[本能是囚牢]

The Instincts Are Prison

接下来要谈的囚牢是“本能”。我们一直活在本能的影响下，处于本能的势力下，不论是人类、动物或植物，只要有生命就具有本能。我们经常受本能的摆布行事，尤其是性欲或繁殖的本能，它控制、逼迫我们，困扰我们的程度是多么大啊！然而我们还是无法摆脱它，甚至有时还乐此不疲。当我们的孩子长大，性欲的本能发育成熟时，也会被这座囚牢禁锢住。

The next prison to consider is that we live under the influence of the instincts. We are under the instincts' power. All living things, whether people, animals, or plants, have instincts. These instincts constantly force us to follow their concerns and needs. This is especially true for the sexual or reproductive instinct. How much does it control, hassle, activate, and complicate us? Sexual feelings and reproductive urges squeeze us, oppress us, disturb us so profoundly; they force us through all kinds of difficulties. But we can't stop. Sometimes we prefer it this way. Our children grow and mature to the stage where the sexual instinct ripens completely and then the child is caught in the prison of this sexual instinct.

即使是喜欢炫耀也是一种本能，但许多人根本未察觉它是一种本能。实际上想表现自己就是一种本能，即使动物也具有想炫耀自己是漂亮的、强壮的、敏捷的或其他种种特征的本能，像这种最糊涂、荒谬的本能也是一种囚牢。假如这种本能不是囚牢，它应该丝毫不会压迫到我们才对。然而，它迫使我们去买漂亮的衣服和鞋子，而且还要拥有一大堆。为什么我们要拥有这么多的装饰品和漂亮的鞋子呢？

Finally, even the instinct of showing off can run our lives. Many people wouldn't think of this as an instinct, but all animals have it. The need to show off, to brag, to display oneself is an instinct. Even animals have the condition of wanting to show off that they are beautiful, or strong, or agile, or whatever. Even this craziest, most ridiculous instinct is a prison. We want to show off and boast. If it wasn't a prison, it wouldn't force and oppress us in the least. Now, however, it forces us to buy beautiful clothing, beautiful jewelry, beautiful shoes even, and lots of them, too!

为什么这些我们通通都想要呢？(请容我说：女众这种现象特别严重！)好表现的本能就是一种囚牢，人们禁不起这种本能的驱使，只好被迫去随顺它。这种好卖弄自己的本能，真是各种本能中最可笑、最荒谬的一种！而它确实是一座囚牢。因为身陷这种囚牢，人们的钱从来不够用。请仔细思考我们前面提过关于本能的例子，它们全是囚牢啊！

Why must we have many beautiful shirts and many pairs of beautiful shoes? Why do we need them all? (And forgive me, we must mention the women in particular here.) There is this instinct to show off and it is one kind of prison. Because people can't endure it, they are forced to follow this instinct, spending all kinds of money on all kinds of things. The instinct to show off is the funniest, most ridiculous of them all. Still it truly is a prison. People never have enough money because of this prison. Please consider and reflect carefully about these examples of instincts which we have raised. They are prisons too.

如果我们想一想、算一算花费，会发现我们花在打扮自己以随时保持漂亮的钱，比花在食物上的费用来得多。再加上还要装潢美化房子，花费就更可观了。如果合起来算，这两项花费比维持生命所需的费用超出太多了，可见我们花在生命非必需品的钱，比花在食物等生命必需品的还多。这又是另一种身陷本能囚牢的情况。

If we think about this, if we make an account of all our expenses, we'll discover that some people spend more money on clothing, jewelry, and keeping themselves always beautiful than they spend on food. Further, they insist on decorating and prettying up their houses, which piles up their expenses. Taken together, the two are more than they spend on food, which is necessary for life. We put more money into things which are unnecessary in life than we put into the necessities of life, like food. This is one more way of getting caught in the instinctual prison.