Life of the Buddha 佛祖生平
The Buddha was a prince in a small kingdom in Northern lndia.He had everything a boy could want,and everyone loved him,for he was a gentle and thoughtful child.When he grew up he married with a beautiful princess.But when he rode out in the streets of his father\\u0027s city,he saw things which made him unhappy.First he saw a cripple and a sick man.Then one day he saw a dead body in the road.That night he decided that he could no longer live as a prince.He must go out and try to understand the life of the people.Leaving his wife and a baby son,he joined a group of pilgrims[6]，who wandered through the country.
One day he sat quietly under a tree,and said he would not leave the place until he understood how to live and what was the mean of life.When he got up and joined his friends again,he said he had found what he wanted,For the next forty years,the Buddha,as men called him,went about the country preaching the faith.He taught that by thinking,acting and feeling rightly,men could be happy and that true happiness was to be free of wrong desires and empty hopes.He called this Nirvana,the perfect state,which man reached
He visited his father and wife again,and his little son grew up to be one of his most faithful followers.After Gautama died,his followers were driven out of Northern lndia by the priests of the Hindu religion.They did not like his teaching that all men are brothers.But Buddhism spreads into the South of lndia and China and many other countries.
釋迦牟尼是釋迦王國的一個王子，擁有一個男孩能擁有的一切。那裏人人都喜歡他，因為他是一個溫和並善於為人著想的人。長大之後，王子和一位美麗的公主結了婚。但當他騎馬經過城市的街道時，看到的景象卻使他很難受。他看到過殘疾人，也看到過病人。後來有一天，他在路上看到一具死屍，也就是那天晚上他決定不再過王子的生活。他必須去了解人民的生活，於是，他離開了妻子和幼小的兒子，和一批香客一起，走遍了全國各地。
有一天他靜坐在一棵大樹下，下決心隻有當他懂得生命的真諦和應如何生活時才能離開此地。當他站起來重新和朋友見麵時，他說自己找到了尋求的東西。在接下來的四十年中，如來佛釋迦牟尼（這是人們對他的尊稱）走遍全國各地宣講自己的信仰。他教導人們，隻有思想正確，行為端正，感情正當，人才能快樂，還說真正的快樂就是擺脫邪念和妄想。他把這稱作涅磐，也就是完美的境地。
後來，他重回家園見到了父親和妻子，他的兒子長大之後也成了他最忠實的追隨者之一。釋迦牟尼死後，其追隨者被印度教士趕出了印度北部。因為後者不喜歡他們人人皆兄弟的教導，但無論如何，佛教傳到了印度南部、中國和其他許多國家。
[1]variety n.多樣化，變化；種種
[2]sentient adj.能感知或感覺事物的
[3]ignorance n.無知，不學無術；愚昧；不知
[4]origination n.發源
[5]widespread adj.分布（或散布）廣的；普遍的；廣泛的
[6]pilgrim n.香客，朝聖者
4.Ashoka\\u0027s Dream—Maurya Empire 阿育王的夢——孔雀帝國
Maurya Empire 孔雀帝國
The Maurya Empire was a lron Age historical power in ancient lndia,ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC.Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the lndo-Gangetic plains（modern Bihar,eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bengal）in the eastern side of the lndian subcontinent,the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra（modern Patna）.The Empire was founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya.By 320 BC the empire had fully occupied Northwestern lndia by defeating and conquering the satraps left by Alexander.
With an area of 5，000，000 sq km,it was one of the world\\u0027s largest empires in its time and the largest ever in the lndian subcontinent.At its greatest extent,the empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas,and to the east stretching into where is now Assam.To the west,it conquered beyond modern Pakistan,annexing Balochistan,south eastern parts of lran and much of Afghanistan,including the modern Heart and Kandahar provinces.The Empire was expanded into lndia\\u0027s central and southern regions by the emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara,but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga（modern Orissa），till it was conquered by Ashoka.It decline grandually during 60 years after Ashoka\\u0027s rule ended,and it dissolved in 185 BC with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.