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[佛教文章·中英文双语阅读 Buddhist Article · Bilingual Reading]大龟王(佛陀本生故事)The Giant Turtle


大龟王
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 是佛陀述说自己前生的故事，他有时生为太子或穷人，有时就做动物或鱼，乃至一棵树。这些故事称颂着佛陀，在其每一生帮助人时，所表现出来的圆妙喜悦、慈悲、智慧与仁慈。
这篇「大龟王」是二千五百年前，佛陀告诉弟子的故事之一。
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.
大龟王
很久很久以前，佛陀化身为一只大龟王，来统领深蓝海中所有的水族。牠每天在五彩缤纷的鱼、珍珠白的蛤蜊，及蓝蓝的海鲸间游来游去，除了帮牠们解决问题外，还希望牠们事事如意；所以一切的水族众生，都在牠的王国里，过着既快乐、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.
有一天牠爬到沙滩上小睡片刻。可是牠实在太大了，大得好像一片陆地一样，所以这一睡，竟睡了一千年这么长的时间！

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，小雨滴在大龟王的背上，滴答！滴答！雨滴流进了牠巨大龟壳的缝隙中，形成了亮晶晶的河流和湖泊；可是大龟王还是沉睡着。

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，风把细沙吹到大龟王的背上，呼咻！呼咻！沙粒堆在一起，形成了山岭和峡谷；可是大龟王还是沉睡着。

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.
午间，飞鸟衔落的小种子掉到大龟王的背上，哔剥！哔剥！种子在龟背上发了芽，长出花草树木来；可是大龟王还是沉睡着。

The sun warmed the turtle through the days.
白天，阳光温暖了大龟王；

The moon watched over him through the nights.
夜晚，月亮映照着牠。

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.
时间一天一天过去了，春、夏、秋、冬四季轮流拥抱着大龟王，动物们也来住在牠的背上，度过了四季，并且数量一天天地增加。

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，一位无法分辨土地和龟背的小女孩，在山谷间漫游，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，她带着家人又来了，她的父亲说：「这是一片可以建造家园的好土地，我们不但可以在这儿种稻，还可以从海里采盐哩！」可是大龟王还是沉睡着。

The next year another family moved to the little mountain, and then another.
过了一年，另一个家庭又搬进小山，接着其他的家庭也陆续搬来了。

Roads were built and merchants came to set up shops.
这时，马路被造起来了，商人也来设立商店。

A prince even built a palace.
The turtle slept on.
有一位王子甚至建立了一座宫殿！可是大龟王还是沉睡着。

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.
人们在马路上开车骑马，车辙深深地切进了龟壳内；他们的城市重重地压在牠的背上；人们的嘈杂声，如捶鼓似地传入了牠的耳朵；他们所燃的火，更是烧透了牠的壳！

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，大龟王从烧灼的痛苦中醒来了，牠想要凉快自己，就开始往海里爬。但是牠没听到人们哭喊着：「地震！地震！」也没看到人们四处狂奔着。

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!"
当大龟王回到海里时，牠将自己浸在冷水中，以解除痛苦；而牠背上的居民一看到水涨到身边，都尖叫起来：「洪水！洪水！我们快淹死了！」

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.
这一次，大龟王总算知道有人住在牠的背上了！为了不给人们带来痛苦，牠又爬回到海滩上。

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.
另一个一千年又过去了，牠还是任由火烧灼着牠，任由城市隆隆的声音震动着牠。白天牠的泪水往内吞，晚上牠则让泪水静静地流下来。牠的痛苦是如此的巨大，可是牠的泪水却如此的无声无息，以至于没有人知道牠的牺牲。

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.
最后，大龟王决定牠必须回到海里去，所以慢慢地抬起头来对人们说：「不要害怕！我不会伤害你们的。你看！我是一只巨大的乌龟，可是你们却住在我的背壳上；现在我必须回到水里，否则我会死的。」
这时，人们一个接一个收拾他们的财物，然后搬到岸上。当背上的建筑物、家园、宫殿被除去后，大龟王也感到舒服了。人们在陆地上建立了新的村落和城市，就如同以前一样地过日子。

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."
大龟王的慈悲，令大家都非常感激，人们礼拜牠说：「数千年来，你让我们在你的背上建立我们的世界，现在还救了我们的生命，你真是一位王者呀！将来一定会成佛的！」
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.
接着鸟儿也来到牠的上空飞翔，将香花鬘挂在牠的颈子上；猴子们用了药草来帮牠敷愈伤口；大象们竖起长鼻子，奏着甜美的音乐，来抚慰牠的耳朵。

The people swept the sand from his back with peacock feathers, and the giant turtle crawled back into the sea.
人们则拿着孔雀的羽毛扫除了牠背上的沙；最后大龟王又回到海里了！
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."
讲完了这个故事后，佛陀就说：「我就是那只大龟王，那些住在我背上的人，后来就变成我的弟子。」