Buddhism
Buddhism is the only important foreign religiousinfluence that has become part and parcel2 ofChinese life. The influence is so deep that we nowspeak of children’s dolls, and sometimes the childrenthemselves, as“ little Buddha ”, and the EmpressDowager3 herself was addressed as“Old Buddha”.The Goddess of Mercy and the laughing Buddha 4have become Chinese household words. Buddhism has affected our language , our food, ourarts, our sculpture and directly inspired the characteristic pagoda5 . It has stimulated ourliterature and our whole world of imagination. The little monkish figure, with his bald head andhis gray robes, forms an intimate part of any panorama of society, and Buddhist temples,rather than those of Confucius, are the center of the town and village life, where the eldersgather to decide on6 village matters and annual celebrations. Its monks and nuns penetratethe privacies of Chinese households, on all occasions of births, deaths and weddings, as noother persons are allowed to do, and hardly a widow or virgin can be seduced , according to theChinese novels, without the help of these religious figures.
Buddhism has conquered China as a philosophy and as a religion, as a philosophy for thescholars and as a religion for the common people. Whereas Confucianism has only a philosophyof moral conduct, Buddhism possesses a logical method, a metaphysics7 , and a theory ofknowledge . Besides, it is fortunate in having a high tradition of scholarship in the translationsof Buddhist classics, and the language of these translations, so succinct and often sodistinguished by a beautiful lucidity of language and reasoning, cannot but attract scholarswith a philosophical bias. Hence Buddhism has always enjoyed a prestige among the Chinesescholars, which so far Christianity has failed to achieve.
阅读自测
Ⅰ. Fill in each blank with the proper form of the words given in the brackets :
1. The injury to their key player could be a________ ( decide ) factor in the basketball game .
2. The president is paying a ________ ( privacy) visit to Europe.
3. She had the good ________ ( fortunate) to be free from the disease.
4. Some ________ ( influence) politicians change the world chaotic situation.
5. The offer of a high salary and a free house is very________ ( seduce) . 6. He is a truly________ ( religion ) man who goes to church every day.
Ⅱ. Answer the following question in your own words :
Why can Buddhism win the favor of Chinese scholars?
答案见下页
