双语美文|起点

■ 起点

The Beginning

◎ Deng M. T.

In the beginning, all things are hopeful. We prepare ourselves to start a new. Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in the first moment: our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.

In order to start, we must make a decision. The decision is a commitment to daily self-cultivation. We must make a strong connection to our inner selves. Outside matters are superfluous[1] . Alone and naked, we negotiate all of life’s travails. Therefore, we alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments for experiencing the deepest spiritual essence of life.

Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious[2] signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate[3] to the sound of our decision .

在起点，所有的一切都充满希望。我们准备重新开始。虽然我们的目的是前方奇妙的旅程，但我们的一切希望——乐观、信念、决心和纯真，都包含在开始的那一刻。

为了开始，我们必须做好决定。这一决定是我们日常自我修养的一种承诺。我们要将它与自己的内心建立一种密切的关联。除此之外的事都是多余的。我们终生劳碌，最终孤独而赤裸地离去。因此，我们必须有所作为，那样可以引导我们去体会生活中最深层的精神实质。

一旦我们下定决心，所有的事情就会接连不断地发生。吉兆并非迷信，而是对事情的肯定预测，是事物的反应。据说，若有人虔诚地向岩石祈祷，岩石都会被赋予生命。同样，若我们坚定自己的精神之旅，即使高山和峡谷也会回应我们坚定的呼声。