So this is a very complex problem of our life—why we are so shallow, empty, filled with other people’s knowledge and with books; why we are not independent, free human beings to find out; why we are slaves. This is not a rhetorical question; it is a question each one of us must ask. In the very asking and doubting, there comes freedom. And without freedom there is no sense of truth.

所以说这是我们的生活中一个非常复杂的问题——我们为什么如此浅薄、如此空虚，塞满了别人的知识和书本的知识；我们为什么不能独立、自由地去探究；我们为什么是奴隶。这并不是夸大其词的问题，而是我们每个人都必须提出的问题。在这种提问和质疑当中，自由就会到来，而没有自由就没有对真理的感知。

When you see something greatly beautiful like a mountain full of snow against the blue sky, what actually takes place? When you see something extraordinarily alive, beautiful, majestic, for a moment, for a second, the very majesty of that mountain, the immensity of it drives away, puts aside all self-concern, all problems. At that second there is no ‘me’ watching it. The very greatness of the mountain drives away for a second all my self-concern. Surely one must have noticed this. Have you noticed a child with a toy? He has been naughty all day long—which is right—and you give him a toy, and then for the next hour, until he breaks it, he is extraordinarily quiet. The toy has absorbed his naughtiness, has taken him over.

当你看到一样极其美丽的事物，比如蓝天掩映下白雪覆盖的高山，实际上会发生什么？当你看到了一件无比鲜活、美丽而又庄严的事物，在那一刻、那一秒钟，那高山的伟岸和无限驱散了、消除了所有的自私、所有的问题。那一秒钟并没有一个“我”在看着它。高山的伟岸本身就短暂地驱散了我所有的自私自利。你肯定曾经留意到了这一点。你有没有注意过一个有了玩具的孩子？他一整天都很淘气——这也没什么不好——而当你给了他一个玩具，然后在接下来的一个小时里他都非常安静，直到他把玩具弄坏。玩具消除了他的顽皮，完全占据了他。

Similarly, when we see something extraordinarily beautiful, that very beauty absorbs us. That is, there is beauty when there is no self, no self-interest, no travail of the self. Without being absorbed or shaken by something extraordinarily beautiful like a mountain or a valley in deep shadow, without being taken over by the mountain, is it possible to understand beauty that is without the self? Because where there is the self there is no beauty, where there is self-interest there is no love. So love and beauty go together; they are not separate.

同样，当我们看到极其美丽的事物，那美本身就完全吸引了我们。也就是说，当自我、自私自利、自我的痛楚不存在时，美就出现了。如果没有被极其美丽的事物，比如一座山或者幽深的峡谷所吸引、所震撼，没有被高山所占据，我们有可能理解没有自我的美吗？因为有自我就没有美，有自私自利就没有爱。所以爱和美是并肩而行的，它们不是分开的。

We have also to talk over together what is death. That is one certain thing that we all have to face. Whether we are rich or poor, ignorant or full of erudition, death is certain for every human being; we are all going to die. And we have never been able to understand the nature of death. We are always frightened of dying, aren’t we? And we hope for continuity after death. So we are going to find out for ourselves what is death, because we are going to face it whether we are young or old. And to understand death, we must also inquire into what is living, what is our life.

我们也必须一起来谈谈死亡是什么。这是一件我们都必须面对的事情。无论我们富有还是贫穷，愚昧无知还是学富五车，死亡对每个人来说都是必然发生的事情，我们都会死。而我们从来都没能了解死亡的本质。我们总是害怕死亡，不是吗？我们希望死后生命能够延续。所以我们要自己去弄清楚死亡是什么，因为无论我们年轻还是年老，我们都要面对它。而若要了解死亡，我们也必须探询什么是活着，我们的生命是什么。