So this was the Enlightenment that the Buddha1 experienced under the fig2 tree:
這便是釋迦牟尼在無花果樹下所參悟的道:
the realization3 that, instead of giving in to our wishes, we can break free from them – rather like when we are feeling thirsty and take no notice, and the feeling goes away.
與其遷就我們的愿望,我們可以擺脫他們——而不像我們覺得口渴時,不予理會,口渴的感覺就沒有了。
You can see that the way to do this is far from easy.
你能想象得出來通往這個境界的道路是不平坦的。
The Buddha called it the 'middle way', because it lay between useless self-torment and thoughtless pleasure-seeking.
釋迦牟尼稱這條道路為“中間道路”,因為它在無益的自我折磨和無思慮的舒適生活之間通向真正的解脫。
The important thing is to find the right balance: in what we believe, in the decisions we make, in what we say and what we do, in the way we live,這里的關(guān)鍵是尋找到正確的平衡:正當?shù)男叛觯數(shù)臎Q定,正當?shù)难哉Z,正當?shù)男袨?,正當?shù)纳?,in our ambitions, in our conscience and our innermost thoughts.
正當?shù)淖非螅數(shù)囊庾R,正當?shù)某了肌?/p>
That was the essential message of the Buddha's sermons,這是釋迦牟尼宣講的教義中最重要的內(nèi)容,
and these sermons made such a deep impression on people that many followed him and worshipped him as a god.
這種講道給人們留下如此深刻的印象,致使許多人追隨他并像敬奉一位神那樣敬奉他。
Today there are almost as many Buddhists4 in the world as there are Christians5, especially in Southeast Asia, in Sri Lanka, Tibet, China and Japan.
今天世界上的佛教徒幾乎與基督徒一樣多,特別是在東南亞,斯里蘭卡,中國(尤其是西藏),日本。
But not many of them are able to live their lives in accordance with the Buddha's teachings, and so achieve that inner calm.
但是只有少數(shù)信徒能夠按照釋迦牟尼的教義生活并達到內(nèi)心清靜的境界。