..續本文上一頁contingent upon whitewashing discrepancies would not be to exercise genuine tolerance at all; for such an approach can "tolerate" differences only by diluting them so completely that they no longer make a difference. True tolerance in religion involves the capacity to admit differences as real and fundamental, even as profound and unbridgeable, yet at the same time to respect the rights of those who follow a religion different from one”s own (or no religion at all) to continue to do so without resentment, disadvantage or hindrance. 不同尋常的是，佛教對終極解脫之道的獨持性立場，從未導致佛教徒對其他教派的追隨者采取過不容性政策。相反，在其漫長曆史上，佛教對于所遭遇的諸多宗教一直體現了完全的寬容與和藹的善意。在保持寬容的同時，它也始終保持著自己的深刻信念，那就是，佛陀的教導對有爲生存之過患，提供了獨一無二、無可超越的解脫之道。對佛教來說，宗教寬容性的達成，不是透過把諸種宗教縮減爲一個共同的基本命題，也不是把它們在思想與行持上的重大差異，化解成曆史發展中的偶然性事件。從佛教的觀點來看，使寬容依賴于粉飾差異，根本不是行使真正的寬容; 因爲這種做法能夠“寬容”的差異，只是借著把差異稀釋得如此徹底，使得它們不再具有區別的意義。真正的宗教寬容，要求有度量承認差異的實存性與基本性，甚至于深刻性與不可逾越性，然而在同時又尊重信奉別教者(或無宗教信仰者)繼續奉持的權利，不施以怨恨、損害或障礙。

　　Buddhist tolerance springs from the recognition that the dispositions and spiritual needs of human beings are too vastly perse to be encompassed by any single teaching, and thus that these needs will naturally find expression in a wide variety of religious forms. The non-Buddhist systems will not be able to lead their adherents to the final goal of the Buddha”s Dhamma, but that they never proposed to do in the first place. For Buddhism, acceptance of the idea of the beginningless round of rebirths implies that it would be utterly unrealistic to expect more than a small number of people to be drawn toward a spiritual path aimed at complete liberation. The overwhelming majority, even of those who seek deliverance from earthly woes, will aim at securing a favorable mode of existence within the round, even while misconceiving this to be the ultimate goal of the religious quest. 佛教的寬容性來自于承認，人類的心性與精神需要種類繁多，不可能爲單一教說所包容，因此這些需要自然地將在廣泛多樣的宗教形式中找到表達。種種非佛教系統不會把其追隨者引向佛陀之法的終極目標，然而那些系統原本未作此等主張。對佛教來說，接受一種無始輪回的思想，意味著預期受吸引而走上一條以徹底解脫爲目標的修行道者多于一小部分人，根本是不切實際的。絕大多數人，即便是那些追求脫離世俗之過患者，將會瞄准在輪回內部穩得一種良性的生存模式，甚至于把它誤解爲宗教追求的終極目標。

　　To the extent that a religion proposes sound ethical principles and can promote to some degree the development of wholesome qualities such as love, generosity, detachment and compassion, it will merit in this respect the approbation of Buddhists. These principles advocated by outside religious systems will also conduce to rebirth in the realms of bliss — the heavens and the pine abodes. Buddhism by no means claims to have unique access to these realms, but holds that the paths that lead to them have been articulated, with varying degrees of clarity, in many of the great spiritual traditions of humanity. While the Buddhist will disagree with the belief structures of other religions to the extent that they deviate from the Buddha”s Dhamma, he will respect them to the extent that they enjoin virtues and standards of conduct that promote spiritual development and the harmonious integration of human beings with each other and with the world. 一門宗教在多大程度上主張堅實的倫理原則，能夠在一定層次上促進諸如愛心、布施、遠離、悲愍等善巧素質的發展，那麼在多大程度上，在這個方面，它值得佛教徒的稱贊。這些爲其它宗教系統所倡導的原則，也將有助于重生樂趣——天界與梵天界。佛教從未聲稱對這些境界擁有獨家通道，而是認爲，趣向這些境界的途徑已經在人類不少偉大的精神傳統之中，以種種的清晰度被描述闡說。盡管對其它宗教的信仰結構，在多大程度上它們與佛陀之法有偏離，佛教徒將在相應程度上持異見，然而就其箴誡的道德與操行准則在多大程度上促進靈性進步與人類的和諧相處，他將在相應程度上敬重它們。

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