看到美麗的花朵，能喚醒人們，哪怕倏忽即逝，也足以發(fā)現(xiàn)美；美，是心靈最深邃的生命力，是生命的真正本質(zhì)。第一次認(rèn)識(shí)美，是人類覺識(shí)進(jìn)化中最重大的事件。我們能感受到喜悅與愛，本質(zhì)上是與美的認(rèn)知息息相關(guān)。我們尚未完全明白這一點(diǎn)，而花兒卻以最高妙、最神圣、究竟無形的方式，展現(xiàn)了我們內(nèi)在的精神世界。比起進(jìn)化出它的母株，花兒更短暫、更空靈、更精致，宛如來自另一個(gè)世界的信使，又如同跨接有形世界與無形世界的橋梁?；▋翰粌H有精致悅?cè)说臍庀?，而且還帶來了靈性世界的芬芳。如果我們能在比傳統(tǒng)內(nèi)涵更寬的意義上使用“覺悟（enlightenment）”一詞，那么我們可以把花朵看作植物的覺悟。
任何領(lǐng)域里的任何生命形式，無論是礦物、植物、動(dòng)物或者人類，據(jù)說都能經(jīng)歷“覺悟”。但覺悟又是極其稀有的，因?yàn)橛X悟大大跨越了演化進(jìn)程：覺悟還意味著生長的中斷，意味著向全新生命的飛躍，最重要的是，覺悟意味著世俗物欲的沖和淡泊。
在所有自然形態(tài)中，最密實(shí)的是巖石，還有什么能比巖石更沉重、更堅(jiān)不可摧呢？但，有些巖石經(jīng)過分子結(jié)構(gòu)的改變后，成了水晶，變得晶瑩剔透。在極端高溫和高壓下，有的碳元素變成了金剛石，有的重礦物變成其他寶石。
在所有生物中，爬行動(dòng)物是與大地最親密的物種，多數(shù)爬行類動(dòng)物經(jīng)過幾百萬年后仍然沒有變化，但有些進(jìn)化出羽毛和翅膀，變成了鳥類，戰(zhàn)勝了長久以來束縛它們的重力。鳥類沒有進(jìn)化得更善于爬或行，卻徹底超越了爬行。
自遠(yuǎn)古以來，在人類的精神世界中，花兒、水晶、寶石、飛鳥承載了特殊的意義。當(dāng)然，與所有生命形態(tài)一樣，它們都是深層一體生命、一體覺識(shí)的短暫顯現(xiàn)。之所以具有特殊意義，人類之所以感受到它們的魅力和親合力，皆歸因于它們的空靈品性。
【譯按】enlightenment，在思想史意義上譯作“啟蒙”，在宗教意義上指“開悟”。為了回避宗教概念的干擾，這里譯作略為中性的“覺悟”。
Seeing beauty in a flower could awaken humans, however briefly, to the beauty that is an essential part of their own innermost being, their true nature. The first recognition of beauty was one of the most significant events in the evolution of human consciousness. The feelings of joy and love are intrinsically connected to that recognition. Without our fully realizing it, flowers would become for us an expression in form of that which is most high, most sacred, and ultimately formless within ourselves. Flowers, more fleeting, more ethereal, and more delicate than the plants out of which they emerged, would become like messengers from another realm, like a bridge between the world of physical forms and the formless. They not only had a scent that was delicate and pleasing to humans, but also brought a fragrance from the realm of spirit. Using the word “enlightenment” in a wider sense than the conventionally accepted one, we could look upon flowers as the enlightenment of plants.
Any life-form in any realm — mineral, vegetable, animal, or human — can be said to undergo “enlightenment.” It is, however, an extremely rare occurrence since it is more than an evolutionary progression: It also implies a discontinuity in its development, a leap to an entirely different level of Being and, most important, a lessening of materiality.
What could be heavier and more impenetrable than a rock, the densest of all forms? And yet some rocks undergo a change in their molecular structure, turn into crystals, and so become transparent to the light. Some carbons, under inconceivable heat and pressure, turn into diamonds, and some heavy minerals into other precious stones.
Most crawling reptilians, the most earthbound of all creatures, have remained unchanged for millions of years. Some, however, grew feathers and wings and turned into birds, thus defying the force of gravity that had held them for so long. They didn’t become better at crawling or walking, but transcended crawling and walking entirely.
Since time immemorial, flowers, crystals, precious stones, and birds have held special significance for the human spirit. Like all life-forms, they are, of course, temporary manifestations of the underlying one Life, one Consciousness. Their special significance and the reason why humans feel such fascination for and affinity with them can be attributed to their ethereal quality.
