Sutra of Forty-Two Sections Spoken by Buddha Section 21-32 with Excerpts from Master Hsuan Hua’s Commentary

Namo Fundamental Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha !(three times) 南无本师释迦牟尼佛（三称）

Section Twenty-one teaches that people who seek fame not only don’t benefit from it, but are actually harmed by it. 人顺著他自己的情和欲，就是去追求一个好名誉。等声名成功了，这时候，这身也就快死了。你声名成功了，也就老了；老了就快死了，所以啊，没有什么大意思！贪求世界上这一个普通的、寻常的名誉，也就是平常的名誉。你不去修习道果，这就枉用了功，劳苦了身形。譬如你点著一块香，虽然这人闻著有一股香气，可是那个香烧完了的时候，那火烬啊，或者就会著大了，把身就烧死了。所以说危身之火，很危险的事情在这后边就会发生的。

Section  22 Wealth and Sex Cause Suffering 财色招苦
The Buddha said, “People are unable to renounce wealth and sex. They are just like a child who cannot resist honey on the blade of a knife. Even though the amount is not even enough for a single meal’s serving, he will lick it and risk cutting his tongue in the process.” 佛言：财色于人，人之不舍。譬如刀刃有蜜，不足一餐之美。小儿舐之，则有割舌之患。

They are just like a child who cannot resist honey on the blade of a knife. Even though the amount is not even enough for a single meal’s serving, he will lick it and risk cutting his tongue in the process. There’s a little bit of honey on the sharp edge of the knife, not even enough for one meal’s serving. Seeing the honey on the blade of the knife, a child licks it. Ignorant people who crave wealth and sex are just like the child who craves the honey on the knife and who thus risks cutting his tongue. Therefore, we must certainly see through and put down wealth and sex. Only then can we obtain self-mastery. 财色于人，‘今之不舍’：人人都舍不了这个财和色。好像什么呢？这里举出一个譬喻来，就‘譬如刀刃有蜜’：那刀刃上有一点点的蜜糖。‘不足一餐之美’：不够吃饱一餐的这种美好味道。‘小儿舐之’：这个小儿看见那刀刃上有糖，这糖就是指这个财色。无知的人贪这财色，就好像贪刀刃上的蜜似的，‘则有割舌之患’：就有把舌头割断了这种的危险

Section  23 A Family Is Worse than a Prison 妻子甚狱
The Buddha said, “People are bound to their families and homes to such an extent that these are worse than a prison. Eventually one is released from prison, but people never think of leaving their families. Don’t they fear the control that emotion, love, and sex have over them? Although they are in a tiger’s jaws, their hearts are blissfully oblivious. Because they throw themselves into a swamp and drown, they are known as ordinary people. Pass through the gateway! Get out of the defilement and become an Arhat!” 佛言：人系于妻子舍宅，甚于牢狱。牢狱有散释之期，妻子无远离之念。情爱于色，岂惮驱驰。虽有虎口之患，心存甘伏。投泥自溺，故曰凡夫。透得此门，出尘罗汉。

Don’t they fear the control that emotion, love, and sex have over them? These people have no fear of being controlled by emotion, love, and sex. Although they are in a tiger’s jaws, their hearts are blissfully oblivious. Even though this situation is like being in the jaws of a tiger, you wouldn’t mind being eaten by the tiger.

Because they throw themselves into a swamp and drown, they are known as ordinary people. Because they cast themselves into a swamp and drown themselves, they are called ordinary people. Pass through the gateway! Get out of the defilement and become an Arhat! What gateway? The gateway of emotion and desire, of love and sex, and of attachments to families and homes. Pass through the gateway and you will get out of the defilement; you’ll become an Arhat who leaves the world of defilement. You will be a sage who is about to attain the fruition of Arhatship.

Section  24 Sexual Desire Obstructs the Way 色欲障道
The Buddha said, “Of all longings and desires, there is none as strong as sex. Sexual desire has no equal. Fortunately, it is one of a kind. If there were something else like it, no one in the entire world would be able to cultivate the Way.” 佛言：爱欲莫甚于色，色之为欲，其大无外。赖有一矣，若使二同，普天之人，无能为道者矣。

The Buddha said, “Of all longings and desires, there is none as strong as sex.” Here, “longings and desires” refer to sexual desire, that is, to the mind of lust. There is nothing more powerful than attraction to the opposite sex. Sexual desire has no equal. It is so strong that there is nothing more powerful than this kind of emotional desire.

Fortunately, it is one of a kind. If there were something else like it, no one in the entire world would be able to cultivate the Way. Luckily, sexual desire is unique. If there were something else equal to it, then none of the living beings in the entire world would be able to cultivate the Way. It is difficult enough with just one obstruction like this; two together would simply devour people, and no one would be able to cultivate. Another illustration of this is when women get confused by desire for women, and when men get confused by desire for men. Men and women both engage in homosexual conduct: men have homosexual relationships with men, and women have homosexual relationships with women. It all amounts to being confused by sexual desire.

Therefore, in such a situation it’s better to simply stay away from these things in the first place.

The Buddha said, “What have you skin-bags full of filth come here for?” Now, it makes no difference whether you are speaking of men or women, whether it is handsome men or beautiful women. The meaning is not that only women are so terrible, while men are not. The Buddha said the human body is a skin-bag full of filth. Our skin is compared to a leather bag. What’s stored in the bag? There is little other than excrement and urine inside it. What could possibly be attractive about that?

You may look just on the surface and say, “Oh, that man is extremely handsome.” No matter how handsome he is, he can’t be more handsome than Ananda, who was so good-looking that Matangi’s daughter fell in love with him at first sight. When Matangi’s daughter came before the Buddha, the Buddha asked her what she loved about Ananda. She said, “Oh, his nose is fine, his eyes are beautiful, his ears are well-shaped–all the features on his face are wonderful!”

The Buddha said to her, “All right, if you love his nose, I’ll cut off his nose and give it to you. If you love his ears, I’ll slice them off, and you can have them. If you love his eyes, then I’ll gouge them out, and they’re yours. You can take them back with you.”She said, “No! That would never do!”
Ultimately, what meaning is there in the love between men and women? No matter how perfect a person may be on the surface, inside there are all kinds of filth. Urine and excrement collect inside, and the nine apertures constantly flow with impurities. Matter comes out from the eyes, wax from the ears, mucus from the nose, and saliva from the mouth. Then there is urine and excrement. Which of these substances is pure and clean? So the Buddha called it a stinking skin-bag full of filth.

Section  27 One Attains the Way after Letting Go of Attachments 无著得道
The Buddha said, “A person who follows the Way is like a floating piece of wood that courses along with the current. If it does not touch either shore; if people do not pluck it out; if ghosts and spirits do not intercept it; if it is not trapped in whirlpools; and if it does not rot, I guarantee that the piece of wood will reach the sea. If students of the Way are not deluded by emotion and desire, and if they are not caught up in the many crooked views, but are vigorous in their cultivation of the unconditioned, I guarantee that they will certainly attain the Way.” 佛言：夫为道者，犹木在水，寻流而行。不触两岸，不为人取，不为鬼神所遮，不为洄流所住，亦不腐败，吾保此木决定入海。学道之人，不为情欲所惑，不为众邪所娆，精进无为，吾保此人必得道矣。

Emotion and desire further divide into two kinds:

• (1) the emotion and desire of views and thought and
• (2) the emotion and desire of ignorance.

With the first, you grow attached to birth and death, which is represented by this shore. With the second, you become attached to Nirvana, which is represented by the other shore. Wood that is plucked out by people is analogous to cultivators getting caught in the nets of crooked views. Wood that is intercepted by ghosts and spirits is analogous to cultivators who get covered by the nets of views and thoughts.

People in this situation are likened to rotting wood. They are bound to sink, and they will not reach the other shore of Nirvana. They won’t be able to end birth and death. That’s the result of being confused by emotional desire and caught up in the myriad crooked bypaths of love and views. If one is properly mindful of True Suchness and vigorously cultivates, understands that the fundamental nature of the Dharma is originally unconditioned, and can withstand being turned by emotions and love, then one will certainly attain the Way. That is the general meaning of this section of the text. 第二十七章是说一个譬喻，就是学道的人要远离一切的障碍。什么叫两岸呢？两岸就是情和欲，有见思的情欲，又有无明的情欲。见思的情欲就是执著生死，像此岸一样；无明的情欲就是执著涅槃，也就好像触到彼岸一样的。经文上说，人拿这木头和鬼神取这木头，这是譬喻所有一切邪见的网缠著人，就好像木被人取似的；见思这个网把人盖住了，就好像木被鬼神遮了一样。

The Buddha said, “A person who follows the Way is like a floating piece of wood that courses along with the current.” The Buddha compares a cultivator of the Way to a piece of wood that is carried downstream by the current. If it does not touch either shore. It doesn’t get caught in or obstructed by the rocks along either bank. If it made contact with the two shores, the wood could get stopped. Not touching the two shores, the wood does not get stopped.

Likewise, the cultivator doesn’t get hindered by emotion and desire. If people do not pluck it out–it is not grabbed by people; if ghosts and spirits do not intercept it–nor is it stopped by ghosts or spirits; if it is not trapped in whirlpools–it doesn’t spin around and get stopped; and if it does not rot–nor does it become spoiled or corrupted, I guarantee that the piece of wood will reach the sea. 佛说了，说这修道的人。就像一个木头在水里一样。顺流向下走。不被两岸的石头所触、所障碍。触两岸就是把这木头留下来。没有触两岸就是这木头不会被这两岸所留，不被情爱所留，这木头就好像一个修道人似的。也不会被人拿去。也没有被鬼神遮挡住。也不会被流过去又流回来的这种洄流所停止了。也不会腐烂、败坏。我保证这一个木头，一定会到大海里头去。学道的这个人，不被爱情、物欲圻迷惑。不被一切的无明，一切的懒惰所障碍。精进修这个无为法。我保证这个人，一定会得道的。

In the twenty-eighth section, the Buddha says that the mind is like a horse that is difficult to tame and subdue. Then there is sex. Whether you are male or female, you should stay clear of sex. If you don’t stay away from it, disasters will arise. From countless eons in the past until the present, however, we living beings have let our passions and desires run away with us, and thus we keep turning in the six destinies of samsara. We are unable to realize Arhatship because we are continually caught up in ignorance, views of emotional love, and pride. Therefore, we shouldn’t believe our own thoughts. We cannot be careless and inattentive. We must be careful not to get involved with sex. We must not believe our own minds.

The Buddha said, “Be careful not to believe your own mind.” Don’t listen to the thoughts in your mind; don’t believe the things you’re thinking. You should be extremely careful not to believe your own mind. Your mind is not to be believed. Your mind is unreliable, and cannot be trusted. 佛知道我们人这个‘意’，就好像一匹马似的，难调难伏。还有这个‘色’，无论男色、女色都应该离它远一点。你不离它远一点，就会有祸生。可是我们众生从无量劫以来，就是恣情纵欲，在六道轮回里打转转，不能证得阿罗汉果，就因为常常和无明、爱见，还有慢在一起。因为这样子，我们人就不可以信自己的意念，你不可不小心、不谨慎。你一定要小心、谨慎，不和色会，不要信自己的意。

Section  29
Proper Contemplation Counteracts Sexual Desire 正观敌色

The Buddha said, “Be careful not to look at women, and do not talk with them. If you must speak with them, be properly mindful and think, am a Shramana living in a turbid world. I should be like the lotus flower, which is not stained by the mud.’ Think of elderly women as your mothers, of those who are older than you as your elder sisters, of those who are younger as your younger sisters, and of very young girls as your daughters. Bring forth thoughts to rescue them, and put an end to bad thoughts.” 佛言：慎勿视女色，亦莫共言语。若与语者，正心思念：我为沙门，处于浊世，当如莲华，不为泥污。想其老者如母，长者如姊，少者如妹，稚者如子。生度脱心，息灭恶念。

The twenty-ninth section explains that men should stay far away from women, and that women should stay far away from men to prevent any mistakes from happening. This is using the method of “bringing forth the good and ending the bad” to combat love and desire. So one is said to be like a lotus flower. This analogy can apply to men as well as to women.

Section  30
Stay Far Away from the Fire of Desire 欲火远离

The Buddha said, “People who cultivate the Way are like dry grass: it is essential to keep it away from an oncoming fire. People who cultivate the Way look upon desire as something they must stay far away from.” 佛言：夫为道者，如被干草，火来须避。道人见欲，必当远之。

The thirtieth section tells people to keep at a distance from all thoughts of desire. Don’t be burned by the fire of desire. What’s meant by dry grass? The six emotions and their corresponding six sense organs are like dry grass. The six defiling objects are like a raging fire. Before you have reached the state where both the mind and external states are forgotten, you should cultivate the supreme conduct of keeping your distance.

What’s meant by the forgetting of the mind and external states? Inwardly one contemplates the mind, and there is no mind. There isn’t any mind at all; it’s truly empty. Outwardly one contemplates forms, and there are no forms; nor are there any external states. The mind is empty, the body is empty, and both the mind and external states are forgotten. The eyes see everything, but there is nothing. At that point, you are no longer turned by the six sense organs and the six defiling objects.

Section  31 When the Mind Is Still, Desire Is Dispelled 心寂欲除
The Buddha said, “There was once someone who was plagued by ceaseless sexual desire and wished to castrate himself. The Buddha said to him, ‘To cut off your sexual organ would not be as good as to cut off your mind. Your mind is like a supervisor: if the supervisor stops, his employees will also quit. If the deviant mind is not stopped, what good does it do to cut off the organ?'” The Buddha spoke a verse for him:
   Desire is born from your intentions.
   Intentions are born from thoughts.
   When both aspects of the mind are still,
   There is neither form nor activity. The Buddha said, “This verse was spoken by the  Buddha Kashyapa.” 佛言：有人患淫不止，欲自断阴。佛谓之曰：若断其阴，不如断心。心如功曹，功曹若止，从者都息。邪心不止，断阴何益？佛为说偈：欲生于汝意，意以思想生，二心各寂静，非色亦非行。佛言：此偈是迦叶佛说。

The thirty-first section explains that when people want to stop desire, they should stop it within the mind. If you want to know the method for stopping the mind, you should realize that desire arises from the mind’s intentions and that your intentions are produced from your thoughts.

Now, take a look at your thoughts. Are they produced of them-selves? Are they produced from something else? Are they produced from a combination of both? Or are they produced without any cause? You should also find out whether thoughts are internal, external, or in the middle–between the internal and external. Do they come from the past, the present, or from the future?

When you try to find thoughts in this way, your thoughts also become still and without any substance of their own. Once your thoughts are still, your intentions also become still. Since your intentions are still, your desires also become still. When your desires are still, you will see all forms and dharmas as images in a mirror. Like reflections in a mirror, they are not real. You will see that all activities are like bubbles: they are also false. All Buddhas successively contemplate and transmit these expedient Dharma-doors that enable one to subdue the mind.

Section  32 Emptying out the Self Quells Fear 我空怖灭
The Buddha said, “People worry because of love and desire. That worry then leads to fear. If you transcend love, what worries will there be? What will be left to fear?” 佛言：人从爱欲生忧，从忧生怖。若离于爱，何忧何怖？

From limitless eons in the past up to the present, we have mistaken the four elements for the character-istic features of our body. We have mistaken the conditioned perceptions of the six defiling objects for the characteristics of our mind. As a result, we have become attached to the body and its senses; we crave its pleasures, and we don’t want to let them go.

Because of this, every kind of difficulty arises. Once difficulties arise, then many worries and afflictions arise, and we fall prey to anxiety and fear. You should contemplate the four elements: know that the body is a combination of the four elements and that fundamentally there is no self. Next, contemplate the conditioned perceptions of the six defiling objects as empty and non-existent, and recognize that the mind is impermanent. Finally, if you can cut off thoughts of love and desire, then all your worries and fears will naturally disappear. 我们人从无始劫以来到现在，妄认这四大为自己的身相；妄认这六尘缘影为自己的心相。所以就执著贪恋，不愿意把它放下。因为这样，所以就有种种的麻烦生出来。这种种麻烦生出来了，就有很多的忧愁、烦恼，也就生了种种的恐怖。你若能观察这四大，你能知道这身是四大和合而成，本来没有一个我；你再观寂这六尘缘影也是空的，没有的；你知道这心是无常的；你能把爱欲心先要断了；你这忧怖也自然就都没有了。

To be continued ……..

Dedicate Merits:

May the precious bodhicitta 
That has not yet arisen, arise and grow,
And may that which has already arisen not diminish,
But increase more and more.

回向偈：
愿以此功德，庄严佛净土。 
上报四重恩，下济三涂苦。 
若有见闻者，悉发菩提心。 
尽此一报身，同生极乐国。