七宝楼台
Luo Fei
和显现的时刻。她有过人们称为“第二次悔改”的经验，这经验来自基督的异象。这些异象和她继而发生的属灵旅程，引领她为默观的属灵操练建立加尔默罗修
会。她最伟大的著作是《七宝楼台》（Interior Castle），描述信徒的七个“moradas”，即居所或楼台。愈是接近第七层楼台，便愈接
近上帝。她提出这七个居所，不是要信徒必须跟随的七个步骤，而是作为对自己与上帝的神秘经验的描述。
/// “我开始思想心灵有如一座堡垒，用一颗钻石或很通透的水晶造成，那里有许多房间，正如天上有许多楼台一样……我发现心灵伟大的美丽和其宏
大的容量，是无与伦比的。” ///
大德兰描述第一层楼台是大多数人居住之处。虽然他们感觉生命不仅如此，但他们却很忙碌，把自己的经历集中于生与死的世俗课题上。在本章大德兰承认人类灵
魂的尊贵，这些灵魂是按上帝的形象和样式所造，但她观察到，大多数人都满足于活在属灵深度的阴影之下。
第二层楼台的住客已有足够进步，可以学习祷告的生命，并借着讲章、书本和友谊，增强对上帝的意识。那些踏上第二层楼台的人，开始迈向得着更多。
在第三层楼台的人，学习每天更明锐于上帝的临在，并对别人表达一些慈悲，但他们的善行仍然有限。这里的住客展现出高标准的美德，但这种美德还未学会自我
降服或无私的爱。
大德兰说：“重要的不是想很多，而是爱很多。”在第四层楼台的人，已经学会超越思考信仰或进行宗教活动。他们因着爱的激励，达到对信仰更深的了解。他们
明白到自己的生命对超自然的需要。他们不再满足于或能够用自己的力量来服事，他们不断寻求增进留意上帝的能力在生命中的临在。
在第五层楼台中，灵魂靠近上帝。正如蝉虫死在茧中，却从死里生出美丽的白蝴蝶，灵魂也是如此转化。同样地，大德兰视灵魂为预备好接受上帝临在的礼物。
第六层楼台是一个多灾多难的地方，正如一个已经订婚的人，许配给耶稣，预备完全地与祂联合。这人经验到增长的亲密，伴随着增长的痛苦。
最后一层楼台是灵魂与基督成婚的地方，正如保罗说：“因为活着的就是基督，我死了就有益处。”（腓一21）在这个君王的楼台上，信徒经历完全的转化。
大德兰“七层楼台”的引导为无论是做师傅的还是徒弟的，都丰富地深化了我们积极回应上帝的方法，借此也可以用来评估迈向与上帝更深度亲密的属灵进程。徒
弟不会经验到一种直线的、顺序的过程，经过这七层楼台的成长，好像是灵命塑造的阶梯上的台阶一样。楼台形成一个稳定的制高点，由此我们可以站着观察我们
朝圣之旅的迂回脚步。感兴趣的肢体可以大德兰的“七层楼台”的方法来回顾自己的生命、审视那些奇妙的时刻、对微小声音的盼望、不住地祈祷，来操练自
己。
这里提供《七宝楼台》全书电子版的下载（Word格式）http://www.box.net/shared/o24c33a1e7
另注：本文关于“七宝楼台”的描述参考《师徒关系：属灵路上拖与带》一书（Spiritual Mentoring：A Guide for
Seeking and Giving Direction），奇夫．安德逊、兰廸．利斯 (基道出版社）
Luo Fei
基督教神秘主义
by Ian Ellis-Jones
Salient Points of Addresses Delivered at the Sydney Unitarian Church
on 3 June 2007 and 1 July 2007
2007年6月3日及7月1日 伊恩*埃利斯*琼斯 在悉尼一神教会的演讲要点
原文：http://www.sydneyunitarianchurch.org/Christian_Mysticism.pdf
1. Mysticism may be defined as the spirituality of the direct
experience of God.
1、神秘主义可被定义为一种直接体验神的灵性。
NOTES. Spirituality is a composite word referring to the "domain
where mind, personality, purpose, ideals, values and meanings
dwell" (Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan). Spirituality involves the longing to
be connected with the largeness of life as well as to something larger
than one's ego-self, in other words, a power-not-oneself.
注：灵性（spirituality）是合成词，意思是"思想、人格、意志、理想、价值和意义居住的领域"（Rabbi Mordecai
Kaplan）。灵性包括了某种渴望，渴望与生命之巨大相连接，以及与某个比他的自我更大的东西相连接，也就是说，渴望一种非自我的力量。
Also, for the Christian mystic God is seen as an all-embracing love
that unites the universe into one indivisible whole, the ground of all
being, the being of all beings, Being Itself, our very essence, the
oneness that unites everything.
同时，对于基督教神秘主义者来说，神是包含一切的爱，因此把宇宙凝聚成不可分割的整体，祂是一切存在的基础、一切存在的存在、存在本身、我们的真正
本质、结合万物的一。
2. Mysticism is not essentially about "mystical experiences" -
experiences come and go - but is focused on the lasting experience of
God, leading to the transformation of the believer into a transforming
union with God. "In him we live, and move, and have our being .... We
are his offspring" (Acts 17:28). Jesus proclaimed, "I and the Father
are one" (Jn 10:30) showing the world what the union of God and man
can be. It is also written, "There is one God who is father of all,
over all, through all and within all" (Eph 4:6).
2、神秘主义在本质上不是关于"神秘经验"的----经验无常----而是专注于对神的持续性体验，它将信徒转化为某种变化着的与神的结合者。"因着祂我们
可以生存、活动、存在......我们是祂的子孙"（徒17：28）。耶稣宣称"我与父原为一"（约10：30），显示出神与人结合的世界。亦有这样的文
字："神只有一位，就是万有的父。祂超越万有，贯彻万有，并且在万有之中"（弗4：6）。
3. Mysticism is a vital part of the Christian heritage. Indeed, it
is actually the core and spiritual essence of Christian spirituality.
The direct experience of God is a transrational (but not necessarily
"supernatural") kind of knowing, which goes beyond ordinary
intellectual or rational understanding.
3、神秘主义是基督教传统的一个重要组成部分。毫无疑问，实际上它是基督教灵性的核心和精神基础。对神的直接体验是一种超理性的（但不必是"超自然
的"）认识方式，超出了一般智力的或理性的理解方式。
4. Christian mysticism is not a matter of "belief" or "emotional
experience" (nor is it a psychological malady) but is a natural state
nevertheless characterised by positive emotions and states of
consciousness such as love and joy.
4、基督教神秘主义无关"信心"或"情感体验"（也不是心理疾病），而是一种自然状态，仅仅能由一些正面情绪和意识状态，例如爱和喜悦，来辨别。
5. The Christian mystic looks within in order to have a relationship
with God other than via priests and institutions. Saint Paul spoke of
the goal and nature of mysticism and the mystical experience when he
wrote, "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known" (1
Cor 13:12).
5、为了获得与神的关联，基督教神秘主义者向自身内部寻找，而不通过牧师或机构。圣保罗曾谈到过神秘主义的目标和本质以及神秘体验，当他写到，
"我们现在是对着镜子观看，模糊不清，到那时就要面对面了。我现在所知道的只是一部分，到那时就完全知道了，好像主完全知道我一样"（林前13：
12）。
6. In the mystical experience the Christian mystic no longer
experiences him/herself as a separate individual but rather as an
expression of the Oneness of all Life. God, who is perceived as the
only reality, is everything and does everything. Saint Paul achieved
the divinized state of losing his "self": "I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me!" (Gal 2:20).
6、在神秘体验中，基督教神秘主义者不再将他或她自己视为单独的个体，而会将自己视为所有生命之同一的一个表现。他们感到神是唯一的真实，是一切，
并且行一切。圣保罗到达了这一神圣化的境界，失去了他的"自我"："现在活着的，不再是我，而是基督活在我里面！"（加2：20）。
GOD AND I
I walked with God, God walked with me,
But which was God, and which was me?
And thus I found, the Truth profound,
I live in God, God lives with me. - Anon.
神和我
我与神同行，神与我同行，
可哪个是神，哪个是我？
于是我发现，那个深刻的真理，
我在神里生，神与我同生。----匿名
7. The Christian mystical experience is available to all who
sincerely and diligently seek it. The 16th-century Spanish mystic, St
John of the Cross wrote, "God does not reserve the high vocation of
mystical contemplation for certain souls only. On the contrary he
wants all to embrace it, but finds few who will permit Him to work
such exalted things for them." The very purpose of human life is to
come to a knowledge of God, and if we simply turn toward God, that is,
seek God, we will find that G o d has been waiting for us all along.
The 17th-century French mystic Brother Lawrence assures us, "Knock,
persevere, in knocking, and I guarantee that He will answer." We do
not need to "find" God as if God were in some way lost.
7、基督教神秘体验向所有真诚并坚持不懈寻找它的人敞开。十六世纪的西班牙神秘主义者，圣十字约翰（St John of the Cross）曾
写到："神并未把神秘沉思的高级才能保留给某些特别的灵魂。相反，祂希望所有人都能拥有它，却发现只有很少的人允祂在他们身上行那高贵的事。"人类生命
的真正目的在于获得关于神的知识，我们仅仅只要转向神，也就是说，寻找神，我们就会发现，神一直在那里等着我们。十七世纪的法国神秘主义者劳伦斯弟兄
（Brother Lawrence）向我们保证："敲门，坚持敲门，我保证祂会应门的。"我们无需去"发现"神，好像神以某种形式消失了似的。
8. The Christian Church, even in its multiplicity of discordant
forms, is first and foremost a mystical church, despite the efforts of
many who would rather have it otherwise.
8、任何基督教会，包括那些好战的教会，首先必是神秘主义的教会，尽管总有人努力想让它变成别的样子。
9. For the practitioner of Christian mysticism, there are
essentially three stages in the mystical experience: first,
purification; secondly, contemplation; and, thirdly, union.
9、对于基督教神秘主义的实践者，本质上有三个神秘体验的阶段：第一，净化；第二，冥思；第三，（与神的）合而为一。
10. In the first stage - purification - the believer seeks to weaken
and weed-out all of the structures of the personal self in order to
open oneself to an experience of one's True Self, God. This involves
the complete subjugation of the lower nature by the higher. "The
essence of purgation is self simplification" (Richard of St Victor).
The mystic constantly seeks out those areas of his or her own life
which are governed by the little, selfish "I" (the egoself), and
places them under the control of the selfless "I", or, if you like,
the True Self ("the Self" or God). "For the trouble is that we are
self-centred, and no effort of the self can remove the self from the
centre of its own endeavour" (Archbishop William Temple). The ego-self
has to be thrown offcentre, and we must give up all things that stand
in the way of our spiritual development (bad habits, obsessions,
addictions, in fact, all forms of selfobsession or "mental
furniture"). There needs to be a shift in emphasis from self to non-
self (Norman Vincent Peale).
10、在第一阶段（净化）中，信徒试图削弱并消除所有个人自我的结构，从而向真实自我（True Self）的体验----神的体验敞开。这意味着低级
本性向高级本性的完全臣服。"净化的本质是自我简化"（Richard of St Victor）。在一个人的生命中，有些领域被小小的自私
的"我"（小我（egoself））所控制；神秘主义者不断找出这些领域，并将它们置于无私的 "我"----如果你愿意也可说成"真实自我"（"大我"或
神）----的控制之下。"问题在于，我们全是自我中心的，所以无论自我怎么努力，都无法将自我从它本身行动的中心移开"（大主教威廉*坦普尔）。自我只能
被抛出中心，我们必须抛弃阻碍我们灵性发展的一切（坏习惯、执念、瘾，所有形式的自我执念或"精神牢狱"）。重心要从有我转移到无我（诺尔曼*文森特*
皮尔（Norman Vincent Peale））。
11. We need to find a power-not-oneself. However, denial of the self
tends only to increase one's obsession with oneself. The answer is not
to be found in trying to be self-less. The key is self-forgetfulness.
"The only way to get rid of self-consciousness is through God-
consciousness. We become so conscious of another Self within us that
we lose sight of our own self" (E Stanley Jones).
11、我们需要找到非自我的力量。可是，拒绝自我只会加深一个人对自我的执念。问题的答案不是让人努力变得无私。答案的关键在于：忘我。" 只有通
过上帝意识，才能摆脱自我意识。我们如此清楚的意识到在我们里面的另一个'大我'，以至于忘记了我们本来的自我"（斯坦利*琼斯（E Stanley
Jones））。
In order to arrive at pleasure in everything
Desire to have pleasure in nothing.
In order to arrive at possessing everything,
Desire to possess nothing.
In order to arrive at being everything
Desire to be nothing.
In order to arrive at knowing everything,
Desire to know nothing.
若要享受万物，
先求一无所乐。
若要拥有万物，
先求一无所有。
若要成为万物，
先求一无所是。
若要了解万物，
先求一无所知。
In order to arrive at that wherein thou hast no pleasure,
Thou must go by a way wherein thou hast no pleasure.
In order to arrive at that which thou knowest not
Thou must go by a way thou knowest not.
In order to arrive at that which thou possest not,
Thou must go by a way that thou possesst not.
In order to arrive at that which thou art not,
Thou must go through that which thou art not.
要到一无所乐之处，
必通过你所不乐的。
要到一无所知之处，
必通过你所不知的。
要到一无所有之处，
必通过你所没有的。
要到一无所是之处，
必通过你所不是的。
When thy mind dwells upon anything,
Thou art ceasing to cast thyself upon the All.
For in order to pass from the all to the All,
Thou hast to deny thyself wholly in all.
And when thou comest to possess it wholly,
Thou must possess it without desiring anything.
For, if thou wilt have anything in having all,
Thou hast not thy treasure purely in God."
当思绪驻于一物，
你就不再置自身于全体之中。
为超越万物，拥有全体，
你必须彻底否认自己。
于是，当全体完全被你拥有，
那定是你一无所求的拥有。
因为，倘若拥有万物即拥有一切，
你一定忘记了纯粹属神的珍宝。
- St John of the Cross
----圣十字约翰
12. The second stage of the Christian mystical experience is known
as contemplation. In The Cloud of Unknowing, a 14th-century
masterpiece of medieval English Christian mysticism, we read this:
12、基督教神秘体验的第二阶段是冥思。中世纪英国基督教神秘主义在十四世纪的名作，《未知之云》（In The Cloud of
Unknowing）中，我们可以读到：
For in the beginning it is usual to feel nothing but a kind of
darkness about your mind, or as it were, a cloud of unknowing. You
will seem to know nothing and to feel nothing except a naked intent
toward God in the depths of your being. Try as you might, this
darkness and this cloud will remain between you and your God. You will
feel frustrated, for your mind will be unable to grasp him, and your
heart will not relish the delight of his love. But learn to be at home
in this darkness. Return to it as often as you can, letting your
spirit cry out to him whom you love. For if, in this life, you hope to
feel and see God as he is in himself it must be within this darkness
and this cloud.
一开始，你照例什么都感觉不到，只有脑海周围的某种黑暗，仿佛一团未知之云。你好像一无所知，一无所感，除了在你的存在深处，有对神的赤裸的渴望，
无论你怎样尝试，这黑暗和云团总在你和你的神之间。你会感觉挫折，因为你的心智无法领会祂，你的心灵无法享受祂的爱带来的喜悦。可是你要学会在这黑暗中
感觉自在。尽可能经常的回到这黑暗中，让你的灵魂向你所爱者呐喊。因为，如果你在这一生中希望感应并找到本来的真神，祂必定在那黑暗和云团里。
14. Yes, the Ultimate dwells in obscurity, hidden behind a cloud of
unknowing, so that we cannot "see" or otherwise contact it using the
intellect or the emotions. Only faith can break through. ("Darkness to
the intellect/But sunshine to the heart." F W Faber.) We must "learn
to be at home in this darkness". Why darkness? Because the things of
this world are no longer visible, and we can't see them. It does not
mean that "ultimate reality" itself is dark. in fact, we often refer
to that ultimate reality as being Light, which, of course, it is.
Tennyson wrote, "Power/Which makes the darkness and the light/And
dwells not in the light alone."
14、是的，终极之物居于晦秘中，藏匿在未知之云的后面，因此，智慧或感情无法让我们"见到"或接触它。只有信仰能突破障碍。（"黑暗给了智慧／阳
光却给了心灵。"----费柏（F W Faber））我们必须"学会在这黑暗中感觉自在"。为什么是黑暗？因为在这个世界里没有可视之物，我们不能看见它
们。并不是说"终极现实 "（ultimate reality）本身是黑暗的。事实上，我们常常把终极现实设想为光明的，当然也确实如此。但尼生
（Tennyson）写道："力量／它创造黑暗与光明／它并非仅驻于光明。"
We are talking about a state of uncaused bliss or blessedness.
Mother Julian of Norwich wrote:
我们在这里所说的是一种无缘由的欢喜或受福的状态。诺威奇的朱利安修女（Mother Julian of Norwich）是这样描写的：
Our Soul may never have rest in things that are beneath itself. And
when it cometh above all creatures into the Self, yet may it not abide
in the beholding of its Self, but all the beholding is blissfully set
in God that is the Maker dwelling therein. For in Man's Soul is His
very dwelling; and the highest light and the brightest shining of the
City is the glorious love of our Lord, as to my sight.
我们的灵魂也许从未在低于其自身之物里安歇。而当它升到所有生命之上，进入大我，却不安于注视这大我，而是怀着大欢喜注视着神，那居于其中的造物
主。因为人的灵魂正是祂的住所；在我眼中，主的荣耀的爱正是那圣城里至高的光，至亮的星。
What may make us more to enjoy in God than to see in Him that He
enjoyeth in the highest of all His works? For I saw in the same
Shewing that if the blessed Trinity might have made Man's Soul any
better, any fairer, any nobler than it was made, He should not have
been full pleased with the making of Man's Soul. And He willeth that
our hearts be mightily raised above the deepness of the earth and all
vain sorrows, and rejoice in Him.
我们见到神喜悦祂最高的造物，还有什么更能让我们喜悦于神的？因为我在同一份神圣赠予中也得知，倘若三而一的神把人的灵魂造得更美好，更公正，更高
贵，那祂就不会对造出人类灵魂如此的满怀喜悦。祂希望我们的心灵被有力的托起，上升至土地深处和一切空虚的痛苦之上，并靠祂欢喜。
15. John of Ruysbroeck also wrote compellingly of the contemplative
stage of Christian mysticism. He wrote:
关于基督教神秘主义的冥思阶段，吕斯布鲁克（John of Ruysbroeck）亦引人注目的写道：
For what we are, that we intently contemplate; and what we
contemplate, that we are; for our mind, our life, and our essence are
simply lifted up and united to the very truth, which is God. Wherefore
in this simple and intent contemplation we are one life and one spirit
with God. And this I call the contemplative life. In this highest
stage the soul is united to God without means; it sinks into the vast
darkness of the Godhead.
我们全神冥思的，正是我们所是的；我们所是的，正是我们冥思着的；我们的思想、我们的生命、我们的本质完全被举起，与真理，也就是神合为一体。因
此，在这个简单而专注的冥思中，我们与神有着同一生命和同一灵魂。我称此为冥思的生命。在这最高境界，灵魂不经任何途径而与神结合；它沉没到神的巨大黑
暗中。
16. The third and final stage of Christian mysticism is union, when
the mind sinks into the depths of the heart. There is no longer any
sense or state of separation between us and God. We are one, in the
same way as Christ himself was one with the Father, who is our Father
as well. This heightened or expanded state of consciousness is beyond
words, beyond language, indeed beyond all possibility of rational
discourse. St Teresa of Avila, a 16th century Spaniard:
基督教神秘主义的第三阶段，也就是最后阶段，是（我们与神的）结合，我们的心智将沉入心灵的深处。我们再也感觉不到与神的分离，再没有分离。我们与
神成为一体，就像基督本人与父成为一体，基督的父亦是我们的父。这是意识升高的或扩展的状态，无法描述，无法言说，它确实超越了整个理性话语可能的表达
范围。十六世纪西班牙的圣女大德兰（St Teresa of Avila）这样说：
The soul becomes one with God. It is brought into this mansion of
the empyrean Heaven which we must have in the depths of our souls; for
it is clear that, since God dwells in them, He must have one of these
mansions.
灵魂与神同在。灵魂被领入至高天国的殿堂，这殿堂就在我们灵魂深处；因为，很显然，神居于灵魂中，而祂肯定拥有一座这样的殿堂。
Meister Eckhart writes:
梅斯特·爱克哈特（Meister Eckhart）则写道：
Into the soul's essence no speck can ever fall. Anything, however
small, adhering to the soul, prevents your seeing me. We cannot see
the visible except with the invisible. When all things are reduced to
naught in you then ye shall see God. God is not seen except by
blindness, not known except by ignorance, nor understood except by
fools.
在灵魂的中心，没有丁点儿灰尘散落。不论多细小的东西都附着在灵魂上，让你无法见到我。只有那不可见的，能让你见到那可见的。只有你里面的一切都
归零，然后你才能见到神。除非盲眼，神不可见；除非无知，神不可知；除非愚者，神不可理解。
... ...
In the soul's essence there is no activity, for the powers she
works with emanate from the ground of being. Yet in that ground is the
silent 'middle': here [in the ground is] nothing but rest and
celebration. . . . There is the silent 'middle,' for no creature ever
entered there and no image, nor has the soul there either activity, or
understanding, therefore she is not aware there of any image, whether
of herself or of any other creature. . . . When the soul comes to the
nameless place, she takes her rest. There . . . she rests.
......
在灵魂的中心，没有一丝动静，因为她的力量来自存在的地上。但那里是静悄悄的"中央"之地：那里只有安息和庆贺......那里是静的"中央"，因为不曾有
生灵踏足，不曾有形和魂在此活动或思考，因此，她没发现那里有任何有形的东西，不管是她自己的还是别的生命的......当灵魂到达那无名地，她便安歇了。就在
那里...... 她安歇了。
17. In this third stage of the Christian mystical experience, there
is direct, unmediated communion with God. The mystic no longer exists
as a separate individual but becomes one with the Oneness Itself. God
is experienced not as something "other" but as our shared essential
identity.
在基督教神秘体验的第三阶段，人与神的交融是直接的，无中介的。神秘主义者不再以单独的个体存在，而与同一本身（Oneness Itself）同
一。在这样的体验中，神不再是"另外"的东西，而是与我们分享着同一个本质的本体。
18. I would like to conclude this homily with a most mystical and
powerful benediction, known as the "First Ray Benediction":
我想用一篇最神秘而有力的祝祷词----"启明祝祷"（First Ray Benediction）来结束此次演讲：
May the Holy Ones, whose pupils you aspire to become, show you the
Light you seek, give you the strong aid of their compassion and their
wisdom. There is a peace that passeth understanding; it abides in the
hearts of those who live in the Eternal; there is a power that maketh
all things new; it lives and moves in those who know the Self as One.
May that peace brood over you, that power uplift you, till you stand
where the One Initiator is invoked, till you see His Star shine forth.
Amen.
愿你们渴望遵从的那些圣人能让你们见到你们在寻找的光；愿他们的怜悯和智慧给你们坚定的扶持。有一种超越理解力的平和，它常驻于那些住在永恒里的人
心中；有一种更新万物的力量，它活在那些懂得自我即一（Self as One）的人里面。愿那平和镇定你们，愿那力量鼓励你们，直到你们抵达唯一的创
始者被召唤的地方，直到你们看见祂的星光从此闪耀。阿门。