Kindness vs Great Compassion 善良與大悲心

In our everyday lives, we often encounter acts of kindness: a warm smile from a stranger, a helping hand when needed, or a kind word of encouragement. These small yet significant acts at a time make the world a better place. However, what distinguishes these acts of kindness from the profound and encompassing nature of Great Compassion that is highly valued by Buddhists?
在我們的日常生活中，我們經常會遇到善良的行為：陌生人的一個溫暖的微笑，需要時伸出的援助之手，或一句鼓勵的話語。這些行為雖小但意義重大，每次發生都讓世界變得更美好。但這些善良的舉動與佛教徒所推崇的既深刻又有包容性的大悲心有何不同呢？

Kindness is a fundamental human trait, characterized by small, considerate actions. It's the simple but powerful gesture of helping someone carry their groceries, sharing a meal, or offering a listening ear to a friend in need. Kindness is often spontaneous and focuses on immediate , tangible assistance. It's these everyday acts that weave the fabric of a caring and supportive community.
善良是人類的基本特徵，其特徵是細微的、體貼的舉動。這是一個簡單但有力的舉動，例如幫助別人拿雜物、分享一頓飯或傾聽有需要的朋友的傾訴。善良一般都是自發性的並且注重直接、實際的幫助。正是這些日常行為編織了一個充滿關懷和支持的社區。

Great Compassion, on the other hand, delves much deeper. It embodies a profound empathy and understanding of the suffering of all beings. Those who possess Great Compassion are driven by a selfless desire to alleviate suffering on a larger scale. This compassionate spirit goes beyond individual acts; it seeks to address the root causes of suffering and promote long-term well-being and harmony.
另一方面，大悲心的探究則更加深入。它體現了對所有眾生苦難的深刻同情和理解。具有大悲心的人具有無私的願望，希望能更大程度地減輕人們的痛苦。這種慈悲精神超越個人行為；它尋求解決痛苦的根源並促進長期的福祉與和諧。

Differences on both     兩者的區別

Scope of Action: While kindness involves everyday actions directed towards individuals, Great Compassion encompasses sustained efforts aimed at the well-being of all beings.
行動範圍：善良涉及針對個人的日常行為，而大悲心則包含旨在造福所有眾生的持續努力。

Depth of Empathy: Kindness is characterized by consideration and helpfulness in the moment, whereas Great Compassion reflects a deep and abiding empathy that understands the interconnectedness of all life.
同理心的深淺：善良的特徵是當下的體貼和幫助，而大悲心則反映出一種深刻而持久的同理心，理解所有生命的相互連結。

Motivation: Acts of kindness often arise from a desire to be helpful and considerate, whereas Great Compassion is driven by a profound commitment to alleviating suffering, even at a personal cost.
動機：善良的行為常源自於想要提供幫助和體貼，而大悲心則源自於減輕痛苦的深刻承諾，即使要付出個人代價。

Example: A person with kindness would support (short-term or long-term) the daily needs of the poor, when a person with great compassion would guide the poor with skills and experience for life-improvement.

例如：一個善良的人會（短期或長期）支持窮人的日常需求，而一個有大悲心的人會用技能和經驗來指導窮人改善生活。

Both kindness and Great Compassion are invaluable qualities that contribute to a more compassionate and just world. Acts of kindness can be seen as the seeds that, when nurtured with wisdom and intelligence, grow into the full bloom of Great Compassion. By cultivating both qualities, we can create ripples of positive change that extend far beyond our immediate surroundings. 

善良和大悲心都是寶貴的特質，有助於創造一個更富同情心和公正的世界。善良就像種子，經過智慧和聰明的培育，會長成大悲心的花朵。透過培養這兩種品格，我們可以創造出遠遠超出我們周圍環境的正向變化的漣漪。

Different orthodox religions and beliefs contain different wisdoms that help these two qualities develop. Religions should cooperate with each other, so these two qualities can be developed better. Conversely, the development of kindness and great compassion may embody all the orthodox religions with wisdom, goodness and beauty.
不同的正信宗教和信都仰蘊含著有助於這兩種特質發展的不同的智慧。各宗教之間應該要互相合作，才能更好地發展這兩種特質。反過來說，善良和大悲心的發展，可以體現各正信宗教的智慧、善與美。

Great Compassion 大悲心

People born in countries deeply influenced by Mahayana Buddhist culture, regardless of whether they are Buddhists or not, will naturally arouse compassion as long as they come into contact with the name or image of
Avalokitesvara. 

出生在深受大乘佛教文化影響的國家的人們，無論是否信奉佛教，只要接觸到觀世音菩薩的名號或形象，就會自然而然地生起慈悲之心。

Let's explore the concepts of the Great Compassion, and how it works with the Great Wisdom, Great Vow, and Great Implementation. These four forces are core tenets in Mahayana Buddhism and they work harmoniously to guide individuals on their path to enlightenment and altruism. 

讓我們來探索一下大悲心的概念，以及它如何與大智慧、大願心和大行一起發揮作用。這四種力是大乘佛教的核心原則，它們和諧地引導人們走上開悟和利他主義的道路。

What is the Great Compassion?   什麼是大悲心？

The Great Compassion is the deep, boundless compassion that drives a Bodhisattva (the enlightened being) towards selfless acts for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is rooted in the understanding of the suffering present in the world and the genuine desire to alleviate it. This compassion is not limited or selective; it extends to all beings without exception.

大悲心是一種深沉、無限的慈悲，它驅使菩薩（覺者）為了利益所有眾生而做出無私的行為。它根植於對世界上存在的苦難的理解以及減輕苦難的真誠願望。這種同情心不是有限的、也不是選擇性的；它適用於一切眾生，無一例外。

It works with the other three forces   它與其他三種力量一起發揮作用

The Great Wisdom is the profound understanding of the true nature of reality. It allows one to see beyond illusions and comprehend the interconnectedness of all things. Great Wisdom guides the application of Great Compassion, ensuring that actions taken are effective and lead to true liberation from suffering.

大智慧是對現實本質的深刻理解。它能讓人看透幻想，理解萬物的相互連結。大智慧指導大慈悲的運用，確保所採取的行動有效並真正擺脫痛苦。

The Great Vow represents the deep commitment to achieving enlightenment and aiding all beings. These vows are the powerful resolutions that keep a Bodhisattva steadfast on their path. It is the motivational force behind the practice of Great Compassion and Great Wisdom.

大願心代表著獲得覺悟和幫助一切眾生的堅定承諾。這些誓言是讓菩薩堅定不移走上修行之路的強大決心。這是修行大慈悲和大智慧的動力。

Great Implementation is the actual practice and execution of compassionate and wise actions. It involves putting into practice what has been understood through wisdom and committed to through vows.

大行是慈悲和智慧行為的實際實踐和執行。它涉及將透過智慧理解和透過誓言承諾的事物付諸實踐。

The Synergy of the four Great forces  四大力量的協同作用

In essence, the Great Compassion forms the heart that feels the suffering of beings, the Great Wisdom is the mind that understands the best ways to alleviate that suffering, the Great Vow is the resolve to act for the benefit of all, and the Great Implementation is the physical embodiment of these principles. Together, they create a holistic approach to spiritual practice that is both compassionate and effective.

從本質上來說，大悲心是體會眾生苦難的心，大智慧是懂得減輕眾生苦難的最佳方法的心，大願心是為利益大眾而採取行動的決心，大行是就是這些原則的具體體現。他們共同創造了一種既富有同情心又有效的整體精神修煉方法。

It should be noted that there is Renunciation, a practice for self-liberation. As well as Great Compassion, it is based on the understanding of suffering and involves wisdom, vows and implementation, but it goes on one's own suffering only, and has fewer concepts to benefit sentient beings. It is a kind of personal practice to achieve the state of an Arhat, and thus it is never "Great".

值得注意的是，還有一種出離心，一種為了自我解脫的修行。它和大悲心一樣，是基於對苦難的了解，也涉及智慧、願心、實行，但這種修行只針對自己的苦難，對於利益眾生的理念較少。這是一種可以達到阿羅漢果位的個人的修行，也因此它永遠不能「偉大」。

Great Compassion should indeed be learned by us who have not yet attained Buddhahood, since these have been learned and are shown to us in different forms by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Also, it can be taken as references by the believers of other religions who wish to contribute the world.

大悲心的確是我們還沒有成佛的人應該學習的，因為這些都是諸佛菩薩已經學習過，並且以不同的形式展現給我們的。它也可成為其他宗教的信徒在為世界作出貢獻時作為參考。

What is Spiritual Practice 甚麼是修行

Many people think that spiritual practices are vegetarianism, scripture chanting, worshiping, doing charity work, opening up the meridians in the body, or even gaining supernatural abilities such as mind reading or future predicting. In fact, spiritual practice, briefly, is the effort to correct the deviations in one's thoughts, words and deeds. Spiritual practice is the act of achieving this goal through any reasonable means.

很多人以為修行就是吃素、念經、拜佛、做慈善、打通經絡，甚至是獲得讀心術、預知未來等超自然能力。其實修行，簡單來說，就是努力改正自己思想與言行上的偏差。修行是透過任何合理的手段來實現這一目標的行為。

The above-mentioned acts such as vegetarianism, scripture chanting and worshiping can indeed help to achieve peace and tranquility of mind and body. These are the methods of spiritual practice, but we should understand clearly that these are never the purpose. As for the gaining of supernatural abilities, as well as all the current conditions and the coming opportunities, based on the view of Buddhism, they depend on Karma (cause and effect, or the gradual improvement by one's own efforts).

上述的吃素、念經、拜佛等行為，確實能幫助達到身心的安寧。這些都是修行的方法，但是我們要清楚的了解，這些絕不是修行的目的。至於超自然能力的獲得，以及一切現在的境遇、及將來的機緣，按照佛教的觀點，都是依靠業力（因果，即靠自己的努力來逐漸改善）。

It is certainly a good start in spiritual practice with skill at reciting scriptures and worshiping. However, scripture chanting can not be beyond the understanding of it, and scripture understanding can not be beyond the implementation of it. The scriptures show us the methods of spiritual practice, and let us gain the benefits by our comprehension and implementation step by step. There is no benefit to blaming others' superficial efforts on spiritual practice, as this can not correct our thoughts, words and deeds.

熟練地誦讀經文和拜佛無疑是修行的一個好開始。但誦經不能超越對經文的理解，對經文的理解也不能超越對經文內容的實行。經典裡告訴我們修行的方法，讓我們透過一步一步的領悟與實踐來獲得利益。責怪別人在修行上所做的表面功夫是沒有好處的，因為這不能糾正我們的思想與言行。

We need to change our thoughts, words and deeds, that is, correct the bad habits of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. When getting along with others, in addition to being compassionate, tolerant, and forgiving of others' mistakes, you must also be able to use rationality and wisdom anytime and anywhere to resolve various solve problems. Therefore, a person with profound spiritual practice will not only benefit himself, his behavior will also benefit others.

我們要改變自己的思想、言語、行為，也就是改正貪、瞋、癡、慢、疑等不良習慣。與人相處時，除了要有同情心、寬容心、原諒別人的錯誤之外，還要能夠隨時隨地運用理性與智慧去解決各種問題。所以，一個修行深厚的人，不但自己會受益，他的行為也會讓別人受益。

Therefore, practicing is to completely change one's habits and make oneself a rational and wise person. It may not only bring us physical and mental well-being and helps to keep us calm in any adverse environment, but also help those around us develop their inner wisdom. This is the connotation of spiritual practice.

所以修行就是要徹底改變自己的習慣，使自己成為一個理性、有智慧的人。它不僅能為我們帶來身心健康，幫助我們在任何不利的環境中保持冷靜，還能幫助周遭的人發展內在的智慧。這就是修行的內涵。

Difficulties in studying Buddhism 學佛的難處

The purpose of Buddhism is to educate all sentient beings with compassion. The widespread spread of this belief was originally intended to make society more harmonious. However, many people give up their studying on Buddhism practice because it is difficult to understand. There are also some "believers" who have a "superstitious" mentality towards Buddhism and have not continued to develop their faith to the stage of "true faith". Why?

佛教的宗旨是以慈悲心來教育眾生。這個信仰的廣泛傳播，原本是為了讓社會更加和諧。然而，許多人因為佛法難以理解而放棄修行上的學習。還有一些「信徒」對佛教抱持著「迷信」心態，沒有將信仰繼續發展到「正信」階段。為什麼？

There are two most important obstacles encountered in the development of this religion: (1) Ancient scriptures from certain countries are still used to guide relatively complex doctrines, with few or no modern texts. And (2) The talk in the scriptures always mixes with the transcendental state and various realistic phenomena (problems and solutions encountered in life, Karma or Cause And Effect), but the principles of transcendence can only be understood by those who are enlightened.

該宗教的發展遇到兩個最重要的障礙：（1）仍然以某些國家的古代經文來指導相對複雜的教義，現代文本很少或根本沒有。(2) 經文中總是把超凡入聖的狀態和各種現實的現象（生活中遇到的問題和解決方法，業力或因果）混合在一起來討論，但超凡入聖的狀態只有已開悟的人才能理解。

Let's start with the text and escape the principle of transcendence. According to linguistics, every language is constantly changing, some new words are created, and some words are eliminated or given other words or meanings. Therefore, it is difficult for modern people to understand the contents written in ancient texts hundreds or even thousands of years ago, even if these contents are the product of the same culture. Thus, processing profound philosophical education with untimely words will cause serious problems with understanding, and it will destroy many people’s willingness to learn.

這裡先從文字文本入手，暫時不論超凡入聖的狀態。根據語言學，每種語言都在不斷變化，一些新詞被創造出來，一些詞被消除或被賦予其他詞義或含義。因此，現代人很難理解數百年甚至數千年前的古代文本中所寫的內容，即使這些內容是同一文化的產物。所以，用不合時宜的話語來進行高深的哲學教育，會造成嚴重的理解問題，也會摧毀許多人的學習意願。

The most complete Buddhist connotations are preserved in Sanskrit, classical Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist classics. If these Buddhist scriptures could be translated into modern languages through intralingual translation, the development of this belief would be better. Although this act may not allow unenlightened people to understand the principles of transcendence, it can make more people enlightened. Of course, it would be better if interlingual translation could be done at the same time.

梵文、漢文和藏傳佛教經典中保存了最完整的佛教內涵。如果這些佛經能夠透過語內翻譯的方式翻譯成現代語言，這種信仰的發展會更好。雖然這個舉動可能無法讓未開悟的人了解超凡入聖的狀態，但它可以讓更多的人開悟。當然，如果能同時進行跨語言翻譯就更好了。

Furthermore, through Buddhist scriptures, we should know that the Buddha often pointed out that any words, language, and expressions can be used to express his teaching, and noticed us not to be obsessed with the form of words. Therefore, the dissemination of Buddhism must keep pace with the times. The various expressions and dissemination methods that everyone can understand and that are popular among the public can be applied, including producing animations, cartoons and comics of Buddhist stories, filling in the lyrics with scriptures, Dharma talks on the Internet, multilingual forums of Buddhism on TV...

再者，透過佛教經典，我們應該知道，佛陀經常指出任何文字、語言、表達方式都可以用來表達他的教義，並告誡我們不要執著於文字的形式。因此，佛教的傳播必須與時俱進，可以採用大家都能理解的、大眾流行的各種表現形式和傳播方式，包括製作佛教故事的動畫、漫畫、漫畫，在歌詞中填入經典、網上佛法開示、電視多語種佛教論壇…

 The purpose of Buddhism is to educate all sentient beings with compassion. The widespread spread of this belief was originally intended to make society more harmonious. However, many people give up their studying on Buddhism practice because it is difficult to understand. There are also some "believers" who have a "superstitious" mentality towards Buddhism and have not continued to develop their faith to the stage of "true faith". Why?

佛教的宗旨是以慈悲心來教育眾生。這個信仰的廣泛傳播，原本是為了讓社會更加和諧。然而，許多人因為佛法難以理解而放棄修行上的學習。還有一些「信徒」對佛教抱持著「迷信」心態，沒有將信仰繼續發展到「正信」階段。為什麼？

There are two most important obstacles encountered in the development of this religion: (1) Ancient scriptures from certain countries are still used to guide relatively complex doctrines, with few or no modern texts. And (2) The talk in the scriptures always mixes with the principles of transcendental and various realistic phenomena (problems and solutions encountered in life, Karma or Cause And Effect), but the principles of transcendence can only be understood by those who are enlightened.

該宗教的發展遇到兩個最重要的障礙：（1）仍然以某些國家的古代經文來指導相對複雜的教義，現代文本很少或根本沒有。(2) 經文中總是把超凡入聖的原則和各種現實的現象（生活中遇到的問題和解決方法，業力或因果）混合在一起來討論，但超凡入聖的原則只有已開悟的人才能理解。

Let's start with the text and escape the principle of transcendence. According to linguistics, every language is constantly changing, some new words are created, and some words are eliminated or given other words or meanings. Therefore, it is difficult for modern people to understand the contents written in ancient texts hundreds or even thousands of years ago, even if these contents are the product of the same culture. Thus, processing profound philosophical education with untimely words will cause serious problems with understanding, and it will destroy many people’s willingness to learn.

這裡先從文字文本入手，暫時不論超凡入聖的原則。根據語言學，每種語言都在不斷變化，一些新詞被創造出來，一些詞被消除或被賦予其他詞或含義。因此，現代人很難理解數百年甚至數千年前的古代文本中所寫的內容，即使這些內容是同一文化的產物。所以，用不合時宜的話語來進行高深的哲學教育，會造成嚴重的理解問題，也會摧毀許多人的學習意願。

The most complete Buddhist connotations are preserved in Sanskrit, classical Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist classics. If these Buddhist scriptures could be translated into modern languages through intralingual translation, the development of this belief would be better. Although this act may not allow unenlightened people to understand the principles of transcendence, it can make more people enlightened. Of course, it would be better if interlingual translation could be done at the same time.

梵文、漢文和藏傳佛教經典中保存了最完整的佛教內涵。如果這些佛經能夠透過語內翻譯的方式翻譯成現代語言，這種信仰的發展會更好。雖然這個舉動可能無法讓未開悟的人了解超凡入聖的原則，但它可以讓更多的人開悟。當然，如果能同時進行跨語言翻譯就更好了。

Furthermore, through Buddhist scriptures, we should know that the Buddha often pointed out that any words, language, and expressions can be used to express his teaching, and noticed us not to be obsessed with the form of words. Therefore, the dissemination of Buddhism must keep pace with the times. The various expressions and dissemination methods that everyone can understand and that are popular among the public can be applied, including producing animations, cartoons and comics of Buddhist stories, filling in the lyrics with scriptures, Dharma talks on the Internet, multilingual forums of Buddhism on TV...
再者，透過佛教經典，我們應該知道，佛陀經常指出任何文字、語言、表達方式都可以用來表達他的教義，並告誡我們不要執著於文字的形式。因此，佛教的傳播必須與時俱進，可以採用大家都能理解的、大眾流行的各種表現形式和傳播方式，包括製作佛教故事的動畫、漫畫、漫畫，在歌詞中填入經典、網上佛法開示、電視多語種佛教論壇…