Maybe it is the nature of the language, but I found Chinese version of the Buddhist Texts to be artistic, poetic and beautiful, where as English version of the Buddhist Texts reads like a philosophical text book to me, void of any emotions.
也許這是語言本身的關係，因為我覺得中文佛經很美，也富有詩意，但我覺得英文佛經讀起來就像哲學教科書，毫無感情。
However, the Chinese version, while poetic, can be incomprehensible at times. The English version, while precise, does not inspire one to find the Truth. Both the English and Chinese versions have another common problem; their accuracy is greatly depended on the translator. A choice of an incorrect word can cause a practitioner to go down an incorrect path.
但，中文佛經雖然很有詩意，有時讓我很難理解。英文佛經，
雖然精確，但它不會啟發我學佛的念頭。中文和英文佛經還有一個共同的問題，那就是它們的翻譯是依賴譯者的修行程度。
若翻譯者選擇不理想的字，可能會導致讀者往不正確的路走。
For example, the concept of Śūnyatā, the Chinese translated it to “空“, which conjures an image of "emptiness" to Chinese readers. While the emotional aspect of this translation does capture some feeling of Śūnyatā correctly, it also leads ones to think “空“ implies "nothing-ness", which is incorrect. This is the reason that I choose not to translate Śūnyatā to any corresponding English word and left it as the original Pali, so that I don't conjure up any unintended connotation in the translation.
舉例來說，Śūnyatā 在中文被翻譯為 「空」，這讓人有一個「空虛」的感覺。雖然這種感覺在某方面也正確，但它可能誤導人去認為「空」表示「沒有」，這是不正確的。所以在英文版，我選擇不翻譯 Śūnyatā。
My background as an engineer forced me to have the habit of writing as precisely as possible, because any imprecision in a technical document can cause problems later on. I have the same approach to this Blog; especially on this Blog. Because I don't want my imprecision to become an obstacle in anyone's path to the Truth. So I'll only write and translate concepts that I have some empirical understandings.
我的學科背景是理工領域，所以我盡量寫最準確、最精確的文章。因為任何不準確的文字，很有可能在工作方面有問題。
我用同樣的想法來寫這個部落格，因為不希望我的文章造成任何人的障礙。因此，我只寫和翻譯我有體會的概念給大家分享。
Instead of misleading you to any incorrect conclusions, I would rather you don't understand my articles.
我寧願您不明白，也不願意誤導您。
In the previous article, I mentioned Master Yin-Shun's words: "Belief is based on emotion, Knowledge is based on rationality. A student of Buddhism needs to develop these two facets equally and harmoniously"; that is why I thought providing this Blog in both English and Chinese at the same time can help bring this balance of rationality and emotion together.
在前一篇文章，我提到印順法師的話：「信是情意的， 智是理性的，學佛的要使這二者，平衡進展到融和。」，我希望能在這部落格中達到這個目的，所以我在這部落格中同時提供中英文。希望英文的精準可以替代我中文的不足之處。
The first instruction Master Ban Ji gave me was to "elevate my emotions." I believe I have some success in this task, because now I sometime would feel like crying when watching a touching movie. Whereas before, I would never have an urge to cry in a movie theater.
半寄師父給我的第一個指示是：要我「提升我的情感。」
我覺得我有一點點成功的感覺，因為現在我看一部感人的電影會覺得想哭。而在此之前，我從來不會這樣。
To walk the path of Buddha, one must first elevate and balance one's rational and emotion self.
要走佛的路，首先，必須提升和平衡一個人自我的理性和情感。
沒有留言:
張貼留言