所有宗教，伦理和精神传统的本质都是有关仁爱的，仁爱激励着我们，像自己希望得到的善待一样善待他人。心存仁爱促使我们不倦地试图减轻同类的痛苦，走出自己内心的小天地而为他人着想，捍卫每一个个体神圣，不可侵犯的尊严，完全公正地，平等地，充满尊敬地，毫无例外地善待每一个人。
The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and put another there, and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
在公共生活的私人生活中设身处地地对待他人，避免不断地给他人带来痛苦。 出于恶意，狂热的爱国主义或自私自利而出现极端言行； 剥夺他人基本权利，利用他人的基本权利或否定他人的基本权利；通过诋毁他人－甚至我们敌人－煽动仇恨都是有违于我们的基本人性的。 我们得承认我们的生活中缺乏仁爱，甚至一些人还以宗教的名义给人类增加更多苦难。
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.
在此，我们称呼全人类~恢复仁爱在伦理和宗教中的核心地位~恢复古代的原则－将埋下暴力，仇恨或蔑视种子的经文解释视为不合理的解读~确保年轻人接收到的有关其他传统，宗教和文化的信息是准确的，充满尊敬的~鼓励正面地欣赏文化和宗教的多样性~悲悯所有人类苦难－甚至是那些被我们视为敌人的人。
We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.
我们迫切需要 让仁爱成为我们已经极化的世界中一股清晰，引人注意的，动态的力量。因为作为一种本原上就可以超越自私自利的原则性力量， 仁爱可以打破政治，教条，意识形态和宗教藩篱。 生来就深深相互依赖的人类使得仁爱成为人类关系和完整的人性中的基本元素。仁爱是通往启蒙之路， 是创建公正的经济与和平的国际社会所必不可少的。We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.
I'm a non-religious person, but I watched the development of the Charter for Compassion with interest. It seemed very promising.
ReplyDeleteBut, unfortunately, it has excluded most of the sentient life on the planet from its circle of compassion. It has certainly excluded 99.999% of the victims of human violence from its concern.
God's most innocent creatures -- indeed, most of them genetically-selected and bred by us for our purposes -- are suffering what Isaac Bashevis Singer called called an "eternal Treblinka."
Cow, pig, chicken, fish, rabbit, deer, pigeon and all the thousands of other species of nonhuman Earthlings -- their only crime is that they were not born human.
My prayer today, on Christmas Day, is that the kind of people who created and support the Charter for Compassion will in the near future extend their compassion to the other thinking, feeling, family-loving, sentient life on the planet.
Today, on Christmas, I'm certain that many signers of this Charter will think peaceful thoughts and feel good about their part in this Charter, and then turn a blind eye to the suffering of hundreds of billions of innocents, as they grasp knife and fork to eat a dead turkey or chicken or pig, or have a glass of milk produced by a mother cow for the child who was stolen from her on the very day of its birth, and who will spend her entire life in an unnatural prison, treated like a machine, this existence ended only by a usually painful and undignified trip to be "processed."
Do unto others as we would have them do unto us? Do we really mean this?
The Charter calls for a recognition of the sanctity of human life, and the commonality of humanity -- yet neglects to question that perhaps it is precisely these ideas that drive and justify the greatest violence on the planet.
Am I suggesting that compassionate people go vegan? Yes, of course. This would be literally the least they could do to put their principles and ideals into practice right here and now, starting with the next meal.
Please, extend the Charter for Compassion to embrace all life.
Christopher, Do you not hear the celery cry out as we eat it? You raise an important question. In my view, we are placed in this bind on this planet; we must kill to live. Yes, you can argue that at least we shouldn't kill sentient beings, but scientists have argued that even one celled organisms have a form of sentience. One celled amoeba must distinguish between the self and other, so that it does not consume itself in its search for food. Plants seek out the sunlight and set down roots in nourishing fashion. Are trees not worthy enough? Where do we draw the line? What about people who have allergies, such that they are unable to consume enough protein to sustain themselves unless they eat meat? Are they immoral? I think what ever you choose to eat, let it not be without some sense of loss and thankfulness for the sustenance. May we all eat with more thoughtfulness.
ReplyDelete