Help translating a Daoist text

[Ruiyan]

Hi everyone! Looking for a little help here... I'm translating an incantation from a Daoist scripture devoted to fox spirits/immortals (狐仙). The text basically outlines a ritual to be chanted by devotees. This incantation appears toward the end- it is a "life-release" incantation, of the sort originally introduced by Buddhism, which one recites while releasing captive animals to assist in their liberation. This one is adapted toward particularly Daoist concerns. I get the idea of most of the text- basically it talks about the pervasive kinship/ friendship of all things, rejoices in the freedom of animals, the mutual assistance of various spirits of the mountains, rivers, etc. My trouble is with the last line: 路上逢人半里難。By my reading it says something like, "One hardly meets anyone along the road". Or, perhaps, "It's difficult to meet with people along the road." But either way it doesn't feel right as it would seem to contradict the preceding lines about universal friendship with a note of loneliness. Perhaps it's saying something about the rarity of friendship but again this feels like it would jar with the "friendship is everywhere" theme that came before. Help? Thanks. 

 

狐仙放生咒

人世知音能有幾。天地萬物是良朋。

今日歌頌仙狐訣。施放眾生盡解脫。

逢山過山到深山。逢水過水進池潭。

雲霧山頭乘風去。東西南北逍遙游。

深山百鳥千聲叫。河海深處好修煉。

山神土地來相助。路上逢人半里難。

 

My draft rendering: 

 

 

How many soulmates are there in this world?

Heaven, earth, and the ten thousand things are good friends.

Today give the fox immortals farewell praise, 

releasing all beings, utterly untied,

on, around, or within the mountains,

on, above, or in the depths of the waters.

On cloudy mountaintops the wind goes by,

roaming carefree, east, west, north, and south.

In the mountains a hundred birds make their thousand calls;

In the depths of rivers and seas there's cultivation. 

Mountain gods and earth lords help each other.

For a half mile on the road, one hardly meets anyone.

 

[cncorrect]

On 2/3/2024 at 5:27 AM, Ruiyan said:

Mountain gods and earth lords help each other.

For a half mile on the road, one hardly meets anyone.

I would translate these two lines as:

 

Mountain gods and earth lords come and help me,

For a half mile on the road, one can experience hardship from anyone you meet.

 

On 2/3/2024 at 5:27 AM, Ruiyan said:

In the mountains a hundred birds make their thousand calls;

I would translate it as:

In the mountains hundreds of birds make their thousand calls;

[Kenny同志]

It's good wishes to the animal to be released. What it tries to say is that the chanter hopes that the animal won't come across any human until it reaches a safe place. If unfortunately it does, it might get caught by that person. 

[Ruiyan]

On 2/3/2024 at 5:07 AM, Kenny同志 said:

 

It's good wishes to the animal to be released. What it tries to say is that the chanter hopes that the animal won't come across any human until it reaches a safe place. If unfortunately it does, it might get caught by that person. 

 

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I guess I got so caught up in the details I forgot the basic premise of the whole thing.