第十八回 · 眾僧還願 The Monks Fulfil Their Vow — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

眾僧還願 The Monks Fulfil Their Vow

行xíng者zhě道dào：「莫mò忙máng，莫mò忙máng。今jīn日rì將jiāng晚wǎn，不bú是shì走zǒu路lù的de時shí候hòu，且qiě待dài明míng日rì早zǎo行xíng。」眾zhòng僧sēng們men一yì齊qí跪guì下xià道dào：「孫sūn老lǎo爺yé說shuō得de是shì。一yì則zé天tiān晚wǎn，二èr來lái我wǒ等děng有yǒu些xiē願yuàn心xīn兒er，今jīn幸xìng平píng安ān，有yǒu了le寶bǎo貝bèi，待dài我wǒ還huán了le願yuàn，請qǐng老lǎo爺yé散sàn了le福fú，明míng早zǎo再zài送sòng西xī行xíng。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「正zhèng是shì，正zhèng是shì。」你nǐ看kàn那nà些xiē和hé尚shàng都dōu傾qīng囊náng倒dào底dǐ，把bǎ那nà火huǒ裡lǐ搶qiǎng出chū的de餘yú資zī，各gè出chū所suǒ有yǒu，整zhěng頓dùn了le些xiē齋zhāi供gòng，燒shāo了le些xiē平píng安ān無wú事shì的de紙zhǐ，念niàn了le幾jǐ卷juǎn消xiāo災zāi解jiě厄è的de經jīng。當dāng晚wǎn事shì畢bì。行xíng者zhě道dào：「莫mò忙máng，莫mò忙máng。今jīn日rì将jiāng晚wǎn，不bú是shì走zǒu路lù的de时shí候hòu，且qiě待dài明míng日rì早zǎo行xíng。」众zhòng僧sēng们men一yì齐qí跪guì下xià道dào：「孙sūn老lǎo爷yé说shuō得de是shì。一yì则zé天tiān晚wǎn，二èr来lái我wǒ等děng有yǒu些xiē愿yuàn心xīn儿er，今jīn幸xìng平píng安ān，有yǒu了le宝bǎo贝bèi，待dài我wǒ还huán了le愿yuàn，请qǐng老lǎo爷yé散sàn了le福fú，明míng早zǎo再zài送sòng西xī行xíng。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「正zhèng是shì，正zhèng是shì。」你nǐ看kàn那nà些xiē和hé尚shàng都dōu倾qīng囊náng倒dào底dǐ，把bǎ那nà火huǒ里lǐ抢qiǎng出chū的de余yú资zī，各gè出chū所suǒ有yǒu，整zhěng顿dùn了le些xiē斋zhāi供gòng，烧shāo了le些xiē平píng安ān无wú事shì的de纸zhǐ，念niàn了le几jǐ卷juǎn消xiāo灾zāi解jiě厄è的de经jīng。当dāng晚wǎn事shì毕bì。

逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě道dào：「莫mò忙máng，莫mò忙máng。今jīn日rì將jiāng晚wǎn，不bú是shì走zǒu路lù的de時shí候hòu，且qiě待dài明míng日rì早zǎo行xíng。」行xíng者zhě道dào：「莫mò忙máng，莫mò忙máng。今jīn日rì将jiāng晚wǎn，不bú是shì走zǒu路lù的de时shí候hòu，且qiě待dài明míng日rì早zǎo行xíng。」

The Pilgrim said, "No hurry, no hurry. The day is drawing on; this is no hour to be taking the road. Wait until tomorrow, and set out early."

莫忙, doubled, is the vernacular "hold on." 將晚 takes 將 as jiāng in its adverbial sense, "about to." The Pilgrim, who has just burned a mountain, is the one counselling prudence about travel after dark.

眾zhòng僧sēng們men一yì齊qí跪guì下xià道dào：「孫sūn老lǎo爺yé說shuō得de是shì。一yì則zé天tiān晚wǎn，二èr來lái我wǒ等děng有yǒu些xiē願yuàn心xīn兒er，众zhòng僧sēng们men一yì齐qí跪guì下xià道dào：「孙sūn老lǎo爷yé说shuō得de是shì。一yì则zé天tiān晚wǎn，二èr来lái我wǒ等děng有yǒu些xiē愿yuàn心xīn儿er，

The monks all knelt together and said, "His reverence Sun speaks justly. For one thing, night is falling; for another, we have a vow or two upon us.

說得是: 得 is the manner marker de. 願心兒 — a vow undertaken, with the diminutive suffix 兒 read er, not the lexical ér of 兒子. 一則…二來 is the standard enumerative pair, "in the first place… in the second."

今jīn幸xìng平píng安ān，有yǒu了le寶bǎo貝bèi，待dài我wǒ還huán了le願yuàn，請qǐng老lǎo爺yé散sàn了le福fú，明míng早zǎo再zài送sòng西xī行xíng。」今jīn幸xìng平píng安ān，有yǒu了le宝bǎo贝bèi，待dài我wǒ还huán了le愿yuàn，请qǐng老lǎo爷yé散sàn了le福fú，明míng早zǎo再zài送sòng西xī行xíng。」

Now that we are safe, and the treasure recovered, let us pay off our vow, and beg your reverences to share out the blessed food with us. Tomorrow morning we shall see you west again."

還了願: 還 is huán, "to repay, to discharge," the vow being a debt owed to the god who granted the petition. 散福 is the technical term for distributing the sacrificial food after the offering, so that the worshippers partake of the blessing; 散 is sàn.

行xíng者zhě道dào：「正zhèng是shì，正zhèng是shì。」你nǐ看kàn那nà些xiē和hé尚shàng都dōu傾qīng囊náng倒dào底dǐ，把bǎ那nà火huǒ裡lǐ搶qiǎng出chū的de餘yú資zī，各gè出chū所suǒ有yǒu，行xíng者zhě道dào：「正zhèng是shì，正zhèng是shì。」你nǐ看kàn那nà些xiē和hé尚shàng都dōu倾qīng囊náng倒dào底dǐ，把bǎ那nà火huǒ里lǐ抢qiǎng出chū的de余yú资zī，各gè出chū所suǒ有yǒu，

The Pilgrim said, "Just so, just so." And you should have seen those monks empty their purses and turn out their bottoms — whatever poor remnant they had snatched from the fire, each brought forth all he had:

你看 — "and you should have seen" — is the storyteller addressing his audience directly. 傾囊倒底, to upend the purse and tip out its bottom. 餘資: what was left after the fire that these same monks set.

整zhěng頓dùn了le些xiē齋zhāi供gòng，燒shāo了le些xiē平píng安ān無wú事shì的de紙zhǐ，念niàn了le幾jǐ卷juǎn消xiāo災zāi解jiě厄è的de經jīng。當dāng晚wǎn事shì畢bì。整zhěng顿dùn了le些xiē斋zhāi供gòng，烧shāo了le些xiē平píng安ān无wú事shì的de纸zhǐ，念niàn了le几jǐ卷juǎn消xiāo灾zāi解jiě厄è的de经jīng。当dāng晚wǎn事shì毕bì。

they set out a vegetarian offering, burned paper for peace and freedom from harm, and chanted a few scrolls to dissolve calamity and undo misfortune. So the evening's business ended.

齋供, the vegetarian offering, takes 供 as gòng. 平安無事的紙 and 消災解厄的經 are the two halves of a small apotropaic rite — paper money burned, sutras recited. 厄 is è, misfortune.

總評 Commentary

The economy of the scene is exact. The monks burned their own monastery down out of covetousness for the cassock; what they salvaged from the fire they now spend on a thanksgiving for having survived it. 傾囊倒底 is not generosity but restitution, and the narrator's 你看那些和尚 invites us to watch the performance rather than to be moved by it.

散福 deserves attention. To "scatter the blessing" is to eat the offering after the god has taken its essence — a Daoist and popular-religious practice grafted here onto a Buddhist establishment without a murmur. The 世德堂本 is everywhere untroubled by this syncretism; the monks pay a vow, burn spirit-paper, and chant sutras in a single breath, and the Pilgrim answers only 正是，正是.