第八十回 · 命犯華蓋 Born Under an Unlucky Star — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

命犯華蓋 Born Under an Unlucky Star

我wǒ們men不bú是shì好hǎo意yì要yào出chū家jiā的de，皆jiē因yīn父fù母mǔ生shēng身shēn，命mìng犯fàn華huá蓋gài，家jiā裡lǐ養yǎng不bú住zhù，才cái捨shě斷duàn了le出chū家jiā。既jì做zuò了le佛fó門mén弟dì子zǐ，切qiè莫mò說shuō脫tuō空kōng之zhī話huà。」我wǒ们men不bú是shì好hǎo意yì要yào出chū家jiā的de，皆jiē因yīn父fù母mǔ生shēng身shēn，命mìng犯fàn华huá盖gài，家jiā里lǐ养yǎng不bú住zhù，才cái舍shě断duàn了le出chū家jiā。既jì做zuò了le佛fó门mén弟dì子zǐ，切qiè莫mò说shuō脱tuō空kōng之zhī话huà。」

逐句解 Line by line

我wǒ們men不bú是shì好hǎo意yì要yào出chū家jiā的de，皆jiē因yīn父fù母mǔ生shēng身shēn，命mìng犯fàn華huá蓋gài，家jiā裡lǐ養yǎng不bú住zhù，才cái捨shě斷duàn了le出chū家jiā。我wǒ们men不bú是shì好hǎo意yì要yào出chū家jiā的de，皆jiē因yīn父fù母mǔ生shēng身shēn，命mìng犯fàn华huá盖gài，家jiā里lǐ养yǎng不bú住zhù，才cái舍shě断duàn了le出chū家jiā。

We are not people who left home out of any good intention. It is only that our parents bore us, our fate fell foul of the Canopy star, the family could not raise us, and so they cut us loose to leave the household.

The 華蓋 is a star of Chinese astrology whose presence in a birth chart marks a person out for solitude and religion — the standard folk explanation for a child put into a monastery. The lama is describing the ordinary economics of it: the family could not feed him.

既jì做zuò了le佛fó門mén弟dì子zǐ，切qiè莫mò說shuō脫tuō空kōng之zhī話huà。」既jì做zuò了le佛fó门mén弟dì子zǐ，切qiè莫mò说shuō脱tuō空kōng之zhī话huà。」

Having once become disciples of the Buddha, do not go telling empty tales."

脫空 is talk with nothing behind it — a lie, but the boastful kind rather than the cunning kind.

總評 Commentary

This is the most quietly deflating speech in chapter 80 and it is delivered cheerfully. Nobody chooses this life. We were unlucky children our families could not keep. And you are standing in my gateway claiming an imperial commission.

It is also, in this chapter of all chapters, an accusation of lying levelled at the only person present who is telling the exact truth. Tripitaka has spent the afternoon believing an elaborate falsehood and is now disbelieved for a plain fact.