宗教和谐
本译文由人工智能辅助工具生成，可能存在不准确之处。如需查阅权威文本，请参考英文原文。
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中文
宗教的和谐
（萨吉诺晚报，1894年3月22日）
斯瓦米辨喜，这位令众人津津乐道的印度教僧侣，昨晚在音乐学院向一小群但聚精会神的听众，就"宗教的和谐"这一主题发表了演讲。他身着东方服饰，获得了极为热情的接待。罗兰·康纳尔阁下优雅地为演讲者作了介绍。演讲者将第一部分用于解释印度各种宗教以及灵魂轮回[Samsara]理论。印度最初的入侵者——雅利安人——不像基督徒进入新土地时那样试图消灭原有居民，而是努力提升那些有粗蛮习惯的人。印度教徒对本国那些不沐浴、食用死去动物的人感到厌恶。印度北部人没有试图将自己的风俗强加于南部人，但后者逐渐采纳了前者的许多方式。在印度最南端，有少数基督徒，其信仰已历数千年。西班牙人将基督教带到了锡兰。西班牙人认为他们的神命令他们杀戮屠杀，并摧毁异教的庙宇。
若非存在不同的宗教，没有一种宗教能够存续。基督徒需要他们自私的宗教。印度教徒需要自己的信条。那些建立在一部经书上的宗教至今仍存。为何基督徒无法皈化犹太人？为何他们无法使波斯人成为基督徒？为何对穆斯林也是如此？为何无法在中国或日本留下任何印象？佛教徒是第一个传教的宗教，拥有任何其他宗教双倍的皈依者，而他们并未动用刀剑。穆斯林动用了最多的武力，而他们在三大传教宗教中人数最少。穆斯林的时代已成过去。每天你都能读到基督教国家以流血方式夺取土地的消息。有哪位传教士对此提出异议？为何最嗜血的民族要颂扬一种并非基督真正宗教的所谓宗教？犹太人和阿拉伯人是基督教的父母，他们又是如何被基督徒所迫害的！基督徒在印度这个天平上被衡量，发现分量不足。
演讲者无意出言不逊，但他想向基督徒展示，他们在他人眼中是何等形象。宣扬炼狱永火的传教士，被人们视为可怖的存在。穆斯林一浪接一浪地冲入印度，挥舞着刀剑，而今他们在哪里？一切宗教所能见到的最远境界，是一个精神实体的存在。因此，没有一种宗教能超越这一点进行教导。在每种宗教中，都有其本质的真理，以及盛放这颗明珠的非本质的器皿。相信犹太人的书或印度教的书是非本质的。环境改变，容器各异；但中心真理不变。本质相同，每个社群中受过教育的人都保留着本质。牡蛎的外壳并不迷人，但珍珠在其中。在世界的一小部分皈依基督教之前，基督教将已分裂为许多教派。这是自然的法则。为何要从大地宗教的宏大交响乐中单独抽走一件乐器？让宏伟的交响乐继续奏响。演讲者呼吁：要纯洁，放弃迷信，看见自然的奇妙和谐。迷信战胜了宗教。所有宗教都是善的，因为其本质是相同的。每个人都应有完整地行使其个体性的权利，而这些个体性共同构成一个完美的整体。这一奇妙的状态已经存在。每一信条都为这奇妙的建筑添砖加瓦。
演讲者始终致力于为其国家的宗教进行辩护，并说已有证据表明，罗马天主教会的整个体系是从佛教经典中借用而来的。他还颇为详尽地阐述了佛陀伦理所教导的高尚道德准则与纯洁生活，但承认就对位格神的信仰而言，不可知论盛行，最重要的是遵循佛陀的教诲，其教诲是："为善，合乎道德，臻于完美。"
English
RELIGIOUS HARMONY
(Saginaw Evening News, March 22, 1894)
Swami Vive Kananda, the much talked of Hindoo monk, spoke to a small but deeply interested audience last evening at the academy of music on "The Harmony of Religions". He was dressed in oriental costume and received an extremely cordial reception. Hon. Rowland Connor gracefully introduced the speaker, who devoted the first portion of his lecture to an explanation of the different religions of India and of the theory of transmigration of souls. The first invaders of India, the Aryans, did not try to exterminate the population of India as the Christians have done when they went into a new land, but the endeavour was made to elevate persons of brutish habits. The Hindoo is disgusted with those people of his own country who do not bathe and who eat dead animals. The Northern people of India have not tried to force their customs on the southerns, but the latter gradually adopted many ways of the former class. In southernmost portions of India there are a few persons who are Christians and who have been so for thousands [?] of years. The Spaniards came to Ceylon with Christianity. The Spaniards thought that their God commanded them to kill and murder and to tear down heathen temples.
If there were not different religions no one religion would survive. The Christian needs his selfish religion. The Hindoo needs his own creed. Those which were founded on a book still stand. Why could not the Christian convert the Jew? Why could they not make the Persians Christians? Why not so with the Mohammedans? Why cannot any impression be made upon China or Japan? The Buddhists, the first missionary religion, have double the number of converts of any other religion and they did not use the sword. The Mohammedans used the most force, and they number the least of the three great missionary, religions. The Mohammedans have had their day. Every day you read of Christian nations acquiring land by bloodshed. What missionaries preach against this? Why should the most bloodthirsty nations exalt an alleged religion which is not the religion of Christ? The Jews and the Arabs were the fathers of Christianity, and how have they been persecuted by the Christians! The Christians have been weighed in the balance in India and found wanting.
The speaker did not wish to be unkind, but he wanted to show Christians how they looked in other eyes. The Missionaries who preach the burning pit are regarded with horror. The Mohammedans rolled wave after wave over India, waving the sword, and today where are they? The farthest that all religions can see is the existence of a spiritual entity. So no religion can teach beyond this point. In every religion there is the essential truth and nonessential casket in which this jewel lies. The believing in the Jewish book or the Hindoo book is non-essential. Circumstances change, the receptacle is different; but the central truth remains. The essentials being the same, the educated people of every community retain the essentials. The shell of the oyster is not attractive, but the pearls are within. Before a small fraction of the world is converted Christianity will be divided into many creeds. That is the law of nature. Why take a single instrument from the great religious orchestras of the earth? Let the grand symphony go on. Be pure, urged the speaker, give up superstition and see the wonderful harmony of nature. Superstition gets the better of religion. All the religions are good since the essentials are the same. Each man should have the perfect exercise of his individuality but these individualities form a perfect whole. This marvellous condition is already in existence. Each creed has had something to add to the wonderful structure.
The speaker sought throughout to vindicate the religions of his country and said that it had been proven that the entire system of the Roman Catholic Church had been taken from the books of Buddhism. He dilated at some length on the high code of morality and purity of life that the ethics of Buddha taught but allowed that as far as the belief in the personality of God was concerned, agnosticism prevailed, the main thing being to follow out Buddha's precepts which were, "Be good, be moral, be perfect."
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。