§69 效其祖先急速食喻

(69) THE MAN EATS QUICKLY

    昔有一人从北天竺至南天竺。住止既久，即聘其女共为夫妇。时妇为夫造设饮食，夫得急吞，不避其热。妇时怪之，语其夫言：“此中无贼劫夺人者，有何急事，匆匆乃尔，不安徐食！”

Once upon a time, there was a man who went from North India to the South where he lived for a long time, got married and settled down. One day the wife prepared some food. The husband ate it in one mouthful while it was piping hot. She asked in shock, "There is no one here trying to take the food away from you. What made you eat so fast?"

    夫答妇言：“有好密事，不得语汝。”

The husband said, "That's a great secret that I have been keeping from you."

    妇闻其言，谓有异法，殷勤问之。良久乃答：“我祖父已来，法常速食。我今效之，是故疾耳。”

Upon hearing these words, the wife insisted on knowing the secret, thinking there might have some special reason for it. After a pause, the husband replied, "My ancestors made it a rule to eat quickly, I'm doing it nothing more than an act of observing the tradition. This is the reason of my eating in a hurry.

    世间凡人亦复如是。不达正理，不知善恶，作诸邪行，不以为耻，而云我祖父已来，作如是法。至死受行，终不舍离。如彼愚人，习其速食，以为好法。

The same also holds true with the common people. People who are doing evil things have no sense of shame, because they do not know what is right or how to distinguish truth from falsehood. They say they observe the tradition. They accept and follow it to death, just like that stupid man making it a rule to eat quickly.

白话：

从前有一个人从北天竺到南天竺去，住得久了，就娶了那儿的女人做妻子。妻子给他准备了饭菜，他到手便急急地吞了下去，一点也不顾及它有多烫。妻子奇怪了，说：「这儿又没有强盗来抢，有什么要紧事，这般急匆匆的，不慢悠悠地细嚼徐咽?』他答道：「这里有秘密，不能告诉你。」妻子听了这话，以为有什么奇异的法术，便缠着问。良久，他方才答道：「自我祖父以来，常是速咽急吞，我如今是仿效他们，就这么快了。」

世间的凡夫也是这样，不通达正理，不明晓善恶，作出种种邪行来，不以为耻，却说自我祖父以来已是这样的做法，便至死都依循着做下去，毫不舍离，就像那个愚人，效习着急吞速咽，以为是好的吃法。

解说：

　　传统自是有好坏的，不可一概依循不违。