世界小史 第92期:森林里冥想

 　　But it would be wrong to say that the Indians were a cruel people.

　　但是说印度人是一个残忍的民族是错误的。

　　On the contrary, their priests were serious and profound thinkers,相反，他们的祭司是很严肃、深沉的思考者，

　　who often withdrew into the forest to meditate¹, alone and undisturbed, on the most difficult questions.

　　他们常常隐退到森林里冥想，独自一人，不受打扰地在那里思考最艰难的问题。

　　They meditated² on their many fierce gods, and on Brahma, the Sublime³, the highest divinity of all.

　　他们冥想他们那众多的狂烈的神，思考梵天（婆罗贺摩），这个主神，这位最崇高的神。

　　They seemed to sense the breath of this one Supreme⁴ Being throughout the natural world – in gods as well as men, and in every animal and plant.

　　他们似乎通过自然界感觉到这一位最崇高生灵在——神和人，动物和植物内的气息。

　　They felt him active in all things: in the shining of the sun and in the sprouting⁵ of crops, in growing and in dying.

　　这一位最崇高的生灵在一切方面均起着作用：在阳光和庄稼发芽方面，在生长和死亡方面。

　　He was everywhere, just as a little salt dropped in water makes all the water salty, down to the last drop.

　　神无处不在，就像一撮盐被扔进水里，水里就到处都是盐，每一滴水里都含盐。

　　In all the variety of nature, in all her cycles and transformations⁶, we only see the surface.

　　我们在自然界里看到的所有这些差别，一切循环和更换其实只是表面现象。

　　A soul may inhabit the body of a man, and after his death, that of a tiger, or a cobra, or any other living creature,一颗灵魂可以住进一个人的身体内，而在此人死后也许就变成一只虎或一条眼镜蛇或其它生物the cycle will only end when that soul has become so pure that it can at last become one with the Supreme Being.

　　如此循环反复，除非灵魂得到净化，最终得以与神的本性达到完全一致。

 

1 meditate   

v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想

参考例句：

• It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
• I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。

2 meditated   

深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑

参考例句：

• He meditated for two days before giving his answer. 他在作出答复之前考虑了两天。
• She meditated for 2 days before giving her answer. 她考虑了两天才答复。

3 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 sprouting   

v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
• They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分

6 transformations   

n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换

参考例句：

• Energy transformations go on constantly, all about us. 在我们周围，能量始终在不停地转换着。 来自辞典例句
• On the average, such transformations balance out. 平均起来，这种转化可以互相抵消。 来自辞典例句