東方哲學 - 佛陀：英語精讀講義

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

佛陀的一生，就像整個佛教一樣，是一個關於直面苦難的故事。

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

他出生於西元前6世紀到4世紀之間的某個時期，

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

是尼泊爾喜馬拉雅山麓一位富有國王的兒子。

It was prophesied that the young Buddha, 文法

有人預言這位年輕的佛陀，

then called Siddhartha Gautama,

當時名叫悉達多·喬達摩，

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

要麼會成為印度的皇帝，要麼會成為一位極度神聖的修行者。

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

由於悉達多的父親極度渴望他成為前者，

he kept the child isolated in a palace. 文法

他便把這孩子隔離在一座宮殿裡。

Young Gautama had every imaginable luxury,

年輕的喬達摩擁有你能想像到的一切奢華，

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

珠寶、僕人、蓮花池，甚至美麗的舞女。

For 29 years,

在長達29年的時間裡，

Gautama lived in bliss,

喬達摩在幸福中生活，

protected from the smallest misfortunes of the outside world.

受到保護，免受外部世界最微小的災禍。

But then he left the palace for short excursions.

但後來他離開宮殿進行了短暫的遊歷。

What he saw amazed him. 文法

他所看到的令他大為震驚。

First, he met a sick man,

首先，他遇到了一位病人，

then an aging man,

然後是一位老人，

and then a dying man.

接著是一個垂死之人。

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

他震驚地發現，這些不幸的人代表了常態，

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

實際上，這也是人類生存狀態中不可避免的一部分，總有一天也會降臨到他身上。

Horrified and fascinated,

既驚恐又著迷的

Gautama made a fourth trip outside the palace walls

喬達摩第四次走出宮牆，

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

遇到了一位神聖的修行者，他學會在

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

浩瀚的人類苦難中尋求精神生活。

Inspired by the holy man,

受到這位修行者的啟發，

Gautama left the palace for good. 慣用語

喬達摩永遠地離開了宮殿。

He tried to learn from other holy men.

他試圖向其他的修行者學習。

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

他透過避開所有的物質舒適與享樂，幾乎把自己餓死，

as they did.

就像他們做的那樣。

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 表達脈絡

也許並不令人意外的是，

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

這並沒有為他帶來擺脫苦難的慰藉。

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

接著他想起了自己小時候的一個時刻，

sitting by the river.

他坐在河邊。

He'd noticed that when the grass was cut,

他注意到當草被割下時，

the insects and their eggs were trampled and destroyed.

昆蟲和牠們的卵都被踐踏和毀滅了。

As a child,

作為一個孩子，

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

他對這些微小的昆蟲感到了深深的同情。

Reflecting on his childhood compassion, 文法

回想起童年時的那份同情心，

Gautama felt a profound sense of peace.

喬達摩感到了一種深刻的平靜。

He ate, meditated,

他進食、冥想，

and finally reached the highest state of enlightenment,

最終達到了覺悟的最高境界，

nirvana. 文化背景

也就是涅槃。

It refers to the blowing out of the flames of desire. 慣用語

它指的是熄滅慾望的火焰。

With this,

由此，

Gautama had become the Buddha, 文化背景

喬達摩成為了佛陀，

the awakened one.

即覺醒者。

The Buddha awoke by recognizing that all of creation,

佛陀的覺醒源於認識到所有的創造物，

from distraught ants to dying human beings, 表達脈絡

從驚慌失措的螞蟻到垂死的人類，

is unified by suffering.

都在苦難中歸於一途。

Recognizing this,

認識到這一點後，

the Buddha discovered how to best approach suffering.

佛陀發現了應對苦難的最佳方法。

First, one shouldn't bathe in luxury, 講解

首先，人們不應沉湎於奢華，

nor abstain from food and comforts altogether.

也不應完全戒絕食物和舒適的生活。

Instead, one ought to live in moderation.

相反，人們應該過一種適度的生活。

The Buddha called this the middle way. 文化背景

佛陀稱之為中道。

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

這樣可以最大程度地集中精力去培養對他人的同情心並尋求覺悟。

Next, the Buddha described a path to transcending suffering 文法

接下來，佛陀描述了一條超越苦難的道路，

called the Four Noble Truths. 文化背景

稱為四聖諦。

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

第一聖諦是最初促使佛陀踏上旅程的領悟，

that there is suffering and constant dissatisfaction in the world.

即世界上存在著苦難和持續的不滿。

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

第二則是，這種苦難是由我們的慾望造成的。

As the Buddha said,

正如佛陀所說，

attachment is the root of all suffering. 慣用語

執著是一切苦難的根源。

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

第三條真理是，我們可以透過消除或管理這些慾望來超越苦難。

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張：我們必須改變我們的觀念，

not our circumstances.

而不是改變我們的處境。

We are unhappy,

我們不快樂，

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

不是因為我們沒有足夠的金錢、愛或地位，

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

而是因為我們貪婪、虛榮且缺乏安全感。

By reorienting our mind

透過調整我們的思想，

we can grow to be content.

我們可以變得知足。

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

憑藉正確的行為和我們現在稱之為正念的態度，

we can also become better people.

我們也能成為更好的人。

We can invert negative emotions and states of mind,

我們可以扭轉負面情緒和精神狀態，

turning ignorance into wisdom, 表達脈絡

將無知化為智慧，

anger into compassion,

憤怒化為同情，

and greed into generosity.

並將貪婪化為慷慨。

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

佛陀揭示的第四個也是最後一個聖諦是，我們可以學會超越苦難，

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

透過他所稱的八正道。

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

八正道包括一系列正確和明智行為的方面：

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

正見、正思惟、正語、正業、正命、正精進、正念，

and right concentration.

以及正定。

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

令西方觀察家感到震撼的觀念是，智慧是一種習慣，

not merely an intellectual realization.

而不僅僅是理性上的領悟。

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

人們必須經常鍛鍊自己高尚的衝動，

as one would train a limb. 表達脈絡

就像鍛鍊四肢一樣。

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

理解的瞬間僅僅是成為一個更好的人的過程中的一部分。

After his death,

他去世後，

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

佛陀的追隨者們收集了他的佛經、

sermons, or sayings,

佈道或語錄，

into scripture and developed texts to guide followers in meditation,

編成經文，並編寫了指導信徒冥想、

ethics, and mindful living.

倫理和正念生活的文獻。

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

佛陀在世期間發展起來的寺院在整個中國和東亞地區成長並成倍增加。

For a time,

曾有一段時間，

Buddhism was particularly uncommon in India itself.

佛教在印度本土反而非常罕見。

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

只有少數幾個安靜的黃衣僧尼團體在鄉間漫遊，

meditating quietly in nature.

在大自然中靜靜地冥想。

But then, in the 3rd century BC,

但後來，在西元前3世紀，

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

一位名叫阿育王的印度國王對他曾打過的戰爭感到煩惱，並皈依了佛教。

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

他派僧侶和尼姑到四處傳播這種修行。

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

佛教的精神傳統傳遍了亞洲，並最終傳遍了全世界。

Buddha's followers divided into two main schools, 用詞

佛陀的追隨者分為兩大主要流派，

Theravada Buddhism, which colonized Southeast Asia,

遍佈東南亞的南傳佛教，

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

以及在中國和東北亞紮根的大乘佛教。

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

如今，在東方和西方有5億到15億佛教徒，

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

遵循著佛陀的教誨，尋求更加開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，無論我們的信仰身份如何，佛陀的教誨都很重要。

Like the Buddha,

像佛陀一樣，

we're all born into the world,

我們都出生在這個世界上，

not realizing how much suffering it contains 文法

並沒有意識到它包含了多少苦難，

and unable to fully comprehend that misfortune,

也無法完全理解不幸、

sickness, and death will come to us too.

疾病和死亡也同樣會降臨到我們身上。

As we grow older,

隨著我們逐漸變老，

this reality often feels overwhelming,

這種現實常常讓人感到無法承受，

and we may seek to avoid it altogether.

我們可能會試圖完全避開它。

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

但佛陀的教導提醒我們直面苦難的重要性。

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

我們必須盡最大努力將自己從慾望的掌控中解脫出來，

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

並認識到，苦難可以被視為我們與他人共通聯繫的一部分，

spurring us to compassion and gentleness. 片語搭配

從而激勵我們產生同情與溫和之心。