Chapter I. The Buddhist Attitude of Mind

　　第一章 佛教的宗教態度

　　Among the founders of religions the Buddha (if we are permitted to call him the founder of a religion in the popular sense of the term) was the only teacher who did not claim to be other than a human being, pure and simple. Other teachers were either God, or his incarnations in different forms, or inspired by him. The Buddha was not only a human being; he claimed no inspiration from any god or external power either. He attributed all his realization, attainments and achievements to human endeavour and human intelligence. A man and only a man can become a Buddha. Every man has within himself the potentiality of becoming a Buddha, if he so wills it and endeavours. We can call the Buddha a man par excellence. He was so perfect in his ”human-ness” that he came to be regarded later in popular religion almost as ”super-human”.

　　在所有的宗教創始人中，佛(假使我們也可以用世俗所謂的宗教創始人來稱呼他的話)是唯一不以非人自居的導師。他自承只是一個單純的人類，不若其他宗教的教主，或以神靈自居，或自诩爲神的各種化身，或者自命受了聖靈的感動。佛不但只是人類的一員，而且他也從不自稱曾受任何神靈或外力的感應。他將他的覺悟、成就、及造詣，完全歸功于人的努力與才智。人，而且只有人才能成佛。只要他肯發願努力，每個人身內都潛伏有成佛的勢能。我們可以稱佛爲一位卓絕群倫的人。因爲他的“人性”完美至極，以至在後世通俗宗教的眼光中，他幾乎被視爲超人。

　　Man”s position, according to Buddhism, is supreme. Man is his own master, and there is no higher being or power that sits in judgment over his destiny.

　　依照佛教的看法，人類的地位是至高無上的。人是自己的主宰，在他上面再沒有更高級的生靈或力量，可以裁決他的命運。

　　”One is one”s own refuge, who else could be the refuge

　　[1] said the Buddha. He admonished his disciples to ”be a refuge to themselves”, and never to seek refuge in or help from anybody else. [2] He taught, encouraged and stimulated each person to develop himself and to work out his own emancipation, for man has the power to liberate himself from all bondage through his own personal effort and intelligence. The Buddha says: ”You should do your work, for the Tathāgatas[3] only teach the way.” [4] If the Buddha is to be called a ”saviour” at all, it is only in the sense that he discovered and showed the Path to Liberation, Nirvāna. But we must tread the Path ourselves.

　　“人應當自作皈依，還有誰可以作他的皈依呢？”﹝注一﹞佛曾經這樣說過。他訓誡他的弟子們，當自作皈依，切不可向任何人求皈依或援手。﹝注二﹞他教導、鼓勵、激勸每一個人要發展自己，努力自求解脫；因爲人的努力與才智，足可以自解纏縛。佛說：“工作須你們去做，因爲如來﹝注叁﹞只能教你們該走的路。”﹝注四﹞我們把佛叫做“救主”，意思是說，他是發現以及指點我們解脫之道——涅槃——的人而已。這道還是需要我們自己去踐履的。

　　It is on this principle of inpidual responsibility that the Buddha allows freedom to his disciples. In the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta the Buddha says that he never thought of controlling the Sangha (Order of Monks)[5] , nor he did want the Sangha to depend on him. He said that there was no esoteric doctrine in his teaching, nothing hidden in the ”closed-fist of the teacher” (ācariya-muttbi), or to put it in the other words, there never was anything ”up his sleeve”. [6]

　　在這條責任自負的原則下，佛的弟子們是自由的。在《大般涅槃經》中，佛說他從不想到約束僧伽(和合僧團)﹝注五﹞，他也不要僧伽依賴他。他說，在他的教誡中，絕無秘密法門。他緊握的拳中，並沒有隱藏著東西。換言之，他一向沒有什麼“袖中秘笈”。﹝注六﹞

　　The freedom of thought allowed by the Buddha is unheard of elsewhere in the history of religions. This freedom is necessary because, according to the Buddha, man”s emancipation depends on his own realization of Truth, and not on the benevolent grace of a god or any external power as a reward for his obedient good behaviour.

　　佛准許他的弟子們自由思想，這在宗教史中是向所未聞的。這種自由是必要的，因爲，根據佛的話，人類的解脫全賴個人對真理的自覺，而不是因爲他順從神的意旨，行爲端正，因此靠神或其他外力的恩典，而得到解脫以爲酬傭。

　　The Buddha once visited a small town called Kesaputta in the kingdom of Kosala. The inhabitants of his town were known by the common name Kālāma. When they heard that the Buddha was in their town, the Kālāmas paid him a visit, and told him:

　　佛有一次到憍薩羅國一個叫做羁舍子的小鎮去訪問，那鎮上居民的族姓是迦摩羅。他們聽說佛來了，就去拜見他，向他說：

　　”Sir, there are some recluses and brāhmanas who visit Kesaputta. They explain and illumine only their own doctrines, and despise, condemn and spurn others” doctrines. Then come other recluses and brāhmanas, and they, too, in their turn, explain and…

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