第八回 · 盂蘭盆會 The Ullambana Feast — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

盂蘭盆會 The Ullambana Feast

佛fó祖zǔ居jū於yú靈líng山shān大dà雷léi音yīn寶bǎo剎chà之zhī間jiān。一yí日rì，喚huàn聚jù諸zhū佛fó、阿ā羅luó、揭jiē諦dì、菩pú薩sà、金jīn剛gāng、比bǐ丘qiū僧sēng尼ní等děng眾zhòng曰yuē：「自zì伏fú乖guāi猿yuán安ān天tiān之zhī後hòu，我wǒ處chù不bù知zhī年nián月yuè，料liào凡fán間jiān有yǒu半bàn千qiān年nián矣yǐ。今jīn值zhí孟mèng秋qiū望wàng日rì，我wǒ有yǒu一yì寶bǎo盆pén，盆pén中zhōng具jù設shè百bǎi樣yàng奇qí花huā、千qiān般bān異yì果guǒ等děng物wù，與yǔ汝rǔ等děng享xiǎng此cǐ盂yú蘭lán盆pén會huì，如rú何hé？」概gài眾zhòng一yí個gè個gè合hé掌zhǎng，禮lǐ佛fó三sān匝zā領lǐng會huì。如rú來lái卻què將jiāng寶bǎo盆pén中zhōng花huā果guǒ品pǐn物wù，著zhuó阿ā儺nuó捧pěng定dìng，著zhuó迦jiā葉shè佈bù散sàn。佛fó祖zǔ居jū于yú灵líng山shān大dà雷léi音yīn宝bǎo刹chà之zhī间jiān。一yí日rì，唤huàn聚jù诸zhū佛fó、阿ā罗luó、揭jiē谛dì、菩pú萨sà、金jīn刚gāng、比bǐ丘qiū僧sēng尼ní等děng众zhòng曰yuē：「自zì伏fú乖guāi猿yuán安ān天tiān之zhī后hòu，我wǒ处chù不bù知zhī年nián月yuè，料liào凡fán间jiān有yǒu半bàn千qiān年nián矣yǐ。今jīn值zhí孟mèng秋qiū望wàng日rì，我wǒ有yǒu一yì宝bǎo盆pén，盆pén中zhōng具jù设shè百bǎi样yàng奇qí花huā、千qiān般bān异yì果guǒ等děng物wù，与yǔ汝rǔ等děng享xiǎng此cǐ盂yú兰lán盆pén会huì，如rú何hé？」概gài众zhòng一yí个gè个gè合hé掌zhǎng，礼lǐ佛fó三sān匝zā领lǐng会huì。如rú来lái却què将jiāng宝bǎo盆pén中zhōng花huā果guǒ品pǐn物wù，著zhuó阿ā傩nuó捧pěng定dìng，著zhuó迦jiā叶shè布bù散sàn。

逐句解 Line by line

佛fó祖zǔ居jū於yú靈líng山shān大dà雷léi音yīn寶bǎo剎chà之zhī間jiān。佛fó祖zǔ居jū于yú灵líng山shān大dà雷léi音yīn宝bǎo刹chà之zhī间jiān。

The Buddha-Patriarch dwelt within the Great Thunderclap Treasure Monastery of the Spirit Mountain.

寶剎 — 剎 read chà, a sacred precinct.

一yí日rì，喚huàn聚jù諸zhū佛fó、阿ā羅luó、揭jiē諦dì、菩pú薩sà、金jīn剛gāng、比bǐ丘qiū僧sēng尼ní等děng眾zhòng曰yuē：一yí日rì，唤huàn聚jù诸zhū佛fó、阿ā罗luó、揭jiē谛dì、菩pú萨sà、金jīn刚gāng、比bǐ丘qiū僧sēng尼ní等děng众zhòng曰yuē：

One day he called together the buddhas, arhats, guardian-spirits, bodhisattvas, vajra-warriors, monks and nuns, and all the rest, and said:

揭諦 (jiēdì) are protective deities, named from the mantra's 揭諦 (gate). 一日 takes yí before fourth-tone 日.

「自zì伏fú乖guāi猿yuán安ān天tiān之zhī後hòu，我wǒ處chù不bù知zhī年nián月yuè，料liào凡fán間jiān有yǒu半bàn千qiān年nián矣yǐ。「自zì伏fú乖guāi猿yuán安ān天tiān之zhī后hòu，我wǒ处chù不bù知zhī年nián月yuè，料liào凡fán间jiān有yǒu半bàn千qiān年nián矣yǐ。

“Since the unruly ape was subdued and Heaven secured, here we have lost all count of months and years; I reckon a full half-thousand years have passed in the world of men.

The Buddha measures celestial against mortal time — five hundred years below for an interval here uncounted, the very span of Wukong's coming imprisonment.

今jīn值zhí孟mèng秋qiū望wàng日rì，我wǒ有yǒu一yì寶bǎo盆pén，盆pén中zhōng具jù設shè百bǎi樣yàng奇qí花huā、千qiān般bān異yì果guǒ等děng物wù，與yǔ汝rǔ等děng享xiǎng此cǐ盂yú蘭lán盆pén會huì，如rú何hé？」今jīn值zhí孟mèng秋qiū望wàng日rì，我wǒ有yǒu一yì宝bǎo盆pén，盆pén中zhōng具jù设shè百bǎi样yàng奇qí花huā、千qiān般bān异yì果guǒ等děng物wù，与yǔ汝rǔ等děng享xiǎng此cǐ盂yú兰lán盆pén会huì，如rú何hé？」

“Now, on the full-moon day of early autumn, I have a precious basin set with a hundred kinds of rare flowers and a thousand sorts of strange fruits and the like — shall we share this Ullambana Feast together?”

盂蘭盆會 (Ullambana, yúlánpén) is the mid-seventh-month festival for the deliverance of suffering beings; 一寶盆 takes yì before third-tone 寶.

概gài眾zhòng一yí個gè個gè合hé掌zhǎng，禮lǐ佛fó三sān匝zā領lǐng會huì。概gài众zhòng一yí个gè个gè合hé掌zhǎng，礼lǐ佛fó三sān匝zā领lǐng会huì。

The whole assembly, every one, pressed their palms together and, circling the Buddha thrice in homage, grasped his intent.

三匝 — three circumambulations, the standard gesture of veneration; 一個個 takes yí before fourth-tone 個.

如rú來lái卻què將jiāng寶bǎo盆pén中zhōng花huā果guǒ品pǐn物wù，著zhuó阿ā儺nuó捧pěng定dìng，著zhuó迦jiā葉shè佈bù散sàn。如rú来lái却què将jiāng宝bǎo盆pén中zhōng花huā果guǒ品pǐn物wù，著zhuó阿ā傩nuó捧pěng定dìng，著zhuó迦jiā叶shè布bù散sàn。

The Tathāgata then had Ānanda hold up the flowers and fruits of the basin, and Kāśyapa scatter them abroad.

著 here is causative zhuó (“to have someone do”). 阿儺 is Ānanda (the graph 儺 read nuó); 迦葉 is Mahākāśyapa, where 葉 takes the special reading shè.

總評 Commentary

The scene shifts to a quieter register: the Buddha, reckoning that five hundred mortal years have passed, proposes an Ullambana Feast. The festival's traditional theme — the deliverance of beings from suffering — silently anticipates the chapter's turn toward compassion for the mortal world.

The pairing of 阿儺 (Ānanda) and 迦葉 (Kāśyapa) as the Buddha's attendants is a deliberate touch: these are the very disciples who, in the novel's final chapters, will demand a gift before handing over the scriptures. Their appearance here, serving flowers and fruit, plants a thread the hundred-chapter design will pay off thousands of li and many years later.

The half-thousand-year measure also synchronises the two timelines the novel runs in parallel — the monkey's sentence under the mountain and the slow ripening of the pilgrimage's necessity. Yu notes how such temporal markers knit the episodic narrative into a single providential scheme; the feast is its calm hinge.