纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 041无量寿佛坐像(6)

He's seated cross-legged in the lotus position, a pose used for meditation¹ and, as here, for teaching.

他的莲花坐姿是佛教中冥想与说法时的姿势。

But this statue-and the thousands made later that look so like it-has a purpose.Tibetan Thupten Jinpa, a former monk² and interpreter to the Dalai Lama, explains how you use an image like this one as a help on your journey towards enlightenment:

这尊佛像与后来出现的成千上万的类似佛像都有着同一个目的。曾做过僧人的图登金巴向我们解释佛像如何助人开悟:

"What the religious practitioners³ do is to bring the image of the Buddha⁴-by first looking at the image, and then bringing that image of the Buddha within oneself-in a sort of a mental image.And then reflect upon the qualities of the Buddha-Buddha's body, speech and mind. The image of the Buddha plays a role of recalling in the mind of the devotee, the historical teacher, the Buddha, and his experience of awakening⁵, and also the key events in his life. There are different images, forms of the Buddha, that actually kind of symbolise those events. For example, there is a very famous posture⁶ of the Buddha, which is seated but with his hand in a gesture of preaching. Technically⁷, this hand gesture is referred to as the gesture of turning the wheel of dharma, Dharmachakra.

修行者凝视佛像，佛的形象随之进入他们的心灵。之后他们思考佛的身、语、意。佛像能令信徒想起佛陀，回忆起他的奉献、开悟以及重要事迹。不同形式的佛像实际上就代表了不同的事迹。比如，佛陀有一个很著名的姿势：结跏趺坐，手作说法印。其实严格来说, 这应该叫转法轮印，意为转动佛法之轮。

And this is the hand gesture of our seated Buddha. The Dharmachakra, or Wheel of Law, is a symbol that represents the path to enlightenment, and it's one of the oldest known Buddhist⁸ symbols found in Indian art.

这正是本文中坐佛的手势。法轮象征了通往开悟的道路，是印度艺术中已知最古老的佛教象征。

1 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

2 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

3 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

6 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

7 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

8 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。