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印度教 Hinduism

背景介绍

印度教亦称“新婆罗门教”。公元8—9世纪后流行于印度的宗教。是波罗门教经改革，吸收佛教和耆那教的某些教义而改称。印度教的主要教义，仍是婆罗门教的善恶有因果、人生有轮回之说。

情景对话

Kevin: Hey, don't throw your garbage on the ground… It's bad karma.

Tracy: Opps, sorry I didn't see that I had dropped my candy wrapper. Bad karma? What's karma got to do with anything anyway?

Kevin: Karma is a religious idea that comes from Hinduism. The word Karma translates literally as action, work, or deed. It's the moral law of cause and effect. So if you do something bad, you'll have bad consequences. If you do something good, you'll have good consequences.

Tracy: Well, many people believe that's true… What's so special about Hinduism?

Kevin: It's the dominant religion of the Indian subcontinent and an old religion in the world.

Tracy: What actually do they believe?

Kevin: That's where it gets a little complex. The belief system of Hinduism is a group of specifi c intellectual or philosophical ideas. They're a wide variety of laws and religious practices that are based on karma, dharma, and social norms. It's not what we commonly think of as a rigid, common set of doctrines or beliefs.

Tracy: Huh? So one Hindu could believe and practice a religion very different from another Hindu?

Kevin: Sure. Hinduism is a fusion of many diverse cultures and traditions. It has no single founder. It includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism. For Hindi people, the ultimate purpose of life can be understood in many different ways. It can be called moksha , nirvana , or samadhi . It could mean the union of the individual with God, or maybe the realization of one's eternal relationship with God. It could be described as the unity of all existence or the attainment of perfect mental peace. Others see it to be the development of perfect unselfi shness and knowledge of self. Or also the detachment from worldly desires.

Tracy: Wow, sounds like pretty heavy stuff…

Kevin: Hinduism is about seeking for the eternal. They believe in the eternal nature of the soul and death is insignifi cant when you consider your cosmic self. It has a lot in common with other religions, actually.

Tracy: Yeah, that's why we look to religion, to fi nd a purpose for our lives and to help us face our own mortality.

凯文： 嘿，别把你的垃圾扔到地上 …… 你会遭报应的。

特蕾西： 哦，对不起，我没看到我的糖纸掉了。遭报应？报应究竟是怎么一回事呢？

凯文： 因果报应是印度教的一种宗教理念。因果报应这个词直译过来就是行为、行动的意思。它是因果道德律。所以，如果你做了坏事，你就会遭到恶报；如果你做了好事，你就会得到善报。

特蕾西： 哦，很多人都相信因果报应 …… 那么印度教有什么特别之处呢？

凯文： 印度教是印度次大陆的主要宗教，也是世界上一个古老的宗教。

特蕾西： 他们实际信仰什么呢？

凯文： 这个说起来有点复杂。印度教的信仰体系是由一些具体的智慧和哲学理念构成的，包括以因果报应、印度教律法和社会规范为基础的广义上的各类律法和宗教修行。它并非我们通常认为的那种普通而刻板的教条或信条。

特蕾西： 啊？所以不同的印度教教徒可以有迥然不同的信仰和修行方式，对吗？

凯文： 那当然了。印度教融合了许多不同的文化和传统，没有具体的创教人。它包括湿婆派、毗湿奴派和性力派。对于北印度人而言，生命的终极意义可以用很多不同的方式来理解，他们称之为解脱、涅槃或三昧，可指梵我如一的境界或实现灵魂与神合而为一，也可以说是万物合而为一或达到完美的精神安宁。另一些人将之视作自我发展和完全忘我的修行，或者说超脱于世俗的欲望。

特蕾西： 哇，听上去挺高深的 ……

凯文： 印度教追求永恒。他们相信灵魂是永恒的，一想到宇宙现象的本体，死亡就微不足道了。事实上，印度教与其他宗教有很多共同之处。

特蕾西： 是呀，所以我们信仰宗教，要从中找寻生命的意义，以帮助我们面对死亡。

词汇注解

karma	因缘，因果报应
subcontinent	次大陆
dharma	印度教律法
attainment	达到
worldly	世俗的
unselfishness	不自私，忘我 Djlfhkho2kkO5NdyrWLzD1wXxU8hVFuKxpBq2bWqKZT+NC0Bbvrbcsml44/JnmHD