Owen Flanagan
A professor of philosophy and neurobiology emeritus at Duke University. He is the author of several books, including “The Bodhisattva’s Brain,” from which this article is excerpted 杜克大学名誉哲学和神经生物学教授。他著有多部著作，包括《菩萨的大脑》，本文即摘自该书。
1. The oldest Vedas date to 1500 BCE and do not include the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The Upanishads date from the sixth century BCE. The Bhagavad Gita is included in the Mahabharata Epic, written from the fourth century BCE to the fourth century CE, but the Bhagavad Gita is thought by many, perhaps most scholars, to be a late text composed possibly entirely in the Common Era. In any case, the latter are the key texts of what came to be known as Hinduism. Hindus don’t typically call their religion Hinduism (although they may call themselves Hindus as a sort of ethnic attribution). The name originates most likely in the desire of British colonialists to name their—the Indians’—religion/spiritual practices something. So Buddhism did not come from Hinduism, because whatever exactly Hinduism is or names, it comes after Buddhism. To make matters worse, the English word Hindu is almost certainly based on a mispronunciation that relates to the importance of the Indus (not Hindus’!) river. To describe their spiritual practice, Hindus sometimes use the word darshana, which is best translated as “philosophy.” Often they refer to their way as Santana Dharma, the eternal way of truth. There is no Hindu Pope. It is not a creedal faith with a single orthodox doctrine. There is no Buddhist Pope either. Buddhism is also not a creedal faith with a single orthodox doctrine. That said, every spiritual tradition has some commitments that constitute the minimal conditions of being a member, advocate, and so on. A traditional Tibetan textbook, Cutting through Appearances, says, “The definition of a proponent of Buddhist tenets is: a person who asserts that the four seals which are the views testifying that a doctrine is Buddha’s. The four seals are: 1. All compounded phenomena are impermanent; 2. All contaminated things are miserable; 3. All phenomena are selfless; and 4. Nirvana is peace.”最古老的吠陀经可追溯至公元前1500年，其中不包括《奥义书》和《薄伽梵歌》。《奥义书》可追溯至公元前六世纪。《薄伽梵歌》收录于《摩诃婆罗多史诗》，该史诗写于公元前四世纪至公元四世纪，但许多学者（或许是大多数学者）认为《薄伽梵歌》是一部后期文本，可能完全创作于公元纪年。无论如何，《薄伽梵歌》和《薄伽梵歌》是后来被称为印度教的关键文本。印度教徒通常不称他们的宗教为印度教（尽管他们可能会自称印度教徒，作为一种民族归属）。这个名字很可能源于英国殖民者想要给他们的——印度人的——宗教/精神实践命名。所以佛教并非源于印度教，因为无论印度教究竟是什么或叫什么名字，它都源于佛教。更糟糕的是，英文单词 Hindu 几乎肯定是基于与印度河（不是印度教徒的！）的重要性有关的发音错误。为了描述他们的精神实践，印度教徒有时会使用 darshana 这个词，最好翻译为“哲学”。他们常常将自己的方式称为 Santana Dharma，即永恒的真理之道。没有印度教教皇。它不是一种具有单一正统教义的信条信仰。也没有佛教教皇。佛教也不是一种具有单一正统教义的信条信仰。话虽如此，每个精神传统都有一些承诺，这些承诺构成了成为成员、倡导者等的最低条件。藏传佛教传统教科书《断相》写道：“佛教教义的拥护者的定义是：主张四印（即证明某一教义为佛陀的观点）的人。四印是：1. 一切有为法皆无常；2. 一切有染皆苦；3. 一切法皆无我；4. 涅槃即寂静。”
- 2. Brahman is the name for the ultimate, self-sustaining source of all creation. But “it” is not a person. Furthermore, many Hindus conceive their elaborate pantheon of gods, even high Gods like Brahma (creator of earth but not everything; that is Brahman’s role), Vishnu (loving protector), and Shiva (fierce protector) as “aspects” on the one and only God, Brahman. Hints of Spinoza.
- 梵天是一切造物的终极、自足之源。但“它”并非某个人。此外，许多印度教徒将他们精心设计的众神，甚至像梵天（创造世界而非万物的神；那是梵天的角色）、毗湿奴（慈悲的守护神）和湿婆（凶猛的守护神）这样的至高神，都视为唯一神梵天的“化身”。这暗示了斯宾诺莎的意味。
- 3. The Dalai Lama (2005, 92–93) writes: “Even with all these profound scientific theories of the origin of the universe, I am left with questions, serious ones: What existed before the Big Bang? Where did the Big Bang come from? What caused it? Why has our planet evolved to support life? What is the relationship between the cosmos and the beings that have evolved within it? Scientists may dismiss these questions as nonsensical, or they may acknowledge their importance but deny that they belong to the domain of scientific inquiry. However, both these approaches will have the consequence of acknowledging definite limits to our scientific knowledge of the origin of our cosmos. I am not subject to the professional or ideological constraints of a radically materialistic worldview.… And in Buddhism the universe is seen as infinite and beginningless, so I am quite happy to venture beyond the Big Bang and speculate about possible states of affairs before it.”
- 达赖喇嘛（2005，92–93）写道：“即使有这么多关于宇宙起源的深奥科学理论，我仍然有一些问题，一些严肃的问题：大爆炸之前存在什么？大爆炸从何而来？是什么导致了它？为什么我们的星球进化到可以支持生命？宇宙与在其中进化的生物之间是什么关系？科学家们可能会认为这些问题毫无意义而置之不理，或者他们可能承认这些问题的重要性，但却否认它们属于科学研究的领域。然而，这两种态度都会导致承认我们对宇宙起源的科学认识存在一定的局限性。我不会受到极端唯物主义世界观的专业或意识形态的束缚……而在佛教中，宇宙被视为无限且无始的，因此我很乐意超越大爆炸，推测大爆炸之前可能的状态。”
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