Hi Derek,

DC> Q1: I'm not sure about the "ta.m tassa" ... does tassa refer to the
DC> strong man, i.e., "his"?

'tassa' is Genitive-Dative, so 'his' or 'to him'. See my
interpretation below.

DC> Q2: Presumably it's the "enjoying" of the alms-food that's not so
DC> good ... monks are supposed to just eat it without enjoyment?

Well, before Enlightenment Buddha discovered that happiness is neither
bad nor good, if you don't cling to it, and through jhanas went to
Awakening.

It seems that the point here is that a person partaking alms-food, i.e.
bhikkhu, should take care before being immoral, as it's
dangerous for an immoral person to live on alms-food given in faith.

I'm starting to value Buddha's sense of humor.

So here we go:

Aarocayaami vo, bhikkhave, pa.tivedayaami vo, bhikkhave, yathaa
etadeva tassa vara.m dussiilassa …pe… kasambujaatassa ya.m balavaa
puriso tattena ayosa"nkunaa mukha.m vivaritvaa tatta.m
lohagu.la.m aaditta.m sampajjalita.m sajotibhuuta.m mukhe
pakkhipeyya; ta.m tassa o.t.thampi daheyya mukhampi daheyya jivhampi
daheyya ka.n.thampi daheyya urampi daheyya antampi antagu.nampi
aadaaya adhobhaagaa nikkhameyya.

Ta.m kissa hetu? Tatonidanañhi so, bhikkhave, mara.na.m vaa
nigaccheyya mara.namatta.m vaa dukkha.m, na tveva tappaccayaa kaayassa
bhedaa para.m mara.naa apaaya.m duggati.m vinipaata.m niraya.m
upapajjeyya.

Yañca kho so, bhikkhave, dussiilo …pe… kasambujaato
khattiyamahaasalana.m vaa brahma.namahaasaalaana.m vaa
gahapatimahaasaalaana.m vaa saddhaadeyya.m pi.n.dapaata.m
paribhuñjati, tañhi tassa, bhikkhave, hoti diigharatta.m ahitaaya
dukkhaaya kaayassa bhedaa para.m mara.naa apaaya.m duggati.m
vinipaata.m niraya.m upapajjati.

Let me tell you, monks, let me answer you, monks, that it better for a
person, immoral, wicked, unclean and suspect in conduct, secretive in
deeds, not a contemplative though claiming to be one, not leading the
holy life though claiming to do so, inwardly rotten, oozing with
desire, filthy by nature, if a strong man, having opened the mouth
with a red-hot iron spike, were to hurl into the mouth a red-hot iron
ball, burning, blazing, glowing; and it would burn this person's lip,
and would burn the mouth, and would burn the tongue, and would burn
the throat, and would burn the chest, and having been received by
the lower intestine, it would be expelled from the lower part of
the body.

Why so? For, monks, because of that he would suffer death, or
death-like agony, but on account of that, on the break-up of the body
after death, he won't be reborn in a place of woe, a realm of misery,
a state of punishment, a purgatory.

And monks, for such a person, immoral, wicked, unclean and suspect in
conduct, secretive in deeds, not a contemplative though claiming to be
one, not leading the holy life though claiming to do so, inwardly
rotten, oozing with desire, filthy by nature, who eats the food
received on alms-round given in faith by wealthy kshatriya, brahmins,
or householders, for him, monks, there is a long-term harm and
suffering, and on the break-up of the body after death, he is reborn
in a place of woe, a realm of misery, a state of punishment, a
purgatory.

Metta,
Dimitry