004 我的僧侣生涯

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My name is Brother John, and I am a monk at Croyland Abbey

a monastery on the east coast of England.

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This monastery is a religious community of men who live together

in seclusion and raise their own food.

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Croyland Abbey is self-sustaining, so monks rarely need to

leave the monastery, and most never do.

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Since this is a Benedictine abbey, we live according to the Rule of St

Benedict, a set of rules created long ago by St. Benedict.

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He was an Italian monk who started a monastery about six

hundred years ago, just south of Rome.

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We spend our days praying, praising God, and working

at various jobs in the monastery.

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Most of the time, we do not speak. The year is 1150

and I have been here for twenty years.

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I am the youngest son of a wheat farmer, and by law, only

the oldest son may inherit the family farm.

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This law makes it very difficult for younger sons to make

a living, so my future was very uncertain.

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This worried my father, so when I was seven years old, my father

decided to give me to the monks at Croyland Abbey.

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My mother cried, and so did I, but my father said the monks would educate

me, and I would learn a trade or profession.

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He thought I'd have a better chance at a meaningful life, and did not want

me to end up as a menial laborer on my brother's farm.

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My mother finally agreed to let me go

我母亲最终同意让我离开。

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For the next five years, I worked in the monastery kitchen

and tended the sheep in the pastures.

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Every afternoon a monk taught me and the other boys how to

read and write using the Holy Scriptures.

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We attended chapel, but not as much as the monks

我们也去小教堂，但不像修士们那么频繁。

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The monastery cook noticed that I had an interest in herbs because

I spent all of my spare time in the garden.

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He thought I might make a good herbalist some day, and that made me happy

since I had grown to love the quiet of the monastery gardens.

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At the age of 12, I chose to become a novice, which is the first step to

becoming a real religious member of a monastery.

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During a special ceremony, an older monk shaved a bald patch on the top

of my head, which signified that I was a servant of God.

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Then I made a vow to follow the Rule of St. Benedict, obey God and the

monks, cherish silence, and fulfill all my duties to the monastery.

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When I was 15 years old, I took my final vows to become

a monk, and I promised never to marry.

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I also gave up everything I owned and promised

to obey the abbot, the head monk.

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There was no turning back, and I would be a monk for life

没有回头路了，我将终身做一名修士。

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Now I work in the herb garden, where I grow many different kinds of plants

to make medicine for the other monks or for the village people seeking help.

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Another rule of St. Benedict states that the sick should never be forgotten

圣本笃的另一条会规规定，永远不应忘记病人。

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Of course monks know that human life is in God's hands, but plants are made

by God too, and we believe they should be used to ease human suffering.

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To educate myself I spend many hours reading books by the ancient

Greeks and by a Persian named Avicenna.

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These books have important information about hundreds

of plants and the diseases they cure.

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They contain instructions on how to grow the plants, and recipes

for how to prepare them for certain maladies.

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For example, mint is very common in the meadows around the monastery

例如，薄荷在修道院周围的草地上很常见。

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When I add mint leaves to boiling water, I can make

a tea that cures a stomachache!

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Any part of a plant can be used to make medicine, but I usually

use the roots, leaves, and seeds.

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I collect the plants from the garden and allow them to dry out;

我从花园里采集植物，让它们晾干；

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then I crush them into powder so they mix easily

with oil, water, honey, or vinegar.

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Many times I put the powders I make into small bags and place

them on a patient's skin to ease soreness.

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A powder made from a yellow flower called feverfew, when mixed with honey

can be taken by mouth to calm a cough and reduce a fever.

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If mixed with water and rubbed on the skin, feverfew

also stops the itch of an insect bite.

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When I became a monk, I was given a plain robe with a hood

当我成为修士时，我得到了一件带兜帽的素袍。

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Sometimes I cover my head with the hood when I am in deep

thought and do not want to talk to anyone.

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Silence is so important to everyone here at Croyland Abbey that monks

use hand signals in order not to disturb the stillness.

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We have more than one hundred signals that we use at mealtimes alone!

单单在用餐时，我们就有超过一百种手势！

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For instance, if I want someone to pass me a plate of fish at dinner

I make a swimming motion with my hands.

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One of St. Benedict's rules says that a monk must be ready at all times

to serve God, so we sleep in our clothes every night.

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Then we awake very early and rush to the chapel to

praise God with songs and prayers.

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We also have a special prayer book, called a book of hours

which we carry to prayer eight times a day.

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When the bell sounds, it means it is time for prayer, and we must stop

whatever we are doing and go to the chapel immediately.

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We first pray before sunrise, and the final call to

prayer is just before bedtime.

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Luckily the gardens are not far from the chapel, so it is easy for

me to get there without too much trouble.

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I love being a monk and a herbalist

我喜欢做一名修士和草药师。

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The years of working in the garden and helping my patients have

taught me much about the world and God.

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It is a quiet, serene life, and I am grateful to my father

for putting me on this path so long ago.