大龜王(佛陀本生故事)The Giant Turtle

大龜王

The Giant Turtle

本生故事

Jataka Tales

The Jataka tales are stories that the Buddha told about the many times he was reborn on Earth, sometimes as a prince or a poor man, sometimes as an animal or a fish, or a tree.These stories celebrate the wonderful joy, compassion, wisdom, and kindness that the Buddha showed in each of these lives to help others.

The Giant Turtle is one of the tales told by the Buddha to his disciples over 2,500 years ago.

前言

Jakata tales 是佛陀述說自己前生的故事，他有時生為太子或窮人，有時就做動物或魚，乃至一棵樹。這些故事稱頌著佛陀，在其每一生幫助人時，所表現出來的圓妙喜悅、慈悲、智慧與仁慈。

這篇「大龜王」是二千五百年前，佛陀告訴弟子的故事之一。

The Giant Turtle

Once a long, long time ago, the Buddha came to the earth as a giant turtle.He was a king turtle and ruled over all the animals in the deep blue sea.Every day he swam among the painted fish, the pearly-white oysters and the blue whales helping them with their problems and wishing them well.Everyone was happy and peaceful in his kingdom of the sea.

大龜王

很久很久以前，佛陀化身為一只大龜王，來統領深藍海中所有的水族。牠每天在五彩繽紛的魚、珍珠白的蛤蜊，及藍藍的海鯨間游來游去，除了幫牠們解決問題外，還希望牠們事事如意；所以一切的水族眾生，都在牠的王國里，過著既快樂、又祥和的生活。

One day, he crawled onto the sandy beach to take a nap.Because he was so large, as large as a continent, he napped for a very long time, for thousands of years.

有一天牠爬到沙灘上小睡片刻。可是牠實在太大了，大得好像一片陸地一樣，所以這一睡，竟睡了一千年這麼長的時間！

In the nights, the rain came dropping tiny raindrops onto the turtle』s back.Drip, drop!Drip drop!The raindrops flowed down between the cracks on the turtle』s great shell, forming sparkling rivers and lakes.

The turtle slept on.

夜晚，小雨滴在大龜王的背上，滴答！滴答！雨滴流進了牠巨大龜殼的縫隙中，形成了亮晶晶的河流和湖泊；可是大龜王還是沉睡著。

In the mornings, the winds came up, blowing tiny grains of sand onto the turtle』s back.Whoo-sha!Whoo-sha! The grains of sand joined together forming mountains and valleys.

The turtle slept on.

早上，風把細沙吹到大龜王的背上，呼咻！呼咻！沙粒堆在一起，形成了山嶺和峽谷；可是大龜王還是沉睡著。

In the afternoons, the birds flew over, dropping tiny seeds onto the turtle』s back. Pi-link! Pi-link!The seeds sprouted, and there on the turtle』s back grew flowers and grass and trees.

The turtle slept on.

午間，飛鳥銜落的小種子掉到大龜王的背上，嗶剝！嗶剝！種子在龜背上發了芽，長出花草樹木來；可是大龜王還是沉睡著。

The sun warmed the turtle through the days.

白天，陽光溫暖了大龜王；

The moon watched over him through the nights.

夜晚，月亮映照著牠。

As time passed, the seasons embraced the giant turtle with Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and animals that lived on the turtle』s back experienced the seasons and multiplied.

時間一天一天過去了，春、夏、秋、冬四季輪流擁抱著大龜王，動物們也來住在牠的背上，度過了四季，並且數量一天天地增加。

One day, not knowing the difference between the earth and the giant turtle』s back, a child drifted among the mountains and valleys to pick some wild flowers.

有一天，一位無法分辨土地和龜背的小女孩，在山谷間漫游，采了一些野花。

The next day she returned with her family. “This will be a good place to build a house. We can grow rice and get salt from the sea,” said her father.

The turtle slept on.

第二天，她帶著家人又來了，她的父親說：「這是一片可以建造家園的好土地，我們不但可以在這兒種稻，還可以從海里采鹽哩！」可是大龜王還是沉睡著。

The next year another family moved to the little mountain, and then another.

過了一年，另一個家庭又搬進小山，接著其他的家庭也陸續搬來了。

Roads were built and merchants came to set up shops.

這時，馬路被造起來了，商人也來設立商店。

A prince even built a palace.

The turtle slept on.

有一位王子甚至建立了一座宮殿！可是大龜王還是沉睡著。

People pulled their carts and rode their carriages over the streets cutting deep ruts into the turtle』s shell.Their cities became a heavy burden on his back, and the noises they made drummed in his ears.The fires that they built for their needs burned his skin.

人們在馬路上開車騎馬，車轍深深地切進了龜殼內；他們的城市重重地壓在牠的背上；人們的嘈雜聲，如捶鼓似地傳入了牠的耳朵；他們所燃的火，更是燒透了牠的殼！

And so it went until one day the giant turtle was awakened by the pain from the fires.He wanted to cool himself, so he began to crawl toward the sea.He did not hear the people cry, “Earthquake! Earthquake!” or see them run hither and yon.

所以有一天，大龜王從燒灼的痛苦中醒來了，牠想要涼快自己，就開始往海里爬。但是牠沒聽到人們哭喊著：「地震！地震！」也沒看到人們四處狂奔著。

When the giant turtle reached the sea, he immersed himself in the cool water to ease his pain.As the dwellers on his back saw water rising all around them, they screamed, “Flood! Flood! We will drown!”

當大龜王回到海里時，牠將自己浸在冷水中，以解除痛苦；而牠背上的居民一看到水漲到身邊，都尖叫起來：「洪水！洪水！我們快淹死了！」

For the first time, the giant turtle realized that there were people living on his back.Not wanting to bring pain into their lives, he crawled back onto the beach.

這一次，大龜王總算知道有人住在牠的背上了！為了不給人們帶來痛苦，牠又爬回到海灘上。

For another thousand years, he let the fires burn his skin and the rumble of the city shake him.During the days he held back the tears, but in the night he let them flow.So great was his pain and so silent were his tears that no one knew of his sacrifice.

另一個一千年又過去了，牠還是任由火燒灼著牠，任由城市隆隆的聲音震動著牠。白天牠的淚水往內吞，晚上牠則讓淚水靜靜地流下來。牠的痛苦是如此的巨大，可是牠的淚水卻如此的無聲無息，以至于沒有人知道牠的犧牲。

Finally the giant turtle decided that he needed to return to the sea.Slowly raising his head, he spoke to the people, “Do not be afraid.I will not hurt you.You see, I am a giant turtle, and you are living on my shell.I must go back into the water, or I will die.”

One by one, the people gathered their belongings and moved back onto the beach.The giant turtle eased their buildings and homes and palaces off his back.The people created new villages and cities on the earth and their lives went on as before.

最後，大龜王決定牠必須回到海里去，所以慢慢地抬起頭來對人們說：「不要害怕！我不會傷害你們的。你看！我是一只巨大的烏龜，可是你們卻住在我的背殼上；現在我必須回到水里，否則我會死的。」

這時，人們一個接一個收拾他們的財物，然後搬到岸上。當背上的建築物、家園、宮殿被除去後，大龜王也感到舒服了。人們在陸地上建立了新的村落和城市，就如同以前一樣地過日子。

All were grateful for the kindness of the giant turtle.They bowed to him, saying, “For thousands of years, you gave us your back on which to build our world, and now you save our lives.You are king turtle!Surely, you will become a Buddha in the future.”

大龜王的慈悲，令大家都非常感激，人們禮拜牠說：「數千年來，你讓我們在你的背上建立我們的世界，現在還救了我們的生命，你真是一位王者呀！將來一定會成佛的！」

Then the birds flew high above the turtle and placed garlands of fragrant flowers around his neck.Monkeys rubbed his sores with healing herbs, and elephants trumpeted sweet music to soothe his ears.

接著鳥兒也來到牠的上空飛翔，將香花鬘掛在牠的頸子上；猴子們用了藥草來幫牠敷愈傷口；大象們豎起長鼻子，奏著甜美的音樂，來撫慰牠的耳朵。

The people swept the sand from his back with peacock feathers, and the giant turtle crawled back into the sea.

人們則拿著孔雀的羽毛掃除了牠背上的沙；最後大龜王又回到海里了！

After the telling of this tale, the Buddha said, “I was the king turtle, and the people that lived on my back became my disciples.”

講完了這個故事後，佛陀就說：「我就是那只大龜王，那些住在我背上的人，後來就變成我的弟子。」