大悲心的愿与行

Compassion

（二）悲

Great compassion is at the core of Mahayana Buddhism, of which all Mahayana aspirations are born. It would not be Mahayana Buddhism without great compassion.

所谓“悲”，亦即大悲心。大悲心是大乘佛法的精华，因为所有的大乘发心，都是以大悲心为起始的。如果失去了大悲，就根本不能称为大乘佛法。

The idea of great compassion, as elucidated by the Buddha, does not exist in any of the worldly schools of thought. The traditional Chinese culture upholds moral principles and the Western culture advocates charity and social welfare. But the Buddha’s idea of altruism, demonstrated by the meditation practice of tonglen, for example，and the bodhisattva’s commitment to unconditional dedication to others, are unparalleled.

佛陀所讲的大悲，是世间所有的思想当中都根本不存在的见解。虽然中国的传统文化崇尚伦理道德，西洋文化提倡慈善与社会公益，但佛陀的自他平等、自他相换、自轻他重等思想，以及大乘菩萨所履行的无条件的奉献，却是整个世界绝无仅有的。

Great compassion can be explained in more details from two perspectives.

如果要细说大悲，则可从两方面着手：

1. Conventional perspective­­­­——

1、世俗方面的大悲

For example, at the time when the Buddha was learning the path, he did not hesitate to offer his body to a starving lion. Or, if someone were to force a person in this room to jump off from the tenth floor，the behavior in the true sense of Mahayana would be that everyone in this room volunteers to jump. It is not just paying lip service. One should wish with all sincerity like this: It must be very painful to jump to death like that. Just let me take the pain for them.

譬如，佛陀在学道之时，仅仅为了让一头饥饿的狮子填饱肚子，就毅然决然地布施了自己的身体；又譬如，倘若有人强迫这个房间里必须有一个人从十楼跳下去摔死，那么，符合大乘佛法真正意义的行为，就是房间里的每一个人都主动表示自己愿作那个跳楼人。这不只是嘴上说说罢了，而是发自内心的想到：“如果跳下去，一定会非常痛苦，不如让我来代替其他人承受这个痛苦吧！”

Such acts of giving, or of forbearance as well, are great compassion in the conventional sense. The real intent of the Dharma is not only to have the motivation for compassion but also the actual action; not only to engage in charitable works to release sentient beings from temporary suffering, such as relieving the victims of disasters, giving food and clothing to the needed, nursing the sick and the wounded and so on，but also to be willing to do anything to liberate sentient beings from samsara even at the cost of one’s own life.

诸如此类的布施及忍辱等行为，都是世俗方面的大悲心。佛法的真正意义，是不仅要这样发心，还要有实际的行动；不仅要从事救灾、布施衣物、看护伤病患者等解决众生暂时痛苦的慈善活动，而且甘愿为众生的解脱付出包括生命在内的一切代价。