Please call me by my true names 請以真實名字呼喚我

n our group meditation last week, we sang the song adapted from Thay's poem "Please call me by my true name."  Thay wrote this poem back in 1978 when he was helping the boat people from Vietnam and heard the news that a 12-year-old girl drowned herself in the ocean after being raped by a pirate.  This is one of Thay's famous poems and my favourite. It is a beautiful expression of understanding, love, inter-being.  

Watch a beautiful video here.

Listen to the song here.

I translated it into Chinese some of my friends:

Please call Me By My True Names  請以真實名字呼喚我 

Thich Nhat Hanh                                           一行禪師

Do not say that I will depart tomorrow -      不要說我將在明天離去 － 

even today I still arrive. 即使今天我仍在到達。

Look deeply: every second I am arriving 深入觀看：我每秒鐘都在到達

to be a bud on a spring branch, 成為春枝上的蓓蕾,

to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile, 成為一只小小鳥，翅膀依然脆弱，

learning to sing in my new nest, 在我的新巢學習歌唱，

to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower, 成為花蕊中的小毛蟲，

to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone. 成為藏於石頭中的寶鑽。

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, 我仍然在到達，才可以歡笑與哭泣，

to fear and to hope. 體會恐懼與希望。

The rhythm of my heart is the birth and  我心裡的節奏是所有生命的生與死。

death of all that are alive.

I am a mayfly metamorphosing on the 我是一只在河面睿變的蜉蝣，

surface of the river,

And I am the bird                               我也是那只小鳥

that swoops down to swallow the mayfly. 從半空俯衝下把蜉蝣吞掉。

I am a frog swimming happily in the 我是一只在清池裡快樂地游泳的青蛙，

clear water of a pond.

And I am the grass-snake 我也是那條草蛇，

that silently feeds itself on the frog. 沈默地獵食這只青蛙。

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones, 我是烏干達的孩童，只剩皮和骨，

my legs as thin as bamboo sticks. 雙腿瘦如竹杆，

And I am the arms merchant, 我也是那軍火商人，

selling deadly weapons to Uganda. 販賣殺人武器到烏干達。

I am the twelve-year-old girl, 我是那十二歲女孩，

refugee on a small boat, 小船上的難民，

who throws herself into the ocean 遭遇海盜的糟蹋，

after being raped by a sea pirate. 躍身投進海裡。

And I am the pirate, my heart not yet 我也是那個海盜，

capable of seeing and loving. 我的心還不懂了解和愛。

I am a member of the politburo, 我是政治局成員，

with plenty of power in my hands. 手裡擁有巨大權利，

And I am the man who has to pay his 我也是那個需要給人民“償還血債”的人

"debt of blood" to my people 在集中營裡慢慢地死去。

dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring, so warm it makes 我的喜悅如春天，

flowers bloom in all over the earth. 溫暖讓百花綻放大地。

My pain is like a river of tears, 我的痛楚如淚之河川，

so vast it fills the four oceans. 延綿充滿四海。

Please call me by my true names, 請以真實名字呼喚我，

so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once, 讓我同時聽見自己的哭泣和歡笑，

so I can see that my joy and pain are one. 讓我看見自己的歡樂和痛苦是一體。

Please call me by my true names, 請以真實名字呼喚我，

so I can wake up, 讓我醒覺，

and the door of my heart can be left open, 讓我心裡之門打開，

the door of compassion. 那扇慈悲之門。