第二天清晨，常公和掌柜的们，还有村民们，都来到了桃花村的大堂上，进行宣布遗嘱仪式。桃花女拆开那八字嘱托的信一看，常公猜对了，就说："那我去把遗嘱取来。"

Early the next morning, Constant-Fair, the shopkeepers, and the villagers all gathered in the hall of Peach Flower Village for the ceremony of announcing the will. Peach Flower Girl opened the letter with the eight-character challenge, saw that Constant-Fair had guessed correctly, and said, "Then I will go and fetch the will."

人们在大堂上等候着。祝管家着急了，走到常公身边小声说，"假遗嘱，我也怕她改呀！"掌柜的们都觉得有道理。就由祝管家领路，大伙儿一起去后院看看。

The people waited in the hall. Butler Zhu, growing anxious, went over to Constant-Fair and whispered, "It's a false will — I'm afraid she may go and change even that!" The shopkeepers agreed this made sense, so Butler Zhu led the way, and the group went together to the back courtyard to see.

进书房时，人们闻到了烧纸的气味。桃花女正在那里看遗嘱呢！看见人们都来了，笑着说："我就是想先看看我爸爸的遗嘱，让大伙儿等着急了！好！咱们就回大堂吧！"

The moment they entered the study, the smell of burning paper reached them. Peach Flower Girl was there reading the will. Seeing everyone arrive, she smiled. "I only wanted to read my father's will for myself first — I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting so anxiously! Come, let's go back to the hall."

祝管家拽了拽常公的袖子，小声说："就在这里宣布遗嘱！"一个掌柜的听明白了，说："大当家的！人们都在这儿，咱们就在这里宣读遗嘱吧！"

桃花女笑着说："着急也不差这一会儿，我觉得还是大堂里显得庄重些。常公！你说呢？"

Butler Zhu tugged at Constant-Fair's sleeve. "Read it right here!" he whispered. One of the shopkeepers caught his meaning and spoke up: "Big Boss — everyone's already here, let's just read it in this room!"

Peach Flower Girl smiled. "A few more minutes won't hurt. I think the hall lends it more dignity. Don't you agree, Constant-Fair?"

常公说："我也觉得大堂里多些庄严，那儿还有很多族里人等着呢！"

回大堂的路上，祝管家拉常公到了一边，问："进屋时，你没闻到有烧纸的气味？"

常公回答："闻到了！"

"I agree the hall carries more solemnity," Constant-Fair said. "Besides, many of the clan are still waiting there."

On the way back, Butler Zhu pulled Constant-Fair aside. "When we walked in — didn't you smell burnt paper?"

"I did," Constant-Fair replied.

祝管家说："这不是明摆着的事吗！她造了份假遗嘱，把老东家的遗嘱烧了。等我们回到了大堂，她写的遗嘱的墨迹就干了。"

常公回答："老东家立的遗嘱，女儿要改。这和我有什么关系？"

"Isn't it obvious, then!" Butler Zhu said. "She's burned the real will and written a false one in its place. By the time we're back in the hall, the ink on her forgery will be dry."

"Publican Liu made his will," Constant-Fair replied. "If his daughter wishes to change it, what business is that of mine?"

祝管家听了之后，跌倒了，说："这和我有关系呀！我给老东家当了50年的管家了，连他的遗嘱都保管不好，我死之后，怎么去见老东家！常公！你得帮帮我！"

常公对他说，你这么办，这么办。

At this, Butler Zhu's legs gave way beneath him. "It is my business!" he said, half-collapsing. "I have served him fifty years as steward, and I could not even keep his will safe! How will I face him when I die? Constant-Fair — you must help me!"

Constant-Fair leaned in and told him what to do.

他们俩回到大堂时，人们都在等他们呢！桃花女问常公："你看由谁来宣读遗嘱？"

祝管家自告奋勇地说："如果大伙儿都信任我，我愿意代表刘公发布遗嘱。"人们都认为祝管家确实是代表刘老东家的合适人选，就由他来宣读遗嘱。

When the two returned to the hall, everyone was waiting. Peach Flower Girl asked, "Who should read the will, do you think?"

Butler Zhu spoke up at once. "If you all trust me, I am willing to speak on Publican Liu's behalf." Everyone agreed he was indeed the fitting man to represent the old master, and so the reading fell to him.

根据遗嘱，刘老东家的全部财产都由常公继承；桃花女和常公在刘老东家的墓前举办裸体婚礼。当祝管家把遗嘱交给族里人进行核对时，人们发现遗嘱上写的和祝管家读的不一样，问祝管家是怎么回事？

According to the will, all of Publican Liu's property was to pass to Constant-Fair, and Peach Flower Girl and Constant-Fair were to hold a naked wedding before Publican Liu's grave. But when Butler Zhu handed the document to the clan elders for verification, they found that what was written did not match what he had read aloud. They demanded to know what was going on.

桃花女听得清楚，看得明白：祝管家并没有按自己写的读，他是背诵了刘老东家的遗嘱。羞愧难当；一切都和爸爸说的一样，自己身边连一个值得信任的人都没有。"你活着有什么意思！还不如死了呢！"桃花女想着父亲说的话，真的就拔出了那支金刚降魔杵，要自杀。

Peach Flower Girl understood at once, in full: Butler Zhu had not read from his own forgery at all — he had recited Publican Liu's true will from memory. Shame flooded over her. Everything her father had said was true after all; she had not a single soul around her she could trust. What was the point of living, when death would be easier? Remembering her father's words, she drew out the Philosopher-Stone Taming-demon Pestle, meaning to end her own life.

常公早有防备，一把就把匕首夺了过去。桃花女一愣，怒从心头起。正在这时，人们听"噗通"一声！原来是祝管家一边跪下，一边放声嚎叫："老东家！我对不起你呀！大小姐！我对不起你呀！"

But Constant-Fair had anticipated this and wrenched the blade from her hand before she could act. Peach Flower Girl froze, fury rising in her — but at that very moment, a heavy thud echoed through the hall. It was Butler Zhu, dropping to his knees, wailing at the top of his voice: "Master! I have failed you! My lady! I have failed you!"

大伙一看，急忙问是怎么回事？祝管家爬到桃花女面前，抱住她的腿，一边哭一边说："大小姐呀！都是老奴对不住你！"

桃花女惊奇地问："祝管家！你这是干什么！有话站起来，慢慢说。"

Everyone rushed to ask what was wrong. Butler Zhu crawled to Peach Flower Girl and clutched her legs, weeping. "My lady! It's all this old servant's fault — I have failed you!"

"Butler Zhu!" Peach Flower Girl said, startled. "What is this? Stand up and speak properly, if you have something to say."

祝管家说："你不原谅我，答应我你不自杀了，我就跪死在这儿。大小姐死了，我也不想活了！可是我又不能死，我没脸去见老东家！"

人们劝桃花女，你快说呀！祝管家这么大岁数了，这样跪着，成何体统！俩人僵持了一会儿。桃花女过了气头，还有了个台阶，答应原谅祝管家，不自杀了。

"If you won't forgive me — if you won't promise me you'll never take your own life — I'll die kneeling right here," Butler Zhu said. "If you died, my lady, I wouldn't want to live either! And yet I cannot die — I haven't the face to meet the old master."

People urged Peach Flower Girl to speak — a man of Butler Zhu's age, kneeling like that, it wasn't fitting! The two of them held their ground a moment longer. But Peach Flower Girl's anger had already begun to cool, and this gave her the way out she needed — she promised to forgive him, and to give up on ending her own life.

人们问祝管家："到底是咋回事儿？你不说也没人明白呀！"

祝管家说："我怕大小姐看了真遗嘱，自杀，我就写了份假遗嘱，把真遗嘱交给大掌柜的们保管了。"

大伙儿就问大掌柜的们："真遗嘱在哪呢？快拿出来吧！"

"What is actually going on here?" people asked Butler Zhu. "No one will understand unless you tell us!"

"I feared that if our lady read the true will, she would take her own life," Butler Zhu said. "So I wrote a false one, and gave the real will to the head shopkeepers to keep safe."

At once everyone turned to the shopkeepers. "Where is the true will, then? Bring it out!"

族人核对遗嘱，确认那是刘老东家的手迹。常公提议："把这份假遗嘱烧了吧，别让祝管家为难了。"

掌柜的们问桃花女："大当家的！这事该咋办？"

The clan examined it and confirmed the handwriting was truly Publican Liu's own. "Let's burn the false one," Constant-Fair suggested, "and spare Butler Zhu any further embarrassment."

The shopkeepers turned to Peach Flower Girl. "Big Boss — how shall we handle this?"

桃花女多聪明啊！一看一听，全明白了，说："那就全权交给掌柜的们看着办吧！"她站起来，回后院儿了。

掌柜的们一商量，这事儿性命攸关！该来的都已经在这里了，立刻举行婚礼！

Peach Flower Girl, sharp as ever, needed only to look and listen to understand the whole of it. "Then leave the matter entirely in your hands," she said, and rose and withdrew to the back courtyard.

The shopkeepers conferred among themselves: this was a matter of life and death, and everyone who needed to be present already was. The wedding would go forward at once.

当天，所有人都到山上去了。常公和桃花女在坟前当众裸体结婚（如图2.6-38）。当他们俩在刘员外的无字墓碑前一拜，人们就看见刘员外的坟呼呼地向上冒青烟（如插图35）。人们雀跃欢呼：吉祥！吉祥！吉祥！什么是吉祥？吉祥是上帝（如图36）和涅盘（如图2）的别名。

That same day, everyone climbed the mountain together. Constant-Fair and Peach Flower Girl were married naked before the grave, in full view of all present (see Figure 2.6-38). As the two of them bowed before Publican Liu's wordless tombstone, the onlookers watched a plume of blue-green smoke rise up from the grave itself (see Illustration 35). The crowd erupted in joyful cheers: Auspicious! Auspicious! Auspicious! And what is auspiciousness? Auspiciousness is another name for God (Figure 36) — and for Nirvana (Figure 2).

那火是什么？把那俩人烧成那样了（如图37至40）！火是他们俩各自三岁之前的记忆，中华文化中称作福，大力神。福在佛教中称作儒童（梵语摩纳婆）和人身果（即神身天，如图8所示，参见14.3.7节），印度教中作婆罗门，基督教、伊斯兰教、和古埃及文化中称作亚伯，日耳曼文化中作马格尼，墨西哥文化称为灵龙。

And what was that fire that left the two of them scorched as shown in Figures 37 through 40? The fire was their own memories from before the age of three — what Chinese culture calls Fortune, or the God of Great Strength. This same power is called the Genius Child (Sanskrit: mānava) and the Human-Body Fruit (that is, "god-body sky"; see Figure 8, and Section 14.3.7) in Buddhism; Brahman in Hinduism; Abel in Christianity, Islam, and ancient Egyptian tradition; Magni in Germanic culture; and Quetzalcoatl in Mexican culture.

福的力量强大，尘世间无有能敌，是他们俩之间斩不断的联系，所以古人说他们俩熔合了（如图40）。图37是说这俩人重生成为了一对儿桃花佛，成为了大真人（相当于佛教中的十地菩萨）。而且桃花女以常公的自传为主体框架，创作了现代15亿中国人人人皆知的桃花节故事。

The power of Fortune is immense — nothing in this mortal world can rival it — and it was the bond between the two of them that could never be severed, which is why the ancients said they had fused into one (Figure 40). Figure 37 shows the pair reborn as a matched set of Peach Flower Buddhas, becoming Great Real-Humans — the equivalent, in Buddhist terms, of Tenth Land Bodhisattvas. And it was Peach Flower Girl herself who, taking Constant-Fair's own autobiography as her framework, wrote the tale of the Peach Flower Catastrophe now known to every one of China's 1.5 billion people.

可能有读者会问：全世界八十亿人都知道欢喜佛（即图38），肯定不会是乍现异相，引人注目；欢喜佛的图或雕像的意义何在？

Some readers may well ask: with eight billion people worldwide already familiar with the Consummation Buddha (Figure 38), such an image can hardly be called some sudden, startling apparition meant to draw the eye. So what, then, is the real significance of these images and statues?

刘员外在遗嘱里说了："我要让常公和桃花女当众裸体跪拜我的坟，让在场的观众和未来《桃花劫》的读者代替我来笑话这对儿不孝的子女。"这是为了治疗常公的精神病，同时也起到了宣传桃花劫故事的作用。此裸体结婚是把刘员外、桃花女、和常公之间的纠纷解决方案变现了。而产生精神病的矛盾在无意识（古做神识）里，无意识只接收现量。现量就是现实的身体和语言行为；思想行为里现量很少。所以，这个裸体婚礼就治愈了常公的精神病。

Publican Liu had written it plainly into his will: "I require Constant-Fair and Peach Flower Girl to kneel naked before my grave, in front of witnesses, so that those present — and every future reader of the Peach Flower Catastrophe — may mock these two unfilial children in my place." This served two purposes at once: it cured Constant-Fair's mental illness, and it carried the story itself out into the world. The naked wedding made real, in the flesh, the resolution of the whole tangled dispute between Publican Liu, Peach Flower Girl, and Constant-Fair. The conflict that had caused the illness lived in the unconscious (anciently, God-sense), and the unconscious accepts only Present Quantity — real, physical, spoken action; almost none of it lives in mere thought. That is why this one naked wedding was enough to cure him.

这个治疗心理疾病的原理是佛的六种主要觉悟之一，对治病的觉悟（参见9.6节）。读者当知，据目前北美的说法，人的一生中，80%的人会遇到心理疾病的困扰，占人口总数20%的人的心理疾病严重到了需要看心理医生。

本书中还有日耳曼文化中的欢喜佛（参见14.3.6-4节）和墨西哥文化中的欢喜佛（参见14.4.15-7节）。

This principle for curing mental illness is one of the Buddha's six primary enlightenments — the enlightenment of treating sickness (see Section 9.6). Readers should know that, by current North American estimates, roughly 80% of people will struggle with some form of mental illness in their lifetime, and 20% of the population will suffer illness severe enough to require professional care.

This book also includes the Consummation Buddha as found in Germanic culture (see Section 14.3.6-4) and in Mexican culture (see Section 14.4.15-7).

返回启蒙的目录 Return to the Catalog of Revelation

梁伯说："凤玲！那当时，刘团长讲这故事时，还解释说，就在常公这么撕心裂肺地哭的时候，他的宿命通被激发出来了。刘团长说，人的记忆是与情感储存在一起的。宿命通就是能回忆起全部前半辈子的能力。"

"Fengling," Uncle Liang said to Mother, "when Troupe Leader Liu told this story, he explained that it was precisely in the middle of Constant-Fair's most heartbroken weeping that his Fate Through was triggered. Troupe Leader Liu said human memory is stored together with emotion — "Fate Through is simply the ability to recall the whole first half of one's life."

妈妈说："我明白了！我以前听说过。他想通了，回忆起了很小时候的事，发现了他经历中怪事的原因，所以他才能找出解决办法，得出宿命的结论。这么说，宿命论不迷信。"

"I see!" Mother said. "I've heard something like that before. He worked it out — remembered all the way back to when he was tiny, found the reason behind all the strange things that had happened to him, and that's how he found his way to the answer, to that sense of fate. So fatalism isn't just superstition, then, is it."

编者我再解释一下宿命通。根据本书9.6《精神病治疗的原则》，常公要做两件事来治疗他的病。一，常公娶桃花女为妻。他们俩的婚姻事实是治疗常公心理疾病的关键，因为无意识（古作神识）只接受现量。二，常公要撰写《桃花劫》，修补《中华法典》，使刘公的牺牲有意义。常公必须这么做，否则他就病死了；这是从宿命通中治病的方面来说的。宿命通中有六项觉悟，分别是等，正，生老病死（解释参见14.1节）。

Let me, as editor, add a further note on Fate Through. Per Section 9.6, Principles of Curing Mental Illness, Constant-Fair had to do two things to cure his illness. First, he had to marry Peach Flower Girl — the fact of their marriage was the key to treating his psychological disorder, because the unconscious (anciently called God-sense) accepts only Present Quantity. Second, he had to compose the Peach Flower Catastrophe and use it to mend the Chinese Codex, so that Publican Liu's sacrifice would carry meaning. Constant-Fair had no choice but to do both — otherwise his illness would have killed him. This is the therapeutic side of Fate Through. Fate Through carries six enlightenments: equality, correctness, and birth, aging, sickness, and death (see Section 14.1 for the full explanation).

梁伯说："你听说过，好！刘团长说，从这故事看，常公的宿命通不是一直都有。刘团长还说，这故事有几个关键点，其中宿命通和诅咒死不瞑目，你们必须明白，否则，这故事就不是桃花劫故事了。"

"Good, you've heard of it!" Uncle Liang said. "Troupe Leader Liu said this story shows Constant-Fair's Fate Through wasn't with him all along. He also said there are a few key points here — Fate Through and the curse of Die with Eyes Open — that you absolutely have to understand, or this simply isn't the Peach Flower Catastrophe anymore."

妈妈问："死不瞑目是怎么回事？"

梁伯说："故事前面不是说刘员外用死不瞑目诅咒了常公么。当时刘团长讲，下这个诅咒就是一辈子不断地对被诅咒的人做好事，而只求他一件事。那个人知道或者后来知道了下咒人的意愿，有能力办却没有兑现。等下咒人一死，被诅咒的人就受不了了，死不了也活不长。刘团长说，这个诅咒就没有其他的解法，只有顺解，就是按照下咒人的意思去做。"

"What was that about dying with eyes open?" Mother asked.

"You remember how, earlier in the story, Publican Liu laid the curse of Die with Eyes Open on Constant-Fair? Troupe Leader Liu explained it this way: to lay the curse is to spend your whole life doing good for the cursed person, asking only one thing back. That person knows — or comes to know — what you want, and can do it, but doesn't. Once you die, they can't bear it any longer; they might not die themselves, but they won't live long either. Troupe Leader Liu said there's no other cure for it — the only way through is to give the caster what they wanted."

妈妈叨咕："被诅咒的人心里有愧，总想着是回事。"

梁伯说："对！就是有愧。另外，刘团长讲，人死了之后，这个愧就不一样了，因为没办法弥补了，所以这愧的力量非常强大，以至于能让人生病，严重的，极端现象可能导致被诅咒的人急火攻心，猝死。"

"So the guilt just sits there, gnawing at the cursed person," Mother mused.

"Exactly — guilt," Uncle Liang said. "And Troupe Leader Liu also said that once the other person is dead, that guilt changes entirely — there's no way left to make it right, and that's precisely what gives it such terrible force. It's strong enough to make a person physically ill, and in the worst cases, strong enough to kill outright — a sudden collapse brought on by the weight of it."

梁伯说："当时，刘团长还开玩笑呢！他说，你要是想给谁下死不瞑目这个诅咒，你得先知道他是否有宿命通。你一辈子对他做好事，他都记不住，那可是白费力！"

妈妈说："说来都是知识！怎么看一个人是否有宿命通？"

梁伯问："你怎么想起问这个？"

"He even joked about it at the time," Uncle Liang said. "He said, if you ever want to curse someone with Death with Eyes Open, you'd best check first whether they even have Fate Through — because if they can't remember a lifetime of your kindness, you've wasted the whole effort!"

"Isn't it all knowledge, when you put it that way," Mother said. "So how do you tell whether someone has Fate Through?"

"What makes you ask that?" Uncle Liang said.

妈妈说："我想知道卢岩是否有宿命通的潜能？"

梁伯说："啊！当时刘团长讲了很多神通。我们都听不懂。那时，我们还都没结婚呢！谁还能想着孩子！没人注意到这个问题。刘团长说，你们听不懂，我说你们听，听个热闹。你们不懂可不能给别人讲；给人家讲错了，那才害人呢！"

"I want to know whether Luyan has the makings of it."

"Ah! Troupe Leader Liu talked about a great many divine powers that day — we didn't understand half of it. None of us were even married yet, back then! Who was thinking about children? Nobody paid the question any mind. Troupe Leader Liu said, if you don't understand, that's fine, listen anyway, just for the pleasure of it — but don't go repeating it to others. Get it wrong when you pass it on, and that does real harm."

妈妈又问："一共有多少种神通？"

梁伯回答：这个我记得，我是刻意记住的，希望将来也能懂得一两种。神或佛都有五眼六通。五眼分别是触目、天眼、慧眼、法眼和上帝之眼。六通分别是天腿通、天眼通、天耳通、他心通、宿命通和漏尽通。

"How many kinds of divine power are there altogether?" Mother asked.

"That much I remember — I made a point of memorizing it, hoping I'd understand one or two of them myself someday," Uncle Liang said. "Gods and Buddhas alike possess the Five Eyes and Six Throughs. The Five Eyes are Touch Eye, Sky Eye, Gnostic Eye, Juristic Eye, and God's Eye. The Six Throughs are Sky Leg Through, Sky Eye Through, Sky Ear Through, Others' Heart Through, Fate Through, and Leakage End Through."

注，触目参见第3章。天眼、天腿通、天眼通、天耳通和他心通参见11.1节。慧眼参见7.5.2-2节。法眼参见7.5.1-2节。上帝之眼是上帝造人的智慧。本书讲述了多个上帝造人的故事。例如此桃花劫故事中，刘员外是上帝。卢岩的回忆录中，刘团长是上帝。羊乘教（参见14.3节）中，雷音是上帝。太阳石历中，青松石王是上帝。中华法典中，张三郎是玉皇大帝，即上帝。宿命通参见第9章。漏尽通，漏是烦恼的意思，漏尽义为烦恼都被消灭了，所以，漏尽通就是涅槃或正等明的别名，参见14.1节。

Note: For Touch Eye, see Chapter 3. For Sky Eye, Sky Leg Through, Sky Eye Through, Sky Ear Through, and Others' Heart Through, see Section 11.1. For Gnostic Eye, see Section 7.5.2-2. For Juristic Eye, see Section 7.5.1-2. God's Eye is the wisdom by which God creates human beings. This book tells several such stories of God creating humanity. In the Peach Flower Catastrophe, for instance, Publican Liu is God. In Luyan's own memoir, Troupe Leader Liu is God. In the Goat Vehicle Religion (see Section 14.3), Thor is God. In the Sunstone Calendar, Xiuhtecuhtli is God. In the Chinese Codex, Third Wolf Zhang — the Turquoise White-king Great Creator — is God. For Fate Through, see Chapter 9. As for Leakage End Through: "leakage" means affliction, and "leakage end" means every affliction has been extinguished — so Leakage End Through is simply another name for salvation, or for Correct Equality Light (see Section 14.1).

梁伯说：妈妈说："人家刘团长是念过大书的人！"

梁伯说："那是！他在讲这故事时，故事里用了中医理论，佛教理论，道教，鬼神说，中庸等二十几种理论从正面详细论述了常公的病因、病理、和治疗，都分析得透彻明白。他讲了一些，我不懂，讲不了。"

"That Troupe Leader Liu really has read the great books," Mother said.

"He has! When he told the story, he wove in traditional Chinese medicine, Buddhist theory, Taoism, the lore of ghosts and gods, the Doctrine of the Mean — more than twenty schools of thought altogether, all used to lay out, in careful and direct detail, the cause, the pathology, and the cure of Constant-Fair's illness. Analyzed it through and through. Some of what he said, I never did understand, and I can't repeat it to you."

妈妈说："咱就听故事听个热闹。即便你能讲，我也听不明白！这故事我听明白了。你是说，刘东家向常公陷害常公他自己。常公自己觉着有愧，后悔，就病了。我的理解，桃花女对常公特别有吸引力；这一个事儿就能让常公憋出病来。再加上刘员外对常公有养育之恩，常公不同意这婚事，刘员外因此病情加重，死了，所以，常公的心里矛盾重重，解不开心里的结，以至于生了病。"

"Well, we'll just enjoy the story for what it is. Even if you could explain it, I doubt I'd follow!" Mother said. "But this much I do understand: you're saying Publican Liu, in a sense, entrapped Constant-Fair by his own kindness. Constant-Fair felt guilty, felt regret, and it made him ill. The way I see it — Peach Flower Girl was already a powerful pull on him, that alone was enough to make a man sick with longing. Add to that everything Publican Liu had done to raise him, and Constant-Fair's refusal of the marriage, and Publican Liu's worsening health, and his death — no wonder the poor man's heart was tangled in knots he couldn't undo. Of course it made him ill."

返回启蒙的目录 Return to the Catalog of Revelation

你好！

我回來了！ 和这次！我想汉语更多的

我是个工程师， 我说六语， 阿拉伯，法语，英语，匈牙利， 俄语 和我学习汉语

我的汉语不很好

谢谢

再见

梁伯又对常公说："我问我九舅，'我们老东家是个饱学之士，他让常公猜八个字，就常公那点儿学问，他猜不着啊！依舅舅你看，那几个字是什么？'"

"我舅舅立刻就生气了！大叫，'梁子伯！论辈分，我是你舅舅；论年龄，你还比我大两岁呢！这话你也说得出口！'"

Uncle Liang then said to Constant-Fair, "I asked my Ninth Uncle, 'Publican Liu is a man of great learning. He asked Constant-Fair to guess eight characters, but with his limited knowledge, he couldn't figure them out! In your opinion, Uncle, what are those characters?'"

"My uncle immediately became angry! He shouted, 'Liang Zibo! In terms of seniority, I'm your uncle; in terms of age, you're still two years older than me. How can you say that?'"

"后来，我舅舅解释，'老东家早年从师于太虚真人学道，是太虚真人的关门弟子，独得真传。论师从辈分，他是我的师叔。我师叔布下的局，我来解，那我不是欺师灭祖么！不过从刘员外的为人来说，他不是个咬文嚼字，卖弄玄虚的人；对于一个读书人来说，那应该是几个常见的字。'"

"我问我九舅，那我能为常公做些什么？"

"Later, my uncle explained: 'Publican Liu learned Taoism from Extremely-Vague Real-Human in his early years and was his closing-door — that is, his last — disciple, who had received the true teachings. In terms of seniority, he is my teacher-uncle. My teacher-uncle set up this puzzle, and for me to solve it would be a betrayal of my own teacher and forebears! But knowing Publican Liu's character, he is not a man who bites off more than he can chew or shows off his learning for its own sake; for a scholar, the answer should be a few common characters.'"

"I asked my Ninth Uncle what I could do for Constant-Fair, then."

"他说，'把你们刘员外让你背着常公，对他所做的事，全都如实告诉他！让他顺了刘员外的心愿，才是唯一的出路，否则，必死无疑。'"

粮伯又四周看了看，把参苓白术散（如图2.4-1）等内服外用的药交给了常公，小声说："我得走了，若不然他们可能就再也不让我给你送饭了。"

"He said, 'Tell Constant-Fair truthfully all that Publican Liu had asked you to do for him behind his back! Let him comply with Publican Liu's wish — that is the only way out; otherwise, he surely dies.'"

Uncle Liang looked around again, handed Constant-Fair the medicines for internal and external use, such as Shenling Baizhu San (see Figure 2.4-1; Note: an ancient remedy for gastrointestinal ulcers), and whispered, "I have to go — if not, they may never let me bring you food again."

常公送走了粮伯，一边流着眼泪吃饭，一边想，时而高兴，时而悲伤，时而哭泣，时而愤怒，时而悠闲。想着，想着，他就想起他小时候的事来了。

Constant-Fair saw Uncle Liang off, and ate through his tears — happy one moment, sad the next, weeping, then furious, then strangely at ease. Thinking, and thinking still, his mind drifted back to a memory from his childhood.

常公自幼丧母，和有病的父亲一起生活。一天，他看见街上的小孩儿吃糖葫芦，他哭着朝爸爸要。他爸爸抱着他来到刘员外家的大院儿外，指着刘家的大房子说："你和这家的大小姐有婚约，可是咱家穷哦！咱就不指望这门亲事了。爸爸有病，等爸爸不在了，你就到他家来。等你长大了，自己挣钱，到那时候，你爱吃什么就买什么！"这时，常公想出了那八个字的前四个字：前世姻缘（注4）。

Constant-Fair lost his mother when he was young and lived with his ailing father. One day, he saw children on the street eating candied haws and cried, begging his father for some. His father carried him to the gate of Publican Liu's grand courtyard, pointed at the great house, and said, "You are betrothed to the young lady of this house — but our family is poor. We have no right to expect anything from that match. I'm sick. When I'm gone, you go to that house. When you grow up and earn your own money, you can buy whatever you like." At that moment, Constant-Fair remembered the first four of the eight characters: former-life marriage bond (Note 4).

注4，当常公回忆出了三岁之前的婚约，就有了宿命通（参见第9章），也就是常公懂得了刘员外过去一直对他好的原因。编者我听这故事时，梁伯还说，宿命通和诅咒死不瞑目你们必须明白，否则这就不是桃花劫故事了。下死不瞑目这个诅咒就是一辈子不断地对被诅咒的人做好事，而只求他一件事。被诅咒的人知道或者后来知道了下咒人的意愿，有能力办却没有兑现。等下咒人死了，被诅咒的人就受不了了，死不了也活不长。这个诅咒只有顺解，就是按照下咒人的意思去做。

Note 4: When Constant-Fair recalled the marriage contract arranged for him before the age of three, he gained Fate Through (see Chapter 9). This is how Constant-Fair came to understand why Publican Liu had always been kind to him. When I, the editor, heard this story, Uncle Liang added that you must understand Fate Through and the curse of Die with Eyes Open, or this would not truly be the story of the Peach Flower Catastrophe at all. To cast this curse is to spend a lifetime doing good for the cursed person, asking only one thing in return. That person knows — or later learns — the wish of the one who cast the curse, and has the means to fulfill it, yet does not. After the caster dies, the cursed person can no longer bear it; he may not die outright, but he will not live long. There is no other way to solve this curse but to fulfill the caster's wish.

第四天，几个掌柜的来看望常公，说："实话告诉你吧！老东家去世的时候，我们都在场。老东家真是死不瞑目。他为啥死不瞑目？我们都知道！桃花女从小到大跟她爸宁；老东家说话，她就没信过几句。死不瞑目！还不都是担心她呀！守灵期限还没过，她就咬牙切齿地说：'我爸爸死不瞑目，都是让常公那个傻小子给迷的。'她发誓要整死你，派人到处找你。"

On the fourth day, several shopkeepers came to visit Constant-Fair. "We'll be honest with you," they said. "We were all there when Publican Liu passed away. He truly died with his eyes open — and we all know why. Peach Flower Girl butted heads with her father from the day she could talk; she never believed a word he said. His eyes wouldn't close because he was worried for her, plain and simple! Before the mourning period was even out, she was grinding her teeth, saying, 'My father died with his eyes open because that fool Constant-Fair bewitched him.' She's sworn to see you dead, and she's got people looking for you everywhere."

常公说："谢谢几位老兄弟的实言相告，但我还是愿意留在这给老东家守灵，想出他的遗言。"掌柜的们走后，常公就扑在老东家的无字碑上放声大哭。一边哭，一边想，自己从小就笨，书读得不好，常挨老师的打骂。长大后，我学做生意学得慢，老是出错。幸亏老东家的偏袒包庇，我才在努力的挣扎中学了些药剂学赖以为生。自从离开刘老东家，我是有家不能回，有苦无处诉，勉强能养活自己，到现在一事无成。刘老东家偏偏选择了我来照顾这个家，弄得商团分崩离析。哭着哭着，常公感觉到一股股暖流像温水一样从头顶流向全身，之后，他感觉心里身上又比以前舒服多了。

"Thank you, brothers, for your honesty," Constant-Fair said, "but I mean to stay here and keep vigil for Publican Liu, until I have worked out his last words." After the shopkeepers left, Constant-Fair threw himself upon the wordless tombstone and wept aloud. As he wept, his thoughts churned: he had been slow-witted since childhood, poor at his studies, forever beaten and scolded by teachers. Grown, he had been slow to learn the ways of business and made mistake after mistake. Only through Publican Liu's endless favor and cover had he scraped together enough knowledge of pharmacy to survive at all. Since leaving Publican Liu's household, he had had no home to return to and no one to confide his troubles in — barely able to feed himself, and to this day he had accomplished nothing. And yet Publican Liu had chosen him, of all people, to look after the family — and it had torn the whole trading house apart. As he wept, Constant-Fair felt a warmth spread through him like a stream of hot water flowing from the crown of his head down through his whole body, and afterward he felt more at ease in body and heart than he had in a long while.

第五天，几个掌柜的又来劝常公："刘老东家博学多才，是个罕见的世外高人，他的心思，我们怎么能猜得到呢！桃花女这人喜怒无常，面善心恶，没人能在她那里得到好结果。为她这样一个女人在这里浪费时间，不值得。走！我们几个老哥们给你凑钱治病，咱们不用她桃花女了！"

On the fifth day, the shopkeepers came again to urge him: "Old Publican Liu was learned beyond ordinary men, a rare sage among us — how could we hope to guess his mind! Peach Flower Girl is fickle and hard to please, sweet-faced but hard-hearted; no one gets a good outcome with her. It's not worth wasting your life on a woman like that. Come with us — we'll pool our money to see you properly treated. Forget her!"

常公说："谢谢几位老兄弟的实言相告，但我还是愿意留在这给老东家守灵，想出老东家的遗言。"掌柜的们走后，常公就扑在老东家的无字碑上放声大哭。他一边哭，一边想：是不是我真的没有那样的学问，想不出那样的词！？

许多天中，常公的朋友们天天来劝他："猜到了那八个字又会怎样？桃花女也不会按照老东家的意思做呀！你现在病成这样，她愣说你没病。自从你回来了，没人见她为你伤心。她还高兴了，闲着到后院赏花，还有心思去书房读书了。还有人看见她在花园里偷着乐。"

"Thank you, brothers, for your honesty," Constant-Fair said again, "but I mean to stay and finish working out Publican Liu's last words." After they left, he wept once more before the wordless stone, wondering: was it true, then, that he simply lacked the learning to find those words?

For days after, his friends came daily to talk him out of it. "Suppose you did guess the eight characters — what then? Peach Flower Girl won't do what he wanted anyway! Look at the state you're in, and she insists you're not even sick. Since you came back, no one's seen her shed a single tear for you. She's happy as can be — strolling the back garden admiring the flowers, reading in her study. People have even seen her laughing to herself among the flowers."

一天，在桃花村的礼堂里，桃花女正和掌柜的们议事，一个小伙计慌张地跑了进来，大喊："不好了！新老爷在山上晕倒啦！"

桃花女厉声喝道："住口！谁是你的新老爷！"

小伙计赶忙改口说："新姑爷在山上晕倒了！"

One day, in the village hall, Peach Flower Girl was in conference with the shopkeepers when a young errand-boy burst in, panicked. "Trouble! The new master collapsed on the mountain!"

Peach Flower Girl snapped, "Watch your mouth — who is your master!"

The boy hastily corrected himself: "The — the new son-in-law! He's collapsed on the mountain!"

桃花女大发雷霆："你给我滚出去！让你看着他！是如果他死了，别让野狗把尸体叼跑了，我好有个东西给他修坟，披麻戴孝地为他守灵！"

一个掌柜的焦急地说："大当家的！咱这屋里就你的医术最好，咱们得立刻一起去山上看看！"

桃花女果然是医术高明，捏这儿捅那儿，几下之后，常公就苏醒过来了。桃花女站起来就说"他没病"，回村子了。

Peach Flower Girl exploded. "Get out and watch him, then! If he dies, at least keep the wild dogs off his body — I'll need something left to bury, so I can build him a grave and wear mourning properly!"

One of the shopkeepers said urgently, "Big Boss — you're the finest healer under this roof. We need to go up that mountain, now!"

And indeed, Peach Flower Girl's skill was formidable — a few presses and jabs here and there, and Constant-Fair came around. She rose at once. "He's not sick," she said, and walked back down to the village.

这天，几个掌柜的们又来到了常公的帐篷，说："兄弟呀！这次我们不是来劝你的，是来向你告别的。你也知道，现在世风日下，人心不古。生意不好做，咱各个药庄的生意都是一日不如一日，我们也得养家糊口。"

常公一听就急了："你们都走了！大小姐咋办？"

一个掌柜的生气地说："这我可真不懂！你自己的命都朝不保夕，还惦记着她！"

The shopkeepers came to Constant-Fair's tent once more. "Brother, we're not here to talk you round this time — we've come to say goodbye. You know how things are these days. Business is bad, our farms are all going downhill, and we've got families to feed."

Constant-Fair started up. "You're all leaving? What becomes of our lady, then?"

One of them snapped, irritated, "I truly don't understand you! Your own life is hanging by a thread, and you're still fretting over her!"

常公愣住了，叹了口气，不由自主地叨咕："这就是我的命啊！"

那个掌柜的嚷道："我可知道，你不信神、佛、鬼，什么时候你开始信命了！"

这时老管家火急火燎地跑来了，一边喘一边说："我还以为赶不上你们了呢！"

掌柜的们对他说："你不是不走吗！还来找我们干什么！"

Constant-Fair fell silent, then sighed. "This is simply my fate," he murmured, almost without meaning to.

"And since when," the shopkeeper cried, "did a man who doesn't believe in gods, Buddhas, or ghosts start believing in fate!"

Just then the old steward came puffing up in a great hurry. "I was afraid I'd missed you all!"

"You said you weren't leaving," the shopkeepers said. "What are you doing here, then?"

常公问老管家："你为什么不走？"

老管家说："我发过誓！一次老东家哭着跟我说，'桃花女从小就怕孤单！我最怕将来她身边连个说话的人都没有'。我就发誓说，'老爷你放心，不管发生什么事，我都会陪在大小姐身边，跟她说话'。"

掌柜的们说："那你还来干什么？"

"Why aren't you leaving?" Constant-Fair asked him.

"I made an oath," the old steward said. "Once, Publican Liu said to me through tears, 'Peach Flower Girl has been afraid of being alone since she was a small child — I dread the day she has no one left even to talk to.' And I swore to him, 'Rest easy, sir. Whatever happens, I will stay by her side and be someone for her to talk to.'"

"Then why are you here with us?" the shopkeepers asked.

老管家说："我怕小姐偷偷地把老爷的遗嘱改了，我就抄了一份，用假的把真的换下来了。我也没地方保存这遗嘱，我信任你们这些掌柜的，想让你们替我保存。"老管家说着，把信交给了掌柜的们，又说："我得回去了，小姐身边不能没有人说话。"

常公恍然大悟，说："我猜到了！几位兄弟！大小姐是个爱面子的人，看在我的面子上，留下来多住几天。"说着，他写了八个字：前世姻缘，命中注定。

"I was afraid our lady might quietly alter the master's will, so I copied it out and swapped a false one in for the real. I have nowhere safe to keep the true one, though — and I trust you shopkeepers. I want you to hold it for me." The old steward pressed the letter into their hands. "Now I must get back — she mustn't be left with no one to talk to."

Understanding broke over Constant-Fair at last. "I have it! Brothers — our lady is a proud woman. For my sake, ask you to stay just a few more days." And with that, he wrote out the eight characters: former-life marriage bond, fate long since fixed.

返回启蒙的目录 Return to the Catalog of Revelation

几天之后，常公感觉胸口堵得越来越厉害，肚子里叽里咕噜，胃肠蠕动有问题；皮肤上开始长疮。他每到一个地方就先找井，喝饱了，再灌满两壶水随身携带，吃点东西就马上赶路。就这样，常公日夜兼程，赶往刘员外的药庄。

A few days into the journey, Constant-Fair felt the weight in his chest growing heavier and heavier. His stomach gurgled and churned, his digestion had gone wrong, and sores began to break out across his skin. At every stop he would first seek out a well, drink his fill, then fill two jugs to carry with him; after eating a little, he would immediately press on. And so Constant-Fair traveled on, day and night without rest, making his way toward Publican Liu's medicine farm.

世道变迁，刘员外早就搬回老家桃花村了。几经周折，常公被一个可怜他的车夫送到了桃花村的坟地。

The world had changed, and Publican Liu's family had long since moved back to his home village of Peach Flower Village. After much difficulty, Constant-Fair was brought to the cemetery of Peach Flower Village by a carter who took pity on him.

在坟地，常公看了每一个坟的碑文，没发现刘员外的名字。他太累了，就在一个无字墓碑前坐下来休息。这时，一个披麻戴孝的女人溜溜达达地来到他跟前。常公赶忙站起来，问："敢问这位大姐，这是谁的坟？"

At the cemetery, Constant-Fair read the inscription on every grave, but found no mention of Publican Liu's name. Exhausted, he sat down to rest before a blank tombstone. Just then, a woman dressed in mourning clothes came strolling up to him. Constant-Fair quickly rose to his feet and asked, "May I ask, whose grave is this?"

女人回答："这是我爸爸的坟。"

常公忙问："能问问，你爸叫什么名字吗？"

女人说："我爸爸说我不是他的女儿，害得他死不瞑目，不允许我在他坟前说他的名字。"

两个人就在坟前聊起来了。常公先讲了自己的故事；那女人也讲了她的故事。

The woman replied, "This is my father's grave."

Constant-Fair asked eagerly, "May I ask — what was your father's name?"

The woman said, "My father said I was not his true daughter, that I caused him to die with eyes open, and he forbade me from speaking his name at his grave."

The two of them fell to talking at the graveside. Constant-Fair told his story first; then the woman told hers.

女人说："我出生时，腿上就有桃花胎痣，所以人们叫我桃花女。我长大了择偶很挑剔，始终找不到合适的。我爸为我指定了一个丈夫，是我们家药庄里的一个长工，叫常公，傻乎乎的，我不同意。后来，我爸让人收拾了一个小院儿，打算把我和常公圈禁在那儿，不结婚就不放我们出来。一天半夜，我制造了一个机会，让常公的一个朋友溜了出去，结果常公就出走了。我爸派人到处找他。几年后，我爸病重，我们就搬回了老家。没多久，我爸就过世了。"

The woman said, "When I was born, I had a peach flower birthmark on my leg, so people called me Peach Flower Girl. As I grew up I was very particular in choosing a husband, and could never find the right one. My father appointed one for me — a long-term laborer at our medicine farm by the name of Constant-Fair — but he was a simpleton, and I refused. Later, my father had a small courtyard prepared and planned to confine the two of us there, refusing to let us out until we were married. Late one night, I created an opportunity for one of Constant-Fair's friends to slip away and bring him word — and Constant-Fair fled. My father sent people to search for him everywhere. A few years later, my father fell gravely ill, and we moved back to our home village. Not long after, my father passed away."

桃花女说："爸爸临死前对我说，'你不是一个真正的女人，命中没有丈夫，也享受不到作为女人的快乐，因此，我为你拘了个丈夫。你只有嫁给他，才能得到幸福。我死之后，有一天，会有一个人来我的坟前祭拜我。到那时，你拿着这两封信：一封是我的遗嘱；另一封是我总结一生所学所作而成的八个字。你让他猜这八个字。如果他猜到了，他就是你的丈夫。你就跪着请求嫁给他。'我爸爸递给我这把匕首（见图2.3-1），并对我说，'他不同意，你就用这个自杀。'"

Peach Flower Girl said, "Before my father died, he said to me, 'You are not a true woman — you are not destined to have a husband, nor to enjoy the happiness that comes with being a woman. For this reason, I have bound a husband to you. Only by marrying him will you find happiness. After I die, there will come a day when a man arrives at my grave to pay his respects. When that time comes, you will bring two letters: one is my will; the other contains eight characters that sum up everything I have learned and done in my life. You will ask him to guess those eight characters. If he succeeds, he is your husband. You are to kneel and beg him to marry you.' My father then handed me this dagger (see Figure 2.3-1) and said, 'If he refuses, use this to take your own life.'"

桃花女继续说："多年过去了，也没人来拜祭他的坟。我也没心思嫁人了。前些日子，听说一个人在到处找个坟。我就让管家去看看怎么回事。管家跟着你，看见你晕倒了，就把你送到这儿来了。一会儿我派人给你送点儿吃的来！"桃花女说完，转身回村子了。

Peach Flower Girl continued, "Years passed, and no one came to pay their respects at his grave. I had lost any desire to marry. Then a few days ago, I heard that a man had been going around looking for a grave. I asked my steward to go and find out what was happening. He followed you and saw you collapse, and brought you here. I will send someone with food for you shortly." With that, Peach Flower Girl turned and headed back toward the village.

常公觉得身上舒服多了，但胸口还是很堵。他在坟前放声大哭，一边哭一边想：刘员外一辈子做的事究竟是什么？他连想了两天两夜，没想出来。

Constant-Fair felt considerably better in body, but the weight in his chest remained. He broke down and wept before the grave, and as he wept he turned the question over in his mind: what, in the end, had been the work of Publican Liu's entire life? He pondered it for two days and two nights without finding an answer.

第三天黎明，常公听见有人叫他的名字，声音像他父亲。那人又说："常公，你真的连我都认不出来了？"那人一边摆下饭菜，一边说："你看我拿来的，都是你小时候最喜欢吃的。"常公这才注意到，这个送饭人是谷伯——从小照顾他、待他最好的人。

At dawn on the third day, Constant-Fair heard someone call his name — the voice sounded like his father's. The man said again, "Constant-Fair! Do you not even recognize me?" As the man laid out the food, he said, "Look at what I brought — all your favorites from when you were a child." Only then did Constant-Fair realize that this man who had brought him food was Uncle Grain — the one who had looked after him since childhood and treated him with the greatest kindness.

谷伯说："老东家在世的时候，后院儿做了好吃的，他总想着让我给你送去一些。每次他都告诉我，'你就说是谁谁送的，别说我送的。'这些都是你喜欢的，快趁热吃吧，暖暖身子。"

Uncle Grain said, "When Publican Liu was alive, whenever something good was made in the back kitchen, he always had me bring some of it to you. Every time, he told me, 'Just say it is from so-and-so — do not say it is from me.' These are all your favorites — eat while they are hot and warm yourself up."

谷伯又说："前天，小姐说你没病。我来给你送饭，我看你全身都是病。昨晚，我去我九舅家，他是这一带有名的郎中。我把你的情况跟他说了，苦苦求他。我舅舅被逼无奈，就跟我说：'这可性命攸关，不可以跟外人说。昨天，我们几个老郎中议论了常公的事。你们刘老东家是个有名的大善人，这方圆几百里的人都知道。可是，他对常公极不公平，致使他有性命之忧。死不瞑目这个诅咒的下法就是一辈子不断地对被诅咒的人做好事，而只求他一件事。那个人知道或者后来知道了下咒人的意愿，有能力办却没有兑现。等下咒人一死，被诅咒的人就受不了了，死不了也活不长。这个诅咒只有顺解，没有其他解法，就是按照下咒人的意思去做。刘老东家是个罕见的高人，由他来下死不瞑目这个诅咒，那肯定是作得天衣无缝。'"

Uncle Grain continued, "The day before yesterday, the young mistress said you were not ill. When I came to bring you food, I could see that you were sick through and through. Last night I went to my Ninth Uncle's house — he is a well-known physician in these parts. I told him about your condition and pleaded with him at length. Left with no choice, my uncle said to me, 'This is a matter of life and death — it must not be spoken of to outsiders. Yesterday, several of us older physicians discussed Constant-Fair's case. Old Publican Liu is a renowned benefactor, known to everyone within hundreds of miles of here. Yet he treated Constant-Fair with grave injustice, placing his very life in danger. The way the curse of Die with Eyes Open is laid is this: the one who casts it spends a lifetime doing good for the cursed person, asking only one thing in return. The cursed person knows — or comes to know — what the caster wishes, and has the means to fulfill it, yet does not. Once the caster dies, the cursed person can no longer bear it — he may not die outright, but he will not live long. There is no other way to break this curse; it can only be resolved by going along with it — that is, by doing what the one who cast it wanted. Old Publican Liu was a rare master of his art. A curse laid by his hand would have been done without a seam.'"

谷伯又说："我就奉承我舅舅：'舅舅见多识广。我到底也没听明白常公的病因是什么。我们老东家让常公猜总结他一生所学所作而成的八个字，就常公那点儿文墨，怎么猜得着！你能不能给我说得简单点儿！我得听明白了，若不然，不是白来求您了！'"

"我舅舅说，'常公不也是个读书人么！他在刘公身边长大，他的学识怎么会差呢！'"

Uncle Grain continued, "I then flattered my uncle: 'Uncle, you are a man of great experience and learning. But in the end, I still do not understand what caused Constant-Fair's illness. Publican Liu asked Constant-Fair to guess eight characters that summed up everything he had learned and done in his life — but with Constant-Fair's limited learning, how could he ever guess them? Could you not put it more simply for me? I need to understand — otherwise, have I not come to you for nothing?'"

"My uncle said, 'Is Constant-Fair not a learned man himself? He grew up at Publican Liu's side — how could his learning be lacking?'"

"我说，'常公是我看着长大的，他从小就笨，上学怕挨老师打，常逃学。老员外信任我，让我照顾他。我是偷懒，两头儿瞒着。老员外每次问我，我都说常公聪明，又勤奋好学；可是常公从小就笨，也不好学。后来，老员外让我把他喜欢的书借给常公看。常公看没看，我都告诉老员外说，常公非常喜欢，看了两三遍，都快会背诵了。'"

"I said, 'I watched Constant-Fair grow up — he was dull-witted from childhood, afraid of being beaten by his teacher at school, and often played truant. Publican Liu trusted me and asked me to look after him. I was lazy about it, and kept both sides in the dark. Every time Publican Liu asked me, I told him that Constant-Fair was clever and diligent in his studies — but in truth Constant-Fair was dull and had no love of learning from the start. Later, Publican Liu asked me to lend Constant-Fair his favorite books. Whether Constant-Fair read them or not, I always told Publican Liu: Constant-Fair loved them greatly, had read them two or three times over, and could nearly recite them from memory.'"

"我舅舅骂我，'你怎么这么办事呢！刘公的大事都坏在你身上了！'"

"我说，'九舅！你骂我，打我也没有用。如果常公病死了，我岂不是枉为一世人！那我也活不长了。常公从小就心地善良，又孝顺，他怎么会得这种怪病呢！这不是有人陷害他吗！'"

"My uncle scolded me: 'How could you have handled things this way! The great undertaking of Publican Liu has been undone by you!'"

"I said, 'Ninth Uncle! It is no use scolding me or beating me. If Constant-Fair were to die of this illness, would I not have lived my whole life in vain? I would not live long after that myself. Constant-Fair has been kind-hearted and filial since he was a child — how could he have fallen into such a strange illness? Is this not someone's doing against him?'"

"我九舅立刻说，'这就对了！刘公死不瞑目；他和常公有父子之实。常公是大逆不道，自作孽，不可活呀！可是他又是被人陷害的。这就是病之所在。这事儿要是传出去，你们家刘老员外将是身败名裂！难道连这你都不懂！那现在刘家监视咱们村子所有的人干什么！'"

"My Ninth Uncle said at once, 'Now that is exactly it! Publican Liu died with eyes open — he and Constant-Fair had between them all the substance of a father and son. Constant-Fair has committed the gravest of offenses against his benefactor — he has brought this upon himself, and by rights he cannot live! Yet he was also led astray by another. This is the very root of his illness. If word of this were to get out, Old Publican Liu's name would be utterly destroyed! Do you not even grasp that much? Then why do you think the Liu family is watching every soul in our village right now?'"

当编者我听梁伯讲这个故事的时候，他还解释说，《桃花劫》原故事中，原著作者用道教、佛教、中庸、神说、鬼说等二十几种中国古代哲学，来论述常公的病因和治疗方法。本书中，参见第9.6节《治疗心病的原则》。

When I — as the author — listened to Uncle Liang tell this story, he also explained that in the original tale of Peach Flower Catastrophe, the original author drew upon more than twenty ancient Chinese philosophical traditions — including Taoism, Buddhism, the Doctrine of the Mean, theories of gods, and theories of spirits — to discuss the causes and treatment of Constant-Fair's illness. For this book's treatment of the subject, see Section 9.6, Principles of Curing Mental Illness.

梁伯对常公说："我就给我九舅跪下了，求他给想个办法。"

"我九舅说，'没想到，这事儿还把你给圈进去了。也是，这事儿出在咱桃花村，我们几个老郎中都感到沮丧窝火。这药就是昨天我们几个老郎中商量的结果。但是心病不除，常公身体上的病是不会痊愈的。'"

Uncle Liang said to Constant-Fair, "I knelt before my Ninth Uncle and begged him to find a way."

"Ninth Uncle said, 'I had not expected this matter to have drawn you in as well. Then again, it happened here in our Peach Flower Village — several of us elderly physicians have been feeling wretched and indignant over it. This medicine is what we came up with together yesterday. But unless the root cause in the heart is removed, Constant-Fair's physical ailments will never be cured.'"

返回启蒙的目录 Return to the Catalog of Revelation

听《桃花劫》故事的时候，母亲忽然感慨地说："我才明白过来，大姐夫！你这是给我讲故事呢。小卢岩怎么能听懂大人的故事呢！"

While listening to the Peach Flower Catastrophe story, Mother suddenly said with feeling, "I've only just realized, Brother-in-law! You have been telling this story for my benefit. How could little Luyan possibly understand a story meant for adults!"

梁伯说："这不一样嘛！都听。"

母亲说："那才不一样呢，这是大人的故事；小卢岩能懂多少。"

梁伯说："他能懂一部分，但他能记住。等将来他遇到这事儿的时候，就能想起来了。"

母亲说："他上哪能遇到这事儿；卢岩将来还能有桃花劫呀！？"

"It's not so different!" Uncle Liang said. "They both listen."

"It is different — this is a story for adults. How much of it can little Luyan possibly understand?"

"He understands some of it, and he can remember it. When the time comes and he encounters something like this, he will be able to recall it."

"Where would he ever come across something like this? Are you saying Luyan could have a Peach Flower Catastrophe of his own someday!?"

梁伯说："我是说类似的事儿，一小部分一小部分的，碰上什么类似的事儿，他就联系起来，明白了。"

母亲说："啊！我明白了，你是说他的头脑里，见识就是这样增长的。这样的话，他的智力开发得还快呢！那所有孩子都应该这样教。"

"I mean similar things — a little piece here, a little piece there — whenever he runs into something similar, he connects it and understands," Uncle Liang said.

"Ah! I see — you mean that is how understanding grows in his mind," Mother said. "In that case, his intellect is developing all the faster for it! Then all children ought to be taught this way."

梁伯说："别的孩子我不知道，但卢岩能记住。你看，他听的时候，一直盯着我看，一直在想。别的孩子，哪像这样啊！"

母亲说："我看你就是喜欢他；卢岩有啥不一样！"

母亲俯身过来看我。梁伯问母亲："你看他干啥？"

"I cannot speak for other children, but Luyan can remember," Uncle Liang said. "Look at him — the whole time he is listening, he keeps his eyes fixed on me, thinking away. You would not find other children like that!"

"I think you simply like him — what is so different about Luyan!" Mother said. She leaned over to look at me. Uncle Liang asked her, "What are you looking at him for?"

母亲说："你说他一直盯着你听，我看看他咋不眨眼地盯着你听。呃！可不是咋地！哎呀！得歇一会儿，看把孩子累着！"

梁伯说："对对！哎呀！你看我这么大个人！换个话题，让卢岩歇一会儿。"

"You said he keeps staring at you and listening — let me see how he stares without blinking. Well! Would you look at that! Oh dear! We must give him a rest — we don't want to tire the child out!"

"Yes, yes! Oh goodness! Look at me, a grown man like me! Let's change the subject and let Luyan have a rest."

母亲又回到东炕头补衣服，说："大姐夫，你看卢岩的眼睛是不是有毛病？"

梁伯说："我看看！"他左右前后地走着，一边走一边看着我，说："我没看出来有毛病。"

母亲说："我总想教他念那两个箱子上的毛主席语录，可他总像是看不见似的。前几天，我带他去参加个婚礼，我指给他看。他也看，可是他像是看不见似的。"

Mother went back to mending clothes at the east end of the kang and said, "Brother-in-law, do you think there might be something wrong with Luyan's eyes?"

"Let me have a look!" Uncle Liang walked back and forth, circling in front of me as he moved, and said, "I don't see anything wrong."

Mother said, "I keep trying to teach him to read the quotations from Chairman Mao on those two boxes, but he always seems as though he cannot see them. Just the other day, I took him to a wedding and pointed them out to him. He looked, but again he seemed as if he could not see."

梁伯说："是吗？我来试试。卢岩！往这儿看，看这字。卢岩！往这儿看，看我的手——这可奇怪了！他就是看不到。不知怎的，他的注意力不能往这儿集中（注5，这是做肉眼通时眼睛被蒙上了的症状）。"

"Is that so? Let me try," said Uncle Liang. "Luyan! Look over here — look at this character. Luyan! Look over here — look at my hand. Now that is strange! He simply cannot see it. Somehow his attention cannot be drawn this way." (Note 5: This is a symptom of the eyes being blindfolded during the making of Flesh Eye Through.)

返回启蒙的目录 Return to the Catalog of Revelation

《桃花劫》的目录 Catalog of Peach Flower Catastrophe：（1）2.1 桃花劫 Peach Flower Catastrophe；（2）2.3 治疗心理疾病 Treatment of Mental Illness；（3）2.4 宿命通 Fate Through；（4）2.6 欢喜佛 Consummation Buddha；

2.1-1 桃花运 Peach Flower Fortune

常公是个孤儿，自幼在刘员外的药庄做长工。他自小就笨，书读得不好，长大了学做生意也老是出错，可是刘员外不但对他方方面面都很照顾，而且总是宽容包庇他，不追究他的过失。常公从小到大都没和刘员外见过面；他也常想见一见刘老员外，当面行礼致谢，却总是不逢时宜，被一些出其不意的事打乱了安排。

Constant-Fair was an orphan who had worked as a long-term laborer at Publican Liu's medicine farm since childhood. He had never been clever — his schooling came to little, and even as a grown man learning to run a business, he made mistakes at every turn. Yet Publican Liu not only looked after him in every way, but also extended endless patience and forbearance, never once holding his faults against him. Constant-Fair had never laid eyes on Publican Liu throughout his entire life; he had long wished to meet him in person, to bow and offer his thanks, yet the moment was never right — some unexpected turn of events always upset the arrangement.

一天，刘老员外委托媒人向常公提亲，要把女儿桃花女许配给他。常公听说过，桃花女聪慧貌美、医术更是高明，给她提亲的媒人多到踢破门槛，就是不成婚姻。媒人给他看桃花女写的文章，讲她做过的事，还制造机会让他和桃花女偶遇，有机会看看桃花女本人。常公看桃花女确实美丽；她写的文章层理清晰，妙语连珠；她做过的事，件件妙算巧安排。常公觉得自己配不上她，就拒绝了。结果，后来他听说，桃花女也不愿意，还说他傻。

One day, Old Publican Liu commissioned a matchmaker to approach Constant-Fair with a marriage proposal — he wished to betroth his daughter, Peach Flower Girl, to him. Constant-Fair had heard of her: she was intelligent and beautiful, her medical skills exceptional, and so many matchmakers had come knocking on her behalf that the threshold had nearly been worn through — yet none had led to a marriage. The matchmakers showed him essays Peach Flower Girl had written, told him of things she had done, and even arranged chance encounters so he could see her for himself. Constant-Fair found that Peach Flower Girl was indeed beautiful; her essays were lucid and full of brilliant expression; everything she had undertaken was shrewdly conceived and skillfully arranged. Feeling himself unworthy of her, he declined. He later heard that Peach Flower Girl had also been unwilling — and had called him a fool.

过了些时日，刘员外又托媒人给桃花女和常公说亲，而且想尽办法劝说常公。常公最后说："只要桃花女愿意，我就愿意。"结果常公听说桃花女又不愿意。

Some days later, Publican Liu once again sent a matchmaker to press the match, doing everything possible to persuade him. Constant-Fair finally said, "As long as Peach Flower Girl is willing, I am willing." But as it turned out, Constant-Fair heard that Peach Flower Girl was again unwilling.

又过了一段时间，刘员外又托媒人给常公和桃花女说亲，说这次桃花女已经同意了。常公听说了这段日子刘员外和媒人们一直在劝桃花女，父女俩还因为这事吵架，就想：这是让我拖几天，好让她爸休息休息、乐呵几天，然后让我来拒绝。常公就对媒人说："那我就想想。"过了几天，他告诉媒人：不同意。

After some further time had passed, Publican Liu once again sent a matchmaker, saying that this time Peach Flower Girl had already agreed. Constant-Fair had heard that in recent days Publican Liu and the matchmakers had been working hard to persuade her, and that father and daughter had even quarreled over the matter. He thought to himself: she is having me wait a few days so her father can get some rest and enjoy a brief moment of hope — and then I am to be the one who refuses. Constant-Fair said to the matchmaker, "Let me think it over." A few days later, he gave his answer: no.

就这样，刘员外和媒人们用多种办法撮合桃花女和常公的婚姻，旷日持久，就是不成。时光流逝，桃花女和常公都过了正常婚嫁的年龄。

In this way, Publican Liu and the matchmakers tried every means to bring about the marriage — the efforts dragged on for years, yet nothing came of it. Time passed, and both Peach Flower Girl and Constant-Fair had gone beyond the customary age for marriage.

2.1-2 死不瞑目 Die with Eyes Open

一天半夜，一个已经和常公成为朋友的媒人跑来告诉他："也不知道咋回事！刘老东家像疯了似的！说，他不亲眼看见你和桃花女成亲入洞房，他死不瞑目。他还秘密地让人准备了一个小内院儿，要把你和桃花女关在里面；不成亲就不放你们俩出来。我想，这是咋办事儿呢！得告诉你一声！我还发现他们知道我和你是朋友，派人看着我，所以我是找机会偷偷跑出来的。话说完了，我得回去了，别让人发现了。"

Late one night, a matchmaker who had by now become Constant-Fair's friend came running to tell him, "I have no idea what's gotten into him! Old Publican Liu has gone mad! He says he will die with eyes open unless he sees you and Peach Flower Girl married and into the bridal chamber with his own eyes. He has also been secretly having a small inner courtyard prepared — he means to lock the two of you inside; you won't be let out until the marriage is done. I thought to myself, what kind of way is this to go about things! I had to come and warn you. I also found out they know you and I are friends and have set someone to watch me — so I slipped away at the first chance I got. Now I've said what I came to say, I must get back before anyone notices."

常公听后大惊失色，心想："这事儿可不能这么办！那我不毁了桃花女一辈子吗！不行，我得走！"当夜，常公从刘员外的药庄里逃走了。他怕刘员外派人抓他，就没回老家。

Constant-Fair went pale with shock. He thought to himself: "This cannot be allowed to happen! Would I not be ruining Peach Flower Girl's entire life? No — I must leave!" That very night, Constant-Fair fled from the medicine farm. Fearing that Publican Liu might send someone after him, he did not return to his home village.

常公过着隐姓埋名、到处流浪的生活。当然，他也需要生计，后来在一家药庄给人家当掌柜。开始的几年，生意做得挺好，规模也越来越大。后来，他发现有人在生意上跟他作对，就去跟东家辞职。东家说："现在咱们的生意这么大，咱可以跟他们斗！我相信你，赔了我也不怪你。"常公说："我不愿意和他们斗。实话实说，我怀疑对方和我以前的一位恩人有关系。"东家对此事很理解，说："这样的话，我不能勉强你。"

Constant-Fair lived a life of concealed identity, wandering from place to place. He needed to earn a living, of course, and in time took up the position of shopkeeper at a medicine farm. For the first few years the business went well, and it grew steadily in scale. But eventually he found that someone was working against him in business matters, and he went to his employer to resign. The employer said, "Our business has grown so large — we can stand and fight them! I trust you, and I won't hold it against you if there are losses." Constant-Fair said, "I have no wish to fight them. To be frank, I suspect the people opposing me are connected to one of my former benefactors." The employer understood completely and said, "In that case, I cannot press you to stay."

常公离开了这家药庄，流浪到另外一个地方，又找到了一份药庄的工作。结果发生了与上份工作类似的事。他又发现有人在生意上跟他作对，仍然认为那些人与以前的刘员外有关系，就又主动放弃了这份工作。

Constant-Fair left that medicine farm and wandered to another place, where he found work at yet another medicine farm. There, much the same thing happened as before. He again found someone working against him, again suspected those people of being connected to Publican Liu, and again chose to give up the position of his own accord.

就这样，常公换了一份工作又一份工作，他总是觉得有人和他作对，不愿意还击，但坏名声渐渐传开，再也找不到工作了。他就回老家去了。

And so it went — Constant-Fair moved from one job to the next, always sensing that someone was working against him, always unwilling to fight back. In time his reputation suffered, and he could no longer find work. He went back to his home village.

常公在临近老家村子的路上，遇到一个信使。送信的人问他："你认识常家庄常公不？"他回答："我就是！"送信人说："你老家的人让我告诉你，你爸爸过世了。"常公心想，我从小就是孤儿，便回答："你弄错了！我不是你要找的人！"送信人又核实了一遍常公的身份信息，完全符合，就又说："你老家的人让我传达给你的消息是：你爸爸去世了。我只是个送信的，其余的，我不知道！"

On the road approaching his home village, Constant-Fair encountered a messenger. The messenger asked him, "Do you know a Constant-Fair from Fair Family Village?" He replied, "That is me!" The messenger said, "The people in your home village asked me to tell you that your father has passed away." Constant-Fair thought to himself — I have been an orphan since childhood — and replied, "You have the wrong person." The messenger verified his particulars once more; everything matched. He said again, "The message I was asked to deliver from your home village is this: your father has passed away. I am only the messenger — beyond that, I know nothing."

对此，常公觉得心里不舒服，感觉有事不对。到家后，他打听村里有没有别人也叫常公。结果发现：没有。一连几天，他都觉得胸口发闷。

Constant-Fair felt unsettled by this, sensing that something was not right. When he arrived home, he asked around whether anyone else in the village shared his name. He found that there was no one. For several days in a row, he felt a heaviness in his chest.

2.1-3 桃花运 Peach Flower Fortune

这天，常公去集市上散心。从远处，他就看见一群人围着一个算命的。常公从来不信鬼神、相面之类的。不知怎地，那天他就站到排队人的后面，想听听。

That day, Constant-Fair went to the marketplace to clear his mind. From a distance, he spotted a crowd gathered around a fortune-teller. Constant-Fair had never put any stock in ghosts, gods, fortune-telling, or anything of the sort. Yet somehow, that day he found himself joining the back of the queue, curious to listen.

算命先生一眼就看见常公了，说："排在最后的那个人着急！让他先来！前面的人等一会儿。"

常公说："我不着急，我可以等。"

算命先生说："让你过来你就过来！"

常公走到算命先生跟前，还没说话，算命先生就说："这位相公，你知道不？你有了桃花运了！"

The fortune-teller spotted Constant-Fair at once and said, "The man at the back of the line is in urgent need! Let him come first! The rest of you wait a moment."

Constant-Fair said, "I am not in any hurry. I can wait my turn."

The fortune-teller said, "When I tell you to come, you come!"

Constant-Fair walked up to the fortune-teller. Before he could say a word, the fortune-teller said, "My good sir, are you aware? Your Peach Flower Fortune has arrived!"

常公回答："不知道！我还能有桃花运！"

算命先生问："以前，你给人打工，有没有一个东家对你特别好，而你想见却从来也没见过他？"

常公惊奇地回答："有啊！"

算命先生说："他死了，而且是死不瞑目。"

Constant-Fair replied, "I had no idea! To think that I of all people would have Peach Flower Fortune!"

The fortune-teller asked, "In the past, when you worked for someone, was there an employer who treated you exceptionally well — someone you always wished to meet, but never once did?"

Constant-Fair replied in astonishment, "There was!"

The fortune-teller said, "He is dead — and he died with eyes open."

常公一听，感觉头里"嗡"的一下，天旋地转，五脏六腑都在移动。等常公镇静下来，感觉胸口堵得厉害，像是压了一块石头。他听见人群中七嘴八舌地议论：真是神算，一看就知道！不怪说他急！

The moment Constant-Fair heard this, his head rang with a sudden "buzz," the world spun around him, and it felt as though every organ in his body had shifted. When he finally steadied himself, there was a crushing weight in his chest, as though a stone had been pressed against it. Around him, the crowd was murmuring on all sides: "What a true reading — one look and he knew! No wonder he said the man was urgent!"

常公转身就走。算命先生说："等等，我还没说完呢！我看你是真不知道啊！桃花运来了，谁也挡不住，没有别的办法。你只能顺从你的那位老东家的愿望，赶快去他的家。即便倾家荡产凑聘礼，你也要聘得人家的闺女，拜堂成亲入洞房，你才能解脱此桃花劫。"

Constant-Fair turned to leave. The fortune-teller called out, "Wait — I have not finished! I can see you truly did not know. When Peach Flower Fortune comes, no one can stop it — there is no other way. You have no choice but to follow the wishes of Publican Liu and go to his home without delay. Even if it costs you everything you have to put together the betrothal gifts, you must win their daughter's hand, go through the wedding rites, and enter the bridal chamber — only then will you be free of this Peach Flower Catastrophe."

常公伸手摸兜儿，发现自己没带钱，就说："我这就回去取钱，回来还你。"

算命先生说："不必了，我不要你的钱。"

常公感觉奇怪，问为什么不要他的钱。算命先生说："说实话！从你的面相上看，你活不过一百天。花死人钱不吉利！"

常公说："多谢！日后有机会，我一定报答你。"

Constant-Fair reached into his pocket and found he had brought no money. He said, "Let me go back home and get some — I will return and pay you."

The fortune-teller said, "No need. I want none of your money."

Constant-Fair was puzzled and asked why. The fortune-teller said, "I will be straight with you — judging by your face, you will not live another hundred days. It is ill-omened to spend money from a dead man!"

Constant-Fair said, "My deepest thanks. If I ever have the chance, I will surely repay you."

算命先生又说："等等！路上，你一定要多喝水；喝水可以续你的命。另外，你一定要坚持走动；如果你倒下了，就可能再也起不来了！"

常公再次致谢，回家收拾了行李，当晚就上路了。

The fortune-teller called after him, "Wait! On the road, you must drink plenty of water — water will sustain your life. And you must keep moving at all costs; if you fall, you may never rise again!"

Constant-Fair thanked him once more, went home, packed his belongings, and set out that very night.

返回启蒙的目录 Return to the Catalog of Revelation

Learning Chinese isn’t easy — especially when it comes to speaking and listening. A lot of students tell me they memorize tons of words, but still can’t understand conversations, videos, or TV shows. It’s frustrating, I get it. I’ve seen so many students go through this, and here are some simple, practical tips that actually work:

1. Don’t just memorize words — learn them in real situations.
   For example, instead of just remembering “买单” means “to pay the bill,” imagine you’re in a restaurant, finishing your meal, and calling the waiter: “你好，这边需要买单。” When you learn language this way — in context — it sticks much better.

2. Start listening practice with slow, simple conversations.
   Jumping straight into C dramas like The Knockout or Nothing But You is a recipe for frustration. Start with slow Chinese, daily conversations like “What did you eat today?” or “ what plant do you have today?” Train your ears first — the dramas can wait.

3. Don’t be afraid to talk to native speakers.
   It’s not as scary as you think. Stick to easy topics like food, hobbies, or weekend plans. If you don’t understand something, just ask: “What does that mean?” Chinese people love it when foreigners try to speak their language. You can also say: “I’m still learning Chinese, can you speak a little slower?” — most people will happily help you out. And don’t worry about your accent or grammar mistakes. Seriously, nobody cares. They’ll be impressed you’re even trying.

4. Give yourself one small Chinese task every day.
   Order food in Chinese, post a sentence on social media, or chat with a language partner for five minutes. It doesn’t have to be perfect,consistency matters more than perfection. Another useful way is when you look around whatever you see try to figure out the name in Chinese,it helps you creating an Chinese learning environment around you,Do this daily, and you’ll be amazed by your progress after a few months.

5. Don’t just stick to textbooks — explore memes, slang, and trending topics.
   Textbooks are too formal. Nobody talks like that in real life. Watch short videos on YouTube, Xiaohongshu, or Bilibili. Learn the slang and expressions real people use every day.

6. Most importantly — be patient.
   You might think you’ll be fluent in three months, then realize you still struggle to keep up in conversations. That’s normal. Language learning takes time. If you keep going, even slowly, you’ll get there.

目录 Catalog：2.0 序言 Preface；2.1 桃花劫 Peach Flower Catastrophe；2.2 启蒙前的视力测试 Vision Test before Revelation；2.3 治疗心理疾病 Treatment of Mental Illness；2.4 宿命通 Fate Through；2.5 讲解桃花劫 Explanation of Peach Flower Catastrophe；2.6 欢喜佛 Consummation Buddha；2.7 刘团长其人 Troupe Leader Liu；2.8 启蒙 Revelation；2.9 爸爸和刘团长 Father and Troupe Leader Liu。

2.0 序言 Preface

1972年9月的一天，我家后街的梁伯（原名崔凤龙，号梁子伯，简作梁伯）来我家做客。听说他来自沈阳附近的抚顺，我很高兴。母亲有些生气地跟他解释："去年，百杨领家来了个会算命的，说卢岩是和尚命，就把他和那人的女儿定了亲。他们家在沈阳，卢岩一听说你就住在他们附近，高兴成了这样。"

One September day in 1972, Uncle Liang from the street behind ours — original name Cui Fenglong, famed as Liang Zibo, known simply as Uncle Liang — came to visit. I was delighted to hear he was from Fushun, near Shenyang. Mother, a little put out, filled him in: "Last year Baiyang brought home a fortune-teller, who said Luyan was born to be a monk, so they betrothed him to that man's daughter. Her family's in Shenyang, and the moment Luyan heard you lived nearby, he lit right up."

梁伯说："啊！是这么回事，不过我看我和卢岩有缘！"说着，他走近我，摘下帽子，指着自己的头对我说："你看！你像我！我秃，你也秃，我叫大秃子！"他又转身对母亲说："以后，咱们就叫他二秃子！"

"Ah, so that's the story!" Uncle Liang said. "Still, I can tell Luyan and I are fated to get along." He came closer, pulled off his hat, and pointed at his own bare head. "Look — you and I are two of a kind! Bald as eggs, both of us. They call me Big Baldy." He turned to Mother. "From now on, let's call him Second Baldy!"

母亲嚷嚷道："他爸的小名儿叫三秃子！那不乱了辈份吗！你喜欢，你自己叫他二秃子好了。大姐夫！你看卢岩像谁？像我，还是像他爸？"

梁伯说："嗯！这我得好好看看！我看像大肚弥勒佛！"

母亲惊讶地说："你也看他像和尚！？"

梁伯忙解释："我不懂算命！我只是说他那富态，胖胖的模样和姿势！"

"His father's childhood name was Third Baldy!" Mother protested. "That'll throw the whole family order out of joint! If you like it so much, call him that yourself. Brother-in-law — who do you think Luyan takes after, me or his father?"

"Hmm, let me have a proper look." Uncle Liang studied me. "I'd say — the Big-Bellied Maitreya."

"You see a monk in him too!?" Mother said, startled.

"No, no, nothing to do with fortune-telling," Uncle Liang said quickly. "I only meant that fine, plump, prosperous look of his — the way he carries himself."

我问："妈！佛是啥东西？"

母亲忙说："佛可不是东西！哎呀，你看我这嘴！还是让你梁伯给你解释吧！"

梁伯说："让我想想怎么说……佛是从莲花里生出来的。"

我问："什么是莲花？"

"Mom, what's a Buddha?" I asked.

"A Buddha isn't a thing!" Mother said. "Oh — listen to me. Let your Uncle Liang explain it."

Uncle Liang thought it over. "A Buddha... is born out of a lotus flower."

"What's a lotus flower?"

母亲说："他没见过莲花。来，妈给你画一个！"

我看了看，说："是桃花！"

梁伯说："桃花也行。"

母亲嚷嚷："桃花怎么行呢！人家的佛都是从莲花生出来的，我儿子的佛长在桃树上了。"

"He's never seen one," Mother said. "Here, let me draw you one."

I looked at her drawing. "That's a peach blossom!"

"Peach blossom works too," Uncle Liang said.

"How can it work!" Mother huffed. "Everyone else's Buddha comes from a lotus — and my son's has to grow on a peach tree."

梁伯辩解："他长大了自然就顺过来了。再说，确实有桃花也能生佛的说法。"

母亲琢磨了一会儿，说："好像是有桃花佛的说法，桃木楔子、桃木剑的……咱不说和尚了。卢岩！你梁伯当过兵，知道的可多啦，让他给你讲个故事吧！"

我说："梁伯讲故事！"

梁伯说："好！那我就给你讲个《桃花劫》的故事。"

"He'll grow into it," Uncle Liang said. "Besides, there really is a saying that Buddhas can be born from peach blossoms too."

Mother considered this. "Come to think of it, there is talk of a Peach Flower Buddha — peach-wood wedges, peach-wood swords, that sort of thing." She waved it off. "Enough about monks. Luyan, your Uncle Liang was a soldier — he knows all kinds of things. Ask him for a story."

"Uncle Liang, tell me a story!"

"All right, then," said Uncle Liang. "Let me tell you about the Peach Flower Catastrophe."

返回卢岩回忆录的目录 Return to the Catalog of Luyan Memoirs

卢岩回忆录的目录 Catalog of Luyan Memoirs：1. 童年婚约 Childhood Betrothal；2. 启蒙 Revelation；3. 触目 Touch Eye；4. 少青年 Youngster；5. 辽宁分院 Liaoning Branch；6. 和平房产局 SYHP Housekeeping Bureau；7. 东北大学 Northeastern University；8. 成熟期 Maturity；9. 宿命通 Fate Through；10. 生命之树 Tree of Life；11. 禅 Meditation；12 苦谛 Bitter Crux；13. 集谛 Aggregate Crux；14. 灭谛 Salvation Crux；15. 道谛 Path Crux；16. 经书经释 Scriptures Translation

1. 童年婚约 Childhood Betrothal

卢岩，1970年4月，出生在辽宁省黑山县青苔萢村。父亲是附近一家制砖厂的电器技术员，母亲是农民。

My name is Luyan. I was born in April 1970, in Qingtaipao Village, Heishan County, Liaoning Province. My father was an electrical technician at a brick factory nearby, and my mother was a farmer.

1971年9月的一天，家里来了个客人，父亲称呼他为沈阳老刘大哥（注1，本书通称他为刘团长）。父亲对母亲说："刘团长会相面，我想让他给卢岩看看相。"母亲对此很不耐烦。父亲又说："刘团长不是外人，你得热情点儿！他说，'不能让卢岩看见他，要不然就不灵了'。"父母出了卧室，三人在厨房里小声说话。刘团长问我的生辰八字。

One day in September 1971, a guest came to our home. Father called him Old Brother Liu from Shenyang. (Note 1: Throughout this book, he is referred to as Troupe Leader Liu.) Father said to Mother, "Troupe Leader Liu knows physiognomy, and I'd like him to have a look at our Luyan." Mother was impatient with the idea. Father added, "Troupe Leader Liu is not a stranger — you should be more welcoming. He said Luyan must not see him, or it won't work." Father and Mother left the bedroom, and the three of them spoke in hushed voices in the kitchen. Troupe Leader Liu asked about my Eight Characters of Birth Time.

1-2 门帘 The Curtain

注2：从始至终，我都没有直接听见刘团长的声音。当时刘团长说文言文，母亲听不懂，父亲不断地给她解释。本文中刘团长所说的话，是现在的我根据当时父母的反应、转述和行为推断出来的。

Note 2: From start to finish, I never actually heard Troupe Leader Liu's voice directly. At the time, Troupe Leader Liu was speaking in Classical Chinese, which Mother could not understand, and Father kept explaining it to her. The words attributed to Troupe Leader Liu in this text are my current inferences based on my parents' reactions, retellings, and behavior at the time.

刘团长说他要看看我，把厨房和卧室之间的门帘弄皱了。我没有看见他。父亲转述他的话，对母亲说："他坐着的那个恣势，通天鼻，是个和尚命，没婚姻命。"

"没婚姻命是啥意思？他一辈子不能结婚？"母亲问。

父亲去问过刘团长，回来后说："也可能结婚，但是婚姻不幸福或者不长久。"

母亲听后不高兴了，进屋来了。

Troupe Leader Liu said he wanted to see me, and he moved the curtain hanging between the kitchen and the bedroom. I did not see him. Father then relayed what he had said: "That posture of his — with that Tongtian nose — marks him as one with a monk's fate, with no marriage fate."

"What does 'no marriage fate' mean? That he can never marry for the rest of his life?" Mother asked.

Father went to ask Troupe Leader Liu and came back to explain: "Not necessarily. He may marry, but the marriage will be unhappy, or it will not last."

Mother was unhappy after hearing this and went back into the bedroom.

父亲和刘团长在外面说话。过了一会儿，父亲来到卧室，说："你怎么就走了呢！"

母亲回答："他神叨叨的！现在谁还信这个。"

父亲说："人家都看出来了，你听了就不高兴了！他还跟我说，他就是据术直言，按照古书上说的意思，怎么想的就怎么说。你也不能这样啊！不信，听听也没关系呀！你出来一起说话！"

母亲跟着父亲出去，一边走一边问："又是啥事？"

Father and Troupe Leader Liu continued talking outside. After a while, Father came into the bedroom. "Why did you just leave like that!" he said.

"He's full of superstitious nonsense," Mother replied. "Who still believes in that sort of thing nowadays."

"He could see something — and you walked out the moment you heard it!" Father said. "He also told me that he simply speaks directly according to what the ancient books say, exactly what he perceives to be true. You shouldn't have done that. Even if you don't believe it, there's no harm in listening. Come out and talk with us!"

Mother followed Father out, asking as she walked, "What is it now?"

在厨房里，父亲说："刘团长说，他家的大女儿刘健君是天命，天资聪明伶俐，但婚姻命也不好。他想把她许配给咱卢岩，说他们俩还挺般配的。把他俩绑成一对儿，他们俩不好的婚姻命就都被破掉了。"

母亲回答："你看他那模样儿！他的闺女能长啥样！"

In the kitchen, Father said, "Troupe Leader Liu says his eldest daughter, Eve Liu, carries a Sky Fate — gifted and clever — but also has an unfavorable marriage fate. He would like to betroth her to our Luyan. He says the two are quite well matched. By binding them together as a pair, both of their unfavorable marriage fates will be broken."

"Look at the man himself!" Mother replied. "What could his daughter possibly look like!"

父亲说："这事儿也就是说说，他家的条件不错。再说，他长得不好看，他家的嫂子还可能好看呢！"

母亲说："现在他家挺好过的。这社会，二十年后，谁知道还啥样！"

父亲说："人家提出来的，拒绝不好。再说，这事儿就是说到这儿，将来俩孩子成不成，是他们俩的事儿。现在，咱们不是给卢岩破命么！"

"That's neither here nor there," Father said. "His family is well off. And besides, just because he doesn't look good doesn't mean his wife isn't pretty."

"His family is doing well now," Mother said. "But in twenty years, who knows what this world will look like!"

"It would not be polite to refuse," Father said. "And besides, this is just a beginning — whether the two children come together in the end is their own affair. For now, the point is that we are trying to break Luyan's fate!"

1-3 蒙眼睛 Blindfolding

稍后，父亲和刘团长回到厨房。刘团长说："如果我说的对，这孩子一见到我就会哭；不过，他只能见我这一次。"

母亲在后面，听了之后说："还有那事儿！那咱试试！反正见一次也不碍事。"

A little later, Father and Troupe Leader Liu returned to the kitchen. Troupe Leader Liu said, "If I am right, the boy will cry the moment he sees me. However, he can only see me this one time."

Mother was in the back and, upon hearing this, said, "Is that so! Then let's try it. It won't do any harm to let him see you just once."

他们低声安排了随后的实验。刘团长又说："那我就把他的眼睛蒙上了。"父亲和母亲都说不明白。

刘团长说："哎呀！我才想起来，以后我不能让他再看见我了！"想了一会儿，又说："没关系！以后我再安排人，把眼蒙揭开。"

母亲不高兴地说："咋没关系呢！"

They made their arrangements in whispers. Troupe Leader Liu added, "Then I will blindfold him afterward." Father and Mother both said they did not understand.

"Oh! I just remembered — after this, I must not let him see me again!" Troupe Leader Liu said. He paused to think, then added, "Never mind. I will arrange for someone to remove the blindfold at a later time."

"What do you mean, never mind!" Mother said, unhappy.

父亲笑着说："咱们不明白，刘团长说没关系，那就没关系呗！"

当时，我坐在卧室的炕上。一个人进来了，直接走进里屋。我很快就把这件事忘了。突然，他出来了，径直朝我走来，面无血色，毫无表情。我看得头脑发炸，还没反应过来。他飘回屋地中央，又迅速转向厨房，出去了。我吓得拼命向炕的东南方向爬去，嚎叫不止（注3）！

Father smiled. "We don't understand these things. If Troupe Leader Liu says it doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter."

At that time, I was sitting on the kang in the bedroom. A man came in and walked straight through to the inner room. I soon forgot about it. Then suddenly he came out and walked directly toward me, face to face, his face drained of color and without expression. The sight of him hit me before I could even react — it was as though my head were about to burst. He drifted back to the center of the room, then turned quickly toward the kitchen and was gone. I was so frightened that I crawled desperately toward the southeast corner of the kang, wailing. (Note 3)

注3：这段描述的是肉眼通作法的第一步：他疾速走近我；我看着他，感觉如同摄像机镜头突然急速聚焦，头部像要爆炸一样。这次惊吓使我患上了婴幼儿神经发育失调症。此症的一个症状是视力障碍，古人称之为"把眼睛蒙住了"。启蒙的过程见第2.8节。第3章将详细讨论"肉眼通"的作法。插图1和插图3源自古墨西哥，表示青松石王正在向教子讲述肉眼通作法的第三步。插图3是特拉洛克。笔者认为，他的眼睛是古墨西哥人对肉眼通"不眩光"特征的描述，即"不眩眼"。图4是中国三星堆出土的青铜面具。笔者认为，那是将肉眼通的眼睛描述成了触目惊心的"触目"——看见的人可能会有一种"被接触到了"或"被电击了"的感觉。

Note 3: This passage describes the first step of Flesh Eye Through. He rapidly approached me; as I watched him, my visual experience felt like a camera lens suddenly focusing at high speed, and my head felt as if it were about to burst open. This shock caused me to develop Infantile Neurodevelopmental Disorder. One symptom of this condition is visual impairment, which the ancients described as "the eyes being blindfolded." The process of Revelation is discussed in Section 2.8. Chapter 3 provides a detailed discussion of the practice of Flesh Eye Through. Illustrations 1 and 3 are from ancient Mexico and depict Xiuhtecuhtli explaining the third step of the Flesh Eye Through practice to his godson. Figure 3 shows Tlaloc. In my view, his eyes represent an ancient Mexican depiction of the Non-Dazzle Eye — the "non-dazzling" characteristic of Flesh Eye Through. Figure 4 is a bronze mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, China. In my view, it depicts the eyes of Flesh Eye Through as Touch Eye: an eye contact so powerful that the person who encounters it may feel "touched" or "as if struck by an electric current."

厨房里，母亲惊讶地说："哎呀！真哭了！这咋办！"

父亲说："说好了的，你进去安慰他！"

母亲一边往屋里跑，一边喊："咋地啦？咋地啦？"

我爬到炕檐边，抱着母亲哭。

In the kitchen, Mother said in astonishment, "Oh! He really is crying! What do we do!"

"It's as we agreed — you go in and comfort him!" Father said.

Mother ran toward the bedroom, calling out, "What's the matter? What's the matter?"

I crawled to the edge of the kang and hugged Mother, crying.

父亲也进来了。

母亲气愤地说："吓得！咱俩都不在，突然看见一个陌生人。你看！唉呀妈呀！头发都站立起来了！可把孩子吓坏啦！"

父亲说："刘团长让你问他。"

母亲问："问啥呀？啊！咋地了？告诉妈，咋回事？"

Father came in as well.

"He was frightened!" Mother said angrily. "We were both away, and then suddenly he saw a stranger. Look at this — oh heavens — even his hair is standing on end! The poor child has been terrified!"

"Troupe Leader Liu asked you to ask him," Father said.

"Ask what?" Mother said. "Come on — what happened? Tell Mother, what's going on?"

我只是比画，说不出话来。

母亲气愤地嘟囔："就是吓得！这连话都不会说了！"她摸摸我的头，说："摸摸毛，吓不着！告诉妈，你看见啥啦？"

我回答："人！呜！呜！"用手比画着。

母亲说："啊！一个人进来，然后又出去了。这事儿，我和你爸都知道，没事儿！"

I could only gesture. I could not get any words out.

"Just look — he's so scared he can't even talk!" Mother muttered angrily. She stroked my head. "It's alright, it's alright. Tell Mother, what did you see?"

"Man! Woo — woo —!" I replied, gesturing with my hands.

"Yes, a man came in and then went out again," Mother said. "Your father and I both knew about it. There's nothing to be afraid of."

1-4 订婚 Engagement

父亲去了厨房，过一会儿又回来，说："刘团长出去了，让咱俩再商量商量俩孩子的事。"

母亲说："就像你说的，这也不算个事呀，他要多少钱？"

父亲说："也没说钱！不能要钱吧？"

母亲说："还是问清楚好。"

Father went to the kitchen and returned a while later. "Troupe Leader Liu has stepped out," he said. "He'd like us to talk things over about the two children."

"As you said, it's not really a big matter," Mother said. "How much does he want?"

"He said nothing about money," Father said. "It shouldn't be about money, should it?"

"Better to ask and be sure," Mother said.

他们三人在厨房说话。刘团长说："这亲事就这么定了！啥钱也不用。这事还关系到我姑娘呢！也是我的事，由我来作法。"

父亲问："那我们该做什么呀？"

The three of them gathered in the kitchen. Troupe Leader Liu said, "Then the match is settled. No money is needed. This matter concerns my daughter as well, so I will carry out the arrangement myself."

"What should we do on our end?" Father asked.

刘团长说："以后我会告诉你。刚才在你们商量这事儿的时候，我在外边做了点儿事。现在，他们的命已经破了一半儿了。其余的作法，将来不在你们家里做，会在外面的什么地方。"

父亲说："小卢岩将来就能结婚了，真好！这事儿全靠大哥费心了！"

"I will let you know when the time comes," Troupe Leader Liu said. "While you were discussing the matter just now, I was doing something outside. At this point, half of their fates have already been broken. The rest of the arrangement will be carried out somewhere outside, not here in your home."

"So little Luyan will be able to marry after all — wonderful!" Father said. "We are truly grateful for everything, big brother."

1-5 视力测试 Vision Test

几天后，父亲刚下班回来，与母亲说话。我家卧室的开间大约是6.5米×3.3米；然而，我被白雾包围着，看不见他们。母亲说："刘健君送给卢岩的！快让卢岩看看！"

Some days later, Father had just returned from work and was talking with Mother. The bedroom in our home measured approximately 6.5 meters by 3.3 meters. I was surrounded by white fog and could not see either of them. "Eve Liu sent this as a gift for Luyan!" Mother called out. "Come and have a look!"

当我爬到距父亲很近的地方，才看见他带回来的两个玩具：一个黄色塑料陀螺和一个红色带各色斑点的华丽棒。现在回忆起来，那时我能看清的范围，大约是0.5米远、直径约0.9米的一个圆形区域，周围是白雾（注4，这是婴幼儿神经发育失调的症状）。我只能看清父亲身宽的一半，看不见母亲。现在估计，我与母亲的距离不会超过1.4米。

母亲对父亲说："看来，这孩子的眼睛有毛病了！趴到那么近看！"

Only when I had crawled very close to Father could I make out the two toys he had brought home: a yellow plastic spinning top and a red ornate stick with colorful spots. Looking back now, at that time I could see clearly only within an area approximately 0.5 meters away and roughly 0.9 meters in diameter — everything beyond that was white fog. (Note 4: This is a symptom of Infantile Neurodevelopmental Disorder.) I could make out only about half the width of Father's body, and I could not see Mother at all. I now estimate that the distance between Mother and me was no more than 1.4 meters.

"It looks like this child has a problem with his eyes," Mother said to Father, "see how close he has to get to look at anything!"

1-6 刘健君 Eve Liu

又一天，我在卧室的炕上坐着，父亲笑嘻嘻地对母亲说："人家那谁，去沈阳见着刘团长了。他家可好过了。我还特意打听了他家的大丫头。那才多大呀！到处跑，不怕陌生人，见人就主动搭讪，会背诗，唱歌，100以内的算术张口就来。"

母亲回答："你还记着呢！她上托儿所或者幼儿园吧！我听说那地方，人家都教。那孩子长得啥样？"

Another day, I was sitting on the kang in the bedroom. Father said to Mother with a grin, "A friend who had been to Shenyang happened to run into Troupe Leader Liu. His family is doing very well. I made a point of asking about the eldest daughter. She's so young, and yet she runs everywhere, not afraid of strangers at all — walks right up to people and starts talking, recites poetry, sings songs, and can do arithmetic up to a hundred without a moment's hesitation."

"You still have that in mind!" Mother replied. "She must be at a daycare center or kindergarten — I've heard they teach all those things there. What does she look like?"

父亲回答："那我没问。"

母亲笑着说："你瞒着我吧！"转头对我说："这么点儿个小人儿，还有个媳妇儿在大城市。以后咱上学，也好好学习，比她学习好，咱还看不上她呢！咱可不攀那高枝儿！"

父亲说："瞒你干什么！我没办法问。他只说那小丫头，鬼精灵，一点也不怕生，前院后院到处跑。那么个小孩子，谁还能说人家长得丑。"

"That I didn't think to ask," Father replied.

"You're hiding things from me!" Mother laughed. Then she turned to me. "Look at you — such a little person, and already a fiancée waiting in the big city. When you start school, you study hard and do better than her, and maybe you'll decide she's not good enough for you after all. We're not climbing onto anybody's high branch!"

"What would I hide?" Father said. "I simply couldn't ask something like that. All he said was that the little girl was sharp as a tack, not afraid of anyone, and ran all over the front and back yards. At that age, who could say anything bad about how she looks?"

母亲进了里屋，不说话了。当时，我还真的很想听。母亲发现了，对父亲说："小卢岩可能明白这事！一说刘健君，他瞪着眼睛，聚精会神地，听得可认真了！"

看来这时，我的视力已恢复到接近正常了。

Mother went into the inner room and said no more. At that time, I was genuinely eager to hear every word. Mother noticed. "Little Luyan must be following all of this!" she said to Father. "Every time we mention Eve Liu, he sits there with his eyes wide open, completely absorbed, listening so carefully!"

It seems that by this point, my eyesight had returned to near normal.

返回卢岩回忆录的目录 Return to the Catalog of Luyan Memoirs

这几年, 全世界的经济受到了严重影响， 从AI迅速发展到中东战争，吃苦的都是老百姓。工作机会越来越少，失业率越来越高，连有十年以上经验的人也找不到全职工作，年轻人更没有机会。老百姓收入转不到以前的水平，而日常消费却越来越高，这归因于中东战争以及关闭的霍尔木兹海峡。虽然目前经济这么糟糕，但我没有失望。人生总会有低潮，不要过多回想过去，而是要认清现在。趁有空的时候，思考自己可以在哪些方面提升自己。

不管这段糟糕的时期过多久，只要不断改善，就能自信地面对未来。

在办公室里，我发现对面桌的电器技术员高德新总是喜欢看和擦自己的皮鞋。一天，我和他闲聊的时候，发现他又在看和擦自己的皮鞋，就问："你怎么那么喜欢你的鞋呢？我每次看见你都在琢磨自己的鞋！"

In the office, I noticed that Dexin Gao, the electrical technician at the desk across from mine, was forever admiring and polishing his own shoes. One day, chatting with him, I caught him at it again and asked, "What's with you and those shoes? Every time I look over, you're fussing with them!"

他听了，高兴了，笑着说："你终于发现了！我喜欢干净，利索；你想知道你为什么老是能看见我擦皮鞋不？"

我回答当然想知道。

He looked pleased at the question, and smiled. "You finally noticed! I like things clean, tidy — want to know why you always catch me at it?"

Of course I wanted to know.

他突然大声说："就是因为你！你那火辣辣的眼神（参见3.2《触目的功能》）！一看我，我就感觉肉麻！我真受不了你的眼神！所以，我就看着你，当我发现你要看我的时候，我就看我的皮鞋，擦皮鞋。你想出来没？你的眼睛是怎么回事？"

"It's you!" he burst out. "That scorching stare of yours (see Section 3.2, Functions of Touch Eye)! One look from you and my skin crawls — I genuinely can't stand it! So I watch you, and the second I sense you're about to look my way, I look down at my shoes and start polishing. Have you ever figured it out? What's going on with your eyes?"

我听了之后，当然惊奇，说："我的家人，亲戚和朋友，早就发现我的眼神特别，没人知道是怎么回事。我早就回想过很多次，没发现原因。如果像你说的，我父母请人给做的，那他们怎么会不记得了呢！你说小时候，把眼睛蒙上半年，一年的（参见3.1《触目的作法》），那还不把眼睛蒙瞎了！不合逻辑。"

I was startled, naturally. "My family, my relatives, my friends — they've all noticed something's different about my eyes for a long time now, and nobody's ever worked out why. I've turned it over in my head plenty of times myself and never found a cause. And if it really was something my parents arranged, like you're suggesting — how could they possibly not remember it? You're saying someone blindfolded a child's eyes for six months, a year (see Section 3.1, Making Touch Eye) — that would've left the child blind outright! It doesn't add up."

返回和平房产局的目录 Return to the Catalog of Shenyang Heping Housing Bureau

其實每個人細究起來都很有意思，只是人很少會被其他人仔細看見。
以至於被人仔細看見這件事，有點近似於愛。

十年前、二十年前的職場,吵架是要花時間的。

你對一個人有意見,得先約時間,坐下來,面對面把話說開。中間有等待,有猶豫,有「算了明天再說」的緩衝。訊息傳得慢,誤會也因此有機會在傳到底之前,先被澄清一半。

現在不是這樣了。

一則訊息、一張截圖、一句話被斷章取義地轉貼到群組裡,不到十分鐘,一個人在辦公室裡的形象就可以被定型。你甚至不需要見到那個人,就可以對他有一個非常確定的判斷——他就是這樣的人,他就是故意的,他活該。

帶過很多團隊的我,也處理過無數次現場的衝突。我必須誠實地說:這幾年,我看到最多、也最危險的東西,不是能力不足,不是態度不好,而是一種聽起來很正面、卻常常讓人失去思考能力的東西——正義感。

正義感是什麼感覺

正義感讓人上癮。

因為當你覺得自己「站在對的一邊」,你會得到一種很純粹的爽快感——你不用再猶豫,不用再蒐集更多資訊,不用再考慮對方的處境。你只需要感覺到憤怒,那份憤怒本身,就已經替你做完了所有判斷。

這種感覺太好用了。它讓複雜的事情瞬間變簡單:誰是好人,誰是壞人,誰該被檢討,誰值得同情。你不需要理解全部的來龍去脈,只要選邊站,情緒就會替你把邏輯補完。

問題是——爽快,從來不等於正確。

心理學怎麼說

有一個模擬審判的心理學實驗,讓陪審團看一起謀殺案。當證據裡包含血腥、令人反感的照片時,陪審員對「被告有罪」的信心明顯升高——即使照片本身跟證據的證明力毫無關係,他們的判斷,理應只跟證據強度有關。

換句話說:憤怒讓人「更確定」,卻不會讓人「更正確」。這是正義感最危險的地方——它不會讓你意識到自己可能判斷錯誤,它只會讓你更相信自己是對的。

另一份針對職場的研究也發現,員工的道德義憤(moral outrage)常常導向懲罰性的行為——直接的衝突對抗,或間接的排擠、疏遠、冷處理。而這些行為,無論對錯,都會讓當事人的士氣下降,也讓整個團隊的信任感一點一滴流失。

正義感不是憑空出現的情緒。它是真實的。但它的作用,從來不是幫你看得更清楚,而是幫你更快下結論。

我自己也犯過的錯

化妝間,是片場裡最誠實,卻也最危險的地方。

演員、造型師、場務,趁著等待打光、等待通告的空檔,在那個小小的空間裡聊天、抱怨、講心裡話。整個現場的消息、情緒、對某個人的不滿,幾乎都是從化妝間開始流動出去的。

而身為製作人,我常常是整個現場,最後一個知道「發生了什麼事」的人。等消息輾轉傳到我這裡,早就不知道經過幾手,被加了多少形容詞,又漏了多少前因後果。

有一次,我聽說某個工作人員「態度很差,故意找碴」,是從三四手傳來的版本。我心裡已經有了結論:這個人不夠專業,難搞,下次合作要小心。等我真正找當事人談過,才發現事情完全不是那樣——原因只是一次溝通上的誤會,而「態度很差」這個說法,是中間轉述的人一路加油添醋出來的。

我當時的「正義感」,判他難搞、判他不專業——判得又快又篤定。但那份篤定,建立在一個經過好幾手轉述、早就走樣的版本上。

那次之後我才真正明白:我以為自己聽到的是全部,其實我聽到的,只是化妝間流傳出來的最後一手版本。在乎一件事,不代表我已經看清楚一件事。這兩者,是完全不同的兩種狀態,但正義感會讓你誤以為它們是同一件事。

現在的職場,更容易讓正義感失控

以前的職場,層級分明,溝通慢,很多事情要走過流程才會浮上檯面。這樣的結構有它的問題——效率低、官僚、有時候壓抑真話。但它也意外地留下一個緩衝:你很難只憑一個片段,就對一個人蓋棺論定。

現在的職場,扁平、即時、透明。這些都是進步。但也因為訊息傳遞得太快、太片段,每個人都可以在幾分鐘內,同時是法官、陪審團,還有執行懲罰的人。你看到一則被截圖的對話、一個被剪輯過的片段,情緒就已經先於事實抵達。

而一旦情緒先抵達,理性能做的事,就只剩下替情緒找理由了。

分清楚「在乎」和「看清楚」

我不是要說正義感不好。一個對是非完全無感的人,反而更危險。

我想說的是:正義感,應該是一個提醒你「這裡值得多看一眼」的訊號,而不該是一個讓你直接下判決的依據。

真正成熟的判斷力,是在情緒升起的那一刻,先問自己一句話——我看到的,是全部,還是一部分?

這句話問起來很簡單,但在憤怒最強烈的那幾秒鐘,它是全世界最難問出口的問題。因為承認「我可能還不知道全部」,遠比站在道德高地上,痛快地下一個結論,難太多了。

一句很老的提醒

這種「先別急著下結論」的提醒,其實不是新發現,老早就有人講過。

《箴言》裡有一句話:「未曾聽完先回答的,便是他的愚昧和羞辱。」講的就是——事情還沒聽完整,就急著給出判斷,最後吃虧的通常是自己。

《約翰福音》裡還有一句流傳千年的話,講的是一群人準備拿石頭處決一個「犯了錯」的女人,結果被反問了一句:「你們中間誰是沒有罪的,誰就可以先拿石頭打她。」最後,那些人一個一個都放下了石頭,轉身走了。

不管信不信教,這兩句話講的都是同一件很人性的事:憤怒會遞給你一顆石頭,讓你覺得自己有資格丟出去。但拿不拿得起來,終究還是要自己想清楚。

慢一點下結論,在這個時代,已經是一種紀律,而不是一種軟弱。

正義感會讓你覺得自己很清醒。但真正的清醒,往往長得不那麼理直氣壯——它安靜、遲疑,而且願意在憤怒退去之後,重新看一次。

昨天我们一家人一同去日本吃到饱火锅店，享受到高档的和牛、新鲜海鲜和蔬菜。从这次体验出发，我开始深刻地分析吃到饱餐厅的利与弊。

就有点而言，吃到饱餐厅允许食客随心所欲品尝各种食材，尤其是那些平日难得一见的珍贵食材。一普通日式火锅店为例，每盘肉类或海鲜均需额外付费，令人对尝试新食材望而却步。 然而，吃到饱最大弊端在于，用餐目的往往从享受没事演变为吃回本钱。一旦在意消费金额，便容易为了划算而刻意多是，最终导致肠胃不适，得不偿失。

由此可见，吃到饱餐厅虽能及鼓励食客大胆尝试新食材，却极易引发饮食过量，损害身体健康，实为一把双刃剑。

大家好，最近我在认真学习汉语。我想和中国人聊天一下，检查自己的水平，提高自己的数量，需要你们的帮助

我又來開始寫中文的日記. 我希望這次會繼續, 把寫日記成為習慣. 我最近開始了學習日文. 很多人說, 寫日記是學習語言最有用的辦法之一. 我學了很多語言, 但我從來沒有培養寫日記的習慣. 我語言表達能力很弱的原因之一很可能就是這個. 所以這次我一定不會錯過這個學習方法. 而且, 因為我當然還要繼續把我的中文進步, 除了寫日文的日記. 我也會寫中文的.  每天只需要十分鐘. 這樣壓力不太大, 沒有籍口不做.

我最爱吃的水果是西瓜，咬下红艳艳的果肉，甜美爽口。从夏节初到今日我已经买了七个西瓜。但有些却不完美，一两个太熟了，一点都不脆。结果我们只能用它们打果汁喝。因此，为了帮大家避免选错，我教教你妈妈选西瓜的方法。

首先，观察西瓜两端的瓜蒂，如果一端大、一端小，这通常代表瓜是甜的；如果两端大小相同，瓜肉可能不会很甜。其次，你要把西瓜拍一拍，听听声音。脆甜的西瓜听起来很坑的，否则可能太熟了。这一步比较难，只能通体验在能掌握好。

祝您运气好！希望你能挑出又脆又甜的西瓜！