纪录片《佛教世界的七大奇观》 中国香港天坛大佛（1）

Buddhism¹ is on the rise once again, partly perhaps because its positive attitude feels well-suited to an emerging superpower.

佛教在此复兴部分原因，可能源于它的积极态度很适合崛起中的超级大国的需求。

Particularly popular is the Zen form of Buddhism.

佛教中的禅宗在这里尤为盛行。

Little surprise given that Zen, although now typically associated with Japan, started off life in China.

虽然现在一提到“禅”常常会联想到日本，但它最早起源于中国。这点并不让人意外。

And I'm going to explore Zen in one of the places in the world where it is most vigorous...Hong Kong.

接下来，我将去探寻世界上“禅”最为兴盛的地方之一——香港。

Our sixth wonder is the giant Buddha² that overlooks this great Asian city.

我们来到的第六个圣地，就是俯瞰这座亚洲大都市的天坛大佛。

This mammoth³ bronze statue was completed in 1993.

这尊巨大的青铜佛像于1993年建成。

It symbolises the relationship between man and nature, people and religion.

他象征了人与自然的关系，以及人与宗教的关系。

The building of the giant Buddha in Hong Kong was a reassertion of an old Buddhist⁴ tradition of constructing massive Buddhist images.

这尊坐落在香港的巨大佛像，表明修筑巨型佛像这一佛教传统的回归。

And the monks⁵ who initiated⁶ the project in Hong Kong had visited Japan,

当年启动这一计划的香港僧侣们拜访了日本和中国大陆的许多地方，

and they'd visited various sites in mainland China and seen medieval massive images of Buddhas⁷.

也参考了许多古代的巨型佛像造型。

And this was something they were trying to re-create in Lantan.

这就是他们想要在大屿山修建的佛像。

It's the only statue of Buddha to face north towards Beijing,

这是唯一座面向北方、遥望北京的佛像。

and is named Tian Tan after the Temple of Heaven in that city.

“天坛大佛”之名也是取自北京天坛。

When Buddhism first starts out, it seems that people actively⁸ choose not to represent the Buddha figuratively.

在佛教传播之初，人们刻意不去把佛陀的形象具体化。

But then as the philosophy passes through regions like Afghanistan,

但是当它传播到阿富汗等地时，

which had a really strong Greek influence, thanks to the invasion of Alexander the Great,

这些地方由于亚历山大大帝的入侵而深受希腊文化影响。

it becomes the done thing to represent the Buddha in human form.

在此影响下，人们开始用人类的形象来描绘佛陀的样貌就变得顺理成章了。

Now, once the belief system enters China, a new tradition gains popularity.

而当这种信仰体系进入中国时，一种新的做法流行开来。

Not just to represent the Buddha in human form, but to do so on a monumental scale.

即不仅用人的形象来表现佛陀的样貌，还把佛像的尺寸变得巨大。

And that's an art form that's now being revived here in Hong Kong.

如今这艺术形式在香港得到重生。

1 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

2 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。

3 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

4 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。

5 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

7 Buddhas   

n.佛，佛陀，佛像( Buddha的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She called on spirits and Buddhas and made innumerable vows, all to no avail. 她把一切的神佛都喊到了，并且许下多少誓愿，都没有用。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Tibetans identification with the political role of Living Buddhas is declining. 藏新政权的政治舞台中活佛的政治角色处于边缘。 来自互联网

8 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。