學習《神愛世人》 （第二集） 2018/8/25 英國倫敦Excel展覽中心 檔名：21-786-0002_en
Learning ‘God Loves All’ (Episode 2) 25.08.2018 Exhibition Centre London No:21-786-0002_en
諸位同學、諸位朋友，今天我們開闢這個單元——《神愛世人》。為什麼要開這個單元？便利於對宗教諮詢的同學們。這些年來，我們做宗教團結的工作，有一點成就，現在大家都知道，宗教團結是有必要的，因為它能夠幫助我們化解衝突、化解對立、促進社會安定和諧。
Fellow students, friends, Today, we will resume the learning of ‘God Loves All Beings’. Why do we learn about it? It is for the convenience of those who would like to know about religion. Over the years, we have engaged in bringing religious cohesion and achieved some success. All of you are aware now that religious cohesion is essential because it helps resolve conflicts, confrontations and promote social stability and harmony.
我是從二十六歲，遇到方東美先生，我跟他學哲學。最後一個單元，他給我講佛經哲學，我感到很詫異，我說佛是宗教，它怎麼會有哲學？老師告訴我：你還年輕（那年我二十六歲），你不知道，釋迦牟尼是世界上最偉大的哲學家，大乘經典是全世界哲學的最高峰。確實我沒聽說過，第一次聽方先生講。
At the age of 26, I met Professor Thomé H. Fang (Fang, Dongmei) who taught me philosophy. In the very last lesson, he taught me Buddhist philosophy. I was very surprised. I said, ‘Buddhism is a religion. How come there is philosophy in it?’ Professor Fang told me, ‘You’re still young. You do not know that Sakyamuni was the greatest philosopher in the world and Mahayana sutras are the pinnacle of philosophy in the world.’ Indeed, I had never heard comments like that before. Professor Fang was the first one who told me that.
我接受他的教誨，在最後，總結我們的課程，他提出來，佛教是哲學，學佛是人生最高的享受。這句話很動聽，對我們年輕人來說是很契機，我們聽了很喜歡。真的學佛能帶給我們一生幸福快樂嗎？人生最高的享受？我今年九十二歲，通過六十年的學習，證明老師的話是真的，我佩服到五體投地。
I took on what he taught me. Towards the end of that last lesson, he summed up the entire lessons and proposed that ‘Buddhism is a philosophy, and practising the Buddha’s teachings is the highest enjoyment in one’s life’. What he said was very appealing. To young men like me, it was a topic that we want to understand better. Can practising the Buddha’s teachings truly bring us happiness in life? Is it really the highest enjoyment in life? I am 92 this year. Through 60 years of learning and practising of the Buddha’s teachings, it is proven that what Professor Fang said is true, and my appreciation and admiration for his teaching is without bound.
世界上所有宗教的創始人，都是明心見性的社會教育家。這是我跟方先生，他為我開了這門課，我非常感謝他！這堂課時間並不很長，才三、四個月，我重新認識宗教，肯定世界上所有宗教的創始人，都是明心見性的社會教育家。方老師教我這些，我通過六十年的學習，肯定他的話是正確的。
The founders of all faiths in the world were social educators who attained true enlightenment. I am most grateful for being Professor Fang’s student and that he taught me this particular subject. Within a short span of four months, I developed a new understanding for religion and understood that the founders of all faiths in the world were enlightened social educators. My sixty-year learning proves that what Professor Fang said is true.
「明心見性」是佛教的術語，佛教修學最高的境界就是明心見性，明心見性就叫成佛。佛陀的教育它有四個層次：信、解、行、證。第一個是講信仰，你對它要有真誠的信心，才能夠得到利益。這個道理，在中國過去，不是宗教的，是教育裡面所要求的，中國古人非常重視教育。
‘Attaining True Enlightenment’ is a Buddhist term. It is the highest level of achievement in Buddhism. Anyone who achieves it is called a Buddha. There are four learning steps in the Buddha’s education, i.e. believing, understanding, practising and attaining. The first step is to believe. You must have sincere faith before you can benefit from it. In ancient China, this principle was a prerequisite for all education. It was not meant for religions only. Chinese ancestors attached great importance to education.
兩千多年前，孔子可以說是開私人教學的，用現在的話說私人辦學，做得很成功。從此之後，歷代讀書人都重視教學。而讀書人，幾乎他們唯一的前途，將來怎麼生活，多半靠教學，私塾裡面的老師。教的學生不多，少的五、六個，多的二、三十個；二、三十個就很多了，通常十幾個學生，一個老師，私塾教學。教什麼？教倫理、教道德、教因果、教聖賢承傳下來的智慧，這是私塾教學的內容、教材。
We can say, in modern terms, that Confucius started a private school over 2,000 years ago, and it was very successful. Ever since then, scholars of every generation in Chinese history took teaching seriously. For the majority of scholars, teaching was the only way of making a living. The number of students taught in private schools was not many, ranging from five to thirty. Thirty students was a large number back then. On average, a teacher taught a dozen of students at a private school. So what did they teach? They taught ethics, morality, causality and sages’ wisdom handed down generation after generation. These were the contents taught in private schools.
一千多年前，我們的老祖宗，世世代代，從生活經驗體會當中，觀察小孩要受什麼教育─—童蒙教育——應該教些什麼。小孩從什麼時候開始教？一般是三歲，上私塾。古人編的這套教材，現在我們把它蒐集起來，總共有二十三種，把它印成一套，《聖學根之根》。根之根就是扎根教育，像一棵樹一樣，根深蒂固才能夠長成大樹，所以中國人重視扎根教育。
More than 1,000 years ago, Chinese ancestors learned from life experiences, and observed that children should receive proper education with appropriate early childhood texts. When did children back then receive formal education? Generally speaking, a child attended private school at the age of three. We are able to collect twenty-three different early childhood texts. We have compiled them into the book series ‘The Root of All Roots In Sagely Learning’. ‘The Root’ means the foundations of education. It is like a tree. The deeper and firmer its roots are, the bigger the tree will grow. Therefore, the Chinese attached great importance to the foundations of education.
對小孩教育從什麼時候開始？更早的從胎教開始；也就是說，母親懷孕，懷孕這十個月之間，就要注意怎樣能養一個好兒女。母親的責任很重，這十個月期間，心沒有妄想、沒有雜念，因為妄想、雜念會影響嬰兒的智慧、德行，會影響。所以，凡是負面的言行、思想都不能有，要重視倫理道德，把這個影響傳給下一代。小孩出生之後，母親是第一任的老師，在嬰兒面前，言行舉止都要端莊，沒有邪思、沒有惡念。言行舉止都要合乎規矩，規矩是我們自己從小學的，現在要用來教下一代。所以中國古時候的教育，大概從三歲正式入學，就入私塾，由老師教了；從出生到三歲是母親教、父親教。
So when should a child start receiving education? It should start from the prenatal period. In other words, within the ten-month pregnancy, a mother should pay attention to how to nurture a good child. During this period, the mother shoulders a huge responsibility. She should refrain from erroneous thinking and wandering thoughts because they will have negative impact on the development of her foetus’ wisdom and virtue. Therefore, any negative thought, speech and action should be avoided. Meanwhile, the mother should take heed of the practice of ethics and morality and provide her foetus with positive influence. After giving birth to her baby, the mother is the first teacher. Her actions and speech must be dignified and she must not hold any dishonourable or vicious thought. All her actions and speech should be in accordance with propriety which is something we learned when young. We now should use it to educate the next generation. It was why in ancient China children attended private school and started formal education at the age of three. Between birth and three years old, children were taught by their parents at home.
童蒙養正的教科書，古人編寫的這個，在中國用了一千多年。最晚的，明清時候編的，也有七百多年。成功了，這教學成功了。小學學業完成了，向上提升，我們今天做為中學。中學學什麼？學四書五經，這個裡面講求的，修身、齊家、治國、平天下。儒家講得多，經驗非常豐富。所以聖賢教育！
The textbooks used for traditional early childhood education in China had a history of over 1,000 years. The more recent ones compiled in the Ming and Qing dynasties also had a history of more than 700 years. They had proved very successful. After completing primary education, children in ancient China progressed to what we call secondary school today. What did they learn at secondary school? They learned the Four Books and Five Classics which taught them how to cultivate themselves, manage their families in harmony, govern a country and bring peace to the world. All these are frequently mentioned in Confucian literature with abundant experiences. Therefore, it was an education aimed at nurturing future sages.
養小孩，無論是男的是女的，都希望他長大成聖人、成賢人，是以這個為目標。跟現在不一樣，現在的教育重視知識，是為了將來自己生活。古時候不是這個，古時候聖賢教育是學聖人、學賢人；像學佛，希望自己能證得阿羅漢、菩薩，當然最高的是希望能成佛。確實如此。
For parents who undertake nursing a child, the expectation was for the child to become a sage or a saintly person regardless of the child’s gender. It was the aim of education. The aim of education is different now. Education today only focusses on the acquisition of knowledge and it is for making a living. In ancient times, sages’ education was about learning to be a sage, to be a saintly person. Similarly, learning to be a Buddha is to expect oneself to become an arhat or a bodhisattva. The highest expectation is of course to become a Buddha. It is truly the aspiration.
所以可以說，世界上所有宗教的創始人，都是明心見性的社會教育家，跟現在教學的目的不一樣。東方有儒釋道，西方宗教教育，宗教教育裡面，我們看西方宗教的經典，也都是至善圓滿的教育。我們能夠肯定，東西方教育，西方教育是宗教，宗教教育裡面補足了東方的倫理、道德、因果、智慧。都是一個時代偉大的社會教育家。
Therefore, we can say that the founders of all religions in the world were social educators who had attained True Enlightenment. Their expectation of education was different to that of today. In the East there are Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. In the West there is religious education. With regard to religious education, the sacred texts of religions in the West are also about perfect education. We affirm that Western religious education encompasses the elements of ethics, morality, causality and wisdom also found in Eastern education. The founders of religions and faiths were all great social educators of their times.
湯恩比說過一句話，說得好，他說：宗教教育確實是人類不能缺少的根本教育。我們學習宗教六十年了，我覺得湯恩比這句話說得非常好，是他一生研究人類文明歷史的心得總結。他也說過，當人們失去對於既有宗教的信仰時，那就是文明走向崩潰。
Arnold Toynbee said that religious education is indeed the fundamental education that is indispensable for humankind. I have studied religion for over 60 years and I think that what Toynbee said is remarkable. It is the reflective conclusion of his lifetime study of the history of human civilisations. He also said that when people lose their faith in religion, civilisation will collapse.
今天我們有憂慮。二Ｏ一五年，我跟威爾士大學校長見了面，我談到我有憂慮。他問我什麼憂慮？我擔心東方的漢學會失傳，東方是儒釋道，就是中國傳統文化。為什麼？現在沒人學了。老一代，我年輕的時候，還能找到二、三十個人，對中國國學有根柢的人，一些老教授；現在這些人都走了，剩下恐怕十個都不到。再過十年，他們全都走了，你要想學，沒人教你了，這太可怕了！世界、社會為什麼這麼混亂？與教育的關係太大了！東方人修的，確實學做人，怎麼樣做一個好人，怎麼樣做一個真正對於社會、對人類有貢獻的好人，我們學這個，現在沒有人學了。我這個顧慮，校長有同感，我們談了很長的時間，談了三個多小時。
We have our concerns today. In 2015 I met the vice-chancellor of the University of Wales. I told him that I was deeply concerned. He asked me what my worry was. I was concerned that sinology in the East would disappear. Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism are part of Chinese traditional culture. But few studies traditional culture now. When I was young, there were perhaps 20 to 30 old professors with a solid foundation of studies in Chinese traditional culture. Most of them have since passed away and there are perhaps less than ten left now. In another ten years, there will be no one left to teach, even if we desperately want to learn traditional culture. This prospect is dreadful! Why is the world in such chaos today? It has a great deal to do with education. In the East, education had been about learning to be a good person who genuinely contributes to society and humankind. But nowadays, no one is learning such teachings. The vice-chancellor shared the same concern as mine and we spoke for a long time, over three hours.
我回到香港，過了一個月，校長帶了他們學校的兩位教授到香港來看我，我們就談這個問題。他很積極，提出一個方案，我們共同來辦一個漢學院，這就是今天的英國的漢學院。現在是第二個學期，第二個學期結束之後，下面就第三個學期。我們招收一批年輕人，給他獎學金，勸他來讀書，我們希望他們這批人，能夠繼承中國儒釋道的聖賢教育，不能讓它斷掉。
A month later, the vice-chancellor visited me in Hong Kong together with two professors. Again, we talked about the same topic. He was very positive and proposed a programme – jointly establishing an academy of sinology, which is now the Academy of Sinology UK. It is the second academic term now. After it finishes, we will progress into the third academic term. We are recruiting a group of young people and provide them with scholarships as an encouragement to study. We hope that they will be able to inherit Chinese sages’ education of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. We must not lose these teachings.
他們也想到宗教，校長想到宗教，提出了一個方案，辦一個宗教傳教師的博士班。招收二十五個學生，三年畢業，宗教傳教師。把宗教傳教師的學位提升，現在拿到博士學位的人不多，希望將來每個傳教師都有宗教博士學位。好事情！我贊成。這個也開班了，非常難得。
The vice-chancellor also thought about religion. So he proposed another programme – establishing a doctorate programme training preachers and teachers of different religions. The class would recruit twenty five doctorate students who will graduate after three-year of study. At present, there are not many preachers with a doctorate degree. The programme is to elevate the qualifications of preachers and we hope that every preacher will have a doctorate degree in religion in the future. This is a good deed! I fully support it. This programme has also recently started. Wonderful!
只要有後繼，繼承傳人，我們心就安了。希望世世代代，把宗教教育，宗教一定要回歸教育，把東方的中國傳統文化復興起來。為什麼？衝突可以化解。人學過聖賢、讀過聖賢書，決定在一生不會跟任何人發生衝突，別人惡意的對我，我以善意回報。絕大多數的人都被感化了，惡人變成善人，壞人變成好人。
So long as we have inheritors of these great teachings, our minds can rest in peace. We hope that every generation will carry on reviving religious education in the West and Chinese traditional culture in the East. We must restore religion as education. Why is it? It is because it will resolve conflicts. If a person has learned to be a sage and has read books on sages’ wisdom, they will not be in conflict with anyone in their life. When someone is hostile towards me, I will treat that person with goodwill in return. As a result, a great majority of people will be touched and changed. Those who are malicious will become benevolent. Those who are bad will turn good.
中國教小朋友的，私塾，這童蒙老師，三家村的私塾老師，他們講求信解行證，相信聖賢教育，對自己有大利益。用它來修身、用它來齊家，家庭幸福；用它來創業，你的事業有著正面的發展，好啊！如果再提升，我們用現在的話說大家容易懂，小學小私塾課程畢業之後，提升，中學，跟小學相彷彿，學四書五經。這個裡面有很多講的是治國、平天下的這些學問、知識，學了以後，可以貢獻給社會、貢獻給國家。你懂得治國，現在的社會，你是很好的議員；你懂得平天下，你是很好的領導。難得！
In the past, traditional private school teachers in China also followed the four learning steps of believing, understanding, practising and attaining. They believed that sages’ education would greatly benefit oneself. Use these teachings to cultivate ourselves and manage our families, we will attain happiness at home; use them for our careers, there will be a positive development in our endeavours. Wonderful! It then progresses to the next level. Using terms that most will understand, after graduating from primary school, children in ancient China progressed to the equivalent of secondary school today and they learned the Four Books and Five Classics which are mostly about the wisdom and knowledge of governing a country properly and bringing peace to the world. With that wisdom and knowledge, a person will positively contribute to society and their country. If you know how to govern a country properly, you will be a good member of parliament. If you know how to bring peace to the world, you will be a good national leader. This is truly hard to come by!
所以宗教是什麼，我們現在搞清楚了，宗教是教育。教什麼？所有宗教經典裡面，我們去讀它，哪一個字出現得最多？愛。所以我肯定，宗教教育是愛的教育。我們向上帝學習，學習祂的大愛；學習了之後，代表上帝，愛世人，愛地球上所有的生物；這是上帝的子女、上帝的學生。所以宗教要回歸教育，宗教要辦學，像現在辦這個大學，好啊！學什麼？學這些課程，學會愛世人、學會化解衝突。
Hence we now have a clear understanding of what religion is. Religion is education. What does it teach? When we read the sacred texts of all religions, which word occurs most frequently? Love. Therefore I am certain that religious education is the education of love. We should learn from God and learn His universal love. After that, we should love every human being and every being on the planet on behalf of God. Such a person is a child and a student of God. Hence we need to restore religion as an education and run religious schools such as the university programme that is running. Isn’t it marvellous! What do the students study? They learn to love all people in the world and they learn to resolve conflicts.
今天時間到了，我們就學習到此地。謝謝大家。
Well, time is up. This is it for today. Thank you.