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@ 50594 觀音信仰
A 嗨，這幾天去哪兒了？怎麼都沒看到你？
hāi, zhè jǐ tiān qù nǎr le? zěnme dōu méi kàndào nǐ?
Hey, where have you been the last few days? How come I haven't seen you?
B 陪我媽去普陀山進香了。
péi wǒ mā qù Pǔtuóshān jìnxiāng le.
I went with my Mom to Putuo Mountain to worship.
A 啊？我記得你們全家不信佛啊。
ǎ? wǒ jìde nǐmen quánjiā bù xìnfó a.
Huh? I thought I remembered that no one in your family believes in Buddhism.
B 沒聽過“臨時抱佛腳”嗎？我媽她老人家啊，現在想孫子都快想瘋了。聽人說普陀山的送子觀音很靈驗，就非拉我去上香不可。
méi tīng guò `` línshí bào fójiǎo" ma? wǒ mā tā lǎorénjiā a, xiànzài xiǎng sūnzi dōu kuài xiǎng fēng le. tīng rén shuō Pǔtuóshān de Sòngzǐ Guānyīn hěn língyàn, jiù fēi lā wǒ qù shàngxiāng bùkě.
Haven't you ever heard of ``embracing the Buddha in your moment of need?" My mom's an old lady, and right now she's just about going crazy thinking about having a grandson. She heard that the fertility Guanyin on Putuo Mountain is really effective, so she insisted that we go up to the mountain to pray.
A 你媽可真夠“虔誠”的。不過話說回來，普陀山的香火是挺旺的，我上次去的時候，香客那個絡繹不絕啊……
nǐ mā kě zhēn gòu `` qiánchéng" de. bùguò huàshuō huílai, Pǔtuóshān de xiānghuǒ shì tǐng wàng de, wǒ shàngcì qù de shíhou, xiāngkè nàge luòyìbùjué a......
Your mom is really pious! But now that we're talking about it, burning incense on Putuo Mountain is really a big deal. Last time I went, there was an unbroken stream of pilgrims...
B 你怎麼也去那兒啊？
nǐ zěnme yě qù nàr a?
How come you went there, too?
A 陪一個外國朋友去的，他對中國的佛教文化很感興趣。普陀山是觀音菩薩的道場，佛教聖地。我當然要帶人家去轉轉，給人家講解講解咯。
péi yī ge wàiguó péngyou qù de, tā duì Zhōngguó de fójiào wénhuà hěn gǎn xìngqù. Pǔtuóshān shì Guānyīn púsà de dàochǎng, fójiào shèngdì. wǒ dāngrán yào dài rénjiā qù zhuàn zhuan, gěi rénjiā jiǎngjiě jiǎngjiě lo.
I was taking a foreign friend there. He was really interested in Chinese Buddhism. Putuo Mountain is a good place for performing rites for Guanyin Bodhisattva. It's a sacred place in Buddhism. Of course I have to take people around there, and explain a few things about it.
B 就你那點三腳貓功夫，也敢拿出來抖？
jiù nǐ nà diǎn sānjiǎomāo gōngfu, yě gǎn ná chūlai dǒu?
How do you dare show off your limited knowledge for others to see?
A 比上不足，比下有餘，至少比你強。
bǐshàngbùzú, bǐxiàyǒuyú, zhìshǎo bǐ nǐ qiáng.
I'm worse than others, better than some. At the very least I know more than you.
B 是嗎？那你說說，“觀音”這個名號是什麼意思？
shì ma? nà nǐ shuō shuo, `` Guānyīn" zhège mínghào shì shénme yìsi?
Oh, really? Then can you tell me what the name ``Guanyin" means?
A “觀音”的全稱是“觀世音”，至於這個名號的意思嘛，其實就是菩薩以大智慧觀照眾生的意思。如果菩薩聽到有人念“觀世音”這個名號，就會立即尋著聲音去解救。所以民間才有“大慈大悲救苦救難的觀世音菩薩”這種說法。
Guānyīn" de quánchēng shì `` Guānshìyīn" , zhìyú zhège mínghào de yìsi ma, qíshí jiùshì púsà yǐ dàzhìhuì guānzhào zhòngshēng de yìsi. rúguǒ púsà tīngdào yǒurén niàn `` Guānshìyīn" zhège mínghào, jiù huì lìjí xún zhe shēngyīn qù jiějiù. suǒyǐ mínjiān cái yǒu `` dàcídàbēi jiùkǔjiùnàn de Guānshìyīn púsà" zhèzhǒng shuōfa.
``Guanyin's" full name is Guan Shi Yin. As for meaning of the name, well, actually it means that, with her great wisdom, the Bodhisattva takes care of people. If the Bodhisattva hears someone say the words ``Guan Shi Yin," she will immediately look for the source of the sound and rescue the person. That's the reason there are folk sayings such as ``The Great Merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva Rescues the Needy and Helps the Distressed."
B 沒想到你肚子裡的墨水還挺多的。
méixiǎngdào nǐ dùzi lǐ de mòshuǐ hái tǐng duō de.
I never thought you were so well-informed.
A 呵呵，不瞞你說，在給人家講解之前，我看了不少佛教方面的書，惡補了一番。
hēhē, bùmánnǐshuō, zài gěi rénjiā jiǎngjiě zhīqián, wǒ kàn le bùshǎo fójiào fāngmiàn de shū, èbǔ le yīfān.
Ha, to tell you the truth, before I went around explaining this stuff to people, I read quite a few books about Buddhism. I went a bit over-board making up the gaps in my knowledge.
B 那你一定知道觀音的來歷咯？歷史上真的有這麼一個人嗎？
nà nǐ yīdìng zhīdào Guānyīn de láilì lo? lìshǐshàng zhēnde yǒu zhème yī ge rén ma?
Then you must know the origin of Guanyin? Was there really such a historical character?
A 觀音雖然是佛教裡的大菩薩，可是在佛典裡他沒有一個具體、真實的身世。關於他的來歷，一直以來眾說紛紜。有的說他是蓮花化生的，所以有“蓮花之王”的稱號；有的說他是轉輪聖王的大太子，和他的弟弟一起修行，侍奉阿彌陀佛……
Guānyīn suīrán shì fójiào lǐ de dàpúsà, kěshì zài fódiǎn lǐ tā méiyǒu yī ge jùtǐ, zhēnshí de shēnshì. guānyú tā de láilì, yīzhí yǐlái zhòngshuōfēnyún. yǒude shuō tā shì liánhuā huàshēng de, suǒyǐ yǒu `` liánhuā zhī wáng" de chēnghào; yǒude shuō tā shì Zhuǎnlún Shèngwáng de dàtàizǐ, hé tā de dìdi yīqǐ xiūxíng, shìfèng E1mítuófó......
Although Guanyin is a major Bodhisattva, there is not a concrete figure in the Buddhist scriptures, or a credible life story. As far as his origins, there have always been a lot of different explanations. Some same he came from a lotus flower, so he has the name ``King of the Lotus Flower." Some say he was crown prince of Chakravartin. He began practicing Buddhism with his little brother. They cared for Amida Buddha.
B 大太子？她不是女的嗎？
dàtàizǐ? tā bù shì nǚ de ma?
A crown prince? She wasn't a woman?
A 這又是個謎了。我們現在最常見到的觀音都是女性形象。面目清秀，頭戴花冠，衣著華麗，就像中國古代的貴婦人。可是，在印度佛經裡，他卻被稱為“善男子”。在印度和中國的早期畫像和雕像裡，他的形象也都是長有鬍鬚的男子像。
zhè yòu shì ge mí le. wǒmen xiànzài zuì cháng jiàndào de Guānyīn dōu shì nǚxìng xíngxiàng. miànmù qīngxiù, tóu dài huāguān, yīzhuó huálì, jiù xiàng Zhōngguó gǔdài de guìfùrén. kěshì, zài Yìndù fójīng lǐ, tā què bèi chēng wéi `` Shànnánzǐ" . zài Yìndù hé Zhōngguó de zǎoqī huàxiàng hé diāoxiàng lǐ, tā de xíngxiàng yě dōu shì zhǎng yǒu húxū de nánzǐ xiàng.
This is another mystery. These days, the most commonly seen image of Guanyin is female. Her face and eyes are clear and bright, with a garland on her head, and beautiful clothing. She looks like an ancient Chinese noblewoman. But in the Indian Buddhist scriptures, he is called ``The Good Man." In early Indian and Chinese paintings and statues, he is a man with a beard.
B 那觀音究竟是男的還是女的呢？
nà Guānyīn jiūjìng shì nán de háishi nǚ de ne?
So is Guanyin male or female?
A 這並不重要。因為根據佛教的教理，菩薩是無漏的聖人。
zhè bìng bù zhòngyào. yīnwèi gēnjù fójiào de jiàolǐ, púsà shì wúlòu de shèngrén.
That really isn't important. Because according to Buddhist precepts, Bodhisattvas are passionless and enlightened.
B 什麼是無漏？
shénme shì wúlòu?
What does ``passionless" mean?
A 就是沒有煩惱的意思。而聖人是沒有男女之別的。
jiùshì méiyǒu fánnǎo de yìsi. ér shèngrén shì méiyǒu nánnǚ zhī bié de.
It means they don't have to deal with annoyances. And to the enlightened, there's no difference between male and female.
B 我腦子裡的觀音形象就是電視劇《西遊記》裡的樣子：很漂亮、很慈祥的女性，腳踩蓮座，左手拿淨瓶，右手持柳枝，面露微笑，似乎正在把瓶中的甘露撒向人間，把幸福帶給人類。
wǒ nǎozi lǐ de Guānyīn xíngxiàng jiùshì diànshìjù《Xīyóujì》lǐ de yàngzi: hěn piàoliang, hěn cíxiáng de nǚxìng, jiǎocǎi liánzuò, zuǒshǒu ná jìngpíng, yòushǒu chí liǔzhī, miàn lù wēixiào, sìhu zhèngzài bǎ píng zhōng de gānlù sǎ xiàng rénjiān, bǎ xìngfú dàigěi rénlèi.
The image of Guanyin I have in my mind is from the TV series of ``Journey to the West": a very beautiful and compassionate woman riding on a lotus pedestal. In her left hand she has a bottle of pure water and in her right a willow branch. She's smiling, as if she's pouring the sweet dew from the bottle into the mortal world, giving happiness to humanity.
Key Vocabulary
進香 jìnxiāng to go worship in a temple
上香 shàngxiāng to burn incense in worship
香火 xiānghuǒ burning incense
香客 xiāngkè worshipper
觀音 Guānyīn Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy
送子觀音 Sòngzǐ Guānyīn Guanyin, patroness of female fertility
臨時抱佛腳 línshí bào fójiǎo to seek help at the last moment
靈驗 língyàn effective
絡繹不絕 luòyìbùjué endless stream
三腳貓功夫 sānjiǎomāo gōngfu superficial talent
比上不足，比下有餘 bǐshàngbùzú, bǐxiàyǒuyú to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst
大慈大悲 dàcídàbēi great mercy
救苦救難 jiùkǔjiùnàn to help the needy and relieve those under hardship
惡補 èbǔ to overdo
眾說紛紜 zhòngshuōfēnyún opinions vary
修行 xiūxíng to practice Buddhism
阿彌陀佛 E1mítuófó Amitabha (Buddhist chant)
Supplementary Vocabulary
出家 chūjiā to become a monk or nun
釋迦牟尼 Shìjiāmóuní Sakyamuni
苦海無邊，回頭是岸 kǔhǎiwúbiān, huítóushì'àn the sea of suffering is endless; repent and be saved
心誠則靈 xīnchéngzélíng work because of heart-felt sincerity
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