-
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What is Buddhism?
什么是佛教？
Buddhism is a religion to about 300
million people around the world. The word comes
from
'budhi',
'to
awaken'.
It
has
its
origins
about
2,500
years
ago
when
Siddhartha
Gotama,
known
as
the Buddha, was himself awakened (enlightened) at
the age of 35.
佛教是一种约有三亿人信仰的世界性宗教。这个词来自
于
'
菩堤
'
，
意思是
'
觉悟
'
。佛教大约起源于
2500
年前，是悉达多乔达摩
(
称为佛陀
)
在
35
岁时觉悟后所发起的。
?
Is Buddhism a Religion?
佛教是一种宗教吗？
To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion
and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It
is
a
philosophy
because
philosophy
'means
love
of
wisdom'
and
the
Buddhist
path
can
be
summed
up as:
(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts
and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom
and understanding.
对于许多人来说，
佛教超越宗教，更象是一种哲学或
'
生活艺术
< br>'
。说它是一种哲学，因为哲学
'
意
指热爱智慧
'
。佛教的修行路径
可以概括为：
（
1
）引导人们过着高尚的道德生
活
(
戒
)
，<
/p>
（
2
）
教人观察身心注意思想行为
(
定
)
，
（
3 <
/p>
）通过修行获得智慧
(
慧
)
。
?
How Can Buddhism Help Me?
佛教对我能有什么帮助？
Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it
explains apparent injustice and inequality around
the world, and it provides a code of
practice or way of life that leads to true
happiness.
佛教解释了生命的真相，它对世上的种种不公正以及不平等现象
(
人生的痛苦
)
作出了解释，并提供
了修行解脱的道路，使人走向真正的幸福。
?
Why is Buddhism Becoming
Popular?
为什么佛教越来越受人欢迎？
Buddhism is becoming
popular in western countries for a number of
reasons, The first good
reason is
Buddhism has answers to many of the problems in
modern materialistic societies.
It
also
includes
(for
those
who
are
interested)
a
deep
understanding
of
the human
mind
(and
natural therapies)
which prominent psychologists around the world are
now discovering to
be both very
advanced and effective.
佛教在
西方国家越来越流行有许多原因，
首先一个原因是佛教解答了现代功利社会出现的许多问
题。
还有就是
(
对于那些有兴趣的人来
说
)
佛教深刻剖析人的心灵
，
世界各地著名的心理学家都发现佛教
对心灵的
了解（和自然疗法）都是非常先进和有效的。
?
Who Was the Buddha?
佛陀是谁？
Siddhartha Gotama was born
into a royal family in Lumbini, now located in
Nepal, in 563
BC. At 29, he realised
that wealth and luxury did not guarantee
happiness, so he explored
the different
teachings, religions and philosophies of the day,
to find the key to human
happiness.
After six years of study and meditation he finally
found 'the middle path' and
was
enlightened. After enlightenment, the Buddha spent
the rest of his life teaching the
principles of Buddhism
—
called the Dhamma, or
Truth
—
until his death at
the age of 80.
悉达多乔达摩是在公元前
56
3
年出生于在蓝毗尼的一个帝王家族，在现在的尼泊尔境内。在
29
岁时，
他意识到荣华富贵并不能给予人真正的幸福，所以他
学习了当时社会上流行的不同的宗教和哲学教
义，希望能找到通往真正幸福之路
(
灭苦之路
)
。经过六
年的学习和冥想
(
修行
)
，他终于找到了
'
中道
'<
/p>
后获得了解脱。大彻大悟之后，佛陀终其一生传播佛法，直到他在
8 0
岁后去世为止。
?
Was the Buddha a God?
佛陀是神吗？
He was not, nor did he
claim to be. He was a man who taught a path to
enlightenment from
his own experience.
他不是，他也没有声称是。他教导自己亲历的觉悟之道。
?
Do Buddhists Worship
Idols?
佛教徒崇拜偶像吗？
Buddhists sometimes pay
respect to images of the Buddha, not in worship,
nor to ask for
favours. A statue of the
Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap and a
compassionate
smile
reminds
us
to
strive
to
develop
peace
and
love
within
ourselves.
Bowing
to
the
statue
is an expression of gratitude for the
teaching.
佛教徒对佛像表示敬意，这并不是崇拜
偶像，也不是请求恩惠。佛像中佛陀的两手轻轻地置于膝盖
上以及面带慈祥的微笑提醒着
我们要努力从自己的内心中寻求清静与慈爱。对佛像顶礼是表示对佛
陀教化的感谢。
?
Why are so Many Buddhist
Countries Poor?
为什么那么多信仰佛教的国家贫穷？
One of the Buddhist teachings is that
wealth does not guarantee happiness and also
wealth
is impermanent. The people of
every country suffer whether rich or poor, but
those who
understand Buddhist teachings
can find true happiness.
佛教
的一个教义是：财富并不能保证真正的幸福并且财富也是无常的。每个国家的人读都有苦，无
论贫穷与富贵，只有那些修行了悟佛法的人才能找到真正的幸福
(
< br>才能断苦
)
。
?
Are There Different Types
of Buddhism?
有不同类型的佛教吗？
There are many different
types of Buddhism, because the emphasis changes
from country to
country due to customs
and culture. What does not vary is the essence of
the teaching
—
the Dhamma or truth.
由于各个国家不同的习俗和文化而产生了不同类型的佛教，但佛法的本质也就是佛教所说的真理是
没有变的。
?
Are Other
Religions Wrong?
其他宗教都是错误的吗？
Buddhism is also a belief
system which is tolerant of all other beliefs or
religions.
Buddhism agrees with the
moral teachings of other religions but Buddhism
goes further by
providing
a
long
term
purpose
within
our
existence,
through
wisdom
and
true
understanding.
Real Buddhism
is very tolerant and not concerned with labels
like 'Christian', 'Moslem',
'Hindu' or
'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any
wars fought in the name of
Buddhism.
That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to
convert, only explain if an
explanation
is sought.
佛教也是一种信仰，它对其它的信仰
或宗教是很宽容的。佛教赞同其他宗教关于道德的教义，但佛
教依于智慧和真知进一步指
出人生更长远的目标。真正的佛教是非常宽容的，并不执着于比如对
'
< br>基督教
'
、
'
< br>穆斯林
'
、
'
< br>印度教
'
或
'
< br>佛教
'
等名称的分别。这就是为什么在历史上从来没有
任何战争
是以佛教的名义发起的。佛教徒也从不强求别人改变信仰，只是在别人需要时尽
力开导。
?
Is Buddhism
Scientific?
佛教合乎科学吗？
Science
is
knowledge
which
can
be
made
into
a
system,
which
depends
upon
seeing
and
testing
facts and stating
general natural laws. The core of Buddhism fit
into this definition,
because the Four
Noble truths (see below) can be tested and proven
by anyone. In fact, the
Buddha
himself
asked
his
followers
to
test
the
teaching
rather
than
accept
his
word
as
true.
Buddhism
depends more on understanding than faith.
科学是可以形成系统的知识，是通过观察和试验的结果来说明
一般的自然法则。佛教从总体上来说
也符合这种方式，因为佛法的四圣谛（见下文）是可
以通过检验和求证的。事实上，佛陀本人也要
求他的追随者自己去修行证悟他的教法，而
不是盲目地接受他的话。佛教更重视理解
(
智慧
)
而不是
仅仅依赖于信仰。
?
What did the Buddha Teach?
佛陀的教导是什么？
The Buddha taught many things, but the
basic concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by the
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