什麼是智慧？如何擁有智慧？（二）
Religion for the Nonreligious
為不信教者的宗教
By Tim Urban
翻譯：張煥華
Step 3: Shocking Reality
第3階梯：令人震撼的現實
I . . . a universe of atoms . . . an atom in the universe. —Richard Feynman
我，一個由原子構成的宇宙，宇宙中的一個原子。——理查德.費曼
Step 3 is when things start to get weird. Even on the more enlightened Step 2, we kind of think we』re here:
在第3階梯事情開始變得不可思議。甚至還在更開明的第2階梯時，我們就大概以為我們的生活是下面這個樣子：
As delightful as that is, it』s a complete delusion. We live our days as if we』re just here on this green and brown land with our blue sky and our chipmunks and our caterpillars. But this is actually what』s happening:
這一切令人愉快，然而卻完全是個錯覺。我們似乎純粹生活在這個擁有藍天、花栗鼠和毛毛蟲的綠色與褐色的土地上，但實際情況是這樣的：
But even more actually, this is happening:
更真實的情況是這樣的：
We also tend to kind of think this is the situation:
我們還傾向於認為這是實情：
When really, it』s this:
而真實情況卻是這樣的：
You might even think you』re a thing. Do you?
你甚至可能認為你是一個實體，對嗎？
No you』re a ton of these:
不，你僅是一團的這些個原子：
This is the next iteration of truth on our little staircase, and our brains can』t really handle it. Asking a human to internalize the vastness of space orthe eternity of timeor the tininess of atoms is like asking a dog to stand up on its hind legs—you can do it if you focus, but it』s a strain and you can』t hold it for very long.
這是在我們小階梯上的真相的下一個迭代，我們的大腦實際上處理不了它。要求一個人內心感受空間的廣袤、時間的永恆或原子的微小就像要求一條狗後腿立起——如果你夠專註你可以做到，但難度很大，而且你也堅持不了多久。
You canthink aboutthe facts anytime—The Big Bang was 13.8 billion years ago, which is about 130,000 times longer than humans have existed; if the sun were a ping pong ball in New York, the closest star to us would be a ping pong ball in Atlanta; the Milky Way is so big that if you made a scale model of it that was the size of the US, you would still need a microscope to see the sun; atoms are so small that there are about as many atoms in one grain of salt as there are grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. But once in a while, when you deeply reflect on one of these facts, or when you』re in the right late night conversation with the right person, or when you』re staring at the stars, or when you think too hard about what death actually means—you have aWhoamoment.
你隨時都可以想想以下事實——大爆炸發生在138億年前，這比人類存在時間的13萬倍還要長。如果太陽是在紐約那麼大的地方里的一個乒乓球，那麼離我們最近的恆星則是在亞特蘭大里的一個乒乓球。銀河系是如此之大，以致如果你把它做成美國那麼大的模型，那麼將需要一個顯微鏡才能看見太陽。而原子則極其微小，一小粒鹽里的原子數量大概相當於地球上所有沙灘上的沙粒數量總和。當你深入思考這其中的一個事實時，或者當你深夜與合適的人交談時，或者當你凝視群星時，或者當你嚴肅地思索死亡實際意味著什麼時，偶爾你會擁有一個驚嘆時刻。
A true Whoa moment is hard to come by and even harder to maintain for very long, like our dog』s standing difficulties.Thinkingabout this level of reality is like looking at an amazing photo of the Grand Canyon; a Whoa moment is likebeingatthe Grand Canyon—the two experiences are similar but somehow vastly different. Facts can be fascinating, but only in a Whoa moment does your brain actually wrap itself around true reality. In a Whoa moment, your brain for a second transcends what it』s been built to do and offers you a brief glimpse into theastonishingtruth of our existence. And a Whoa moment is how you get to Step 3.
一個真正的驚嘆時刻是很難擁有的，更難的是長久維持，就像狗要站立起來很困難一樣。思考這一層次的現實像是欣賞一張令人驚異的科羅拉多大峽谷照片，而一個驚嘆時刻則像身處科羅拉多大峽谷——兩種體驗很相似但某種程度上來說又極其不同。事實也許很有趣，但只有在驚嘆時刻你的大腦才實際上對真正的現實具有深刻印象。在驚嘆時刻，你的大腦瞬間超越了它的普通狀態，你從而得以瞥見我們存在的驚人真相。——你上到第3階梯的過程會是一個驚嘆時刻。
I love Whoa moments. They make me feel some intense combination of awe, elation, sadness, and wonder. More than anything, they make me feel ridiculously, profoundly humble—and that level of humility does weird things to a person. In those moments, all those words religious people use—awe, worship, miracle, eternal connection—make perfect sense. I want to get on my knees andsurrender.This is when I feel spiritual.
我愛那些驚嘆時刻，它們讓我感受到敬畏、崇拜、悲傷和驚奇的某種強烈結合。更重要的是，它們讓我感受到了一種既可笑又深刻的謙卑——那種層面的謙卑行徑怪異。在那些驚嘆時刻里，所有那些宗教人士所使用的詞語——敬畏、崇拜、奇蹟、永恆連接——便有了十足的意義。我想要跪下雙膝，頂禮膜拜。這是我的宗教時刻。
And in those fleeting moments, there is no fog—my Higher Being is in full flow and can see everything in perfect clarity. The normally-complicated world of morality is suddenly crystal clear, because the only fathomable emotions on Step 3 are the most high-level. Any form of pettiness or hatred is a laughable concept up on Step 3—with no fog to obscure things, the animals are completely naked, exposed for the sad little creatures that they are.
在那些稍縱即逝的時刻，沒有了迷霧——更高存在暢行無阻，能夠極清晰地看清事物。通常複雜的道德世界突然變得清清楚楚，因為在第3階梯僅有的可測情感皆達到了最高級。上到第3階梯，任何形式的卑鄙或仇恨都是可笑的——沒有了迷霧的遮擋，動物們全都赤身裸體，暴露出它們是不幸的小動物的原本模樣。
On Step 1, I snap back at the rude cashier, who had the nerve to be adicktome. On Step 2, the rudeness doesn』t faze me because I know it』s about him, not me, and that I have no idea what his day or life has been like. On Step 3, I see myself as a miraculous arrangement of atoms in vast space that for a split second in endless eternity has come together to forma moment of consciousnessthat is my life…and I see that cashier asanothermoment of consciousness that happens to exist on thesame speck of time and space that I do.And the only possible emotion I could have for him on Step 3 is love.
在第1階梯，我反擊了膽敢跟混球一樣對待我的粗魯的收銀員。在第2階梯，對方的粗魯並未影響到我，因為我知道是他粗魯而不是我粗魯，我還知道我並不清楚他的日子或生活過得怎樣。在第3階梯，我把自己看成是廣袤空間里的一團神奇的原子組合，是原子在無盡永恆中的一個瞬間彙集在一塊形成的片刻意識，這就是我的生命；我把那個收銀員看成是與我同在一個時空交匯點上的另一個片刻意識。在第3階梯，我對他唯一可能有的感情是愛。
In a Whoa moment』s transcendent level of consciousness, I see every interaction, every motivation, every news headline in unusual clarity—and difficult life decisions are much more obvious. I feelwise.
在驚嘆時刻的意識的超越層面中，我不同尋常地看清了每一次互動，每一個動機，每一條新聞頭條——原本艱難的人生決定也變得一目了然。我感覺到自己變得睿智了。
Of course, if this were my normal state, I』d be teaching monks somewhere on a mountain in Myanmar, and I』m not teaching any monks anywhere because it』s not my normal state. Whoa moments are rare and very soon after one, I』m back down here being a human again. But the emotions and the clarity of Step 3 are so powerful, that even after you topple off the step, some of it sticks around. Each time you humiliate the animals, a little bit of their future power over you is diminished. And that』s why Step 3 is so important—even though no one that I know can live permanently on Step 3, regular visits help you dramatically in the ongoing Step 1 vs Step 2 battle, which makes you a better and happier person.
當然，如果這是我的正常狀態，我會到緬甸某座山上的某個地方去教導僧侶。然而我並沒有這樣做，因為那不是我的正常狀態。驚嘆時刻非常罕見，而且即便出現，我會很快地又恢復成普通人一個。但是第3階梯的情感和清晰性是如此強大，因而即使你從第3階梯落下，其部分情感和清晰性仍會保留。每次你使動物出醜時，它們未來的力量就會減少一點。這就是為什麼第3階梯如此重要——即使我知道還沒人能一直呆在第3階梯，但定期訪問它能夠讓你在第2階梯對抗第1階梯的戰鬥中獲得極大的幫助，這也能夠讓你變成一個更好的及更快樂的人。
Step 3 is also the answer to anyone who accuses atheists of being amoral or cynical or nihilistic, or wonders how atheists find any meaning in life without the hope and incentive of an afterlife. That』s a Step 1 way to view an atheist, where life on Earth is taken for granted and it』s assumed that any positive impulse or emotion must be due to circumstances outside of life. On Step 3, I feel immensely lucky to be alive and can』t believe how cool it is that I』m a group of atoms that can think about atoms—on Step 3, life itself is more than enough to make me excited, hopeful, loving, and kind. But Step 3 is only possible because science has cleared the way there, which is why Carl Sagan said that 「science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.」 In this way, science is the 「prophet」 of this framework—the one who reveals new truth to us and gives us an opportunity to alter ourselves by accessing it.
第3階梯也是對指責無神論者不道德、憤世嫉俗、虛無主義的人的回答，是對想知道無神論者沒了來世的希望和激勵後如何找到生命的意義的人的回答。那是第1階梯看待無神論者的方式——在第1階梯，地球上的生命被視為理所當然，任何積極的情感或衝動都被認為是出於生命之外的環境原因。在第3階梯，我感到非常幸運能活著，我簡直難以相信自己是能思考原子的一團原子，這真是太酷了——在第3階梯，生命本身就足夠我激動、充滿希望、去愛和變得友善。然而，第3階梯之所以成為可能，是因為科學掃清了道路，這就是為什麼卡爾.薩根會說「科學不僅與靈性相容，而且科學還是靈性的深層來源」。這樣，科學便成了這個框架的「先知」——其向我們揭示了新的真相，給我們通過獲取它來轉變自己的機會。
So to recap so far—on Step 1, you』re in a delusional bubble that Step 2 pops. On Step 2, there』s much more clarity about life, but it』s within a much bigger delusional bubble, one that Step 3 pops. But Step 3 is supposed to be total, fog-free clarity on truth—so how could there be another step?
來概括一下之前的內容吧。在第1階梯，你陷入一個妄想的泡沫里，要等第2階梯致其破裂。在第2階梯，生活清晰得多，但卻置於一個更大的妄想的泡沫里，要等第3階梯致其破裂。第3階梯按說沒有了迷霧，真相完全清楚——因此，怎麼還會有另一個階梯呢？
Step 4: The Great Unknown
第4階梯：巨大的未知
If we ever reach the point where we think we thoroughly understand who we are and where we came from, we will have failed. —Carl Sagan
如果我們發展到了這種地步，即自以為徹底理解了我們是誰，我們來自哪裡，那麼我們將已然失敗。——卡爾.薩根
The game so far has for the most part been clearing out fog to become as conscious as possible of what we as people and as a species know about truth:
到目前為止的遊戲大部分都是關於消除迷霧以儘可能弄清楚我們作為人和一個物種關於真相知道什麼：
On Step 4, we』re reminded of thecompletetruth—which is this:
在第4階梯，我們被提醒要注意完整的真相——就是下面所指的：
The fact is, any discussion of our full reality—of the truth of the universe or our existence—is a complete delusion without acknowledging that big purple blob that makes up almost all of that reality.
事實是，任何關於我們的整個現實的討論——關於宇宙或我們存在的真相——是在不承認那個幾乎構成了整個現實的大紫色塊的情況下的十足的謬見。（註：紫色塊是指人類的未知領域）
But you know humans—they don』t like that purple blob one bit. Never have. The blob frightens and humiliates humans, and we have a rich history of denying its existence entirely, which is like living on the beach and pretending the ocean isn』t there. Instead, we just stamp our foot and claim thatnowwe』ve finally figured it all out. On the religious side, we invent myths and proclaim them as truth—and even a devout religious believer reading this who stands by the truth of their particular book would agree with me about the fabrication of the other few thousand books out there. On the science front, we』ve managed to be consistently gullible in believing that 「realizing you』ve been horribly wrong about reality」 is a phenomenon only of the past.
你了解人類，他們一點都不喜歡那個紫色快，從未喜歡過。紫色塊嚇著、羞辱了人類，我們有著完全否認其存在的豐富歷史，這很像生活在海灘上卻假裝海洋並不存在。相反，我們只是跺跺腳便宣稱我們現在最終把這一切都搞明白了。在宗教方面，我們創造了神話並宣布它們為真相——然而甚至一個虔誠的宗教徒，他相信自家宗教的故事是真的，卻同意我認為其它宗教的故事都是虛構的。在科學前沿方面，我們總是讓自己輕信「意識到自己對現實的認識錯得離譜，這只是過去才會發生的現象」這樣的觀點。
Having our understanding of reality overturned by a new groundbreaking discovery is like a shocking twist in this epic mystery novel humanity is reading, and scientific progress is regularly dotted with these twists—the Earth being round, the solar system being heliocentric, not geocentric, the discovery of subatomic particles or galaxies other than our own, and evolutionary theory, to name a few. So how is it possible, with the knowledge of all those breakthroughs, that Lord Kelvin, one of history』s greatest scientists, said in the year 1900, 「There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement」4—i.e.thistime, all the twists actuallyarefinished.
我們對現實的理解被一個新的突破性發現給推翻，這就像是人類正在讀的這本史詩性神秘小說，其故事情節發生了令人震驚的轉折。在科學發展歷程中經常上演這種轉折——地球是圓的，太陽系以太陽而不是以地球為中心，亞原子或其它星系的發現，進化論，僅舉這幾例。因此很難想像，在有如此多重大科學突破的情況下，勞德.開爾文，歷史上最偉大的科學家之一，在1900年說道，「現在，物理學不會再有新的發現了，剩下的事無非越來越精確的測量」——也就是說，這一次所有的轉折實際上全都結束了。
Of course, Kelvin was as wrong as every other arrogant scientist in history—the theory of general relativity and then the theory of quantum mechanics would both topple science on its face over the next century.
當然，開爾文犯了跟歷史上其他每一個傲慢的科學家一樣的錯誤——在下一個世紀，廣義相對論和後來的量子力學理論共同顛覆了原先的科學體系。
Even if we acknowledge today that there will be more twists in the future, we』re probablykindof inclined to think we』ve figured outmostof the major things and have a far closer-to-complete picture of reality than the people who thought the Earth was flat. Which, to me, sounds like this:
即使我們今天承認未來會有更多的轉折，我們仍可能傾向於認為：我們已經搞明白了大部分的重要事情，而且相對於過去以為地球是平的人們，我們現在擁有了關於現實的更接近於完成的正確圖景。對我來說，這聽起來就像是這樣的：
The fact is, let』s remember thatwe don』t know what the universe is. Is it everything? Is it one tiny bubble in a multiverse frothing with bubbles? Is it not a bubble at all but an optical illusion hologram? And we know about the Big Bang, but was that the beginning of everything? Didsomethingarise fromnothing, or was it just the latest in a long series of expansion/collapse cycles? We have no clue what dark matter is, only that there』s a shit-ton of it in the universe, and when we discussed The Fermi Paradox, it became entirely clear that science hasnoidea about whether there』s other life out there or how advanced it might be. How about String Theory, which claims to be the secret to unifying the two grand but seemingly-unrelated theories of the physical world, general relativity and quantum mechanics? It』s eitherthegrandest theory we』ve ever come up with or totally false, and there are great scientists on both sides of this debate. And as laypeople, all we need to do is take a look at those two well-accepted theories to realize how vastly different reality can be from how it seems: like general relativity telling us that if you flew to a black hole and circled around it a few times in intense gravity and then returned to Earth a few hours after you left,decadeswould have passed on Earth while you were gone. And that』s like an ice cream cone compared to the insane shit quantum mechanics tells us—like two particles across the universe from one another being mysteriously linked to each other』s behavior, or a cat that』s both alive and dead at the same time, until you look at it.
讓我們記住，事實是，我們並不知道宇宙到底是什麼。我們所知的這個宇宙就是一切嗎？或它只不過是多元宇宙製造的泡泡中的一個微小泡泡？還是說它連泡泡都不是，而只不過是一個視錯覺全息圖？我們都知道宇宙大爆炸的理論，然而那是萬物的開端嗎？宇宙是無中生有而來的嗎，還是說這只是長期的膨脹/收縮周期的最新一輪？我們也根本不知道暗物質是什麼，只知道它們在宇宙中大量存在。當我們談論費米悖論時，有一點很清楚，即科學也無法證實是否有外星人或它們到底有多先進。弦理論又是怎麼回事？其號稱能統一物理世界兩種宏偉而又看似不相關的理論：廣義相對論和量子力學。弦理論要麼是我們曾提出的最宏偉的理論要麼就是完全錯誤的理論，爭辯的雙方都得到了傑出科學家的支持。作為外行，我們需要做的僅是去了解一下這兩種公認的理論，且會意識到現實的實際情況和我們通常認為的樣子具有著非常大的不同：像廣義相對論告訴我們，如果你飛向黑洞並在強大的重力下環繞黑洞幾次，幾個小時後你返回地球，你會發現在地球上已過了幾十年。然而這會像是冰激凌甜筒，若是比起量子力學告訴我們的那些瘋狂的狗屎（事情）來——在宇宙空間中分隔兩處的兩個粒子具有幽靈般的詭異關聯，或者是一隻貓在觀察它之前既是活的又是死的。
And the thing is, everything I just mentioned is still within the realm of our understanding. As we established earlier, compared to a more evolved level of consciousness, we might be like a three-year-old, a monkey, or an ant—so why would we assume that we』re evencapableof understanding everything in that purple blob? A monkey can』t understand that the Earth is a round planet, let alone that the solar system, galaxy, or universe exists. You could try to explain it to a monkey for years and it wouldn』t be possible. So what are we completely incapable of graspingeven if a more intelligent species tried its hardest to explain it to us?Probably almost everything.
問題是，上面我剛剛說的這些東西仍然處在我們人類的理解範圍之內，而我們更早之前曾建立起這樣的觀點，即相較於進化水平發達得多的意識，我們也許像是三歲的小孩，或是一隻猴子，或是一隻螞蟻——因此我們有什麼理由認為我們能夠理解處於紫色塊中的事物呢？一隻猴子無法理解地球是圓的行星，更遑論太陽系、銀河系或宇宙的存在。你可以試著花幾年時間向一隻猴子解釋這些，不過你肯定不會成功。
There are really two options when thinking about the big, big picture: be humble or be absurd.
面對如此宏大的圖景，實際上有兩種選擇：變得謙卑或變得荒謬。
The nonsensical thing about humans feigning certainty because we』re scared is that in the old days, when it seemed on the surface that we were the center of all creation, uncertainty was frightening because it made our reality seem so much bleaker than we had thought—but now, with so much more uncovered, things lookhighlybleak for us as people and as a species, so our fear shouldwelcomeuncertainty. Given my default outlook that I have a small handful of decades left and then an eternity of nonexistence, the fact that we might be totally wrong sounds tremendously hopeful to me.
人類因恐懼而假裝一切都是確定的，這其中很荒謬的事便是，在人類表面上似乎是萬物之中心的過去日子裡，不確定性是可怕的，因為它會讓我們的現實顯得比預想的要暗淡得多——但現在，隨著比過去多得多的事物被了解，對於作為人類和一個物種的我們來說，事情看起來變得極其暗淡，因此我們的恐懼將反過來讓我們去歡迎不確定性。鑒於我的默定前景，即我還有短短的幾十年可活，然後便要墜入永恆的虛無之中，那麼我們可能完全是錯的這個事實於我而言聽起來便充滿了無窮的希望。
Ironically, when my thinking reaches the top of this rooted-in-atheism staircase, the notion that something that seems divine to us might exist doesn』t seem so ridiculous anymore. I』m still totally atheist when it comes to all human-created conceptions of a divine higher force—which all, in my opinion, proclaim far too much certainty. But could a super-advanced force exist? It seems more than likely. Could we have been created by something/someone bigger than us or be living as part of a simulation without realizing it? Sure—I』m a three-year-old, remember, so who am I to say no?
諷刺的是，當我的思想到達了這個植根於無神論的階梯頂端時，神性事物可能存在的觀念好像不再那麼荒唐可笑了。說到人類鼓搗出來的關於神的更高力量的所有那些構想，我仍會是一個完全的無神論者——那些構想，在我看來，太過於確定。然而，可能存在一種超先進的力量嗎？這看起來很有可能。我們有可能是被比我們強大的什麼人或什麼東西創造出來的嗎？或者我們只是活在模擬的世界裡卻沒有意識到？當然可能——記住，我只有3歲，因此我憑什麼說不？
To me, complete rational logic tells me to be atheist about all of the Earth』s religions and utterly agnostic about the nature of our existence or the possible existence of a higher being. I don』t arrive there via any form of faith, just by logic.
對我來說，完全理性的邏輯告訴我，對於地球上的任何一個宗教都不要相信，要做個無神論者；對於我們存在的本質或可能存在一個更高存在的觀點，要做個完全的不可知論者。我是通過邏輯而非任何形式的信仰形成這些觀念的。
I find Step 4 mentally mind-blowing but I』m not sure I』m ever quite able to access it in a spiritual way like I sometimes can with Step 3—Step 4 Whoa moments might be reserved for Einstein-level thinkers—but even if I can』t get my feet up on Step 4, I can know it』s there, what it means, and I can remind myself of its existence. So what does that do for me as a human?
我發現第4階梯讓人心靈震撼，但我不能確定我是否能夠從心靈上進入第4階梯，就像我能夠偶爾設法上到第3階梯那樣——第4階梯的驚嘆時刻可能只為愛因斯坦級別的思想家準備——但即便我不能踏足第4階梯，我還是能夠知道它存在著且知道它意味什麼，而且我可以提醒自己它的存在。然而，這些對於作為單個人的我又有什麼幫助呢？
Well remember that powerful humility I mentioned in Step 3? It multiplies that by 100. For reasons I just discussed, it makes me feel more hopeful. And it leaves me feeling pleasantly resigned to the fact that I will never understand what』s going on, which makes me feel like I can take my hand off the wheel, sit back, relax, and just enjoy the ride. In this way, I think Step 4 can make us live more in the present—if I』m just a molecule floating around an ocean I can』t understand, I might as well just enjoy it.
好吧，還記得我在第3階梯所提到的那種巨大的謙卑嗎？在第4階梯感受到的謙卑會是第3階梯的100倍。根據我之前才討論過的理由，巨大的謙卑反而會讓我充滿希望，它會讓我很愉快地接受這個事實，即我永遠不會明白到底發生了什麼事情，這使我覺得自己可以鬆開方向盤，靠後坐好，放鬆，然後純粹享受駕車的快樂。按這種方式，我想第4階梯可以促使我們更多地活在當下——如果我只是一個在一片我不能理解的海洋中漂浮的分子，我可能只需好好去享受這一切。
The way Step 4 can serve humanity is by helping to crush the notion of certainty. Certainty is primitive, leads to 「us versus them」 tribalism, and starts wars. We should be united in our uncertainty, not divided over fabricated certainty. And the more humans turn around and look at that big purple blob, the better off we』ll be.
第4階梯得以幫助人類的方式就是通過幫助粉碎確定性的觀念。確定性是落後的，導致我們走向「我們對抗他們」的部落主義，導致發動戰爭。我們應該團結在不確定性下，而不是被虛構的確定性給分裂。有越多的人轉過身來看那個大紫色塊，我們的境況就會越好。
Why Wisdom is the Goal
為什麼智慧會是我們的目標
Nothing clears fog like a deathbed, which is why it』s then that people can always see with more clarity what they should have done differently—I wish I had spent less time working; I wish I had communicated with my wife more; I wish I had traveled more; etc. The goal of personal growth should be to gain that deathbed clarity while your life is still happening so you can actually do something about it.
沒有什麼比在臨終前更能清除迷霧了，這也就是為什麼臨終前人們總是能夠更加清楚地明白，他們本應該以另一種方式去做哪些事——我真希望自己當時能少花點時間在工作上；我真希望自己和妻子有更多的交流；我真希望自己能多去旅行一下，等等。個人成長目標應該是在你還活著時便獲得臨終前的清醒，因此你對此實際上可以做點什麼。
The way you do that is by developing as much wisdom as possible, as early as possible. To me, wisdom is the most important thing to work towards as a human. It』s the big objective—the umbrella goal under which all other goals fall into place. I believe I have one and only one chance to live, and I want to do it in the most fulfilled and meaningful way possible—that』s the best outcome for me, and I do a lot more good for the world that way. Wisdom gives people the insight to know what 「fulfilled and meaningful」 actually means and the courage to make the choices that will get them there.
你可以採取這種方式來達到目的，即發展出儘可能多的智慧，越早越好。對我來說，智慧是作為一個人要努力去實現的最重要的事情。智慧是個大目標——一個傘形目標，在其之下所有其它目標將落到實處。我相信我只能活一回，我想儘可能以最充實和最有意義的方式度過這一生——這對我自身是最好的結果，同時我還能夠通過這種方式為世界多做點有益的事。智慧給人以洞察力去明白「充實的和有意義的」實際上意味著什麼，同時給人以勇氣去做出能夠實現目標的選擇。
And while life experience can contribute to wisdom, I think wisdom is mostly already in all of our heads—it』s everything the Higher Being knows. When we』re not wise, it』s because we don』t have access to the Higher Being』s wisdom because it』s buried in fog. The fog is anti-wisdom, and when you move up the staircase into a clearer place, wisdom is simply a by-product of that increased consciousness.
雖然生活經驗有助於智慧，但我認為智慧已多半存在我們的頭腦中——智慧的一切東西都是更高存在所知道的。當我們缺乏智慧時，那是因為我們陷在迷霧中，無法利用更高存在的智慧。迷霧是反智慧的，當你邁上階梯站在了視野更清晰的位置，智慧無非是加強的意識的一個副產品。
One thing I learned at some point is that growingoldor growingtallis not the same as growingup. Being a grownup is about your level of wisdom and the size of your mind』s scope—and it turns out that it doesn』t especially correlate with age. After a certain age, growing up is about overcoming your fog, and that』s about the person, not the age. I know some supremely wise older people, but there are also a lot of people my age who seem much wiser than their parents about a lot of things. Someone on a growth path whose fog thins as they age will become wiser with age, but I find the reverse happens with people who don』t actively grow—the fog hardens around them and they actually become even less conscious, and even more certain about everything, with age.
我在某個時刻學到的一件事是，長大（指年齡上）或長高與成長不是一回事。成為一個成人，這與你的智慧水平及思想寬度有關——然而這也證明它與一個人的年齡相關不大。一個人過了某個年齡後，成長就變成了怎樣去戰勝迷霧，這要靠自身去解決，年齡不起作用。我認識許多很有智慧的年長者，但也有很多和我同齡的年輕人在好多事情上比他們的父母顯得更有智慧。一個隨著年齡增長迷霧變少，正處於成長階段的人，將會隨著年齡的增長變得更有智慧。但我也在那些不能夠積極成長的人身上發現相反的情況——他們周圍的迷霧變得更加濃厚，他們實際上變得更不清醒，並且隨著年齡增長變得更加固執。
When I think about people I know, I realize that my level of respect and admiration for a person is almost entirely in line with how wise and conscious a person I think they are. The people I hold in the highest regard are the grownups in my life—and their ages completely vary.
當我想到我認識的人時，我意識到我對他們的尊重和欽佩程度與我認為他們具有的智慧和清醒程度幾乎完全成正比。那些得到我最高尊重的人都是在我生活中的成年人，他們的年齡完全不一樣。
Another Look at Religion in Light of this Framework:
根據這個框架，重新看看宗教
This discussion helps clarify my issues with traditional organized religion. There are plenty of good people, good ideas, good values, and good wisdom in the religious world, but to me that seems like something happening in spite of religion and not because of it. Using religion for growth requires an innovative take on things, since at a fundamental level, most religions seem to treat people like children instead of pushing them to grow. Many of today』s religions play to people』s fog with 「believe in this or else…」 fear-mongering and books that are often a rallying cry for 『us vs. them』 divisiveness. They tell people to look to ancient scripture for answers instead of the depths of the mind, and their stubborn certainty when it comes to right and wrong often leaves them at the back of the pack when it comes to the evolution of social issues. Their certainty when it comes to history ends up actively pushing their followers away from truth—as evidenced by the 42% of Americans who have been deprived of knowing the truth about evolution. (An even worse staircase criminal is the loathsome world of American politics, with a culture that lives on Step 1 and where politicians appeal directly to people』s animals, deliberately avoiding anything on Steps 2-4.)
這個討論有助於澄清我對有組織的傳統宗教的看法。在宗教世界裡存在很多的好人、好思想、好的價值觀和好的智慧，但在我看來，這些似乎並非是出於宗教原因而產生的。利用宗教來幫助成長需要對事物有一個創新的理解，因為基本上大部分的宗教似乎並未推動大眾成長，只不過是將他們當作小孩一樣對待。當今的許多宗教，通過「要麼信仰這個要麼其他」的恐慌傳播，以及藉助叫囂「我們對抗他們」的此種分裂口號的經書，激起了大眾的迷霧。他們告訴大眾到古代經文里去尋找答案，而不告訴到心靈深處。他們在是非問題上頑固的確定性觀念讓他們困在了社會問題演變的漩渦里。他們在歷史方面的確定性觀念最終積極推動了他們的追隨者遠離真相——42%的美國人被剝奪了解進化的真相便是證明。（更惡劣的是「階梯罪」，這發生在令人作嘔的美國政治領域，其文化建居於第1階梯，政客們直接訴求民眾的動物性，刻意不讓第2至4階梯的事情發生。）
So What Am I?
那麼，我是什麼？
Yes, I』m an atheist, but atheism isn』t a growth model any more than 「I don』t like rollerblading」 is a workout strategy.
是的，我是個無神論者，但正像「我不喜歡滑旱冰」不是一種鍛煉策略一樣，無神論並不是一種成長模式。
So I』m making up a term for what I am—I』m a Truthist. In my framework, truth is what I』m always looking for, truth is what I worship, and learning to see truth more easily and more often is what leads to growth.
因此我構造了一個詞來回答「我是什麼」——我是一個真相主義者。在我的框架中，真相是我一直尋找的東西，真相是我尊崇的東西，學會更經常且更容易地了解真相是促進成長的關鍵。
In Truthism, the goal is to grow wiser over time, and wisdom falls into your lap whenever you』re conscious enough to see the truth about people, situations, the world, or the universe. The fog is what stands in your way, making you unconscious, delusional, and small-minded, so the key day-to-day growth strategy is staying cognizant of the fog and training your mind to try to see the full truth in any situation.
在真相主義中，目標是：隨著時間增長變得更有智慧；智慧會在任何時候你變得非常清醒，能夠看清有關人類、形勢、世界或宇宙的真相時自動落入你的懷抱。迷霧阻止你前進，讓你意識迷糊、妄想、心胸狹隘，因此，重要的逐日成長策略就是，意識到迷霧的存在，訓練你的頭腦努力在任何情形下看到全部的真相。
Over time, you want your [Time on Step 2] / [Time on Step 1] ratio to go up a little bit each year, and you want to get better and better at inducing Step 3 Whoa moments and reminding yourself of the Step 4 purple blob. If you do those things, I think you』re evolving in the best possible way, and it will have profound effects on all aspects of your life.
隨著時間增長，你會想讓[呆在第2階梯的時間]/[呆在第1階梯的時間]的比率每年都變得高一點，你會想在引出第3階梯的驚嘆時刻方面和在提醒自己關注第4階梯的紫色塊方面做得越來越好。如果你這樣做了，我想你就是在以最好的方式來發展自身，並且它會對你人生的各個方面產生深遠的影響。
That』s it. That』s Truthism.
就是這些。這就是真相主義。
Am I a good Truthist? I』m okay. Better than I used to be with a long way to go. But defining this framework will help—I』ll know where to put my focus, what to be wary of, and how to evaluate my progress, which will help me make sure I』m actually improving and lead to quicker growth.
我是一個好的真相主義者嗎？還行吧，比我過去要好，不過還有很長的路要走。但定義這個框架將會起到作用——我將知道關注哪裡，要小心什麼，怎樣評估自己的進步，這將有助於我確保自己確實在提高並通向更快的成長。
To help keep me on mission, I made a Truthism logo:
為了幫助我自己繼續這個使命，我製作了一個真相主義的標識：
That』s my symbol, my mantra, my WWJD—it』s the thing I can look at when something good or bad happens, when a big decision is at hand, or on a normal day as a reminder to stay aware of the fog and keep my eye on the big picture.
這是我的象徵符號，我的真言，我的WWJD——這是一個當有好事或壞事發生時，當有重大決定要做，或在一個平常的日子裡用作警惕迷霧及關注大局的一個提醒時我可以看看的東西。
（註：多年前美國密西根州荷蘭市的一個教會開始發送標有「WWJD」的腕帶，意思是「耶穌基督會怎麼做？」，這個簡單的醒語風靡了整個美國。）
And What Are You?
你是什麼？
My challenge to you is to decide on a term for yourself that accurately sums up your growth framework.
我向你提出的挑戰是，為你自己確定一個詞用來概括你的成長框架。
If Christianity is your thing and it』s genuinely helping you grow, that word can be Christian. Maybe you already have your own clear, well-defined advancement strategy and you just need a name for it. Maybe Truthism hit home for you, resembles the way you already think, and you want to try being a Truthist with me.
如果基督教滿足你的需要，能夠真正幫助你成長，那麼這個詞可以是基督徒。也許你已經有了自己清晰、明確的發展戰略，你僅需要為它命個名而已。也許真相主義恰好抓住你的痛點，它很像你既有的思考方式，因而你想和我一起嘗試做一個真相主義者。
Or maybe you have no idea what your growth framework is, or what you』re using isn』t working. If either A) you don』t feel like you』ve evolved in a meaningful way in the past couple years, or B) you aren』t able to corroborate your values and philosophies with actual reasoning that matters to you, then you need to find a new framework.
或者也許你根本不知道你的成長框架是什麼，或你正在使用的方法並不湊效。如果A)你沒覺得自己在過去幾年裡的發展是有意義的，或B)用對你來說重要的實際推理不能證實你的價值觀和哲學，那麼你需要重新尋找一個新的框架。
To do this, just ask yourself the same questions I asked myself: What』s the goal that you want to evolvetowards(and why is that the goal), what does the path look like that gets you there, what』s in your way, and how do you overcome those obstacles? What are your practices on a day-to-day level, and what should your progress look like year-to-year? Most importantly, how do you stay strong and maintain the practice for years and years, not four days? After you』ve thought that through, name the framework and make a symbol or mantra. (Then share your strategy in the comments or email me about it, because articulating it helps clarify it in your head, and because it』s useful and interesting for others to hear about your framework.)
要做到這一點，你只要問問自己這些問題——這些問題我也曾用來問過我自己：你努力發展想要達到的目標是什麼（以及為什麼那是你的目標）？你實現目標的途徑是什麼樣子的？什麼東西阻擋你前進？你怎麼克服那些障礙？你日常的實踐是怎麼進行的？每一年你要獲得什麼樣的進步？最重要的是，你怎麼保持堅強，能夠一直堅持很多年，而不是僅僅幾天？當你思考清楚這些後，給你的框架起個名，並制定一個象徵符號或真言。（然後在評語里分享你的策略或把它發郵件給我，因為闡述它有助於它在你的頭腦里變得清晰，還因為讓別人聽聽你的框架，這很有益也很有趣。）
I hope I』ve convinced you how important this is. Don』t wait until your deathbed to figure out what life is all about.
我希望我已經說服了你這是多麼地重要。不要等到臨終前才弄明白人生是怎麼回事！
（完）
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