英语沙龙：佛陀诞辰纪念日（又名花节）

Buddha¹ 's Birth day （Hana Matsuri）

Hana Matsuri，or “flower festival，”is observed on April８by the Japanese to celebrate the Buddha' s birthday．“Flower festival” alludes² to the season and to the garden in which Buddha was born．

Unlike other big spiritual honchos，the Buddha was not a god．He was just a man，albeit a royal one，the princely son of an admittedly corrupt³ Brahman monarch⁴．Some ２，５００years ago，in India，a white elephant intimated to the monarch's wife that she had conceived a child．She strode into the palace garden，where according to legend she painlessly birthed a son．As a young man，this Siddhartha Gautama bade farewell to all princely delights and sallied forth⁵ seeking －－and eventually finding －－enlightenment．

On April ８，every Japanese Buddhist⁶ temple sports a flower－festooned，peak－roofed portable shrine⁷．Under the peaked roof stands a bronze statue of the infant Buddha，pointing up at the sky with his right hand and down to earth with his left．He stands in a basin filled with a dark，naturally sweet tea，brewed from hydrangealeaves．A ladle lies poised⁸ in the basin．After the temple service，the congregants line up at the shrine，taking turns using the ladle to pour tea over the statue's head．

佛陀诞辰纪念日（又名花节）

日本人把每年的４月８日定为花节来纪念佛陀的诞辰。花节指的是佛陀出生的季节和场所---花园。

和其他的宗教领袖不同的是，佛陀不是神。他只是个凡人，尽管是王室成员，是公认的腐败不堪的婆罗门王室的王子。在约２５００年前的印度，一头白象告诉王后说她怀上了一个孩子。据传说，她大步走进王宫的花园后便顺利生下一个儿子。该王子，即悉达多·乔答摩长大后，告别了所有王室的享乐去寻找并最终找到了大彻大悟。

在４月８日，日本的每一个佛教寺庙都会摆设一个用鲜花点缀的，尖顶的可以用手提动的神祠。在尖顶下立着初生佛陀的青铜雕像，右手指着天，左手指着地。他站立的盆里装满了用八仙花沏的、黑黑的有着自然甜味的茶水。盆中放置一把勺子。寺庙的仪式完毕后，参加仪式的人在神祠前排着队，依次用勺子将茶浇在佛陀的头上。

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 alludes   

提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the vegetable kingdom Mr. Mivart only alludes to two cases. 在植物界中，密伐脱先生仅提出两点。
• Black-box testing alludes to test that are conducted at the software interface. 黑箱测试是指测试软件接口进行。

3 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

4 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 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。

7 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

8 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。