莲藕

Lotus Root

同伴买回几节白嫩的莲藕，放在桌上，勾引着我的食欲。见我很感兴趣，他便将莲藕生长的因缘、功效一一向我传授。听后方知藕具有很高的药用价值，生食能清热润肺，凉血行瘀；熟吃可健脾开胃，止泻益血，安神健脑，具有延年益寿之功效。和这种见多识广的人在一起，真的很愉快。孔子曰：“三人行，必有我师。”从他那里的确学到不少知识。

My friend bought several lotus roots and left them on the table. These whitish roots looked tender and appetizing. To satisfy my curiosity, my friend told me about the growth conditions and usage of lotus root. I learned only after listening to him that the root has remarkable medicinal value. Eaten raw, it clears heat and nourishes the lung, cools the blood and promotes circulation; eaten cooked, it tones the spleen and stimulates appetite, it is antidiarrheal as well as blood-enriching, mood-calming, and brain-invigorating; finally, it can promote a long, healthy life. I am happy to be in the company of such a knowledgeable friend. Confucius says: “We can learn something from anyone.” I did learn a lot from him.

藕生于污泥而一尘不染，中通外直，不蔓不枝，“中通”代表其谦逊的品德，“外直”代表其正直的个性，“不蔓不枝”说明其不具分别念，不向外攀缘的特点。所以自古就深受人们的喜爱。世间的很多名流都很喜爱它，诗人韩愈曾有“冷比霜雪甘比蜜，一片入口沉疴痊”之赞。汉代司马相如的《上林赋》中也有“与波摇荡，奄薄水渚，唼喋青藻，嘴嚼菱藕”的记载。

The lotus root grows in the mud but is unsullied; it is hollow and straight and has no lateral branches or tendrils. The hollow center signifies its virtue of humility; its straightness symbolizes its upright and firm personality; its lack of lateral branches and tendrils illustrates it has no discursive thoughts or outward clinging. The lotus root has been well appreciated since ancient times and it is very popular among famous personages. Poet Hanyu praised it in this way: “Cool as frost and sweet as honey, imbibe one piece and all ailments are gone.” Sima Xiangru of the Han Dynasty had this description in his the Ode to Imperial Garden (Shanglin): “Flocks of water birds alight on the surface of the river and drift gently with the tide, some other birds perch on the sandy islets thick with weeds. They twitter and chirp while pecking at algae and water grass, or enjoy chewing water chestnuts and lotus roots.”

同时，莲藕也是前辈许多修行人苦修时的食品。

In addition, the lotus root was the food that had sustained many ancient practitioners through their ascetic discipline.

《释尊广传》中曾记载，释迦牟尼佛在因地时，曾转世为一婆罗门，当他在山上苦修时，主要的食物就是莲藕。

The Great Biography of the Buddha tells that when the Buddha was a Brahmin ascetic practicing in the mountains, his main source of sustenance was the lotus root.

莲藕真是好东西，具有不可思议的加持力。吃它，对身体有帮助；学习它的精神，对心有帮助。可谓一举两得。世上还有什么食物比它更好呢？今后，我要多吃莲藕，因为它是佛陀曾加持过的食物。

Indeed the lotus root is an amazing thing endowed with magical potency. Eaten as a food, it is a healthy diet; emulating its spirit, we are uplifted. What other food is superior to it, conferring two benefits in one? From now on I’ll eat more lotus root, as it is a food blessed by the Buddha.

壬午年三月二十六日　
2002年5月7日

26th of March, Year of RenWu
May 7, 2002