..續本文上一頁 was touching: ”If it is through respect for the Teacher that you do not ask anything, let even one of you inform his friend” (i.e., let one tell his friend so that the latter may ask the question on the other”s behalf). [10]

　　佛爲了祛疑解惑，素極熱切。就在他圓寂前幾分鍾，他還數度要求他的弟子們，如果他們對他的教誡仍有所疑的話，應向他提出問題，而不要到後來再後悔沒有把這些疑問搞清楚。可是他的弟子們都沒有出聲。那時他所說的話極爲感人。他說：“假使你們因爲尊敬你們的師尊而不肯提出問題的話，甚至有一個人肯告訴他的朋友也好。”(這意思就是說：他可以將所疑的告訴他的朋友，而由後者代替他向佛陀發問。)﹝注十﹞

　　Not only the freedom of thought, but also the tolerance allowed by the Buddha is astonishing to the student of the history of religions. Once in Nālandā a prominent and wealthy householder named Upāli, a well-known lay disciple of Nigantha Nātaputta (Jaina Mahāvīra), was expressly sent by Mahāvīra himself to meet the Buddha and defeat him in argument on certain points in the theory of Karma, because the Buddha”s views on the subject were different from those of Mahāvīra. [11] Quite contrary to expectations, Upāli, at the end of the discussion, was convinced that the views of the Buddha were right and those of his master were wrong. So he begged the Buddha to accept him as one of his lay disciples (Upāsaka). But the Buddha asked him to reconsider it, and not to be in a hurry, for ”considering carefully is good for well-known men like you”. When Upāli expressed his desire again, the Buddha requested him to continue to respect and support his old religious teachers as he used to. [12]

　　佛不但准許弟子們自由思考，他的寬大爲懷，尤令研究佛教史的人吃驚。有一次，在那爛陀城，佛接見了一位有名而富有的居士，名叫優婆離。他是耆那教主尼幹若提子(摩诃毗羅﹝注十一﹞)的在家弟子。摩诃毗羅親自選派他去迎佛，和佛辯論有關業報理論方面的某些問題，想將佛擊敗，因爲在這些問題上，佛的觀點與尼幹若提子有所不同。可是出乎意料之外，討論論的結果，優婆離卻相信佛的觀點是對的，他老師的看法反而錯了。所以，他就求佛收他做佛的在家弟子(優婆塞)。但佛叫他不要急著作決定，要慎重考慮一番。因爲“像你這樣有名望的人，審慎考慮是要緊的。”當優婆離再度表示他的願望的時後，佛就要求他繼續恭敬供養他以前的宗教導師們，一如往昔。﹝注十二﹞

　　In the third century B.C., the great Buddhist Emperor Asoka of India, following this noble example of tolerance and understanding, honoured and supported all other religions in his vast empire. In one of his Edicts carved on rock, the original of which one may read even today, the Emperor declared:

　　在西元前叁世紀頃，印度的佛教大帝阿輸迦(阿育王)，遵照佛陀寬容諒解的模範，恭敬供養他廣袤幅員內所有的宗教。在他雕刻于岩石上的許多诰文中，有一則原文至今尚存，其中大帝宣稱：

　　”One should not honour only one” own religion and condemn the religions of others, but one should honour others” religions for this or that person. So doing, one helps one”s own religion to grow and renders service to the religions of others too. In acting otherwise one digs the grave of one”s own religion and also does harm to other religions. Whosoever honours his own religion and condemns other religions, does so indeed through devotion to his own religion, thinking “I will glorify my own religion”. But on the contrary, in so doing he injures his own religion more gravely.

　　“不可只尊敬自己的宗教，而菲薄他人的宗教。應如理尊重他教，這樣做，不但可幫助自己宗教的成長，而且也對別的宗教盡了義務。反過來做；則不但替自己的宗教掘了墳墓，也傷害了別的宗教。凡是尊重自教而非難他教的人，當然是爲了忠于自教，以爲“我將光大自宗”，但是，相反的，他更嚴重地傷害了他自己的宗教。

　　So concord is good: Let all listen, and be willing to listen to the doctrines professed by others”. [13]

　　因此，和諧才是好的。大家都應該谛聽，而且心甘情願地谛聽其他宗教的教義。”﹝注十叁﹞

　　We should add here that this spirit of sympathetic understanding should be applied today not only in the matter of religious doctrine, but elsewhere as well.

　　在此，我們要加一句話，就是：這種富于同情、了解的精神，在今天不但應當適用于宗教方面，也適用于其他方面。

　　This spirit of tolerance and understanding has been from the beginning one of the most cherished ideals of Buddhist culture and civilization. That is why there is not a single example of persecution or the shedding of a drop of blood in converting people to Buddhism, or in its propagation during its long history of 2500 years. It spread peacefully all over the continent of Asia, having more than 500 million adherents today. Violence in any form, under any pretext whatsoever, is absolutely against the teaching of the Buddha.

　　這種寬容與了解的精神，自始就是佛教文化與佛教文明最珍視的理想之一。因此，在兩千五百多年漫長的佛教史中，找不到一個佛教迫害他教的例子。佛教…

《佛陀的啓示 第一章 佛教的宗教態度 Chapter I· The Buddhist Attitude of Mind》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…