Coming here to Nepal, it has been relatively straightforward to identify two of the jewels of the triple jewels of Buddhism.
来到尼泊尔，我们相对直观地认识了佛教三宝中的佛宝与僧宝。
The Buddha himself, both ideas about him and his image, are absolutely everywhere.
佛祖本身，他的思想以及形象，在此自然无处不在。
As is the Sangha, and here in Kathmandu, there are monks and nuns at every street corner.
而至于僧伽，在加德满都，街头巷尾都能见到他们的身影。
But what has been harder to pin down is the Dharma itself, the belief system, the philosophy, the religion, whatever you want to call it, of Buddhism.
但对“法”，却较难下定义。它是佛教的信仰系统、哲学、宗教，不管你如何称呼它。
Maybe it's unrealistic of me to expect there to be one single definition for such a broad concept.
对我来说，想用仅仅一个定义来解释法并不现实，因为法的概念非常宽泛。
The Buddha himself said the Dharma was like the salt of the oceans of the world, a universal taste.
佛陀说，“法”就像海洋中的盐，是一种很普遍的味道。
So, the Buddha implied the Dharma could be tasted anywhere, by anyone.
佛陀由此暗示，任何人在任何地方都能体验到法。
But the question for me, as a historian, is how that "taste" of the Buddhist Dharma could become "universal".
但对我这个历史学者来说，我的疑问是佛法的这种“味道”是如何变成“普遍”的？
Practically, how Buddhism established itself as a global belief-system.
尤其是佛教是如何成为世界性的信仰体系的？
Buddha's teachings were charismatic and radical for their time.
佛陀的教诲在他的那个年代是充满魅力并具有颠覆性的。
But, as with all big new ideas, they needed a groundswell of popular support or a patron, or both, to gain a firm foothold and to really fly.
但像所有伟大的新思想一样，佛教需要民众的踊跃支持，或是上层的赞许，抑或二者缺一不可，如此才能巩固基础，真正蓬勃发展起来。
While there was grassroots interest in, what he had to say, it was about 200 years after the Buddha's death that Buddhism got a major boost.
尽管有来自草根群体的支持，但不得不承认，直到佛陀圆寂后200年，佛教才开始迅猛发展。
In 250 BC, the ruthless, all-powerful emperor Ashoka, who controlled most of ancient India, proved Buddhism's greatest ally.
公元前250年，曾经残暴专制、统治着古印度大部分领土的君主阿育王，被认为是佛教最重要的盟友。
Ashoka was haunted by the memory of the blood that he'd acquired on his hands as a result of the cut and thrust of his rise to power and he decided to turn to "the good".
阿育王在夺取政权时杀人无数，血腥的场景经常折磨着他，他决定转而向善。
And in order to realize that ambition he vigorously promoted Buddhist ideals right across the Indian subcontinent.
为了实现这个志向，他向整个印度次大陆大力推广佛教理念。
According to Buddhist tradition, in the centuries following Ashoka's sponsorship of Buddha's ideas, the philosophy evolved into at least 18 different schools.
根据佛教的传说，在阿育王推广佛教后的几个世纪里，佛教发展出至少18个不同的宗派。
One of these, the Theravada, still survives today and is mainly associated with south and southeast Asia.
其中之一是小乘佛教，至今依然存在，主要在分布在南亚及东南亚地区。
Another came to be called the Mahayana, the "Great Vehicle" or "Way", now most often found in north and east Asia.
另一宗派被称为大乘佛教，意思是大的车乘或道路。现在主要分布在北亚和东亚。
Ashoka, by embracing Buddhism, put a particular emphasis on the consequences of his actions, on what he thought and how he lived in the world, on his Karma.
信奉佛教的阿育王非常重视他行为的后果、他的想法、他怎样在这个世界生活，以及他的“业”（因果报应）。
Karma is a word well known in the west today.
“业（因果报应）”这个字在现代西方社会广为人知。
It has its roots in early Indian belief systems, but the value of Karma became a fundamentally important Buddhist concept.
它来源于古印度的信仰体系，但如今“业（因果报应）”的观念已成为佛教的一个基本的、重要的观念。
And one that I am going to explore at The Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka, our next wonder of the Buddhist world.
我将在接下来要去斯里兰卡康提的佛牙寺继续探索它。
