འཕགས་པ་བྱམས་པའ་སང་གའ་སྒྲ་ཆན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 1.5

1.5

and to become in future lives the cause of others seeing the Buddhadharma.¹⁶

“In this regard, Kāśyapa, some foolish individuals put on saffron robes in the presence of the Tathāgata and make the commitment to go forth and be ordained into monkhood. Undertaking the trainings, they enter a hut or a cave, close the door, and then engage in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice or harm, thoughts of their begging bowl and their monastic robes, and thoughts of the households of friends and of alms-giving households. They think to themselves, ‘The Tathāgata does not know us. He is not aware of us and does not think of us.’

“Kāśyapa, whether a monk is in a hut, in a cave, or on a walking path, whenever he engages in thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice, thoughts of harm, or different kinds of nonvirtuous thoughts, the deities who dwell in that hut, in that cave, or on that walking path know the monk’s mind, and they think, ‘Why is this monk, who has gone forth in the well-proclaimed Dharma and Vinaya, engaging in thoughts of nonvirtuous and sinful actions? It is inappropriate.’ They will then be displeased, anguished, and unhappy.

“Kāśyapa, some of those deities will encourage him, but others, aware that the monk is not worth teaching, will settle into an attitude of contempt. Look, Kāśyapa, if those deities who possess just a modicum of virtuous roots and knowledge know the minds of others,