菩薩訶色欲法經

The beauty of woman is the shackle of the world; the ordinary person, clinging to it in attachment, cannot free himself.

The beauty of woman is the great calamity of the world; the ordinary person suffers wretchedly unto death and yet cannot escape it.

The beauty of woman is the disaster of the world; when the ordinary person meets with it, there is no misfortune he does not encounter.

When the practitioner has already let it go, should he again think back upon it, this is like having escaped from the hells and yet wishing to return into them; like having recovered his senses from madness and yet wishing to be deranged once more; like having been healed from sickness and yet longing to be sick again. The wise, out of compassion, know that such a one is deranged and inverted, and that the day of his death is not far off...

The ordinary person esteems sensual beauty and willingly resigns himself to being its slave, toiling and rushing about his whole life long, and for this reason he suffers. Though he be cut by blade and axe, pierced by sharp points of bronze, yet he bears it willingly and does not regard it as a calamity. He is like a madman who is forever mad and does not regard it as wrong.

If the practitioner is able to let it go, he should not turn back to it; this is to break the shackle and escape from the fetters, to loathe the madness and weary of the sickness, to depart from the place of calamity. Having already attained peace and security, with further good fortune, he gains release from the prison and is forever free of misfortune.

The form and the words of a woman are like sweet honey, yet her mind is like deadly poison. It is as if one were to stand and behold one's reflection beside an abyss of deep waters, the dwelling place of sea-dragons (dragons and serpents), or beside a cavern of gold within the mountains wherein dwells a lion: one should know that this place of calamity and evil cannot be approached.

When a household is not at peace, it is on account of the wife. When a lineage is ruined and a clan brought to downfall, it is the fault of the woman. Truly she is a hidden thief who destroys a man's wisdom. She is also like a hunter who lays his snares so that it is hard to escape. She is like a high net into which the flock of birds falls and can no longer spread its wings to fly. Again she is like a dense net into which the school of fish is caught, their fins scraped and their scales stripped away; she is like a dark pit into which the blind fall; like a blazing flame into which moths fling themselves. Therefore the wise, knowing this, keep far away, and do not let it harm them; loathing it, they are revolted by it, and do not let it lead them astray.

THE SŪTRA OF THE BODHISATTVA'S REPROACH OF LUST FOR SENSUAL BEAUTY

The End