太上感应篇英文版.docx

太上感应篇英文版.docx

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太上感应篇英文版

TractateoftheMostHighOne

onActionsandConsequences

TractateoftheMostHighOne

onActionsandConsequences

TractateoftheMostHighOne

onActionsandConsequences

太上感应篇

TàishàngGǎnyìngPiān

ChapterLinks

（Chapterdivisionshavebeeninsertedbyme.Theoriginaltextiscontinuous.）

I.TheWorkingsofGoodandEvil

II.HowToBeGood

III.WhatHappensToGoodPeople

IV.TheCrimesoftheWicked（longestsection）

V.TheFateoftheWicked

VI.HopeforThoseWhoRepent

Introduction&Explanation

UnquestionablythemostimportantliterarygenreforthevastmajorityofChineseinlaterdynastieswasthemoralitytract.Suchworksweregenericallycalled"goodbooks"（shànshū善书）.

Theseworkswerefullofeverythingfromclaimsaboutcosmicjusticetohackneyedproverbsandtalesofthefellfateofthosewhoignoredthem,fromlamentationsovertheperpetuallyrambunctiousyoungtoinjunctionsagainstthedrowningofunwantedinfants,frompottedbiographiesofmoralexemplarstojinglesaboutbeingkindtothesenile.

Veryfewwereproductionsofsignificantliterarymerit,andthewholegenretendedtobescornedbytheliterati（asitistoday）.Manywerewrittenbymediumsintrancethroughtheuseofoneoranotherkindofouijaboard（planchette）,apracticewhichcontinuestothepresent.（SeeJordan&Overmyer1986,Overmyer1976.）Andsuchworkswere（andare）printedinmillionsandmillionsofcopiesfromsmallpressesalloverChinafordistributionforfree,usuallyfromthe"takeone"tablesofpopulartemples.Thecostwasborneasanactofreligiousmeritnotjustbythewealthy,butsometimesbypeopleofquitemodestmeans.Manyaddedintroductionsorannotations,oftenarguingforgreatreligiousmerittobehadbyfrequentreadingorchantingofthetext.

Amongsuchworks,nonehaseverrivaledthe"TractateoftheMostHighOneonActionsandConsequences"orTàishàngGǎnyìngPiān太上感应篇.

PaulCarus,inhisintroductiontoa1906translationoftheworkthathepreparedincooperationwithTeitaroSuzuki,opinedthat,"ItseditionsexceedeventhoseoftheBibleandShakespeare…"（p.3）.Intheintroductiontohisowntranslationin1918,JamesWebsterremarksthattheTractate,

…isperhapsthemostcelebratedtractintheannalsofliterature.Abookthathasbeenscatteredbroadcastamongapeoplenumberinghundredsofmillions,andtha5forseveralcenturies,mustbealmostwithoutparallel.

…thewidespreadcirculationofthetexthasmademanyofitspithyphrasespartofthecommontalkofthepeople,andonecannotlistenlongtoanyconversation,evenonthemostmundaneaffairsofdailyanddomesticlife,withouthearingsomeexpressionstheoriginofwhichistobefoundinthefamouslittlebook.（Pp.1-2）

TheTractateprobablyoriginatedinplanchette-writingsessions,forithasthehackneyedphrasesandchoppyflowthatcharacterizemanysuchworks,aswellastheseeminglyendlessandrepetitivelistofthosehumandeficienciesthatstrikeamateurmoralistsaroundtheworldassoespeciallyfascinating.

The"MostHighOne"referredtointhetitleisnoneotherthanLăozĭ老子,thelegendaryfounderofDaoism,whosespiritremainstothisdayafrequentvisitorinspiritwritingséances.

TheTractatehasbeenassociatedwiththeworkofaIVth-centuryDaoistnamedGĕHóng洪,whocalledhimselftheMasterEmbracingSimplicity（Bàopúzĭ抱朴子）,buttheworkisquitecertainlynotfromhishand.LaterscholarshavesuggesteditmaydatefromaslateastheMíng明dynasty（1368-1644,period20）orasearlyastheSòng宋dynasty（960-1279,period15）.

Whateveritsorigin,bythetimeofEuropeancontactintheXIXthcentury,theTractatehadsufficientprominencetoinspireFrenchandEnglishtranslationsin1816,1828,1830,1835,and1884,inadditiontotheearlyXXth-centuryonesmentionedabove（Webster,pp.10-11）.Ifitsubiquityhasfadedsomewhattoday,togetherwiththe"goodbooks"literaturemorebroadly,itneverthelessremainsoneofthemostcommonreligioustractsinChina.Andquotationsandparaphrasesfromitmaystillbeheardinspokenlanguage,justastheywereacenturyandmoreago.

Thetranslationofferedhere,whileinformedbypreviousones,ismyownandhasbeenbeenpreparedforuseinmyclasses.IhaveincludedthefullChinesetextinbothcharactersandromanizationforthebenefitofthemajorityofmystudentswhoarealsostudyingChineseandwhomaythereforebecuriousabouttheoriginaltext.

Otherinstructorsshouldfeelfreetousethetextinanywaytheyplease.Nofurtherpermissionisnecessary.

Workscitedabove:

CARUS,Paul&TeitaroSUZUKI

1906T'ai-shangkan-yingp'ien:

Treatiseoftheexaltedoneonresponseandretribution.LaSalleIL:

OpenCourtPublishing.

JORDAN,DavidK.&DanielL.Overmyer

1986Theflyingphoenix:

aspectsofChinesesectarianisminTaiwan.Princeton,NJ:

PrincetonU.Press.

OVERMYER,DanielL.

1976FolkBuddhistreligion:

dissentingsectsinlatetraditionalChina.CambridgeMA:

HarvardU.Press.

WEBSTER,James

1918Thekanyingpien:

bookofrewardsandpunishments.Shanghai:

PresbyterianMissionPress.

ThepictureshowsaXIXth-centurytractprintingshop.（reproducedfromCarus1906,p.133）

ChapterI:

TheWorkingsofGoodandEvil

Themosthighonesays:

太上曰：

太上曰：

Tàishàngyuē:

“Disastersandblessingshavenoentrygatesoftheirown;theyaresummonedbypeople.

「祸福无门，惟人自召；

「禍福無門，惟人自召；

“Huòfúwúmén,wéirénzìzhào;

Theeffectsofgoodandevilarelikeshadowsfollowingtheirforms.”

善恶之报，如影随形。

」

善惡之報，如影隨形。

」

shàn'èzhībào,rúyǐngsuíxíng.”

Andsoheavenandearthhavespiritswhorecordcrimes,

是以天地有司过之神，

是以天地有司過之神，

Shìyǐtiāndìyǒusīguòzhīshén,

andinproportiontotheseverityoftheircrimes,theyshortenhumanlivesappropriately.

依人所犯轻重，以夺人算。

依人所犯輕重，以奪人算。

yīrénsuǒfànqīngzhòng,yǐduórénsuàn.

Becauseofthisnotonlymayaperson’slifebecutshort,buthealsobecomespoorordestitute,hiscalamitiesaremany;

算减则贫耗，多逢忧患。

算減則貧耗，多逢憂患。

Suànjiǎnzépínhào,duōféngyōuhuàn;

Peopleallhatehim;punishmentsanddisastersfollowhim

人皆恶之，刑祸随之。

人皆惡之，刑禍隨之。

Rénjiēèzhī,xínghuòsuízhī,

Goodfortuneavoidshimwhileevilstarspersecutehim.

吉庆避之，恶星灾之。

吉慶避之，惡星灾之。

Jíqìngbìzhī,èxīngzāizhī;

Andwhenhisspanofyearsiscomplete,hedies.

算尽则死。

算盡則死。

Suànjìnzésǐ.

Andthentherearealsothegodsofthethreetowersandthenorthstar,residingabovetheheadsofordinarypeople.,

又有三台北斗神君，在人头上。

又有三台北斗神君，在人頭上。

YòuyǒuSāntáiBěidǒushénjūn,zàiréntóushàng.

Theytoorecordpeople’scrimesandevilactions,andshortentheyearsoflifeinthesentence

录人罪恶，夺其纪算。

錄人罪惡，奪其紀算。

Lùrénzuì'è,duóqíjìsuàn.

Andtherearethethreecorpsespirits,residinginthehumanbody.

又有三尸神，在人身中。

又有三尸神，在人身中。

YòuyǒuSānshīshén,zàirénshēnzhōng.

OneachKēngshēndayinthecycleof60days,theyascendtoheaventoreportpeople’scrimesandfailings.

每到庚申日，辄上诣天，言人罪过。

每到庚申日，輒上詣天，言人罪過。

MěidàoGēngShēnrì,zhéshàngyìtiāncáo,yánrénzuìguò.

OnthelastdayofthemonththeStoveGodalsodoesthis.

月晦之日，灶神亦然。

月晦之日，竈神亦然。

Yuèhuìzhīrì,zàoshényìrán.

Forordinarypeopleoffensescutoffajì（12years）ifgreat,whilesmalloffensescutoffasuàn（100days）.

凡人有过，大则夺纪，小则夺算。

凡人有過，大則奪紀，小則奪算。

Fánrényǒuguò,dàzéduójì,xiǎozéduósuàn.

Offensesgreatandsmallarisefromcountlessmatters,

其过大小，有数百事，

其過大小，有數百事，

Qíguòdàxiǎo,yǒushùbǎishì,

andthoseseekingimmortalitymustavoidthem.

欲求长生者，先须避之。

欲求長生者，先須避之。

yùqiúchángshēngzhě,xiān

ChapterII:

HowToBeGood

Followtherightpath,andretreatfromthewrongone.

是道则进，非道则退。

是道則進，非道則退。

Shìdàozéjìn,fēidàozétuì.

Donotfollowevilpaths,norsininsecret.

不履邪径，不欺暗室。

不履邪徑，不欺暗室。

Bùlǜxiéjìng,bùqīànshì.

Accumulatemerit,showacompassionateheartinallthings.

积德累功，慈心于物。

積德累功，慈心於物。

Jīdélèigōng,cíxīnyúwù.

Beloyal,filial,friendly,andbrotherly;bycorrectingyourself,transformothers.

忠孝友悌，正己化人。

忠孝友悌，正己化人。

Zhōngxiàoyǒutì;zhèngjǐhuàrén.

Pityorphansandbecompassionatetowidows,respecttheelderlyandbekindtotheyoung.

矜孤恤寡，敬老怀幼。

矜孤恤寡，敬老懷幼。

Jīngūxùguǎ,jìnglǎohuáiyòu.

Donoteveninjureinsects,grasses,andtrees.

昆虫草木，犹不可伤。

昆蟲草木，猶不可傷。

Kūnchóngcǎomù,yóubùkěshāng.

Besaddenedbyotherpeople’smisfortunesanddelightbytheirgoodfortune.

宜悯人之凶，乐人之善。

宜憫人之兇，樂人之善。

Yímǐnrénzhīxiōng,lèrénzhīshàn.

Helpthoseinneedandrescuethoseindanger.

济人之急，救人之危。

濟人之急，救人之危。

Jìrénzhījí,jiùrénzhīwēi.

Regardthegainsofothersasthoughtheywereyourown.

见人之得，如己之得。

見人之得，如己之得。

Jiànrénzhīdé,rújǐzhīdé.

Andregardthefailingsofothersasyourownfailings.

见人之失，如己之失。

見人之失，如己之失。

Jiànrénzhīshī,rújǐzhīshī.

Donotexposeotherpeople’sweaknesses,norboastofyourownstrengths.

不彰人短，不炫己长。

不彰人短，不炫己長。

Bùzhāngrénduǎn,bùxuànjǐcháng.

Condemnevilandpromotevirtue,renouncemuchandacceptlittle.

遏恶扬善，推多取少。

遏惡揚善，推多取少。

Èèyángshàn,tuīduōqǔshǎo.

Sufferhumiliationwithoutresentment,receivebenefitsasthoughstartled.

受辱不怨，受宠若惊。

受辱不怨，受寵若驚。

Shòurǔbùyuàn,shòuchǒngruòjīng.

Extendhelp,butdonotrequestcompensation,helpotherswithoutlaterregrets.

施恩不求报，与人不追悔。

施恩不求報，與人不追悔。

Shīēnbùqiúbào,yǔrénbùzhuīhuǐ.

TractateoftheMostHighOne

onActionsandConsequences

ChapterIII:

WhatHappensToGoodPeople

Whenapersonisknownasvirtuous,peopleallpraisehim.

所谓善人，人皆敬之。

所謂善人，人皆敬之。

Suǒwèishànrén,rénjiējìngzhī,

Heaven’sWayprotectshim,happinessandwealthfollowhim,

天道佑之，福禄随之，

天道佑之，福祿隨之，

Tiān