Sometimes there’s no gray. Sometimes there is clearly right and painfully wrong, plain as day.

Even if both sides have a point, one side can be wrong. And it’s exhausting to constantly find “balance” and remain neutral. Neutral, in the face of evil, is not only a cop-out, but it’s dangerous. Neutrality is exactly how abusive and manipulative systems continue to operate unimpeded. Neutrality is grease for the engine.

It is not enough to say “I’m not one of them” or “There are good ones too.” It is not enough to say “We need more love in the world.” It’s exhausting to see one more picture of people hugging or high-fiving or laughing with some kids one time in an unseen community, as if that solves a thing. None of this centrist moderate stuff is enlightened. It’s cowardice. It’s fear of losing a fanbase.

Really, I’m a coward when it comes to this. I always want to be gracious, nuanced, thoughtful. I hate to cause discomfort, rock the boat, be a downer. I want to look at all things from all angles, all the time. I never want to alienate anyone. I’m a master of tip-toeing on thin ice, dancing around hard words, stretching between absolutes, trying to silver-line my way through.

But to know the stories of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor—it’s impossible not to shout and scream and cry. Their murders are on me. On being neutral. To be silent is to have picked the wrong side.
As it has been said, it’s not enough to say “I’m not racist,” but we must be actively fighting it. Otherwise, you and I remain grease, keeping the engine running.

To be truly nuanced is to humanize those we have lost. To fight for them. To be as angry as you need to. It’s to take care of yourself amidst daily retraumatizing. It’s to call evil what it is. It’s to condemn racism in every form, individual and systemic, in the home and in the heart.

I’m sorry I don’t speak as loudly as I should. I don’t always know how to fight, but I want to. To the wounded families: I’m sorry. I will act.
— J.S.

#typewritertherapy #justice #grief

[時事英文] What will win us this war?

什麼能幫助我們贏得這場對抗冠狀病毒的的戰爭?

It’s not authoritarian rule. While forced lockdowns have slowed the spread of the virus, the suppression of information led to unimpeded transmission in the outbreak’s initial phases.

1. authoritarian rule 威權獨裁統治
2. lockdown 封鎖
3. the suppression of information 對資訊的壓制
4. unimpeded transmission 無阻擋的，毫無阻礙的傳播
5. lead to the outbreak 導致(疫情的)爆發
6. initial phases 初始階段

不是威權獨裁的統治。這種強迫性的封鎖雖減緩了病毒的傳播，然而對資訊的壓制，卻使得病毒於爆發的初始階段暢行無阻。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

It’s not only democracy. Despite transparency and ample warnings, western democracies have mounted delayed and uncoordinated offensives, resulting in alarming death tolls.

7. transparency 透明度
8. ample warning 充分的警告
9. western democracies 西方民主國家
10. mount an offensive (n.) 發起進攻*
11. death toll 死亡人數

不只是民主制度。儘管有著透明度與充分的警告，西方民主國家仍出現拖延與不協調地對病毒進攻，導致令人震驚的死亡人數。

*https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/offensive_2

★★★★★★★★★★★★

The answer, like everything else, lies in balancing.
像其它所有的問題一樣，答案就在於平衡。

Democratic transparency must be coupled with a concerted public health response from the government, its healthcare workers, and its citizenry to combat the virus.

12. balance (v.) 平衡
13. be coupled with... 與...結合/連接
14. public health 公共衛生
15. a concerted response 相應的回應
16. citizenry（全體）市民（或公民）

民主的透明度必須和政府、醫護人員與人民的公衛協同措施相結合，以對抗這種病毒。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

While no response is perfect, the relative success of Taiwan shows that open politics, trust in the government, and immediate public-health intervention can contribute much to the world in its war with the coronavirus.

17. relative success 相對成功
18. open politics 公開透明的政治
19. trust in the government 對政府的信任
20. immediate intervention 即時干預

沒有措施是完美的，但像臺灣國家體制的相對成功，表明了開放的政治、對政府的信任、與即時的公衛干預，能在這場與冠狀病毒的對抗當中，為世界提供諸多幫助。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

延伸閱讀:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/taiwan-covid-19-lessons-1.5505031

https://time.com/5802293/coronavirus-covid19-singapore-hong-kong-taiwan/

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-what-works-transparency-testing-coercion/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/world/coronavirus-news.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/17/us/coronavirus-testing-data.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/italys-virus-death-toll-on-the-cusp-of-overtaking-chinas-11584626731

https://www.ft.com/content/56d52ce6-6a92-11ea-a6ac-9122541af204

https://www.who.int/influenza/resources/documents/pandemic_phase_descriptions_and_actions.pdf

圖片來源: https://bit.ly/2QBUJQp

★★★★★★★★★★★★

台灣的應對: http://bit.ly/3a6NSGu

時事英文大全: http://bit.ly/2WtAqop

★★★★★★★★★★★★

這一週的「時事英文」講義和使用方式: https://bit.ly/3a9rr38

《快樂的本源即是戒》
Happiness Originates from Precepts (English version below)

常言道：苦口良藥。苦口的，真是良藥嗎？妳你若對這句話，有所疑惑，前來問吾準沒錯。所言當真？當真。乃因吾，玳瑚師父，是研習佛法及玄學多年的師父。現在就爲妳你排憂解惑。宇宙的真理是平等、平衡。套一句簡單的話，即是恰到好處。這句「恰到好處」再簡單一點，即是不多不少剛剛好也。故太苦則傷心，太甜則傷胰，太鹹則傷腎，太酸則傷胃⋯⋯。請君多珍重。

很少很少人會願意挨苦、吃苦的，這是平常的。但問題是，妳你們雖不想挨苦、吃苦，可是卻又活得越久，越老越辛苦，甚至是痛苦。這到底是怎麼一回事？有些人歸咎於命，有些人歸咎於父母，有些人歸咎於伴侶，有些人歸咎於⋯⋯。其實啊！與其妳你在那兒，浪費時光地歸咎來歸咎去，倒不如發奮圖強，力爭上游的向真正的能者討教成功之道，或立命之學，這樣才不愧對自己的生命呀！難道妳你生是苦，死也要苦嗎？在生前沒累積善功德，死後就到幽冥界受苦啊！爲何這麼笨？

根據吾多年的探討，人爲何越活越辛苦或痛苦，皆離不開「智」與「德」。因無智慧故，起心動念皆成障礙。障礙什麼？障礙入世之妻、財、子、祿。障礙出世的成就佛果。因無福德與功德故，入世出世皆障礙也。智慧絕非一般的聰明，所以才有「聰明反被聰明誤」，這句俗話也。智慧者，乃能圓滿無礙的觀破，及成就成辦一切事。福德、功德具足者，能成就無上道，能賜福賜吉祥給一切眾生。令一切眾生所求皆得圓滿。偉哉，勝哉！

咱們尊貴、慈悲、偉大的大聖佛陀，早⋯⋯在兩千六百多年前，已教導我們戒力多殊勝偉大。祂教導我們守戒才能生定，定中才能生慧。這也是所有佛教徒畢生的功課，謂之三無漏學。吾等若不依此正法修持，六道輪迴難逃唉！蓋有漏皆墮。結了婚，不守夫道婦道，風月場所流連忘返，紅杏出牆，與同事亂搞愛時，等等等。都是因爲不守戒，無定亦無慧。最後得個婚姻失敗、家庭破裂、爭奪子女扶養權、贍養費等問題。試問，要多久才能釋懷，才能重回以往的快樂？所以玳瑚師父告知妳你，快樂的本源即是戒。

.....................

As the saying goes, "Good medicine is usually bitter". Is bitter medicine really good? If you have doubts about this, you won't go wrong asking me for the answer. "Are you serious?", you might ask. Sure I am. I have immersed myself in the research and study of Dharma and Chinese Metaphysics for many years. Let me now resolve your woes and answer your questions. The truth of the Universe is equality and balance. To put it simply, that means just right. In even simpler terms, it means not too much, not too little, just hitting the right spot. If it is too bitter, the heart will be depleted. Too sweet, the spleen will be injured. Too salty, your kidneys will be hurt. Too sour, your stomach will suffer. So please keep well, my dear readers.

Very few people would be willing to endure hardships and suffer. That is normal. But while you have no wish to suffer, life is bound to be tougher as you live longer and age, even bringing with it pain and distress. What is happening? Some said it is just their lot in life. Some blamed their parents and spouse, and so on. Truth is, rather than wasting time pointing fingers, you will do better if you buck up and strive to seek advice from a genuinely able man on the formula to success or the way to creating your own destiny. Only then, you would not have lived in vain. Do you want to suffer your entire life, from birth to death? If there are no merits or virtues accumulated while alive, after your death, you will end up suffering in the Netherworld. Why will you be so foolish?

According to my years of exploration, the main reasons for Man's growing suffering in life boils down to two things: Wisdom and Virtues. When one has no wisdom, his every intention and thought become his obstacles to his worldly pursuits of spouse, wealth, descendants, fame, as well as one's spiritual aspirations towards attaining Buddhahood. Due to the absence of virtues and merits, one's path in life, be it secular or spiritual, will be fraught with obstacles.

Wisdom is not merely being clever, for as the saying goes: Clever people can end up being victims of their own cleverness. With wisdom, one attains an unimpeded penetrative view and is able to accomplish all pursuits. The wise person who accumulates sufficient good fortune, merits and virtues shall attain unsurpassed spiritual accomplishment, and in turn be able to bestow good fortune and auspiciousness to all sentient beings, allowing them to fulfil their wishes. What a great and magnificent achievement!

The esteemed, compassionate and noble Great Sage Lord Buddha taught us, 2600 years ago, the magnificence and nobility of upholding precepts. He taught us that only with adherence to precepts, can one's meditative stillness arise, and subsequently, one's wisdom develops. This is the lifelong homework of all Buddhists, known as the Threefold Non-Leakage Training. If we deviate from this path, we will not escape from the six realms of existence. When one married person commits sexual misconduct, he or she fails to uphold the precepts. Therefore there is no meditative stillness nor wisdom, ending up in a sorry state of family breakup, divorce, maintenance fees for spouse, fighting for rights to children, etc. Ask yourself, how long must you suffer before happy days return? That is why Master Dai Hi tells you that precepts is the source of all happiness.

www.masterdaihu.com/快樂的本源即是戒/