Canonical Classics ← 第七十九回
第七十九回
尋xún洞dòng擒qín妖yāo逢féng老lǎo壽shòu
當dāng朝cháo正zhèng主zhǔ救jiù嬰yīng兒ér

Seeking the Cave to Seize the Fiend He Meets the Old Man of Longevity · At Court the True Sovereign Rescues the Infants

就是教也
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

就是教也 That Is The Whole Teaching

三sān藏zàng叫jiào:「徒tú弟dì,收shōu拾shí辭cí王wáng。」那nà國guó王wáng又yòu苦kǔ留liú求qiú教jiào。行xíng者zhě道dào:「陛bì下xià,從cóng此cǐ色sè欲yù少shǎo貪tān,陰yīn功gōng多duō積jī,凡fán百bǎi事shì將jiāng長cháng補bǔ短duǎn,自zì足zú以yǐ祛qū病bìng延yán年nián,就jiù是shì教jiào也yě。」三sān藏zàng叫jiào:「徒tú弟dì,收shōu拾shí辞cí王wáng。」那nà国guó王wáng又yòu苦kǔ留liú求qiú教jiào。行xíng者zhě道dào:「陛bì下xià,从cóng此cǐ色sè欲yù少shǎo贪tān,阴yīn功gōng多duō积jī,凡fán百bǎi事shì将jiāng长cháng补bǔ短duǎn,自zì足zú以yǐ祛qū病bìng延yán年nián,就jiù是shì教jiào也yě。」


逐句解 Line by line

三sān藏zàng叫jiào:「徒tú弟dì,收shōu拾shí辭cí王wáng。」 三sān藏zàng叫jiào:「徒tú弟dì,收shōu拾shí辞cí王wáng。」

Tripitaka called, "Disciples, pack up and take leave of the king."

The pilgrims have been in this kingdom for two chapters and Tripitaka's first instruction on getting his face back is to leave. He has not enjoyed himself.

那nà國guó王wáng又yòu苦kǔ留liú求qiú教jiào。 那nà国guó王wáng又yòu苦kǔ留liú求qiú教jiào。

The king pressed them hard to stay and begged for instruction.

苦留求教 — pressing them to stay and asking to be taught. Having been refused an elixir he now asks the monks for doctrine, which is the first sensible request he has made in the chapter.

行xíng者zhě道dào:「陛bì下xià,從cóng此cǐ色sè欲yù少shǎo貪tān,陰yīn功gōng多duō積jī,凡fán百bǎi事shì將jiāng長cháng補bǔ短duǎn,自zì足zú以yǐ祛qū病bìng延yán年nián,就jiù是shì教jiào也yě。」 行xíng者zhě道dào:「陛bì下xià,从cóng此cǐ色sè欲yù少shǎo贪tān,阴yīn功gōng多duō积jī,凡fán百bǎi事shì将jiāng长cháng补bǔ短duǎn,自zì足zú以yǐ祛qū病bìng延yán年nián,就jiù是shì教jiào也yě。」

Pilgrim said, "Your Majesty, from now on be less greedy for the pleasures of the flesh, build up more hidden merit, and in all things make up what is short from what is long. That is enough by itself to drive out sickness and lengthen your years, and it is the whole of the teaching."

長 is cháng, length — 將長補短, using the long to patch the short, is still ordinary Chinese for balancing things out. 陰功, hidden merit, is good done where nobody sees it and no credit accrues — the opposite of a shrine with four seasons of offerings, which is what the king tried to buy Tripitaka's heart with in the chapter's third passage.


總評 Commentary

This is Wukong's one piece of doctrine in the whole chapter and it is thirty-three characters of practical advice with nothing supernatural in it: want less, do more good quietly, balance your affairs. He offers no scripture and no technique.

It is also a precise reply to everything that has gone wrong here. The king's appetite let the demon in; his willingness to buy merit publicly is what made the shrine offer possible; and the medicine he wanted was a way of not balancing anything. Wukong answers the actual case.