The next morning I was down on my knees in the temple, scrubbing the marble floor again, emanating (I imagined) a holy radiance of silence, when an Indian teenage boy came looking for me with a message—that I needed to report to the Seva Office immediately. Seva is the Sanskrit term for the spiritual practice of selfless service (for instance, the scrubbing of a temple floor). The Seva Office administers all the work assignments for the Ashram. So I wandered over there, very curious as to why I’d been summoned, and the nice lady at the desk asked me, “Are you Elizabeth Gilbert?”
隔天早晨,我跪在寺院,再一次刷洗大理石地板,散发出(我想象)静默的神圣光芒。这时,一名印度少年来找我,带了个信息——我得马上向“歇瓦”处报到。“歇瓦”是梵语,意味无私服务的心灵实践(例如,刷洗寺院地板)。“歇瓦”办公室执行道场的工作分派。于是我走去那里,好奇为何召唤我去。服务台前客气有礼的女士问我:“你是伊莉莎白·吉尔伯特?”
I smiled at her with the warmest piety and nodded. Silently.
我虔诚地微笑点头,安静不语。
Then she told me that my work detail had been changed. Due to a special request from management, I was no longer to be part of the floor-scrubbing team. They had a new position in mind for me at the Ashram.
她接着跟我说,我的工作内容已经更换。基于管理方面的特别要求,我不再属于刷地板部门,他们要分派给我一份新工作。
And the title of my new job was—if you will kindly dig this—"Key Hostess." Eat, Pray, Love
新工作的头衔是——您若明白这是什么玩意——“主招待”。