英文自修120：智慧与慈悲

本系列内容英文原文取自BBC Thought for the Day节目网站，朋友们也可以下载节目录音收听。

译者：Young

审读：武太白

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Thought for the Day 20140627 Vishvapani

It’s early morning in Cardiff 加的夫（英国港市）. A rough-shaven Afghan man stirs painfully in the morning sunlight after a night sleeping rough. In his exhaustion I sense the journey he’s made and the terror he’s fled: all the distanced horrors we see on the news made real and concrete right here in front of me.

一天早晨，在加的夫，一个露宿街头的阿富汗男子胡子拉碴，在清晨的阳光中痛苦地醒来。从他满身的疲惫中我能感到他旅程劳顿和他逃离的恐怖世界：就在此地，那些新闻报道中遥远的恐惧真切地展现在我面前。

The world is full of suffering. The times are troubled. So who needs the Buddha – the chilled-out fat guy who closes his eyes in Nirvana? My friend Stan’s son died a few weeks ago, then at the funeral Stan collapsed and died himself. A couple of days ago I heard of another death, a suicide, that’s so raw and fresh I can’t talk about it.

世界充满苦难。时代动乱不安。谁还会需要佛祖，那个在极乐世界闭着双眼、从容的胖家伙呢？几周前，我的朋友斯坦的儿子去世了，在他的葬礼上，斯坦身体虚脱而死。几天前，我听说另一起自杀死亡事件，太过血腥我不忍提及。

Religious pieties 虔诚won’t do when suffering comes as an immediate presence. I can’t make sense of it, but at least the Buddhist teachings school me in finding a response.

当苦难突然降临时，宗教虔诚是没有用的。我无法说清其中的道理，但是至少佛教教义教我寻找答案。

The best word for that response is compassion, but we need something else as well. Call it wisdom. As a teacher of Buddhism and mindfulness I spend much of my time hearing people express their struggles and fears. There is so much suffering in the world. I encourage people to listen kindly to themselves because sometimes, when we give ourselves space and let go of the ways we keep the world at bay, we find we have more resources than we might believe. Something else can grow from that.

最好的答案就是慈悲一词，但是我们还需要别的东西。称之为智慧吧。作为教授佛教和正念修习的老师，很多时间我都在听人们讲述自己的挣扎和恐惧。世界上有如此多的苦难。我鼓励他们进行友善的自我倾听。因为有时，当我们给自己留点空间，抛开拒世界于千里之外的种种做法，会发现我们比自以为的要智慧得多。这样一来，就能在其他方面获得成长。

The Buddha’s eyes are closed as a sign that we must start with self-awareness. But some later Buddhists replaced images of withdrawal with images of engagement.

佛祖紧闭的双眼，象征着我们必须从自我意识开始。但是一些后世的佛教徒把内敛的形象换成了积极用世的形象。

One myth describes Avalokateshvara 观世音菩萨, the embodiment of compassion. He looked across the world and saw that pain was endless. His heart shattered and the tears formed a lake. From it emerged a beautiful girl: sixteen years old, shining, smiling, green in colour and filled with the power to enter people’s hearts. Her name is Tara 多罗菩萨, and for many Buddhists she’s a mythic source of sustenance.

神话里的观世音菩萨是慈悲的化身，他洞察六道，看到无穷的苦难，因而悲从心生，眼泪化为湖泊。湖中显现出一个漂亮的女子：二八芳龄，光芒闪耀，面带微笑。她全身着绿，有进入人心的法力。她就是多罗菩萨。对许多佛教徒来说，她就是生计的神话之源。

The myth is important because it suggests the power of opening to a compassionate force that’s greater than our narrow conception of ourselves. It’s hard enough to face the struggles of my own life. The problems of the whole world are overwhelming. But I can ask, what is my work today, and where in my life are wisdom and compassion?

这个神话重要之处在于，它说明了接受慈悲的力量远大于狭隘的自我观念。对我来说，面对生活的苦难已足够艰难。整个世界的问题多得难以对付。但是我能思考的是，我今天的工作是什么？我生命中的智慧和慈悲之心在哪？

The Buddha said, ‘Hatred is never overcome by hatred, but only by love. Others do not realise that we are all heading for death. Those who understand this will compose their quarrels.’

佛说：“仇恨永远无法化解仇恨，只有爱可以。其他人并没有意识到我们终将走向死亡。明白这一点的人们，就会去化解争吵。”