为什么佛教在印度没有发展起来，却在中国、泰国和日本得到发展？（一）
Why hasn't Buddhism grown in India while it is growing in China, Thailand, and Japan?
译文简介
宗教包含两个要素 —— 信仰与文化。信仰关乎解答更高层次的问题（如关于神明、来世、人生目标等），而文化则更偏向世俗层面（如色彩、符号、祭祀建筑、节日、语言等）。
正文翻译
Why hasn't Buddhism grown in India while it is growing in China, Thailand, and Japan?
为什么佛教在印度没有发展起来，却在中国、泰国和日本得到发展？
Dr. Balaji Viswanathan spiritual seeker who traveled around a lot of Buddhism's sacred sites. Upvoted by Deepak (दीपक), lives in India (2000-present) and Kashyap Chitloor Ravindranath, lives in India
巴拉吉・维斯瓦纳坦博士・ 曾游历过众多佛教圣地的精神探寻者。 获迪帕克（दीपक，2000 年开始至今居住在印度）和卡什亚普・奇特洛尔・拉温德拉纳特（居住在印度）
There are two elements of religion - faith and culture. Faith is about answering the higher level questions [about God, afterlife, goals] and culture is slightly more mundane [the colors, symbols, worship structures, festivals, language..].
宗教包含两个要素 —— 信仰与文化。信仰关乎解答更高层次的问题（如关于神明、来世、人生目标等），而文化则更偏向世俗层面（如色彩、符号、祭祀建筑、节日、语言等）。
In terms of culture, there is hardly any difference between Indian Buddhism and Hinduism, leading the Indian courts & legal system to bring a common civil code for these communities. The difference is in faith and scxtures, where Hindu faith allows significant leeway anyway. And most Indians don't worry as much about the higher levels of faith anyway.
从文化层面来看，印度佛教与印度教几乎没有差别，这也使得印度法院及法律体系为这两个群体制定了统一的民法典。二者的差异主要体现在信仰与经典上，但印度教本身在信仰方面就留有很大的灵活性。况且，大多数印度人对更高层次的信仰问题并不十分关注。
Thus, for most Hindus, there seems to be no incentive to migrate to Buddhism. A lot of the good elements of Buddhism have already been taken into mainstream Hinduism by past saints. Following Buddha's 4 truths and 8 paths would be completely consistent with Hinduism so much so that Hindu saints have added Buddha to the pantheon of Hindu gods. Thus many feel that one doesn't need to change their identity to follow those ideas.
因此，对大多数印度教徒而言，似乎没有理由转而信仰佛教。佛教中的许多精华元素早已被历代印度教圣人纳入印度教主流体系。遵循佛陀的 “四圣谛” 与 “八正道”，与印度教教义完全相符，乃至印度教圣人已将佛陀纳入印度教众神体系。正因如此，许多人认为，无需改变自身的宗教身份，也能践行这些理念。
If you look from the surface - there is the same vocabulary, cultural ideas and concepts. For a spiritual seeker who might get deep into religion tags don't matter much. Thus, the move from Hinduism to Buddhism is neither for the casual practitioner nor for a deeply spiritual individual.
从表面上看，二者使用相同的术语，秉持相似的文化理念与概念。对于深入探寻精神世界的人而言，宗教的标签并不重要。因此，无论是普通信徒，还是深度追求精神修养的人，都没有必要从印度教改信佛教。
Only a small pocket of Hinduism still convert to Buddhism. They follow what they call neo-Buddhism, and their conversion is mostly a political statement - mostly of the idea that caste discrimination exists only in Hinduism & it goes away as soon as you get out of that tag.
仅有少数印度教徒仍会改信佛教。他们所信奉的是所谓的 “新佛教”，而他们的宗教转换更多是一种政治表态 —— 核心观点是，种姓歧视只存在于印度教中，一旦脱离印度教的身份标签，种姓歧视便会消失。
Unless you are making that political statement, for most Hindus such a move doesn't make much sense.
除非是为了表明上述政治立场，否则对大多数印度教徒来说，改信佛教并没有太大意义。
Sanjeev Kumar 桑杰夫・库马尔
Let us try touching some of the reasons in spiritual contexts why Buddhism did not grow in India.
让我们从精神层面，探讨佛教在印度未能发展起来的部分原因。
I. Followers of multileveled Hinduism did not feel any need for a new belief/religion and it is so until today – and for sure, it is natural. However, what the enlightened minds of India felt, was the necessity for transformation of negative aspects of Hinduism (superstition, castes system etc.), which means they needed revitalization of the ancient practical spirituality. Buddha reflected all negative aspects of Hinduism. He made the contexts of transformation of those aspects the cornerstones of his teaching. Anyhow, Buddhism appeared as a new religion, thus the point No. 1 was at place.
一、 印度教体系层次丰富，其信徒自始至终都不觉得需要一种新的信仰或宗教，这一点直至今日依然如此，且这种情况实属自然。 然而，印度那些具有觉悟的有识之士却认为，印度教中的消极方面（如迷信、种姓制度等）必须加以变革，这意味着他们需要重振古老的实践性精神信仰。 佛陀直面印度教的所有消极面，并将这些方面的变革作为自己教义的核心基石。 但无论如何，佛教终究是以一种新宗教的形式出现的，因此便出现了上述第一点所述的情况（即印度教信徒无需新宗教）。
II. Buddhism was in full harmony with ancient Vedic tradition. Anyhow, both Hinduists and Buddhists did not agree with this fact. Both parties did it on popular philosophical levels without uating the universally valid practical spiritual contexts. However, the true resistance against the Vedic origins of Buddhism by both parties was a result of superstition as usual background of any between-religious tensions. Swami Vivekananda underlined that early Buddhists did not comprehend the deepness of the Buddha message. Furthermore, also not all Hinduists understood the deepness of the ancient Vedic message of Sanatana Dharma. Consequently, the very reality (ancient Vedic tradition), which was unifying Hinduism with Buddhism did not work / did not fulfil its role, playing actually an opposite role.
二、 佛教与古老的吠陀传统高度契合。 然而，印度教徒与佛教徒双方都不认可这一事实。双方都只是从大众哲学的层面进行判断，并未从具有普遍有效性的实践性精神语境出发进行考量。 但实际上，双方对 “佛教源自吠陀传统” 这一事实的抵触，根源在于迷信 —— 而迷信往往是宗教间产生矛盾的常见背景。 斯瓦米・维韦卡南达强调，早期佛教徒并未领悟佛陀教义的深层内涵；此外，也并非所有印度教徒都理解 “永恒法”（Sanatana Dharma）中古老吠陀教义的深刻意义。 因此，本应成为连接印度教与佛教纽带的 “古老吠陀传统”，不仅未能发挥其应有的作用，反而起到了相反的效果。
III. Buddhism was a revolutionary system in front of conservative popular superstitious Hinduism. All holders and supports of conservativism (until today) do not accept any kind of revolution; keeping in function all negatives (sect system, abstract philosophizing detached from the reality of life, spirituality detached from societal life etc.).
三、 相较于保守、充斥着大众迷信的印度教，佛教是一套具有革命性的体系。所有保守思想的持有者与支持者（直至今日）都拒绝任何形式的变革，任由各种消极因素（如教派制度、脱离生活现实的抽象思辨、与社会生活脱节的精神信仰等）继续存在。
Conclusion. Answering such a complex question rises up various approaches and views, various aspects of uation of this issue. All answers thus help in creation of a mosaic of the historical reality of Buddhism´s moving outside of India. Moving of Buddhism to other countries confirms at the same time that those countries were in need of Buddha teaching.
结论： 要回答这一复杂问题，需要从多种角度与视角出发，从不同层面对问题进行审视。所有答案共同拼凑出佛教走出印度这一历史事实的全貌。佛教向其他国家的传播，也同时证明了这些国家对佛陀教义存在需求。
H&R Block Sponsored Late on Expat taxes? Avail Amnesty Now. US expats in Japan: Amnesty ending soon! Catch up on taxes and avoid heavy penalties now. A student of Buddhism upxed Here is my theory about why Buddhism declined in India and still not able to revive itself.
里泰什・沙阿・ 佛教研究者 以下是我对 “佛教在印度衰落且至今无法复兴” 的看法。
Any religion needs political patronage to spread among the masses. Masses just follow the ruling class. Once ruling class shunned Buddhism in favor of Hinduism during the Gupta period, Buddhism began to decline. In modern India, only one political leader endorsed Buddhism - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. However, he had limited political appeal despite being an intellectual extraordinaire and unfortunately died within few months of converting to Buddhism. If Gandhi had also endorsed Buddhism like Ambedkar then it could have been a different story. This is also evident in other parts of the world. In Thailand & Sri-Lanka, Buddhism thrives because it still enjoys political patronage. While in other places like China (contrary to what the question says), it has lost the political patronage so it is on the decline.
任何宗教要在大众中传播，都需要政治支持。大众往往会追随统治阶级的选择。笈多王朝时期，统治阶级摒弃佛教、转而支持印度教，佛教自此开始衰落。在现代印度，仅有一位政治领袖支持佛教 —— 即 B・R・安贝德卡尔博士。尽管安贝德卡尔博士学识卓越，但他的政治影响力有限，且不幸在改信佛教后数月内便与世长辞。倘若甘地也能像安贝德卡尔那样支持佛教，情况或许会截然不同。这一规律在世界其他地区同样适用：在泰国和斯里兰卡，佛教之所以能蓬勃发展，是因为它至今仍享有政治支持；而在诸如中国这样的国家（与问题中的说法相反），佛教因失去政治支持而处于衰落状态。
Buddhism is very dependent on strong Sangha (community of Monks/Nuns). Unlike other religions, there is no holy book in Buddhism. Monks & Nuns act as living embodiment of the teachings of the Buddha. Where there are strong Monks & Nuns, Buddhism thrives. Without them it is like fish without water. However, life of a Monk/Nun is not easy, it requires lot of discipline and lot of sacrifices so good Monks & Nuns are hard to come by. It is possible that the quality of Monks/Nuns declined in ancient India leading to Buddhism losing its appeal among the masses. It will require several generations of very disciplined and very wise Monks/Nuns (like Ajahn Mun, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Jayasaro, Ajahn Siripanno of Thailand) to revive Buddhism in India.
佛教的发展高度依赖强大的僧团（比丘与比丘尼群体）。与其他宗教不同，佛教没有统一的 “圣典”，比丘与比丘尼是佛陀教义的活化身。在僧团强大的地方，佛教便能兴盛；没有僧团，佛教便如鱼离水、难以存续。然而，僧尼的生活并不容易，需要极强的自律与大量牺牲，因此优秀的僧尼十分难得。在古代印度，僧尼素质可能出现了下滑，这导致佛教失去了对大众的吸引力。要想在印度复兴佛教，需要好几代极具自律精神与智慧的僧尼（如泰国的阿姜・穆恩、阿姜・查、阿姜・贾亚萨罗、阿姜・西里潘诺等）共同努力。
As a spiritual philosophy Buddhism is unparalleled, what it lacks is a strong social element. There are very few festivals or events to bring the community together. Community service and supporting the weaker sections of the society are also not emphasized as much as they are in some other religions like Sikhism & Christianity. Festivals & Community service play an important role in bringing the community together. A close knit community help each other in practice. That's why in most Buddhist countries, Buddhist beliefs go hand-in-hand with pre-buddhist culture. There is now a desire to make community service integral part of Buddhist practice like by Taiwanese Nun Cheng Yun who established Tzu Chi Foundation. If Buddhism has to grow in India and in the West, it will need a strong "community service" element and will have to live side-by-side with existing Hindu & Christian festivals. With that, I can see many atheists & agnostics accepting Buddhism as their religion.
作为一种精神哲学，佛教的深度无可比拟，但它缺乏强大的社会属性。佛教中能将信众群体凝聚起来的节日或活动寥寥无几，对社区服务及帮扶社会弱势群体的重视程度，也远不及锡克教、基督教等其他宗教。而节日与社区服务在凝聚群体方面发挥着关键作用，紧密团结的群体能在信仰实践中相互支持。这也是为何在大多数佛教国家，佛教信仰会与佛教传入前的本土文化深度融合。如今，已有一些佛教人士希望将社区服务纳入佛教实践的核心部分，例如中国台湾（地区）的证严法师创办了慈济基金会。若佛教想在印度及西方地区发展，就必须强化 “社区服务” 这一属性，并与当地已有的印度教、基督教节日和谐共存。唯有如此，我认为许多无神论者与不可知论者才会接受佛教作为自己的信仰。
While Buddhist philosophy is simple, it still requires a certain level of intellectual capacity to truly understand and appreciate the depth of the teaching. It is much easier to explain away complex questions like meaning of life, death, morality, what's good/bad, all kinds of natural phenomenon by the concept of an all-powerful omni-present God. Try explaining them without the concept of God. The genius of the Buddha's teaching lies in its simplicity and its ability to answer all of the complex spiritual questions without the concept of a God. I don't think I would have really understood and appreciated the teachings when I was 15 or 16. In the absence of wise teachers who can explain the teachings & guide them in their spiritual practice, people are going to go for the "God" explanation. Fortunately, I was able to meet some good teachers :).
尽管佛教哲学的表述简洁，但要真正理解并领悟其教义的深度，仍需具备一定的认知能力。用 “全能全在的神明” 这一概念来解释生命意义、死亡、道德、善恶标准及各类自然现象等复杂问题，要容易得多；而若不借助 “神明” 概念来解释这些问题，则难度大增。佛陀教义的精妙之处，正在于它能以简洁的方式，在不依赖 “神明” 概念的前提下，解答所有复杂的精神层面问题。我认为自己在 15、16 岁时，是无法真正理解并欣赏这些教义的。如果没有智慧的导师来阐释教义、指导信仰实践，人们往往会选择用 “神明” 来解释一切。幸运的是，我遇到了几位优秀的导师：）
为什么佛教在印度没有发展起来，却在中国、泰国和日本得到发展？
Dr. Balaji Viswanathan spiritual seeker who traveled around a lot of Buddhism's sacred sites. Upvoted by Deepak (दीपक), lives in India (2000-present) and Kashyap Chitloor Ravindranath, lives in India
巴拉吉・维斯瓦纳坦博士・ 曾游历过众多佛教圣地的精神探寻者。 获迪帕克（दीपक，2000 年开始至今居住在印度）和卡什亚普・奇特洛尔・拉温德拉纳特（居住在印度）
There are two elements of religion - faith and culture. Faith is about answering the higher level questions [about God, afterlife, goals] and culture is slightly more mundane [the colors, symbols, worship structures, festivals, language..].
宗教包含两个要素 —— 信仰与文化。信仰关乎解答更高层次的问题（如关于神明、来世、人生目标等），而文化则更偏向世俗层面（如色彩、符号、祭祀建筑、节日、语言等）。
In terms of culture, there is hardly any difference between Indian Buddhism and Hinduism, leading the Indian courts & legal system to bring a common civil code for these communities. The difference is in faith and scxtures, where Hindu faith allows significant leeway anyway. And most Indians don't worry as much about the higher levels of faith anyway.
从文化层面来看，印度佛教与印度教几乎没有差别，这也使得印度法院及法律体系为这两个群体制定了统一的民法典。二者的差异主要体现在信仰与经典上，但印度教本身在信仰方面就留有很大的灵活性。况且，大多数印度人对更高层次的信仰问题并不十分关注。
Thus, for most Hindus, there seems to be no incentive to migrate to Buddhism. A lot of the good elements of Buddhism have already been taken into mainstream Hinduism by past saints. Following Buddha's 4 truths and 8 paths would be completely consistent with Hinduism so much so that Hindu saints have added Buddha to the pantheon of Hindu gods. Thus many feel that one doesn't need to change their identity to follow those ideas.
因此，对大多数印度教徒而言，似乎没有理由转而信仰佛教。佛教中的许多精华元素早已被历代印度教圣人纳入印度教主流体系。遵循佛陀的 “四圣谛” 与 “八正道”，与印度教教义完全相符，乃至印度教圣人已将佛陀纳入印度教众神体系。正因如此，许多人认为，无需改变自身的宗教身份，也能践行这些理念。
If you look from the surface - there is the same vocabulary, cultural ideas and concepts. For a spiritual seeker who might get deep into religion tags don't matter much. Thus, the move from Hinduism to Buddhism is neither for the casual practitioner nor for a deeply spiritual individual.
从表面上看，二者使用相同的术语，秉持相似的文化理念与概念。对于深入探寻精神世界的人而言，宗教的标签并不重要。因此，无论是普通信徒，还是深度追求精神修养的人，都没有必要从印度教改信佛教。
Only a small pocket of Hinduism still convert to Buddhism. They follow what they call neo-Buddhism, and their conversion is mostly a political statement - mostly of the idea that caste discrimination exists only in Hinduism & it goes away as soon as you get out of that tag.
仅有少数印度教徒仍会改信佛教。他们所信奉的是所谓的 “新佛教”，而他们的宗教转换更多是一种政治表态 —— 核心观点是，种姓歧视只存在于印度教中，一旦脱离印度教的身份标签，种姓歧视便会消失。
Unless you are making that political statement, for most Hindus such a move doesn't make much sense.
除非是为了表明上述政治立场，否则对大多数印度教徒来说，改信佛教并没有太大意义。
Sanjeev Kumar 桑杰夫・库马尔
Let us try touching some of the reasons in spiritual contexts why Buddhism did not grow in India.
让我们从精神层面，探讨佛教在印度未能发展起来的部分原因。
I. Followers of multileveled Hinduism did not feel any need for a new belief/religion and it is so until today – and for sure, it is natural. However, what the enlightened minds of India felt, was the necessity for transformation of negative aspects of Hinduism (superstition, castes system etc.), which means they needed revitalization of the ancient practical spirituality. Buddha reflected all negative aspects of Hinduism. He made the contexts of transformation of those aspects the cornerstones of his teaching. Anyhow, Buddhism appeared as a new religion, thus the point No. 1 was at place.
一、 印度教体系层次丰富，其信徒自始至终都不觉得需要一种新的信仰或宗教，这一点直至今日依然如此，且这种情况实属自然。 然而，印度那些具有觉悟的有识之士却认为，印度教中的消极方面（如迷信、种姓制度等）必须加以变革，这意味着他们需要重振古老的实践性精神信仰。 佛陀直面印度教的所有消极面，并将这些方面的变革作为自己教义的核心基石。 但无论如何，佛教终究是以一种新宗教的形式出现的，因此便出现了上述第一点所述的情况（即印度教信徒无需新宗教）。
II. Buddhism was in full harmony with ancient Vedic tradition. Anyhow, both Hinduists and Buddhists did not agree with this fact. Both parties did it on popular philosophical levels without uating the universally valid practical spiritual contexts. However, the true resistance against the Vedic origins of Buddhism by both parties was a result of superstition as usual background of any between-religious tensions. Swami Vivekananda underlined that early Buddhists did not comprehend the deepness of the Buddha message. Furthermore, also not all Hinduists understood the deepness of the ancient Vedic message of Sanatana Dharma. Consequently, the very reality (ancient Vedic tradition), which was unifying Hinduism with Buddhism did not work / did not fulfil its role, playing actually an opposite role.
二、 佛教与古老的吠陀传统高度契合。 然而，印度教徒与佛教徒双方都不认可这一事实。双方都只是从大众哲学的层面进行判断，并未从具有普遍有效性的实践性精神语境出发进行考量。 但实际上，双方对 “佛教源自吠陀传统” 这一事实的抵触，根源在于迷信 —— 而迷信往往是宗教间产生矛盾的常见背景。 斯瓦米・维韦卡南达强调，早期佛教徒并未领悟佛陀教义的深层内涵；此外，也并非所有印度教徒都理解 “永恒法”（Sanatana Dharma）中古老吠陀教义的深刻意义。 因此，本应成为连接印度教与佛教纽带的 “古老吠陀传统”，不仅未能发挥其应有的作用，反而起到了相反的效果。
III. Buddhism was a revolutionary system in front of conservative popular superstitious Hinduism. All holders and supports of conservativism (until today) do not accept any kind of revolution; keeping in function all negatives (sect system, abstract philosophizing detached from the reality of life, spirituality detached from societal life etc.).
三、 相较于保守、充斥着大众迷信的印度教，佛教是一套具有革命性的体系。所有保守思想的持有者与支持者（直至今日）都拒绝任何形式的变革，任由各种消极因素（如教派制度、脱离生活现实的抽象思辨、与社会生活脱节的精神信仰等）继续存在。
Conclusion. Answering such a complex question rises up various approaches and views, various aspects of uation of this issue. All answers thus help in creation of a mosaic of the historical reality of Buddhism´s moving outside of India. Moving of Buddhism to other countries confirms at the same time that those countries were in need of Buddha teaching.
结论： 要回答这一复杂问题，需要从多种角度与视角出发，从不同层面对问题进行审视。所有答案共同拼凑出佛教走出印度这一历史事实的全貌。佛教向其他国家的传播，也同时证明了这些国家对佛陀教义存在需求。
H&R Block Sponsored Late on Expat taxes? Avail Amnesty Now. US expats in Japan: Amnesty ending soon! Catch up on taxes and avoid heavy penalties now. A student of Buddhism upxed Here is my theory about why Buddhism declined in India and still not able to revive itself.
里泰什・沙阿・ 佛教研究者 以下是我对 “佛教在印度衰落且至今无法复兴” 的看法。
Any religion needs political patronage to spread among the masses. Masses just follow the ruling class. Once ruling class shunned Buddhism in favor of Hinduism during the Gupta period, Buddhism began to decline. In modern India, only one political leader endorsed Buddhism - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. However, he had limited political appeal despite being an intellectual extraordinaire and unfortunately died within few months of converting to Buddhism. If Gandhi had also endorsed Buddhism like Ambedkar then it could have been a different story. This is also evident in other parts of the world. In Thailand & Sri-Lanka, Buddhism thrives because it still enjoys political patronage. While in other places like China (contrary to what the question says), it has lost the political patronage so it is on the decline.
任何宗教要在大众中传播，都需要政治支持。大众往往会追随统治阶级的选择。笈多王朝时期，统治阶级摒弃佛教、转而支持印度教，佛教自此开始衰落。在现代印度，仅有一位政治领袖支持佛教 —— 即 B・R・安贝德卡尔博士。尽管安贝德卡尔博士学识卓越，但他的政治影响力有限，且不幸在改信佛教后数月内便与世长辞。倘若甘地也能像安贝德卡尔那样支持佛教，情况或许会截然不同。这一规律在世界其他地区同样适用：在泰国和斯里兰卡，佛教之所以能蓬勃发展，是因为它至今仍享有政治支持；而在诸如中国这样的国家（与问题中的说法相反），佛教因失去政治支持而处于衰落状态。
Buddhism is very dependent on strong Sangha (community of Monks/Nuns). Unlike other religions, there is no holy book in Buddhism. Monks & Nuns act as living embodiment of the teachings of the Buddha. Where there are strong Monks & Nuns, Buddhism thrives. Without them it is like fish without water. However, life of a Monk/Nun is not easy, it requires lot of discipline and lot of sacrifices so good Monks & Nuns are hard to come by. It is possible that the quality of Monks/Nuns declined in ancient India leading to Buddhism losing its appeal among the masses. It will require several generations of very disciplined and very wise Monks/Nuns (like Ajahn Mun, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Jayasaro, Ajahn Siripanno of Thailand) to revive Buddhism in India.
佛教的发展高度依赖强大的僧团（比丘与比丘尼群体）。与其他宗教不同，佛教没有统一的 “圣典”，比丘与比丘尼是佛陀教义的活化身。在僧团强大的地方，佛教便能兴盛；没有僧团，佛教便如鱼离水、难以存续。然而，僧尼的生活并不容易，需要极强的自律与大量牺牲，因此优秀的僧尼十分难得。在古代印度，僧尼素质可能出现了下滑，这导致佛教失去了对大众的吸引力。要想在印度复兴佛教，需要好几代极具自律精神与智慧的僧尼（如泰国的阿姜・穆恩、阿姜・查、阿姜・贾亚萨罗、阿姜・西里潘诺等）共同努力。
As a spiritual philosophy Buddhism is unparalleled, what it lacks is a strong social element. There are very few festivals or events to bring the community together. Community service and supporting the weaker sections of the society are also not emphasized as much as they are in some other religions like Sikhism & Christianity. Festivals & Community service play an important role in bringing the community together. A close knit community help each other in practice. That's why in most Buddhist countries, Buddhist beliefs go hand-in-hand with pre-buddhist culture. There is now a desire to make community service integral part of Buddhist practice like by Taiwanese Nun Cheng Yun who established Tzu Chi Foundation. If Buddhism has to grow in India and in the West, it will need a strong "community service" element and will have to live side-by-side with existing Hindu & Christian festivals. With that, I can see many atheists & agnostics accepting Buddhism as their religion.
作为一种精神哲学，佛教的深度无可比拟，但它缺乏强大的社会属性。佛教中能将信众群体凝聚起来的节日或活动寥寥无几，对社区服务及帮扶社会弱势群体的重视程度，也远不及锡克教、基督教等其他宗教。而节日与社区服务在凝聚群体方面发挥着关键作用，紧密团结的群体能在信仰实践中相互支持。这也是为何在大多数佛教国家，佛教信仰会与佛教传入前的本土文化深度融合。如今，已有一些佛教人士希望将社区服务纳入佛教实践的核心部分，例如中国台湾（地区）的证严法师创办了慈济基金会。若佛教想在印度及西方地区发展，就必须强化 “社区服务” 这一属性，并与当地已有的印度教、基督教节日和谐共存。唯有如此，我认为许多无神论者与不可知论者才会接受佛教作为自己的信仰。
While Buddhist philosophy is simple, it still requires a certain level of intellectual capacity to truly understand and appreciate the depth of the teaching. It is much easier to explain away complex questions like meaning of life, death, morality, what's good/bad, all kinds of natural phenomenon by the concept of an all-powerful omni-present God. Try explaining them without the concept of God. The genius of the Buddha's teaching lies in its simplicity and its ability to answer all of the complex spiritual questions without the concept of a God. I don't think I would have really understood and appreciated the teachings when I was 15 or 16. In the absence of wise teachers who can explain the teachings & guide them in their spiritual practice, people are going to go for the "God" explanation. Fortunately, I was able to meet some good teachers :).
尽管佛教哲学的表述简洁，但要真正理解并领悟其教义的深度，仍需具备一定的认知能力。用 “全能全在的神明” 这一概念来解释生命意义、死亡、道德、善恶标准及各类自然现象等复杂问题，要容易得多；而若不借助 “神明” 概念来解释这些问题，则难度大增。佛陀教义的精妙之处，正在于它能以简洁的方式，在不依赖 “神明” 概念的前提下，解答所有复杂的精神层面问题。我认为自己在 15、16 岁时，是无法真正理解并欣赏这些教义的。如果没有智慧的导师来阐释教义、指导信仰实践，人们往往会选择用 “神明” 来解释一切。幸运的是，我遇到了几位优秀的导师：）
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