中華文化術語選篇

“中華思想文化術語”，是濃縮了中華哲學思想、人文精神、價值觀念等的以詞或短語形式固化的概念和文化核心詞。它們是中華民族幾千年來對自然與社會進行探索和理性思索的成果，積淀著中華民族最深沉的歷史智慧。本文選登“中華文化術語”詮譯和英文翻譯，使中國人更加理解中國古代哲學思想，也使世界更加了解中華思想文化。

本末 （běnmò）

Ben and Mo （The Fundamental and the Incidental）

本義指草木的根和梢，引申而為中國哲學的重要概念。其含義可以概括為三個方面：其一，指具有不同價值和重要性的事物，根本的、主要的事物為“本”，非根本的、次要的事物為“末”；其二，世界的本體或本原為“本”， 具體的事物或現象為“末”；其三，在道家的政治哲學中，無為之治下的自然狀態為“本”，各種具體的道德、綱常為“末”。在“本末”對待的關系中，“本”具有根本性、主導性的作用和意義，“末”由“本”而生，依賴“本”而存在，但“本”的作用的發揮仍需以“末”為載體。二者既相互區別，又相互依賴。

The two characters literally mean the different parts of a plant， namely， its root and its foliage（葉子）. The extended meaning is an important concept in Chinese philosophical discourse. The term can be understood in three different ways. 1） Ben（本）refers to what is fundamental or essential， while mo（末）means what is minor or incidental， two qualities that differ in value and importance. 2） Ben refers to the existence of the world in an ontological（本體論的）sense， while mo represents any specific thing or phenomenon. 3） In Daoist political philosophy ben is a state in which rule is exercised by not disrupting the natural order of the world， while mo refers to moral standards and fundamental principles governing social behavior. In any ben-mo relationship， ben is most important and plays a dominant role， while mo exists thanks to ben. On the other hand， it is through the vehicle of mo that ben exerts（施加）its influence. Thus the two， though different， are mutually dependent.

引例 Citations：

◎子夏之門人小子，當灑掃應對進退，則可矣，抑末也。本之則無，如之何？（《論語·子張》）

（子夏的學生，叫他們做打掃、接待、應對的工作，那是可以的，不過這只是末節罷了。而那些最根本性的學問卻沒有學習，這怎么行呢？）

Zixias students can clean， receive guests， and engage in social interaction， but these are trivial things. They have not learned the fundamentals. How can this be sufficient？ （The Analects）

◎崇本以舉其末。（王弼《老子注》）（崇尚自然無為之本以統括道德禮法之末。）One should respect， not interfere with， the natural order of the world， and apply this principle when establishing moral standards， social norms， and laws and regulations. （Wang Bi： Commentaries on Laozi）

般若 （bōrě）

Buddhist Wisdom

梵文praj？ā的音譯（或譯為“波若”）。意為“智慧”，指能洞見一切事物本性、認識萬物真相的最高的智慧。佛教認為，“般若”是超越一切世俗認識的特殊智慧，是覺悟得道、修成佛或菩薩的所有修行方法的指南或根本。然而，這種智慧本身無形無相，不可言說，僅能依賴各種方便法門而有所領悟。

The term is the transliteration of the Sanskrit（梵文）word praj？ā， meaning wisdom. It refers to the supreme wisdom with insight into the nature and reality of all things. Buddhism believes that such wisdom surpasses all secular（世俗的）understandings， and therefore is the guide for or essence of the effort aimed at achieving enlightenment and attaining Buddhahood or bodhisattvahood. This wisdom has no form， no appearance， and cannot be expressed in words. It can only be achieved by undertaking a variety of accessible Buddhist practices.

引例 Citation：

◎般若無所知，無所見。（僧肇《肇論》引《道行般若經》）

（般若這種智慧不是普通的知識，也超越一切具體的見聞。）

Praj？ā is the wisdom that surpasses all common or ordinary knowledge and specific understandings.（Sengzhao： Treatises of Sengzhao）