生死
Life & Death
生命，在音樂家的樂章裏，是遠處高樓上飄來的渺茫笛聲；在文學家的筆下，是荒漠中的一縷甘甜清泉；在社會學家的眼裏，是奔馳著的欲望列車……生命，是那麼的充滿了詩情畫意，卻又那麼的深不可測。隨著地球的轉動，人類創造了絢爛多姿的物質文明。然而，關于生命的問題，卻如同古埃及文明留下的千古之謎一樣，一直成爲西方人難以逾越的天塹。
Life, in the music of composers, is the faint melody of flutes drifting from a remote tower; as penned by writers, it is a refreshing spring in the desert; as seen by sociologists, it is a charging train of desires…. Life, filled with poetic charm as it may be, remains unfathomable. Humans have made great strides in material civilization as time passes; yet life”s enigma, like the eternal riddle from Egypt”s ancient culture, remains an impassable chasm for most Westerners.
直到溫慈將藏傳佛教揭示生死之謎的典籍《西藏度亡經》翻譯成文，昭然示衆，才填補了西方關于人類靈魂奧秘之空白。該書引起了西方社會的極大關注，被翻譯成了多種文字。從而使藏傳佛教在西方名聲大振。也使人們在茶余飯後，開始考慮生存和死亡的問題。但這並不像莎士比亞筆下《哈姆雷特》中的王子，每天思索生存和死亡，卻以悲劇而告終。現代的人們將如何面臨死亡作爲課題，各種臨終關懷機構應運而生。
The Westerners” comprehension of human consciousness remained a void until Evans-Wentz first translated The Tibetan Book of the Dead into English. This book, a classic of Tibetan Buddhism and now published in many languages, reveals the mystery of living and dying and has attracted great attention in the West. Tibetan Buddhism became well-known in the world and people started to ponder the topics of living and dying. But this kind of musing is different from that of the prince in Shakespeare”s Hamlet, who died a tragic death after mulling over life and death every day. Instead, people nowadays try to deal with the issue of how to face death, and institutions devoted to terminal care have thus come into existence.
那木達司于73年創辦了臨終關懷機構，爲癌症、艾滋病晚期患者提供服務。他們視病人如親人，了解他們的痛苦，幫助他們在絕望中求得希望。他親自到舊金山爲即將死去的布魯斯傳授他從《西藏度亡經》中獲得的教言：“不要逃避痛苦，坦誠你的過錯，學會甯靜和安詳，慢慢地認知心的本來光明……”在那木達司的引導下，布魯斯因痛苦而扭曲的臉逐漸緩和下來，在安詳中緩緩而去。
In 1973 Ram Dass founded a hospice center to provide services for terminal cancer and AIDS patients. Caring for patients and trying to understand their pains, hospice staffs help patients to find hope in a hopeless situation. Ram Dass visited a dying patient named Bruce in San Francisco; he shared with him the teachings in The Tibetan Book of the Dead: “Escape not from the pains and confess your mistakes; learn to be calm and at peace. Slowly you will recognize the innate luminosity of your mind….” Guided by Ram Dass, Bruce”s twisted, agonized face gradually relaxed, and he made a tranquil and graceful exit.
令西方人大跌眼鏡的是，幾乎每一個老一點的西藏人，都是臨終關懷方面的專家。他們從小就被訓練如何面對死亡，很多修行人依照前輩大德的言教實修，早已將死亡作爲脫離肉身、躍往解脫的一種契機。其他人也是將死亡作爲生命的一種轉化過程。與西方人臨終之時，手足無措，只能求助于醫生的境況相比，不能不說是一種幸運。
What baffles Westerners most is that nearly every elderly Tibetan can be termed an expert in hospice care. They have been taught since a very young age how to squarely face death, and many practitioners have long followed the teachings of great masters. Their practices make them see death as a turning point, one that leaves the corporeal body behind and allows them to spring into liberation. As death approaches, Tibetan folks regard it as a transformative process of life, while Westerners feel completely lost and can only plead to medical doctors. Comparing these two attitudes, we must say the Tibetans are lucky.
感謝蓮花生大師給西藏人在精神上留下的這筆生死秘訣的寶貴財富！
The teaching on the secret of life and death is the most precious, we are forever grateful to Guru Rinpoche for leaving Tibetans such a rich spiritual legacy!
壬午年正月十七日
2002年3月1日
17th of January, Year of RenWu
March 1, 2002