至上的自律

TEN UNIVERSAL VIRTUES  十大美德 

SUPREME SELF-RESTRAINT

(Uttam Sanyam Dharma)

6 至上的自律

(Uttam Sanyam Dharma)

‘Self-restraint is the key to eternal happiness’

自律是永远欢乐的关键。

The word ‘Sanyam’ is derived from the root ‘yam’ with preposition ‘sam’ by the addition of suffix ‘ap’. The word ‘Sanyam’ has various meanings like check, restraint, control, prevention and mental concentration. Uttama Sanyam i.e., Supreme self-restraint is one of the ten virtues to be cultivated by a man to counteract the four passions (Kashayas) i.e., anger, pride, deceit and greed.

‘Sanyam’一词是由词根’yam’加上前缀’sam’和后缀’ap’构成,’Sanyam’具有多种含义,如检查、约束、控制、阻止以及精神集中。至上的自律是人们抑制了四种情感而培养出的一种美德,这四种情感是愤怒 、傲慢、欺骗以及贪婪。

Therefore, an aspirant for happiness is advised, “Fight with your (own) self: what is good in fighting the external foe? By conquering one’s ‘self’ by means of one’s own self, one obtains true happiness.”

因此,一个追求欢乐的人建议:要同自己斗争,同自己内心的不死的敌人斗争有什么好处呢?如果战胜了自我,人们就得到了真正的欢乐。

It has been rightly said, “The sensual temptations of life do not attract a monk’s mind. He is firmly convinced that the pleasures secured by satisfying the senses are not only transitory but also futile. He, therefore, comes to the conclusion that man should aspire to attain the pleasure of eternal nature and for this purpose man should make strenuous efforts towards self-restraint or control of one’s senses.”

曾经有话说过,色诱捕能够迷惑僧侣。因为他们坚定地认为,感官的欢愉不但是短暂的而且也是无意义的。因此,人们可以得到这样的结论:人们应当努力去从不朽的自然中获得乐趣,怀着这样的目的,人们应当努力的自律以及抑制自己的感官。

The self alone should be subdued, for it is very difficult to subdue it. It is far better that a man should subdue his self-control and austerities; rather than be subdued by others with fetters and suffer corporal punishment.

人的身体应当被征服,因为人们很难征服自己的身体,人们应当通过自律和苦修来征服自己的身体,而不是通过别人的镣铐以及肉体上的惩罚。

Self-restraint is the rudder of life. Just as for want of rudder a boat cannot sail across the river from one bank to the other safely and punctually. Likewise in the absence of self-restraint the boat of human life cannot sail across the ocean of the world from one seacoast to the other i.e., attain liberation or salvation. The following metaphoric statement also conveys similar ideas:

“The body is said to be the boat and the soul is said to be the sailor. The samsara i.e., the worldly existence, is said to be the ocean which is crossed only by great sages.”

A man without self-restraint has been compared to an animal:

Sanyamain bina pranri, pashuraiv na sanshay

Yogayogayam Na janati, bhaidastra kuto bhavait

自律引导人们的生命。没有舵的话,小船就不能安全的渡过河流;同样地,如果没有自律的话,生命之舟也就不能渡过世俗的海洋而达到解脱。下面这段话也表达了相近的意思:

身体是舟,而灵魂是舵手,而世界就像海洋一样,只有圣人才能渡过。

没有自律的人就像是一只动物:

Sanyamain bina pranri, pashuraiv na sanshay

Yogayogayam Na janati, bhaidastra kuto bhavait

Man devoid of self-restraint has been called an animal because without self-restraint a man cannot distinguish between right and wrong, just and unjust. So long as this living creature does not attend the school of self-restraint, he cannot develop a grand and lustrous personality. A great scholar says; ‘Good nature can fulfill the lack of beauty, but beauty cannot fulfill the lack of good nature.’

没有自律的人就像是一只动物,因为没有自律的话,人们就不能够区分正确与错误,正义与邪恶。只要没有自律,人们就不会拥有高尚和荣耀的人格。有位伟大的学者说到,好的性格能够弥补美丽的缺失,但是美丽却不能够弥补性格的缺失。

In the grand and illustrious book ‘Dhawal’ an absolute control or check on self has been termed sanyam (self-restraint) ‘samyak yamo sanyam’. The holy soul Shraman, who observes five kinds of samitis -five regulations of walking; the mode of speech; the manner of eating food; actions of taking or using and of putting away anything. He answering the call of nature -practices Samvara -stops the inflow of karmic matter into the soul by keeping the five senses under control or moving about in the world with all his senses properly controlled. He follows the three guptis -regulations of mind, speech and bodily activity for self-control with reference to controlling one’s inner nature. Finally he subdues the passions and is endowed Right Belief and Right Knowledge, is called self-restrained.

在高尚和荣耀的’Dhawal’一书中,对自我绝对的控制被称为sanyam或’samyak yamo sanyam’。高尚的灵魂Shraman,他遵守五种自律的规则—包括走路、说话、进食、取物以及弃物。他遵循本性的要求,奉行Samvara,通过自律来阻止因缘报应进入自己的灵魂 。他遵守三种戒律,即根据自己内心的本质来约束自己的思想、言语以及行为。最终,他征服了自己的情感,拥有了正确的信仰以及知识,并被称为“自律的人”。

To discard the external Parigrah -greed of worldly possessions, and internal Parigrah -freedom from evil actions in mind, speech and body; aversion for sensuous pleasures and destruction of passions have been proclaimed in general as the characteristics of a self-restrained person. Almost all scriptures define self-restraint as mentioned above.

为了去除外界的诱惑—对世间万物的贪婪,以及内心的诱惑—对自我思想 、言语以及身体的放纵,人们应当戒除对美色的喜爱并毁灭自己的情感,这就是一个自律的人所具有的普遍品质。几乎所有关于自律的书都会讲到上面这几点。

Two kinds of self-restraint viz. ‘sagar’ (with possessions) and niragar (without possession) have been stated in ‘Charit Pahud’:

Diviham sanjamcharanram sayaram teh havai nrirayaram

Sayaram saganthai parigaha rahiy khalu nrirayaram

A householder, who feels attachment towards his own possessions, is gifted with ‘sagar’ (self-restraint with possessions). A monk who is gifted with supreme non-attachment is endowed with ‘niragar’ (non-possession self-restraint). Acharya Samant Bhadra Swamy has also stated the same thing in ‘Ratankarand Shravakachar’:

Saklam vikalam chararam, tatsaklam sarvsangviratanam

Angaranram viklam, sagaranram sasanganam

‘Charit Pahud’一书中说到,自律分为两种,拥有财产的自律和无财产的自律。

Diviham sanjamcharanram sayaram teh havai nrirayaram

Sayaram saganthai parigaha rahiy khalu nrirayaram

一个信徒,如果拥有财富,那么他就是拥有财产的自律 。一个僧侣,他没有财产,他就拥有无财产的自律。Acharya Samant Bhadra Swamy在’Ratankarand Shravakachar’一书中也说了同样的事情:

Saklam vikalam chararam, tatsaklam sarvsangviratanam

Angaranram viklam, sagaranram sasanganam

Self-restraint is of two kinds based on ‘sakal charitra’ Absolute in character, and ‘vikal charitra’ Partial in character. The monks, who are free from all types of attachments practice absolute self-restraint; and the house-holders, who are attached to worldly possessions practice partial self-restraint.

这两种自律一种属于完全的自律,一种属于部分的自律。僧侣同世间万物完全隔绝,属于完全的自律,而信徒还拥有世间的财产,属于部分的自律。

In the sacred book entitled ‘Rajvartika’ Acharya Aklank Dev has put self-restraint in two categories with respect to aphrit (restricted) and upaiksha (detached). A monk who understands the logic of Time and Space; who is by nature averse towards the body; who observes the three Guptis -regulations for self-control; and who is free from the mental attitude of attachment or aversion, is holder of upeksha (detached self-restraint). ‘Aphrit’ (restricted self-restraint) is of three kinds -superb, medium and lower type.

在’Rajvartika’一书中,Acharya Aklank Dev把自律分为两类:有限制的和无限制的。僧侣能够理解时间与空间的逻辑,他们从本质上厌恶躯体,他们遵守自律的三大规则,他们已经脱离了精神上的爱恋与憎恨,他们遵循无限制的自律。有限制的自律分为三个级别:最高级的、中等的以及低级的。

The self-defense of a monk -that has independent external means viz. neat and clean shelter place, and carefully cooked restrained poor food; knowledge and character are whose main stay -from the outward beasts is superb ‘Apharat’ (restricted self-restraint). The scriptures describe the characteristics of a monk thus: ‘A monk is without any possessions, without egotism, without attachment, without vanity or conceit; he is impartial towards all living beings whether mobile or immobile.’

僧侣的自卫具有它独特的方式,整洁干净的住所,仔细烹饪的简单的食物,知识以及严格的自律。经书是这样描述僧侣的性格的,僧侣没有任何财产,不自大,没有爱恋,不虚荣或者欺诈,他对所有的生物都是公正的。

He, who has the desire to possess delicate, soft implements to sweep away the small beings, practices the lower type of restricted self-restraint. The same fact has been stated in the holy books like ‘Niyam Saar’ and ‘Pravachan Saar’. Only the superb type of beings practice the two types of self-restraint -‘upaiksha sanyam’ (detached self-restraint) and aphrit sanyam (restricted self-restraint). These are known as Non-attached self-restraint (vitrag sanyam) -free from all passions; and attached self-restraint (sarag sanyam) as well. Furthermore ‘aphrit sanyam’ (restricted self-restraint) has been divided into two categories:

1        Restraint on senses (Indriya sanyam)

2        Restraint in conduct towards animates beings (pranri sanyam).

一个希望拥有美丽的、柔软的床铺以去除小的寄生虫的人,奉行的是最低级别的自律。在’Niyam Saar’ 和’Pravachan Saar’俩本书中就描述了相同的事情。只有最高层次的生物才能奉行这两种自律—无限制的自律以及最高级的有限制自律。这两种自律已经脱离了所有的感情,同自律密切相关。有限制的自律还可以进一步分为两类:

1                控制自己的感官

2                控制自己对其他生物的行为

Restraint on senses -To check the five senses (sense of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing.) and the mind from indulging in sensuous pleasures is restraint on senses.

Restraint in conduct towards animate beings -To safeguard the sthavara -one sensed souls viz. earth, water, fire, wind and plants; and the trasa -many sensed souls i.e., having bodies with more than one sense organ, is known as restraint for animates.

控制自己的感官—控制五官以及思想,以免沉溺于色诱。

控制自己对其他生物的行为—保护只有一种感官的灵魂,土地、水、火、风以及植物等;保护具有多种感官的灵魂。

The sense organs are five in number. They are associated with five activities -sound, color, smell, taste and touch. From time immemorial this living being by getting indulged in these five-fold pleasant things, has forgotten the eternal bliss. He has taken the sensuous pleasures as the real happiness. Therefore, he has been undergoing the pangs of birth and death again and again since long. A sieve may be filled with water, but the thirst for sensuous pleasures can never be quenched. Even then the ignorant souls spoil their worldly existence by indulging in these sensuous pleasures, and ultimately meet their doom. It has been said:

“One must always guard one’s soul from all evils, by having all the sense organs properly controlled. In case the soul is not well guarded, it takes to the wrong path leading to birth and death; while if well-controlled, it becomes free from all worldly sorrows and misery.”

Kurangmatangpatdgbhringmina hata panchbhiraiv panch

Aik pramadi sa kathamna haneytai yasaivate panchbhiraiv panch

感官有五个 ,他们同五种行为相联系—声、色、嗅、味、触。从上古时期,人们就沉溺于这五种感官的欢愉,却忘记了永恒的福祉,他们把色欲当作真正的欢乐。因此,人们从那时起就要经受生生死死的轮回。就像筛子永远装不了水一样,人们的色欲也永远不能够满足。因此,无知的灵魂沉溺于这些色欲,并最终走向了不幸。有文曾说:

人们应当经常控制自己的感官,以保护自己的灵魂免受罪恶的侵扰。不然的话,它就会走向生死轮回之路。如果人们能够控制自己感官的话,就能够远离所有世间的悲伤与痛苦。

Kurangmatangpatdgbhringmina hata panchbhiraiv panch

Aik pramadi sa kathamna haneytai yasaivate panchbhiraiv panch

A deer, an elephant, a fire worm, a black bee and a fish -all these five types of living beings lose their lives by indulging in one sensed pleasure. Now the question arises -‘Will not then a man who remains indulged forever in five sensed pleasures lose his life likewise? He will certainly do so.’

一头鹿,一头大象,一只飞蛾,一只黑蜜蜂还有一条鱼,所有的这些生物都因为沉溺与他们的一种感官欢愉而失去了他们的生命。那么,人们会不会沉溺于五官的欢愉而丢掉自己的生命呢?答案是肯定的。

An elephant due to its lust for temporary pleasure of the sense of touch falls down into a deep pit allured by an artificial female elephant.

A fish allured by bait is caught in the hook of a fisherman’s catching rod being overpowered by the sense of taste and dies writhing and bearing untold agony.

A black bee is imprisoned amidst the lotus petals at sunset on becoming a slave to the sense of smell and loses its life.

A fire-worm (patanga) is drawn to the flame of a burning candle or an electric bulb being subservient to the sense of sight and meets its doom.

A deer becomes fully charmed by the melody of the flute or rhythm of music inspired by the sense of hearing, and is a victim to the arrow of the hunter.

大象由于触觉,调入了人们制造的一头假的母象的陷阱

一条鱼由于贪恋鱼饵的香气而落入了渔夫的渔网。

黑蜜蜂由于花的香气而被莲花困住,最后丢掉了自己的性命。

飞蛾由于受到蜡烛或者电灯所发出光线的诱惑而飞过去,丢掉了自己的性命。

一头鹿由于听到了猎人发出的优美的旋律,而会被猎人射杀。

Man is indulged in the sensuous pleasures provided to him by all the five senses day and night; therefore, he also cannot defend himself from the cruel clutches of death. The sensuous pleasures look extremely charming; but the life of a living being that is dependent on these transitory enjoyments is ultimately ruined. Those, who are drenched in lust, and engrossed in sensual pleasures blindly, will, for want of self-control be deluded. Therefore, the scriptures give us a wise counsel: “The five senses and the four passions -anger, pride, deception and greed, are all difficult to conquer; equally difficult it is to conquer one’s own self. But one, who has conquered his self, has conquered everything else in the world.”

人们整日沉溺于五官的欢愉,因此,他们不能够摆脱死亡。色欲看起来十分诱人,但是沉溺于这种短暂欢愉的人终将毁灭。那些沉溺于美食以及色欲的人将会被迷惑。因此,经文给我么一个很智慧的建议:人的五官以及四种情感很难征服,同样,人们自身也很难于征服。但是,人们一旦征服了自己,就征服了整个世界。

In fact, the creeper, which takes support of the poison tree, makes a man unconscious in spite of itself being sweet in taste.

In ‘Moolardhana’ the two -restraint on senses, restraint in conduct towards animate beings have been described thus:

Panchras panchvanr dogandhai athphas satsara

Manrsa chaudasjiva indriyapanra ye sanjmo nraio

事实上,一棵藤蔓缠绕在树上,尽管它的味道甜美,但是能够让人们失去意识。

在’Moolardhana’中,控制自己的感官,控制自己的行为,是这样描述的:

Panchras panchvanr dogandhai athphas satsara

Manrsa chaudasjiva indriyapanra ye sanjmo nraio

In this infinite universe with unknown beginning a living being has suffered sorrow and misery times without number mainly due to his tongue and the spell of the five senses. Therefore, now it is high time to subdue all of them. Even if you fail to put a check on the other sense organs, at least put reins to your tongue; because an unbridled tongue causes great sorrow or when you give a long rope to your tongue, you suffer the most.

在这个充满未知的宇宙中,人们由于他们的味觉和其他的感官承受了无尽的悲伤与痛苦。因此,现在正是人们征服它的时候了。即使人们不能够征服所有的感官,也应当征服自己的舌头,因为不加以约束的味觉能够带来巨大的痛苦。

Once a controversy arose between the tongue and the teeth. The tongue boasted saying, “O teeth! Accept my subordination; otherwise I shall vanquish you and bring all of you under my control by waging a war against you.” Being highly enraged at the challenging words of the lone tongue all the thirty-two teeth spoke unitedly, “First, you are very tender; and secondly you are lone. Can you defeat us by fighting under these circumstances? It is quite impossible.” The tongue at once retorted, “Nay! Today I shall give you a tough fight all alone.” Ultimately a fight started between the tongue and teeth. The tongue uttered a reproachful word to a pedestrian passing by. At this the pedestrian struck such a blow of stick in the face of the ill-spoken tongued person that all his teeth cracked and fell to the ground. Therefore, if we put the tongue alone under restraint, all other senses will remain safe. During conversation we should speak with utmost restraint and care. It is good to be cautious while we speak. It is a well-known saying -‘Think before you speak’.

一次,舌头和牙齿之间发生了争吵。舌头自夸到,牙齿啊,你就老老实实地待在我下面吧,不然的话我就会跟你发生一场战争并且征服你。听到这些挑衅的话之后,牙齿十分生气,三十二颗牙齿齐声说到,首先,我们是十分温和的,其次,你只有自己,在这种情况下你怎么能够打败我们呢?这绝对不可能。舌头马上反驳说,今天我就要独自同你们作战。最后,一场舌头与牙齿之间的战斗开始了。于是,舌头就对一个路人口出恶言,路人就一拳向舌头打过来,所有的牙齿都被打下,掉在了地上。因此,如果我们对自己的舌头严加控制的话,其他的感官也会安全。说话的时候要谨慎,有句谚语说到,说话之前要思考一下 。

The acharyas have compared mind with an unharnessed horse; because for want of proper training in self-restraint, an unbridled horse is killed in the battlefield along with its master. The main reason of its death is lack of self-restraint. Likewise, if we do not train the mind in self-restraint, it will lead us to the dark well of sensual pleasures and drop us there. Then it will be very difficult for us to come out of the well. Those who want to get rid of this situation should constantly reflect on the twelve religious topics (anuprakshain) to restrain their mind. They should remain engaged in self-study and invariably keep away from the sensuous pleasures. Only such persons will be capable of subduing the mind. To attain all these things; viz., a humanitarian outlook, a noble birth, a prolonged life and learning and listening to the Jain Tirthankara’ divine voice preserved in the sacred scriptures which preach the principles of Jainism to all and sundry require diligence and self-restraint. Likewise, to become adept in Right belief, Right knowledge and Right conduct is more and more difficult for a living being of this universe. All these achievements are impossible without self-restraint. In the absence of self-restraint no living being can enter the kingdom of heaven or taste the matchless fruits of salvation. Hence a human being must observe self-restraint. Rightly has it been said: “A man may conquer thousands and thousands of invincible foes, but that is of no real consequence. His greatest victory is when he conquers only his own self.”

Acharyas把思想比作不受约束的马匹,自律就像对它进行训练,一匹没有受过训练的战马在战斗中会同它的主人一起死去,主要的原因就是因为它缺乏约束。同样的,如果我们不约束我们的思想,我们就会坠入色欲的深渊,而难以脱身。因此,想要摆脱这种困境的人们应当不断的沉思宗教的教诲来约束自己的思想。只有这样,人们才能够征服自己的思想。为了达到这一点,人们就应当不断努力修行并且自律。同样地,在这个世界中,人们要具备正确的信仰、正确的知识以及正确的行为变得越来越难。没有自律的话,这些成就都不可能实现。没有自律的话,人们就永远上不了天堂,并达到解脱。因此,人们必须自律。有经文曾经说过:人们能够战胜成千上万的敌人,但是人们最大的胜利就是征服自己。

So long as all passions like a horde of wild sea animals exist in the clean and unfathomable pond of heart, the community of supreme virtues like supreme self-restraint cannot take shelter in that pond of crystal-clear heart. Therefore O Great souls! Try to subdue these passions taking help of the normal and severe methods of suppressing them, besides practicing the vows and perfect self-restraint. A learned person knows well the true nature of the self and the non-self. Therefore, he does not regard the worldly attachment, which are different from self as his real self; he renounces them from afar. This is known as the superb self-restraint of a wise man. He who meditates upon the enlightened souls, who are purified by self-restraint and gifted with Right faith, Right knowledge and Right conduct, is sure to annihilate all evil passions and thus he attains self-restraint.

只要还有情感深深的埋藏在自己的心中,自律就不能够庇护人们水晶般纯洁的心灵。因此,伟大的灵魂啊,征服自己的这些情感,遵守自己的誓言并且自我约束吧。一个有学识的人知道自我与非我的本质 。因此,他就不会把世间的外物同自身混为一谈,他能够远离这些外物。这就是智慧的人的至上自律,他们拥有正确的信仰 ,正确的知识以及正确的行为,他们能够摆脱所有罪恶的情感并且实现自律的美德。

Until and unless a living being practices self-restraint in life, he indulges in passions and senses. The very day he attains the bounds of self-restraint, he begins to shun the sensuous pleasures. Self-restraint originates by taking a very sensible view of things in a systematized form based on the power of discrimination. When the living being begins to comprehend the fundamental distinction between right and wrong, just and unjust, even the pleasure-giving, charming objects begin to appear to him as deadly poison.

如果人们不自律的话,他就会沉溺于情感以及感官的诱惑。当他能够自律的时候,他就能够避开色欲的诱惑。人们能够通过对事物清醒地、系统地认识来实现自律。当人们认识到了事物本质的正确与错误之后,公正与偏见之后,即使是所有诱人的事物都对他没有任何吸引力。

One day the sovereign king (Chakarvarti) Vajar Dant sat in his royal court and his ministers, knights, nobles and military general stood at their proper places around him. Meanwhile the royal gardener brought a bunch of flowers and offered it to the king. No sooner did the sovereign king Vajar Dant holding the bunch of flowers in his hands begin to smell it, than he caught sight of a black bee crushed to death under the flower petals. Seeing this the king was filled with remorse. He began to ponder, “Alas! This black-bee has ruined its life overpowered by the sense of smell. Cursed be such sensuous pleasures.” Thus ruminating, the king Vajar Dant developed a feeling of detachment for worldly allurements. Soon he summoned his sons and spoke, “My sons! Now take charge of the burden of the kingdom. I shall get initiated to Digamber Jain monkshood henceforth.” The sons said, “O worthy father! O worthy father! Why are you discarding the pleasures of royal life so soon?” The sovereign king replied, “The administrative business of a kingdom is the root cause of sins. A king, who does not renounce the royal pomp and show and takes pride in scepter and crown goes to hell, in case he dies meanwhile.” At this the sons said, “Dear father! How can we accept the kingdom which you are renouncing realizing it to be the gateway to hell? We shall also get initiated with you.” The sovereign king Vajar Dant tried his utmost to change their mind, but they did not budge from their decision. At last the king got initiated into Jain monkshood together with his sons.

一天,伟大的国王Vajar Dant坐在他的宫殿里,总理、骑士、贵族以及军事长官都站在他的周围。这是,宫廷守卫献给国王一束花。当国王接过花来的时候,发现有一只快要死去的黑蜜蜂被困在了花瓣中。看到这个场景后,国王十分懊悔。他想,这只蜜蜂由于自己的嗅觉而失去了自己的生命,感官是多么的可怕呀。于是他就产生了一个要脱离世间事务的想法。很快,他就召集来自己的儿子对他们说,儿子们,你们现在接管这个国家吧,我从现在开始要做一个僧侣了。他的儿子们说,父亲啊,你为什么要放弃欢乐和这巨大的财富呢?国王答到,管理一个国家的事务就是罪恶的根源。一个沉溺于皇家的荣耀以及国王的皇冠和法杖的人在死后将会坠入地狱。他的儿子们又说,父亲啊,如果你认为皇位是走向地狱的入口,我们怎们能接管你的国家呢,我们也将跟随你。无论国王怎么劝说,他的儿子们也都没有改变自己的主义。最后,国王与他的儿子们皈依了耆那教。

There was a king. He was absorbed in sensuous pleasures day in and day out. The king owned a vast and beautiful orchard cum flower garden, in which multicolored flowers and fruits of the supreme variety grew and bloomed forever. The king was so lusty and led such a luxurious life that in order to satisfy his whimsical demand innumerous flowers of different varieties were brought daily to make a flowerbed for him. The king deemed himself very happy and delighted by sleeping in this bed.

有一个国王,他整日沉溺于感官的欢愉,他有一大片漂亮的果园和花园,那里一年四季盛开着五颜六色的花朵和美味的果实。这个国王非常贪吃,而且过着奢侈的生活。有一天,为了满足他的虚荣心,他要求人们给她做一个花床,国王觉得睡在花床上肯定是一件高兴又惬意的事情。

One evening, the royal gardener’s wife brought flowers to adorn the king’s bed. As soon as she had spread the bed with fragrant flowers, she began to think, ‘how lovely the flowerbed looks! God knows what bliss the king experiences by sleeping on it.’ While pondering thus in her mind, she decided to sleep for five minutes only in that charming flower bed and feel the pleasure of it. She knew that the king was likely to come into the palace after a long time. Thinking this she lay down in the bed. She was dead tired of the whole day’s work. As soon as she lay in bed, she fell in sound sleep. When at nightfall the king came into his royal bedroom and found the gardener’s wife sound slept in his flowerbed, his eyes became bloodshot with rage. The king instantly pulled her from the bed catching hold of her ponytail, hurled her violently on the ground and beat her black and blue with a stick. But there was no sign of pain and sorrow on her face; rather she began to laugh loudly. When the king ordered her to make clear the reason of her laughing, the lady gardener replied, “Your majesty! I am laughing at the idea that when I had to bear so many hunter strokes simply for sleeping in this flowerbed for five minutes only, what will be your fate, who sleeps in this flowerbed every night? Why not you discard all these transitory worldly enjoyments and observe self-restraint in life?”

一天晚上,当花匠的老婆把花拿来给国王做床的时候,她看到这些美丽的花就想到,多么可爱的花床啊,睡在上面一定能够得到神的庇佑。然后他就决定在国王的花床上睡五分钟以感受它舒适的感觉。她知道国王很可能过一会儿就会过来。想到这儿 ,她就睡了上去,由于劳碌了一天,她一躺在床上就睡着了。晚上,国王来到了他的卧室,看到花匠的老婆在床上熟睡,十分地恼火。国王马上把她从床上拉起来,抓住她的辫子,把她摔在地上,用木棍把她打得浑身青一块紫一块。但是,她的脸上一点也看不出痛苦和悲伤,她反而开始放声大笑。于是国王让她说出她大笑的原因,花匠的妻子回答说,我在床上只睡了五分钟,就遭到这样一顿毒打,那你每天都睡在这样的床上,你的命运又会怎样呢?你为什么放弃不掉这短暂的、世俗的欢愉,而开始自律呢?

On hearing these eye opener words from the gardener’s wife, the king thought in his mind what a great lesson this poor woman had taught him. Therefore, soon after this incident the king renounced all royal grandeur and got initiated to monkshood.

听到花匠老婆这些启示的话之后,国王觉得他从这个穷女人那里好好上了一课。因此,国王马上就放弃了一切皇家的荣誉,开始修行。

A man should not wait for an appropriate time to observe self-restraint. He should not think that he would practice self-restraint at a later stage of life; because death keeps no calendar. It has been said:

Ayu katat heh rat din jiyon kront kai kath

Hit apna jaldi karo parha rahaiga thath

I.e., Life goes on cut short day and night just as wood is cut down by a big ‘saw’ by and by. Be hasty in your spiritual uplift; otherwise you will die repenting, leaving all your grandeur and glory here.

人们不应当到了一个合适的时候才开始自律。他不应当认为自律是以后的事情,因为死亡没有任何征兆。有文为证:

Ayu katat heh rat din jiyon kront kai kath

Hit apna jaldi karo parha rahaiga thath

即,生命一天天的度过,就像木头一片片的被切掉一样。马上开始提升自己的灵魂吧,否则死时就会满怀悔恨,没有一点荣誉与荣耀。

While describing the virtue of Supreme self-restraint the great poet Reidhu writes:

Sanjam janri dulhun tam paviluhu jo chandeyi punru mudmeyiSo bhamu bhavabali jar marnrabali kim pavaiseyi punru sugeyi

Sanjmu panchidiye dandnrainr sanjamu ji kasaye vihandnrainrSanjmu dudhar tav dharanrainr, sanjamu ras chaye viyarnrainr

Sanjmu upvas vijanmnrainr sanjamu mnr pasrah thambhnrainrSanjmu guru kaye kilaisnrainr sanjamu parigrehgah chaenrainr

Sanjamu tas thayer rakhnrainr sanjamu stath parikhnrainrSanjamu tanru joye nreyntnrainr sanjmu bhugamanr chyantinr

Sanjamu anrukamp kunrntainr sanjamu parmath biyarnrainrSanjamu poseyi dansnraham panthu sanjamu nrichhy nriru khokh panthu

Sanjamu binru nrr bhav seylu sunru sanjamu vinru dugeyi ji ubvnruSanjamu binru dhadeyi ma ith jau sanjamu binru vihliye athiau

Drah bhavi parbhavi sanjamu sarnru hujau jinrvanhai bhanriuDugeyi sar sosanr khar kirnrobam jainr bhavali visam hanriu

1        The virtue of self-restraint is very rare in the universe. The block-headed person, who gives up self-restraint on attaining once this virtue, roams in the universe in various states in this cycle of old age and death.

2        Self-restraint is achieved by subduing the five senses. Self-restraint is the outcome of freedom from passion. Self-restraint is the outcome of freedom from passions. Self-restraint is attained by performing severe penance and it is cultivated by giving up the craving for tastes and through constant meditation.

3        Self-restraint is attained by keeping long fasts; it is obtained by controlling the mind from loitering and going astray; it is achieved by self imposed bodily torture; and it is attained by renouncing home and the worldly possessions.

4        Self-restraint comes by defending the tras (five sensed living beings). Self-restraint is attained by examining carefully the seven ‘tattvas’ (realities). These tattvas are termed as follows:

  1. i)Jiva-living substance.
  2. ii)Ajiva-matter or non-living substance.

iii) Asrava -the influx of karmic matter into the soul.  

  1. iv)Bandha-bondage of soul by karmic matter.
  2. v)Samvara-the stopping of Asrava.
  3. vi)Nirjara-the gradual removal of karmic matter.

vii) Moksha -the attainment of perfect liberation of soul.

伟大的诗人Reidhu曾经这样描述自律:

Sanjam janri dulhun tam paviluhu jo chandeyi punru mudmeyiSo bhamu bhavabali jar marnrabali kim pavaiseyi punru sugeyi

Sanjmu panchidiye dandnrainr sanjamu ji kasaye vihandnrainrSanjmu dudhar tav dharanrainr, sanjamu ras chaye viyarnrainr

Sanjmu upvas vijanmnrainr sanjamu mnr pasrah thambhnrainrSanjmu guru kaye kilaisnrainr sanjamu parigrehgah chaenrainr

Sanjamu tas thayer rakhnrainr sanjamu stath parikhnrainrSanjamu tanru joye nreyntnrainr sanjmu bhugamanr chyantinr

Sanjamu anrukamp kunrntainr sanjamu parmath biyarnrainrSanjamu poseyi dansnraham panthu sanjamu nrichhy nriru khokh panthu

Sanjamu binru nrr bhav seylu sunru sanjamu vinru dugeyi ji ubvnruSanjamu binru dhadeyi ma ith jau sanjamu binru vihliye athiau

Drah bhavi parbhavi sanjamu sarnru hujau jinrvanhai bhanriuDugeyi sar sosanr khar kirnrobam jainr bhavali visam hanriu

1                    自律的美德在宇宙中十分难得,一个愚昧的人,一旦放弃了自律,就会陷入宇宙中痛苦的生死轮回。

2                    通过征服自己的五种感官,人们能够达到自律。自律就是人们从情感中得到解脱。自律能够通过苦修实现,也能够通过放弃味觉以及不断的冥思实现。

3                    人们能够通过控制自己的思想,以免误入歧途来实现自律;它可以通过给自己的身体施加折磨来实现;它也可以通过同自己的家庭以及世间外物脱离关系来实现。

4                    通过保护其它的生物人们可以自律;通过认识七类事物也能够实现自律。这七类事物是:

  1. i)Jiva–有生命的物体
  2. ii)Ajiva–物质或者无生命的物体

iii) Asrava –能够增加灵魂业报的物质  

  1. iv)Bandha–能够束缚灵魂的物质
  2. v)Samvara–停止业报的物质
  3. vi)Nirjara–逐渐去除业报

vii) Moksha –实现灵魂的解脱

Self-restraint is achieved by controlling the bodily activities, and by discarding too much walking.

1        Practicing compassion attains self-restraint; it is achieved by nourishing the desire of salvation over and again. Self-restraint paves the way to Perfect Belief or Faith. Self-restraint is the sole path to salvation.

2        Devoid of self-restraint human life is meaningless. In the absence of self-restraint this living being as a rule takes birth in a lower state of life. Do not waste even a single moment of your life for want of self-restraint.

3        ‘Self-restraint can be the only shelter in this birth and the next birth’ -says Lord Jinendra. It is just like the scorching rays of the sun to dry the pond of miserable existence. Self-restraint alone resolves the complex problem of migration from world to world.

人们能够通过减少步行,控制自己的行为来实现自律:

1                    怜悯能够实现自律,不断地培养自己解脱的愿望能够得到怜悯。自律是通向正确信仰的道路,它是走向解脱的唯一的道路。

2                    没有自律的人生是没有意义的。没有自律的话,人们就会转生到更低的一个层次。千万不要放弃任何能够自律的机会。

3                    自律是出生和再生的唯一庇佑者。就像阳光能够晒干池塘中黑暗的地方一样,自律能够保护人们从今生走向再生。

Hence, O Mortal Man! Practice self-restraint, practice self-restraint and practice self-restraint to obtain true bliss; for one ‘who has subdued his self becomes happy in this world as well as in the next’. Always keep in mind: ‘A man might give by way of charity, thousands and thousands of cows every month; but far better than him will be a man, who may give nothing in charity, but only observes perfect self-control.’

因此,世间的人们啊,开始自律吧,这样才能得到真正的福祉,能够征服自己的人可以在今生以及来生得到真正的欢乐。记住这句话,如果一个人只是自律而不布施的话,他还不如每个月都布施成千上万头牛而不自律。

Indeed, the self-restrained persons deserve all our reverence; for they are the torch bearers of humanity and lead mankind to pinnacle of glory.

**********************************************************************

Complexity of affairs does not perplex a man, who can keep his mind composed in all the possible combinations of untoward circumstances. The center of a wheel never moves with it; the self-centered man is always unmoved. No commotion, however violent, can stir him.

***********************************************************************

事实上,自律的人们应当得到所有的尊严。因为他们承受着人类的痛苦,带领人们走向荣耀的顶峰。

**********************************************************************

事情的复杂并不会困扰人们,因为他能够考虑到所有复杂情况的可能性。轮轴永远不会随着轮子一起移动,一个以自我为中心(自律)的人也是坚定的。任何干扰,即使是暴力,也不能够干扰他。