But compassion, from my vantage point,

在這裡我們來讚頌同情。

has a problem.

但以我的觀點觀之，同情

As essential as it is across our traditions,

卻有些問題。

as real as so many of us know it to be

儘管它在我們的傳統中無處不在，

in particular lives,

儘管我們承認它

the word "compassion" is hollowed out in our culture,

在某些人的生命中真是存在，

and it is suspect in my field of journalism.

“同情”這一詞語還是在我們的文化中千瘡百孔，

It's seen as a squishy kumbaya thing,

在新聞領域中也是岌岌可危。

or it's seen as potentially depressing.

它被看做類似Kumbaya的東西。

Karen Armstrong has told what I think is an iconic story

或具有讓人悲愁的潛質。

of giving a speech in Holland

Karen Armstrong講述了一個我認為很典型的故事

and, after the fact, the word "compassion"

她在荷蘭做了一個演講，

was translated as "pity."

事後，同情一詞

Now compassion, when it enters the news,

被翻譯為可憐。

too often comes in the form

而今，當同情進入新聞語境的時候，

of feel-good feature pieces

它往往被當做

or sidebars about heroic people

善意的代名詞，

you could never be like

或是平凡人無法企及的

or happy endings

英雄事蹟的註腳

or examples of self-sacrifice

或是大團圓的完滿結局，

that would seem to be too good to be true

或是那些自我犧牲的案例，

most of the time.

而我們往往認為那些案例過於崇高，

Our cultural imagination about compassion

在大多數時候都不可能存在。

has been deadened by idealistic images.

我們文化中對於同情的想像

And so what I'd like to do this morning

已然被種種不著邊際的理想圖景嚴重削弱。

for the next few minutes

所以接下來幾分鐘里

is perform a linguistic resurrection.

我要做的，

And I hope you'll come with me on my basic premise

就是從語言學上復活這一詞語。

that words matter,

當然我希望大家都認同一個基本的前提，

that they shape the way we understand ourselves,

即文字事關重大，

the way we interpret the world

言語塑造了我們理解自身的方式，

and the way we treat others.

我們理解世界的方式

When this country

以及我們對待他人的方式。

first encountered genuine diversity

當這個國家

in the 1960s,

在六十年代第一次

we adopted tolerance

遭遇真正的多元化時，

as the core civic virtue

我們揀出“容忍”

with which we would approach that.

來作為核心的公民道德

Now the word "tolerance," if you look at it in the dictionary,

以處理多元化帶來的種種問題。

connotes "allowing," "indulging"

如果現在你翻開字典，

and "enduring."

容忍一詞的含義包括了容許

In the medical context that it comes from,

與忍讓。

it is about testing the limits of thriving

容忍源自醫學領域，

in an unfavorable environment.

在那裡，它關乎挑戰逆境下

Tolerance is not really a lived virtue;

蓬勃發展的可能性。

it's more of a cerebral ascent.

其實容忍並不是鮮活的美德，

And it's too cerebral

毋寧說，它更多代表了理性的巔峰。

to animate guts and hearts

而恰恰由於它過於理性，

and behavior

以致它很難真正激發勇氣和決心

when the going gets rough.

很難激發出有益的行為，

And the going is pretty rough right now.

當事情真的開始變得糟糕。

I think that without perhaps being able to name it,

而實際上，現在事情就很糟糕。

we are collectively experiencing

我想也許儘管我們很難明確的以言語表達

that we've come as far as we can

但我們無一例外都體會到，

with tolerance as our only guiding virtue.

以容忍作為我們唯一的道德嚮導，

Compassion is a worthy successor.

我們已無力走的更遠。

It is organic,

同情可以作為一個合格的繼任者。

across our religious, spiritual and ethical traditions,

它具有系統性，

and yet it transcends them.

橫跨宗教，靈性以及倫理各個傳統領域，

Compassion is a piece of vocabulary

但同時它又超乎于它們之上。

that could change us if we truly let it sink into

作為我們語彙中的一份子，

the standards to which we hold ourselves and others,

同情真的可以改變我們，

both in our private and in our civic spaces.

如果我們可以讓它深深扎根于

So what is it, three-dimensionally?

公共私人空間里我們對待自我及他人的方式之中。

What are its kindred and component parts?

所以，它到底具有什麼樣的立體圖景？

What's in its universe of attendant virtues?

什麽與它相關，它又由什麽組成？

To start simply,

它的連帶道德又有哪些？

I want to say that compassion is kind.

簡單來講，

Now "kindness" might sound like a very mild word,

我想說，同情就是善良。

and it's prone to its own abundant cliche.

善良可能聽起來是個溫和的詞，

But kindness is an everyday byproduct

也很容易落入窠臼。

of all the great virtues.

但是善良是所有美德

And it is a most edifying form

共同的附屬品。

of instant gratification.

它也是欣慰

Compassion is also curious.

的最具啓發性的化身之一。

Compassion cultivates and practices curiosity.

同情還是好奇。

I love a phrase that was offered me

同情產生并實踐著好奇。

by two young women

我尤其喜歡這一個詞組，

who are interfaith innovators in Los Angeles,

它是由兩個在洛杉磯

Aziza Hasan and Malka Fenyvesi.

從事跨宗教活動的年輕婦女提供個我的。

They are working to create a new imagination

Azizi Hasan和Malka Fenyvesi.

about shared life among young Jews and Muslims,

她們試圖通過努力來創造出一種新的圖景

and as they do that, they cultivate what they call

即青年猶太人和穆斯林和平共處。

"curiosity without assumptions."

在實踐中，她們試圖培養出她們叫做

Well that's going to be a breeding ground for compassion.

“無前提好奇心”的東西。

Compassion can be synonymous with empathy.

它可以作為產生同情的溫床。

It can be joined with the harder work

同情可以是移情的同義詞。

of forgiveness and reconciliation,

更深的說，它還可以與

but it can also express itself

原諒與和解產生聯繫。

in the simple act of presence.

但是，它還可以以它自身的單純存在

It's linked to practical virtues

來表達自己。

like generosity and hospitality

它與慷慨、好客那樣的

and just being there,

實踐美德聯繫在一起。

just showing up.

它就在那兒，

I think that compassion

它就那麼無故出現。

also is often linked to beauty --

我認為，同情

and by that I mean a willingness

還經常與美產生聯繫

to see beauty in the other,

我的意思是，那種

not just what it is about them

在他者中發現美的意願，

that might need helping.

而不僅僅是需要

I love it that my Muslim conversation partners

幫助的弱者。

often speak of beauty as a core moral value.

我的穆斯林對話夥伴們

And in that light, for the religious,

常說美是一個核心的道德價值，對此我深表贊同。

compassion also brings us

在這一方面，對於信者，

into the territory of mystery --

同情還把我們

encouraging us not just

引入神秘的領域，

to see beauty,

它鼓勵我們去發現，

but perhaps also to look for the face of God

不僅僅是美，

in the moment of suffering,

而或許還有在受難一刻，

in the face of a stranger,

在面對他者時，

in the face of the vibrant religious other.

在面對異教的狂熱信徒時

I'm not sure if I can show you

上帝的面容。

what tolerance looks like,

我不確定我是否能夠給你們展示

but I can show you what compassion looks like --

容忍的含義，

because it is visible.

但我的確可以給你們看看同情長的什麼樣子，

When we see it, we recognize it

因為同情是可見的。

and it changes the way we think about what is doable,

每當我們看見它，我們就能認出它，

what is possible.

而它也改變了我們對於可行性

It is so important

和可能性的看法。

when we're communicating big ideas --

當我們討論

but especially a big spiritual idea like compassion --

重大想法時，

to root it as we present it to others

尤其是像同情這樣一個重大的精神性概念時，

in space and time and flesh and blood --

在展示的同時，還要讓它滲入人們的血肉，

the color and complexity of life.

在時空中展開，以豐富的色彩

And compassion does seek physicality.

和內涵讓人們和它產生共鳴，這尤其重要。

I first started to learn this most vividly

同情與肉體息息相關。

from Matthew Sanford.

我第一次對此深有感觸，

And I don't imagine that you will realize this

是源於Matthew Sanford。

when you look at this photograph of him,

看他的這幅照片，

but he's paraplegic.

也許你們不會想到，

He's been paralyzed from the waist down since he was 13,

他其實是個高位截癱病人。

in a car crash that killed his father and his sister.

從13歲開始，他從腰部以下就癱瘓了，

Matthew's legs don't work, and he'll never walk again,

那場車禍奪取了他父親和妹妹的生命。

and -- and he does experience this as an "and"

Matthew的腿不能動彈，他也永遠不可能行走，

rather than a "but" --

而且——他真實的體驗到——是“而且”，

and he experiences himself

而非“但是”

to be healed and whole.

他感到自己

And as a teacher of yoga,

已然痊愈。

he brings that experience to others

作為一個瑜伽教練，

across the spectrum of ability and disability,

他把這種感受傳遞給其他人，

health, illness and aging.

無論他們是健全的抑或殘疾的，

He says that he's just at an extreme end

健康的，病重的，衰老的。

of the spectrum we're all on.

他說自己僅僅是我們共同所在的譜系上的

He's doing some amazing work now

一個端點。

with veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

他現在正從事一些令人驚歎的工作，

And Matthew has made this remarkable observation

與那些伊拉克戰爭和阿富汗戰爭中退伍的老兵們共處。

that I'm just going to offer you and let it sit.

Matthew有一個心得，

I can't quite explain it, and he can't either.

這也正是我想與你們分享的，

But he says that he has yet to experience someone

我很難解釋它，他也不能。

who became more aware of their body,

但是他說，他遇到的所有人

in all its frailty and its grace,

當他們意識到

without, at the same time,

自己身體的脆弱和優雅之後，

becoming more compassionate towards all of life.

也都同時產生了

Compassion also looks like this.

對其他生命的同情和敬意。

This is Jean Vanier.

同情也可以是這樣的。

Jean Vanier helped found the L'Arche communities,

這是Jean Vanier.

which you can now find all over the world,

Jean Vanier參與建立了L'Arche社區，

communities centered around life

這一組織遍佈全世界，

with people with mental disabilities --

它致力於關注

mostly Down syndrome.

精神殘疾患者的生活，

The communities that Jean Vanier founded,

其中大部份都是唐氏綜合癥患者。

like Jean Vanier himself,

JeanVanier所建立的社區，

exude tenderness.

就如同他自己一樣，

"Tender" is another word

向世界散髮著溫柔之香。

I would love to spend some time resurrecting.

“溫柔”是另一個

We spend so much time in this culture

需要語言學復活的詞語。

being driven and aggressive,

在這個世界上

and I spend a lot of time being those things too.

我們花費大量經歷驅動自己積極進取，

And compassion can also have those qualities.

我也不例外。

But again and again, lived compassion

同情也可以具有相同的品質。

brings us back to the wisdom of tenderness.

但是，我再三強調的是，鮮活的同情

Jean Vanier says

把我們帶回到那個以溫柔為智慧的時代。

that his work,

Jean Vanier說

like the work of other people --

他的工作

his great, beloved, late friend Mother Teresa --

就如同其他人的工作一樣——

is never in the first instance about changing the world;

比如他偉大的、令人敬愛的，剛剛去世的Teresa修女——

it's in the first instance about changing ourselves.

首先關注的不是改變世界，

He's says that what they do with L'Arche

而是改變我們自身。

is not a solution, but a sign.

他說，L'Arche所做的工作

Compassion is rarely a solution,

並不是提供一種解決辦法，而只是展示一種象徵。

but it is always a sign of a deeper reality,

同情極少提供解決辦法，

of deeper human possibilities.

但它總可以是一個象徵，

And compassion is unleashed

象徵著我們對現實、對人性有更加深入理解。

in wider and wider circles

同情在更廣闊的領域中

by signs and stories,

被實踐，

never by statistics and strategies.

被一個個故事和象徵所實踐、展示，

We need those things too,

而不是被統計數據和各種策略所實現。

but we're also bumping up against their limits.

我們當然也需要那些東西，

And at the same time that we are doing that,

但是我們偶爾也會觸及它們的極限。

I think we are rediscovering the power of story --

我們做著統計、策略，

that as human beings, we need stories

但同時我們也重新發現故事的力量——

to survive, to flourish,

作為人，我們需要故事

to change.

來生存，來發展，

Our traditions have always known this,

來改變。

and that is why they have always cultivated stories at their heart

我們的傳統深知這一點，

and carried them forward in time for us.

這就是爲什麽它總是把故事熟記於心，

There is, of course, a story

并將給我們聽的原因。

behind the key moral longing

有一個故事

and commandment of Judaism

在這個故事背後

to repair the world -- tikkun olam.

根植著猶太教

And I'll never forget hearing that story

修復世界的道德根據，tikkun olam。

from Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen,

當Rachel Naomi Remen醫生講給我這個故事時，

who told it to me as her grandfather told it to her,

我印象深刻。

that in the beginning of the Creation

她祖父講給她，她又原樣講給我。

something happened

在創世之初，

and the original light of the universe

突然間，

was shattered into countless pieces.

宇宙的元初之光

It lodged as shards

被打碎成千千萬萬個碎片。

inside every aspect of the Creation.

它就以碎片的形式

And that the highest human calling

存在與被造物的每一方面之中。

is to look for this light, to point at it when we see it,

人類最高的使命

to gather it up,

就是去找尋那光，一看到就指出給他人看，

and in so doing, to repair the world.

去收集那光，

Now this might sound like a fanciful tale.

就這樣修復世界。

Some of my fellow journalists might interpret it that way.

這聽起來好像一個幻想故事。

Rachel Naomi Remen says

我的一些同行可能就會以此詮釋這個故事。

this is an important and empowering story

Rache Naomi Remen說

for our time,

對於我們的時代

because this story insists

這是一個重要的具有力量的故事，

that each and every one of us,

因為故事告訴我們

frail and flawed as we may be,

我們每一個個體，

inadequate as we may feel,

儘管我們自身可能很脆弱，也有很多過失，

has exactly what's needed

儘管我們可能覺得自己非常無力，

to help repair the part of the world

其實我們每個人都擁有

that we can see and touch.

那份可以修復世界的力量，

Stories like this,

我們可以真切的看到，觸到這份力量。

signs like this,

像這樣的故事，

are practical tools

這樣的象徵，

in a world longing to bring compassion

在這樣一個渴求將同情

to abundant images of suffering

給予眾多不幸的世界，

that can otherwise overwhelm us.

在一個不幸足以將我們擊垮的世界，

Rachel Naomi Remen

這樣的故事和象徵無疑是有力的武器。

is actually bringing compassion

Rache Naomi Remen

back to its rightful place alongside science

自己實際上就在將同情

in her field of medicine

重新置於與科學並重的位置上，

in the training of new doctors.

就在她所從事的醫學領域，

And this trend

通過訓練新的醫生。

of what Rachel Naomi Remen is doing,

Rache Naomi Remen

how these kinds of virtues

的這種趨勢

are finding a place in the vocabulary of medicine --

這種在醫學領域中

the work Fred Luskin is doing --

樹立道德的趨勢——

I think this is one of the most fascinating developments

Fred Luskin在做同樣的事——

of the 21st century --

在我看來，是21世紀

that science, in fact,

最令人折服的貢獻之一——

is taking a virtue like compassion

科學

definitively out of the realm of idealism.

正將同情這樣的道德品質

This is going to change science, I believe,

剝離出理想主義。

and it will change religion.

我相信，這將會改變科學，

But here's a face

亦將會改變宗教。

from 20th century science

但是，這裡有一張面孔

that might surprise you

來自20世紀科學界。

in a discussion about compassion.

他關於同情的探討

We all know about the Albert Einstein

也許會讓你感到吃驚。

who came up with E = mc2.

我們都知道愛因斯坦，

We don't hear so much about the Einstein

他發現了E=mc二次方。

who invited the African American opera singer, Marian Anderson,

然而我們卻並不熟悉這樣的一個愛因斯坦：

to stay in his home when she came to sing in Princeton

非洲裔美國歌手Marian Anderson

because the best hotel there

因種族隔離而無法入住Princeton當地賓館時，