The Buddhist religion developed from the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived from about 563 to 483 BCE in the present-day regions of Nepal and central India. At his birth, it is believed, seers foretold that the infant prince, named Siddhartha Gautama, would become either a chakravartin — a “world-conquering ruler”— or a Buddha — a "fully enlightened being”. Hoping for a ruler like himself, Siddhartha’s father tried to surround his son with pleasure and shield him from pain. Yet the prince was eventually exposed to the suffering of old age, sickness, and death — the inevitable fate of all mortal beings. Deeply troubled by the human condition, Siddhartha at age twenty-nine left the palace, his family, and his inheritance to live as an ascetic in the wilderness. After six years of meditation, he attained complete enlightenment near Bodh Gaya, India.
Following his enlightenment, the Buddha (Enlightenment One) gave his first teaching in the Deer Park at Samath. Here he expounded the Four Noble Truths, which are the foundation of Buddhism: (1) life is suffering; (2) this suffering has a cause, which is ignorance; (3) this ignorance can be overcome and extinguished; (4) the way to overcome this ignorance is by following the eightfold path of right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. After the Buddha’s death at the age of eighty, his many disciples developed his teachings and established the world’s oldest monastic institutions.
A Buddha is not a god but rather one who sees the ultimate nature of the world and is therefore no longer subject to samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth that otherwise holds us in its grip, whether we are born into the world of the gods, humans, animals, tortured spirits, or hell beings.
The early form of Buddhism known as Theravada or Hinayana, stresses self-cultivation for the purpose of attaining nirvana, which is the extinction of samsara for oneself. Theravada Buddhism has continued in south India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Within 500 years of the Buddha’s death, another form of Buddhism, known as Mahayana, became popular mainly in northern India; it eventually flourished in China (as Chan and Vajrayana), and in Korea, Japan (as Zen). Compassion for all beings is the foundation of Mahayana Buddhism, whose goal is not nirvana for oneself but Buddhahood (Enlightenment) for every being throughout the universe. Mahayana Buddhism recognizes Buddhas other than Shakyamuni from the past, present, and future. One such is Maitreya, the next Buddha to appear on Earth. Another is the Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life (that is, incorporating all space and time), who dwells in paradise known as the Western Pure Land. Amitabha Buddha became particularly popular in East Asia. Mahayana Buddhism also developed the category of bodhisattvas (those whose essence is wisdom), saintly beings who are on the brink of achieving Buddhahood but have vowed to help others achieve Buddhahood before crossing over themselves.
In art, bodhisattvas and Buddhas are most clearly distinguished by their clothing and adornments: bodhisattvas wear the princely garb of India, while Buddhas wear monks’ robes. In Hinduism, a deity may dwell in its image, but in Buddhism portrayals of Buddhas and bodhisattvas are recognized as purely symbolic, and no spirit is believed to reside within.
1.Which type of Buddhism developed the category of bodhisattva, and how are bodhisattvas distinguished from Buddhas in artistic representations?
2.Which kind of Buddhism emphasizes personal development for the purpose of achieving nirvana, and what is nirvana?
3.Why did Siddhartha’s father shelter him when he was young?
4.What type of Buddhism flourished half a millennium after the Buddha’s death, and mainly developed further to the east; what was its main goal?
5.What are the four Noble Truths and where did the Buddha first expound this doctrine?
问题1选项
A.Mahayana Buddhism, and they are dressed like Indian princes.
B.Vajrayana Buddhism, and they are distinguished by the yellow hats and saffron robes they wear.
C.Chan Buddhism, and they can be identified in art by the robes that cover their bodies.
D.Theravada Buddhism, and they are identified by the princely garb of India that they wear.
问题2选项
A.Theravada Buddhism; the Buddhist equivalent of the Christian heaven.
B.Theravada Buddhism; the personal extinction of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
C.Hinayana Buddhism; the extinction of samsara.
D.Both B and C.
问题3选项
A.He was afraid that his son, who would one day succeed him as king, might get sick and die if he were exposed to the dangers of everyday life.
B.He was worried that his son might become great and challenge his reign, and that is why he tried to distract him with pleasure.
C.He loved his son very deeply and did not want any pain or sickness to affect him; he wanted him to live only in the perfect “world” that he created for him.
D.Oracles foretold that the baby Siddhartha, when he grew up, would either be a world conqueror or a fully enlightened being, but his father only wanted him to be an ordinary king like himself.
问题4选项
A.Mahayana Buddhism, and its main goal was Buddhahood for every being throughout the universe.
B.Shakyamuni Buddism, and its main goal was to end samsara for every bodhisattva.
C.Zen Buddhism, and its main goal was to bring the Pure Land into the present world.
D.Vajrayana Buddhism, and its main goal was to share the Buddha’s message through creating purely symbolic images of the Buddha through paintings and sculptures.
问题5选项
A.Life is suffering; ignorant people cause suffering; ignorance can be overcome; one can overcome ignorance by following the eightfold path; he gave his first teaching at Bodh Gaya in India.
B.Life is suffering; suffering has a cause, which is ignorance; ignorance can be overcome by careful study; he gave his first teaching to the deer that gathered around him at Bodh Gaya in India.
C.Life is suffering; this suffering has a cause, which is ignorance; this ignorance can be overcome and extinguished; the way to overcome this ignorance is by following the eightfold path; he gave his first teaching in Deer Park at Samath.
D.Life is suffering; ignorance is the cause of suffering; ignorance can be overcome by following the eightfold path; he gave his first teaching in the Deer Park at Samath.
第1题:A
第2题:B
第3题:D
第4题:A
第5题:C
第1题:
1.事实细节题。本题有两个问题。第一个是“哪一种佛教扩大了菩萨的范畴”,第四段最后一句说到“Mahayana Buddhism also developed the category of bodhisattvas …”,由此可知,是大乘佛教“Mahayana Buddhism”扩大了菩萨的范畴;第二个问题,how are bodhisattvas distinguished from Buddhas in artistic representations“菩萨与佛在艺术表现上有何不同”,最后一段第一句正说到了两者在艺术方面的区别“In art, bodhisattvas and Buddhas are most clearly distinguished by their clothing and adornments: bodhisattvas wear the princely garb of India, while Buddhas wear monks’ robes”,在艺术上,菩萨和佛最明显的区别是他们的服饰:菩萨穿的是印度的公主服,而佛穿的是僧袍。对比选项可知A选项正确。
第2题:
2.事实细节题。本题同样有两个问题。第一个问题“哪种佛教强调个人发展以达到涅槃的目的”,第四段第一句说到“The early form of Buddhism … stresses self-cultivation for the purpose of attaining nirvana, which is the extinction of samsara for oneself”,佛教的早期形式(小乘佛教)强调自我修养,以达到涅槃的目的,即不再轮回,因此是小乘佛教强调个人发展达到涅槃;第二个问题“什么是涅槃”,因为涅槃是佛教强调的个人发展目的,因此涅槃与佛有关,第三段中说到“A Buddha is not a god but rather one who sees the ultimate nature of the world and is therefore no longer subject to samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth…”,佛陀不是神,而是一个看到世界终极本质的人,因此不再受制于轮回,也就是生、死和重生的循环,由此可知,涅槃也就是不再受制于生、死和重生的循环。对比选项发现B选项符合题意。
第3题:
3.事实细节题。题干中受到父亲庇护的Siddhartha出现在文章第一段“At his birth, it is believed, seers foretold that the infant prince, named Siddhartha Gautama, would become either a chakravartin — a ‘world-conquering ruler'— or a Buddha — a ‘fully enlightened being’. Hoping for a ruler like himself, Siddhartha’s father tried to surround his son with pleasure and shield him from pain”,释迦牟尼在出生时,被预言他或将是征服世界的统治者,或将是一个完全开悟的人。他的父亲希望他成为像自己一样的统治者,想让他免受痛苦而努力保护他。对比选项可知D选项正确。
第4题:
4.事实细节题。本题又是两个问题。第一个问题“什么样的佛教在佛陀死后500年才兴盛起来,而且主要在东方发展得更远”,第四段第三句说到“Within 500 years of the Buddha’s death, another form of Buddhism, known as Mahayana, became popular mainly in northern India; it eventually flourished in China (as Chan and Vajrayana), and in Korea, Japan (as Zen)”,佛陀去世后500年内,另一种佛教形式大乘佛教主要在印度北部流行起来;它最终在中国(作为禅宗和藏传佛教)和韩国、日本(作为禅宗)兴盛起来。第二个问题“它的主要目的是什么”,第四段第四句说到“whose goal is not nirvana for oneself but Buddhahood (Enlightenment) for every being throughout the universe”,其目标不是为涅槃,而是为宇宙中的每一个众生成佛(开悟)。对比选项可知A选项正确。
第5题:
5.事实细节题。第二段中说到“the Buddha (Enlightenment One) gave his first teaching in the Deer Park at Samath”,佛陀在萨马斯的鹿园里进行了他的第一次教导,阐述了四圣谛的内容:(1) life is suffering; (2) this suffering has a cause, which is ignorance; (3) this ignorance can be overcome and extinguished; (4) the way to overcome this ignorance is by following the eightfold path…对比选项可知C选项正确。