Karen Armstrong: Let's revive the Golden Rule

翻译人员: Chaoran Yu 校对人员: Xu Jiang

For years I've been feeling frustrated,

多年来，我一直感到沮丧

because as a religious historian,

因为作为宗教历史学家，

I've become acutely aware

我已经意识到

of the centrality of compassion

世界上主要的宗教信仰都宣扬

in all the major world faiths.

仁爱之心。

Every single one of them

每个宗教都演变出

has evolved their own version

自己独特的版本，

of what's been called the Golden Rule.

这些统称为恕道(黄金定律)。

Sometimes it comes in a positive version --

有时从正面说，那就是-

"Always treat all others as you'd like to be treated yourself."

“推己及人。”

And equally important

同样重要的，

is the negative version --

从反方面说就是--

"Don't do to others what you would not like them to do to you."

“已所不欲，勿施于人。”

Look into your own heart,

审视你的内心。

discover what it is that gives you pain

探寻究竟是什么让你痛苦。

and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever,

然后在任何情况下，都拒绝

to inflict that pain on anybody else.

将这种痛苦施加于别人。

And people have emphasized the importance of compassion,

人们之所以重视仁爱，

not just because it sounds good,

不仅仅是因为它听起来很棒，

but because it works.

更是因为它行得通。

People have found that when they have

人们发现当他们

implemented the Golden Rule

遵守恕道时

as Confucius said, "all day and every day,"

正如孔子所说的“终生行之，”

not just a question of doing your good deed for the day

这已不是只做一天好事

and then returning to a life of greed

然后又回到贪婪、

and egotism,

自私的生活的问题了。

but to do it all day and every day,

当你每天都坚守恕道的时候，

you dethrone yourself from the center of your world,

你就可以摆脱以自我为中心的世界，

put another there, and you transcend yourself.

超然于物外。

And it brings you into the presence

从而可以到达

of what's been called God, Nirvana, Rama, Tao.

称之为神、涅盤、喇嘛、道的境界。

Something that goes beyond

一些超越

what we know in our ego-bound existence.

我们所知的自我约束的东西。

But you know you'd never know it a lot of the time,

但是，你知道大多数时候你对此一无所知，

that this was so central to the religious life.

这就是宗教生活的核心。

Because with a few wonderful exceptions,

因为世上的一些特例，

very often when religious people come together,

经常的，当宗教人士集聚在一起的时候，

religious leaders come together, they're arguing about abstruse doctrines

宗教领袖聚在一起的时候，他们会争辩深奥的理论

or uttering a council of hatred

或者发表充满仇恨的言论

or inveighing against homosexuality or something of that sort.

又或谴责同性恋等此类问题。

Often people don't really want to be compassionate.

通常人们不具有仁爱之心。

I sometimes see

有时，

when I'm speaking to a congregation of religious people

当我跟众多宗教人士交谈时，

a sort of mutinous expression crossing their faces

我注意到他们的脸上经常会闪现一丝轻蔑之色，

because people often want to be right instead.

因为人们往往都自持正确。

And that of course defeats the object of the exercise.

这当然违背了修行的目的。

Now why was I so grateful to TED?

我为什么对TED那么感激呢？

Because they took me very gently

因为TED温柔地将我

from my book-lined study

从满是书本的书房

and brought me into the 21st century,

带到了二十一世纪，

enabling me to speak to a much, much wider audience

让我能够可以向更多，更广的观众演说

than I could have ever conceived.

这比我能设想到的多得多。

Because I feel an urgency about this.

因为我对此感到迫切。

If we don't manage to implement

假若我们不设法

the Golden Rule globally,

在全球实施恕道，

so that we treat all peoples, wherever and whoever they may be,

这样我们就能对待所有的人，无论他们在哪里，他们是谁，

as though they were as important as ourselves,

都如同对待我们自己一样重要，

I doubt that we'll have

我怀疑我们

a viable world to hand on to the next generation.

能否将这个世界传承给下一代。

The task of our time,

我们当前的任务，

one of the great tasks of our time,

最为艰巨的任务之一，

is to build a global society, as I said,

就是建立一个全球性的社会，就像我所说的，

where people can live together in peace.

在这个社会里，人们可以和谐相处。

And the religions that should be making a major contribution

而宗教，本应做出主要贡献的，

are instead seen as part of the problem.

却被视为问题的一部分。

And of course it's not just religious people who believe in the Golden Rule.

当然，不只是宗教人士才相信恕道。

This is the source of all morality,

道德观念皆源于此。

this imaginative act of empathy,

这种富有想象力的共鸣，

putting yourself in the place of another.

将可使你与他人进行角色互换。

And so we have a choice, it seems to me.

在我看来，我们现在有了个选择。

We can either go on bringing out or emphasizing

我们既可以奉行，或强调

the dogmatic and intolerant aspects of our faith,

我们信仰中教条和偏执的方面，

or we can go back to

抑或可以回到

the rabbis. Rabbi Hillel, the older contemporary of Jesus,

拉比的时代，拉比希勒尔，出生在比耶酥还早的时代，

who, when asked by a pagan

当他被一位异教徒要求

to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching while he stood on one leg,

单脚站立着归纳整个犹太教义的时候，

said, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.

他说：“勿对旁人做出连自己都憎恶之事。

That is the Torah and everything else is only commentary."

这就是托拉（律法）的全部，余下的都是注释。”

And the rabbis and the early fathers of the church who said that

拉比和早期的神父们皆言

any interpretation of scripture

任何一种将经文

that bred hatred and disdain was illegitimate.

解释为产生仇恨和轻蔑的释义都是非正统的。

And we need to revive that spirit.

我们需要找回那种精神。

And it's not just going to happen

它不会因我们有了仁爱之心

because a spirit of love wafts us down.

而就此出现。

We have to make this happen,

我们得让它出现，

and we can do it

我们能做到的

with the modern communications

通过TED引用的

that TED has introduced.

现代交流技术。

Already I've been tremendously heartened

我已经从我的伙伴那收到各种各样的回应，

at the response of all our partners.

这让我很振奋。

In Singapore, we have a group

在新加坡，有一个小组

going to use the Charter to heal divisions

正要采用仁爱宪章来消除

recently that have sprung up in Singaporean society,

新加坡社会新近出现的分歧，

and some members of the parliament want

一部分新加坡议会成员则想

to implement it politically.

从政治上实施仁爱。

In Malaysia, there is going to be an art exhibition

马来西亚将会举办一场艺术展览，

in which leading artists are going to be

届时，顶尖的画家们将会带领

taking people, young people,

人们，年青的一代，

and showing them that compassion also lies

展示给他们仁爱也根植

at the root of all art.

于所有的艺术中。

Throughout Europe, the Muslim communities

整个欧洲和穆斯林组织

are holding events and discussions,

都在举办各种各样的聚会和集会，

are discussing the centrality of compassion

讨论伊斯兰教和其他信仰中的

in Islam and in all faiths.

仁爱之心。

But it can't stop there. It can't stop with the launch.

但我们不能仅止步于此。不能就这样浅尝辙止。

Religious teaching, this is where we've gone so wrong,

宗教教育才是我们犯错的地方。

concentrating solely on believing abstruse doctrines.

它只关注那些晦涩的教条学说。

Religious teaching must always lead to action.

宗教教育总是一定要指向实际的行动。

And I intend to work on this till my dying day.

我愿意至死不渝地为此而努力。

And I want to continue with our partners

我还想和我的伙伴再

to do two things --

做两样事情--

educate and stimulate compassionate thinking.

培养和激发富有仁爱性的思考。

Education because we've so

要教育。因为我们如此地

dropped out of compassion.

远离了仁爱。

People often think it simply means

人们往往只是简单地认为它就是

feeling sorry for somebody.

同情别人。

But of course you don't understand compassion

当然你不能领会仁爱的含义，

if you're just going to think about it.

如果你仅仅是想想罢了。

You also have to do it.

你必须要身体力行。

I want them to get the media involved

我想让媒体也参与进来，

because the media are crucial

因为媒体具有关键的作用

in helping to dissolve some of the stereotypical views

在消除我们看待其他人时所持有的

we have of other people,

一些陈旧的观点，

which are dividing us from one another.

正是这些观点让我们彼此分开。

The same applies to educators.

这对于教育者也具有同样的作用。

I'd like youth to get a sense of

我想让年轻人们知道

the dynamism, the dynamic and challenge

富有仁爱的生活方式是

of a compassionate lifestyle.

充满活力和挑战的。

And also see that it demands acute intelligence,

同时也让他们看到这也需要敏锐的智慧，

not just a gooey feeling.

而不仅仅是一种感伤的情怀。

I'd like to call upon scholars to explore

我想呼吁学者们

the compassionate theme

以他们自己和其他人的传统观点来

in their own and in other people's traditions.

探讨仁爱这一主题。

And perhaps above all,

也许最重要的是，

to encourage a sensitivity about

去鼓励（人们）对

uncompassionate speaking,

肆言詈辱的敏感性。

so that because people have this Charter,

这样一来，因为人们有了这个章法，

whatever their beliefs or lack of them,

无论他们信奉什么，或者他们没有信仰，

they feel empowered

他们都会觉的如有神助

to challenge uncompassionate speech,

可以挑战这种无情的言论，

disdainful remarks

蔑视这些来自宗教领袖、

from their religious leaders, their political leaders,

政治领袖和业界领袖的

from the captains of industry.

肆言。

Because we can change the world,

因为我们能够改变这个世界，

we have the ability.

我们有这个能力。

I would never have thought of putting the Charter online.

我从未设想过将宪章上传至网络。

I was still stuck in the old world

我仍旧困于旧世界中，

of a whole bunch of boffins sitting together in a room

与一大堆研究人员集聚一室

and issuing yet another arcane statement.

发表另一种鲜为人知的言论。

And TED introduced me to a whole new way

不过TED介绍给我一种全新的，

of thinking and presenting ideas.

让我思考和表达我的想法的方式。

Because that is what is so wonderful about TED.

因为那就是TED的奇妙之处。

In this room, all this expertise,

这个房间内，各行各业的专家们

if we joined it all together,

如果我们能够凝聚在一起，

we could change the world.

我们就可以改变这个世界。

And of course the problems sometimes seem insuperable.

当然，有些时候问题看起来是不可逾越的。

But I'd just like to quote, finish at the end

但我想引用一句话以作为结束

with a reference to a British author, an Oxford author

一位英国作家的话，一位来自牛津的作家，

whom I don't quote very often,

我不常引用他的话，

C.S. Lewis.

他就是C·S·刘易斯。

But he wrote one thing that stuck in my mind

但他有一句话却深深地印在我的脑海中，

ever since I read it when I was a schoolgirl.

当我还是一名小女孩时我所读到的一句话。

It's in his book "The Four Loves."

这句话来自他的著作《四种爱》。

He said that he distinguished between erotic love,

他说，他区分了爱欲。

when two people gaze, spellbound, into each other's eyes.

当两个人相互对视，着迷地看着对方的眼睛。

And then he compared that to friendship,

然后他将此与友情进行对比。

when two people stand side by side, as it were, shoulder to shoulder,

当两人肩并肩地站在一起时，

with their eyes fixed on a common goal.

且双方都朝着一个目标努力时，

We don't have to fall in love with each other,

我们不需要爱上对方，

but we can become friends.

但可以成为好朋友。

And I am convinced.

我深信不疑。

I felt it very strongly

我强烈地认为

during our little deliberations at Vevey,

在韦沃的小型审议中，

that when people of all different persuasions

当怀有不同信仰的人们

come together, working side by side

来到一起，工作在一起

for a common goal,

为了一个共同的目标，

differences melt away.

差异就消融了。

And we learn amity.

我们学会了和睦相处。

And we learn to live together and to get to know one another.

我们学会了同他人一起生活并了解对方。

Thank you very much.

非常谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）