"What should I do about my meditation practice?" I ask Richard one day, as he's watching me scrub the temple floors. (He's lucky—he works in the kitchen, doesn't even have to show up there until an hour before dinner. But he likes watching me scrub the temple floors. He thinks it's funny.)
“我的禅修该怎么办？”有天我问理查，他看着我洗刷寺院地板。（他运气不错——在厨房工作，甚至只须在晚餐前一个小时现身厨房即可。可是他喜欢看我刷洗寺院地板。他觉得很逗趣。）

"Why do you have to do anything about it, Groceries?"

“食品杂货，你干嘛怎么办？”

"Because it stinks."
“因为一团糟。”

"Says who?"
“谁说的 ？”

"I can't get my mind to sit still."
“我没办法让自己的脑子静止下来。”

"Remember what the Guru teaches us—if you sit down with the pure intention to meditate, whatever happens next is none of your business. So why are you judging your experience?"

“记得导师教过我们——你坐下来，若纯粹为了禅坐，那么接下来无论发生什么事，都与你无关。 那又何必去裁定自己的体验？”

"Because what's happening in my meditations cannot be the point of this Yoga."
“因为我在禅坐时发生的情况，不可能是瑜伽的重点。”

"Groceries, baby—you got no idea what's happening in there."
“亲爱的食品杂货——你根本不晓得发生什么事啦。”

"I never see visions, I never have transcendent experiences—"
“我从没见过幻境，从没有过超越自我的体验——”

"You wanna see pretty colors? Or you wanna know the truth about yourself? What's your intention?"
“你想看见缤纷的色彩？或想得知自我的真相？你想要的是什么？”

"All I seem to do is argue with myself when I try to meditate."
“每次想禅坐的时候，我就好像只跟自己辩论。”

"That's just your ego, trying to make sure it stays in charge. This is what your ego does. It keeps you feeling separate, keeps you with a sense of duality, tries to convince you that you're flawed and broken and alone instead of whole."
“那只是你的自我想确定自己是掌门人罢了。你的自我做的事，就是不断让你感到绝望，让你有双重感觉，想使你相信自己有缺陷、心灰意懒、形单影只，而不是完整的人。”

"But how does that serve me?"
“这如何对我有用？”

"It doesn't serve you. Your ego's job isn't to serve you. Its only job is to keep itself in power. And right now, your ego's scared to death cuz it's about to get downsized. You keep up this spiritual path, baby, and that bad boy's days are numbered. Pretty soon your ego will be out of work, and your heart'll be making all the decisions. So your ego's fighting for its life, playing with your mind, trying to assert its authority, trying to keep you cornered off in a holding pen away from the rest of the universe. Don't listen to it."
“这对你没用。你的自我不是为了对你有用 。它唯一的工作是让自己继续当权。现在，你的自我怕得要死，因为它即将遭到裁减。你继续走自己的灵修之路，亲爱的，那个坏蛋已来日无多。不久，你的自我就要失业，你的心会决定一切。因此你的自我正在抗争，逗弄你的脑子，想确保自己的权威，想把你囚禁在牢笼里，远离宇宙世界。别听它的话。”

"How do you not listen to it?"
“怎么做到不听它的话？”

"Ever try to take a toy away from a toddler? They don't like that, do they? They start kicking and screaming. Best way to take a toy away from a toddler is distract the kid, give him something else to play with. Divert his attention. Instead of trying to forcefully take thoughts out of your mind, give your mind something better to play with. Something healthier."
“你试过从小孩手里拿走玩具吧？小孩不喜欢，是吧？他开始踢啊、叫啊。拿走玩具的最佳方式，是分散小孩的注意力，给他别的玩具。转移他的注意力。别去强迫思维离开你的脑子，给你的脑子玩其他东西。比较健康的东西。”

"Like what?"
“比方说？”

"Like love, Groceries. Like pure divine love."
Eat, Pray, Love
“食品杂货，比方说爱。纯粹神圣的爱。”