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十分感謝我親愛的朋友Jerry、2015年那洛巴大學畢業生、各位親朋好友。我十分感動,也十分高興來到這裡。對任何人來說這都是一生中的美好時刻,我想利用一點時間說些私事。這對我來說是倍加美好的時刻,因為不僅我妻子來到現場,我兒子、兒媳和兩個小孫女也來到這裡,她們分別是8歲和6歲,她們也在現場。還有-你們知道我在說什麼,對嗎?好,很好,我只想說一點關於他們的事。我以那洛巴為背景絞盡腦汁地思考與他們有關的事,因此兩年前我和妻子前往Golden山麓健行,當時我們帶著6歲的Naiya和4歲的Kiara,她們倆都赤腳走在岩石步道上,最後我問Naiya:「你怎麼能這麼做?看你赤腳走在這種地面上我心都痛了。」她十分迅速、毫不猶豫地說:「我是大自然的女孩,大自然愛我,我也愛大自然,除了刺人的部分。」這時4歲的Kiara也想說些關於自己的事,她說:「爺爺,我是素食主義者,除了培根的部分。」因此我的意思是,這兩個故事符合那洛巴的氣質,你們同意嗎?我計畫為了她們倆拜訪招生處,就在畢業典禮之後。
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Thank you so much, Jerry [Colona], dear friend, Naropa University graduating class, relatives, friends. I’m deeply moved and I’m profoundly grateful to be here.This is a wonderful moment in everyone’s life, and I’m going to take just a brief moment of personal time to say it’s doubly wonderful for me because not only is my wife here, but my son and his wife, and my two little granddaughters ages 8 and 6 are here.And I just want to say a word about them because I’ve been thinking a lot about them in the Naropa context.So two years ago my wife and I were in Golden, and we were hiking in the foothills with Naiya, 6 years old, and Kiara, age 4 at the time. And they both were hiking barefoot up these rocky trails. I finally asked Naiya, “How can you do that? It hurts me just to watch you walk this terrain barefoot.” And she very quickly and instinctively said, “Well I’m a nature girl and nature loves me and I love nature except for the spiky parts.”At which point Kiara, then age 4, wanted to say something about herself, and she said, “And grandpa, I’m a vegetarian, except for bacon.”So my sense is these two fit the Naropa vibe, would you agree?
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十分榮幸來到這裡,但真正榮幸的是有機會與2015年畢業生共享這個生命中的重大時刻,我向所有畢業生致上最深的敬意,還有所有朋友、家屬、親戚、陌生人、全體教職員、那洛巴大學行政人員,他們都是幫助你們達到今天成就的人。那洛巴是相當特別的地方,我想你們當中有人知道,觀照教學與學習運動目前正在全國高等教育界引起風潮,這項進程雖然緩慢,但已經展開,以40年前這所大學成立時無法想像的程度蔓延,更別提30或20年前。那洛巴埋下了這些種子,這是一個逐漸豐足的糧倉,我們的任務是讓世人知道這個糧倉在哪裡,因此讓我們試著這麼做,把這個消息傳出去,我願意做你們的宣傳大使,我希望未來能一直擔任這個職務,因為我認為這裡發生的事是相當重要的貢獻,不僅對你個人而言,對高等教育和整個世界亦然。我有兩份薄禮獻給2015年畢業生,我希望能給你們更多,但目前只有這些。第一份禮物是與未來人生道路有關的六個簡短建議,第二份禮物是:我保證會在12分鐘內結束演講,讓你們可以邁向未來的道路,越快越好。
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I’m honored to be here but my true honor is that I get to share this important moment in the lives of the class of 2015. A deep bow to all of you, and a deep bow also to the friends, family, relatives, strangers, and to staff, faculty, and administration of Naropa University who have helped you come to this day.Naropa is a very special place. I think some of you know that the contemplative teaching and learning movement is now getting traction in higher education around the country. It’s slow but it’s coming, coming to an extent one could not have imagined 40 years ago when this university was founded, let alone even 30 or 20 years ago. And Naropa has planted those seeds. This is a granary of something that is now growing. Our task is to the let the world know where the granary is…so let’s try to do that, get the word out. I have tried to be your emissary—I want to do that on into the future because I think what happens here is a very important contribution not only to you as individuals, but to higher education and to the world at largI have two modest graduation gifts for the class of 2015. I wish I had more to offer but, for now, this. The first is six brief suggestions about the road ahead of you, and the second is a promise to stop talking in about 12 minutes so you can get on that road sooner rather than later.
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我的第一項建議十分簡單:面對感情事件(affairs of the heart)請大膽一點(affairs of the heart:這裡是字面上的意思-與「心」有關的事)。現在,鑒於有半數聽眾誤解了這句話…我6字頭的歲月確實都在柏克萊度過,但現在我76歲,雖然我年紀大了,「精力」依然旺盛。有人會做CPR嗎?父母和祖父母,我真正的意思是-充滿熱情、熱愛生活。對自然或人類世界某個領域充滿熱情,挺身而出、承擔風險,無論這會讓你多麼脆弱。沒有人死前會說:「我很高興過著以自我為中心、自私自利、自我保護的生活。」以慷慨的心胸,將你的精力、你的天賦、你的遠見、你的心奉獻給世界,但必須瞭解,當你這麼做時,很快就會明白自己多麼孤陋寡聞、多麼容易失敗。希望在愛和奉獻中成長,你、我、我們所有人都必須同樣重視無知與知識,同樣重視失敗與成功。我知道在畢業典禮上提出這個建議相當諷刺,但執著於已知之事是邁向故步自封的道路,因此培養初學者心態,勇敢邁向未知的境地,冒著不斷跌倒的風險,一次又一次爬起來,藉此記取教訓,這是通往以奉獻愛、真理與正義為目標的人生道路。
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My first suggestion is simple. Be reckless when it comes to affairs of the heart.Now, since half of you misinterpreted that…It’s true I spent the 60’s in Berkeley, but I’m 76 now and… well there may be snow on the roof but there’s still a fire in the furnace. Anybody know CPR? What I really mean, parents and grandparents, is be passionate, fall madly in love with life. Be passionate about some part of the natural and/or human worlds and take risks on its behalf, no matter how vulnerable they make you. No one ever died saying, “I’m sure glad for the self-centered, self-serving and self-protective life I lived.”Offer yourself to the world—your energies, your gifts, your visions, your heart—with open-hearted generosity. But understand that when you live that way you will soon learn how little you know and how easy it is to fail. To grow in love and service, you, I, all of us, must value ignorance as much as knowledge and failure as much as success. I know this is ironic advice on graduation day, but clinging to what you already know and do well is the path to an unlived life. So, cultivate beginner’s mind, walk straight into your not knowing, and take the risk of failing and falling again and again, then getting up again and again to learn. That’s the path to a life lived large in service of love, truth, and justice.
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其次,當你將無知和失敗與知識和成功結合時,對所有屬於你的對立特質也做同樣的事,將你所有光明美好的部分引入你的黑暗面,將你的利他主義與自我主義結合,將你的慷慨與貪婪結合,將你的喜悅與悲傷結合。每個人都有陰暗面,連佛教徒、貴格會教徒、甚至像我們這麼高尚的人也不例外,尤其是像我們這麼高尚的人。但當你能夠說:「我已結合以上一切,無論是陰暗面或光明面。」陰暗面的力量被用於有益的貢獻,整合是我們的目標,但整合不代表完美,而是意味著擁抱生命中的不完美與完美。如一位人生中曾遭受三次嚴重打擊、名叫Jerry的人所言:「我並非隨便說說,我知道這是事實。」當你承認並接受真正的自己,等於給自己一份能造福他人的禮物。我們的世界迫切需要蘇格拉底所謂擁有「經審視之人生」的領導者,在政治、宗教、商業與大眾媒體等重要領域,太多領導者拒絕正視與承認他們的陰暗面,因為他們不想暴露自己的弱點,不曾審視自己陰暗面的領導者將在無意間利用權力危害無數人,破壞我們主要機構的公信力。如果你重視「自我審視」,你將成為我們所需有助於重振這個社會的領導者。但如果因為某種原因-我想在座應該沒有這樣的人-如果因為某種原因,你離開校園後選擇過著不曾審視自我的生活,我懇求你們千萬別做會牽連他人的工作。
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Second, as you integrate ignorance and failure into your knowledge and success, do the same with all the alien parts of yourself. Take everything that’s bright and beautiful in you and introduce it to the shadow side of yourself. Let your altruism meet your egotism, let your generosity meet your greed, let your joy meet your grief. Everyone has a shadow, even Buddhists, even Quakers, even high-minded people like us—especially high-minded people like us.But when you are able to say, “I am all of the above, my shadow as well as my light,” the shadow’s power is put in service of the good. Wholeness is the goal, but wholeness does not mean perfection, it means embracing brokenness as an integral part of your life. As a person who, as Jerry said, has made three deep dives into depression along the way, I do not speak lightly of this. I simply know that it is true.As you acknowledge and embrace all that you are, you give yourself a gift that will benefit the rest of us as well. Our world is in desperate need of leaders who live what Socrates called “an examined life.” In critical areas like politics, religion, business, and the mass media, too many leaders refuse to name and claim their shadows because they don’t want to look weak. With shadows that go unexamined and unchecked, they use power heedlessly in ways that harm countless people and undermine public trust in our major institutions. If you value self-knowledge, you will become the leaders we need to help renew this society. But if for some reason—and I doubt that there’s anyone like this here—if for some reason you choose to live an unexamined life after you leave this place, I beg of you, do not take a job that involves other people.
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第三點,也是非常重要的一點:當你接受內在的相異特質時,也該接受外界的相異處。我認為沒有任何美德比接納「相異者」重要,那些我們視為「異類」的人。這個社會原本的「多數」、那些與我有相同外貌特徵的人已逐漸式微,到了20-是的到了2045年,大多數美國人都將是有色人種。可悲的是,許多原本的「多數」恐懼這個事實,他們的恐懼是太多無恥政客操縱的結果,讓我們深受其害。這個國家的振興所需並非來自懼怕其他種族、民族、宗教或性向,因為這份恐懼,我們曾經生氣勃勃的社會變得停滯不前。振興社會的主要希望是多樣性、接納性和包容性,我最近前往南加州時遇見一位教授,他離開一所以白人為主、久負盛名的機構,在南加州教導非法入境的年輕移民,我問他這是怎麼回事,他說:「這是我做過最棒的決定,我以前的學生自以為是、不知進取,我的非法移民學生求知若渴、勤奮、勇敢,願意踏出他們的安樂窩。」美國將仰賴擁有這些特質的人獲得振興,如果我們這些擁有特權和力量的人接納他們、與他們合作、協助他們消除途中的障礙,2045將成為令所有人充滿希望的一年。
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Third, and critically important, as you welcome whatever you find alien within yourself, extend that same welcome to whatever you find alien in the outer world. I don’t know any virtue more important these days than hospitality to the stranger, to those we perceive as “other” than us. The old majority in this society, people who look like me, is on its way out.By 2045 the majority of Americans will be people of color.The sad fact is that many in the old majority fear that fact, and their fear, shamelessly manipulated by too many politicians, is bringing us down.The renewal this nation needs will not come from people who are afraid of otherness in race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.It’s because of that fear that our once-vital society is gridlocked and stagnant, and our main hope for renewal is diversity, welcomed and embraced.I recently met a professor on a visit to southern California who had left a prestigious institution, predominantly white, to teach undocumented youth in southern California. I asked him how it was going, and he said, “Best move I ever made. My previous students felt entitled and demanded to be entertained. My undocumented students are hungry to learn, hard-working, and courageous enough to keep moving out of their comfort zones.” America will be renewed by people with these qualities. And if we who have privilege and power will welcome them, collaborate with them, and help remove the obstacles in their way, 2045 will be a year of great promise for all of us.
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第四點,擔負起值得進行的大事業,例如散播愛、和平和正義,這意味著拒絕受到職場文化中由短期結果所衡量的效果誘惑。我們都希望從事能造成改變的工作,但如果我們從事偉大的事業,我們衡量成功的唯一標準是下一季的盈虧,我們最後會落入失望、放棄和絕望的境地。想想某個你尊敬的人,因為他將畢生奉獻於有益世人的崇高事業,例如羅莎.帕克斯、納爾遜.曼德拉,或某個只有少數人知道的人。在生命盡頭時,那個人可以說:「我很高興將生命奉獻於那份工作,因為現在世上每個人都可以從他們的『待辦事項』列表中永遠劃掉那項工作。」不,我們的英雄擔負的是不可能完成的工作,並與它們長期抗戰,因為他們遵循一個勝於「有效性」的標準,這個標準的名稱,我認為是「忠誠」。忠於你的天賦、忠於你對世界需求的認知、忠於在能力所及範圍內提供你的天賦給所需之處。我們越是執著於「有效性」準則,我們所擔負的任務越微不足道,因為它們是唯一能獲得短期效果的任務。公眾教育是個悲劇性例子,我們國家不再關心孩童教育,這是不曾完成的重要任務。我們只在乎使孩子通過測驗、得到可衡量的結果,我們是否在意、或甚至不曾考慮過他們所衡量之事是否重要。在這個過程中,我們粉碎了許多優秀教師和弱勢孩童的心靈。當然,我們必須在意效果,但更應在意忠誠,如無數老師所做的,忠於你的使命,滿足那些託付給你照顧的學生的真正需求。你無法在一生當中完成這項重大任務,但如果你在臨終時可以說:「我忠於我的信念。」我想你已不枉此生。
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Fourth, take on big jobs worth doing—jobs like the spread of love, peace, and justice. That means refusing to be seduced by our cultural obsession with being effective as measured by short-term results. We all want our work to make a difference, but if we take on the big jobs and our only measure of success is next quarter’s bottom line, we’ll end up disappointed, dropping out, and in despair.Think of someone you respect because he or she lived a life devoted to high values—a Rosa Parks, a Nelson Mandela, or someone known only to a few. At the end of the road was that person able to say, “I’m sure glad I devoted my life to that job, because now everyone in the world can check it off their to do lists forever and ever.” No, our heroes take on impossible jobs and stay with them for the long haul because they live by a standard that trumps effectiveness. The name of that standard, I think, is faithfulness—faithfulness to your gifts, faithfulness to your perception of the needs of the world, and faithfulness to offering your gifts to whatever needs are within your reach.The tighter we cling to the norm of effectiveness the smaller the tasks we’ll take on, because they are the only ones that get short-term results. Public education is a tragic example. We in this country no longer care about educating children, a big job that’s never done. We care only about getting kids to pass tests with measurable results. And we care about that whether or not, or without even considering, whether they measure anything that matters. In the process, we’re crushing the spirits of a lot of good teachers and vulnerable kids. Care about being effective, of course, but care even more about being faithful, as countless teachers do—faithful to your calling, and to the true needs of those entrusted to your care. You won’t get the big jobs done in your lifetime, but if at the end of the day you can say, “I was faithful,” I think you’ll be okay.
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第五點,既然苦難-我不需要向佛教徒說明這一點,我只是不知道你們是否會得到許多我不明白的樂趣。既然人生有苦有樂,我希望你們記住這一點:暴力是我們不知道如何面對苦難時的逃避方式,暴力是我們不知道如何面對苦難時的逃避方式。有時我們將暴力施加於自己身上,例如過勞至筋疲力竭或更糟,或各種形式的物質濫用。有時我們將暴力施加於他人身上,種族歧視、性別歧視和同性戀恐懼往往源於人們試圖藉由優越感來減輕痛苦。好消息是,苦難可以轉化成帶來生命、而非死亡的東西,這種情形每天都會發生。我今年76歲,我目睹許多人遭受失去生命中摯愛之人的遺憾,起初他們陷入深刻的悲傷,堅定地認為生命再也不值得繼續,但後來他們逐漸清醒,明白儘管他們遭受苦難,但也因此變得更強大、更富有同理心,擁有更寬廣的心胸體會他人的悲喜。他們是心碎之人,但他們的心變得更寬廣,而非無法癒合。因此每天藉由體會生活中小小的悲喜鍛鍊你的心,這種鍛鍊將使你的心變得柔軟,如運動員使肌肉變得柔軟的方式。因此當你心碎時,這是無法避免的,它不會像手榴彈一樣四分五裂,而是能容納更多的愛。
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Fifth, […] since suffering as well as joy comes with being human, I urge you to remember this: Violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering. Violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering. Sometimes we aim that violence at ourselves, as in overwork that leads to burnout or worse, or in the many forms of substance abuse. Sometimes we aim that violence at other people—racism, sexism, and homophobia often come from people trying to relieve their suffering by claiming superiority over others. The good news is that suffering can be transformed into something that brings life, not death. It happens every day.I’m 76 years old, I now know many people who’ve suffered the loss of the dearest person in their lives. At first they go into deep grief, certain that their lives will never again be worth living. But then they slowly awaken to the fact that not in spite of their loss, but because of it, they’ve become bigger, more compassionate people, with more capacity of heart to take in other people’s sorrows and joys. These are broken-hearted people, but their hearts have been broken open, rather than broken apart. So every day exercise your heart, by taking in life’s little pains and joys. That kind of exercise will make your heart supple, the way a runner makes a muscle supple, so that when it breaks, (and it surely will,) it will break not into a fragment grenade, but into a greater capacity for love.
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第六點,也是最後一點。我引用聖本篤的話,他並非佛教徒,但仍值得引用。他說:「每天都直面你的死亡。」或許這聽起來像病態的做法,但我想你們知道並非如此。如果你以健康的心態看待自己的死亡,你將看見生命的偉大和壯觀,這將喚起所有我提過或未提過的美德,例如希望、慷慨和感恩。如果未經審視的生命不值得擁有,同樣地,未真正體驗的生命不值得審視。因此我想引用一位偉大作家黛安.艾克曼的話做結束,她提醒我們真正體驗自己的人生:「生命的美好與甜蜜就是盡可能過著多采多姿的生活,讓好奇心像神采飛揚的駿馬,每天在艷陽高照的山丘上盡情奔馳。在沒有風險的地方,情感將不起波瀾,若沒有平原、山谷、高峰和彎道,生命將失去絢麗的色彩,只剩下長度。它始於未知,終於未知,但其中的風景多麼原始而美麗。」再次向2015年畢業生致上最深的敬意,祝你們每一個人在每一段未知的旅程中都獲得慈悲與祝福。
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Sixth, and finally, I quote Saint Benedict (not a Buddhist but still worth quoting) who said, “Daily, keep your death before your eyes.” That may sound like a morbid practice, but as I think you know, it isn’t. If you hold a healthy awareness of your own mortality, your eyes will be opened to the grandeur and glory of life, and that will evoke all of the virtues I’ve named, as well as those I haven’t, such as hope, generosity, and gratitude. If the unexamined life is not worth living, it’s equally true that the unlived life is not worth examining.So I’ll close with this brief quote from a great writer Diane Ackerman, who reminds us to live, truly live, our lives:“The great affair, the love affair with life, is to live as variously as possible, to groom one’s curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred, climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sun-struck hills every day. Where there is no risk, the emotional terrain is flat an unyielding, and, despite all its dimensions, valleys, pinnacles, and detours, life will seem to have none of its magnificent geography, only a length. It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies between.”Once again, a deep bow to the class of 2015. To each and every one of you, traveling mercies and blessings as you make the journey from one mystery to the next and the next and the next.