四十二章經 1.29

1.29

The Buddha said, “Of all desires, there is none worse than lust. Of desires, lust has no equal. Fortunately, it is one of a kind. If there were another desire so strong, no one in the world could follow the Way.”

[23] The Buddha said, “People with strong desires are like those who walk against the wind carrying a torch. If they are foolish enough not to let go of the torch, their hands will inevitably be burned. The poisons of lust, anger, hatred, and ignorance are within human beings and, if not quickly eradicated with the help of the Way, will certainly cause harm. It is just like the fool who holds onto a torch even as his hand is being burned.”

[24] A heavenly being (deva) offered the Buddha a beautiful girl in order to test the Buddha’s will and to observe his Way.

The Buddha said, “O skinbag, full of all kinds of filth! What have you come here for? You may be able to deceive the world but you cannot move one who has gained the six supernatural powers. Go away. I don’t need you.”

The heavenly being paid profound reverence to the Buddha and asked him the meaning of the Way. As soon as the Buddha explained it to him he immediately became a stream-enterer.

[25] The Buddha said, “One who follows the Way is like a piece of wood floating down a river. If it does not touch the left or the right bank, is neither picked up by someone nor intercepted by the gods, is neither caught in whirlpools nor rots on the way, I guarantee it will reach the sea. If one follows the Way without being confused by lust or deceived by all kinds of depravity, but instead earnestly advances forward without doubts, I guarantee that he will attain his goal.”

[26]

The Buddha said to the śramaṇas, “Be careful not to trust your thoughts, for

they are not trustworthy. Be careful not to come into contact with physical

attractions, for contact with them brings calamity. Only when you have real-

ized arhatship can you trust your own thoughts.”

[27]

The Buddha said to the śramaṇas, “Be careful not to look at women. If you

happen to see them, do not look at them. Be careful not to talk with women,

but if you should happen to talk to them, control your thoughts and behave

properly, thinking ‘I am a śramaṇa living in this impure world. I should be

like the lotus flower that is not defiled by mud. I should treat elderly women

as my own mother, those older than myself as my older sisters, those younger

than myself as my younger sisters, and the young ones as my daughters.’

You should respect them politely but reflect in your minds that their bodies,

from head to foot, contain nothing but all sorts of filth and impurities. Thus,

you can be rid of desire.”

[28]

The Buddha said, “Those who follow the Way should eradicate lust. It is

like straw that must be kept from an oncoming fire. A follower of the Way

should look upon desire as something that must be kept at a distance.”

[29]

The Buddha said, “There was a man who was continually plagued by sex-

ual desire and wished to castrate himself with a knife. I said to him, ‘To cut

off your sex organ would not be as good as to cut off your thoughts, for

thoughts are like the officer in charge. If the officer in charge is stopped, the

followers will also be stopped. If a deviant thought persists, what is the use