【D.G. Wander ⎮尋找伊甸園 / Seek the Garden of Eden】

發表於 Oct 24, 2022

人類總是嚮往伊甸園的，那裡曾經是如此地純淨無瑕，沒有疲勞與苦痛，像天堂一樣永遠幸福快樂。最重要的，在那裡的生命是永恆的，沒有死亡的威脅，可以永遠在這片極樂的淨土裡度過。

Humans always yearn for the Garden of Eden, which was once so pure and flawless, free from fatigue and pain, and always happy like heaven. Most importantly, life there is eternal, there is no threat of death, and can be spent forever in this blissful pure land.

那麼，人類的生命為何有了窮盡？依照神話，亞當和夏娃偷嚐了知識之樹的禁果，擁有知識與分辨善惡的能力，因此被上帝逐出伊甸園。人類從此擁有追求知識的自由意志，這是不被允許的，所以人類的壽命就有了限制。沒錯，「擁有知識」這件事在大自然當中，似乎是人類的特權，其他生物也有類似的能力，但沒有一種生物像人類這樣的萬物之靈，擁有如此多元又豐富的知識以統御萬物。

So why does human life come to an end? According to mythology, Adam and Eve stole the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge, possessing knowledge and the ability to distinguish between good and evil, but they were therefore expelled from the Garden of Eden by God. Since then, human beings have had the free will to pursue knowledge, which is not allowed, so the lifespan of human beings is now limited. "Having knowledge" seems to be the privilege of human beings in nature, though other creatures have similar abilities, but there is no creature like human beings who have such diverse and rich knowledge to rule all things.

然而，許多古文明都告訴了我們，知識的流傳也難以保證能永遠長久下去。像是古埃及的金字塔文明，到現在人類也無法完全得知建造的方式；沉沒的亞特蘭提斯，有多少文明和科學技術都因此而葬送了呢？世界各地的洪水神話也告訴我們，人類有個時期似乎面臨著毀滅性的世界洪災；巴別塔的「變亂語音」，使得人類從此無法使用同一種語言溝通。

However, many ancient civilizations have shown that the transmission of knowledge is not guaranteed to last forever. For example, the pyramid civilization of ancient Egypt is still not fully understood by today's human beings. How many civilizations and science technology were buried in the sunken Atlantis? Flood myths around the world also present that there was a period when mankind seemed to be facing a devastating world flood. And the tower of Babel made it impossible for mankind to communicate in the same language.

我們太仰賴自己的求知能力，慾望也太強烈了，思及這些古文明斷裂的教訓，我們應該更加謙卑，對環境謙卑，對大自然謙卑，對宇宙萬物謙卑。我們千萬別因為自己的驕傲自大，讓我們失去了擁有知識所帶來的優勢。我們有文明的偉大，但失去文明也可以是一瞬間的事，最近的戰事也提醒了我們，過度的文明也可能是種毀滅。

We rely too much on our own ability to learn and strong desire. Considering the lessons of the rupture of these ancient civilizations, we should be more humble, humble to the environment, humble to nature, and humble to all things in the universe. We must not lose the advantage of having knowledge because of our arrogance. We have the greatness of civilization, but the loss of civilization can also be a momentary thing, and the recent war has also reminded us that excessive civilization can also be a kind of destruction.

但思來想去，文明的斷裂似乎也是可預期的事。若是人類的文明能夠藉由後代的繁衍不斷傳承下去，就等同於獲得了永生。伊甸園中還有一棵「生命之樹」，是關於提升靈性與追求永生，這同樣也是被禁止的。假如人類擁有了追求知識的自由意志，又同時擁有永生的話，他的位階是否就等同於上帝？所以人類文明的斷裂，是否冥冥之中有人在阻止這樣的結果發生呢？

But after thinking about it, the rupture of civilization seems to be predictable. If human civilization can continue to be passed on through the reproduction of future generations, it is equivalent to gaining immortality. There is also a "tree of life" in the Garden of Eden, which is about spiritual advancement and the pursuit of eternal life, which is also forbidden. If human beings have the free will to pursue knowledge and have eternal life at the same time, is their rank equal to God? Is there someone who is preventing such an outcome from happening to the rupture of human civilization?

上帝是否真正存在，每個人的答案肯定不太一樣，但彷彿有人正在阻止人類成為上帝，甚至取代祂的地位。太過追求文明的結果，人類反而被自己的文明反噬，才衍生出類似戰爭這樣殘酷的事實。所以一股反璞歸真的風氣興起，提倡人類應該回歸伊甸園那樣純淨的樂園，即使現實中尋找不到這樣的地方，也應該往心靈去尋找，讓自己回歸純真。

Whether God really exists or not, the answers vary from person to person. But it seems that someone is preventing human beings from becoming God or even taking God's place. As a result of pursuing civilization too much, human beings have been attacked by their own civilization, and only cruel facts like war have been derived. Therefore, a trend of returning to the basics has arisen, advocating that human beings should return to a pure paradise like the Garden of Eden. Even if such a place cannot be found in reality, they should seek it in their hearts and let themselves return to innocence.

現代社會過於複雜，已經開始有人嚮往原始時代，過著如同隱居一般的生活，遠離城市與現實世界的喧囂，就像居住在伊甸園一般，與世隔絕。這樣似乎也不錯。我們無法準確評判怎樣的生活觀才是正確的，畢竟這是一個多元開放的社會，然而每當一股勢力走向了極端，必定會有相反的力量興起，這是可以肯定的，就像在現代去「尋找伊甸園」那樣。

Modern society is too complex, and some people have begun to yearn for the primitive era, living a life like seclusion, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city in the real world, just like living in the Garden of Eden, isolated from the world. This seems to be fine too. We cannot accurately judge what kind of outlook on life is correct. After all, this is a pluralistic and open society. However, whenever a force goes to an extreme, an opposite force must arise. That is certain, like "seeking the Garden of Eden" in modern times.