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它是基督教的七美德之一 It is one of the seven virtues of Christianity. 也曾是羅馬倫理思想和猶太教教義的核心 It used to have a central place in Roman ethics and Judaism as well. 今天的我們都知道“施舍”的含義 Today, we remain deeply impressed by the idea of charity, 但往往只是霧里看花 并沒有深入了解它的概念 but often from a distance, without probing the concept too deeply, 也沒有嘗試把這一點做到方方面面 with little attempt to practise it systematically. 我們會施舍的情況 It’s something we might have recourse to 多半是被電視上播放的紀錄片所觸動 when we’re moved by a documentary on the TV 或是度完假手里正好有些零錢的時候 or have some loose change left over after the holidays. “施舍”最基本的定義是： At its most basic, charity means: 向別人提供他們需要但無法自己獲得的東西 giving someone something they need but can’t get for themselves. 而這個東西 人們通常認為它指的是物質上的 And normally that’s understood to mean something material. 我們在很大程度上將“施舍”視同于“給錢” We overwhelmingly associate charity with giving money. 基督教的圣徒們就是這一善行的典范 The heroes of Christianity are exemplars of such charity. 圣弗朗西斯在城外偶遇一名可憐人 Outside the city, Saint Francis comes across a poor man. 發(fā)現他的衣著單薄襤褸 His garments are thin and ragged. 冬日就要來臨 外套卻貴不可及 Winter is coming on and coats are expensive. 圣弗朗西斯的內心大為震動 于是救濟了他 The saint is moved to charity. 然而 從核心上來說 施舍絕不僅僅只關乎金錢 But, at its core, charity goes far beyond finance. 而是要意識到這個人需要你幫他 It is about recognising that a person needs help with something 做他們做不到的事情 that they can’t do for themselves 意識到他們的無助不是邪惡或罪孽的象征 – and that their helplessness is not a sign of wickedness or sin, 而是生而為人的一部分 but is part of the human condition. 我們樂于去給予 是因為想到了 有太多次 We freely give because we appreciate how often we wouldn’t have made it 在那些緊要關頭 如果沒有人施以援手 if other people had not – at key points, 自己根本就不會成功 in different contexts – cut us some slack. 在人際交往中 “施舍”的作用尤為重要 It is in relationships that charity becomes particularly necessary. 這里它指的并不是錢財 衣裳 或是免費的飯食 Here we don’t generally require the charity of money, cloaks and free meals. 而是我們所缺少的來自他人的理解 What we are short of is charity of interpretation: 是有人能用一顆寬恕的心 that is, a charitable perspective 來看待我們的脆弱 古怪 焦慮 愚昧 on our weaknesses, eccentricities, anxieties and follies – 對于這些過錯我們無力解釋也無法乞求憐憫 failings that we are unable to explain or win sympathy for, 因為它們來自我們的魯莽冒失 也給別人帶去了傷害 that we merely act out, with immaturity and hurt. 設想有這么一個人 他搞砸了他的工作 It might be that one person in a couple has badly messed up in their professional life. 他做了一個重大的決策 結果卻糟糕至極 They made a significant decision at work that played out badly. 他被人痛批 還惹上官司 They got severely criticised; there was talk of court action. 那幾個月 他焦慮不安 叫人難以相處 For months, they were very agitated, and hard to live with. 他不敢說出自己的恐懼 變得陰郁且暴躁 They couldn’t articulate their fears. They were sullen and irascible. 他的另一半也許會痛罵一頓他的領導 Their partner might have added stern admonitions to those of the regulator, 高管 或是社交媒體上的網民 the senior management and people on Twitter… 同時也得出結論: They could have concluded 自己的枕邊人愚蠢 貪婪 還有些卑鄙 that their partner was inept, greedy, maybe a bit unprincipled. 然而 一個“善施者”能夠做到 But instead, a charitable soul 他的另一半做不到的事情 does the work the partner has not been able to do. 他們?yōu)樗q解 They do the explaining for them. 通過充分了解他的過往 They understand enough about their past 分析他的急躁性子和過高的抱負心從何而來 to have a picture of where their impatience and over-ambition came from. 他們把原因聯想到他的父母 They hold in mind what happened with their parents 他的一次移民 或是他早逝的兄弟上面 and with the move to another country and with the brother who died too young. 他們在心里為這個“乞討者”畫了一幅畫 They lend a picture of who the ‘beggar’ is 畫里他的形象飽滿而豐富 that is sufficiently generous and complex 絕不僅僅是他常常被人誤會的“笨蛋”或是“怪胎”的樣子 as to make them more than just the ‘fool’ or ‘weirdo’ they could so easily have been dismissed as. 一個真正慈悲的人會站在某個思想高度上慷慨布施 The genuinely charitable person gives generously from a sense 他們認為自己同樣也是需要別人施舍和幫助的人 that they too stand in need of charity. 不在此刻 不在眼前 而在將來某個領域 Not right now, not over this, but in some other area. 他們知道人類的自以為是來源于忘性大 They know that self-righteousness is merely the result of a faulty memory, 永遠都記不住——某些時刻我們的確是對的 an inability to hold in mind – at moments when one is totally right – 但也有許多時候我們大錯特錯 how often one has been deeply and definitively in the wrong in other contexts. 施舍的要義在于謹記 即使是窮兇極惡的人也會存有一絲善念 Charity remembers how there might still be goodness amidst a lot of evil. 筋疲力竭 不堪重負的人 Charity keeps in mind that if someone is tired and stressed, 會擺出猙獰兇狠的模樣 they are liable to behave appallingly. 破口大罵的人 Charity is aware that when someone shouts an insult 往往嘴里冒出來的都不是真心話 they are not usually revealing the secret truth about their feelings. 他們試圖傷害別人 是因為感覺自己受傷了 They are trying to wound the other because they feel they have been hurt – 而那個傷害他們的對象 他們卻無法反擊 usually by someone else, whom they don’t have the authority to injure back. 施舍的要義是思考著如何減輕別人的罪行 Charity is interested in mitigating circumstances; 如何拼湊點滴的真相 好讓他們的過錯看起來不那么致命 in bits of the truth that can cast a less catastrophic light on our follies. 在金錢施舍方面 施惠者與受濟方通常是固定的 In financial matters, charity tends always to flow in one direction. 慈善家們都很慷慨 The philanthropist may be very generous, 是因為他們的家底一直都很豐厚 but usually they stay rich; 他們習慣了給予而不是接受 they are habitually the giver rather than the recipient. 但是在漫漫人生路上 特別是在人際關系中 But in life as a whole, and especially in relationships, 施舍和被施舍的對象不會是始終如一的 charity is unlikely ever to end up being one-sided: 弱者與強者的位置瞬息萬變 who is weak and who is powerful changes rapidly and frequently. 這一秒你俯視眾生 下一秒你就可能匍匐在地 You are likely to be, as it were, a patron in one area and a beggar in another. 所以保持一顆善施的心 不只是出于同情他人的遭遇 So we must be kind not only because we are touched by the suffering of others 而是要預見到 某天自己也可能落入水深火熱的境地 but because we properly understand that we too will soon be urgent need 乞求別人施舍一些你曾經施予別人的憐憫 of an equally vital dose of charity in some other part of our life. |
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