百喻经之十六：灌甘蔗喻

　　英文：

　　Once upon a time two men who cultivated sugar-cane, pledged that the one who had a good harvest would win prizes, while the one with a bad harvest would be heavily penalized. one of them thought, "the sugar-cane itself is very sweet. it will be more delicious if i water it with its compressed juice. then i will get the upper hand over him."

　　Immediately, he began to press the juice from the sugar-cane. he watered the plant with the juice in the hope of making it more delicious. instead, he destroyed the seedling and lost his entire plantation.

　　So are people at large. those who wish for the comforts of life use their high positions and great influence to oppress the mass. they steal others' possessions as their own wealth to do good works with a view to enjoy better life afterwards. however, they are unaware of the calamities, which are to come upon them. those people are just like the man who, pressing the sugar - cane, lost everything.

　　古文：

　　昔有二人，共种甘蔗，而作誓言：鈥溨趾谜呱停黄洳缓谜撸�当重罚之。鈥澥倍�人中，一者念言：鈥湼收峒�甜，若压取汁，还灌甘蔗树，甘美必甚，得胜于彼。鈥�

　　即压甘蔗，取汁用溉，冀望滋味。反败种子，所有甘蔗，一切都失。

　　世人亦尔：欲求善福，恃己豪贵，专形挟势，迫胁下民，陵夺财物，以用作福。本期善

　　果，不知将来反获其患殃。如压甘蔗，彼此都失。

　　译文：

　　过去有两个人，同时种植甘蔗并约定说：鈥溨种埠玫挠薪鄙停�种植不好的要重罚。鈥澱饬礁鋈酥校�有一个心想：鈥湼收岱浅Ｌ穑�如果把汁压出来，再用来浇灌甘蔗林，甘蔗定会甜美无比，肯定会超过他。鈥澯谑撬�就压出甘蔗汁用来浇灌，期望增加甘蔗的甜美，却反而使甘蔗苗的根腐烂，结果所有的甘蔗全都坏死了。

　　世上有人也是这样，想得到美好和富贵，就依仗着权势，巧取豪夺，压迫百姓，掠夺财物，用作培福，本来希望得到富贵的结果，殊不知将来反而会招致灾难。这就像压蔗浇蔗苗一样，不仅损失了种植的甘蔗，而且连已有的甘蔗都损失殆尽。