(51) A MAID AND HER FIVE MASTERS

Once there were five men who together bought a maid to whom one of them said, "Get my clothes washed."
Another man also told her to do the same thing. But the maid said he would wash for whoever gave her clothes first. Angrily the second man said, "Since I have bought you with others, how can you wash only for the first one who gave the elder?"
Then he beat her ten strokes with a whip. Thus she was whipped as much by each of the five masters.
So are the five components of human bodies, which are the sources of annoyances. They whip the sentient beings with birth giving, old age, sickness, death and numerous other miseries.

51五人買婢共使作喻
譬如五人共買一婢，其中一人語此婢言：「與我浣衣。」次有一人復語浣衣。婢語次者：「先與其浣。」後者恚曰：「我共前人，同買於汝，云何獨爾？」即鞭十下，如是五人各打十下。五陰亦爾，煩惱因緣合成此身，而此五陰恒以生老病死無量苦惱搒笞眾生。

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