英文原文
Many people come to Buddhism and mindfulness because they are stressed and seeking a place of peace, a refuge from the changeable and troubled times we live in. Their spiritual practice may start as an individual thing, something they do privately and alone. It’s natural that our spiritual practice has to heal suffering in our own hearts in order to make room for us to think about bigger things... But if months or years have gone by and our practice is still completely focused on ourselves and compassion is not becoming part of what we do, something might be out of balance.
An individual is a part of a greater whole. So are we. We exist in dependence upon many causes and conditions. We call these ‘non self elements‘. The sun is a non self element that causes life to be possible and our food to grow. The earth, water, air, our parents giving us a body (a long and painful process for our birth mother), food, the farmers who grow our food are all non self elements... Even the fact we can read and write is because someone taught us to read and paid taxes for free schools. The fact we don’t freeze in winter and have shelter is because of builders and tailors. Everything we have comes from others. What we understand from seeing inter-connectedness is that we are part of a sacred web, and that happiness is not just a personal matter, it is a communal matter. We cannot be whole and content when the rivers are poisoned and people are so poor they litter the main streets like refuse.
Everyone is made up of social, physical, spiritual and economic conditions. If you change a person’s conditions, it can cause them to bloom and reach their human and spiritual potential. We need to work to create better conditions for people to thrive and to restrain those who wish to harm others and help them find a better way.
Emptyness is fullness. We are empty of a separate, unchanging independent self (although we still have a mind-stream that travels life to life and carries the imprints of karma until we are liberated) and therefore full of and connected to (not one with) the entire universe.
Ideas of karma or impermanence are sometimes used as excuses to do nothing in the face of great suffering, greed and injustice. Actually Buddhists first and foremost should do no harm, and secondly, act with compassion for all beings who have been our dearest friends and mothers in so many past lives.
Karma means action. It is not destiny. Karma can change. Karma means we can create causes and conditions to end suffering. They are not an excuse to be apathetic or to not question systems of oppression or injustice that exploit beings or keep the privileged in power and justify injustice. It is not ok to sit in your peaceful upper class centre while the world is falling apart.
“As long as space remains, as long as there are those who suffer, may I too remain, To remove the darkness of the world.... May I be the light in dark places, a companion to those alone on the road, To the sick may I be medicine, and to those bereft may I be like a wishfulfilling tree.”
The Bodhisattva’s way of Life
This is why at Bodhicitta Dakini Monastery we are committed to helping relieve the suffering of the world in practical ways, addressing and dismantling systems of oppression like gender inequality, poverty, racism and homophobhia as well as preserving/practicing and disseminating the Teachings of our Abbess Ayya Yeshe and the Nalanda Tradition (Tibetan Buddhism RIME).
We also do certain practices from the Master Thich Nhat Hanh and keep certain Vinaya elements from the Theravada Vinaya, but the core of our practices are based on the Bodhisattva ideal, calm abiding meditation/mahamudra and Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy.
中文翻译
许多人接触佛教和正念是因为他们感到压力，寻求一个和平的地方，一个在我们生活的多变和动荡时代中的避难所。他们的灵修可能始于个人的事情，是他们私下独自进行的。我们的灵修必须治愈自己内心的痛苦，以便为我们思考更大的事情腾出空间，这是很自然的……但如果几个月或几年过去了，我们的修行仍然完全专注于自己，慈悲没有成为我们行为的一部分，可能有些东西失衡了。
个体是更大整体的一部分。我们也是如此。我们依赖于许多因缘条件而存在。我们称这些为“无我元素”。太阳是一个无我元素，它使生命成为可能，使我们的食物生长。地球、水、空气、我们的父母给予我们身体（对我们生母来说是一个漫长而痛苦的过程）、食物、种植我们食物的农民都是无我元素……甚至我们能读写是因为有人教我们读写并为免费学校纳税。我们冬天不挨冻并有住所是因为建筑工人和裁缝。我们拥有的一切都来自他人。我们从看到相互联系中理解到，我们是神圣网络的一部分，幸福不仅仅是个人问题，它是集体问题。当河流被污染，人们如此贫穷以至于像垃圾一样在主要街道上乱扔时，我们无法完整和满足。
每个人都是由社会、身体、精神和经济条件构成的。如果你改变一个人的条件，可以促使他们绽放并达到他们的人类和精神潜力。我们需要努力为人们创造更好的条件以茁壮成长，并约束那些希望伤害他人的人，帮助他们找到更好的方式。
空即是满。我们空无一个分离、不变、独立的自我（尽管我们仍然有一个心识流，生生世世流转，携带业力印记直到我们解脱），因此充满并与整个宇宙相连（而非合一）。
业力或无常的观念有时被用作借口，在面对巨大痛苦、贪婪和不公时无所作为。实际上，佛教徒首先应该不伤害，其次，以慈悲心对待所有众生，他们在许多过去世中曾是我们最亲爱的朋友和母亲。
业力意味着行动。它不是命运。业力可以改变。业力意味着我们可以创造因缘条件来结束痛苦。它们不是冷漠的借口，也不是不质疑剥削众生或维持特权者权力并合理化不公的压迫或不公制度的借口。当世界分崩离析时，坐在你和平的上层阶级中心是不对的。
“只要空间存在，只要还有受苦者，愿我也存在，以消除世界的黑暗……愿我成为黑暗中的光，孤独路上的伴侣，对病人愿我是药，对失去者愿我如如意树。”
菩萨的生活方式
这就是为什么在菩提心空行母寺院，我们致力于以实际方式帮助减轻世界的痛苦，解决和拆除压迫制度，如性别不平等、贫困、种族主义和恐同症，以及保存/实践和传播我们的住持阿雅耶喜和那烂陀传统（藏传佛教利美）的教法。
我们也实践一行禅师大师的某些修行，并保留上座部戒律的某些元素，但我们修行的核心基于菩萨理想、止禅/大手印和藏传佛教哲学。
文章概要
本文探讨佛教社区活动如何促进中年社会参与，强调从个人修行转向慈悲社会行动的重要性。文章指出，许多人因压力而接触佛教，但修行不应仅停留在自我疗愈，而应扩展到关怀他人和社区。通过解释无我、因缘和业力等概念，文章说明个体与社会的相互依存关系，并倡导积极改变社会条件以减轻痛苦。菩提心空行母寺院作为例子，展示了如何结合菩萨理想和实际社会参与，解决不平等和压迫问题，促进集体幸福。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容
这篇文章就像在说，很多人因为生活太累，想找个安静的地方放松，所以开始学佛和静心。一开始，他们可能只是自己一个人默默练习，这很正常，因为要先让自己心里好受点。但如果练了很久，还是只想着自己，不去关心别人，那可能就不太对了。我们每个人都是一个大集体的一部分，就像拼图里的一块。我们生活需要很多东西帮助，比如太阳、水、食物，还有教我们读书的老师、盖房子的工人，这些都叫“无我元素”，意思是我们不是孤零零的。如果我们看到大家都连在一起，就会明白，快乐不只是自己的事，也是大家的事。如果河水脏了，有人很穷，我们也不会真正开心。所以，我们要一起努力，让世界变得更好，帮助别人，就像菩萨那样发愿帮助所有受苦的人。
佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角
从佛学宗派视角看，本文体现了大乘佛教的菩萨道精神，强调自利利他和社会参与。在显宗方面，文章基于般若空性和缘起法，说明无我和相互依存，这符合《显密圆通成佛心要集》中显教部分对空性和慈悲的阐述。该经典强调显密圆融，本文虽未直接提及密法，但其社会行动可视为准提法等密宗修行在世间应用的基础，因为准提法注重通过咒语和观想利益众生，与社会参与相辅相成。从密宗视角，本文的社区活动可视为曼荼罗的扩展，将修行场域从坛城延伸到社会，体现即身成佛的潜力。总体而言，文章符合《显密圆通成佛心要集》的圆通理念，显示显教慈悲与密教方便的结合，准提法在此框架下能增强修行者的行动力和包容性。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题。
在修行实践上，本文内容可应用于促进中年社会参与，解决以下十个问题：1. 孤独感，通过社区活动建立连接；2. 意义缺失，从自我中心转向利他行动；3. 压力管理，将正念扩展到社会关怀；4. 人际关系紧张，学习无我观改善互动；5. 社会不公感，以业力观积极改变条件；6. 精神停滞，通过菩萨愿激发成长；7. 环境担忧，践行相互依存保护自然；8. 经济焦虑，参与扶贫项目培养布施心；9. 健康问题，以慈悲心支持病患；10. 未来迷茫，发菩提心找到生命方向。准提法在此可增强信心和效率，其咒语修行能净化业障，支持社会行动，体现显密圆通的优势。