第五十八回 · 大開方便 Open The Gate Of Expedience — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

大開方便 Open The Gate Of Expedience

因yīn此cǐ，兩liǎng人rén比bǐ併bìng真zhēn假jiǎ，打dǎ至zhì南nán海hǎi，又yòu打dǎ到dào天tiān宮gōng，又yòu曾céng打dǎ見jiàn唐táng僧sēng，打dǎ見jiàn冥míng府fǔ，俱jù莫mò能néng辨biàn認rèn。故gù此cǐ大dà膽dǎn輕qīng造zào，千qiān乞qǐ大dà開kāi方fāng便biàn之zhī門mén，廣guǎng垂chuí慈cí憫mǐn之zhī念niàn，與yǔ弟dì子zǐ辨biàn明míng邪xié正zhèng，庶shù好hǎo保bǎo護hù唐táng僧sēng親qīn拜bài金jīn身shēn，取qǔ經jīng回huí東dōng土tǔ，永yǒng揚yáng大dà教jiào。」因yīn此cǐ，两liǎng人rén比bǐ并bìng真zhēn假jiǎ，打dǎ至zhì南nán海hǎi，又yòu打dǎ到dào天tiān宫gōng，又yòu曾céng打dǎ见jiàn唐táng僧sēng，打dǎ见jiàn冥míng府fǔ，俱jù莫mò能néng辨biàn认rèn。故gù此cǐ大dà胆dǎn轻qīng造zào，千qiān乞qǐ大dà开kāi方fāng便biàn之zhī门mén，广guǎng垂chuí慈cí悯mǐn之zhī念niàn，与yǔ弟dì子zǐ辨biàn明míng邪xié正zhèng，庶shù好hǎo保bǎo护hù唐táng僧sēng亲qīn拜bài金jīn身shēn，取qǔ经jīng回huí东dōng土tǔ，永yǒng扬yáng大dà教jiào。」

逐句解 Line by line

因yīn此cǐ，兩liǎng人rén比bǐ併bìng真zhēn假jiǎ，打dǎ至zhì南nán海hǎi，又yòu打dǎ到dào天tiān宮gōng，又yòu曾céng打dǎ見jiàn唐táng僧sēng，打dǎ見jiàn冥míng府fǔ，俱jù莫mò能néng辨biàn認rèn。因yīn此cǐ，两liǎng人rén比bǐ并bìng真zhēn假jiǎ，打dǎ至zhì南nán海hǎi，又yòu打dǎ到dào天tiān宫gōng，又yòu曾céng打dǎ见jiàn唐táng僧sēng，打dǎ见jiàn冥míng府fǔ，俱jù莫mò能néng辨biàn认rèn。

"Because of this, the two of us have matched ourselves true against false: we fought as far as the Southern Sea, and fought on to the Heavenly Palace, and have fought before the Tang Monk and fought before the courts of the shades — and in all of them none could tell us apart.

比併, to match one against the other. The clause runs 打至…又打到…又曾打見…打見… and puts the entire itinerary of the chapter through a single repeated verb: fought, fought, fought, fought.

故gù此cǐ大dà膽dǎn輕qīng造zào，千qiān乞qǐ大dà開kāi方fāng便biàn之zhī門mén，廣guǎng垂chuí慈cí憫mǐn之zhī念niàn，與yǔ弟dì子zǐ辨biàn明míng邪xié正zhèng，庶shù好hǎo保bǎo護hù唐táng僧sēng親qīn拜bài金jīn身shēn，取qǔ經jīng回huí東dōng土tǔ，永yǒng揚yáng大dà教jiào。」故gù此cǐ大dà胆dǎn轻qīng造zào，千qiān乞qǐ大dà开kāi方fāng便biàn之zhī门mén，广guǎng垂chuí慈cí悯mǐn之zhī念niàn，与yǔ弟dì子zǐ辨biàn明míng邪xié正zhèng，庶shù好hǎo保bǎo护hù唐táng僧sēng亲qīn拜bài金jīn身shēn，取qǔ经jīng回huí东dōng土tǔ，永yǒng扬yáng大dà教jiào。」

Therefore we have made bold to intrude. I beg you a thousand times to throw wide the gate of expedient means and let fall the thought of your broad compassion; tell your disciple's deviant from upright, that he may guard the Tang Monk to worship the golden body in person, fetch the scriptures back to the Eastern Land, and exalt the great teaching for ever."

方便之門 is upāya, expedient means — the technical Buddhist term for a teaching adapted to whoever is listening — and Wukong asks for it in its literal sense of a gate to be thrown open. 大教 takes jiào.

總評 Commentary

The itinerary sentence is the chapter's own table of contents: Southern Sea, Heavenly Palace, the Tang Monk, the courts of the shades — and 俱莫能辨認, none of them could tell. Wukong has been carrying a growing record of failures from court to court, and here it is recited whole to the last of them.

The plea itself is formally beautiful and slightly desperate. 千乞大開方便之門，廣垂慈憫之念 asks for expedient means and for compassion in perfectly balanced seven-character clauses — and then, having asked, Wukong immediately justifies the request by what will come of it: he will guard the master, fetch the scriptures, exalt the teaching. He is arguing that settling his identity serves the mission.

That is a shrewder argument than anything he tried in Heaven, where he pleaded his loyalty and his record. Before the Buddha he pleads the pilgrimage — the one interest he can be certain his audience shares.