評論
打印
Coming here to Nepal, it has been relatively straightforward to identify two of the jewels of the triple jewels of Buddhism.
來到尼泊爾，我們相對直觀地認識了佛教三寶中的佛寶與僧寶。
The Buddha himself, both ideas about him and his image, are absolutely everywhere.
佛祖本身，他的思想以及形象，在此自然無處不在。
As is the Sangha, and here in Kathmandu, there are monks and nuns at every street corner.
而至于僧伽，在加德滿都，街頭巷尾都能見到他們的身影。
But what has been harder to pin down is the Dharma itself, the belief system, the philosophy, the religion, whatever you want to call it, of Buddhism.
但對“法”，卻較難下定義。它是佛教的信仰系統、哲學、宗教，不管你如何稱呼它。
Maybe it's unrealistic of me to expect there to be one single definition for such a broad concept.
對我來說，想用僅僅一個定義來解釋法并不現實，因為法的概念非常寬泛。
The Buddha himself said the Dharma was like the salt of the oceans of the world, a universal taste.
佛陀說，“法”就像海洋中的鹽，是一種很普遍的味道。
So, the Buddha implied the Dharma could be tasted anywhere, by anyone.
佛陀由此暗示，任何人在任何地方都能體驗到法。
But the question for me, as a historian, is how that "taste" of the Buddhist Dharma could become "universal".
但對我這個歷史學者來說，我的疑問是佛法的這種“味道”是如何變成“普遍”的？
Practically, how Buddhism established itself as a global belief-system.
尤其是佛教是如何成為世界性的信仰體系的？
Buddha's teachings were charismatic and radical for their time.
佛陀的教誨在他的那個年代是充滿魅力并具有顛覆性的。
But, as with all big new ideas, they needed a groundswell of popular support or a patron, or both, to gain a firm foothold and to really fly.
但像所有偉大的新思想一樣，佛教需要民眾的踴躍支持，或是上層的贊許，抑或二者缺一不可，如此才能鞏固基礎，真正蓬勃發展起來。
While there was grassroots interest in, what he had to say, it was about 200 years after the Buddha's death that Buddhism got a major boost.
盡管有來自草根群體的支持，但不得不承認，直到佛陀圓寂后200年，佛教才開始迅猛發展。
In 250 BC, the ruthless, all-powerful emperor Ashoka, who controlled most of ancient India, proved Buddhism's greatest ally.
公元前250年，曾經殘暴專制、統治著古印度大部分領土的君主阿育王，被認為是佛教最重要的盟友。
Ashoka was haunted by the memory of the blood that he'd acquired on his hands as a result of the cut and thrust of his rise to power and he decided to turn to "the good".
阿育王在奪取政權時殺人無數，血腥的場景經常折磨著他，他決定轉而向善。
And in order to realize that ambition he vigorously promoted Buddhist ideals right across the Indian subcontinent.
為了實現這個志向，他向整個印度次大陸大力推廣佛教理念。
According to Buddhist tradition, in the centuries following Ashoka's sponsorship of Buddha's ideas, the philosophy evolved into at least 18 different schools.
根據佛教的傳說，在阿育王推廣佛教后的幾個世紀里，佛教發展出至少18個不同的宗派。
One of these, the Theravada, still survives today and is mainly associated with south and southeast Asia.
其中之一是小乘佛教，至今依然存在，主要在分布在南亞及東南亞地區。
Another came to be called the Mahayana, the "Great Vehicle" or "Way", now most often found in north and east Asia.
另一宗派被稱為大乘佛教，意思是大的車乘或道路?，F在主要分布在北亞和東亞。
Ashoka, by embracing Buddhism, put a particular emphasis on the consequences of his actions, on what he thought and how he lived in the world, on his Karma.
信奉佛教的阿育王非常重視他行為的后果、他的想法、他怎樣在這個世界生活，以及他的“業”（因果報應）。
Karma is a word well known in the west today.
“業（因果報應）”這個字在現代西方社會廣為人知。
It has its roots in early Indian belief systems, but the value of Karma became a fundamentally important Buddhist concept.
它來源于古印度的信仰體系，但如今“業（因果報應）”的觀念已成為佛教的一個基本的、重要的觀念。
And one that I am going to explore at The Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka, our next wonder of the Buddhist world.
我將在接下來要去斯里蘭卡康提的佛牙寺繼續探索它。
