The Need for Tolerance Today

容忍

'If a person foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my boundless love. The more evil that comes from him the more good will go from me. I will always give off only the fragrance of goodness.' (Buddha).

假如一个愚痴的人冒犯了我，我以无限的爱回报他，他越是冒犯我，我越是以爱回报他，我永远的散发出善的芳香。 ─佛陀─

People today are restless, weary filled with fear and discontentment. They are intoxicated with the desire to gain fame, wealth and power. They crave for gratification of the senses. People are passing their days in fear, suspicion and insecurity. In this time of turmoil and crisis, it becomes difficult for people to coexist peacefully with their fellowmen. There is therefore, a great need for tolerance in the world today so that peaceful co-existence among the people of the world can be possible.

今天，世间的人太忙碌和太疲倦了，他们充满了恐惧和不满足。他们沉迷于权力、名誉、财富、地位的追求。他们追求感官的满足，生活在恐怖和猜疑中。在这动荡和充满危机的时代里，每一个国家和民族都有责任促进彼此间的和平共处。今天的世界，对容忍的需求是迫切的。

The world has bled and suffered from the disease of dogmatism and of intolerance. The land of many countries today are soaked with the blood spilled on the altar of various political struggles, as the skies of earlier millennia were covered with the smoke of burning martyrs of various faiths. Whether in religion or politics people have been conscious of a mission to bring humanity to their way of life and have been aggressive towards other ways of life. Indeed, the intolerance of the crusading spirit has spoiled the records of religions.

今天，世间的流血和苦难，来自于教条主义和不能容忍。今天，很多国家的山河，布满了各种不同的社会问题，宗教祭坛流满了众生的鲜血。有如同数千年前，天空布满了殉教者焚烧自己的烟雾。今天，人类已经觉察到有责任把人性带到他们的生活中，进一步的寻求另一种生活方式。的确，十字军的不能容忍，破坏了宗教的纪律。

Let us look back on this present century of highly publicized 'Progress'----a century of gadgets and inventions. The array of new scientific and technical inventions is dazzling _telephones, electric motors, airplanes, radios, television, computers, space ships, satellites and electronic devices°‚. Yet in this same century the children of the earth who have developed all these inventions as the ultimate in progress, are the same people who have butchered millions of others by bayonets or bullets or gas. Amidst all the great 'progress', where does the spirit of tolerance stand?

让我们回顾一下，现代高度公认的所谓「进步」，我们生活在一个机械和发明的时代，一系列高新科技的玩意令人头晕目眩──电话、电报、发电机、收音机、电视机、太空船、人造卫星等等。在同一个世纪，发明这些新玩意儿的人，也同时是那些以武力、炮弹、毒瓦斯屠杀千千万万同胞的人。虽然说科技是进步了，可是容忍的精神在哪里？

Today man is interested in exploring outer space. But he is totally unable to live as man-to-man in peace and harmony. Man will eventually desecrate the moon and other planets.

今天，人类的科技已经在发展外太空了，可是却无法促进人与人之间协调、和平的共同生活。人类将把这些荒诞的事情带到月球或其它星球。

For the sake of material gain, modern man violates nature. His mental activities are so preoccupied with his pleasure that he is unable to discover the purpose of life. This unnatural behavior of present mankind is the result of his wrong conception of human life and its ultimate aim. It is the cause of the frustration, fear, insecurity and intolerance of our present time.

为了物质的利益，人类听不见大自然的声音。他们只想到满足欲乐而忽略了身心的发展。这种现代人类不自然的行为，是人类对生活的终极目标产生错误观念的结果，这也是导致现代人恐惧、焦虑、不安与不能容忍的主要原因。

In fact, today intolerance is still practised in the name of religion. People merely talk of religion and promise to provide short cuts to paradise, they are not interested in practising it. If Christianity live by the Sermon on the Mount, if Buddhists follow the Noble Eightfold path, if Muslims really follow the concept of Brotherhood and if the Hindus shape their life in oneness, definitely there will be peace and harmony in this world. Inspite of these invaluable Teachings of the great religious teachers, people have still not realized the value of tolerance. The intolerance that is practised in the name of religion is most disgraceful and deplorable.

今天，不能容忍仍然存在于宗教中。人们仅仅有兴趣谈论宗教的教义，却没有兴趣去实践和修持宗教的教义。假如基督教徒依据《新约》的《登山宝训》而生活，佛教徒依「八圣道」而生活，回教徒依《古兰经》而生活，印度教徒依他们圣者的教诲而生活，那么，这世界将到处是和平、协调和幸福。虽然，有这些伟大宗教导师的教义，在指引人类的生活，可是，人类依然无法了解容忍的价值，以宗教名誉做出不能容忍的事，是可耻和可悲的。

The Buddha's advice is 'Let us live happily, not hating those who hate us. Among those who hate us, let us live free from hatred. Let us live happily and free from ailment. Let us live happily and be free from greed; among those who are greedy.' (Dhammapada 197,200)

佛陀告诫我们：

「生活在怨恨中，而没有怨恨，是真正快乐的生活，在怨恨的人群中，我们住在无怨恨中。」《法句经》V.197

「生活在贪欲中，而没有贪欲，是真正快乐的生活，在贪欲的人群中，我们住在无贪欲中。」《法句经》V.199