Before retribution descends upon the lustful, they fail to tell peril from profit and behave recklessly. Once lost in delusion, even when given warning, they cling to their misguided ways and refuse to awaken.
Know this: hibiscus‑fair faces have ensnared countless heroes; behold, gorgeously adorned beauties have wounded numberless valiant men.
“Hibiscus‑fair faces” describes women whose complexions are as lovely as hibiscus blossoms. “Gorgeously adorned beauties” are women made radiant with rouge and powder. Heroes and valiant men are people of great talent. Innumerable such persons have ruined their futures, trapped and harmed by worldly beauty — their number is legion under heaven.
Beware, beware! If lust is not curbed, when shall calamity ever cease!
“Beware, beware” reveals an urgent exhortation: one must resolutely curb lust. If one transgresses and yields to it, when will the disasters and misfortunes it brings ever come to an end?
All under heaven teems with mankind, and human stations and kinds are diverse.
The world holds countless people, and their social ranks and dispositions are not all alike.
Some are orphaned in youth, bereft of paternal care, and so shave their heads to become monks.
“Bereft of paternal care” means deprived of one’s support. To lose one’s father in childhood is to be orphaned. Having no one to rely on, such youths shave their heads and enter temples as monks, placing their trust in divine protection.
Some seek Dao amid famed mountains, parting from the mortal world and casting off worldly customs.