友朋之慈與分享

The Kindness and Sharing of Friends
Dean’s Talk at the 112-1 Semester Opening Assembly
By Dean Prof. Chao-Shun Kuo

112-1期初全院集合

文 / 雲水書院郭朝順山長勉勵話語
2023/ 09 /20

慈悲在漢語是一組詞語，梵文可拆在慈與悲兩個概念。慈的梵文是maitrī，意思是對朋友（mitra）要親愛對待；悲karuṇā，對不幸者，要温柔地憐憫。慈悲兩字合起來便被解釋為：拔苦與樂。
不過，慈這個字，在中文更常被強調的是「慈孝」：父母對子女之慈，相對的則是子女對父母之孝，這一點與原本梵文偏重朋友之間的親愛關係，有一些微細的區別。
Compassion in Chinese is expressed as a compound word, whereas in Sanskrit, it can be broken down into two concepts: "maitrī" for kindness towards friends (mitra) and "karuṇā" for gentle compassion towards those who are unfortunate. When combined, the two words "慈" and "悲" are interpreted as "removing suffering and bestowing happiness."

However, in Chinese, the term "慈" is often emphasized in the context of "慈孝" (filial piety), referring to the kindness parents show to their children, and the corresponding virtue of children showing filial piety to their parents. This differs slightly from the original Sanskrit focus on affectionate relationships among friends.

本學期雲水書院的教育主題是「分享」，分享即是將美好的事物傳遞給別人，有一句有名的咖啡廣告詞：「好東西要和好朋友分享」，因而特別值得由朋友之間的慈來闡釋這點，。
大家都知道，我們書院中，同學年紀分佈遍及老中青，因此學長卻可能會比學弟妹年輕許多。同學之間碰到這種情況，有時不好意思，便會互稱對方學長。雖然這樣看來，會有點亂了原本入學先後的長幼關係，但從另個角度來看，倒也不失為可發展出平等校園倫理的契機。畢竟學長對學弟妹的照顧，完全不應該變成一種上下的權力關係。
The educational theme for this semester at Yunshui Residential College is "Sharing." Sharing means passing on the goodness to others, as famously expressed in a coffee advertisement slogan: "Good things are meant to be shared with good friends." Therefore, it's particularly relevant to elaborate on this concept through the lens of kindness among friends.

As you all know, in our college, students come from various age groups, with both older and younger peers. Consequently, senior students may actually be much younger in age than their junior counterparts. In situations like this, students may sometimes feel awkward, leading to mutual address as "seniors (xue zhang) " 學長out of respect. While this might seem to disrupt the traditional hierarchy based on age, it could also serve as an opportunity to foster a sense of equality in our campus ethics. After all, the care provided by senior students to their junior peers should never be turned into a hierarchical power dynamic.

所謂「聞道有先後，術業有專攻」，我們系上許多同學，在進入佛教學系之前，可能早就有許多專業能力，只是因為嚮往佛學，想要專研佛法，因此才前來就讀。這些同學或許在佛學知識的學習經驗是資淺的，但人生的閱歷或者其他專業能力，比起許多學長卻是深厚的。因此，彼此尊重互相學習，是書院生活的重要態度。
The saying goes, "There is a sequence to hearing the Way, and each profession has its specialization." Many of our fellow students in the department may have had various professional skills before entering the Buddhist Studies program. It's just that they were drawn to the study of Buddhism and chose to specialize in it. These students may have relatively limited experience in Buddhist studies, but their life experiences or other professional abilities may be profound compared to many senior students. Therefore, showing mutual respect and learning from each other is an important attitude in our academic community.

我期待每一位同學們，都可以不吝分享自己的知識與經驗，將自己擅長的部分來與人分享。而知識、經驗與能力的分享，既不會損減你原本所具有的，反而是當你越分享就越能深化、精練原本所擁有的。當人人都能分享，每個人都是學長，人人互相成就，書院生活也就會越來越具有善意與互相尊重的平等氛圍。我們與其高談佈施之功德，倒不如由友朋之慈的分享做起，這也是我們的佛教行持課程中，何以會有「服務實作」這個部分的原因。

I look forward to each and every one of our students for not hesitating to share their knowledge and experiences, and to contribute what they excel in with other fields. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and abilities does not diminish what you already possess; instead, it deepens and refines your existing skills and knowledge. When everyone can share, everyone becomes a senior, and as we mutually uplift each other, our academic community will foster an atmosphere of goodwill and mutual respect.

Rather than just discussing the merits of generosity, let us start with the kindness of sharing among friends. This is also the reason why we have the "Service Practicum" component in our practice course.