..續本文上一頁 for the death of millions of innocent people. For the sake of power, these conquerors committed murder with hatred, cruelty and greed. They invaded poor countries and created untold suffering by taking away lands and properties of others, and causing much destruction. Many of these conquerors are regarded as national heroes; memorial services are conducted for them and flowers are offered on their graves and tombs. What is wrong then, if Buddhists pay their respects to their world honored Teacher who sacrificed His worldly pleasures for the sake of Enlightenment to show others the Path of Salvation

　　假使有人創作一些詩歌來歌頌他的老師，這有什麼錯呢？假使有人把花環放置在所愛的人的墳墓表示思念，這又有什麼錯呢？假使佛教徒供養鮮花給所敬愛的導師——一位奉獻生命，協助人類脫離苦難的人，這又錯在那裏呢？相反的，人類卻爲戰爭英雄塑造雕像──他們是真正的謀殺者，要對成千上萬人民的死負責。爲了權力，這些征服者，不惜以嗔恚、貪婪、殘酷去謀殺。他們侵略弱國，奪取他人的國土和財産，造成數不盡的痛苦和莫大的破壞，這種人竟然成爲民族英雄，爲了紀念他們的行徑，人們爲他們塑像、修墳和獻花。難道說，佛教徒尊敬那位爲世間犧牲一切，指導他們如何獲得解脫的導師，是一種錯誤的行爲嗎？

　　Images are the language of the subconscious. Therefore, the image of the Enlightened One is often created within one”s mind as the embodiment of perfection, the image will deeply penetrate into the subconscious mind and (if it is sufficiently strong enough)can act as an automatic brake against impulses. The recollection of the Buddha produces joy, invigorate the mind and elevates man from states of restlessness, tension and frustration. Thus the worship of the Buddha is not a prayer in its usual sense but a meditation. Therefore, it is not idol worship, but ”ideal” worship. Thus Buddhists can find fresh strength to build a shrine of their lives. They cleanse their hearts until they feel worthy to bear the image in their innermost shrine. Buddhists pay respects to the great person who is represented by the image. They try to gain inspiration from His Noble personality and emulate Him. Buddhists do not see the Buddha image as a dead idol of wood or metal or clay. The image represents something vibrant to those who understand and are purified in thought, word and deed.

　　形象是一種潛在的語言。因此，大覺悟者的形象經常可以在虔誠的信徒心中完美的創造出來。形象能深入我們的意識，能夠對沖動起製約作用。追思佛陀，使我們産生愉悅、鼓舞的心情，使我們從不安、緊張和挫折中解放出來。這樣一來，禮拜佛像不是一種祈禱儀式而是一種禅定修行了。因此，佛教徒不是在崇拜偶像而是在崇拜理想。佛教徒也因此發現一種鮮明的力量，引導他們去建造自己生命的神龛。他們淨化了他們自己的心，一直到把神聖的形像牢固的鑲嵌在他們心靈的最深處。佛教徒尊敬偉人，以圖像來代表他，佛教徒想從他偉大的人格中獲得啓示，並把他當作楷模。佛教徒不把佛像當作是木頭、金屬製造而沒有生命的偶像，佛像是代表緣起法和淨化身、語、意叁行的生命動力。

　　The Buddha images are nothing more than symbolic representations of His great qualities. It is not unnatural that the deep respect for the Buddha should be expressed in some of the finest and most beautiful forms of art and sculpture the world has ever known. It is difficult to understand why some people look down on those who pay respect to images which represent holy religious teachers.

　　佛像是佛陀偉大人格的象征。藝術家們以精湛的技藝，優美的藝術語言來重現佛陀高尚的人格，以表示對佛陀的尊敬。這是自然不過的事，爲什麼還是有人看低這些代表崇高導師的圖像，真是令人費解。

　　The calm and serene image of the Buddha has been a common concept of ideal beauty. The Buddha”s image is the most precious, common asset of Asian cultures. Without the image of the Buddha, where can we find a serene, radiant and spiritually emancipated personality

　　肅穆和清晰的佛像，已經被當作是理想美的象征，佛像是亞洲文化最珍貴的共同財産。如果沒有佛像，我們到哪裏去找肅穆、清晰、散發熱力和心靈高度發展的人格呢？亞洲如果沒有佛像，無論它多麼高度的發展，都只是一個地理名詞而已。

　　But the image of the Buddha is appreciated not only by Asian or Buddhists. Anatole France in his autobiography writes, ”On the first of May, 1890, chance led me to visit the Museum in Paris. There standing in the silence and simplicity of the gods of Asia, my eyes fell on the statue of the Buddha who beckoned to suffering humanity to develop understanding and compassion. If ever a god walked on this earth, I felt here was He. I felt like kneeling down to Him and praying to Him as to a God.

　　佛像不止受到亞洲人和佛教徒所欣賞。法國小說家，諾貝爾獎得主 A.法拉西，在他的自傳中寫道： 「一八九零年五月一日，我有機會參觀巴黎博物館，那裏豎立了很多肅穆而清晰的亞洲佛像，當我的雙眼和這些佛像接觸時，感受到他在向受難的人類展開智慧和慈悲的雙手，如果世界真的有神來過，我覺得就是他，我真想跪下來，如同向上帝禱告…

《偶像崇拜 Are Buddhists Idol Worshippers

　　》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…