摘 要

当今社会是物质文化极大发展的时代，精神文明建设依旧处于弱势地位。宗教文化是世界文化的重要组成部分，影响着一代又一代人。其中作为世界三大宗教之一的佛教在西方的发展虽然日趋成熟但对其深入的研究依旧匮乏。埃德温·阿诺德爵士所著的《亚洲之光》（1879）以诗歌的形式介绍了释迦牟尼佛的一生，对佛教在西方的传播和发展起到的重大作用，并启示了人的思想。本文旨在由对本书中佛陀一生及对佛教思想的解读，分析从中获得的启示，进而深入探讨此书对佛教在西方发展过程中做出的贡献。本文分为五个部分：第一部分介绍作者作品，佛教文化在西方研究的现状，以及对佛教一些基础常识的介绍，第二部分描述佛陀这一生的故事的启示，第三部分为本书中提及到的佛教精华教义的启示，第四部分描写本书对佛教在西方发展起到的作用，最后一部分总结全文。通过对这一主题的分析，来弥补国内对此书研究的空白现状。

关键词：亚洲之光；佛陀；佛教；启示

Abstract

Compared with the great development of the material culture in today’s society , the construction of spiritual civilization and culture is still in a vulnerable position. Religious culture, affecting generation after generation, plays the irreplaceable role in world culture. And the Buddhism culture, one of the three major religions in the whole world, is increasingly mature in the west but the thorough research is still scarce. The Light of Asia(1879), written by Sir Edwin Arnold, introduced Buddha Sakyamuni's life in the form of poetry, and was significant for the dissemination and development of Buddhism in the west. It also brought the enlightenment to individuals’ thoughts. This paper, through introduction of the Buddha life in this book and explanation of Buddhism doctrines, aims at analyzing the enlightenment of this book and deep exploring the book's contribution in the process of development of Buddhism in the west. This paper is divided into five parts: the first part introduces the author and his remarkable work, the research condition about Buddhism culture in the west society and some basic knowledge of Buddhism. The following part focus on the enlightenment of the Buddha Sakyamuni’s whole life. The third part analyzes the enlightenment of Buddhist essence doctrine. Next, in the forth part, I pay more attention on the function of The Light of Asia to the west including its function to the development of Buddhism in western countries and its impact to the Christianity. Finally, in the last part, a simple conclusion reviewing the whole paper is reached. The blank condition concerning The Light of Asia can be changed through the analysis and exploration of this topic.

Key Words: The Light of Asia; Buddha; Buddhism; enlightenment

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 The Author and His Works 1

1.2 Literature Review 2

1.3 Buddhism 2

2 The Enlightenment of Buddha's Life 4

2.1 Benevolence: from The Prince to The Saint 4

2.2 Insistence: from Buddha's Extreme Asceticism and Meditation 5

2.3 Selflessness: From Buddha's Teaching of Dharma 7

3 The Enlightenment of Buddhist's Doctrine 8

3.1 Putting Down Worries 8

3.2 Being Good 9

3.3 Liberating Oneself 10

4 The Enlightenment of This Book to The West 11

4.1 Promoting the Buddhism Development to the West 11

4.2 The Impact on The Christianity 12

5 Conclusion 14

References 15

Acknowledgements 16

The Enlightenment in

The Light of Asia

1 Introduction

1.1 The Author and His Works