法苑珠林 21.72

21.72

以為欲所使　放意不能安
習近於非法　將何以為賢
欲為畜生行　以欲還自殘
溷𦚭在臭中　不知為劇難
如𦚭在溷中　不知東與西
結著於婬欲　蓋此亦虫倫
婬既不見道　日夜種罪根
現在君臣亂　上下為迷昏
王法為錯亂　政治為迷煩
農夫捨常業　賈人為珍連
現世更牢獄　死已入太山
當受百種毒　其痛難可言
烊銅灌其口　山車迮其身
此輩有百數　難可一二陳
常在三惡道　宛轉如車輪
若世時有佛　而已不得聞
女人最為惡　難與為因緣
恩愛一縛著　牽人入罪門
女人有何好　但是諸不淨
何不諦信是　為此發狂荒
其內甚臭穢　外為嚴飾容
加又含毒螫　劇如蛇與龍
譬如錦縚矛　羅縠裹鋒芒
愚者覩其表　玩之以自方
智者覺知捨　癡者致死傷
婬欲亦如是　抱刃以自喪
覩新即厭故　所樂亦無常
言為刀斧裁　笑為棘與槍
內懷臭穢毒　飾外以華香
愚者見歡喜　不惟後受殃
譬如鴆毒藥　以和甘露漿
癡人貪其味　飲之皆仆僵
亦如薪得火　草木被重霜
所向無不壞　是為最不祥
女毒甚於是　莫能見其形
覩表不見裏　故有婬欲情
其體甚易見　癡人惜不絕
絕欲以求道　去道如絲髮
人本清淨種　如魚處深淵
羅網四面張　著者不得還
欲網劇於是　結著甚獨堅
知者能自覺　可得脫其緣
譬如飢猨猴　望見熟甘菓
投身冒荊棘　是輩百向墮
亦如魚食鉤　飛蛾入燈火
專心投危欲　不惟後受禍

Because one is driven by lust, / indulging the mind, one cannot find peace.
Accustomed and attached to what is unrighteous, / how can one be considered virtuous?
Lust is the conduct of beasts; / through lust one turns back to ruin oneself.
Like dung worms dwelling in filth, / they do not know it to be a dire plight.
Just as worms in a cesspool / know neither east nor west,
so those bound and attached to sensual lust / are also of the class of vermin.
Since lust does not perceive the Way, / day and night it plants the roots of sin.
In the present, ruler and ministers fall into chaos; / superiors and inferiors become bewildered and dim.
The laws of kings fall into confusion; / governance becomes disordered and vexed.
Farmers abandon their regular work; / merchants become entangled [seeking] precious goods.
In the present life they suffer imprisonment; / after death they enter Mount Tai.
They must endure a hundred kinds of poison; / the pain is beyond description:
Molten copper poured into their mouths, / mountain-carts pressing their bodies.
Torments of this sort number in the hundreds, / difficult to recount one by one.
Constantly in the three wretched realms, / turning round like a chariot wheel,
even if at times there is a Buddha in the world, / they are never able to hear [him].
Women are the most evil; / it is hard to form causes and conditions with them.
Once affection and lust bind one fast, / they drag a person into the gate of sin.
What is fine about a woman? / She is merely a collection of impurities.
Why not believe this truly? / Over this one goes mad and wild!
Inside she is foul and vile; / outside she adorns her appearance,
and moreover harbors venomous stings, / worse than serpents or dragons.
She is like a spear draped in brocade, / a sharp point wrapped in gossamer silk.
The foolish look upon the surface, / dallying with it to their own ruin;
the wise awaken, understand, and cast it aside; / the foolish bring about their own death and injury.
Sensual lust is also like this: / embracing a blade to slay oneself.
Seeing the new, one tires of the old; / what is enjoyed is also impermanent.
Her words cut like knives and axes; / her smiles are thorns and lances.
Inside she harbors foul, filthy poison, / while adorning her exterior with flowers and perfume.
The foolish see her and rejoice, / not considering the calamity that follows.
She is like poison from the zhen bird / mixed into a draught of nectar:
Foolish people crave its flavor, / drink it, and all fall dead and rigid.
She is also like fuel meeting fire, / or plants coated with heavy frost:
Whatever it touches is destroyed; / this is the utmost inauspiciousness.
The poison of women is worse than this, / yet no one can see its true form.
Seeing the outside and not seeing the inside, / lustful passions therefore arise.
Her physical body is so readily seen, / yet foolish people cherish it and cannot sever [their bond].
Severing lust to seek the Way, / one is separated from the Way by mere hair-breadths.
Humans were originally of a pure breed, / like fish dwelling in deep abysses;
when nets are spread on all four sides, / those caught cannot return.
The net of lust is worse than this; / its entangling bonds are singularly firm.
Those who know can awaken themselves / and may escape its conditions.
Like a hungry ape / catching sight of ripe, sweet fruit,
flinging its body into brambles and thorns, / creatures of this sort plunge headlong by the hundreds;
and like fish biting the hook, / or flying moths diving into the lamp's flame,
they single-mindedly cast themselves into perilous desires, / never considering the disaster to come.