百喻经之五二: 伎儿作乐喻

　　(52) THE MUSICIAN

　　譬如伎儿，王前作乐，王许千钱。后从王索，王不与之。王语之言：“汝向作乐，空乐我耳;我与汝钱，亦乐汝耳。”

　　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."

　　世间果报，亦复如是。人中天上虽受少乐;亦无有实。无常败灭，不得久住，如彼空乐。

　　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.

　　白话：

　　譬如乐师在国王面前演奏，国王许诺给他一千个钱。事后向国王去索要，国王不肯给他。国王说：「你方才演奏的音乐，听著快乐，过后就没了;我许诺给你钱，也让你听著快乐，过后就没了。」

　　世间的因果报应也是这样。生在人中或是天上，虽是享受到少许的快乐，却也是并不实在的，都是易逝而不常住，倏忽间败灭了的，就像那音乐和许诺，无法长久地留住著。