窗

The Window

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning, while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hang the wash outside. “That laundry is not very clean”, she said “she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap”. The husband looked on, but remained silent.

一對年輕夫婦搬到新居。第二天吃早餐時, 妻子看到隣居正在戶外晾曬衣物。妻子說: "那些衣物不太乾淨, 看來她需要更好的洗衣粉。" 丈夫看了一眼並不作聲。

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this.” The husband said: “I got up this morning and cleaned our windows!”

每次隣居晾曬衣物, 妻子都作出同樣的批評。大約一個月後, 妻子看到隣居的晾衣繩上掛着光潔的衣物而大感詫異。她對丈夫說: "她終於學會洗濯衣物了。奇怪是誰教曉她呢?" 丈夫答道: "今早我起床後把窗門抹個乾淨。"

And so it is with life: What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look. Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking for something in the person we are about to judge.

正如做人: 我們透過窗戶(眼睛)看他人時, 有賴於玻璃(心靈)的澄明程度。批判他人時, 最好先了解自己的心態, 撫心自問, 究竟是否想看好的一面, 而不是憑表面去判斷。

(文章摘自網絡。 Peter Yau中文翻譯)