Chapter I. The Buddhist Attitude of Mind

　　第一章 佛教的宗教态度

　　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”.

　　在所有的宗教创始人中，佛(假使我们也可以用世俗所谓的宗教创始人来称呼他的话)是唯一不以非人自居的导师。他自承只是一个单纯的人类，不若其他宗教的教主，或以神灵自居，或自诩为神的各种化身，或者自命受了圣灵的感动。佛不但只是人类的一员，而且他也从不自称曾受任何神灵或外力的感应。他将他的觉悟、成就、及造诣，完全归功于人的努力与才智。人，而且只有人才能成佛。只要他肯发愿努力，每个人身内都潜伏有成佛的势能。我们可以称佛为一位卓绝群伦的人。因为他的“人性”完美至极，以至在后世通俗宗教的眼光中，他几乎被视为超人。

　　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，人类的地位是至高无上的。人是自己的主宰，在他上面再没有更高级的生灵或力量，可以裁决他的命运。

　　”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.

　　“人应当自作皈依，还有谁可以作他的皈依呢？”﹝注一﹞佛曾经这样说过。他训诫他的弟子们，当自作皈依，切不可向任何人求皈依或援手。﹝注二﹞他教导、鼓励、激劝每一个人要发展自己，努力自求解脱；因为人的努力与才智，足可以自解缠缚。佛说：“工作须你们去做，因为如来﹝注三﹞只能教你们该走的路。”﹝注四﹞我们把佛叫做“救主”，意思是说，他是发现以及指点我们解脱之道——涅槃——的人而已。这道还是需要我们自己去践履的。

　　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]

　　在这条责任自负的原则下，佛的弟子们是自由的。在《大般涅槃经》中，佛说他从不想到约束僧伽(和合僧团)﹝注五﹞，他也不要僧伽依赖他。他说，在他的教诫中，绝无秘密法门。他紧握的拳中，并没有隐藏著东西。换言之，他一向没有什么“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.

　　佛准许他的弟子们自由思想，这在宗教史中是向所未闻的。这种自由是必要的，因为，根据佛的话，人类的解脱全赖个人对真理的自觉，而不是因为他顺从神的意旨，行为端正，因此靠神或其他外力的恩典，而得到解脱以为酬佣。

　　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:

　　佛有一次到憍萨罗国一个叫做羁舍子的小镇去访问，那镇上居民的族姓是迦摩罗。他们听说佛来了，就去拜见他，向他说：

　　”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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