Chùa Hương ( Nguyễn Nhược Pháp) - The Hương Pagoda ( Hương Cau Cao Tân)

Chùa Hương - Nguyễn Nhược Pháp

Hôm nay đi chùa Hương
Hoa cỏ mờ hơi sương
Cùng thầy me em dậy
Em vấn đầu soi gương

Khăn nhỏ đuôi gà cao
Em đeo giải yếm đào
Quần lĩnh áo the mới
Tay cầm nón quai thao

Me cười, “Thầy nó trông
Chân đi đôi giép cong
Con tôi xinh xinh quá
Bao giờ cô lấy chồng?”

Em tuy mới mười lăm
Mà đã lắm người thăm
Nhờ mối mai đưa tiếng
Khen tươi như trăng rằm

Nhưng em chưa lấy ai
Vì thầy bảo người mai

Rằng em còn bé lắm
Ý đợi người tài trai

Em đi cùng với me
Me em ngồi cáng tre
Thầy theo sau cưỡi ngựa
Thắt lưng dài đỏ hoe

Thầy me ra đi đò
Thuyền mấp-mênh bên bờ
Em nhìn sông nước chảy
Đưa cánh buồm lô-nhô

Mơ xa lại nghĩ gần
Đời mấy kẻ tri-âm
Thuyền nan vừa nhẹ lướt
Em thấy một văn-nhân

Người đâu thanh lạ thường
Tướng mạo trông phi-thường
Lưng cao, dài, trán rộng
Hỏi ai nhìn không thương

Chàng ngồi bên me em
Me hỏi chuyện làm quen
“Thưa thầy, đi chùa ạ
Thuyền đông, giời ơi chen!”

Chàng thưa vâng thuyền đông
Rồi ngắm trời mênh mông
Xa xa mờ núi biếc
Phơn phớt áng mây hồng

Giòng sông nước đục lờ
Ngân-nga chàng đọc thơ
Thầy khen hay hay quá
Em nghe rồi ngẩn-ngơ

Thuyền đi bến Đục qua,
Mỗi lúc gặp người ra,
Thẹn-thùng em không nói:
“Nam mô A-di đà!”

Réo-rắt suối đưa quanh
Ven bờ ngọn núi xanh,
Nhịp cầu xa nho-nhỏ
Cảnh đẹp gần như tranh.

Sau núi Oản, Gà, Xôi,
Bao nhiêu là khỉ ngồi
Tới núi con voi phục,
Có đủ cả đầu đuôi.

Chùa lấp sau rừng cây
(Thuyền ta đi một ngày)
Lên cửa chùa em thấy
Hơn một trăm ăn mày

Em đi, chàng theo sau,
Em không dám đi mau
Ngại chàng chê hấp-tấp,
Số gian-nan không giàu.

Thầy me đến điện thờ
Trầm hương khói tỏa mờ
Hương như là sao lạc
Lớp sóng người lô-nhô

Chen vào thật lắm công
Thầy me em lễ xong
Quay về nhà ngang bảo:
“Mai ta vào chùa trong”

Chàng hai má đỏ hồng
Kêu với thằng tiểu đồng
Mang túi thơ bầu rượu:
“Mai ta vào chùa trong”

Đêm hôm ấy em mừng!
Mùi trầm hương bay lừng.
Em nằm nghe tiếng mõ,
Rồi chim kêu trong rừng.

Em mơ, em yêu đời
Mơ nhiều...biết thế thôi
Kẻo ai mà trông thấy
Nhìn em đến nực cười

Em chưa tỉnh giấc nồng
Mây núi đã pha hồng
Thầy me em sắp-sửa
Vàng hương vào chùa trong

Đường mây đá cheo-leo
Hoa đỏ, tím, vàng leo
Vì thương me quá mệt
Săn-sóc chàng đi theo.

Me bảo: “Đường còn lâu
Cứ vừa đi ta cầu
Quan-thế-âm Bồ-tát
Là tha hồ đi mau.”

Em ư? Em không cầu
Đường vẫn thấy đi mau
Chàng cũng cho như thế,
(Ra ta hợp tâm đầu)

Khi qua chùa Giải Oan
Trông thấy bức tường ngang
Chàng đưa tay lẹ bút
Thảo bài thơ liên hoàn

Tấm-tắc thầy khen hay
Chữ đẹp như rồng bay
(Bài thơ này em nhớ
Nên chả chép vào đây)

Ồ! Chùa Trong đây rồi
Động thẳm bóng xanh ngời
Đá rêu trần thạch nhũ
Động nhuốm hương trầm rơi

Me vui mừng hả-hê
“Chậc! Con đường dài ghê!
Thầy kêu: “Mau lên nhé,
Chiều hôm nay ta về.”

Em nghe bỗng rụng-rời
Nhìn ai luống nghẹn lời!
Giờ vui đời có vậy,
Thoáng ngày vui qua rồi!

Làn gió thổi hây-hây
Em nghe tà áo bay
Em tìm hơi chàng thở!
Chàng ơi, chàng có hay?

Đường mây kia lên trời
Ta bước tựa vai cười
Yêu nhau, yêu nhau mãi!
Đi, ta đi, chàng ơi!

Nghi-ngút khói hương vàng
Say trong giấc mơ màng
Em cầu xin Trời Phật
Sao cho em lấy chàng.

(Thiên ký-sự đến đây là hết. Tôi tin hai người lấy nhau, vì không lấy nhau thì
cô bé còn viết nhiều. Lấy nhau rồi là hết chuyện).
***
The Hương Pagoda by Nguyễn Nhược Pháp

Today we go to the Huong’s Pagoda as planned
While the faint dew on the flowers and leaves is condensed
Together with my parents, I wake up feeling well
Doing my hair, looking into the mirror at myself

Tying my pony tail hairdo with a small scarf at its best
I am wearing a pink brassiere tightly on my chest
Together with silk trousers and a new silk gauze dress
And holding in my hands, a wide brim fringed hat

My mother smiles and says, “Husband, take a look at the girl
Who is wearing a pair of shoes with the tips that are curled
My daughter, you do look so beautiful, that’s splendid
Tell me, when can we give you away in marriage?”

Although I am still very young, fifteen years at the most
My parents have, for so many times, to play the role of hosts
For parties the matchmakers of those all praise me in one tune
That I am as beautiful and fresh as a bright full moon

But I have not agreed to take any of the men as husband
Because my father tells them when he is asked the same question
That his daughter is still little and not yet at the age of maturity
She probably waits, I guess, for the right talented bridegroom-to-be

When I go, my mother always goes with me too
She sits on a roofed hammock made of bamboo
My father rides a horse behind in a short distance
Wearing at his waist, a bright long sash in crimson

My parents dismount to continue the trip by boat
The boat is riding the waves unstably along the coast
I am watching the river flowing in its usual might
Showing on the horizon are boats’ sails at uneven heights

Daydreaming, letting my mind wandering now and then
How many chances you can have to have a soulmate friend
When our bamboo boat is just about to smoothly depart
I spot a man whose appearance is so pleasing to my heart

What a man who looks so handsome, so elegant
He who has a face so extraordinary in appearance
With his long back, and wide forehead in his countenance
Who can’t help but falling in love with such a person

He sits down at a spot nearest to where my mother sits
My mother strikes a conversation to break the ice a bit
“Young teacher, you are going to the pagoda, are you not?
In this crowded boat, it’s really hard to find a spot!”

“Yes, it is crowded” is my idol’s soft, loving reply
He then looks around, regarding the high above sky
In the distant, the mountains look blurry and greenish
And high up in the sky, the clouds appear a little pinkish

The river’s water looks quite safe and opaquely muddy
He starts reciting his memorized poems so melodiously
Having listened intently, my father is enthusiastic in his praising
I remain sitting, feeling stupefied by his lovely reciting

The boat keeps going and is passing the Port of Muddy
We come across some people who apparently know me
Feeling really shy, I cannot even mumble the familiar sutra
The too familiar praying sutra of “Namo Amida Buddha”

The melodious sound of water from a winding brook in the distant
Which hugs the rim of a lofty blue mountain
Adorned by the span of a small bridge quietly crossing over
Everything looks as beautiful as if in a picture

After the Mountains of Cone Cake, Chicken, and Cooked Sticky Rice
We see so many monkeys sitting in the trees nearby
Reaching the Mountain of the Kneeling Elephant, seeming at rest,
Which has a bulky head and even a tail in completeness

The pagoda’s reflection flickers behind the trees far away
(The time it takes our boat to reach it is almost one day)
On reaching the temple’s gate, right at it and nearby
I see probably more than a hundred beggars, what a sight!

I am walking ahead, and he is following right behind
I dare not to walk fast, and keep my speed just right
Because deep down in my heart, I am afraid he will think of me
As a hurried girl, who is destined to live a poor life in poverty

My father and mother come to the main worshipping hall
The smoke from scented wood seems to blur everything it falls
The burning incense dotted the scene like lost stars in despair
Above a sea of people of uneven heights, moving in from everywhere

To get inside, it surely will make you sweat and work very hard
My father and mother, having finished their ceremony part
Returning to the guests’ quarter, telling me what I need to know
“The Temple of the Inner Hall is the place we will reach tomorrow”

My man, with handsome face and cheeks have turned crimson in colour
Calls out to the servant who has served as his personal porter
Carrying his poem books and wine, to say what the porter already knows
“The Temple of the Inner Hall is the place we will reach tomorrow...”

That night, I go to sleep but can only lie down, am as happy as I can be
The smell of scented wood is everywhere, just a bit too heavily
And I listen intently to the sound of wooden bells through the night
And the sounds of chattering birds in the far forest behind.

I become dreaming, I feel there is something in life worthy to love
I dream a lot about so many things... that’s all I dare to know
If anyone can see me in the state I am in right now
They probably even think I am acting as silly as a clown

I have not enjoyed the sleep I deserve after a long hard day
The clouds covering the mountain have turned pinkish by the sunrays
My father and mother are preparing the offerings, as you recall
To go on a trip to worship at the Temple of the Inner Hall

The road includes beetling cliffs high up into the clouds
With red, purple, yellow flowers of the climbing plants all around
Touched by my mother’s efforts, producing constant tiredness
My idol volunteers to come along to care for her, out of his kindness

My mother says, “Because the road is still long for the day
To shorten it, we can walk while continue to chant, or pray
Evoking the magic of the Goddess of Mercy Bodhisattva
Then you see, strangely, that you can go very far.”

If you’re asking me, I would not have the need to pray
The distance I have covered seems a lot for the day
He totally agrees that the going is progressing so fine,
(Here we go again, “Great minds always think alike!”)

While we are passing the Pagoda of Exculpation’s land
On seeing a long wall built alongside the fence
He quickly executes the writing of poem lines in succession
Displaying his talents in calligraphy as well as in poem composition

Chuckling and praising while watching him write
My father commends the writing which looks like a dragon in flight
(Because I have memorized and remembered this serial poem by heart
I would not bother writing in here any of its parts)

Oh! Here we are at the Temple of the Inner Hall
In the cave so deep, and the blue reflections on the wall
The stones are mossy, with the stalactites on the ceiling
The cave smells of the fragrance of scented wood in free floating

My mother is now overwhelmed with the joy of the day
She chuckles and comments, “We finish it, such a long way!”
My father calls out: “Please be quick, because we are leaving soon,
The latest we have to go back is today, in the afternoon.”

Hearing this, I feel like I am going to suddenly faint
Words are choked in my mouth; I look at him in vain!
Happy times in life are short-lived, and seem ready to fly
In a flash, happy days are very quick in passing by!

Feeling the wind blowing softly on my rosy cheeks
I listen to my dress flap waving, feeling I am getting sick
I search earnestly, my love, for your attractive breathing
Do you know, do you care, or are you listening?

This cloudy road leads upward, probably heaven bound
Let us walk, shoulder to shoulder, smiling at each other now
We love each other, our love will last forever!
Haste, haste, let’s get going, be quick, my dear lover!

From the altar, the smoke of the yellow incense is spiraling
I am now intoxicated by and from my golden daydreaming
I earnestly pray to the magnificent Buddha and lofty Heaven
To fulfill my request of having him as my lovely husband.

(The diary ends here. I believe that they will have each other as husband and
wife, because if her prayers are not answered then she would write some
more. If they get married, so ends the story.)

Translated into English by Hương Cau CaoTân