蓮藕

　　Lotus Root

　　同伴買回幾節白嫩的蓮藕，放在桌上，勾引著我的食欲。見我很感興趣，他便將蓮藕生長的因緣、功效一一向我傳授。聽後方知藕具有很高的藥用價值，生食能清熱潤肺，涼血行瘀；熟吃可健脾開胃，止瀉益血，安神健腦，具有延年益壽之功效。和這種見多識廣的人在一起，真的很愉快。孔子曰：“叁人行，必有我師。”從他那裏的確學到不少知識。

　　My friend bought several lotus roots and left them on the table. These whitish roots looked tender and appetizing. To satisfy my curiosity, my friend told me about the growth conditions and usage of lotus root. I learned only after listening to him that the root has remarkable medicinal value. Eaten raw, it clears heat and nourishes the lung, cools the blood and promotes circulation; eaten cooked, it tones the spleen and stimulates appetite, it is antidiarrheal as well as blood-enriching, mood-calming, and brain-invigorating; finally, it can promote a long, healthy life. I am happy to be in the company of such a knowledgeable friend. Confucius says: “We can learn something from anyone.” I did learn a lot from him.

　　藕生于汙泥而一塵不染，中通外直，不蔓不枝，“中通”代表其謙遜的品德，“外直”代表其正直的個性，“不蔓不枝”說明其不具分別念，不向外攀緣的特點。所以自古就深受人們的喜愛。世間的很多名流都很喜愛它，詩人韓愈曾有“冷比霜雪甘比蜜，一片入口沈疴痊”之贊。漢代司馬相如的《上林賦》中也有“與波搖蕩，奄薄水渚，唼喋青藻，嘴嚼菱藕”的記載。

　　The lotus root grows in the mud but is unsullied; it is hollow and straight and has no lateral branches or tendrils. The hollow center signifies its virtue of humility; its straightness symbolizes its upright and firm personality; its lack of lateral branches and tendrils illustrates it has no discursive thoughts or outward clinging. The lotus root has been well appreciated since ancient times and it is very popular among famous personages. Poet Hanyu praised it in this way: “Cool as frost and sweet as honey, imbibe one piece and all ailments are gone.” Sima Xiangru of the Han Dynasty had this description in his the Ode to Imperial Garden (Shanglin): “Flocks of water birds alight on the surface of the river and drift gently with the tide, some other birds perch on the sandy islets thick with weeds. They twitter and chirp while pecking at algae and water grass, or enjoy chewing water chestnuts and lotus roots.”

　　同時，蓮藕也是前輩許多修行人苦修時的食品。

　　In addition, the lotus root was the food that had sustained many ancient practitioners through their ascetic discipline.

　　《釋尊廣傳》中曾記載，釋迦牟尼佛在因地時，曾轉世爲一婆羅門，當他在山上苦修時，主要的食物就是蓮藕。

　　The Great Biography of the Buddha tells that when the Buddha was a Brahmin ascetic practicing in the mountains, his main source of sustenance was the lotus root.

　　蓮藕真是好東西，具有不可思議的加持力。吃它，對身體有幫助；學習它的精神，對心有幫助。可謂一舉兩得。世上還有什麼食物比它更好呢？今後，我要多吃蓮藕，因爲它是佛陀曾加持過的食物。

　　Indeed the lotus root is an amazing thing endowed with magical potency. Eaten as a food, it is a healthy diet; emulating its spirit, we are uplifted. What other food is superior to it, conferring two benefits in one

　　 From now on I”ll eat more lotus root, as it is a food blessed by the Buddha.

　　壬午年叁月二十六日　

　　2002年5月7日

　　26th of March, Year of RenWu

　　May 7, 2002