坐禪三昧經 2.3

2.3

Contemplating desire: how does one know that desire is impermanent? It is an enemy to virtues, like an illusion, like a phantom, empty with nothing to be gained. Merely thinking of it before having obtained it, the foolish mind is already disturbed; how much more so when one has obtained it and is entangled and enveloped by sensuous desire! Even joyful places in heaven are not permanently peaceful, let alone among humans. The human mind clings to desire without satisfaction, like fire receiving firewood, like the ocean swallowing streams. For instance, King Māndhātṛ, though he rained seven jewels, ruled over the four continents, and shared the seat of Śakra, still did not know satisfaction. Or Nahuṣa (a clan name), a gold-wheel-turning king, driven by desire, fell among pythons. Or again, the rṣi who ate fruit and wore grass, secluded in the deep mountains with disheveled hair seeking the Way, still could not escape being ruined by the thief of desire. Sensual pleasure is extremely little, while resentment and poison are extremely great. Those attached to desire draw near to bad friends and keep distant from good people. Desire is poisonous wine, in which fools are intoxicated and die; desire is a deception that drives foolish people into endless weariness and suffering, leaving them without self-mastery. Only by departing from desire are body and mind peaceful, with boundless joy. There is nothing to be gained from desire, like a dog gnawing a dry bone. Seeking desire is laborious; it is obtained only through extreme suffering; obtaining it is very difficult, and losing it is very easy. It is like a momentary loan whose momentum cannot last, like what is seen in a dream, vanishing in an instant. As for the affliction of desire: seeking it is suffering, obtaining it is also suffering, and obtaining much brings much suffering. Like fire receiving firewood, the more it is fed, the more fiercely it blazes; desire is like a piece of meat for which many birds fight. In brief: it is like a moth flying into a flame, like a fish swallowing a hook, like a deer chasing a sound, like a thirsty person drinking salt water. All sentient beings incur calamity because of desire, with no suffering not arriving. Therefore one should know that desire is a toxic harm; one should seek the first dhyāna to extinguish and sever the fire of desire. The practitioner, single-minded, diligent, faithful, and joyful, makes his mind advance without distraction. Contemplating desire with aversion in mind, he completely eliminates bonds and afflictions and attains the concentration of the first dhyāna; departing from the blazing fire of desire, he attains cool concentration, like getting shade when hot, like attaining wealth when poor. At that time, he attains the joy and initial thought of the first dhyāna. Reflecting upon the various virtues within dhyāna, and contemplating and discerning good and bad, he then attains one-pointedness of mind.