中英對照讀新聞》Thai monks’ livestream mixes Buddhism and jokes but not all are laughing 泰國僧侶直播攙雜佛教與笑話 但並非人人開懷

◎周虹汶

Two Buddhist monks in Thailand have become social media stars with Facebook livestreams that combine traditional teachings with non-traditional jokes and giggles. Some of the country’s religious conservatives, however, are not so amused.

泰國兩名佛教僧侶透過臉書直播，把傳統教義與非傳統的笑話與趣事結合起來，成為社群媒體明星。然而，泰國的某些宗教保守派人士，並不覺得有趣。

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With an impressive fluency in youth slang, Phra Maha Paiwan Warawanno, 30, and Phra Maha Sompong Talaputto, 42, have captured the imagination of a generation who find the formal temple decorum and Sanskrit chanting of traditional Buddhism outdated and inaccessible.

對年輕人口語的嫻熟令人印象深刻的30歲法師帕灣．瓦拉旺諾和42歲法師宋潘．塔拉普托，吸引到認為形式上的寺廟禮儀和傳統的佛教梵文誦經已經過時，無法打動人心的這一世代人士的注意。

"I want Dhamma and the young generation to coexist," Paiwan told Reuters. "Without reaching out to the young, what will be the place of religion in the future?"

「我想讓佛法和年輕世代共存」，帕灣告訴路透。「如果無法打動年輕人，宗教未來將有何地位？」

The two monks were summoned last month to a parliamentary committee on religion to explain their online activities, while senior government figures have warned them to tone down the jokes and "inappropriate behaviour."

這兩名僧侶上個月遭到國會宗教委員會傳喚，要求解釋他們的網路活動。在此同時，政府高層人士已警告他們要淡化笑話與「不當行為」。

新聞辭典

capture the imagination of ：吸引注意、激發…的想像（力）。例句：They use puppets to capture the imagination of younger audiences.（他們利用木偶來激發年輕觀眾的想像力）

dhamma：名詞，（佛教）正法、佛法

tone down：緩和、柔和。例句： Chinese state media toned down their criticism of the video game industry on Wednesday.（中國國營媒體週三緩和了對電子遊戲業的抨擊。）