「慧」看电影之《孔子》(Keith 美式发音读诵）

他是一位君子，一位圣人，是我们为人的楷模。他出现于中国这片土地之上，是我们中国人的福气。仁、义、礼、智、信是他的信仰，他终其一生，为之实践。

He was a gentleman, a Sage and a role model for the conduct of us human beings. His existence on this piece of land, China, is the blessings of us Chinese. Benevolence, Righteousness, Rites & etiquettes, Wisdom and Trustworthiness were the beliefs that he upheld and practiced throughout his entire life.

慧看电影之《孔子》

公元前六世纪，孔子受鲁定公赏识，从中督宰晋升为大司寇，他终于可以实行以礼治国的抱负。 

Sixth century BC, Duke Ding of Lu (510-495) thought highly of Confucius and promoted him from a governor to Minster of Law. Finally, he was able to realize his ambition for the country to be ruled through rites & morality. 

三桓之首鲁国大夫季孙斯为祭奠父亲，掠杀大批家奴为其陪葬，小家奴漆思弓为了活命，偷偷逃走。孔子救下漆思弓后在朝堂上舌战群臣，力废以活人殉葬的古礼，并用“己所不欲，勿施于人”的思想征服了国君国相以及在朝的所有人，明确了仁礼相成的价值观。

 In the name of holding a memorial service for his late father, the leader of the Three Huan (three aristocratic clans), Grand Master (Dafu) Jisun Si of Lu, massacred large numbers of his servants as human sacrifices for the burial. Slave-boy, Qi Sigong in the Jisun clan, escaped in a bid to save his own life. After Confucius took in Qi Sigong, he engaged in a wagging war of words with the court officials during the court assembly and had the ancient rite of burying humans alive abolished. Using the philosophy that “One should not impose unto others what one will not impose unto self”, he not only subdued the ruler & minister of the kingdom, but also subdued all who were present at the court assembly, putting across clearly that the values of benevolence & rites should complement each other.

孔子治理鲁国初见成效，而在鲁国内部，以季孙氏为首的三桓，割地而据，称为三都。他们掌控鲁国大势，这让孔子礼乐治国的理想遭受重重阻力。

Preliminary results were achieved with Confucius’s governance of the State of Lu. However, within the State of Lu, the Three Huan, with Jisun Clan taking the lead, built fortifications within the country, proclaiming such fortifications as the Three Cities. They dominated the State of Lu, obstructing Confucius’s ambition for the country to be governed by rites & music.

孔子堕三都失败，从此踏上周游列国的道路。苍茫云水，一走就是十四年。

Confucius embarked on his journey around the principality states after his failed attempt of dismantling the fortified city walls. With an end that was nowhere in sight, this roving lasted for fourteen years.

在这十几年间，他一直坚守礼义仁和的理念， 渴望将自己的主张传播天下，让百姓安居乐业。

Throughout these years, he stood by his beliefs on Rites & Etiquettes, Righteousness, Benevolence and Harmony, longing to expound his beliefs to the whole world so that all the ordinary folks would be able to live and work happily.

但那个时代，诸侯纷争，孔子在列国中皆不受重用，反而让自己的后半生徒劳奔波，遭人讥讽，受人驱赶，但他依旧未放弃心中的仁礼，传授诗书礼乐毫不间断。

However, during those times when disputes took place among the nobles, Confucius was not valued by the State and instead, he spent the later part of his life in self-exile, ridiculed & ostracized by people. Undeterred, he held on to his beliefs on Benevolence, Rites & Etiquettes, continuously imparting them as well as imparting poetries.

影片最后，孔子白衣白发斜坐于夕阳之下，喃喃自语中流露着智慧和沧桑。 他面向着夕阳，溘然长逝。但，离去的是肉体，留下的是坚守礼义仁和的精神。 

Towards the ending of the film, a white-haired Confucius who was dressed in white reclined beneath the sunset, his self-mumbling revealing his wisdom & vicissitudes of life. He then passed on in the face of sunset. While he had left the physical body, what was left behind was the spirit of perseverance in upholding Rites & Etiquettes, Righteousness, Benevolence and Harmony.

两千多年过去了，他所讲的每一句话，依然值得我们细细去领悟、去消化，甚至在人格上去完成。

Two thousand years have passed, his every word still calls for our detailed comprehension and digestion, to the extent of mirroring them through one’s personalities.

他是一种生命的文明。

He is a form of civilization of life.

他追求人人讲仁爱的世界——开发每个人的仁爱之心，将这天性的光明发挥到极致，圣贤之道就回归了。

He pursued a world where everyone speaks of benevolence & love – invoking the benevolence & love in everyone. When the brilliance of such innate nature is unleashed to its maximum, the Way of the Sages will be back.

孔子像一位菩萨，我不入地狱，谁入地狱。礼是真实的，虽然推广很难，也应当去做。就像影片里说的，为国为民，就不能再顾及到自己了。

Confucius is like a Bodhisattva, who would rather sacrifice himself to benefit others. There is truthfulness to rites & etiquettes. While they are hard to propagate, it should still be done. Just like what the film mentions, one should not put one’s own interest before the country and people.

我们要成为圣贤的追随者，思考怎样传承这种精神，怎样面对这个世界。而作为佛弟子，我们还要有智慧、慈悲的胸怀。对内，清净自我；对外，奉献身心。佛教既有为又无为，一切有为之中具足空性，一切空性之中充满大悲。

We should be followers of Sages, to think about how to pass on such spirit and how to face this world. As disciples of Buddha, we should also have wisdom and a compassionate heart. Inwardly - one should purify oneself from deep inside; outwardly - one should dedicate one’s body & soul. In Buddhism, there is the phenomenal (resulting from karma) and the non-phenomenal, all phenomena are void in nature, all nature of void is filled with great compassion.