透過教育弘揚佛法 Propagation Of Buddhism Through Education
透過教育弘揚佛法 PROPAGATION OF BUDDHISM THROUGH EDUCATION
法界佛教大學校長阿比納博士講于九月八日萬佛城大殿 A talk by Dr. Snejzana Akpinar, President of Dharma Realm Buddhist University on September 8, 1998, in the Buddha Hall at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas 戴岳子 中譯 Chinese translation by Dai Yue Zi
晚安，希望大家能細心聽我講，因為我要講的是我們該如何教人，和我們該如何弘揚佛法。
Good evening. I hope you will listen to my lecture carefully, because I will talk about how we should teach and how we should propagate the Dharma.
法即教育，或者說佛法的一面是教育；反之，教育也是法。所以，通過教育去弘揚佛法就幾乎等于通過教育去推廣教育。兩者差不多是一個詞。
Dharma is education, or one aspect of Dharma is education, and conversely, education is Dharma. So, to propagate the Dharma by education would almost mean to propagate education through education. They are almost the same word.
法的意思很多，但它主要的意思，從其梵文出處，以及在印度來說，是指「方法」和「系統」而言。我們可以問自己，什麼是教育？思考這個問題的本身，也就是一個方法——一個將我們混亂的思想理出一個頭緒來的方法。其目標總是一致的：即是幫助眾生明白他們的真實自性，使他們向善向上。所以，佛法即是釋迦牟尼佛及佛教化導眾生的方法。
Dharma means a lot of things, but its primary meaning in Sanskrit, where the word comes from, and in India in general, is a “method” or “system.” We can ask ourselves: What is education? That, too, is a method: a method for sorting things out in our confused minds. The goal is always the same: It is to help living beings become better by attaining some understanding of their true nature. So, the Buddhadharma is the method of education which Shakyamuni Buddha and Buddhism uses.
在梵文里還有一個詞——「三那塔納法」，意即恆常不變之教。此詞並不包涵佛教、印度教或其他宗教的涵意在里面。它是一種永恆的東西。這也是釋迦牟尼佛，及此世界許許多多的賢聖者所教的東西；不只是教，更在為這世界重興這種修習之法。此教總是在那兒的，只是需要一再地取來用之，來適應某個時代的情況。
There is also something that is called the sanatana-dharma in Sanskrit, which means the perennial or eternal teaching, the teaching that is always constant and that never changes. And that teaching has no connotation of Buddhism or Hinduism or any other religion. It is that which is always there. And that is also what Shakyamuni Buddha, along with many sages of this world, was teaching—not only teaching, but reviving—as a practice for the world. It is a teaching that is always there, but it needs to be brought forth again and again in order to suit the conditions of a certain age.
在我們這個「現代世界」——現在應稱「超現代世界」了——從本質上說，人們還是在一樣的；像往常一樣，我們還是非常地迷糊，我們也在尋求一種秩序，以我們能力內的最好方法，去將事情理出一個頭緒。這需要艱苦的付出，嚴格的紀律，還有失望、不快樂，也就是在梵文或巴利文中所稱的「不滿」(dukkha 都卡)；即佛教徒稱之為「苦」的。這是一種苦，但也有樂的一面。總而言之，教育或弘法的宗旨在于使人類找到一條離苦得樂的途徑，在這個基礎上再去幫助別人得到同樣的安樂和遠離執著。
In our modern—and what is now called postmodern—world, people are still attempting to do that same thing, in essence. As usual, we are still very confused, and are trying to help ourselves to find some kind of order, to sort things out the best way we can. That requires very hard work. It requires discipline, and of course it requires disappointment, unhappiness, or what in Sanskrit or in Pali is called dukkha—unsatisfactoriness, which we Buddhists like to call “suffering”. It is a form of suffering, but it also involves some happiness. Above all, the whole point of education or Dharma, is to enable us human beings to find a way out of it all, to reach a point of equanimity, from where we can compassionately help others reach that same point—that point of equanimity or detachedness.
在這一整個過程，作為老師、教育工作者、母親、父親、作為工程師、醫生或律師，我們應時時不忘慈悲或者說觀音菩薩是我們的主要伴侶。那就是我們的救生索，能令我們于迷糊之海中得以生存，能令我們具足能力去幫助別人，使他們也具足能力再去幫助其他的人。否則，在這不完美的社會，我們會別的不成，而盡是滿腔的沮喪，憤懣和怨恨。
Throughout this process, as teachers and educators, as mothers, as fathers, as engineers or doctors or lawyers, we should never forget that’ our major companion has to be compassion or Guanyin. That will help us survive above the confusion and enable us to help others to do the same. Otherwise, we will very easily get frustrated in this imperfect world, and we will simply be angry and resentful, nothing else.
為何教育是不可少的呢？一個人如何去從事教育呢？教育人有許多方法，教育的種類也有許多，沒有一個簡單單一的答案。其中一個重要的因素是要了解學生的的需求、程度和他們所處的時代。我們不能閉眼不看學生的環境、不顧他們是誰、他們的教育程度在哪兒。深入地了解學生，大概是最困難的地方了。一個老師可能對他所授的課非常熟悉，但是他對學生的期望不切合實際。為什麼呢？因為老師想把他最好的東西傳授給學生。在這個過程中，很容易就忘記教的是什麼樣的學生，以及教育的總體目的及其真實宗旨之所在。
Why is education necessary, and how should one go about it? There are many ways of educating people and there are many kinds of education. There is not one single, simple answer. The important factor, however, is to be aware of your students—of their needs, their levels, and the age they live in. We cannot ignore where they are, who they are, and what their level of education is. That is probably the hardest part—to have an empathy for your student. A teacher may know his subject very, very well, but his expectations are sometimes unrealistic. Why is this so? It’s because the teacher wants to impart the best that he can to his student. And in the process, it’s very easy to forget who the student really is and what the whole, real purpose of that education is.
為什麼會發生這種情況呢？我想全世界沒有一個老師不想成為最優秀、最和善、最聰明完美的人。但是人是很容易沮喪退縮或生氣的。這是因為要仔細看看老師所處的位置與學生所處的位置——這一實際情況是蠻險惡，很駭人的，因為有許多的迷惑、混亂、坑陷。想「教」與「學」兩者均有所成功，還是需要「慈悲」，也可說是「觀音菩薩」；「慈悲」猶如靈丹，又似潤滑油，能使教育成功。作為老師，我們是絕對不能不看到這一點的。具此慈悲之心，是我們將自己所具的知識轉成智慧之所在。
Why does that happen? I don’t think there’s a single teacher in this world that doesn’t want to be the best, the kindest, the most intelligent and perfect person. And yet it is very easy to get frustrated and to give up or to become angry. This is because it is very threatening to see the actual truth—where you are as a teacher and where the student is. It’s very scary to look at it clearly, because there are many confusions, many mistakes, and many pitfalls. In order for both the teacher and the student to attain some success in whatever they do, compassion again—Guanyin—is the sort of facilitator—the grease—that will make the mechanism of education work. That is something that we absolutely cannot ignore as teachers. It is what turns our knowledge—that which we know—into wisdom.
教學有三明，自知之明、所教之明、與知人之明，具此三明，會幫助老師作一個更好的老師，而不在于我們給學生灌輸什麼知識訊息。要幫助我們成為更好更慈悲的老師，我們需要遵循教師道德職業守則。這些守則能幫我們得具慈悲、恆持慈悲。
This kind of awareness of what the truth really is—who we are, what we need to teach, and who our students are—will help teachers to be better people. It does not necessarily rest on information that we have to impart. To help us become better and more compassionate human beings, we need to have a kind of moral code for being teachers. That is what will help us achieve and maintain an attitude of compassion.
教師猶如別的行會成員和職業成員一樣。他們需要一種職業操守––一系列的行為規范，他們應該謹守的。在「美好的往昔」，正如人們喜歡那樣形容的，任何一個職業或行會都有一部道德規則—一如「騎士道」。「騎士」源自于「馬」和「騎手」，含有尊貴，比人優秀這一層意思。每一種行業都有它的騎士道—一不管是教師、補鞋匠、還是清道夫，都要宣誓遵守這些規范。同行業者形成一個同業公會。這些規范意在使公會成員言行更加高尚。
Teachers are like members of any other trade or profession. They all need to have a code, a set of rules that they have to abide by. In the “good old days”—as people like to think of them—any profession or trade had a moral code—a code of chivalry, as it’s called. “Chivalry”comes from the word “horse,” and a chevalier, or someone who has chivalry, is a horseman, which implies a noble person, someone who is superior to others. Any profession had its code of chivalry, and those who would enter the profession—be they teachers, cobblers, or even street-sweepers—had to swear that they would abide by this code. The people who were members of that profession would form a guild—a society or union. The codes that applied to a certain guild were meant to make the members of that guild more noble people.
另外一個形容尊貴者的詞是「貴族」；「貴族」一詞源于梵文「阿利亞」。所以，比如說尊貴之道又叫「阿利亞」道。「阿利亞」一詞又與「空氣」有關？是指輕揚之意。
Another word for “nobleman” is “Aristocrat” comes from the Sanskrit word arya. So the noble path, for example, is called the Aryan path. The word arya also has to do with air; it is something that is light and buoyant.
今天我們生活在現代和超現代的社會；那些騎士道、古老的傳統以及道德規約對我們來說已經有些太僵化了，失去了其真實的意義，也可以說貴族的風儀和生活方式，已經從現代生活中被淘汰掉了。就這一方面而言，現今在我們所處這個時代，這些老方法，舊規約，已經土崩瓦解了，所剩下的只是一些片段殘蹟而已。
Today, we live in the modern and postmodern world, and these old habits of chivalry and traditions and moral codes have become a little bit too rigid for us. They lost their true meaning. The air and the life of the aristocracy or nobility was somehow sucked out of them, so to speak. At this point in our age, these old methods— these old codes—seem to be shattered, and we see bits and pieces of them flying around—that’s all that’s left.
在世界上許多地方，這些傳統也已經撤底粉碎了，留下的也只不過是一些粉末塵埃；這種現象的存在已非常久了。作為佛教徒，我們知道這種情形還會不斷地持連續下去。這種現象以前也發生過。現在是末法時代，我們應該去適應這個時代；要看清楚，現在對于整個世界，什麼才是至為重要的。
In many parts of the world, they have completely shattered, and all we have is dust. This phenomena, though, in itself is very old, and it is a continuous process, as Buddhists know. This has happened before. It is the Dharma-ending age. That is why, at present, we must adapt ourselves to the conditions of this day and age, and see what is relevant and important for the whole world right now.
我們有點像考古學家，發現了一小塊古柱石而自豪不已，將它珍藏在博物館里。我們得一而忘整；忘記這塊古柱石所可能代表的是地下的一整座古廟，那可遠比這一塊小石頭來得重要得多；或者這座古廟曾經是一座古城的中心；而這座古城又曾是一個古國之中心等等。我們看得很重的這一小塊古柱石，對于我們所要做的事而言，其實只不過是一件裝飾品而已，沒有多大的意義。
We’re sort of like archaeologists, who find a little piece of a column and are very proud of it, and so they hold onto it and put it in a museum. But they tend to forget that there is a bigger picture, that this particular little piece of a column was probably holding something very important—a temple that was much more important than this little piece. Or that the temple was the center of a big city, or that the big city was at the center of a big country, and so on. We may look at that little piece and think that it’s very important, but it is just a silly little piece of decoration which has very little consequence for what we are trying to do.
現在我講一講在我來這演講之前所發生的一件事情，來說明這一點。今天下午我在想今晚要講些什麼時，我打在我的電腦里，心想：「打好後，我存在磁碟片里，然後送去辦公室印出來；那樣一來，我手上就有一份清楚的版本給翻譯的人看，此事不難。」
Now I will illustrate this with a story that happened to me right now before I came to this lecture. This afternoon as I was thinking of what to say for this lecture, I wrote it on my little computer and thought, “Well, I’ll just put it on a floppy disk and take it to the office and have it printed, so that I will have a cleaner example of what I’m going to say and I can give it to the translator. That is a simple enough thing to do.”
別提一千年以前，就是幾年以前，一個要上課的老師絕不會想到這些事情。這些事，不管怎麼說，都是多余的事。湊巧的是我的磁碟片在辦公室的電腦上打不開，計劃因此失敗。我心想：「算了。我還是在我自己的電腦上打開，再抄下來！」可是我電腦螢光幕上打出來的竟是希臘字母！因為我懂希臘字母，所以看得懂；但是文章是英文寫的，字母卻是希臘字母！簡單的一篇講稿，竟有如此多的混淆周章：我們現在生活的世界就是這樣子的。
I’m sure that just a couple of years ago even, not to mention a thousand years ago, a teacher who was going to lecture wouldn’t have thought of all these things. These are extras that are just coming from every which way and floating in the air. Well, it just so happened that my floppy disk didn’t match with the office computer, so my plan failed. “Never mind,“I thought, “I can go back and read my file on the screen of my own computer and then just copy it down on paper.” And so I took the floppy back and put it in my computer, and the file came on the screen, but— it was in Greek! I could understand it, since I can read the Greek alphabet, but it was English words written in the Greek alphabet. Can you imagine the confusion we have to go through just to do a very simple talk? That’s the world we live in.
能意識到這是末法時代、古風不再的好老師就得去找一個能適應此時代的方法；若能如此，則他可以在教某一門課的具體知識時在學生的腦海里勾畫出一幅更廣闊的背景畫。
A good teacher who is aware of the Dharma-ending Age and of all of these pieces floating all over has to find a way of adapting to the new age, so that he or she can impart to their students the bigger picture along with the specific knowledge of their subject.
那麼學生究竟所得到的是什麼呢？在萬佛聖城，我們稱之為道德。其實不只此處，現代社會的人已開始強調道德教育和道德風尚。給道德下定義不難，不過這不是我現在的話題。道德風尚，我說過，是人們應遵循的守則。「道德風尚」一詞，在拉丁文里，即「已成風俗之尚」。所以，一個好的道德規范，即一個好風俗，人們知善而從，約定俗成，共同遵守。這些風俗有助人們恒住于道。它是一種雅尚規約。我們都知道還有超出這些規范的東西––那也就是我所要講的。
But what is it exactly that the student gets from all of this? Here, in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, we can call it morality. Not only here, but in this modern world people are trying to stress moral education and morality. And we have no problem defining morality—that is not the issue. Morality, as I have said, is a code that we have to follow. “Moral” comes from a Latin word that means something that is custom. So, a moral code is a code of good customs, of things that have been proven to be good and that people have agreed to follow—something that helps them stay on the Path. It is a code of honor. But we all know that there is something that goes beyond the moral code, and that is what I would like to talk about.
稍微超出道德風尚概念的，我們就稱之為倫理。什麼是倫理？如何與道德風尚相關，有何區別？簡單明了地說，道德風尚可成文，而倫理超越文字。風尚幫我們守德。倫理一詞的詞根是什麼？我想把它與「乙太」相連，乙太即純淨的空氣，無有污染物。此空氣周遍虛空，進入我們身心性命的每一角落–它使我們更愉悅、清爽，更有朝氣、更細緻、更靈活；使我們身心有質的變化，乃至于能得無言之義。那樣我們就有希望不以分別之心能觀因果，能辨善惡。道德風尚是當遵之指南，倫理則更入道一層。身為老師，當喚起學生倫理之心。
That which goes a little bit beyond the concept of morality is called ethics. What is ethics, and how does ethics connect with morality, and what is the difference? A very quick and simple answer would be that morality can be spelled out and ethics is beyond words. Morality helps us to become ethical. What is the root of “ethics”? I like to connect it with the word “ether”, or the pure air, which has no pollutants in it. It is something that can pervade and enter our whole being—our mind and our body—and make us more lighthearted, more buoyant, more alive, more subtle, and more capable of bending. It helps us transform ourselves and our minds so we can grasp concepts beyond words. We can hope to see then into the roots of cause and effect and know what is good and what is bad without having to think about it. Morality is a guide to hold onto; ethics is further down the path. And a teacher needs to awaken that sense of ethics in his students.
世界上有的語言，如中東的希伯萊文、古閃米語，以及現今的阿拉伯語中，倫理一詞與創造性相連系的。好的創造性即是倫理。它亦與行善有關。所造之物若是惡的，即不配「生命」之這一冠稱，是不合倫理的；不合倫理即差不多是死的–對世界那地方而言。
In some languages of this world, like the languages of the Middle East—Hebrew, the ancient Semitic languages, and Arabic of today–the word for ethics is associated with creativity. It is the creativity of the human being that is good that is called ethics. Ethics has to do with creating good things. Anything that is created that is bad is not worth the title of being a “creature”—something that is created; it is not ethical. And what is not ethical is almost not alive— for that part of the world.
在現代社會，我們知道有許多複雜的問題，這個世界很複雜。從事教育工作者需要知倫理，如不能行至少要知理。我們在座大部分人都清楚現代的世界是怎麼一回事。從十八世紀起，大約兩百多年前，這世界就是一個科學稱霸的世界；樣樣都要講科學，講究事物的可量、可證、和可觸性。如果哪件事你無法證明，那麼就根本沒有去想的價值。這種研究態度席卷全球，根深蒂固。這就是為什麼時人不再學藝術、佛學、或是學我們稱之為人文的東西；凡是難以證明的，即使某些人有些興趣，家長們也都會潑冷水，因為人文學科賺不了什麼錢。為人父母者很在意孩子的前程，學那些不可量、不可證、不可觸的學科卻鮮為人尊崇。那些最後去學人文學的人，還是得去「證明」，因而不得不將難以證明的概念轉變成易懂的零碎片段，將複雜的思想過度簡化後，放在一個個小小的盒子里。
In our modern world, we know that there are many, many complex issues. Our world is a very complicated one. Those who teach definitely need to understand ethics, at least in theory if not in practice. Most of us here are quite aware of what the modern world is about. It began, so to speak, in the eighteenth century, or roughly two hundred years ago. It is the world of science; everything needs to be scientific in this world. It has to be measurable, provable, and tangible. If you cannot prove something, then it is not even worth thinking about. This attitude has by now swept our whole world and taken hold of it. That is why people these days do not study the arts, Buddhism, or anything that would be called the humanities—anything that is hard to prove. And even if anyone has the interest, that interest is usually discouraged by his or her parents, because it doesn’t make any money. Parents are worried about the well-being of their children, and there is very little prestige in studying something that is not measurable, provable, or tangible. Those who nevertheless do study the humanities must limit these hard-to-prove concepts into little, tangible bites-they have to be able to prove them anyway, so they have to oversimplify very complex ideas and put them in little boxes.
現在人耳邊聽的話都是說，去作工程師、科學家，去修商業管理、法律、醫學，因為那樣既受人尊敬，又能賺錢。我並不是說那是不好，因為每一門行業都有其方法，都有幫助人類的潛力；這點是可以肯定的，但是不幸的是當今社會不再強調以提升人的道德作為職業的目標了。事實上，科學業急功近利；科學方法如此速效風靡，于是世界上就產生了越來越時髦的學者所稱的「後現代主義」。我們不再處于「現代」社會了；不再處于科學真理和實驗的社會，而是處在「後現代」的社會了。
People today are encouraged to become engineers, scientists, business majors, lawyers, and doctors, mostly because those are respected and profitable professions. I’m not trying to say that this is a bad thing necessarily, because all of these profession have methods, and they have potentials of helping human beings. There’s no question about this. But unfortunately, these days ethics is not emphasized as the goal of these professions. In fact, these scientific professions are only concerned with short-term usefulness and quick results. As a reaction to this scientific approach that is so efficient and quick, and is taking over, we now have something that is increasingly popular in this world, which the scholars call “postmodernism.” We are not in the modern world anymore, in the world of scientific truth and experiments, but in the postmodern world.
現代科學世界十分僵化，樣樣都得講證明；二加二總是等于四。人類對此的反應是什麼呢？就是形成了「後現代」社會。
The modern world of science was very rigid. It always had to have proofs. Two and two was always four in the modern world. Now we have a reaction to this, and that is the postmodern world.
何為「後現代主義」呢？這指許多東西，是飄浮在空中的古文化的點點滴滴。但總體而言，這是對于僵化的科學規則的一種反叛。我們或許都還沒有注意到，這是一場浩大的反科學革命。這里面有相當積極的因素在里面，有我認為對十足狹隘方法體系非常好的反彈。但也如同其他的事情一樣，「後現代主義」也是很難謹遵循中道的。
What is postmodernism? It is a lot of things. It is the bits and pieces of ancient culture that are floating about the earth. But mostly, it is a rebellion against the rigid scientific approach to life. We might not be aware of this, but it is a very serious revolution against science. And there are elements in it that are quite positive, that I consider to be very good reaction to the very narrow approach. But, like everything else in this world, in postmodernism too, it is very hard to find and stick to the Middle Path.
「後現代主義」是很自由化的，鼓勵人從僵化死板的傳統形態中解放出來–這些形態經常是「現代主義」的產物。「現代主義」講求正式，樣樣都要有一個邏輯在後面；而「後現代主義」則鼓勵我們去解除束縛，爭取自由；可是一但自由了，下一步又是什麼呢？就沒有下文了。這是一個世界自己丟出來的問題：「好啦，我們現在掙脫框框了！打破傳統了！又該怎辦呢？」這是一個很嚇人的問題。
Postmodernism is very liberated, because it encourages people to free themselves from those rigid, petrified old traditions and their forms-forms that were very often created by modernism. Modernism was very formal; it had to have logic behind everything it did. Postmodernism encourages us to free ourselves from this. But, once we are free, then what? The answer is simply not there. And that is the question which the world is posing to itself today. “Alright, we broke all the forms, we broke all the traditions—now what?” It’s a very scary question.
許多人，尤其是佛教徒，都認為這些新生事物都有其積極好的一面。尤其是喜歡修禪的人也許會說：「好啦，我們現在無有形態了，那又怎麼樣呢？」有很多人，包括佛教徒，都知道「物極必反」的潛在危害性。這對于「現代主義」、「科學方法」與「後現代主義」都一樣的。所以我們佛教徒和從事教育的佛教徒，管他是「現代」或是「後現代」形式，都應當慈悲地為世人指出中道來。
Many of us, particularly Buddhists, can say that there is something positive and good in all of this. Particularly Buddhists who like the Chan practice may say, “Alright, so we don’t have a form–so what?” But there are many other people, including Buddhists, who say there is danger lurking behind anything that goes on too far. Be it modernism and scientific methods, or be it postmodernism–if it’s carried to its extreme, it’s dangerous. So, it is for us–Buddhists and Buddhist educators–to point in a compassionate manner to the Middle Path-both in the postmodern form and in the modern form.
關于「後現代主義」有一樣對我們很重要，我需要提一下。在我們打碎「現代主義」將樣樣分割開來研究的形規框架的過程中，我們也拋棄了權威思想和傳統思想。那是因為我們都被那些殘垣碎片——那些老舊僵硬的權威傷害過的關系。現在把這些東西砸碎了，這些「後現代」社會的個人，將無所依靠——沒有「梵網」了。一睹眼前滿目瘡痍，由這種空，而心生恐懼，所以現在又極力地要將零零碎碎的舊東西拼湊在一起。什麼舊東西？就是古文化、古哲學思想，以及現有的分崩離析中的一些東西。我們東拉一片，西扯一塊胡亂地拼湊著。就這樣，我們一手創出一個新的世界，一個新的結構。但每人所見有異，這人看到的是這些碎片；那人見著的是那些碎片。
There is one thing that I would like to say about the post-modern world that is very important for all of us. In this postmodern age, in the process of breaking all the formalities and rigidities of our modern world that were dividing everything up, people have thrown away the idea of authority, and also of tradition. That’s because they have all been hurt by the debris—the leftovers, the broken piece–of our old, stiff authorities from the past. Now that these are all smashed, the postmodern individuals, out of having nothing for them to catch onto–no Brahma Net–and out of the fear and horror which comes from staring into this mess–this emptiness–they are trying to put the old back together frantically, by catching these bits and pieces of ancient cultures, philosophies, and what-have-you, of this old and disintegrating world. They (or we actually) catch these pieces and try to stick them together at random–a little bit from here, a little bit from there–as they see fit. So, they make a new world, a new construct for themselves, but for each individual it’s a different thing and it comes from different, disconnected pieces.
在這種環境之下，每一個人都對其「自我」有一種恐懼感；現代人生活在這個「後現代的社會」的恐懼感與無力感是非常之深的。對于這些人和那個世界，需要一種新的更為對機的方法，這也正是我們需要觀世音菩薩幫忙的地方。那也是我們唯一能從恐懼和混亂的深淵中拔出來的方法。作為老師，我們以悲憫之心去了解我們可憐的學生和我們同事的處境，以及為什麼他們互不信任，也不信任這個世界。我們要從不同的角度去接近他們——從那個角度去幫他們，不是幫自己。我們都知道法門有許多，我們不應只找一個適合于我們自己的法門；如果我們力所能及，我們也應當幫他們找到他們各自的法門。
And in this kind of atmosphere, each person is afraid for his or for her own ego, for their selves. The level of fear and anquish of the modern human being living in a postmodern world is very, very high. There needs to be a new and more appropriate approach to these people and to this world. And here is where we all need the help of Guanyin. That is the only thing that can pull us out of this tremendous mess and fear that our world is in. As teachers, we must have empathy and see where our poor students and our poor colleagues are and why they are mistrustful of each other and of the world and approach them from a different angle—from the angle that we work for them, not necessarily for us, because we all know that there are many, many Dharma doors and so we should not only find one that works for us, but find their Dharma door if we can.
我的一個實際的建議是我們從小處著手，從一個受驚且無知的眾生所能明白的東西著手；也就是從與他們生命有關的東西，不太令他們害怕，且又能讓他們能做得到的東西開始。在一般人的標準來說，是使他們能這樣說的東西：「喔！這很容易，我這樣笨的人都能做得到。」然後從那個小地方著手，你可以使他們日日有所增益。要是你起點就非常高，又少關愛，又以威壓；見到威壓，他們就躲開了。我說這有點像訓練小動物，但是作為教育工作者，得人心之道，在于從低處著手，並在我們講話中解除對他的威脅。
My practical suggestion for this is to start out small, with something a frightened and an ignorant being can relate to, something that is relevant to their own life, that is not too scary and that is attainable for them. On the human level, that is something to which they can say, “Oh, this is easy. Even a stupid fool like me can do that.” If they can start from that point, you can make better human beings out of them. But if you start from a point that is way, way too far, that is not personal, and that is authoritative—if they see authority—then they shy away. It is a little bit like training a wild animal, I would say. But the way to approach and win people’s hearts for us as educators is to start very low and take the threat away from anything we say.
說到這里，我想你們有沒有問題，或一些立場；有的請上來，我們一起討論。或許關于教育你也有一些好東西可以說，或者關于我現所講的話有問題，都可以上來。
At this point I would ask any of you who have any questions to come forth and we can discuss some of your questions and your attitudes and your problems or some good things that you have to say about education. Or any questions you want to ask me about my talk right now.
請不必怕。你知道在佛殿講法應是我們每個人都應參與的，不是光我一個人唱獨腳戲——尤其在「超現代」社會里，更不是「我」在此發號施令而「你們」在台下聽號聽命。這種做法不好，這樣我成不了一個好老師的。
Don’t be shy. You know a Dharma talk in the Buddha Hall should be something we can all participate in, and not just be me—the authority—in this postmodern world, telling you what to do. This is not a good practice. It won’t make me a good teacher.
在「後現代」社會里我們人人都是老師，對每個人的權益我們都要尊重，現在人是具這種眼光的。也許到這里來的許多人有這種思想，我們應該注意這一點。所以著手處可以從鼓勵他人發表意見開始；表達思想，提出問題，甚至如果不提問題，說說他們的所見也可以。
In the postmodern world we are all teachers and we all have to respect each other’s authority. That’s how people see themselves. Probably many of the people who come here have that attitude, and we have to be aware of that. One of the ways to start is to have the courage to speak up, to say what you think, and to ask the questions that are going through your mind, or not even ask questions, but just if you have an observation, say it.
問：世界各地不同文化的學生您都教過，您可不可以說說您的經驗並作一些比較？
Question: You have taught extensively in different parts of the world to people of different cultures. Can you speak a little bit about your experience?
答：可以，但是這是很難講的。因為我認為人都是一樣的，無論你走到哪；衣著、眼睛、膚色會有不同，但其本質卻都是一樣的，甚至在對待宗教的角色的態度上人都基本上是一致的：人人都說自己的好，這是一種防御心理。
我可以跟你們講講一個經歷，那是我在沙地阿拉伯一所婦女大學教書的時候。沙地阿拉伯是一個意識形態保守的國家，從那個角度上講，它是一個「現代」國家，因為它固守一種形態。它自有一套體系，而且還蠻靈光的，它也不想變化那體系。我不是在這兒對那個體系評頭論足的，那個體系有其善，亦有其不善，不管怎樣那個體系卻能使沙地人民凝和團結。我在那兒從事教授外語的工作。那里大部份的老師都是信基督教的，有一些學生也是基督徒；阿拉伯人一般是信基督教、回教、猶太教，這是那兒的三大宗教，但是最大的還是回教。
Answer: Well, it’s hard to say, because I firmly believe that people are all the same wherever you go. They might wear different kinds of clothes and have different color eyes and hair, but in essence they are all the same, and even in how they approach the role of religion they are the same: They are defensive of it, and they think theirs is the best.I can tell you of an experience that was very touching and that happened to me when I was teaching at a women’s college in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of the conservative countries that stick to a form. In that sense we could say it is a modern country, because it sticks to its own form. It has a proven system that works, and they do not want that system to progress in any way. I’m not here to judge the system. It has its good and bad aspects, but somehow it does keep the people together. I was running a program for learning foreign languages there, and most of the teachers employed there were Christian. Some of the students were also Christian. Arabs are either Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. These are the three religions there, but the biggest one is definitely Islam. It was approaching Christmas, and a new law came down from the King that everyone has to come to school on Christmas Day—teachers and students. If you look at the principle of that law, it wasn’t all that bad. It was their country, and they are for the most part not Christian, so why should they observe a holiday that is not their own, that is imposed on them by the Christians? After all, when they go out into the Christian world, the Christian world forces them to accept Christian holidays and the Muslim holidays are put on the backburner. So the government’s policy was: This is a Muslim country, and Christmas is going to be a working day.
那次，快到耶誕節的時候，從國王那兒下了一道聖旨，設了一條新法律：耶誕節那天所有的人——老師和學生，都得來學上課。這條立法的精神，倒還不是那麼壞，這是他們的國家，他們大都不信基督教，為什麼要去慶祝一個不是他們的，而是基督徒加之于他們頭上的節日呢？而一旦他們出去到一個基督教社會，基督教的社會力量就會使他們接受基督教節日而將回教節日往後擺。所以沙地政府的政策是：這是一個回教國家，耶誕日應該還是一個工作日。
Many of the teachers were quite upset, because they wanted to celebrate Christmas. The principals of the school, who were all Arabs, were also upset, and they were very embarrassed by this. This is the ethics that I’m talking about. These were ethical people, and they didn’t know what to do. So, they said, “This is the law, and we will get into trouble if we don’t follow the law, but we also know that you are good people who are teaching and not taking too much money and who try to help us and make friends with us. We apologize for our government, but we have to follow the law.” I talked to the teachers and said, “Some of you are married to Arabs, so your husbands are Muslims. Those of you whose husbands are Muslims and those of you who really don’t care whether you are home or not for Christmas, and those of you who can give of yourselves-since Christmas is a day when you should give–come, in order to help out the school. Those of you who don’t want to come don’t have to come, and we will somehow divide the classes among the ones who are left behind.” And that is what happened. Some people came, and some didn’t come.
當然這使得許多老師都很不痛快，因為他們想放假過個耶誕日。校長們都是阿拉伯人，也很難過，很難堪，這是我所說的道德問題。他們都是品德很好的人，他們也不知道該怎麼辦。所以他們說，這是法律，如果我們不遵守，我們就會有麻煩的；但是我們都知道你們是好人，教書又不拿多少錢，是幫助我們，和我們作朋友。我們為我們的政府向你們道歉，但是我們還是要遵守這個法律。所以我對那些教師們說：「你們中那些先生是回教徒的，那些不在乎耶誕節那天是不是回家的，那些能夠布施的——因為耶誕節是布施的一天——都來學校吧！來幫助學校吧！那些不想來的不用勉強，那天學生我們會另外分班。」事情的經過是這樣子的：一些人來了；一些人沒有來。
I went to substitute for another teacher, and the minute I walked into the classroom, the students locked the door. I thought, “My goodness, what’s going to happen now?”
Then from under their chadors–the black cloaks that the women wear came all kinds of sweets and delicacies that they had made for their teacher (not for me; I was just a substitute) because they knew that she was an American and a Christian and that she liked Christmas, and they wanted her to be happy.
我那天去代別的老師的課；我一走進教室，學生即刻把門一鎖。我愣了一下，心想：「天哪！要出什麼事了？」這時從那些婦女穿著的回教黑袍底下，她們拿出各式個樣的甜點佳餚。她們專為老師做的——不是給我做的，我只是一個替課老師——因為她們知道她們的老師是美國人，基督徒，很喜歡過耶誕節的，她們想讓她開心開心。
This was such a touching thing. In spite of the law of their country, they wanted to respect their teachers. And I took these things and brought them home to their teacher. It was really a very humbling experience for everybody.
此事感人之處在于：她們願悖法而尊師。我把這些吃的包好回去帶給她們的老師。這一經歷足令每個人低首深思。
This story is a good example of what ethics is, because it is a case of going beyond the rule. The rule was one thing, but people saw what the principle behind it was, and they were courageous enough to follow that principle.
這樁事是關于什麼是道德的一個好例子，因為它超越了規矩；規矩是一回事，人所見到規矩後面的道義是什麼，又是另外一回事。這些學生都很有勇氣，能見義而勇于去行其道。
全文完
編按：阿比納博士原籍前南斯拉夫 ，生于佛教家庭，篤信佛教。獲貝 爾格勒南斯拉夫大學東方事務學碩 士；土耳其伊斯坦堡大學土耳其事務學博士。現任美國萬佛城法界佛教大學校長，教授「佛教宗教觀」一課；並任加州柏克萊法界宗教研 究院主任、研究教授。
Editor’s note: Dr. Akpinar originally came from the former Yugoslavia and was born a Buddhist. She holds an M. A. in Oriental Studies from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and a Ph.D. in Turkish Studies from the University of Istanbul, Turkey.
She is President of Dharma Realm Buddhist University at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and teaches a course called “A Buddhist View of Religion”. She is also Director/Research Professor of Institute for World Religions in Berkeley, California.