学习中文的可贵

THE VALUE OF STUDYING CHINESE

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi

菩提比丘

Talk at Spring Semester Graduation Ceremony, June 22nd  2013 Chuang Yen Chinese School

2013年6月22日菩提比丘讲于纽约庄严寺中文学校春季学期结业典礼

I am delighted to be here today, and I extend my congratulations to Lucia Liu for introducing this program and to all the students who have completed the spring semester. I hope that you who have enrolled in this program won’t stop with an elementary knowledge of Chinese but will continue to study Chinese year after year until you can speak and read it fluently.

今天同学们顺利的完成了本学期的学业。在这个充满喜悦的日子，我向你们表示最热烈的祝贺，希望你们一直坚持下去，直到能够讲出一口漂亮的中文。我也向培育你们的老师刘璐致以衷心的感谢。

Chuang Yen Monastery opened in the late 1980s.Its primary supporters through all these years have been Chinese people, yet this is the first time that the monastery has introduced a program in the Chinese language. This is due to the enthusiasm and commitment of Ms. Liu. She was not content simply to announce the class to the devotees of the monastery but she even went to the Putnam County School Board to make sure that students in schools throughout the area were informed that a Chinese class  would be given at Chuang Yen Monastery. She knows that a knowledge of the Chinese language is not only for people of Chinese ancestry. For this reason we see here children of different racial and ethnic origins who have come to learn Chinese, and I was pleased to hear them speaking it so well. I hope that the Chinese language program here will become an ongoing project and that we will have more teachers, more students, and different levels of progress. It can become a center for disseminating a knowledge of Chinese throughout the greater Hudson Valley.

庄严寺是在八十年代由华裔建立的，中文课在这里还是首创。授课老师不仅在寺院里宣布这项活动，还到本地的学区进行大量的宣传工作，因为中文这个凝聚中国五千年智慧和文化的文字符号，不仅是华裔的财产，也是全世界人民的财产，就像中国的四大发明一样。今天，我们欣喜地看到不同种族和民族的学生们在这里学习，而且我很高兴听到你们把中文讲得这么好。我希望我们纽约庄严中文学校，会有更多的老师、更多的学生，和多种程度的班级，我也希望它能够成为整个哈德逊山谷传播知识的中心。

It is very important for us to learn to speak and read other languages. The lack of emphasis on language study in the United States should be a reason for national shame. When I went to junior high school and high school, we all had to learn another language—at that time, mainly French or Spanish were taught—but I’ve heard that nowadays language study has fallen into neglect. This is a pity. We Americans think everyone should speak English, but this only encourages a narrow way of thinking. In Europe almost everyone can speak several languages. My friend, the Czech monk Ven. Thomas Dhammadipa, who teaches here from time to time, knows twelve languages, including Hebrew, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese. Another monk friend, Ven. Analayo, knows about eight languages. When I went to Germany, I found that, in addition to German, almost everyone knows at least English and French, and some can speak five or six languages.

学习外国语言是非常重要的。我们这个国家对学习外语不够重视，就这一点而言，我们应该感到羞涩，同时这也是一种遗憾。我在上初中和高中的时候，外语是必修课，那时以法语和西班牙语为主。我们美国人认为每个人都应该讲英文，其实这是一种狭隘的思维方式。在欧洲，除了德国人，几乎每个人都知道英文和法文，有的甚至可以讲五、六种语言。我的捷克朋友性空法师，他常在这里指导禅修，他会讲十二种语言，包括希伯来文、俄文、中文和日文；另外一个朋友阿难拉尤(音译)他也会讲八种语言。

In today’s world, probably the most important language for everyone in America to learn is Chinese. China is now a major economic and political power, and I expect that in the future the relations between our two countries will grow ever closer. The Chinese cultural sphere extends still further, to Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and elsewhere. Because every language is built upon a different way of thinking, when you learn a new language you learn to think in a different way. You expand the working of your mind. You learn to see the world in a different way, through another pair of eyes. And this enables you to relate to people from different cultural backgrounds.

在当今社会，中文对美国人来说，可能是最重要的一种语言。中国现在有着强大的经济和政治实力，我希望在未来，我们两国的关系将变得日益亲密。中国文化对亚洲其他一些地区和国家的文化，有着深远的影响，譬如新加坡、马来西亚等。每一种语言都建立在不同的思维方式上，当你学习一门新的语言，你会以不同的方式去思维，这样使你的头脑更灵活，你会以不同的方式，通过另一双眼睛去看世界，这使你容易了解不同文化背景的人。

Chinese is especially important not only because contact with China will serve our business and economic interests, not only because it will be helpful for diplomacy and international relations, but because the Chinese language reflects the great spiritual traditions that have shaped the cultural heritage of China. This is why we are promoting Chinese language at our monastery. As you may know, Chinese culture has been formed by three great spiritual traditions: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The former two are indigenous to China. Buddhism arose in India in the 5th century BC and came to China beginning in the 2nd century of the  Common Era, but it was assimilated to the Chinese mind and assimilated into the stream of Chinese culture. Just as Buddhism took on a Chinese face, so Confucianism and Taoism were transformed by contact with Buddhism.

中文的重要性不仅有利于我们从事商务、经济及外交活动，中文同时反映了伟大的传统精神，塑造了中国的文化遗产。这就是为什么我们庄严寺，向当地居民提供学习中文的场所和机会。

正如你可能知道的，中国文化主要由三部分组成：儒家、道教和佛教。前两者是在中国的本土所生，在公元前五世纪，佛教在印度产生，大约在公元前二世纪的时候传到中国，它被同化到中国人的头脑中，并融入中国文化的主流。正像许多佛教徒都是中国人，儒家和道教也潜移默化的受到佛教的影响。

By studying the Chinese language, we can absorb the values promoted by these three spiritual traditions. These values are extremely necessary in today’s world. You need not adopt any of these religions to appreciate their values, which are universal and relevant to us all. Taoism emphasizes humility and awe for the wonder and mystery of nature. Such wonder is so necessary if we are to preserve the natural world, and not destroy it for the sake of material good and profit. The vast mountains, the great rivers, the forests, the earth and the depths of space, all breathe with a spiritual force, and Taoism teaches us to revere and trust in the goodness of that force. When we leave the commotion of the cities, and enjoy a hike or picnic in the quietude of the countryside, admiring the splendor of woods and streams, the vast diversity of life forms, we are partaking of the mental orientation of Taoism.

通过学习中文，我们可以吸收这三个传统的精神精髓。在今天的世界，这些是十分必要的，你不需要采取任何宗教观去欣赏他们的价值观，因为这是社会的普遍现象，这些和我们息息相关。道教强调大自然的神奇和神秘的谦卑与敬畏，这样的奇迹是必要的，我们要保护这个自然世界，并不是为了利润而去摧毁它；郁郁森森的山峦、大江大河和森林，地球和空间的深处，所有的呼吸，都是一种精神力量的存在。道教教导我们敬仰和信任善良的力量，当我们离开喧嚣的城市，在宁静的乡下享受野餐时，我们会欣赏繁茂的树林和溪流，广袤的生命形式的多样性，这时我们是在体会道教的精神。

Confucians extol a virtue called仁 (rén). The character 仁consists of the radical 人 (rén) meaning a person, combined with the character 二 (èr) meaning two. Thus 仁is the ideal way for two human beings to relate to one another, in other words, it means humaneness, kindness, good will, or benevolence. The Confucians also teach the importance of respect: respect of children for their  parents and of youngsters for their elders, and loyalty between siblings and friends. These virtues tell us that we must subdue our egos and behave in ways that show reverence and concern for others.

儒家赞美的一种美德叫仁(仁)。这个「仁」字，是由左边的「人」和右边的「二」组成的，这意味着一个人，结合二的含义。因此，仁是理想的方式，两个人彼此之间的关系及推广到人与人的关系，换句话说，这意味着人道、善良、良好的意愿就是「仁」。儒家崇仁义礼智信，讲尊重：孩子对父母和长辈的尊重，青少年和兄弟姐妹和朋友之间的忠诚度。这些优点告诉我们，「存天理，灭人欲」，克服己欲并积极主动地为他人着想。

Buddhism advocates the great values of loving-kindness and compassion, which we call慈悲(cí-bēi), two characters that are built on the radical心 (xīn), which means heart. According to Buddhism, love and compassion must be accompanied by wisdom ( 智慧, zhì  hùi), so that we base our concern for others on correct insight into the nature of reality. Thus if we are to become good human beings, we have to nurture a mind of wisdom and a heart of loving-kindness and compassion. These are the marks of a bodhisattva, one evolving toward the spiritual perfection of buddhahood.

佛教崇尚慈爱和怜悯的重要价值，我们称之为慈悲，「慈悲」两个文字建立在根本的心上，这意味着心。佛教讲的爱和同情心，必须伴随着智慧，使我们能够以正确的洞察实相来关心他人。因此，如果我们要成为好的人类，我们就要培育有智慧的头脑，和慈爱与怜悯的心。这些是做一个菩萨所表现出来的，最终能够达到圆满的佛境。

From this, we can see that to learn Chinese is to learn more than how to speak another language. It is to learn to trust in the goodness of nature. It is to learn how to be humble and sincere. It is to learn to act with good will and humanity in our relations with other people. And it is to make wisdom the ideal quality of the mind and loving-kindness and compassion the ideal qualities of the heart.

由此，我们可以看到，要了解中国是为了学习更多。而不只是学习如何讲另外一种语言。而是学会信任和性善，它是学习如何谦虚诚恳，这有助于提高人际交往的效能，提升人际关系的融洽，对构建一个和乐的社会，有着积极的促进作用。

May you all continue in your study of Chinese. May you become fluent speakers of this wonderful language and may you also be shaped by the great values taught by Chinese culture! Thank you.

愿我们的头脑充满智慧，愿我们的心充满慈悲，愿你继续学习中文，愿你把这个奇妙的语言说得更流利，愿你在中国文化的熏陶下使你的人格更加得到提升。谢谢。