离贪

Banishing Lust

欲界众生除了圣者以外，都有难以对治的贪欲。世上无论男女都对异性的身体十分执著。

All beings of the Desire Realm, with the exception of sages, are afflicted with untamable lust. Regardless of whether they are men or women, people in the world are quite attracted to the bodies of the opposite sex.

世尊在因地时，为度化众生而化现为一嫖客。第一天，他赐予妓女价值昂贵的珍宝。第二天，他给了妓女黄金做成的饰品。第三天，却赏给妓女白银做成的饰品。妓女不服，告到国王处。世尊说：“她所出卖的身体，本为充满过失之物。所谓的娇躯时刻都在变质，价值当然一跌再跌。如同陈旧凋谢的鲜花，蜜蜂也会舍弃。世间众生的感情也会变质。清晨韶华之时，肉体可作性欲工具。衰败老朽后，自然也会废弃。众生哪个不是喜新厌旧？一切有为法均为刹那生灭。年少翩翩，最终也会被衰老磨蚀。而寿命终会被死亡日日侵夺。万法说到底尽皆无常。那些不知老病死等痛苦，毁坏自己肉身之愚者，所迷恋之女人身躯，无非筋络下面一堆骨架而已。对此等骨肉生贪，痴迷不拔，岂非太过愚痴？有智之人哪个不知贪恋女人身体有诸多过失？”听了这番话，国王赞叹不已，妓女从此也停止了卖笑生涯。

The Buddha, in order to tame certain beings, was once reincarnated as a brothel visitor. On the first day, he rewarded the prostitute with valuable precious jewelry. The second day, he offered her ornaments made of gold. The third day, he gave silver accessories instead. The prostitute expressed discontent and appealed to the king. The Buddha’s incarnate responded: “The body she runs her business with is filled with filth. The so-called charming body is decaying every moment; its worth, of course, has to come down accordingly. It is similar to how a withered flower is deserted by the bees. Love and attraction between worldly beings likewise deteriorate. At its prime, the body can be employed as a tool to satisfy sexual desires. As the body ages and decays, of course it will be dumped. Who can be immune to craving for the new and rejecting the old? All composite matters are momentarily arising and disappearing. An exuberant youth is destined to become senile and decrepit; the Lord of Death robs one’s lifespan each day. To say it explicitly, impermanence rules all phenomena. The body, be it of the indulgent fool oblivious of aging, illness, and death, or of the woman he craves, is nothing but sinews and vessels wrapped over a skeleton frame. Isn’t it utterly foolish to be helplessly infatuated with such a collection of bones and flesh? Who can claim himself as wise if he fails to see the ills of being obsessed with the female body? ” Hearing these words, the king was greatly impressed, and the prostitute also decided to give up her brothel life.

如今世上也有许多贪欲旺盛之人，若深深思维这些话的涵义，也会有很大利益的。

In this world, there are many people who are plagued by severe sexual impulses. If they take time to ponder the meaning of these words, they will be helped greatly.

不论男人还是女人，其身体都无非是一堆不净物，其感情也是倏忽变化，飘摇不定的。沉湎其中，实在愚蠢之至。

Male or female, all their bodies are but heaps of filthy components; all their love relationships are flimsy and unreliable. It is really foolish to lust after and indulge in them.

壬午年三月十五日 　
2002年4月27日

15th of March, Year of RenWu
April 27, 2002