..續本文上一頁e right, quite good enough for him. The more he pursues perfection, the farther it recedes. It”s like running after the horizon.
一但我們的行止讓我們的貪心控製住了，那我們就有苦頭吃了。求不得雖然是很痛苦的事；求得了雖暫時止住了我們 的貪心，但是最後還是免不了行苦––變遷無常之苦。由想得樂而集聚成苦。一個人若對他的貪心和享樂生起了執著心便永遠都得不到真正的快樂，因爲只要外在的 環境略有變更就會令他的貪心得不到滿足。假如你執著美味的食物，而吃到食物的味道不夠好的話，結果你就會覺得失望，而經常有不滿足感。同樣的你若對時髦的 衣著、跑車，甚至學識、藝術上的執著，也會引起你同樣的情形。一個要求苛刻的人是很不容易得到真正的快樂及滿足的，因爲所有的東西都不夠好，都不能滿他的 意。他愈趨求完美，越得不到手；就好像追求地平線一樣。
If gratification of desires was true happiness, would you consider an alcoholic or a drug addict who was guaranteed an unending supply of the poison that”s ruining him a happy person
None of us probably would. Yet desires work the same way—our pleasures turn into subtle addictions, and before long we think we cannot live without them. We lose all self-reliance and submit to being totally turned by any external states or objects our desires latch onto. “The more the merrier,” “the bigger the better” are slogans of a culture of addiction. This feverish mentality of acquisition ruins both people”s wisdom life and their physical bodies, and lays the whole planet to waste in the process.
如果欲望滿足是真正的快樂的話，那麼一個吸毒瘾的人或酒瘾的人，假如有人無限製地供給他那些會害生命的東西給 他，他算不算是一個快樂的人呢？我想我們都不會這樣認爲。欲望也是這樣的，我們的快樂不知不覺中會變成一種瘾，要不了多久我們會覺得，這些欲望若得不到滿 足，就沒法活下去了。我們失去自信，完全被外面的境界、或滿足我們欲望的東西所轉。「越多越棒」「越大越好」這些都是「上瘾文化」的口號。這些狂熱「積物 狂」可以毀滅一個人的色身和法身慧命，也會將整個地球很浪費掉。
Philosophers both East and West have taught that unrestrained indulgence in sense desires brings inevitable suffering in the end. The road towards happiness lies in simplifying one”s life, in moderating and decreasing one”s desires. In the Sutra in Forty-two Sections the Buddha clearly warns us that sense desires are a razor dipped in honey—if you don”t stop in time, if you allow your greed to run wild, sooner or later you will cut yourself. But how many people in this world know how to be content
How many appreciate what they have without hankering for more
And how many ever have the idea of giving something up, renouncing any of their possessions, benefits, or privileges in life
Prince Siddhartha renounced his whole kingdom in order to solve the problem of suffering once and for all. But in the modern world our priorities are truly upside down: we value acquisition, not renunciation. Yet, if one is going to accomplish the Way, the five desires have to be renounced. As the Venerable Master has said: “If you can”t put down the false, you can”t pick up the true.” You can”t have it both ways.
東西方的哲學家們，都教我們無限製地沈湎在感官的享受裏，最後只會帶來痛苦。快樂之道在于簡化我們的生活，少 欲知足。在《四十二章經》中，佛陀明白告誡我們：感官上的欲望，好像刀片上的蜜––假如舐吮不停，不能控製自己的貪心，早晚你一定會割破舌頭。但是世界上 有多少人懂得少欲知足呢？有多少人懂得適可而止呢？又有多少人願放下他們所擁有的東西、所應享受的利益、權益呢？希達多太子爲徹底解決人生之苦而將整個國 度放下。在現今的世界裏，我們所注重的實在是很顛倒了。我們不但不知放下反而總要累積。人若要成就道業，非將五欲放下不可，正如宣公上人所說：「舍不了 假，成不了真。」魚與熊掌不可兼得。
The five desires have us in a powerful hold, but actually they are just ersatz pleasures, shoddy substitutes for real happiness. When we don”t know how to live, how to be a person, or how to use our human life, we tend to believe that gratification of the senses and pursuit of pleasure can guarantee us some happiness. And so we let our inherent wisdom get clouded over by greedy desires. Mindlessly we drift along in the river of love, following the crowd, taking our cures from the TV, newspapers, and magazines, joining the same superficial pursuits we see everybody else involved in. Why do we do this
Simply because it hasn”t occurred to us that there might be anything more to life.
五欲將我們緊緊攫住，但事實上，五欲帶給我們的不過是一些假的快樂。我們不知道怎麼活？怎麼做人？怎麼善用我 們的一生時？我們就以爲感官享受及追求享樂會使我們快樂，因此將我們本有的智慧讓貪欲給遮蓋了。愚蠢地同流合汙，在愛欲之海中浮沈，模仿電視、報章、雜 志，盲從他人，隨波逐流。爲什麼有這種現象呢？很簡單！就因爲我們的無知––不知道生命還有其他的意義在內。
If, however, we start to realize our true goal in life, if we are lucky enough to meet the Buddhadharma and bring forth a mind to cultivate the Way, our previous wallowing in desires may suddenly seem childish at best and positively disgusting at worst. At this point renunciation will naturally occur, and many of our old, crusty habits start to fall off. Now we see the objects of our desire for what they are—a ball and chain that pulls us into the dust and hampers our advance on the Way. Renunciation allows us to travel light, to concentrate on the essentials, live life close to the bone. Giving up things can be a struggle, but it can also be a relief. Laying down our self-inflicted loads frees our energies for cultivation and benefiting others. As our everyday life is simplified and purified, the rewards are far more real and lasting than anything our running after the five desires could provide us with.
一旦我們認識到我們生命中真正的目標時，假如有幸又能遇到佛法，並發心修道的話，就會覺得自己以前在貪欲中打 滾的情形，至少是十分幼稚可笑的。甚至會深感厭惡。在這個時候，很自然地就想放下，我們以前的一些就習氣老毛病也漸漸會脫除了。再回頭看看清楚，以前我們 所貪的東西，就像手撩腳铐似地，把我們拖曳到塵埃裏，並妨礙我們在道上前進。能放下可以減少我們旅途上的行李負擔，並集中精神于基本而天然的生活。「放 下」是要經過掙紮的，但結果往往會帶給我們一種解脫感。擱下了我們自己找來的包袱，可以省下精力用來修行及做些利益衆生的事。我們日常生活簡化並淨化了之 後，所得的報償，比我們追逐的五欲所得到的，更實在、更持久。
Ultimately, if one doesn”t want anything, one can be constantly happy. Then “Everything”s OK”—you can”t lose anything or worry about anything, since you aren”t attached to a single thing in the first place. This is true happiness which is not conditioned by external circumstances.
總之，如果人到無求處，自然便會常常安樂，那時什麼都沒問題了……，也沒有東西可損失，也沒有什麼可憂慮的 了；因爲你什麼也不執著了。這才是真正的快樂，外面什麼境界也影響不了。
《五欲與苦 The Five Desires and Suffering》全文閱讀結束。