來自葛吉夫門徒的批評

Criticisms by Pupils of Gurdjieff

來自葛吉夫門徒的批評

 

     Students have expressed reservations about Gurdjieff from the earliest days of his

teaching mission.  His most famous pupil, P.D. Ouspensky, began to lose confidence in

Gurdjieff as early as 1917.  Finally, at a meeting in January 1924 with his English pupils, Ouspensky formally broke off all relations with Gurdjieff.  There he discussed his misgivings:

 

學生們對於葛吉夫在他傳道早期的最早時期持保留態度。他最有名的門徒P.D.鄔斯賓斯基，早在1917年，即開始對葛吉夫失去信心。最後，在1924年一月與他的英國門徒的會面中，鄔斯賓斯基正式的與葛吉夫切斷所有的關係。他表達了他的擔憂：

 

               Mr. Gurdjieff is a very extraordinary man.  His possibilities are much

               greater than those of people like ourselves.  But he can also go in the

               wrong way.  I believe that he is now passing through a crisis, the out-

               come of which no one can foresee.  Most people have many “I”s.  If

               these “I”s are at war with one another it does not produce great harm,

               because they are all weak.  But with Mr. Gurdjieff there are only two

               “I”s; one very good and one very bad.  I believe that in the end the

               good “I” will conquer.  But meanwhile it is very dangerous to be near

               him. (6)

 

葛吉夫先生是一個非常特別的人。他的可能性比像我們這樣的人大了許多。但他也可能走錯方向。我相信他現在正在度過一個危機，其結果沒有一個人可預見。大部份人有很多的「我」。如果這些「我」互相戰爭，並不會產生大的傷害，因為他們都很微弱。但對葛吉夫來說，只有兩個「我」；一個非常好，一個非常壞。我相信最後那個好的「我」會戰勝。但同時，靠近他會非常的危險。

 

     By the early 1930s Gurdjieff’s reputation among many of his students was in tatters. They were disillusioned by his seedy appearance, unprincipled behaviour, and his alleged  use of hypnosis and unorthodox medical treatments as a source of income.  By the summer of 1933 scandalous rumours about Gurdjieff had reached a crescendo: he was slovenly and debauched; he was afraid of the dark and of being alone; he was out of control and destroying everything; he was alienating even his closest students.

 

        在1930年代早期，葛吉夫的名聲在他的學生中是非常破裂的。他們感到幻滅，因為他破爛的外表、無原則的行為、宣稱使用催眠，和以非正統的醫藥治療作為收入的來源。1933年夏天，關於葛吉夫的醜聞謠言越來越多：他非常懶散和放蕩；他怕黑和孤單；他失控和破壞一切；他疏遠每一個人甚至是他最親近的學生。

 

     Even Jean Toomer, a loyal follower of Gurdjieff for many years, began to experience  doubts about his teacher:

 

        甚至是珍圖摩，一個長年對葛吉夫非常忠誠的追隨者，開始懷疑他的老師：

 

               Was he the supreme egotist?  Was he, as some claimed, insane?

               Did he, as some also claimed, know psychic laws but was essentially

               stupid in his practical dealings with people?  If he knew anything

               at all about me, how could he fail to know that I was ready and wil-

               ling to do all I possibly could as regards any real need of his that I

               could grasp and understand, whereas just these tricky manipulative

               tactics were sure to throw me off. (7)

 

他是個極端自我中心的人嗎？他是否真如某些人說的精神錯亂？他是否也如某些人說的，能了解心靈法則，但本質上拙於在實際層面與人交往？如果他夠了解我，他怎麼會不知道我隨時願意盡我可能滿足他，只要我能理解他的需求，反而就是因為這些狡滑的操縱技倆，讓我確定離開他。

 

     Some of Gurdjieff’s pupils considered the litany of criticisms directed at him to be  one-sided and unjust.  Others believed that Gurdjieff was being scapegoated for anything negative that he happened to be proximate to:

 

        有些葛吉夫的門徒認為這些批評所列舉的只導向一面，而且不公正。其他人相信葛吉夫是為這些剛好發生在他身邊的負面事物成為代罪羔羊：

 

               He is accused, blamed, for having been present, for having been

               absent, for helping and for refraining from helping, for talking and

               for being silent, when a variety of events ranging in people’s imagi-

               nation from rape to taking the veil, from natural death to suicide,

               from bankruptcy to brilliant success took place in the lives of this

               one or that one of his followers. (8)

 

他被指控，被責備，因為在場，因為不在場，因為幫忙，和因為不幫忙，因為說話，和因為沉默，很多不同的事件分佈在人們的想像力中，從強暴到當修女，從自然死亡到自殺，從破產到聰明的成功，都發生在他的追隨者的這個人或那個人的生活中。

 

     During the Second World War, Gurdjieff resided in occupied Paris, and although he  kept a lower profile there his reputation was far from spotless.  Despite widespread rationing, Gurdjieff maintained a very comfortable lifestyle: “His lavish hospitality struck a jarring note at a time of material privation: for even if the Master expended a great deal of time and money on his pupils, just how, in that occupied city, had he acquired the vodka and the delicacies which gave his feasts their memorable flavor?” (9)  According to James Webb, authorities assembled a wartime dossier on Gurdjieff which was bulging with reports of unlawful activities.  Webb claimed that Gurdjieff worked the black market and even collaborated with the Germans.

 

        二次世界大戰期間，葛吉夫住在被佔領的巴黎，雖然他保持低調，他的聲譽仍然無法毫無瑕疵。雖然到處都實施定量配給，葛吉夫仍維持一種非常舒服的生活方式：「他奢侈大方的宴客在物質匱乏的當時令人相當不愉快：因為即使師父花費大把的時間和金錢在他的門徒身上，在當時被佔領的城市，他如何能取得伏特加酒和那些難忘風味的精緻美食？」依據詹姆士韋伯記述，當局蒐集了葛吉夫在戰時的檔案，裏頭都是他進行非法活動的報告。韋伯聲稱葛吉夫在黑市工作，甚至和德國人合作。

 

     Following the war, students of Gurdjieff from all over the world returned to their teacher.  However, many were shocked by his bad language and outrageous behaviour.   When John Bennett brought a large group of English students to meet Gurdjieff, he saw  fit to prepare them for any manner of conduct by Gurdjieff:

 

        隨著戰爭，葛吉夫的學生們從世界各處回到他身邊。然而，很多人被他的罵人和粗暴行為嚇壞了。當約翰班納特帶了一大群英國學生來會見葛吉夫，他為這些客人預作準備，以防葛吉夫的任何行為態度：

 

               I must warn you that Gurdjieff is far more of an enigma than you can

               imagine.  I am certain that he is deeply good, and that he is working

               for the good of mankind.  But his methods are often incomprehensible.

               For example, he uses disgusting language, especially to ladies who are

               likely to be squeamish about such things.  He has the reputation of

               behaving shamelessly over money matters, and with women also.  At

               his table we have to drink spirits, often to the point of drunkenness.

               People have said that he is a magician, and that he uses his powers

               for his own ends . . . I do not believe that the scandalous tales told of

               Gurdjieff are true: but you must take into account that they may be

               true and act accordingly. (10)

 

我必須警告你們，葛吉夫是一個遠非你們所能想像的謎。我很確定他非常的良善，而且他為了人類的利益工作。但是他的方式常是令人費解的。例如：他使用令人厭惡的語言，特別是對那些在這方面有潔癖的女士們。他名聲不是很好，對於金錢和女人毫無羞恥心。在他的飯桌上我們必須喝酒，常常是酩酊大醉。人們說他是魔法師，為了他自己的目的使用能力……我不相信關於葛吉夫的謠言是真的，但是你們必須考慮這些傳言有可能是真的，並有相應的做法。

 

     The final few years of Gurdjieff’s life were arguably the most fertile of his long teaching career.  Students remember this time as one of bountiful giving as Gurdjieff drew from his vast spiritual resources to pass on his profound knowledge.  Yet the critics continued to have their say.  A 1946 article in the French periodical l’Illustration accused Gurdjieff of spell-binding powers which sent his pupils into a “cataleptic state.”

 

        葛吉夫最後幾年的生活可以被認為是他常年教師生涯中最多產的時期。學生們記得這段時期是葛吉夫授與最豐富的時候，由他廣大的靈性資源中傳遞出他深厚的知識。但批評仍然持續。1946年法國期刊l’Illustration裏頭的一篇文章，指控葛吉夫用咒語縛綁的力量讓他的門徒進入一種「全身僵硬的狀態」。

 

     Gurdjieff’s negative reputation even followed him to his grave.  In the years following his death a number of critical articles were published in the French press which contributed to a distorted impression of Gurdjieff and his ideas.  In the last few decades, however, a new generation of scholars have looked more critically and objectively at information promulgated by critics and the press about Gurdjieff, and have challenged the veracity of many of their allegations.

 

        葛吉夫的負面聲譽甚至隨著他進入墳墓。在他死後數年，一些批評文章在法國出版，促成了葛吉夫的形象和他的思想的扭曲。然而，在後面數十年，新世代的學者更批判和客觀的看待由評論界和媒體所傳播的關於葛吉夫的資訊，而且挑戰他們所論述的真實性。