Joan Halifax: Compassion and the true meaning of empathy

Prevodilac: Ivana Veljkovic Lektor: Ivana Korom

I want to address the issue of compassion.

Želim da govorim o saosećanju.

Compassion has many faces.

Saosećanje ima mnogo lica.

Some of them are fierce; some of them are wrathful;

Neka od njih su divlja; neka su gnevna;

some of them are tender; some of them are wise.

neka su nežna; neka su mudra.

A line that the Dalai Lama once said,

Dalaj Lama je jednom rekao,

he said, "Love and compassion are necessities.

"Ljubav i saosećanje su neophodni.

They are not luxuries.

Oni nisu luksuz.

Without them,

Bez njih,

humanity cannot survive."

čovečanstvo ne može opstati."

And I would suggest,

Ja bih dodala

it is not only humanity that won't survive,

da ne samo da čovečanstvo neće opstati

but it is all species on the planet,

već sva živa bića na planeti,

as we've heard today.

kao što smo danas čuli.

It is the big cats,

To su velike mačke

and it's the plankton.

i planktoni.

Two weeks ago, I was in Bangalore in India.

Pre dve nedelje sam bila u Bangaloru u Indiji.

I was so privileged

To je bila velika privilegija

to be able to teach in a hospice

da mogu predavati u domu za umiruće,

on the outskirts of Bangalore.

na periferiji Bangalora.

And early in the morning,

Rano ujutru

I went into the ward.

otišla sam u bolničku sobu.

In that hospice,

U tom domu

there were 31 men and women

je bila 31 osoba, muškarci i žene,

who were actively dying.

koji su aktivno umirali.

And I walked up to the bedside

Prišla sam

of an old woman

jednoj staroj ženi

who was breathing very rapidly, fragile,

koja je ubrzano disala, bila je krhka

obviously in the latter phase

očigledno u kasnijoj fazi

of active dying.

aktivnog umiranja.

I looked into her face.

Pogledala sam njeno lice.

I looked into the face

Pogledala sam lice

of her son sitting next to her,

njenog sina koji je sedeo pored nje,

and his face was just riven

njegovo lice je bilo smrvljeno

with grief and confusion.

od tuge i zbunjenosti.

And I remembered

I setila sam se

a line from the Mahabharata,

stiha iz Mahabharate

the great Indian epic:

čuvenog indijskog epa:

"What is the most wondrous thing in the world, Yudhisthira?"

"Šta je najčudesnija stvar na svetu, Judistara?"

And Yudhisthira replied,

I Judistara odgovara,

"The most wondrous thing in the world

"Najčudesnija stvar na svetu

is that all around us

je to što svuda oko nas

people can be dying

ljudi umiru,

and we don't realize

a mi ne shvatamo

it can happen to us."

da to može da se desi nama."

I looked up.

Pogledala sam naviše.

Tending those 31 dying people

O tih 31 ljudi

were young women

brinule su se mlade žene

from villages around Bangalore.

iz sela iz okoline Banagalora.

I looked into the face of one of these women,

Pogledala sam u lice jedne od tih žena

and I saw in her face

i na njenom licu sam videla

the strength that arises

snagu koja se rađa

when natural compassion is really present.

kada je prirodno saosećanje zaista prisutno.

I watched her hands

Posmatrala sam joj ruke

as she bathed an old man.

dok je kupala jednog starca.

My gaze went to another young woman

Moj pogled je odlutao do druge mlade žene

as she wiped the face

dok je brisala lice

of another dying person.

jedne druge osobe koja umire.

And it reminded me

I to me je podsetilo na nešto

of something that I had just been present for.

čemu sam prisustvovala.

Every year or so,

Svake godine

I have the privilege of taking clinicians

imam priliku da vodim medicinske radnike

into the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.

na Himalaje i na Tibetansku visoravan.

And we run clinics

Mi vodimo klinike

in these very remote regions

u ovim veoma udaljenim regionima

where there's no medical care whatsoever.

gde nema nikakve medicinske nege.

And on the first day at Simikot in Humla,

Prvog dana u Simikotu u Humli

far west of Nepal,

na dalekom zapadu Nepala,

the most impoverished region of Nepal,

najsiromašnijem delu Nepala,

an old man came in

ušao je stari čovek

clutching a bundle of rags.

držeći gomilu prnja.

And he walked in, and somebody said something to him,

On je ušao i neko mu je nešto rekao

we realized he was deaf,

i shvatili smo da je gluv,

and we looked into the rags,

pogledali smo u njegovo prnje,

and there was this pair of eyes.

i tu je bio par očiju.

The rags were unwrapped

U prnje je bila zamotana

from a little girl

mala devojčica

whose body was massively burned.

čije je telo pretrpelo teške opekotine.

Again,

Opet,

the eyes and hands

oči i ruke

of Avalokiteshvara.

Avalokitešvare.

It was the young women, the health aids,

Mlada žena, medicinska radnica

who cleaned the wounds of this baby

je očistila rane ovoj bebi

and dressed the wounds.

i previla joj rane.

I know those hands and eyes;

Znam te ruke i te oči;

they touched me as well.

i mene su takođe dodirivale.

They touched me at that time.

Dodirivale su me tada.

They have touched me throughout my 68 years.

I dodiruju me već mojih 68 godina.

They touched me when I was four

Dodirivale su me kad sam imala četiri godina

and I lost my eyesight

i izgubila vid

and was partially paralyzed.

i bila delom paralizovana.

And my family brought in

Moja porodica je dovela

a woman whose mother had been a slave

ženu čija je majka bila robinja

to take care of me.

da se brine o meni.

And that woman

I ta žena

did not have sentimental compassion.

nije imala sentimentalno saosećanje.

She had phenomenal strength.

Ona je imala neverovatnu snagu,

And it was really her strength, I believe,

I verujem da je njena snaga

that became the kind of mudra and imprimatur

postala neka vrsta "mudre" i odobrenja

that has been a guiding light in my life.

koja je bila svetlo koje me je vodilo kroz život.

So we can ask:

Možemo da postavimo pitanje:

What is compassion comprised of?

Od čega se sastoji saosećanje?

And there are various facets.

Postoji nekoliko aspekata.

And there's referential and non-referential compassion.

I postoji referentno i nereferentno saosećanje.

But first, compassion is comprised

Ali prvo, saosećanje se sastoji iz

of that capacity

sposobnosti

to see clearly

da se ima jasan uvid

into the nature of suffering.

u prirodu patnje.

It is that ability

To je sposobnost

to really stand strong

da budemo jaki

and to recognize also

ali da takođe znamo

that I'm not separate from this suffering.

da nismo odvojeni od te patnje.

But that is not enough,

Ali to nije dovoljno,

because compassion,

jer saosećanje

which activates the motor cortex,

koje aktivira motorni korteks,

means that we aspire,

znači da težimo

we actually aspire to transform suffering.

da zapravo težimo da transformišemo tu patnju.

And if we're so blessed,

I ako smo tolike sreće

we engage in activities

da učestvujemo u stvarima

that transform suffering.

koja mogu da transformišu patnju.

But compassion has another component,

Ali saosećanje ima još jednu komponentu

and that component is really essential.

i ta komponenta je zaista esencijalna.

That component

Ta komponenta

is that we cannot be attached to outcome.

znači da ne možemo biti vezani za ishod.

Now I worked with dying people

Ja sam radila sa ljudima koji umiru

for over 40 years.

preko 40 godina.

I had the privilege of working on death row

Imala sam privilegiju da šest godina radim sa ljudima

in a maximum security [prison] for six years.

osuđenim na smrt, u zatvoru sa maksimalnim obezbeđenjem.

And I realized so clearly

I jasno sam shvatila

in bringing my own life experience,

iz svog ličnog iskustva,

from working with dying people

radeći sa ljudima koji umiru

and training caregivers,

sa negovateljima

that any attachment to outcome

da bi svaka veza sa ishodom

would distort deeply

duboko poremetila

my own capacity to be fully present

moj lični kapacitet da budem potpuno prisutna

to the whole catastrophe.

u čitavoj katastrofi.

And when I worked in the prison system,

Dok sam radila u zatvosrkom sistemu,

it was so clear to me, this:

sledeće mi je bilo vrlo jasno:

that many of us

mnogi od nas

in this room,

u ovoj sobi

and almost all of the men that I worked with on death row,

i kod skoro svih ljudi koji su čekali smrtnu kaznu i sa kojima sam radila,

the seeds of their own compassion had never been watered.

seme njihovog saosećanja nikada nije bilo zalivano.

That compassion is actually

Da je saosećanje zapravo

an inherent human quality.

inherentni ljudski kvalitet.

It is there within every human being.

Ono je u svakom ljudskom biću.

But the conditions

Ali uslovi

for compassion to be activated,

koji aktiviraju saosećanje,

to be aroused,

koji ga bude,

are particular conditions.

su posebni uslovi.

I had that condition, to a certain extent,

Ja sam taj uslov imala, donekle,

from my own childhood illness.

zbog svoje dečije bolesti.

Eve Ensler, whom you'll hear later,

Iv Ensler, koju ćete kasnije čuti,

has had that condition activated

aktivirala je ove uslove

amazingly in her

u sebi

through the various waters of suffering

kroz razne vode patnje

that she has been through.

kroz koje je prošla.

And what is fascinating

I fascinantno je

is that compassion has enemies,

da saosećanje ima neprijatelje,

and those enemies are things like pity,

a ti neprijatelji su sažaljenje,

moral outrage,

moralna pokvarenost,

fear.

strah.

And you know, we have a society, a world,

I znate, mi imamo društvo, svet

that is paralyzed by fear.

koji je paralisan od straha.

And in that paralysis, of course,

I u toj paralizi, naravno,

our capacity for compassion

naša sposobonst za saosećanjem

is also paralyzed.

je takođe paralizovana.

The very word terror

Sama reč teror

is global.

je globalna.

The very feeling of terror is global.

Sam osećaj terora je globalan.

So our work, in a certain way,

Tako da naš rad, na neki način,

is to address this imago,

pokušava da ispravi ovu sliku,

this kind of archetype

ovu vrstu arhetipa

that has pervaded the psyche

koji obuzima psihu

of our entire globe.

čitave planete.

Now we know from neuroscience

Zahvaljujući nauci znamo

that compassion has

da saosećanje ima

some very extraordinary qualities.

neke neverovatne kvalitete.

For example:

Na primer:

A person who is cultivating compassion,

osoba koja gaji saosećanje

when they are in the presence of suffering,

u prisustvu patnje nekog drugog

they feel that suffering a lot more

sama oseća tu patnju mnogo jače

than many other people do.

nego mnogi drugi ljudi.

However,

Međutim,

they return to baseline a lot sooner.

oni se vrate u normalu mnogo brže.

This is called resilience.

To se zove otpornost.

Many of us think that compassion drains us,

Mnogi od nas misle da nas saosećanje iscrpljuje,

but I promise you

ali verujte mi

it is something that truly enlivens us.

to je nešto što nas istinski oživljava.

Another thing about compassion

Još jedna stvar kod saosećanja

is that it really enhances what's called neural integration.

je da ono pojačava ono što se zove nervna integracija.

It hooks up all parts of the brain.

Ono spaja sve delove mozga.

Another, which has been discovered

Još nešto što su otkrili

by various researchers

razni naučnici

at Emory and at Davis and so on,

na Imoriju i Dejvisu i tako dalje,

is that compassion enhances our immune system.

je to što saosećanje poboljšava naš imuni sistem.

Hey,

Hej,

we live in a very noxious world.

mi živimo u veoma nezdravom svetu.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Most of us are shrinking

Mnogi od nas slabe,

in the face of psycho-social and physical poisons,

suočeni sa psiho-socijalnim i fizičkim otrovima,

of the toxins of our world.

toksinima ovog sveta.

But compassion, the generation of compassion,

Ali saosećanje, stvaranje saosećanja,

actually mobilizes

zapravo mobiliše

our immunity.

naš imunitet.

You know, if compassion is so good for us,

Ako je saosećanje dobro za nas,

I have a question.

ja imam jedno pitanje.

Why don't we train our children

Zašto ne učimo našu decu

in compassion?

da saosećaju?

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

If compassion is so good for us,

Ako je saosećanje dobro za nas,

why don't we train our health care providers in compassion

zašto ne učimo naše negovatelje saosećanju

so that they can do what they're supposed to do,

tako da oni mogu da rade ono što treba da rade,

which is to really transform suffering?

što je zapravo da transformišu patnju?

And if compassion is so good for us,

I ako je saosećanje tako dobro za nas,

why don't we vote on compassion?

zašto ne glasamo za saosećanje?

Why don't we vote for people in our government

Zašto ne glasamo za ljude u vladi

based on compassion,

na osnovu saosećanja,

so that we can have

tako da možemo da imamo

a more caring world?

brižniji svet?

In Buddhism,

U Budizmu

we say, "it takes a strong back and a soft front."

mi kažemo, "potrebna su jaka leđa i meko lice."

It takes tremendous strength of the back

Potrebna je neverovatna snaga leđa

to uphold yourself in the midst of conditions.

da se držite pravo u situacijama.

And that is the mental quality of equanimity.

I to je mentalni kvalitet smirenosti.

But it also takes a soft front --

Ali je takođe potrebno i meko lice -

the capacity to really be open to the world as it is,

kapacitet da budete otvoreni prema svetu takvom kakav jeste,

to have an undefended heart.

da imate nebranjeno srce.

And the archetype of this in Buddhism

Arhetip ovoga u Budizmu

is Avalokiteshvara, Kuan-Yin.

je Avalokitešvara, Kuan-Jin.

It's a female archetype:

To je ženski arhetip:

she who perceives

ona koja čuje

the cries of suffering in the world.

krikove patnje na ovom svetu.

She stands with 10,000 arms,

Ona stoji sa 10.000 ruku,

and in every hand,

u svakoj ruci,

there is an instrument of liberation,

je instrument oslobađanja,

and in the palm of every hand, there are eyes,

i na dlanu svake šake, su oči,

and these are the eyes of wisdom.

i te oči su oči mudrosti.

I say that, for thousands of years,

Ja mislim da već hiljadama godina

women have lived,

žene žive

exemplified, met in intimacy,

predstavljaju se, susreću sa

the archetype of Avalokitesvara,

arhetipom Avalokitešvare

of Kuan-Yin,

Kuan-Jin,

she who perceives

one koja čuje

the cries of suffering in the world.

krike patnje ovoga sveta.

Women have manifested for thousands of years

Žene su pokazivale hiljadama godina

the strength arising from compassion

snagu koja se rađa iz saosećanja

in an unfiltered, unmediated way

na sirov, neposredan način

in perceiving suffering

osećaju patnju

as it is.

kakva jeste.

They have infused societies with kindness,

One su nadahnule društvo dobrotom

and we have really felt that

i mi smo to zaista osetili,

as woman after woman

kako je žena za ženom

has stood on this stage

stajala na ovoj pozornici

in the past day and a half.

u proteklih dan i po.

And they have actualized compassion

I one su aktuelizovale saosećanje

through direct action.

kroz direktnu akciju.

Jody Williams called it:

Džodi Vilijams je rekla:

It's good to meditate.

Dobro je posredovati.

I'm sorry, you've got to do a little bit of that, Jody.

Žao mi je, morate učiniti malo više od toga, Džodi.

Step back, give your mother a break, okay.

Odstupite, pustite malo svoju majku, okej.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But the other side of the equation

Ali sa druge strane

is you've got to come out of your cave.

morate da izađete iz pećine.

You have to come into the world

Morate da uđete u svet

like Asanga did,

kao Asanga

who was looking to realize Maitreya Buddha

koji je želeo da ostvrai Matreju Budu

after 12 years sitting in the cave.

nakon 12 godina sedenja u pećinji

He said, "I'm out of here."

Rekao je "Odlazim odavde."

He's going down the path.

Onda je krenuo niz stazu

He sees something in the path.

i video je nešto

He looks, it's a dog, he drops to his knees.

Pogledao je i tu je bio pas, pao je na kolena

He sees that the dog has this big wound on its leg.

Video je da pas ima veliku ranu na nozi.

The wound is just filled with maggots.

Rana je bila puna crva.

He puts out his tongue

Isplazio je jezik

in order to remove the maggots,

da bi sklonio crve

so as not to harm them.

tako da ih ne povredi.

And at that moment,

U tom trenutku

the dog transformed

pas se pretvorio

into the Buddha of love and kindness.

u Budu ljubavi i dobrote.

I believe

Ja verujem da

that women and girls today

žene i devojke danas

have to partner in a powerful way with men --

moraju da uđu u moćno partnerstvo sa muškarcima -

with their fathers,

sa svojim očevima,

with their sons, with their brothers,

sa svojim sinovima, sa svojom braćom,

with the plumbers, the road builders,

sa vodoinstalaterima, sa onima koji grade puteve,

the caregivers, the doctors, the lawyers,

sa negovateljima, doktorima, advokatima,

with our president,

sa našim predsednikom

and with all beings.

i sa svim živim bićima.

The women in this room

Žene u ovoj prostoriji

are lotuses in a sea of fire.

su lotusi u moru vatre.

May we actualize that capacity

Ostvarimo taj kapacitet

for women everywhere.

koje poseduju žene svuda na svetu.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)