EZCNN 易英网

Meditate Your Way to Compassion 慈悲的冥想之道

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Sitting in a small room, a group of Tibetan monks suddenly become silent. Their eyes close, their breathing softens and their minds turn inward. They first focus on a feeling of loving kindness for their loved ones. Then they extend this emotion towards complete strangers, and finally towards their enemies. This practice is known as Mettā meditation, with the word “Mettā” meaning loving kindness. A new study reveals that this type of meditation can help people learn compassion.

坐在小房间里的一群喇嘛突然静默下来，他们闭上双眼，呼吸变得轻缓，思绪转向内心。他们先将慈爱的感觉投注在所爱之人，然后将此情感延伸至完全陌生的人，最后再扩及到敌人。此修行名为「慈悲禅」，其中Metta指的就是「慈悲」之意。新研究显示，这种冥想有助于人们学习同情。

The study involved 16 veteran meditators and 16 others with little meditation experience. Researchers measured the subjects’ brain activity when they did or did not meditate on compassionate feelings. In each state, the participants heard the sound of a woman screaming or a baby laughing.

该研究包含十六名经常冥想的人及十六名几乎没冥想经验的人。无论受试者有没有冥想同情，研究人员都会测量他们的脑部活动。而且在过程中，参加者都会听见女人的尖叫声或婴儿的笑声。

The experienced meditators had stronger reactions to the sounds than novices. When they meditated, the area of their brains that deals with emotion reacted strongly to the woman’s screams. Moreover, the part of their brains that helps them rationally understand others’ emotions responded more actively to the screams and the baby’s laughter.

经验丰富的冥想者对这些声音的反应比新手强。他们冥想时，脑部处理情感的区域对女人的尖叫声有强烈反应。此外，在他们脑中，帮助他们理解他人情感的部位，对尖叫及婴儿笑声都有较活跃的反应。

The experiment suggests that Mettā meditation can help people train themselves to be more compassionate. The monks’ ancient wisdom may help us all become better people.

这项实验显示，慈悲禅有助于人们训练自己变得更具同情心。这些喇嘛的古老智慧也许能帮我们成为更好的人。

−by Darren Lowrie

Vocabulary

单词发音

meditate [ˋmɛdə͵tet] v. 冥想

compassion [kəmˋpæʃən] n. 同情

involve [ɪnˋvɑlv] v. 包含

rationally [ˋræʃən!ɪ] adv. 理性地

respond [rɪˋspɑnd] v. 作出灵敏反应[（+to）]

More Information

单词发音

Tibetan [tɪˋbɛtən] adj. 西藏的

inward [ˋɪnwɚd] n. 向内

kindness [ˋkaɪndnɪs] n. 仁慈；和蔼

practice [ˋpræktɪs] n. 实践

Mettā meditation 慈悲禅

veteran [ˋvɛtərən] n. 富有经验的人

scream [skrim] v. 尖叫

novice [ˋnɑvɪs] n. 新手，初学者

Reading Questions

1. What is the main function of Mettā meditation?

A. To help you relieve the daily stress that comes from busy city life.

B. To make it easier for meditation students to learn how to meditate.

C. To allow researchers to study the brain patterns of those who meditate.

D. To teach its followers to be more compassionate toward other people.

2. Which of the following is NOT true about the experiment described in the article?

A. Half of the subjects were experienced meditators while the other half were not.

B. The subjects’ brains were only scanned when they were deep in meditation.

C. The inexperienced meditators had a weaker reaction to both of the sounds.

D. While meditating, the subjects heard the sound of a woman screaming or a baby laughing.

3. Who would benefit most from practicing Mettā meditation?

A. A person with a lot of meditation experience.

B. A person who is skilled at understanding others’ emotions.

C. A person who does not treat others nicely.

D. A person who often hears women screaming or babies laughing.

Answer