The Myth of Creation

创世的神话

MYTHOLOGY, n. The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished from the true accounts which it invents later.

Ambrose Bierce

神话（名词）：原始人群的信仰体系，关于起源、早期历史、其中所出现的英雄与神明等的故事，有别于其随后所构造出的真实解释。

——安布罗西 • 比尔斯

 

Once upon a time, before the birth of time, there existed a Great Beholder. Not only was he a great beholder, he was the only beholder.

The Great Beholder could see everything forever in all directions which would have made him very happy had there been anything to see, but in all directions, there was Nothing Forever. The Great Beholder was Pure Awareness, but there was nothing to be aware of.

This made the Great Beholder very sad.

很久很久以前，有一位伟大的观看者，先于时间而存在。他不只是一位伟大的观看者，他还是那唯一的观看者。

这位伟大的观看者永远能纵观十方存在，洞悉一切万有。如果真的有什么可看的话，这本来会让他非常开心。然而，无论哪个方向，永远什么都没有。这位伟大的观看者是纯粹的知觉，然而却无一物可被觉知。

这使得伟大的观看者感到非常的悲哀。

* * *

The Great Beholder had two qualities that seemed like they were very good qualities, but they were actually very bad qualities. They were very bad because they made the Great Beholder very sad.

The first of these two qualities was Infinite Infinitude. Because the Great Beholder was everything, there was nothing other than him, so he could never have a friend to play with or a dark place to explore.

The second of these two qualities was Perfect Perfection. Because the Great Beholder was incapable of error, there could never be anything different or unexpected, so he could never experience Surprise & Delight.

这位伟大的观看者有两个看起来很棒，但其实却很糟的特性。它们很糟是因为它们使得这伟大的观看者很悲哀。

两个特性中的第一个，是他无穷无尽的无限。这伟大的观看者就是万有一切，在他以外什么都没有，因此他永远没有可以作伴的朋友或者能够探索的暗处。

两个特性中的第二个，是他的尽善尽美的完美。这伟大的观看者没有能力犯错，因为不存在任何和他不同的东西，或会让他预料不到的事情，因此他永远也体验不到惊讶与欣喜。

* * *

Then, one day, the Great Beholder had an idea! (This would have been the very first idea ever if there really was such a thing as time, but time is just an idea, so everything really happens at once which is not a problem because nothing really happens at all. Can you imagine if you had to do everything at once? Thank you, Time!)

"I am the Great Beholder," he thought, "but there is nothing to behold. I am Pure Awareness, but there is nothing to be aware of. There is only me so there's nothing to see, but maybe I could imagine something else!"

And thus was born the Illusion of Appearance.

然后，有一天，伟大的观看者萌生了一个想法！（假若时间真的存在，伟大的观看者这一刻萌生出的，是有史以来的第一个想法。但时间本身就是一个想法，所以一切其实都是在一瞬间发生的。这也并不成问题，因为其实没有什么事情是实实在在发生了的。你能想象要在一瞬间做完所有事情吗？真是谢谢你，时间！）

“我是一个伟大的观看者，”他想，“但没有东西可让我观看。我是纯粹的知觉，却又没有东西可让我觉知。只有我存在，所以也没有对象可看，但或许，我可以想象一些其他东西出来！”。

于是，表象的幻象就诞生了。

* * *

So he did! The Great Beholder said, "Let there be Something Else," and there was Something Else! And he looked upon it and saw that it was good. Now there was both a Beholder and a Beheld, and although the Beheld was only in the Great Beholder's imagination, it was way better than nothing.

Of course, there could never really be Something Else because the Great Beholder was Infinitely Infinite, but now there was the dream of Something Else, and the Great Beholder had the appearance of Otherness to be aware of.

And thus was born the Illusion of Two.

于是他就这么做了！伟大的观看者说，“要有其他的事物，”于是就有了其他的事物！他看了一眼，发现还不错。现在观看者和被观看的事物都有了，即便那被观看的事物只存在于观看者的想象之中，这也比什么都没有好得多。

当然，其实永远都不会存在什么其他事物，因为这个伟大的观看者是无限的无限。而现在有了“其他事物”的幻梦，伟大的观看者就有“其他东西”这个表象去察觉了。

于是，“二”的幻象就诞生了。

* * *

Then, one day, the Great Beholder had another idea. (For what else was there for him to do but sit around and have ideas all day?)

"I think I'll imagine a whole bunch of Something Else," he thought, "and then I won't be bored anymore!"

So the Great Beholder imagined an infinite universe and he filled it with all manner of Something Else like planets and stars and rivers and trees and animals. And he called it his Imaginary Playground.

And thus was born the Illusion of Timespace, Energymatter, Duality, Causality, and Life.

在那之后，有一天，伟大的观看者有了另一个想法。（他一天到晚除了无所事事地萌生出想法来，还能做些什么呢？）

“我想我会想象出一大堆其他的事物，”他想，“那样我再也不会感觉到无聊了！”。

于是伟大的观看者就想象出了一个无限的宇宙，在里面装满了如行星、恒星、流水、树木和动物等等，形形色色的其他东西。他把这称之为他的虚拟游乐场。

于是，时空、能量物质、二元性、因果关系和生命的幻象就诞生了。

* * *

But the Great Beholder was still sad because he was still bored because his Imaginary Playground was Perfectly Perfect, so there was never any imperfection. Everything always made Perfect Sense, which was perfectly dull.

The Great Beholder watched galaxies and planets spinning around, but that only made him dizzy. Then he watched animals running around and eating and making more animals, but that only made him sleepy.

Everything in the Imaginary Playground worked exactly as it was supposed to all of the time, so how could the Great Beholder ever feel Surprise & Delight?

He couldn't. So he was still bored. So he was still sad.

可是，伟大的观看者的虚拟游乐场是尽善尽美、永远没有任何瑕疵的，他还是感到很无聊，也因此一如既往地悲伤。没有任何不完美，一切都彻底地合理，因此彻底地无聊。

看着星系们和行星们来回运转令伟大的观看者感到头晕。看着动物们跑来跑去、捕食和繁殖令伟大的观看者感到困倦。

虚拟游乐场里的所有事物永远都完全按照设定发生着，伟大的观看者怎么能够感觉得到丝毫的惊讶与欣喜呢？

他不能。所以他还是很无聊。所以他还是很悲伤。

* * *

Then, one day, the Great Beholder had another idea.

"Maybe I can imagine the Imaginary Playground so it isn't perfect," he thought. "If everything didn't always make Perfect Sense, then it would be able to Surprise & Delight me!"

But sadly, because he was Perfectly Perfect, the Great Beholder could not imagine Imperfection, so he was still sad.

然后，有一天，伟大的观看者萌生出了另一个想法。

或许我可以想象出一个并不完美的虚拟游乐场！”他想，“如果所有事物不都总是完全合理的，那它们就能让我感到惊讶与欣喜了！”。

但不幸的是，由于伟大的观看者是完美中的完美，他想象不出任何瑕疵，因此他依旧很难过。

* * *

Then, one day, the Great Beholder had another idea.

"Maybe," he thought, "I might enjoy my Imaginary Playground if I could play in it instead of just looking at it!"

But gosh, he wondered, how?

"I can't imagine anything more than perfect, and I can't imagine anything less than perfect," he reasoned, "but maybe I can imagine someone who can!"

So the Great Beholder imagined a finite version of himself, a Little Beholder, and placed it in his Imaginary Playground.

And thus was born the Illusion of Self.

之后，有一天，伟大的观看者又有了另一个想法。

“或许，”他想，“如果我不只是观看我的虚拟游乐场，而是在里面玩耍的话，我应该能够享受它！”。

但天哪，他怀疑，这怎么做得到呢？

“我想象不出任何超越完美的事物，也想象不出任何不那么完美的事物，”他推论到，“但或许我能想象出一个做得到这些的人！”。

于是伟大的观看者想象出了一个限定版本的自己——一个渺小的观看者，并把他放到了自己的虚拟游乐场里面。

于是，自我的幻象就诞生了。

* * *

But alas, the Little Beholder knew he was really the Great Beholder, so he knew everything about everything and he was still bored so he was still sad.

"What's the point of having an Imaginary Playground and a Little Beholder if I still can't be Surprised & Delighted?" the Great Beholder asked himself.

"No point," he answered.

"No point whatsoever," he added for emphasis.

但是，哎，渺小的观看者知道自己其实就等同于伟大的观看者，也知道关于一切的一切，就依旧很无聊、很悲伤。

“如果我还是无法感受到惊讶与欣喜的话，拥有虚拟游乐场和渺小的观看者又有什么意义呢？”伟大的观看者这样问自己。

“没有意义。”他答到。

“没有任何意义。”他又强调了一下。

* * *

Then, one day, the Great Beholder had another idea.

"Maybe," he thought, "I could pluck out the memory of the Little Beholder, who is really just me, and then I could explore the Imaginary Playground without knowing who I really am. I could tie a blindfold around the Little Beholder's brain, and then I could experience Surprise & Delight!"

And lo! It worked! The Little Beholder walked around and played and explored, and everything was a source of Surprise & Delight and a lion ate him.

And thus was born the Illusion of Ignorance.

之后，有一天，伟大的观看者萌生出了另一个想法。

“或许，”他想，“我可以去除渺小观看者的记忆，(当然实际上他还是我），那么我就不用知道自己是谁，也就可以去探索这片虚拟游乐场了。我可以在渺小观看者的脑子周围绑上障碍物，那样我就能体验惊讶与欣喜了！”。

看哪！成功啦！渺小的观看者四处走动、玩耍、探索，所有东西都能带来惊讶与欣喜，然后一只狮子把他吃掉了。

于是，无知的幻象就诞生了。

* * *

So now, the Great Beholder imagined many Little Beholders and sprinkled them throughout his Imaginary Playground, and he plucked out their memories and blindfolded their brains so they couldn't remember who they really were or know what was really going on. Where that memory had been, there was now a scary hole which made the Little Beholders tremble with Terrible Dread and look away. And thus was born the Illusion of Emotion.

这次，伟大的观看者想象出了许许多多渺小的观看者，并把他们洒满了整个虚拟游乐场。然后他抹去他们的记忆并在他们脑袋周围绑上障碍物，使他们无法记得自己实际上是谁或者知晓实际发生的事情。那部分记忆现在成了可怕的黑洞，使渺小的观看者们因恐惧而无法直视，只能瑟瑟发抖并逃避。

因此，情感的幻象就诞生了。

* * *

So now, the Great Beholder had solved the two problems that caused him to feel boredom and sadness.

One problem that caused the Great Beholder's boredom and sadness was his Perfect Perfection. For the Great Beholder, everything must always make Perfect Sense. One plus one must always equal two. One plus one could never equal three or thirty-three or a slice of pie.

But for the Little Beholders, it was different. The Great Beholder was Perfectly Perfect and couldn't make the Imaginary Playground imperfect, but he could make the Little Beholders behold it imperfectly. Imperfection could not lie in the Beheld, but it could lie in the eye of the Beholder.

One plus one must always equal two, but the Great Beholder could jigger and boggle the Little Beholders so they would believe it equaled three or thirty-three or a slice of pie.

Of course, the Little Beholders were really Pure Awareness like the Great Beholder, but because they were Imaginary Creatures, they could have their awareness distorted, contorted, befuddled, bamboozled, twisty-turned and just plain higgledy-piggledy gobbledy-gooked.

And thus was born the Illusion of Non-Sense.

因此现在，伟大的观看者解决了两个令他感到无聊与悲伤的问题了。

其中一个带给伟大的观看者无聊与悲伤的问题，是他的绝对的尽善尽美。对于伟大的观看者来说，所有的事情都必定是完全合情合理的。一加一肯定一直等于二。一加一永远不可能等于三、三十三、或者一块苹果派。

但对于渺小的观看者们来说，就是另一码事了。伟大的观看者是绝对尽善尽美的，没办法带给虚拟游乐场任何瑕疵，但是他可以使渺小的观看者们带着缺陷去观察它。被看到的事物没有办法有瑕疵，但渺小的观看者们的眼睛却可以。

一加一肯定等于二，但伟大的观看者可以左右渺小的观看者们并使他们感到困惑，让他们相信答案是三、三十三、或者一块苹果派。

当然了，渺小的观看者们其实是和伟大的观看者一样的纯粹知觉，但由于他们是由想象虚构出来的，他们的知觉有可能会被扭歪、曲解、迷惑、愚弄……

因此，荒谬的幻象就诞生了。

* * *

The other problem that caused the Great Beholder's sadness and boredom was that he was Infinitely Infinite. He saw everything and knew everything and was everything, so he could never be Surprised and Delighted.

But for the Little Beholders, it was different. The Great Beholder could not be finite, but the Little Beholders could. They could have a beginning and a middle and an end. They could be here but not there, now but not then, this but not that. The Little Beholders were really infinite like the Great Beholder because they really were the Great Beholder, but because they were imagined, they could be imagined in tiny polarized units that could attract and repel each other.

And thus was born the Illusion of Harmony and Conflict.

另一个带给伟大的观看者无聊与悲伤的问题，是他绝对的无穷无限。他洞察一切、知晓一切、他就是这一切的一切，因此他永远不会感到惊讶与欣喜。

但对于渺小的观看者们来说，就是另一码事了。伟大的观看者没有办法受到限制，但渺小的观看者们却可以。他们有开始、其中的过程和结束。他们可以身处这里而非那里，在当下而非将来的某时，是这个而非那个。渺小的观看者其实就如伟大的观看者一样无限，因为他们其实就是伟大的观看者，但由于他们是被想象出来的，他们可以被想象成一些能够相互吸引或排斥的带极性的微小个体。

因此，和谐与冲突的幻象便诞生了。

* * *

So now, there were many Little Beholders at play in the Imaginary Playground of the Great Beholder, all having their own adventures. And even though none of them knew it, they were all really the Great Beholder incognito, so all of their adventures were really his adventures.

"And now I have many friends," the Great Beholder exclaimed, "and I'll never be lonely again!"

And thus was born the Illusion of Connection.

那么现在，有许许多多渺小的观看者在伟大的观看者的虚拟游乐场里面玩耍，每个都进行着各自的探险。即便他们全都不知道，其实他们就是伟大的观看者的微服私行者，所以他们所有人的经历就是他的经历。

“现在我有很多的朋友了，”伟大的观看者感叹道，“我永远都不会觉得孤单了！”。

因此，关系的幻象便诞生了。

* * *

It was like having a Super-Duper Television with billions of channels that he could watch all at once, and he could be the star of every show and experience all the drama and conflict and comedy and tragedy. He could be silly and nonsensical and wise and foolish and crazy and clever and all the wonderful things he could never be on his own.

"Oh, joy!" cried the Great Beholder. "Now I will never be bored again! Now I can laugh and sing and dance and play! I can commit acts of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality! I can create and procreate and co-create and miscreate! I can believe in clever lies and silly truths! I can be wrong and ignorant and scared and mean! I can be villain and hero, madman and saint, criminal and victim, peasant and king! I can create magnificent cities and smash them to bits! I can experience pleasure and pain and all the emotions; agony no less than elation, suffering no less than joy, hatred no less than love, but let's go easy on peace and contentment because that's pretty boring and seriously, what's the point, right?"

伟大的观看者犹如拥有着一部上亿个频道能同时观看的绝妙电视，而他又能在每一部戏里面当主角，体验着所有的戏剧、闹剧、喜剧和悲剧。他能够体会到自身所不具备的诸如无厘头、荒谬、明智、愚蠢、疯狂、机敏等所有美妙的感觉。

“好开心啊！”伟大的观看者大喊道，“现在开始我永远都不会感到无聊了！现在我可以大笑、唱歌、跳舞和玩耍！我可以做出英雄的、懦弱的、仁慈的、残暴的事！我可以创造、繁衍、协作，甚至犯错!我可以去相信聪明的谎言和愚蠢的真理！我可以是谬误的、无知的、恐惧的和卑鄙的！我可以做恶棍和英雄、疯子和圣人、罪犯和受害者以及农民和国王！我可以创造宏伟的城市，再把它们碾成粉末！我可以体验快乐和痛苦以及所有的情绪；对折磨与快乐均等视之，让受苦与欢欣并驾齐驱，使憎恨的好处不亚于仁爱，但可别老是和平与满足，因为那很无聊沉重，又有什么意义呢，对吧？”。

* * *

And this is how the Great Beholder overcame the curious problems of Perfect Perfection and Infinite Infinitude. And now the Great Beholder is so happy that he wants to clap his hands together, but the only hands he has to clap with are yours, so now, Great Beholder, clap your hands together in Surprise & Delight!

就这样，伟大的观看者解决了关于绝对完美和绝对无限的疑难问题。现在，伟大的观看者开心到想要拍拍手，但他所能拍的也就是你的手，所以，伟大的观看者，请你现在就充满惊讶与欣喜地拍拍自己的双手吧！