世界小史 第98期:一本书

 　　The idea that came to him, his great Enlightenment, the solution to human suffering, was this:

　　他参透到的伟大的知觉，让人类摆脱苦难的思想，是这样的：

　　if we want to avoid suffering, we must start with ourselves, because all suffering comes from our own desires.

　　如果我们想使自己免遭苦难，我们就必须从我们自身做起，因为一切苦难来自于我们自己的欲望。

　　Think of it like this.

　　这样来想。

　　If you are sad because you can't have something you want – maybe a book or a toy,如果我们伤心是因为你得不到你想要得到的——可能是一本书或一件玩具,you can do one of two things: you can do your best to get it, or you can stop wanting it.

　　那么你可以做两件事：你可以想方设法得到它，或者你可以不再去想怎么得到它。

　　Either way, if you succeed, you won't be sad any more.

　　如果你做成了两件事中的一件事，你就再也不会悲伤了。

　　This is what the Buddha¹ taught.

　　这就是释迦牟尼所教导的。

　　If we can stop ourselves wanting all the beautiful and pleasant things in life,如果我们不再想要得到一切美好和舒适的东西，and can learn to control our greed² for happiness, comfort, recognition³ and affection,可以学着控制我们对幸福、舒适、赞赏和感情的贪恋，we shan't feel sad any more when, as so often happens, we fail to get what we want.

　　那么，我们往往也不会在我们缺乏这一切时感到悲伤了。谁不再有任何愿望，He who ceases to wish for anything ceases to feel sad. If the appetite goes, the pain goes with it.

　　谁也就永远不会悲伤。只需消除渴望，人们也就可以消除苦难。

 

1 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

2 greed   

n.贪食，贪心，贪婪

参考例句：

• His greed knows no limits.他的贪心永无止境。
• Greed was his only motive for stealing.贪婪是他盗窃的唯一动机。

3 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。