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  3. The Buddhist religion developed from the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived from about 563 to 483 BCE in the present-day

The Buddhist religion developed from the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived from about 563 to 483 BCE in the present-day

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问题    The Buddhist religion developed from the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived from about 563 to 483 BCE in the present-day regions of Nepal and central India. At his birth, it is believed, seers foretold that the infant prince, named Siddhartha Gautama, would become either a chakravartin — a "world-conquering ruler" — or a Buddha — a "fully enlightened being". Hoping for a ruler like himself, Siddhartha’s father tried to surround his son with pleasure and shield him from pain. Yet the prince was eventually exposed to the suffering of old age, sickness, and death— the inevitable fate of all mortal beings. Deeply troubled by the human condition, Siddhartha at age twenty-nine left the palace, his family, and his inheritance to live as an ascetic in the wilderness. After six years of meditation, he attained complete enlightenment near Bodhgaya, India.
   Following his enlightenment, the Buddha (Enlightenment One) gave his first teaching in the Deer Park at Saranath. Here he expounded the Four Noble Truths, which are the foundation of Buddhism: (1) life is suffering; (2) this suffering has a cause, which is ignorance; (3) this ignorance can be overcome and extinguished; (4) the way to overcome this ignorance is by following the eightfold path of right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. After the Buddha’s death at the age of eighty, his many disciples developed his teachings and established the world’s oldest monastic institutions.
   A Buddha is not a god but rather one who sees the ultimate nature of the world and is therefore no longer subject to samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth that otherwise holds us in its grip, whether we are born into the world of the gods, humans, animals, tortured spirits, or hell beings.
   The early form of Buddhism known as Theravada or Hinayana, stresses self-cultivation for the purpose of attaining nirvana, which is the extinction of samsara for oneself. Theravada Buddhism has continued in south India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Within 500 years of the Buddha’s death, another form of Buddhism, known as Mahayana, became popular mainly in northern India; it eventually flourished in China (as Chan and Vajrayana), and in Korea, Japan (as Zen). Compassion for all beings is the foundation of Mahayana Buddhism, whose goal is not nirvana for oneself but Buddhahood (Enlightenment) for every being throughout the universe. Mahayana Buddhism recognizes Buddhas other than Shakyamuni from the past, present, and future. One such is Maitreya, the next Buddha to appear on Earth. Another is the Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life (that is, incorporating all space and time), who dwells in paradise known as the Western Pure Land. Amitabha Buddha became particularly popular in East Asia. Mahayana Buddhism also developed the category of bodhisattvas (those whose essence is wisdom), saintly beings who are on the brink of achieving Buddhahood but have vowed to help others achieve Buddhahood before crossing over themselves.
   In art, bodhisattvas and Buddhas are most clearly distinguished by their clothing and adornments: bodhisattvas wear the princely garb of India, while Buddhas wear monks’ robes. In Hinduism, a deity may dwell in its image, but in Buddhism portrayals of Buddhas and bodhisattvas are recognized as purely symbolic, and no spirit is believed to reside within.
Which kind of Buddhism emphasizes personal development for the purpose of achieving nirvana, and what is nirvana?
选项 A、Theravada Buddhism; the Buddhist equivalent of the Christian heaven.
B、Theravada Buddhism; the personal extinction of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
C、Hinayana Buddhism; the extinction of samsara.
D、Both B and C
答案B
解析 根据第四段中的“The early form of Buddhism known as Theravada or Hinayana，stresses self-cultivation for the purpose of attaining nirvana，which is the extinction of samsara for oneself”可知，小乘佛教强调修身，以达到涅槃的目的，即不再轮回。再根据第三段中的“samsara，the cycle of birth，death and rebirth”可知轮回即生、死、重生的循环，B项正确。
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