气球

Colorful Balloons

澄净的蓝天上，时常漂浮着各式各样的气球。它们色彩斑斓、形态各异、大小不等。小的若粉拳，初生之婴儿即可把玩；大的若房屋，可以承载若干彪形大汉。有的是为了欣赏，如节日喜庆等活动；有的是出于商业目的，如悬挂广告标语之类。但不论如何千变万化，有智之人均知其内在实质——只不过是一团虚空而已，一旦遭遇不利外缘，即当下破灭。

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.

同样道理，如果一个人名声再大，财富再圆满，眷属再多，除了诸佛菩萨应世化现以外，均与气球无异。当居于高位之时，众人趋之若鹜；潦倒之时，则如树倒猢狲散。世人说：“猫儿得势雄胜虎，凤凰落魄不如鸡。”名利实在是虚无缥缈的东西。卡 巴格西说：“名声是魔王的诱饵；利养是束缚的绳索；福报是善法的违缘，不应将这些毒品当成药。”

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.”

《释尊传》里描述一群修行人互相诅咒时，就说“愿他具有大福报”，或“愿他成为国王”。可见，具有所谓福报的人，反而会有解脱之障。

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刚噶曾在上师前祈求五个悉地：“愿我成为无家可归的人；愿我成为无有财物饮食之人；愿我成为没有亲友的孤寡之人；愿我成为何人也见不到之人；愿我不要有芝麻许的世间福报。”发愿之后，就前往寂地精进不懈地修持，终获不共之等持。

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.

《富楼那请问经》云：“自身不谋诸资财，即使获得也舍弃，今起唯求深佛法，护持清净之戒律。”真正的智者应唾弃名利，崇尚佛法与净戒。如果一个修行人仅仅具有世间名利，那即与气球一般，无有丝毫实质。世事幻象不过是镜花水月，“功名一枕黄粱，佳人一堆白骨”，只能成为流转的因。

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.

壬午年四月初三　　
2002年5月15日

3rd of April, Year of RenWu
May 15, 2002