法苑珠林 75.30

75.30

Furthermore, the Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Bodhisattva Rìmíng (Sūryaprabha) states: 'The method by which bodhisattvas rebuke sexual desire [is as follows]: Female beauty is a cangue and chain of the mundane world; ordinary people cling to it with longing and are unable to extricate themselves. Female beauty is a grave affliction of the mundane world; ordinary people are distressed by it and cannot escape it until death. Female beauty is a disaster and misfortune of the mundane world; when ordinary people encounter it, no calamity fails to arrive. Once a practitioner has managed to abandon it, if they look back and yearn for it again, this is like escaping from prison only to think of re-entering it, like regaining sanity from madness only to delight in it again, or like recovering from illness only to desire falling ill again. The wise are angered by this, knowing that such a person is mad and will stumble and die in no time at all. Ordinary people esteem female beauty, willingly serving as its slaves, galloping about all their lives and toiling bitterly for its sake. Even if they are severed inch by inch upon the chopping block, and blades and arrows arrive in crossfire, they willingly endure it and do not consider it an affliction. The madman's delight in madness does not surpass this! If a practitioner can cast it aside without looking back, this is truly shattering the cangue and shedding the chains, loathing madness and tiring of illness, and parting from disasters and misfortunes. They will be both secure and auspicious, having escaped the prison, and will be free of adversity forever. The appearance of a woman is such that her speech is like honey, but her heart is like poison. It is like a deep, still abyss whose waters are clear as a mirror, yet where a flood dragon dwells; or like a golden mountain with jewel caverns, yet where a lion abides. One should know that this peril must not be approached even for an instant. Disharmony within the household is caused by women; the ruin of ancestral lines and the destruction of clans is the crime of women. They are truly hidden thieves who destroy a person's brightness of wisdom, and are like a hunting enclosure from which few can escape. They are like a high net into which a flock of birds falls, unable to spread their wings; or like a fine mesh into which many fish throw themselves, having their bellies disemboweled and their flesh sliced upon the block. They are also like a dark pit into which the blind cast themselves, or like moths rushing into a fire. Therefore, the wise understand this and keep their distance; they do not suffer their harm, but loathe and despise them as foul, and are not deceived by these beings.'