The Three Woes

6．三种痛苦

The palace which the king had given to the prince
was resplendent with all the luxuries of India;
for the king was anxious to see his son happy. [1]

国王急切地想看到儿子幸福，他给太子建造了金碧辉煌的宫殿，里面有印度所有的奢华之物。 1
All sorrowful sights, all misery,
and all knowledge of misery were kept away from Siddhattha,
for the king desired that no troubles should come nigh him;
he should not know that there was evil in the world. [2]

所有悲伤之事，所有痛苦，所有关于痛苦的知识都与悉达多隔离开来，因为国王希望一切烦恼都不要靠近他，他不应知晓世间有罪恶存在。 2

But as the chained elephant longs for the wilds of the jungles,
so the prince was eager to see the world,
and he asked his father, the king,
for permission to do so. [3]

但是就像被铁链拴住的大象渴望丛林的自由一样，太子希望看到世间之事，他恳求父王允许他完成自己的心愿。 3

And Suddhodana ordered a jewel-fronted chariot with four stately horses to be held ready,
and commanded the roads to be adorned where his son would pass. [4]

于是净饭王命令属下给太子准备一辆车，车上镶满珠宝，由四匹骏马驾驭，太子所经之路也装饰一新。 4

The houses of the city were decorated with curtains and banners,
and spectators arranged themselves on either side,
eagerly gazing at the heir to the throne.
Thus Siddhattha rode with Channa, his charioteer,
through the streets of the city,
and into a country watered by rivulets and covered with pleasant trees. [5]

城里的房屋被窗帘和旗帜打扮起来，人们列队站在路两旁，热切地注视着王位继承人。悉达多和他的车夫车匿驾车穿过城市街道，来到一个小溪环绕、绿树成荫的乡村。 5

There by the wayside they met an old man with bent frame,
wrinkled face and sorrowful brow, and the prince asked the charioteer:
"Who is this?
His head is white,
his eyes are bleared,
and his body is withered.
He can barely support himself on his staff." [6]

在路旁，他们碰到了一个老人，他腰弯背驼，满脸褶皱，眉目愁苦。王子问车夫：“这是谁啊？他头发花白，眼睛昏沉，身体萎缩。他的拐杖快要支撑不住他自己了。” 6

The charioteer, much embarrassed, hardly dared speak the truth.
He said: "These are the symptoms of old age.
This same man was once a suckling child,
and as a youth full of sportive life;
but now, as years have passed away,
his beauty is gone and the strength of his life is wasted." [7]

车夫异常尴尬，几乎不敢说出真相。他说：“这些是老年人的特征。同样一个人，他曾是吃奶的孩子，充满活力的年轻人，但是年华逝去，现在他的美貌没有了，他的生命也衰弱了。” 7

Siddhattha was greatly affected by the words of the charioteer,
and he sighed because of the pain of old age.
"What joy or pleasure can men take," he thought to himself,
"when they know they must soon wither and pine away!" [8]

悉达多被车夫的话深深震撼了，他陷入深思，为老年的痛苦而叹气：“当人们知道他们必将很快衰老至死，还能享受什么欢乐或愉悦呢？” 8

And lo! while they were passing on,
a sick man appeared on the way-side, gasping for breath,
his body disfigured, convulsed and groaning with pain. [9]

看吧！当人们年老时，身体病弱，蜷缩路边，气喘吁吁，身躯佝偻，因身体疼痛不断呻吟。 9

The prince asked his charioteer:
"What kind of man is this?"
And the charioteer replied and said: "This man is sick.
The four elements of his body are confused and out of order.
We are all subject to such conditions:
the poor and the rich, the ignorant and the wise,
all creatures that have bodies, are liable to the same calamity." [10]

太子问车夫：“这是哪种人？”车夫回答：“这是病人。他体内的四种因素混乱无序。我们所有人都会遭遇这种情况，无论穷人还是富人、愚者还是智者，凡有身体的人都要承受相同的苦难。” 10

And Siddhattha was still more moved.
All pleasures appeared stale to him,
and he loathed the joys of life. [11]

悉达多仍然沉溺在伤感之中。所有的愉快之事对他而言索然无味，生命的欢乐在他看来也了无意义。 11

The charioteer sped the horses on to escape the dreary sight,
when suddenly they were stopped in their fiery course. [12]

车夫策马离开这凄苦之地，正当他们快速行驶时，突然停了下来。 12

Four persons passed by, carrying a corpse;
and the prince, shuddering at the sight of a lifeless body,
asked the charioteer: "What is this they carry?
There are streamers and flower garlands;
but the men that follow are overwhelmed with grief!" [13]

四个人扛着一具尸体走过来。太子看到这个无生命的躯体，浑身震颤，他问车夫：“他们扛的是什么？这里有彩旗和花环，但是后面跟着的人都被悲伤压垮了！” 13

The charioteer replied:
"This is a dead man:
his body is stark;
his life is gone;
his thoughts are still;
his family and the friends who loved him
now carry the corpse to the grave." [14]

车夫回答说：“这是一个死人：他的身体僵硬了；他的生命逝去了；他的思维静止了；爱他的家人和朋友现在正扛着他的尸体走向墓园。” 14

And the prince was full of awe and terror:
"Is this the only dead man," he asked,
"or does the world contain other instances?" [15]

太子心中充满了敬畏和恐惧，他问：“只有一个死人，或者说世上还有其他的例子？” 15

With a heavy heart the charioteer replied:
"All over the world it is the same.
He who begins life must end it.
There is no escape from death." [16]

车夫心情沉重，他回答道：“全世界都是如此。生命一经开始必将结束。无人能够逃离死亡。” 16

With bated breath and stammering accents the prince exclaimed:
"O worldly men! How fatal is your delusion!
Inevitable your body will crumble to dust,
yet carelessly, unheedingly, ye live on." [17]

太子呼吸沉重，声音哽咽，他叹道：“尘世的人啊！你们的妄念多么致命！你们的身体必要归于尘土，然而你们继续生活，对此毫无意识，漠不关心。” 17

The charioteer observing the deep impression
these sad sights had made on the prince,
turned his horses and drove back to the city. [18]

车夫看到这些悲伤的情景给太子留下了深刻印象，便掉转车头，向城里驶去。 18

When they passes by the palaces of the nobility,
Kisa Gotami, a young princess and niece of the king,
saw Siddhattha in his manliness and beauty, and,
observing the thoughtfulness of his countenance, said:
"Happy the father that begot thee,
happy the mother that nursed thee,
happy the wife that calls husband this lord so glorious." [19]

当他们经过王族的宫殿时，国王的侄女、小公主肯赛高特米看到了悉达多的潇洒风度和英俊形象，又察觉了他若有所思的表情，说道：“生你的父亲是幸福的，养你的母亲是幸福的，称丈夫为荣耀之主的妻子是幸福的。” 19

The prince hearing this greeting, said:
"Happy are they that have found deliverance.
Longing for peace of mind,
I shall seek the bliss of Nirvana." [20]

太子听了这些祝贺之辞，说道：“找到解脱之道的人是幸福的。我渴望心灵的平静，我将寻求涅槃境界的至上快乐。” 20

Then asked Kisa Gotami: "How is Nirvana attained?"
The prince paused,
and to him whose mind was estranged from wrong the answer came:
"When the fire of lust is gone out, then Nirvana is gained;
when the fires of hatred and delusion are gone out, then Nirvana is gained;
when the troubles of mind, arising from blind credulity,
and all other evils have ceased, then Nirvana is gained!"
Siddhattha handed her his precious pearl necklace
as a reward for the instruction she had given him,
and having returned home looked with disdain
upon the treasures of his palace. [21]

接着太子停下来，问肯赛高特米：“怎样才能达到涅槃境界？”对他来说，她的心灵远离谬见。肯赛高特米回答道：“当欲望之火熄灭时，就能进入涅槃；当仇恨和妄念之火熄灭时，就能进入涅槃；当心灵的困境从盲目轻信中产生，所有其他的罪恶都止息时，就能进入涅槃了！”悉达多将自己心爱的珍珠项链送给她，作为她解释问题的奖赏。接着他回到家中，以鄙视的眼神看着他宫中的财富。 21

His wife welcomed him and entreated him to tell her the cause of his grief.
He said: "I see everywhere the impression of change;
therefore, my heart is heavy.
Men grow old, sicken, and die.
That is enough to take away the zest of life." [22]

他的妻子欢迎他回家，并恳求他告诉她悲伤的原因。他说：“我看到了各处的情形都变了，所以我的心情沉重。人变老了，生病并死亡。这足以带走人们对生命的热情。” 22

The king, his father, hearing that the prince had become estranged from pleasure,
was greatly overcome with sorrow and like a sword it pierced his heart. [23]

他的父王听说太子变得郁郁寡欢之后，心中如同被利剑刺中一般，十分悲痛。 23