩和其他著作都被翻印 並傳播到伊斯蘭世界各處，

inspiring and shaping Persian poetry,

鼓舞並形塑了波斯詩，

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

接著又在十九世紀被引入西方。

For generations, his works have been read and reread,

數世代以來，他的作品被一讀再讀，

translated and reinterpreted, drawing admirers from around the world.

被翻譯和超譯，

吸引來自世界各地的仰慕者。

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

雖然魯米的字句都反映出 他那時的歷史背景

和伊斯蘭世界觀，

for many, his message feels universal:

對許多人而言，他的訊息 感覺可以用在任何地方：

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

「如果你在愛的道路上失去了心，

flee to me without delay:

立即逃向我：

I am a fortress invincible.”

我是一座無敵的堡壘。」