The only problem unconsciously assumed by all Chinese Philosophers to be of any importance is: How shall we enjoy life, and who can best enjoy life? No perfectionism, no straining after the unattainable, no postulating of the unknowable, but taking poor, mortal human nature as it is, how shall we organize our life so that we can work peacefully, endure nobly2 and live happily?

不知不覺(jué)中，所有的中國(guó)哲人都認(rèn)為最重要的一個(gè)問(wèn)題是：該怎樣享受生活？誰(shuí)最能享受生活？沒(méi)有至善論，沒(méi)有未果的追求，沒(méi)有無(wú)知的假定，僅僅是把可憐的、致命的人類本性視為生命。我們?cè)撛鯓咏M織我們的生命，以使我們能攜帶著崇高平靜地工作、幸福地生活？

Who are we? That is the first question. It is a question almost impossible to answer. But we all agree that the busy self occupied in our daily activities is not quite the real self. We are quite sure we have lost something in the mere pursuit3 of living. When we watch a person running about looking for something in a field, the wise man can set a puzzle for all the spectators to solve: what has that person lost? Some one thinks it is a watch; another thinks it is a diamond brooch; and others will essay other guesses. After all the guesses have failed, the wise man who really doesn’t know what the person is seeking after, tells the company, “I’ll tell you. He has lost some breath.” And no one can deny that he is right. So we often forget out true self in the pursuit of living, like a bird forgetting its own danger in pursuit of a mantis, which again forgets its own danger in pursuit of another prey, as is so beautifully expressed in a parable by Chuangtse.

第一個(gè)問(wèn)題我們是誰(shuí)？這是一個(gè)幾乎無(wú)法回答的問(wèn)題。但是，我們都認(rèn)為日常生活中忙碌的自我，并不是十分真正的自我。我們相當(dāng)確定，在純粹的生活追求中我們丟失了一些什么。當(dāng)我們看到一個(gè)人在一片田地中來(lái)回地尋找什么東西時(shí)，智者會(huì)為旁觀者設(shè)置一個(gè)迷：那個(gè)人丟失了什么?有人認(rèn)為丟了手表，有人認(rèn)為是鉆石胸針，還有人作著其他的猜測(cè)。然而，所有的猜測(cè)都是錯(cuò)誤的，后來(lái)，那個(gè)其實(shí)并不知道真相的智者告訴那些人說(shuō)：“我來(lái)告訴你們吧，他丟了一些氣息?！睕](méi)有人能夠否認(rèn)他的話的正確性。因此，在生活的追求中我們往往會(huì)忘記真實(shí)的自我，就像莊子的寓言——一只鳥(niǎo)在捕食螳螂時(shí)忘記了自身的危險(xiǎn)，而那只螳螂在捕捉另一只獵物時(shí)也忘記了自身的危險(xiǎn)一樣，惟妙惟肖。