真贼
Real Burglar

一位尼姑愁眉苦脸地向我讲述家中被盗的情况。看到她痛苦不堪的样子，我一边想法为她解决生活上的暂时困难，一边用轻松的话题安慰她。

A distraught nun reported to me that her place had been burglarized. Seeing her gloomy face, I tried to figure out a way to solve her immediate living problems and at the same time comfort her with lighter topics.

我告诉她，有一样东西就有一样东西的烦恼，家徒四壁，室无长物，并不一定是坏事。我这样说并不是站着说话不嫌腰痛，而是有切身体会的。

I told her: To possess one thing is to invite one problem. To live in a bare house or to own nothing is not necessarily a bad thing. These I say from my personal experience, not because it’s always easy to say something when it’s another person’s headache.

记得有次，别人从国外给我带来一节上等布料。之后很长一段时间，每当看到放在桌上包装精美的布料，我就会浪费一些时间思考如何最佳地利用它，直到有一天它落入梁上君子之手。看到空空如也的桌子，反生如释重负之感。

I remember once someone from abroad gave me a piece of exquisite fabric. Thereafter, whenever I saw this beautifully wrapped gift on the table, I would waste time thinking how to make the best use of it. This went on for a long time until the day it fell into the hand of a thief; oddly enough, I felt relieved when I saw the bare table.

前段时间，因为不堪房间东西繁杂，寻找资料困难的重负，我将暂时不用的书籍和日用品瓜分与人。看到整洁而又条理有序的房间，我长长地舒了一口气。

Not too long ago, my place was jammed up by all kinds of stuff and the clutter made it very difficult to search for information or look for items. I then gave away books and daily necessities that were not needed for the time being. Thereafter, my room became clean and tidy; I let out a deep sigh of relief.

如今，贼主动承担了整理房间的义务，我们理当心存感激之情。

For now, the burglar has on his initiative assumed the responsibility of tidying up the house. We ought to feel grateful.

但是，对另外一种狡猾的贼，就要处处提防，不要给他一丝钻空子的机会。那个可怕的贼，就是烦恼大贼。

Yet there is another very crafty burglar that we should really watch out for at all times; do not leave him any way to enter. This dangerous burglar is none other than the great thief of defiled emotions.

普通贼看重的只是蝇头微利，只能暂时给我们的生活带来不便。烦恼贼虎视眈眈的，却是我们解脱的大安乐，它偷走了我们的智慧之剑，蒙蔽了我们的双眼，使我们沉溺于轮回泥潭……烦恼贼的罪过可谓罄竹难书。

Ordinary thieves seize only petty items and bring us merely temporary inconveniences in daily living. The thief of afflictive emotions, on the other hand, has his avaricious and menacing eyes on our ultimate bliss of liberation. He will steal from us the wisdom sword; he will blindfold us and throw us into the pit of samsara…. His evils are just too numerous to count.

我们常常对偷走物品的小偷咬牙切齿，却对烦恼大贼熟视无睹。当我们明白了二者的危害孰轻孰重后，就知道谁是我们更要瞪大眼睛防护的真贼了。

Normally, we feel so upset that we gnash our teeth at the burglars who have stolen our possessions, yet we neglect to see the thief of destructive emotions right under our nose. Which one of them brings the greater damage? If we get the answer right, we will guard against the real thief alertly with eyes wide open.

壬午年七月二十一日　
2002年8月29日 　

21st of July, Year of RenWu
August 29, 2002