On Death

Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."

And he said:

You would know the secret of death.

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;

And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.

Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

死亡

　　然后艾尔梅特拉又开口道：现在我们想向您请教与死亡有关的一切。

　　他说：

　　你们想知道死亡的秘密。

　　但除非在生命的心中，你们能在哪里找到它呢？

　　只在黑夜睁眼的猫头鹰，盲于白昼，不能揭开遮挡光明秘密的面纱。

　　假如你们真想一睹死亡之魂，那么清为生命之体敞开你们的心扉。

　　因为生与死是同一的，犹如河与海。

　　你们关于来世的知识消隐于你们希冀与欲望的深处；

　　就像雪下甜梦的种子，你们的心梦想着春天。

　　相信你们的梦吧，因为其中隐藏着通往永恒的门户。

　　你们对死亡的恐惧，就像那个站在国王面前的牧羊人的战栗，他的头顶将荣幸地承接国王的手。

　　身承国王印记的牧羊人，在其战栗之余不也感到快乐吗？

　　但他为何更在意自己的战栗呢？

　　难道死亡不就是在风中探立、在阳光下融化？

　　难道停止呼吸不就是让呼吸从无休的潮汐中解脱，使它得以升腾、扩展、毫无羁绊地去寻求上帝？

　　只有当你们在沉默之水中取饮，你们才真正歌唱。

　　只有当你们到达山顶，你们才真正开始攀登。

　　只有当你们的肢体被大地占有，你们才真正起舞。

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