..续本文上一页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. 不同寻常的是，佛教对终极解脱之道的独持性立场，从未导致佛教徒对其他教派的追随者采取过不容性政策。相反，在其漫长历史上，佛教对于所遭遇的诸多宗教一直体现了完全的宽容与和蔼的善意。在保持宽容的同时，它也始终保持着自己的深刻信念，那就是，佛陀的教导对有为生存之过患，提供了独一无二、无可超越的解脱之道。对佛教来说，宗教宽容性的达成，不是透过把诸种宗教缩减为一个共同的基本命题，也不是把它们在思想与行持上的重大差异，化解成历史发展中的偶然性事件。从佛教的观点来看，使宽容依赖于粉饰差异，根本不是行使真正的宽容; 因为这种做法能够“宽容”的差异，只是借着把差异稀释得如此彻底，使得它们不再具有区别的意义。真正的宗教宽容，要求有度量承认差异的实存性与基本性，甚至于深刻性与不可逾越性，然而在同时又尊重信奉别教者(或无宗教信仰者)继续奉持的权利，不施以怨恨、损害或障碍。

　　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. 佛教的宽容性来自于承认，人类的心性与精神需要种类繁多，不可能为单一教说所包容，因此这些需要自然地将在广泛多样的宗教形式中找到表达。种种非佛教系统不会把其追随者引向佛陀之法的终极目标，然而那些系统原本未作此等主张。对佛教来说，接受一种无始轮回的思想，意味着预期受吸引而走上一条以彻底解脱为目标的修行道者多于一小部分人，根本是不切实际的。绝大多数人，即便是那些追求脱离世俗之过患者，将会瞄准在轮回内部稳得一种良性的生存模式，甚至于把它误解为宗教追求的终极目标。

　　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. 一门宗教在多大程度上主张坚实的伦理原则，能够在一定层次上促进诸如爱心、布施、远离、悲愍等善巧素质的发展，那么在多大程度上，在这个方面，它值得佛教徒的称赞。这些为其它宗教系统所倡导的原则，也将有助于重生乐趣——天界与梵天界。佛教从未声称对这些境界拥有独家通道，而是认为，趣向这些境界的途径已经在人类不少伟大的精神传统之中，以种种的清晰度被描述阐说。尽管对其它宗教的信仰结构，在多大程度上它们与佛陀之法有偏离，佛教徒将在相应程度上持异见，然而就其箴诫的道德与操行准则在多大程度上促进灵性进步与人类的和谐相处，他将在相应程度上敬重它们。

《宽容与多元》全文阅读结束。