I want to address the issue of compassion. Compassion has many faces. Some of them are fierce; some of them are wrathful; some of them are tender; some of them are wise. A line that the Dalai Lama once said, he said, "Love and compassion are necessities. They are not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive." And I would suggest, it is not only humanity that won't survive, but it is all species on the planet, as we've heard today. It is the big cats, and it's the plankton.
Želim razmotriti temu suosjećanja. Suosjećanje ima mnogo lica. Neka od njih su snažna, neka su gnjevna, neka su nježna, neka su mudra. Dalaj Lama je jednom rekao: “Ljubav i suosjećanje su potreba. To nije luksuz. Bez njih čovječanstvo ne može preživjeti." Ja bih dodala, ne samo čovječanstvo, već sva bića na planetu, kao što smo danas čuli. I velike mačke, i planktoni.
Two weeks ago, I was in Bangalore in India. I was so privileged to be able to teach in a hospice on the outskirts of Bangalore. And early in the morning, I went into the ward. In that hospice, there were 31 men and women who were actively dying. And I walked up to the bedside of an old woman who was breathing very rapidly, fragile, obviously in the latter phase of active dying. I looked into her face. I looked into the face of her son sitting next to her, and his face was just riven with grief and confusion.
Prije dva tjedna bila sam u Bangaloru, u Indiji. Bila sam počašćena podučavati u hospiciju na periferiji grada. Rano ujutro, otišla sam na odjel. U tom je hospiciju bio 31 muškarac i žena u procesu umiranja. Prišla sam krevetu jedne starice koja je ubrzano disala, nemoćna, očito u zadnjoj fazi umiranja. Pogledala sam je u lice. Pogledala sam i u lice njezinog sina koji je sjedio kraj nje i njegovo lice je bilo prekriveno tugom i pomutnjom.
And I remembered a line from the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic: "What is the most wondrous thing in the world, Yudhisthira?" And Yudhisthira replied, "The most wondrous thing in the world is that all around us people can be dying and we don't realize it can happen to us." I looked up. Tending those 31 dying people were young women from villages around Bangalore. I looked into the face of one of these women, and I saw in her face the strength that arises when natural compassion is really present. I watched her hands as she bathed an old man.
Sjetila sam se ulomka iz Mahabharate, poznatog Indijskog epa: "Koje je najveće čudo na svijetu, Yudhisthira?" Yudhisthira odgovori, "Najveće čudo na svijetu jest da posvuda oko nas ljudi umiru, a mi ne shvaćamo da se to može i nama dogoditi." Pogledala sam okolo. O tih 30-ak umirućih brinule su mlade žene iz sela oko Bangalora. Pogledala sam u lice jedne od tih žena i na njenom licu vidjela snagu koja se javlja kada je prirodno suosjećanje stvarno prisutno. Gledala sam joj ruke dok je kupala jednog starca.
My gaze went to another young woman as she wiped the face of another dying person. And it reminded me of something that I had just been present for. Every year or so, I have the privilege of taking clinicians into the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. And we run clinics in these very remote regions where there's no medical care whatsoever.
Pogled mi je prešao na drugu mladu ženu ženu koja je brisala lice još jedne umiruće osobe. To me podsjetilo na nešto što sam upravo doživjela. Skoro svake godine imam čast voditi kliničare na Himalaje i na Tibet. Mi vodimo klinike u tim najzabačenijim regijama gdje nema nikakve medicinske njege.
And on the first day at Simikot in Humla, far west of Nepal, the most impoverished region of Nepal, an old man came in clutching a bundle of rags. And he walked in, and somebody said something to him, we realized he was deaf, and we looked into the rags, and there was this pair of eyes. The rags were unwrapped from a little girl whose body was massively burned. Again, the eyes and hands of Avalokiteshvara. It was the young women, the health aids, who cleaned the wounds of this baby and dressed the wounds.
Prvog dana u Simikotu u Humli, na krajnjem zapadu Nepala, najsiromašnijoj regiji Nepala, došao je starac čvrsto držeći svežanj krpa. Dok je ulazio, a netko mu je nešto govorio, shvatili smo da je gluh, pa smo pogledali u krpe i u njima ugledali nečije oči. Odmotali smo krpe u kojima je bila djevojčica s teškim opeklinama. Opet, oči i ruke Avalokiteshvare. Vidjela sam ih kod mlade pomoćnice koja je djetetu očistila rane i premotala ih.
I know those hands and eyes; they touched me as well. They touched me at that time. They have touched me throughout my 68 years. They touched me when I was four and I lost my eyesight and was partially paralyzed. And my family brought in a woman whose mother had been a slave to take care of me. And that woman did not have sentimental compassion. She had phenomenal strength. And it was really her strength, I believe, that became the kind of mudra and imprimatur that has been a guiding light in my life.
Poznate su mi te ruke i oči, dodirivale su i mene. Dodirnule su me tada. Dodirivale su me svih mojih 68 godina. Dodirivale su me kad sam s četiri godine izgubila vid i bila djelomično paralizirana. Moja obitelj je dovela ženu čija je majka bila robinja kako bi se brinula o meni. Ta žena nije imala sentimentalno suosjećanje. Imala je izvanrednu snagu. I vjerujem da je ta njena snaga postala nekom vrstom vodiča koji mi pokazuje životni put.
So we can ask: What is compassion comprised of? And there are various facets. And there's referential and non-referential compassion. But first, compassion is comprised of that capacity to see clearly into the nature of suffering. It is that ability to really stand strong and to recognize also that I'm not separate from this suffering. But that is not enough, because compassion, which activates the motor cortex, means that we aspire, we actually aspire to transform suffering. And if we're so blessed, we engage in activities that transform suffering. But compassion has another component, and that component is really essential. That component is that we cannot be attached to outcome.
Možemo se zapitati: od čega se sastoji suosjećanje? Postoje razni aspekti. I postoji referentno i nereferentno suosjećanje. Prvenstveno, temelj suosjećanja jest sposobnost jasnog sagledavanja prirode patnje. To je sposobnost zadržavanja vlastite snage uz priznavanje da nismo odvojeni od patnje. Ali to nije dovoljno, jer suosjećanje, koje aktivira motorički korteks, znači da mi težimo, mi zapravo težimo transformirati patnju. Ako smo na taj način blagoslovljeni, mi sudjelujemo u aktivnostima koje transformiraju patnju. No suosjećanje ima još jednu komponentu koja je esencijalna. Ta komponenta jest da se ne smijemo vezati uz ishod.
Now I worked with dying people for over 40 years. I had the privilege of working on death row in a maximum security [prison] for six years. And I realized so clearly in bringing my own life experience, from working with dying people and training caregivers, that any attachment to outcome would distort deeply my own capacity to be fully present to the whole catastrophe.
Radim sa ljudima koji umiru već 40 godina. Imala sam priliku šest godina raditi sa zatvorenicima osuđenima na smrt u strogo čuvanom zatvoru. Posalo mi je tako jasno povezujući moja životna iskustva u rada s umirućima i obučavanju onih koji se brinu o njima, da bi bilo kakva vezanost za ishod teško narušila moju sposobnost da budem potpuno prisutna tijekom cijele katastrofe.
And when I worked in the prison system, it was so clear to me, this: that many of us in this room, and almost all of the men that I worked with on death row, the seeds of their own compassion had never been watered. That compassion is actually an inherent human quality. It is there within every human being. But the conditions for compassion to be activated, to be aroused, are particular conditions. I had that condition, to a certain extent, from my own childhood illness. Eve Ensler, whom you'll hear later, has had that condition activated amazingly in her through the various waters of suffering that she has been through.
Kad sam radila u zatvorskom sistemu, bilo mi je sasvim jasno jedno: da mnogi od nas u ovoj prostoriji, i skoro svi ljudi s kojima sam radila u zatvoru, nisu nikada upoznali ni njegovali pravo suosjećanje. Ono je zapravo osobina koja je ljudima urođena. Ono je u svakome od nas. Ali uvjeti nužni da se suosjećanje aktivira, da se probudi, sasvim su određeni uvjeti. Imala sam takve uvjete, u nekoj mjeri, tijekom svoje bolesti u djetinjstvu. Eve Ensler, koju ćete malo kasnije čuti, u sebi je nevjerojatno aktivirala te uvjete kroz razne oblike patnje koje je doživjela.
And what is fascinating is that compassion has enemies, and those enemies are things like pity, moral outrage, fear. And you know, we have a society, a world, that is paralyzed by fear. And in that paralysis, of course, our capacity for compassion is also paralyzed. The very word terror is global. The very feeling of terror is global. So our work, in a certain way, is to address this imago, this kind of archetype that has pervaded the psyche of our entire globe.
Ono što je fascinantno jest da suosjećanje ima neprijatelje, a to su sažaljenje, moralno osuđivanje, strah. Znate, mi živimo u društvu, u svijetu koji je paraliziran strahom. I naravno da je u toj paralizi naša sposobnost za suosjećanje također paralizirana. Sama riječ teror je globalna. Sami osjećaj terora je globalan. Tako da je naš posao, na određeni način, obraćanje toj predodžbi, tom svojevrsnom arhetipu koji je protkao psihu cijeloga svijeta.
Now we know from neuroscience that compassion has some very extraordinary qualities. For example: A person who is cultivating compassion, when they are in the presence of suffering, they feel that suffering a lot more than many other people do. However, they return to baseline a lot sooner. This is called resilience. Many of us think that compassion drains us, but I promise you it is something that truly enlivens us.
Iz neuroznanstvenih podataka znamo sa suosjećanje ima neke veoma izvanredne kvalitete. Na primjer: osoba koja kultivira suosjećanje, kada je u prisutnosti patnje, osjeća tu patnju puno jače nego ostali. Međutim, ta se osoba brže vrati u početno stanje. To nazivamo otpornost. Mnogi su uvjereni da nas suosjećanje iscrpljuje, ali, obećajem vam, ono nas istinski oživljava.
Another thing about compassion is that it really enhances what's called neural integration. It hooks up all parts of the brain. Another, which has been discovered by various researchers at Emory and at Davis and so on, is that compassion enhances our immune system. Hey, we live in a very noxious world. (Laughter) Most of us are shrinking in the face of psycho-social and physical poisons, of the toxins of our world. But compassion, the generation of compassion, actually mobilizes our immunity.
Još jedna stvar u vezi suosjećanja je da pojačava nešto što nazivamo neuronskom integracijom. Ono povezuje sve dijelove mozga. Nadalje, nešto što su otkrili razni znanstvenici na sveučilištima Emory, Davisu, itd. jest da suosjećanje pojačava naš imunosni sustav. Hej, živimo u nezdravom svijetu. (Smijeh) Većina nas se povlači pred psihosocijalnim i fizičkim otrovima, toksinima našeg svijeta. Ali suosjećanje, stvaranje suosjećanja, zapravo aktivira naš imunitet.
You know, if compassion is so good for us, I have a question. Why don't we train our children in compassion? (Applause) If compassion is so good for us, why don't we train our health care providers in compassion so that they can do what they're supposed to do, which is to really transform suffering? And if compassion is so good for us, why don't we vote on compassion? Why don't we vote for people in our government based on compassion, so that we can have a more caring world? In Buddhism, we say, "it takes a strong back and a soft front." It takes tremendous strength of the back to uphold yourself in the midst of conditions. And that is the mental quality of equanimity.
Ako je suosjećanje tako dobro za nas, imam jedno pitanje. Zašto ne učimo našu djecu suosjećanju? (Pljesak) Ako je suosjećanje tako dobro za nas, zašto ne podučavamo bolničare suosjećanju kako bi mogli raditi ono što bi trebali raditi, a to je potpuno izmijeniti patnju? I ako je suosjećanje tako dobro za nas, zašto ne glasamo suosjećanjem? Zašto ne glasamo za ljude u našoj vladi u skladu s našim suosjećanjem? Kako bismo mogli imati svijet s više skrbi. U buddhizmu imamo izreku: "treba biti čvrst straga i mekan sprijeda." Potrebna je imati čvrstu kralježnicu kako bismo biti uspravni u svim okolnostima. To je mentalna kvaliteta staloženosti.
But it also takes a soft front -- the capacity to really be open to the world as it is, to have an undefended heart. And the archetype of this in Buddhism is Avalokiteshvara, Kuan-Yin. It's a female archetype: she who perceives the cries of suffering in the world. She stands with 10,000 arms, and in every hand, there is an instrument of liberation, and in the palm of every hand, there are eyes, and these are the eyes of wisdom. I say that, for thousands of years, women have lived, exemplified, met in intimacy, the archetype of Avalokitesvara, of Kuan-Yin, she who perceives the cries of suffering in the world.
Ali je također potrebno biti mekan sprijeda -- imati sposobnost otvaranja svijetu kakav zapravo jest, imati otvoreno srce. Ovaj arhetip u buddhizmu je Avalokiteshvara, Kuan-Yin. To je ženski arhetip: ona koja vidi vapaje patnje u svijetu. Ona stoji s 10.000 ruku, i u svakoj ruci drži oruđe oslobođenja, a na svakom dlanu je oko, to su oči mudrosti. Tisućama godina žene su živjele, utjelovljivale u svojim životima arhetip Avalokiteshvare, Kuan-Yin, one koja vidi vapaje patnje u svijetu.
Women have manifested for thousands of years the strength arising from compassion in an unfiltered, unmediated way in perceiving suffering as it is. They have infused societies with kindness, and we have really felt that as woman after woman has stood on this stage in the past day and a half. And they have actualized compassion through direct action. Jody Williams called it: It's good to meditate. I'm sorry, you've got to do a little bit of that, Jody. Step back, give your mother a break, okay.
Tisućama godina žene su iskazivale snagu koja izvire iz suosjećanja na čist i neposredan način, kroz viđenje patnje onakve kakva jest. Obogatile su društvo dobrotom i mi smo to stvarno osjetili dok su žene, jedna za drugom, stajale na ovoj pozornici tijekom ova dva dana. One su utjelovljivale suosjećanje kroz izravnu akciju. Jody Williams je rekla: dobro je meditirati. Žao mi je, Jody, moraš to makar malo. Daj svojoj majci priliku, u redu.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
But the other side of the equation is you've got to come out of your cave. You have to come into the world like Asanga did, who was looking to realize Maitreya Buddha after 12 years sitting in the cave. He said, "I'm out of here." He's going down the path. He sees something in the path. He looks, it's a dog, he drops to his knees. He sees that the dog has this big wound on its leg. The wound is just filled with maggots. He puts out his tongue in order to remove the maggots, so as not to harm them. And at that moment, the dog transformed into the Buddha of love and kindness.
Ali druga strana jednadžbe jest da moramo izaći iz svojih špilja. Moramo izaći u svijet kao što je Asanga izašao, nakon potrage za realizacijom Buddhe Maitreye tijekom 12 godina sjedenja u špilji. Rekao je: "Izlazim." On ide putem. Ugleda nešto na putu. Pogleda ga, to je pas, klekne pokraj njega. Vidi da pas ima veliku ranu na nozi. Prepuna je larvi. Isplazi jezik kako bi uklonio larve, bez da ih ozlijedi. U tom trenutku, pas se pretvorio u Buddhu ljubavi i dobrote.
I believe that women and girls today have to partner in a powerful way with men -- with their fathers, with their sons, with their brothers, with the plumbers, the road builders, the caregivers, the doctors, the lawyers, with our president, and with all beings. The women in this room are lotuses in a sea of fire. May we actualize that capacity for women everywhere.
Vjerujem da se žene i djevojke danas trebaju na jedan snažan način povezati s muškarcima -- sa svojima očevima, sa svojim sinovima, sa svojom braćom, s vodoinstalaterima, s radnicima na cesti, s bolničarima, doktorima, odvjetnicima, s našim predsjednikom, i sa svim bićima. Žene u ovoj sobi su lotusi u moru vatre. Neka utjelovimo tu sposobnost za žene posvuda.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)