Peaceful or just aimless?
今天你“佛系”了吗？
Famous Irish poet Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) once wrote: "Ah! Realize your youth while you have it." He pointed out the important truth about how precious youth is in one's journey through life.
著名爱尔兰诗人奥斯卡·王尔德（1854-1900）曾写道：“啊！趁你还拥有青春的时候好好享用吧。”他指出了一个重要的真理：人生旅途中青春是无价之宝。
However, the popular internet slang word foxi, or "Buddhist", is challenging this norm by encouraging young people to remain calm and peaceful and avoid conflict as much as possible, in other words, to live like a Buddha.
然而，近来的网络热词“佛系”却质疑上述说法，它鼓励年轻人心态平和，尽量避免冲突，换句话说就是像佛陀一样生活。

The phrase was reportedly created in Japan in 2014 to describe young men who no longer bother to start relationships with women or follow someone else's life path. They prefer to stay in their own peaceful world without being disturbed and care little about passion and success.
据说，“佛系”一词2014年就在日本出现了，它用来形容嫌谈恋爱太麻烦或者不想遵循他人人生轨迹生活的年轻男子。他们更喜欢待在自己平静的小世界里，不被打扰，对激情和成功也没多大兴趣。
Now, Chinese internet users are pairing the phrase with other words to describe a similar mindset. For example, "Buddhist students" are those who study just the right amount, they don't cut class, but they don't burn the midnight oil, either. There are also "Buddhist parents", who interfere little with their children's lives and let them develop however they like, the opposite of "helicopter parents".
如今，中国网友还创造了一系列“佛系”衍生词来形容这一相似心态。例如，“佛系学生”指的是适度学习的学生，他们不会逃课，但也不会熬夜。还有“佛系父母”，他们不会过多干涉孩子的生活，让他们自由发展， 和望子成龙的“直升机父母”恰恰相反。
In this fast-changing and competitive world, it's only natural that people are seeking a spiritual anchor.
在这个日新月异、竞争激烈的世界中，人们想寻求精神的港湾简直再自然不过了。
However, some would compare foxi with "demotivational culture", a phrase that describes young people who feel aimless and powerless. They say that foxi actually reflects the reality that young people are losing their will to fight. They are pretending to keep a healthy and wise attitude toward failure simply because they're incapable of succeeding.
然而，一些人会将“佛系”比作一种“丧”文化（形容年轻人丧失了目标与动力），称“佛系”实际反映了年轻人不愿奋斗的现实。这些年轻人面对失败时假装保持一种健康理智的态度，不过是因为他们没有能力成功罢了。
But no matter what, there is one thing that "Buddhist youngsters" should keep in mind: You may want to keep a calm mindset regarding failure, but you should also be passionate and positive about school, work and life.
但不论如何，有一件事“佛系青年”应当铭记在心：面对失败要保持冷静，但同时也应该对课业、工作与生活充满热情，积极面对。
After all, Wilde also wrote: "Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing."
毕竟，王尔德也曾写道：“过属于你自己的美妙生活！点滴都别浪费。永远都要搜寻新的感觉。要无所畏惧。”