纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 059婆罗浮屠佛陀头像（3）

 

As you climb through the different levels, you take the material road to a spiritual enlightenment. On the lowest level, the sculptured reliefs present us with the illusions and disappointments of ordinary life, with all its troubles and shortcomings. They show us the punishments meted¹ out to adulterers, murderers and thieves - a Dante-like vision of sin and its inevitable² punishment. Higher up, the reliefs show the life of the historical Buddha³ himself, as he negotiated this imperfect world, moving from his princely birth and family wealth to renunciation and, eventually, enlightenment. After that, come single statues of the Buddha, meditating⁴ and teaching, showing pilgrims how to continue their journey towards the realms of the spirit. The monument, or stupa, is decorated with well over a thousand stone relief carvings⁵, and peopled with hundreds of statues of the Buddha. Borobudur is without question one of the great cultural achievements of humanity.

But when Islam became the dominant⁶ religion in Java in the sixteenth century, Buddhist⁷ Borobudur was abandoned, and for centuries it lay overgrown and almost invisible. Three hundred years later, in 1814, it was rediscovered by the first modern visitor to describe it, the British administrator⁸, scholar and soldier Sir Stamford Raffles⁹. Raffles had been appointed lieutenant¹⁰ governor of Java after the British captured the island during the Napoleonic wars, and he became passionate¹¹ about the people and their past. He heard about a "hill of statues" and he ordered a team to go to investigate. The news they brought back was so exciting that Raffles went to see for himself the monument which he at that stage knew as Boro Boro:

在沿着台阶逐渐攀爬的过程中，参拜者也会走上一条心灵净化之旅。最底层的浮雕表现了充满烦恼与缺憾的人世间的痛苦与无常，以及对通奸者、杀人犯和盗贼的惩处，犹如但丁所描述的罪行及其无法逃脱的惩罚。上层的浮雕则是佛陀在俗世时的写照，他超脱于这个不完美的世界，放弃了王子身份和荣华富贵而去修行，最终大彻大悟。之后则是佛陀的各种雕像，作沉思或讲法状，引导信众继续涤去俗念，实现精神超脱。

十六世纪，伊斯兰教成了爪哇岛上最大的宗教，佛教圣地婆罗浮屠被废弃，在接下来的数百年里，丛生的草木将其完全遮盖。直到三百年后的一八一四年，它的第一位现代访客才让它重现于世。这位到访者是英国驻当地的行政长官、学者和军官莱佛士爵士，自英国在拿破仑战争期间赢得此岛之后，他便被派来担任副总督一职。他对当地人文历史有着浓厚兴趣，在听说有一座“雕像山”后立刻派遣人马去调查。传回来的好消息让莱佛士决定亲自探访这片在当时被称为婆罗婆罗的遗址：

1 meted   

v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The severe punishment was meted out to the unruly hooligan. 对那个嚣张的流氓已给予严厉惩处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The money was meted out only after it had been carefully counted. 钱只有仔细点过之后才分发。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 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。

4 meditating   

a.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 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。

8 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

9 raffles   

n.抽彩售物( raffle的名词复数 )v.以抽彩方式售（物）( raffle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Elsa and I will buzz on to the Raffles bar. 埃尔莎和我继续往前去，到拉福尔旅馆的酒巴。 来自辞典例句
• Tudsbury rushed to the Raffles and dictated this hot story to Pamela. 塔茨伯利冲到拉福尔旅馆，对帕米拉口述了这个最新消息。 来自辞典例句

10 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

11 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。