纪录片《佛教世界的七大奇观》 柬埔寨吴哥窟（1）（在线收听）

Buddhism continued to spread throughout the Mediaeval period.

佛教在中世纪继续传播。

Come the 13th century and Buddhism was flourishing in the Khmer Kingdom...modern-day Cambodia.

到了13世纪，佛教已在高棉帝国，即今天的柬埔寨非常兴盛。

The temple complexes here at Angkor are our fifth wonder.

位于吴哥的这座寺庙建筑群就是我们要拜访的第五处圣地。

Angkor Wat began life as the sacred palace complex of a Khmer Emperor who,

最初，吴哥窟是为高棉皇帝而兴建的圣殿群。

in fact, favoured Hinduism over Buddhist ideas.

然而事实上，这位皇帝热衷印度教胜过佛教。

These aren't just buildings, but have a grand ambition.

这些不仅仅是建筑群，还蕴含了宏大的雄心。

The whole complex is said to be a symbolic representation of Hindu cosmology.

据说，整座庙宇群都是印度教宇宙观的符号象征。

The original temple honoured the Hindu god Vishnu and incarnates the centre of the physical and spiritual universe, a mythical mountain.

起初，寺庙是用来供奉印度教主神毗湿奴的。它将物质与精神世界的中心具象为一座存在于神话中的山（须弥山）。

A series of five rectangular walls represent other mountains and the moats here evoke the cosmic ocean.

五层矩形的围墙代表须弥山的五座山峰，护城河则代表环绕须弥山的无垠海洋。

This place reeks of a combination of earthly and divine power, and of the close-knit relationship between gods and kings.

这里弥漫着凡间君权与天界神权结合的意蕴，以及天神与君王的紧密联系。

And, of course, it was a belief in that relationship that inspired the creation of this complex in the first place.

当然，一开始正是对这种联系的信仰赋予了兴建这座寺庙群的灵感。

But for some people it was just too exclusive, too strictly hierarchical...and Buddhism offered a solution.

但对某些人来说，这里过于疏离排他，等级制度也过于严格。于是佛教提供了解决方法。

It was the Khmer Emperor Jayavarman VII who converted to Buddhism and his regime marked a clear dividing line with the old Hindu past.

真腊国王阇耶跋摩七世改奉（大乘）佛教为国教，他的统治与之前的印度教下的统治有着明显区别。