东方哲学 - 佛陀：英语精读讲义

The story of the Buddha's life, like all of Buddhism, is a story about confronting suffering. 短語搭配

佛陀的一生，就像整个佛教一样，是一个关于直面苦难的故事。

He was born sometime between the 6th and 4th century BC,

他出生于公元前6世纪到4世纪之间的某个时期，

the son of a wealthy king in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal.

是尼泊尔喜马拉雅山麓一位富有国王的儿子。

It was prophesied that the young Buddha, 語法

有人预言这位年轻的佛陀，

then called Siddhartha Gautama,

当时名叫悉达多·乔达摩，

would either become the emperor of India or a very holy man. 語法

要么会成为印度的皇帝，要么会成为一位极度神圣的修行者。

Since Siddhartha's father desperately wanted him to become the former, 用詞

由于悉达多的父亲极度渴望他成为前者，

he kept the child isolated in a palace. 語法

他便把这孩子隔离在一座宫殿里。

Young Gautama had every imaginable luxury,

年轻的乔达摩拥有你能想象到的一切奢华，

jewels, servants, lotus ponds, even beautiful dancing women.

珠宝、仆人、莲花池，甚至美丽的舞女。

For 29 years,

在长达29年的时间里，

Gautama lived in bliss,

乔达摩在幸福中生活，

protected from the smallest misfortunes of the outside world.

受到保护，免受外部世界最微小的灾祸。

But then he left the palace for short excursions.

但后来他离开宫殿进行了短暂的游历。

What he saw amazed him. 語法

他所看到的令他大为震惊。

First, he met a sick man,

首先，他遇到了一位病人，

then an aging man,

然后是一位老人，

and then a dying man.

接着是一个垂死之人。

He was astounded to discover that these unfortunate people represented normal,

他震惊地发现，这些不幸的人代表了常态，

indeed, inevitable parts of the human condition that would one day touch him too. 講解

实际上，这也是人类生存状态中不可避免的一部分，总有一天也会降临到他身上。

Horrified and fascinated,

既惊恐又着迷的

Gautama made a fourth trip outside the palace walls

乔达摩第四次走出宫墙，

and encountered a holy man who'd learned to seek spiritual life

遇到了一位神圣的修行者，他学会在

in the midst of the vastness of human suffering. 短語搭配

浩瀚的人类苦难中寻求精神生活。

Inspired by the holy man,

受到这位修行者的启发，

Gautama left the palace for good. 習語

乔达摩永远地离开了宫殿。

He tried to learn from other holy men.

他试图向其他的修行者学习。

He almost starved himself to death by avoiding all physical comforts and pleasures, 短語搭配

他通过避开所有的物质舒适与享乐，几乎把自己饿死，

as they did.

就像他们做的那样。

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 表達脈絡

也许并不令人意外的是，

it didn't bring him solace from suffering. 短語搭配

这并没有为他带来摆脱苦难的慰藉。

Then he thought of a moment when he was a small boy,

接着他想起了自己小时候的一个时刻，

sitting by the river.

他坐在河边。

He'd noticed that when the grass was cut,

他注意到当草被割下时，

the insects and their eggs were trampled and destroyed.

昆虫和它们的卵都被践踏和毁灭了。

As a child,

作为一个孩子，

he'd felt a deep compassion for the tiny insects.

他对这些微小的昆虫感到了深深的同情。

Reflecting on his childhood compassion, 語法

回想起童年时的那份同情心，

Gautama felt a profound sense of peace.

乔达摩感到了一种深刻的平静。

He ate, meditated,

他进食、冥想，

and finally reached the highest state of enlightenment,

最终达到了觉悟的最高境界，

nirvana. 文化背景

也就是涅槃。

It refers to the blowing out of the flames of desire. 習語

它指的是熄灭欲望的火焰。

With this,

由此，

Gautama had become the Buddha, 文化背景

乔达摩成为了佛陀，

the awakened one.

即觉醒者。

The Buddha awoke by recognizing that all of creation,

佛陀的觉醒源于认识到所有的创造物，

from distraught ants to dying human beings, 表達脈絡

从惊慌失措的蚂蚁到垂死的人类，

is unified by suffering.

都在苦难中归于一途。

Recognizing this,

认识到这一点后，

the Buddha discovered how to best approach suffering.

佛陀发现了应对苦难的最佳方法。

First, one shouldn't bathe in luxury, 講解

首先，人们不应沉湎于奢华，

nor abstain from food and comforts altogether.

也不应完全戒绝食物和舒适的生活。

Instead, one ought to live in moderation.

相反，人们应该过一种适度的生活。

The Buddha called this the middle way. 文化背景

佛陀称之为中道。

This allows for maximal concentration on cultivating compassion for others and seeking enlightenment. 短語動詞

这样可以最大程度地集中精力去培养对他人的同情心并寻求觉悟。

Next, the Buddha described a path to transcending suffering 語法

接下来，佛陀描述了一条超越苦难的道路，

called the Four Noble Truths. 文化背景

称为四圣谛。

The first Noble Truth is the realization that first prompted the Buddha's journey,

第一圣谛是最初促使佛陀踏上旅程的领悟，

that there is suffering and constant dissatisfaction in the world.

即世界上存在着苦难和持续的不满。

The second is that this suffering is caused by our desires.

第二则是，这种苦难是由我们的欲望造成的。

As the Buddha said,

正如佛陀所说，

attachment is the root of all suffering. 習語

执着是一切苦难的根源。

The third truth is that we can transcend suffering by removing or managing these desires. 語法

第三条真理是，我们可以通过消除或管理这些欲望来超越苦难。

The Buddha thus made the remarkable claim that we must change our outlook, 講解

佛陀由此提出了非凡的主张：我们必须改变我们的观念，

not our circumstances.

而不是改变我们的处境。

We are unhappy,

我们不快乐，

not because we don't have enough money, love or status, 語法

不是因为我们没有足够的金钱、爱或地位，

but because we're greedy, vain, and insecure.

而是因为我们贪婪、虚荣且缺乏安全感。

By reorienting our mind

通过调整我们的思想，

we can grow to be content.

我们可以变得知足。

With the correct behavior and what we now term a mindful attitude, 用詞

凭借正确的行为和我们现在称之为正念的态度，

we can also become better people.

我们也能成为更好的人。

We can invert negative emotions and states of mind,

我们可以扭转负面情绪和精神状态，

turning ignorance into wisdom, 表達脈絡

将无知化为智慧，

anger into compassion,

愤怒化为同情，

and greed into generosity.

并将贪婪化为慷慨。

The fourth and final Noble Truth the Buddha uncovered is that we can learn to move beyond suffering

佛陀揭示的第四个也是最后一个圣谛是，我们可以学会超越苦难，

through what he termed the Noble Eightfold Path. 文化背景

通过他所称的八正道。

The Eightfold Path involves a series of aspects of behaving right and wisely,

八正道包括一系列正确和明智行为的方面：

right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness,

正见、正思惟、正语、正业、正命、正精进、正念，

and right concentration.

以及正定。

What strikes the Western observer is the notion that wisdom is a habit, 講解

令西方观察家感到震撼的观念是，智慧是一种习惯，

not merely an intellectual realization.

而不仅仅是理性上的领悟。

One must exercise one's nobler impulses on a regular basis,

人们必须经常锻炼自己高尚的冲动，

as one would train a limb. 表達脈絡

就像锻炼四肢一样。

The moment of understanding is only one part of becoming a better person.

理解的瞬间仅仅是成为一个更好的人的过程中的一部分。

After his death,

他去世后，

the Buddha's followers collected his sutras, 文化背景

佛陀的追随者们收集了他的佛经、

sermons, or sayings,

布道或语录，

into scripture and developed texts to guide followers in meditation,

编成经文，并编写了指导信徒冥想、

ethics, and mindful living.

伦理和正念生活的文献。

The monasteries that had developed during the Buddha's lifetime grew and multiplied throughout China and East Asia.

佛陀在世期间发展起来的寺院在整个中国和东亚地区成长并成倍增加。

For a time,

曾有一段时间，

Buddhism was particularly uncommon in India itself.

佛教在印度本土反而非常罕见。

And only a few quiet groups of yellow-clad monks and nuns roamed the countryside,

只有少数几个安静的黄衣僧尼团体在乡间漫游，

meditating quietly in nature.

在大自然中静静地冥想。

But then, in the 3rd century BC,

但后来，在公元前3世纪，

an Indian king named Ashoka grew troubled by the wars he had fought and converted to Buddhism. 短語搭配

一位名叫阿育王的印度国王对他曾经历的战争感到烦恼，并皈依了佛教。

He sent monks and nuns far and wide to spread the practice. 習語

他派僧侣和尼姑到四处传播这种修行。

Buddhist spiritual tradition spread across Asia and eventually throughout the world.

佛教的精神传统传遍了亚洲，并最终传遍了全世界。

Buddha's followers divided into two main schools, 用詞

佛陀的追随者分为两大主要流派，

Theravada Buddhism, which colonized Southeast Asia,

遍布东南亚的南传佛教，

and Mahayana Buddhism, which took hold in China and Northeast Asia. 短語動詞

以及在中国和东北亚扎根的大乘佛教。

Today, there are between a half and 1 and 1/2 billion Buddhists in both East and West,

如今，在东方和西方有5亿到15亿佛教徒，

following the Buddha's teachings and seeking a more enlightened and compassionate state of mind.

遵循着佛陀的教诲，寻求更加开明和富有同情心的心境。

Intriguingly, the Buddha's teachings are important regardless of our spiritual identification.

有趣的是，无论我们的信仰身份如何，佛陀的教诲都很重要。

Like the Buddha,

像佛陀一样，

we're all born into the world,

我们都出生在这个世界上，

not realizing how much suffering it contains 語法

并没有意识到它包含了多少苦难，

and unable to fully comprehend that misfortune,

也无法完全理解不幸、

sickness, and death will come to us too.

疾病和死亡也同样会降临到我们身上。

As we grow older,

随着我们逐渐变老，

this reality often feels overwhelming,

这种现实常常让人感到无法承受，

and we may seek to avoid it altogether.

我们可能会试图完全避开它。

But the Buddha's teachings remind us of the importance of facing suffering directly. 短語搭配

但佛陀的教导提醒我们直面苦难的重要性。

We must do our best to liberate ourselves from the grip of our own desires 習語

我们必须尽最大努力将自己从欲望的掌控中解脱出来，

and recognize that suffering can be viewed as part of our common connection with others, 語法

并认识到，苦难可以被视为我们与他人共通联系的一部分，

spurring us to compassion and gentleness. 短語搭配

从而激励我们产生同情与温和之心。