修女 Missionary Nun
修女
Missionary Nun
看到這個題目，也許有些人會感到不解。作為一名佛教徒，怎麼忽然間對外道感起興趣來了呢？但今天我要讚美的這位修女，決不能用單純的宗教來界定她的信仰。在我的心目中，她就是活生生的佛菩薩。她，就是馳名全球的修女——特蕾薩。
Upon seeing this title, some of you may wonder: As a Buddhist, why am I suddenly interested in affairs of non-Buddhists? But the object of my admiration and respect today, a Catholic nun, is beyond the simple definition of religious faith. In my heart, she is the living Buddha or a Bodhisattva. This person, incidentally, is none other than the renowned missionary nun—Mother Teresa.
她出身于一個具有良好教養的南斯拉夫家庭，從小受到天主教的教育，18歲前往印度的加爾各答，在一所擁有漂亮花園的修道院內，過著安定而舒適的歐洲式生活。
Mother Teresa was born into a well-educated family from Yugoslavia and had attended Catholic schools since childhood. At the age of 18, she went to Calcutta, India, where she initially enjoyed an easy and comfortable European lifestyle in a monastery complete with beautiful gardens.
當她有一天發現修道院高牆之外人們的淒慘遭遇時，她再也不願安于往日平靜的生活，面對一雙雙渴望關懷的眼睛卻熟視無睹了。一種強烈的使命感驅使著她，使她不顧周圍人的極力反對，單槍匹馬地走入貧民窟，勇敢地將世人的悲慘背在自己身上。用一雙柔弱的雙肩，挑起了拯救貧民的重任。
One day, she discovered the utter misery of people living outside the tall walls of the monastery, and she could no longer live her peaceful daily life. When faced with scores of eyes desperately in want of care, she could no longer shut her own eyes. Driven by a strong sense of purpose and against the strong opposition of people around her, she ventured into the slum all alone. Bravely, she carried on her back the pains and sorrows of beings in the world; with her frail shoulders, she assumed the heavy burden of rescuing the destitute from the slums.
當一個從沒有人關心過，沒有人知道他死活的老人，孤寂地躺在床上等待著死神造訪的時候，特蕾薩走進了他的房間；當一個被人毆傷的酗酒者醉臥街頭、無人問津的時候，特蕾薩挺身而出將他救起，並送到她所創辦的憐憫之家；當渾身蛆蟲的傷者遭到路人的厭惡和唾棄的時候，特蕾薩精心地為他包扎傷口，並用溫暖的懷抱去迎接那顆瀕臨絕望的心……她的足跡穿越了大半個地球，加爾各答、也門、倫敦、墨爾本、紐約，甚至包括中國。她先後成立了一百多個替窮人服務的處所，在僅僅6年的時間里，就收留了61273個棄嬰。
An utterly lonely old man was lying on a bed. No one had ever cared for him, nor did anyone ever heed whether he was still breathing. When the only visitor he could ever expect was the Lord of Death, Mother Teresa walked into his room. A drunk stretched out on the street, brutally beaten, and severely injured. When he could await nothing but indifference, Mother Teresa appeared and helped him up, escorting him to the 「House of the Pure Heart」 she had established. A tramp curved up on the roadside, his body covered with oozing sores and maggots. When he was receiving nothing but spiteful looks and revulsion from passersby, Mother Teresa came and bound up his wounds tenderly; she embraced his heart of total despair and gave it warmth…. Her footprints covered more than half of the earth—Calcutta, Yemen, London, Melbourne, New York, even China. She founded more than a hundred charity agencies to serve the lowly poor. She took in 61,273 abandoned babies in a period of merely six years.
她的不懈努力終于得到了世人的認同。1979年，她獲得了舉世矚目的「諾貝爾和平獎」，也使她在一夜之間成為了家喻戶曉的人物。她除了將所有的獎金都用于慈善事業以外，還特別請求諾貝爾委員會，取消例行的授獎宴會。委員會為她的精神所感動，將準備用于開支宴席費用的7100美元，贈送給了她所創辦的「仁愛傳教修女會」。
Her untiring efforts finally gained the recognition of the world. In 1979, she was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. Overnight she became a household name. But she donated all her prize money to charity. In addition, she specifically requested the Nobel Committee to forgo the traditional banquet in honor of the Peace Prize winner. The committee was impressed by her spirit and contributed the $7,100 that would otherwise have been spent on the banquet to the Missionary of Charity that she founded.
儘管她已成為名人，卻仍然過著拮据寒磣的生活。她只有三套衣服，不穿襪子，只穿涼鞋。在電腦等先進電器極為普遍的時代，她的住處除了電燈以外，唯一的電器用具就是一部電話。她將教皇贈送給她的一部林肯轎車拍賣，並用所得款項開辦了一家麻風病院。
Although she had become a celebrity, she still maintained an extremely frugal and sparing life. She owned only three sets of clothes; she wore no socks, only sandals. In an age of advanced electronics pervaded with computers and so forth, the only electrical equipment』s in her place were a few lamps and a telephone. She sold a Lincoln Continental limousine, a gift from the Pope, at an auction and used the money to open a leprosy hospital.
雖然特蕾薩修女是天主教修女，卻絕對尊重別人的宗教，每一位病人去世以後，都會遵照他的宗教信仰舉行安葬儀式。
Although she was a Catholic nun, Mother Teresa had absolute respect for others』 religion. Every patient』s funeral is held according to that person』s religious faith.
她用平易近人的語氣，向世人娓娓道來：「人活著，除了需要口糧外，也渴求人的愛、仁慈和體恤。今天，就是因為缺乏相愛、仁慈和體恤的心，所以人們的內心才會極度痛苦。」
She touched the hearts of world with her friendly words in an easygoing and simple manner: 「There is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness; and this is the great poverty that makes people suffer so much.」
「飢餓的人所渴求的，不單是食物；赤身的人所要求的，不單是衣服；露宿者所渴望的，不單是牢固的房子。就算是那些物質豐裕的人，都在切求愛、關心、接納及認同。」
「Hungry not only for bread —but hungry for love. Naked not only for lack of clothing—but naked for lack of human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks—but homeless because of rejection. Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.」
「在今天的世界中，肺結核或麻風病不是可怕的疾病，心靈上的貧乏才是最嚴重的病症。」
「The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.」
「我上天堂不為別的，我是為了大眾而上天堂，因為大眾淨化了我的心。」
「I don』t go to heaven for anything else, I will be going to heaven for all the traveling with all the publicity, because it has purified me and sacrificed me and made me really ready to go to heaven.」
「從細微的小事中體現博大的愛。我們要以挪威為中心，將愛傳播到整個世界，讓戰爭遠離我們。如此，那些待出生的嬰兒就會歡叫著來到人間。我們把自己變成傳播世界和平的火種，挪威的諾貝爾和平獎將會真正是獻給和平的厚禮。」
「We have an opportunity to love others as he loves us, not in big things, but in small things with great love, so Norway becomes a nest of love. And how beautiful it will be that from here a center for peace from war has been given. That from here the joy of life of the unborn child comes out. If you become a burning light of peace in the world, then really the Nobel Peace Prize is a gift of the Norwegian people.」
「我們感到所作的只不過是汪洋中的一滴水，但若欠缺了那一滴水，這汪洋總是少了一滴水。我不贊同做大事，在我看來，從個人做起才是重要的。」
「We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that one missing drop. I do not agree with the big way of doing things. To us what matters is an individual effort.」
一滴水雖然微不足道，但只有若干個一滴水，才能匯成一股涓涓細流，給乾渴的人送去一絲濕潤；
Although a tiny water droplet may not be worth mentioning, the gathering of a few droplets becomes a trickling rivulet, bringing some relief to those parched with thirst.
一支紗雖然微不足道，但只有若干個一支紗，才能織成一片布，給身處寒冷的人送去一份溫暖；
Although a single yarn is insignificant, the combination of several yarns can be used to weave cloth, bringing warmth to those shivering in the cold.
一粒米雖然微不足道，但只有若干個一粒米，才能煮成一碗薄粥，給飽受飢餓的人增加一些能量。
Although one grain of rice is hardly worth noticing, it is only by combining many grains of rice that there may be a bowl of porridge, bringing strength to those suffering from harsh starvation.
讓我們像特蕾薩修女一樣，放棄那些驚天動地的偉大創舉，以「俯首甘為孺子牛」的精神，從一點一滴開始做起吧！
Let us follow Mother Teresa』s example. With a humble and willing spirit, we will give up the ambition of doing earthshaking undertakings, but start serving mankind bit by bit.
壬午年二月二十七日 2002年4月9日
27th of February, Year of RenWu April 9, 2002