悟能八戒 The Second Disciple Speaks
八戒道:「我是唐僧第二個徒弟,法名叫做悟能八戒。才自先問的,叫做悟空行者,是我師兄。師父怪他衝撞了公公,不曾問得實信,所以特著我來拜問。八戒道:「我是唐僧第二个徒弟,法名叫做悟能八戒。才自先问的,叫做悟空行者,是我师兄。师父怪他冲撞了公公,不曾问得实信,所以特着我来拜问。
逐句解 Line by line
Bajie said, "I am the Tang Monk's second disciple. My religious name is Wuneng Bajie.
法名 is the name taken in religion, as against the name a family gives. 悟能 is Awakened to Ability and 八戒 is the Eight Prohibitions — the lay precepts. A pig named after the rules he is worst at keeping.
The one who asked before, called Wukong the Pilgrim, is my elder brother.
才自 is just now, a moment ago. Bajie is establishing that he knows about the first interview, which is his way of getting ahead of the old man's obvious question.
Our master was annoyed with him for giving offence to you, sir, and for not getting a straight answer, so he has sent me particularly to ask.
不曾 takes céng unaided — the base gets there by itself, unlike the near-identical form with a different first character a few passages back. 著 is zhuó, the causative, for the fourth time in this chapter: he sent me. And note the diplomacy: the master was annoyed, the brother gave offence, and Bajie arrives as the apology.
Bajie's self-introduction is a small masterpiece of positioning. He gives his rank, names his brother, concedes his brother's rudeness, and presents himself as sent to repair it — all before asking anything.
It is also, strictly, a lie. Tripitaka was not annoyed with Pilgrim; Bajie volunteered, having spent a passage explaining that he is the honest one. The invented grievance is doing diplomatic work.
The names are worth keeping. Awakened to Ability is what the Bodhisattva called him; the Eight Prohibitions are the precepts a lay Buddhist takes, including the ones about food and drink. He has been named, permanently, after his weaknesses.