氣球
Colorful Balloons
澄淨的藍天上，時常漂浮著各式各樣的氣球。它們色彩斑斓、形態各異、大小不等。小的若粉拳，初生之嬰兒即可把玩；大的若房屋，可以承載若幹彪形大漢。有的是爲了欣賞，如節日喜慶等活動；有的是出于商業目的，如懸挂廣告標語之類。但不論如何千變萬化，有智之人均知其內在實質——只不過是一團虛空而已，一旦遭遇不利外緣，即當下破滅。
Up in the clear blue sky, there often float colorful balloons of various shapes and sizes. Some are tiny and soft that a newborn baby can play with, while others are as large as a house that a few husky fellows could fit into. Some balloons are up there to celebrate festivals or holidays, while others are for commercial promotions with slogans. Regardless of their ever-changing varieties, a wise man knows what is really inside them: nothing but empty space. The balloons will pop once they meet up with unfavorable conditions.
同樣道理，如果一個人名聲再大，財富再圓滿，眷屬再多，除了諸佛菩薩應世化現以外，均與氣球無異。當居于高位之時，衆人趨之若鹜；潦倒之時，則如樹倒猢狲散。世人說：“貓兒得勢雄勝虎，鳳凰落魄不如雞。”名利實在是虛無缥缈的東西。卡 巴格西說：“名聲是魔王的誘餌；利養是束縛的繩索；福報是善法的違緣，不應將這些毒品當成藥。”
In this world, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas use many expedient ways to benefit sentient beings. Other than those, any manifestation of an ordinary person”s fortune—being very famous, having tons of money, and being surrounded by loved ones and attendants—is no different than the balloon. When you hold a high position, people flock around; when you are hit by hard times, fair-weather friends disappear. A Chinese proverb goes: “When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.” And again: “When in power, a cat could be mightier than a tiger; when down and out, a phoenix could be plainer than a crow.” Prestige and wealth are insubstantial and ephemeral. Geshe Khapa said: “Fame is the lure set up by the demon; wealth is the rope that binds you; good fortune works against your virtue. All these are poisons; do not take them as medicines.”
《釋尊傳》裏描述一群修行人互相詛咒時，就說“願他具有大福報”，或“願他成爲國王”。可見，具有所謂福報的人，反而會有解脫之障。
According to the descriptions in The Great Biography of Buddha Shakyamuni, some practitioners would curse each other by saying: “May good fortune befall unto him” or “May he become a king.” Thus, a person with so-called good fortune is actually bearing obstacles to liberation instead.
丹巴桑及的大弟子丹巴剛噶曾在上師前祈求五個悉地：“願我成爲無家可歸的人；願我成爲無有財物飲食之人；願我成爲沒有親友的孤寡之人；願我成爲何人也見不到之人；願我不要有芝麻許的世間福報。”發願之後，就前往寂地精進不懈地修持，終獲不共之等持。
Dampa Gangkhar, one of the foremost disciples of Dampa Sangye, once entreated his teacher for five accomplishments: “May I own no home to go back to; may I be impoverished as to have no food or drink; may I be a recluse cared for by no friends or relatives; may I be so secluded that no one could find me; may I enjoy no worldly fortune even if it were as tiny as one sesame grain.” After making these aspirations, he set off to a lonely hermitage to practice vigilantly and finally attained incomparable accomplishment.
《富樓那請問經》雲：“自身不謀諸資財，即使獲得也舍棄，今起唯求深佛法，護持清淨之戒律。”真正的智者應唾棄名利，崇尚佛法與淨戒。如果一個修行人僅僅具有世間名利，那即與氣球一般，無有絲毫實質。世事幻象不過是鏡花水月，“功名一枕黃粱，佳人一堆白骨”，只能成爲流轉的因。
In The Sutra Requested by Purna it says: “Strive not for amassing possessions; abandon them even if they come to you. From now on seek only the profound Dharma and keep pure precepts.” A truly wise man should abandon fame and money like so much spit in the dust and regard the Dharma and pure precepts as supreme. If a practitioner ended up having nothing left but worldly wealth and fame, then he is without substance, like a balloon. One saying goes: “Wealth and high position are but a fool”s dreams; stunning beauty turns into a heap of bones.” All appearances of the world are as illusory as flowers in the mirror or the moon reflected in water; they are only the causes for endless cyclic existence.
壬午年四月初叁
2002年5月15日
3rd of April, Year of RenWu
May 15, 2002