下面的故事曾参与2009年春季“兒童寫作比賽”
They came from all over the world to learn from him
他们来自世界各地向他学习
Once upon a time, there lived a very happy old man in the slums of Mumbai, a city in India formerly known as Bombay. His beard was long and white – nobody knew how old he was. His skin was wrinkled, his back bent. In spite of his old age, he could still move around agilely without the help of a cane. He lived in a small weather-beaten shed. The roof leaked when rain fell. It felt like an oven during a hot day in summer, and the coldness in winter readily found its way in. The man slept, cooked, ate and worked all in that one-room shed. He was a shoe repairer. He was very proud that he could turn tired, worn shoes into almost like new, and that the poor owners needed not go bare feet. As he worked, he would burst into song. When he got tired, he would stand up, stretch himself and do a little dance. He was poor, but he was very happy with where he was, what he had, and who he was.
很久很久以前，在印度孟买的贫民窟，有一位非常快乐的老人。他的胡子长且白，没有人知道他有多大年纪。他的皮肤充满皱纹，背弯曲。尽管年纪大，他仍然可以灵活地走动，无需拐杖。他住在一个饱经风霜的小屋。下雨时，屋顶下漏。夏天热的时候像一个火炉，而冬天又寒流入侵。他睡，煮，吃，和工作都在这只有一个房间的小屋。他是个补鞋匠。他感到非常自豪的是，他能把破鞋翻新，让那些贫穷的顾客无须赤脚走路。他工作时会唱歌。他累时会站起来，舒展筋骨，跳一个小舞。他虽穷，但非常快乐 – 他很满意他的处境，他拥有的东西和确知他自己是谁。
The old man had many neighbours around him. These people saw him working away in his shed everyday, heard his cheerful songs and watched him dance in total bliss. They were utterly amazed that he always looked so happy. He broke into laughter easily when spoken to, but what stood out most in him were his ever smiling eyes - his eyes glittered with the shine that happiness brings. When he talked to a person, that person could feel that he was the only one in the whole universe that this happy old man focused on, and wanted to be with.
这位老人有很多邻居。这些人每天看到他努力工作，听到他欢快的歌声，看着他快乐地舞蹈。他们很惊奇他总是活得很开心。与他交谈时他常朗声大笑，但最突出的是他永远微笑的眼睛，他的眼睛闪烁着幸福的光芒。当他跟一个人谈话时，这个人可以感觉到在全宇宙内他是这快乐的老人的唯一重点，老人很想与他相处, 并乐与他同在。
Over time, his reputation traveled afar, as more people saw and spoke about him and soon he became well-known outside his neighbourhood, outside Mumbai, outside his province, outside his country, until people from all over the world knew about this unusual happy man in Mumbai. People started to come from all over the world to meet him to learn the secret of his happiness because they want to be happy in their own lives too. Parents came to learn how to teach their children to be happy. Individuals came to learn how to live a happier and more fulfilling life for themselves. Couples came to learn how to improve their relationship. Government officials and company executives came to learn how to get the best out of their employees.
随着日子的过去，他的名声远播，越来越多的人看到并谈到他，很快他成为众所皆知，他的名声超越他社区，孟买，他住的省，和他的国家之外，直到世界各地的人都知道在孟买这个不寻常的快乐老人。人们开始自世界各地来跟他学习他快乐的秘密，因为他们很希望自己快乐。家长想来学习如何教导子女快乐。普通人想来学习如何活得更快乐，更充实的生活。夫妻想来学习如何改善他们的关系。政府官员和公司管理人员想来学习如何提升雇员的工作能力。
The advice he gave was basically the same for each of them.
基本上，他给每个来客的意见都是大同小异。
[Now, can you figure out what his advice was?
现在，你能猜想他的秘决是什么吗？]
For the parents, he said, “For your children to be truly happy, they need to learn to love themselves so that they do not overly depend on the love shown by you towards them – they need to learn to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and their effort only.”
他对有孩子的父母说：“为了使您的孩子得到真正的快乐，他们需要学习如何爱自己，让他们不要过分依赖你对他们的爱- 他们需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为。“
For the individuals, he said, “For you to live a happier and more fulfilling life, you need to learn to love yourselves so that you do not overly depend on the love shown by others towards you – you need to learn to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your intent and your effort only.”
他对来客说：“为了得到更幸福，更充实的生活，你需要学习如何爱自己，不要过度依赖别人对你表现的爱- 你需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为。“
For the couples, he said, “To improve your relationship, you need to learn to love yourselves so that you do not overly depend on the love shown by your spouse towards you – you need to learn to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your intent and your effort only.”
他对夫妻说，“为了改善你们的关系，你们需要学会如何爱自己，不要过度依赖配偶对你表现的爱- 你需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为。“
For the government officials and company executives, he said, “To get the best out of your employees, they need to be truly happy. For them to be truly happy, they need to learn to love themselves so that they do not overly depend on the approval shown by their co-workers and their management towards them – they need to learn to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and effort only.”
他对政府官员和公司高管说：“为了提升雇员的工作能力，他们需要得到真正的快乐。为了得到真正的快乐，他们需要学习如何爱自己，不要过度依赖同事和上司对他们的认可- 他们需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为。“
Parents, individuals, couples, government officials and company executives all left happily because each of them got what they came for.
家长，个人，夫妇，政府官员和公司高管都高高兴兴地离开了，因为他们每一个人都得到了他们来寻找的东西。
Some of them returned for more
其中有些人回來, 有更多的要求
Among those who left, some of them returned to meet him to learn more about the secret of his happiness. Some parents came to learn more on how to teach their children to be happy. Individuals came to learn more on how to live a happier and more fulfilling life for themselves. Couples came to learn more on how to improve their relationship. Government officials and company executives came to learn more on how to get the best out of their employees.
客人离开后，其中有些人回来找他，想了解更多有关他快乐的秘密。一些家长来为了解更多有关如何教导子女快乐的秘决。来客为了解更多有关如何活得更快乐，更充实的生活。夫妻想来学更多关于如何改善他们的关系。政府官员和公司管理人员想来了解更多有关于如何提升雇员的工作能力。
He still charged each of them only a few rupees for his service.
对他的服务他仍只收几个卢比。
Like last time, the advice he gave was basically the same for each of them. However, this time, he felt that the timing was right for him to raise their awareness about the overriding importance and usefulness of the clarity of one’s purpose of existence.
像上次一样，他给他们的忠告也是大同小异。不过，这一次，他认为时机己到，可以提高他们对生存在目的之认识– 它的用途及重要性。
[Now, can you figure out what his advice was this time?
这次，你能猜想他的秘决是什么吗？]
For the parents, he said, “For your children to be truly happy, besides learning to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and their effort only, they need to live to fulfill their purpose of existence - they need to live to do or become what they believe they are meant to do or become.”
他对有孩子的父母说：“为了您的孩子得到真正的快乐，他们除了需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为之外，更要履行他们的存在目的 - 他们需要按着他们的人生目的而迈进。“
For the individuals, he said, “For you to live a happier and more fulfilling life, besides learning to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your own intent and their effort only, you need to live to fulfill your purpose of existence – you need to live to do or become what you believe you are meant to do or become.”
他对来客说：“为了得到更多的幸福，更充实的生活，你除了需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为之外，更要履行你自已的存在目的– 你需要按着你自已的人生目的而迈进。“
For the couples, he said, “To further improve your relationship, besides learning to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your own intent and your effort only, you need to live to fulfill your purpose of existence - you need to live to do or become what you believe you are meant to do or become.”
他对夫妻说，“为了改善你们的关系，除了需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为之外，更要履行你自已的存在目的 – 你需要按着你自已的人生目的而迈进。“
For the government officials and company executives, he said, “To get the best out of your employees, they need to be truly happy. For them to be truly happy, besides learning to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and their effort only, they need to live to fulfill their purpose of existence - they need to live to do or become what they believe they are meant to do or become.”
他对政府官员和公司高管说：“为了提升雇员的工作能力，他们需要得到真正的快乐。为了得到真正的快乐，他们除了需要学习如何根据自己的意图和努力来判断自己的行为之外，更要履行他们的存在目的 - 他们需要按着他们的人生目的而迈进。“
When asked about how to find one’s purpose of existence, he said, “If you’ve problem finding the purpose of your existence, imagine that you’ve finally reached the end of your life. How would you want the world to remember you? … Start with the word ‘he’ or ‘she’. For examples, ‘She was a good mother’ or ‘He was a great firefighter’ or ‘He used well what he was given’.”
当被问如何去找寻自己的存在目的，他说：“如果你不知道自己的存在目的，就想像你走到了人生尽头。你希望这世界怎样记得你这个人吗？ ...使用单词'他'或者'她'来开始这句子。举例来说，'她是一个好母亲'或'他是一个伟大的消防员'或'他善用他的天赋'。“
Parents, individuals, couples, government officials and company executives all left happily because each of them got what they came for.
家长，个人，夫妇，政府官员和公司高管都高高兴兴地离开了，因为他们每一个人都得到了他们来寻找的东西。
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