That is a common human fact. Human beings, right from the beginning of time, have been frightened. And they have never solved the problem. If you were not frightened at all, there would be no gods, no rituals, no prayers. It is our fear that has created all the gods, all the deities, and the gurus with their absurdities. So can we go into the question of why human beings live in fear and whether it is possible to be free of it entirely, not occasionally, not sporadically? Can you be aware of the objects of fear and also the inward causes of fear? You may say, ‘I am not afraid’, but all your background is structured on fear.

造成我们生活在支离破碎中的一个因素，就是恐惧。恐惧是人类共有的一个事实，人类从时间伊始就已经心存恐惧了，但他们从未解决这个问题。如果你根本不恐惧，就不会有各种神明、仪式和祈祷。正是我们的恐惧制造了所有的上帝、所有的神明和所有的古鲁，以及它们荒唐的一切。所以，我们能不能探究一下这些问题：为什么人类生活在恐惧中？有没有可能彻底而不是有时候、偶尔地摆脱恐惧？你能不能觉察到恐惧的对象以及恐惧的内在根源？你也许会说，“我不害怕”，但你的所有背景都构筑在恐惧之上。

What is fear? Are you not afraid? If you are really honest, for a change, will you not say, ‘I am afraid’? Afraid of death.Afraid of losing a job.Afraid of your wife or husband.Afraid of public opinion.Afraid of not being recognized by your guru as a great disciple.Afraid of the dark.Afraid of so many things. We are not talking about the objects of fear, fear of something. We are inquiring into fear perse, in itself. So we are asking: What is the cause of fear, and what is fear without a cause? Is there such a thing as fear without a cause? Or does the word ‘fear’, the sound of fear, evokes in us fear? For example, when you hear the word ‘communism’, you would react to it, if you are a capitalist or even if you are a socialist. And when you hear the word ‘fear’, you react to it, don’t you? Of course you do.

恐惧是什么？你难道不害怕吗？我们换个说法，如果你真正诚实的话，你难道不会说“我害怕”吗？害怕死亡，害怕失业，害怕你的妻子或丈夫，害怕公众舆论，害怕没有被你的古鲁认可为一名出色的弟子，害怕黑暗，害怕如此之多的事情。我们谈的不是恐惧的对象，不是对什么的恐惧，我们探究的是恐惧本身。所以我们问：恐惧的根源是什么？没有原因的恐惧又是什么？存在没有原因的恐惧这回事吗？还是说，“恐惧”这个词，恐惧的声音，在我们内心唤起了恐惧？比如说，当你听到“共产主义”这个词，如果你是一个资本主义者，或如果你是一个社会主义者，你都会对它作出反应。而当你听到“恐惧”这个词，你也会对它作出反应，不是吗？你当然会。

Thought and time are the two factors of fear. You cannot do anything about it. Don’t ask, ‘How am I to stop thinking?’ It is too silly a question. Because you have got to think—to go from here to your house, to drive a car, to speak a language. But time may not be necessary at all psychologically, inwardly. So we are saying fear exists because of the two major factors of time and thought, in which is involved reward and punishment. Now, I have heard this statement made by you. And I have listened to it so immensely because it is a tremendous problem which man has not solved at all and which, therefore, is creating havoc in the world. I have listened to you, listened to the statement. And you have also told me: Don’t do anything about it; just put the question and live with it, as a woman bears the seed in her womb. So you have put the question. Let that question flower. In the flowering of that question, there is also the withering away of that question. It is not the flowering and then the ending—the very flowering is the ending. Do you understand what we are talking about?

思想和时间是恐惧的两个要素。你对它们什么也不能做。不要问：“我该如何停止思考？”这是个太过愚蠢的问题，因为你必须得思考——从这里走到你的房子，开车，说一门语言，都需要思考。但是从心理上、从内在来说，也许根本不需要时间。所以我们说，恐惧之所以存在，是因为两个主要的因素——时间和思想，其中涉及了奖赏和惩罚。现在，我听到了你说的这句话。我如此全神贯注地倾听了你说的话，因为恐惧是人类从未解决的一个巨大问题，并因此在世界上制造了可怕的破坏。我倾听了你，听到了那句话。同时你又告诉我：对它什么也不要做；只是提出这个问题并与之共处，就像一个女人的子宫里孕育着那颗种子一样。于是你提出了那个问题，让它自己绽放。在绽放之中，那个问题同时也在枯萎。不是先有绽放，然后再终结——绽放本身就是终结。你明白我们在说什么吗？