Water & Cup

* Water & Cup * * 杯子與水的哲學 *


有一次，我們幾個分別了多年的同學
相約去拜訪大學的老師。
One day, a group of varsity students have a reunion and decided to pay their professor a visit.

老師很高興，問我們生活得怎麼樣。
The professor glimmered with joy naturally and asked them their wellbeing.

不料，一句話就勾出了大家的滿腹牢騷，
And this mild sentence has unexpectedly had the students blurted out their displeasures in their life.

大家紛紛訴說著生活的不如意:
One by one stated their unhappiness:

工作壓力大呀，生活煩惱多呀，做生意的商戰失利呀，當官的仕途受阻呀…
彷彿大家都成了時代的棄兒。
Work stress, too many worries, business venture cannot meet expectations,ranking officials have their career blocked …
Unknowingly, all have become a victim in today's fast moving world.

老師笑而不語，從廚房拿出一大堆杯子，擺在茶儿上。
The professor smiled upon listening to their woes. He laid lots of cups on his coffee table which he carried from his kitchen.

這些杯子各式各樣，形態各異，有瓷器的，有玻璃的，有塑膠的，
有的杯子看起來豪華而高貴，有的則顯得普通而簡陋……
The cups laid were of different types and shapes. There were porcelain,glass and plastic made of cups.
Some of them looked classy and elegant while some of them looked simple and ugly.

老師說:
「大家都是我的學生，我就不把你們當客人看了。你們要是渴了，就自己倒水喝
吧。」
The professor simply said:
"You all are my students, I will not treat you as my guests. Please help yourself to the drinks if you are thirsty."

七嘴八舌，大家說得口乾舌燥了，
便紛紛拿了自己看中的杯子倒水喝。
Adding profusely to their woes, all were thirsty and each had chosen a cup which they like and go to fill it up.

等我們手裏都端了一杯水時，
老師又發言了。
When all students had poured themselves a drink, the professor said:

他指著茶儿上剩下的杯子說:
「你們有沒有發現，你們手裏的杯子是最好看最別緻的杯子，而像這些塑膠杯沒有人
選中它。」
當然，我們並不覺得奇怪，誰都希望自己拿著的是一隻好看的杯子。
"The cups that you are holding are the finest and nobody is holding the simplest plastic made cup."
Everybody prefers to have a cup which they like and feel dignified.

老師說:「這就是你們煩惱的根源」
The professor further added: "This is the root to your woes."

大家需要的是水，而非杯子，但我們有意無意地會去選擇漂亮的杯子。
Every one of you just needed water to quest your thirst and not cup. But we decisively go and choose a finest cup for this purpose .

這就如我們的生活----如果生活是水的話，那麼，工作、金錢、地位
這些東西就是杯子，它們只是我們盛起生活之水的工具。
And this has directly dictates our living standards. For an example, if we need water for a living, then jobs, money, job status etc are just like cups. They are just tools to hold our water which is our essential needs for a living.

其實，杯子的好壞，並不影響水的品質。
Cups regardless of good or bad of it looks will not affect the quality of our water.

如果將心思花在杯子上，大家還有心情去品嘗水的苦甜，這不就是自尋煩惱嗎?
If everybody is putting their heart and soul in seeking for the finest cup, one will lose its basic living significance. The pleasure of seeking water and understanding derived will not be appreciated. Inadvertently, these will seek for more worries and trouble in the end.

生活是可以简单的
Life can be simple...