湖北归元寺—英文导游词(2)
2013-04-03 01:03
导读：ThebuildingweseenowistheBuddhaHallwhereonecertainBuddhaandhistwoassistantbodhisattvasesareworshiped.ThisBuddhaisAmitabhaBuddha.Amitabhameansincomparablebrightness.AccordingtoBuddhism,timeandspaceislim
The building we see now is the Buddha Hall where one certain Buddha and his two assistant bodhisattvases are worshiped. This Buddha is Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha means incomparable brightness. According to Buddhism, time and space is limitless and thus there are many many Buddhas in different spaces and times. But in a certain space or in a certain period of time, there is only one certain Buddha who is in charge of instructing all living creatures. Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha who presides over the Land of Ultimate Bliss in the west, which will come in the future. Buddhist s criptures describe the Land of Ultimate Bliss as a wonderland, in which no pain exists and the people enjoy their lives. In one word, it’s very attractive. Some people will think it must be very difficult to enter such a world. How can I go to such a paradise? Maybe I have to work hard and bear a lot of sufferings. In fact, it’s very easy to enter the world. He only need often murmur ‘May Buddha preserve us’ sincerely. It’s enough.
You see, the statue in the middle is the very Buddha. On his left is the Goddess of Mercy. On his right is the other bodhisattva who follows the Buddha. It is said that he can save all the living creatures from three kinds of terrible disasters.
Now, let’s step into the Buddhist s criptures Pavilion where the s criptures of Buddhism are kept. But I ‘m afraid what attracts our attention at the first sight must be this snow-white statue. It is a statue of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. This statue was carved out of a big piece of jade which is 2-meter-tall and weighs 3 tons. It was carved by Myanmar handicraftsmen and donated to the temple by the Rangoon Buddhists in 1935.
If we watch the statue, we may sense that the peaceful expression on the Buddha’s face has brought us to a quiet and harmonious state.
The last building we will visit is the Avalokitesvara Pavilion in the north yard. When we entered the yard just now we saw a statue of her. Now I’d like to introduce her carefully.
As a goddess, she swore that she would not become a Buddha until all the living creatures suffering from pains were saved. So she became a bodhisattva who is most popular among the people and attracts the most believers of all the gods and goddesses in Buddhism. It was said that one would be saved from trouble and disaster as long as he (she) chanted her name and if it was heard by her. Thus she is called Guanshiyin, which means ‘hearing or looking on the voices of the suffering’. Because of her kind heart and benevolence she got another title ‘the Goddess of Mercy’.
