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三教融合的《西游记》

发布时间:2023-03-13 10:02:58  |  来源:中国网  |  作者:王晓辉  |  责任编辑:李潇

作者:王晓辉

《西游记》小说成书于明代中叶,在此之前,玄奘取经的传说已经流传了数百年。经过多少代说书人添枝加叶,又吸收了儒家的正统思想和道家的玄幻观念,让这个原本是佛教的故事,具有了儒家的底色和道家的背景。

玄奘西行,在今天看来是“乘危远迈、策杖孤征”的壮举,但在当时却是严重的违法行为,属于偷越国境。贞观初,唐王朝一度封闭河西一带,严禁百姓擅自西行。玄奘为西行求法,曾上书朝廷,但未获批准,所以才“冒越宪章,私往天竺”。可是到了《西游记》小说里,玄奘的“私往天竺”却成了“奉旨西行”,蒙上了一层忠君色彩。

《西游记》第十二回:那菩萨祥云渐远,霎时间不见了金光。只见那半空中,滴溜溜落下一张简帖,上有几句颂子,写得明白。颂曰:“礼上大唐君,西方有妙文。程途十万八千里,大乘进殷勤。此经回上国,能超鬼出群。若有肯去者,求正果金身。”

……(太宗)当时在寺中问曰:“谁肯领朕旨意,上西天拜佛求经?”问不了,旁边闪过法师,帝前施礼道:“贫僧不才,愿效犬马之劳,与陛下求取真经,祈保我王江山永固。”唐王大喜,上前将御手扶起道:“法师果能尽此忠贤,不怕程途遥远,跋涉山川,朕情愿与你拜为兄弟。”玄奘顿首谢恩。唐王果是十分贤德,就去那寺里佛前,与玄奘拜了四拜,口称“御弟圣僧”。玄奘感谢不尽道:“陛下,贫僧有何德何能,敢蒙天恩眷顾如此?我这一去,定要捐躯努力,直至西天。如不到西天,不得真经,即死也不敢回国,永堕沉沦地狱。”

【配图:彭靖雯】

詹纳尔教授的译文:

The Bodhisattva's magic cloud slowly faded into the distance, and a moment later the golden light could be seen no more. All that was visible was a note drifting down from the sky on which could be read the following brief address in verse:

"Greetings to the lord of the Great Tang.

In the West are miraculous scriptures.

Although the road is sixty thousand miles long,

The Great Vehicle will offer its help.

When these scriptures are brought back to your country

They will save devils and deliver the masses.

If anyone is willing to go for them,

His reward will be a golden body."

... The Emperor then asked those present in the monastery, "Who is willing to accept our commission to go to the Western Heaven to visit the Buddha and fetch the scriptures?" Before he had finished his question, the Master of the Law came forward, bowed low in greeting, and said, "Although I am lacking in ability, I would like to offer my humble efforts to fetch the true scriptures for Your Majesty and thus ensure the eternal security of your empire." The Tang Emperor, who was overjoyed to hear this, went forward to raise him to his feet. "Master," he said, "if you are prepared to exert your loyalty and wisdom to the full, not fearing the length of the journey or the rivers and mountains you will have to cross, I shall make you my own sworn brother." Xuanzang kowtowed to thank him. As the Tang Emperor was indeed a man of wisdom and virtue he went to a place before the Buddha in the monastery where he bowed to Xuanzang four times, calling him "younger brother" and "holy monk." Xuanzang thanked him effusively. "Your Majesty," he said, "I have no virtue or talent that fits me for the sacred honour of being treated as your kinsman. On this journey I shall give my all and go straight to the Western Heaven. If I fail to reach there or to obtain the true scriptures, then I shall not return to this country even in death, and shall fall for eternity into Hell."

“颂子”又称“偈颂”或“偈子”,梵文gatha,音译“偈陀”,是佛经中的唱词,形式与诗歌类似。詹纳尔没有采用梵文音译,将颂子直接翻译成verse,更便于英语读者理解。“大乘”和“小乘”用梵文说是Mahayana和Hinayana,英文翻译成Great Vehicle和Little Vehicle。大乘与小乘并非字面上大车与小车之间的差别,而是在学说体系和修行方式上有所区别。余国藩教授用了梵文Mahayana,更多地保留了宗教色彩;詹纳尔给出的翻译是Great Vehicle,简单明了。关于“正果金身”,简单理解就是功德圆满,修行成佛。按原文直译成golden body反而不易理解,外国读者会不会以为玄奘取得真经后就变成了一个24K的金人儿呢?如此,倒不如译为“成佛”更好——If someone is willing to go for the scriptures, he will become a Buddha。“犬马之劳”,词典上的字面翻译是serve like a dog or a horse,放在本文的语境下,詹纳尔采用意译的方法,译成I would like to offer my humble efforts to fetch the true scriptures for Your Majesty。

玄奘不仅拿到了护照、签证,还与唐王李世民拜了把子,成了“御弟”,西行的目的在求取真经之外,又加上了“祈保我王江山永固”的儒家忠君思想,性质也自然由原本的个人行为变成了公务出国。临行前,玄奘对弟子说:“我已发了弘誓大愿,不取真经,永堕沉沦地狱。大抵是受王恩宠,不得不尽忠以报国耳。”这哪里还是玄奘,简直就是岳飞!

如果读者稍微留心,就不难发现,唐僧、孙悟空、猪八戒嘴里时不时都会冒出儒家的话语,而且非常恰当得体,让人觉得他们对儒学经典的熟悉程度一点儿也不亚于佛经。

《西游记》第二十七回,也就是“孙悟空三打白骨精”那个桥段,白骨精变身村姑,借口施舍斋饭来诱骗唐僧。唐僧却对她说:“女菩萨,你语言差了。圣经云:父母在,不远游,游必有方。你既有父母在堂,又与你招了女婿,有愿心,教你男子还,便也罢,怎么自家在山行走?又没个侍儿随从。这个是不遵妇道了。”

唐僧不知身处险境,还振振有词地用孔夫子的话来教训妖精,一副老派儒生的口吻。“父母在,不远游,游必有方。”出自《论语·里仁》,是孔夫子关于“孝”的思想的论述,言语通俗,道理简单,也是普通老百姓常说的一句话。

詹纳尔教授的译文:When father and mother are alive, do not go on long journeys; if you have to go out, have a definite aim.

余国藩教授的译文:

While father and mother are alive, one does not travel abroad; or if one does, goes only to a proper destination.

外文出版社曾出版外文局原局长林戊荪先生翻译的《论语》,林先生的译文是这样的:

The Master said, "Do not travel to distant places when your parents are alive. If you have to do so, always let them know where you are."

孔夫子的伟大在于洞悉人性,他用最为平常的话语说出了天下父母的心声。年轻人出去闯天下,做父母的放心不下,但不会拖后腿,重要的是要有“方”。孔夫子的这个“方”是相对父母而言的,也就是要让父母知道你去哪儿了。林先生的翻译娓娓道来,仿佛是孔夫子在用英文唠家常。也许,这就是大道至简的道理吧。

孙悟空虽是个“泼猴”,说起话来也能引经据典。《西游记》第三十一回,孙悟空对百花羞公主说:“盖父兮生我,母兮鞠我。哀哀父母,生我劬劳!故孝者,百行之原,万善之本,却怎么将身陪伴妖精,更不思念父母?非得不孝之罪如何?”公主闻此正言,半晌家耳红面赤,惭愧无地。

如果不看上下文,单独把这段话拿出来,读者一定会以为是出自一位饱学鸿儒之口。父兮生我,母兮鞠我。哀哀父母,生我劬劳!这四句诗,源自《诗经·小雅》,意思是父亲生我,母亲养我,可怜的父母把我养大,付出了太多的辛劳!

这是远离家乡在外服徭役的人思念父母的诗,情感真挚,疾痛惨怛,读之令人嗟叹不已。

詹纳尔教授的译文:

My father begot me,

My mother raised me. 

Alas for my parents,

What an effort it was to bring me up.

《诗经》是中国古代最早的诗歌总集,收录的是西周初年到春秋中叶的诗歌,所以詹纳尔在翻译这首诗的时候用了一个很古旧的词begot(beget的过去式,to become the father of a child),是“生”的意思,通常用于男性,如《圣经》中的“Isaac begot Jacob(以撒生了雅各)”。原文中的“哀哀”是感叹父母可怜,用Alas表达悲伤的情绪似乎比直接说my poor parents更加贴切。最后一句,What an effort it was to bring me up,节奏上与前三句似乎不搭。可以考虑将it was省去,将bring me up替换成rear me,这样结构简练,也呼应了前两句的me,读起来也更有诗的感觉。

说过了儒家的底色,我们再来看看《西游记》小说中道家的元素。道教是中国本土宗教,如果从开山祖师老子算起,已有2500多年的历史了。人们追求长生不老、升天成仙的愿望,与道家的清静无为的思想和玄幻的宇宙观一拍即合,所以,道教传说中有很多在编制有级别的神仙,如太上老君、太白金星、真武大帝、太乙真人、镇元大仙、二郎神、托塔天王李靖等。这些神仙,或与孙悟空交过手,或在唐僧取经过程中提供过帮助,他们的加盟,让《西游记》充满了想象的魅力和奇幻的色彩。

孙悟空的师傅须菩提祖师,听名字像是个佛家,但那派头,怎么看都像个道家。石猴当年访仙拜师,出门来接引他的是个仙童。但见他:

髽髻双丝绾,宽袍两袖风。

貌和身自别,心与相俱空。

物外长年客,山中永寿童。

一尘全不染,甲子任翻腾。

梳着抓髻穿着宽袍,完全是一副道童的打扮。那么,孙悟空的师傅须菩提祖师又是怎样给弟子讲道呢?

妙演三乘教……

说一会道,讲一会禅,

三家配合本如然。

The doctrines of three vehicles he subtly rehearsed / ... For a while he lectured on Dao; / For a while he spoke on Chan -- / To harmonize the Three Parties was a natural thing. (余国藩教授译文)

这种说一会儿道、讲一会儿禅的授课方式,反映出明清时期儒释道三教融合的趋势,所以作者才说“三家配合本如然”。

在《西游记》小说中,西方的佛祖、道教的神仙和儒家的君王关系和睦,还经常互相请客,彼此提供帮助。王母娘娘的蟠桃会就把“西天佛老、菩萨、圣僧、罗汉、南方南极观音”统统请来;在唐玄奘取经途中,太上老君、观音菩萨、如来佛祖、文殊菩萨、普贤菩萨、弥勒佛、毗蓝婆菩萨、灵吉菩萨、福禄寿星、火德星君、黄河水伯神王、水德星君、昴日星官、小张太子、北方真武、玉皇大帝、太白金星、四值功曹、五方揭谛、一十八位护教伽蓝、二十八宿、托塔天王、哪吒太子、四海龙王、太乙真人、太阴星君、嫦娥、紫阳真人等佛系的菩萨和道系的神仙,都曾在关键时刻施以援手。

第四十七回“圣僧夜阻通天水,金木垂慈救小童”,孙悟空降了妖魔,对车迟国国王说:“望你把三教归一,也敬僧,也敬道,也养育人才,我保你江山永固。”这是非常鲜明的“三教合一”的思想,只是从孙悟空口里说出来,显得有些滑稽。

不知道读者朋友有没有注意到,《西游记》小说中有一个特别有趣的细节,就是有关唐玄奘的护照和签证的情节。

《西游记》第十二回,玄奘主动请缨,前往西天取经,“唐王甚喜,即命回銮,待选良利日辰,发牒出行,遂此驾回各散。”

第九十八回,唐僧师徒历尽千辛万苦,终于到了西天大雷音寺,见到了如来佛祖。师徒四人来到大雄宝殿,对如来倒身下拜。拜罢,又向左右再拜。各各三匝已遍,复向佛祖长跪,将通关文牒奉上,如来一一看了,还递与三藏。

小说最后一回,唐僧师徒取了真经,回到大唐,又将通关文牒交给唐太宗。太宗看了,乃贞观一十三年九月望前三日给。太宗笑道:“久劳远涉,今已贞观二十七年矣。”牒文上有宝象国印,乌鸡国印,车迟国印,西梁女国印,祭赛国印,朱紫国印,狮驼国印,比丘国印,灭法国印;又有凤仙郡印,玉华州印,金平府印。太宗览毕,收了。

看到没有,唐玄奘取经,出发时护照签证是唐太宗亲自发的,到了西天,是如来佛亲自查验的,回到大唐,又是唐太宗亲自接收的。这恐怕是人类历史也包括神类历史上最高级别的护照签证办理和查验程序了。我们今天谈《西游记》“三教合一”的思想,不妨把这个小噱头也当成一个佐证。