Joan Halifax: Compassion and the true meaning of empathy

翻译人员: Chunxiang Qian 校对人员: Angelia King

I want to address the issue of compassion.

我想探讨慈悲心这个话题

Compassion has many faces.

慈悲心有很多形态

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

有些是激烈的；有些是忿怒的

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

有些是温和的, 有些是智慧的

A line that the Dalai Lama once said,

达赖喇嘛曾说过

he said, "Love and compassion are necessities.

他说：“爱与慈悲是必需品

They are not luxuries.

它们不是奢侈品

Without them,

没有它们

humanity cannot survive."

人性无法留存。”

And I would suggest,

我想说的是

it is not only humanity that won't survive,

不仅人性难以保全

but it is all species on the planet,

我们今天所知道的

as we've heard today.

地球上所有的物种都是

It is the big cats,

不论是大型猫科动物

and it's the plankton.

还是浮游生物

Two weeks ago, I was in Bangalore in India.

两周前，我在印度的班加罗尔

I was so privileged

我很荣幸的

to be able to teach in a hospice

在班加罗尔的郊区

on the outskirts of Bangalore.

一个安养院教授临终关怀

And early in the morning,

每天很早

I went into the ward.

我就去病房

In that hospice,

在那家安养院

there were 31 men and women

有31个人

who were actively dying.

处在濒死状态

And I walked up to the bedside

我走到

of an old woman

一个老年妇女的床前

who was breathing very rapidly, fragile,

她的呼吸非常急促而微弱

obviously in the latter phase

很明显

of active dying.

她处于濒死的末期

I looked into her face.

我看着她的脸

I looked into the face

看着坐在她旁边

of her son sitting next to her,

她儿子的脸

and his face was just riven

他的脸

with grief and confusion.

溢满了悲伤和困惑

And I remembered

我记得

a line from the Mahabharata,

摩诃婆罗多

the great Indian epic:

伟大的印度史诗里有这么一段话：

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

“尤帝士提尔，什么是这世上最美妙的事情？”

And Yudhisthira replied,

尤帝士提尔答道

"The most wondrous thing in the world

“世上最美妙的事情

is that all around us

就是我们所有人

people can be dying

都将死去

and we don't realize

而我们对此

it can happen to us."

却一无所知。”

I looked up.

我仰起头

Tending those 31 dying people

照顾这31个濒死者的

were young women

是来自

from villages around Bangalore.

班加罗尔周边村子的年轻女性

I looked into the face of one of these women,

我看着她们的脸

and I saw in her face

在她们的脸上

the strength that arises

我看到

when natural compassion is really present.

慈悲显现时升起的力量

I watched her hands

我看着她的手

as she bathed an old man.

她在给一个老年男人沐浴

My gaze went to another young woman

我转头望向另一个年轻女子

as she wiped the face

她在擦拭

of another dying person.

另一位临死的人的脸

And it reminded me

这让我想起

of something that I had just been present for.

我刚刚演讲提到的那些内容

Every year or so,

差不多每一年

I have the privilege of taking clinicians

我由此荣幸身负使命

into the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.

进入喜马拉雅地区和西藏高原

And we run clinics

我们在每一个遥远的区域

in these very remote regions

开设诊所

where there's no medical care whatsoever.

那里没有医疗护理此类

And on the first day at Simikot in Humla,

我们在胡姆拉的Simikot的头一天

far west of Nepal,

在尼泊尔的最西端

the most impoverished region of Nepal,

全国最贫困的地区

an old man came in

一个抱着一堆破烂布片的老人

clutching a bundle of rags.

走进来

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

他进了门，有人招呼他

we realized he was deaf,

然后我们发现他是耳聋

and we looked into the rags,

我们看看那堆布片

and there was this pair of eyes.

里头露出一双眼睛来

The rags were unwrapped

打开裹着的布片

from a little girl

是一个

whose body was massively burned.

重度烧伤的女孩

Again,

再一次

the eyes and hands

观世音的

of Avalokiteshvara.

眼睛和慈悲之手显现

It was the young women, the health aids,

也就是那些年轻女性，援助者

who cleaned the wounds of this baby

清理孩子的伤口

and dressed the wounds.

并包扎上

I know those hands and eyes;

我认识那些手和眼睛

they touched me as well.

它们也曾经抚慰过我

They touched me at that time.

它们在过去抚慰过我

They have touched me throughout my 68 years.

在我68年生命中抚慰了我

They touched me when I was four

在我四岁失去视力

and I lost my eyesight

几乎瘫痪的时候

and was partially paralyzed.

它们抚慰了我

And my family brought in

我的家人带来

a woman whose mother had been a slave

一个女人，她的母亲曾经是个奴隶

to take care of me.

她照顾我

And that woman

这个女人

did not have sentimental compassion.

并没有感性的慈悲心

She had phenomenal strength.

她有的是非凡的力量

And it was really her strength, I believe,

我相信,是她的力量

that became the kind of mudra and imprimatur

成为一种启发与指引

that has been a guiding light in my life.

是我生命中的指明灯

So we can ask:

我们问道：

What is compassion comprised of?

慈悲是什么构成的？

And there are various facets.

答案包含很多方面

And there's referential and non-referential compassion.

有指代性的和非指代性的

But first, compassion is comprised

但首先，慈悲是

of that capacity

透彻观照

to see clearly

苦难之存在的

into the nature of suffering.

能力构成

It is that ability

这种能力

to really stand strong

让我们保持坚强

and to recognize also

并让我们意识到

that I'm not separate from this suffering.

我是这苦难的一部分

But that is not enough,

但这不够

because compassion,

因为慈悲心

which activates the motor cortex,

激发运动皮质层

means that we aspire,

也就是说我们受到激励

we actually aspire to transform suffering.

被激励着去化解苦难

And if we're so blessed,

如果我们足够幸运的话

we engage in activities

我们从事的活动

that transform suffering.

能化解苦难

But compassion has another component,

但慈悲心有另一个组成部分

and that component is really essential.

这个部分非常重要

That component

这就是

is that we cannot be attached to outcome.

我们不应该耽于结果

Now I worked with dying people

如今，我已为

for over 40 years.

临死的人们工作了40余年

I had the privilege of working on death row

我曾有幸 在最大限度安全保证下

in a maximum security [prison] for six years.

为死刑犯工作了六个年头

And I realized so clearly

我清楚的认识到

in bringing my own life experience,

在我的个人生活经历中

from working with dying people

为临死之人工作

and training caregivers,

以及培训护理者的个人生活中

that any attachment to outcome

任何耽于结果的感情

would distort deeply

只会深深影响

my own capacity to be fully present

我自己的

to the whole catastrophe.

面对大苦难的能力

And when I worked in the prison system,

在我为监狱系统工作时

it was so clear to me, this:

我很清楚：

that many of us

这个屋子里

in this room,

很多人

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

还有几乎所有与我一起为死刑犯共事过的人

the seeds of their own compassion had never been watered.

他们的慈悲之火种从未被扑灭

That compassion is actually

这种慈悲

an inherent human quality.

是人类内在的特质

It is there within every human being.

存在于每个人之中

But the conditions

但慈悲

for compassion to be activated,

被触发

to be aroused,

被鼓励的条件

are particular conditions.

都是特殊情况

I had that condition, to a certain extent,

某种程度上，我是

from my own childhood illness.

深深受幼时疾患的影响

Eve Ensler, whom you'll hear later,

伊娃･恩斯勒，一会儿她会演讲

has had that condition activated

她是受她

amazingly in her

经历过的

through the various waters of suffering

汪洋般的苦难

that she has been through.

所激发的

And what is fascinating

神奇的是

is that compassion has enemies,

慈悲是有敌人的

and those enemies are things like pity,

那些敌人是怜悯

moral outrage,

道德公愤

fear.

恐惧

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

你知道，我们的社会，这个世界

that is paralyzed by fear.

已经在恐惧中麻痹

And in that paralysis, of course,

当然在这麻痹之中

our capacity for compassion

我们的慈悲心

is also paralyzed.

也受到麻痹

The very word terror

恐怖

is global.

是全球性的

The very feeling of terror is global.

这种恐怖感是全球性的

So our work, in a certain way,

某种程度上我们的工作

is to address this imago,

是要阐明这种意象

this kind of archetype

这种原型

that has pervaded the psyche

这已经毒害了

of our entire globe.

整个世界的心灵

Now we know from neuroscience

我们从神经科学得知

that compassion has

慈悲

some very extraordinary qualities.

有些非凡的特性

For example:

比如：

A person who is cultivating compassion,

一个人正在修习慈悲

when they are in the presence of suffering,

当他们身处苦难存在之处

they feel that suffering a lot more

他们觉得

than many other people do.

比别人受难更多

However,

然而

they return to baseline a lot sooner.

他们能很快恢复常态

This is called resilience.

这是弹性

Many of us think that compassion drains us,

很多人认为慈悲会让自己枯竭

but I promise you

但我保证

it is something that truly enlivens us.

它是真正启发我们的东西

Another thing about compassion

另一个特性是

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

它可以增强神经整合

It hooks up all parts of the brain.

它使脑部的每个部分都联接起来

Another, which has been discovered

另外，埃默里和戴维斯

by various researchers

和其他一些研究者

at Emory and at Davis and so on,

发现了

is that compassion enhances our immune system.

慈悲会增强免疫力

Hey,

嗨

we live in a very noxious world.

我们生活在充满毒素的世界

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Most of us are shrinking

我们很多人

in the face of psycho-social and physical poisons,

经历这个世界上的心理社会性的或肉体上的毒害

of the toxins of our world.

于是渐渐凋零

But compassion, the generation of compassion,

但慈悲，慈悲的产物

actually mobilizes

却可以

our immunity.

促进免疫能力

You know, if compassion is so good for us,

如你所知，如果慈悲是有益的

I have a question.

我有个问题

Why don't we train our children

为什么我们不以慈悲

in compassion?

教育我们的后代？

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

If compassion is so good for us,

如果慈悲有益

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

为什么我们不以慈悲培训保健服务的提供者

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

这样他们各尽其职

which is to really transform suffering?

去真正化解痛苦？

And if compassion is so good for us,

如果慈悲有益

why don't we vote on compassion?

为什么我们不为慈悲投上一票？

Why don't we vote for people in our government

为什么我们不投票给政府里

based on compassion,

以慈悲为政的人

so that we can have

这样我们可以有一个

a more caring world?

更关爱的世界

In Buddhism,

佛教里

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

我们说“强健于背而怀柔于胸”

It takes tremendous strength of the back

强大的力量

to uphold yourself in the midst of conditions.

才能在各种状况下支撑你

And that is the mental quality of equanimity.

这是精神上的禅定

But it also takes a soft front --

但你也需要有个温柔的心

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

以如实地接受和拥抱这个世界

to have an undefended heart.

不去设防

And the archetype of this in Buddhism

这在佛教中的原型

is Avalokiteshvara, Kuan-Yin.

就是千手观音

It's a female archetype:

这是个女性原型

she who perceives

她感知

the cries of suffering in the world.

整个世界苦难的哭喊

She stands with 10,000 arms,

她有一万个手臂

and in every hand,

每个手上

there is an instrument of liberation,

都持有一件法器

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

每个手掌上都是眼睛

and these are the eyes of wisdom.

它们都是慧眼

I say that, for thousands of years,

我说，在上千年的时间长河里

women have lived,

女性与观音

exemplified, met in intimacy,

有着密切的关系

the archetype of Avalokitesvara,

她们是在世的观音

of Kuan-Yin,

是观音的具现

she who perceives

观音感知

the cries of suffering in the world.

世上苦难的哭喊

Women have manifested for thousands of years

女性已经在数千年里

the strength arising from compassion

体现这种来自慈悲的力量

in an unfiltered, unmediated way

并且是一种自然直接的方式

in perceiving suffering

去如实地

as it is.

感知苦难

They have infused societies with kindness,

她们让世界充满善

and we have really felt that

我们也确实

as woman after woman

在这一天半的时间里

has stood on this stage

通过演讲过的每一个女性

in the past day and a half.

感受到了这一点

And they have actualized compassion

她们通过直接行动

through direct action.

具化了慈悲

Jody Williams called it:

茱蒂·威廉斯说：

It's good to meditate.

冥思有益

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

不好意思，你是不是该这么做做了，茱蒂

Step back, give your mother a break, okay.

等等，让我喘口气再说

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But the other side of the equation

但是公式的另一半

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

是你必须走出自己的洞穴

You have to come into the world

融入这个世界

like Asanga did,

如同无著（印度古代高僧）

who was looking to realize Maitreya Buddha

它跟着弥勒菩萨修行

after 12 years sitting in the cave.

在洞穴里坐了12年

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

他说“我得走出这里”

He's going down the path.

他走到小路上

He sees something in the path.

看见了路上有什么

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

他定睛一看，是条狗，他跪了下来

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

看见狗的腿上有个大伤口

The wound is just filled with maggots.

里头化脓生蛆

He puts out his tongue

他用舌头

in order to remove the maggots,

弄出蛆

so as not to harm them.

以免伤害到它们

And at that moment,

那一刻

the dog transformed

狗幻化成

into the Buddha of love and kindness.

爱与善的佛

I believe

我相信

that women and girls today

今天的女人和女孩子

have to partner in a powerful way with men --

要和男性成为伙伴

with their fathers,

和她们的父亲

with their sons, with their brothers,

她们的儿子，兄弟

with the plumbers, the road builders,

和水管工，修路工人

the caregivers, the doctors, the lawyers,

和护理人员，医生，律师

with our president,

和我们的总统

and with all beings.

和所有一切

The women in this room

这个屋子里的女性

are lotuses in a sea of fire.

是浴火而生的莲花

May we actualize that capacity

让我们愿女性的力量

for women everywhere.

在世界每一个角落实现

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（鼓掌）