Interdependence

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“Nothing is intrinsically or ultimately bad. Any situation that arises is only relatively good or bad based on many factors, including — most significantly — how you perceive the situation and how you respond to it.”

沒有任何情況是絕對的壞。因緣生發的任何事情，只是相對好或者相對壞 ── 最重要的決定因素在於你如何看待它。

“The downside of the perfection of discipline is called ‘the demon of austerity’ — taking on discipline as a hardship and making it into a struggle. Done right, discipline is taken on joyfully and with a clear understanding of why engaging in it is good.“

別讓自律變成艱辛的掙扎。恰如其分的自律可以是歡愉的，同時你很清楚其目的所在。

“Whatever we give up or whatever we do, we should first feel a connection to the practice and then be very clear why we are doing this and not something else. When we act this way, our discipline becomes very inspiring.”

無論我們放棄什么，或者選擇什么，我們必須聽從內在的指引，非常清楚自己在做什么，以及為何沒做別的選擇。如果我們時刻保持清醒，忠實於自己，自律能帶來極大的安慰和啟示。

“The great compassion taught in Buddhism is not merely an emotional response tinged with sadness or fear that comes and goes in response to a temporary situation. It is not superficial in this way but deep and, therefore, stable as well. This profound stability is due to our compassion being based on wisdom and reasoning. This compassion is not mere empathy or sympathy, not some kind of concern or affection. It is not saying, ‘I know what you’re going through.’ Or ‘I get your situation.’ It is also not coming from someone high up to someone low down. Actually, it is not the case that the person feeling compassion is in a good place and the other is down on their luck, so the one better off is bestowing their compassionate action on the unfortunate person down there.”

佛教所講的大慈大悲，並非因情因境生發的愁緒或憂慮。它不是淺層的情緒反應，而是深沉、穩定的。只有基於智慧和理性的慈悲，才真正可靠。真正的慈悲不是普通的同情或憐憫，不是一般的感情。它不會說”我明白你正經歷的一切”或者”我理解你的處境”。 它也不會採取居高臨下的姿態。 它並非如我們想像，以為感到慈悲的一方肯定是在較好的處境，向不幸的另一方施捨慈悲。

“Actually, true compassion makes little distinction between self and other. We naturally feel that we are a part of others and they are a part of us. We can feel their suffering one hundred percent or at least, really know a good deal of what it is like, and so we are able to take on all or most of their burden. This is the capacity we need to develop. It means that we feel little or no gap between ourselves and others, for the sense of separation into two has faded away.”

事實上，真正的慈悲不分你我他。我們很自然地感到自己和他人是共同體，對他們所受的痛苦感同身受 ── 這是值得培養的心懷。隨著分離的感覺逐步淡化，我們和他人的間距漸漸歸零。

“Viewing ourselves through the lens of interdependence brings certain qualities and values into focus. For example, when we hold to a sense of ourselves as utterly independent, we can come to believe and behave as if we were entirely self-made, as if our own individuality called together all the conditions needed to bring us into being. This can lead to false pride and overbearing arrogance, as if we independently created our own individuality and owe nothing to anyone. When we ignore interdependence, we are disregarding the importance of others to our well-being. We devalue their contributions to who we are. This kind of pride is a symptom of narrow view. It is a harmful delusion that can seriously impair our ability to relate in healthy way to others.“

透過”相互依存”的觀點看待自己和眾生的關係，能幫我們聚焦在正面觀念上。假如你自以為完全獨立，自以為你的現狀完全由自己一手創造，你就未免自傲自大，好像你對別人完全不虧欠似地。當我們無視”相互依存”的事實，我們便忽略了別人對我們的貢獻。自傲自大是無知的表現。

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~ 17th Karmapa (第十七世噶玛巴大寶法王) ~

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