佛教与生物科技

　　Buddhism and Biotechnology

　　法界宗教研究院研究教授 旧金山州立大学哲学系讲师易象干博士讲于AHIMSA第六届年会：

　　主题「吾人科技之未来发展及其对宗教精神的影响

　　一九九八年十月三日柏克莱加州大学国际学舍

　　By Ron Epstein, Ph.D. Research Professor, Institute for World Religions,

　　Berkeley; Lecturer, Philosophy Department, San Francisco State University

　　Edited from a Talk Delivered at "Spiritual Dimensions of Our Technological Future," AHIMSA* Sixth Annual Conference, International House, University of California at Berkeley, Oct. 3,1998.

　　张福麟 中译 Chinese translation by Fu-lin Chang

　　这次讨论会的主题是「生物科技——宗教精神发展上之福星或煞星」。现在人常说我们是处于生物世纪的开端，而且相信各位都很清楚地了解基因工程在许多方面--经济上、政治上、科学上，尤其是医药及环境上，将使地球的生活改头换面。对我们全体而言最重要的是这不可思议的科技与人类宗教精神本质的关系。虽然市面上有大量生物科技的著作问世，但是很少涉及于生物科技，尤其是基因工程与人类宗教精神上的关系。

　　The topic of this panel is "Biotechnology: Boon or Bane for Spiritual Development." It has very often been said that we are on the threshold of the biotech century, and I am sure that all of you are very clearly aware that genetic engineering is going to totally reshape life on this planet in many ways: eco-nomically, politically, scientifically--particularly in terms of medicine, and also environmentally. Most important for all of us is what the relationship of this incredible technology will be to the spiritual nature of human beings. Although an enor-mous amount has been written on biotechnology, very little has been written about the relationship between biotechnology, particularly genetic engineering, and the human spirit.

　　本人愿指出基因工程在两方面，正深远地影响着我们全体的生活：

　　Allow me to mention two ways in which genetic engineering is profoundly affecting all of our lives.

　　第一是美国政府目前正在考虑是否允许医学家插手改变人类遗传的基因，也就是说，去设法改变人类基因的结构，而遗传于后世。这表示传统的人类进化方式即将结束。将来我们不但要接管人类进化的责任，而且还要接管其他各种在地球上的众生；包括有情及无情之进化的责任。

　　First, at this very moment, the United States government is considering a request for medical scientists to intervene in the germline of human genetics, in other words, to change the human genetic structure in a way that would be transmitted to future generations. This means that human evolution in its traditional meaning is coming to an end. We will be taking over responsibility, not only for the evolution of human beings, but also for the evolution of many other forms of life on the planet, both sentient and nonsentient.

　　第二是基因工程直接地影响我们的生命，也就是将基因工程用于生物战，幸运的是目前尚未付诸行动。当我现在演讲时，许多国家的政府，可能也包括一些恐怖份子的组织，都在积极地设法将经过基因工程制造出来的微生物用于战争方面。

　　The second way in which of genetic engineering is directly touching our lives, that fortunately, insofar as we are aware, is not yet operational, is the use of genetic engineering in biowarfare. As I am speaking, many governments are actively working on the use of genetically engineered organisms in biowarfare, and presumably so too are terrorist organizations.These are two things, which are part of the "promise" of this new biotech century, that we are going to have to be dealing with in the immediate future.

　　上述两点就是新纪元生物科技所许下的诺言中，我们必须应对处理的两桩事情。

　　我们的思想体系是我们看问题的镜片，其有助于调整焦距，可以澄清，或许也会扭曲我们如何去看问题。待会泰德‧彼得斯教授和玛格丽特‧麦克琳教授会主要从天主教的思想体系来谈论；休斯顿‧史密斯教授已经说明「科学至上主义」是我们文化中最有势力的思想体系，两者都未涉及一系列完整广泛的重要思想体系。身为佛教学者及行者，我想简单扼要地介绍一下佛教的思想体系，对基因工程的关系中一些特殊的要点。

　　Paradigms are lenses through which we see issues that aid focusing, clarifying, and perhaps also distorting how we look at issues. Professor Ted Peters and Professor Margaret McLean are both going to be talking primarily from Christian paradigms. Professor Huston Smith has already mentioned Scientism as the dominant paradigm of our culture. That still leaves a whole wide range of important paradigms. As both a Buddhist scholar and practitioner, I would like to briefly introduce some distinctive features of the Buddhist paradigm”s relation to genetic engineering.

　　佛教的思想体系有四方面与最有势力的科学至上主义不大相同，与基督教之思想体系，亦在多方面都不很相同。第一面，我要提出的是「Ahimsa(不伤生)」。这对我们今天在这儿集会尤其合适。Ahimsa‧‧就是不伤生，即是尊敬生命内在价值之原则；尊敬…

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