我不知道有多少人问过自己受教育的意义是什么？我们为什么要上学？

I wonder if we have ever asked ourselves what education means. Why do we go to school?

为什么要学习各种科目？为什么参加考试，和同学比得分高低？所谓的教育究竟含有什么意义？它涵盖了什么？

Why do we learn various subjects, why do we pass examinations and compete with each other for better grades? What does this so-called education mean, and what is it all about?

这实在是一个非常重要的问题。我们不只是为学生质疑这个问题，同时也跟父母、老师以及所有热爱地球的人们，共同来探究这个问题。

This is really a very important question, not only for the students, but also for the parents, for the teachers, and for everyone who loves this earth.

我们为什么要通过竞争来受教育？难道受教育只是为了通过几项考试，得到一份工作？还是为我们在年轻时奠定基础，以便了解人生的整个过程？

Why do we go through the struggle to be educated? Is it merely in order to pass some examinations and get a job? Or is it the function of education to prepare us while we are young to understand the whole process of life?

获得一份工作来维持生计是必要的，然而这就是一切了吗？难道我们受教育就是为了这个目的？

Having a job and earning one's livelihood is necessary - but is that all? Are we being educated only for that?

显然，生命并不只是一份工作和职业而已，生命是极为广阔而深奥的，它是一个伟大的谜，在这个浩瀚的宇宙中，我们有幸生而为人。如果我们活着只是为了谋生，我们就失去了生命的意义。

Surely, life is not merely a job, an occupation; life is something extraordinarily wide and profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm in which we function as human beings. If we merely prepare ourselves to earn a livelihood, we shall miss the whole point of life;

去了解生命本身，比只是准备考试、精通数学、物理或其他科目要重要多了。

And to understand life is much more important than merely to prepare for examinations and become very proficient in mathematics, physics, or what you will.

所以，不论我们是老师还是学生，我们是否应该扪心自问为何教育他人或受教？

So, whether we are teachers or students, is it not important to ask ourselves why we are educating or being educated?

生命到底是什么？难道生命不绝美吗？飞鸟、花朵、翠木、蓝天、星辰、河流、游鱼......这一切都是生命。

And what does life mean? Is not life an extraordinary thing? The birds, the flowers, the flourishing trees, the heavens, the stars, the rivers and the fish therein - all this is life.

生命是贫穷的、富足的；生命是群体、种族、国家之间永不停歇的战役；生命是静思冥想；生命是所谓的宗教；同时它也是心灵中微妙的、隐藏的东西，包括羡妒、野心、激情、恐惧、成就及忧虑等等。

Life is the poor and the rich; life is the constant battle between groups, races and nations; life is meditation; life is what we call religion, and it is also the subtle, hidden things of the mind - the envies, the ambitions, the passions, the fears, fulfilments and anxieties.

这所有的一切以及更多的事物都是生命，然而我们通常只准备了解生命的一个小角落。我们通过一些考试，找到一份工作，结婚，生子，然后就越活越像一部机器。

All this and much more is life. But we generally prepare ourselves to understand only one small corner of it. We pass certain examinations, find a job, get married, have 5 children, and then become more and more like machines.

我们依然对生命恐惧、焦虑，因此帮助我们了解人生的整个过程，难道不是教育的目的？还是，教育只为我们谋职或找一份最好的工作而奠基?

We remain fearful, anxious, frightened of life. So, is it the function of education to help us understand the whole process of life, or is it merely to prepare us for a vocation, for the best job we can get?

我们长大成人以后会怎么样？你是否问过自己长大以后想做什么？最大的可能是你会结婚，在你还没有搞清楚自己的定位时，可能你已经是父亲或母亲了，然而你会被一份工作绑住，或是被厨房绑住，你就在这其中渐渐衰萎。

What is going to happen to all of us when we grow to be men and women? Have you ever asked yourselves what you are going to do when you grow up? In all likelihood you will get married, and before you know where you are you will be mothers and fathers; and you will then be tied to a job, or to the kitchen, in which you will gradually wither away.

这难道就是你所有的生命了吗？你有没有问过自己？你应不应该问自己？如果你有一个富裕的家庭，那么你已经确定自己将来会有一份不错的工作，因为你的父亲也许会提供你一份舒适的工作，或者你可能在婚姻中获得很多财富，但是你仍然会腐败、枯竭。你看见这点了吗？

Is that all that your life is going to be? Have you ever asked yourselves this question? Should you not ask it? If your family is wealthy you may have a fairly good position already assured, your father may give you a comfortable job, or you may get richly married; but there also you will decay, deteriorate. Do you see?

显然，除非教育能帮助你了解广大生命的所有精微面——它惊人的美、它的哀愁及欢乐，否则教育是没有什么意义的。

Surely, education has no meaning unless it helps you to understand the vast expanse of life with all its subtleties, with its extraordinary beauty, its sorrows and joys.

你也许会得到学位，得到一连串的头衔，得到非常好的工作，然后呢？如果在这些活动的过程中，你的头脑变得迟钝、衰竭、愚蠢，那么生命的目的又是什么呢？

You may earn degrees, you may have a series of letters after your name and land a very good job; but then what? What is the point of it all? If in the process your mind becomes dull, weary, stupid?

所以当你年轻时，你是不是应该弄清楚生命究竟是怎么一回事？

So, while you are young, must you not seek to find out what life is all about?

教育的意义：帮助你自由地做自己