If There Were No After Life

作者：北外英语基地校长宋远利

 翻译：北京外国语大学北戴河外语培训基地副校长 张宝丹

Whether there’s afterlife, the answer has never been the same. The atheists deny after life, believing that our life is no more than from the cradle to the grave. They may care about their illustrious names after death; they may feel attached to the affection of their offspring, but they never lay their hopes on their afterlife. They may also say that good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil, but they don’t really believe any retribution in their after life.

However, in the religious world or among the superstitious¹ people, the belief in afterlife is very popular. They do not only believe in afterlife, but thousands of reincarnations as well. In the  mysterious world, there are the paradise and the hell, the celestial² beings and the gods, the Buddha³ and the Bodhisattvas.

Maybe they really believed it, or maybe they just wanted to make use of people’s veneration⁴, the ancient emperors always declared that they were the real dragons, the sons of God, while the royal ministers claimed to be the reincarnations of various constellations⁵. But can the stars reincarnate⁶?

Many people burn incense⁷ and kowtow, do good deeds and strive for virtues⁸, not just for the present, but mainly to let God see their sincerity⁹ so as to be reborn into a better afterlife, or to achieve the highest enlightenment after several lives of practice. They do believe in afterlife. But I can’t help asking: Suppose there were no afterlife, would you still do good deeds and strive for virtues? And If God does not see what you are doing, would you still be so upright and selfless? If you work, not for serving the public and liberating¹⁰ the others, but just for a better afterlife of your own, isn’t it a little too selfish? Comparing with this kind of believers, those who don’t believe in afterlife, but still keep doing good deeds, are the most sincere and honest philanthropists, because they do them not for themselves but for other.

You may wonder if I believe in afterlife. My answer is: I know nothing about my previous life, so I dare not make improper¹¹ comments on afterlife. But I do hope there’s afterlife! Because our present life is so short that so many things slip away before our proper understanding. I have so many dreams, so many wishes, so many ambitions, as well as so many regrets and concerns. If there were no afterlife, all of them will remain unrealized!

I’m not contented¹² with the present commonplace life, I’m very much attached to the affections that should have been mine but have been washed away by the hurrying time, and I yearn¹³ for the perfection and maturity¹⁴ if I could start all over again. So believe it or not, I’d rather there were afterlife.

                                                                      Translated by Zhang Baodan (Diana)

May 1, 2004

假如没有来世

有没有来世，众说纷纭。无神论者，不相信来世。他们认为从生到死，仅此而已。他们可能在意身后的英名，他们可能留恋后代的亲情，但他们不寄希望于来世。他们也会说善有善报，恶有恶报，但并不相信下辈子报应什么。

 在宗教领域、或在一些迷信的人群，来世之说比较盛行。不仅是来世，甚至会认为有千百次的轮回。在那未知而飘渺的世界，有天堂，有地狱，有神族，有仙界，有菩萨、有佛祖。

也许真的相信、也许是为了利用人们的敬畏心里，古代的帝王们总是宣称自己是真龙天子，大臣们则标榜为天上的什么文曲星、武曲星或太白金星转世。星星能转世吗？

许多人烧香、磕头，行善、修德，并不都是为了眼前，而是为了让上天看见自己的真诚，以便下辈子有个好的托生，或者几世之后能修成正果。这些人自然是相信来世的。但我不禁要问：如果没有来世，你们会不会一样行善、修德呢？如果神灵看不见，你们是否也会公正无私呢？如果不是为了解脱他人和服务大众才去修行，如果仅仅是为了自己将来托生好才去行善，是否有些自私呢？比较起来，那些不相信来世而又坚持行善的人，则应该是最真、最诚的大善。因为他们不是为自身，而是为公理。

也许有人会问作者，你相信来世吗？我的回答是：我不知道前生，因而也不敢妄谈后世。但我真的希望能有来世！因为这辈子时间太短，许多事情都是在还没弄明白的时候，就已经匆匆过去了。我有那么多的理想，我有那么多的心愿，我有那么多的奢望，我有那么多的遗憾，我有那么多的牵挂，我有那么多的雄心壮志，如果没有来世，那就一切皆空了。

我不甘心眼前的碌碌无为，我留恋被岁月冲走的本应属于我的亲情，更向往从头再来的完美和成熟。为此，信也好，不信也好，我宁愿有来世。

                                         宋远利

                                        2003．6．22