宋美龄在美国国会的即席演讲zt

Stil

Mr. President, Members of the Senate of the United States, ladies, and gentlemen, I am overwhelmed by the warmth and spontaneity of the welcome of the American people, of whom you are the representatives. I did not know that I was to speak to you today at the Senate except to say," How do you do, I am so very glad to see you, "and to bring the greetings of my people to the people of America. However, just before coming here, the Vice President told me that he would like to have me say a few words to you.I am not a very good extemporaneous speaker; in fact, I am no speaker at all; but I am not so very much discouraged, because a few days ago I was at Hyde Park, and went to the President’s library. Something I saw there encouraged me, and made me feel that perhaps you will not expect overmuch of me in speaking to you extemporaneously. What do you think I saw there I saw many things, but the one thing which interested me most of all was that in a glass case there was the first draft of one of the President’s speeches, a second draft, and on and on up to the sixth draft. Yesterday I happened to mention this fact to the President, and told him that I was extremely glad that he had to write so many drafts when he is such a well-known and acknowledgedly fine speaker. His reply to me was that sometimes he writes 12 drafts of a speech. So, my remarks here today, being extemporaneous, I am sure you will make allowances for me. The traditional friendship between your country and mine has a history of 160 years. I feel--and I believe that I am not the only one who feels this way--that there are a great many similarities between your people and mine, and that these similarlties are the basis of our friendship.I should like to tell you a little story which will illustrate this belief. When General Doolittle and his men went to bomb Tokyo, on their return some of your boys had to bail out in the interior of China. One of them later told me that he had to bail out of his ship. and that when he landed on Chinese soil and saw the populace running toward him, he just waved his arm and shouted the only Chinese word he knew, "Mei-kuo, Mei-kuo," which means "America". Literally translated from the Chinese it means "Beautiful country". This boy said that our people laughed and almost hugged him, and greeted him like a long lost brother. He further told me that he thought that he had come home when he saw our people; and that was the first time he had ever been to China.(Applause.) I came to your country as a little girl. I know your people. I have lived with them. I spent the formative years of my life amongst your people. I speak your language, not only the language of your hearts, but also your tongue. So coming here today I feel that I am also coming home.(Applause)
　　
　　I believe, however, that it is not only I who am coming home, I feel that if the Chinese people could speak to you in your own tongue, or if you could understand our tongue, they would tell you that basically and fundamentally we are fighting for the same cause (great applause); that we have identity of ideals; that the "four freedoms" which your President proclaimed to the world, resound throughout our vast land as the gong of freedom, the gong of freedom of the United Nations, and the death knell of the aggressors. (Applause.) I assure you that our people are willing and eager to cooperate with you in the realization of these ideals, because we want to see to it that they do not echo as empty phrases, but become realities for ourselves, for our children, for our children’s children, and for all mankind.(Applause.) How are we going to realize these ideals I think I shall tell you a little story which just came to my mind. As you know. China is a very old nation. We have a history of 5,000 years. When we were obliged to evacuate Hankow and go into the hinterland to carry on and continue our resistance against aggression, the Generalissimo and I passed one of our fronts, the Changsha front. One day we went into the Heng-yang Mountains, where there are traces of a famous pavilion called "Rub-the-mirror" pavilion, which was built over 2,000 years ago. It will perhaps interest you to hear the story of that pavilion. Two thousand years ago near that spot was an old Buddhist temple. One of the young monks went there, and all day long he sat crosslegged, with his hands clasped before him in an attitude of prayer, and murmured "Amita-Buddha! Amita-Buddha! Amita-Buddha!" He murmured and chanted day after day, because he hoped that he would acquire grace. The Father Prior of that temple took a piece of brick and rubbed it against a stone hour after hour, day after day, and week after week. The little acolyte, being very young, sometimes cast his eyes around to see what the old Father Prior was doing. The old Father Prior just kept on his work of rubbing the brick against the stone. So one day the young acolyte said to him. "Father Prior, what are you doing day after day rubbing this brick on the stone?" The Father Prior replied, "I am trying to make a mirror out of this brick." The young acolyte said, "But it is impossible to make a mirror out of a brick, Father Prior." "Yes," said the Father Prior, "and it is just as impossible for you yo acquire grace by doing nothing except murmur "Amita-Buddha" all day long, day in and day out." (Applause.) So, my friends, I feel that it is necessary for us not only to have ideals and to proclaim that we have them, it is necessary that we act to implement them. And so to you, gentlemen of the Senate, and to you ladies and gentlemen in the galleries, I say that without the active help of all of us our leader cannot implement these ideals. It is up to you and to me to take to heart the lesson of "Rub-the-mirror" pavilion. I thank you.(Great applause, Senators and their guests arising.)

susan-andy

很难想象宋美龄会讲一段佛教的故事...宋家都是基督徒, 张学良1994年(94岁)作见证时讲到他信主的经过: 我年轻的时候，在奉天（今辽宁省）常到基督教青年会去打球。在那里认识了不少的基督徒，有时候我到那里去听演讲。我很敬佩南开学校的校长张伯苓先生和上海青年协会的总干事余日章先生，尤其是那时候奉天基督教青年会的总干事美国人普莱特先生，他很爱护我，并且愿意给我安排到美国去读书。他们都给了我很深的影响。无形中，我也对基督教有了好感。后来我进了讲武堂，毕业后到军队里去做事，就很少和基督教的人来往。有一天，宋美龄夫人来访，她问我看些什么书?我告诉她正在研究佛学。她就说：“汉卿，你又走错路了，你也许认为我信基督是很愚蠢的，但世界上很多有名的伟人都是基督徒，难道他们都是很愚蠢吗？”并希望我也研究研究基督教，她送给我一本《马丁路德传》，我看了很受感动。以后我和董先生就拿蒋夫人送给我的一本英文的基督教书作为课本......

Stil

传教就说传教。少来破坏我的楼！$怒吼$$怒吼$$怒吼$


这种苟且的方式，简直辱没了基督教在我心中的形象。




请斑竹删了上边的传教贴，谢谢。

[ 本帖最后由 Stil 于 2006-9-4 23:40 编辑 ]