修行道地經曉了食品第十一
佛在巴質樹， 天帝奉百味，
又在舍衛城， 波斯匿供養，
比蘭若設飯， 麥飯雖甘味，
皆等意受之， 稽首無所著。
雖食此飯已， 弗著不以色，
亦不造憍慢， 棄捐諸貢高，
所在受供養， 如越大曠路，
不以為甘美， 是故稽首禮。
爾時修行當觀飯食。設百種味及穢麥飯，在於腹中等無有異，舉食著口嚼與唾合，與吐適同；若入生藏，身火煮之，體水爛之，風吹展轉；稍稍消化，墮於熟藏，堅為大便，濕為小便，沫為涕唾，藏中要味以潤成體；此要眾味流布諸脈，然後長養髮、毛、爪、齒、骨、髓、血、肉、肪、膏、精氣、頭腦之屬，是外四大養內五根，諸根得力長於心法，起婬、怒、癡。欲知是者，是揣食之本，由是而起。於是頌曰：
At that time, in practice, one should contemplate food. Whether it is a hundred flavors or coarse barley, once in the belly, they are no different. Lifting food to the mouth, chewing mixes it with saliva, just like spitting. Entering the stomach, the body's fire cooks it, bodily fluids break it down, wind stirs and turns it. Gradually digested, it descends into the intestines, solid parts become feces, liquid becomes urine, foam becomes mucus and saliva. The essential nutrients moisten and form the body. These nutrients flow through the vessels, then nourish hair, nails, teeth, bones, marrow, blood, flesh, fat, marrow, vital energy, brain, and the like. Thus, the external four elements nourish the internal five sense faculties. When the faculties gain strength, mental activities arise—desire, anger, and delusion. To understand this is to know the root of material food, from which all this arises. Then a verse says:
計無央數諸上味， 墮在腹中而無異，
於體變化等不淨， 故行道者不貪食。
雖當飯食不求於肥，趣欲支命。譬如大官捕諸飛鳥，皆剪其翅閉著籠中，日擇肥者以給官厨。時諸飛鳥日日稍減，中有一鳥心自念言：「肥者先死，若吾當肥亦死如前；設不食者便當餓死。今當節食，令身不肥亦莫使羸，令身輕便出入無礙，不為宰人所見烹害，羽翼可得漸漸生長，若從籠出便可飛逝，從意所至。」修行道者亦計如是，食趣安身令體不重，食適輕便少於睡眠，坐起、經行、喘息安隱，尠大小便，身依於行，婬、怒、癡薄。
When taking food, one should not seek to become plump, but only to sustain life. It is like a great official who captures many flying birds, clipping their wings and confining them in cages. Each day, he selects the fattest ones to supply the official kitchen. Gradually, the number of birds diminishes day by day.
Among them, one bird thinks to itself: "The plump ones die first. If I become plump, I will die just like them. But if I do not eat, I will starve to death. Now I should eat in moderation—neither letting myself become plump nor allowing myself to grow weak. I will keep my body light and agile, able to move in and out without hindrance, unseen by the butcher, and avoid being cooked and killed. My wings can gradually grow back, and if I escape from the cage, I can fly away freely, going wherever I wish."
A practitioner of the Way should think in the same way. Eat to sustain the body, keeping it light and not heavy. Eat just enough to remain agile, with little need for sleep. Whether sitting, standing, walking, or breathing, remain calm and steady. Have few bodily needs. Let the body rely on practice, and let desire, anger, and ignorance grow thin.
其修行者當作是觀：「吾不貪身除諸情欲，此身非要骨鎖相支，今此身中但盛不淨無有堅固。譬如怨家無益羅網，常懷怨賊而傷親友，當消息之，供養奉事譬如王者。當以如何？遵承佛教，坐起經行令無災患，常觀污露具知多穢，將養其命趣得行道，如有親屬不可棄捨；身亦如是，沐浴、飯食、衣被、蓋形，如愛一子常將護之，不令寒溫飢渴之苦，非為蚊虻、蚤蝨所齧。如有逆賊收閉牢獄，獄吏考治若干種榜：『卿為前後劫盜誰物？家居所在？盜何所藏？與誰同伴？魁師黨部耶？』五毒治之，氣絕復蘇，即自思惟：『以何方便得脫榜笞？』心便開解，對獄吏首：『遠計某國大長者子名曰禁戒，前後所偷皆著彼所，居止其家共行竊盜，是吾伴侶。』獄吏聞之，收長者子，與前賊共同一牢中俱繫鐵靽。時長者子家有餉來，便自獨食不分與賊。賊大瞋怒張目嚙齒，汗出嘆息欲興惡意，令長者子不濟其命，況乃獨食：『今我自在則當逼之，不獨飲水，何況獨食！』其長者子少小驕樂，不忍須臾不行左右，欲至舍後便報賊言：『共至廁上。』其賊報言：『在卿所至，吾不能行。』時長者子逼急窮極，謂其賊言：『無過於子，子橫牽吾閉在刑獄；今欲小起反不相從乎？設不共繫終不相報。吾假相犯卿便說之，以當省過而謝其罪。』時賊答曰：『子實無過吾橫相牽。卿眷屬多，欲自免罪，不見考治蒙得飲食故相枉耳！仁有餉來而反獨食，永不相分故不相從。』時長者子則報賊言：『解子所恨，從今以往終不相失；若有餉來先當飯子，然後自食。曼我命存，願到舍後使身氣通。』賊乃隨之。
A practitioner engaged in cultivation should contemplate in this way: "I do not cling to this body; I set aside all desires and passions. This body is not essential—it is merely bones linked together, containing nothing but filth and impurity, with nothing solid or enduring. It is like an enemy, a harmful snare, constantly harboring resentment and harming those close to you. You must manage it, serve and attend to it as you would a king. How should you do this? Follow the Buddha's teachings. Whether sitting, standing, walking, or lying down, ensure it remains free from harm and affliction. Constantly observe its foulness and decay, fully aware of its many impurities. Nurture its life only to the extent necessary for practicing the path. Just as you would not abandon a close relative, so too with this body: bathe it, feed it, clothe it, cover it—care for it as you would a beloved child, always protecting it, not letting it suffer from cold, heat, hunger, or thirst, nor allowing mosquitoes, fleas, or lice to bite it.
Suppose there is a rebel who is captured and imprisoned. The jailers interrogate him with various tortures: 'Who did you rob before? Where do you live? Where did you hide the stolen goods? Who were your accomplices? Who were your leaders and gang members?' They torture him with five kinds of torment until he faints and revives. Then he thinks to himself, 'What scheme can I use to escape this beating?' His mind then finds a way, and he confesses to the jailers: 'Far away in such-and-such country, there is a great elder's son named Precept-Keeper. All the things I stole before are with him. I lived at his house and committed thefts together with him—he is my accomplice.' Hearing this, the jailers arrest the elder's son and imprison him together with the thief, both shackled in iron chains.
When the elder's son receives food sent from home, he eats it alone and does not share it with the thief. The thief becomes greatly enraged, glaring and gnashing his teeth, sweating and sighing, intending to do evil, wishing that the elder's son would not survive—how much more so because he eats alone! 'Now that I have power over him, I will force him—he won't even drink water alone, let alone eat alone!' The elder's son, having been pampered since childhood, cannot endure even a moment without attendants. Needing to go to the latrine, he says to the thief, 'Come with me to the toilet.' The thief replies, 'Go wherever you want; I cannot go.' Pressed and desperate, the elder's son says to the thief, 'You have no grievance against me—you falsely implicated me and got me imprisoned. Now I need to relieve myself—won't you even comply? Even if we weren't chained together, I wouldn't refuse you. If I offended you, you reported me—I should reflect on my fault and apologize for my wrongdoing.'
The thief then answers, 'You truly have no fault—I falsely implicated you. You have many relatives; wanting to escape punishment yourself, you see that I am not being tortured and receive food, so you wronged me! When you get food, you eat it alone and never share—that's why I won't comply.' The elder's son then says to the thief, 'To resolve your resentment, from now on I will never fail you. If I receive food, I will feed you first, then eat myself. As long as I live, I beg you to let me go to the latrine so I can relieve myself.' Only then does the thief agree.
「後日餉來，便勅婢使：『所持飯來先奉親厚，所食之餘爾乃給我。』時婢奉教輒如其言，使人還歸具啟長者。長者聞之心懷恚怒，明日詣獄謂其子言：『卿生豪族，反與逆賊惡人從事而與親厚，都不覺知此橫牽汝閉在牢獄。』其子報言：『父所言是，不敬此人以為親厚也！具知是賊耳！我欲小行逼不相從，身重、腹脹、眼反、耳聾，頭痛、背裂、脅肋欲拔，胸懷氣滿、喘息欲斷，心意煩亂迷不自覺，諸節欲解、骨體疼痛，命欲窮絕，惡對在上，汗出短氣。而賊語我：「卿能隨吾，如病從醫，爾乃可耳！先以飯我，然後自食，吾當相從。」用貪身命故為親厚也！』」
The next day when the meal was delivered, the son instructed the servant: "Take the food you've brought and first serve my dear friend. After he has eaten, give me what remains." The servant followed his instructions exactly as told. Upon returning, the servant reported everything to the elder. Hearing this, the elder was filled with anger.
The following day, he went to the prison and said to his son: "You were born into a noble family, yet you associate with rebels and wicked men, treating them as dear friends. You remain completely unaware that this is what has wrongfully dragged you into this prison cell."
His son replied: "Father, what you say is true. I do not respect this man as a dear friend—I know full well he is a villain! But I was forced to obey him. My body feels heavy, my belly swollen, my eyes rolling, my ears deafened. My head aches, my back feels split, my ribs seem about to break. My chest is tight with anger, my breath so short it feels cut off. My mind is troubled and confused, I hardly know myself. Every joint feels loose, my bones ache all over. My life seems near its end, with this evil foe standing over me, sweating and gasping for air. And this villain said to me: 'If you will obey me, as a sick man obeys his doctor, then it can be so. First feed me, then eat yourself—only then will I follow you.' It was only because I cling to this life that I treated him as a dear friend!"
如長者子具知此賊為怨家也！用窮逼故，於外示現若如親厚，而內踈薄，知四大寄非常之物，四事增減輒無安隱，如蛇虺毒，如幻、野馬、水月、山響，解身如是；其行道者亦復解此，曉知五陰皆為怨賊，趣以衣食將養其體令不危害，夙夜專精如救頭然，非以懈廢得成道德，至於無為，度于三界始終之患。
Just as a wise son knows full well that this thief is his enemy! Yet, due to dire circumstances, he outwardly appears as if close and friendly, while inwardly keeping his distance. He understands that the four elements are but temporary vessels—subject to the rise and fall of the four necessities, never truly secure—like the venom of a snake, like an illusion, a mirage, a reflection in water, or an echo in the mountains. He sees the body in this way.
The one who walks the path also understands this: he knows that the five aggregates are all like enemy thieves. He provides them with food and clothing merely to sustain the body and avoid harm, devoting himself day and night as if saving his head from fire. It is not through laziness or neglect that one attains virtue and reaches the unconditioned, transcending the afflictions of the three realms from beginning to end.