In ancient Kyoto, a devout Shinto scholar lived a simple life, but he was often distracted from his prayers by the bustling city. He felt that his neighbors were polluting his soul, and he sought to perform some kind of personal harae— a purification ritual that would cleanse his body and his mind.
在古時的京都, 有位虔誠的神道學者 過著簡單的生活, 但城市的喧囂經常 讓他無法專心禱告。 他認為他的鄰居在汙染他的靈魂, 所以他企圖進行某種個人的「祓」 ——這是一種淨化的儀式, 能潔淨他的身心。
He decided to travel to the revered Hie Shrine. The trip was an arduous climb that took all day. But he was glad for the solitude it afforded him, and the peace he felt upon returning home was profound. The scholar was determined to maintain this clarity for as long as possible, and resolved to make this pilgrimage another 99 times. He would walk the path alone, ignoring any distractions in his quest for balance, and never straying from his purpose.
他決定要前往受敬重的日枝神社。 路程是很艱難的坡路, 花了一整天的時間。 但他很高興這一路上能夠獨處, 欣喜返家所感受到的深沉平靜。 學者下定決心要盡可能 維持這種清明感, 同時決定還要再走九十九次 同樣的朝聖之路。 他會獨自上路, 不理會任何會造成分心的 人事物,追求平衡,
The man was true to his word, and as days stretched into weeks,
且從來沒有偏離他的目標。
he walked through driving rain and searing sun. Over time, his devotion revealed the invisible world of spirits which exists alongside our own. He began to sense the kami, which animated the rocks underfoot, the breeze that cooled him, and the animals grazing in the fields.
這名男子信守諾言, 一天天過去,一週週過去, 他歷經猛烈的大雨、燒灼的日曬。 隨時間過去,他的奉獻 讓他看見了隱形的靈界, 和我們的世界並行的另一個世界。 他開始感受到 使他腳下石頭生氣勃勃的神、 讓他涼爽的微風, 以及原野上吃草的動物。
Still he spoke to no one, spirit or human. He was determined to avoid contact with those who had strayed from the path and become polluted with kegare. This taboo of defilement hung over the sick and deceased, as well as those who defiled the land or committed violent crimes. Of all of the threats to the scholar’s quest for spiritual purity, kegare was by far the greatest.
他仍然不和任何人或任何靈說話。 他決心要避免接觸那些偏離正道、 被汙穢給污染的人。 汙穢禁忌籠罩著病人、亡者, 以及那些汙染大地或犯下重罪的人。 學者在追尋靈性純淨時 所要面對的最大威脅就是汙穢。
After paying his respects for the 80th time, he set out for home once more. But as darkness fell, he heard strained sobs in the night air. The scholar tried to push forward and ignore the moans. But the desperate cries overwhelmed him. Grimacing, he left his path to follow the sound to its source.
在做了第八十次致敬之後, 他再次啟程返家。 但隨著夜幕低垂, 他在夜晚的空氣中 聽見了焦慮的啜泣聲。 學者試著繼續往前, 忽略這些嗚咽聲。 但那絕望的哭泣聲讓他無法招架。 帶著痛苦的表情, 他離開了他要走的路, 循著聲音去找源頭。
He soon came to a cramped cottage, with a woman crumpled outside. Filled with pity, the scholar implored the woman to share her sorrow. She explained that her mother had just died— but no one would help her with the burial. At that news, his heart sank. Touching the body would defile his spirit, draining his life force and leaving him forsaken by the kami. But as he listened to her cries, his sympathy soared. And so, they buried the old woman together, to ensure her safe passage into the spirit world.
很快,他就來到一間狹小的屋子, 有一名女子癱倒在外面。 學者出於憐憫,請女子 傾訴她為什麼悲傷。 她解釋說她母親剛過世, 但沒有人願意協助她埋葬母親。 聽到這事,他的心重重一沉。 觸碰屍體會汙染他的靈, 吸乾他的生命力,讓他被神抛棄。 但當他聽著她哭泣, 他的同理心大增。 於是,他們一起埋葬了那名老婦, 確保她能平安前往靈界。
The burial was complete, but the taboo of death weighed heavily on the scholar. How could he have been so foolish, to shirk his most important rule and corrupt his divine journey? After a tormented night, he resolved to go back to the shrine to cleanse himself.
埋葬完成了, 但死亡的禁忌重重壓在學者身上。 他怎麼會這麼愚蠢, 逃避了他最重要的原則, 讓他神聖的旅程腐敗了? 在難熬的一夜之後, 他決定回到神社去潔淨自己。
To his surprise, the usually quiet temple was filled with people, all gathering around a medium who communicated directly with the kami. The man hid himself, not daring approach in case anyone glimpse his polluted soul. But the medium had other ways of seeing, and called him forward from the crowd.
讓他驚訝的是,通常 很安靜的寺廟竟人山人海, 大家都圍著能直接和神溝通的靈媒。 學者躲了起來,不敢靠近, 深怕有人會注意到 他的靈魂受到汙染。
Ready to be forsaken, the scholar approached the holy woman.
但靈媒用其他方式看見了他, 叫他從群眾中站出來。
But the medium merely smiled. She took his impure hand in hers, and whispered a blessing only he could hear— thanking him for his kindness. In that moment, the scholar discovered a great spiritual secret: contamination and corruption are two very different things.
學者做好被拋棄的準備, 走向這名神聖的女子。 但靈媒只是微笑。 她雙手握起學者不純淨的手, 用只有他聽得見的聲音, 說出一段祝福, 感謝他的仁慈。 那一刻,學者發現了 一個天大的靈性祕密: 汙染和腐敗 是非常不同的兩件事。
Filled with insight, the scholar set himself back on his journey. But this time, he stopped to help those he met. He began to see the beauty of the spirit world everywhere he went, even in the city he'd previously shunned. Others cautioned that he risked kegare— but he never told them why he so freely mingled with the sick and disadvantaged. For he knew that people could only truly understand harae through a journey of their own.
帶著洞見,學者重新返回他的旅程。 但這一次,他停下腳步 協助他所遇到的人。 漸漸地,不論走到哪裡, 他都開始看到靈界之美, 就連他先前迴避的城市也一樣。 其他人警告他有汙穢的風險—— 但他從來沒有告訴他們 為什麼他能如此自在地 和病人及弱勢者往來。 因為他知道, 人只有透過自己的旅程 才能真正理解「祓」。