Krista Tippett: Reconnecting with compassion

翻译人员: Eric Zhao 校对人员: Angelia King

We're here to celebrate compassion.

今天我们在这里庆祝“同情”。

But compassion, from my vantage point,

然而在我看来，关于同情

has a problem.

有一个问题。

As essential as it is across our traditions,

在我们的整个传统中，“同情”是非常重要的，

as real as so many of us know it to be

如同我们很多人真的认为它

in particular lives,

特别在生活中的重要性一样，

the word "compassion" is hollowed out in our culture,

但“同情”这个词已经从我们的文化中消失了，

and it is suspect in my field of journalism.

在我从事新闻业中，这就让人怀疑。

It's seen as a squishy kumbaya thing,

这也令人纠结。

or it's seen as potentially depressing.

或者它可能也被看成是件令人沮丧的事。

Karen Armstrong has told what I think is an iconic story

克伦·阿姆斯特朗曾说过这样一个具有代表意义的故事

of giving a speech in Holland

关于她在荷兰的一个演讲

and, after the fact, the word "compassion"

接着，故事结束后，这个词“同情”

was translated as "pity."

被解释为“遗憾”。

Now compassion, when it enters the news,

现在当新闻里出现“同情”这个词的时候，

too often comes in the form

常常出现在这样的形式中

of feel-good feature pieces

感觉良好的专题报道

or sidebars about heroic people

关于一些人的花边新闻

you could never be like

关于那些你永远不可能喜欢的人

or happy endings

或者说一些完美的结局

or examples of self-sacrifice

关于自我牺牲的例子

that would seem to be too good to be true

太美好以至于不可能是真的

most of the time.

在多数情况下。

Our cultural imagination about compassion

同情在我们的文化里

has been deadened by idealistic images.

已经被理想地束缚住了。

And so what I'd like to do this morning

我今天在这里想要说的是

for the next few minutes

在接下来的时间里

is perform a linguistic resurrection.

来展示一场语言复兴。

And I hope you'll come with me on my basic premise

并且我希望大家能跟我一起参与到我基本的假设中

that words matter,

理解这些话的含义，

that they shape the way we understand ourselves,

它们塑造了我们理解我们自身的方式，

the way we interpret the world

我们诠释这个世界的方式

and the way we treat others.

以及我们对待他人的方式。

When this country

当这个国家

first encountered genuine diversity

第一次遇到真正的差异

in the 1960s,

在二十世纪60年代的时候，

we adopted tolerance

我们选择容忍

as the core civic virtue

作为核心的市民美德

with which we would approach that.

以这种方式对待多样性。

Now the word "tolerance," if you look at it in the dictionary,

现在如果你在词典中查找这个词“容忍”

connotes "allowing," "indulging"

它表示允许，纵容

and "enduring."

和忍耐。

In the medical context that it comes from,

在这个词来源的医学领域，

it is about testing the limits of thriving

它是在一种不利的环境中

in an unfavorable environment.

关于鉴定繁荣的程度。

Tolerance is not really a lived virtue;

容忍算不上是一种美德；

it's more of a cerebral ascent.

更多的可能是一种理性的认可。

And it's too cerebral

而且太过于理性

to animate guts and hearts

而不去激励勇气和内心

and behavior

以及行为

when the going gets rough.

当事情变得复杂时。

And the going is pretty rough right now.

而且现在事情已经很复杂。

I think that without perhaps being able to name it,

我想如果不能给这命名，

we are collectively experiencing

我们都在经历着的是

that we've come as far as we can

我们尽我们的最大努力

with tolerance as our only guiding virtue.

以容忍作为我们唯一的美德指导。

Compassion is a worthy successor.

而同情是一个合格的选择。

It is organic,

它是有组织的，

across our religious, spiritual and ethical traditions,

跨越我们的宗教信仰，精神以及道德传统，

and yet it transcends them.

并且超越这些。

Compassion is a piece of vocabulary

同情是这样一个单词

that could change us if we truly let it sink into

能够改变我们，如果我们真的让我们自己沉浸在

the standards to which we hold ourselves and others,

这样一种标准中，我们用这种标准衡量自己和他人，

both in our private and in our civic spaces.

无论是在我们的私人空间或者公共领域。

So what is it, three-dimensionally?

那么它是什么，三维的？

What are its kindred and component parts?

它同类的词语和组成部分又是什么？

What's in its universe of attendant virtues?

伴随它的美德又有哪些？

To start simply,

我们先简单的说，

I want to say that compassion is kind.

我想说同情是美好的。

Now "kindness" might sound like a very mild word,

仁慈也许听上去是一个很温和的词语，

and it's prone to its own abundant cliche.

而且很容易成为陈词滥调。

But kindness is an everyday byproduct

但在所有的美德中，

of all the great virtues.

善良确实是一个日常用语。

And it is a most edifying form

而且它是一个最有教育意义的形式

of instant gratification.

能带来立即的喜悦和满足。

Compassion is also curious.

同情同时也是好奇。

Compassion cultivates and practices curiosity.

同情产生好奇并培养好奇。

I love a phrase that was offered me

我非常喜欢这样一个短语

by two young women

是两位年轻的女士曾告诉我的

who are interfaith innovators in Los Angeles,

她们是在洛杉矶，是不同宗教团体的改革者，

Aziza Hasan and Malka Fenyvesi.

阿紫扎·哈散和马尔卡·芬叶夫维斯。

They are working to create a new imagination

她们正在努力创造一种新的展望

about shared life among young Jews and Muslims,

关于年轻的犹太人和穆斯林人来分享生活。

and as they do that, they cultivate what they call

她们做着这项工作，创造了

"curiosity without assumptions."

“不带偏见的好奇心”的说法。

Well that's going to be a breeding ground for compassion.

这样就为滋生同情感准备了良好温床。

Compassion can be synonymous with empathy.

同情和移情是一种近义词。

It can be joined with the harder work

只要努力就可以成功的把

of forgiveness and reconciliation,

宽恕和和解结合起来。

but it can also express itself

同时它也可以通过

in the simple act of presence.

很容易的做法表现出来。

It's linked to practical virtues

它和美德的表现相联系

like generosity and hospitality

就像是慷慨和热情一样

and just being there,

就在那里，

just showing up.

自己表现出来。

I think that compassion

在我看来同情

also is often linked to beauty --

常常和美的事物一致--

and by that I mean a willingness

我的意思是说

to see beauty in the other,

一种在彼此中间发现美的意愿，

not just what it is about them

不只是关于

that might need helping.

那些可能需要帮助的人。

I love it that my Muslim conversation partners

我喜欢我的穆斯林朋友

often speak of beauty as a core moral value.

和我交谈的时候常常提到的道德的核心是美。

And in that light, for the religious,

同样，对于宗教来说，

compassion also brings us

同情同样带领我们

into the territory of mystery --

进入一个神秘领域--

encouraging us not just

鼓励我们去发现

to see beauty,

不仅仅是美，

but perhaps also to look for the face of God

也许同样也寻求神性

in the moment of suffering,

无论是在困境中，

in the face of a stranger,

在面临危险的时候，

in the face of the vibrant religious other.

或者在面对另一种迥异的宗教的时候。

I'm not sure if I can show you

我不确定我是不是可以给你们展示

what tolerance looks like,

容忍的样子，

but I can show you what compassion looks like --

但是我可以让你们看到同情是什么样——

because it is visible.

因为它是可见的。

When we see it, we recognize it

当我们见到它的时候我们能认出它

and it changes the way we think about what is doable,

而且它改变我们断定是非的标准，

what is possible.

以及什么是可能的。

It is so important

它非常重要

when we're communicating big ideas --

当我们在交流一些大的思想的时候——

but especially a big spiritual idea like compassion --

尤其是像同情这样博大的精神思想——

to root it as we present it to others

在我们向别人展示时将原有的思想根除

in space and time and flesh and blood --

无论在哪里，什么时候，跟任何人--

the color and complexity of life.

生活都是丰富多彩的。

And compassion does seek physicality.

同情的确与体格特征有关系。

I first started to learn this most vividly

我最开始是清楚地认识到这一点

from Matthew Sanford.

是从马修·桑福德那里。

And I don't imagine that you will realize this

我不认为你们能意识到这点

when you look at this photograph of him,

当你看到他的照片的时候，

but he's paraplegic.

因为他是位半身麻痹患者。

He's been paralyzed from the waist down since he was 13,

他从13岁开始就瘫痪了，

in a car crash that killed his father and his sister.

在一次交通事故中，他的父亲和姐姐也在这场车祸中遇难。

Matthew's legs don't work, and he'll never walk again,

马修的腿不好使了，他永远都不能再走路，

and -- and he does experience this as an "and"

而且——在这里的确应该用“而且”

rather than a "but" --

而不是“但是”

and he experiences himself

而且他让自己

to be healed and whole.

变得痊愈，变得完整。

And as a teacher of yoga,

作为一个瑜伽教练，

he brings that experience to others

他把他的经验教给其他人

across the spectrum of ability and disability,

关于拥有能力和无能之间，

health, illness and aging.

关于健康，疾病以及衰老。

He says that he's just at an extreme end

他说他只是一个极端

of the spectrum we're all on.

在这个我们都存在的范围内。

He's doing some amazing work now

他现在正在

with veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

和那些从伊拉克和阿富汗战场上回来的老兵们一起做一些很了不起的工作。

And Matthew has made this remarkable observation

马修说出了他非常有见地的结论

that I'm just going to offer you and let it sit.

而我也正准备展示给你们。

I can't quite explain it, and he can't either.

我不能很透彻地解释，他也不能。

But he says that he has yet to experience someone

但是他说他已经感受过

who became more aware of their body,

成为一个了解自己身体的人，

in all its frailty and its grace,

感受到它的优雅与脆弱，

without, at the same time,

但是，他却没有

becoming more compassionate towards all of life.

变得对生命更加多愁善感。

Compassion also looks like this.

同情也很像这样。

This is Jean Vanier.

这是让·凡尼尔，

Jean Vanier helped found the L'Arche communities,

让·凡尼尔帮助建立了阿切社区，

which you can now find all over the world,

你可以在全世界找到这些社区，

communities centered around life

这些社区以

with people with mental disabilities --

在精神上有疾病的患者为中心——

mostly Down syndrome.

大多数人都很消沉。

The communities that Jean Vanier founded,

让·凡尼尔建立的那些社区，

like Jean Vanier himself,

就如同他自己，

exude tenderness.

流露出温柔的情意。

"Tender" is another word

“温柔”是另一个词

I would love to spend some time resurrecting.

我想花点时间对它重新进行解释。

We spend so much time in this culture

我们在这种驱赶性和侵略性的文化中

being driven and aggressive,

花费了太多时间，

and I spend a lot of time being those things too.

我也同样在这些事情上花费了大量时间。

And compassion can also have those qualities.

同情也同样拥有这些品质。

But again and again, lived compassion

但是一次又一次地，长盛不衰的同情

brings us back to the wisdom of tenderness.

把我们带回温柔的智慧中。

Jean Vanier says

让·凡尼尔说

that his work,

他的工作，

like the work of other people --

和其他人的工作一样——

his great, beloved, late friend Mother Teresa --

他伟大的，受人尊敬的已故朋友特丽莎修女--

is never in the first instance about changing the world;

不是从一开始就想改变世界；

it's in the first instance about changing ourselves.

而是想改变我们自己。

He's says that what they do with L'Arche

他说他们为阿切社区所做的事情

is not a solution, but a sign.

不是一种解决办法，而是一个信号。

Compassion is rarely a solution,

同情仅仅是一种解决办法，

but it is always a sign of a deeper reality,

但是它常常是一种更深层次的现实标志，

of deeper human possibilities.

发挥人类更大的潜能。

And compassion is unleashed

同情被释放在

in wider and wider circles

更加广阔的范围内

by signs and stories,

通过标志和故事，

never by statistics and strategies.

而不是数据以及政策。

We need those things too,

我们也同样需要这些东西，

but we're also bumping up against their limits.

但是我们也同样在拓展它们的极限。

And at the same time that we are doing that,

在我们做这些的同时，

I think we are rediscovering the power of story --

我认为我们正在复兴故事的力量——

that as human beings, we need stories

作为人类，我们需要故事

to survive, to flourish,

去存活，去发展，

to change.

去改变。

Our traditions have always known this,

我们的传统一直都了解这点，

and that is why they have always cultivated stories at their heart

这就是为什么人们一直能从内心深处创造出故事

and carried them forward in time for us.

并把这些故事流传下来给我们大家看。

There is, of course, a story

当然，有个故事

behind the key moral longing

关于那些主要道德的约束

and commandment of Judaism

以及犹太教的戒律

to repair the world -- tikkun olam.

来修复这个世界——修善世界（tikkun olam）。

And I'll never forget hearing that story

当雷切尔·内奥米·雷曼医生讲给我这个故事时，

from Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen,

我印象深刻，

who told it to me as her grandfather told it to her,

她祖父讲给她听，她又讲给我听，

that in the beginning of the Creation

在创始之初

something happened

突然间

and the original light of the universe

宇宙最初的光

was shattered into countless pieces.

被打碎成千千万万个碎片。

It lodged as shards

它就以碎片的形式

inside every aspect of the Creation.

存在于被造物的每一方之中。

And that the highest human calling

人类最高的使命

is to look for this light, to point at it when we see it,

就是去找寻那光，一看到就指出给他人看，

to gather it up,

去收集那光，

and in so doing, to repair the world.

就这样修复世界。

Now this might sound like a fanciful tale.

这听起来好像一个幻想故事。

Some of my fellow journalists might interpret it that way.

我的一些同行可能就会以此来诠释这个故事。

Rachel Naomi Remen says

雷切尔·内奥米·雷曼说

this is an important and empowering story

对于我们的时代

for our time,

这是一个重要的具有力量的故事，

because this story insists

因为故事告诉我们

that each and every one of us,

我们每一个个体，

frail and flawed as we may be,

尽管我们自身可能很脆弱，也有很多过失，

inadequate as we may feel,

尽管我们可能觉得自己非常无力，

has exactly what's needed

其实我们每个人都拥有

to help repair the part of the world

那份可以修复世界的力量

that we can see and touch.

我们可以真切的看到，触到这份力量。

Stories like this,

像这样的故事，

signs like this,

这样的象征，

are practical tools

在这样一个渴求将同情

in a world longing to bring compassion

给予众多不幸的世界

to abundant images of suffering

在一个不幸足以将我们击垮的世界

that can otherwise overwhelm us.

这样的故事和象征无疑是有力的武器。

Rachel Naomi Remen

雷切尔·内奥米·雷曼

is actually bringing compassion

自己实际上就在将同情

back to its rightful place alongside science

重新置于与科学并重的位置上

in her field of medicine

就在她所从事的医学领域

in the training of new doctors.

通过训练新的医生

And this trend

雷切尔·内奥米·雷曼所做的

of what Rachel Naomi Remen is doing,

的这种趋势

how these kinds of virtues

这些在医学领域中

are finding a place in the vocabulary of medicine --

树立道德的趋势--

the work Fred Luskin is doing --

弗雷德·鲁斯金在做同样的事--

I think this is one of the most fascinating developments

在我看来这

of the 21st century --

是21世纪最令人折服的贡献之一--

that science, in fact,

事实上，科学

is taking a virtue like compassion

正将同情这样的道德品质

definitively out of the realm of idealism.

剥离出理想主义。

This is going to change science, I believe,

我相信，这将会改变科学

and it will change religion.

亦将会改变宗教。

But here's a face

但是，这里有一张面孔

from 20th century science

来自20世纪科学界

that might surprise you

这可能会使你惊讶

in a discussion about compassion.

在一场关于同情的辩论中。

We all know about the Albert Einstein

我们都知道爱因斯坦

who came up with E = mc2.

他发现了质能守恒定律E=mc二次方

We don't hear so much about the Einstein

然而我们却并不熟悉这样的一个爱因斯坦：

who invited the African American opera singer, Marian Anderson,

非洲裔美国歌手玛利亚·安德森

to stay in his home when she came to sing in Princeton

因宗族隔离而无法入住普林斯顿当地宾馆时

because the best hotel there

爱因斯坦邀请她

was segregated and wouldn't have her.

住在自己的住所里。

We don't hear about the Einstein who used his celebrity

爱因斯坦以自己的影响来宣扬

to advocate for political prisoners in Europe

释放欧洲的政治犯

or the Scottsboro boys

和美国南部的

in the American South.

斯科茨伯勒男孩（Scottsboro boys九个黑人男孩被指控强奸两位白人女性而被判刑）。

Einstein believed deeply

爱因斯坦坚信

that science should transcend

科学可以超越

national and ethnic divisions.

民族和种族的分歧。

But he watched physicists and chemists

但他亲眼见到物理学家和化学家

become the purveyors of weapons of mass destruction

在20世纪早期

in the early 20th century.

成为大规模杀伤性武器的批发商。

He once said that science in his generation

他曾说过，科学在他的年代里

had become like a razor blade

就像是

in the hands of a three-year-old.

在三岁孩子手中的一把刀刃。

And Einstein foresaw

而爱因斯坦预见了

that as we grow more modern

随着我们变得越来越现代

and technologically advanced,

科技越来越发达，

we need the virtues

我们需要这种美德

our traditions carry forward in time

在我们的传统中流传

more, not less.

应该是更多，而不是更少。

He liked to talk about the spiritual geniuses of the ages.

他喜欢谈论各个时代的精神领袖。

Some of his favorites were Moses,

其中有摩西，

Jesus, Buddha, St. Francis of Assisi,

耶稣，释迦摩尼，圣方济各，

Gandhi -- he adored his contemporary, Gandhi.

甘地——他崇拜他同时代的伟人，甘地。

And Einstein said --

爱因斯坦说——

and I think this is a quote,

我认为这是一句名言，

again, that has not been passed down in his legacy --

同样，没有在他的遗嘱中传下来的——

that "these kinds of people

他说“这样的人

are geniuses in the art of living,

在生活的艺术中是天才，

more necessary

更多地倾向于

to the dignity, security and joy of humanity

人类的尊严，安全和快乐

than the discoverers of objective knowledge."

而不是客观认识的发现者。”

Now invoking Einstein

现在我援引爱因斯坦的话

might not seem the best way to bring compassion down to earth

看起来并没有实实在在地解释同情

and make it seem accessible to all the rest of us,

也没有使我们更好地理解，

but actually it is.

但事实上这话的确解释了同情。

I want to show you

请看

the rest of this photograph,

这张照片剩下的部分

because this photograph

因为这张照片

is analogous to what we do to the word "compassion" in our culture --

表达了和我们文化中的“同情”所代表的含义——

we clean it up

我们把它擦干净

and we diminish its depths and its grounding

我们简化它的深度和基础

in life, which is messy.

因为这些都容易造成麻烦。

So in this photograph

就如同这张照片

you see a mind looking out a window

大家看到心灵向窗口外望去

at what might be a cathedral -- it's not.

它注视的也许是教堂-其实不是。

This is the full photograph,

这是一整张照片

and you see a middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket,

一个中年男人穿着皮夹克

smoking a cigar.

在抽着一根雪茄。

And by the look of that paunch,

看着他肚子上的赘肉，

he hasn't been doing enough yoga.

就知道他没有足够瑜伽。

We put these two photographs side-by-side on our website,

我们把这两幅照片并排放在网络上，

and someone said, "When I look at the first photo,

有人说，“当我看第一张照片的时候，

I ask myself, what was he thinking?

我问自己，他在想什么呢？

And when I look at the second, I ask,

而当我看到第二张时，我想

what kind of person was he? What kind of man is this?"

他是个什么样的人？他是那种人？”

Well, he was complicated.

其实，他是复杂的。

He was incredibly compassionate

在他的一些关系中

in some of his relationships

他特别有同情心

and terribly inadequate in others.

但却在其他方面有所欠缺。

And it is much harder, often,

其实，对我们最亲近的人

to be compassionate towards those closest to us,

我们往往最富有同情心，

which is another quality in the universe of compassion,

在同情领域，另一黑暗的方面

on its dark side,

往往被人忽视，

that also deserves our serious attention and illumination.

故而值得我们深思并受此启发。

Gandhi, too, was a real flawed human being.

甘地也非完人。

So was Martin Luther King, Jr. So was Dorothy Day.

马丁·路德·金也是这样，多萝西·黛也是这样。

So was Mother Teresa.

特丽莎修女也是这样。

So are we all.

我们都是这样。

And I want to say

我想说

that it is a liberating thing

意识到人人都可以富有同情心

to realize that that is no obstacle to compassion --

是解放心智的--

following on what Fred Luskin says --

弗雷德·鲁斯金也说--

that these flaws just make us human.

缺陷造就了人生。

Our culture is obsessed with perfection

我们的文化追捧完美

and with hiding problems.

千方百计掩饰问题。

But what a liberating thing to realize

但是，一个开放的态度是

that our problems, in fact,

意识到我们的问题

are probably our richest sources

实际上就是我们最富贵的财富，

for rising to this ultimate virtue of compassion,

这一财富使我们得以企及最完满的同情

towards bringing compassion

使得让同情

towards the suffering and joys of others.

解除他人的苦难，带给他人欢乐。

Rachel Naomi Remen is a better doctor

雷切尔·内奥米·雷曼因为终生

because of her life-long struggle with Crohn's disease.

与克罗恩病魔作战斗而成为出色的医生。

Einstein became a humanitarian,

爱因斯坦成为一个人道主义者，

not because of his exquisite knowledge

不是因为他关于时空和物质的

of space and time and matter,

创新学识，

but because he was a Jew as Germany grew fascist.

而是因为当德国遍布法西斯主义者时，他是一个犹太人。

And Karen Armstrong, I think you would also say

克伦·阿姆斯特朗，我想你们可能会说

that it was some of your very wounding experiences

这是你们宗教生活中

in a religious life that,

最为受伤的一些经历

with a zigzag,

历经曲折

have led to the Charter for Compassion.

最终收获了同情宪章。

Compassion can't be reduced to sainthood

同情，正如它不能简单归结为可怜一样

any more than it can be reduced to pity.

也不能归结为圣人圣言。

So I want to propose

所以我想提议

a final definition of compassion --

为同情下一个新的定义——

this is Einstein with Paul Robeson by the way --

一个混同保罗·罗伯逊的爱因斯坦式版本--

and that would be for us

那就是

to call compassion a spiritual technology.

把同情当做一种灵性科技。

Now our traditions contain

现在我们的传统中

vast wisdom about this,

遍布各种相关的智慧，

and we need them to mine it for us now.

现在我们需要挖掘它们。

But compassion is also equally at home

但是同情在世俗生活中

in the secular as in the religious.

同样如鱼得水。

So I will paraphrase Einstein in closing

我想借用爱因斯坦的名言来结束：

and say that humanity,

人性

the future of humanity,

人类的未来，

needs this technology

需要这种科技

as much as it needs all the others

就如同我们同时需要其它这一切

that have now connected us

以使这一骇人却又奇妙的可能性

and set before us

成为现实：

the terrifying and wondrous possibility

即最终我们

of actually becoming one human race.

能够真正成为人类，都能够亲如一家。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）