External Things (6)
外物(六)
1 Yuan the king of Song dreamed that a man with hair disheveled stood outside the door to peek in embarrassment at night. He told the king, “I am from Ziluyuan. Ordered by Qingjian, I went on errand to the god of river. On the way, a fisher called Yuqie caught me. Now I ask for help from Your Majesty.”
宋元君夜裡夢見有人披頭散髮，很狼狽地站在門外窺視，並對他說：「我是宰路淵那兒來的，承清江之命，到河伯那兒去出差。途中被一位叫余且的漁夫捕獲，今來元君處求救。」
宋元君夜半而夢人被髮闚阿門，曰：「予自宰路之淵，予為清江使河伯之所，漁者余且得予。」
2 After waking up, the queer dream still lingered clearly in his mind. He asked a future-teller to interpret it. After divining, the future-teller told him that it was a sacred turtle for being confronted with trouble; it came to you asking for help.
元君睡醒後，這個奇怪的夢仍然清楚地留在他的腦海裡，元君請算命先生到宮裡來為他解釋這個怪夢。算命先生經卜卦後告之，這是一名神龜，因為有難，專程託夢來向你求援。
元君覺，使人占之，曰：「此神龜也。」
3 In the court, the king asked his officials, “Does anyone know a fisher called Yuqie?”
元君在朝廷上問百官們：「你們可知有一名叫余且的漁夫嗎？」
君曰：「漁者有余且乎？」
4 An official said, “I know there is a fisher called Yuqie.”
一位官員說：「我認識一名叫余且的漁夫。」
左右曰：「有。」
5 The king ordered the official to take Yueqie to question in the palace.
元君就叫這位官員去請余且到到宮裡來問話。
君曰：「令余且會朝。」
6 When Yuqie arrived, the king asked, “Is there any special fish you have fished recently?” Yueqie replied, “The day before yesterday I have caught a white turtle. It is five feet in length and beautiful. I like it very much and leave it in my house, not selling.”
余且來後，元君問他：「你最近有沒有網到什麼特別的魚穫？」余且回答說：「前天我網到一隻白龜，直徑有五尺多長，生的極美，我很喜歡，所以就留在家中把玩，沒有賣出去。」
明日，余且朝。君曰：「漁何得？」對曰：「且之網得白龜焉，箕圓五尺。」
7 The king was delighted for making clear the dream finally. He asked Yueqie to bring the white turtle to the palace. Seeing the lovely creature, the king said to himself that this is a sacred turtle, if I use its shell to divine, it must be exact and efficacious. But he dissuaded himself from using its shell; he thought that the turtle has made a great effort to ask for help in my dream; if I kill him, would it be good?
元君很高興迷團終於釐清，他叫余且將白龜帶到宮裡來，元君看到這個可愛的白龜心裡想，這是名神龜，如果我用牠的殼來卜卦一定很靈。可是又想：人家費盡心力來我這託夢，為的就是救牠一命，如果在我手上將之殺害，這樣好不好？
8 The king was in dilemma between killing and saving. Hence he asked the future-teller to do a divination for it.
元君在殺與不殺之間拿不定主意，因此他又請算命先生為之卜卦，看應該怎麼做？
9 By divining, the future-teller told him, “Kill the turtle and it is very auspicious to divine with its shell.”
經卜卦後，算命先生說：「將龜殺死，用牠的殼來卜卦是大吉的事。」
10 The poor turtle was killed. It was curious that by using the turtle’s shell all the back to back seventy-two divinations were exact and efficacious.
這隻可憐的烏龜就這樣命喪元君之手. 不過說也奇怪，元君用這隻龜殼來卜卦，連續七十二次，次次精準，毫無失誤。
君曰：「獻若之龜。」龜至，君再欲殺之，再欲活之，心疑，卜之，曰：「殺龜以卜吉。」乃刳龜，七十二鑽而無遺筴。
11 Confucius heard the story, he sighed, “The turtle might as well have some theurgy or it was not able to ask for help in the king’s dream; however, its theurgy couldn’t make itself ward off Yuqie’s net. Its theurgy was able to do exact and efficacious divinations for seventy-two times but it couldn’t prophesy the king would open its belly and killed him.
這件事傳到孔子的耳朵裡，孔子感慨地說：「這隻龜也算稍有神通的，否則牠不會託夢給元君，向之求救。可是牠的神通卻不能讓牠避開余且的魚網。牠的神通能幫元君預卜先知，連續七十二次沒有失誤，卻算不到自己被元君開腸破肚的殺害。
仲尼曰：「神龜能見夢於元君，而不能避余且之網；知能七十二鑽而無遺筴，不能避刳腸之患。
12 What we learn from this case is that the knowledge and intelligence a man has are limited, and even his theurgy also has its shortcoming.
這樣看來人的知識、智慧是有它侷限性的，就是神通也有其不足的地方。
13 If the wisest man is too showy of his knowledge and intelligence, he is possible to be hurt by them.
聰明絕頂的人如果他那高人一等的知識、智慧招人窺視，那他那些知識、智慧就有可能反過來傷害他。
如是，則知有所困，神有所不及也。雖有至知，萬人謀之。
14 Fishes usually don’t fear net while they scurry away as soon as see a pelican. However, the net actually is more lethal than the pelican, just like the bad influence of knowledge and intelligence to us is worse than illiteracy.
對知識、智慧的認知，魚也有類似的毛病。牠們不太怕魚網，可是一見到鵜鶘就嚇的逃之夭夭。其實魚網的殺傷力比鵜鶘嚴重多了，就像知識、智慧的害處要比無知來的嚴重多一樣。
魚不畏網而畏鵜鶘。
15 We should learn carefully from the lesson that we don’t flatter ourselves and fear nothing for our petty cleverness. In most cases, we are suffered for our cleverness. The poem by Su Dongpo goes: People all wish to have sons who are smart; however, I have been experiencing suffering by being brainy all my life. Only if petty trick is put away, the great wisdom of nature, such as self-nature and Buddha-nature, can pave a really smooth road for our life.
我們做人應該謹記這個教訓，對自己的一點小聰明，不要沾沾自喜，以為有恃無恐。要知道，大部分時間我們是聰明反被聰明誤。蘇東坡說: 人皆養子望聰明，我被聰明誤一生。只有將這些小聰明收起來讓自性、佛性等本性的大智慧昇起，才能真正地為我們人生找到一條坦途。
去小知而大知明，去善而自善矣。
16 Babies learn to speak by themselves without being taught by adults. The way of their learning speaking is to stay with adults. They live naturally, making no special effort.”
你看嬰兒，他們並沒特別請人教就能學會說話，他們學習的方式，只是在會說話的人中間，自自然然地生活，不必特別費心就學會了。」
嬰兒生無石
師而能言，與能言者處也。」