..續本文上一頁也從來不曾因爲弘法或勸人信佛而流過一滴血。它和平地傳遍了整個亞洲大陸，到今天已有了五億以上的信衆。任何形式的暴力，不論以什麼爲借口，都是絕對與佛的教誡相違背的。

　　The question has often been asked: Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy

　　 It does not matter what you call it. Buddhism remains what it is whatever label you may put on it. The label is immaterial. Even the label ”Buddhism” which we give to the teaching of the Buddha is of little importance. The name one gives it is inessential.

　　有一個時常被提起的問題：佛教到底是宗教呢？還是哲學？不管你叫它做什麼，都無關宏旨。佛教仍然是佛教，不論你給它貼上什麼樣的標簽。標簽是不相幹的。我們將佛的教誡稱爲“佛教”，也沒有什麼特別的重要性。人們爲它所取的名字，是不關緊要的。

　　What”s in a name

　　 That which we call a rose,

　　名字有什麼相幹？ 我們叫做玫瑰的，

　　By any other name would smell as sweet.

　　叫任何別的名字， 仍然一樣的芬芳。

　　In the same way Truth needs no label” it is neither Buddhist, Christian, Hindu nor Moslem. It is not the monopoly of anybody. Sectarian labels are a hindrance to the independent understanding of Truth, and they produce harmful prejudices in men”s minds.

　　同樣的，真理不需要標簽。它既不是佛教的，也不是基督教的、印度教的、或是回教的。它不是任何人的專利品。宗教的標簽，只是獨立了解真理的障礙。它們能在人們心中産生有害的偏見。

　　This is true not only in intellectual and spiritual matters, but also in human relations. When, for instance, we meet a man, we do not look on him as a human being, but we put a label on him, such as English, French, German, American, or Jew, and regard him with all the prejudices associated with that label in our mind. Yet he may be completely free from those attributes which we have put on him.

　　這不僅再與理性和心靈有關的事情爲然。即使在人與人的關系間，亦複如是。舉例來說，我們遇到一個人，並不把他看成人類，而先在他身上加上一個標簽，好比英國人、法國人、德國人、或是猶太人，然後將我們心中與這些名稱有關的一切成見，都加在此人身上。實際上，這人可能不含有絲毫我們所加于他身上的種種屬性。

　　People are so fond of discriminative labels that they even go to the length of putting them on human qualities and emotions common to all. So they talk of different ” brands” of charity, as for example, of Buddhist charity or Christian charity, and look down upon other ”brands” of charity. But charity cannot be sectarian; it is neither Christian, Buddhist, Hindu nor Moslem. The love of a mother for her child is neither Buddhist nor Christian: it is mother love. Human qualities and emotions like love, charity, compassion, tolerance, patience, friendship, desire, hatred, ill-will, ignorance, conceit, etc., need no sectarian labels; they belong to no particular religions.

　　人類最喜歡有分別性的標簽，甚至將各種人類共同具有的品性與情感也都加上了標簽。因此，我們常常談到各種“商標”的慈善事業：好比佛教慈善事業，或者基督教慈善事業，而藐視其他“商標”的慈善事業。可是慈善事業實在不能分宗派；它既非基督教的、佛教的、印度教的、也非回教的。一位母親對子女的愛，既非佛教的，也非基督教的；它只是母愛。人類的品性與情感如愛、慈、悲、恕、忍、義、欲、憎、惡、愚、慢等，都用不著宗教的標簽；它們並不專屬于任一宗教。

　　To the seeker after Truth it is immaterial from where an idea comes. The source and development of an idea is a matter for the academic. In fact, in order to understand Truth, it is not necessary even to know whether the teaching comes from the Buddha, or from anyone else. What is essential is seeing the thing, understanding it. There is an important story in the Majjhima-nikāya (sutta no.140) which illustrates this.

　　對于尋求真理的人來說，某一思想的來源是無足輕重的。研究某種思想的源流及演變是學術界的事。事實上，如果單爲了明了真理，甚至不需要知道這教義是否爲佛說，或是他人所說。要緊的是了知與澈見真理。在巴利藏《中部經》第一四零經中，有一則很重要的記載，可資佐證。

　　The Buddha once spent a night in a potter”s shed. In the same shed there was a young recluse who had arrived there earlier. [14] They did not know each other. The Buddha observed the recluse and thought to himself: ”Pleasant are the ways of this young man. It would be good if I should ask about him”. So the Buddha asked him ”O bhikkhu, [15] in whose name have you left home

　　 Or who is your master

　　 Or whose doctrine do you like

　　”

　　有一次，佛在一個陶工的棚屋裏度過一夜。在這棚屋裏，先到了一位年輕的出家人。﹝注十四﹞他和佛陀彼此並不相識。佛陀將這出家人端詳一遍，就這樣想：這年輕人的儀態舉止都很可喜，我不妨盤問他一番。于是佛就問他：“比丘啊！﹝注十五﹞你是在誰的名下出家的？誰是你的導師？你服膺誰的教誡？”

　　”O friend,” answered the young man, ”there is the recluse Gotama, a Sakyan scion, who left the Sakya-family to become a recluse. There is high repute abroad of him that he is an Arahant, a Full-Enlightened One. In the name of that Blessed One…

《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…