Chinese youth adopt“Buddha-like” mindset in face of modern pressures

四川長赤中學 舒建平

精彩導讀

“佛系”的思維模式在中國頗為流行。對此，人們見仁見智，你怎么看？

Chinese youth are embracing a “Buddha-like”mindset（思維方式）,with slogans such as “anything will do”,“l(fā)et it be” and “take life as it is”drawing media’s attention and stirring （ 激 發(fā) ） a widespread debate on the usefulness of such thinking.

For the young,being Buddha-like means accepting a peaceful state of mind;standing at a distance from worldly gain and success;doing what you like or what you think is right;and not caring about how others think about or judge you.This mindset can offer relief and a release of negative emotions built up in the face of hardship.

Master Xuecheng,president of the Buddhist Association of China,however,believes that this mindset may not stem from（起源于）an understanding of the teachings of the dharma（佛法）but instead be born of a sense of boredom or even a kind of self-mockery in the face of an inability to influence things.

“The Buddha-like mindset has its unpleasant situation that is difficult to get out of.Escape is not the solution.One can say ‘let it be’ whenever one wants,but one must face reality and be a responsible person,”Xuecheng said.

Chen Zhiqiang,the executive editor of Crazy English,holds that a small number of young employees today do nothing more than they are asked to do.They would rather earn an average salary than have a more challenging job.

“Being at ease is a good thing,but being irresponsible is not.Taking responsibilities makes a full man，” he added.

In contrast,Zhang Yiwu,a professor of Chinese literature at Peking University,believes that the growth of this mindset is due to an increasingly affluent（富裕的） society freeing the young of worry about creating a better life.

Zhang says that some people simply want to avoid the stresses of a ferociously（殘忍地） competitive modern society.

“When maintaining a decent （體面的）life is easy but going upward is hard,youngsters will develop a Buddha-like mindset,”Zhang says.

For some，the Buddha-like youth are considered as indifferent and lacking motivation,but a number of scholars have said that it does not go against an enterprising spirit（進取精神）.

Zhang believes that if this spirit is combined with hard work，it could be very powerful and worth pursuing.

“The Buddha-like mindset can help a person keep a good state of mind and embrace alternatives instead of sticking to a narrow life path.Meanwhile,alternative life paths requires hard work and self-improvement,”Zhang says.

Film maker Zheng Xiaolong believes it is important that a balance should be kept.

“It is understandable that some youngsters turn to a Buddha-like mindset in face of difficulties,but they cannot keep themselves separated from everything,”Zheng says.“We are brought up being taught to be successful.However,I think being kind-hearted and upright is also a good choice so long as you make a contribution to the world.”

閱讀掃障

Ⅰ.熱詞積累

1.worldly adj.追逐名利的；世俗的

2.hold v.認為；同意；贊成

3.pursue v.追求

4.draw one's attention吸引某人的注意

5.stir a widespread debate on 引發(fā)了關于……的廣泛的爭論

6.at a distance在遠處

7.care about關心

8.offer relief and a release of negative emotions 提供寬慰和釋放負面情緒

9.build up 逐步建立；增進；積累

10.a sense of boredom 厭倦感

11.get out of逃避；擺脫；離開

12.face reality面對現(xiàn)實

13.would rather...than...寧愿……也不愿…… （后面均接動詞原形）

14.at ease 安逸；舒適；自由自在

15.in contrast相比之下；相反

16.due to由于

17.free...of...沒有；擺脫……的

18.avoid the stresses逃避壓力

19.go against違背；不利于

20.keep a good state of mind保持良好的心態(tài)

21.stick to a narrow life path堅持狹窄的人生道路

22.make a contribution to貢獻給……

Ⅱ.難句分析

“It is understandable that some youngsters turn to a Buddha-like mindset in face of difficulties,but they cannot keep themselves separated from everything,”Zheng says.“We are brought up being taught to be successful.”“可以理解的是，有些年輕人面臨困難時會采用佛系的思維方式，但他們無法脫離一切?！编嵳f，“我們被教導要成功?！?/p>

It is understandable that...構成的是“it be+adj.+that...”句型，it充當形式主語，用來代替實際主語that從句。keep themselves separated from everything是“keep+賓語 +賓補”結構，賓補可以由介詞短語、形容詞，及非謂語動詞來充當。本句中賓語themselves與賓補separate from...是動賓關系，故用過去分詞。

“We are brought up being taught to be successful”中，being taught to be successful為分詞短語作伴隨狀語。

譯文助讀

中國的年輕一代正接受“佛系”的思維模式，他們的標語諸如“無所謂”“讓它去”“生活就這樣”吸引了媒體的注意，并引發(fā)了關于這種想法是否有用的廣泛的討論。

對于年輕人來說，佛系意味著保持平靜的心態(tài);遠離世俗的名利和成功;做你喜歡的或者你認為是對的事;而不關心別人如何思考或判斷你。面對困難，這種思維模式可以緩解和釋放負面情緒。

然而，中國佛教協(xié)會會長學誠法師認為，這種思維模式可能并不是源于對佛法教義的理解，而是源自于一種厭惡感，甚至是一種面對無法影響的事物時的自嘲。

“佛系的思維模式是有其困境的，逃避不是解決辦法，只要有人愿意，就可以說‘隨它去’，但必須面對現(xiàn)實，成為一個負責任的人。”學誠法師說。

《瘋狂英語》的執(zhí)行主編陳志強認為，時下的少數(shù)年輕員工，面對給他們安排的事，他們一點都不會多做。他們寧愿領著一份差不多的薪水，也不去做一份更有挑戰(zhàn)性的工作。

“舒適是個好東西，但不負責任就不行了。學會擔當使人充實?！彼a充說。

相反，北京大學中文系教授張頤武認為“佛系”的走紅是由于日益富足的社會讓年輕人不用憂心創(chuàng)造更好的生活。

張教授說這些年輕人只是簡單地想逃避現(xiàn)代社會的殘酷競爭造成的壓力而已。

張說:“當維持一個體面的生活很容易而想突破進步比較難時，年輕人就會產生這種佛系思想。”

對于有些人來說，佛系青年被認為是漠不關心，缺乏動力的，但也有不少學者表示，這與進取精神并不矛盾。

張認為如果把這種精神與努力相結合，那么它可能會變得非常有力，值得人們去追求。

“佛性的思維可以幫助一個人保持良好的心態(tài)，對差異性有包容之心，而不是堅持一條狹窄的人生道路。與此同時可供選擇的生活方式需要艱苦的工作和自我完善?！睆埥淌谡f。

影視制作人鄭曉龍認為，維持平衡很重要。

“可以理解的是，有些年輕人面臨困難時會采用佛系的思維方式，但他們無法脫離一切，”鄭說，“我們被教導要成功，但我認為，只要你為世界做了貢獻，做一個善良正直的人也是一個不錯的選擇。”