Saṃyukta Āgama (291), Part Four

Original text: 譬如路侧清凉池水。香味具足。有人以毒著中。阳春之月。诸行路者。风热渴逼。竞来欲饮。有人语言。士夫。此是清凉池。色香味具足。然中有毒。汝等勿饮。若当饮者。或令汝死。或近死苦。而彼渴者。不信而饮。虽得美味。须臾或死。或近死苦。如是沙门婆罗门。见世间可念端正之色。作常见恒见。安稳见无病见。我我所见。乃至不得解脱生老病死忧悲恼苦。

Explanation: The Buddha gave a parable: Suppose there is a cool pool of water by the roadside, its water perfect in fragrance and flavor. If someone puts poison into the pool, then in the warm days of spring, travelers passing by, tormented by heat and thirst, will rush over wanting to drink. When they want to drink, someone nearby tells them: "This is a cool pool, perfect in color, fragrance, and flavor, but there is poison in it. Do not drink it. If you drink it, it may cause you to die, or to suffer near death." But those who are thirsty, not believing, drink it anyway; though they enjoy the delicious taste, in a short while some die, and some come close to death. It is the same with śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas: seeing lovely and attractive forms in the world, they take them as permanent and everlasting, as stable and secure, as free of illness, as self and belonging to self; because of such views, they cannot be liberated from birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress.

Original text: 若诸沙门婆罗门。于世间可念端正之色。观察如病如痈。如刺如杀。无常苦空非我。彼爱则离。爱离故亿波提离。亿波提离故则苦离。苦离故则生老病死忧悲恼苦离。譬如路侧清凉池水。香味具足。有人以毒著中。阳春之月。诸行路者风热渴逼。竞来欲饮。有人语言此水有毒。汝等勿饮。若当饮者。或令汝死。或近死苦。彼则念言。此水有毒。若当饮者。或令我死。或近死苦。我且忍渴。食干麨饭。不取水饮。

Explanation: If śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas, seeing lovely and attractive forms in the world, contemplate them as if they were an illness, as an abscess, as a thorn, as slaughter—impermanent, suffering, empty, and not-self—then craving departs; because craving departs, grasping (upādāna) departs; because grasping departs, suffering departs; because suffering departs, birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress depart. It is like a cool pool of water by the roadside, perfect in fragrance and flavor. Someone puts poison into the water, and when travelers, tormented by heat and thirst, rush over wanting to drink, someone tells them: "This water is poisoned. Do not drink it. If you drink it, it may cause you to die at once, or to suffer near death." The travelers then think: "This water is poisoned. If I drink it, it may cause me to die, or to suffer near death. I will endure my thirst for now, eat dry roasted grain, and not drink the water." So these travelers leave; not drinking the poisoned water, they will not be poisoned to death.

From now on, we should keep this warning in our minds: do not drink poisoned water again. The moment a thought of craving arises, say to yourself: "I must not crave anymore; I must not drink poisoned water again." The moment you become fond of something, say to yourself: "I must not become fond of it anymore—to become fond of it is like drinking poisoned water." The moment you feel you cannot let go, say to yourself: "I must not be unable to let go anymore—to be unable to let go is to drink poisoned water." Gradually this craving will fade, and then it will cease, and finally suffering will be gone. By alerting ourselves in this way, bit by bit, we can ultimately walk the path to liberation.