The Monk in Hell

　　A certain Mr. Zhang died suddenly and followed a demon escort to appear before the King of Hell. The King checked the register and, furious that the demon had seized the wrong man, ordered him to send Zhang back. As Zhang was leaving, he secretly begged the demon to show him the hell prisons. The demon led him through the Nine Netherworlds, pointing out the Mountain of Knives and the Forest of Swords one by one. Finally they came to a place where a monk was hanging upside down, a rope pierced through his thighs. He was screaming in agony. When Zhang looked closer, he saw that it was his own elder brother. Shocked and grieved, Zhang asked, "For what crime has he come to this?"

　　The demon replied, "He was a monk who collected vast sums of money through alms, but spent it all on women and gambling. That is why he is punished this way. To escape this torment, he must repent of his own accord."

　　When Zhang regained consciousness, he suspected that his brother had already died. At that time, his brother was living at Xingfu Temple. Zhang went to see him. As soon as he entered the temple gate, he heard the sound of anguished cries. He went into the room and saw that his brother had developed sores on his thighs. Pus and blood were flowing out, and he had hung his legs up on the wall—exactly like the upside‑down figure in the underworld. Horrified, Zhang asked what had happened.

　　His brother said, "Hanging them like this gives me a little relief. Otherwise, the pain pierces my very heart and guts."

　　Zhang then told him what he had seen in the hells. The brother was terrified. He gave up meat and wine, devoutly recited the sutras and incantations, and within half a month he was completely healed. From then on, he became a monk who strictly kept the precepts.

　　The Historian of the Strange comments:

　　The hells are vague and distant, and the wicked often use that as an excuse to comfort themselves, not realizing that the calamities we see in this world are the very punishments of the unseen realm. Should we not fear?

　　Commentary (Translation of the Chinese commentary)

　　According to Buddhist and traditional Chinese folk medicine beliefs, birth, aging, sickness, and death in the real world all have corresponding causes and effects. The torment of illness arises from one's own misdeeds. In this story, the monk surnamed Zhang “had sores growing on his thighs, with pus and blood bursting out, and he hung his feet up on the wall.” This is portrayed as the result of his “having collected vast sums of money through alms and spent it all on women and gambling”—a punishment from the underworld. And once he repented and mended his ways, the sickness healed by itself. The tale is absurd, and Pu Songling undoubtedly wrote it for the purpose of moral exhortation. However, according to the Gazetteer of Zichuan County from the Qianlong era, there was indeed a Xingfu Temple at Yedian Village, thirty li west of the county seat. If that is true, then what is recorded in this story may actually have happened. On the one hand, it reflects the corruption of temples at that time, which raised money widely and indiscriminately; on the other hand, it reveals Pu Songling’s profound hatred for such behavior.



中文如下：

　　僧孽

　　【原文】

　　张姓暴卒，随鬼使去，见冥王。王稽簿，怒鬼使误捉，责令送归。张下，私浼鬼使，求观冥狱。鬼导历九幽，刀山、剑树，一一指点。末至一处，有一僧，扎股穿绳而倒悬之，号痛欲绝。近视，则其兄也。张见之惊哀，问：“何罪至此？”鬼曰：“是为僧，广募金钱，悉供淫赌，故罚之。欲脱此厄，须其自忏。”张既苏，疑兄已死。时其兄居兴福寺，因往探之。入门，便闻其号痛声。入室，见疮生股间，脓血崩溃，挂足壁上，宛然冥司倒悬状。骇问其故。曰：“挂之稍可，不则痛彻心腑。”张因告以所见。僧大骇，乃戒荤酒，虔诵经咒，半月寻愈。遂为戒僧。

　　异史氏曰：鬼狱渺茫，恶人每以自解，而不知昭昭之祸，即冥冥之罚也。可勿惧哉！

　　【翻译】

　　有个姓张的人突然死去了，他的魂魄随着鬼卒到阴间去见阎王。阎王查阅生死簿，发现是鬼卒误把他抓来的，就十分生气地下令叫鬼卒送他返回人间。这个姓张的人从阎王殿退下来以后，暗地里央求鬼卒带他去参观一下地狱。鬼卒于是带着他游历了九层地狱，什么刀山、剑树，都一一地指点给他。最后到了一个地方，见到一个和尚被人用绳子穿过了两条大腿，倒挂在那里，和尚大声地喊叫，痛得要死。姓张的人到近前一看，这和尚正是自己的哥哥。姓张的人见到哥哥这个样子，又惊吓又难过，就问鬼卒：“这个人犯了什么罪，以至于受到这么厉害的处罚？”鬼卒告诉他说：“这人作为一名和尚，大肆募集钱财，把募来的钱全都拿去供自己吃喝嫖赌，因此才如此惩罚他。要想解脱这惩罚，他自己必须诚心忏悔。”姓张的人苏醒过来以后，疑心自己的哥哥已经死去了。当时，他的哥哥住在兴福寺，他便前去探望哥哥。一进寺门，他就听到了喊痛的声音。进到房间里，只见哥哥的大腿之间长了脓疮，脓血崩裂，不断外流，双腿倒挂在墙上，就和在地狱里倒挂的情形完全一样。姓张的人惊骇地问哥哥为什么要这样倒挂双腿，他哥哥回答说：“只有把腿倒挂着，疼痛才能够稍稍减轻一些，否则痛得就像钻心挖肉一般。”姓张的人听后，就把自己在地狱里的所见所闻告诉了他。他哥哥一听就吓坏了，于是戒了荤、断了酒，开始虔诚地诵经念佛，半个月后腿上的疮逐渐痊愈了。从此以后，他就成了一个严守佛教戒律的和尚。

　　异史氏说：地狱渺茫不可推测，恶人常常用这个来自我宽慰解脱，他却不知道人世间的祸事，其实就是来自阴间的惩罚。这难道不令人畏惧吗？

　　【点评】

　　按照佛教和中国巫医的说法，现实中的生老病死都有相应的因果关系，病痛的折磨出于自己的造孽。小说写张姓和尚“疮生股间，脓血崩溃，挂足壁上”，被指是“广募金钱，悉供淫赌”的结果，是出于阴间的惩罚。而改过自新，病痛就自愈。故事荒诞，蒲松龄写作此篇无疑出于劝诫的目的。但据乾隆年间的《淄川县志》记载，县西三十里的冶头店确有兴福寺。如此，则此文所记，可能实有其事。一方面反映了当日寺庙广募金钱的腐败，另一方面也反映了蒲松龄对于此类行为的切齿痛恨。