百喻經(jīng)之五二: 伎兒作樂喻

　　(52) THE MUSICIAN

　　譬如伎兒，王前作樂，王許千錢。后從王索，王不與之。王語之言：“汝向作樂，空樂我耳;我與汝錢，亦樂汝耳。”

　　Once a musician played in the presence of the king who had promised him a thousand coins. Later, he asked the king for the money. The king refused to give it to him and said, "The music you played doesn't make me merry for a long time. Therefore, the money that I intent to give you is also to please you just for a while."

　　世間果報，亦復(fù)如是。人中天上雖受少樂;亦無有實。無常敗滅，不得久住，如彼空樂。

　　So is the wordy retribution. While there is little pleasure in human lives and in Heaven, there is also little substance in them. Owing to impermanence and destruction, the pleasure does not last for long just like the music giving only a transient rejoicing.

　　白話：

　　譬如樂師在國王面前演奏，國王許諾給他一千個錢。事后向國王去索要，國王不肯給他。國王說：「你方才演奏的音樂，聽著快樂，過后就沒了;我許諾給你錢，也讓你聽著快樂，過后就沒了。」

　　世間的因果報應(yīng)也是這樣。生在人中或是天上，雖是享受到少許的快樂，卻也是并不實在的，都是易逝而不常住，倏忽間敗滅了的，就像那音樂和許諾，無法長久地留住著。